KHN: Anti-Abortion Activists Rally In DC In A Watershed Moment For Their Movement
Thousands of anti-abortion activists descended on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20 for the annual March for Life, a long-standing rally held for the first time since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, rescinding a constitutional right to abortion. In this report co-produced by PBS NewsHour, KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney spoke with activists gathered in Washington about what this moment means for them and the future of the broader anti-abortion movement. (1/23)

Reuters: Abortion Opponents Call For Stricter Bans At First Post-Roe Washington March
Rally-goers said they wanted to see abortion banned in every state, at every stage of pregnancy. Some held signs that read, "I demand protection at conception" and "abortion is genocide." "I believe that, just like we wouldn't want to murder anybody out here, we wouldn't want to see any of these lives hurt or lost," said Rob McNutt, a pastor affiliated with a crisis pregnancy center in Maryland. "Life begins at conception," said Kathleen Stahl, a 60-year-old nurse from Washington, D.C., who works in maternal and child health. (Borter, 1/20)

The New York Times: Women’s March Holds Nationwide Rallies On 50th Anniversary Of Roe 
National organizers of the Women’s March said their emphasis on widespread local actions — about 200 were scheduled in 46 states — reflected the recent loss of federal protection, and the prime importance, now, of state politics. “The fight at the federal level just has nowhere left to go,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, the executive director of Women’s March, the advocacy group that grew out of the first march. “The theater of the battle has shifted from national protections, which are gutted. All of the fights for the years to come will be at the state level.” (Russell and Sasani, 1/22)

The 19th: Post-Roe March For Life Showed Anti-Abortion Activists Are Far From Done
The March for Life, an annual mega-gathering of anti-abortion activists in Washington, D.C., started out as a protest of the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. On Friday — ahead of the 50th anniversary of Roe, which was overturned last year — the March for Life carried on as a celebration and put on display that the goals of the nation’s anti-abortion movement go far beyond the end of a federal right to abortion. (Barclay, 1/20)

From Wisconsin —

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Women’s March Draws More Than A Thousand To Madison On 50th Anniversary Of Roe
More than a thousand protesters filled the state Capitol on Sunday to demonstrate their opposition to last year's landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that pushed abortion clinics across the state to close and made Wisconsin the epicenter of a national battle over abortion access. (Beck, 1/22)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: HHS Secretary, On Wisconsin Visit, Hears Complaints About Abortion Ban
The Biden Administration's top health care official said Friday that he found it a "jarring experience" to be in Wisconsin to mark the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision after spending Thursday in Minnesota. "It's a tale of two cities, and in the worst way," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said during a discussion with health care providers at the Cudahy Health Department. (Looby and Van Egeren, 1/20)

Also —

Axios: Roe's 50th Anniversary: Where The Abortion Fight Goes Now
Both sides in the abortion fight are trying to claim symbolic high ground on Sunday's 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade while looking ahead to a new phase that will be largely fought in state capitals and the courts. (Gonzalez, 1/22)

Roll Call: Post-Roe, Anti-Abortion Groups Move Toward Policy Push 
Thousands of anti-abortion activists gathered on the National Mall on Friday for the movement’s biggest annual rally, marching this year for the first time to the Capitol rather than the Supreme Court — a signal that their fight against legalized abortion has moved to the legislature, rather than the nation’s high court. (Raman, 1/20)

The 19th: Roe V. Wade Anniversary: How Abortion Access Has Changed
Few people could predict precisely what would happen if and when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the seminal 1973 decision that guaranteed the right to an abortion. But what was clear — even months before the court did so this past summer — was that gutting the 49-and-a-half-year-old precedent would unleash legal chaos and uncertainty. (Luthra, 1/20)

The majority of Americans still favor abortion freedom —

NPR: On Roe Anniversary, Americans Say Abortion Policies Are Political
A new NPR/Ipsos poll finds that 3 in 5 Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, although they hold a range of opinions when asked about the exact circumstances. The survey, conducted this January, heard from a representative sample of more than 1,000 adults, including 278 Republicans, 320 Democrats, and 324 Independents. Despite the issue's high profile, more than a quarter of Americans do not know what the abortion laws are in their state, the poll also finds. (Benshoff, 1/22)

Fox News: Biden Issues Memorandum To Protect Access To Abortion Pills 
President Biden issued a presidential memorandum Sunday on what would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade in an effort to protect access to abortion pills across the country. Vice President Kamala Harris made the announcement during her remarks in Florida as she spoke on the administration's efforts to expand abortion rights. "Members of our Cabinet and our administration are now directed as of the president's order to identify barriers to access to prescription medication and to recommend actions to make sure that doctors can legally prescribe, that pharmacies can dispense and that women can secure safe and effective medication," Harris said during her remarks in Tallahassee, Florida. (Chi-Sing, 1/22)

Bloomberg: White House Will Protect Abortion Pill Access, Harris Says
Harris spoke in Florida, a likely battleground state in the 2024 presidential race, and more specifically in Tallahassee, the capital, where Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a measure banning abortion after 15 weeks. DeSantis is considered a leading candidate for the Republican nomination — and Biden has said he intends to seek a second term. (Jacobs, 1/22)

NPR: VP Harris Calls For Federal Abortion Protections On Roe V. Wade 50th Anniversary
Vice President Kamala Harris commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision by imploring Americans to work to enshrine abortion rights into law. "For nearly 50 years, Americans relied on the rights that Roe protected," Harris said at a speech delivered in Tallahassee, Fla., on Sunday. "Today, however, on what would have been its 50th anniversary, we speak of the Roe decision in the past tense." (Heyward, 1/22)

