Reuters: Abortion Pill Case To Be Heard By Conservative, Anti-Abortion Panel 
A case brought by anti-abortion groups seeking to ban the abortion pill mifepristone nationwide will be heard next week by a panel of three deeply conservative judges hostile to abortion rights, a federal appeals court revealed on Monday. ... The administration will be appealing to Circuit Judges Jennifer Walker Elrod, who upheld a Texas law making it more difficult for abortion clinics to operate in the state; James Ho, who has called abortion a "moral tragedy"; and Cory Wilson, who supported abortion bans as a Mississippi state legislator. (Pierson and Thomsen, 5/8)

AP: Abortion Clinics In 3 States Sue To Protect Pill Access
Abortion providers in three states filed a lawsuit Monday aimed at preserving access to the abortion pill mifepristone, even as the drug is threatened by a separate Texas lawsuit winding its way through U.S. court system. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Virginia on behalf of clinics in Virginia, Montana and Kansas, is the latest legal action over the decades-old pill, which is part of the two-drug regimen used in most U.S. abortions. (Perrone and Lavoie, 5/8)

More on mifepristone —

Axios: FDA's New Abortion Catch-22
Abortion rights advocates are trying to force the Food and Drug Administration to expand access to medication abortion — even if that winds up undercutting the agency's rulemaking discretion. The FDA's regulatory powers over drugs that terminate pregnancies are being challenged by both abortion rights and anti-abortion groups in a way that creates a "dangerous path" for the agency to make independent scientific decisions, legal experts say. (Gonzalez, 5/8)

The Washington Post: Most Say Mifepristone Abortion Pill Should Stay On Market, Post-ABC Poll Finds 
Two-thirds of Americans say the abortion drug mifepristone, used in the majority of abortions in the United States, should remain on the market, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. The poll finds that 66 percent of U.S. adults say mifepristone should remain on the market, while 24 percent say it should be taken off the market. Just under half, 47 percent, say access to mifepristone should be kept as is; 12 percent say it should remain on the market but be more restricted than it is now. (Guskin, 5/9)

In other abortion news —

AP: Abortion-Restriction Effort Reintroduced In Nebraska 
A new effort was introduced late Monday in the Nebraska Legislature to restrict abortion access in the state, less than two weeks after a bill that would have banned abortion at around six weeks of pregnancy failed to overcome a filibuster. The new plan to ban abortion at 12 weeks of pregnancy drew fervent protests from opponents who had been assured by Speaker of the Legislature Sen. John Arch that the abortion proposal was dead for the session. (Beck, 5/9)

AP: Ohio Constitution Overhaul Faces Deadline, Backlash 
An effort by a Republican faction in Ohio to make it harder to change the state constitution faces a critical juncture this week, with action needed in the politically fractured Ohio House where the undertaking has so far stalled. ... Abortion rights groups are working to put forward a ballot measure in November that would permanently enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution. Certain GOP lawmakers are working to set a special election in August where voters could choose to curtail their own rights to bypass lawmakers on that and other subjects. Its backers argue publicly that the supermajority requirement will prevent deep-pocketed interest groups from targeting Ohio’s founding document, but documents and other evidence have made clear that the push is aimed at tanking the abortion measure. (Smyth, 5/9)

The Hill: Trump Meets With Prominent Anti-Abortion Group Following Criticism
Former President Trump met with the prominent anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America on Monday after the group criticized Trump for his stance on abortion restrictions. “During the meeting, President Trump reiterated his opposition to the extreme Democratic position of abortion on demand, up until the moment of birth, paid for by taxpayers — and even in some cases after the child is born,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. “President Trump believes such a position is unworthy of a great nation and believes the American people will rebel against such a radical position that aligns us with China and North Korea.” (Vakil, 5/8)

In related news about OTC birth control pills —

ABC News: FDA Advisory Committees Meeting To Discuss Over-The-Counter Birth Control
Advisory committees of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are meeting Tuesday and Wednesday to review the first-ever application for an over-the-counter birth control pill. At a joint meeting, the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee and the Obstetrics, Reproductive, and Urologic Drugs Advisory Committee will discuss whether pharmaceutical company Perrigo can make its oral contraceptive Opill, which currently requires a prescription, to be available on store shelves. (Kekatos, 5/9)

