The Wall Street Journal: RFK Jr., HHS To Link Autism To Tylenol Use In Pregnancy And Folate Deficiencies
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to announce that pregnant women’s use of an over-the-counter pain medication is potentially linked to autism in a report that will also suggest a medicine derived from folate can be used to treat symptoms of the developmental disorder in some people, people familiar with the matter said. The report, expected this month from the Department of Health and Human Services, is likely to suggest as being among the potential causes of autism low levels of folate, an important vitamin, and Tylenol taken during pregnancy, people familiar with the matter said. (Whyte and Subbaraman, 9/5)

The New York Times: Debate Flares Over An Unproven Link Between Tylenol And Autism
For more than a decade, scientists have asked whether acetaminophen — the active ingredient in the painkiller Tylenol — could affect fetal brain development, causing problems in children like autism and A.D.H.D. Some studies have suggested that there is a link; others have found none. Now the latest study ... has been swept into a larger, politically fraught debate about the causes of autism, spurred in part by the views of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health and Human Services secretary. (Ghorayshi, 9/5)

Autism Science Foundation: Statement From Autism Science Foundation Regarding Wall Street Journal Report
"Any association between acetaminophen and autism is based on limited, conflicting, and inconsistent science and is premature given the current science. Autism doesn’t have a single cause. It is the result of a complex mix of genetics and environment. We know that genetic factors play the biggest role: hundreds of genes have been linked to autism, and inherited or spontaneous changes in these genes can alter brain development. ... “It is disingenuous and misleading to boil autism’s causes down to one simple thing. We know that autism is incredibly complicated, and we need to move away from studies that simplify it down to one exposure without any other considerations”, said Dr. Alycia Halladay, Chief Science Officer at the Autism Science Foundation. (9/5)

ScienceDaily: Autism Symptoms Vanish In Mice After Stanford Brain Breakthrough 
Scientists at Stanford have found that hyperactivity in the brain’s reticular thalamic nucleus may drive autism-like behaviors. In mouse models, drugs and neuromodulation techniques that suppressed this overactive region reversed symptoms, hinting at new therapeutic pathways that overlap with epilepsy treatments. (9/8)

More MAHA news —

The New York Times: Federal Report On Drinking Is Withdrawn
The Department of Health and Human Services has pulled back a government report warning of a link between cancer and drinking even small amounts of alcohol, according to the authors of the research. Their report, the Alcohol Intake and Health Study, warned that even one drink a day raises the risk of liver cirrhosis, oral and esophageal cancer, and injuries. The scientists who wrote it were told that the final version would not be submitted to Congress, as had been planned. (Caryn Rabin, 9/5)

NPR: What Kind Of Dairy Does A Body Good? Science Is Updating The Answer
When new dietary guidelines are unveiled later this month, the Trump administration is expected to upend long-held advice on whole milk and its full fat friends in the dairy aisle. For decades, the American public has been advised to opt for fat-free or low fat dairy options, largely out of concern for limiting the intake of saturated fat in these foods. (Stone, 9/8)

Politico: Trump Is Back To Touting His Covid Shot
A day after senators of both parties rebuked his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for restricting access to Covid vaccines at a congressional hearing, President Donald Trump praised them, along with some other shots, during an Oval Office event. “A lot of people think that Covid is amazing,” Trump said, referencing the vaccine, not the disease. “You know, there are many people that believe strongly in that.” (Paun, 9/5)

The Hill: Trump Defends RFK Jr. ‘He’s A Different Kind Of A Guy’
President Trump on Sunday defended Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has come under increasing criticism from Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill over his handling of vaccines and other issues. Trump has given somewhat conflicting messages over the last several days about Kennedy, defending his Cabinet member while also defending vaccines, including those for polio and COVID. (Swanson, 9/7)

More on RFK Jr. —

The Washington Post: Doubts About RFK Jr. Grow For Some Republicans
Seven months after they voted to confirm longtime anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the nation’s health secretary, some Republican senators are having second thoughts. “I’m a doctor. Vaccines work,” Sen. John Barrasso (Wyoming), the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, told Kennedy at a hearing Thursday on Capitol Hill. “Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearings, you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines. Since then, I’ve grown deeply concerned.” (Diamond, Meyer and Roubein, 9/7)