In updates on the Supreme Court leak —

CNN: Supreme Court: Lead Investigator On Dobbs Leak Makes Clear She Spoke To All Nine Justices
The Supreme Court marshal who investigated last year’s leak of a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade has revealed that she spoke to all nine justices and found nothing to implicate them or their spouses. Friday’s remarks by Marshal Gail Curley come after the court’s investigative report on the leak, which was released Thursday, did not specify whether justices had been interviewed, leading to questions as to whether investigators had considered their potential role. (de Vogue, 1/21)

The New York Times: Inside The Supreme Court Inquiry: Seized Phones, Affidavits And Distrust
Last spring and summer, employees of the Supreme Court were drawn into an investigation that turned into an uncomfortable awakening. As the court marshal’s office looked into who had leaked the draft opinion of the decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion, law clerks who had secured coveted perches at the top of the judiciary scrambled for legal advice and navigated quandaries like whether to surrender their personal cellphones to investigators. (Kantor, 1/21)

In other abortion news —

KHN: Abortion Debate Ramps Up In States As Congress Deadlocks 
Anti-abortion advocates are pressing for expanded abortion bans and tighter restrictions since the Supreme Court overturned the national right to abortion. But with the debate mostly deadlocked in Washington, the focus is shifting to states convening their first full legislative sessions since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Although some state GOP lawmakers have filed bills to ban abortion pills or make it more difficult for women to travel out of state for an abortion, others seem split about what their next steps should be. Some are even considering measures to ease their states’ existing bans somewhat, particularly after Republicans’ less-than-stellar showing in the 2022 midterm elections and voters’ widespread support for abortion on state ballot measures. (Rovner, 1/23)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Groups Push Georgia Lawmakers To Completely Ban Abortion
Drawing a slightly smaller crowd than in previous years, anti-abortion advocates gathered outside the Georgia Capitol on Friday to stress that last year’s overturning of Roe v. Wade was not enough — they want a total ban on abortion. The annual event organized by Georgia Right to Life is held to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the now-moot U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade that guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. (Prabhu, 1/20)

The Texas Tribune: In Texas’ First Post-Roe Legislative Session, There’s A New Political Power Dynamic On Abortion
For decades, the abortion battle lines in the Texas Legislature were as clearly drawn as they were deeply entrenched. Every two years, Republicans would try to find new and novel ways to outwit Roe v. Wade, while Democrats relied on the courts as a bulwark against further restrictions. But now, the deed is done, the war is won and abortion is almost entirely banned in Texas. The number of monthly legal abortions in the state has dwindled into the low single digits. (Klibanoff, 1/23)

Reuters: Judge Rules For Florida's DeSantis Against Prosecutor For Abortion Stance 
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, considered a possible 2024 Republican presidential contender, will not be forced to reinstate an elected state prosecutor he suspended over his pledge not to bring criminal cases against people seeking or providing abortions, a federal judge ruled on Friday. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle in the state capital, Tallahassee, ruled against prosecutor Andrew Warren, a Democrat, in his lawsuit seeking to be reinstated as head of the state attorney's office in Tampa. DeSantis on Aug. 4 barred Warren from performing any official "act, duty or function of public office." (Scarcella, 1/20)

NPR: Post-Roe, Abortion Providers Are Shifting Their Strategies
The CHOICES clinic in Memphis, Tenn., opened in 1974 in direct response to the Roe v. Wade decision a year earlier. When the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would take up the Dobbs case, CHOICES president and CEO Jennifer Pepper says it was clear what was coming. "We knew immediately that meant we would lose abortion access in Tennessee in the next 12 months, and so we began to plan," Pepper says. "It has been a wild ride." (McCammon, 1/22)

MPR News: Minnesota, Seen As Abortion Haven, Still Funds ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’
Fifty years after Roe v. Wade was decided and seven months after it was overturned, Gov. Tim Walz is set to debut his latest budget that may include the possible end of a little-known 18-year-old program that supports “crisis pregnancy centers,” which are non-medical anti-abortion organizations that deceive pregnant people and discourage abortion. (Stroozas, 1/23)

NBC News: After Baby Formula Problems, Abbott Laboratories Under DOJ Investigation
Abbott Laboratories is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, the company confirmed Friday, almost a year after it shut down a Michigan baby-formula plant after illnesses were reported. Abbott did not specify what aspect of the company is under Justice Department scrutiny. (Strickler, 1/21)

Axios: DOJ Investigating Abbott Over Infant Formula Plant
Abbott has maintained that there is no conclusive evidence linking its formulas to the infant illnesses and deaths attributed to Cronobacter sakazakii, the bacterium that was found in an area of the Michigan plant. The company says it did not come into contact with the formula.(Chen, 1/20)

President Biden's former covid czar will become his chief of staff —

Politico: What Kind Of Chief Of Staff Will Zients Be? Look At His Stint As Covid Czar
When Joe Biden won the presidency, he promised that his first priority would be to end the Covid crisis responsible at the time for more than 3,000 deaths a day. He then turned to Jeff Zients to make that pledge come true. A longtime corporate executive, Zients had no public health experience and little in the way of expertise in fighting pandemics. But during more than a year as the White House’s Covid response czar, he led a sweeping governmental effort to rein in the virus, spearheaded a complex national campaign to vaccinate the vast majority of the nation, and ultimately charted a path for the nation out of a once-in-a-century health emergency. It set Zients, who won internal praise for his managerial prowess, on course for his next high-profile job as Biden’s newest chief of staff. (Cancryn, 1/22)

