The Washington Post: Debt Ceiling Deal Passes House, Moves To Senate As Deadline Nears
The House voted Wednesday night to pass a painstakingly negotiated bill to suspend the debt ceiling, limit federal spending and avert a catastrophic U.S. government default, securing a major win for the GOP and the White House that seemed elusive just days ago. The deal — brokered over the weekend by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Biden — was an enormous test for the narrow Republican House majority, their leader’s shaky hold over his party and a White House that had long refused to compromise on the debt ceiling at all. At times, talks unraveled; at others, McCarthy and Biden projected confidence that they could strike a deal and stave off an unprecedented default on the nation’s debt. (Sotomayor, Kane and Siegel, 5/31)

Stat: Republicans' Crackdown On Health Regulations Has Major Loopholes
At first glance, the debt ceiling deal that Republicans struck with the White House seems to significantly rein in the Biden administration’s ability to pursue big-ticket health care policy. It includes a provision that would force federal agencies to find ways to offset the cost of any new regulations they create related to programs that cost more than $1 billion. Health regulations can be especially expensive, so Republicans are selling it as a way to limit the agencies’ power to spend. (Cohrs, 6/1)

The Hill: Paul To Force Tough Debt-Ceiling Vote To Cut Total Spending 
Conservative Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says he will force the Senate to vote this week on cutting total federal spending by 5 percent in each of the next two years, a proposal that could put popular programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act under scrutiny.  (Bolton, 5/31)

The New York Times: The Big Part Of The Debt Ceiling Deal Congress Isn’t Talking About 
The House passed legislation Wednesday night that will raise the nation’s borrowing limit and reduce the federal deficit, the result of lengthy negotiations between House Republicans and the White House. But the bill is only part of the full deal. A New York Times analysis of public descriptions of the agreement finds that the full deficit savings will be only about two-thirds of what is captured in the bill. That’s because the agreement struck by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden will require Congress to authorize much more spending as part of a second set of bills expected to pass in coming months. (Sanger-Katz and Parlapiano, 5/31)

Stat: Debt Ceiling Deal Could Mean Science Research Cuts 
Researchers and health care advocates are warning that the debt ceiling deal would mean a harsh cut for science agencies like the National Institutes of Health. The debt ceiling deal hammered out by the White House and congressional leadership this weekend would freeze non-defense and veterans’ health spending at 2023 levels for next year and allow only a 1% bump in 2025. Individual agencies’ budgets can still rise and fall under this new cap, as long as the total spending number stays at 2023 level. (Owermohle, 6/1)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Thousands Of Georgians Face Immediate Loss Of Medicaid Insurance
Thousands of Georgians who depended on Medicaid for health insurance during the pandemic may lose coverage Thursday as the state finishes its first batch of policy re-evaluations, as emergency protections lapse, state records show. For three years during the pandemic health emergency, states suspended rules that usually require their Medicaid beneficiaries to periodically re-file their qualifying paperwork. The federal emergency ended this spring, however, and all states are now starting up those re-evaluations. (Hart, 6/1)

Gothamist: Many NYers Unaware They Could Soon Lose Medicaid Coverage, National Survey Finds 
Millions of New Yorkers on Medicaid will soon have to prove they are still eligible for the free health insurance program, after escaping scrutiny and receiving automatic renewals during the first three years of the COVID-19 pandemic. But many are unaware that the renewal process is coming up – and some have found it challenging in the past, according to a national survey released on Wednesday. The poll surveyed Medicaid enrollees across 14 states between September 2022 and February 2023. It was conducted by the nonprofit Make the Road, along with the Center for Popular Democracy and the People’s Action Institute. (Lewis, 5/31)

KFF Health News: As Medicaid Purge Begins, ‘Staggering Numbers’ Of Americans Lose Coverage
More than 600,000 Americans have lost Medicaid coverage since pandemic protections ended on April 1. And a KFF Health News analysis of state data shows the vast majority were removed from state rolls for not completing paperwork. Under normal circumstances, states review their Medicaid enrollment lists regularly to ensure every recipient qualifies for coverage. But because of a nationwide pause in those reviews during the pandemic, the health insurance program for low-income and disabled Americans kept people covered even if they no longer qualified. (Recht, 6/1)

