An attempt by the California Legislature to impose what is believed to be the nation’s most far-reaching smoking ban in state parks stalled Thursday over objections it would inappropriately punish smokers.
The bill in the 80-member Assembly fell five votes short of the simple majority needed to approve the ban, in part because several lawmakers [...]

But the long winter could be good news, according to CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton. Ashton said on “The Early Show” an allergist told her the wet weather, however, could drive up the “sneeze factor” because of the excess pollen in the air when trees and grass start growing again.
Special Section: Dr. [...]

The Missouri Senate has voted 26-6 to require some health insurance plans to cover treatment for autism.
The bill would require group insurance policies regulated by the state to provide up to $55,000 annually for behavioral treatment until age 21. The “applied behavioral analysis” is an intensive and costly therapy that some parents say produces [...]

Congressional Democrats have released a final version of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul bill in advance of a House vote planned for Sunday. Some features of the legislation, which makes changes to the bill the Senate passed on Christmas Eve:
COST: $940 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
HOW MANY [...]

An American infertility clinic seeking business in Britain prompted fierce criticism by offering free eggs from a U.S. woman to one participant in a promotional seminar in London on Wednesday.
The event has sparked a debate in Britain about the ethics of an event that many said violated the spirit, if not the letter, of [...]

When the earthquake hit Haiti in January, CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton went to Port-au-Prince to treat people in need of medical help and performed numerous procedures to help people who were injured or trapped in the rubble.
One of those people was a baby pulled out after four days trapped under rubble. [...]

The Missouri Senate has voted 26-6 to require some health insurance plans to cover treatment for autism.
The bill would require group insurance policies regulated by the state to provide up to $55,000 annually for behavioral treatment until age 21. The “applied behavioral analysis” is an intensive and costly therapy that some parents say produces [...]

California lawmakers on Thursday will consider what is believed to be the nation’s most far-reaching smoking ban in state parks as a way to get unsightly cigarette butts off the beach, eliminate second-hand smoke and reduce the threat of wildfires.
Maine banned smoking at its state beaches last year, but groups that track such legislation [...]

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. But a new study presented at the American College of Cardiology shows women who have heart attacks are twice as likely to die within one month than men.
CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton explained it’s known in the cardiology and [...]

The government is announcing a recall of some 1.2 million high chairs, saying they pose a fall hazard to children.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the voluntary recall Thursday involving the product made by Graco Children’s Products, Inc., of Atlanta.
The regulatory agency said “screws holding the front legs of the high chair can [...]