First Edition: June 28, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Defendants In Diapers? Immigrant Toddlers Ordered To Appear In Court Alone
As the White House faces court orders to reunite families separated at the border, immigrant children as young as 3 are being ordered into court for their own deportation proceedings, according to attorneys in Texas, California and Washington, D.C. Requiring unaccompanied minors to go through deportation alone is not a new practice. But in the wake of the Trump administration’s controversial family separation policy, more young children — including toddlers — are being affected than in the past. (Jewett and Luthra, 6/27)
Kaiser Health News:
Squeezing Water From Air: Mysterious Machine Is A Lifeline On Caribbean Island
The machine pulls clean water out of thin air — literally. Sitting atop metal stilts in front of this island’s condemned hospital, an imposing, hunter-green shipping container serves as a lifeline for local residents in need of drinking water. Nine months ago, Hurricane Maria slammed Puerto Rico and damaged the system that feeds drinking water from the main island to Vieques. Moses West, 59, a retired Army officer from Texas, brought in the machine made by his company to help fill the void. (Heredia Rodriguez, 6/28)
California Healthline:
Should ‘Gender-Affirming Health Care’ Be On The Radar For California’s Foster Kids?
As a 12-year-old girl, Phoenix Moncada was petrified and confused by the physical changes of puberty — and resorted to cutting, or self-mutilation, over and over again. At the time, a social worker, foster parents and therapist pigeonholed the child, known then as Christina, as a troubled, pubescent girl who acted out for attention. But Moncada, now 21, says the behavior reflected more than adolescent insecurities. (Young, 6/27)
Kaiser Health News:
Geriatric Assessments Could Fine-Tune Cancer Care For Older Adults
In a move to improve cancer care for older adults, the American Society of Clinical Oncology is recommending that all patients age 65 and older receive a geriatric assessment when considering or undergoing chemotherapy. The goal is to better identify which patients can tolerate intensive chemotherapy, and which patients may need modified treatment regimens because of underlying conditions, such as cognitive impairment, that often go undetected by oncologists. (Graham, 6/28)
The New York Times:
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy Will Retire
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced on Wednesday that he would retire this summer, setting in motion a furious fight over the future of the Supreme Court and giving President Trump the chance to put a conservative stamp on the American legal system for generations. (Shear, 6/27)
The New York Times:
Departure Of Kennedy, ‘Firewall For Abortion Rights,’ Imperils Roe V. Wade
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s decision to retire, giving President Trump another opportunity to carry out his vow to select Supreme Court nominees who would “automatically” overturn Roe v. Wade, threatens to imperil the 1973 decision that established the constitutional right to have an abortion. The move also promised to reshuffle the landscape for reproductive rights in the United States, setting the stage for a bitter political and legal struggle that could affect generations of women. (Hirschfeld Davis, 6/27)
The Hill:
Anti-Abortion Groups See Opening To Overturn Roe V. Wade With Kennedy Retirement
Anti-abortion groups see the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kenned, announced Wednesday, as their best shot in decades to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion nationwide. “Justice Kennedy’s retirement from the Supreme Court marks a pivotal moment for the fight to ensure every unborn child is welcomed and protected under the law,” said Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser. (Hellmann, 6/27)
Los Angeles Times:
Both Sides Mobilize For A Senate 'Battle Of The Ages' Focused On One Issue — Abortion
For decades Republicans succeeded where Democrats have failed, in making court nominations a motivating force at election time — turning out religious conservatives with the promise that Republican candidates would support Supreme Court justices opposed to Roe vs. Wade, the decision that guaranteed a nationwide right to abortion. Now, with Trump poised to tip the Supreme Court’s balance decidedly rightward, Democrats’ hope lies in shaking their own voters’ complacency about that 45-year-old ruling. Democratic strategists hope that the pressure to oppose Trump’s nominee over that issue will not only keep the Democratic senators facing reelection in pro-Trump states in the party fold, but also could persuade the two Republican senators who favor abortion rights, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. (Calmes, 6/27)
Politico:
It’s Not Just Abortion: 5 Issues Likely To Be Affected By Kennedy’s Exit
If the court picks up a new vote hostile to abortion rights, Roe probably won’t be overturned right away, but the court could be given an opportunity to consider a reversal within years. Kennedy’s exit also seems certain to accelerate the erosion of access to abortion by blessing a series of state laws limiting when and where women can terminate a pregnancy. Major changes could also be coming in other areas where Kennedy, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, has been counted as a crucial vote on the court, including affirmative action, gay rights, voting rights and the application of the death penalty to minors and the intellectually disabled. (Gerstein and Haberkorn, 6/27)
Reuters:
Schumer Urges Senate To Reject Supreme Court Nominee Who Opposes Roe V. Wade
U.S. Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer said on Wednesday the Senate should reject any Supreme Court nominee put forth by President Donald Trump who would vote to overturn the Roe v. Wade abortion decision or "undermine" healthcare protections. (Cowan, 6/27)
