Sexual activity is on the rise among U.S. teens while the use of contraceptives is sliding in the other direction, according to a study released by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

Findings from the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System show that approximately 48 percent of high school teens say they have had sex, representing 2 percent hike since 2005.

The same survey showed a 2 percent drop-off in the percentage of teens who said they used condoms while having sex.

The CDC questioned 14,041 students in grades nine through 12 in 39 states in the spring of 2007 on a range of risky behaviors, including sexual activity, and drug and alcohol use.

Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.

A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed — 25 percent compared with 12 percent, said the report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

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A teen whose right hand was partially severed during a tug-of-war at a high school pep rally is playing the flute again and doing better than doctors expected, six months after the accident.

Henry Barrett and Mitch Helfer both had their right hands partially severed in the tug-of-war in October.