AP: Biden Launches 2024 Bid, Betting Record Will Top Age Worries 
President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally announced that he is running for reelection in 2024, asking voters to give him more time to “finish the job” he began when he was sworn in to office and to set aside their concerns about extending the run of America’s oldest president for another four years. Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, is betting his first-term legislative achievements and more than 50 years of experience in Washington will count for more than concerns over his age. He faces a smooth path to winning his party’s nomination, with no serious Democratic rivals. But he’s still set for a hard-fought struggle to retain the presidency in a bitterly divided nation. (Miller, 4/25)

CNN: 'He's Lost That Old Twinkle': When A Young Joe Biden Criticized His Opponent's Age 
President Joe Biden, who at 80 has had to confront questions about his age and mental acuity as he launches a reelection campaign for president, once ran a campaign that sharply attacked his opponent’s age. In 1972, Biden, then 29 years old and a local Delaware councilman, was running against incumbent Republican Sen. Cale Boggs who was 63 years old, a former two term governor and the state’s senior senator. “Cale doesn’t want to run, he’s lost that old twinkle in his eye he used to have,” Biden said of Boggs, who had originally wanted to retire but was persuaded to run for reelection. (Kaczynski and Alafriz, 4/25)

Also —

The New York Times: What Older Voters Say About Biden 2024: From ‘He’s Fine’ To ‘Oh, God’ 
Three years after older voters helped propel Mr. Biden to the Democratic presidential nomination, embracing his deep experience and perceived general-election appeal, his age is his biggest political liability as he moves toward another presidential run. ... The issue is particularly personal, however, for older voters who are inclined to like Mr. Biden, but often view his age through the prism of their own experiences. (Glueck, 4/22)

The Conversation: Biden's Age Raises Concerns. Yet In 1776, Americans Admired Old Sages
During a period when medicine and knowledge of human anatomy were all but rudimentary, old age terrified everyone. ... People in their 70s were usually decrepit when the American nation was young. But it would be wrong to assume that the founding generation simply despised old age. Young America admired venerable old sages – Moses of the Bible, first and foremost. (Valsania, 4/25)

Daily Mail Online: Biden's Age: Here Are The Oldest Presidents And Candidates In History 
Joe Biden is already the oldest sitting president in history. In November he became the first person in his eighties to hold the Oval Office, and if he wins a second term he will be 86 by the time he leaves. That's nine years older than Ronald Reagan, who was 77 when he completed his second term in 1989. (Robinson and Laco, 4/25)

More news on aging —

Prevention.com: Study: Positivity Around Aging May Protect Seniors From Memory Problems
Issues with memory and thinking are more common as you get older, but it’s not a given that everyone will experience them. With that, it’s understandable to want to do what you can to get better if you find you’re suddenly being forgetful or struggling to think clearly. Now, a new study published in JAMA Open Network suggests that positive thinking about aging may help people better recover from mild cognitive impairment than those who don’t have as sunny an outlook. (Miller, 4/14)

SciTechDaily: Scientists Identify Brain Aging “Sweet Spot”
Indigenous communities residing in the tropical forests of lowland Bolivia have reported some of the lowest rates of heart disease and brain disease in recorded scientific history. Now, research conducted by the University of Southern California (USC) on the Tsimané and Mosetén communities indicates that a balanced combination of food consumption and physical activity can maximize healthy brain aging and decrease the likelihood of disease. (4/22)

SciTechDaily: Unlocking The Secrets Of Aging: Sirtuin Enzymes In The Spotlight
New scientific research provides insight into how an enzyme that helps regulate aging and other metabolic processes accesses our genetic material to modulate gene expression within the cell. A team led by Penn State researchers has produced images of a sirtuin enzyme bound to a nucleosome—a tightly packed complex of DNA and proteins called histones—showing how the enzyme navigates the nucleosome complex to access both DNA and histone proteins and clarifying how it functions in humans and other animals. (4/24)

