Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Havana Syndrome' Experiments: Pentagon's Use Of Animals Protested
Politico: PETA Urges Pentagon To Stop ‘Disturbing’ Radiation Tests On Ferrets, Monkeys
A prominent animal rights group is calling on the Pentagon to halt “disturbing” research exposing ferrets and monkeys to pulsed radiation to try to recreate symptoms of “Havana Syndrome.” On Thursday, POLITICO first reported that the Defense Department began funding experiments last September on ferrets to try to determine whether radio frequency waves could be the source of the mysterious ailment that has plagued more than 1,000 U.S. government personnel for years. POLITICO also reported that DoD has recently conducted these tests on primates. (Seligman, 3/13)
Politico: The Time Russians Really Did Target Americans With Microwaves
The idea that a foreign power — say, Russia — could launch a global campaign of “directed pulsed radio frequency energy” is hardly farfetched. Not only is this the conclusion that others, such as the National Academy of Sciences, have come to. But it wouldn’t even be the first time the Kremlin has launched such a campaign. (Michel, 3/10)
In other health news from Capitol Hill —
The Hill: McConnell Discharged From Hospital, Won’t Return To Senate Immediately
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) was discharged from the hospital Monday after suffering a concussion last week when he tripped and fell at a private dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in downtown Washington. McConnell, who is 81, is not expected to return to the Senate this week. (Bolton, 3/13)
The New York Times: Patricia Schroeder, Feminist Trailblazer In Congress, Dies At 82
Patricia Schroeder, a trailblazing feminist legislator who helped redefine the role of women in American politics and used her wit to combat egregious sexism in Congress, died on Monday. She was 82. ... She was a driving force behind the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which guaranteed women and men up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a family member. She helped pass the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which barred employers from dismissing women because they were pregnant and from denying them maternity benefits. (Seelye, 3/14)
The Washington Post: Marilyn Goldwater, Maryland Delegate And Health Care Champion, Dies At 95
Marilyn R. Goldwater, an emergency-room nurse by training who served 24 years in the Maryland House of Delegates, where she became known as an advocate for improving and expanding health care across the state, died Jan. 7 at her daughter’s home in Manhattan Beach, Calif. She was 95. The cause was complications from Parkinson’s disease, said her daughter, Diane “Dee” Goldwater. (Langer, 3/13)
