CNBC: Biden Signs Executive Order Expanding Access To Birth Control
President Joe Biden on Friday signed a wide-ranging executive order aimed at protecting and increasing access to contraception, his administration’s latest attempt to shore up reproductive rights as abortion restrictions rise in many states. The White House announced the order one day shy of the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which established the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S. in 1973. Justice Clarence Thomas suggested in a concurring opinion that the nation’s highest court should revisit similar cases, including those guaranteeing access to contraception. (Constantino, 6/23)

The Hill: Biden Rallies Abortion Advocates: ‘The Court Practically Dared The Women Of America To Be Heard’ 
President Biden on Friday rallied reproductive rights advocates to mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, saying that decision dared women to be heard. “The Dobbs decision, the court practically dared the women of America to be heard. This is what the majority wrote, ‘women are not without electoral or political power.’ You ain’t seen nothing yet, court,” Biden said at the Mayflower Hotel in D.C. Earlier on Friday, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America and EMILY’s List all endorsed Biden’s reelection bid. The rally with the Democratic National Committee and the endorsements come a day ahead of the anniversary of the Supreme Court ending the roughly 50-year precedent set by Roe that guaranteed a right to an abortion. (Gangitano, 6/23)

The New York Times: Biden Denounces Abortion Bans, Warning That Privacy Is Next 
Mr. Biden’s allies on Capitol Hill on Friday also called attention to the issue. House Democrats led by Representative Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts introduced legislation to require insurance coverage to include abortion care, shield patients and providers from criminal charges, and affirm a legal right to abortion and miscarriage care. The bill has no chance of passing the Republican-controlled House but was meant as a signal to supporters. (Baker, 6/23)

Also —

USA Today: Donald Trump Supports National Abortion Restrictions In New Speech
Before an adoring crowd of religious conservatives, Donald Trump marked the one-year anniversary of the end of Roe v. Wade by adopting new language and endorsing the idea of national abortion restrictions. Trump, who has previously discussed abortion as more of a state issue, told the cheering members of the Faith and Freedom Coalition "I will fight for you like no president ever" on the abortion issue. He did not endorse any specific anti-abortion legislation or time limits in his nearly 90-minute speech to members of the coalition in D.C. but did say "there of course remains a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life." (Jackson, 6/24)

AP: In Post-Roe Era, House Republicans Begin Quiet Push For New Restrictions On Abortion Access 
When the Supreme Court issued its abortion ruling last June overturning Roe v. Wade, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said “our work is far from done.” He didn’t say what might come next. A year later later, McCarthy is the speaker, Republicans are in the majority and the blanks are beginning to be filled in. In a flurry of little-noticed legislative action, GOP lawmakers are pushing abortion policy changes, trying to build on the work of activists whose strategy successfully elevated their fight to the nation’s highest court. (Amiri, 6/25)

Politico: Vulnerable House Republicans Doubt Abortion Will Endanger Them This Cycle 
One year after their party was pummeled over abortion restrictions on the campaign trail, vulnerable Republicans are starting to sound unafraid of the electoral consequences of it. Democratic party leaders have stated their intention to make abortion a primary issue in the ‘24 cycle, drawing no distinctions between Republicans who want a national ban and those with any other position. (Gibson, 6/26)

Reuters: U.S. State Abortion Legislation To Watch In 2023
State legislatures are wrestling with how much to restrict or expand abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Here is a snapshot of pending and passed legislation seeking to restrict or protect access in 2023. (Borter and Bernstein, 6/24)

AP: 'Rage Giving' Prompted By The End Of Roe Has Dropped Off, Abortion Access Groups Say 
The “ rage giving ” did not last. Abortion access groups who received a windfall of donations following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade one year ago say those emergency grants have ended and individual and foundation giving has dropped off. After the Dobbs decision, some major funders of abortion access also have ended or shifted funding from organizations working in states where abortion is now banned, said Naa Amissah-Hammond, senior director of grantmaking with Groundswell Fund, which funds grassroots groups organizing for reproductive justice. (Beaty and Gamboa, 6/24)

