Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Newly Tested DNA Confirms Notorious Murderer Ted Bundy Killed Utah Teen
The New York Times: DNA Confirms Ted Bundy Killed Utah Teen In 1974, Investigators Say
Mr. Bundy had confessed to killing Laura Ann Aime before he was executed in 1989. Investigators said DNA testing provided conclusive proof. (Levenson, 4/1)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
CBS News: New 2026 Texas SNAP Rules Now In Effect. Here's What Recipients Can No Longer Buy
Texans who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will no longer be allowed to purchase sweetened drinks and candy beginning this Wednesday, April 1. In 2025, Gov. Greg Abbott requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service prohibit those purchases using SNAP to "help ensure the health and well-being of Texans." (Brown and Myers, 4/1)
The Colorado Sun: Polis Planning Executive Order To Address Sugary Drinks In Colorado
Gov. Jared Polis wants to prohibit Coloradans from using food-assistance benefits to purchase soda and other sugary drinks that are bad for their health. But getting buy-in from other state leaders to put the ban in place now hinges on the governor’s broader plan for curbing soda drinking not just for low-income people, but for all Coloradans, starting with those attending taxpayer-funded events. (Brown, 4/1)
Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Hopes To Get Up To $1 Billion To Improve Rural Health Infrastructure. Some Say It Will Do Little To Offset Looming Medicaid Cuts
Kevin DeRonde stepped into a suite of empty offices at Mahaska Health in Oskaloosa. “This will all be gutted, and the PET CT will be housed over here,” said DeRonde, the hospital's CEO, motioning to a room filled with various cardboard boxes, storage tubs and office furniture. “Control room will be here, and then the patient intake rooms will be back behind us.” In January, the hospital found out it will receive more than $3 million from the state’s rural health transformation program fund to buy a new PET scanner, which is typically used to check for cancer. (Krebs, 4/1)
AP: Warm Winters Mean There's More Nitrate Pollution In Drinking Water
When pollution gets bad enough in the rivers supplying Iowa’s largest city with drinking water, it costs Des Moines around $16,000 a day to run a special system to filter out dangerous nitrates. It’s a fact of life in the agriculture-dependent state — and climate change is making the water quality problem even worse. The nitrates come from fertilizer and pesticides that make their way into the soil and then waterways like the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers. It’s not usually a problem in winter, but this year Iowa’s capital had to filter in January and February — just the second time that’s happened in more than 30 years. (Walling, 4/1)
The Texas Tribune: South Texas Woman Loses Wrongful Arrest Suit In Abortion Case
A Trump-appointed federal judge in South Texas this week dismissed a lawsuit filed by a woman in the Rio Grande Valley who alleged that her rights were violated after prosecutors charged her with murder in a controversial case that made global headlines after she self-induced an abortion. (Kriel, 4/1)
On the substance abuse epidemic —
Kansas City Star: Wastewater At 4 KC-Area Schools Detected Potent Opioids
Results of a voluntary wastewater monitoring program showed a highly potent opioid was found in two dozen Missouri schools, four of them in the Kansas City region. (Bauer, 4/1)
Bridge Michigan: Funding To Fight Opioids Still Unspent In Some Michigan Counties
More than three years after Michigan communities began receiving millions of dollars to fight the opioid epidemic, some have yet to spend a dime. Michigan is set to receive at least $1.6 billion over 18 years from a national lawsuit settlement with drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies that were deemed partly responsible for the opioid crisis. The state is getting half that money, with the rest split between Michigan counties, townships and cities. The funds began arriving in January 2023. (French, 4/1)
San Francisco Chronicle: She Left SF’s Streets For Housing, But Her Addiction Deepened
Standing in the doorway of her new San Francisco apartment, Amber Richmond felt like her luck had finally changed. It was the summer of 2020, just before her 28th birthday. After years cycling between homeless shelters, hotels and the streets as she struggled with opioid addiction, she was finally moving into a studio in Lower Nob Hill thanks to a federal housing voucher. (Hodgman, 4/1)
