Why looking directly at a solar eclipse is so dangerous for your eyes

Pope Francis delivers Easter Sunday address, amid concerns for his health, calls for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza

After the service, Francis took to his open-topped popemobile to greet crowds in the square and the avenue connecting St Peter’s to the River Tiber. The Vatican said about 60,000 people had turned up.

The address, delivered without incident or further indications of poor health, has helped to bolster the observations of those who have downplayed the significance of previous incidents.

“The pope’s decision to abandon the Palm Sunday homily seems to be a spiritual choice, not more,” Deborah Castellano Lubov, a Vatican analyst and contributor for NBC News, said. “It is clear to anyone watching Pope Francis in these years, he doesn’t make decisions based on what others think or what others tell him to do.”

“Concerns that it could be something more worrying, didn’t seem to have great foundations as Pope Francis certainly seemed to be able to recite his appeals at the end of the mass and circle around afterward greeting the enthusiastic crowds in St. Peter’s Square, before kicking off a grueling Holy Week at full speed,” Lubov said on Sunday, ahead of the pope’s Easter speech. On Saturday night, he presided over the Easter vigil, also without incident.

On Holy Thursday, the pope stuck to the schedule and washed the feet of twelve female inmates at Rebibbia prison in the outskirts of Rome, a tradition meant to emulate Jesus Christ’s washing of his disciples’ feet the night before he died.

Image: — Pope Francis arrives in a wheelchair in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican for Easter Sunday mass.Andrew Medichini / AP

Due to his mobility problems, he was forced to sit on a wheelchair, but he was determined to carry out the tradition nevertheless, perhaps adding even more value to a ceremony meant to emphasize humility. He also became the first pontiff in history to wash the feet of only women on Holy Thursday.

But then, on Good Friday, the Vatican announced at the very last minute that the pope would not attend the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum “to preserve his health” for Saturday’s Vigil and Easter Sunday Mass. The pontiff, the Vatican said, would follow the event from Casa Santa Marta, his residence, leaving the white seat prepared for him at the Colosseum empty.

This is the second year in a row the pope has skipped the Way of the Cross. Last year he did not attend as he was discharged only a few days earlier from the hospital, where he was treated for bronchitis with intravenous antibiotics. But while his absence last year was announced with a few days’ notice, the sudden cancellation this year once again raised concerns.

Concerns about the pope’s declining health started in 2021, when he was rushed to the hospital to have part of his colon removed. Then in June 2023, he was once again admitted, without prior notice by the Vatican, for abdominal surgery to remove internal scar tissue.

His mobility problems worsened during the past year due to sciatica and severe knee pain. He began walking with a cane, and more recently has been using a wheelchair. In November, he pulled out three days before a scheduled trip to Dubai to attend COP28 due to a persistent lung inflammation.

The pope’s declining health sparked wild speculation on whether he will retire just as his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, did in 2013. But in a recently published autobiography, “Life: My Story Through history,” the pope said that, at least at present, there is “no risk” of him resigning. “I believe the pope’s ministry is for life.” Francis wrote. “I therefore see no justification for giving it up.”

Claudio Lavanga

Yuliya Talmazan and Reuters contributed.

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Pope overcomes health concerns to preside over a blustery Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square

ROME (AP) — Rallying from a winter-long bout of respiratory problems, Pope Francis led some 30,000 people in Easter celebrations Sunday, making a strong appeal for a cease-fire in Gaza and a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine.

Francis presided over Easter Sunday Mass in a flower-decked St. Peter’s Square and then delivered a heartfelt prayer for peace in his annual roundup of global crises delivered from the loggia overlooking the piazza. In between, he made several loops around the piazza in his popemobile, greeting well-wishers.

“Peace is never made with weapons, but with outstretched hands and open hearts,” Francis said, to applause from the wind-swept crowd below.

Francis appeared in good form, despite having celebrated the 2½-hour nighttime Easter Vigil just hours before. The pontiff, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has been battling respiratory problems all winter.

The Vatican said some 30,000 people attended the Mass, with more packing the Via della Conciliazione boulevard leading to the piazza. At the start of the service, a gust of wind knocked over a large religious icon on the altar just a few feet from the pope; ushers quickly righted it.

Easter Mass is one of the most important dates on the liturgical calendar, celebrating what the faithful believe was Jesus’ resurrection after his crucifixion. The Mass precedes the pope’s “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing, in which the pope traditionally offers a laundry list of the threats afflicting humanity.

