For some families, warm spring weather can take a devastating turn. In April and May alone, at least eight children – mostly under age 2 – died of heatstroke after caregivers left them unattended in a hot car. Seven children died in May alone, nearly double the average, according to the advocacy group KidsandCars.org. Janette Fennell, the president and founder of KidsandCars.org, told NBC News that the number of children killed by hyperthermia or heatstroke in cars has skyrocketed since...

A city known for a love of hiking, biking and other outdoor activities – even when severe winter weather threatens – is the fittest city in the United States, according to a new ranking from the American College of Sports Medicine. On the other end of the scale is a state also notorious for extreme weather events – though it's tornadoes instead of blizzards. Want to know where your city ranks? Click the slideshow above to find out. To compile...

The South just might rise again. Southerners are the most likely to say the city where they live is getting better, according to the latest release from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. In fact, across the country, Americans are becoming more and more optimistic about where they live, the survey, which is based on telephone interviews with more than 15,000 Americans, found. (ABOVE: The Fittest City in America is … ?) Americans were less optimistic about the future of the cities...

New York City, a town known for a ruthless rat race in pursuit of good business, an apartment or a taxi – not to mention a serious dose of attitude – is the most competitive city in the world, according to a new study from Citigroup. Although residents of the Big Apple are surely thrilled to be on top, all this competition doesn’t necessarily translate into personal or community health. A recent ranking of the fittest cities in the country...

A California man is the first person to die of West Nile Virus this summer, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two other human cases have been reported, one in Mississippi and one in Texas. Animal West Nile infections have been reported in six other states this year, including Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Utah. Last year was the deadliest year for the mosquito-borne disease on record. More than 5,500 people...

Adding a slice of lime to your drink is a refreshing way to beat summer heat, but it could hurt your skin, according to dermatologists. The skin damage comes from “margarita rash” (technical term: phytophotodermaitis), which is a chemical reaction triggered by the combination of certain chemicals found in fruits and vegetables and sunlight. (MORE: The Dangers of Summer) Nicknamed “the other lime disease,” phytophotodermaitis results in a rash that can look like a sunburn, according to the Mayo Clinic....

The Center for Science in the Public Interest publishes two annual lists: The FDA-regulated foods most likely to give you a foodborne illness, and the USDA-regulated meats most likely to give you a foodborne illness. See which foods are most likely to make you sick here. (Thinkstock/Jupiterimages) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says an outbreak of hepatitis A linked to a frozen berry mix sold at Costco has grown to 87 people with illnesses in...

Sunlight gets a bad rap. Its UV rays are the main cause of skin cancer, the most common cancer in the United States. UV rays also age the skin, creating a massive network of blemishes just below the skin’s surface. (ABOVE: The Worst States for Your Skin) But the vitamin D that comes from the sun’s rays – as well as through food sources – might help stave off high blood pressure, according to a meta-analysis involving more than 155,000...

When an outbreak of an infectious disease occurs – thinks SARS or the newly identified MERS virus – human carriers who show no outward signs of the disease are often to blame for the spread of infection. Case in point: Europeans who traveled to the Middle East and contracted MERS caused the first-known cases in Europe after returning to their home countries. People with MERS don’t begin to show symptoms for about nine days, according to the latest estimates from...

The world's population could reach nearly 11 billion by the end of the century, according to a new statistical analysis from the United Nations and the University of Washing Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences. That's about 800 million more people than the last UN projection, which was issued in 2011. (MORE ON WEATHER.COM: 33 Amazing Superfoods for Weight Loss) The projected change in mostly because of fertility rates in African countries, researchers said in a release. The UN...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia says four more people have died from MERS, a newly discovered respiratory virus similar to SARS, bringing the total number of Saudi deaths to 32. Overall, nearly 40 people have died from the virus since September, mostly in Europe and the Middle East, according to local officials and the World Health Organization. Previously, MERS was known as "cornoavirus" before WHO officials dubbed it MERS, for“Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus." The Saudi Health Ministry also...

(Black Mountain Fire Dept. Facebook Page) A six-year-old North Carolina girl has died after doctors suspect she contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) from a tick. Emilee Russell, the daughter of the battalion chief at Black Mountain (N.C.) Fire Department, was vacationing with her family in Texas when she got sick, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports. (MORE: Identifying Bug Bites| Know THIS Before You Hit the Beach) Despite multiple hospitals, doctors and blood treatments, Emilee passed away Wednesday, June 12. "They...