Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Friday, Aug. 7, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: Budget Battle Erupts In Nation’s Capital Over Opioid Settlement Money
For years, Washington, D.C., has paid for Medicaid — the state-federal health insurance program for low-income people — out of its general budget. But next year, the city is shifting part of that recurring multimillion-dollar cost to a new funding source: opioid settlement dollars. That’s raising red flags for addiction recovery advocates, people directly affected by the crisis, and the commission in charge of recommending how the city uses its share of the settlement money. (Spears and Pattani, 8/7)
KFF Health News: Watch: Why Abortions Are On The Rise Since ‘Roe’ Was Overturned
Say you live in deep-red Louisiana, a state that has effectively banned abortion. It may be easier for you to get abortion pills now than before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Here’s why — and what it means for future battles over abortion access. And as a federal court mulls a case that could result in significant restrictions on a pill used in most abortions, healthcare providers say they have alternatives to preserve access even in states with bans in place. (Wells and Norman, 8/7)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: The Return Of ‘Medicare For All’
Democratic primary voters in Michigan chose former Detroit public health director Abdul El-Sayed as their Senate nominee this week. El-Sayed is one of several high-profile candidates around the country who have been pushing “Medicare for All,” again elevating the issue, at a time when millions of Americans are losing their health coverage because of high costs. (Rovner, 8/6)
AUTISM AND VACCINES
The Washington Post: White House Drafting Order On Vaccines, Autism Despite Pollsters’ Warnings
White House officials are drafting an executive order focused on the childhood vaccine schedule and autism, according to four people familiar with the matter. The order would continue to spotlight a divisive issue that Republican pollsters have warned carries political risk ahead of November’s midterm elections and would follow the confirmation of a new CDC director who has promised to uphold the scientific integrity of the agency. The aim is to focus on the vaccine schedule, research around autism and parental choice, according to three people familiar with the matter, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal deliberations. (Roubein, Sun and Diamond, 8/6)
IMMIGRATION CRISIS
NOTUS: Trump Targets ‘Birth Tourism’ And Citizenship Eligibility In New Executive Orders
President Donald Trump signed two executive orders Thursday in a renewed attack on birthright citizenship, just over a month after the Supreme Court struck down an earlier order heavily restricting eligibility. The new orders are aimed at cracking down on “birth tourism” and denying citizenship to some foreign diplomats’ children born in the U.S., Trump said in the Oval Office, standing alongside White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. (Silva, 8/6)
The Texas Tribune: Democrats In Congress Say ICE Lockup Conditions Are Worsening
Rep. Joaquin Castro has made seven visits to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, a sleepy town southwest of his San Antonio district, since the Trump administration reopened it last year. He’s met immigrants there who’ve garnered national attention and outcry, from teenage mariachi-performing brothers to five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, detained wearing a bunny hat and a Spiderman backpack. (Birenbaum, 8/7)
MORE ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Stat: Advocacy Group: Medicare Decision Helped Put Off Talks On AbbVie Drug Price
A little-noticed policy shift by Medicare caused a seven-year delay in choosing a costly AbbVie medicine for price negotiations, a move likely to hurt taxpayers, according to an analysis by a consumer advocacy group. (Silverman, 8/6)
MedPage Today: Trump's Gain-Of-Function Policy May Suppress Key Pandemic Research
A White House policy that seeks to end what it calls "dangerous gain-of-function" (DGOF) research is not as restrictive as experts feared, but several said it could still suppress essential work that would better prepare the world for the next pandemic. (Clark and Fiore, 8/6)
Politico: Trump Admin Defunds Abstinence-Only Programs In Chaotic Budget Cuts
The Trump administration’s sweeping grant cuts are hitting sexual abstinence programs long favored by Republicans. Earlier this summer, the administration abruptly terminated tens of millions in funding for groups teaching children and teenagers about how to prevent pregnancy and sexually-transmitted infections. (Ollstein, 8/6)
