First Edition: June 26, 2019

Kaiser Health News: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: Why Are Drug Prices So Random? Meet Mr. PBM
Surely, an old-time, generic drug can’t cost $720 — for a three-month supply? After a close call with an outrageous Rx tab, host Dan Weissmann tackles the health care cost puzzle he’s been avoiding: figuring out prescription drug prices. Here’s what he found: Your insurance company is probably in cahoots with a pharmacy benefit manager — and the negotiations that go on between them are trade secrets. No wonder it’s so hard to know what you’ll pay at the drugstore counter! (Weissmann, 6/26)

Kaiser Health News: A Roundup Of State Bans On Abortion Early In Pregnancy
This year has brought an unprecedented wave of new state laws that allow abortions to be performed only early in pregnancy — if at all. Most of the new laws — known as early abortion bans — explicitly outlaw abortion when performed after a certain point early in the pregnancy. The laws vary, with some forbidding abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, and some after eight weeks. (Gordon and Hurt, 6/26)

California Healthline/KQED: San Francisco Set To Ban Sales Of E-Cigarettes
San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton, who co-authored the legislation, sees it as part of a long-term battle against the effects of smoking. “We spent a few decades fighting big tobacco in the form of cigarettes,” Walton said. “Now we have to do it again in the form of e-cigarettes.” (Klivans, 6/25)

The Associated Press: 2020 Democrats Converge In Miami For 1st Night Of Debates
Ten presidential candidates, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, will converge on the debate stage on Wednesday on the first night of Democratic debates to offer their pitches to voters and attempt a breakout moment for their campaigns. For many of the White House hopefuls, it will be the highest-profile opportunity yet to offer their vision for the country and, if for just two hours, chip into a political news cycle often dominated by President Donald Trump. Given the massive field , the debate will be split over two nights , with 10 other candidates — including former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — appearing Thursday. (Summers, 6/26)

The New York Times: Debate Night One: Political Dynamics To Watch
Ms. Warren is the only candidate on the first night who is polling in double digits, but there are plenty of intriguing story lines and political dynamics to watch for. (Goldmacher, Parlapiano and Ramic, 6/26)

Politico: Five Topics To Watch For In The First Democratic Debates
Thanks to Bernie Sanders’ 2016 run for president, “Medicare for All” has cemented itself firmly in the Democratic lexicon. Now, the 2020 candidates have embraced policies aimed at addressing the cost of health care that range from Sanders’ single-payer plan to improving the Affordable Care Act. Look for health care to be one of the most prominent issues over  which candidates clash during the debates.Supporters of California Sen. Eric Swalwell were most likely to say health care was their top issue, while supporters of author Marianne Williamson were least likely to rank it the issue they cared most about. (Jin and Oprysko, 6/25)

The Wall Street Journal: First Democratic Debates To Pit Experience Against Lesser-Knowns
Mr. Biden has been here before, but this will be his first time on a presidential debate stage as the front-runner. The former vice president has been making the case that he’s the best candidate to beat Mr. Trump. But Mr. Biden is also reckoning with a Democratic Party that has shifted leftward on some issues, even in the two years since he left office. In response, he recently reversed himself on his longstanding support of the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of Medicaid funds for abortion in nearly all cases. (Day, Collins and Parti, 6/26)

The Hill: Poll Finds Trump Vulnerable On Health Care In Battleground States 
A majority of people polled in four major battleground states would not vote for a president who supports many of the policies being pursued by the Trump administration, according to a new survey. The poll, conducted on behalf of pro-ObamaCare group Protect Our Care, found voters in Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin would not consider voting for a presidential candidate who supports policies including eliminating protections for people with pre-existing conditions, cutting funding for Medicare or letting insurance companies stop covering the costs of prescription drugs. (Weixel, 6/25)

The New York Times: Migrant Children Moved Back To Troubled Texas Border Facility
At the squat, sand-colored concrete border station in Texas that has become the center of debate over President Trump’s immigration policies, a chaotic shuffle of migrant children continued on Tuesday as more than 100 were moved back into a facility that days earlier had been emptied in the midst of criticism that young detainees there were hungry, crying and unwashed. The transfer came just days after 249 children originally housed at the station in Clint, Tex., had been moved to other facilities to relieve overcrowding. (Rubio and Dickerson, 6/25)