AP: North Dakota Governor Signs Law Banning Nearly All Abortions 
North Dakota on Monday adopted one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country as Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed legislation banning the procedure throughout pregnancy, with slim exceptions up to six weeks’ gestation. In those early weeks, abortion would be allowed only in cases of rape, incest or medical emergency, such as ectopic pregnancy. “This bill clarifies and refines existing state law ... and reaffirms North Dakota as a pro-life state,” Burgum said in a statement. (Ahmed, 4/25)

Abortion news from Idaho, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming —

Politico: Judge Mulls Injunction Against Prosecuting Idaho Doctors For Abortion Referrals 
A federal judge in Idaho signaled Monday he is leaning toward issuing an order aimed at blocking the use of that state’s strict abortion ban to prosecute doctors who refer patients to other states to terminate a pregnancy. During a hour-long hearing, U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill did not rule on the request from two Idaho doctors and several Planned Parenthood organizations who said their First Amendment rights were in danger as a result of a letter Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador issued last month indicating that out-of-state referrals would violate the law. (Gerstein, 4/24)

AP: Clinic Says Promise Not To Enforce Abortion Law Not Enough
The owner of a Catholic clinic challenging Colorado’s new ban on unproven treatments to reverse medication abortions testified Monday that a state pledge not to enforce the ban for now wasn’t enough to protect her staff and patients. At a hearing in federal court, Dede Chism, co-founder and CEO of Bella Health and Wellness, said state lawmakers’ comments during debate on the measure about wanting to come after faith-based clinics like hers made her fearful. She said she worried about what could happen at the clinic if she continued to offer the treatments to women who wanted to stop a medication abortion. (Slevin, 4/24)

Colorado Sun: Colorado Hearing On “Abortion Reversal” Shows Nationwide Chaos
The judge looked over his bench Monday at the attorney before him and posed a question that has consumed the nation’s abortion policy debate in the exactly 10 months since the U.S. Supreme Court blew that policy to smithereens and unleashed a torrent of new laws and lawsuits seeking to reshape the landscape. “My question,” U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico asked an attorney for a religious health clinic seeking to block a recently adopted Colorado law, “is what can I do now?” (Ingold, 4/25)

Reuters: Patients Support Montana Clinic Facing Anti-Abortion Threats
The day after her 22d birthday, a woman sits under a blanket clutching her abdomen in a room lit by a single lamp. A little more than 18 weeks pregnant, she has traveled nearly nine hours from her home to Missoula, a college town in the western Montana mountains, for a surgical abortion at the Blue Mountain Clinic. The next day, a squirmy six-month-old waits with her parents for a check-up at the primary care facility in Missoula. And later that week, a 71-year-old man consults his doctor on ways to manage pain from prostate cancer. This breadth of services has attracted patients from far and wide to Blue Mountain Clinic, one of a few facilities in Montana that offer abortions, along with psychiatric treatment, gender-affirming and general care. (O'Hare, 4/21)

Wyoming Public Radio: The Casper Clinic That Provides Abortion Services Opens 11 Months After Arson Incident
As the fight over abortion rights continues, a clinic in Casper that provides both surgical and medical abortion is finally open. The clinic was torched by an arsonist last spring. The arson suspect was arrested and charged in mid-March. (Kudelska, 4/21)

From South Carolina and Wisconsin —

AP: S. Carolina Senate Weighs Abortion Ban It Recently Rejected 
The Republican-controlled South Carolina Senate is set to rehash an ongoing disagreement with the GOP-dominated House over when the conservative state should ban abortion. Lawmakers have less than three weeks left to pass any new restrictions in a legislative session that began days after the state’s highest court overturned a 2021 law and followed last year’s contentious special session that resulted in a legislative impasse. (Pollard, 4/25)

AP: Sen. Ron Johnson Renews Call For Wisconsin Abortion Vote
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson on Monday renewed his call for a statewide vote in Wisconsin on abortion rights, saying he thought most voters would support a ban after 12 weeks of pregnancy. Johnson declined to say how he would vote, however. Johnson won reelection to a third term in November, one of only two Republicans to win statewide in Wisconsin since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Johnson said Monday at the Milwaukee Press Club that abortion has been an “important factor” in Democrats’ recent wins. (Bauer, 4/24)

