Drug overdoses, suicides cause drop in 2017 US life expectancy; CDC director calls it a 'wakeup call'

Life expectancy in the United States declined from 2016 to 2017, yet the 10 leading causes of death remained the same, according to three government reports released Thursday. Increasing deaths due to drug overdoses and suicides explain this slight downtick in life expectancy, the US Centers for Disease Control says.