The Washington Post: U.S. Returns 100 Migrant Children To Overcrowded Border Facility As HHS Says It Is Out Of Space
Immigration and health authorities have scrambled in recent days to move hundreds of migrant children out of one Border Patrol station in Clint, Tex., after lawyers who visited the facility described scenes of sick and dirty children without their parents, and inconsolable toddlers in the care of other children. The alleged conditions raised the specter that masses of migrant children — some still in infancy — who had arrived unaccompanied or been separated from their relatives after crossing the border are being exposed to additional undue trauma as they spend days or weeks in ill-equipped Border Patrol stations, the lawyers said. (Hausiohner, 6/25)

Politico: ‘Kids Are Really Suffering’ As Migrant Surge Overwhelms Health Department
Hundreds of migrant children being transferred from squalid, overcrowded Border Patrol detention centers are heading into the custody of a federal refugee agency that’s already struggling to feed and care for tens of thousands of minors. The Office of Refugee Resettlement is so swamped with new arrivals that it is burning through cash to house children in military bases around the country, including one in Oklahoma that interned Japanese-Americans during World War II. On Tuesday, the agency even had to send 100 children back to a much-criticized Border Patrol station in Clint, Texas, saying it lacks the room to take them. (Rayasam and Diamond, 6/25)

The New York Times: ‘A Constant Game Of Musical Chairs’ Amid Another Homeland Security Shake-Up
Turmoil intensified on Tuesday inside the agency responsible for securing the country’s borders as a top official was replaced by an immigration hard-liner and former Fox News contributor who last week pushed for nationwide raids to deport undocumented families. That hard-liner, Mark Morgan, will take over as the head of Customs and Border Protection, administration officials said Tuesday. (Kanno-Youngs and Haberman, 6/25)

The Washington Post: Mark Morgan To Replace John Sanders As Border Chief As DHS Shake-Up Continues
Immigration hard-liners in recent days have been pushing Trump to remove acting DHS secretary Kevin McAleenan at the moment when the policies McAleenan has advanced — including a deal with Mexico for an unprecedented immigration crackdown there — are beginning to yield results. U.S. authorities detained more than 144,000 migrants last month along the Mexico border, the highest level since 2006, but preliminary reports indicate fewer have been crossing in recent weeks and others are being turned back by Mexican military forces. (Miroff and Dawsey, 6/25)

Los Angeles Times: Shakeup At Homeland Security As Migrant Children Are Moved Back To Troubled Texas Facility
Trump said he was “very concerned” about conditions in migrant detention facilities but contended, without evidence, that conditions were better under his administration than under that of President Obama. He added he did not ask Sanders to step down, but said he “knew” the change at the top of the agency was coming. The president and his closest aides kicked off a purge of top Homeland Security officials in April that has left roughly a dozen leadership vacancies. (O'Toole, Haberkorn and Hennessy-Fiske, 6/25)

The New York Times: House Approves Border Aid, Seeking To Curb Trump’s Crackdown
A divided House voted on Tuesday to send $4.5 billion in humanitarian aid to the border to address horrific conditions facing a crush of migrants, attaching significant rules on how the money could be spent in the first action by Democrats to rein in President Trump’s immigration crackdown. But the package — which passed by a vote of 230 to 195 nearly along party lines, only after Democratic leaders toughened restrictions on the money to win over liberal skeptics — faces a tough path to enactment. (Hirschfeld Davis and Cochrane, 6/25)

Politico: House Passes Border Spending Package In Win For Pelosi
Top Democrats made several tweaks to the contentious emergency spending package just hours before it was considered on the floor to fend off a left-wing rebellion, according to multiple lawmakers and aides. The final version included strict conditions requiring private detention facilities to meet certain standards of care within six months or risk losing their contract. It was the second time in two days that progressive leaders forced changes to the bill amid reluctance to giving Trump any money for his immigration agenda. (Ferris, Caygle and Scholtes, 6/25)

The Associated Press: Time Running Short, Showdown Looms Over Border Aid Package
“The Senate has a good bill. Our bill is much better,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told her Democratic colleagues in a meeting Tuesday morning, according to a senior Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private session. “We are ensuring that children have food, clothing, sanitary items, shelter and medical care. We are providing access to legal assistance. And we are protecting families because families belong together,” Pelosi said in a subsequent floor speech. (Taylor and Fram, 6/26)