The Hill: Republican Senator Defends RFK Jr. From Democratic, GOP Criticism On Vaccines
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) on Sunday defended Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. days after senators from both parties offered pointed questions about a vaccine policy-related shake-up at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Marshall told host Margaret Brennan of CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Kennedy was chosen to be a “disruptor to the CDC,“ and that is exactly what he is doing. (Limon, 9/7)

AP: RFK. Jr's Family Members Call Him 'Threat' To Americans' Health And Want Him To Resign
Members of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s family are calling for him to step down as health secretary following a contentious congressional hearing this past week, during which the Trump Cabinet official faced bipartisan questioning about his tumultuous leadership of federal health agencies. Kennedy’s sister, Kerry Kennedy, and his nephew, Joseph P. Kennedy III, issued scathing statements Friday, calling for him to resign as head of the Health and Human Services Department. (9/6)

On vaccine access —

NBC News: For Some, Medicare Isn't Covering The Updated Covid Vaccine Yet
Some older Americans on Medicare are facing an unexpected problem: The updated Covid shots — approved last month by the Food and Drug Administration for all adults 65 and up — aren’t being covered, forcing them to decide whether to pay out of pocket. Allison Engel, 74, said she visited her CVS in Pasadena, California, on Tuesday, where she was told the shot would cost $225 out of pocket. “They typed everything in, and handed me a rejection letter,” Engel said. “They told me it wasn’t in the Medicare system yet and I should come back in two weeks.” (Lovelace Jr., 9/5)

The Washington Post: Covid Vaccines Difficult To Find For Many Americans Despite RFK Jr.’s Assurances
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told senators last week that anyone can get a new coronavirus vaccine. But many Americans are finding the opposite. Confusion is rippling through the health care system as pharmacies and doctors try to adjust to providing a vaccine that is no longer broadly recommended. Americans’ experiences vary widely, from easily booking appointments to having to cross state lines to access the shots, according to more than 3,200 submissions to The Washington Post’s request for readers to share their experiences. (Ovalle and Winfield Cunningham, 9/7)

AP: Florida's Plan To Drop School Vaccine Rule Won't Start For 90 Days
Florida’s plan to drop school vaccine mandates likely won’t take effect for 90 days and would include only chickenpox and a few other illnesses unless lawmakers decide to extend it to other diseases, like polio and measles, the health department said Sunday. The department responded to a request for details, four days after Florida’s surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, said the state would become the first to make vaccinations voluntary and let families decide whether to inoculate their children. (White, 9/7)

CNN: West Virginia Has The Best Kindergarten Vaccination Rates In The Nation. A Legal Fight Backed By RFK Jr. Could Threaten That 
When it comes to health, West Virginia is used to being on the wrong end of the numbers. But on childhood vaccination rates, it’s a standout. During the 2023-24 school year, more than 98% of kindergarteners in West Virginia were vaccinated against diseases such as measles, pertussis and chickenpox, making it first in the nation, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Goodman, 9/5)

CIDRAP: US COVID Levels May Be Peaking, CDC Data Show
COVID-19 appears to be peaking in many parts of the country amid low respiratory illness activity overall, according to today's respiratory illness update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationally, the CDC's COVID-19 surveillance data show test positivity for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is 10.8%, down from last week's peak of 11.6%. But the percentage of emergency departments visits diagnosed as COVID-19 rose slightly, from 1.5% to 1.6%, and are elevated in children ages 0 to 4 and 5 to 17 years. (Dall, 9/5)

Also —

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: On Capitol Hill, RFK Defends Firings At CDC 
Just days after his firing of the brand-new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a defiant Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. secretary of health and human services, defended that action and others before a sometimes skeptical Senate Finance Committee. Criticism of Kennedy’s increasingly anti-vaccine actions came not just from Democrats on the panel but from some Republicans who are also medical doctors. (Rovner, 9/5)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’: Journalists Discuss Fallout Of CDC Turmoil And Recap Bitter RFK Senate Hearing
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed recommendations for covid-19 vaccinations for children on NPR’s “Morning Edition” on Aug. 20. Gounder then discussed the infant mortality crisis in Mississippi on CBS News’ “CBS Evening News Plus” on Aug. 22. She also discussed the resignation of top Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials after the ousting of agency director Susan Monarez on CBS News’ “CBS Mornings” on Aug. 28. (9/6)