This year, Francis said his thoughts went particularly to people in Ukraine and Gaza and all those facing war, particularly the children who he said had “forgotten how to smile.”

“In calling for respect for the principles of international law, I express my hope for a general exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine: all for the sake of all!” he said.

He called for the “prompt” release of prisoners taken from Israel on Oct. 7, an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and for humanitarian access to reach Palestinians.

“Let us not allow the current hostilities to continue to have grave repercussions on the civil population, by now at the limit of its endurance, and above all on the children,” he said in a speech that also touched on the plight of Haitians, the Rohingya and victims of human trafficking.

For the past few weeks, Francis has generally avoided delivering long speeches to avoid the strain on his breathing. He ditched his Palm Sunday homily last week and decided at the last minute to stay home from the Good Friday procession at the Colosseum.

The Vatican said in a brief explanation that the decision was made to “conserve his health.”

The decision clearly paid off, as Francis was able to recite the prayers of the lengthy Saturday night Easter Vigil service, including administering the sacraments of baptism and First Communion to eight new Catholics, and preside over Easter Sunday Mass and deliver his speech.

After a busy Holy Week, Francis should have some time to recover as there are no major foreign trips scheduled for several months.

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Convoy carrying Gaza aid departs Cyprus amid hunger concerns in war-torn territory

A three-ship convoy left a port in Cyprus on Saturday with 400 tons of food and other supplies for Gaza as concerns about hunger in the territory soar.

World Central Kitchen said the vessels and a barge were carrying an estimated 300 tons of ready-to-eat items like rice, pasta, flour, legumes, canned vegetables and proteins that were enough to prepare more than 1 million meals. Also on board were dates, which are traditionally eaten to break the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

Earlier in March, World Central Kitchen, which is led by celebrity chef José Andrés, brought 200 tons of food, water and other aid to the Palestinian territory via an Open Arms ship. That was the first food delivery made by sea since the outbreak of the war.

The United Nations and partners have warned that famine could occur in devastated, largely isolated northern Gaza as early as this month. CBS News previously reported that an estimated 1.7 million people in Gaza have been displaced in the territory, according to the United Nations, with many having no access to food, water, medicine or appropriate shelter.

World Central Kitchen told CBS News that it has sent more than 37 million meals to the territory since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants launched a terror attack in Israel that triggered the war. World Central Kitchen also said it opened more than 60 community kitchens in the territory. The organization has also airdropped meals into the region, and delivered food to families in Lebanon who have been displaced by the conflict.

Cyprus Israel Palestinians — A cargo ship, right, and a ship belonging to the Open Arms aid group, are loaded with 240 tons of canned food destined for Gaza prepare to set sail.

Petros Karadjias / AP

Humanitarian officials say deliveries by sea and air are not enough and that Israel must allow far more aid by road. The top U.N. court has ordered Israel to open more land crossings and take other measures to address the humanitarian crisis.

Meanwhile, the United States welcomed the formation of a new Palestinian autonomy government, signaling it is accepting the revised Cabinet lineup as a step toward political reform.

The Biden administration has called for “revitalizing” the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority in the hope that it can also administer the Gaza Strip once the Israel-Hamas war ends. It is headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who tapped U.S.-educated economist Mohammad Mustafa as prime minister earlier this month.

But both Israel and Hamas — which drove Abbas’ security forces from Gaza in a 2007 takeover — reject the idea of it administering Gaza, and Hamas rejects the formation of the new Palestinian government as illegitimate. The authority also has little popular support or legitimacy among Palestinians because of its security cooperation with Israel in the West Bank.

The war began after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 others hostage.

More than 400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank or east Jerusalem since Oct. 7, according to local health authorities. Dr. Fawaz Hamad, director of Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, told local station Awda TV that Israeli forces killed a 13-year-old boy in nearby Qabatiya early Saturday. Israel’s military said the incident was under review.

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A major challenge for anyone administering Gaza will be reconstruction. Nearly six months of war has destroyed critical infrastructure including hospitals, schools and homes as well as roads, sewage systems and the electrical grid.

Airstrikes and Israel’s ground offensive have left 32,705 Palestinians dead, local health authorities said Saturday, with 82 bodies taken to hospitals in the past 24 hours. Gaza’s Health Ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its toll but has said the majority of those killed have been women and children.