Also —

The Hill: Pence Says Ending Abortion ‘More Important Than Politics’ 
Former Vice President Mike Pence said Monday that ending abortion is “more important than politics,” which is his latest anti-abortion remarks made as the legal fight for abortion is ongoing. “Well, I think defending the unborn first and foremost is more important than politics. I really believe it’s the calling of our time,” Pence said on NewsNation’s debut episode of “The Hill” Monday. (Sforza, 4/24)

KFF Health News: Listen: Mifepristone Remains Available For Now. What Happens Next?
The Supreme Court has ruled that the abortion pill mifepristone should remain widely available for now, a decision that maintains access to the drug while the lower courts consider the issue. Julie Rovner, KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, appeared on NPR’s “Weekend All Things Considered” to explain the complicated, even contradictory court decisions surrounding mifepristone and what they mean for patients and providers. (4/24)

Politico: Debt-Limit Plan Won't Be Changed, House GOP Leaders Tell Holdouts
House GOP leaders are waving off calls from rank-and-file Republicans for changes to their debt-limit proposal. Instead, they’re plowing ahead toward a floor vote this week, daring detractors to vote against it. At least, that’s what House Majority Whip Tom Emmer is asserting. Meanwhile, a handful of GOP members have told POLITICO they are still privately demanding changes to the bill and, without them, will lean toward voting “no” on the plan. And Republican leaders only have four votes to spare. (Beavers, Hill and Ferris, 4/24)

NBC News: McCarthy Faces His First Big Test As Speaker: Defusing A Debt Ceiling Time Bomb
But five Republican no votes would derail the McCarthy debt bill, given that Democrats have expressed strong, unified opposition to it. And several of the 20 hard-right conservatives, who initially blocked McCarthy from winning the speakership three months ago have threatened to vote no this week. ... Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has demanded “more rigor” on work requirements for recipients of Medicaid and other safety net programs before he’ll get on board. Specifically, he wants recipients to work 30 hours per week, up from 20 hours in the McCarthy plan. (Wong and Kapur, 4/24)

In news about gender equality —

The Washington Post: Equal Rights Amendment To Get Senate Vote This Week, Schumer Says
The Senate will vote on the Equal Rights Amendment this week — 100 years after it was first introduced in Congress — Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Monday. Schumer, speaking at Hunter College in New York, argued that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and efforts to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone, as well as state-level actions to roll back women’s rights, have made the ERA and its protections more critical than ever. (Alfaro, 4/24)

Ms. Magazine: Ahead Of The First ERA Senate Vote In 40 Years, A Nationwide Petition Launches
ERA advocates see a vote on the resolution a worthwhile endeavor, since it will force senators to go on the record. “I want to see the list of everybody who is opposed to equality,” said former Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) at the Monday press conference, who today serves as the Eleanor Roosevelt distinguished leader in residence at Hunter College. (Szal, 4/24)

Politico: Florida Surgeon General Altered Key Findings In Study On Covid-19 Vaccine Safety
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo personally altered a state-driven study about Covid-19 vaccines last year to suggest that some doses pose a significantly higher health risk for young men than had been established by the broader medical community, according to a newly obtained document. Ladapo’s changes, released as part of a public records request, presented the risks of cardiac death to be more severe than previous versions of the study. He later used the final document in October to bolster disputed claims that Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were dangerous to young men. (Sarkissian, 4/24)

Also —

The New York Times: Dr. Fauci Looks Back On The Pandemic And What Went Wrong 
Over several hours and multiple Zoom and phone calls in April, I spoke with Fauci about that: how he saw the full story of this historic public-health emergency and the role he played in it. At times, he was defensive, even combative, particularly when it came to episodes in which he felt that his own positions had been misconstrued and on the matter of gain-of-function research and the origins of the pandemic. But on the whole, he was reflective, even humble, especially about the way that Covid-19 exposed the limits of public health and, in his telling, kept surprising him and his fellow scientists. (Wallace-Wells, 4/24)