Healthcare Brew: Walgreens Private Equity Takeover May Bring Layoffs, Pharmacy Closures, Experts Warn
Walgreens has completed a deal to be bought by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, and pharmacy experts are worried it’ll bring with it layoffs and pharmacy closures. Rumors of the takeover began swirling last December, and Walgreens executives confirmed in March they had signed a definitive agreement with Sycamore. As part of the deal, Walgreens and its subsidiaries are to be split into five separate, privately owned companies: retail pharmacy chain Walgreens, pharmaceutical wholesaler the Boots Group, specialty pharmacy company Shields Health Solutions, post-acute care company CareCentrix, and primary care clinic chain VillageMD. (Anderson, 9/5)

Yahoo Finance: Elizabeth Warren Warns About The Walgreens Takeover, Saying 'Private Equity Has A Record Of Running Companies Into The Ground'
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is sounding the alarm over Walgreens Boots Alliance $10 billion sale to private-equity firm Sycamore Partners. The company has already been struggling, and Warren says the buyout could make things much worse for workers and customers alike. “Walgreens just got taken over by private equity. Private equity has a record of running companies into the ground,” Warren said last week in a post on X. She warned that Walgreens “could be the latest victim: closing more stores, service plummeting, workers losing their jobs, and eventually bankruptcy.” (Volenik, 9/5)

More health industry news —

Bloomberg: Medicare’s Plan To Hire 2,000 Auditors Appears To Stall
The US government appears to be behind on its goal of hiring staff to audit private Medicare Advantage insurance plans for potential overpayments, casting doubt on how quickly it can clear a yearslong backlog that the new administration promised to tackle. In May, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it would hire about 2,000 medical coders by Sept. 1 to verify the data insurers submit for payment in the government’s health insurance program for the elderly. This would be an increase from the 40 people the agency already had in place. (Tozzi, 9/5)

Modern Healthcare: Banner Health Layoffs, Relocations To Affect 351 Employees
Banner Health plans to lay off or relocate 351 employees in Colorado as the nonprofit health system restructures its acute care and outpatient networks. Nurses account for about a quarter of the displaced workers, according to a Thursday Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing. Physicians, certified patient care assistants and ultrasound technologists are among dozens of other affected roles. (Kacik, 9/5)

Modern Healthcare: Aetna, OptumHealth Finalize ‘Dummy Code’ Settlement Fee
Aetna and Optum will pay $8.4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging they used “dummy codes” that increased members’ out-of-pocket costs. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina approved the agreement Thursday. The companies and the lead plaintiff, a retiree with a self-funded Aetna employer plan named Sandra Peters who initiated the suit in 2015, agreed to settle in November. Coming to terms on the payout brings the case to a close. (Tong, 9/5)

Modern Healthcare: The Prior Authorization Companies Ready To Take On Insurers
Providers are doubling down on artificial intelligence, seeking to better arm themselves in the battle over prior authorizations against insurers that have invested heavily in the technology. Major insurers such as UnitedHealth Group, Cigna and Humana have invested heavily in AI. Providers, in turn, are looking to use the technology to ease prior authorization, a perpetual headache that has contributed to burnout for nearly 90% of physicians, according to a survey from the American Medical Association in February. (Perna, 9/5)

The Baltimore Sun: Concierge Care A Boon To Doctors But Problematic For Some Patients
When Annapolis resident Maria Pittarelli began pursuing concierge primary care for her mother, she quickly came down with an acute case of sticker shock. The idea behind concierge is that primary care doctors can charge a membership fee so that they can see fewer patients for relatively the same amount of money, thereby allowing them to dedicate more time to each patient. However, as more practices adopt the business model, those fees can become a barrier. (Rothstein, 9/8)

Bloomberg: The Doctor Fighting Medicine’s Addiction To Plastic Waste
Just steps from the operating theaters at Melbourne’s Footscray Hospital, a storeroom holds a quiet rebellion against medical waste. Stacked neatly on wire racks are bundles of surgical gowns and drapes — some wrapped in pale blue disposable plastic, others in washable fabric that’s made to last. The difference seems small, but to critical-care doctor and anesthesiologist Forbes McGain, the latter pile signals a hospital daring to push back against the tide of single-use items pervasive in healthcare. (Gale, 9/4)