The New York Times:
Kennedy Retirement Injects An Inflammatory New Issue Into Midterms
With the Republican majority already on a 51-49 knife’s edge, senators and strategists from both parties said the clash over the balance of the Supreme Court would immediately overwhelm a campaign that to date had largely revolved around President Trump’s conduct and issues surrounding the economy, immigration and health care. The summer and fall will be consumed by the fight over Mr. Trump’s proposed replacement, and inject a new set of high-stakes issues into the campaign, primarily the prospect of overturning Roe v. Wade, as well as gay rights, voting rights and the rights of workers. (Martin, Peters and Dias, 6/27)
The Associated Press:
Battle Lines Already Being Drawn On Kennedy's Successor
All sides quickly mobilized Wednesday after Kennedy — a singular voice on the court whose votes have decided issues on abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, guns, campaign finance and voting rights — sent shockwaves through Washington by announcing his retirement plans. Trump said he would start the effort to replace Kennedy "immediately" and would pick from a list of 25 names that he updated last year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared that the Senate "will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy's successor this fall." (Lucey and Mascaro, 6/28)
The Washington Post:
Republicans Plan To Confirm Trump’s Supreme Court Pick Before The November Elections
Trump praised Kennedy as having been a “great justice” and added, “Hopefully we will pick someone who is just as outstanding.” The president said he would select a nominee from a list he released during the campaign to assuage the concerns of conservatives skeptical over whom he would pick for the court. “We have to pick a great one. We have to pick one that’s going to be there for 40 years, 45 years,” Trump said at a campaign rally Wednesday night in Fargo, N.D. “We need intellect. We need so many things.” (Kim and Dawsey, 6/27)
Politico:
Who's On Trump's Short List To Replace Supreme Court Justice Kennedy?
Here is a look at the 25 people Trump has said he will choose from. (Nussbaum and Gerstein, 6/27)
The Washington Post:
‘A Shot Of Adrenaline’: Both Parties Use Supreme Court Vacancy As A Rallying Cry
The fight over President Trump’s intention to replace retiring Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the Supreme Court’s crucial swing vote, with a reliable conservative immediately became a rallying cry for base voters of both political parties ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. The already-ferocious nomination battle is likely to clarify the choices for voters in Senate races across the country, strategists said, and affect other contests down the ballot. And even if Republicans install a replacement for Kennedy before the November election, the debate is still likely to thrust to the forefront issues that have been largely overlooked on the campaign trail until now. (Rucker and Gearan, 6/27)
The Associated Press:
Kennedy Retirement Guaranteed To Ratchet Up Midterm Rhetoric
It was a dramatic shift for Democrats who had been optimistic about seizing the House majority, if not the Senate. Some of the most dejected responded on social media with obscenities. Others teased a political strategy by warning of severe consequences for health care and abortion rights should Trump have his way. But for Republicans who have feared a massive enthusiasm advantage for Democrats, the sudden vacancy that could shape the court's direction for a generation was nothing short of a gift from the political gods. In addition to a massive dose of energy, the Supreme Court fight is expected to trigger a flood of new campaign cash that will strengthen the GOP's midterm efforts. (Peoples and Barrow, 6/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
Justice Kennedy’s Biggest Moments
He was often a sought-after vote for both liberal and conservative sides and played a pivotal role in some of the court’s most closely watched cases. Here are a few of Justice Kennedy’s blockbusters. ... The court reaffirmed the central holding of Roe v. Wade granting women the constitutional right to abortions. Justice Kennedy co-authored the court’s opinion along with Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and David Souter. “Abortion is a unique act. It is an act fraught with consequences for others: for the woman who must live with the implications of her decision; for the persons who perform and assist in the procedure; for the spouse, family, and society which must confront the knowledge that these procedures exist, procedures some deem nothing short of an act of violence against innocent human life; and, depending on one’s beliefs, for the life or potential life that is aborted. Though abortion is conduct, it does not follow that the State is entitled to proscribe it in all instances. That is because the liberty of the woman is at stake in a sense unique to the human condition, and so, unique to the law.” (Palazzolo, 6/28)
The New York Times:
Labor Unions Will Be Smaller After Supreme Court Decision, But Maybe Not Weaker
The court’s decision is the latest evidence that moves to weaken unions are exacting a major toll. Beyond the dropout campaigns aimed at members, conservatives are bringing lawsuits to retroactively recover fees collected by unions from nonmembers. (Scheiber, 6/27)
The Wall Street Journal:
Supreme Court Deals Blow To Public-Sector Unions
