Richard Besser

Race on for television networks to get into Haiti to report on earthquake. Television news divisions raced to get into Haiti to report on the devastation wrought by a powerful earthquake, a journey made more difficult by the story they were trying to cover.

Race on for television networks to get into Haiti. Television news divisions raced to get into Haiti to report on the devastation wrought by a powerful earthquake, a journey made more difficult by the story they were trying to cover.

ABC News expands medical coverage, hires doctor who led CDC's swine flu response. ABC News has hired a top government doctor as part of an expansion of its medical coverage.

ABC News has hired a top government doctor as part of an expansion of its medical coverage.

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Outbreaks of the H1N1 flu among children attending U.S. summer camps presage a surge in cases this fall as students return to school, an official at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Wednesday.

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Outbreaks of the H1N1 flu among children attending U.S. summer camps presage a surge in cases this fall as students return to school, an official at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Wednesday.

Facing Michigan's latest budget cuts, Kent County health director Cathy Raevsky sized up the local impact: no more nursing visits to new moms, fewer restaurant inspections and reduced communicable disease control. There was a familiarity to the cuts. "I've been doing it for seven years," she said ruefully.

Local health agencies, stretched to meet swine flu scare, say bigger crisis would swamp them. Facing Michigan's latest budget cuts, Kent County health director Cathy Raevsky sized up the local impact: no more nursing visits to new moms, fewer restaurant inspections and reduced communicable disease control. There was a familiarity to the cuts. "I've been doing it for seven years," she said ruefully.

Local health agencies, stretched to meet swine flu scare, say bigger crisis would swamp them. The swine flu outbreak fell short of a full-blown international crisis, but revealed the precarious state of local health departments, the community bulwarks against disease and health emergencies in the United States.

Local health agencies, stretched to meet swine flu scare, say bigger crisis would swamp them. The swine flu outbreak fell short of a full-blown international crisis, but revealed the precarious state of local health departments, the community bulwarks against disease and health emergencies in the United States.

THE INFLUENCE GAME: Impact of administration curbs is uneven as lobbyists hunt ways to cope. Lobbyist Elizabeth Moeller knew Energy Department officials wouldn't let her press them for an economic stimulus project for a California company hoping to turn algae into energy.

EDITOR'S NOTE ? An occasional look at how behind-the-scenes influence is exercised in Washington

The most pivotal moments in the swine flu saga are yet to come.

In swine flu outbreak, key decisions await with limited data; health preparations tested. The most pivotal moments in the swine flu saga are yet to come. Will it sweep through impoverished Southern Hemisphere countries in the next few months? Will it roar back in the rest of the world in the fall? And who will be vaccinated if it does?

Was alarm on swine flu overblown? Some Americans say health officials 'cried swine'. Did government health officials "cry swine" when they sounded the alarm on what looked like a threatening new flu?

Did government health officials "cry swine" when they sounded the alarm on what looked like a threatening new flu?

America's two swine flu deaths ? a toddler and a pregnant woman ? each suffered from several other illnesses when they were infected with the virus, according to a study released Thursday.

2 people who died of swine flu in US had chronic health problems, including asthma. America's two swine flu deaths ? a toddler and a pregnant woman ? each suffered from several other illnesses when they were infected with the virus, according to a study released Thursday.

Was alarm on swine flu overblown? Some Americans say health officials 'cried swine'. Did government health officials "cry swine" when they sounded the alarm on what looked like a threatening new flu? The so-far mild swine flu outbreak has many people saying all the talk about a devastating global epidemic was just fear-mongering hype. But that's not how public health officials see it, calling complacency the thing that keeps them up at night.

Global health chiefs warned against complacency over swine flu Thursday saying one in three people may be infected worldwide if there is a pandemic, as life in Mexico got back to normal.