MedPage Today: Most Docs Say It's Fine To Get Tiny Gifts From Pharma, Survey Finds
Most doctors said it's appropriate to accept gifts valued at under $50 from the pharmaceutical industry, according to one of the many findings from a longitudinal study that surveyed physicians at the start of their careers in 2011 and then again last year. Yet a majority of the participants agreed at both points that marketing interactions threaten trust in medicine, with the share who strongly agreed with that idea growing from 5.6% in 2011 to 14.5% in 2024 (P=0.004), reported Aaron Kesselheim, MD, JD, MPH, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues. (Robertson, 9/5)

In pharmaceutical news —

CNN: FDA Calls On Nicotine Pouch Manufacturers To Use Child-Resistant Packaging Amid A Rise In Accidental Exposures 
The US Food and Drug Administration is urging nicotine pouch manufacturers to use child-resistant packaging on their products. This comes as a rise in nicotine pouch exposure cases has been reported among young children – with some causing nicotine poisoning. (Howard, 9/5)

Stat: Summit Therapeutics Hits Possible Snag On Lung Cancer Drug Seen As Blockbuster
Summit Therapeutics may have a geography problem with its lung cancer drug ivonescimab. In a study update reported Sunday, patients from North America and Europe treated with the drug saw their lung cancer return and progress faster than patients from China — a discordant result that could complicate Summit’s plans to secure approval of ivonescimab in the U.S. and Europe. (Feuerstein, 9/7)

MedPage Today: GLP-1 Agonists Show Possible Benefits For Rare Blood Cancer
Patients with polycythemia vera (PV) and a history of treatment with GLP-1 agonists had significantly lower rates of multiple adverse outcomes associated with the disease, a large propensity-matched study showed. Over 3 years of follow-up, patients who used GLP-1 agonists for diabetes or weight loss had a 50% lower all-cause mortality rate, and significantly fewer hospitalizations and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions. (Bankhead, 9/4)

MedPage Today: Fracture Protection May Be Another Benefit Of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists
GLP-1 receptor agonist use was tied with a reduced risk for fracture among older women with type 2 diabetes, a retrospective cohort study found. Among over 350,000 GLP-1 users, there was a significantly lower risk for several different types of fractures compared with women with diabetes not using one of these agents, reported Jawaad Chaudhry, BS, MD candidate, of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. (Monaco, 9/7)

NPR: Headed To The FBI, Missouri's Andrew Bailey Opposed Abortion, Backed Trump
In under three years, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey built a track record for using his office to oppose abortion even though voters supported it, filing lawsuits on culture-war issues and defending Donald Trump. Bailey was named a couple weeks ago to be a co-deputy director at the FBI and is expected to take office Monday. "My life has been defined by a call to service, and I am once again answering that call, this time at the national level," he said in accepting the post. He resigns his state position effective Monday. (Rosenbaum, 9/5)

The Washington Post: Justice Amy Coney Barrett Defends Supreme Court’s Decision To Overturn Roe 
Justice Amy Coney Barrett defends her vote that helped the Supreme Court overturn the right to abortion in 2022, writing in a new memoir that the idea that the Constitution guarantees such access is not deeply rooted in American history. She says that the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision to establish a constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade went against the will of many Americans and set in motion five decades of conflict over an issue that should have been rightly decided by voters — not judges. (Jouvenal, 9/7)

More abortion news —

Slate: Texas’ New Abortion Bounty Law Has A Fatal Flaw.
There is no reason to think H.B. 7 will solve a complex set of cross-border legal issues. Shield doctors assume that their actions are legal because they are located in states where abortion is protected as a right. Ban states argue that these same actions are crimes because the abortions take place within their borders. Courts will have to settle which state’s law will apply, and how shield laws can be squared with abortion bans. These conflicts will ultimately end up in federal court, and the outcome is uncertain. Nothing in H.B. 7 changes that. (Ziegler, 9/5)