North Carolina Health News: Medicaid Unwinding Could Undermine Expansion 
When Medicaid expansion was signed into law earlier this year by Gov. Roy Cooper, it was widely heralded as a transformative event for uninsured people in North Carolina. Amid the bipartisan celebration, there was little mention of the hundreds of thousands of existing enrollees who are expected to lose Medicaid coverage before expansion goes into effect. Few of the revelers acknowledged the less-than-ideal timing of the legislation, which passed just days before the expiration of a federal mandate that had prevented states from kicking Medicaid beneficiaries who became eligible for coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic off of the rolls. (Baxley, 6/1)

WYFF4: Warning Issued About Potential Medicaid Scams In South Carolina
The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is warning the community about current Medicaid renewal scams. The department says the scams may target Healthy Connections Medicaid members. Medicaid members in several states have received emails, texts or calls from scammers asking for money or gift cards to keep or reinstate health coverage, the department said. (5/31)

In other Medicaid news —

Modern Healthcare: Why PACE Programs Are Expanding As In-Home Nursing Demand Grows 
A little-known program to keep low-income seniors out of nursing homes is getting a shot in the arm. After years of sluggish growth, the 33-year-old Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly is on a growth spurt as states look for ways to provide more home- and community-based care to aging populations. PACE, a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' program, is offered in 32 states to approximately 62,000 participants. In the past year, Kentucky, Missouri and Washington, D.C., added programs, with Illinois planning to launch five programs next year. (Eastabrook, 6/1)

KFF Health News: More States OK Postpartum Medicaid Coverage Beyond Two Months
At least eight states this year have decided to seek federal approval to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage, leaving just a handful that have opted not to guarantee at least a year of health care for women during that critical period after pregnancy. The new states on the list include Montana, where lawmakers in the recently ended legislative session voted for a state budget that contains $6.2 million in state and federal funds over the next two years to extend continuous postpartum eligibility from 60 days to 12 months after pregnancy. That would ensure coverage for between 1,000 and 2,000 additional parents in the state each year, according to federal and state estimates. (Volz, 6/1)

The Washington Post: Medicare To Cover Alzheimer’s Drug Class That Includes Leqembi 
Medicare officials announced plans Thursday to broadly cover a new class of Alzheimer’s drugs following an intense lobbying campaign by patient advocates and drugmakers pressing for access to the first medications shown to slow cognitive decline from the disease. In a statement, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the federal health program for seniors and those with disabilities, said it would cover the costly drugs — a move foreshadowed in previous agency statements — for anyone who was enrolled in the outpatient part of the program who meets the criteria for coverage. (McGinley and Roubein, 6/1)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Stat: CVS Warns PBM Reforms ‘Could Lead To Higher Costs’
As Congress considers wide-ranging reforms to pharmacy benefit managers, a top executive at CVS Health, which owns one of the largest PBMs in the country, said the company would find ways to maintain its level of profit if those reforms to things like drug rebates went into effect. (Herman, 5/31)

Reuters: Walmart Is Raising Wages For Pharmacists, Opticians In Healthcare Push 
Walmart is raising wages for thousands of U.S. pharmacists and opticians, the retailer said on Wednesday, part of its broader plan to expand primary care services across the country. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based chain said about 3,700 pharmacists would get a bump in pay starting on Wednesday, bringing their total annual average pay to more than $140,000, excluding bonuses and incentives. More than 4,000 opticians will also receive fatter paychecks, with their average hourly pay rising to more than $22.50 with this investment, Walmart executives wrote in a blog post. (Cavale, 5/31)

Bloomberg: Obesity Shot Frenzy Makes Eli Lilly World’s Most Valuable Drugmaker
Eli Lilly & Co.’s third straight month of gains has helped it become the largest pharmaceutical company in the world by market value, surpassing Johnson & Johnson. (Adegbesan and Langreth, 5/31)

Reuters: J&J Faces New Trial Over Talc Cancer Claims, Amid Settlement Push 
Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday faced the first trial in almost two years over claims that asbestos in its baby powder and other talc products causes cancer, as it seeks to settle thousands of similar cases in bankruptcy court. Emory Hernandez, 24, says he developed mesothelioma, a deadly cancer, in the tissue around his heart as a result of exposure to J&J's talc products beginning when he was a baby. The company has denied that its talc contains asbestos, which is linked to mesothelioma, or causes cancer. (Pierson, 5/31)

Axios: FDA Proposes Easy-To-Read Drug Package Inserts
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday proposed overhauling the paper inserts that come with prescription drugs so that risks and safety information are summarized on a single page. The agency said existing medication guides, or patient package inserts, can be cumbersome and confusing and lead patients to stop taking their drugs, or not take them as directed. (Bettelheim, 5/31)