CNN: One Year After Shooting, CDC Workers Say They Still Feel Like Targets
“Kuh, kuh, kuh.” It was a Friday, and staffers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Atlanta headquarters were getting ready to pack up and head home for the weekend. They thought the steady pneumatic sounds they heard outside their windows were coming from some kind of road work. (Goodman, 8/7)
'MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN'
Bloomberg: RFK Jr. Cooking Show Misses Mark With Actual Food Experts
When I first got the email announcing The Real Food Show, a cooking program focused on “healthy, affordable meals” with US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I liked the creative, accessible approach to dietary advice. The brief announcement said that Robert Irvine, the longtime TV chef who began volunteering to improve Army food in the Biden administration, would be joining Kennedy at the introductory press conference. (Shanker, 8/6)
The Hill: Kellogg Moves To Ditch Artificial Dyes From Cereals By End Of 2026
WK Kellogg Co. said Thursday that it is moving to end the use of artificial dyes in its products by the end of this year for its cereals. In a Thursday press release, the company said it had unveiled “an accelerated timeline to eliminate all artificial colors and the preservative BHT” in all of its cereals and packaging for the cereals. The company said cereals made from new recipes will go into production “later this year” and that the new cereals will be sent to retailers prior to the end of 2026. WK Kellogg Co. said it will instead use natural dyes in the cereal. (Suter, 8/6)
CAPITOL WATCH
Politico: Hellbent On Putting Fauci In Jail, Rand Paul Wants To Skip A Senate Vote
Rand Paul wants to fast-track prosecution of former Covid czar Anthony Fauci. The legal process will be fraught. After the Kentucky Republican pushed a contempt of Congress resolution through his Senate committee on party lines Thursday morning — saying Fauci had impeded his investigation of the pandemic by refusing to answer questions last week — Democrats demanded he take it to the full Senate for a vote they could filibuster. Paul said he’s going to instead take it straight to the attorney general. For Fauci, the difference is massive. (Levien and King, 8/6)
The Hill: Republicans Vote Down Farm Bill Amendment Enabling Lawsuits Against Pesticide Companies, A Blow To MAHA
Senate Republicans on Thursday voted down an amendment that sought to open up Americans’ ability to sue pesticide companies over the health impacts of their products. The amendment to the Senate farm bill failed in a party-line vote. While the measure was backed by all of the Senate Agriculture Committee’s Democrats and none of its Republicans, it’s also a blow to pesticide critics in the right-wing “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement. It’s something that MAHA-aligned GOP members of the House are also pushing for. (Frazin, 8/6)
The Hill: Surprise Republican Hemp Fight Drags Government Funding Bill
An internal GOP fight over intoxicating hemp is dragging progress on the government funding bill. The White House’s insistence on delaying for a month a ban on hemp THC products that President Trump signed into law less than a year ago caught lawmakers by surprise and is snarling what many thought would be a perfunctory process. “The hemp issue is the outstanding issue,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. (Weixel, 8/6)
Roll Call: Cassidy’s Hepatitis C Bill Delayed Over CBO Score
A bipartisan bill aimed at combating hepatitis C is stalled in the Senate due to a high score from the Congressional Budget Office, the bill’s lead sponsor Bill Cassidy, R-La., said on Thursday. (Cohen, 8/6)
ProPublica: Democrats Demand Answers From VA On Vets’ Struggles For Mental Healthcare
More than 60 House Democrats are pressing Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins for answers about how the agency’s mental healthcare has been increasingly strained under President Donald Trump’s second administration. The lawmakers sent the secretary a letter last week asking questions about the state of VA care, citing a ProPublica investigation from this spring that revealed the agency’s mental health workforce has been plummeting and veterans have been left in the lurch. (Umansky, 8/7)
NOTUS: McConnell Says He's Been Released From Rehabilitation Facility To Recover At Home
Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office says the Kentucky Republican has been released from a rehabilitation center and will continue his recovery from home. “Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehabilitation center to continue my recovery at home,” the senator said in a statement released by his office. “Elaine and I are grateful for the many well wishes and support from friends, colleagues, and Kentuckians, and for the attentive care I’ve received from excellent doctors, nurses, therapists, and hospital staff.” (Herrington, 8/6)
Axios: El-Sayed's Michigan Victory Raises Prospect Of Progressive Doctor In Senate
Abdul El-Sayed's victory in Michigan's Democratic primary for Senate raises the prospect of a rare new addition to the upper chamber: a progressive doctor — albeit one who doesn't practice medicine. (Owens, 8/6)
SALMONELLA AND CYCLOSPORIASIS
TODAY.com: Qdoba Joins Chipotle in Pulling Jalapeños From Stores Due to Risk of Salmonella
Qdoba has joined Chipotle in removing jalapeños from its restaurants as public health authorities investigate a salmonella outbreak that has spread across 27 states. “Out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively removed jalapeños from all our restaurants at this time,” the Mexican-style food chain said in a statement on Aug. 5. According to the CDC’s epidemiologic and traceback data, jalapeño peppers from Sinaloa, Mexico, distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors may be contaminated with salmonella. The CDC said the company has agreed to recall the jalapeños. NBC News reached out to Coast Citrus Distributors and did not receive a response. (Jacoby and Stump, 8/6)
ABC News: Michigan Health Officials Say People Can Resume Regular Lettuce-Eating Habits As New Cases Of Cyclosporiasis Slow
Michigan health officials said on Thursday that people can resume regular lettuce- and salad greens-eating habits as new cases of cyclosporiasis slow. It's one of nine states in a multi-state outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at some Taco Bell restaurants. The iceberg lettuce was supplied by Taylor Farms and sourced from central Mexico. Taylor Farms issued a voluntary recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico. (Benadjaoud and Kekatos, 8/6)
WGCU: Florida Cyclospora Surges Again With 87 New Cases. More States Link The Cause To Lettuce
Nearly 90 new cases of cyclosporiasis were reported in Florida during the most recent week of data released Thursday by the state health department. The 87 cases recorded from July 25 to Aug. 1 bring the 2026 state total to 342 cases since May 1, a benchmark date tied to the first U.S. outbreaks. (8/6)
The Hill: Salmonella Vs. Cyclospora: How To Tell What You Have
It’s been a tough summer for the nation’s food supply, with multiple outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, including what appears to be the largest outbreak of the “explosive” diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora. As of Wednesday, there have been more than 20,000 suspected cases of cyclosporiasis in the U.S. Two residents of Michigan, the hardest-hit state in the outbreak linked to recalled iceberg lettuce, died after becoming ill. Health officials noted, though, that “both individuals had significant underlying health conditions.” (Bink, 8/6)
MORE OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS
ABC News: 4th Case Of 'Rabbit Fever' Reported In New York. Here's What To Know
A fourth case of a rare bacterial illness has been detected on Long Island, health officials in New York said on Thursday. Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS), confirmed the latest case of tularemia, also known as "rabbit fever," to ABC News in a statement. (Kekatos, 8/6)
CIDRAP: Severe COVID May Awaken Dormant Viruses, Leading To Autoimmune Disease, Long COVID
Most people carry eight to 12 generally harmless viruses at any given time. But now, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin conclude that severe COVID-19 infections can reactivate these viruses, leading to worse clinical outcomes, autoimmune diseases, and other long-term conditions such as long COVID. Published yesterday in Nature, the observational analysis used longitudinal data from 1,154 hospitalized COVID-19 patients participating in the observational Immunophenotyping Assessment in a COVID-19 Cohort (IMPACC) study. (Van Beusekom, 8/6)
The New York Times: This A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found In Nature
For the first time, scientists have used artificial intelligence to create new kinds of viruses, raising hopes for medical advances while also raising the disturbing possibility that the technology could someday be used to invent dangerous pathogens. Synthesizing viruses from scratch is hardly new. Researchers long ago learned how to manufacture viral genomes; they are used to investigate antiviral drugs and vaccines, as well as to learn how viruses work. (Zimmer, 8/6)
