INSTITUTE, W. Va. (AP) — A chemical leak at a West Virginia silver recovery business killed two people and sent 19 others to the hospital, authorities said. The leak occurred at the Catalyst Refiners plant in Institute as workers were preparing to shut down at least part of the facility, Kanawha County Commission Emergency Management Director C. W. Sigman said. A chemical gas reaction occurred at the plant involving nitric acid and another substance, Sigman said, speaking at a news briefing...

ATLANTA (AP) — U. S. Rep. David Scott, a Georgia Democrat and the first Black chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, has died. He was 80. Scott, who was seeking his 13th term in Congress despite challenges from within his party, was once a leading voice for Democrats on issues related to farm aid policy and food aid for consumers and a prominent Black member of the party’s moderate Blue Dog caucus. But he faced criticism and concerns in recent years because of declining health, a in...

Nearly 4,400 fewer U. S. teens and young adults died by suicide than projected in the first two-and-a-half years of the 988 mental health crisis hotline, a sign the program is working even as it faces long-term funding challenges. Suicide deaths among 15- to 23-year-olds were 11% lower than what researchers expected between July 2022 — when the lifeline launched — and December 2024, researchers wrote in a study published Wednesday in JAMA. “The 988 program is one of the largest federal U...