Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. Today's selections are on coal miners, medical research, Michelle Obama, school nurses, ticks, and more.
Capital & Main:
A Coal Miner’s Daughter Takes On DOGE To Protect Miners’ Health
Since 1970, more than 75,000 miners have died of black lung disease. Now, researchers working to prevent those deaths get layoff notices. (Duff, 6/17)
The New York Times:
South Africa Built A Medical Research Powerhouse. Trump Cuts Have Demolished It
In Cape Town, South Africa, one of the world’s foremost H.I.V. researchers has been spending a chunk of each day gently telling longtime workers and young doctoral students that the money is gone and so are their jobs. When the calls are done, she weeps in her empty office. (Nolen, 6/17)
Politico:
Michelle Obama Was Vilified By The Right. Then Came MAHA.
Before there was MAHA, there was Michelle. Anyone following the rise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement can’t help but recall former First Lady Michelle Obama’s efforts to improve Americans’ diets — and the vitriol she faced in response. Now, many of the same Republicans who skewered Michelle Obama as a “nanny state” warrior have embraced the MAHA movement. (Brown, 6/14)
The Washington Post:
As More Students Have Greater Health Needs, School Nurses Are More In Demand
School districts are having a harder time putting nurses in every building, including in D.C., where Children’s National Hospital is ending a $25 million agreement to manage school nurses. (Portnoy, 6/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Inside One Man’s Journey To Mexico For Addiction Treatment With A Psychedelic
Desperate to break free from addiction, thousands of Americans hooked on opioids are heading to Mexico for a radical—and risky—treatment banned in the U.S. Watch the video above to see why people are betting their lives on ibogaine. The African root is a powerful psychedelic that can wipe out withdrawals and cravings in just one dose. But it isn’t without danger. Ibogaine can induce traumatic visions and cause fatal heart complications. (Hotz, 6/19)
Stat:
China, Where Obesity Levels Are Low, Becomes Hotbed For Weight Loss Drug Trials
China has one of the lowest rates of obesity in the developed world. So why has it emerged as one of the top locations for testing the scores of new weight loss drugs cropping up every month? (DeAngelis, 6/17)
The New York Times:
The Tick Situation Is Getting Worse
As temperatures rise, ticks of several kinds are flourishing in ways that threaten people’s health. (Astor, 6/16)
