Health Highlights: Oct. 6, 2021

U.S. murder rate jumped a record 30% during pandemic. New CDC statistics show that the rate at which Americans lost their lives to homicide rose by almost a third during the first year of the pandemic -- the biggest one-year increase ever. Read more

Tree rings tell tale of bigger, wetter hurricanes tied to climate change. Tree rings from ancient, stately pines on the Carolinas' coast are helping to confirm what many scientists have theorized: That human-made climate change has worsened the severity of hurricanes over the past three centuries. Read more

Substance abuse may leave vaccinated people vulnerable to 'breakthrough' COVID. A new study of more than 580,000 vaccinated Americans finds those with problem drug or alcohol use had double the odds of a 'breakthrough' infection compared to those without these issues. Read more