The Washington Post: House Passes $4.5 Billion Emergency Border Aid Bill With Provisions For The Treatment Of Migrant Children In U.S. Custody
The backdrop for the vote is not only the humanitarian concerns about the surging numbers of migrants but also Trump’s threats — delayed but not canceled Saturday — to begin a mass deportation of undocumented immigrant families. Democratic lawmakers has expressed concerns about passing a border aid bill that would not address both of those issues. (DeBonis and Werner, 6/25)

The Wall Street Journal: House Passes $4.5 Billion Bill For Humanitarian Assistance At Border
The Trump administration has indicated that it would veto the House legislation, and Republicans in both chambers have dismissed the House effort as ultimately futile. The Senate bill passed out of the Appropriations Committee with 30 supporting votes and a single dissent, encouraging lawmakers in both parties. “You can’t get 30-1 around here to say the sun’s going to rise in the east. We passed it 30 to 1,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “It’s a no-brainer, bring it up.” (Duehren, 6/25)

The Washington Post: Former Captives Contrast Conditions With U.S. Treatment Of Child Migrants
American journalist Michael Scott Moore, abducted in 2012 while reporting in Somalia, watched Fabian argue that minimal necessities, like toiletries and sleeping conditions, were not essential to meet minimum “safe and sanitary” standards. “That was — let’s say — below my experience in Somalia,” he told The Washington Post Tuesday of his more than two years in captivity. “The conditions were about as miserable as you could imagine,” he said, describing a barren and concrete prison house. Often there was no electricity, he said, “but we had certain minimum things that kept it from being completely wretched.” (Paul, 6/25)

The Washington Post Fact Checker: How Many Migrants Show Up For Immigration Court Hearings?
The nation’s nearly 400 immigration judges are under a mountain of backlogged cases, and hundreds of thousands of Central Americans continue to arrive at the border each year. Because of a lack of holding capacity and a court settlement requiring the release of children, U.S. immigration authorities allow many migrant families into the country while they wait for hearings. On CBS, Pence claimed that “the vast majority” never show up. On CNN, he said the rate of no-shows was “plus-90 percent.” (Rizzo, 6/26)

The New York Times: A Photo Captures The Pathos Of Migrants Who Risked It All
The father and daughter lie face down in the muddy water along the banks of the Rio Grande, her tiny head tucked inside his T-shirt, an arm draped over his neck. The portrait of desperation was captured on Monday by the journalist Julia Le Duc, in the hours after Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez died with his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria, as they tried to cross from Mexico to the United States. The image represents a poignant distillation of the perilous journey migrants face on their passage north to the United States, and the tragic consequences that often go unseen in the loud and caustic debate over border policy. (Ahmed and Semple, 6/25)

USA Today: Photo Of Drowned Father And Daughter Renews Immigration Outrage
Some people were furious over the graphic nature of the photo. Others were incensed over U.S. immigration policy that they say is allowing the tragedy to coldly unfold. Others expressed anger that the public is not doing enough to help families who are fleeing violence and poverty. (James, 6/25)

Politico: O’Rourke On Haunting Photo: ‘Trump Is Responsible For These Deaths’
Beto O’Rourke on Tuesday blamed President Donald Trump directly for the deaths of a father and daughter who were found earlier this week along a bank of the Rio Grande. “Trump is responsible for these deaths,” O’Rourke wrote on social media, sharing an Associated Press story and the image of drowned man and girl that was ricocheting around the internet. (Siders, 6/26)

The Washington Post: Wayfair Is Supplying Beds To Texas Detention Centers For Children -- And Its Employees Are Protesting
Employees at online furniture giant Wayfair are organizing a walk-out to protest the retailer’s sale of $200,000 worth of beds and other furniture to a Texas detention center for migrant children. The walk-out, planned for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. near the company’s Boston headquarters, comes after Wayfair executives said they would fulfill an order for beds and other items for a detention center in Carrizo Springs, Texas, according to two Wayfair employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity. (Bhattarai, 6/25)

The New York Times: Botox Maker Allergan Is Sold To AbbVie In $63 Billion Deal
The drugmaker AbbVie said on Tuesday that it planned to buy Allergan, the maker of Botox, for about $63 billion, in one of the biggest mergers in the health care industry this year. The deal represents a classic response to a perennial drug industry challenge: how to recover when a blockbuster drug is losing its patent protection. In acquiring Allergan, AbbVie gets to bypass the risky process of research and development by buying a portfolio of popular products as it faces the loss of patent protection for Humira, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis that is the world’s top-selling drug. (Thomas and de la Merced, 6/25)