MEASLES
ABC News: Measles Exposure Reported At Universal Studios Hollywood
Los Angeles County health officials said a person infected with measles visited Universal Studios Hollywood last month and potentially exposed others to the virus. The county's Department of Public Health said Wednesday that it is investigating the case involving the visitor who was at the theme park on July 26. Other possible locations within the county are being probed, according to the health department. (Pereira, 8/6)
Jackson Hole Community Radio: Teton County, Wyoming Lifts Measles Emergency
Signs are improving for the measles outbreak that started in Colter Bay concessionaire employee housing in Grand Teton National Park. Teton County commissioners on Tuesday voted to rescind an emergency declaration they issued on July 13. (Boyd-Fliegel, 8/6)
SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH
The Washington Post: New Mexico Judge Orders Meta To Pay $567 Million In Child Harms Case
A New Mexico judge branded Facebook and Instagram owner Meta a “public nuisance,” and ordered the company to pay $567 million into a fund to remediate harms its apps caused to children. Judge Bryan Biedscheid found in his ruling late Thursday that teenagers in the state were in the midst of a mental health crisis and that Meta’s platforms were a “significant contributing cause.” (Duncan, 8/6)
PHARMACEUTICALS
MedPage Today: FDA Approves First-In-Class Narcolepsy Drug
The FDA approved oveporexton (Orzeyful) for the treatment of narcolepsy type 1 (narcolepsy with cataplexy) in adults, the agency announced Wednesday. Oveporexton is a first-in-class orexin treatment that goes beyond symptom relief alone and targets the root cause of the rare sleep disorder. (Lou, 8/6)
MedPage Today: FDA Finally OKs Twice-Rejected Melanoma Drug
The FDA granted accelerated approval to vusolimogene oderparepvec (Tudriqev), known as RP1, in combination with nivolumab (Opdivo) to treat adults with unresectable advanced cutaneous melanoma, the agency announced Thursday. The genetically modified oncolytic viral therapy is indicated for patients who experienced disease progression with an anti-PD-1-based therapy. (Bassett, 8/6)
Modern Healthcare: What To Know About Medtronic’s Hernia Mesh Jury Verdict
A federal court jury decided Medtronic must pay an Alabama man and his wife $88 million after finding the company failed to adequately warn of the risks associated with one of its hernia mesh products. The Tuesday verdict was the first to come out of thousands of lawsuits filed against the company over its hernia mesh products. Medtronic and certain of its subsidiaries have been named as defendants in lawsuits filed in state and federal courts on behalf of about 10,350 consumers as of June 10, according to the company’s 2026 annual report. (Dubinsky, 8/6)
STATE WATCH
Wyoming Public Radio: Colorado Hospitals Are Seeing More Patients Without Insurance
Millions of people in Colorado and across the nation lost their health insurance after the pandemic wind-down ended automatic re-enrollment in Medicaid. An increasing number of Coloradans without coverage have been unable to pay their medical bills, according to a new analysis from the Center for Improving Value in Health Care, which has left hospitals holding the tab. (Galatas, 8/6)
North Carolina Health News: WakeMed, Atrium Leaders Leave Public In Dark As They Brief Small Groups Of Commissioners About Proposed Partnership
Hours before several hundred people packed the pews of a southeast Raleigh church to air their concerns about a potential combination of WakeMed and Charlotte-based Atrium Health, the heads of the health care systems and their lawyers met privately with three Wake County commissioners. (Blythe, 8/7)
The Texas Tribune: Texas Rural Clinics Turn To Telehealth
The Davis Mountain Clinic is not your typical rural medical clinic. It doesn’t have windows or a big waiting room, and there aren’t teams of physicians and nurses waiting on patients. Instead, there’s one nurse, Carol Brewer, who connects patients to psychologists and physicians online. What’s even more remarkable is where Brewer runs the clinic — a renovated shipping container. (Carver, 8/6)
Maryland Matters: Former Holy Cross CEO Kevin Sexton Tapped To Lead HSCRC
Kevin Sexton, former president and CEO of Holy Cross Health hospitals, has been tapped to chair a powerful state commission charged with setting hospital rates in Maryland, the Moore administration announced Thursday. (Brown, 8/6)
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Awards $300K To Expand Parenting, Child Care Support
