Outside the Beltway

If you’re under 21 in Hawaii, you’re still technically an adult but you can’t buy tobacco.

Vaccination has eliminated a disease that used to be a serious threat from the Americas.

The debate over whether kids need to be vaccinated against communicable diseases baffles me.

The numbers on the Ebola outbreak are bad, but they aren’t as bad as had been feared.

Much like the disease itself, Ebola panic seems to have disappeared as the midterm elections become ever more distant in the rear view mirror.

A Maine Judge has largely rejected the efforts of the State of Maine to restrict the movements of Kaci Hickcox

We may have our first legal challenge to an Ebola quarantine order by tomorrow

The first person to be quarantined under the new policy announced by New York and New Jersey is raising concerns about the way she was treated, and whether the policy is even the right idea.

A surprise move from Governors Christie and Cuomo that sounds like a good idea but may not be as effective, or legal, as it sounds.

A new outbreak, or hopefully just an isolated case.

As usual, politicians and pundits are helping to create a climate of fear and concern about Ebola that is not justified by the facts.

America’s “Patient Zero” doesn’t appear to have spread Ebola very far, but continued vigilance is called for. And, we need to focus on the part of the world where there really is an Ebola Crisis.

The president is frustrated.

A travel ban sounds like a simple solution to a complex problem. Like most simple solutions, though, it becomes far less appealing when you think about the details.

President Obama has appointed an “Ebola Czar,” but it’s unclear why we need one when there are already people who are supposed to be in charge of the Ebola response.

More Ebola news that could have a negative impact on public opinion.

We’ve become aware of failures in how we’ve handled the Ebola situation. The response is to figure out what went wrong and do our best to fix it, not to panic.

Another health care worker in Dallas is being treated for exposure to the Ebola Virus.

Sobering news from the World Health Organization.

A second case, and the first person to apparently contract Ebola on U.S. soil. But, that’s no reason to panic.

Closing down international air travel won’t stop Ebola from becoming a bigger public health threat.

An inevitable outcome for the head of a once proud agency.

For the first time, someone has been diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.

The security lapses at the Secret Service just continue to mount.

Too regularly engage in “bedtime procrastination,” creating a vicious cycle.

Pseudoscience and hysteria have damaged public health.

The last known case of smallpox happened in 1977. Is it time to destroy the virus?

The anti-vaccination movement has earned a dubious achievement, the return of a disease that was effectively eradicated 15 years ago.

Airlines are squeezing ever-larger passengers into ever-smaller spaces. Naturally, the passengers are taking it out on the other passengers.

The FDA is declaring war on trans fats. That’s a bad idea on many levels.

The events in Boston on Monday were tragic, but there was one shining success.

Southerners lie about their weight–but not as much as those lyin’ Yankees.

There are factions of the American right that really need to understand this.

Firearms are set to pass the automobile as the instrument for American deaths.

Not exactly journalism.

Americans are ridiculously fat and getting fatter by the nanosecond.

The estimated number of U.S. autistic kids has skyrocketed by 78% since 2000, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.