Elizabeth Nolan Brown

One In Four Getting Divorced Is Over 50: As boomers begin swelling the ranks of 50- and 60-year-olds, they're also driving up the typically-low divorce rate among older adults. The overall divorce rate in the United States has declined over the past two decades, but divorce among those 50 to 65 has…

Once again, the federal government will run out of money in a few days unless Congress acts. And once again, partisan gridlock is hampering action.

Ambiguity regarding older adults and cancer screenings abounds"”but many adults 75 and older are still getting tested, a new study finds. And jazz musicians in New York City are pushing for pension benefits from union nightclubs.

Retirement age for public sector workers"”government employees, teachers, firefighters, trash collectors"”is becoming a topic of fierce friction nationwide. And the lines between hospitals, insurance companies and doctors are blurring, as the health care law awaits Supreme Court consideration and the 2014 start date of the individual insurance mandate.

Substances women voluntarily expose themselves to"”fatty food, alcohol, cigarettes, hormone replacement drugs"”are upping breast cancer risk much more than additives or environmental pollutants. And the housing crisis has made it hard for many older adults to sell their homes, further driving up demand for in-home health care.

The college campuses and towns of the not-so-distant future are likely to be filled with more seniors than ever before"”and we're not talking about upperclassmen. And the United Health Foundation has just released its 2011 rankings of America's healthiest and unhealthiest states.

The average Medicare patient saved $569 this year in prescription drug costs because of a drug discount program created by the 2010 health care overhaul. And this Dec. 7, the 70th Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, will be the last one marked by the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.

A study of 14,000 middle-aged men found a man's fitness level was more important to his overall health and longevity than how much he weighed. And complaints about airport security screenings by two 80-something women are raising questions about how to screen older adults and people with medical devices without causing embarrassment.

A look at recent Census Bureau data on America's surging 65 and older population"”including the 90+ population boom.

American the Beautiful"”and Gray: Census Bureau data released this week shows that the senior population of this country is higher than it's ever been before. According to 2010 numbers, there are 40.3 million people ages 65+ in the United States, an increase of over 5 million since the 2000 Census. These days, one in every eight Americans"”or 13 percent of the total population"”is 65 or older. And the unemployment rate in November fell to 8.6 percent"”the biggest drop since the beginning of the economic downturn.