First Edition: September 13, 2018

Kaiser Health News: Trying To Protect Seniors, The Most Vulnerable, From Formidable Foe Florence
Perhaps no other population is as vulnerable during a hurricane as frail, older adults, especially those who are homebound or living in nursing homes. With Hurricane Florence predicted to slam the North Carolina coast Friday, health officials are already scrambling to keep older residents safe. Seniors “are not only the most likely to die in hurricanes, but in wildfires and other disasters,” said Dr. Karen DeSalvo, a New Orleans native who served as health commissioner in that city after Hurricane Katrina and went on to be named acting assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services for the Obama administration. “The seniors always seem to bear a big brunt of the storms.” (Szabo, Aleccia and Pardue, 9/12)

Kaiser Health News: Are We Being Misled About Precision Medicine?
Facing incurable breast cancer at age 55, MaryAnne DiCanto put her faith in “precision medicine” — in which doctors try to match patients with drugs that target the genetic mutations in their tumors. She underwent repeated biopsies to identify therapies that might help. “She believed in it wholeheartedly,” said her husband, Scott Primiano of Amityville, N.Y., a flood-insurance broker. “You live on hope for so long, it’s hard to let go.” (Liz Szabo, 9/13)

The New York Times: Planned Parenthood Names Leana Wen, A Doctor, Its New President
Planned Parenthood, under fire from conservatives in Washington and state capitols, chose Leana Wen, an emergency room doctor whose family fled China when she was a child, as its next president Wednesday, picking a woman who won praise for her steadying hand as Baltimore’s health commissioner during the city’s convulsive protests in 2015. Dr. Wen, 35, grew up poor in Compton, Calif., after her family left China following the Tiananmen Square massacre just before her eighth birthday. She relied on Medicaid as a child, and in nearly four years in Baltimore has drawn acclaim for working with corporations and churches to close racial disparities in health care and sharply reducing infant mortality. (Zernike, 9/12)

Politico: Planned Parenthood Names Outspoken Trump Critic As President
Earlier this year, Wen and the Baltimore City Health Department successfully sued the Trump administration over federal funding cuts to teen pregnancy prevention programs. She also has spoken out against the administration's changes to Title X family planning grants and the proposed domestic gag rule that would limit information about abortion that providers receiving federal money could share with patients. Just this summer, Wen joined with other cities in another lawsuit against the Trump administration's cuts to open enrollment outreach and other changes the advocates say have sabotaged the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces. (Ollstein, 9/12)

The Washington Post: Planned Parenthood Taps Baltimore Health Commissioner As President
Wen, 35, immigrated from China with her family as a child. Her family relied on Medicaid, food stamps and Planned Parenthood for health care as she grew up in California, she said. She succeeds Cecile Richards, who ran the organization for the past 12 years and whose background is more political. Richards was deputy chief of staff to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and is the daughter of former Texas governor Ann Richards. (Bernstein, 9/12)

The Associated Press: Planned Parenthood Picks Chinese-Born Doctor As New Leader
Wen graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Los Angeles and earned her medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine before becoming a Rhodes Scholar. Early in her tenure as Baltimore's health commissioner, she provided strong leadership as the city was wracked by violent protests related to disputed police actions. She expanded trauma and mental health services, and secured funding for a program designed to treat gun violence as a contagious disease. (Crary, 9/12)

The Hill: Census: Uninsured Rate Held Steady In 2017, With 28.5M Lacking Coverage
The rate of Americans without health insurance remained flat in 2017 at 8.8 percent, according to data released Wednesday by the Census Bureau. The 8.8 percent uninsured rate in 2017, which translates to 28.5 million people, was the same as the rate from 2016. The data show that in the first year of the Trump administration, the uninsured rate remained the same as in the last year under President Obama. That is a contrast to data released in January from Gallup, which showed three million additional people without health insurance in President Trump’s first year and drew condemnation from Democrats. (Sullivan, 9/12)

The Hill: Trump Officials Make It Easier To Avoid ObamaCare Mandate Penalty 
The Trump administration is making it easier for individuals to opt out of ObamaCare’s individual mandate. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) says it is streamlining the way taxpayers can claim “hardship exemptions” from the mandate, which requires everyone have health insurance or pay a fine. (Weixel, 9/12)

