First Edition: September 18, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Day-Tripping To The Dispensary: Seniors In Pain Hop Aboard The Canna-Bus
Shirley Avedon, 90, had never been a cannabis user. But carpal tunnel syndrome that sends shooting pains into both of her hands and an aversion to conventional steroid and surgical treatments is prompting her to consider some new options. “It’s very painful, sometimes I can’t even open my hand,” Avedon said. (O'Neill, 9/18)
California Healthline:
From Syria To Southern California: Refugees Seek Care For Wounds Of War
In his native Syria, Mahmoud spent months in captivity in a crowded room three floors underground, never seeing the sun. Disease spread quickly among the prisoners, he said. Food was scarce, often spoiled. Mahmoud said his captors, foot soldiers of Syrian President Bashar Assad, tortured him and shot him in the leg.“I was in jail for seven months. They let me go, but I was physically sick, and tired,” the 29-year-old refugee said, speaking inside a cheerful, modern medical clinic here with signs posted in English and Arabic. “I had infections, inflammation. I’m still trying to get treated for it all.” (Brown, 9/17)
The New York Times:
Hearing Set For Monday To Hear Kavanaugh And His Accuser
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, under mounting pressure from senators of his own party, will call President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, and the woman who has accused him of sexual assault before the committee on Monday for extraordinary public hearings only weeks before the midterm elections. In setting the hearing, Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, backed down from a committee vote on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination, planned for this Thursday, and pushed a confirmation once seen as inevitable into limbo. (Stolberg and Davis, 9/17)
The Wall Street Journal:
Kavanaugh, His Accuser Will Testify Before Senate Committee
The hearing will pit his credibility against an explosive accusation made by Christine Blasey Ford, a California college professor, who said he sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. Mrs. Ford told the Washington Post that when she and Judge Kavanaugh were teenagers at a party in the Washington, D.C., area, he and a friend pulled her into a bedroom. Judge Kavanaugh pinned her down on the bed, groped her and attempted to remove her clothing before she escaped, Mrs. Ford said in the article. Mrs. Ford, now a professor at Palo Alto University in California, described the episode as aggressive. “I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” she told the Post. She said that Mr. Kavanaugh appeared to be intoxicated during their encounter. Efforts to reach Mrs. Ford weren’t successful. (Tau, Andrews and Peterson, 9/17)
The Washington Post:
Senate Committee To Hold Public Hearing With Kavanaugh, Accuser After Sexual Assault Allegation
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a crucial swing vote, indicated that if it emerged that Kavanaugh had been untruthful about the incident, he would not be fit to serve on the court. “Obviously, if Judge Kavanaugh has lied about what happened, that would be disqualifying,” Collins said, adding that “having the opportunity to observe her being questioned, read a transcript and a deposition and make that kind of assessment is so important.” (Sonmez, Kim, Sullivan and Wagner, 9/17)
Los Angeles Times:
Supreme Court Nominee Kavanaugh And Accuser To Testify Next Week About Sexual Assault Allegations
Republican leaders probably need nearly all of their 51 members to support the nomination, meaning any significant dissent would torpedo the confirmation. The votes of three moderate Democrats — Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota — are also in play, and all three said Ford needed to be heard. (Haberkorn, 9/17)
Politico:
McConnell Works Feverishly Behind The Scenes To Save Kavanaugh
Mitch McConnell, preeminent cut-throat political tactician, is going with a softer touch to salvage Brett Kavanaugh’s suddenly endangered Supreme Court confirmation. With Kavanaugh’s seemingly slam-dunk elevation to the Supreme Court facing resistance from a handful of key GOP senators, McConnell convened a marathon meeting with Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans and his leadership team on Monday. (Everett and Bresnahan, 9/17)
The Washington Post:
With Trump Muted, White House Leans On Kavanaugh To Defend Himself
President Trump’s routine reaction to allegations of sexual assault is to deny, retaliate and repeat. He has dismissed accusations against himself as “phony” and “false,” and when presented with claims against other men, the #MeToo-era president tends to side instinctually with the accused. But in the case of federal judge Brett M. Kavanaugh — whose Supreme Court nomination is suddenly endangered after a woman accused him of sexual assault when they were in high school — Trump on Monday was uncharacteristically muted. (Costa, Rucker, Parker and Dawsey, 9/17)
Politico:
Trump Sticks With Kavanaugh As Scandal Escalates
