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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Hillary Clinton has a lot of celebrity pals on her side, like actress Lena Dunham and singers Katy Perry or Demi Lovato, the latter of whom belted out hits at a campaign concert at the University of Iowa.
It's a play to help the former secretary of state connect with younger voters. But so far, the star power isn't swaying the college set. Many say they prefer her rumpled 74-year-old rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, regardless of whether he got star power behind him or not.
"Bernie appeals more to my cool," said Alex Bare, 19, a University of Iowa student who plans to caucus for Sanders, but said he likes Clinton and came for the free concert in Iowa City Thursday. "He refuses to take money from super PACs. That's a really bold move and for me, that makes him cool."
The push for younger voters comes amid an intensifying battle for the Democratic nomination. While Clinton and Sanders are locked in a tight race in Iowa, and Clinton has held the lead nationally, Sanders has a clear advantage among younger voters. A recent Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa poll forecast that Sanders will have 59 percent of Democratic caucus-goers 45 and under, compared to the 27 percent expected to back Clinton. And in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll Sanders led 60 percent to 31 percent among Democratic primary voters under 45.
"He has the hipster vote," said Erin Kelleher, 26, a graduate student at the University of Iowa, who said she was deciding between Clinton and Sanders. But she said the Lovato show wouldn't sway her because "I don't care about the celebrities."
Sanders has collected some celebrity buddies too. Actress Susan Sarandon and actor Justin Long are appearing at Sanders rallies in Iowa ahead of the Feb. 1 caucus. The campaign also has a number of celebrities doing media outreach on Sanders' behalf, including hip hop artist Killer Mike and musicians from the bands Foster the People and Vampire Weekend. But Sanders is drawing big student crowds without them on the bill.
It's not that the students were negative about Clinton — they simply like what Sanders has to offer more. They are packing his rallies by the thousands because they like his push for free tuition at public universities and his long record on liberal issues. They like that he doesn't take money from political action committees. They even dig his rolled-up shirt-sleeves and his grumpy grandpa demeanor.
Most of all, they love the slogan: "Feel the Bern."
"Bernie gets me stoked," said Ian Wold, 20, a junior at the University of Iowa who plans to vote for Sanders in the state's kick-off caucus.
The fight for younger voters harkens back to the 2008 race, when Clinton lost the youth vote to President Barack Obama. While younger voters tend to be less reliable participants, they can make all the difference in a close race. In addition, young enthusiasm helps a candidate project momentum.
About 1,700 students came to hear Lovato and Clinton Thursday. Backed by a small band, Lovato performed several songs, including her hit "Confident," after which she said "I don't think there's a woman more confident than Hillary Clinton."
Clinton then came on stage and spoke for about five minutes, calling Lovato an "extraordinary young woman" and urging the students to caucus. She drew enthusiastic applause pledging to fight for equal rights and to "take on those big special interests."
Earlier in the day, Clinton held an event at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. The room packed with more than 500 people was largely older. Hannah Friesen, a 20-year-old student who said she was undecided, said that when Sanders came to campus, "a ton" of students attended and some "made their own shirts."
Some students at the University of Iowa and at the concert were Clinton fans. Austin Graber, 22, said he thought Clinton was "the most qualified." And Lauren Ellbogen, 18, said she'd be working at the caucuses for Clinton and said she didn't think Sanders was "realistic."
Huge numbers of young people turned out to rallies for Sanders on college campuses in eastern Iowa over the weekend. Over 2,000 people came to hear Sanders at Luther College in Decorah Sunday morning. Decked out in "Feel the Bern" shirts, students screamed and cheered when Sanders touted his lack of a super PAC and pledged to provide free tuition at public universities. The crowds chanted: "Bernie, Bernie, Bernie," and frequently yelled "We love you Bernie."
Celebrities have been campaigning for Hillary for months. Wearing an American flag cape and a Clinton campaign pin, pop starlet Katy Perry performed at a Clinton rally in Des Moines in October. Actress Lena Dunham toured Iowa and New Hampshire and did events in Boston and Chicago for Clinton this month.
Many students said the Lovato concert was a good move for Clinton, but they weren't all convinced. Jen Moulton, 18, who leans to Sanders, said the concert was "kind of cool, but it comes off like she's trying really hard."
WASHINGTON (AP) — All adults, including pregnant women and new mothers, should be screened for depression as a routine part of health care, a government advisory group recommended Tuesday.
Depression is a common public health problem, and screening simply involves health workers asking about certain symptoms even if patients don't mention them.
The second part of the recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is more difficult — ensuring systems are in place to properly diagnose and treat people identified through screening.
And the guideline, published by the Journal for the American Medical Association, couldn't determine how often adults should be screened.
