Fred Mogul

When a New York City doctor was diagnosed with Ebola, the epidemiologists knew just what to do: search the city for potential contacts.It's a gig they perform daily with far more contagious diseases.

Surveys show Americans would prefer not to die in a hospital. Yet, in New York City, the majority of people do. But the reason is not simple.

Bloomberg reduced smoking in New York City but failed to match that much copied success with other campaigns, such as one to lower obesity rates by regulating the size of sodas sold in city fast-food restaurants.

As a Dec. 23 enrollment deadline for health insurance that starts Jan. 1 looms, New York state is staffing up its call center and smoothing out the rough spots on its application to meet growing demand. As time runs down, the state is trying to fix technical and design issues that came up when the site debuted in October.

Many health plans being offered on the New York state insurance marketplace do not include some of New York City's biggest hospitals in their networks. And across the state, many doctors say they are not yet participating in exchange plans at all.

A symphony of cicadas has moved up the East Coast. In Summit, N.J., as in other communities, residents find their own ways of living alongside the transient creatures that emerge after 17 years of hibernation.

It's been nearly four tumultuous months since Superstorm Sandy forced the residents of Belle Harbor Manor from their adult home. Last week, the residents, who suffer mental and physical illnesses, were allowed to return home, only to find that things were not at all like they left them.

Repairs to the New York City hospital are expected to allow a full reopening in early February. Engineers have been working around the clock to make everything is ready. Bellevue hasn't been able to care for trauma patients since the storm. That has put a strain on neighboring hospitals.

For years, small churches have been meeting in New York City's public schools. One church, Grace Fellowship, has been gathering at PS-150 in Queens since 2006. In one week, though, they will be evicted. "Freedom for a church to take over a school and convert it to a house of worship is not what our Constitution stands for," says a civil liberties proponent.

Dozens of popular high-end pharmaceuticals — from Lipitor to Nexium to Plavix — are going off-patent in the coming months and years. That will lead to a big drop in drug costs. But analysts say that could be offset by a price increase in other areas.