Reuters: AbbVie Looks Beyond Humira With $63 Billion Deal For Botox-Maker Allergan
AbbVie has long been under pressure to diversify its portfolio and its shares have lost more than a third of their value since January 2018 over concerns about Humira. The world's top-selling drug brought in sales of $20 billion last year. But it now faces competition from cheaper versions in Europe and a 2023 expiration of its patents in the United States, by far the most profitable market. (Erman, Banerjee, and Steenhuysen, 6/25)

The Washington Post: AbbVie Makes $63B Bid For Botox Maker Allergan
Humira logged a staggering $20 billion in sales last year, or about 61% of AbbVie’s revenue. That dangerous dependence on one drug forced AbbVie to make a big move. Allergan’s management likewise has been under pressure to reverse a long stock plunge, from $340 a share in July 2015 to about $130 on Monday. The combination could solve those problems for AbbVie Inc., based in North Chicago, Illinois, and Allergan, which is based in Dublin on paper but operates from headquarters in Madison, New Jersey. The acquisition should also mean Allergan officially moves back home, after having switched its legal headquarters to Ireland in a tax-saving strategy. (Johnson and Murphy, 6/25)

The Wall Street Journal: AbbVie Strikes Deal To Acquire Allergan For About $63 Billion
Lately, Wall Street has been clamoring for change at Allergan, with its shares trading at a fraction of their peak of more than $330 in the summer of 2015. Analysts have been saying the company could split into two pieces, but few expected Chief Executive Brent Saunders to pull off a sale, especially at such a lofty premium. AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez said the company’s board about a year ago started discussions that led to a decision to pursue a large acquisition. AbbVie wanted to boost the size of its non-Humira business, Mr. Gonzalez said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters. (Lombardo, Rockoff and Cimilluca, 6/25)

The Hill: Senate Finance Leaders In Talks On Deal To Limit Drug Price Increases
The leaders of the Senate Finance Committee are in bipartisan talks on a potentially sweeping deal to limit drug price increases in Medicare, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), the top Democrat on the panel, is pushing to make drug companies pay back rebates to Medicare’s prescription drug program, called Part D, if their prices rise faster than inflation. Another measure would force drug companies to pay money back to Medicare if they launch a new drug with a high price. (Sullivan, 6/26)

The Hill: Lawmakers Map Out Path Forward On Medicare Part D
Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) put forward their ideas for improving Medicare Part D during an event on Tuesday at a time when seniors are facing rising out-of-pocket costs and fewer options for affordable medications. “My fix is that you have to look at the whole thing, and this is a shared responsibility," Matsui told moderator Steve Clemons at The Hill's "Cost, Quality and Care: The Medicare Equation" event, sponsored by Astellas Pharma US. (Manchester, 6/25)

The New York Times: Judge Halts Treatments At Florida Stem Cell Clinic
A federal judge on Tuesday issued a permanent injunction against U.S. Stem Cell, a Sunrise, Fla., clinic accused of blinding three patients by injecting a fat extract into their eyes. The company is just one of hundreds of businesses that have sprung up around the country offering to treat a wide array of illnesses with products they say contain stem cells that have healing and regenerative properties. Medical experts say there is no proof that such treatments work. (Grady, 6/25)

The Washington Post: Judge Orders Stem Cell Company To Stop Selling Treatment
The order comes three weeks after the judge ruled against the company and in favor of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has ramped up its efforts in the past year to rein in the booming and lucrative stem-cell industry. It is unclear, however, whether the judge’s order — which is narrowly confined to the one company — will lead other stem-cell clinics to stop the practice. (Wan, 6/25)

The Wall Street Journal: When Patients Can’t Pay, Many Hospitals Are Suing
Carlos Ortiz underwent tests last year at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Va., for dizziness that later was linked to an inner-ear problem. When the uninsured gardener couldn’t pay his bill of about $15,000, the nonprofit institution took him to court. Mary Washington Hospital and others in Virginia were suing so many other patients that day that Fredericksburg Circuit Court had cleared the docket to hear all the cases. The patients “were coming one by one in front of the judge,” said Mr. Ortiz, 65, of Locust Grove, Va. “It was sad to see how many people were going through this.” (Armour, 6/25)