The Washington Post: Jeff Zients To Be Biden’s Next Chief Of Staff 
Zients first entered government during the Obama administration and ended up serving in multiple senior roles, including running the Office of Management and Budget and the National Economic Council. He developed a reputation as “Mr. Fix-It” for his strong operational skills, including helping to fix the troubled rollout of the Obama administration’s health-care website, healthcare.gov. (Pager and Abutaleb, 1/22)

In health news from Capitol Hill —

Reuters: Trump Warns U.S. House Republicans Not To Touch Social Security, Medicare
Former President Donald Trump warned his fellow Republicans on Friday not to "destroy" federal retirement and health benefits as they try to exact spending cuts from President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies in the looming debate over the debt ceiling. "Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security," Trump said in a two-minute video message posted to social media that could test his influence among Republicans who now control the U.S. House of Representatives. (Morgan, 1/20)

The New York Times: The December Omnibus Bill’s Little Secret: It Was Also A Giant Health Bill 
The giant spending bill passed by Congress last month kept the government open. But it also quietly rewrote huge areas of health policy: Hundreds of pages of legislation were devoted to new health care programs. The legislation included major policy areas that committees had been hammering away at all year behind the scenes — like a big package designed to improve the nation’s readiness for the next big pandemic. It also included items that Republicans had been championing during the election season — like an extension of telemedicine coverage in Medicare. And it included small policy measures that some legislators have wanted to pass for years, like requiring Medicare to cover compression garments for patients with lymphedema. (Sanger-Katz, 1/22)

Reuters: Omicron Subvariant XBB.1.5 Makes Up Nearly Half Of U.S. COVID Cases- CDC 
The fast-spreading Omicron XBB.1.5 is estimated to make up nearly half of U.S. COVID-19 cases, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed on Friday, putting it on track to become the dominant subvariant in the country. It is estimated to account for 49.1% of COVID cases in the country in the week ended Jan. 21, a jump from 37.2% last week. (1/20)

CIDRAP: US Sees Little Sign Of Post-Christmas COVID Bump; XBB.1.5 Continues Rise 
Most US COVID-19 markers declined last week, but health officials are closely watching the continued steady rise of the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant, which is already dominant in much of the East and rising in all regions of the country. In its pandemic updates today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also unveiled two new dashboards for tracking hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits for three respiratory diseases: COVID-19, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). (Schnirring, 1/20)

The Washington Post: Covid, Flu, RSV Declining In Hospitals As 'Tripledemic’ Threat Fades 
So many patients sick with RSV had inundated Connecticut Children’s Medical Center that they had to be treated in hallways and playrooms. Facing their busiest season in memory last fall, hospital leaders floated a plan to enlist the National Guard to set up tents outside. Doctors braced for a dire winter — a looming disaster some dubbed a “tripledemic” — with flu season revving up, coronavirus roaring back and the holidays providing fuel for viruses to spread. But no such surge materialized. The RSV wave has receded in Connecticut and across the country. Flu cases have rapidly dwindled. Covid hospitalizations rose briefly after Christmas, only to fall again. (Nirappil, 1/22)

Knowable Magazine: Viral Interference: Why Did Flu, RSV Disappear During Early Pandemic?
Even more surprising, one particular version of the flu may have gone extinct during the early COVID pandemic. The World Health Organization’s surveillance program has not definitively detected the B/Yamagata flu strain since March 2020. “I don’t think anyone is going to stick their neck out and say it’s gone just yet,” said Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. But, he added, “we hope it got squeezed out.” Such an extinction would be a super rare event, Webby said. (Dance, 1/21)

On mask-wearing —

San Francisco Chronicle: Feds Tell Pharmacies To Give Unused N95s To Health Care Providers
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services is asking pharmacies across the nation that received N95 masks meant to be distributed for free to local communities now to give their unused inventory to health care providers in their region. (Vaziri, 1/20)

AP: Navajo Nation Rescinds Mask Mandate On Vast Reservation 
The Navajo Nation has rescinded a mask mandate that’s been in effect since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, officials announced Friday, fulfilling a pledge that new tribal President Buu Nygren made while campaigning for the office. The mandate was one of the longest-standing anywhere in the U.S. and applied broadly to businesses, government offices and tourist destinations on the vast reservation, which extends into New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. The tribe at one point had one of the highest coronavirus infection rates in the country and among the strictest measures to help prevent the spread of the virus. (Fonseca, 1/20)

San Francisco Chronicle: COVID In California: Wachter Says He Will Mask ‘Likely Forever’ In Some Situations
In his most recent COVID-19 risk analysis for his social media followers, UCSF’s Chair of Medicine Dr. Bob Wachter said he is once again ready to let down his guard. “I’m changing my behavior. In the Bay Area, I’m now OK with indoor dining & removing my mask for small group gatherings,” he said in a long Twitter thread posted on Thursday. (Vaziri, 1/20)

More on the spread of covid —

The Washington Post: NIH Biosecurity Report Urges Tighter Oversight Of Pathogen Research 
Scientists advising the National Institutes of Health on Friday released a draft report urging intensified government oversight of experiments on dangerous pathogens, including broadening the definition of the kinds of pathogens that could trigger a pandemic. The new report from two biosecurity working groups echoes their preliminary recommendations released last fall, which said the definition of “enhanced potential pandemic pathogens” should cover not just the most lethal viruses and bacteria, but also less deadly pathogens that are extremely transmissible — a description that fits the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. (Achenbach, 1/20)

