First Edition: Dec. 23, 2022
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations. Note to readers: KHN's First Edition will not be published Dec. 26 through Jan. 2. Look for it again in your inbox on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Happy holidays from all of us at KHN!
KHN:
Survivors Of Gangs And Gun Violence, These Women Now Help Others Navigate Grief
When April Roby-Bell joined the Gangster Disciples in middle school, the street gang treated her like family when she felt abandoned by her own. She was looking for love, acceptance, and stability. “They trained us as little kids. How to own your ’hood, own your street: ‘This is my territory,’” Roby-Bell said. The experience also taught her tough lessons about life and death at an early age. At least half of the friends she grew up with are now dead. “At times, it became hard because you just get tired of fighting,” she said. “I probably should have been dead a long time ago.” (Anthony, 12/23)
KHN:
Seasonal Cooks’ Secret Sauce: Heaping Nutrition And Cultural Zest
Oldways Ambassadors Brenda Atchison and Glorya Fernandez walked a KHN reporter through two cooking demonstrations to showcase modern takes on cultural classics — like a cold black-eyed pea salad just in time for the new year, and a garlicky dill mojo sauce served over spinach salad. Last year, Kelly LeBlanc, director of nutrition at Oldways, shared the organization’s heritage-based food guide pyramids with KHN for a report on USDA food guidelines. It’s the 10-year anniversary of Oldways’ A Taste of African Heritage nutrition curriculum, and this year, the curriculum became part of the Department of Agriculture’s SNAP-Ed Toolkit, a collection of interventions from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program educational effort focused on helping low-income households make healthier food choices and reinforce healthy eating habits. (Giles, 12/23)
KHN:
Colorado Considers Changing Its Red Flag Law After Mass Shooting At Nightclub
A Nov. 19 shooting that killed five people and wounded 19 at a Colorado Springs nightclub has officials considering changes to strengthen Colorado’s red flag law, particularly in self-declared “Second Amendment sanctuaries,” where emergency petitions to remove a person’s guns are filed less frequently and usually denied. The three-year-old state law allows law enforcement officials or family members to seek a court order to seize the guns of a person who poses a threat to themselves or others. But the Club Q shooting underscores a fundamental challenge for it and other red flag laws: Sheriffs often refuse to use the measures based on a belief that they infringe on the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. (Hawryluk, 12/23)
KHN:
KHN-NPR’s ‘Bill Of The Month’ At 5: A Treasury Of Solutions For Confounding Medical Bills
In 2022, readers shared more than 1,000 personal stories of medical billing problems, contributing one patient at a time to an ongoing portrait of the rippling financial consequences of becoming sick or injured in the United States. Many of the submissions received during the fifth year of KHN-NPR’s “Bill of the Month” investigative series conveyed the same message: I want to tell my story so what happened to me won’t happen to anyone else. (12/23)
KHN:
Journalists Recap Coverage Of Gun Violence, Drug Imports, And Mental Health
Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony discussed how an artist makes art from bullet shell casings to highlight gun violence on KMOX on Dec. 19. KHN senior correspondent Phil Galewitz discussed state plans to import prescription drugs from Canada on KKCO-TV on Dec. 15. KHN correspondent Aneri Pattani discussed the revolving door of mental health in the United States on Vox’s “The Weeds” podcast on Dec. 13. (12/23)
KHN:
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Covid Response Coordinator Speaks
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House covid-19 response coordinator, is the guest for a wide-ranging interview on this week’s “What the Health?” podcast. Jha, who is on leave from his “day job” as dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, said he’s particularly worried about the nation making the transition from public health emergency status back to a more normal footing and routine — particularly for low-income and uninsured people who may not be able to get the kind of covid tests, treatments, and vaccines that have so far been free through federal subsidies. (12/22)
Politico:
Senate Clears $1.7T Government Funding Bill
The Senate passed a $1.7 trillion government funding bill on Thursday in a 68-29 vote, sending the package to the House for approval on Friday. Before the bill cleared the upper chamber, senators voted to add more than a half-dozen amendments to the bill, including major policy provisions that would expand federal protections for pregnant workers and nursing mothers, in addition to helping 9/11 families. The entire chamber also gave a bipartisan standing ovation to the top two retiring appropriators, Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), for successfully negotiating one last spending deal to cap off their lengthy careers. (Emma and Carney, 12/22)
Fast Company:
Senate Votes On Pregnant Workers Fairness And PUMP Acts
The Senate has voted to include the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act as an amendment to Congress’s 2023 omnibus spending package. The vote on Thursday was 73 to 24, meaning it garnered significant bipartisan support. And in another surprise—also with bipartisan support—the Senate voted to include the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers, or PUMP, Act as an amendment to the package. Both proposals have been championed by workers’ rights advocates as a significant step forward. (Rainey, 12/22)
