Pepper Spray's Health Risks: The Dose Makes The Poison

Pepper Spray: After a University of California-Davis police offer was seen pepper-spraying passive Occupy protestors (and became a meme), Deborah Blum examines the health risks of pepper spray for Scientific American.

Nutrition: Food banks are asking donors for healthier foods than ramen and sugared cereals this holiday season, urging donations of products that are lower in fat, sugar and salt, Dinesh Ramde reports for the Associated Press.

HIV/AIDS: Fewer people are dying of AIDS because of better access to treatment, with particular gains in sub-Saharan Africa, according to new United Nations data, Hui Min Neo reports for AFP.

Health Reform: Critics of all political stripes are calling for for Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Elena Kagan to recuse themselves for apparent conflicts of interest, Joan Biskupic reports for USA Today.

Health Insurance:  A new lawsuit against Anthem alleges that the insurer pulled a "bait and switch" on consumers by repeatedly changing their copayments and other out-of-pocket costs during the year, Duke Helfand reports for the Los Angeles Times. In other news, American insurer Cigna is teaming with Indian conglomerate to offer health insurance in India, Nathalie Tadena reports for the Wall St. Journal. Healthcare is the fastest growing sector of the Indian economy, Cigna says.

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Photo credit: Louise Macabitas via Reddit