CIDRAP: 'A Failure Of Border Control': Restrictions Didn't Stop SARS-CoV-2 From Flying To UK 
SARS-CoV-2 genetic material was discovered in the wastewater of nearly all planes arriving at three international airports in the United Kingdom, despite COVID-19 travel restrictions in place during that time, reveals a study published yesterday in PLOS Global Public Health. (Van Beusekom, 1/20)

On the vaccine rollout —

NPR: COVID Vaccine Strategy To Get An Overhaul By FDA
The Food and Drug Administration is considering a major shift in the nation's COVID-19 vaccine strategy, NPR has learned. The goal is to simplify vaccination against COVID and perhaps adopt an approach similar that used for the flu vaccine, with annual updates to match whatever strain of the virus is circulating. This is according to a federal official who spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. (Stein, 1/23)

CIDRAP: US Adults Cite Misbeliefs About Eligibility, Immunity For Not Getting COVID Booster 
An online survey of 1,200 previously vaccinated US adults reveals that the most-cited reasons for not getting a bivalent (two-strain) COVID-19 booster dose were lack of awareness about eligibility and overestimations of their own existing immunity. (Van Beusekom, 1/20)

CBS News: Easing Prescription Rules For Opioid Treatment Meds Did Not Increase Overdose Deaths, Study Finds
A new study shows that reducing restrictions on buprenorphine, a medication that can treat opioid use disorder, did not lead to an increase in overdose deaths involving the treatment. The findings may help allay concerns that making buprenorphine more widely available could lead to more overdose deaths. (Breen, 1/20)

Stat: Study: Buprenorphine Deaths Remain Low Despite Increased Access
The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic led to a sea change in addiction medicine — in particular, increased access to buprenorphine, a drug commonly used to treat opioid use disorder. Now, new data show that despite the medication’s wider availability, deaths involving buprenorphine still constitute a small fraction of overall drug mortality. (Facher, 1/20)

Also —

Axios: Doctors Prescribe Opioids At Discharge Less Often, CDC Data Shows
Doctors sent patients home with opioids after emergency department visits about 8% of the time in 2019–2020, down from about 12% in 2017–2018, according to figures released today by the CDC. It continues a downward trend line from about 21.5% of emergency department discharges in 2010–2011 that resulted in an opioid prescription and a signal that efforts to educate doctors and reduce the use of opioids have gained traction. (Reed, 1/20)

New Hampshire Public Radio: 'Tranq Dope' Adds New Risks To NH's Street Drug Supply
Nate Weddle has struggled with heroin addiction for years. He first came to Manchester about four years ago to live in a sober house, and did well there. But moving out on his own was harder than he thought. Since then, he’s gone back and forth between relapse and recovery. “I’m typically proud to be in recovery,” he said. “But unfortunately I’m on the flip side of it now.” (Cuno-Booth, 1/20)

AP: Tennessee Cuts HIV Program With Planned Parenthood Ties 
Top Tennessee health officials attempted to oust Planned Parenthood from a program designed to prevent and treat HIV before eventually deciding to forgo federal funding for the program, despite warnings that doing so will have a devastating impact on marginalized communities, documents show. The decision is the latest development in a ruby red state where abortion is already banned. Republicans leaders, however, have actively tried to cut off public ties with the organization for any other services, due to its long history of offering and defending abortion care. (Kruesi, 1/20)

NBC News: Tennessee Says It's Cutting Federal HIV Funding. Will Other States Follow?
The move stunned HIV experts. "I can't understand why the state would give back funds targeted toward health care," said Diane Duke, president and chief executive officer of Friends for Life, a Memphis group that provides services to people living with HIV. Friends for Life was among the groups that received notice from the state. "It's outrageous," she said. (Edwards, 1/21)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

AP: Washington Bill Would Lower Legal Blood Alcohol Level Limit
A bill under consideration in Washington would make it the second state in the country to lower the legal limit for a driver’s blood alcohol content from 0.08% to 0.05%. State Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, is Senate Bill 5002′s primary sponsor. The former state trooper and former Snohomish County sheriff said this week that of the more than 700 people killed on Washington roads last year, over half were DUI-related. (Baumann, 1/20)

Los Angeles Times: Fewer Medi-Cal Patients Got Hepatitis C Treatment Amid COVID
Fewer people have gotten crucial medication for hepatitis C under Medi-Cal in recent years, troubling advocates who have pushed to expand the lifesaving treatment. Hepatitis C, a slow-moving virus that can lead to liver cancer, cirrhosis and death, can now be cured in most cases with a few months of direct-acting antiviral medication. California has taken steps to dismantle barriers to obtaining the pills under Medi-Cal, the California Medicaid program, including eliminating requirements for prior authorization. (Alpert Reyes, 1/22)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Psychologists Want The Power To Prescribe Medication
Colorado, in the middle of a mental health crisis for all ages, has about 3,200 psychologists statewide who provide addiction counseling and talk therapy. What they can’t do is prescribe medications. (Brown, 1/20)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Mental Health Advocates Applaud Recent Funding In Nevada’s Services, But Say More Is Needed
Significant. Historical. Unprecedented. These are just some of the words state administrators, advocates and service providers use to describe recent investments in Nevada’s mental health services. A majority of those funds, which came from the American Rescue Plan Act, were approved by the Interim Finance Committee during its August and October meetings, totaling more than $59 million. (Avery, 1/20)

