Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Florida Bill Would Criminalize Helping Minors Access Gender-Affirming Care
WFSU: New Florida Bill Targets 'Aiding And Abetting' Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
Providing gender-affirming care, such as hormone treatment, to people under 18 is illegal in Florida. But a new bill could change who can be charged for it and who can investigate it. (Wood, 1/21)
On gun violence and mental health —
The New York Times: Ex-Uvalde Officer Found Not Guilty of Endangering Children in Mass Shooting
More than three years after a gunman massacred 21 people at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, a former school police officer was found not guilty of abandoning or endangering children. Adrian Gonzales, the first officer to arrive at the school, was facing 29 counts of abandoning or endangering children, 19 for the dead and 10 more for survivors, after seven hours of deliberations Wednesday. (Sandoval, 1/21)
More health news from across the U.S. —
The New York Times: Dozens Are Sickened By A Rare Fungal Infection In Tennessee
One death is being investigated and at least 35 other people have been sickened in the Nashville area after breathing in the spores of a fungus commonly found in the soil, health officials said. The illness, histoplasmosis, is a rare respiratory infection that can cause symptoms similar to those of the flu: fever, chills, cough, chest pain, fatigue and night sweats. (Hassan, 1/21)
Newsweek: Thousands Advised To Stay Inside In Georgia, Tennessee
Thousands of people in communities across parts of Georgia (including Dalton, Adrian, and Louisville) and Tennessee (including Chattanooga, Dunlap, and Tracy City) have been advised to stay indoors, after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recorded that fine particle pollution (PM2.5) had reached "unhealthy" levels, as of January 22, 2026, at 2.45 a.m., according to the AirNow Map. When local air quality readings are classified as "unhealthy," the EPA warns that everyone in the affected area might begin to experience certain health effects, ranging from coughing and eye, throat, and nose irritation to chest tightness and shortness of breath. (Greenwood, 1/22)
InvestigateWest: Oregon Town To Test River Where Wood Treater Sent Polluted Stormwater
A northwest Oregon town is stepping up testing of the river that supplies some of its drinking water, prompted by InvestigateWest’s reporting that a local wood treater released stormwater tainted with toxic preservatives into the waterway while regulators kept it quiet. The Sheridan City Council has instructed staff to consult with environmental researchers and state regulators on a new plan to test water samples from the South Yamhill River for chemicals used in recent years by Canadian company Stella-Jones. The proposed tests are separate from standard monitoring for contaminants in city drinking water that Sheridan is required by state law to regularly conduct. (Tornay, 1/21)
The New York Times: Parents Sue Residential Home Over Abuse Of Their Autistic Son
Shalini Babbar received an unexpected phone call on a Sunday morning in August 2024 from an employee at a residential home in upstate New York, where her 19-year-old autistic son was living. The employee at the home, the Anderson Center for Autism, told Ms. Babbar that her son was being abused. The abuse had been going on for some time, she said she was told, and the employee had a video. Ms. Babbar panicked and begged the man for the footage. (Meko, 1/21)
AP: Chess Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky Died Of Heart Problems From Accidental Overdose
Daniel Naroditsky, an influential American chess grandmaster who was found dead at his North Carolina home in October at age 29, had multiple drugs in his system at the time and was killed by an abnormal heartbeat caused by an accidental overdose, according to a toxicology report. Released Tuesday by the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office, the report said Naroditsky tested positive for methamphetamine and kratom, an opioid-related ingredient that is increasingly added to energy drinks, gummies and supplements. (1/21)
