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Ray Allen Speaks Out to Congress About Diabetes Funding - Miami Heat shooting guard Ray Allen was on Capital Hill this week advocating for more government funding for Type-1 diabetes research, MSNBC reported. Allen’s 6-year old son was diagnosed with the disease, which has risen 200 percent in Black children in the past 20 years.  (Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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Blacks With Blood Cancer Don’t Live as Long as Whites - African-Americans with blood cancer have shorter survival rates than whites, says a new study. Researchers are not sure why this disparity exists, but admit that this type of cancer was more aggressive in African-Americans. The Black participants in the study received the same treatment, had the same access to facilities and started treatment at the same time, the Chicago Defender writes. (Photo: LWA/Dann Tardif/Getty Images)

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Will There Be Condoms in California Prisons? - Sex — consensual and forced — is illegal in California prisons, but condoms might be allowed in to bring STD and HIV rates down thanks to a new bill. Bill AB999, which has passed in the state Assembly, would “make condoms available in five prisons by 2015 and expand the program to each of the state's 33 adult prisons no later than 2020,” The Associated Press reported.(Photo: AP Photo/Reed Saxon, file)

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Exercise Is Up, But So Is Obesity - Americans are exercising more than ever before, but obesity rates keep increasing. What’s up with that? A new report finds that the culprit may be large food portions and our inability to curb what we eat, reports HealthDay. Researchers state that people are eating more calories than they are burning off, which leads to weight gain. (Photo: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty Images)

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Are More African-Americans Seeking Therapy? - A new Washington Post article highlights an increase in Black patients that therapists across the U.S. are reporting. While there isn’t a “large scale study” showing specific numbers of this boost, doctors are noting that the African-American community has become a little more accepting of mental health services and claim that the stigma is slowly lessening. (Photo: Alina Solovyova-Vincent/Getty Images)

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Prisoners Claim They Were Unlawfully Sterilized - From 2006-2010, doctors working in California state prisons sterilized 148 female prisoners “without required state approvals,” the Sacramento Bee reported. Prisoners and advocates claim that the doctors manipulated and coerced prisoners into signing up for the procedure. Prison officials claim they only offered these procedures to women who had high-risk pregnancies. (Photo: REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)

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Why “Smoking” Alcohol Can Kill You - The newest trend in drinking — “smoking” alcohol — is worrying public health officials. Smoking liquor makes the alcohol go straight to the lungs and brain, making it easier to overdose than traditional drinking, writes USA Today. Not to mention, this way of drinking is more dangerous given that one’s lungs are not meant to inhale liquor. (Photo: GettyImages) 

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Cutting Heart Disease Risk - The American Heart Association found that getting your blood pressure and cholesterol in check can lower the risk of heart disease by 25 percent. One way the organization believes that can happen is for doctors to prescribe better meds and help Blacks adhere to those meds in order to maintain their cardiovascular health.(Photo: Rick Gershon/Getty Images)

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The 411 on Summer Burns - Summer is known for great weather and good times, but it also increases our risk of being burned. A recent HealthDay article offers up great tips on how to protect your skin this season. That advice includes: Making sure kids wear sunscreen, to always wearing flip flops on the beach to protect your feet and keeping a watchful eye on your grill when cooking outside. (Photo: GettyImages)