Axios: COVID Response Marked By National Incompetence, Report Shows
A group of crisis experts and federal advisers conclude in a report out today that a lack of disaster preparedness and coordination led to an unraveling of the nation's pandemic response, and that the crisis exposed a "collective national incompetence in governance." (Dreher, 4/25)

In other news about covid —

The New York Times: What’s Going On With Covid Right Now? 
Experts agree that the risk from Covid-19 right now is low, and spring 2023 feels different from previous years. “We’ve reached a stage of stability where people are making choices to return their lives to something closer to normal,” said Dr. Robert Wachter, the chair of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “And I think that makes sense. Cases are relatively low; deaths are relatively low.” (Smith, 4/24)

CIDRAP: Scent-Trained Dogs Highly Accurate In Detecting COVID-19 In Schools 
Scent-trained dogs detected COVID-19 infection with 83% sensitivity and 90% specificity in nearly 3,900 screenings at California K-12 schools in spring 2022, according to a research letter published today in JAMA Pediatrics. (Van Beusekom, 4/24)

CIDRAP: Shielding The Vulnerable Did Little To Reduce COVID-19 Among The At-Risk, Study Finds 
Shielding, a public health strategy used across the United Kingdom in the early months of the pandemic, aimed to keep the most vulnerable citizens protected from the novel coronavirus at home and away from public-facing jobs and schools. But a new study of Welsh citizens published in the May issue of Public Health shows the strategy did little to prevent infection in this group. ... People who were shielded were more likely to be residents in long-term care facilities, women, and those ages 50 and older. Shielded people had a slightly higher known infection rate—5.9% versus 5.7%—compared with controls. All outcomes of infection were worse among shielded people. (Soucheray, 4/24)

Stat: Weight Bias In Eating Disorder Treatment Complicated By New Weight Loss Drugs
People with larger bodies who struggle with eating disorders frequently face bias from the people who are supposed to help them, according to experts. ... The issue may be about to get even more pressing for teenagers and young adults. Some experts fear that even more kids will develop eating disorders in the wake of the current frenzy over weight loss drugs, as well as new American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines on obesity treatment that recommend weight loss drugs for kids as young as 12 and bariatric surgery for kids as young as 13. (Gaffney, 4/25)

In other health care industry news —

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW Health, Madison College Combine To Address Sprawling Nurse Shortage
A job working at Madison-based UW Health while attending nursing school at Madison College. Full-time benefits and salaries. Paid time-off to attend classes. Free college tuition, books and supplies. That's the offer on the table for those aspiring to earn a nursing degree through a recently announced, first-of-its-kind apprenticeship program in Wisconsin launching this fall. The program is designed specifically to address staffing shortages in Wisconsin that Rudy Jackson, UW Health's chief nurse executive, said have reached "crisis levels." (Van Egeren, 4/24)

The Boston Globe: BMC And Point32Health Partner To Improve Maternal Care
Massachusetts’ second largest insurer has partnered with Boston Medical Center to grow an initiative aimed at closing racial disparities in maternal health. (Mohammed, 4/24)

Modern Healthcare: Clover Health Settles Lawsuit Amid Delisting Risk
Clover Health’s outlook continues to darken as the company settles the first of several shareholder class-action lawsuits and struggles to remain listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. The health insurance startup agreed to pay $22 million to resolve shareholder allegations that it committed securities fraud by failing to disclose a Justice Department investigation and other important information about its operations prior to its initial public offering through a special purpose acquisition company in 2021, Clover Health announced Monday. (Tepper, 4/24)

Crain's Chicago Business: Outcome Health Trial: Convicted Execs Look To Settle SEC Case
Top executives from Outcome Health who were convicted of criminal fraud are likely to settle a pending civil case with the Securities & Exchange Commission. An attorney for the SEC said today that “a settlement is a real possibility,” given the result of the 10-week criminal trial of Outcome co-founders Rishi Shah and Shradha Agarwal, and Brad Purdy, the company’s former chief financial officer. Each of them faces up to 30 years in prison after being convicted by a jury nearly two weeks ago on more than a dozen counts of fraud. (Pletz, 4/24)