Israel says over one-third of the dead are militants, though it has not provided evidence to support that, and it blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the group operates in residential areas.

The fighting has displaced over 80% of Gaza’s population and pushed hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine, the U.N. and international aid agencies say. Israel’s military said it continued to strike dozens of targets in Gaza, days after the United Nations Security Council issued its first demand for a cease-fire.

Aid also fell on Gaza. The U.S. military during an airdrop on Friday said it had released over 100,000 pounds of aid that day and almost a million pounds overall, part of a multi-country effort.

Israel has said that after the war it will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and partner with Palestinians who are not affiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. It’s unclear who in Gaza would be willing to take on such a role.

Hamas has warned Palestinians in Gaza against cooperating with Israel to administer the territory, saying anyone who does will be treated as a collaborator, which is understood as a death threat. Hamas calls instead for all Palestinian factions to form a power-sharing government ahead of national elections, which have not taken place in 18 years.

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What U.S. consumers should know about the health supplement linked to 5 deaths in Japan

The recall of red yeast products linked to at least five deaths in Japan may have Americans questioning the safety of a range of dietary supplements containing the ingredient and readily found online and in stores.

Billed as a natural means of lowering cholesterol, the products recalled by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. contain benikoji, an ingredient derived from a species of mold.

At a news conference on Friday, the company said it had found a chemical compound — puberulic acid — in the recalled products, and is looking into whether the substance might be linked to the fatalities, the Japan Times newspaper reported. Kobayashi also said its products were exported to other countries, including China and Taiwan.

For now, no products containing benikoji have been recalled in the U.S. or linked to health issues. In Japan, meanwhile, the problem could stem from a quality control issue that allowed unwanted substances to enter Kobayashi’s production line.

“Buyer beware”

Still, the scenario in Japan raises concerns for other markets, including the U.S., experts said.

“I believe it is likely that this particular problem affects products outside Japan as well,” said David Light, president and co-founder of Valisure, an independent lab that tests drugs for impurities and known for detecting carcinogens in products such as acne cream, sunscreen and the heartburn drug Zantec. He noted that supply chains for health and dietary supplements are similar to those for prescription drugs, with products manufactured in one country and then shipped to many geographic markets.

According to Kobayashi’s website, the company is working to increase sales of six brands including OTC pharmaceuticals in the U.S., China and Southeast Asia. Its U.S. subsidiary, Kobayashi Healthcare in Dalton, Ga., did not immediately return requests for comment.

“There is a place for supplements, but it’s a buyer beware situation,” said Dr. Tod Cooperman, president and founder of ConsumerLab.com, which tests supplements to determine their contents.

The Food and Drug Administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

When made properly, yeast grown on rice produces various compounds, including lovastatin, which is known to lower cholesterol, the physician said. “But if something goes wrong in production, you instead get citrinin,” a chemical linked to kidney toxicity in animals, Cooperman said.

Many people purchase dietary supplements and herbal medicines online or over the counter, assuming they are regulated like drugs. But the FDA does not verify supplements’ listed ingredients, and while federal law requires pharmaceuticals to meet specific standards, the rules are less stringent when it comes to supplements.

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ConsumerLab.com last tested red yeast rice supplements in 2022, finding citrinin in 30% of the products tested, Cooperman said.

“One had 65 times the limit set in Europe,” he added, noting that the U.S. has not set a limit on the chemical.

Since lovastatin is classified as a drug, it is often left out as an ingredient by supplement makers looking to avoid the additional regulatory scrutiny.

When red yeast supplements became available in the U.S. more than two decades ago, they offered a less expensive option to prescription statins that were available over the counter. But it is difficult for consumers to verify a supplement’s ingredients, or determine if a product contains unlisted substances.

Consumers would be “better off going to a doctor and using a prescription cholesterol lower-er because there is more certainty as to what you’re getting,” Cooperman said. “[S]ome of the older statins are generic now, so it’s probably less expensive and safer to be buying a generic statin at this point.”

Meanwhile, he urges caution in taking supplements.

“There are a lot of brands out there that are more fly-by-night,” Cooperman said, “Our focus is on trying to find the best products. We’re finding one out of five products fail.”

