State and federal lawmakers are investigating the cost of generic drugs.

A Senate panel met last week to investigate price increases for generic drugs.

The meeting was sparked by the fact that half of generic prescription drugs increased in price over the past year. About 10 percent more than doubled in cost.

Some of those drugs sell in Canada for much less.

Now lawmakers are considering making it legal to buy medicine from other countries.  There's no word as to when that could happen.

Study: Teens not as lonely as parents, have fewer close friends

It looks like today's generation of teenagers are not as lonely as their parents.

A new study published this week shows a decline in loneliness among American high school and college students.

The data was studied from 1978 to 2009.

Researchers say social media and the Internet gives teens a feeling of connectivity.

Here's another interesting note: the study finds teens today don't have as much empathy, and they're less likely to join clubs.

Also, the study says they make fewer close friends than prior generations.

New strain of bird flu spreading

World health officials are keeping an eye on a new strain of bird flu found on farms in Britain and the Netherlands.

Now the virus has been reported in Germany among domesticated and wild birds.

The new virus - known as H5N8 - was the same strain that hit birds in China, Japan and South Korea this year.

It hasn't spread to humans, but it is related to the H5N1 bird flu that caused an epidemic back in 2005 and 2006.