Forget the Flu: Guns Cause Far More Deaths

Washington Post probe reveals leading dealers

(NEWSER) - More US guns seized in Mexican drug violence come from Texas than any other state—and more come from Houston than any other Texas city, the Washington Post finds after a year-long investigation. The probe isolated the top 12 US dealers of guns traced to Mexico, and uncovered the biggest: Bill Carter, whose Houston-area chain of stores is the source of more than 115 guns seized in the past 2 years. Of the remaining 11, seven are in Texas, which has 3,800 gun retailers, three are in Arizona, and one is in California. More»

(NEWSER) - Hooded gunmen killed 17 people after storming a Mexican drug and alcohol rehab center in Ciudad Juarez yesterday, Sky News reports. The men, believed to be hitmen from a drug cartel, forced the patients to line up in a corrider before gunning them down. Gangs have targeted rehab clinics in the Mexican border city before, accusing them of sheltering members of rival cartels. More»

(AP) - The swine flu virus has infected the immigration debate, with talk show comments like "fajita flu" and "illegal aliens are the carriers" drawing vehement protests from Hispanic advocates. The volatile immigration issue had cooled off on talk shows and in the blogosphere as the presidential election and economic crisis unfolded. Now, some are using the spread of the virus to renew arguments that immigration from Mexico is a threat to America. More»

It may not be at all; it's probably a measurement problem

(NEWSER) - Why is swine flu deadlier on one side of the US-Mexico border than the other? Writing in Slate, David Dobbs examines some explanations as to why the virus has killed about 100 of 1,600 infected in Mexico, and zero of 300 in the United States. The best bet is actually “bad math,” Dobbs writes. “It's perfectly conceivable Mexico has actually had 10,000 or 100,000 cases—or even 1 million cases.” More»

(NEWSER) - Countries are tightening borders and stepping up containment methods as the swine flu body count continues to rise, the New York Times reports. The disease is suspected in 152 deaths, all in Mexico; 50 US cases are now confirmed from California to New York City. Health officials in Japan and at least eight other Asian countries are now screening anyone arriving from North America. More»