The New York Times: Families Struggle As Pandemic Program Offering Free School Meals Ends 
Like other parents, April Vazquez, a school nutrition specialist in Sioux Falls, S.D., is cutting coupons, buying in bulk and forgoing outings and restaurant meals. Still, a hot lunch in the school cafeteria for her three children is now a treat she has to carefully plan in her budget. The expiration of waivers that guaranteed free school meals for nearly 30 million students across the United States during the pandemic has meant that families like Ms. Vazquez’s who earn just over the income threshold no longer qualify for a federal program allowing children to eat at no cost. (Qiu, 1/22)

Des Moines Register: Iowa Town's Drinking Water Contamination Returns After Testing Ends
Four years ago, John O’Connell was told the water at his house was finally safe to drink. For more than a decade, an agricultural company had supplied him and some of his neighbors with bottled water while it attempted to clean the nitrate, herbicides and pesticides from the soil of its former location not far from O’Connell’s back yard. In December 2018, the now-Colorado company sent him a letter with “good news.” (Strong, 1/22)

AP: Police: Woman Fatally Shoots Dying Husband At Hospital 
A woman fatally shot her terminally ill husband inside a Florida hospital on Saturday and then barricaded herself in his room for four hours before surrendering, Daytona Beach officials said. Ellen Gilland, 76, told officers that her 77-year-old husband Jerry Gilland had been ill for some time and they had planned the shooting together, police spokeswoman Carrie McCallister said. (1/21)

AP: Gunman In Lunar New Year Massacre Found Dead; Motive Unclear
Authorities searched for a motive for the gunman who killed 10 people at a Los Angeles-area ballroom dance club during Lunar New Year celebrations, slayings that sent a wave of fear through Asian American communities and cast a shadow over festivities nationwide. The suspect, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Sunday in the van that authorities say he used to flee after being prevented from attacking another dance club. (Taxin and Dovarganes, 1/23)

The Washington Post: Monterey Park Shooter's Motive Unclear After Massacre Leaves 10 Dead 
The massacre unfolded just as the Monterey Park community had begun to celebrate the arrival of the Lunar New Year. It sent a wave of fear through this predominantly Asian suburb of Los Angeles, turning a festive occasion into one marked by grief and shock. ... “Monterey Park should have had a night of joyful celebration of the Lunar New Year,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said on Twitter Sunday morning. “Instead, they were the victims of a horrific and heartless act of gun violence.” (Werner, Shammas, Kornfield and Slater, 1/22)

The New York Times: A 26-Year-Old Coder Wrested An Assault Pistol From The Gunman’s Hands, Preventing A Greater Tragedy.
Saturday night was winding down at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio, with less than a half-hour to go until closing. There were three people left on the spacious dance floor. Brandon Tsay, the third-generation operator of the family-run dance hall in Alhambra, was in the office off the lobby, watching the ballroom, when he heard the front doors swing close and a strange clang that sounded like metallic objects hitting one another. He turned around to see a semiautomatic assault pistol pointed at him. (Kim, 1/23)

Los Angeles Times: Two 'Heroes’ Grabbed Lunar New Year Suspect’s Gun, Likely Preventing Second Attack, Sheriff Says 
After opening fire at a Monterey Park dance studio Saturday night, the Lunar New Year gunman went to a second dance facility not far away in Alhambra, which officials said appeared to be his next target. But when he arrived at Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio in Alhambra, he faced resistance. “The suspect walked in there, probably with the intent to kill two more people,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. “But two community members disarmed him, took possession of his weapon, and the suspect ran away.” (Winton and Wick, 1/22)

Also —

The Washington Post: Safe Haven For Asian Immigrants Now Shares In Tragedy Of Gun Violence
The man who carried out the Saturday night shooting has been identified as Huu Can Tran, a 72-year-old old man of Asian descent. He was found dead on Sunday behind the wheel of a white van, and his motive remains unclear. But in the cool winter light of day, this city of about 60,000 people has turned sharply from a venue for celebration to one of grief, from suburban calm to frightening revelation. Despite its remove from Los Angeles County’s more violent neighborhoods, Monterey Park is just as vulnerable to gun violence in a state that has tried more than most to corral it with laws and regulations, many of its fearful residents said in the aftermath. Investigators are still determining if its ethnic character played any role in the attack, city and regional officials said. (Wilson, Thebault and Guo, 1/22)

The Washington Post: California’s Strict Gun Laws Don't Eliminate Violence, But They Have Helped 
California has a reputation as a tough place to buy a gun.It’s home to mandatory waiting periods and background checks for firearms purchases. It bans so-called military-style assault weapons, one of just eight states, plus D.C., with such a law. And in 2016, it became one of the first states to pass a red-flag law, which allows authorities to remove firearms from someone believed to be a danger to themselves or others. ... But Saturday night’s horrific mass killing at a Monterey Park dance hall shows how the state’s strict gun laws are incapable of fully preventing gun violence in a country where gun ownership is widely considered a constitutionally protected right, firearms move freely between states with vastly different regulations and gun-control measures are dotted with exceptions. (Wilson and Frankel, 1/22)

