The Washington Post: Top Sinaloa Cartel Leader Taken Into U.S. Custody Alongside Son Of ‘El Chapo’
A longtime senior leader of the Sinaloa cartel, Ismael Zambada Garcia, or “El Mayo,” and a son of famed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán were taken into custody Thursday by U.S. authorities in Texas, according to senior Mexican and U.S. officials. It was a major blow to the Sinaloa federation, a global drug-trafficking syndicate considered the No. 1 supplier of fentanyl to the United States. (Sheridan and Miroff, 7/26)

EL PAÍS: Sinaloa Cartel: Four Factions Share The Business Of Trafficking Fentanyl And Methamphetamines To The US
The arrest of Ismael El Mayo Zambada, the Boss of Bosses, represents a huge blow to the Sinaloa Cartel. The criminal organization, one of Mexico’s biggest, has been resisting the manhunt by the United States in its war against fentanyl trafficking, as well as an internal war for territorial control. The siege by the authorities bore fruit and ended this Thursday with the arrest of one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the country, who had never once set foot in prison. Founded in the 1980s in the mountains of the Pacific State, this cartel is divided into four factions that share the drug trafficking pie. (Zerega, 7/26)

Also —

Reuters: Fentanyl’s Deadly Chemistry: How Criminals Make Illicit Opioids
The illegal synthetic opioid industry is built on surprisingly simple chemistry. Here’s the science behind fentanyl, and how underworld “cooks” put it to work. (Chung, Gottesdiener and Jorgic, 7/25)

Reuters: We Bought What’s Needed To Make Millions Of Fentanyl Pills – For $3,600
At the tap of a buyer’s smartphone, Chinese chemical sellers will air-ship fentanyl ingredients door-to-door to North America. Reuters purchased enough to make 3 million pills. Such deals are astonishingly easy – and reveal how drug traffickers are eluding efforts to halt the deadly trade behind the fentanyl crisis. (Tamman, Gottesdiener and Eisenhammer, 7/25)

Marijuana Moment: Most New York Medical Marijuana Patients Say Cannabis Has Reduced Their Use Of Prescription Opioids And Other Drugs 
More than 3 in 4 New York State medical marijuana patients say cannabis has allowed them to reduce their intake of prescription drugs, according to a new report from the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). That includes 2 in 3 (66 percent) who report that marijuana has specifically “reduced their need for prescription opioids for pain reduction.” (Adlin, 7/24)

Modern Healthcare: Steward Health’s Ralph De La Torre Subpoenaed By Senate Committee
A Senate committee held an extremely rare vote Thursday to subpoena Steward Health Care Chair and CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre and launch a formal investigation of the hospital chain's bankruptcy filing. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, citing de la Torre's repeated refusals to come before the committee voluntarily, voted 20-1 to subpoena the executive and 16-4 to launch a formal investigation of Steward that could include sworn testimony and future subpoenas for others in the Steward chain of command. (McAuliff, 7/25)

In other health industry developments —

Modern Healthcare: Optum Layoffs Hit 524 Workers, Including Some Clinicians, Nurses
UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Health division will lay off 524 employees in California and remote locations, according to a report by the state's Employee Development Department. The affected employees include physicians, physician assistants, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, patient care coordinators, nurse practitioners and social workers, according to the company's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice obtained by Modern Healthcare. (Berryman, 7/25)

The Boston Globe: Brigham And Women’s Nurses Strike Inches Closer After Union Vote
Nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital overwhelmingly approved a measure that will allow their union to call for a one-day strike at the state’s second largest hospital. The Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents 4,000 nurses at the hospital, said the vote was near unanimous with 99.4 percent in favor of a possible 24-hour work stoppage. (Lee, 7/25)

Modern Healthcare: Ascension To Sell 13 Illinois Sites To Prime Healthcare
Ascension plans to sell 13 hospitals and other care sites in Illinois to Prime Healthcare, the systems said Thursday. The definitive agreement marks another divestiture for nonprofit Ascension in the Midwest as it continues to shrink its footprint. (DeSilva, 7/25)