The Associated Press: $1 Million Pledged Against Collins If She Backs Kavanaugh
A campaign urging Republican Sen. Susan Collins to vote against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has generated more than $1 million in pledges, money that would go to her opponent in 2020 if she decides to support the judge. The senator and her Republican colleagues are decrying the effort in Maine as attempted bribery, as attention shifts from Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings to the question of how lawmakers will vote on his nomination. (Freking, 9/12)

The Hill: Kavanaugh Explains 'Abortion-Inducing Drugs' Remark Amid Backlash 
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh told senators that he was summarizing the plaintiffs' views in an ObamaCare case when he referred to birth control as "abortion-inducing drugs." Kavanaugh's use of the phrase during his confirmation hearing sparked days of backlash from Democrats and progressive groups, who argued the Supreme Court pick was trying to signal his own views. (Carney, 9/12)

The Associated Press: Arkansas Drops 4,300 From Medicaid Plan Over New Work Rules
Arkansas officials said Wednesday they've removed more than 4,300 people from the state's expanded Medicaid program who didn't meet a work requirement, making them the first in the nation to be kicked off Medicaid under a rule mandating they work to keep coverage. The Arkansas Department of Human Services also said another 5,000 people on the program will lose coverage if they don't meet the work requirement by the end of this month. Of the more than 62,000 people who were subject to the requirement last month, officials said the majority either met the requirement or were otherwise exempt. (DeMillo, 9/12)

The Washington Post: More Than 4,300 Arkansas Residents Lose Medicaid Under Work Requirements
Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) announced Wednesday that 4,353 people have become ineligible for Medicaid, out of an initial group of nearly 26,000 who became subject to the requirements this spring. “I don’t like that number,” Hutchinson said of the residents who were removed. But, noting that 1,000 people in the overall program have found employment, he called the requirement “a proper balance of those values that we hold important,” including work and personal responsibility. (Goldstein, 9/12)

Modern Healthcare: Arkansas Cuts 4,300 Off Medicaid Under New Work Requirements
Nearly 280,000 people are enrolled in Arkansas' Medicaid expansion program, called Arkansas Works, which has helped cut the state's uninsured rate nearly in half. Beneficiaries must report that they were either meeting the requirement or that they qualified for an exemption, such as a disability, through an online portal run by the state Department of Human Services. There is no option for reporting by phone, mail, or in person. The work and community engagement requirements will be extended in January to people from ages 19 to 29. (Meyer, 9/12)

The Associated Press: Nebraska's Top Court: Voters To Decide On Expanding Medicaid
Nebraska's highest court dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday that would have stripped a Medicaid expansion proposal off the November ballot, clearing the way for voters to decide a measure that has been repeatedly rejected by the Republican-dominated Legislature. The Nebraska Supreme Court's rejection of a GOP-led lawsuit was a victory for advocates who say the measure would help an estimated 90,000 low-income residents get covered under the Affordable Care Act. (Schulte, 9/12)

NPR: Fallout From HHS' Rejection Of Massachusetts' Medicaid Plan For Drug Spending
States serve as "laboratories of democracy," as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously said. And states are also labs for health policy, launching all kinds of experiments lately to temper spending on pharmaceuticals. No wonder. Drugs are one of the fastest rising health care costs for many consumers and are a key reason health care spending dominates many state budgets — crowding out roads, schools and other priorities. (Bebinger, 9/12)

The Washington Post: Nursing Homes Rush To Move Elderly And Ill From Path Of Hurricane Florence
With less than 48 hours before Hurricane Florence was forecast to reach shore, officials in the Carolinas were still pleading for residents to evacuate communities in the storm’s path. But at the Eagle Crest senior living community near the shore here Wednesday, the windows had long been boarded up and a sign was already hung on the front door announcing that nobody was there. Preparations to evacuate the facility’s residents had begun late last week, days before South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) issued mandatory evacuation orders. (Phillips and Sullivan, 9/12)

The Washington Post: Residents See A Failure At All Levels Of Government
Puerto Ricans sharply rebuke President Trump, along with the federal and local governments, for last year’s response to Hurricane Maria, a devastating storm that created an enduring humanitarian crisis affecting nearly all aspects of life on the island territory, according to a new Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll. (Clement, Zezima and Guskin, 9/12)