CBS News: Fewer Babies Born In U.S. In 2022, And Teen Birth Rate Hit Record Low, CDC Reports
There were fewer babies born in the U.S. in 2022 compared to 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday, suggesting that a rebound in births following the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have ended. An estimated 3,661,220 babies were born nationwide in 2022, according to an initial analysis of data from birth certificates issued last year. That is less than a 1% decrease from 2021. (Tin, 6/1)

The Wall Street Journal: A Visual Breakdown Of America’s Stagnating Number Of Births
Absent increases in immigration, fewer births combined with ongoing baby boomer retirements will likely weigh on the labor force supply within the next 10 years, said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, an insurance and financial-services company. “You’re going to have a real shortage of workers unless we have technology somehow to fill the gap,” Bostjancic said. Here's a look at the trends in charts. (DeBarros, 6/1)

In updates on abortion and emergency contraception —

AP: Oklahoma High Court Strikes Down 2 Abortion Bans; Procedure Remains Illegal In Most Cases 
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that two state laws banning abortion are unconstitutional, but the procedure remains illegal in the state in nearly all cases except life-threatening situations. In a 6-3 ruling, the high court said the two bans are unconstitutional because they require a “medical emergency” before a doctor can perform an abortion. The court said this language conflicts with a previous ruling it issued in March that determined the Oklahoma Constitution provides an “inherent right of a pregnant woman to terminate a pregnancy when necessary to preserve her life.” (Murphy, 5/31)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missourians Can Order Free Morning-After Pills By Mail Starting Thursday
Anyone with a Missouri address can order a free kit containing two doses of emergency contraception, also known as the morning-after pill, through a new project launching Thursday by the nonprofit Missouri Family Health Council. The project also includes more than 30 community distribution sites across the state where anyone can pick up a free kit, no questions asked, said the council’s executive director, Michelle Trupiano. Another eight sites include locations such as domestic violence shelters, where kits will be available to clients. (Munz, 5/31)

On motherhood and mental health —

The Washington Post: On TikTok, Moms Can Talk Frankly About Loneliness Of Parenting 
While Chantelle Hibbert was pregnant, her family painted a rosy picture of motherhood — all butterflies and rainbows. But after she gave birth to twins in 2022, the 27-year-old says she found herself with “literally no support.” Friends and family stopped contacting her. She quit her job to take care of the twins, and her partner was traveling for work. In some moments, she felt so alone that she wondered if parenthood was the wrong decision. (Hunter, 5/31)

Military.Com: After 3 Years Of Delays, Army Has Again Paused Rewriting Suicide Prevention Policies 
Despite a website with vague guidance, PowerPoint presentations and at least five separate policies referencing behavioral health, the Army offers relatively few clear resources for how units are supposed to respond to soldiers who are at risk of suicide. The service has been promising to rewrite its suicide prevention policy for three years, but the effort has been repeatedly delayed. The most recent holdup is due to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's push for uniform prevention policies across the services, as recommended by an independent commission that finished work in February. (Beynon, 5/31)

Military.com: A Soldier Attempted Suicide In Poland. Left To Roam At Fort Riley, He Killed Himself
The unit's response to Spc. Austin Valley's first attempt to kill himself raises questions over whether the Army's suicide prevention efforts provide clear, concise response plans for units. (Beynon, 5/30)

In other mental health news —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia’s Mental Health Hotline Is A National Leader. Some Worry About Its Expansion
Georgia’s new 988 mental health hotline service, which launched last summer, was recognized on Friday as a model for other states. But some Democratic lawmakers in the Legislature say last-minute budget cuts made by the governor’s office could hamper the planned expansion of 988. At a town hall on Friday to discuss the future of the hotline, national leaders held up Georgia as an example of what’s working. The success with 988, a national hotline for people experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis, has been a bright spot for a state that’s traditionally lagged in providing that care. (Landergan, 6/1)

Axios: Arizona's Use Of Mental Health Line 988 Is On The Rise
Use of the new 988 mental health crisis line is on the rise in Arizona, though the number of calls remains dwarfed by the number of calls to the state's preexisting crisis line. The Federal Communications Commission designated 988 as the three-digit hotline for suicide prevention and mental health crisis, and the line went into effect last summer. (Duda and Bennett, 5/31)

Houston Chronicle: More Harris Co. 911 Calls To See Mental Health Crisis Team, Not Police
More of Harris County's 911 calls will be diverted to a mental health crisis team instead of law enforcement officers after a year-long pilot program in a handful of neighborhoods handled thousands of non-violent incidents. Since March 2022, the county's Holistic Assistance Response Team, or HART, program has dispatched mental health and social work professionals instead of law enforcement to some types of emergency calls. In the first year, it diverted 2,265 calls from law enforcement responses in neighborhoods including Cypress Station, Sunnyside and South Park. (Rice, 5/31)

If you are in need of help —

Dial 9-8-8 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.

