Death by Big Mac, and a "Trendy" Mental Illness

Here's what we're reading today:

Mental Illness: Is it becoming fashionable to be bipolar? British Medical Journal blogger Julian Sheather investigates.

Whooping Cough: The ninth baby dies in California's whooping cough epidemic. More than 3,800 cases of pertussis have been confirmed in the state, making it the worst outbreak since 1958, Janet Lavelle of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Check out our tips on covering the epidemic here.

Death by Big Mac: A new public service announcement for healthy eating disses McDonald's, showing a grieving widow over an overweight corpse, his burger still in hand, then the McDonald's logo and a rewritten slogan. Could a copyright lawsuit be far behind?

Disease Mongering: CardioBrief's Larry Husten delivers a welcome smackdown of K-mart's new free abdominal aortic aneurysm tests, sponsored by Medtronic, calling it a prime example of disease mongering.

Hospital Bankrupt: In a striking example of how state budget cuts are affecting safety-net health care, a hospital in Victorville, Calif., has filed for bankruptcy because the state owes it $3 million. This is a short story that cries out for more context. What's happening to your safety net hospital?