The Washington Post: Physical Attacks Track Spikes In Hate Speech On Twitter, Researchers Say
Online researchers say that physical attacks in the United States have been tracking with Twitter spikes in some categories of hate speech, notably antisemitic and anti-gay slurs and rhetoric. New research to be released later this month by the misinformation tracker Network Contagion Research Institute suggests a connection between real-world incidents and variations of the word “groomer,” often aimed at gays and suggesting that they are adults bent on seducing children. Although polls indicate a significant minority of the population believes otherwise, gay people are not more likely to be predators than straight people. (Menn, 1/22)

Los Angeles Times: With A Mass Shooting In The News, Here Are Tips To Improve Your Safety And Your Mindset
A mass shooting can create terror and worry no matter where it happens. But that can feel more pronounced when it happens close to home. ... Experts in self-defense stress that being prepared and conscious of your surroundings is key if you find yourself caught in a violent incident. (Amato, 1/22)

More on the gun violence epidemic —

The Washington Post: Baton Rouge Club Shooting That Injured 12 Was ‘Targeted Attack,’ Police Say
Police in Baton Rouge are looking for at least one suspect after an early Sunday shooting at a nightclub injured a dozen people, including three left with life-threatening injuries. Officers responded to a shooting at Dior Bar and Lounge at 1:30 a.m. Lt. Bryan Ballard, who commands the Baton Rouge Police Department’s homicide division, referred to the shooting as a “targeted attack” during a news conference Sunday evening. (Somasundaram, 1/22)

The Washington Post: School Downplayed Warnings About 6-Year-Old Before Teacher’s Shooting, Staffers Say 
The Virginia teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student repeatedly asked administrators for help with the boy but officials downplayed educators’ warnings about his behavior, including dismissing his threat to light a teacher on fire and watch her die, according to messages from teachers obtained by The Washington Post. (Natanson and Jouvenal, 1/21)

Bloomberg: Toxic Trans Fats Still A Risk For 5 Billion People, WHO Says
Five billion people are at risk of developing heart disease from trans fat due to a lack of action from some governments to curb the use of the harmful substance in food products, according to the World Health Organization. (Pham, 1/23)

In other health and wellness news —

AP: Military Probing Whether Cancers Linked To Nuclear Silo Work 
Nine military officers who had worked decades ago at a nuclear missile base in Montana have been diagnosed with blood cancer and there are “indications” the disease may be linked to their service, according to military briefing slides obtained by The Associated Press. One of the officers has died. All of the officers, known as missileers, were assigned as many as 25 years ago to Malmstrom Air Force Base, home to a vast field of 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile silos. The nine officers were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to a January briefing by U.S. Space Force Lt. Col. Daniel Sebeck. (Copp, 1/23)

The Washington Post: Are Gel Nail Polishes And UV Lamps Safe? Here's What Dermatologists Say
Exposure to ultraviolet radiation is known to cause skin damage, including skin cancer. Now, new research has raised questions about the safety of nail dryers, which use UV light to dry and cure gel nail polish. The study shows long wavelengths of ultraviolet light (UVA) from UV nail dryers can damage DNA and cause mutations in human cells that increase risk for skin cancer. (Bever and Cimons, 1/20)

Capital B: What We Know About Gas Stoves And Black Asthma Rates
Black Americans are 40% more likely to have asthma than white Americans. Black children are five times more likely to be hospitalized for the chronic lung condition. And while asthma-related deaths are decreasing overall, they remain most common among Black Americans. (Snipe, 1/22)

Fox News: After Bills' Damar Hamlin Heart Scare, More Interest In Screenings By Students' Parents, Coaches
The nation rallied around Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin some three weeks ago when his heart stopped after a tackle during a game and he collapsed on the field. Hamlin, now recovering at home, still faces a lengthy rehabilitation. Yet if there is any good to have come from the medical scare, it may be a renewed attention on keeping student athletes safe, experts say. (Castor, 1/22)

CNN: High Egg Prices May Tempt You To Start Your Own Backyard Flock, But Chickens Carry Some Health Risks
With egg prices rising, more people may be shopping for their own backyard chicken flock. But before you build a coop and subscribe to Chicken Whisperer, health experts have a warning: Caring for backyard chickens is not as easy as bringing home a cute new kitten, and keeping chickens can come with a handful of serious health risks, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Christensen, 1/19)

KHN: Journalists Follow Up On Radon Mine Health Spas, Open Enrollment, And Health Fraud 
KHN Montana correspondent Katheryn Houghton discussed Montana’s radon mine health spas on Montana Public Radio’s “The Big Why” podcast on Jan. 18. ... KHN correspondent Julie Appleby discussed this year’s open enrollment period for Affordable Care Act health plans on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” on Jan. 15. ... KHN senior correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble discussed gaps in the government system that bans bad actors from federal health programs on America’s Heroes Group on Jan. 7. (1/21)

On transgender health —

The New York Times: When Students Change Gender Identity, Should Schools Tell Their Parents? 
Jessica Bradshaw found out that her 15-year-old identified as transgender at school after she glimpsed a homework assignment with an unfamiliar name scrawled at the top. When she asked about the name, the teenager acknowledged that, at his request, teachers and administrators at his high school in Southern California had for six months been letting him use the boy’s bathroom and calling him by male pronouns. Mrs. Bradshaw was confused: Didn’t the school need her permission, or at least need to tell her? (Baker, 1/22)

KHN: Transgender People In Rural America Struggle To Find Doctors Willing Or Able To Provide Care
For Tammy Rainey, finding a health care provider who knows about gender-affirming care has been a challenge in the rural northern Mississippi town where she lives. As a transgender woman, Rainey needs the hormone estrogen, which allows her to physically transition by developing more feminine features. But when she asked her doctor for an estrogen prescription, he said he couldn’t provide that type of care. (Santoro, 1/23)