NPR: Hospitals Earn Little From Suing For Unpaid Bills. For Patients, It Can Be 'Ruinous'
The Fredericksburg General District Court is a red-brick courthouse with Greek columns in a picturesque, Colonial Virginia town. A horse and carriage are usually parked outside the visitor center down the street. On a sunny morning — the second Friday in June — the first defendant at court is a young woman, Daisha Smith, 24, who arrives early; she has just come off working an overnight shift at a group home for the elderly. (Simmons-Duffin, 6/25)

The Associated Press: Missouri's Only Abortion Clinic Continues Fight Over License
Missouri's only abortion clinic on Tuesday asked a state panel for an extension to continue providing abortions after its license is set to expire Friday. The state health department last week refused to renew the St. Louis Planned Parenthood affiliate's license, and a court order protecting abortions at the clinic is set to expire Friday. (Ballentine, 6/25)

The Associated Press: North Dakota’s Abortion Clinic Sues Over 2 Laws, Including Demand To Tell Women They May Reverse Medication Abortion
North Dakota's sole abortion clinic filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday over two state laws it believes forces doctors to lie, including one measure passed this year requiring physicians to tell women that they may reverse a so-called medication abortion if they have second thoughts. The complaint from the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of the Red River Women's Clinic and the American Medical Association also targets an existing law requiring doctors to tell patients that abortion terminates "the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being." The suit says the laws violate the constitutional rights of doctors by forcing them to "convey false information and non-medical statements" to patients. It asks a judge to block enforcement. (Kolpack, 6/25)

Reuters: Special Report: How Judges Added To The Grim Toll Of Opioids
The opioid epidemic that has so far killed half a million Americans is routinely blamed on greedy drug makers, feckless doctors and lax regulators. But there’s another group that has contributed to the depth and duration of the catastrophe: judges. Judges like Booker T. Stephens. Until his retirement in May, Stephens sat on the West Virginia Circuit Court in Welch, deep in Appalachian coal country, where addiction took early root among miners who were prescribed the blockbuster opioid OxyContin for the pain their jobs inflicted. And it was in his court where the first lawsuit filed by a state against OxyContin’s maker, Purdue Pharma LP, landed in 2001. (6/25)

The Associated Press: Tension Brews Between Cities, States Over Opioid Lawsuits
Tension is emerging between lawyers representing state and local governments over the path forward in a set of lawsuits seeking to hold the drug industry accountable for the toll of the nation’s opioid crisis. A federal judge scheduled a hearing Tuesday in Cleveland on a plan pitched by for lawyers for local governments on distributing money to nearly 25,000 municipal and county governments across the country. The plan would take effect if companies that make and distribute the powerful prescription painkillers agree to one or more legal settlements. (Mulvihill and Gillispie, 6/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Overdose Deaths Likely To Fall For First Time Since 1990
For the first time in decades, drug-overdose deaths in the U.S. are on the precipice of declining. Authorities are still counting fatalities around the U.S. from 2018, but provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are pointing lower. Those data predict there were nearly 69,100 drug deaths in the 12-month period ending last November, down from almost 72,300 predicted deaths for 12 months ending November 2017. (Kamp, 6/26)

Stat: In National First, N.J. Program Will Let Paramedics Administer Buprenorphine
In a potential paradigm shift for addiction medicine, New Jersey’s health commissioner this week authorized paramedics to administer the drug buprenorphine to patients almost immediately after reviving them from an opioid overdose. Paramedics would offer patients the drug, often referred to by the brand name Suboxone, after their overdose had been reversed using the opioid antidote naloxone. The first-in-the-nation model has a twofold purpose, health officials said: Beyond treating the withdrawal symptoms that can result from a naloxone revival, administering buprenorphine on scene could serve as an immediate transition to longer-term treatment. (Facher, 6/26)

The Washington Post: They Turn To Facebook And YouTube To Find A Cure For Cancer — And Get Sucked Into A World Of Bogus Medicine
Mari pressed kale leaves through the juicer, preparing the smoothie that she believed had saved her life. “I’m a cancer-killer, girl,” Mari told her niece, who stood next to her in the kitchen. The pair were filming themselves for a YouTube video. Mari said she was in remission from a dangerous form of cancer, and the video was meant as a testimony to what she believed was the power of the “lemon ginger blast.” In went some cucumber, some apple, some bok choy, a whole habanero pepper. (Ohlheiser, 6/25)