Philadelphia Inquirer: The One-Year Anniversary Of The Decision Declaring No Right To Abortion Drew Clashing Views In Center City
Andrew Lefkowitz, a Glenside resident who was protesting Saturday, said he believes a backlash has been building against right-wing policies since last year’s ruling. “I feel like people are getting fed up with these Christian fascists, not just about abortion, but the banning of books and making it more difficult to get trans health care,” said Lefkowitz, who is 29. “I’m hoping to see more people in the streets nonviolently fighting.” (Mastrull and Fitzgerald, 6/24)

Abortion news from Arizona, Iowa, New Mexico, and Massachusetts —

AP: Arizona Executive Order Safeguards Abortion Seekers And Providers From Prosecution
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday signed a sweeping executive order to protect anyone involved with a legally obtained abortion from prosecution. The order bans local prosecutors from bringing abortion-related charges and state agencies from assisting in any criminal investigations without a court order. In addition, Arizona will not honor any extradition requests for people wanted for assisting, providing or seeking an abortion. (6/24)

AP: Planned Parenthood To Close Some Centers In Iowa While Increasing Services At Others
Planned Parenthood plans to close three Iowa locations but provide more services at others in response to increasing demands for abortions, staff shortages and increasing costs. The consolidation at Planned Parenthood North Central States, which provides abortions in Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa, comes as states that provide abortions have seen a sharp increase in people coming from states that have prohibited or sharply restricted the procedure, The Des Moines Register reported. (6/24)

AP: New Mexico Has Telephone Hotline For Women Seeking Access To Abortion Clinics 
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says her administration has set up a new telephone hotline for women seeking access to abortion clinics plus transportation and other assistance. The hotline is already live but is still being built out, according to Lujan Grisham. The number is (833) 767-3776. It will be staffed by registered nurses with the state Department of Health and paid for using existing resources. (6/25)

The Boston Globe: Abortion Alarm Spurs Push For Mass. Cellphone Data Privacy Law
Massachusetts Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Stone Creem is tired of waiting. She’s pushing for a state law that would ban tech companies from selling the vast troves of location data they collect from millions of wireless phones. Such data could be used by states that strictly regulate abortion to prosecute women seeking abortions or doctors who provide them, even across state lines. (Bray, 6/25)

CBS News: CDC Tracking New COVID Variant EU.1.1
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now separately tracking several new COVID-19 variants, the agency announced Friday, adding more Omicron descendants to an increasingly complex list of new strains that are competing nationwide. Among the new variants now being tracked by the CDC is EU.1.1, a strain first designated by scientists earlier this year over its rapid ascent in some European countries. (Tin, 6/23)

CIDRAP: Reported Levels Of Global COVID-19 Decrease As XBB.1.5 Seen Across Europe, US 
The World Health Organization (WHO) posted its weekly epidemiologic update yesterday on  COVID-19, which shows decreases in new cases across all global regions. All regions, except Africa, also reported decreases in deaths from the virus. Globally, more than 1.2 million new cases and more than 7,100 deaths were reported in the past 28 days. The WHO cautioned, however, that the update is not an accurate reflection of virus activity, because of reduced testing and spotty case reporting. During this period, the WHO said, only 56% of countries and territories (133 of 234) reported one case. (Soucheray, 6/23)

The Washington Post: Covid Isn’t Over But Even The Most Cautious Americans Are Moving On 
Officials are no longer warning of scary new variants. Free tests are harder to come by. The White House covid team has disbanded, and the virus is increasingly erased from public conversation. After 2020’s summer of isolation followed by 2021’s “hot vax” summer and last year’s summer of revenge travel, this summer, the fourth since covid arrived, marks a season of blissful ignorance — or begrudging acceptance that the rest of society is moving on. (Nirappil, Yarber and Regan, 6/25)