Forbes:
Senate Passes Two Bills For Pregnant And Breastfeeding Moms At Work
The PUMP Act for nursing mothers requires organizations to provide time and space for breastfeeding parents. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 already requires that employers provide reasonable time to express breast milk and provide a place for pumping, other than the bathroom, that is shielded from view and private. But the previous pumping law excluded most salaried employees, and the PUMP Act will extend these rights to all breastfeeding employees for the first year of the baby’s life. In addition, the new bill states, “Further, time spent to express breast milk must be considered hours worked if the employee is also working.” (Elsesser, 12/22)
Axios:
Senate Passes Protections For Pregnant Workers And New Mothers
It's a major milestone for women's workplace civil rights. Advocates have pushed for protections for pregnant workers for over a decade, arguing that thousands of women lose their jobs each year — either fired or placed on unpaid leave — because employers are under no obligation to offer pregnant workers reasonable accommodations. Those would include things like extra bathroom breaks, the ability to sit while working a cash register or restrictions on how much weight they can lift. (Peck, 12/22)
CBS News:
Omnibus Bill Includes Changes To Federal Drug Treatment Programs
A portion of the $1.7 trillion in the federal government's proposed omnibus bill will go to opioid treatment programs, as the U.S. continues to see high rates of substance use and overdose deaths. The bill was passed by the Senate Thursday, and now heads to the House. (Breen, 12/22)
The Hill:
These Are The Last-Minute Changes The Senate Made To The $1.7 Trillion Omnibus
The Senate voted 73-24 to adopt an amendment brought by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to attach the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to the omnibus. A release from the office of Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who has also been pushing for the legislation, said the bill follows a model similar to the Americans with Disabilities Act and would “require employers to make reasonable accommodations to allow pregnant workers to continue working safely, such as additional bathroom breaks, light duty, or a stool to sit on if a worker stands all day.” (Folley, 12/22)
Reuters:
U.S. Senate Passes Increased Protections For Pregnant Workers
President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is expected to sign the spending bill ahead of a midnight Friday deadline if it passes the House. Biden has supported the PWFA, saying last year that many pregnant workers are unfairly forced to choose between their health and their jobs. (Wiessner, 12/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
White House Looks At Benefits To Lure Americans Back Into Workforce
Top White House economic officials are considering a renewed push for a suite of policies aimed at luring more Americans back to work, including enhanced child- care and eldercare benefits, as they hammer out priorities for the coming year. ... Many economists argue that increasing child-care benefits will help the U.S. catch up with other countries, which have higher workforce-participation rates among women in their prime working years. (Linskey, 12/20)
AP:
Final Tally: Nearly 107,000 US Overdose Deaths Last Year
Nearly 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, according to final figures released Thursday. The official number was 106,699, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. That’s nearly 16% higher than the nearly 92,000 overdose deaths in 2020. (Stobbe, 12/22)
AP:
Group Urges Feds To Investigate Snapchat Over Fentanyl Sales
As the U.S. deals with its deadliest overdose crisis to date, a national crime-prevention group is calling on the Justice Department to clamp down on social media’s role in the spread of fentanyl, the drug largely driving a troubling spike in overdose deaths among teenagers. The National Crime Prevention Council sent a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Merrick Garland, calling for an investigation. The group known for ads featuring McGruff the Crime Dog is especially concerned about the sale of fake pills laced with fentanyl on Snapchat, a popular platform among teens. (Whitehurst, 12/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Sour U.S.-China Relations Feed The Fentanyl Crisis
Chinese chemical companies are making more ingredients for illegal fentanyl than ever. Strained relations between Beijing and Washington are undermining efforts to stop the flow. Among the available products are compounds with obscure names such as N-Phenyl-4-piperidinamine, which Mexican cartels purchase to make into fentanyl. The opioid has become the most deadly illegal drug the U.S. has ever seen. (Spegele and Wernau, 12/22)
Fox News:
Arizona Border Officers Find More Than 700,000 Fentanyl Pills Hidden In Train Arriving From Mexico
A train entering the United States from Mexico contained hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills and other drugs, border officials said Wednesday. Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection were working rail operations when they searched a train coming into the Nogales, Arizona, Port of Entry. (Casiano, 12/22)
The Hill:
CDC Issues Warning About Strep A Infections In Children
Invasive group A streptococcal bacteria “can cause a range of illnesses, from pharyngitis (i.e., strep throat) and skin and soft tissue infections to uncommon but severe diseases such as sepsis, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis. These severe and invasive diseases are associated with high mortality rates and require immediate treatment, including appropriate antibiotic therapy,” according to the CDC. (Jacquez, 12/22)
