Stat: Trump Proposes Billions In Cuts To Federal Health Agencies From NIH To CDC
President Trump on Friday proposed massive cuts to the federal government’s health agencies in his 2026 budget request, arguing that Congress should reduce spending by tens of billions from current levels. The request would be a 26% cut to the Department of Health and Human Services’ discretionary budget, which doesn’t include spending on health coverage programs like Medicare and Medicaid. The proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which starts in October, is a request to Congress and is rarely passed without major changes. (Payne, 5/2)

On layoffs and rehires —

CBS News: Worker Safety Agency NIOSH Lays Off Most Remaining Staff
Nearly all of the remaining staff at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health were laid off Friday, multiple officials and laid-off employees told CBS News, gutting programs ranging from approvals of new safety equipment to firefighter health. Much of the work at NIOSH, an arm of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had already stalled after an initial round of layoffs on April 1 at the agency ordered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Tin, 5/3)

Politico: More Than 15,000 USDA Employees Take Trump's Offer To Resign
At least 15,000 Agriculture Department employees have taken the Trump administration’s offers to resign, according to a readout of a USDA briefing with congressional staff that was shared with POLITICO. The departures represent a drastic contraction of a department that handles a diverse portfolio including flagship federal nutrition programs, food safety, farm loans and rural broadband initiatives. (Brown, 5/3)

KFF Health News: In Reversal, FDA Rehires Staff Tasked With Releasing Public Records
The FDA has rehired at least some workers tasked with releasing public records generated by the agency’s regulatory activities, two employees said. The recall reverses firings carried out roughly a month ago by the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the agency. Workers who process records about medical device and tobacco regulation under the Freedom of Information Act received notices from an FDA official May 1 that they were no longer being fired as part of the department’s mass layoffs, according to the employees and documents reviewed by KFF Health News. (Pradhan, 5/2)

The New York Times: V.A. Mental Health Care Staff, Crowded into Federal Buildings, Raise Patient Privacy Alarms
In a Boston V.A. hospital, six social workers are conducting phone and telehealth visits with veterans from a single, crowded room, clinicians say. In Kansas City, providers are planning patient care while facing each other across narrow, cafeteria-style tables in a large, open space, according to staff members. ... The cramped conditions are the result of President Trump’s decision to rescind remote work arrangements for federal employees, reversing a policy that at the V.A. long predated the pandemic. (Barry and Nehamas, 5/4)

On research cuts —

AP: Cuts Have Eliminated More Than A Dozen US Government Health-Tracking Programs
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s motto is “ Make America Healthy Again,” but government cuts could make it harder to know if that’s happening. More than a dozen data-gathering programs that track deaths and disease appear to have been eliminated in the tornado of layoffs and proposed budget cuts rolled out in the Trump administration’s first 100 days. ... Among those terminated at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were experts tracking abortions, pregnancies, job-related injuries, lead poisonings, sexual violence and youth smoking, the AP found. (Stobbe, 5/4)

ABC News: CDC Allegedly Cancels Emory's HIV Self-Testing Program After Not Enough Workers Left To Oversee It
A local HIV program has allegedly been canceled as a result of funding cuts, firings and layoffs that have recently hit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a program lead. On April 22, the federal health agency informed Emory University in Atlanta that its large HIV self-testing program, called Together TakeMeHome, was being canceled two years early. (Kekatos, 5/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Guaranteed Income Study Halted By Trump Cuts Before It Concluded
Tremon Chandler, a 25-year-old from Ohio, moved to San Francisco four years ago with $3,000 in his pocket to chase his dream of becoming a rapper. Quickly realizing his savings would not go far in California, he slept in his car and crashed with a co-worker before finding housing. But life stabilized when Chandler enrolled as a participant in the Black Economic Equity Movement, a clinical trial run by UCSF, which aimed to measure the impact of guaranteed income on local Black young adults. (Bauman and Lee, 5/4)

The New York Times: Trump Administration Slashes Research Into L.G.B.T.Q. Health
In keeping with its deep opposition to both diversity programs and gender-affirming care for adolescents, the administration has worked aggressively to root out research touching on equity measures and transgender health. But its crackdown has reverberated far beyond those issues, eliminating swaths of medical research on diseases that disproportionately afflict L.G.B.T.Q. people, a group that comprises nearly 10 percent of American adults. (Mueller, 5/4)

