For the second year in a row, life expectancy in the U.S. has dropped, and the CDC is attributing the cause to opioid abuse. Rare Media is about to launch an extensive series about the opioid crisis' smallest victims – babies born to dependent mothers who are themselves, addicted. Gayle Putrich, Rare's Heartland Editor, tells how communities in Ohio and West Virginia are trying to help.
Ohio and West Virginia are at the center of the nation's opioid epidemic. Putrich tells us about Huntington West Virginia, where one in five babies born at Cabel hospital there has been exposed to drugs in the womb.
This condition is called Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. With so few resources dedicated to helping these children and families, clinics such as Brigid's Path in Ohio and Lily's Place in West Virginia are helping through grants and donations.
A Colorado funeral home owner where 115 decaying bodies were found tried to conceal the improper storage of corpses and claimed he was doing taxidermy, according to a suspension letter sent to him by state regulators.
Air travel costs are up but there are ways to make the airport experience better and cheaper. Travel journalist Francesca Page joined Cheddar News to provide how to bring those costs down while traveling, especially ahead of the holiday season.
Senior dogs only have a 25% adoption rate, according to the ASPCA. Josey Miller of Best Friends Animal Society and seven-year-old Christine the Chihuahua joined Cheddar News to discuss the benefits of adopting older pets and to dismiss some myths about taking them home.
