Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Virginia's Democratic Governor Rejects Bills On Retail Cannabis, Prescription Drug Affordability, Menopause
The Virginian-Pilot: Spanberger Vetoes Retail Cannabis Market, Other Democratic Priorities
Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday afternoon vetoed several key Democratic legislative priorities, including a retail cannabis market. That means Virginia will continue to exist in legal limbo, where people can possess small amounts of cannabis but not purchase or sell it. Had the legislation passed, people would have been able to purchase recreational cannabis at licensed dispensaries beginning in January. ... Spanberger also is vetoing legislation establishing a prescription drug affordability advisory panel that would have developed policy recommendations to lower drug costs. The legislation also would have implemented limits on how much Virginians would pay for certain high-cost drugs. Currently, those price caps apply to Medicare users at the federal level, and the legislation would have expanded their application. (Seltzer, 5/19)
Cardinal News: Spanberger Signs Bill To Prohibit Assault Weapons; NRA And Virginia Organizations Sue
Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill to effectively ban the manufacture, sale and transfer of assault weapons in the commonwealth late Thursday with little fanfare, and lawsuits brought by the National Rifle Association and others immediately followed. (Beyer, 5/15)
More on the gun violence epidemic —
AP: San Diego Mosque Shooters Met Online, FBI Says
Two teenagers who shot and killed three people in an attack on a California mosque were radicalized online where they first met and shared white supremacist views, according to authorities and writings they authored. The pair “didn’t discriminate on who they hated,” Mark Remily, the lead FBI agent in San Diego, said Tuesday. The writings, obtained by The Associated Press, include hateful rhetoric toward Jewish people, Muslims and Islam, as well as the LGBTQ+ community, Black people, women, and both the political left and right. Both express beliefs that white people are being eliminated, and one writes about mental health struggles and being rejected by women. (Watson, Biesecker and Seewer, 5/20)
Los Angeles Times: Suspects Charged San Diego Islamic Center Wearing Armor, Firing On Multiple People, Witnesses Say
The two gunmen who opened fire at a San Diego mosque and killed three people inside Monday were “fully armored” and rushed toward the entrance with handguns and rifles before a security guard shot at and struck one of them, a witness and member of the mosque said. But in the chaotic exchange of gunfire Monday morning, the gunman who was shot by the security guard appeared unfazed, and continued to charge toward the mosque. (Winton, Fry, Hernandez and Harter, 5/18)
ProPublica: Range USA Dogged By Accusations Of Straw Sales Of Guns
Launched as a new kind of gun retailer in 2012, the Range USA chain was built to look and feel different from the smaller, unwelcoming shops and gun ranges often associated with the industry. Its founder and president, Tom Willingham, wanted to make the experience of buying and shooting firearms more mainstream. So he modeled his company on big box chains, striving for bright, comfortable outlets that would be inviting to women, novices and others put off by some older gun stores. (Coleman, 5/20)
On the rural health fund —
Wyoming Public Radio: Wyoming’s Plan For $205M In Rural Health Transformation Funds Approved
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved Wyoming’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) for the first year. The state will get $205 million for the first year of the five-year program. (Kudelska, 5/19)
More health news from across the U.S. —
ABC News: Texas Reports State's 1st Human Case Of West Nile Virus This Year
Texas health officials on Tuesday confirmed the state's first human West Nile virus case this year, an indication that mosquito season is beginning in the United States. Public health officials have been warning that rising temperatures have allowed mosquitoes to thrive, increasing the risk of the diseases that they spread, including West Nile. Last year, the U.S. reported 2,076 cases of West Nile across 47 states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Colorado had the highest number of cases (285), followed by Illinois, Texas, Minnesota and California. (Benadjaoud, 5/19)
ProPublica, The Texas Tribune: Texas AG Ken Paxton Filed At Least 30 Cases In Counties With Little Connection To Allegations
In October, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued pharmaceutical companies tied to Tylenol in state court, repeating claims made a month earlier by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that the pain relief drug was linked to autism and ADHD in children. Paxton, a close ally of the Trump administration who had already announced a U.S. Senate bid, accused drugmakers of marketing Tylenol to pregnant mothers without disclosing its dangers. “The reckoning has arrived,” the state’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies Johnson & Johnson, Kenvue Brands and Kenvue Inc. (Despart and Harris, 5/20)
The New York Times: Doctors Asked Officers To Unshackle A Patient. They Refused For 26 Days.
A lawsuit challenges the police practice of shackling mentally ill arrestees in New York, sometimes for long periods, while they await arraignment in locked psychiatric wards. (Newman, 5/20)
The CT Mirror: CT Department Of Correction Plans To Address Healthcare Delays
The Connecticut Department of Correction on Tuesday announced a slate of reforms focused on improving the quality of healthcare for people who are incarcerated, including a new director of inmate medical services, a team to oversee the implementation of reforms and investments in technology advancements. (Golvala, 5/19)
The New York Times: Military Bases Are Rife With ‘Forever Chemicals.’ New Mexico Wants Them Cleaned Up
Two men walked through livestock pens with .22-caliber rifles, killing Art Schaap’s cows. One man would raise his rifle, its barrel inches from a cow’s forehead. A shot would ring out, the cow would fall and the men would move on to the next cow. ... Mr. Schaap felt he had no choice but to have his herd killed. Testing showed that the water he had pulled from wells on his property contained exceptionally high levels of PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, which have been linked to birth defects, liver and heart disease and some cancers. State and federal regulators pulled his permit to sell milk and quarantined his herd. Selling his cows for beef was out of the question. (Nazaryan, 5/19)
Verite News: Vending Machine With Birth Control, Plan B Opens In N.O.
There’s a new vending machine in the New Orleans Healing Center (2372 Saint Claude Ave). Instead of sodas and snacks, it provides free access to birth control, emergency contraceptives, condoms, fentanyl test strips and Narcan. Seven reproductive health advocacy organizations unveiled the “Your Body, Your Choice” vending machine in April. The initiative, which was announced in 2025, aims to expand access to reproductive healthcare, and provide other life-saving supplies for people using substances. (Parker, 5/19)
KFF Health News: Religious Anti-Abortion Center Finds Opportunity In Town Without OB-GYNs
An anti-abortion pregnancy center on the outskirts of this Idaho Panhandle town greets visitors with an abridged Bible verse painted on the wall of its waiting area: “Come to me & I will give you rest.” 7B Care Clinic has been operating in Sandpoint since 2001 and was previously called Life Choices Pregnancy Center and Sandpoint Crisis Pregnancy Center. It is an affiliate of a nationwide network of Christian evangelical centers called Care Net. 7B, one of about 1,200 pregnancy centers affiliated with Care Net, offers pregnancy tests, limited ultrasounds, parenting and life skills classes, community support groups, and other free resources, such as children’s clothing. (Orozco Rodriguez, 5/20)
