(Health.com) -- Progress in the fight against obesity, heart disease, and several other public-health scourges all but ground to a halt in the past year, although as usual a person's chances of being in good health varied widely by location, according to the latest state-by-state rankings of the nation's health. As they have in the past, northeastern states dominated the top of the rankings, while states in the southeastern United States were clustered at the bottom. Vermont -- with its low rate of infectious disease, high use of early prenatal care, and relative lack of violent crime -- was deemed the healthiest state for the second year in a row, followed by New Hampshire, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Massachusetts.

The percentage of

OPTIONS:
- Connecticut who are obese rose from 26.9% to 27.5%, and the percentage of those with diabetes also edged upward, from 8.3% to 8.7%.
- Hawaii who are obese rose from 26.9% to 27.5%, and the percentage of those with diabetes also edged upward, from 8.3% to 8.7%.
- Health.com who are obese rose from 26.9% to 27.5%, and the percentage of those with diabetes also edged upward, from 8.3% to 8.7%.
- Massachusetts who are obese rose from 26.9% to 27.5%, and the percentage of those with diabetes also edged upward, from 8.3% to 8.7%.
- Mississippi who are obese rose from 26.9% to 27.5%, and the percentage of those with diabetes also edged upward, from 8.3% to 8.7%.
- New Hampshire who are obese rose from 26.9% to 27.5%, and the percentage of those with diabetes also edged upward, from 8.3% to 8.7%.
- United States who are obese rose from 26.9% to 27.5%, and the percentage of those with diabetes also edged upward, from 8.3% to 8.7%.
- Vermont who are obese rose from 26.9% to 27.5%, and the percentage of those with diabetes also edged upward, from 8.3% to 8.7%.
=====
United States who are obese rose from 26.9% to 27.5%, and the percentage of those with diabetes also edged upward, from 8.3% to 8.7%.


(CNN) -- As I research my family history, preparing a book about my grandmother Madeleine Edison Sloane, "Edison's Daughter," I occasionally come across holiday pictures of Glenmont. This was my great-grandfather Thomas Edison's home in West Orange, New Jersey, and in the pictures it's decorated for the Christmas and New Years' Holidays. Thanks to his invention, the home bursts with light in those pictures; the radiance is almost palpable. All the bulbs were incandescent, of course. There wasn't any other kind, and candles would have been way too dangerous. Light and safety, and low cost, were all great features of Edison's light bulbs.

To my eye, they are just as bright as the ones in the Edison family's Glenmont home at

OPTIONS:
- CNN, maybe brighter.
- Christmas, maybe brighter.
- Congress, maybe brighter.
- David Sloane, maybe brighter.
- Edison, maybe brighter.
- Edison's Daughter, maybe brighter.
- Edisonian, maybe brighter.
- Glenmont, maybe brighter.
- Madeleine Edison Sloane, maybe brighter.
- New Jersey, maybe brighter.
- New Years' Holidays, maybe brighter.
- Sloane, maybe brighter.
- Technological, maybe brighter.
- Thomas Edison, maybe brighter.
- West Orange, maybe brighter.
=====
Christmas, maybe brighter.


The 23-year-old surfer who lost parts of both arms after he was reportedly mauled by two sharks in Western Australia is a keen surfer and football player who was due to play in his football team's grand final this weekend. Mr Pollard, who is from the WA town of Bunbury, was attacked about 11am on Thursday at Kelpids Beach, in Wylie Bay, an isolated stretch of sand near Esperance on the state's far southeast coast. The South Bunbury Football Club paid tribute to Mr Pollard in a Facebook post and pledged their support for their club member and his family.

The man's partner will also being flying with him to

OPTIONS:
- Bunbury, he said.
- Claire Oakford, he said.
- Esperance, he said.
- Facebook, he said.
- Kelpids Beach, he said.
- Perth, he said.
- Pollard, he said.
- Sean Pollard, he said.
- South Bunbury Football Club, he said.
- Victim, he said.
- WA, he said.
- Western Australia, he said.
- Wylie Bay, he said.
=====

Perth, he said.