Politico: Trump Tries To Rewrite History On Maria As Hurricane Florence Approaches
Facing renewed criticism of his administration’s response to Hurricane Maria, President Donald Trump lashed out again on Wednesday, grousing about his administration’s “unappreciated great job” on the Puerto Rico recovery – despite the remoteness of the island, poor access to electricity and the “totally incompetent Mayor of San Juan.” “We are ready for the big one that is coming!” an exuberant Trump concluded, as a new storm spun toward the East Coast. (Cadelago and Restuccia, 9/12)

The Associated Press: Senate Approves 1st Spending Bill To Avert Partial Shutdown
As a major hurricane menaces the East Coast, Congress is moving to avert a legislative disaster that could lead to a partial government shutdown just weeks before the November midterm elections. Senators approved a $147 billion package Wednesday night to fund the Energy Department, veterans' programs and the legislative branch. The bill is the first of three spending packages Congress hopes to approve this month to avoid a government shutdown when the new budget year begins Oct. 1. (Daly, 9/12)

The Washington Post: Senate Passes Bipartisan Spending Package As Lawmakers Eye Shutdown Deadline
Lawmakers hope to pass another spending package, containing bills to fund the Pentagon and the Health and Human Services Department, ahead of the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year. If they succeed in sending those bills to Trump, they will have provided for most of the government’s budget for next year. And they hope Trump will be willing to declare victory over a big boost in Pentagon funding and delay the border wall fight. (Werner, 9/12)

The New York Times: Apple Unveils Bigger iPhones At Higher Prices, And A Heart-Tracking Watch
The device’s new health features are sure to increase Apple’s dominance of the smart watch category — and they underscore the company’s focus. When the watch was first released, critics and consumers were confused about its utility. Over time, Apple has refined the device to focus on its health and fitness capabilities. Now the narrative is clear: Get this watch, if you want to live. (Chen, Nicas, Manjoo and Abelson, 9/12)

Reuters: Apple iPhones Get Bigger And Pricier, Watch Turns To Health
It is positioning the new watch as a more comprehensive health device, able to take an electrocardiogram to detect an irregular heartbeat and start an emergency call automatically if it detects a user falling down, potentially appealing to older customers. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it worked with Apple to develop apps for the Apple Watch and has been taking steps to ease the regulatory pathway for companies seeking to create digital healthcare products. (Nellis and Randewich, 9/13)

Los Angeles Times: Apple Unveils Big, $1,099 iPhone XS Max And Pitches Upgraded Apple Watch As Health Device
“The FDA worked closely with the company as they developed and tested these software products, which may help millions of users identify health concerns more quickly,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement. Healthcare products on ubiquitous devices, such as smartwatches, may help users seek treatment earlier and empower them with more information about their health, he said. (Gurman, 9/12)

The Associated Press: The Apple Watch Is Inching Toward Becoming A Medical Device
Apple is trying to turn its smartwatch from a niche gadget into a lifeline to better health by slowly evolving it into a medical device. In its fourth incarnation, called the Series 4 and due out later this month, the Apple Watch will add features that allow it to take high-quality heart readings and detect falls. It's part of Apple's long-in-the-making strategy to give people a distinct reason to buy a wrist gadget that largely does things smartphones already do. (Liedtke, 9/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Apple Adds Heart-Monitoring, Fall-Detection Features To Its Watch
The Apple Watch ECG “could be beneficial to lots of patients” by picking up intermittent rhythm problems, said C. Michael Valentine, president of the American College of Cardiology and a cardiologist with Centra Medical Group in Lynchburg, Va. Yet doctors also raised concerns about potential risks from relying on the app. Dr. John Mandrola, a cardiac electrophysiologist in Louisville, Ky., said the ECG feature could misdiagnose patients because of inaccurate readings, or lead to overtreatment of patients. The watch may also detect cases of low-risk atrial fibrillation that don’t need to be treated, said Eric Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute. This could lead to unnecessary prescriptions for blood thinners that carry bleeding risks, he said. (Loftus and Mickle, 9/12)

The Associated Press: Talking Gloves, Tactile Windows: New Tech Helps The Disabled
Hadeel Ayoub slips a black glove onto her hand before beginning the swish of sign language that is meaningless to the untrained observer. Then she pushes a button on her wrist, and a small speaker relays the message drawn in the air: “Let’s Dance!” “My dream is to give a voice to those who can’t speak,” says the 36-year-old inventor who is developing her BrightSign glove while working toward a Ph.D. in assistive technology at Goldsmiths, University of London. (Kirka, 9/13)

