US deaths are down, life expectancy up, but improvements are slowing

NEW YORK CITY, New York: Life expectancy in the U.S. rose last year, and according to preliminary data, there may be another, much smaller, improvement this year.

Death rates decreased last year for most major causes, including COVID-19, heart disease, and drug overdoses, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Thursday. This decline added nearly a year to the av