Modern Healthcare: CHS Hospital Sales To Continue Despite Failed Novant Health Deal
Community Health Systems is negotiating deals to divest some assets and does not anticipate running into the same issues that last month killed its plan to sell two hospitals to Novant Health. During a second-quarter earnings call with financial analysts Thursday, executives at the Franklin, Tennessee-based provider said the buyer pool is shifting and those changes should benefit its efforts. (DeSilva, 7/25)

Los Angeles Times: Molina Healthcare Inc. Acquires Connecticare Holding Co. Inc.
Long Beach-based Molina Healthcare Inc. agreed to acquire Connecticare Holding Co. Inc. for $350 million on July 23. The transaction will be funded with cash on hand and is subject to regulatory approvals. It is expected to close in early 2025. “The addition of ConnectiCare to Molina brings a well-rounded government-sponsored healthcare plan and a new state to our portfolio,” said Joe Zubretsky, president and chief executive of Molina in a statement. (7/25)

Modern Healthcare: Envision Healthcare Ends Private Equity Case, Leaves California
Envision Healthcare, a top private equity-backed emergency physician staffing company, is exiting California and avoiding a lawsuit that threatened the legality of its business model in the state. The Nashville, Tennessee-based company had been battling the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, which sued in 2021 after Envision Healthcare won a contract that the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Physician Group previously held at Placentia-Linda Hospital. (McAuliff, 7/25)

Bloomberg: WeightWatchers Chief Medical Officer Meister Leaves After Less Than Year
The chief medical officer of WW International Inc., better known as WeightWatchers, has stepped down from her role after less than a year, people familiar with the matter said. WeightWatchers announced Amy Meister’s appointment in October as the company was attempting to reposition itself by offering prescription weight-loss drugs after decades of promoting dieting. The company said in a press release at the time that Meister’s appointment would “further WeightWatchers’ commitment to providing the most clinically proven tools and interventions surrounding weight health.” (Muller, Swetlitz and Garde, 7/25)

Also —

The Boston Globe: 'July Effect' Kicks In At Hospitals As Brand-New Doctors Arrive
For Dr. Jeremy Faust, July 1 is like New Year’s Day. That’s when thousands of new medical school graduates enter teaching hospitals across the country and provide care to patients as doctors for the first time. ... With that excitement also comes a seemingly perennial debate around a phenomenon called the “July effect” — the idea that the inexperience of first-year residents, commonly called interns, might lead to a decrease in patient safety or increase in medical errors. (Getahun-Hawkins, 7/25)

CBS News: North Korean Charged In Ransomware Attacks On NASA, U.S. Hospitals; $10 Million Reward Offered
North Korean hackers allegedly targeted a number of U.S. hospitals and healthcare systems with ransomware as part of an illegal scheme to fund a covert information exfiltration campaign against American military and scientific entities, federal investigators revealed Thursday. ... The State Department is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the location of Rim or other members of the malicious cyber group. (Legare and Sganga, 7/25)

Healthcare Dive: HHS Reorganizes Technology Functions, Renames ONC 
The HHS is undergoing a major restructuring, placing oversight of technology, data and artificial intelligence under an existing office that manages healthcare information technology. Along with assuming a larger tech role, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, or ONC, will be renamed the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, or ASTP/ONC. (Olsen, 7/25)

Military.com: VA's Electronic Health Records System May Require Lots Of New Staff. The Cost Worries Lawmakers. 
The introduction of the new digital medical records system at a joint Veterans Affairs-Defense Department hospital went well but required extra temporary and full-time staff. (Kime, 7/25)

Dallas Innovates: Alphabet's Health Tech Co. Verily Moves Headquarters From California To North Texas 
Created by Google X to tackle big healthcare challenges, Verily chose to move headquarters to North Texas, rather than expand in California. (Ward, 7/25)