The New York Times: FDA Approves Pfizer’s RSV Vaccine For Adults 60 And Older 
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Pfizer’s vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus, or R.S.V., for adults age 60 and older, the second approval granted for shots offering protection from the virus this month. GSK was the first drugmaker to get the F.D.A.’s permission to market an R.S.V. vaccine on May 3. The vaccines are expected to be available in the fall before the winter R.S.V. season. (Jewett, 5/31)

The Wall Street Journal: New Pfizer RSV Vaccine Rolls Out Into Headwinds Of Hesitancy
Vaccine makers are confronting a post-Covid conundrum: New shots are taming a widening range of diseases, but people are more skeptical of them than ever. (Hopkins, 5/31)

In updates on mpox —

Stat: House Republicans Demand Scientist Explain Pathogen Research
House Republicans are ratcheting up pressure on federal agencies’ pandemic response with an unprecedented move: interrogating a career poxvirus scientist’s infectious disease work. In a letter to federal health officials Tuesday, top Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee asked longtime researcher Bernard Moss, who has worked for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for more than four decades, to sit for a videotaped interview about his work on mpox. (Owermohle, 5/31)

In covid developments —

Bloomberg: Covid Lockdowns Messed With Memories In Ways Seen In Prisoners, Study Finds
The psychological toll of Covid lockdowns could lead some people to misremember the timing of recent events, according to a new study published by University of Aberdeen researchers. (5/31)

CIDRAP: Study: Higher Veteran COVID Death Rate At Community Hospitals Than At VA Centers 
Most US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) enrollees aged 65 and older were treated for COVID-19 at community hospitals, which reported higher death rates for this group than VHA hospitals in 2020 and 2021, suggests an observational study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 5/31)

CIDRAP: Analysis: Mother-To-Newborn COVID-19 Transmission Infrequent 
A meta-analysis of 26 studies involving mother-to-child COVID-19 transmission in the first 30 days after birth reveals an overall estimate of SARS-CoV-2 infection among infants of 2.3%. The study was published today in Scientific Reports. During the initial months of the COVID pandemic, many hospitals stopped practices known to promote breastfeeding and maternal bonding when the mother had an active COVID-19 infection at delivery, including infant room-in, skin-to-skin contact, and breastfeeding itself. (Van Beusekom, 5/31)

CIDRAP: Kidney Transplants From COVID-19-Positive Donors Appear Safe
JAMA Network Open published a study yesterday on the safety of donors with COVID-19 donating a kidney, showing that the use of kidneys from donors with either active or resolved COVID-19 infections yields excellent outcomes. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has entered a phase wherein many Americans have experienced infections, questions about the medium-term prognosis of organ donation remain to be answered. (Soucheray, 5/31)

The New York Times: An Inside Look At Covid’s Lasting Damage To The Lungs 
More than three years after the start of the pandemic, many Covid survivors continue to struggle. Some, especially those who became so severely ill that they were hospitalized and unable to breathe on their own, face lasting lung damage. To better understand the long-term impact of Covid’s assault on the lungs, The New York Times spoke with three patients who were hospitalized during the pandemic’s early waves, interviewed doctors who treated them and reviewed C.T. scans of their lungs over time. (White, Belluck, Bassetti-Blum, Lutz and Do Thi Duc, 5/31)

Axios: UnitedHealth Backs Off Contentious Prior Authorization Plan
UnitedHealth is backing off a controversial plan to require prior authorizations for colonoscopies and other endoscopic procedures. But the debate over insurer sign-offs that it stoked will likely linger. While prior authorizations are supposed to ensure that health services are medically necessary, critics say they can create barriers to care and drown the health system in red tape. (Dreher, 6/1)

The Boston Globe: Compass Medical Of Quincy Announces Sudden Closure Of All Facilities 
A Quincy-based health organization with six locations south of Boston on Wednesday announced the sudden closure of all its medical facilities, leaving the future of healthcare for its patients up in the air. Compass Medical, which has clinics in Braintree, East Bridgewater, Easton, Middleborough, Quincy, and Taunton, shared the news of its “imminent plan to close our practices,” in a statement on the company’s website. (Alanez, 6/1)

