Daily Edition for Thursday, January 30, 2025
California’s Transgender Protections Tested: President Donald Trump’s order to end federal support for gender-affirming care for minors wouldn’t affect laws like California’s that allow care for transgender youths. But the order, if upheld by the courts, might cut off federal funding for medical care the state has approved. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Trump Administration’s Halt of CDC’s Weekly Scientific Report Stalls Bird Flu Studies
By Amy Maxmen
An unprecedented freeze on the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report sparks new concerns about political meddling in science.
Readers Offer Their Takes on the Opioid Crisis, Family Doctor Shortage, and Vaccine Policies
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Telehealth Companies Boost Ad Spending While Taking on More Complex Medicine
By Darius Tahir
Telehealth startups including Ro and Nurx are spending millions to promote themselves as easy dispensers of medicines. Some companies offer care for birth control, sexual dysfunction, and more complex conditions, including behavioral health disorders and obesity.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Trump Signs Order Restricting Gender-Affirming Care For Those Under 19: The president’s order denounced such medical treatment as a form of “chemical and surgical mutilation” and threatened to defund hospitals that provide it. Read more from the Los Angeles Times. Keep scrolling for more news about gender-affirming care.
Led by RFK Jr., Conservatives Embrace Raw Milk. Regulators Say It’s Dangerous.
By Stephanie Armour
Controversy over raw milk reflects the push-pull the Trump administration faces in rolling back regulations and offering consumers more choices. For now, the CDC still recommends against consuming raw milk and the FDA bans its interstate sale.
Trump’s Funding ‘Pause’ Throws States, Health Industry Into Chaos
By Phil Galewitz
A sweeping Trump administration order threw the nation’s health system into disarray Tuesday, as states and the health industry tried to make sense of what looked like a freeze on federal Medicaid funding.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Rare Strain Of Bird Flu Found In California: A new strain of bird flu — H5N9 — has been detected in Merced County at a commercial duck operation. California state veterinarian Annette Jones said the case “is not unexpected or alarming.” However, one virologist called the case “bad news” because it suggests that H5N1 may have combined with another bird flu virus. Read more from the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle.
What RFK Jr. Might Face in His Nomination Hearings This Week
By Arthur Allen
Two Senate committees are expected to question Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on how his disproven views of science and medicine qualify him to run the $1.7 trillion, 80,000-employee federal health system.
Daily Edition for Monday, January 27, 2025
Rain Douses LA, Increasing Risk Of Toxic Runoff: Rain fell on parts of Southern California on Sunday and into today, boosting the risk of toxic ash runoff in areas scorched by Los Angeles-area wildfires. Officials cautioned that the ashes were a mix of incinerated cars, electronics, batteries, building materials, paints, pesticides, asbestos, plastics and lead. Read more from AP. Scroll down for more on the wildfires.