CIDRAP:
Experts Challenge The Narrative For This Season's Flu Activity
Danuta Skowronski, MD, the epidemiology lead for influenza and emerging respiratory pathogens at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, said she's not yet convinced this year's flu season will be more deadly or lead to a greater number of hospitalizations than typical years. And as for immunity debt, Skowronski said she finds the idea unclear and ultimately unhelpful. "The piper must be paid at some point in nature; kids will get sick, and it has nothing to do with a more compromised immune system," Skowronski said. "It is the cohort effect, the accumulated residual cohort effect, especially [among] older children and teens, who have richer social networks." (Soucheray, 12/22)
Los Angeles Times:
Weekly L.A. County COVID Deaths Top Summer Surge
Weekly COVID-19 deaths in Los Angeles County are higher than at any point during the summer surge, illustrating the persistent toll the pandemic continues to exact amid concerns that cases could surge again this winter. (Money and Lin II, 12/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID In California: Bay Area Counties Enter CDC’s ‘High’ Community Virus Tier
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday updated its nationwide ranking of U.S. coronavirus hotspots and five Bay Area counties — Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Solano — moved up from the medium or yellow tier to the highest, or worst tier, designated as red. (Beamish, Hao, Reinhardt and Asimov, 12/22)
The Boston Globe:
Coronavirus Waste Water Numbers Continue To Creep Up Ahead Of Holidays
Levels of coronavirus in Boston-area waste water have crept up ahead of the Christmas holiday, a reminder that three years into the pandemic, COVID-19 continues circulating in Massachusetts. (Prignano, 12/22)
CIDRAP:
Some 'Long-COVID' Symptoms Also Occur After Cold, Flu, Pneumonia
Some conditions considered long-COVID symptoms don't seem to occur more often than after other viral respiratory illnesses (VRIs), but heart palpitations, fatigue, chest pain, and shortness of breath were among the problems unique to SARS-CoV-2, finds a study published yesterday in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 12/22)
CIDRAP:
Molnupiravir Doesn't Cut Omicron Hospitalization, Death But Can Speed Recovery
A randomized, controlled UK trial published today in the Lancet shows that the antiviral drug molnupiravir doesn't prevent COVID-19 hospitalizations or deaths in high-risk, nonhospitalized, vaccinated patients but can speed recovery. (Van Beusekom, 12/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Why Many Cold Medicines Don’t Work To Relieve Congestion
Some of the most widely used decongestants don’t work, several studies have found, prompting doctors and researchers to call for ending sales of the drugs. Versions of Benadryl, Mucinex and Tylenol, which more people are taking now as reports of respiratory infections increase, are among dozens of over-the-counter pills, syrups and liquids that rely on an ingredient called phenylephrine to clear up stuffy noses. The ingredient has proven safe, but at least four studies have found the medicines don’t relieve congestion. (Hopkins, 12/22)
NPR:
The Strategic National Stockpile, The Nation's Huge Medicine Cabinet, Explained
It's true. There is a network of warehouses, each the size of several Walmart Supercenters, located in top-secret locations across the country. And while much about the stockpile remains a secret, it continues to play a vital role in the COVID pandemic. (Heyward, 12/23)
Bloomberg:
US Prepared To Help China With Vaccines To Control Covid
The US is prepared to help China with vaccines to help address its Covid-19 outbreak, but the government in Beijing hasn’t asked for assistance so far, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. (McBride, 12/22)
Reuters:
Moderna Blasts Pfizer Counterclaims In COVID-19 Vaccine Patent Lawsuit
Moderna Inc fired back at counterclaims by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE in a U.S. lawsuit over COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday, arguing that Pfizer and BioNTech were "clearly aided" by Moderna's technology in developing their shot. Moderna said Pfizer and BioNTech copied its innovations and called their argument that its patented technology was pioneered by other scientists an attempt to "distract from the issues in this case." (Brittain, 12/22)
Los Angeles Times:
Fauci Warns Of 'A Progressively Anti-Science Era' In U.S.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who turns 82 on Saturday, wants the record to reflect that he is not retiring. Really, he isn’t. It’s just that after 54 years as a government scientist and advisor to seven presidents, he is leaving the National Institutes of Health at the end of the year. (Healy, 12/22)
CIDRAP:
Experts Debate Mpox Status As A Sexually Transmitted Infection
Today in Clinical Infectious Diseases two opposing commentaries debate whether or not mpox should be considered a sexually transmitted infection (STI). While the 2022 global outbreak has largely been defined by sexual transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM), the disease has historically been defined via household contact, or animal-to-human contact via the ingestion of bushmeat. (Soucheray, 12/22)
Reuters:
U.S. FDA Approves Gilead's Long-Acting HIV Drug Sunlenca
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Gilead Sciences Inc's Sunlenca therapy for HIV infections, paving the way for a drug that requires less frequent dosing than existing treatments. Sunlenca injection and tablets are expected to cost $42,250 in the first year of therapy and $39,000 annually after that, the company told Reuters. (Mahobe, 12/22)