When asked whether Kavanaugh had offered to withdraw from the confirmation process, the president snapped back that it was a “ridiculous question.” Kavanaugh himself has only doubled down on a strenuous denial of claims Christine Blasey Ford, now a professor living in California, first made anonymously in a letter to Congress and then by name in a Washington Post interview published on Sunday. Ford described in graphic detail being groped decades ago at a high-school party in suburban Washington D.C. by Kavanaugh, who held her down, tried to pull off her clothes, and covered her mouth when she tried to scream. (Cook, 9/17)
The Washington Post:
Republicans Fear Reversals In November Due To Accusation Against Supreme Court Nominee
Republicans are bracing for political aftershocks from the sexual assault accusation against Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh, with some expressing fear that the coming investigation will refocus the nation’s attention on an issue that could drive up the Democratic vote in the midterm elections. The initial hope that the conservative Kavanaugh’s appointment would encourage turnout by grateful GOP voters this fall has been tempered by new fears that more voters, especially independent women, might head to the polls with fresh anger about Republican handling of sexual impropriety after a new round of public hearings. (Scherer, 9/17)
The Washington Post:
Joe Biden: When A Woman Alleges Sexual Assault, Presume She Is Telling The Truth
Former vice president Joe Biden, who was scrutinized for his handling of sexual harassment allegations made in Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s 1991 Senate confirmation hearings, said Monday night that any woman’s public claims of assault should be presumed to be true. Asked for his thoughts on the allegations of sexual assault made Sunday against federal judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Biden said the episode “brings back all of the complicated issues that were there” nearly three decades ago. (Rucker, 9/17)
The Associated Press:
GOP, Dems Unite Behind Senate Bill Fighting Addictive Drugs
Republicans and Democrats joined forces to speed legislation combating the misuse of opioids and other addictive drugs through Senate passage Monday, a rare campaign-season show of unity against a growing and deadly health care crisis. The measure passed by a 99-1 vote Monday evening. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, voted against it. (Fram, 9/17)
The Washington Post:
Senate Passes Sweeping Opioids Package
The package of 70 Senate bills costs $8.4 billion and creates, expands and renews programs across multiple agencies. It’s ambitious in scope, aiming to prevent the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl from being shipped through the U.S. Postal Service as well as allowing doctors to prescribe more medication designed to wean addicts off opioids, such as buprenorphine. “It doesn’t include everything all of us want to see but it has important new initiatives and it’s a step in the right direction," said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who has advocated several measures that are part of the package. (Itkowitz, 9/17)
The Wall Street Journal:
Senate Passes Bipartisan Legislation To Combat Opioid Epidemic
The Senate legislation would give money to the National Institutes of Health to research a nonaddictive painkiller. It would also try to stop synthetic drugs from being shipped across the border by requiring foreign shippers to provide electronic data to help U.S. officials target illegal packages. Another provision would clarify that the Food and Drug Administration has the authority to require prescription opioids to be packaged in set amounts, for three or seven days, for example. Yet another provision aims to increase the detection and seizure of illegal drugs, such as fentanyl, by strengthening communications between the FDA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (Andrews, 9/17)
Stat:
Senate Passes Opioids Legislation: What’s In, What’s Out, And What’s Still On The Table
Here’s a look at what else was in the bill, what policy ideas didn’t make the cut, and what ideas might be added back in the coming weeks and months. (Facher, 9/17)
Politico:
Congress' Latest Opioid Bill Won't Solve The Crisis
Congress’ latest efforts to address the opioid crisis won’t be enough to stop the unrelenting scourge of overdose deaths across the country. Public health experts and first responders say the massive bipartisan legislation, H.R. 6 (115), which the Senate approved 99-1 on Monday, takes some important steps toward better access to treatment but lacks the urgency, breadth and steady long-term funding required to quell the emergency that takes 115 lives in the United States a day. (Ehley, 9/17)
The Wall Street Journal:
Number Of Fatal Drug Overdoses In NYC Increased In 2017, Data Shows
The number of people who die of drug overdoses in New York City rose in 2017, but the rate at which people are dying is slowing, according to new data released Monday by the city’s health department. There were 1,487 confirmed unintentional drug overdose deaths in 2017, up 62 from 2016. The rate of unintentional deaths increased for the seventh straight year; one New Yorker dies every six hours from an overdose. (West, 9/17)
The Washington Post:
The Health Dangers Don’t Stop With A Hurricane’s Churning. They Can Get Worse.
