WASHINGTON (AP) — A leading U. S. health official on Sunday urged people to get inoculated against the measles at a time of outbreaks across several states and as the United States is at risk of losing its measles elimination status. “Take the vaccine, please,” said Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator whose boss has raised suspicion about the safety and importance of vaccines. “We have a solution for our problem. ”Oz, a heart surgeon, defended...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government on Sunday released from prison several prominent opposition members, including one of the closest allies of Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, after lengthy politically motivated detentions. Their releases come as the government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez faces mounting pressure to free hundreds of people whose detentions months or years ago have been linked to their political beliefs. They also follow a visit to of...

NEW YORK (AP) — U. S. births fell a little in 2025, according to newly posted provisional data. Slightly over 3. 6 million births have been reported through birth certificates, or about 24,000 fewer than in 2024. The decline seems to confirm predictions by some experts, who doubted a slight increase in births in 2024 marked the start of an upward trend. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its provisional birth data late last week, filling in two months of missing data and...