The Texas Tribune: Texas House Panel Advances “Raise The Age” Bill For Semi-Automatic Guns
The chants echoed off the rotunda walls at the Texas Capitol even before the House convened Monday morning. “Raise the age, raise the age,” dozens of people yelled at a rally urging lawmakers to advance a bill that would raise the minimum age to purchase certain semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. “Raise the age, raise the age.” For months, advocates for restricting some firearms access — many of them relatives of people killed by gunmen — have shown up during the first legislative session since Texas’ deadliest school shooting to push for tighter weapons laws. On Monday, which signaled a key deadline for many House bills to advance, they showed up again. (Serrano, Klibanoff and Dey, 5/8)

The Hill: Uvalde Families Cheer After Two Republicans Help Advance Texas ‘Raise The Age’ Bill
The families of the Uvalde school shooting victims erupted in cheers after two Republican state legislators voted to advance a bill that would raise the minimum age limit to buy semiautomatic rifles in Texas. Two Republicans joined Democrats in the Texas House Select Committee on Community Safety to approve the “raise the age” gun bill in an 8-5 vote and advance it to the House floor. After they voted, families of the victims of the 2022 Uvalde school shooting could be heard cheering and sobbing in videos reported by KXAN News. (Sforza, 5/8)

The New York Times: In Shift, Texas House Advances Bill To Raise Age To Buy Assault Weapons 
The preliminary vote was remarkable in a State Capitol dominated by Republicans, all the more so because it had been entirely unexpected: When the day began, the 13-member committee had not been scheduled to meet at all. (Goodman, 5/8)

Gunman was 'terminated' by the Army for mental health reasons —

The Wall Street Journal: Mauricio Garcia, Gunman In Texas Mass Shooting, Was Terminated By Army For Mental-Health Issues 
The gunman authorities said was responsible for the deaths of eight in Allen, Texas, was terminated by the Army for mental-health reasons three months after he enlisted in 2008, and recent social-media postings officials are examining show links to white-supremacist views. (Kesling, Gurman and Flores, 5/8)

In related news about legislative action on guns —

The Hill: Schumer To Convene Special Senate Democratic Caucus Meeting On Gun Violence 
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called for Senate Democrats to hold a special caucus meeting to discuss gun violence in the wake of multiple high-profile mass shootings over the past several weeks.  Schumer’s call to action comes after a gunman with an AR-15-style rifle killed eight people and wounded seven at a mall Saturday in Allen, Texas, and five other people, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed by a suspect armed with an AR-15 in Cleveland, Texas, April 29.  (Bolton, 5/8)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Political Divide Over Guns Holds In Georgia Following Mass Shootings
Georgia Democrats stepped up demands for new firearms restrictions Monday after deadly mass shootings at a medical office in Midtown Atlanta and a shopping mall in Texas, the latest in a wave of violence that turned seemingly safe places into scenes of carnage. But the shootings haven’t changed the political dynamic in Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp and other Republican leaders have shared condolences and praised law enforcement — but have consistently rejected calls for increased limits on who can purchase or carry deadly weapons. (Bluestein, 5/8)

The Washington Post: TB Cases Rise, CDC Says, Spotlighting An Increase Among Young Children 
In 2022, 8,300 cases of tuberculosis were identified in the United States, marking a 5 percent increase from the year before, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2022 rebound in TB cases included a 26 percent increase in TB diagnoses in children 4 or younger — from 160 cases in 2021 to 202 last year. That increase is concerning, CDC officials said in a news release, because cases in that age group are usually the result of recent transmission rather than reactivation of a long-standing latent infection. (Searing, 5/8)

On mpox —

NBC News: Rise Of Mpox Cases In Chicago Raises Concern About Possible Summer Spread
A recent uptick in mpox diagnoses in Chicago, some of them in people vaccinated against the virus, has raised concerns about a possible increase in cases among gay and bisexual men during the summer. (Ryan, 5/9)

CIDRAP: Adverse Events Highest After Intradermal Injection Of Jynneos Mpox Vaccine 
An Australian postmarketing study of adverse events following Jynneos mpox vaccination finds that local adverse event rates were highest following intradermal administration, but absolute event rates were lower than in previous studies, and the vaccine was well tolerated overall. The study was published late last week in JAMA. (Van Beusekom, 5/8)