In coming weeks, long after Hurricane Florence’s winds and rains have faded, its aftermath will still pose life-threatening hazards: snakes, submerged sharp objects, bacterial infections and disease-carrying mosquitoes. People are trapped by floodwaters and facing dwindling supplies of medicines, food and drinking water. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a danger as people crank up portable generators, and respiratory viruses will circulate in crammed shelters. (Wan, Sun and Johnson, 9/17)
The Washington Post:
Trapped In A Flood, She Struggled To Hold Onto Her Baby Son — Then The Waters Ripped Him Away
When Dazia Lee tries to bring order to the disorder of that night, it helps her to think in numbers. She thinks of the exact times of every decision, every call, every bit of bad news — reference points leading until the very last when, at 10:20 a.m. on Monday, she received a call from a county detective saying that the body of her 1-year-old son, Kaiden, had been found 15 feet underwater. (McCoy, 9/17)
Stat:
In Florence's Path, Drug Plants Avoided Worst-Case Scenarios
Before Florence pummeled the East Coast, ultimately killing at least 17 people and causing untold millions in damage, some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies wrestled with a major dilemma: Should they suspend operations at manufacturing plants in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, risking shortages of important drugs and vaccines? GlaxoSmithKline chose to close a plant that makes asthma inhalers, while Novartis shut down a facility that manufactures oral-dosage generic drugs. Pfizer and Merck, meanwhile, decided to scale back operations at multiple North Carolina facilities, closing some entirely. (Blau, 9/17)
The Washington Post:
Rivers, Death Toll And Environmental Hazards Still Rising In Carolinas As Flooding Sets Records
The death toll from Hurricane Florence rose Monday to 32, and the misery in the Carolinas might be many days from cresting. The historic storm has disrupted life for millions of people, and the surging floodwaters have spawned an environmental calamity across a vast region pocked with manure ponds and coal ash pits. (Sullivan, Siegel, Berman and Achenbach, 9/17)
The Washington Post:
For Farmworkers And Homeless, Florence Has Been Especially Harsh
Stephen Smith spent Sunday night sleeping in the stairwell of a parking garage as Florence continued to lash this city, days after the hurricane made landfall nearby. He hadn’t eaten for two days, and his feet ached from walking to and from the homeless shelter where he usually sleeps, to check whether it had reopened. He had stayed in a hotel for three nights, but his money ran out. His preferred park bench at a nearby lake was covered with tree branches. So he opted for the stairwell. (Siegel, Zezima and Phillips, 9/17)
The New York Times:
Merger Of Cigna And Express Scripts Gets Approval From Justice Dept.
