The infection can cause severe respiratory disease in otherwise healthy adults. Scientists don't know what has caused the outbreaks.A virulent new form of a common cold virus has killed 10 people and hospitalized at least 53 since May 2006, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

  Restaurants that shun the cooking oils, which are linked to heart problems, can display a special decal in their windows.Los Angeles County on Thursday rolled out a program in which local restaurants that agree to stop using heart-damaging trans fats in their cooking will get a decal to display in their windows.

  It will pay $1 million for misleading the state about bonuses tied to policy cancellations. A wider probe continues.The state Thursday slapped a $1-million fine on Health Net Inc., the Woodland Hills-based insurer that acknowledged last week that it set goals for cancellations and paid bonuses in part based on how many policyholders were dropped and how much money was saved.

  A state facility meant for sexually violent predators gets low marks after two years.One in a series of occasional articles on California's troubled mental health system.

  The $4.85-billion settlement offered last week by pharmaceutical giant Merck &Co. to patients stricken by heart attacks and strokes after taking the company's painkiller Vioxx could mean the end to one of the most unpleasant and costliest chapters in the pharmaceutical industry's history.

  A state agency, responding to a complaint by housekeepers, says the hotel has run afoul of repetitive-motion rules.In what may be the first action of its kind, California workplace safety regulators have charged that the duties performed by housekeepers at a hotel -- scrubbing, bed making, vacuuming -- violate the state's repetitive-motion rules.

  In the wake of allegations that financial donations influenced admissions decisions to an elite residency program, the UCLA School of Dentistry on Wednesday released details of new rules that are supposed to eliminate even the appearance of impropriety.

  Advocates, announcing survey results today, say the total should increase because of benefits to mothers and children.The new mother was determined to nurse her son, despite her discomfort after a cesarean section. But a nurse, without asking, fed the infant formula while he was in the hospital nursery. That was upsetting enough, but then, when given the chance to nurse her baby, the young woman couldn't get her newborn to latch onto her breast.

  Cheating on licensing exams is probed, and a highly competitive program is accused of giving preferential treatment in admissions.The UCLA School of Dentistry was hit by separate scandals Tuesday involving allegations of favoritism toward relatives of deep-pocket donors and student cheating on licensing examinations, university authorities acknowledged.

  For many, depression, stress and relationship trouble don't show up until months after soldiers return, a study shows. The finding may help prevent the problems suffered by many Vietnam vets.The stress and depression caused by combat in Iraq often don't appear until a few months after a soldier has returned home, researchers reported today.