Bloomberg: Trump Seeks To Lower Drugmakers’ Medicaid Prices To Pay For Tax Cuts
President Donald Trump has set his sights on the pharmaceutical industry to shoulder part of the cost of his tax cuts, pressing congressional Republicans to force drugmakers to accept lower prices on prescriptions covered by Medicaid. Trump asked House Republicans to mandate the government health program for low-income and disabled Americans get the lowest price for drugs that certain foreign countries are charged, the White House confirmed in an email to Bloomberg. (Cohrs Zhang, 5/2)

In other Medicaid news —

The 19th: With Medicaid Cuts, Republicans Target Men In The Name Of Protecting Women
As House Speaker Mike Johnson tries to sell massive Medicaid cuts, he is leaning on a messaging strategy straight from the White House playbook: a policy in the name of protecting women. But while the Republican lawmaker claims he’s targeting men who are allegedly freeloading off of the program, the changes could be detrimental to the very people he says he wants to protect. (Rodriguez, 5/2)

Stat: Hospitals, Doctors, Patients Push Back On Medicaid Cuts 
Hospitals, health centers, and patient advocates this week plan to escalate their pressure on federal lawmakers to oppose cuts to the Medicaid program. The groups are increasing their public calls to lawmakers, standing up new collaborations, and increasing investments in advertising to discourage lawmakers from cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in the program. (Payne, 5/5)

Politico: The Key Republican Warning About A Megabill Medicaid Fallout
The House Republican working behind the scenes to rein in his party’s ambitions to cut Medicaid spending is a California dairy farmer who represents more Medicaid beneficiaries than any of his GOP colleagues. Rep. David Valadao, who runs the centrist-oriented Republican Governance Group, has spent the last several weeks in near-constant communication with his leadership, including in weekly meetings with the chairs of key ideological caucuses across the GOP conference. (Leonard and Lee Hill, 5/2)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’: Journalists Explore Medicaid Work Rules, CDC Layoffs, And RFK Jr.'s 'MAHA' Mission
KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani gave an update on how Ohio is using its opioid settlement funds on WOSU Public Media’s “All Sides with Amy Juravich” on April 30. KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the future of the Affordable Care Act on April 23, for C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.” She also discussed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” tour on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show” on April 15. (5/3)

More from the Trump administration —

The Washington Post: Trump Says He Will Reopen Alcatraz As A Federal Prison
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has ordered several agencies to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz, an infamous federal penitentiary that closed in the 1960s and has since become a popular tourist destination. Built on a small island in the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz opened in 1934 as a “maximum-security, minimum-privilege” facility dedicated to holding the “most incorrigible inmates,” according to the Bureau of Prisons. Prisoners had only four rights: food, clothing, shelter and medical care. Everything beyond that — family visits, correspondence, access to books or recreational activities — was treated as a privilege to be earned, the Prisons Bureau website says. (Masih, 5/5)

The Washington Post: As Trump Rushes To Deport Migrants, Many Worry Children’s Rights Are Being Violated
The administration has fast-tracked deportations via executive orders and escalated gang accusations against immigrants, often with scant evidence or formal charges — and in some cases, experts say, prioritizing their deportation even if it means separating families and eroding parental rights. (Foster-Frau, 5/3)

Politico: Trump Asks Supreme Court To Let DOGE Access Sensitive Social Security Data
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to allow Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to access Social Security systems containing sensitive personal information about millions of Americans. Solicitor General John Sauer argued in an emergency appeal that DOGE has a legitimate need to access the data in order to advise the White House and federal agencies on updating technology and eliminating waste and fraud. (Ali Kanu, 5/2)

The Washington Post: U.S. Preparedness Agency Hires Scientist Who Pushed Failed Covid Drug
Steven J. Hatfill, a virologist and White House adviser during President Donald Trump’s first term who pushed hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus despite what most researchers said was a lack of scientific evidence, has joined the second Trump administration in a senior role at the Department of Health and Human Services. Hatfill will begin his second week Monday as special adviser in the director’s office at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, a small agency responsible for preparing the U.S. for disasters such as pandemics and biological and chemical attacks. (Sun, Rein and Johnson, 5/4)