More on the spread of covid —

AP: US Intelligence Report On COVID-19 Origins Rejects Some Points Raised By Lab Leak Theory Proponents 
U.S. officials released an intelligence report Friday that rejected some points raised by those who argue COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab, instead reiterating that American spy agencies remain divided over how the pandemic began. The report was issued at the behest of Congress, which in March passed a bill giving U.S. intelligence 90 days to declassify intelligence related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. (Merchang, 6/23)

CIDRAP: Nearly 1.2 Million Excess Deaths May Have Occurred In First 2 Years Of COVID Pandemic 
A University of Pennsylvania-led study estimates that 1,179,024 excess US deaths occurred in the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, with excess mortality declining in metropolitan counties and rising in nonmetropolitan counties over the period. (Van Beusekom, 6/23)

CIDRAP: CDC Data Show 31% COVID-19 Vaccine Protection Against Omicron In Nursing Home Residents
Vaccine effectiveness (VE) among nursing home residents up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines is 31.2%, according to new research in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (Soucheray, 6/23)

USA Today: New Hair-Loss Treatment For Teens With Alopecia Comes After Years Of Limited Options
There have never been any real treatment options for children and teens with alopecia areata. But that’s about to change as the Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first and only medication on the market for the skin disease available to Americans under 18. “It’s really a game changer,” said Dr. Kristen I. Lo Sicco, associate professor of dermatology at NYU Langone Health, who is also Lee’s doctor. “It’s important for a child – especially as they’re developing – to have their sense of self and regain their sense of confidence.” (Rodriguez, 6/23)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Stat: ADA: All Diabetes Patients Should Be Screened For Liver Condition
The American Diabetes Association said Sunday that all adults with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes should be screened for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, an increasingly prevalent condition that can lead to serious liver damage. There are no approved medications for the disease, but among available diabetes drugs, the ADA singled out GLP-1 treatments as an option doctors could consider, according to recommendations published during the annual ADA conference. (Chen, 6/25)

Axios: FDA Creates Path For Psychedelic Drug Trials
Federal regulators are laying out guidance for psychedelic drug trials for the first time, in a move that could encourage the mainstreaming of substances like magic mushrooms and LSD as behavioral health treatments. Why it matters: Psychedelics are turning into a multi-billion industry and gaining widespread acceptance after decades of concerns about recreational use of the products — and the high risk for misuse. But research to date has largely been backed by private sponsors. (Gonzalez and Moreno, 6/26)

NPR: An Alzheimer's Drug Is On The Way, But Getting It May Still Be Tough. Here's Why
The first drug shown to slow down Alzheimer's disease is likely to receive full approval from the Food and Drug Administration by July 6. In theory, the move would make lecanemab (Leqembi) available to more than a million Medicare patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's. In practice, though, the number is likely to be much smaller. (Hamilton. 6/26)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Gene Therapy Pioneer Jim Wilson Warns Of Philadelphia Biotech Challenges
For years, gene therapy has been a high-tech engine of the Philadelphia-area economy. But lately, some investors have balked at fueling that engine with additional funds, one of its pioneers warned at an industry conference on Friday. The reason? Gene therapies are designed to alleviate — even cure — genetic diseases with just one dose, University of Pennsylvania scientist Jim Wilson told a crowd of more than 300 at the Sheraton Valley Forge Hotel, in King of Prussia. (Avril, 6/23)

On the weight-loss drug frenzy —

The New York Times: A Pill Form Of Ozempic Is On The Horizon 
The next iteration of Ozempic and Wegovy — the much-discussed, hard-to-obtain injectable medications known for their ability to induce weight loss — may come in pill form. Researchers presented data in two studies on Sunday at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions conference, one of which showed that 50 milligrams of semaglutide — the active compound in Ozempic and Wegovy — taken orally each day is roughly as effective as weekly Wegovy shots in reducing weight in people who are overweight or obese. Wegovy injections contain 2.4 milligrams of semaglutide. (Blum, 6/25)