On chikungunya —

CIDRAP: Climate Conditions, Urbanization Fueling Chikungunya Rise In Americas, Officials Say 
In an update last week on the intensifying chikungunya outbreak in the Americas, officials from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said they are seeing changes in the timing and magnitude of cases that are likely related to the effects of climate change and unplanned urbanization. ... In a May 4 statement, PAHO said unusually high temperatures, anticipated or increased rains, and humid conditions have allowed Aedes mosquitos to survive in areas where their populations weren’t supported before. Also, increased or unplanned urbanization have increased watering spots at households, a factor that creates a breeding environment for the mosquitoes. (Schnirring, 5/8)

On covid —

CIDRAP: Study: Immune Cells—Not Antibodies—Cause COVID Vaccine-Linked Myocarditis
The rare cases of myocarditis among recipients of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine—mostly in young men—are caused by a generalized immune-cell and inflammatory response rather than vaccine-triggered antibodies, suggests a small study published late last week in Science Immunology. (Van Beusekom, 5/8)

Axios: COVID Test Kits From Insurance End May 11 With Public Health Emergency
With the pandemic public health emergency ending Thursday, time is quickly running out for most people to get COVID-19 tests covered by insurance. The end of the federal government’s health emergency that began in March 2020 will shift who pays for the testing kits and some COVID-19 treatments. (Tyko, 5/8)

Bangor Daily News: Republicans Want A Commission To Study Maine’s COVID Response
Two years ago, Maine Republicans put forward a measure to assemble a legislative commission to study the state’s COVID response. They are trying again this year with a different tone hanging over a still-charged debate. Assistant Senate Minority Leader Lisa Keim, R-Dixfield, who championed the 2021 measure, is back with a similar proposal. It has a broad focus, directing 13 lawmakers who would be appointed to look at elements of the COVID response, including contracts, executive orders and policy outcomes from health to education. (Shepherd, 5/8)

NPR: Teens' Social Media Use Should Be Monitored By Parents, APA Says
For the first time, the American Psychological Association has issued recommendations for guiding teenager's use of social media. The advisory, released Tuesday, is aimed at teens, parents, teachers and policy makers. This comes at a time when teenagers are facing high rates of depression, anxiety and loneliness. And, as NPR has reported, there's mounting evidence that social media can exacerbate and even cause these problems. (Doucleff, 5/9)

NBC News: Teens Should Be Trained In Media Literacy And Limit Their Screen Time, Psychologists Say
“There is a lot of talk about social media these days, including some suggestions that do not fit with the science,” said APA chief science officer Mitch Prinstein, a co-chair of the advisory panel that developed the recommendations. “We are releasing this report now to offer a science-based and balanced perspective on this issue so all stakeholders can make decisions based on our expertise regarding benefits and potential risks associated with social media.” (Rosenblatt, 5/9)

In other health and wellness news —

CIDRAP: Study Links Early Antibiotic Use To Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease
A study presented late last week at the Digestive Disease Week 2023 conference suggests that exposure to antibiotics at an early age is among the factors that can increase the risk of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). (Dall, 5/8)

Military Times: The Marine Corps Will Once Again Require Troops To Get Breathalyzed
Marine units must once again conduct random breathalyzer tests on assigned troops, following a years-long pause in the program because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because Marines must blow into the apparatus, the federal government’s COVID-19 emergency policies had “necessitated” a halt to the testing of on-duty Marines for alcohol via breathalyzer, according to a Marine administrative message. But with the public health emergency officially ending May 11, units are required to resume the testing by June, if they haven’t done so already. (Loewenson, 5/8)

Iowa Public Radio: ISU Researchers Get A Grant To Examine If People Who Get Cybersickness From Virtual Reality Can Adapt
Women who use virtual reality headsets tend to experience nausea and dizziness from exposure to the immersive computer-generated environment more often than men. That’s the sum of the work from Iowa State University psychology and engineering researchers, who have received a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to further their research and examine adaptation to the technology. Cybersickness is something ISU psychology professor Jonathan Kelly describes as akin to motion sickness. A person may feel symptoms such as nausea, dizziness or a headache. (Peikes, 5/8)

