On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Jan. 2 at 6 a.m. CT:

NEW YORK (AP) — A new study adds to evidence that severe obesity is becoming more common in young U.S. children. There was some hope that children in a government food program might be bucking a trend in obesity rates. Earlier research found rates had dropped a little for those children. But an update published Monday in the journal Pediatrics shows the rate up a bit to 2% by 2020. The increase echoes national data, which suggests around 2.5% of all preschool-aged children are severely obese. The study involved young kids in the Women, Infants and Children program, which provides healthy foods and other services.

A Swedish study has uncovered a paradox about people diagnosed with an excessive fear of serious illness: They tend to die earlier than people who aren’t hypervigilant about health concerns. The study was published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry. Researchers were curious about the condition known as hypochondria. People with it are unable to shake their fears despite normal physical exams and lab tests. The researchers found that people with the diagnosis have an increased risk of death from both natural and unnatural causes, particularly suicide. The researchers say many of these deaths are preventable through appropriate treatment.

Some states that stockpiled millions of masks and other personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic are now throwing the items away. An Associated Press investigation found that at least 15 states have tossed out some of the PPE items because they are expiring or have more than they need. Other states have sold extra materials at bargain prices or have tried to give away surplus masks, gowns and gloves but have had difficulty finding entities willing to take them. Public health experts say the glut of supplies shows that governments need to do a better job of planning for future emergencies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a politically polarized nation, Americans seem to agree on one issue underlying the 2024 elections — a worry over the state of democracy and how the outcome of the presidential contest will affect its future. They just disagree over who poses the threat. A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 62% of adults say democracy in the U.S. could be at risk depending on who wins. That view is held by 72% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans, but for different reasons. President Joe Biden has warned about former President Donald Trump's promises to seek retribution against opponents, while Trump says the federal charges against him show Biden has weaponized the government.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Relatively few Americans are excited about a potential rematch of the 2020 election between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump. But more Republicans would be happy to have Trump as their nominee than Democrats would be with Biden. That's according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Randy Johnson, a Republican from Monett, Missouri, says, “I find it sad for our country that that's our best choices.” That apathy from voters comes even as both Biden and Trump, at least for now, seem like they'll easily get their parties' nominations next year. To independent Andrew Collins from Windham, Maine, “This is probably the most uniquely horrible choice I’ve had in my life.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS says it's going to waive penalty fees for people who failed to pay back taxes that total less than $100,000 a year for tax years 2020 or 2021. The agency says nearly 5 million people, businesses and tax-exempt organizations will be eligible for the relief, which totals about $1 billion. The federal tax collector temporarily suspended mailing automated reminders to pay overdue tax bills during the pandemic. IRS official say the pause in automated reminders is behind the decision to forgive the failure-to-pay penalties.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nineteen-month-old Elijah Jack is unable to walk like most toddlers his age. Special needs children like him often take longer than most to become independently mobile. Elijah was one of the first to get a specially designed rolling chair built by a team of biomedical engineering students at Tulane University. He now has mastered getting around on wheels — turning, stopping and steering all on his own. The chair has allowed Elijah to have a whole new level of independence. His mother now does too. She now has time to get other things done since she no longer has to carry him all day.

TROY, Ohio (AP) — More than five years ago, someone left a kitten with twisted back legs at a Missouri animal shelter. The cat was transferred to specialists in Iowa who amputated her left hind leg. She was soon after adopted by a woman who lost her left leg after a near-fatal car accident. Now the duo has partnered with a nonprofit that registers therapy animal volunteer teams. They visit hospitals, nursing homes and even amputee support groups to aid in therapy and other activities to improve well-being in communities. The duo is one of only an estimated 200 therapy cat teams in the United States.

Hidden inside the foundation of popular artificial intelligence image-generators are thousands of images of child sexual abuse, according to a new report that urges companies to take action to address a harmful flaw in the technology they built. Those same images have made it easier for AI systems to produce realistic and explicit imagery of fake children as well as transform social media photos of fully clothed real teens into nudes, much to the alarm of schools and law enforcement around the world. The Stanford Internet Observatory found more than 3,200 images of suspected child sexual abuse in a database used to train leading AI image-makers.

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — New federal guidelines that dropped an abstinence requirement before gay men in monogamous relationships can give blood are opening a new pool of potential donors. They include Dylan Smith, an employee at Bloodworks Northwest in Vancouver, Washington, who was himself barred from donating blood until this month. Smith says being allowed to donate has made him very happy. The American Red Cross began implementing the new U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidance in August. And about half of the 16 independent blood bank organizations in the U.S. that are members of the Alliance for Community Transfusion Services also have rolled out the guidelines, with more expected next year.

Rite Aid has been banned from using facial recognition technology for five years over allegations that a surveillance system it used incorrectly identified potential shoplifters, especially Black, Latino, Asian or female shoppers. The deal announced late Tuesday settles Federal Trade Commission charges that the struggling drugstore chain didn’t do enough to prevent harm to its customers and implement “reasonable procedures,” the government agency said. Rite Aid said it disagrees with the allegations, though the company is pleased to reach an agreement to resolve the issue. It noted that any agreement will have to be approved in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

—The Associated Press

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Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate.

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