Newsweek: Extreme Morning Sickness Leading Women To Consider Abortion, Study Finds
The staggering toll of hyperemesis gravidarum—an extreme form of morning sickness—on pregnant women has been revealed by a new study, with more than half of subjects saying they had considered ending their pregnancy because of the condition. The research, published in the journal PLOS ONE, surveyed 289 Australian women and found that 54 percent had contemplated termination due to unrelenting nausea and vomiting, while 90 percent reported they had thought about avoiding future pregnancies altogether. (Gray, 9/3)

Slate: Why Abortion Providers Are The Best Place For Painless IUD Placements.
If you want an IUD but are afraid of the pain, the cheat code is to call up your local abortion provider. These findings coincide with growing demand from patients for better pain management for IUDs and other in-office gynecological procedures, like endometrial biopsies and uterine aspirations. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists seemed to respond this spring by issuing updated guidelines stating pain management should be offered—even though it “may be perceived by health care professionals as unnecessary.” Also, it told clinicians to take a collaborative, patient-centered approach in deciding the direction of care. (Boden, 9/7)

In other reproductive health news —

MedPage Today: Hysterectomy, Ovaries Removal Linked To Stroke Risk
Hysterectomy and/or bilateral oophorectomy were associated with an increased risk of stroke, according to a meta-analysis. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and 15 other studies, hysterectomy was shown to be associated with a higher stroke risk compared with no hysterectomy (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.04-1.15, P=0.001), reported Nan Wu, MD, of Chongqing General Hospital and Chongqing University in China, and colleagues. (Bassett, 9/4)

Stat: Post-Tubal Ligation Syndrome: Is Sterilization Reversal The Answer? 
It was her second time trying to reverse what was supposed to be irreversible. The first time, Maranda Bordelon saved up for the $1,500 deposit, then booked a surgery date a few months out, so she’d have time to cobble together the remaining $4,500 she’d need to undo her sterilization. But just before her appointment, her parents’ house burned down, and she couldn’t stomach not being there to help. The deposit was non-refundable. That was in 2020. This time, instead of seeing that same surgeon, a two-and-a-half-hour drive from her home in Marksville, La., she’d picked a clinic six states and nearly a thousand miles away. (Boodman, 9/8)

Medical Xpress: Storing Breast Milk For Specific Times Of Day Could Support Babies' Circadian Rhythm
Breast milk is the first "super food" for many babies. Full of vitamins, minerals, and other bioactive compounds, it helps build the young immune system and is widely considered the optimal source of infant nutrition. Not all mothers, however, have the opportunity to directly breastfeed multiple times during the day and night, and might use expressed milk stored for later. (9/5)

Bloomberg: The Implants Were Supposed to Dissolve. They Didn’t
In the two years following her breast cancer surgery, not a day went by when Mary Munney Griffiths wasn’t in pain. It was different from the burning she felt in her chest during eight weeks of radiation. This was a new sharp, shooting sensation that woke her up at night and stopped her cold in the grocery store. She worried her cancer had returned, but tests said otherwise. When she finally got a surgeon to operate two years later, the doctor removed 24 plastic shards from her breast. (Edney and Meghjani, 9/3)

The Washington Post: Meta Suppressed Research On Child Safety, Employees Say 
At her home in western Germany, a woman told a team of visiting researchers from Meta that she did not allow her sons to interact with strangers on the social media giant’s virtual reality headsets. Then her teenage son interjected, according to two of the researchers: He frequently encountered strangers, and adults had sexually propositioned his little brother, who was younger than 10, numerous times. “I felt this deep sadness watching the mother’s response,” one of the researchers, Jason Sattizahn, told The Washington Post regarding the April 2023 conversation. “Her face in real time displayed her realization that what she thought she knew of Meta’s technology was completely wrong.” (Swaine and Nix, 9/8)

In other health and wellness news —

CNN: Experimental Brain Stimulation May Help Turn Off The ‘Fire Alarm’ Of Chronic Pain 
Edward Mowery lived with excruciating pain for years: Picture being put into a hot frying pan, he said, and then someone holding you down on that pan forever. The fiery, shooting pain got so bad that he quit his job, stopped playing sports and had to abandon his beloved death metal band just as the group was taking off. (Christensen, 9/7)