The 5-4 vote, along conservative-liberal lines, on Wednesday overruled a 1977 precedent that had fueled the growth of public-sector unionization even as representation has withered in private industry. More than one-third of public employees are unionized, compared with just 6.5% of those in the private sector, according to a January report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The impact of the ruling is likely to stretch far beyond the workplace, sapping resources from unions such as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the National Education Association that have provided funds, resources and activists largely in support of Democratic candidates. (Bravin, 6/27)
Los Angeles Times:
California's Politically Powerful Labor Unions Have Been Preparing For This Supreme Court Ruling For A Long Time
California’s public employee unions, for decades some of the state’s towering political giants, knew this day was coming. Now, after a majority of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the legality of the fees charged to nonmember workers — sometimes totaling hundreds of dollars a year — union leaders are relying on plans they’ve been carefully crafting for more than five years. “No one is trying to pretend that it’s not a hit,” said Alma Hernandez, the executive director of the Service Employees International Union’s California state council. “But I think that the work that our locals have done across the state will help us maintain a majority of our members in the union.” (Myers, 6/27)
The Associated Press:
Abortion-Rights Bloc To Fight After Pregnancy Center Ruling
In effectively knocking down a California law aimed at regulating anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a blow to abortion-rights supporters who saw the law as a crucial step toward beating back the national movement against the procedure. Democratic-led California became the first state in 2016 to require the centers to provide information about access to birth control and abortion, and it came as Republican-led states ramped up their efforts to thwart abortion rights. (Ronayne, 6/27)
The Associated Press:
Trump's Pick To Head VA: Time To 'Shake Up' Department
President Donald Trump's pick to lead Veterans Affairs promised Wednesday to "shake up complacency" at the struggling department by expanding private care to better meet the growing health needs of veterans, but he rejected a wholesale dismantling of VA. Robert Wilkie, currently serving as a Pentagon undersecretary, stressed the VA must work faster and better to address a rapidly growing population of veterans. He said he will not tolerate continued problems of long waits and bureaucratic delays and will strive to quickly implement a newly signed law to ease access to private health care providers. (6/27)
The Washington Post:
‘Failure Is Not An Option’: VA Nominee Robert Wilkie Told To Fix The Agency’s Morale Crisis
Senate lawmakers told Robert Wilkie on Wednesday that he will face a workforce beset by poor morale if he is confirmed to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, and that he must fix the problem if he is to stabilize the troubled agency. “Of all the challenges we have at VA, morale may be the biggest problem,” Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) told Wilkie during the 90-minute confirmation hearing, where the senior Pentagon official pledged to “shake up complacency” at the second-largest federal department and implement a health-care overhaul that would expand private care for veterans. (Rein, 6/27)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump’s VA Pick Stresses ‘Customer Service’
Robert Wilkie, who previously has been confirmed by the Senate for other posts, is considered likely to win approval following a largely courteous hearing, where he stressed the need to improve the way the VA treats veterans. “The prime directive is customer service,” he said. “When an American veteran comes to the VA it is not up to him to employ a team of lawyers to get VA to say, ‘Yes.’” Mr. Wilkie talked about his past, including his father, who he said was wounded as a military service member in Vietnam, instilling in Mr. Wilkie a respect for wounded veterans and the VA. (Kesling, 6/27)
The Hill:
VA Nominee Pledges To Oppose Privatization
President Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday said he doesn't believe in privatizing the agency and pledged to oppose privatization efforts. "My commitment to you is I will oppose efforts to privatize," even if it runs counter to the White House agenda, Robert Wilkie told a Senate panel. Under questioning from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Wilkie said he would keep the VA "central" to the care of veterans, but indicated there can be a balance. (Weixel, 6/27)
The Washington Post:
White House Wants To Cut This Public Health Service Corps By Nearly 40 Percent
The White House is proposing to reduce by nearly 40 percent the uniformed public health professionals who deploy during disasters and disease outbreaks, monitor drug safety and provide health care in some of the nation’s most remote and disadvantaged areas. The proposal is part of a plan announced last week by the Office of Management and Budget to overhaul the federal government. It would cut the size of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps from its current 6,500 officers to “no more than 4,000 officers.” Administration officials, who have said the officers are “more expensive” than equivalent civilians, want “a leaner and more efficient organization” better prepared to respond to public health emergencies. They have not offered projections on how much might be saved. (Sun, 6/27)
Stat:
Mass. Gets A Thumbs-Down On Negotiating Medicaid Prices, But Oklahoma Wins On ‘Value’ Rebates
The Trump administration wants states to experiment with drug prices — but not too much. In a pair of decisions Wednesday, top health officials offered the first clear signals of just how far they will let state Medicaid agencies go when it comes to negotiating discounts for prescription drugs. The administration declined to approve a bolder proposal from Massachusetts to use a formulary to exclude some drugs from Medicaid coverage, a common negotiating tactic for commercial plans. At the same time, it approved a separate idea from Oklahoma to let the state’s Medicaid program negotiate extra rebates if a given drug isn’t as effective as expected. (Mershon, 6/27)