The Washington Post: Online Portals Deliver Scary Health News Before Doctors Can Weigh In 
More Americans are learning of devastating health diagnoses through their phones and computers instead of personally from their doctors because of a federal requirement that people receive immediate access to medical test and scan results, from routine bloodwork to MRIs. This shift has sparked a debate in the medical community about whether instant information empowers patients or harms them. (Nirappil, 7/26)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Sues Over Confidential Contraception For Teens
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday announced he is suing the Biden administration over a federal contraception program that provides teens birth control without requiring parental consent. The Title X program has long been the only way minors in Texas can access confidential contraception, but since a court ruling in 2022, Texas providers have been required to get parental sign-off. (Klibanoff, 7/25)

Healio: FDA Approves First Oral Dissolvable Birth Control Pill
The FDA approved the first orally disintegrating birth control pill for people who have difficulty swallowing their medication, the agency announced in a press release. The dissolvable combined oral contraceptive of norethindrone acetate and ethinyl estradiol pill (Femlyv, Millicent), was first approved in the U.S. for the prevention of pregnancy as a swallowable tablet in 1968. (Schaffer, 7/24)

In abortion news —

AP: Arkansas Abortion Measure's Signatures From Volunteers Alone Would Fall Short, Filing Shows 
The signatures collected by volunteers for an Arkansas abortion-rights measure would fall short of the number needed to qualify for the ballot if those are the only ones counted, according to an initial tally from election officials filed Thursday with the state Supreme Court. The filing from the secretary of state’s office comes after the court ordered officials to begin counting signatures submitted, but only those collected by volunteers. Arkansans for Limited Government, which used volunteer and paid canvassers, has sued the state for rejecting its petitions. (Demillo, 7/25)

AP: Montana Supreme Court Allows Signatures Of Inactive Voters To Count On Ballot Petitions 
Montana’s Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would allow the signatures of inactive voters to count on petitions seeking to qualify constitutional initiatives for the November ballot, including one to protect abortion rights. District Court Judge Mike Menahan ruled last Tuesday that Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen’s office wrongly changed election rules to reject inactive voter signatures from three ballot initiatives after the signatures had been turned in to counties and after some of the signatures had been verified. The groups that sued — Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights and Montanans for Election Reform — alleged the state for decades had accepted signatures of inactive voters. (Hanson, 7/23)

Side Effects Public Media: Iowa's New Abortion Law Could Have Ripple Effects Across The Region
It’s quiet over the lunch hour on a recent Friday at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Mankato, Minn. Brooke Zahnle, the health center manager, steps into the southern Minnesota clinic’s small hallway to point out the clinic’s lab and five exam rooms, including an ultrasound room. The clinic is tucked away in a strip mall close to Minnesota State University, Mankato. It’s about an hour from the Iowa border. (Krebs, 7/25)

Michigan Advance: Rhetoric Versus Reality: Addressing Common Misconceptions About Abortion 
Candidates have been campaigning on rhetoric that abortion is infanticide and happens “post birth,” “up until the moment of birth,” or “after birth,” as Trump alleged in the June debate with President Joe Biden. However, abortion does not happen “after birth.” That would be categorized as murder, as it was in the case of former Philadelphia abortion doctor and convicted murderer Kermit Gosnell. (Resnick, 7/26)

In other reproductive health news —

Missouri Independent: Study: Missouri Is One Of The Worst States For Women’s Health
Missouri women have more limited access to health care and worse outcomes than any other state in the Midwest, a new study of the nation’s health care system found. Missouri ranks 40th out of 51 states plus the District of Columbia on the 2024 state scorecard on women’s health and reproductive care, published by the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation focused on health care issues. (Spoerre, 7/26)

CNN: Barbie’s Gynecologist Appointment Increased Online Search Interest Around Reproductive Health, New Study Finds
When she leaves Barbie Land for the real world, Barbie must keep up with her regular health maintenance, which includes seeing her gynecologist.A new study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open has found that the ending in the 2023 blockbuster film “Barbie” had an influence on online search interest in terms around gynecology, the branch of medicine that deals with women’s reproductive health. (Nicioli, 7/25)

