Alcohol death toll is growing, US government reports sayNEW YORK (AP) — The rate of deaths that can be directly attributed to alcohol rose nearly 30% in the U.S. during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new government data.Two reports from the CDC this week provided further details on which groups have the highest death rates and which states are seeing the largest numbers.“But it is a leading preventable cause of death.”A report released Friday focused on more than a dozen kinds of “alcohol-induced” deaths that were wholly blamed on drinking.Russia, China block plans for Antarctic marine protectionsClimate activists block private jets at Amsterdam airportMonarch butterflies return to Mexico on annual migrationDeath in US gene therapy study sparks search for answersSuch deaths are 2 1/2 times more common in men than in women, but rose for both in 2020, the study found.The second report, published earlier this week in JAMA Network Open, looked at a wider range of deaths that could be linked to drinking, such as motor vehicle accidents, suicides, falls and cancers."