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Why looking directly at a solar eclipse is so dangerous for your eyes

Why looking directly at a solar eclipse is so dangerous for your eyes – CBS News

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Ophthalmologists are warning about the dangers of looking directly at the sun during the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8. CBS News’ Michael George has more on how to protect your eyes — and what can happen if you don’t.

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Dengue fever outbreak in Puerto Rico creates public health emergency

The risk of getting sick with dengue fever is ever present in Puerto Rico and other places with hot, humid climates — but this year “cases have exceeded historical figures,” according to Puerto Rico Health Secretary Carlos Mellado.

Mellado declared a public health emergency this week in an effort to curb the rise in dengue fever cases, saying the decree helps guarantee Puerto Rico has access to the resources needed to combat the outbreak. The declaration is set to last 90 days and can be renewed if necessary.

Puerto Rico joins Brazil, Peru and other Latin American nations dealing with outbreaks in declaring a state of emergency over dengue fever.

The Puerto Rico Department of Health reported first noticing an increase in dengue fever cases on the island at the end of 2023. With 146 cases reported by the third week of January, dengue fever rates started to consistently surpass 2023 levels.

As of March 10, at least 549 dengue fever cases had been reported on the island since the start of the year, mostly in the capital of San Juan, according to the Health Department. About 62% of patients were hospitalized with the disease; only 29 cases were considered severe. No dengue fever fatalities have been reported so far.

The most common symptom among those who contract the mosquito-borne disease is fever, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other symptoms include serious headaches, nausea, vomiting, rash and body pain.

Symptoms can be mild or severe. Most dengue fever patients recover in a week, but in severe cases the disease can be life-threatening and require hospitalization since it can result in shock, internal bleeding and even death. Those who have had dengue in the past are more likely to develop severe symptoms. A person can get sick with dengue fever up to four times in their lifetime — once for each type of virus that can cause the disease, according to the CDC.

The CDC has been working with the Puerto Rico Health Department and other local agencies to enact the island’s dengue fever prevention and control plan — which includes eliminating and cleaning up areas with stagnant water that could serve as mosquito breeding sites, as well as urging the public to use mosquito repellents and wire mesh panels to keep mosquitoes out of their homes.

In a statement Monday, Mellado said in Spanish that all parts of Puerto Rican society must join forces to prevent contagion and the spread of this virus.

Puerto Rico last declared a dengue epidemic in 2012. At least 199 people died of dengue fever during that time.

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Supplement pill that contained mold recalled after 2 deaths, over 100 hospitalizations in Japan

Health supplement products believed to have caused two deaths and sickened more than 100 people have been ordered to be taken off store shelves in Japan, marking the first major recall of a domestically produced supplement in the country.

The products from Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., billed as helping to lower cholesterol, contained an ingredient called “benikoji,” a red species of mold.

In addition to the products from Osaka-based Kobayashi, more than 40 products from other companies containing benikoji, including miso paste, crackers and a vinegar dressing, were recalled, starting last week, a government health ministry official said Wednesday.

At least 106 people had been hospitalized, and many more are believed to have been sickened, although it’s unclear if all the illnesses are directly linked to benikoji (pronounced beh-nee-koh-jeeh).

Japan Drug Supplement Recall — A factory of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., is seen in Osaka, Japan on March 26, 2024.

Keiji Uesho / AP

The ministry has put up a list on its official site of all the recalled products, including some that use benikoji for food coloring.

The company is investigating the cause of the problem. The recalled products could be bought without a prescription from a doctor, and could be purchased at drug stores.

Kobayashi apologized and asked in an online statement: “Please stop taking our products, and please do not use them in the future.”

Repeated calls to Kobayashi went unanswered. The company president and other top officials held a news conference last week when the problem first surfaced, bowing their heads in apology, as is the standard in Japan.

The ministry official warned there could be more victims in the days ahead. He asked everyone to stop ingesting anything with benikoji in it. Those with health problems, like weak kidneys, could be especially vulnerable, he said.

All the products were made in Japan, although it is unclear if any of the raw materials were imported. A recall of imported health supplements has happened before, but this is the first major recall of a domestically produced supplement, according to Japanese media reports.

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Debunking misinformation about birth control

Debunking misinformation about birth control – CBS News

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As the Supreme Court weighs access to the abortion pill, some doctors are sounding the alarm about a troubling trend of online misinformation involving birth control. Lauren Weber, health and science accountability reporter for The Washington Post, joins CBS News to explain.