On measles, flu, and vaccines —

CBS News: Weekly Measles Cases Hit New Record Amid Worst Outbreak Since 1990s
Weekly measles cases have set a new record, according to figures published Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, topping the peak of an outbreak in 2019 that ranked as the worst since the 1990s. The number of cases that had their symptoms start during the week of March 30 has grown to 111, according to the agency's latest update. Authorities backdate newly reported measles cases based on when their rash began, to account for delays in reporting and diagnosis. (Tin, 5/2)

AP: CDC Reports 216 Child Deaths This Flu Season, The Most In 15 Years
More U.S. children have died this flu season than at any time since the swine flu pandemic 15 years ago, according to a federal report released Friday. The 216 pediatric deaths reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eclipse the 207 reported last year. It’s the most since the 2009-2010 H1N1 global flu pandemic. It’s a startlingly high number, given that the flu season is still going on. The final pediatric death tally for the 2023-2024 flu season wasn’t counted until autumn. (Stobbe, 5/2

AP: A Community Rallied To Share Flu Shot Experiences. Then The Government Stopped The Study
Some Denver parents got texts during this winter’s brutal flu season with videos sharing why people in their neighborhoods chose flu shots for their kids, an unusual study about trust and vaccines in a historically Black community. But no one will know how it worked out: The Trump administration canceled the project before the data could be analyzed -- and researchers aren’t the only ones upset. (Neergaard, 5/3)

CIDRAP: HHS, NIH Announce Universal Vaccine Platform, Promote Placebo Trials For New Vaccines
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health  (NIH) today announced a next-generation, universal vaccine platform called Generation Gold Standard, using a beta-propiolactone (BPL)-inactivated, whole-virus platform. “Generation Gold Standard is a paradigm shift,” said NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, in a press release. “It extends vaccine protection beyond strain-specific limits and prepares for flu viral threats – not just today’s, but tomorrow’s as well – using traditional vaccine technology brought into the 21st century.” (Soucheray, 5/2)

KFF Health News: Trump Team’s $500 Million Bet On Old Vaccine Technology Puzzles Scientists
The Trump administration’s unprecedented $500 million grant for a broadly protective flu shot has confounded vaccine and pandemic preparedness experts, who said the project was in early stages, relied on old technology, and was just one of more than 200 such efforts. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shifted the money from a pandemic preparedness fund to a vaccine development program led by two scientists whom the administration recently named to senior positions at the National Institutes of Health. (Allen, 5/5)

Once eradicated, the screwworm could be back —

Bloomberg: Deadly Screwworm Parasite’s Comeback Threatens Texas Cattle, US Beef Supply
A “flying piranha” that eats its host from the inside out, the screwworm is capable of killing a full-grown steer in just 10 days. It was a relentless, deadly blight on America’s livestock for decades from the 1930s, costing ranchers and the US economy hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Now, after being eradicated from the US since the early 1980s and largely forgotten, top veterinarians expect the screwworm could be back as soon as the summer. (Darbyshire, 5/2)

Stat: MilliporeSigma To Add Tariff Surcharges On Products Shipped To The U.S.
MilliporeSigma, one of the largest suppliers of medical research products, will start adding a temporary tariff surcharge to all product orders shipped to the United States. (Silverman, 5/2)

Modern Healthcare: Tariffs Force Cardinal Health, Intuitive Surgical To Adapt
Major medtech companies are wasting no time implementing strategies — ranging from moving production to stocking up on inventory — to mitigate the big blow each of them expects from tariffs. Raising prices to the hospitals and health systems they sell to is viewed as a last resort, executives said during recent quarterly earnings calls. (Dubinsky, 5/2)

More health care and pharma news —

Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth, Amedisys To Sell Home Health, Hospice Locations
UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys have agreed to sell certain home health and hospice locations to BrightSpring Health Services and The Pennant Group to help mitigate antitrust concerns over the insurer’s planned acquisition of Amedisys. Amedisys disclosed the proposed divestitures in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week, but the company did not include the number of locations the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based home care provider or UnitedHealth Group plan to sell or the financial terms. (Eastabrook, 5/2)