Newsweek: Adding Salt To Meals May Increase Risk Of Hearing Loss
You've likely heard that consuming too much salt can be bad for your heart, but what about your ears? Frequently adding salt to meals has been associated with an increased risk of hearing loss, according to a new study. Researchers in South Korea sampled 492,168 participants aged 40 to 69 with no hearing loss whose genetic, lifestyle and health data are held in the UK Biobank. (Millington, 9/4)

WLRN Public Media: Selective Hearing Isn't Just A Family Punchline. It's A Real Neurological Issue 
We've all probably joked about "selective hearing" — like when teens ignore chores but perk up when they hear, "We're ordering pizza." But audiologists say selective hearing isn't just a family punchline. It's a real neurological process. (Sanchez, 9/5)

NPR: Got Hypertension? Millions Of Americans Can Slash Stroke And Dementia Risk. Here’s How.
By age 40, more than half of Americans have high blood pressure, but many are unaware of it. Hypertension has long been known as the silent killer. When it's left untreated it can be deadly. And it's considered a silent threat since most people have no symptoms. You can't feel the pressure in your blood vessels increasing. New recommendations from the American Heart Association aim for early treatment, including lifestyle changes and medications, once systolic blood pressure rises above 130/80 mm Hg, (which stands for millimeters of mercury, a measure of pressure). (Aubrey, 9/7)

Fox News: Marathon Runners May Face Higher Cancer Risk, Study Suggests
Long-distance running, like marathons and ultramarathons, may not always be the health badge we thought it was. In fact, it could increase your cancer risk, according to a new study out of Virginia. Dr. Timothy Cannon of the Inova Schar Cancer Institute began work on the study, which was presented at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, after noticing ultramarathoners under 40 were showing up with advanced colon cancer. (Quill, 9/7)

Phys.org: Cooling Pollen Sunscreen Can Block UV Rays Without Harming Corals
Materials scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have invented the world's first pollen-based sunscreen derived from Camellia flowers. In experiments, the pollen-based sunscreen absorbed and blocked harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays as effectively as commercially available sunscreens, which commonly use minerals like titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO). (9/4)

On aging and death —

The New York Times: Why Are More Older People Dying After Falls?
Public health experts have warned of the perils of falls for older people for decades. In 2023, the most recent year of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 41,000 Americans over 65 died from falls, an opinion article in JAMA Health Forum pointed out last month. More startling than that figure, though, was another statistic: Fall-related mortality among older adults has been climbing sharply. (Span, 9/7)

NBC News: Space Travel May Accelerate The Aging Of Stem Cells As Much As Tenfold, Study Says
Traveling to space is brutal on the body. Spaceflight can cause astronauts’ bones to lose density, their brain and eye nerves to swell, and their genes to change expression. Research suggests spending time in space is akin to fast-tracked aging. NASA’s pioneering study of the identical twin astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly tracked signals of aging in both men while Mark remained on Earth and Scott spent 340 days in space. (Bush, 9/6)

The Wall Street Journal: The Billionaires Fueling The Quest For Longer Life
How much would you invest in the possibility of living to 150 or beyond? Or having 20 extra healthy years? For the ultrawealthy, it’s more than $5 billion over the past 2½ decades, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of longevity investment deals in PitchBook, public company statements and regulatory filings. (Shifflett, Dockser Marcus and Janin, 9/6)

KFF Health News: When I Go, I’m Going Green
Our annual family vacation on Cape Cod included all the familiar summer pleasures: climbing dunes, walking beaches, spotting seals, eating oysters, reading books we had intended to get to all year. And a little shopping. My grandkid wanted a few small toys. My daughter stocked up on thousand-piece jigsaw puzzles at the game store in Provincetown. I bought a pair of earrings and a couple of paperbacks. And a gravesite. (Span, 9/8)

Bloomberg: WHO Ends Mpox Global Health Emergency, Calls For Vigilance
Mpox is no longer a global health emergency, but more needs to be done to eradicate the sometimes deadly virus that causes unsightly, painful rashes, the World Health Organization said. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lowered the global alert level on mpox, previously known as monkeypox, more than a year after declaring the spread of the virus an extraordinary event. (Kew, 9/5)