The Boston Globe: Cambridge Health Alliance Announces Layoffs, Eliminates Open Positions 
Cambridge Health Alliance is laying off 69 people, reducing the hours of another 15 employees, and eliminating 170 open positions due to post-pandemic financial pressures. The reductions are largely in administrative areas, and the health system is continuing to hire, particularly in primary care and behavioral health. Additionally, the health system is aiming to rehire more than half of the employees that were let go into new positions. (Bartlett, 5/31)

Modern Healthcare: Oak Street Health To Open In Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas And Virginia
Oak Street Health will open primary care centers in four more states this year, the CVS Health division announced Wednesday. Chicago-based Oak Street Health will open clinics in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and Virginia beginning this summer, growing its footprint to 25 states. Oak Street Health will also open additional centers in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania this year, according to a news release. (Berryman, 5/31)

Modern Healthcare: BJC HealthCare, Saint Luke’s Health System Plan Merger
BJC HealthCare and Saint Luke’s Health System signed a nonbinding letter of intent to form a $10 billion nonprofit system with 28 hospitals across Missouri, Kansas and Illinois. Richard Liekweg, president and CEO of St. Louis-based BJC, would serve as the CEO of the combined health system if a definitive agreement is reached and the transaction passes the customary regulatory review and approvals. The health system’s board would include representation form both BJC and Kansas City, Missouri-based Saint Luke’s. (Kacik, 5/31)

Stat: Nuance's AI Scribe Tool Comes At A Steep Cost For Hospitals
Microsoft-owned Nuance Communications sells its AI medical scribe platform to health care providers on a simple promise: If they shell out big bucks for the high-tech product, they can decrease doctor burnout and ultimately make more money by enabling doctors to see more patients. But executives at four health systems using the software, called DAX, told STAT that while the software might make it possible to see more patients, or justify higher charges to insurers for visits, the high price tag means it’s certainly not boosting their bottom lines. (Trang, 6/1)

The Washington Post: Children Die In Hot Cars In Three States, Prompting Grief And Warnings
Three young children — ages 4, 1 and 11 months — died in recent days after being left or becoming trapped in hot cars for hours in Washington state, Texas and Florida, according to authorities. The deaths of the children, two of whom were left in vehicles as their parents went to church and work, increased the number of hot-car deaths among children this year to six, according to NoHeatStroke.org, a website that tracks hot-car deaths. The six deaths so far this year are double the total at this point last year, according to California meteorologist Jan Null, who tracks the incidents on the website. (Bella, 5/31)

AP: Georgia's Highest Court Rules State Lactation Consultant Law Is Unconstitutional 
Georgia’s highest court has ruled that a law that requires people who provide lactation care and services to be licensed by the state and only allows people who have obtained a specific certification to obtain a license violates the state Constitution. The opinion issued Wednesday by the Georgia Supreme Court says the 2016 law violates the due process rights of certain lactation care providers to practice their chosen profession. It stems from a lawsuit filed in June 2018, right before the law was set to take effect. (Brumback, 5/31)

Minnesota Public Radio: More LGBTQ+ People Can Now Give Blood, But Minnesota Donation Centers Say The Change Could Take Months
Less than a week after the Food and Drug Administration announced new guidance that would allow more gay and bisexual people to give blood, Wesley Milla went out to donate. It’s been more than 10 years since he last gave blood. As a nurse, currently in graduate school to become a nurse anesthetist, the St. Paul resident sees first-hand the need for blood donations. “When they made this ruling, and they made this decision, part of me was really excited that I could contribute and that I could give blood again,” he said. But when he got to the Red Cross, he was told he’d still have to wait. (Wiley, 6/1)

The CT Mirror: CT House Approves Overhaul To Aspects Of Elder Care System
With safety violations in nursing homes on the rise, more people choosing to age at home and an older adult population set to balloon in the coming decades, lawmakers in the House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill Tuesday night that overhauls aspects of the elder care system in Connecticut. (Carlesso and Altimari, 5/31)

WUSF Public Media: Malaria Case Brings Mosquito-Borne Illness Warning In Manatee And Sarasota Counties
Health officials in Sarasota and Manatee counties have issued a mosquito-borne illness warning after confirming a case of malaria in the area. The Florida Department of Health in Manatee said the person who was infected spent extensive time outdoors, was treated promptly at a hospital and has recovered. Authorities say the type of malaria, known as P. vivax, is not as fatal as others. (Tierney, 5/31)