USA Today: More Weight Loss Drugs Like Wegovy Are Showing Promising Results
Several more experimental weight-loss medications are showing effectiveness in clinical trials, though it's still too early to know whether people will be able to keep the weight off long-term. Until a few years ago, drug development in the area had been marked by failures and less-than-impressive weight loss. But a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists are revolutionizing the field. (Weintraub, 6/23)

Stat: Poll: Half Of U.S. Adults Would Spend $100/Month For Weight Loss Drugs
Almost half of Americans would be willing to spend up to $100 a month for new weight-loss medicines such as Wegovy, and one-third say they would indefinitely pay whatever they can afford to get the drugs, according to a new survey by STAT and The Harris Poll. Although 47% say they would only spend the money up to a point — such as losing a certain amount of weight, or up until a special event — demand is so great that nearly one-quarter said they would pay up to $250 each month. And another 17% percent are willing to shell out as much as $500 each month. The survey, which polled 2,046 U.S. adults, was conducted earlier this month. (Silverman and Chen, 6/26)

Bloomberg: US Nurses Threaten To Quit Post Pandemic Burnout, Risking Big Health Care Gaps
A large swath of American nurses want out of the profession, raising the threat of a mass exodus that would leave gaping holes in health care. Almost one in three registered nurses say they’re likely to seek a different job, according to a recent survey by AMN Healthcare Services Inc. A McKinsey & Co. study last month warned the US risks a shortfall of as many as 450,000 nurses. Job openings in health care surged above 2 million in April, not far short of last year’s record. (Saraiva and Tanzi, 6/24)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: Northwell Closes Maternal Health Disparities With AI Chatbot 
Northwell Health is trying to tackle disparities in maternal health with the help of an artificial intelligence chatbot. The Northwell Health Pregnancy Chats tool, developed in collaboration with Conversa Health, guides patients through their prenatal and postpartum journeys while assessing social barriers and mental health issues. (Hartnett, 6/23)

Fox News: AI Helps Dentists Catch More Cavities And Gum Disease: It's 'Unbiased' And Gives 'More Accurate' Diagnoses
Gum disease (periodontitis) affects more than 47% of Americans — or nearly 65 million people — including former Major League Baseball player Alex Rodriguez, who recently announced he has the condition. As artificial intelligence continues to expand into dental and medical uses, dentists are relying on the technology to quickly and accurately detect and prevent periodontitis, decay, bone loss and other gum health issues. (Rudy. 6/26)

Modern Healthcare: Tenet Healthcare Names Sun Park As CFO 
Tenet Healthcare Corp. named Sun Park as its next chief financial officer, effective Jan. 1. Park will serve as executive vice president from July 11 through Dec. 31 before transitioning to the CFO role, the Dallas-based for-profit system said in a Friday news release. Since 2018, Park served as executive vice president and group CFO for pharmaceutical distribution and strategic global sourcing at AmerisourceBergen. He joined AmerisourceBergen in 2012 to lead the pharmaceutical giant's strategy and development. (Hudson, 6/23)

Modern Healthcare: Clover Health Lawsuits: 7 Shareholder Fraud Cases Settled
Clover Health has settled the last seven lawsuits alleging the Medicare Advantage insurer duped shareholders by concealing it was the subject of a federal fraud investigation ahead of its initial public offering. The startup did not disclose what it agreed to pay plaintiffs in the civil lawsuits filed in federal courts in Delaware and Tennessee and state courts in Delaware and New York. The proposed settlement agreements require Clover Health to strengthen its corporate governance oversight, the company announced in a news release Thursday. The deals do not represent an admission of guilt and do not include payments above the fees and expenses for plaintiffs’ attorneys, according to the company. (Tepper, 6/23)

Also —

Axios: The Next President's $4 Trillion Problem
Whoever is in the White House in 2025 will quickly face a series of legislative deadlines with impossible price tags: $3.6 trillion in tax cuts and $350 billion in Affordable Care Act subsidies are expiring — and that's after the debt limit will need to be addressed again. Why it matters: The deadlines could force political horse-trading of epic proportions. Alternatively, gridlock or alarm over the nation's debt may lead to Americans seeing higher taxes and fewer benefits. (Owens, 6/26)