NBC News: China Battles Mosquito-Borne Virus With Covid-Era Methods As U.S. Issues Travel Warning
For nearly two months, health officials in southern China have been waging war on mosquitos, reviving top-down tactics from the country’s zero-Covid playbook. ... While no locally acquired cases have been reported in U.S. states or territories since 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel health notice in August urging “enhanced precaution” amid chikungunya outbreaks in China’s Guangdong province and four other countries. (Mackey Frayer and Guo, 9/6)

Bloomberg: Ebola Outbreak In DR Congo Tests Global Response After US Aid Cuts
Ebola is one of the deadliest diseases on Earth, with a fatality rate as high as 90%. It’s among a handful of illnesses so dangerous that governments consider them threats to national security. The Democratic Republic of Congo declared an outbreak on Sept. 4 after 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths were reported. Health services in the country have been under strain this year as the US government’s decision to cut funding for international aid, and worsening conflict in the country’s east, complicate efforts to contain other diseases such as mpox, cholera and measles. (Kew and Gale, 9/5)

AP: Radioactive Metal At An Indonesia Industrial Site May Be Linked To Shrimp Recall
Contaminated metal at an industrial site in Indonesia may be the source of radioactive material that led to massive recalls of imported frozen shrimp, international nuclear safety officials say, as efforts are underway to halt more U.S.-bound shipments. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday that officials are in “constant contact” with Indonesian nuclear regulators who have detected Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope, at a processing plant that sent millions of pounds of shrimp to the U.S. (Aleccia, 9/5)

In other outbreaks and recalls —

CIDRAP: H5N1 Detected In Texas Dairy Herd; Researchers Can't Pinpoint Source Of California Child's Illness
After a month with no H5N1 avian flu detections in dairy cattle, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today reported a positive test involving a herd from Texas, raising the nation's total since early 2024 to 1,079 infected herds in 17 states. The detection is Texas's first since May. (Schnirring, 9/5)

CIDRAP: Report Describes N Meningitidis Conjunctivitis Outbreak On US Military Base That Sickened 41
A study yesterday in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report describes an outbreak earlier this year of Neisseria meningitidisconjunctivitis of an unknown source among young military trainees living in dormitories on a Texas Air Force base. Officials at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland led the investigation of 41 N meningitidis conjunctivitis cases, which are uncommon in adults with healthy immune systems, on the 11,800-trainee base from February to May. (Van Beusekom, 9/5)

CBS News: Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Metabolic Meals Sickens More Than A Dozen People, 7 Hospitalized, CDC Says
A Salmonella outbreak linked to certain home delivery meals from Metabolic Meals has sickened more than a dozen people across 10 states, and seven had to be hospitalized, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. ... People sickened lived in California, Missouri, Georgia, Minnesota, Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Washington state, the CDC said. (Tabachnick, 9/5)

NBC News: Frozen Vegetables Sold In 6 States Recalled Over Possible Listeria Contamination
Frozen vegetables sold in six states were recalled over a possible listeria contamination. Endico Potatoes Inc. in Mount Vernon, New York, recalled its frozen peas and carrots, as well as its mixed vegetables, the company announced Wednesday. No illnesses have been reported, according to the announcement shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (Burke, 9/5)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Parental Consent Law Confuses School Nurses 
A new state law requiring schools to obtain parental consent before administering health care services to students has triggered confusion among campus nurses who worry they could face punishment for routine acts like offering bandages or handing out ice packs. (Edison, 9/5)

Minnesota Public Radio: Medical Debt Lawsuits In Minnesota Soar To 5-Year High 
Medical debt lawsuits across Minnesota have surged to the highest level in five years, according to a new analysis by independent nonprofit Pew. When patients are unable to pay their medical bills and fall into debt, hospitals and health care providers often turn over that debt to collection agencies, and eventually they can be sued by the provider or a collection firm for payment. Lester Bird, a senior manager with Pew Charitable Trusts, said those lawsuits can come with financial repercussions such as having your wages garnished, and it can also have emotional consequences. (Work, 9/7)

Kansas City Star: Fentanyl Keeps Killing Toddlers In MO & KS Despite Progress 
In late March, a 3-year-old Leavenworth boy known as EJ fell asleep for the night on a neighbor’s couch after eating grapes. Before sunrise the next morning, the little boy who loved Spiderman and wanted to play sports when he got bigger wasn’t breathing. Officers tried to resuscitate him, doing repeated CPR on his small body, as his mother sat in her neighbor’s apartment watching police try to save him. (Bauer and Green, 9/7)