On the opioid crisis and other drug use —

AP: California Advances Fentanyl Bills Focused On Prevention, Increased Penalties
California lawmakers have advanced more than a dozen bills aiming to address the fentanyl crisis, including some that would impose harsher prison sentences for dealers, ahead of a critical deadline this week. Legislators in the Assembly and Senate debated measures on Wednesday as they tried to wrap up several hundred pieces of legislation before Friday — the last day a bill can pass out of its original chamber and get a chance to become law later this year. (Nguyen, Beam and Austin, 6/1)

Bloomberg: Xylazine Sedative Accelerates US Opioid Crisis, Officials Say 
A little-known animal tranquilizer is accelerating the deadly US opioid epidemic, frustrating health officials and lawmakers, who can’t keep the drug out of people’s hands. The sedative, called xylazine, was implicated in more than 3,000 overdose-related deaths in the US in 2021, likely an undercount, health officials say. In the same year more than a third of overdose deaths in such heavily affected areas as Philadelphia involved the drug, usually in combination with fentanyl. Regulators are scrambling to track down its source while doctors search for ways to treat affected patients. (Peng, 5/31)

Axios: How State Laws Flag Pregnant Patients With Opioid Use Disorder To Protective Services
Some state policies that require reporting pregnant patients who use illicit drugs to child protective services also use treatment for opioid use disorder as a proxy for alleged child abuse and neglect. (Moreno, 6/1)

The Hill: ATF: Marijuana Users In Minnesota Can’t Own Firearms Despite New Law
Just one day after Minnesota legalized the recreational use of marijuana, an agency that regulates the use of firearms warned that any current user of marijuana is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (AFT) field office in St. Paul, Minn., issued the clarification Tuesday shortly after Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana. The clarification states that under federal law, current users of marijuana are prohibited from possessing, receiving, transporting or shipping firearms or ammunition. (Sforza, 5/31)

NBC News: The Shape Of Your Brain May Strongly Influence Your Thoughts And Behavior, Study Finds
Though much about the brain remains a mystery, scientists have long surmised that our thoughts, feelings and behavior are the result of billions of interconnected neurons that transmit signals to each other, thereby enabling communication between regions of the brain. But a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature challenges that idea, suggesting instead that the shape of the brain — its size, curves and grooves — may exert a greater influence on how we think, feel and behave than the connections and signals between neurons. (Bendix, 5/31)

The Washington Post: It’s Never Too Late For Exercise To Boost Your Brain Health 
Exercise can sharpen your thinking and keep your brain healthy as you age — even if you don’t start exercising until later in life. That’s the finding of a new study that found that previously sedentary 70- and 80-year-olds who started exercising, including some who had already experienced some cognitive decline, showed improvement in their brain function after workouts. (Reynolds, 5/31)

Fox News: Exercise Of Any Amount Could Help Increase Pain Tolerance, New Study Finds
To the long list of the benefits of physical activity, researchers have just added one more thing: a greater ability to handle pain. A recent study published in the journal PLOS One found that regular exercise is an effective way to reduce or prevent chronic pain without the use of medication. (Rudy, 5/30)

The Washington Post: Eating-Disorder Group’s AI Chatbot Gave Weight Loss Tips, Activist Says
The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), which recently shut down a human-staffed helpline, is suspending its use of a chatbot that activists say shared weight loss advice with people who used the service. Sharon Maxwell, an advocate for weight inclusivity who has commented about her eating disorder and recovery, said on Instagram this week that she decided to try the bot, named Tessa, after “countless individuals” told her it was causing harm. (Vinall, 6/1)

The New York Times: How To Lower Deaths Among Women? Give Away Cash. 
Cash grants made directly to poor families or individuals have led to fewer deaths among women and young children, according to a new analysis of more than 7 million people in 37 countries. In countries that began making such payments, deaths among women fell by 20 percent, and deaths among children younger than 5 declined by 8 percent, researchers reported on Wednesday in the journal Nature. The impact was apparent within two years of the programs’ start and grew over time. (Mandavilli, 5/31)

Axios: Base Tan Myth: Tanning Before Vacation Isn't "Safe" Or "Protective"
The general advice that you should get a "protective" base tan before your beach vacation? It's not science-backed. Nearly 1 in 4 (24%) adults think getting a base tan will prevent sunburn, according to a new American Academy of Dermatology survey shared with Axios. You can still burn with a base tan, which offers minimal sun protection while also creating additional health risks. (Mallenbaum, 5/31)