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Longtime Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader Krystal Anderson dies after giving birth

A longtime Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader who was passionate about women’s health died after giving birth.

Krystal Lakeshia Anderson died shortly after giving birth to her daughter, Charlotte Willow, who was stillborn, according to an obituary.

A GoFundMe established to cover Anderson’s medical expenses, memorial services and establish a “legacy fund” said that Anderson, 40, had been diagnosed with sepsis during her pregnancy. According to the GoFundMe, Anderson “sought out hospitalization during her 21st week of pregnancy.” After delivering her daughter, Anderson experienced organ failure and was placed on life support. She underwent three surgeries “but the source of infection remained elusive,” the GoFundMe said. Anderson died on March 20.

Anderson is survived by her husband, Clayton William Anderson, her parents, and several other family members, according to the obituary. She was preceded in death by her infant son, James Charles.

Anderson cheered for the Chiefs for the 2006-2011 seasons, and again for the 2013-2016 seasons, the cheerleading team said in a social media post. The squad said that she attended the Pro Bowl in 2015 and visited troops in the U.S., Iraq and Kuwait. Anderson also served the team in an alumni role even after she left the cheerleading team.

“She was loved and adored by her teammates, fans, and strangers who were never strangers for long,” the team said on social media.

Anderson also worked at Oracle Health as a software engineer, where she made “significant contributions to improving healthcare,” according to the obituary. She was awarded a patent for developing software that assesses the risk of postpartum hemorrhage. Anderson also advocated for Black women in STEM and for women’s health.

Anderson’s obituary said she “radiated joy and laughter” and described her passion for philanthropy.

Sepsis is a condition that occurs when the body does not respond to an infection properly and the organs begin to work poorly, according to Mayo Clinic. Maternal sepsis is the second leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths, according to University of New Mexico Health. The odds of developing the condition can be increased by things like prolonged labor, C-section birth, and exposure to someone with an infection, according to UNM Health.

In the last two decades, maternal deaths in the U.S. have more than doubled.

Black mothers are at the highest risk of dying in childbirth, as CBS News previously reported. A 2020 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women in the U.S. was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births — roughly 2.9 times the rate among non-Hispanic White women.

U.S. maternal mortality hit six-decade high in COVID, highest in Black women

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Dr. Henning Tiemeier, the director of Harvard’s Maternal Health Task Force, called the high rate of maternal mortality among Black women “essentially one of the biggest challenges of public health.”

“We see that as a top of the iceberg of poor health in women and poor health in Black women,” Tiemeier said in an interview on “Face the Nation” in 2022. “And there are several reasons, there seems to [be], from poverty to discrimination to poor care for this group of women.”

In May 2023, Olympic champion sprinter Tori Bowie died from complications of childbirth at age 32.

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A woman went to the ER thinking she had a bone stuck in her throat. It was a nail piercing her artery.

A Peruvian woman was eating pork rinds when she suddenly felt an object stuck in her throat. After vomiting blood, she went to the emergency room thinking she had swallowed a bone – but it was something far more dangerous.

Celia Tello, 68, had to undergo surgery to remove the object, which doctors told Reuters turned out to be a nail that was piercing one of her carotid arteries, blood vessels that the Cleveland Clinic says are “a vital part of your circulatory system.” There is a carotid artery on each side of your neck, each splitting into two branches to help supply blood to your head and neck.

“It never crossed my mind I had this nail or piece of wire,” Tello told Reuters in Spanish.

An x-ray image shows the nail accidentally swallowed by a 68-year-old woman who was eating pork rinds in February.

EsSalud via Reuters

Surgeon Diego Cuipal told Reuters that doctors had to conduct a “careful dissection” to remove the nail and that there was a risk of “detaching a clot that could reach the brain.” X-ray images showed the long nail lodged in her throat.

“We were able to isolate the affected artery and we repaired it by sectioning it and we joined a healthy artery with another healthy artery,” Cuipal said in Spanish.

The incident occurred last month, and Tello has since healed. Now, all that remains is a large scar on her neck from the procedure.

This is not the first time random and dangerous objects have turned up in someone’s food. Last year, stainless steel was found in peanut butter and bone fragments were found in smoked sausage, leading to massive food recalls. The FDA has cautioned that some food contamination is expected, saying that it’s “economically impractical” to avoid some “non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects.”

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