Federal officials on Monday gave the go-ahead to the proposed merger between Cigna, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, and Express Scripts, a major pharmacy benefit manager. The $52 billion deal, announced last March, is one of two proposed transactions involving pharmacy companies before the Justice Department. Last December, Aetna, another giant insurer, announced its plan to join forces with CVS Health, the drugstore chain that is the main independent rival to Express Scripts, in a $69 billion deal. (Abelson, 9/17)
Reuters:
Cigna Deal Gets Antitrust Nod, Positive Sign For CVS/Aetna
The new company will marry Cigna's business of managing health plans for corporations and the government with Express Scripts' role handling pharmacy benefits for those same customers. Express Scripts also owns specialty pharmacies that distribute pricey drugs. "We are pleased that the Department of Justice has cleared our transaction and that we are another step closer to completing our merger,” Cigna Chief Executive David Cordani said in a statement. (Humer, 9/17)
Politico:
Feds Approve Cigna-Express Scripts Mega-Merger
The Justice Department reportedly is also close to approving CVS Health’s blockbuster acquisition of Aetna, which would create one of the country’s biggest health care companies. The looming approval of the deals comes two years after Obama administration regulators blocked a major proposed consolidation in the health insurance industry over concerns about diminished competition. DOJ successfully sued in 2016 to halt Anthem’s proposed acquisition of Cigna and Aetna’s merger with Humana. (Demko, 9/17)
The Wall Street Journal:
Cigna, Express Scripts Say Merger Cleared By Justice Department
The companies said, to date, that they had obtained clearances from departments of insurance in 16 states, and are working with regulators in the remaining jurisdictions to obtain clearances for the merger. Cigna and Express Scripts said they expect the deal will close by year-end 2018, subject to the satisfaction of all closing conditions. (Nakrosis, 9/17)
The Associated Press:
Watchdog Slams Safeguards For Foster Kids On Psych Drugs
Thousands of foster children may be getting powerful psychiatric drugs prescribed to them without basic safeguards, says a federal watchdog agency that found a failure to care for youngsters whose lives have already been disrupted. A report released Monday by the Health and Human Services inspector general’s office found that about 1 in 3 foster kids from a sample of states were prescribed psychiatric drugs without treatment plans or follow-up, standard steps in sound medical care. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/17)
The Associated Press:
2 Million US Teens Are Vaping Marijuana
A school-based survey shows nearly 1 in 11 U.S. students have used marijuana in electronic cigarettes, heightening health concerns about the new popularity of vaping among teens. E-cigarettes typically contain nicotine, but many of the battery-powered devices can vaporize other substances, including marijuana. Results published Monday mean 2.1 million middle and high school students have used them to get high. (Johnson, 9/17)
Los Angeles Times:
More Than 2 Million U.S. Middle And High School Students Have Vaped Marijuana, Study Finds
The report comes less than a week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a crackdown on companies that produce and sell e-cigarettes in response to their failure to keep the devices out of the hands of minors. The 2017 Monitoring the Future survey from the University of Michigan reported that more than 2 million middle and high school students called themselves current users of vaping products, and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called it an “epidemic of nicotine addiction” among American youth. (Kaplan, 9/17)
CNBC:
Mark Zuckerberg Is Selling Up To $13 Billion Of Facebook Stock To Fund An Ambitious Project To End Disease: Here's An Early Look Inside
Zuckerberg has begun to use the fortune he earned from creating one of the world's most valuable companies to invest in [The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative]. In October, he revealed that he plans to sell up to 75 million shares, worth more than $12 billion at the time, by March 2019 to fund the project. ... CZI has been around now for about two and a half years, and has ballooned to 250 employees, with about half of them hailing from the technology sector. ... Zuckerberg shared a few more details onstage in a 2016 conference call, where he declared "we have a real shot at preventing, curing or managing" most diseases in the next 100 years, particularly heart disease, cancer, stroke, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases. (Farr, 9/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
Don’t Let Them Eat Cake: Bosses Sugar-Shame Office Treats
