First Edition: July 10, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Can Insurers Use Genetic Testing Results? A Reader Wants To Know
Q: I think genetic testing could be a great tool for physicians. My fear is what the insurance industry will do with the information, especially in today’s political climate. Could they decide that you have a preexisting condition and charge a higher rate, or not cover you at all? A: No, they can’t do that — not now, anyway. (Andrews, 7/10)
California Healthline:
Health Insurers Struggle With Sudden Freeze On ACA Payouts
Health insurers and Covered California officials are facing another curveball from the Trump administration on the Affordable Care Act that could rattle the insurance market. Over the weekend, Seema Verma, administrator for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said she was suspending a $10-billion program that helps stabilize the insurance markets created under the health law. (7/10)
The New York Times:
Brett Kavanaugh Is Trump’s Pick For Supreme Court
President Trump on Monday nominated Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, a politically connected member of Washington’s conservative legal establishment, to fill Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s seat on the Supreme Court, setting up an epic confirmation battle and potentially cementing the court’s rightward tilt for a generation. (Landler and Haberman, 7/9)
The Washington Post:
Trump Supreme Court Pick: Brett Kavanaugh
“In keeping with President Reagan’s legacy, I do not ask about a nominee’s personal opinions,” Trump said in an announcement in the East Room of the White House. “What matters is not a judge’s political views but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the Constitution require. I am pleased to say that I have found, without doubt, such a person.” (Costa, Barnes and Sonmez, 7/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Brett Kavanaugh, A Washington Veteran, Is Trump's Second Pick For The Supreme Court
During the White House ceremony in which Trump named him, Kavanaugh declared that his “judicial philosophy is straightforward. A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written. And a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent.” Critics said beneath that rhetoric is a highly conservative, partisan lawyer. Kavanaugh's extensive record in Washington will provide the opposition with ammunition. In the late 1990s, Kavanaugh played a lead role in the aggressive investigation of President Clinton led by independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr. He was an author of the Starr Report, which urged the House to impeach the president for lying about a sexual affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. (Savage, 7/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
President Trump Chooses Brett Kavanaugh For Supreme Court Vacancy
The prime-time announcement required Mr. Trump to set aside misgivings about Judge Kavanaugh’s ties to the George W. Bush administration that Mr. Trump has frequently criticized, according to people familiar with the process. He also restrained an impulse to make a flashier choice, these people said. Mr. Trump settled on the pick after a rapid-fire search that opened on June 27, when 81-year-old Justice Anthony Kennedy told the president he was stepping down, creating the second vacancy on the court during Mr. Trump’s presidency. (Radnofsky, Nicholas and Kendall, 7/10)
Politico:
How A Private Meeting With Kennedy Helped Trump Get To ‘Yes’ On Kavanaugh
After Justice Anthony Kennedy told President Donald Trump he would relinquish his seat on the Supreme Court, the president emerged from his private meeting with the retiring jurist focused on one candidate to name as his successor: Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Kennedy’s former law clerk. Trump, according to confidants and aides close to the White House, has become increasingly convinced that “the judges,” as he puts it, or his administration’s remaking of the federal judiciary in its conservative image, is central to his legacy as president. And he credits Kennedy, who spent more than a decade at the center of power on the court, for helping give him the opportunity. (Cadelago, Cook and Restuccia, 7/9)
The New York Times:
Brett Kavanaugh, A Conservative Stalwart In Political Fights And On The Bench
Brett Michael Kavanaugh was just 38 when he was first nominated to a federal appeals court in Washington. But he had already participated in an extraordinary number of political controversies, attracting powerful patrons and critics along the way. He served under Kenneth W. Starr, the independent counsel who investigated President Bill Clinton, examining the suicide of Vincent W. Foster Jr., the deputy White House counsel, and drafting parts of the report that led to Mr. Clinton’s impeachment. He worked on the 2000 Florida recount litigations that ended in a Supreme Court decision handing the presidency to George W. Bush. And he served as a White House lawyer and staff secretary to Mr. Bush, working on the selection of federal judges and legal issues arising from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. (Liptak, 7/9)
Reuters:
Washington Insider Kavanaugh Boasts Conservative Credentials
Brett Kavanaugh, the consummate Washington insider picked by President Donald Trump on Monday for a lifetime seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, has viewed business regulations with skepticism in his 12 years as a judge and taken conservative positions on some divisive social issues. He joined the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2006. Appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, Kavanaugh, 53, on several occasions ruled against regulations issued under Democrat Barack Obama, who succeeded Bush in 2009. Kavanaugh faulted Obama-era environmental regulations, including some aimed at fighting climate change. (Hurley, 7/9)
The Washington Post:
Who Is Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's Nominee?