AP: Sweden Close To Becoming First 'Smoke Free' Country In Europe As Daily Use Of Cigarettes Dwindles 
Summer is in the air, cigarette smoke is not, in Sweden’s outdoor bars and restaurants. As the World Health Organization marks “World No Tobacco Day” on Wednesday, Sweden, which has the lowest rate of smoking in the Europe Union, is close to declaring itself “smoke free” — defined as having fewer than 5% daily smokers in the population. Many experts give credit to decades of anti-smoking campaigns and legislation, while others point to the prevalence of “snus,” a smokeless tobacco product that is banned elsewhere in the EU but is marketed in Sweden as an alternative to cigarettes. (Ritter and Pele, 6/1)

AP: In Canada, Each Cigarette Will Get A Warning Label: 'Poison In Every Puff'
Canada will soon become the first country in the world where warning labels must appear on individual cigarettes. The move was first announced last year by Health Canada and is aimed at helping people quit the habit. The regulations take effect Aug. 1 and will be phased in. King-size cigarettes will be the first to feature the warnings and will be sold in stores by the end of July 2024, followed by regular-size cigarettes, and little cigars with tipping paper and tubes by the end of April 2025. (Gillies, 6/1)

In other global health news —

Bloomberg: US Finds Contaminated Drugs, Further Lapses In India Pharma Factories Post-Covid
US inspectors have in recent months uncovered wide-ranging lapses at factories run by some of India’s biggest pharmaceutical firms, as the world’s top supplier of cheap medicine faces increased scrutiny after a spate of deadly manufacturing incidents. (Kay, 5/31)

The Washington Post: Peru Battles Record Dengue Outbreak, In A Warning For A Warming World
Peru is taking extraordinary measures such as banning households from filling vases with water, as it battles its worst dengue outbreak on record, a crisis that experts have linked to increased rainfall and warmer temperatures as the climate changes. As of Monday, the South American nation has recorded more than 110,000 probable cases of dengue this year, according to its National Center for Epidemiology, Prevention and Control of Diseases. At least 114 people have died after being infected with the virus, with another 39 fatalities under investigation. (Vinall, 5/31)

Reuters: Congo Woman Saves Young Mothers From Unpaid Maternity Bills 
Three weeks after giving birth to twins, 16-year-old Annaelle felt like a hostage: the hospital would not let her leave until she'd paid her medical bills, but she had no money. Her mother was doing shifts there as a cleaner to stump up the cash. Then a woman Annaelle had never met called Grace Mbongi Umek entered the maternity ward at Bethesda clinic in Congo's capital Kinshasa and handed doctors a wad of bank notes - $130 to cover Annaelle's caesarean section, and more for two other women who had also been forced to stay. Like most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo has no universal health coverage, and most cannot afford what limited care there is. Hospitals, also cash-strapped, are forced to make patients stay until they have paid in full. (Lorgerie, 6/1)

The Washington Post: Harald Zur Hausen, Who Found Virus Link To Cervical Cancer, Dies At 87
Harald zur Hausen, a German virologist awarded a Nobel Prize for groundbreaking work that found links between a common wart-causing virus and cervical cancer, leading to a vaccine that is considered highly effective but remains in relatively limited use worldwide, died May 29 at 87. The German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, where Dr. zur Hausen had served as scientific director until 2003, announced the death but gave no further details. (Murphy, 5/31)

CIDRAP: CRISPR-Based Phage Therapy Shows Promise In First Human Trial
Danish microbiome technology company SNIPR Biome today announced positive results from a phase 1 study of their CRISPR-based phage therapy targeting Escherichia coli in the gastrointestinal tract. SNIPR001 contains four bacteriophages (bacteria-killing viruses) armed with CRISPR/Cas DNA editing technology designed to selectively eradicate E coli in the gut, including antibiotic-resistant strains. Interim results from the 36-person phase 1 trial, which aimed to examine the safety profile and pharmacodynamics of SNIPR001, showed that oral dosing over 7 days was well tolerated, with only mild to moderate side effects. In addition, treatment with SNIPR001 numerically lowered gut E coli levels. (Dall, 5/31)