Reuters: Louisiana Accuses FTC Of Stepping On State Power In Hospital Merger Dispute
The Louisiana attorney general's office has accused the Federal Trade Commission of unlawfully intruding on state power in a dispute over whether a $150 million hospital transaction in New Orleans needed to be cleared by the federal agency even though the state had approved the deal. (Scarcella, 4/24)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Primary Care Opioid Addiction Treatment Has Potential To Reduce Overdoses, Pitt Study Finds
Primary care physicians who care for people with addiction can prevent more people from dying of an overdose, according to a new study from the University of Pittsburgh. People with opioid addiction are often referred to specialty treatment clinics — even if they seek help from their primary care doctor. But offering overdose-reversing drugs and addiction treatment medication through routine primary care visits could help people with addiction lower their overdose risk and live longer than if they got treatment elsewhere, according to a new study published in JAMA Open Network. (Whelan, 4/24)

Lowell Sun: How Dangerous Is Fentanyl Exposure To First Responders, If At All?
Dr. Balram Sharma, who is the director of acute pain service and regional anesthesia at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, part of Beth Israel Health, referenced a 2017 joint statement from the American College of Medical Toxicology and American Academy of Clinical Toxicology that states, though fentanyl is potent, “the risk of clinically significant exposure to emergency responders is extremely low.” (Curtis, 4/24)

In other health and wellness news —

CNN: Lack Of Sick Days, Inflexible Schedule Among Tough Job Conditions That Can Seriously Affect Mental Health, Report Shows
Certain work conditions – including inflexible or late-night schedules and lack of paid sick leave – can have a significant effect on mental health, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (McPhillips, 4/25)

Fox News: As Suicide Rates Spike, New AI Platform Could ‘Fill The Gap’ In Mental Health Care, Say Boston Researchers
After a two-year decline, U.S. suicide rates spiked again in 2021, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Suicide is now the 11th leading cause of death in the country — and the second among people between 10 and 35 years of age and fifth among those aged 35 to 54, per the report. (Rudy, 4/25)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Medically Tailored Meals Have Proven To Be Effective. Now Health Insurers Are Paying Attention
About 2,400 years after Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, declared food was medicine, we are finally getting his point. A poor diet contributes to the death of one in five people globally, according to the BMJ, the British Medical Journal. (Hazelton, 4/24)

KFF Health News: Depressed? Anxious? Air Pollution May Be A Factor
In the 1990s, residents of Mexico City noticed their dogs acting strangely — some didn’t recognize their owners, and the animals’ sleep patterns had changed. At the time, the sprawling, mountain-ringed city of more than 15 million people was known as the most polluted in the world, with a thick, constant haze of fossil fuel pollution trapped by thermal inversions. (Robbins, 4/25)

In celebrity news —

AP: Comedian Richard Lewis Reveals He Has Parkinson’s Disease
Comedian Richard Lewis is retiring from stand-up following four surgeries and a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. The 75-year-old “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star, who is known for wearing all-black and exploring his neuroses onstage, posted a video Monday to Twitter explaining his various health issues. (4/24)