Brett M. Kavanaugh, the federal judge nominated by President Trump on Monday to the Supreme Court, has endorsed robust views of the powers of the president, consistently siding with arguments in favor of broad executive authority during his 12 years on the bench in Washington. He has called for restructuring the government’s consumer watchdog agency so the president could remove the director and has been a leading defender of the government’s position when it comes to using military commissions to prosecute terrorism suspects. (Marimow, 7/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Brett Kavanaugh Has Shown Deep Skepticism Of Regulatory State
Like Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, Judge Kavanaugh has questioned whether courts are giving administrative agencies too much latitude in disputes over statutory interpretation. Judge Kavanaugh’s vantage point—a bench with caseloads packed with challenges to federal agency authority—has allowed him to become an influential umpire of the administrative state. (Gershman, 7/9)
The Washington Post:
Kavanaugh Supreme Court Nomination: Conservative Pick Will Need Senate Confirmation
Kavanaugh is likely to be far more conservative than Kennedy, who was known as a swing vote on the court. These ideological estimates of the current justices and Kavanaugh are based on the Judicial Common Space system developed by political science researchers Lee Epstien, Andrew D. Martin, Jeffrey A. Segal and Chad Westerland. The scores take into account the voting patterns of Supreme Court justices and a combination of factors for judges of lower courts, including clerkships and the political affiliation of the nominating president. Based on these scores, Kavanaugh would be on par with Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas at the conservative end of the court. That’s assuming he’s confirmed by the Senate, which can be a long process. (7/9)
The New York Times:
A Conservative Court Push Decades In The Making, With Effects For Decades To Come
President Trump’s selection of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court on Monday culminates a three-decade project unparalleled in American history to install a reliable conservative majority on the nation’s highest tribunal, one that could shape the direction of the law for years to come. All of the years of vetting and grooming and lobbying and list-making by conservative legal figures frustrated by Republican appointees who drifted to the left arguably has come down to this moment, when they stand on the precipice of appointing a fifth justice who, they hope, will at last establish a bench firmly committed to their principles. (Baker, 7/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Judge Brett Kavanaugh: In His Own Words
Judge Kavanaugh, a nominee of President George W. Bush, has penned notable rulings on a host of topics, including environmental regulations, guns, the Affordable Care Act and abortion. Many, but not all of his rulings, have tipped right-of-center. (Jones, 7/9)
The Associated Press:
A Look At Supreme Court Nominee Kavanaugh's Notable Opinions
Here are summaries of some of [Kavanaugh's] notable opinions
Politico:
Republicans Brace For Brutal Supreme Court Fight
Mitch McConnell and his Republican Caucus are enthusiastic about the prospect of filling a Supreme Court vacancy before the midterm elections. But they don’t deny the enormity of the task at hand. (Everett and Schor, 7/9)
Politico:
Senate Swing Votes Prepare For SCOTUS Onslaught
Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) were under intense scrutiny even before Trump tapped Kavanaugh, a veteran appeals court judge. But they quickly began feeling the pinch as more than a half-dozen prominent liberals in the caucus joined Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in opposing Kavanaugh as a hard-line conservative minutes after the nomination was rolled out — even as the White House and Senate Republicans began trumpeting the nominee as a “mainstream” pick. (Schor, 7/9)
The Washington Post:
Trump Supreme Court Pick: How Key Senators Reacted
With Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) away from Capitol Hill as he undergoes treatment for brain cancer, Kavanaugh’s fortunes could hinge on a single vote. Here are two groups of senators who will play a pivotal role in the confirmation process, along with their reactions to Monday night’s news. (Sonmez, 7/9)
The Washington Post:
With Trump’s Nominee Announced, The Battle For The Court Begins
Antiabortion activists plan to descend upon the home-state offices of three key Democratic senators on Tuesday. Liberals hope to take over Twitter with the #SaveSCOTUS hashtag while holding dozens of events across the country. And groups on both sides have prepared multimillion-dollar digital and television ad campaigns set to start Monday night. Even before President Trump’s announcement that Brett M. Kavanaugh will be his Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the battle plans were in place and the arguments had been framed. What happens next is a no-holds-barred fight for public opinion and Senate votes, which history suggests the president is heavily favored to win. (Scherer, 7/9)