NBC News: Med Schools Still Aren’t Teaching Enough On LGBTQ Health Care
As an increasing proportion of Americans identify as LGBTQ, leaders in sexual and gender minority health care say that the nation’s medical schools are largely failing to adequately prepare the next generation of doctors to properly care for this population. The need is critical, according to experts in medical education and LGBTQ care. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, as stigmatized minorities, often have difficulty accessing health care that properly addresses their health concerns, that is sensitive to their sexual and gender identities and that is not flat-out discriminatory, researchers have found. (Ryan, 6/23)

More on LGBTQ+ health —

Houston Chronicle: Report: Former Texas Health Leader Was Member Of Doctor Group That Targets Trans Care
A Texas health commissioner who retired last year was part of a small group of conservative doctors that uses questionable science to support crackdowns on abortion access and transgender care, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post. Dr. John Hellerstedt led the Texas Department of State Health Services from 2016 to 2022, overseeing public health programs and guiding the agency through a Zika virus scare and the COVID-19 pandemic. (Gill, 6/23)

The Hill: Christie Knocks Transgender Health Care Bans On Campaign Trail: ‘It’s More Of A Parent’s Decision’ 
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) this week said he opposes state laws that ban gender-affirming health care for transgender young people, distancing himself from other Republicans on what is already shaping up to be a key issue in the race for the White House in 2024. (Migdon, 6/23)

AP: Kansas' Attorney General Is Moving To Block Trans People From Changing Their Birth Certificates
Transgender people born in Kansas could be prevented from changing their birth certificates to reflect their gender identities if the state’s conservative Republican attorney general is successful with a legal move he launched late Friday. Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a request in federal court asking a judge to end a requirement for Kansas to allow transgender people to change their birth certificates. He is not seeking to undo past changes, only prevent them going forward. (Hanna, 6/25)

Detroit Free Press: LGBTQ+ Health Initiative Setting Up New Clinic In Hazel Park
A new health equity initiative is aimed at making sure that individuals in the LGBTQ+ community receive the care and service they deserve, in Oakland County and beyond. The initiative, called the "Driving Health Equity Campaign," is part of Corktown Health's new project focused on expanding resources for the LGBTQ+ community. Corktown Health, started in Detroit in 2017, is Michigan's first nonprofit medical facility with an emphasis on health disparities amongst LGBTQ+ people. The initiative seeks to raise $8 million, $3.2 million of which has already been secured, to close such health disparities. (Beck, 6/23)

Colorado Sun: Colorado Health Officials Launch New Mpox Vaccination Campaign
Colorado health officials are launching a new vaccination campaign after a handful of cases of mpox, the viral disease formerly known monkeypox, have been identified in the state in recent weeks. Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said three cases were identified in June and one in May. She said some of the cases involved out-of-state travel and two of the cases were linked to each other. (Ingold, 6/26)

Stateline: ‘Truly A Crisis’: Missouri Hospitals House Children In Foster Care With No Place To Go
On an early June day, five foster children were being housed by SSM Health at hospitals in the St. Louis area not because they were sick, but because there was no other place for them to live. They had each been in the hospital an average of 56 days. There were 23 adult clients of the Department of Mental Health — people with a developmental disability or behavioral issue — being boarded by SSM. Each had been hospitalized an average of 193 days. (Keller, 6/23)

The New York Times: In NYC, Some People Forced Into Psychiatric Wards Find Homes
On the coldest night of the winter, Mazou Mounkaila was sleeping under an overpass in the Bronx when the ambulance crew arrived. The wind chill was minus 4 degrees. Paramedics and homeless-outreach workers told Mr. Mounkaila he had to go either to a shelter or a hospital. Mr. Mounkaila, a courtly former warehouse manager from the West African nation of Niger who has been homeless for about a decade, declined to do either. But he had no choice. The police showed up. “To my surprise,” Mr. Mounkaila said, “they handcuff me.” He spent the next 104 days at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx being treated for schizophrenia. (Newman, 6/25)