Self: ‘You Must Get Tested For MS’: How Selma Blair Helped Christina Applegate Get A Diagnosis
Selma Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 10:30 p.m. on August 16, 2018, but, as she revealed in a new interview with British Vogue, the symptoms of her condition were misdiagnosed or ignored for more than 40 years since her first health struggles as a child. “If you’re a boy with those symptoms, you get an MRI,” she said of being a seven-year-old who had lost the use of her right eye and left leg, as well as bladder control. She’d wake up in the middle of the night laughing uncontrollably. It was undiagnosed juvenile MS, she now knows, but doctors and family wrote her off as an attention-seeker after ruling out conditions like cancer. “If you’re a girl, you’re called ‘crazy.” (Wickman, 4/24)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Big Changes Proposed For State Board That Investigates Doctors; Patient Notification Still Not On The List
The Medical Board of California may soon get a significant boost to its enforcement powers, but some are already saying that proposed changes do not go far enough. ... Proposals include increasing the board’s budget so that it can afford more employees to investigate allegations of doctor wrongdoing; adding two more members to the board’s roster of directors, which would shift the preponderance of leadership away from physicians; reducing the burden of proof required for less severe cases; speeding up enforcement powers when a doctor is convicted of a felony involving “moral turpitude, dishonesty, corruption, fraud or sexual assault”; and a range of other actions. (Sisson, 4/24)

KFF Health News: A California Physician Training Program Adds Diversity, But Where Do Graduates End Up?
Marcus Cummins grew up dreaming of becoming a doctor, but the Central Valley, California, native didn’t have Black physicians to look up to. At times he doubted himself, but he credits the determination he developed as a receiver on the University of California-Davis football team to get him through his studies. “Being a collegiate athlete gave me confidence to apply myself and handle the rigorous schoolwork of medical school,” said the 25-year-old husband and father of three. “It was harder because I didn’t have any physician role models.” (Stephens, 4/25)

Reuters: San Francisco Schools Take Altria To Trial Over 'Vaping Crisis'
A lawyer for San Francisco's public school system on Monday kicked off a long-awaited trial against Altria Group Inc, saying the tobacco giant helped e-cigarette company Juul Labs Inc create a "crisis" of vaping addiction among teenagers. (Pierson, 4/24)

On the gun violence epidemic —

Los Angeles Times: In Monterey Park, Lawmakers Urge Support For Gun Control Bills 
Lawmakers and community leaders gathered Monday morning at Monterey Park City Hall to support legislation they hope will reduce guns on the streets, months after 11 people were killed in a mass shooting on Lunar New Year’s Eve. The lawmakers and gun-control supporters called for adoption of three measures — AB 732, AB 733 and AB 1638 — introduced this year by Assemblymember Mike Fong (D-Alhambra), whose district includes Monterey Park. The bills are in committee in Sacramento and will be heard Tuesday by the Assembly Public Safety Committee. (Lin, 4/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Law To Keep Guns From Domestic Abusers Is Under Threat
A 1993 California gun-control law, banning firearms ownership by anyone who has been found by a judge to pose a threat of violence to a domestic partner, is in jeopardy — along with similar prohibitions in other states — unless the U.S. Supreme Court acts to preserve those laws, says state Attorney General Rob Bonta. (Egelko, 4/24)

Politico: GOP-Led Florida House Panel Approves Subpoenas To Groups Supporting Gender-Affirming Care 
A GOP-led Florida House panel authorized subpoenas seeking records from two medical organizations that support gender-affirming treatment for minors, the latest move in an ongoing legal and political fight over transgender care in Florida. The House Committee on Health & Human Services on Monday approved subpoenas demanding records from the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Florida Psychiatric Society — two organizations that are party to a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn state regulations that ban Medicaid from covering ban gender-affirming care for minors. (Sarkissian, 4/24)

AP: ACLU Sues To Block Missouri Rule On Transgender Health Care
The Missouri ACLU on Monday sued to block new state restrictions on both adults and children seeking gender-affirming health care, which are set to kick in Thursday. ACLU, Lambda Legal and Bryan Cave Leighton LLP attorneys representing transgender Missourians and health care providers asked a St. Louis County judge to stop the first-of-its-kind rule from taking effect. (Hollingsworth and Ballentine, 4/24)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

Houston Chronicle: More Than A Million Texans Expected To Be Dropped From Medicaid Rolls
More than a million Texans are expected to lose Medicaid coverage over the next 12 months as the surge in federal health care spending during the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be pulled back. The moves are expected to further strain the state’s health care system at a time hospitals are already struggling financially. (Osborne, 4/24)