Parents in Baltimore will have another helping hand courtesy of the city government, with a $300,000 grant given to The Family Tree by the city on Wednesday to help strengthen families and prevent abuse. (Pryce, 8/6)
CalMatters: California Lawmakers Try To Set Limits On AI 'Therapists'
In the matter of a few clicks and keystrokes, anyone can find themselves deep in conversation with “Psychologist,” a chatbot character that describes itself as an expert in “empathy” and “active listening.” It responds to messages of anxiety and sadness with reassurance. It asks questions and offers advice; it even responds with italicized nonverbal cues: “The psychologist’s expression softens with compassion.” In smaller font, a disclaimer reads: “This is A.I. and not a real person. Treat everything it says as fiction.” (Ibarra, 8/6)
AP: Labeling Mix-Up Led To Unneeded Hysterectomy, Lawsuit Says
An Atlanta-area woman alleges that she was wrongly diagnosed with cancer and underwent an unneeded hysterectomy because of a labeling error. Cassandra Barksdale and her attorneys filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Kaiser Permanente alleging the mix-up led to the surgery and months of physical and emotional pain. According to the lawsuit, another patient’s tissue sample was mistakenly labeled as belonging to Barksdale, who at age 43 then underwent a full hysterectomy on May 15, 2025, and was told she would get instructions about chemotherapy. (Chandler and Megnien, 8/6)
The New York Times: Child Whose Family Sued to Stop Brain Death Test After Drowning Has Died
Annelise Camp, a 2-year-old girl whose family tried to block a Texas hospital from testing whether she was brain-dead after she drowned, died this week after life support was removed. Her death on Monday, confirmed in a post online by the family and by a Texas lawmaker, ended a monthslong legal battle over where life ends and whether doctors must obtain consent to perform a brain death evaluation, which allows hospitals to remove a patient’s life support. (Salhotra, 8/6)
The Washington Post: Senior Home Hosts First Happy Hour After Resident Fought To Change Law
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed the bill — known among lawmakers as the “Grandparents’ Happy Hour” bill — on July 14 allowing state nursing homes and assisted-living facilities to serve alcohol without an additional license. The new law went into effect Saturday. (Melnick, 8/6)
LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH
The Washington Post: Wildfire Smoke Is A Growing Danger To Unborn Babies, Study Finds
Amid a summer when wildfire smoke has often filled the skies, a new study is adding to the body of research about the growing impact of fire-fueled air pollution, this time raising the alarm about prenatal health. Wildfire pollution has become an increasing proportion of the pollution that pregnant mothers and their unborn babies are exposed to, according to a study published Friday. (Wu, 8/7)
The New York Times: Why Are More Young Women Developing Heart Disease?
The threat of heart disease, and of dying from it, is rising among young women. Recent research has suggested that nearly one-third of all women ages 20 to 44 will have heart disease in 2050, up from one-fourth today. And women under 55 are more likely to die from heart attacks than men under 55. (Agrawal, 8/6)
AP: Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome: US Sees Jump In Nausea Cases
In the past year, the U.S. has seen a jump in frequent marijuana users going to the hospital with a nausea and vomiting condition, according to a report released Thursday. “The abruptness and sustained magnitude of the increase” is largely due to the condition getting its own diagnosis code last fall, which is providing a more accurate picture of what was an underrecognized problem, the authors of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report wrote. (Stobbe, 8/6)
The New York Times: Sydney Towle, Who Chronicled Her Cancer On TikTok, Dies At 26
Sydney Towle, a social media memoirist who mixed anguish, optimism and unabashed wanderlust as she challenged TikTok viewers to reconsider how a cancer patient should look and live, died on Wednesday at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. She was 26. Her death, from complications of metastatic bile duct cancer, was announced on her social media channels. Earlier this week, her family said that she had entered hospice care. (Rosman, 8/6)
NBC News: How Scrutiny Over Ariana Grande’s Weight Affects People With Eating Disorders
After Ariana Grande released the music video for “Petal” last week and the internet lit up with criticism over how thin she looked, mental health clinicians say they’ve been inundated with calls from people struggling with eating disorders. (Yurcaba, 8/6)
