Health

I've got great news to end the week. Teen pregnancy is way down.

But it's not because teens are having less sex.

According to a new study published online in the Journal of Adolescent Health the reason is pretty simple: Teens are using more, and more effective, contraceptives.

Births to teens age 15 to 19 dropped by 36% from 2007 to 2013. Teen pregnancies decreased by 25% from 2007 to 2011.

Hospitals seem to prefer kids with private insurance over those with public insurance, and it shows in how they're treated.

That's according to a recent paper by Princeton economists Diane Alexander and Janet Currie.

The researchers looked at hospital billings from New Jersey, for kids who visited any emergency room between 2006 and 2012.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

I remember playing outside almost every day until the street lights came on.

Riding bikes. Hanging out with friends at the park. Long before tablets and smart phones were a source of entertainment.

But a recent survey of 1,001 parents with kids between ages 4 and 14 found kids today spend much less time playing outside than their parents did.

The attack in Nice, France.

The killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

Typically, when a mother is covered by Medicaid, her children are automatically covered when they are born.

But many low-income toddlers inadvertently lose their health insurance on their first birthday, according to Kaiser Health News.

Almost 25 million people in the U.S. live in food deserts. These are neighborhoods with limited access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food sources. Nearly half of these residents are low-income.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says pediatricians should routinely screen teens for suicide risks.

A report released Monday by the AAP provides doctors with guidelines on screening patients between the ages of 15 to 19 for suicidal thoughts and identifying risk factors linked to teen suicide attempts.