Berkeley News: After Trump's Election, Women Of Color Had More Underweight, Premature Babies, Study Finds 
In the two years after Trump was elected, there was a significant increase in the number of non-white women in the U.S. who gave birth to children who were premature or underweight, researchers report in a study published today in the journal Demography. The increase in underweight and premature births was especially pronounced for children born to Black mothers, the study found. “Elections matter to health in enduring ways,” said Paola D. Langer, a postdoctoral fellow at the campus’s Goldman School of Public Policy and study’s first author. (Pohl, 7/25)

Nature Medicine: Anxiety, Depression, Headaches — Is Political Polarization Bad For Your Health? 
As growing evidence shows that engagement with politics is associated with worsening mental and physical health, a bumper election year and increasing polarization could affect millions. (Makri, 7/26)

Also —

Nature: What Kamala Harris’s Historic Bid For The US Presidency Means For Science
The daughter of a scientist and a supporter of diversity in STEM, Harris as a potential candidate has stirred optimism among scientists. (Kozlov, Lenharo and Tollefson, 7/22)

Stat: A Look At Kamala Harris' Mother, A Noted Breast Cancer Researcher
As Vice President Kamala Harris emerges as the likely Democratic candidate in the U.S. presidential race, her background on health care issues ranging from reproductive rights to drug pricing is attracting more attention. A look at the life and work of Harris’ late mother, the prominent breast cancer researcher Shyamala Gopalan, offers insights into the personal connections that have shaped Harris’ views on health and medicine. (Rajeev, 7/26)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News' 'What The Health?': Harris In The Spotlight
For the 2024 campaign, Joe Biden is out, and Kamala Harris is in. As the vice president makes moves toward the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, health policy is resurging as a campaign issue. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Stephanie Armour of KFF Health News, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. (Rovner, 7/25)

AP: Newsom Orders California State Agencies To Start Clearing Homeless Encampments
California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies Thursday to start removing homeless encampments on state land in his boldest action yet following a Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public spaces. This executive order directs state agencies “to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them.” It also provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same, which applies pressure on them, though they are not legally bound to the order. (Nguyen, 7/25)

AP: West Virginia Is Asking The US Supreme Court To Consider Transgender Surgery Medicaid Coverage Case 
West Virginia is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review rulings that found the state’s refusal to cover certain health care for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance is discriminatory, Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said Thursday. In April, the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-6 in the case involving coverage of gender-affirming surgery by West Virginia Medicaid, finding that the “coverage exclusions facially discriminate based on sex and gender identity,” according to a majority opinion penned by Judge Roger Gregory. (Willingham, 7/25)

The Washington Post: Va. Health Staff Failed Irvo Otieno As He Suffocated, Experts Say
Virginia authorities moved quickly to investigate after Irvo Otieno, a 28-year-old Black man, was suffocated on the floor of a state psychiatric hospital in March 2023. By the following week, seven officers and three hospital orderlies who piled on him had been charged with second-degree murder, and that same month, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) promised an “aggressive transformation” of the behavioral health-care system that experts say failed Otieno. But a year later, the criminal case has fractured, and little public scrutiny has been given to the actions of the clinical staff, including doctors and nurses, at Virginia’s Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County, where Otieno died. (Oakford, 7/26)

WUSF: Mental Health Professionals Are Now Responding To 911 Calls In Tampa
Dispatchers now have another option when someone in Tampa calls 911 with a mental health emergency. Instead of police officers, crisis counselors will respond. The program partners the Tampa Police Department and the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. (Shanes, 7/25)

Stateline.org: In The 10 States That Didn’t Expand Medicaid, 1.6M Can’t Afford Health Insurance
Nearly 1 of every 5 uninsured working-age adults across the 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act are, according to a new analysis, stuck in a health care limbo known as a “coverage gap.” That means they earn too much money to receive Medicaid but not enough to qualify for financial help to purchase their own plan on the marketplace. (Chatlani, 7/25)

