Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
External Review Shapes Up For FDA's Food Safety, Tobacco Divisions
Politico: Clinton-Era FDA Commissioner To Lead External Review Of Key Agency Offices
Jane Henney, a former commissioner of the FDA, has been tapped by the Reagan-Udall Foundation to lead a FDA-requested external review of key agency offices on human food safety and tobacco regulation, two sources with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO. There are few details public about the foundation’s upcoming review, which is already being met with some skepticism about its independence because of the foundation’s close ties to the FDA and the industries the agency regulates. Henney’s appointment has not been formally announced, but she would oversee the reviews of each regulatory area and the relevant parts of the Office of Regulatory affairs, which conducts inspections. (Foley and Cancryn, 8/4)
In other news from Washington —
The New York Times: Man Who Threatened To Kill Fauci Is Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a West Virginia man to more than three years in prison for sending threatening emails to Anthony Fauci, including one in which he said the immunologist and his family would be beaten to death and set on fire, prosecutors said. The man, Thomas Patrick Connally Jr., 56, had pleaded guilty in May to making threats against a federal official and also admitted to sending threatening messages to other health officials, including Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland. (Patel, 8/4)
Storm Center: Heat.Gov Launches As A One-Stop Hub To Address Extreme Heat
For the last 30 years, heat has been the biggest weather-related cause of death in the nation. Now, there's a tool to help the public and decision-makers try and prevent that loss of life. (Feito, 8/4)
