Inferior medical care for HIV-positive immigrant detainees threatens their health, and ultimately their lives, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tuesday at the 2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico City.

HRW told conferees that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - the agency charged with providing health care services to detainees - fails to ensure timely HIV prevention and treatment services, putting many at risk of infection, resistance to treatment, and even death

In a landmark decision, the U.S. House of representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to regulate the tobacco industry by the federal health agency.

The House voted 326-102 to approve the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broad authority to regulate cigarettes and other forms of tobacco

In a first of its kind move, the Los Angeles city council on Tuesday approved a one-year ban on new fast-food outlets in a low-income neighborhood with a high incidence of obesity and diabetes.

The moratorium aims to attract restaurants in the 32-square mile area of South Los Angeles to offer healthier food choices. The ban covers the 500,000 people living in the area, residents of which are mainly Latinos and African-Americans

Following the lead of cities like New York and Philadelphia, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation on Friday banning the use of trans fats in restaurants throughout California.

The new legislation, Assembly Bill 97, proposed by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), makes California the first state to implement a state-wide ban of trans fats in restaurants and prohibit other "food facilities" from using oil, margarine and shortening containing trans fats

The father of an 18-year old schizophrenic mentally retarded girl raped by a nursing home resident is battling for legislation that would mandate posting the names of residents with sex offense records.

Ray McDaniel pushed for the bill, which has been adopted by the Ohio House and is waiting for a Senate hearing. He supports every state requiring its staff to disclose the presence of sex offenders among residents. He hopes this would prevent a repeat of what happened to his daughter, who was abused by a 43-year old male resident, now serving time in prison