Bloomberg:
Malaria Vaccine Trials Start By BioNTech In New Test For MRNA Vaccines
BioNTech SE has begun human trials on a vaccine for malaria, a fresh test for the messenger RNA technology that powered the most successful immunizations against Covid-19. The first patient was dosed on Dec. 21, Chief Executive Officer Ugur Sahin said in an interview. The Phase 1 study will enroll 60 patients and use three different doses for a single vaccine candidate, the BioNTech CEO said. The Mainz, Germany-based company plans to evaluate different versions of the shot to see which one works best. (Kresge, 12/23)
NPR:
A Common DNA Test Can Find Cancer In Bodies Of Seemingly Healthy Pregnant People
When Kathleen Aukstikalnis was expecting her first baby, she turned to a common prenatal test that a lot of her friends had gotten done during their pregnancies. The simple blood test looks at DNA that's floating freely in a pregnant person's bloodstream. It searches for bits released by cells in the placenta, which should have the same genetic make-up as the fetus. (Greenfieldboyce, 12/23)
Bloomberg:
ALS Patients Seek Access To Experimental Drug That Hasn't Been Proven To Work
For years, a family tree spanning two pages of blueprint paper gathered dust at the back of Cynthia Weber’s closet. Going back to a family matriarch born in 1812, it detailed the relationships and causes of death of more than 350 ancestors. (Langreth, 12/23)
Stat:
Apple Watch Hit With Import Ban But Suspended For Now
In the latest twist in a battle between Apple and medical device company AliveCor, the U.S. International Trade Commission issued a ban preventing Apple from importing all watches that use the hotly contested heart monitoring technology, but said the enforcement of that order will be suspended until appeals over the patents in question have played out. (Aguilar, 12/22)
Stat:
How New Health Data Rules Could Hold Providers Accountable
Last year, medical records opened up to patients. This year, they’re opening up to the nation. Before the ball drops on New Year’s Eve, electronic health care record vendors will have to provide tools to easily pull big batches of patient data from their systems. (Palmer, 12/23)
Crain's New York Business:
Humana's SeniorBridge To Close All NY Locations, Lays Off Workers
Humana at Home, doing business as SeniorBridge, has filed with the state to close sites in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, in Westchester and on Long Island and lay off 1,005 workers. According to the filing which is dated earlier this month, the home care business’s New York locations will close on Jan. 27 and employees will be laid off on March 6. SeniorBridge cited economic reasons for the layoffs. (Neber, 12/22)
AP:
Appeals Court Halts Louisville Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone
A federal appeals court has temporarily barred the enforcement of a Louisville city ordinance that creates a buffer zone around health care centers, including a downtown abortion clinic that attracts protests. The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled the buffer zone infringes on the First Amendment rights of protesters who demonstrate in front of the EMW Women’s Surgical Center. The lawsuit challenging the buffer zone was brought by Sisters For Life and the Kentucky Right to Life Association, along with a few individual protesters. (12/22)
AP:
Have A Safe Trip: Oregon Trains Magic Mushroom Facilitators
At a woodsy retreat center in Oregon, some 30 men and women are seated or lying down, masks covering their eyes and listening to serene music. They are among the first crop of students being trained how to accompany patients tripping on psilocybin, as Oregon prepares to become the first U.S. state to offer controlled use of the psychedelic mushroom to the public. (Selsky, 12/23)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. School District’s Emergency Removal Of Toxic Soil Raises Broader Questions
Workers were to begin digging up part of a courtyard and garden at a San Francisco school this week after high levels of lead and arsenic were found under two feet of soil during a routine inspection. (Tucker, 12/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Target Recalls Over 200,000 Weighted Blankets After Deaths Of Two Children
Target Corp. has recalled more than 200,000 weighted blankets after receiving reports that two young children died by suffocation earlier this year, the retail giant and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday. The federal agency said a young child can unzip the cover of the Pillowfort Weighted Blanket and become trapped inside. A 4-year-old girl and a 6-year-old girl in North Carolina reportedly became trapped in the cover and died due to asphyxiation this April, according to the CPSC. (Ansari, 12/22)
USA Today:
Have High Blood Pressure? Study Says Avoid Drinking Too Much Coffee
There have been loads of research done about the benefits of drinking coffee, but you may want to limit yourself to one cup of coffee a day if you have severely high blood pressure, according to a new study. (Mendoza, 12/22)
Reuters:
U.S. Baby Formula Shortage Leads To Boom In Advertisements
It's not your imagination if you feel like you're seeing more ads for baby formula than ever before. ... The number of viewers of TV and streaming ads for formula skyrocketed to roughly 562 million this year, up from just 200,000 last year, according to data from media measurement firm ISpotTV. Some ads came from new brands the U.S. government approved to ease the shortage. Others came from already approved brands stepping up marketing. (DiNapoli, 12/22)