Modern Healthcare: S&P Global: Home Health Agencies Face Defaults, Consolidation
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ small pay bump for home health agencies in 2023 will not keep up with the rising expenses for some providers, potentially leading to credit defaults or consolidation, according to a new report. (Kacik, 1/20)

The Wall Street Journal: High Turnover Of Home Caregivers Makes Life Precarious For Many 
Mary Barket, a 66-year-old widow with a degenerative muscular disorder and no family around to help, has had seven different caregivers come through her home in the past six months. On a recent Saturday morning, she was told by the home care agency that her caregiver wasn’t coming that day and that it couldn’t send a substitute, she says. Ms. Barket had one meal to last her until Monday, when the next caregiver was due. (Ansberry, 1/22)

In other updates from the health care industry —

Modern Healthcare: CMS Aims To Clean Up Medicare Advantage Provider Directories
A merger left Hannah Hale without options. Digestive Health Associates of Texas combined with Texas Digestive Disease Consultants in January 2021 to become GI Alliance, a specialty group that includes nearly 700 gastroenterologists in 14 states. GI Alliance and her health insurance company, Cigna, failed to reach an agreement. But Cigna did not update its provider directory. (Tepper, 1/20)

The Boston Globe: Mass General Brigham Restructures Community Hospitals
Facing pressure to cut spending and distribute patients more efficiently through a crowded system, Mass General Brigham is reorganizing the leadership of its community hospitals and consolidating oversight of its community doctors. The move, executives say, is the latest step in integrating the state’s largest health system, as it tries to move from a federation of hospitals and structures to a unified organization. (Bartlett, 1/20)

Stat: A Different 'RAC' Subsidized Hospitals' Labor During The Pandemic
Hospitals have bemoaned rising employee expenses throughout the pandemic, as they’ve paid workers more to prevent them from jumping to competitors, pursuing traveling gigs, or leaving the profession completely. But some, like those in Texas, have been able to bring in traveling nurses and other temporary staff on the taxpayers’ dime. (Herman, 1/23)

The Boston Globe: Harvard Medical School Votes To Embed Climate Change In Its Curriculum
Intense temperatures can cause hypothermia or heat stroke, particularly among elderly and homeless people, while survivors of extreme weather events such as a cataclysmic hurricane can experience high levels of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to research from the CDC. And, the National Institutes of Health found that changes in air and water temperatures can increase bacteria, parasites, and chemical contaminants in food, according the National Institutes of Health. (Mohammed, 1/20)

PBS NewsHour: How This Law Reshaped Medical Billing, And What Challenges Remain For Patients
One year ago, the United States marked a turning point for health care cost transparency with a new law aimed at helping Americans avoid unnecessary, unexpected medical debt. As of Jan. 1, 2022, health care providers and insurers are no longer allowed to sideswipe privately insured people with bills for out-of-network services. (Santhanam, 1/20)

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: Going Wireless In The Hospital Operating Room; Cleveland-Area Startup Lazurite Wins FDA OK For New Camera To Replace Wired Technology 
We’re living in a wireless world. So why, Eugene Malinskiy wondered, were surgeons still dealing with bulky, heavy wires in the operating room? That question occurred to Malinskiy, a Cleveland-area entrepreneur, when he saw a surgical assistant trip over bulky, heavy cables in an operating room prepped for arthroscopic surgery. (Washington, 1/23)

Chicago Tribune: Outcome Health Execs Head To Trial Over Alleged Fraud Scheme
Much has happened in the world since two young entrepreneurs — once stars of Chicago’s tech scene — were charged with criminal fraud. In recent years, many Chicagoans may have forgotten about the spectacular rise and fall of Outcome Health and its founders. But Chicagoans are about to be reminded, in a big way. Three years after they were charged, the trial of former Outcome Health CEO Rishi Shah and former Outcome President Shradha Agarwal is set to begin this week in Chicago. (Schencker, 1/23)

The Washington Post: Elizabeth Holmes Attempted 'to Flee The Country,' Prosecutors Allege 
Elizabeth Holmes, the former Theranos CEO, booked a one-way plane ticket to Mexico that was scheduled to depart just weeks after she was convicted of fraud in January 2022, a recent court filing says. In the document, filed Thursday, prosecutors describe the booking as an “attempt to flee the country.” Government attorneys learned of the flight three days before its Jan. 26, 2022 departure, and alerted Holmes’s legal team by email. They replied that she had booked the flight before the verdict hoping to attend a wedding in Mexico. Holmes canceled the ticket, “but it is difficult to know with certainty what Defendant would have done had the government not intervened,” the prosecutors wrote. (Ables, 1/21)

The U.S. government wants to hold 'Pharma Bro' in contempt —

Stat: FTC Wants Martin Shkreli Held In Contempt For Violating Pharma Ban
The Federal Trade Commission asked a federal judge to hold “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli in contempt for failing to provide the agency with information needed to determine whether he is violating an order that permanently banned him from working in the pharmaceutical industry. (Silverman, 1/20)

In other pharmaceutical and biotech news —

Reuters: U.S. Fines J&J $9.75 Mln Over Kickbacks To Surgeon For Overseas Surgeries 
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and its DePuy Synthes unit will pay $9.75 million to settle U.S. Department of Justice accusations that DePuy illegally provided free products to a Massachusetts surgeon who used them in spinal surgeries in six Middle Eastern countries. According to settlement papers, the surgeon used more than $100,000 of DePuy's implants and instruments between July 2013 and Feb. 2018 in more than 20 surgeries in Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. (1/20)