Reuters: Woman Who Sued Over Subway Tuna Seeks To Quit Case, Subway Demands Sanctions
The California woman suing Subway, claiming its tuna products contain ingredients other than tuna, wants to end her lawsuit because she is pregnant, prompting Subway to demand her lawyers be sanctioned for bringing a frivolous case. (Stempel, 5/8)

On maternal deaths —

Reuters: Global Push To Tackle Maternal And Newborn Deaths Has Stalled, WHO Report Finds 
Progress in reducing deaths during pregnancy and childbirth and among newborn infants has stalled since 2015, and over 60 countries are on track to miss 2030 targets at current rates, a World Health Organization report released on Tuesday found. The COVID-19 pandemic, poverty, and worsening humanitarian crises have strained already pressured healthcare systems, the U.N. agency said in a statement. (5/9)

Bloomberg: Severe Bleeding Risk After Childbirth Drops With Low-Cost Measures, Study Shows
Simple, low-cost measures can reduce the risk of excessive bleeding after childbirth, the leading causes of maternal postpartum death, according to a study of interventions that can prevent complications primarily afflicting women in lower-income countries. (Kew, 5/9)

AP: US Backs Study Of Safe Injection Sites, Overdose Prevention 
For the first time, the U.S. government will pay for a large study measuring whether overdoses can be prevented by so-called safe injection sites, places where people can use heroin and other illegal drugs and be revived if they take too much. The grant provides more than $5 million over four years to New York University and Brown University to study two sites in New York City and one opening next year in Providence, Rhode Island. (Johnson, 5/8)

The Washington Post: Overdose Prevention Centers Are Tough Sell In U.S. Despite Successes 
Addiction experts and others regard the facilities as ways to reach people who use drugs where they are — and keep them alive — despite questions about the sites’ legality under federal law. But even with the success of New York City’s OnPoint NYC, the only government-sanctioned program operating in this country, such facilities are proving a tough sell over concerns they encourage drug use, crime and neighborhood blight. (Ovalle, 5/8)

On mushrooms and marijuana —

CBS News: Magic Mushroom Guides In Oregon Face Uncertain Trip Ahead
In the last few weeks, dozens of students have graduated from schools in Oregon where they were trained to guide people through magic mushroom trips that can last as long as six hours. At one school, an alpaca farmer, a social worker, an ER nurse and a nutritionist were all in the same class, attempting to learn the tricks of a new trade. (Doan, 5/8)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Researchers Study Health Impacts Of High-Potency THC
Colorado public health experts have unveiled a first-of-its-kind interactive research database containing hundreds of studies on the impacts of high-potency cannabis products — looking at the effects on everything from mental health to cancer to pregnancy. That is one of the most significant things to come out of a two-year research review by the Colorado School of Public Health. (Ingold, 5/9)

KFF Health News: Legal Pot Is More Potent Than Ever — And Still Largely Unregulated 
Marijuana and other products containing THC, the plant’s main psychoactive ingredient, have grown more potent and more dangerous as legalization has made them more widely available. Although decades ago the THC content of weed was commonly less than 1.5%, some products on the market today are more than 90% THC. (Hilzenrath, 5/9)

Stat: Bernie Sanders On Insulin Costs And Generic Drug Negotiations
Wednesday’s Senate hearing on high costs for insulin “is not the end” of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ plans for drug pricing interrogations, he told STAT in an interview. But it will be a show. The Vermont independent is bringing executives from drugmakers Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, along with pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts, OptumRx and CVS Health, to appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee this week. (Owermohle, 5/9)

Drug companies laying off staff —

Stat: EQRx Abandons Business Plan Around Drug Pricing
EQRx, a company that aimed to lower drug prices by introducing inexpensive me-too medicines, said Tuesday that it has abandoned that plan and is laying off nearly 60% of its workforce. (Herper, 5/8)