The New York Times: Detention Of Migrant Children Has Skyrocketed To Highest Levels Ever
Even though hundreds of children separated from their families after crossing the border have been released under court order, the overall number of detained migrant children has exploded to the highest ever recorded — a significant counternarrative to the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the number of undocumented families coming to the United States. (Dickerson, 9/12)

The Associated Press: Family Arrivals Surge At US-Mexico Border In August
U.S. border authorities arrested dramatically more immigrant families at the Mexico border in August compared to previous months in a spike that a Trump administration official said Wednesday was the result of "legal loopholes" allowing children to avoid immediate deportation to their homelands in Central America. (Spagat, 9/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Arrests Of Families Crossing Border Highest In Five Years
Total family apprehensions since October, the beginning of the federal fiscal year, is already higher than for any complete prior fiscal year for which data is available. The total number of people arrested at the border in August rose about 20% from the prior month, to more than 37,500. (Caldwell, 9/12)

The New York Times: F.D.A. Cracks Down On Juul And E-Cigarette Retailers
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday declared that teenage use of electronic cigarettes has reached “an epidemic proportion,” and it put makers of the most popular devices on notice that they have just 60 days to prove they can keep their devices away from minors. The order was part of a sweeping government action that targeted both makers and sellers of e-cigarettes. If Juul Labs and four other major manufacturers fail to halt sales to minors, the agency said, it could remove their flavored products from the market. It also raised the possibility of civil or criminal charges if companies are allowing bulk sales through their websites. (Kaplan and Hoffman, 9/12)

The Associated Press: Calling Teen Vaping 'Epidemic,' Officials Weigh Flavor Ban
The warning from the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday cited recent data pointing to a sharp rise in underage use of the devices, including Juul, Vuse and others. It marks a shift in the agency's tone on e-cigarettes. Since 2017, FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb has discussed e-cigarettes as a potential tool to ween adult smokers off cigarettes, although that benefit hasn't been proven. (Perrone, 9/12)

The Washington Post: FDA Chief Calls Youth E-Cigarettes An ‘Epidemic’
The latest data, not yet published, show a 75 percent increase in e-cigarette use among high school students this year, compared with 2017. The FDA declined to publicly release the numbers, but people familiar with them said they were preliminary data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, on which the agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborate. (McGinley, 9/12)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Chief Considers Ban Of All Flavored E-Cigarettes
Dr. Gottlieb said he believes that certain flavors make the products appealing to teens. “The availability of e-cigarettes cannot come at the expense of addicting a new generation of youth onto nicotine, and it won’t,” he said in an interview. The announcement marks an about-face for the agency, which in 2016 granted a grace period for e-cigarettes already on the market until the manufacturers submitted products for FDA review. Last year, Dr. Gottlieb extended that grace period to 2022, allowing Juul Labs Inc. and others to continue to sell their existing products. (Maloney, 9/12)

NPR: FDA Takes Action Against Teen Vaping Epidemic
The announcement was immediately hailed by anti-tobacco advocates. "This is potentially the most important step FDA has taken to curtail youth use of e-cigarettes," said an emailed statement from Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Today's announcement will represent a fundamental turning point, if but only if, FDA formally requires all manufactures to comply with these requirements and FDA reverses its policy and requires that all of these products undergo premarket review now, not four years from now." (Stein, 9/12)

Los Angeles Times: An 'Epidemic Of Nicotine Addiction' Among Kids Prompts FDA To Get Tough On E-Cigarette Makers
The actions were greeted with defiance and derision from the vaping industry. “Thousands of small-business vape shops across America do not engage in irresponsible marketing practices and don't even sell the products being targeted by the FDA with threatening letters,” said Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Assn., a nonprofit organization that advocates for what it calls sensible regulation. (Healy, 9/12)

Politico: Pulse Check At Work: Radiologists
Overseas doctors are cheaper. Artificial intelligence could eventually be smarter. Patient safety concerns have multiplied. Are American radiologists' days numbered? These radiologists say no — and take listeners inside their work. (9/12)

