Editorial Roundup: Excerpts From Recent Editorials in Newspapers in the US and Abroad. Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

First US county-level obesity rates show Alabama, Mississippi communities at top, CDC says. The first county-by-county survey of obesity reflects past studies that show the rate of obesity is highest in the Southeast and Appalachia. High rates of obesity and diabetes were reported in more than 80 percent of counties in the Appalachian region that includes Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, according to the new research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has promised severe punishment for officials caught concealing deaths from H1N1 swine flu after a medical expert said suspect cases may have been held back by local governments.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Women in the United States should start cervical cancer screening at age 21 and most do not need an annual Pap smear, according to new guidelines issued on Friday that aim to reduce the risk of unnecessary treatment.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Women in the United States should start cervical cancer screening at age 21 and most do not need an annual Pap smear, according to new guidelines issued on Friday that aim to reduce the risk of unnecessary treatment.

AP IMPACT: US distribution of swine flu vaccine is uneven, confusing; complaints abound. When the nation's swine flu vaccination program began in early October, health officials predicted it was going to be "messy." They were right.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As U.S. health officials struggle to vaccinate tens of millions of Americans against the pandemic of swine flu, some are looking regretfully at one easy way to instantly double or triple the number of doses available -- by using an immune booster called an adjuvant.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As U.S. health officials struggle to vaccinate tens of millions of Americans against the pandemic of swine flu, some are looking regretfully at one easy way to instantly double or triple the number of doses available -- by using an immune booster called an adjuvant.

OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian health authorities said on Friday they have discovered a potentially significant mutation in the H1N1 influenza strain that could be responsible for causing the severest symptoms among those infected.

CDC: 4 people in NC test positive for Tamiflu-resistant swine flu, first such US cluster. Health officials say four people in North Carolina have tested positive for a type of swine flu that's resistant to the drug Tamiflu.

Health officials say four people in North Carolina have tested positive for a type of swine flu that's resistant to the drug Tamiflu.

Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, health officials said Friday.

US officials Friday said infections from A(H1N1) virus had slowed in the United States this week, raising hopes the early roll-out of vaccines may be bringing the disease under control.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the United States, health experts said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the United States, health experts said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the United States, health experts said on Friday.

CDC: 4 people in NC test positive for Tamiflu-resistant swine flu, first such US cluster. Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, health officials said Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the Northern Hemisphere, global health officials said on Friday, but they cautioned it was far from over.

AP News in Brief. Three Democratic moderates to decide fate of health bill ? for now ? in crucial Saturday vote

When Robin Webb lived in New York City, he was treated by HIV specialists and had access to counseling and nutritional programs. Now he lives in Mississippi, where few of those services exist.