The Boston Globe: Drug Maker Takeda To Eliminate Up To 180 Jobs In Massachusetts
Japanese drug maker Takeda has notified Massachusetts officials that it plans to eliminate as many as 180 jobs in the state. In a required notice filed under the state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act, the biopharma giant said it will reduce its payroll by 138 jobs at four Takeda Development Centers America sites in Cambridge, starting in early July and continuing through March 2024. (Weisman, 5/8)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Stat: 'Hard To Catch Up': FDA Commissioner On Regulating Digital Health
Digital health tools are developing faster than the Food and Drug Administration is able to regulate them, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf acknowledged this week. “I think we’re behind, and it’s going to be really hard to catch up,” Califf said in a speech Monday at the National Health Council’s patient engagement symposium. (Lawrence, 5/9)

Stat: What To Know About The FDA Hearing On Sarepta's Gene Therapy
On Friday, a committee of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will meet to discuss Sarepta Therapeutics’ closely watched experimental gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. It will be the first FDA advisory panel hearing for a Duchenne drug from Sarepta since 2016, when hundreds of patients and family members traveled to the FDA campus in Maryland to plead with experts to authorize an earlier therapy from the company despite limited evidence. (Mast, 5/9)

Stat: Doctors Support Expanded Newborn Genomic Screening
Plummeting costs of DNA sequencing technologies are injecting urgency into the longstanding debate over whether to dive deeper into the genomes of more infants — even apparently healthy ones. (Molteni, 5/8)

Stat: Obesity Experts On Risks Of Wegovy, Ozempic Weight Loss Drugs
Amid rising demand for drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic, and Mounjaro that can lead to significant weight loss, some obesity experts are concerned about the drugs’ costs — both to patients’ finances and to their health. (Castillo, 5/8)

Also —

Wyoming Public Radio: Water Bears’ Extreme Survival Skills Are Being Used To Make More Resilient Vaccines
Tardigrades are microscopic eight-legged animals often referred to as “water bears.” The tiny animals are known for their extreme survival skills. University of Wyoming researcher Thomas Boothby said tardigrades can survive several environmental conditions that are usually incompatible with life. (Montana, 5/8)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Rule On Caregiver Wages Gets Blowback From Providers
Home care providers are pushing back on part of a proposed rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requiring states to spend 80% of Medicaid home- and community-based services funds on caregiver wages. The proposal is aimed at attracting and retaining more direct care workers as the industry continues to face severe staffing challenges due to high demand for in-home care from the COVID-19 pandemic. Some providers say they could be forced to pause hiring, cut workers or go out of business if they are unable to use home- and community-based services funds for staff training and administrative costs. (Eastabrook, 5/8)

More on staffing and contracts —

The New York Times: Corporate Giants Buy Up Primary Care Practices At Rapid Pace 
It’s no surprise that the shortage of primary care doctors — who are critically important to the health of Americans — is getting worse. They practice in one of medicine’s lowest paid, least glamorous fields. Most are overworked, seeing as many as 30 people a day; figuring out when a sore throat is a strep infection, or managing a patient’s chronic diabetes. (Abelson, 5/8)

Modern Healthcare: How The FTC's Noncompete Ban Could Apply To Nonprofit Hospitals
While the legislation that created the Federal Trade Commission may shield nonprofit entities from the agency’s oversight, some former FTC staffers say the commission could invoke other laws to prevent individual nonprofit hospitals from using noncompete provisions in employment contracts. (Kacik, 5/8)

NBC News: Stressed Out And Burned Out: Younger Nurses Feel Strain Of Nursing Shortage
It's unusual for Emma Cooper, a nurse who cares for women after they've given birth, to be proud of the work she does every day. "To have a patient sitting in front of me crying because they feel that they haven't been taught how to feed their baby is so upsetting," Cooper, of Portland, Maine, said. (Edwards, 5/8)

Houston Chronicle: Andy And Barbara Gessner Donated $20M To The University Of Houston
Philanthropists Andy and Barbara Gessner have donated $20 million to the University of Houston College of Nursing, a gift that has renamed the school and energized its efforts to stem a statewide shortage in the field. UH unveiled the new Andy and Barbara Gessner College of Nursing during a celebration Monday at the university’s Sugar Land campus. The gift will fund three endowed professorships, plus scholarships and fellowships as the college attempts to double its pre-nursing student population within the next year. (Ketterer, 5/8)