Stat: Many Americans Still Misuse Prescription Drugs, But Abuse Patterns 'Changing'
Although more than half of Americans misuse prescription drugs, the percentage that did so has held steady for four consecutive years, according to a new analysis. Meanwhile, though, there has also been a surge in the use of illicit drugs and medicines obtained without a prescription among patients being treated for substance use disorders. The overall rate at which drugs were misused was 52 percent last year, according to an analysis of approximately 3.9 million laboratory test results that were stripped of identifying patient information. (Silverman, 9/12)

Kaiser Health News: Insurers Are Starting To Deny Coverage Of Opioid OxyContin
The largest insurer in Tennessee has announced it will no longer cover prescriptions for what was once a blockbuster pain reliever. It's the latest insurance company to turn against OxyContin, whose maker, Purdue Pharma, faces dozens of lawsuits related to its high-pressure sales tactics around the country and contribution to the opioid crisis. Last fall, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida both dropped coverage of the drug. (Farmer, 9/12)

The Associated Press: Some Virginia Schools To Stock Opioid Overdose Antidote
A southwest Virginia school district plans to start stocking the opioid overdose antidote naloxone. The Roanoke Times reports Roanoke’s school board voted 6-0 this week in favor of providing the drug, often referred to by the brand name Narcan, in each school. (9/13)

Stat: Study Cracks Open The Secrets Of The Cancer-Causing BRCA1 Gene 
Lawsuits didn’t do it, public shaming didn’t do it, patients and doctors banding together to “free the data” couldn’t do it: For 22 years Myriad Genetics, one of the oldest genetic testing companies, has refused to make public its proprietary database of BRCA1 variants, which lists more than 17,000 known misspellings in that major “cancer risk” gene, along with the medical significance of each. The database lists which mutations increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, which do not, and which have an unknown health effect. (Begley, 9/12)

Reuters: Cancer Deaths Rise To 9.6 Million As Populations Grow And Age
Cancer will claim the lives of 9.6 million people in 2018, accounting for one in eight of all deaths among men and one in 11 among women, the World Health Organization's cancer research agency said on Wednesday. In its GLOBOCAN report detailing prevalence and death rates from many different types of cancer, the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said the global cancer burden would rise to an estimated 18.1 million new cases this year. This was up from 14.1 million - and 8.2 million deaths - in 2012, when the last GLOBACAN survey was published. (9/12)

The Washington Post: A Prototype Of How To Fight The Next Pandemic: A Vaccine Without The Shot
When the next dead­ly pan­dem­ic flu hits, the first chal­lenge will be to de­vel­op a vac­cine. But loom­ing behind that ob­sta­cle is another: How to get an in­oc­u­la­tion to millions of people with­out in­ad­vert­ent­ly ex­ac­er­bat­ing the cri­sis. Af­ter all, droves of people — some who might already be sick­ened — who flock to health centers for a shot could be a po­tent way for the in­fec­tion to spread. (Johnson, 9/12)

Stat: Seven U.S. States Now Have Adult Obesity Rates Of 35 Percent Or Higher
Seven U.S. states now have adult obesity rates of 35 percent or higher, up from zero states just five years ago, according to federal data released Wednesday. The 2017 data, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, highlight continuing discrepancies in adult obesity rates across geographic areas, race, and education levels. (Joseph, 9/12)

The Associated Press: US, Cuba To Meet On Mystery ‘Health Attacks’ In Havana
U.S. and Cuban officials will meet later today in an effort to determine the method and motive behind mystery incidents in Havana that have injured American diplomats. The meeting comes amid widespread frustration among national security agencies and in Congress at the lack of answers about what the U.S. describes as “health attacks” that began nearly two years ago and affected some two dozen people, including some diagnosed with brain damage. It also comes amid a flurry of reports suggesting investigators have narrowed their suspicions as to the cause and culprit. (Lee, 9/13)

The Washington Post: How Donor Sperm Is Creating Enormous Genetic Families Around The World
Kianni Arroyo clasps 8-year-old Sophia’s hands tightly as they spin around, giggling like mad. It’s late afternoon, and there are hot dogs on the grill, bubble wands on the lawn, balls flying through the air. The midsummer reunion in a suburb west of the city looks like any other, but these family ties can’t be described with standard labels. Instead, Arroyo, a 21-year-old waitress from Orlando, is here to meet “DNA-in-laws,” various “sister-moms” and especially people like Sophia, a cherished “donor-sibling.” (Cha, 9/12)