The Washington Post: Robocalls Prompted Federal And State Action 94 Times Over Past Nine Months
Federal and state authorities on Tuesday announced that they had targeted dozens of robocallers accused of placing an estimated 1 billion spam calls to consumers, a crackdown they said should send a signal about the government’s heightened attention to Americans harmed by such scams. Some of the robocallers sought to deceive people into paying fees or surrendering their personal information for fraudulent services, such as lowering their credit card interest rates or providing help with health insurance, according to the Federal Trade Commission, which worked alongside state attorneys general and other local law enforcement officials. (Romm, 6/25)

The Hill: Pressure Builds To Secure Health Care Data
Momentum is growing on Capitol Hill to provide more protections for personal medical information as lawmakers work on drafting the first national data privacy law. Recent health data breaches have put a spotlight on the issue, which is likely to grow in importance as medical professionals shift more of their work online and increasingly turn to data and analytics to treat patients. (Miller, 6/26)

Politico: How The VA Uses Algorithms To Predict Suicide
The Department of Veterans Affairs is using artificial intelligence to figure out which veterans are in critical need of mental health treatment as part of a massive effort to stem suicide in its ranks, a top priority of President Donald Trump and his VA leadership. A computer program scours millions of records for medications, treatment, traumatic events, overall health and other information, and based on prior experience, it plucks out the names of veterans most likely to die by suicide in the next year. Clinicians then reach out to them directly, sometimes before the patient has expressed suicidal thoughts to anyone. (Ravindranath, 6/25)

The New York Times: Wounded By Chemical Weapons In Iraq, Veterans Fight A Lonely Battle For Help
On Dec. 2, 2005, three HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters hovered over the northern end of Camp Taji, Iraq, as a nine-man pararescue team on the ground moved toward rows of identical white warehouses during a training exercise. One of the pararescuemen doubled over and vomited, then fell to one knee. Two airmen moved to assist the man, dragging him up by his armpits. In one of the helicopters, a flight engineer, Staff Sgt. Annette Nellis, started coughing. Her skin began feeling itchy all over. Bile shot up from her stomach into her mouth. (Ismay, 6/26)

The New York Times: Risk For Dementia May Increase With Long-Term Use Of Certain Medicines
Can certain medications increase your risk of dementia? A new study suggests that people who take a class of common medicines called anticholinergic drugs for several years may be more likely to develop dementia as they age. This is not a new hypothesis about these drugs, which are used to treat a wide range of conditions from depression to epilepsy to incontinence. (Belluck, 6/25)

CNN: Dementia Risk Tied To These Commonly Prescribed Drugs In A New Study
Researchers wrote in the study that "there was nearly a 50% increased odds of dementia" associated with a total anticholinergic exposure of more than 1,095 daily doses within a 10-year period, which is equivalent to an older adult taking a strong anticholinergic medication daily for at least three years, compared with no exposure. "The study is important because it strengthens a growing body of evidence showing that strong anticholinergic drugs have long term associations with dementia risk," said Carol Coupland, professor of medical statistics in primary care at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and first author of the study. (Howard, 6/25)

The New York Times: Do Brain Injuries Affect Women Differently Than Men?
In 1994, the National Football League formed a Committee on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury to study an alarming trend: Players were retiring early because of what seemed to be concussion-related problems, including persistent headaches, vertigo, cognitive impairment, personality changes, fatigue and difficulty performing ordinary daily activities. Around the same time, Eve Valera, then a Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at the University of Illinois, began to volunteer in a domestic-violence shelter and wondered how many of the women there might be experiencing comparable post-concussive symptoms as a result of head injuries inflicted by their partners. (Tingley, 6/26)

The New York Times: Queer People Of Color Led The L.G.B.T.Q. Charge, But Were Denied The Rewards
The words of José Sarria, typed with handwritten edits on aging paper, are enshrined behind glass at the GLBT Historical Society Museum in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood. “Tonight I would like to explain my platform, ‘Equality before the Law,’” Mr. Sarria wrote in a campaign speech when he was running for city supervisor. In 1961 he was the first openly gay person to run for public office in the United States. Mr. Sarria did not win, but like so many involved in the initial battles for L.G.B.T.Q. rights, he was a minority-group member and defied gender conventions — he worked as a drag queen at a local nightclub. (James, 6/22)

The Washington Post: USDA Deregulation Plan In Hog Plants Raises Concerns About Worker Safety
The Office of Inspector General is evaluating whether the U.S. Department of Agriculture concealed information and used flawed data to develop and promote a new hog inspection system that would shift many food-safety tasks from federal inspectors to pork industry employees. The USDA’s inspector general, Phyllis Fong, notified 16 members of Congress on Friday that her office has launched the probe in response to concerns the lawmakers raised in March, according to a letter obtained by The Washington Post. (Kindy, 6/25)