In other health care industry news —

Charlotte Ledger: Her Health Insurer Delayed An MRI - As Her Cancer Spread
Kathleen Valentini was 47 when she first noticed a nagging pain in her hip. The Waxhaw mom tried physical therapy, but her pain just got worse. Her doctor ordered an MRI to find out what was going on, according to court documents and Kathleen’s husband, Val Valentini. But Kathleen’s health insurer wouldn’t authorize the MRI, a scan that can cost as much as $8,000. After considering the request for two weeks, the insurer said the procedure wasn’t “medically necessary,” her husband said. It ordered her to try six weeks of physical therapy first. (Crouch, 5/8)

The Boston Globe: Psychiatric Patient Who Died At Shattuck Hospital Was Victim Of ‘Neglect,’ Report Says
During the three years Haywood Earl was a psychiatric patient at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, a mole on the left side of his nose unnecessarily grew, bled, and developed into a cancerous lesion that spread, “causing disfigurement, escalating pain, and death,” according to a report released Monday that found the state hospital did not properly diagnose or treat the 60-year-old Black man. (Alanez, 5/8)

USA Today: Was Treatment 'Justified' For Kentucky Coroner Guilty Of Overprescribing?
Dr. David Suetholz was a pioneer of addiction treatment in Northern Kentucky, among the first to become qualified to treat the condition with medication. He had a family practice where he saw patients with everyday health concerns but also welcomed those with chronic pain or addiction disorder. “People with addiction have felt as outcasts,” he said. Not in his office. (DeMio and Bentley, 5/9)

AP: Minnesota Senate Approves Paid Family And Medical Leave Plan
The Minnesota Senate approved a plan Monday to entitle workers across the state to paid leave when they’re sick or caring for relatives who are ill. While Senate Democrats hold only a one-seat majority, paid family and medical leave has been a priority of the party for several years, and the final 34-33 vote followed party lines. The proposal passed the House last week on a 68-64 vote, and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign the final version that emerges from a House-Senate conference committee. (Karnowski, 5/8)

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

North Carolina Health News: Medicaid Is An ‘Expensive Proposition’ For Free Clinics
For nearly 20 years, uninsured people in the Sandhills have turned to Moore Free and Charitable Clinic for medical services. Operating in a converted warehouse at the end of an unassuming road near Pinehurst in Moore County, the clinic provides free or low-cost care to patients with diabetes, hypertension and other chronic illnesses. Construction is underway to add a dental treatment area to the facility. (Baxley, 5/9)

The CT Mirror: CT Is Weighing Several Changes To Medicaid. Here's A Look At Them
Medicaid, known as HUSKY in Connecticut, provides health coverage to people with incomes below certain thresholds. Over a quarter of Connecticut residents currently receive coverage through Medicaid. The Connecticut General Assembly has proposed several changes to the state’s Medicaid program this legislative session. Here’s an overview of what they are and where they stand as the session enters its final month. (Golvala, Carlesso and DeBenedictis, 5/8)

The Texas Tribune and ProPublica: Texas Public Records Loophole Used To Deny Release Of Suicide Reports 
When Patty Troyan’s son Logan Castello died by suicide in November 2019 in his Central Texas home, she immediately tried to understand what prompted him to take his own life not long after getting married and days before a planned family Thanksgiving gathering. Castello was a 21-year-old private first class in the Army. He was stationed at Fort Hood but had died in his off-post home in Killeen, a city of about 156,000 people that abuts the massive military installation. Troyan assumed she’d get some details about what happened from the civilian police, who responded to the scene. (Davila, 5/9)

Indianapolis Star: AG Rokita Appeals Suit Over Nonbinary Gender Marker On BMV Licenses
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita's office is appealing a lawsuit that forced the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to reinstate its policy of issuing driver's licenses with an "X" listed as the gender marker for nonbinary residents. A group of mostly anonymous plaintiffs who identify as nonbinary sued the state in 2021 for clamping down on a BMV policy from 2019 that allowed people to select “X” instead of “M” or “F” for a gender designation on their ID. A Monroe County judge sided with the plaintiffs in December. (Magdaleno, 5/9)

