US life expectancy falls for second straight year as more people die from drug overdoses

Life expectancy in the US is continuing to drop because of accidental deaths from the prescription and illicit opioids that are sweeping the country. This is the second year in a row that life expectancy declines in the US -- to 78.6 years in 2016, down from 78.7 years in 2015 and 78.8 in 2014, according to a report by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The leading causes of death in the US are still heart disease and cancer. But the opioid epidemic is taking a heavy toll -- parti...