Three days after pastor Jamie Coots died from a rattlesnake bite at church, mourners leaving the funeral went to the church to handle snakes. Coots, who appeared on the National Geographic Channel’s “Snake Salvation,” pastored the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church founded by his grandfather in Middlesboro, Ky. The third-generation snake handler was… Continue reading Kentucky snake handler death doesn’t shake belief

ATLANTA (AP) — Toddler obesity shrank sharply in the past decade, a new study suggests. While promising, it’s not proof that the nation has turned a corner in the battle against childhood obesity, some experts say. The finding comes from a government study considered a gold-standard gauge of trends in the public’s health. The researchers… Continue reading National drop in obese toddlers, study suggests

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Nearly 1,400 lifers in California’s prisons have been released over the past three years in a sharp turnaround in a state where murderers and others sentenced to life with the possibility of parole almost never got out. Gov. Jerry Brown has let a record number of inmates with life sentences out… Continue reading California ‘lifers’ leaving prison at record pace