AP: Researchers Link Death In Gene-Editing Study To A Virus Used To Deliver The Treatment, Not CRISPR 
The lone volunteer in a gene-editing study targeting a rare form of Duchenne muscular dystrophy likely died after having a reaction to the virus that delivered the therapy in his body, researchers concluded in an early study. Terry Horgan, 27, of Montour Falls, New York, died last year during one of the first tests of a gene-editing treatment designed for one person. Some scientists wondered if the gene-editing tool CRISPR played a part in his death. The tool has transformed genetic research, sparked the development of dozens of experimental drugs, and won its inventors the Nobel Prize in 2020. But researchers said the virus — one used to carry treatment into the body because it doesn’t usually make people sick — combined with his condition, triggered the problems that ultimately killed him. (Ungar, 5/31)

ScienceDaily: Further Link Identified Between Autoimmunity And Schizophrenia
Links have been reported between schizophrenia and proteins produced by the immune system that can act against one's own body, known as autoantibodies. Researchers have now identified autoantibodies that target a 'synaptic adhesion protein' in a subset of patients with schizophrenia. (Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 5/31)

NPR: Medical Students Aren't Showing Up To Lectures, So How Do Med Schools Teach Them?
During my first two years as a medical student, I almost never went to lectures. Neither did my peers. In fact, I estimate that not even a quarter of medical students in my class consistently attended classes in person. (Alexander P. Philips and Philip Gruppuso, 6/1)

The Washington Post: American Life Expectancy Is Dropping — And It's Not All Covid's Fault 
But plotting life expectancy in the United States against that of other wealthy countries reveals three dark insights: Our life spans lag behind those of our peers; our life expectancy was already more or less flat, not growing; and most other countries bounced back from covid-19 in the second year of the pandemic, while we went into further decline. (Steven H. Woolf and Laudan Aron, 6/1)

The Washington Post: Next Pandemic, Let Cuba Vaccinate The World
How can humanity prevent the next pandemic from being as disastrous as this one, in which as many as 15 million people have died? This past week, countries of the World Health Organization met in Geneva to begin debating a pandemic preparedness accord. A primary aim is to quickly develop new cures and vaccines, and the capacity to deliver them to everyone on the planet. (Achal Prabhala and Vitor Ido, 6/1)

Miami Herald: When The Charge For Tylenol Is $4,000, It's Clear The U.S. Health System Is Failing Us
Across the country, higher co-pays and deductibles are making healthcare unaffordable even for patients with insurance. But for Hispanics, who are statistically less insured than the general population and suffer from preventable chronic illnesses such as heart disease, obesity, mental health, HIV/AIDS, diabetes and strokes, the crisis is even worse. This leads many to take risks and make tradeoffs when managing their health. (Kelsey Bolar and Judy Pino, 5/31)

East Bay Times: Medicare Creates Unprecedented Barriers To Alzheimer's Treatment
Imagine knowing while one U.S. government agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has approved a treatment for this devastating disease that another agency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is keeping that treatment out of reach for patients who don’t have the financial means to pay the estimated annual cost of $26,500 out of pocket. That’s the harsh reality Alzheimer’s patients like me face every day. (Lilienthal, 5/31)

The Boston Globe: With Carbon Capture, It’s Important Not To Forget The Upfront Health Costs
Air pollution from producing oil and gas costs roughly $77 billion in health impacts every year in the United States alone. According to research conducted by Harvard University and others, the burning of fossil fuels “was responsible for about 1 in 5 deaths worldwide in 2018.” Air pollution increases the risks of Alzheimer’s disease; many cancers; heart, kidney, and lung disease; premature births; pregnancy complications; and much more. (Gina McCarthy and Kari Nadeau, 6/1)

Dallas Morning News: We Know How To Improve Kids’ Mental Health. Let’s Act
It took six hospital staffers to stop 11-year-old Lucia from bloodying her face on the emergency department floor. She thumped her head against the linoleum tile over and over until she passed out. Her family felt they could no longer keep her, or their other children, safe at home. Doctors had spent years cycling Lucia through various medications to treat her depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, but nothing made a real difference. (Mary Beth Bennett and Michael Hole, 6/1)

CNN: The Good News About Lower HIV Infections Comes With A Big Caveat
Newly released US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that as a nation, we are continuing to make significant strides toward ending the HIV epidemic in the US. However, there are stark racial and ethnic disparities. As of 2019, Black people accounted for 40% of people with HIV, and Hispanic and Latino people accounted for nearly 30%, according to the CDC. And shockingly, in 2021, only 11% and 20% of Black and Hispanic people, respectively, who would potentially benefit from PrEP, were prescribed it. Whereas nearly 80% of White at-risk individuals received a prescription. (Lala Tanmoy Das, 5/31)