Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Fewer teens are engaging in sexual activity than in the past, and those that do are more likely to use contraceptives, the government said Friday.
The National Center for Health Statistics said that for girls age 15 to 17, the percentage who had had intercourse declined from 38 percent in 1995 to 30 percent in 2002. For boys, the agency said, the decline was 43 percent to 31 percent.
"There is much good news in these results," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said. "More teenagers are avoiding or postponing sexual activity, which can lead to sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy or emotional and societal responsibilities for which they are not prepared."
In addition, the agency said that when teens do have intercourse, 79 percent reported using contraception in 1991-2002 compared with 61 percent in the 1980s.
The report was based on data in the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth and the previous survey conducted in 1995.
Dodge trucks recalledWASHINGTON - Bowing to pressure from federal safety regulators, DaimlerChrysler AG said it is recalling 600,000 Dodge Durango SUVs and Dakota pickup trucks because of a defect that can cause their wheels to fall off.
The recall affects four-wheel drive vehicles from the 2000-03 model years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommended the recall after a 16-month investigation revealed that the vehicles' upper ball joints could fail. If that happens, the suspension can collapse and a wheel can fall off.
NHTSA announced a separate recall Friday of 2004 Durangos because a cable can short-circuit and cause a fire. There are 71,763 vehicles involved in that recall.
On Thursday, after word spread that NHTSA was requesting a recall, DaimlerChrysler acknowledged a problem with the ball joints but didn't believe it warranted a safety recall. DaimlerChrysler says there have been no reported injuries due to the defect.
Also . . .EBERSOL CRASH: Federal authorities disputed a newspaper report that included details from the cockpit voice recorder on the private jet that crashed at a Colorado airport, killing the 14-year-old son of NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol and two other people. According to the Rocky Mountain News story, the recorder indicated that the pilot and co-pilot had checked for ice on the wings. Officials are investigating whether ice contributed to the crash but has not ruled out other factors.
FREIGHTER SPILL: High wind gusting across the Bering Sea hampered efforts to stem an oil spill from a broken freighter, and there was still no sign of six crew members lost when a rescue helicopter crashed in the turbulent waters. Two Coast Guard cutters were standing by the broken halves of the Selendang Ayu, a 738-foot vessel that ran aground Wednesday.