The Associated Press:
What To Expect In The Supreme Court Confirmation Battle
The stakes are enormous and advocacy groups that don’t have to disclose who is funding them are spending heavily to shape the fight. A look at what to expect. (Freking, 7/9)
NPR:
Kavanaugh Nomination Sparks Partisan Uproar On Abortion Rights
Outside groups on both sides of the debate over abortion rights immediately issued predictions about what the nomination would mean for the future of Roe v. Wade. Dana Singiser, the vice president for public policy and government relations at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told reporters Monday night, "The right to access abortion safely and legally in this country is clearly on the line." Anti-abortion-rights activists do not disagree. Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the conservative Susan B. Anthony List, told reporters on a press call that the nomination of a fifth conservative justice is the culmination of years of work getting Republicans elected to all branches of government. (Snell, 7/10)
Politico:
Anti-Abortion Groups Rally Around Trump’s SCOTUS Pick
“I have great hope that ... now there may be five judges to allow states under the authority of the 10th Amendment, to enact their own [policies] into law on the abortion issue,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List. Kavanaugh has passed up opportunities in legal opinions to stake out a position on the landmark 1973 decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion. And some conservative critics before the announcement raised fresh concerns about comments he made 12 years ago pledging to follow Roe, calling it the “binding precedent of the court.” (Cancryn, 7/9)
The New York Times:
Conservative And Liberal Groups Gird For Battle Over Kavanaugh
Even before Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced his retirement, Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative advocacy group, had reserved more than two dozen internet domain names — one for each candidate on President Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees. The idea, said Carrie Severino, the group’s chief counsel, was to create a website template: “ConfirmBlank.com.” Now, President Trump has filled in the blank with the name of Brett M. Kavanaugh. ConfirmKavanaugh.com is live, and Judicial Crisis Network is already running advertisements. (Stolberg and Martin, 7/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Outside Groups Plan Costly Campaigns For—Or Against—Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh
Among the biggest targets will be two Republican senators who back abortion rights: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Though neither faces re-election this fall, liberal groups are expected to flood their states with ads urging them to press Judge Kavanaugh, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, about any possibility of challenging the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that guarantees the right to abortion. (Bykowicz, 7/9)
Politico:
Airwaves About To Get Nasty As Supreme Court Fight Gets Underway
Unlike Gorsuch, who replaced Antonin Scalia, an already conservative member, Trump’s replacement for retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, viewed by many as the court’s swing vote, could significantly reshape the balance of the court. (Levine, 7/9)
Politico:
Latest Obamacare Shake-Up Could Fuel Rate Hikes
The Trump administration’s latest blow to Obamacare is rattling health insurers as they draw up rate proposals, sparking new worries about huge premium increases just before midterm elections. The administration’s decision to freeze a $10 billion program designed to protect insurers from big losses in Obamacare injected more volatility into insurance marketplaces, which President Donald Trump’s health department has sought to undermine. And the move swiftly drew new warnings from insurers that higher premium increases could soon follow when enrollment reopens in November. (Demko, 7/9)
The New York Times:
Trump Stance On Breast-Feeding And Formula Criticized By Medical Experts
The Trump administration’s aggressive attempts to water down an international resolution supporting breast-feeding go against decades of advice by most medical organizations and public health experts. The American Academy of Pediatrics calls human breast milk the “normative standard” for infant feeding, and recommends that mothers breast-feed their babies exclusively for six months. “Breast-feeding is one of the most cost-effective interventions for improving maternal and child health,” said Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. (Rabin, 7/9)
