US life expectancy drops again

Life expectancy in the United States dropped yet again as drug overdose deaths continued to climb -- taking more than 70,000 lives in 2017 -- and suicides rose, a US government report said yesterday. The drug overdose rate rose 9.6 percent compared to 2016, while suicides climbed 3.7 percent. As a result, the average life span in America dropped to "78.6 years, a decrease of 0.1 year from 2016," said the report.