NC Republicans Propose Recognizing Just Two Sexes, Spurn Gender Identity
Senate Republicans added language defining biological sex to a bill regulating online pornography that won unanimous support in the House. The Senate has not yet voted on the bill. More news comes from Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, California, and Washington, D.C.
North Carolina Health News:
NC Lawmakers Seek To Define Biological Sex, Dismiss Gender Identity
State lawmakers at the North Carolina General Assembly are pondering another bill that would affect transgender people — the latest in a string of legislation targeting this population that has been introduced in recent years. Some of it has become law. (Vitaglione and Crumpler, 6/17)
WUSF:
Florida's AG Sues Chinese Maker Of Patient Monitors, Alleging Cybersecurity Risks
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed a lawsuit against a Chinese medical device manufacturer and its Miami-based reseller, alleging deceptive business practices and citing cybersecurity risks. Patient monitors made by Contec Medical System contain a hidden “backdoor” that could allow unauthorized access and manipulation of medical data, according to a Monday press release from Uthmeier’s office. (Mayer, 6/17)
The Baltimore Sun:
University Of Maryland Medical System Sues Over Denied Medicaid Claims
The University of Maryland Medical System filed a lawsuit Monday against a company it claims “improperly denied” more than $15 million in Medicaid payments for services the hospital group provided to more than 15,000 lower-income patients. (Parker, 6/16)
CIDRAP:
Salmonella Outbreak Tied To Pistachio Cream Sickens People In 2 States
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on June 13 announced a Salmonella Oraneinburg outbreak linked to pistachio cream that has so far sickened four patients in two states, Minnesota and New Jersey. One of the patients was hospitalized. Pistachio cream is a sweet spread that typically contains pistachios, sugar, and oil. (Schnirring, 6/16)
In legal news —
AP:
Judge Tosses Defamation Case Brought By Ohio Doctor Who Was Acquitted Of Killing Patients
A former Ohio doctor who was fired before being found not guilty on murder charges in the deaths of 14 patients lost a defamation lawsuit against his former employers on Monday, after a judge stepped in for a jury on grounds the evidence presented by the defendants was incontrovertible. Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Stephen McIntosh issued his directed verdict against former doctor William Husel, whose attorneys accused Michigan-based Trinity Health and Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus of orchestrating a campaign to destroy his reputation. Husel was seeking more than $18 million from the health care companies. (Carr Smyth and Seewer, 6/17)
The New York Times:
Doctor Who Gave Matthew Perry Ketamine Will Plead Guilty, U.S. Says
A doctor who illegally supplied the “Friends” actor Matthew Perry with the drug ketamine in the weeks leading up to Mr. Perry’s death in 2023 — traveling to his home and a parking lot to inject him — has agreed to plead guilty, according to court documents. The doctor, Salvador Plasencia, could face up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine on four criminal counts of distributing of ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, under the agreement, which was filed on Monday in federal court in Los Angeles. (Vigdor, 6/16)
AP:
Trial Opens For Suit Against Pardoned Capitol Rioter Over Officer's Suicide
Nine days after he helped defend the U.S. Capitol from a mob of Trump supporters, Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith shot and killed himself while driving to work. Over four years later, Smith’s widow is trying to prove to a jury that one of the thousands of rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is responsible for her husband’s suicide. The trial for Erin Smith’s wrongful death lawsuit against David Walls-Kaufman started nearly six months after President Donald Trump torpedoed the largest investigation in FBI history. (Kunzelman, 6/16)