The Washington Post:
U.S. Effort To Weaken An International Breast-Feeding Resolution Has A Long History
An aggressive effort by U.S. officials to weaken an international resolution to promote breast-feeding this year is the latest example of the government taking an industry's side in global public health, advocates said. This spring, U.S. officials threatened negative trade consequences for Ecuador if the country introduced a resolution to the World Health Assembly to encourage breast-feeding, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly. That person said there had been significant lobbying of U.S. representatives in Switzerland by the infant-formula industry over the issue. Ecuador's Ministry of Health did not reply to a request for comment. (Johnson and Erickson, 7/9)
The Associated Press:
Trump Says US Had Opposed Formula Limits, Not Breastfeeding
The U.S. opposed a World Health Assembly resolution to encourage breastfeeding because it called for limits on the promotion of infant formula, not because of objections to breastfeeding, President Donald Trump tweeted Monday. Trump criticized The New York Times for reporting that U.S. officials sought to remove language that urged governments to protect, promote and support breastfeeding, along with language calling on policymakers to limit the promotion of food products, such as infant formula, that can be harmful to young children. (7/9)
The New York Times:
Judge Rejects Long Detentions Of Migrant Families, Dealing Trump Another Setback
The Trump administration on Monday lost a bid to persuade a federal court to allow long-term detention of migrant families, a significant legal setback to the president’s immigration agenda. In a ruling that countered nearly every argument posed by the Justice Department, Judge Dolly M. Gee of the Federal District Court in Los Angeles held that there was no basis to amend a longstanding consent decree that requires children to be released to licensed care programs within 20 days. The government said that long-term confinement was the only way to avoid separating families when parents were detained on criminal charges. (Jordan and Fernandez, 7/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Judge Rejects Trump Administration Bid To Indefinitely Detain Immigrant Children With Parents
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee issued an order lambasting the Justice Department for its request to modify a 1997 legal settlement that set rules for how the government can deal with immigrant children in its custody. Calling President Trump’s executive order on immigrants “ill-considered,” the judge accused the administration of attempting to shift blame to the courts for a crisis of Congress’ and the president’s making. Gee’s order came as Justice Department attorneys told a federal judge in San Diego they would miss Tuesday’s deadline for authorities to reunite parents and children younger than 5 who were forcibly separated at the border. (Kim and Davis, 7/9)
Politico:
Judge Rejects Trump Request To Alter Agreement On Release Of Immigrant Kids
"Defendants seek to light a match to the Flores Agreement and ask this Court to upend the parties’ agreement by judicial fiat," wrote Gee, an appointee of President Barack Obama. "It is apparent that Defendants’ Application is a cynical attempt ... to shift responsibility to the Judiciary for over 20 years of Congressional inaction and ill-considered Executive action that have led to the current stalemate." (Gerstein, 7/9)
Reuters:
Trump Slams Pfizer After July 1 Drug Price Hikes
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday took aim at Pfizer Inc and other U.S. drugmakers after they raised prices on some of their medicines on July 1, saying his administration would act in response. "Pfizer & others should be ashamed that they have raised drug prices for no reason." Trump wrote in a post on Twitter on Monday. "We will respond!" (Erman and Heavey, 7/9)
Politico:
Trump Criticizes Pfizer Following Price Increase
Trump’s tweet comes six weeks after he announced that drugmakers would voluntarily offer “massive” price cuts, a pronouncement that took the industry by surprise. Pfizer, one of the nation’s largest drugmakers, increased prices last week on 41 products, including Viagra. Several other manufacturers have increased prices as well, despite pressure from the White House. (Goldberg, 7/9)
The Hill:
HHS Secretary: Recent Drug Price Increases 'Creating A Tipping Point'
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar on Monday rebuked drug companies for recent price increases. "Change is coming to prescription drug pricing, whether it’s painful or not for pharmaceutical companies," Azar said in a speech Monday at a health policy conference. Azar's comments follow Pfizer's decision to raise the list prices of more than 100 prescription drugs. (Hellmann, 7/9)
Stat:
