Flu shot doing poor job of protecting older people

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It turns out this year’s flu shot is doing a startlingly dismal job of protecting older people, the most vulnerable age group.

The vaccine is proving only 9 percent effective in those 65 and older against the harsh strain of the flu that is predominant this season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

Health officials are baffled as to why this is so. But the findings help explain why so many older people have been hospitalized with the flu this year.

Despite the findings, the CDC stood by its recommendation that everyone over 6 months get flu shots, the elderly included, because some protection is better than none, and because those who are vaccinated and still get sick may suffer less severe symptoms.

Shoe shiner donates $200K in tips to children in need

Shoe shiner donates $200K in tips to children in need

Mexico security forces accused of abducting, murdering civilians

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Dozens of people were abducted and murdered by Mexican security forces over the past six years during a gruesome war with drug cartels, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday, urging President Enrique Pena Nieto to overhaul the military justice system.

The rights group said that since 2007 it has documented 149 cases of people who were never seen again after falling into the hands of security forces, and that the government failed to properly investigate the "disappearances."

Israel gives OK for oil drilling in Golan Heights

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Israel says it has given the go-ahead for a gas exploration project in the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau it captured from Syria in the 1967 war.

Israel's Energy and Water Resources Ministry said Wednesday it has issued a permit for the American-Israeli company Genie Energy to drill for oil on the plateau. The company is headed by Effi Eitam, a hawkish former Israeli Cabinet minister.

Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 but the world still considers it occupied territory.

Oil permits for the area were stopped 20 years ago during Israel-Syria talks, which were to include a potential return of the Golan. The talks never produced a peace deal.

The drilling permit raises concerns it could draw international condemnation, especially ahead of President Barack Obama's visit to Israel.