The New York Times: N.Y.U. Langone Withdraws From Type 1 Diabetes Vaccine Trial In Adolescents
Researchers at N.Y.U. Langone Health have pulled out of a trial investigating the use of an old tuberculosis vaccine to treat children with Type 1 diabetes only months after they began enrolling participants on Long Island. The vaccine, called Bacillus-Calmette-Guerin, or B.C.G., has generated intense interest among various patient advocacy groups, including those focused on Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, as well as diabetes. ... The lead investigators of the pediatric trial, who are at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, are proceeding with the study, but N.Y.U. Langone’s abrupt withdrawal could potentially jeopardize its viability if they are unable to collect data on the children at the N.Y.U. site. (Rabin, 1/20)

Columbus Dispatch: FDA Approval Of Alzheimer's Drug Lecanemab Brings Hope To Many
Bill Goode first began noticing the symptoms surfacing in his wife, Debbie, around 2011 — minor memory issues and a slight inability to make decisions that he dismissed as the natural process of aging. But in the fall of 2016, the hallucinations began. It became apparent to Bill that something much more serious was happening. That’s when, at the age of 60, Debbie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. (Lagatta, 1/23)

Stat: Researchers Test AI Model To Predict Lung Cancer Risk Using CT Scans
Massachusetts General Hospital is launching a prospective trial of an artificial intelligence tool designed to predict patients’ risk of lung cancer, a crucial area of inquiry amid rising incidence of the disease in never-smokers. (Ross, 1/23)

The Boston Globe: ‘Holding On By Its Fingernails.’ The Biotech Industry In Massachusetts Braces For Another Tough Year
It’s hard to overstate the Boston biotechnology industry’s astronomical growth, which has overflowed from its longtime stronghold of Kendall Square in Cambridge into the Fenway, Seaport, and surrounding suburbs. But by most financial measures, 2022 was a terrible, horrible, no-good year for biotech — here and everywhere else. (Cross, 1/21)

Also —

The Washington Post: Guidelines Suggesting Drugs, Surgery For Child Obesity Get Backlash
Critics on the left have raised concerns about unequal access to treatment, which insurance does not always cover, and worry that earlier medical interventions may create more fat-shaming of vulnerable children. Conservative commentators have suggested that the guidelines offer an easy out for poor lifestyle choices. People on both sides express uneasiness about the potential long-term consequences of putting millions of children on drugs or under the knife, instead of doing more to prevent the condition in the first place. (Cha, 1/20)

The New York Times: New Guidelines Underscore Complexity Of Childhood Obesity 
The American Academy of Pediatrics released new guidance last week about how to evaluate and treat children who are overweight or obese, issuing a 73-page document that argues obesity should no longer be stigmatized as simply the result of personal choices, but understood as a complex disease with short- and long-term health implications. Based on that rationale, the guidelines — the group’s first update in 15 years — say there is no evidence to support delaying treatment for children with obesity in the hope that they will outgrow it. Instead of the gradual, staged approach recommended in the past, pediatricians and primary care physicians should take a more proactive tack, offering prompt referrals to intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment programs, in addition to prescribing weight loss drugs or advising surgery in some cases. (Pearson, 1/20)

The New York Times: Early Abortion Looks Nothing Like What You’ve Been Told 
Jewel is a student in her early 20s who lives in Texas. When her doctor confirmed she was pregnant, Jewel felt panicked. She knew it wasn’t the right time for her to have a child, and that abortion was illegal in her state. (Erika Bliss, Joan Fleischman and Michele Gomez, 1/22)

Scientific American: Antiabortion Heartbeat Bills Are Neither Morally Nor Legally Sound 
These so-called “fetal heartbeat laws” and their underlying talking point that abortion “stops a beating heart” are not only scientifically inaccurate, but they are also morally unsound. (Christina Han and Cara C. Heuser, 1/23)

CNN: On The 50th Anniversary Of Roe V. Wade, I Can't Stop Thinking About How Abortion Changed My Life
On Friday, members of the right to life movement converged on Washington to mark the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. They were also celebrating last June’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision which abrogated it. Among my friends – many of them veterans of the 1970s women’s rights campaigns – there’s no celebration. (Claudia Dreifus, 1/21)

The New York Times: I Don’t Mind If You Say You Have ‘A Little OCD’ 
I‌‌t’s become common for people to use diagnostic terms to describe themselves, saying that they are “sort of autistic” or “a bit bipolar” or “‌‌a little ‌OCD.”‌ Some say they are “addicted” to Twitter. Or they casually toss around trauma-therapy terms like being “triggered.” (Maia Szalavitz, 1/22)

The Star Tribune: A Targeted Rx For Rural Health Care
"One out of every three rural physicians reports planning to leave their profession within the next five years, exacerbating existing shortages," according to the rural health office's sobering 2022 analysis. (1/22)

Modern Healthcare: Automation Can Help Transform Nursing Care, Improve Retention 
The chasm between perception of the nurse’s role and reality can lead to a disconnect that leaves patients feeling neglected and nurses feeling disillusioned. Automating key processes can help healthcare facilities support staff amid the current nursing shortage. It can also help to reverse the trends in how nurses are spending their time. (Julia Bietsch, 1/20)