In environmental health news —

NBC News: Teen Hiker Dies In Extreme Heat In Texas Desert; Stepfather Dies Seeking Help
A 14-year-old boy fell ill and ultimately died in extreme heat while he was hiking Saturday in Big Bend National Park in Texas, officials said. His stepfather, identified only as a 31-year-old man, died seeking help for the boy when the vehicle he was in veered off its path and crashed down an embankment beneath an overlook, the National Park Service said in a statement. (Romero, 6/26)

Indianapolis Star: Brain-Eating Amoeba Expanding Its Range Northward With Climate Change
Typically, Midwesterners might think of brain-eating infections as a southern thing. While that might have been in the case in the past, new research is raising questions about it's growing footprint. For this edition of the Scrub Hub, we are looking at the question: Is the brain-eating amoeba expanding to the north? And why? To find the answers, we looked at information from the CDC as well as a recently-released report on the amoeba and how it's changing. (6/26)

CIDRAP: CWD Detected For First Time In Florida, Which Becomes The 31st Affected State 
The first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Florida has been detected in a road-killed deer in Holmes County, boosting the number of affected states to 31 and prompting nearby states to take action. Caused by infectious prions (misfolded proteins), CWD is a fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting cervids such as deer and elk. While CWD isn't known to infect humans, some experts fear it could jump species. (Van Beusekom, 6/23)

NBC News: Skin Moles That Grow Hair May Offer Treatment For Baldness, Study Suggests
Unsightly skin moles may offer a possible avenue to treat hair loss, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature. For nearly a decade, scientists at the University of California, Irvine have been studying skin moles to understand why they produce such long hairs. Their new paper shows that such moles contain particular molecules that promote hair growth. (Bendix, 6/24)

On race and health —

NBC News: Black Veterans Are Denied VA Health Benefits More Often Than White Veterans, New Data Shows
Black veterans who ask the Department of Veterans Affairs for physical or mental health benefits are less likely to get them than their white counterparts, according to new data compiled by the VA. In fiscal year 2023, 84.8% of all Black veterans who applied for physical or mental health benefits were given assistance by the VA, compared to 89.4% of their white counterparts who applied. The VA data includes information dating back to fiscal year 2017, which shows that white veterans have had a higher grant rate than their Black counterparts every year. (Kube, 6/23)

KFF Health News: ‘We’re Not Doing That’: Why A Black Couple Wouldn’t Crowdfund To Pay Off Medical Debts 
When Kristie Fields was undergoing treatment for breast cancer nine years ago, she got some unsolicited advice at the hospital: Share your story on the local news, a nurse told her. Viewers would surely send money. Fields, a Navy veteran and former shipyard worker, was 37 and had four kids at home. The food processing plant where her husband worked had just closed. And Fields’ medical care had left the family thousands of dollars in debt. (Levey, 6/26)

In other health and wellness news —

USA Today: Wake-Up Call: Reduce Cholesterol To Prevent Heart Attack And Stroke In People At High Risk
A new study reinforces the importance of lowering cholesterol in people at risk for, but who haven't had a heart attack or stroke. The study looked at a statin alternative, called bempedoic acid, and found that as it reduced levels of LDL cholesterol, it also lowered the risk for heart attack, stroke and death. Researchers are quick to say bempedoic acid shouldn't be used instead of statins. (Weintraub, 6/24)

Stat: ‘I Felt Like I Was Dying’: How Women With Postpartum Depression Fall Through The Cracks Of U.S. Health Care
Five and a half months after Kristina Dulaney had her second daughter, she developed postpartum psychosis. One day, she spontaneously quit her job as a nurse — which she doesn’t remember doing. Soon after, she began to quote scripture, grabbed her kids, and begged God to save them all. Then she passed out, and her husband called 911. Dulaney spent two nights in a behavioral health emergency room before being sent to a general inpatient unit that had both men and women in Greensboro, N.C. There, she had a round-the-clock sitter with her to keep her safe. She wasn’t allowed off the floor at all. For two weeks, she didn’t see her kids or go outside. (Gammon, 6/26)