Azar Makes Case For Revamping Hospital Drug Discounts — To Hospitals Defending Them
The Trump administration is looking at “comprehensive” changes to the so-called 340B program as part of its work to lower prescription drug prices, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Monday, in a surprisingly direct speech before a ballroom full of representatives for the hospitals and clinics that have called for stronger protections for the program. The federal drug discount program known as 340B has been the subject of an increasingly contentious debate that pits pharmaceutical companies, which want to rein in the federal drug discount program, against the participating hospitals that receive the discounts. (Mershon, 7/9)
NPR:
Drugs For Cholesterol And Blood Pressure Now Being Tested As Flu Remedies
Most drugs have side effects, but sometimes they're actually good news. Researchers are now exploring whether some cheap and common drugs have side effects that could help people fight off the flu and other lung infections.This idea has a passionate advocate: Dr. David Fedson. About 10 years ago, this infectious disease specialist had a disturbing thought. He was working in the vaccine industry in France, and he started to wonder what would happen if, all of a sudden, the world was gripped with a flu pandemic. (Harris, 7/9)
The Hill:
Maine House Fails To Override LePage Veto Of Medicaid Expansion
Lawmakers in Maine's state House failed to override the governor's veto of a bill that would fund the first year of Medicaid expansion. The lawmakers voted 85-58 to uphold Republican Gov. Paul LePage's veto of the $60 million bill, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the bill. That $60 million — which was slated to come from budget surplus revenue and the state's tobacco settlement fund — would have been matched by $500 million in federal funds to expand Medicaid to more low-income adults in the state. (Hellmann, 7/9)
The New York Times:
Dying Organs Restored To Life In Novel Experiments
When Georgia Bowen was born by emergency cesarean on May 18, she took a breath, threw her arms in the air, cried twice, and went into cardiac arrest. The baby had had a heart attack, most likely while she was still in the womb. Her heart was profoundly damaged; a large portion of the muscle was dead, or nearly so, leading to the cardiac arrest. Doctors kept her alive with a cumbersome machine that did the work of her heart and lungs. (Kolata, 7/10)
Stat:
Physicians’ Beliefs May Override Cancer Patients’ Wishes For End-Of-Life Care
[Dr. Nancy] Keating, also a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, studies how to deliver high-quality care to patients with cancer. Her latest work examines the factors that contribute to large hospital-by-hospital differences in end-of-life spending for cancer patients. The new study reveals that the variation in the intensity of treatment stems more from the availability of services and physicians’ discomfort navigating end-of-life choices than from patients’ wishes. From surveys, conducted between 2003 and 2005, Keating found that physicians in higher-spending areas reported less comfort addressing end-of-life issues. They felt less equipped to treat end-of-life symptoms, to discuss “do not resuscitate” status, and to present care options such as hospice to their patients. (Farber, 7/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Vaping Doesn’t Often Help Smokers Quit, New Study Finds
Makers of electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices often tout their products as smoking cessation aids. But new research suggests that the devices haven’t helped many U.S. smokers quit. In a study published Monday in the journal PLOS One, researchers at Georgia State University found that U.S. adult smokers who didn’t use electronic vaping devices were more than twice as likely to quit as those who did. (McKay, 7/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
New Effort For Lyme Disease Vaccine Draws Early Fire
Efforts to bring a vaccine for Lyme disease to the market have run aground amid heated debate over the years. Now, a European company is in the early stages of creating a vaccine for the increasingly common tick-borne disease. Lyme disease patient-advocacy groups—who disagree with the protocols used by most doctors for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease—are already raising concerns. (Reddy, 7/9)
The Washington Post:
Police Violence Affects African Americans’ Mental Health, A Study Says
“#IfIDieInPoliceCustody Know that the color of my skin was the only crime committed,” a woman tweeted in 2015, three days after Sandra Bland was found dead in her Texas jail cell. “Nothing will happen to the Police in the Freddie Gray case . . . ” a man tweeted three days after the death of a 25-year-old Baltimore man whose fatal spinal injury while in police custody in 2015 triggered protests throughout the nation. These sentiments — perception of a systemic unfairness and a loss of faith in institutions — are common among black people in the days and months following police killings of unarmed African Americans, according to a study published last month in the medical journal the Lancet. (Logan, 7/9)
