Mike Stobbe

AP Medical Writer
Latest in Safety
The Clairton Coke Works, a U.S. Steel coking plant, is seen Monday, Aug 11, 2025, in Clairton, Penn.
Air Quality Concerns Linger in the Wake of Steel Plant Explosion in Pennsylvania
August 15, 2025
This photo released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, shows recalled Drinkmate 1L Carbonation Bottles.
Drinkmate Recalls Over 100,000 Carbonation Bottles Due to Explosion Risk
August 14, 2025
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Werner Recalls More than 100,000 Ladders Due to Potential Fall, Injury Hazard
August 14, 2025
The Clairton Coke Works, a U.S. Steel coking plant, is seen Tuesday, Aug 12, 2025, in Clairton, Penn.
Incredible Rescue Effort Led to Pulling Workers from Debris of Pennsylvania Steel Plant Explosion
August 13, 2025
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In this Feb. 5, 2016, file photo, the former Oakland Army Base pier at left and the Port of Oakland at lower right in Oakland, Calif. The promise of good, blue-collar jobs in a depressed area is running headlong into environmental sensitivities as officials in Northern California consider a plan to build a marine terminal that would serve as a gateway for Utah-mined coal heading to Asia. The terminal is in West Oakland, a historically black neighborhood that's among the poorest and most polluted in the region.
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Coal Plan Pits Jobs Against Environment
More from Mike Stobbe
In this Oct. 15, 2014 photo, coal miners return on a buggy after working a shift underground at the Perkins Branch Coal Mine in Cumberland, Ky.
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Layoffs Gut Worker Protection Agency
The agency is losing about 850 of its some 1,000 employees.
April 8, 2025
This scanning electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows rod-shaped Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.
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How Officials Cracked Case of Eyedrops That Blinded People
At last count, 58 Americans in 13 states have been infected.
February 28, 2023
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Eye Drops Linked to U.S. Drug-Resistant Bacteria Outbreak
The outbreak includes at least 55 people in 12 states.
February 2, 2023
This undated photo provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows CDC’s laboratory test kit for the new coronavirus.
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In Scramble to Stop Virus, Testing Raises Tough Questions
The questions are global: not just who, when and how to test for the illness, but how to make sure that working test kits get out to the labs that need them.
February 28, 2020
In this Tuesday, April 10, 2018 photo, Marshfield High School Principal Robert Keuther displays vaping devices that were confiscated from students in such places as restrooms or hallways at the school in Marshfield, Mass. Illinois health officials are reporting what could be United States' first death tied to vaping. In a Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, news release, the Illinois Department of Public Health says a person who recently vaped died after being hospitalized with 'severe respiratory illness.' The agency didn't give any other information about the patient, including a name or where the person lived.
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IL Vaping Death May Have Been First
The adult patient was hospitalized after falling ill following vaping.
August 26, 2019
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Beef Likely Cause of Food Poisoning
So far, 109 people have been infected with an unusual strain of the E. coli bacteria.
April 15, 2019
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Food & Beverage
Officials Declare End to Romaine Outbreak
No new illnesses have been reported for a month, and lettuce from the area is no longer in stores or restaurants.
January 10, 2019
This May 17, 2018 file photo shows packs of menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products at a store in San Francisco. On Thursday, May 15, 2018, FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb pledged to ban menthol from cigarettes, in what could be a major step to further push down U.S. smoking rates.
Regulation
FDA Crack Down on Menthols
The move represents a major step to further push down U.S. smoking rates.
November 15, 2018
This Tuesday, April 10, 2018 file photo shows vaping devices, including a Juul, center, that were confiscated from students at a high school in Marshfield, Mass. On Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, San Francisco-based Juul Labs Inc. announced it had stopped filling orders for its mango, fruit, creme and cucumber pods but not menthol and mint. It will sell all flavors through its website and limit sales to those 21 and older.
Regulation
Juul Halts Sales of Some e-Cigs
The move by Juul Labs Inc. comes ahead of an expected U.S. government crackdown on underage sales of flavored e-cigarettes.
November 14, 2018
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1 in 3 Adults Eat Fast Food Each Day
Higher-income families ate fast food more often than lower-income families.
October 3, 2018
In this Aug. 8, 2007 file photo, a Milky-Way candy bar is deep-fried in oil free of trans fats at a food booth at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis. Indiana was the first state to require the switch at its state fair. On Monday, May 14, 2018, the head of the World Health Organization called on all nations to eliminate artificial trans fats from foods in the next five years.
Supply Chain
WHO Aims to Kill Trans Fat
Countries will likely have to use regulation or legislation to get food makers to make the switch, experts said.
May 14, 2018
In this April 12, 2018 photo, scientist Karen Xavier holds a petri dish containing a stool sample of small bacteria colonies in Denver. DNA from samples like these are extracted and sequenced to help health investigators more quickly determine the source of a food borne illness outbreak.
Supply Chain
Genetics Aid Food Poisoning Studies
"There are a lot of outbreaks where they don't connect the dots. Now they're going to be connected," said one expert.
April 26, 2018
This Sep. 9, 2005, photo provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows the then newly constructed 11-story Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory located at the CDC's Roybal campus in Atlanta. Thirteen years after building the state-of-the-art lab for the world’s most dangerous germs, the nation's top public health agency is asking for more than $400 million to build a new one. CDC is asking Congress for the money. Its officials say the current lab building in Atlanta is quickly wearing down, and cannot be upgraded without shutting down the facility for years.
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CDC Seeks $400M to Replace Lab
The agency says it needs a new building, even though its existing facility was just built in 2005.
February 26, 2018
This file photo shows hydrocodone-acetaminophen pills, also known as Vicodin. A government report finds opioid prescription rates have been falling in recent years overall, but rising in more than 1 in 5 U.S. counties.
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Opioid Prescriptions Down, but Not Everywhere
Although the amount of opioids prescribed is down 18 percent nationwide, some areas are six times higher than local averages.
July 11, 2017
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Contaminated Surgery Equipment Linked to Deaths
The manufacturer of the devices identified the contamination in its factory and reportedly cleaned it up, but officials think hundreds or thousands of patients could have been infected.
October 14, 2016