The CT Mirror: CT Had The Nation's Highest Jump In Alcohol-Related Deaths. Why?
In 1993, Newport mother Dorrie Carolan founded Parent Connection to support parents whose children were battling addiction after her son died of a prescription drug overdose. In the decades that followed, her organization has faced a new enemy, one of the oldest recreational drugs: alcohol. (Pohly, 7/26)

KFF Health News: Union With Labor Dispute Of Its Own Threatens To Cut Off Workers’ Health Benefits
The National Education Association, the nation’s largest union, is threatening to cut off health insurance to about 300 Washington, D.C.-based workers on Aug. 1 in an effort to end a bitter contract dispute. It’s a tactic some private employers have used as leverage against unionized workers that has drawn scrutiny from congressional Democrats and is prohibited for state employers in California. Experts on labor law say they’ve never seen a union make the move against its own workers. (Galewitz, 7/26)

Reuters: Bird Flu Infects Three More Colorado Poultry Farm Workers 
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Thursday announced three additional human cases of bird flu among poultry farm workers, bringing the total number of confirmed human cases in the U.S. this year to 13. The three new cases involved poultry farm workers who were killing infected chickens at a Weld County egg farm, the health department said. The workers are experiencing mild illness and have been offered antiviral drugs, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a statement. (Douglas, 7/25)

KFF Health News: The CDC’s Test For Bird Flu Works, But It Has Issues
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a glitch in its bird flu test hasn’t harmed the agency’s outbreak response. But it has ignited scrutiny of its go-it-alone approach in testing for emerging pathogens. The agency has quietly worked since April to resolve a nagging issue with the test it developed, even as the virus swept through dairy farms and chicken houses across the country and infected at least 13 farmworkers this year. (Allen and Maxmen, 7/26)

On measles, long covid, and whooping cough —

The Star Tribune: Measles Threat Detected In Twin Cities, Troubling Public Health Officials
Three unrelated measles cases in the Twin Cities this month have state health officials concerned that the viral infection is circulating locally and presenting a threat to anyone who isn't vaccinated. Investigators with the Minnesota Department of Health are continuing to search for connections, but so far have found none among the infected children in Anoka, Hennepin and Ramsey counties. All three cases were identified this week, and two involved children who were hospitalized. None had been vaccinated. (Olson, 7/25)

Los Angeles Times: Long COVID Risk Has Decreased But Remains Significant, Study Finds
The risk of developing long COVID — enduring, sometimes punishing symptoms that linger well after a coronavirus infection — has decreased since the start of the pandemic, a new study found, with the drop particularly evident among those who are vaccinated. But the dip does not mean the risk of developing long COVID has vanished. (Lin II, 7/25)

CBS News: A South Jersey Mom Is Sharing Her Daughter's Experience With Whooping Cough To Spread Awareness
As COVID continues to spread, there's another respiratory illness that's also increasing, and it has doctors sounding the alarm about a decline in vaccinations. Cases of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, are spreading. This sickness starts out like a cold, but then turns into a potentially dangerous cough. Juliette Osborne, who lives in South Jersey, said she was upset and worried when her 10-year-old daughter, who has special needs, was diagnosed with whooping cough. (Stahl and Nau, 7/25)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Heart Institute Makes 'Groundbreaking' Artificial Heart Implant
A new chapter in artificial heart development unfolded Thursday in Houston, where officials at the Texas Heart Institute announced they had successfully implanted a novel device that they hope can become the first long-term solution for patients with advanced heart failure. The device — a rotary-powered, hand-sized artificial heart — whirred inside a 58-year-old man’s chest for eight days, helping him maintain normal vital signs and organ function until he received a lifesaving heart transplant on July 17. (Gill, 7/25)

CIDRAP: Scientists Say They Developed Faster Way To Diagnose, Treat Sepsis 
A new ultra-rapid, phenotype-based antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) method eliminates the need for conventional blood culture in patients with suspected sepsis, potentially speeding antibiotic prescription by upwards of 40 to 60 hours, scientists reported yesterday in Nature. (Van Beusekom, 7/25)

