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December 10, 2015

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ByMariaCheng The Associated Press LONDON There's good news for grumpy women: Being happy apparently has no effect on how long you might live. That's the conclusion of the latest attempt to find out if happy people live lon- ger. Previous studies have linked happiness to lon- gevity but researchers now say there's no such scien- tific connection. So while being sick makes you un- happy, just being grouchy isn't enough to make you ill or shorten your life. The results are based on questionnaires from more than 715,000 British women aged 50 to 69 who were en- rolled in a national breast cancer screening program in the late 1990s. The women were asked things like how often they felt happy and how healthy they were. Nearly 40 per- cent of the women said they were happy most of the time while 17 percent said they were unhappy. Af- ter a decade of tracking the women, 4 percent had died. Scientists found the death rate among unhappy women was the same as those who were happy. The research was published on- line Wednesday in the med- ical journal Lancet. "It's such a common be- lief that stress and unhap- piness causes death and disease but it's actually the other way around," said Richard Peto, a professor at the University of Oxford who was one of the study's authors. "People should fo- cus on the real issues that shorten their lives, like smoking and obesity." In an accompanying commentary, French sci- entists suggested that the results might not be the same in men, since "men and women probably de- fine happiness differently." The researchers said the lat- est paper was the biggest- ever to evaluate happiness and noted it accounted for potential confounding fac- tors. Some previous stud- ies among older adults have found that women were grumpier than men. Peto said the pursuit of happiness is still worth- while, even if it doesn't ex- tend your life. "Happiness is very nice," said Peto, who was relieved to have finished the study after two decades. "I had some of it myself when I was young." But not everyone was convinced by the study's conclusions. Hazel Newton, 69, said she believed having a pos- itive attitude was instru- mental to her recovery from a stroke several years ago. "I've always been a glass half-full kind of person and I think that helps keep you healthy," Newton said while enjoying a day of shopping in London with her sister. The Sheffield native said it's important to con- sciously decide to be happy. "You always have to enjoy every day," she said. "You never know what's coming." MEDICINE FeelinglikeaGrinch? At least it won't shorten your lifespan The Associated Press MEXICO CITY Mexican health authorities approved the first vaccine to gain of- ficial acceptance for use against the dengue virus, which sickens about 100 million people every year, mostly in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Mexico's federal med- ical safety agency said Wednesday the vaccine has undergone testing on over 40,000 patients worldwide. It said Wednes- day the vaccine's manufac- turer had proved its safety and effectiveness, but did not name the drug. In a separate statement, the Lyon, France-based Sanofi Pasteur identified the vaccine as Dengvaxia. Mexico said the vaccine is aimed at people aged 9 to 45, and will be used in areas where the disease is endemic. According to a World Health Organization re- port published in late 2014, the vaccine had an aver- age rate of effectiveness of about 60.8 percent in pro- tecting against the four strains of dengue currently circulating. That is relatively low for a vaccine; common vac- cines like those for measles and polio are more than 95 percent effective. But Dengvaxia appeared to be particularly effective in protecting people who had already been exposed to one of the four strains from catching another strain. That is important be- cause experts believe the most extreme, potentially life-threatening form of the disease — known as dengue hemorrhagic fever, which can cause internal bleed- ing, shock, organ failure and death — may hit peo- ple who have already had one strain, and then suffer a subsequent infection by a different strain. Because of that, Mexico said it planned to apply the vaccine in areas were ex- posure rates to at least one strain were 60 percent or more. Sanofi said in its state- ment that its vaccine was shown to" reduce dengue due to all four serotypes (strains) in two-thirds of the participants." It said it "prevented 9 out of 10 cases of severe dengue and 8 out 10 hospitaliza- tions due to dengue." The federal agency, known by its initials as Cofepris, said the vaccine could help prevent 104 deaths, 8,000 hospital ad- missions and save about $65 million in health ex- penditures annually. Mosquitoes transmit the dengue virus. Symptoms include high fevers and se- vere muscle and joint pain. There's no specific treat- ment for dengue. DISEASE Me xi co ap pr ov es first dengue vaccine By Sara Burnett The Associated Press CHICAGO Mayor Rahm Emanuel, known for keep- ing vise-like control over Chicago and his own po- litical image, finds