The Associated Press: Lab Test May Identify Dangerous Gene Mutations, Study Finds
Scientists say they've found a new way to help determine whether specific genetic abnormalities are likely to make people sick, a step toward avoiding a vexing uncertainty that can surround DNA test results. Researchers used genetic engineering to create thousands of tiny variations in a gene linked to breast cancer, and tested each one in a lab to predict whether it would promote the disease if it appeared in a person. (9/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Cannabis Comes To Your Coffee And Candy—But Is It Legal?
A kissing cousin to pot is showing up in your coffee, candy and chocolate bars. Companies are selling a growing number of products that contain cannabidiol, or CBD, a chemical found in hemp. It’s being added to everything from gumdrops to beverages, as marketers claim benefits such as pain relief and stress reduction. (Chaker, 9/12)

The New York Times: When Your Child Believes Meat Is Murder
After viewing “Blackfish,” a documentary about the mistreatment of animals at SeaWorld, Jeffrey Miller’s daughter, Hannah, became concerned that eating meat was murder. Last year, she decided to become a vegetarian. “Our 14-year-old has completely bailed on meat of her own accord, so we’ve had to do some maneuvering,” Mr. Miller said of his daughter, who is the lone vegetarian in a household where both parents and her 16-year-old sister, Emma, happily consume chicken, pork and turkey. He noted that in their town of Sioux Falls, S.D., the middle of the pork and beef belt, many of her friends view her vegetarian status as “weird.” (Halpert, 9/13)

The Washington Post: How To Solve D.C.’s Maternal Health Crisis? A Health Advocacy Group Proposes Some Ideas
What is clear is that D.C. has among the worst maternal mortality rates in the country. What is clear is that if you’re a black mother in D.C. you’re twice as likely to have a preterm birth than a white mother. What is less clear is how to change these outcomes. On Wednesday, medical providers, policy makers and community organizations gathered to tackle that goal at the district’s first-ever Maternal and Infant Health Summit at the Walter E. Washington Center. (Schmidt, 9/12)

The Associated Press: Louisiana Abortion Clinic Wants Regulatory Rewrite Nullified
A Louisiana abortion clinic asked a state judge Wednesday to throw out a 2015 state rewrite of clinic regulations, saying the health department ignored the rules for making such changes. Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport argues that the Louisiana Department of Health disregarded reams of public comments about the regulations when they were being proposed. (9/12)

The Washington Post: Xavier Cunningham, 10, Survives After A Metal Meat Skewer Impales His Face
Xavier Cunningham and his buddies were climbing into a treehouse when a wasp landed on his hand. The children had stumbled into a massive yellow jacket nest Saturday afternoon in a neighbor’s treehouse in western Missouri, and Xavier, who was at the top of the ladder, tried to swat one of them away. But in the process, Xavier’s stepfather said, the 10-year-old lost his balance and fell face-first to the ground — right where he and his friends had stuck a long metal meat skewer they had found. (Bever, 9/12)

The Associated Press: NYC To Add Nonbinary 'X' Designation To Birth Certificates
People born in New York City who don't identify as male or female will have the option of changing their birth certificates to "X'' under legislation passed Wednesday by the City Council. The bill adopted by a 41-6 vote will also allow parents to choose the "X'' designation for their newborns, and it will permit adults to change the gender on their birth certificates without an affidavit from a doctor or mental health professional. (9/12)

The Associated Press: Delaware Reports Fifth Human Case Of West Nile Virus
Delaware health official say they have confirmed another human case of West Nile virus, marking the state’s fifth case this year. The News Journal of Wilmington reports this case involving a 57-year-old New Castle County man makes this Delaware’s highest number of confirmed cases since 2015. Officials says the man’s case still is awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials confirmed this year’s first Delawarean case of the virus in early August. (9/13)

The Associated Press: Volunteer Who Rocks Babies Donates $1M To Alabama Hospital
A volunteer who rocks babies in a neonatal intensive care unit has donated more than $1 million to an Alabama hospital. The University of South Alabama said in a news release last week that Louis and Melinda Mapp donated more than $1 million to USA Health Children's & Women's Hospital's Hollis J. Wiseman Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The gift will establish an endowment that will enable staff to identify and offset unforeseen needs within the unit. (9/12)