Fox News: The World's 1st 'Test Tube Baby' Turns 46 Years Old, Over 6 Million Babies Born Through IVF Since 1978
On July 25, 1978, Louise Joy Brown was born in the United Kingdom and her birth quickly caught the media's attention, as she was the world's first "test tube baby." In other words, Brown was the first baby born through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Her mother Leslie and father Peter suffered from infertility due to Leslie's blocked fallopian tubes, according to History.com. (Messier, 7/25)

CBS News: South Florida Doctor Popularizes "Bikini" Approach To Hip Replacement Surgery
For years, the surgery has left a three to eight-inch vertical scar on the patient's upper thighs. But Dr. Charles Lawrie is known for his "bikini approach," meaning patients can hide their incision scars right under their bathing suits. It's a technique plastic surgeons have mastered, cutting along skin lines that run parallel to underlying muscle fibers. (Pastrana, 7/25)

Stat: Breast Cancer Mastectomy Paradox Found In New Study
Breast cancer surgeons have tended not to push patients towards bilateral mastectomy, since data have long shown that the complete removal of both breasts doesn’t improve survival. New data from a large epidemiological study affirmed that, but an accompanying finding is puzzling. Breast cancer survivors who ended up developing a second breast cancer in the opposite or contralateral breast had a higher risk of death, even though preventing that cancer with surgery didn’t change outcomes. (Chen, 7/25)

Dallas Morning News: Sparked By Simone Biles, Athletes At Paris Olympics To Have Vast Mental Health Resources
“The walls are coming down,” Dr. Jess Bartley, the USOPC’s senior director of psychological services said. “More and more athletes are talking about it.” (Sherrington, 7/22)

The New York Times: Mental Health And The Olympics: How The USOPC Is Preparing For The Toll On Athletes 
As more athletes have been open about mental health struggles, the USOPC has expanded its offerings to address more than just the physical. (Auerbach, 7/25)

Fortune Well: Team USA Psychologist Cares For Olympians’ Mental Health At 2024 Paris Games
Kweku Smith, PhD, will make his Olympic debut in the City of Light less than a year after joining the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee as a psychological services provider. Smith says he and his colleagues will be on call 24/7 throughout the Olympics and Paralympics, ready to tend to athletes’ mental health whether they’re in crisis or just need to bend an ear. Athletes are also free to schedule an appointment with a psychologist, or flag one down in the Olympic Village or the arena where they’re competing. (Leake, 7/25)

More health news from the Paris Olympics —

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School Of Public Health: Public Health Prep For The Paris Olympics
Like any mass gathering event, there is a raised risk of public health threats. So how does the International Olympic Committee (IOC) mitigate these dangers—both before and during the competitions? In this Q&A, adapted from the July 24 episode of Public Health On Call, Lucia Mullin, MPH, an associate scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and an associate in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about her role as a member of the WHO Collaborating Center for Global Health Security's mass gathering expert group, the inner workings of preventative public health measures during the Olympics, and insights gained from previous Games. (7/24)

AP: An Olympic-Sized Fight Erupts Among Anti-Doping Officials, And It's Just Getting Started 
Global regulators hinted at sanctioning America’s drug-fighting watchdog, a suggestion that further ratchets up tensions between those in charge of keeping sports clean. (Pells, 7/25)

The Washington Post: Olympic Athletes Are Approaching The Limits Of Human Performance 
At the Paris Olympics over the next three weeks, thousands of athletes will compete to win medals and stand on podiums. A select handful will be striving for something even greater. The Olympics are not only a spectacle for determining the world’s best athletes. They are a quadrennial window into the limits of human performance. (Kilgore and Giambalvo, 7/26)

Deseret News: McDonald’s Is Off The Menu At The Paris Olympics 
Philipp Würz, head of food at the 2024 Paris Olympics, told The Guardian that “French organizers were keen to raise standards after he read that 20% of athletes’ meals during the London Olympics were consumed at McDonald’s.” Legendary track athlete Usain Bolt famously said that he ate 1,000 nuggets over 10 days during the 2008 Games, when he won two gold medals for individual sprints, per The Guardian. (7/25)

