Good Morning Qcity! It’s Hump Day. Today the weatherman is calling for more sunshine and highs around 80°.

Did you know that women 40+ are giving birth in increasing numbers? Find out more about that in this week’s “Wellness Wednesday” column. 

Here’s what’s brewing in the news:

Double up for protection

A study of some 3,800 couples from various countries in Africa with one HIV-infected partner found that women using injectable contraceptives doubled their risk of becoming HIV-infected and passing the virus on to their male partners, reports CNN. 

"Among couples in which there was an HIV positive man and an HIV negative woman, if she was using hormonal contraceptive, her risk of getting HIV was doubled," said study author Jared Baeten of the University of Washington in Seattle. "Similarly, in couples where there was an HIV infected woman and an HIV negative man, if the woman was using hormonal contraceptives her chances of passing the virus to her partner were doubled."

The study, which was published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, also showed the risk of infection was significantly higher for women who used injectable contraceptives compared with those using birth control pills. Both injectable and oral contraceptives increased the risk for men, who were twice as likely to become infected with HIV if their female partners used oral contraceptives compared with couples where women used no birth control at all.

The contraceptive used in the study - depot medroxyprogesterone acetate - is one of the most commonly used injectable contraceptives for birth control. According to the National Library of Medicine, the progestin-only contraceptive is considered nearly 100% effective and has been used by millions of women here in the United States.

Researchers say more studies are needed on other forms of birth control containing hormones such as implants and patches and other methods including intrauterine devices. Doctors noted that the study highlights the importance of using condoms in conjunction with other types of birth control.
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Mistake leads to Georgia lottery win

When Kathy Scruggs of Lithonia, GA, walked into a gas station requesting a Mega-Millions lottery ticket, the clerk mistakenly printed out a Powerball ticket. Scruggs, 44, bought both. The ticket that was printed by mistake won her $25 million. Scruggs said when she realized the day after the September 14 drawing that her numbers hit, she woke up everyone in the house. “We were screaming and hollering, and everybody came running,” Scruggs said in a Georgia Lottery news release. “We couldn’t believe it.” She chose the cash option and will receive $15,124,017 before taxes, according to the Georgia Lottery. Scruggs has been unemployed for months and said she plans to use the money to build a home for her mother and her grandmother and to start foundations for the homeless and to provide dental assistance for the needy. No word on whether she’ll give the clerk a cut. QUESTION: What would you do if you won the lottery? (Read more)
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Joel Osteen talks voting for a Muslim president

Famed televangelist and megachurch pastor Joel Osteen says he would vote for a Jewish president. “Sure, I could vote for a Jewish candidate,” he told CNN’s Pierce Morgan. “They are God’s chosen people in the scripture.” Check out his reaction in the following clip when he’s asked if he would vote for a Muslim president. Osteen wasn’t so certain. “Ninety percent of America is Christian,” he says. “I’m pretty sure I would find somebody that more shares my beliefs and is educated and qualified. So, it‘s hard for me to go there.”

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