KFF Health News: California Debates Extending PTSD Coverage To More First Responders
A paramedic for about 30 years, Susan Farren knew all was not well with first responders: Eight of her colleagues had died by suicide. Others had grappled with substance abuse or gone through painful divorces. So, in 2018, Farren founded a nonprofit in Santa Rosa to train and support emergency personnel struggling with trauma and stress. Hundreds of firefighters, police officers, and other first responders have since availed themselves of the organization’s timely help. (Sciacca, 5/9)

In environmental health news —

Bloomberg: Shell Chemical Fire: Texas Officials, Company Say There's Minimal Health Risk
Texas officials and Shell Plc sought to reassure worried residents that a three-day chemical fire at the company’s Deer Park plant poses minimal risks, even as advocates raised alarms. The blaze — which began Friday and flared up again over the weekend — ignited highly volatile, toxic fuels that sent black plumes of smoke over the Houston area. Firefighting efforts required wastewater runoff to be discharged into the Houston Ship Channel at an initial rate of 11,000 gallons a minute, and Shell reported a light sheen in the water Monday. (Xu, Dlouhy and Ferman, 5/8)

Detroit Free Press: Health Officials: Odors Near Kalamazoo Factory Could Harm Neighbors
Air pollution near a Kalamazoo paper products company and the city's wastewater treatment plant could harm nearby residents' health over the long term, state health officials said Monday. (Matheny, 5/9)

Stat: Health Coaches Are Completely Unregulated
John, a hypothetical middle-aged man, is told at his job about a new workplace wellness initiative that, among other things, offers two free sessions with a health coach. John immediately jumps at the chance — his primary care doctor had even suggested he consider working with a health coach. The health coach recommends a litany of lifestyle changes including diet, exercise, and supplements, which John conscientiously implements. (Katie Suleta, 5/9)

Scientific American: Masks Work. Distorting Science To Dispute The Evidence Doesn't 
Amid an ongoing pandemic and outbreaks of influenza and RSV caused by airborne viruses, arguing over the virus-blocking power of masks remains one of the COVID era’s signature follies. (Matthew Oliver, Mark Ungrin and Joe Vipond, 5/8)

CNN: Why I’m Not Reassured By Our Victory Over Covid-19
Despite what the evidence says, I admit that I am nervous that we might be lightening things up too quickly. I do have a rational reason for my irrational stance. Infectious diseases don’t ever really go away; they just change a little, then change some more till one day, they return bigger and fiercer than ever. (Kent Sepkowitz, 5/8)

The New York Times: If The Pandemic Is No Longer A Public Health Emergency, Then What Is It? 
The all-clear siren has sounded for now, though the war isn’t over. On May 5, the director-general of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced that Covid-19 is no longer a “public health emergency of international concern” — in the formalized shorthand, a PHEIC. (David Quammen, 5/9)

Bloomberg: This Epidemic Of Isolation Is As Harmful As Smoking 
In a new report, Vivek Murthy says that the US is experiencing an epidemic of loneliness and isolation that can be as harmful to our health as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. (Lisa Jarvis, 5/8)

Houston Chronicle: UH Profs: How Texas DEI Ban Would Harm Mental Health Care
In the face of dire mental health needs, Texans must navigate significant mental health workforce shortages. Social workers constitute a key part of this workforce, making the need for high quality social work education and research critical. Yet, policies under consideration by the Texas Legislature that seek to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and tenure put this quality education and research at serious risk. (Suzanne Pritzker and Samira Ali, 5/8)

The Star Tribune: Minnesota Hospitals, Systems In Trouble If Current Bills Become Law
Now, as the national public health emergency comes to an end, Minnesota's hospitals and health care systems are confronting their worst financial environment in decades while a historic health care worker shortage is straining already strapped systems. Despite this reality, Minnesota's Legislature is on the verge of passing several new laws that together will make the crisis worse. (5/8)

The CT Mirror: Health Justice Requires A Just Budget
It is stunning that our state has an ample surplus yet the recently proposed state budget leaves valuable money on the table that could improve the health and well-being of Connecticut families. We are told the state spending cap is to blame. Yet the record shows that Connecticut governors and legislatures have circumvented the cap over the past few decades when it has been deemed necessary to meet the needs of our state. (Lynne Ide, 5/8)