CBS News: Could "Rock Solid" Cardboard Beds At Olympics Impact Performance? A Sleep Expert Weighs In
To complete at the Olympic level in Paris this year, athletes surely need a good night's rest — but that doesn't seem to be the case for some athletes sleeping on the viral cardboard beds in the Olympic village. The beds, which many have joked are "anti-sex" beds due to the materials used, have actually proven to be quite sturdy — almost too sturdy ... Unfavorable conditions could impact an athlete's sleep, recovery and performance, Dr. Carlos M. Nunez, sleep expert and chief medical officer at medical device company ResMed, told CBS News. (Moniuszko, 7/25)

The Wall Street Journal: The Dirty Secret Of Olympic Swimming: Everyone Pees In The Pool
If you thought the Olympics was the culmination of four years of blood, sweat and tears, we regret to inform you that La Défense Arena in Paris will be overflowing with a different bodily fluid. It turns out that every athlete who takes a plunge into the Olympic pool will probably relieve themselves in there, too. (Higgins, 7/26)

Popsugar: The History Of Condoms At The Olympics 
This year, Olympic Village director Laurent Michaud told Sky News that there are a whopping 300,000 condoms available for the 10,500 athletes competing at the 2024 Paris Games (that's almost 29 condoms per athlete, mind you). "It is important that the conviviality here is something big," Michaud said. Over email, a Paris 2024 spokesperson confirmed to PS that there will be 200,000 male condoms, 10,000 male condoms without latex, 20,000 female condoms, and 10,000 oral dams — all of which are accompanied with a lubricant pouch — available in the Village. (Gulino, 7/23)

Also —

The New York Times: Steven Van De Velde Raped A 12-Year-Old A Decade Ago. Now, He’s At The Olympics 
To let him represent the Netherlands at the Paris Games, the Dutch Olympic Committee agreed that Steven van de Velde should stay outside the athletes’ village and not talk with media, who would certainly ask about his prison sentence for raping a 12-year-old girl when he was 19. The Dutch Olympic Committee and Dutch Volleyball Federation declined to make Van de Velde available and to comment to The Athletic beyond a statement that said in part that Van de Velde was included on the team “after careful consideration” and that he had “consistently met” their high standards.  (Burrows, 7/25)

The New York Times: Australian Field Hockey Player Amputates Finger To Play In Paris Olympics
After the tip of his ring finger was mangled in a practice match two weeks ago, Matthew Dawson chose amputation over a long, uncertain recovery. (Zhuang and Yoon, 7/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Americans Aren’t Having Babies
Americans aren’t just waiting longer to have kids and having fewer once they start—they’re less likely to have any at all. The shift means that childlessness may be emerging as the main driver of the country’s record-low birthrate. (Wolfe, 7/20)

Think Global Health: Alcohol Industry Panics As Healthier Habits Cut Sales 
Something is rotten in the state of drink. In 2023, Americans consumed less beer than they had in a generation. Wine sales shrank for the third consecutive year. Spirits sales were flat. Prominent observers of the alcohol industry are crying foul. "The U.S. government's coming attack on wine," a public relations consultant wrote earlier this year of updated dietary guidelines that could reduce recommended thresholds of healthy drinking. "The worst thing I have seen in 25 years," a long-time wine industry writer said in late 2023 of the World Health Organization (WHO) report that low levels of alcohol increase the risk of cancer and that "no safe amount of alcohol consumption for cancers and health can be established." (Alcorn, 7/24)

USA Today: 34 Years After Passage Of Americans With Disabilities Act, Data Sheds Light On The Disabled
Thursday marks 34 years since President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act guaranteeing equal protection for people with disabilities. Modeled after the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the ADA provides equal access to government services, schools, buildings, private employers and commercial facilities. But some disability rights activists say the law doesn't go far enough to protect those living with disabilities. "One in four adults in the U.S. report having a disability, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's over 70 million Americans. (Chernikoff, 7/26)