Modern Healthcare: Why HCA, Tenet, UHS Are Seeing More ACA Exchange Patients
Big for-profit health systems are seeing double-digit growth in exchange volumes, signaling a larger industry trend as the number of enrollees balloons to record highs. At least 24.2 million people purchased insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchange marketplaces during open enrollment for 2025, beating the record 21.3 million people in 2024, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The increase is showing up in health systems' latest financial reports and catching interest from analysts on first-quarter earnings calls, largely due to continued uncertainty surrounding ACA subsidies. (Hudson, 5/2)

Modern Healthcare: Google's Karen DeSalvo To Retire
Dr. Karen DeSalvo is leaving Google after more than five years as the company's first chief health officer. DeSalvo in a Friday LinkedIn post said she is departing Google this summer. She will retire after nearly 35 years in various healthcare leadership roles, including a stint as the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under President Barack Obama. (Perna, 5/2)

Modern Healthcare: GE HealthCare's AI Tool For MRI Images Cleared By FDA
GE HealthCare said Friday it received Food and Drug Administration clearance for its artificial intelligence tool that uses deep learning to outline organs at risk in MRI images and help improve radiation therapy planning. MR Contour DL can outline 37 organs and structures in the head-neck and pelvic areas. The process previously had to be done manually. (Dubinsky, 5/2)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Mega Clinic Will Provide Free Health Services Over Four Days At America’s Center In St. Louis
America’s Center downtown will be turned into a massive health clinic next week, offering free medical, vision and dental care to whoever needs it, including those without insurance. More than 1,800 health care professionals and volunteers will be able to care for up to 1,200 people a day, starting at 7 a.m. Monday through Thursday, organizers say. Care will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, and the clinic will close each day when capacity is reached. (Munz, 5/2)

Colorado Public Radio: Most Controversial Provision Cut From Colorado Transgender Rights Bill — And More Changes Are Still Likely 
The Colorado Senate could soon vote on a Democratic bill aimed at increasing protections for transgender Coloradans, however the measure faces concerns from both members of the LGTBQ community and the governor. (Birkeland, 5/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: Breast Cancer Memorial In Golden Gate Park First Of Its Kind In Nation
Vanessa Onsurez of Santa Cruz is fatigued and in pain from treatment for metastatic breast cancer, but she wasn’t going to miss the opening of the first permanent memorial in the country dedicated to lives lost to the disease. So Sunday morning, she was sitting cross legged on cold concrete in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, with no place she would rather be than the Bay Area Young Survivors Breast Cancer Memorial Garden, a $1 million monument dedicated to all people who have died of breast cancer with an emphasis on those who were under age 45 when diagnosed with the disease. (Whiting, 5/4)

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

The Hill: Planned Parenthood Chapters Sue Over Ten Pregnancy Prevention Program Restrictions
Planned Parenthood chapters across several states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging new terms that would hinder their continued participation in a long-standing program aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) notified recipients of national Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) funds on March 31 that to continue in the program they must show they are in “alignment with current Presidential Executive Orders,” according to the lawsuit. (Crisp, 5/2)

The Boston Globe: Trump Wants More Babies. But Mass. Cost Of Living Holds Women Back.
Colleen Nguyen always thought she would have two children. Then she had her first. She loves her son, Zach, a giggly 5-year-old with a penchant for sea creatures and Hot Wheels, and would love to give him a sibling. But the price tag of parenthood has far exceeded her expectations. These days, Zach’s nursery school and day care eat up anywhere from about $2,000 to $2,200 every month — not far from what she and her husband pay for the rent on their two-bedroom in Newton. (Gerber, 5/5)

KFF Health News: Alabama Can’t Prosecute Groups Helping Patients Get Abortions Elsewhere, Judge Rules
Reproductive rights groups in Alabama wasted no time resuming their work after a federal judge ruled in early April that the state’s attorney general can’t prosecute — or threaten to prosecute — people or organizations who help Alabama residents seek an abortion by traveling to another state. One of the plaintiffs, the reproductive justice nonprofit Yellowhammer Fund, wasted no time in returning to one of its core missions: to provide financial support to traveling patients. (Hawkins, 5/5)