KFF Health News: Researchers Shift Tactics To Tackle Extremism As Public Health Threat
Rebecca Kasen has seen and heard things in recent years in and around Michigan’s capital city that she never would have expected. “It’s a very weird time in our lives,” said Kasen, executive director of the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing. Last November, a group of people were captured on surveillance video early one morning mocking a “Black Lives Matter” sign in the front window of the center, with one of them vandalizing its free pantry. That same fall, Women’s Center staff reported being harassed. (Sisk, 9/8)

On Medicaid and state funding cuts —

The Washington Post: States Face Massive New Costs Under Trump Budget Cuts 
States are scrambling to prepare for an unprecedented shift of costs and responsibilities under President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending plan, which will force them to make difficult decisions about cuts to state programs to offset the new financial burdens. Unlike the federal government, states must balance their budgets each year. That means deep cuts and changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will require state legislatures and governors to cope with hundreds of millions of dollars in new costs each year. (Abutaleb and Reston, 9/7)

Modern Healthcare: What Medicaid Work Requirements Might Learn From The Unwinding
A year after concluding a long, messy process to trim the Medicaid rolls of ineligible beneficiaries, states, insurance companies and others in the healthcare system are bracing for impact as work requirements loom. President Donald Trump enacted a sweeping tax law in July that cuts Medicaid spending $960 billion over 10 years and includes significant new restrictions on enrollment. Work requirements promise to be the most impactful. (Early, 9/5)

Bloomberg: Shut Down The Government To Save Health Care
Democrats should be willing to risk a government shutdown, which looms at the end of the month, in order to save health insurance subsidies for millions of Americans, which are set to expire at the end of the year. (Matthew Yglesias, 9/7)

The New York Times: The Clue To Unlocking Parkinson’s May Be All Around Us
As industry has boomed and agricultural and industrial toxins like paraquat have proliferated in the postwar period, so has something else: Parkinson’s disease. Once almost unknown, the ailment was first identified in 1817 when Dr. James Parkinson described a handful of elderly people with what he called “the shaking palsy.” That was in polluted London, and it’s now understood that air pollution is a risk factor for the disease. (Nicholas Kristof, 9/8)

Roll Call: How The US Can Beat China On Drug Safety And National Security
As Americans debate the rising cost of prescription drugs and the safety of global supply chains, one overlooked threat is quietly gaining ground: China is reshaping the rules of global drug regulation and using them as a tool of influence. (Ted Yoho, 9/5)

Stat: Don’t Cut The NIH Budget. Reform The Institution Instead 
The National Institutes of Health commands nearly $50 billion annually — more than the GDP of many nations — and its importance to biomedical research has historically been prized by both political parties. Since Covid however, the NIH has been criticized for a lack of full transparency and accountability, particularly about the research it was sponsoring in Wuhan, China. (Stuart Buck, 9/8)

The Washington Post: A Dangerous Farm Bill Loophole Exposes Kids To Marijuana-Like Products
Due to a loophole in federal law, psychoactive and intoxicating products nearly identical to marijuana are easily accessible to minors, including in states that have not legalized recreational marijuana use. Congress is best positioned to rectify this danger to children. (Lindsey Vuolo and Kevin Roy, 9/8)

Stat: How To Talk To Strangers At A Bar About Covid 
For the last few weeks of summer, my mom visited from Florida. The night before her flight, we stopped at one of our local spots, a dive bar/restaurant where we can be super casual and enjoy greasy bar food over drinks. At the table next to us was a group of four men, in their late 60s or thereabouts if I had to estimate. It was clear they’d been there a while, judging from the empty beer glasses scattered across the table (no judgment). They were talking at a high volume, so I couldn’t help but hear when the topic of Covid and vaccines came up. (Jess Steier, 9/6)

The CT Mirror: Fueling Failure: Students Are Running On Toxic Boosts
Imagine pouring a gallon of milk into a vehicle’s gas tank in the center of a bustling campus. It would be a showstopper. Yet, students, faculty, and staff regularly pass by one another, energy drink in hand, without a second thought. How have we become so callous to consuming things not meant to be in our bodies, basically biological machines? (Rozina Jaser, 9/5)