The New York Times: Some Seniors Readily Step Back. Some Never Will
Beth Bergmans liked working as a project manager for an online university based in Minnesota. “We are offering opportunities for people to advance in life — that brought some satisfaction,” she said. “And the people I work with are awesome. ”Ms. Bergmans, 63, planned to stay on the job for two years, until she qualified for Medicare. But in recent months, something had shifted, subtly. In her fast-paced workplace, she began to find it harder to recall the details of recent meetings, to retrieve words and to filter out distractions. She took short breaks at her desk to recharge. “You find ways to adapt,” she said. (Span, 7/20)

The Washington Post: Why Lawsuits Are Mounting Over This Chemical Linked To Cancer 
A knock on the door forced Cathy Flint to her feet. It had been five years since her diagnosis of multiple myeloma, a cancer that has left her with bones protruding from her neck and down her spine, bone damage and hunched shoulders. On that day in spring 2023, her neighbor stood in her doorway with a letter. It was a questionnaire from environmental lawyers asking residents in her Charleston, W.Va., neighborhood if they had experienced any injuries or ailments, including cancer, because of exposure to ethylene oxide — a gas, released by nearby chemical manufacturing plants, that federal agencies have said is linked to numerous cancers. (Ajasa, 7/24)

The Hollywood Reporter: New York’s Largest Hospital System Is Setting Its Sights on the Entertainment Business
Northwell Health, New York’s largest health care system, is betting that the entertainment business can bolster its bottom line, and drive health awareness in the process. Northwell says it is launching Northwell Studios, a new production company that is developing scripted and unscripted film and TV content that will leverage its facilities, doctors and patients (with their consent, of course). (Weprin, 7/24)

AP: As Doctors Leave Puerto Rico In Droves, A Rapper Tries To Fill The Gaps
Though a physician, Dr. Pedro Juan Vázquez is better known in Puerto Rico as a rapper who uses the stage name PJ Sin Suela. The 34-year-old is trying to fulfill his passion for music while helping those in need — and raise awareness about a health crisis on the island of 3.2 million residents. The U.S. territory is facing power outages as well as a shortage of medical professionals, with many having fled to the U.S. mainland for better wages. (Marcos, 7/23)

Bloomberg: Doctors And Patients Need More Clarity On Emergency Abortions
About a fifth of pregnancies end in miscarriage and 8% have complications. In these tragic situations, the line between getting an abortion and accessing emergency care is blurred. Women — and their doctors — who live in states with strict abortion bans deserve more clarity. (7/26)

The New York Times: JD Vance’s ‘Cat Ladies’ Riff Has Serious ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Vibes 
JD Vance, whose political career has been shaped to a large extent by his opposition to abortion rights, is trying to turn the clock back half a century or more. (Paul Krugman, 7/25)

Stat: Nursing Home Industry Needs Federal Regulations On Staffing Levels
About 5% of Americans require skilled care at some point as they age. The horrific reports of more than 200,000 deaths of nursing home residents and staff during the Covid-19 pandemic put the nursing home industry under intense national scrutiny. But not all nursing homes experienced this level of tragedy and loss. One major reason why some fared better than others was adequate nurse staffing. (Melissa Batchelor and Diana J. Mason, 7/26)

Newsweek: Climate, AI, And Care—The Triple Threat Facing Our Society 
With thousands of Baby Boomers reaching their mid-70s every day, we're facing a tsunami of care needs that threatens to overwhelm us. The numbers are staggering—53 million Americans are already doing unpaid "second shifts" caring for family members. Add to that the rising rates of chronic conditions requiring long-term care, and we're looking at a perfect storm. (Neal K. Shah and Mary Furlong, 7/25)

Stat: Medtech Compliance — Not Regulation — Is Stifling Innovation
“Regulation is stifling innovation” seems to be a prevailing opinion among medtech leaders who believe the Food and Drug Administration’s rules are slowing medical device advancements — especially when it comes to software. I couldn’t disagree more. (Erez Kaminski, 7/26)