himself in the weakest position of his long public career as he struggles to respond to a police scandal, claims of cover-ups at City Hall and calls for his resignation. But the former White House chief of staff has said repeatedly that he will not step down. The nation's third-largest city has no process for a mayor to be recalled. And most of the cries for Emanuel to re- sign have come from grass- roots activists and resi- dents, not from the city's political powerbrokers. The next election — should he seek another term — isn't until 2019. On Wednesday, the mayor used a special meet- ing of the Chicago City Council to try to calm the firestorm, apologizing for the fatal shooting of a black teen by a white officer and promising "complete and total" reform. "I take responsibility for what happened because it happened on my watch. And if we're going to fix it, I want you to understand it's my responsibility with you," Emanuel said during a sometimes-emotional speech that lasted nearly 45 minutes. "But if we're also going to begin the healing process, the first step in that journey is my step. "And I'm sorry." TheremarkswereEman- uel's lengthiest and seem- ingly most heartfelt since the public got its first look last month at the squad car video that showed 17-year- old Laquan McDonald veering away from officer Jason Van Dyke before he began shooting, hitting McDonald 16 times. Van Dyke is charged with first- degree murder. Critics have repeatedly accused him of keeping the footage under wraps until after he won a tougher- than-expected spring elec- tion for a second term. The mayor has denied the claim and acknowledged Wednesday that he should have pressed for prosecu- tors to wrap up their inves- tigation sooner so the video could be made public. But his contrition did little to ease the anger in the streets. Hours af- ter the speech, protesters overflowed an intersec- tion in front of City Hall, then marched through the financial district and blocked a major intersec- tion for a short time as po- lice directed traffic around them. Officers guarded the doors to the Chicago Board of Trade as demonstrators approached. Outside City Hall, re- tired schoolteacher Au- drey Davis carried a sign reading, "Mayor Emanuel is morally corrupt!" Calling the speech "po- litically expedient," Davis said, "I don't want to hear anything from him except, 'I tender my resignation.'" Davis, who is black, said she fears for her 25-year- old grandson when he comes home from college. "Each time he comes home, my heart is in my throat in case he meets up with a racist cop," Davis said. "We shouldn't have to live like this." Since the video emerged, Emanuel has scrambled to contain the crisis. He fired his police superintendent after days of insisting the chief had his support. He also reversed course on whether the Justice De- partment should launch a civil-rights investigation, saying he would welcome it only after presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and other top Democrats endorsed the idea. In news conferences, he has appeared worn down, fumbling answers to re- porters' questions or avoid- ing them entirely by walk- ing away, with cameras rolling. "I don't think I've ever seen him grapple with anything quite like this," said longtime ally and ad- viser David Axelrod, who also served with Eman- uel in the Obama White House. Axelrod said Eman- uel worked on the speech all weekend, with input from him and others. But he said the speech alone isn't what matters. "You don't earn trust back with one speech," Axelrod said. "You earn trust back with actions." The most likely effect of the crisis will come in the form of pushback from al- dermen, who have long been considered a rubber stamp for the mayor's ini- tiatives, said political con- sultant Delmarie Cobb. She said the black commu- nity "has been awakened," and Emanuel can expect a tougher re-election if he tries again. "He definitely won't run unopposed, and it will be a viable candidate," said Cobb, who is black. The mayor won re-elec- tion in April by a healthy margin, but only after suf- fering the embarrassment of not getting a majority in a five-candidate February election, forcing the first mayoral runoff in decades. At the time, he pledged to listen more and to "bridge the gaps between the things that divide us." PROTESTS Ch ic ag o ma yo r Em an ue l ap ol og iz es for teen's death, vows reforms CHARLESREXARBOGAST—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Protesters hide their faces from a Chicago police officer videotaping them during a march calling for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez to resign in the wake of a police scandal, Wednesday in Chicago. PAUL BEATY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks during a special City Council meeting that he called to discuss a police abuse scandal Wednesday in Chicago. STOVEJUNCTION The TheNorthState'spremiersupplierofstoves 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Over 25 years of experience Tues-Sat9am-5pm• ClosedSun&Mon Now Carrying! GreenMountainGrills & Accessories Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. 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