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With flu season in full swing and the   coronavirus spreading rapidly throughout China, it's more important than ever that people take precautions to stay healthy. Officials in China   have confirmed more than 6,000 cases   of the respiratory illness and 132 deaths, and there have been five confirmed cases of the disease in the United States. As for the flu, there have been at least 15 million American cases this season  as of Jan. 18 , including 8,200 deaths — 54 of which were pediatric deaths. According to the   Centers for Disease Control , one of the best ways to protect yourself from these illnesses is to wash your hands often, and with the right technique. When your hands are clean, you can prevent germs from spreading from one person to another. To successfully wash hands, follow these five steps recommended by the CDC. First, wet your hands with clean, running water — warm or cold. After turning off the tap, apply soap to your hands and rub th...

The helicopter carrying   Kobe Bryant , his 13-year-old daughter   Gianna  and seven others could have potentially avoided the hill that led to their tragic death had it been flying 20 to 30 feet higher, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday. However, NTSB investigator Bill English also noted that there were still surrounding hills that would have required an even higher altitude for clearance. "It’s important to realize that there’s not one hill,” English said   during their Tuesday press conference . “It’s a ravine with undulating terrain, so the small outcropping that had the main impact in it, the main impact was about 20 to 30 feet from the top of that small hill. But there are actually other higher hills surrounding it.” According to the federal agency, the aircraft —   which had been flying in extremely foggy conditions —plunged over “2,000 feet per minute” before   crashing into a California mountain , in what the   NS...