The Washington Post: More Babies Are Being Admitted To NICUs 
Nearly 10 percent of infants were admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit in the United States in 2023, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics, a 13 percent increase from admissions in 2016.The report drew on birth certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System, which includes detailed demographic and health information on mothers and infants for all U.S. births each year. (McMahan, 5/5)

The Washington Post: Cinnamon Might Affect Some Prescription Meds’ Effectiveness, Study Finds
“Overconsumption” of cinnamon could interfere with some medications, a recent study suggests. Published in Food Chemistry: Molecular Sciences, the study cited a lack of scientific data on cinnamon’s effects on human metabolism and questions about how the spice interacts with medications. The study did not specify what amount equates to overconsumption but noted that while limited consumption could have health benefits, prolonged use might raise the risk of drug interactions. (Blakemore, 5/4)

NBC News: Stomach Cancer Being Diagnosed Earlier, As Cases Rise Among Younger People
Doctors are increasingly detecting stomach tumors at an early stage, raising hopes for lifesaving treatment for one of the deadliest types of cancer. Stomach cancer, the disease that killed country music star Toby Keith last year, is typically difficult to catch early and tends to be discovered at an advanced stage when cancer cells have spread, researchers reported Saturday at Digestive Disease Week, a major international conference for doctors and researchers in gastroenterology, liver diseases and endoscopy. (Carroll, 5/3)

The Guardian: People With Coeliac Disease Should Not Fear Kissing Gluten-Eaters, Say Scientists
People with coeliac disease can kiss gluten-eaters without concerns for their health, researchers have said after finding only trivial amounts of the protein are transferred during a french kiss. About 1% of people around the world are thought to have coeliac disease, an autoimmune condition triggered by gluten, although many do not have a clinical diagnosis. (Davis, 5/5)

CNN: 1 In 5 Adults Forget Or Choose Not To Wash Their Hands 
Some Americans are still not doing their due diligence when it comes to washing their hands. That’s according to a new survey that found nearly half of its respondents forget or choose not to wash their hands at key times, such as after visiting grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops and health care settings including a doctor’s office or hospital. (Rogers, 5/5)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘An Arm and a Leg’: Why ‘The Pitt’ Is Our Fave New Drama - KFF Health News
People who work in real-life emergency rooms have raved about how the new TV drama “The Pitt” accurately captures the complex dynamics of their workplaces and the medical details of their cases. Host Dan Weissmann talks with Alex Janke, an emergency medicine doctor and health policy researcher, about how the show stacks up against his experiences in the ER. They also discuss its depictions of the financial forces that shape day-to-day problems inside ERs. (Weissmann, 5/5)

The New York Times: Universal Antivenom May Grow Out Of Man Who Let Snakes Bite Him 200 Times
Over nearly 18 years, the man, Tim Friede, 57, injected himself with more than 650 carefully calibrated, escalating doses of venom to build his immunity to 16 deadly snake species. He also allowed the snakes ... to sink their sharp fangs into him about 200 times. This bit of daredevilry (one name for it) may now help to solve a dire global health problem. More than 600 species of venomous snakes roam the earth, biting as many as 2.7 million people, killing about 120,000 people and maiming 400,000 others — numbers thought to be vast underestimates. (Mandavilli, 5/2)

The Washington Post: Surgeons Attempt Medical First: Removing Spinal Tumor Through Patient's Eye
Karla Flores had a tumor strangling her spinal cord near the base of her skull. Doctors weighed whether they should attempt a risky surgery that had never been done before.  (Johnson, 5/4)

The New York Times: Most Prosthetics Blend In. Her ‘Fun’ Eyes Stand Out.
As a maker of prosthetic eyes, Christina Leitzel was told as an apprentice to treat her craft much as an expert art forger would: create a perfect match of one of nature’s most intricate canvases. But just as there are many ways to lose an eye — to cancer or to a fall; to a broom that strikes the wrong part of the brow — Leitzel wants to show there are many ways to gain one. (Barber, 5/1)