KFF Health News: E-Cigs Are Still Flooding The US, Addicting Teens With Higher Nicotine Doses 
When the FDA first asserted the authority to regulate e-cigarettes in 2016, many people assumed the agency would quickly get rid of vapes with flavors like cotton candy, gummy bears, and Froot Loops that appeal to kids. Instead, the FDA allowed all e-cigarettes already on the market to stay while their manufacturers applied for the OK to market them. Seven years later, vaping has ballooned into an $8.2 billion industry, and manufacturers are flooding the market with thousands of products — most sold illegally and without FDA permission — that can be far more addictive. (Szabo, 6/26)

Reuters: Get Cancer Checks, UK's Sarah Ferguson Urges After Revealing Own Surgery
Britain's Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has urged people to make sure they have checks for cancer after disclosing she has undergone surgery herself for the disease. Ferguson, 63, the ex-wife of King Charles' brother Prince Andrew, had successful surgery after breast cancer showed up in a routine mammogram screening, her spokesman said on Sunday, with her prognosis said to be good. (6/26)

Reuters: US Files First-Ever Charges Against Chinese Fentanyl Manufacturers
The U.S. Justice Department on Friday filed criminal charges against four Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and eight individuals over allegations they illegally trafficked the chemicals used to make fentanyl - a highly addictive painkiller that has fueled the opioid crisis in the United States. The indictments mark the first time the U.S. has sought to prosecute any of the Chinese companies responsible for manufacturing precursor chemicals used to make the painkiller. (Lynch and Cohen, 6/24)

Reuters: Cocaine Market Is Booming As Meth Trafficking Spreads, U.N. Report Says
Cocaine demand and supply are booming worldwide and methamphetamine trafficking is expanding beyond established markets, including in Afghanistan where the drug is now being produced, a United Nations report said on Sunday. (6/25)

Also —

AP: Fentanyl Ruled As The Cause Of Death For Adam Rich, Former 'Eight Is Enough' Child Star 
The effects of fentanyl are considered the cause of death for Adam Rich, the child actor known as “America’s little brother” for his role on the hit family dramedy “Eight is Enough.” The former television star’s death this January has been ruled an accident by the Los Angeles County Medical-Examiner Coroner’s office, according to an autopsy report. Rich died in his Los Angeles home at age 54. (6/24)

The New York Times: Two Friends Used Fentanyl. One Died, The Other Was Charged With Murder
Josh Askins woke up in the crawl space of an abandoned house with nausea, chills and a shooting pain in his legs. It had been seven hours since he last smoked fentanyl, and already he could feel his withdrawal symptoms worsening by the minute. He rolled over in his sleeping bag and stared at the graffiti he’d carved into the rotting floorboards. “Fentanyl is HELL,” he had written a few weeks earlier, but now he got up to start looking for more. (Saslow, 6/25)

The San Francisco Standard: His Videos On SF’s Drug Crisis Went Viral. Then He Vanished
To his fans, JJ Smith—not his real name—was a breath of authenticity chronicling the harsh truths and human stories of the Tenderloin and a reality check on the grandiose plans of politicians. ... Over the past nine months, he had been seemingly everywhere in the Tenderloin, reviving people from the brink of drug-induced death and once barreling into a burning building while recording it all for his 12,500 Twitter followers. ... After The Standard began reporting a story looking into his background and activities, his Twitter account disappeared. (Sjostedt, 6/23)

