Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Judge Bans Manhattan Project Waste At Michigan Landfill
Planet Detroit: Radioactive Waste Blocked From Michigan Landfill
A Van Buren Township landfill is barred from accepting shipments of radioactive waste from Manhattan Project-era sites, a Wayne County Circuit Court judge ruled Wednesday. Judge Kevin Cox’s order, issued following a February bench trial, sides with Wayne County and communities that sued Wayne Disposal by making an Aug. 6, 2025 preliminary injunction permanent. (Allnutt, 5/28)
More health news from Michigan —
Bridge Michigan: Michigan Bills Seek To Legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide
Laws that would allow doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients are being considered once again in Michigan. House Democrats unveiled a package of bills last month to create a “Death with Dignity Act,” following a similar effort in the previous term by Senate Democrats to legalize physician-assisted death in the state. Similar laws cover more than 100 million Americans in 14 states. (Newman, 5/28)
From Maryland —
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Opioid Settlement Dashboard Launched
Maryland has launched a public dashboard to track how opioid settlement dollars are received, distributed and spent across the state. (5/28)
Maryland Matters: Md. Medicaid Agency May Have Paid For Care For Inmates, Dead People
The state agency responsible for overseeing Medicaid payments and services lacked “effective processes” to identify millions in questionable payments made to dead or incarcerated people, according to an audit released this week. (Brown, 5/28)
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Reports First Heat-Related Death Of 2026
The Maryland Department of Health on Thursday reported the state’s first heat-related death of 2026. State health officials said the victim was a man in his 70s or 80s from Calvert County but declined to release additional details about the death. (Karpovich, 5/28)
From North Carolina, Louisiana, and Georgia —
North Carolina Health News: Migrant Workers, Allies Prepare For Hot Summer
As 90-degree days begin to show up in the spring, protecting migrant farmworkers from heat stress is a top priority for farmworker advocacy groups heading into what many expect will be a long, hot summer. (Atwater, 5/27)
North Carolina Health News: Survivors, Advocates Encourage Bill To Place AEDs In Schools
Hailey Yentz was lifting weights with her track and field team in February 2025, when she started to feel dizzy. Without knowing why, she collapsed in a teammate’s arms and for 10 minutes, she had no pulse. The college senior was having a heart attack. (Crawford, 5/29)
Verite News: Jefferson Parish Has The Most Opioid Overdose Deaths In La. Here’s How It’s Spending Its Settlement Money
Jeffrey Alford had been living in active addiction for five years when, in August 2020, he was arrested on a felony charge of possession of a Schedule II drug and booked at the Jefferson Parish jail. Like many others who struggle with opioid use disorder, Alford started with prescription pain pills, then he moved on to heroin and methamphetamines. When powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl flooded the market, he started using them too — whether he realized it or not. “You didn’t know what you were getting,” Alford said. “You thought you were getting heroin, but you’re actually getting fentanyl.” (Fernelius and Hawkins, 5/28)
KFF Health News: A Trump Stronghold Grapples With Health Risks Of ICE Detention Sites
Until recently, this rural city about 45 minutes east of Atlanta was best known for its Blue Willow Inn cookbooks featuring recipes for Southern dishes such as baked pineapple casserole and kudzu blossom jelly. Lately, however, the community has been trying to stave off a new identity of “prison town” as it fights the opening of what could become the nation’s largest immigration detention center, holding up to 10,000 people. (Rayasam, 5/29)
From California, Colorado, and Texas —
CalMatters: Young Survivors Of Gun Violence Find Therapy Helps. But Will California Do More?
When Jazelle Eastman was 16 she was shot in the face by a boy she thought was a friend. She doesn’t remember feeling much, but next thing she knew there was blood dripping from her chin. That was two years ago. She still has a hard time trusting people. “PTSD is so real, I feel like I’m always looking over my shoulder,” she said. (Ibarra, 5/28)
AP: California Attorney General Sues 23andMe Over User Data Breach
California’s attorney general sued the genetic testing company formerly known as 23andMe on Thursday, alleging it failed to protect sensitive user data in a 2023 breach that affected nearly 7 million people across the country. Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the lawsuit against Chrome Holding Co., which 23andMe rebranded under after filing for bankruptcy last March. 23andme is known for its direct-to-consumer DNA test kits that provided customers information on their ancestry and genetic predispositions for certain health conditions. (Ding, 5/28)
San Francisco Chronicle: California Families Sue To Block Demand For Trans Kids’ Health Info
The Trump administration has launched a baseless and intrusive criminal investigation into hospitals that treat transgender youths after judges refused to identify them or release their medical records, six California families alleged in a lawsuit this week. After a year of rejections by federal courts nationwide of Justice Department subpoenas seeking information on the hospitals’ patients, the department “has now decided to sidestep those orders” with a criminal investigation demanding some of “the most sensitive information a medical provider can possess,” lawyers for the families said in a suit filed late Wednesday in federal court in San Jose. (Egelko, 5/28)
The Colorado Sun: Colorado Midwives Sue The State, Saying Regulators Make It Hard To Work Safely
Kalie Caler was 8 years old when she decided that she wanted to deliver babies for a living. Born and raised in Pagosa Springs, she completed midwifery school in Florida before moving home to start Mountain Roots Midwifery in 2019. (Singer, 5/28)
The Texas Tribune: Texas App Age Verification Law Can Go Into Effect For Now
Texas’ law requiring app marketplace operators like Google and Apple to verify all users’ ages and seek parental permission before minors can download apps or make in-app purchases can go into effect for now, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. (Cobler, 5/28)