CBS News: Minnetonka Doctor Taking Prosthetics To Amputees In Ukraine 
A Minnetonka doctor isn't wavering in his commitment to help Ukrainian soldiers injured during the war with Russia. Dr. Greg Ekbom visited Ukraine last month for the fifth time since Russia invaded in 2022. "The passion that I still have at age 75 is strong," he said. "It's burning brightly." Through his nonprofit, LimbFit, Ekbom's provided prosthetics to more than 80,000 Ukrainian amputees. The majority of them are soldiers, but LimbFit's helped civilians too. (Schuman, 5/4)

The Washington Post: AI Is Helping Autistic People With Social Mishaps
For autistic people, experiencing confusing social interactions can be common. Autistic Translator claims to help some people make sense of social mishaps. (Jiménez, 4/27)

CBS News: An NBA Star's PSA Inspired A Man To Check His Mild Symptoms. Doctors Found An Orange-Sized Mass
Warren Donaldson, 64, says Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's awareness campaign encouraged him to get his symptoms checked out. (Breen, 5/3)

The Washington Post: Bodega Manager Gives Kids Free Food In Exchange For Great Report Cards 
“I started doing it for all the kids in the neighborhood,” said convenience store manager Wail Alselwi, who began by paying for the snacks from his own pocket. Some students pick out staples for their families, such as milk, eggs, oil and bread. (Page, 5/3)

The Boston Globe: Three-Year Medical Schools Show Promise
Doctors hold people’s lives in their hands, and they need to be well-trained. At the same time, the traditional four-year medical school can leave doctors with significant student debt, making it hard for them to enter less lucrative specialties, like family medicine, where there is currently a physician shortage. A growing number of medical schools are experimenting with a provocative solution to that problem: shaving a year off of medical school and letting qualified students graduate after three years. (5/4)

Stat: Trump Failing To Safeguard Americans’ Health From Extreme Weather 
Extreme weather is now a common part of American life — and the associated health risks are impossible to ignore. During heat waves, babies are more likely to be born prematurely or at a lower birth weight. Wildfire smoke can worsen asthma and lung disease. Air pollution and heat exacerbate the effects of heart, lung, and kidney disease. The list is endless and devastating. (Alonzo Plough, 5/5)

The New York Times: How To Fill The America-Shaped Hole In Global Health Left By Trump
The United States has been the largest funder of global health since at least 2000 and is a key source of research and development and technical expertise. As a former adviser to the W.H.O.’s director general, I’ve seen how vital these contributions are. (Peter A. Singer, 5/5)

The Boston Globe: Baby Bonuses Won't Solve The Birthrate Problem
Demographic decline has been inevitable since the mid-1970s. That was when the nation’s fertility rate (the average number of children born to American women over their lifetime) dropped below 2.1, the number required, all other things being equal, to keep a population from shrinking. (Jeff Jacoby, 5/4)

Stat: A Court Ruling On Diagnostic Tests Could Undermine The FDA 
It’s no secret that the new administration has upset normal operations at the Food and Drug Administration: Thousands of employees have been terminated, more than three dozen senior officials are gone, day-to-day operations ranging from communicating product recalls to the public to inspections of food and drug facilities have been upended, and approvals of new products and technologies have been delayed and shelved. Yet amid all the challenges of today, an under-the-radar court ruling may be among the most significant harbingers of the crises to come for the agency and public health. (Kushal T. Kadakia, Joseph S. Ross and Reshma Ramachandran, 5/5)

The New York Times: Harm From Antidepressants Is Real. Let's Not Cede The Conversation To Kennedy.
Like every psychiatrist, I have patients for whom antidepressants are transformative, even lifesaving. But I also see a messier, less advertised side of these medications. (Awais Aftab, 5/3)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Jeff City's Latest Sleight Of Hand On Abortion Rights
It’s bad enough that less than six months after Missouri voters amended their state constitution to enshrine reproductive rights, the Legislature is now barreling toward creating a do-over referendum that would attempt to roll back those rights. As usual, our state’s politicians are shameless about trashing the expressed will of the public when it doesn’t go the way they want. And now we see that it’s actually worse than that. (5/4)