In health news, life expectancy in the United States declined from 2016 to 2017, the third consecutive year a decrease has been observed, in a pattern unseen since World War II. The decline is due to an increase in drug overdoses and suicides. A record 70,000 people died from overdoses last year. Drug overdoses linked to the use of fentanyls—highly addictive synthetic opioids—increased more than 45 percent in 2017. Drug overdoses are the leading cause of death for adults under 55.