BOSTON (Reuters) – Overdoses of drugs, particularly prescription painkillers and heroin, have overtaken AIDS to become the leading cause of death of homeless adults, according to a study of homeless residents of Boston released on Monday.

The finding came from a five-year study of homeless adults who received treatment from the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, though its broad conclusions apply to homeless populations in many urban parts of the United States, the study’s author and homeless advocates said.

BOSTON (Reuters) – With flu cases in this city up tenfold from last year, the mayor of Boston declared a public health emergency on Wednesday as authorities around the United States scrambled to cope with a rising number of patients.

U.S. health authorities say the flu arrived about a month earlier than usual this year, and the flu strain making most people sick – H3N2 – has a reputation for causing fairly severe illness, especially in the elderly.

BOSTON (Reuters) – Faced with a surge in flu cases, the mayor of Boston declared a public health emergency on Wednesday as authorities around the United States scrambled to cope with a rising number of patients.

So far, in the early stage of the normal flu season, Boston has already recorded 10 times as many cases as in all of the 2011-2012 flu season.

BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Fire broke out on an empty Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet parked at a gate in Boston on Monday, putting safety concerns about the new, carbon-composite jet back in the spotlight and drawing attention from federal investigators.

Officials said the fire started when a battery in the Japan Airlines Co Ltd jet’s auxiliary power system exploded around 10:30 a.m. ET, shortly after passengers deplaned.

BOSTON (Reuters) – A parked Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner aircraft with no passengers on board caught fire at Boston’s Logan International Airport while parked at a gate on Monday morning, an airport spokesman said.

The fire, on an aircraft operated by Japan Airlines Co Ltd, was reported at about 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT), said airport spokesman Richard Walsh.

BOSTON (Reuters) – Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on Friday proposed new state rules to more closely regulate the type of pharmacy at the heart of a U.S. meningitis outbreak that has killed 39 people.

The proposed legislation would require special licenses for compounding pharmacies, allow the state Board of Pharmacy to fine companies that violate its rules and require out-of-state pharmacies that ship drugs to Massachusetts to be licensed by the state.

BOSTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Massachusetts Governor Deval
Patrick on Friday proposed new state rules to more closely
regulate the type of pharmacy at the heart of a U.S. meningitis
outbreak that has killed 39 people.

The proposed legislation would require special licenses for
compounding pharmacies, allow the state Board of Pharmacy to
fine companies that violate its rules and require out-of-state
pharmacies that ship drugs to Massachusetts to be licensed by
the state.

Jan 2 (Reuters) – U.S. executives largely panned the
congressional deal to steer America away from the “fiscal
cliff,” saying Washington wasted an opportunity to address the
nation’s long-term debt, but said they would continue to agitate
for a better budget plan.

While CEOs expressed relief that $600 billion in tax hikes
and spending cuts will not kick the fragile economy in the gut,
their gratitude was salted with insults.

BOSTON (Reuters) – While Washington fiddles, corporate America fumes.

Executives on Wednesday sharply criticized the political log-jams in Washington that delayed until January 1 the deal to keep the U.S. economy from sliding over the “fiscal cliff” and into recession.

While chief executives expressed relief that lawmakers had managed to avert tax hikes and sharp spending cuts that would have come without an agreement, they said the deal did not do enough to stem the rise in the nation’s $16 trillion debt.

/PHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) – Diego Canil Ordonez was just 16 years old when he realized he needed to get out of Guatemala after gang members arrived at the store where he worked to shake down his boss for money.

His boss didn’t show up for work the next day, but the gang members did. They demanded cash from Canil Ordonez, who had seen his job at the store as a step up after spending years shining shoes to support his family, starting at age 9.