Billings Gazette: Medicaid Provider Rates See Boost During Budget Amendments
An unexpected amendment from Sen. John Esp, R-Big Timber, added $15 million from the general fund to increase Medicaid reimbursement for certain provider types in Montana. The amendment to the state budget saw bipartisan support on the Senate floor with 49 votes to approve and only one vote in opposition. (Schabacker, 4/24)

Axios: New Washington Law Aims To Simplify Death With Dignity Access
A new Washington law aims to make it easier for patients to access aid-in-dying services under the state's Death with Dignity Act. A measure Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law earlier this month will cut down the wait time between when patients first ask for life-ending medication and when they can receive it. (Santos, 4/24)

Bangor Daily News: Maine Shrinks Scope Of ‘Do Not Eat’ Warning For PFAS-Infected Wildlife
Hunters in and around Fairfield should be able to consume wild game with fewer concerns this year after testing of animals in the area revealed that high PFAS levels were only present in a concentrated area. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, in conjunction with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, on Monday issued a revised PFAS wildlife consumption advisory for the Fairfield area that reduces the size of the original advisory area by 80 percent. (Warner, 4/24)

KUNC: Groups Work To Ditch The Soda In Tribal Communities, Where Water Scarcity Feeds Childhood Obesity
Dorian Hale is playing outside his family’s hogan – a one room home on the Navajo Nation reservation in Shiprock, N.M. His mother says Dorian’s growing well for a three-year-old. “He’s a taller and bigger boy,” she says. “When I would go to his appointments, they would always tell me, like, he's going to grow over 6-foot-2.” Not every kid on the Navajo Nation, an area roughly the size of West Virginia, is on such a healthy trajectory. Dorian and his mom have benefitted from an initiative designed to counter the factors – including the lack of access to clean drinking water – that contribute to the prevalence of childhood obesity on the Navajo Nation and across Indian Country. (VandenEinde, 4/24)

Stat: Maryland Pushes Bill To Promote Alternatives To Animals In Research
Amid a push to use fewer animals in medical research, Maryland is on the verge of becoming the first state to adopt a law that would make a dedicated investment in alternative approaches. (Silverman, 4/24)

KFF Health News: Did A Military Lab Spill Anthrax Into Public Waterways? New Book Reveals Details Of A US Leak
Unsterilized laboratory wastewater from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland, spewed out the top of a rusty 50,000-gallon outdoor holding tank, the pressure catapulting it over the short concrete wall that was supposed to contain hazardous spills. It was May 25, 2018, the Friday morning before Memorial Day weekend, and the tank holding waste from labs working with Ebola, anthrax, and other lethal pathogens had become overpressurized, forcing the liquid out a vent pipe. (Young, 4/25)

The New York Times: Finding The Origin Of A Pandemic Is Difficult. Preventing One Shouldn’t Be. 
In 1999, the New York State Department of Health asked me to test ‌brain samples from‌‌ people in Queens experiencing encephalitis, or brain inflammation. Surprisingly, we found they were infected with West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne virus that had never been reported before in North America. How did a virus endemic in Africa and the Middle East end up in Queens? (W. Ian Lipkin, 6/25)

The Boston Globe: Abortion Pill Ruling Offers A Breather, But New Threats Are On The Way
When the Supreme Court intervened Friday in the legal fight about mifepristone, a drug used in more than half of all abortions, the abortion debate was changing at a breakneck pace. (Mary Ziegler, 4/24)

Dallas Morning News: Faulty Veteran Health Record System Needs Urgent Fix
Over the past several years, Congress has made significant strides to support veterans through the MISSION Act, the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, and the benefits expansions in the PACT Act. Now, it is time for congressional leaders to focus on the seemingly unending systemic problems of the electronic health record management system. (Cole Lyle, 4/25)

Stat: Involuntary Treatment For Addiction Doesn't Work
As the overdose crisis rages on and the pandemic-fatigued public runs low on empathy, there have been increasing calls for expanded involuntary commitment for people with substance use disorder. (Sarah E. Wakeman, 4/25)