The Washington Post:
If You’ve Ever Been Hangry, This Is What Your Body May Be Telling You
Have you ever been grumpy, only to realize that you’re hungry? Many people feel more irritable, annoyed or negative when hungry — an experience colloquially called being “hangry.” The idea that hunger affects our feelings and behaviors is widespread. But surprisingly little research investigates how feeling hungry transforms into feeling hangry. (MacCormack, 7/9)
The Associated Press:
Maryland Governor Signs Federal All-Payer Health Contract
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan signed a contract with the federal government on Monday to enact the state's unique all-payer health care model, which he said will create incentives to improve care while saving money. Hogan signed the five-year contract along with the administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Seema Verma. (7/9)
The Associated Press:
Ethics Review Sought As Ex-Coaches At Ohio St. Defend Jordan
A watchdog group and a former special counsel to President Barack Obama are seeking an ethics review of U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan even as former colleagues back his statements that he didn't know about sexual abuse of wrestlers while coaching at Ohio State University. Some ex-wrestlers from the late 1980s and early 1990s say they were groped by team doctor Richard Strauss and that Jordan knew then about the alleged abuse as an assistant coach. Jordan, founder of the conservative Freedom Caucus and potential contender for House speaker, denies that and has said he and other coaches would have reported any alleged abuse brought to their attention. (7/9)
The Associated Press:
Former VA Pathologist Denies Being Impaired On Duty
A former pathologist denied he was impaired on duty amid an Arkansas Veterans Affairs hospital's investigation into more than 30,000 of his cases dating back to 2005. Dr. Robert Morris Levy of Fayetteville told the Associated Press that the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks fired him as Chief of Pathology because of a DUI which was ultimately dismissed. (7/9)
The New York Times:
New Jersey Woman On Oxygen Dies After Electric Company Shuts Off Her Power
New Jersey officials said on Monday they were investigating why a utility company shut off power last week at the Newark home of a woman in hospice care who then died after her electric-powered oxygen tank stopped operating. Family members of the woman, Linda Daniels, said she gasped for air for hours on Thursday until she died of congestive heart failure. The company, Public Service Electric and Gas Company, had cut off power to her home that morning because of overdue bills. (Haag, 7/9)
The Associated Press:
Court: Kansas Did Not Violate Transgender Inmate’s Rights
A federal appeals court says Kansas prison officials aren’t deliberately indifferent to a transgender inmate who says her medical treatment is so poor it violates her constitutional rights. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a lower court ruling in favor of prison officials in a dispute with Michelle Renee Lamb. Lamb was born male but has identified as female since a young age. She receives hormone treatment, testosterone-blocking medication and weekly counseling sessions in prison. But she wants greater doses of hormones and surgery. (7/9)
The Associated Press:
First Trial Over Roundup Weed Killer Cancer Claim Under Way
Lawyers for a school groundskeeper dying of cancer asked a San Francisco jury on Monday to find that agribusiness giant Monsanto's widely used weed killer Roundup likely caused his disease. Dewayne Johnson's lawsuit is the first case to go to trial among hundreds of lawsuits saying Roundup caused non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Johnson sprayed Roundup and a similar product, Ranger Pro, at his job as a pest control manager at a San Francisco Bay Area school district, according to his attorneys. (7/9)
The Associated Press:
Couple Who Prayed For Healing Plead Guilty In Baby’s Death
Two members of an Oregon church that shuns traditional medicine in favor of prayer and anointing the sick with oils pleaded guilty Monday to negligent homicide and criminal mistreatment in the death of their newborn daughter, who struggled to breathe for hours as family and friends prayed over her but did not seek medical care. Sarah Mitchell and her husband, Travis Lee Mitchell, had originally been charged with murder by neglect and criminal mistreatment in the 2017 death of the premature baby. They each were sentenced to almost seven years in prison, with credit for 13 months in custody awaiting trial and credit for good behavior. (7/9)