Some things to know about depression:
DEPRESSION IS MORE THAN NORMAL SADNESS
Officially called major depressive disorder, depression interferes with people's ability to function in their daily lives and can even lead to suicide. Nearly 7 percent of U.S. adults experience a depressive episode each year, the National Institute of Mental Health estimates. Symptoms can include persistent sadness, feeling hopeless, difficulty concentrating, problems sleeping and loss of interest in once-pleasurable activities. People sometimes also experience physical symptoms, such as headaches or back pain, which can confuse diagnosis.
NO SINGLE CAUSE
Depression can affect anyone, and there are multiple risk factors. A personal crisis, such as loss of a loved one, sometimes precedes depression, but it also can occur without any obvious trigger. Depression and other mood disorders tend to run in families, and depression frequently accompanies serious physical disorders.
Hormones can play a role, during pregnancy and after a woman gives birth. The task force cited a study that found about 10 percent of new mothers experienced a postpartum depression episode, more serious and lasting longer than so-called "baby blues."
WHY SCREEN?
Depression can go unrecognized, especially if patients don't seek a diagnosis. Updating 2009 guidelines, the task force reviewed years of research and said Tuesday that screening for depression remains an important part of primary care for adults of all ages. This time around, the guideline separately addresses pregnant and postpartum women, concluding they, too, benefit from screening.
A variety of screening questionnaires are available, such as one that asks how often, over the last two weeks, patients have felt bad about themselves or felt like they're a failure, had little interest in doing things or experienced problems sleeping, sleeping or concentrating.
Still undetermined, the task force said, is how often to screen, given that a person's circumstances and risk could change over time.
Those aren't new recommendations; several other health groups also have long urged depression screening, although there's no data on how often it's done. But the task force says one key is that appropriate follow-up be available to accurately diagnose those flagged by screening — and then to choose treatments that best address each person's symptoms with the fewest possible side effects.
SCREENING IS A FIRST STEP
Treatment options include psychotherapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, a variety of antidepressants or some combination. One challenge is that there's little way to predict which patient will respond to which treatment, Dr. Michael Thase of the University of Pennsylvania, who wasn't involved with the task force, said in an accompanying editorial in JAMA. Many antidepressants have modest effects, and typical first-line therapies may not be enough for more severely affected patients, he noted.
Pending a better way to choose, primary care doctors may need to get creative to be sure patients don't abandon treatment, Thase said. He suggested that health workers call to check if patients have filled their antidepressant prescriptions, or trying web-based symptom monitoring to see if they're responding to therapy or need a switch.
A bigger challenge can be finding a specialist to whom primary care doctors can refer their more seriously affected patients, said Dr. Michael Klinkman of the University of Michigan, who also wasn't involved with the task force.
"Either the capacity is not there, or the wait times are so long that a patient who is referred is in limbo for weeks and weeks while they might be fairly sick," said Klinkman, a family physician who works with rural primary care providers to develop needed support systems.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The latest on the fight against the Zika virus that health officials suspect is linked to a wave of birth defects in Brazil. (All times local):
3:00 p.m.
The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico is reporting a jump in the number of mosquito-borne Zika virus cases.
Health Secretary Ana Rius says there are 18 confirmed cases, though none involve pregnant women. Brazilian officials have linked the tropical illness to birth defects.
Puerto Rico epidemiologist Brenda Rivera said Tuesday the majority of cases are in the island's southeast region. She says many of the victims are elderly.
Officials said they are testing more than 200 other potential Zika cases that have tested negative to dengue and chikungunya.
U.S. officials say pregnant women should consider postponing trips to 22 destinations with Zika infections, including Puerto Rico.
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2:55 p.m.
U.S. health officials are putting out advice to doctors on testing newborns for Zika virus, a tropical infection linked to a wave of birth defects in Brazil.
The guidance is for doctors caring for infants born to mothers who traveled to Zika outbreak areas in Latin America or the Caribbean during their pregnancy. The advice covers which situations call for Zika testing and when to do fetal ultrasounds.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the guidelines Tuesday.
Zika is spread by mosquitoes, and in most people causes no more than mild illness. But there's been mounting evidence linking Zika infection in pregnant women to a birth defect in which a newborn's head is unusually small and the brain may not develop properly.
2:40 p.m.
Argentina authorities say they are investigating a possible case of infection by the mosquito-borne Zika virus. It would be a first for the nation that shares a border with Brazil.
Santa Fe Health Department official Andrea Uboldi tells La Red radio that the man is in the city of Rosario and had recently visited Brazil, where hundreds of thousands of cases of Zika are suspected and authorities are investigating a possible link to birth defects.
Meanwhile, officials in the Argentine province of Corrientes have declared an epidemiological alert due to an outbreak of dengue in the area. Dengue and Zika are both transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.