Most employees like the free doughnuts, cake and other confections that get parked “in the usual place” at work. But exploding rates of obesity and diabetes make sugar more like cigarettes to some employers. Tempting treats are the new secondhand smoke. The rules at Health IQ in Mountain View, Calif., sounded pretty sour when they went viral earlier this year: “There is no sugar, candy bars, soda (diet or otherwise) allowed in our office. If you bring some it will get thrown away.” Chief executive Munjal Shah said the rules, more flexible than they sounded, were relaxed after the social media outrage. The company, however, still wags a finger at secondhand sugar. (Winkler, 9/17)
The Washington Post:
Scientists Identify Four Personality Types
Personality tests are hugely popular, though if you ask working psychologists, they’ll tell you the results are little better than astrological signs. But a new study, based on huge sets of personality data representing 1.5 million people, has persuaded one of the staunchest critics of personality tests to conclude that maybe distinct personality types exist, after all. In a report published Monday in the journal Nature Human Behavior, researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois identify four personality types: reserved, role models, average and self-centered. (Guarino, 9/17)
The New York Times:
What 13,000 Patents Involving The DNA Of Sea Life Tell Us About The Future
Whether a single private entity should be able to set the direction of how the genes of so many living things are used was a piece of a broader debate at the United Nations this month. There, delegates from across the world were discussing the development of a global legal framework for genetic resources in the high seas, a vast realm outside any one nation’s control. For those interested in the future of innovation, inequality and even dairy alternatives, a closer look at what exactly is being patented offers intriguing hints. (Murphy, 9/17)
The Associated Press:
New Era In Virtual Reality Therapy For Common Phobias
Dick Tracey didn't have to visit a tall building to get over his fear of heights. He put on a virtual reality headset. Through VR, he rode an elevator to a high-rise atrium that looked so real he fell to his knees. "I needed to search with my hand for something solid around me," he said. (9/18)
Reuters:
A Child Dies Every Five Seconds, And Most Are Preventable Deaths-U.N.
An estimated 6.3 million children died before their 15th birthdays in 2017, or one every five seconds, mostly due to a lack of water, sanitation, nutrition and basic healthcare, according to report by United Nations agencies on Tuesday. The vast majority of these deaths – 5.4 million – occur in the first five years of life, with newborns accounting for around half of the deaths, the report said. (Kelland, 9/17)
NPR:
New Data Confirm Adverse Childhood Experiences Are Widespread
When researchers first discovered a link in the late 1990s between childhood adversity and chronic health problems later in life, the real revelation was how common those experiences were across all socioeconomic groups. But the first major study to focus on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was limited to a single healthcare system in San Diego. Now a new study — the largest nationally representative study to date on ACEs — confirms that these experiences are universal, yet highlights some disparities among socioeconomic groups. People with low-income and educational attainment, people of color and people who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual had significantly higher chance of having experienced adversity in childhood. (Haelle, 9/17)
NPR:
Getting Over Your Ex: Can Brain Science Help Heartbreak?
When a relationship ends but love remains, it can be both frustrating and embarrassing. Dessa, a well-known rapper, singer and writer from Minneapolis, knows the feeling well. She'd spent years trying to get over an ex-boyfriend, but she was still stuck on him. "You're not only suffering," she says, "You're just sort of ridiculous. Discipline and dedication are my strong suits — it really bothered me that, no matter how much effort I tried to expend in trying to solve this problem, I was stuck." (Cole and Kellman, 9/18)
The New York Times:
Yet Another Worrisome Subway Statistic: More People Are Going On The Tracks
The man stood casually on the subway tracks, his face showing no sign of terror as he stared down a 360-ton train. The train operator spotted him and stopped the train just in time, sparing his life. Then the man climbed onto the platform and disappeared. “It was totally bizarre how he was so calm,” Doug Latino, a subway rider, said of the man he recently saw on the tracks at Grand Central Station in Manhattan. (Fitzsimmons, 9/17)
The Associated Press:
Coca-Cannabis? Coke Analyzing Cannabis In Wellness Drinks
The Coca-Cola Company said Monday it is "closely watching" the expanding use of a cannabis element in drinks, another sign cannabis and cannabis-infused products are getting more acceptance in mainstream culture and a harder look from long-established pillars of American business. (9/17)