Politico: Why The Supreme Court Really Killed Roe V. Wade
We’ve had a year now to contemplate the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and what led up to the justices’ decision to overturn 50 years of jurisprudence and end the constitutional right to abortion. Many abortion rights supporters and others on the left blame the court’s Republican-appointed majority, seeing those judges as too politically partisan. But we see something a bit different going on. To really understand why the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, we think it’s crucial to see Dobbs as the triumph of two social movements and the rising influence of a distinctive kind of judge. (Robert L. Tsai and Mary Ziegler, 6/25)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Since Dobbs, States With Abortion Bans Far Outpace Those Offering Paid Family Leave
This double whammy of mandated birth and state neglect has severe consequences. In states limiting abortion access, maternal mortality rates are higher and birthing people are more likely to have children who are born too early or who die within their first year of life. (Alina Schnake-Mahl and Jaquelyn Jahn, 6/26)

The Washington Post: All That Hasn’t Happened Since Roe V. Wade Fell 
Millions of people don’t live within reach of an abortion clinic, and so we live in a worse world, a world where millions of people cannot live their lives like full people. And for as long as we remain in this world, the loss will accumulate. I want to be able to know precisely how cruelly we have robbed ourselves. (Alexandra Petri, 6/24)

Arizona Republic: Dobbs Effect: Year Later, Anti-Abortion Laws Threaten Women's Health
Zealots of any sort rarely consider the law of unintended consequences. It’s no different for anti-abortion zealots. For now, Arizona allows licensed physicians to perform abortions up to 15 weeks. But that law, as Eloisa Lopez, executive director of the Abortion Fund of Arizona and Pro-Choice Arizona, told The Arizona Republic’s Stephanie Innes, is “hanging by a thread.” (RJ Montini, 6/24)

The New York Times: How The Conservative Movement Sees Birth Control Today 
Most Republican voters — 84 percent of them, according to a 2022 poll on behalf of the organization where I work — support safe and accessible birth control. But after Roe v. Wade was overturned last year, Republicans in Congress blocked legislation that would have enshrined a federal right to contraception. (Hadley Heath Manning, 6/24)

The Boston Globe: Telehealth Laws Need To Be Updated For A Post-Covid Health System
The pandemic created a telehealth boom. While we will likely never go back to the peak pandemic levels of telehealth, our national experiment with it has proven that telehealth can provide quality care while reducing costs to patients and society more broadly. (Carmel Shachar, Sean McBride and Shannon MacDonald, 6/26)

Bloomberg: Don’t Squander A Key Advance In Fertility Research
When scientists announced at a conference last week that they had created synthetic human embryos, it felt like something from Brave New World. News coverage conjured up images of scientists creating new human life in an unnatural way and then using it to conduct experiments. (F.D. Flam, 6/25)

The Boston Globe: Closure Of Leominster Maternity Ward Casts A Light On Shrinking Options 
“Babies Before Big Bucks” and “Leave Labor in Leominster” read some of the signs at recent protests pushing to keep UMass Memorial Health’s Leominster maternity ward open. (6/25)

Chicago Tribune: If Lab Leak Led To COVID-19, There Are Truths We Must Not Ignore
Since 2019 when COVID-19 emerged in China, scientists worldwide have been trying to ascertain the origin of the virus. (Cory Franklin and Robert Weinstein, 6/26)

The Star Tribune: Smart Teamwork Protects Access To Cost-Free Preventive Care
The latest legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act is a reminder that the tiresome political battle over the 2010 landmark health law often comes with collateral damage. Patients and their pocketbooks stand to lose if the Texas plaintiffs who filed Braidwood Management v. Becerra ultimately prove successful, with the case widely expected to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court. (6/26)

Stat: Guidelines To Prevent Youth Baseball Injuries Need More Muscle
“We all know that we are in the middle of an epidemic with our youth throwers,” an orthopedic specialist opined in a March editorial. The sports medicine professionals and readers of the journal Arthroscopy may know this, but it is far from common knowledge among parents and coaches in youth baseball leagues. As scientists and sports fans, we are particularly interested in a scientific, evidence-based approach to injury prevention and sports medicine. As parents, we have a personal investment in youth sports leagues’ approach to injury prevention. (Wallace and Springer, 6/26)