Los Angeles Times: Wildfires Fueled By Climate Change Will Mean Shorter Lives For Many Americans
Climate change in the Western U.S. means more intense and frequent wildfires churning out waves of smoke that scientists say will sweep across the continent, affecting tens of millions of people and causing a jump in premature deaths. That emerging reality is prompting people in cities and rural areas alike to prepare for another summer of sooty skies along the West Coast and in the Rocky Mountains — the regions widely expected to suffer most from blazes tied to dryer, warmer conditions. (Brown, 6/25)

NPR: Anger Poll: 84% Say We're Madder Than A Generation Ago
Do you find yourself getting ticked off more often than you used to? If the answer is yes, you're not alone. Some 84% of people surveyed said Americans are angrier today compared with a generation ago, according to the latest NPR-IBM Watson Health poll. When asked about their own feelings, 42% of those polled said they were angrier in the past year than they had been further back in time. Anger can have an effect on health. (Hensley, 6/26)

Reuters: Juul Loses Home Turf As San Francisco Bans E-Cigarette Sales
San Francisco will become the first major city in the United States to ban the sale of e-cigarettes as officials look to control the rapid uptick in teenage use of nicotine devices made by companies such as Juul Labs Inc. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the ordinance on Tuesday, banning the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes until they have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (6/25)

The New York Times: San Francisco Bans Sale Of Juul And Other E-Cigarettes
“We’ve worked for decades to decrease tobacco usage and try to end nicotine addiction,” said Shamann Walton, a member of the board of supervisors and a co-author of the bill, which will go into effect 30 days after it is signed by the mayor. “Now you have this device loaded with nicotine and chemicals that’s drawing people to addiction. We need to keep it out of the hands of young people.” Passage of the bill was praised by anti-tobacco advocates and the American Heart Association, among other health organizations. (Fuller, 6/25)

The Associated Press: San Francisco Is 1st Major US City To Ban E-Cigarettes
San Francisco is a city that celebrates its marijuana culture, but it appears deeply opposed to other vices. Last year, voters approved a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco and in 2016, a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks. E-cigarette maker Juul Labs, which is based in San Francisco, says it is opposed to youth vaping. The company is working on a ballot initiative that would regulate but not ban e-cigarette sales. (6/25)

The Wall Street Journal: San Francisco Passes Ban On E-Cigarette Sales
Aimed at combating the rise in teen vaping, the ban would take effect seven months after the mayor signs the ordinance. Under the measure, violators could be subject to a $1,000 fine or other penalties. It would remain in place until the Food and Drug Administration approves the marketing of e-cigarettes. The FDA has given e-cigarette companies, including Juul Labs Inc., until 2022 to submit their products for a health review. (Ansari, 6/25)

USA Today: Deadliest State: For Women In Alaska, Rape And Murder Are Too Common
She wore her hair down to cover bruises on her neck and collarbone. She’d go days without speaking to her family, explaining later that her husband didn’t want her communicating with them. In turn, her family grew suspicious, then fearful. Was Linda safe, they wondered? They knew the state's grim reputation: Alaska often ranks as the deadliest state for women. A staggering 59% of adult women in Alaska have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence or both. Linda Skeek's family knew, too, that as violence escalates in the home, victims are less and less likely to make it out unscathed. But they kept hoping: She’d be OK, right? (Schnell, 6/25)

The Associated Press: California To Require Background Checks For Ammo Purchases
California has among the most stringent gun laws in the country and on Monday a far-reaching new initiative to curb violence will require background checks for every ammunition purchase. Gov. Gavin Newsom and other proponents said it will save lives but opponents are suing in hopes of eventually undoing a law they said will mostly harm millions of law-abiding gun owners. (Thompson, 6/25)

The Associated Press: Prisoner Survey: Filth, Neglect In Solitary Confinement
More than 700 Louisiana state prison inmates who responded to a questionnaire said they'd been placed in solitary confinement, in some cases for years, with many complaining of poor food and health care, small and filthy rooms and overall conditions that drove some to self-harm and suicide attempts, criminal justice advocates said Tuesday. State officials pushed back Tuesday evening with a statement disputing some of the inmates' claims — saying inmates are let out of their cells during the day and are provided with medical care. (6/25)