The Hill:
Trump Admin Rejects Massachusetts Drug Pricing Proposal
Currently, states are required to cover almost all drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but states are looking for new ways to cut down drug prices as Medicaid costs continue to eat up state budgets. While drug manufacturers provide deep discounts to states and the federal government in exchange for having their drugs covered by Medicaid, states argue these rebates, which are a set percentage of a drug's list price, are no longer enough sufficient as drug costs keep rising. (Hellmann, 6/27)
Politico:
Federal Officials Launch Two Reviews Into Trump’s Handling Of Migrant Children
The GAO and the Health and Human Services inspector general both launched reviews Wednesday into the Trump administration's handling of thousands of migrant children separated from their families at the border. The GAO told Rep. Frank Pallone (N.J.) that it will audit the systems and processes used to track families as they were separated, including how the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement monitored each minor in its care, according to a letter obtained by POLITICO. (Diamond, 6/27)
The Associated Press:
Science Says: How Family Separation May Affect Kids' Brains
Doctors have long known that separating families and other traumatic events can damage children's well-being. More recent research has shed light on how that may happen. Severe early adversity may cause brain changes and "toxic stress." Persistent elevated stress hormones and inflammation may result in lasting health problems. (Tanner, 6/28)
Los Angeles Times:
Judge's Ruling On Migrant Children In Custody Gives Families Few Answers
Activists went without food near the border in Texas, protesters banged pots outside an immigration agency office in Washington, and Congress prepared to go on break after rejecting a potential fix as the saga of migrant children in federal custody dragged on Wednesday for another day without resolution. A day after a federal judge in San Diego ordered the Trump administration to reunite 2,042 migrant children taken from their parents and put into detention facilities at the border, no plan for bringing the families back together had emerged and the administration still had a chance to appeal the ruling. (Ulloa, Wire and Fawcett, 6/27)
The Wall Street Journal:
Separations Of Migrant Families Stopped A Week Ago, But Reunifications Have Barely Begun
A week after President Donald Trump halted the separation of families who crossed into the U.S. illegally, the process of reuniting the more than 2,000 children in custody with their parents has proved challenging. The Department of Health and Human Services has the whereabouts of all the children in its care, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement has the information about the parents, but the two government departments are still trying to link the two, according to Jonathan White, from the office of the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS. (Campo-Flores and Radnofsky, 6/27)
The Associated Press:
Officials: DHS Requests 12,000 Beds To Detain Families
The Department of Homeland Security has formally requested space for up to 12,000 beds at a military base to detain families caught crossing the border illegally, the Defense Department said Wednesday. The request seeks 2,000 beds to be up and running in the next 45 days, and the remaining space to be available on an as-needed basis, the Defense Department said in a statement. (Long, 6/27)
ProPublica/NPR:
Opioid Marketing Payments To Doctors Fall, ProPublica Reports
The past two years have been a time of reckoning for pharmaceutical manufacturers over their role in promoting opioid drugs that have fed a national epidemic. Lawsuits and media reports have accused Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, of aggressively marketing the powerful narcotic even after it knew the drug was being misused. Prosecutors have charged the founder of Insys Therapeutics and several of the company's sales representatives and executives for their roles in an alleged conspiracy to bribe doctors to use its fentanyl spray for unapproved uses. State and local governments have sued a host of drug makers, alleging they deceptively marketed opioids and seeking to recoup what it costs to treat people addicted to the drugs. (Ornstein and Grochowski Jones, 6/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
FDA Presses Internet Companies On Illegal Online Opioid Sales
Federal regulators are dialing up pressure on big internet companies to do more to prevent online sales of opioids as industry leaders met with government officials at a summit meeting Wednesday. Food and Drug Administration chief Scott Gottlieb said the “easy availability of opioids online” has become “a major public health concern.” “As all of us here know well, illegal online pharmacies, drug dealers, and others are increasingly using the internet to further their illicit distribution of opioids, where their risk of detection and the likelihood of repercussions are seen as significantly reduced,” Dr. Gottlieb said. (McKinnon, 6/27)
The Associated Press:
US Hospitals Grapple With Prolonged Injected Opioid Shortage
There is another opioid crisis happening in the U.S., and it has nothing to do with the overdose epidemic: Hospitals are frequently running out of widely used injected painkillers. Manufacturing shortages are forcing many doctors and pharmacists to sometimes ration injected opioids, reserving them for the patients suffering most. Other patients get slower-acting or less effective pain pills, alternatives with more side effects or even sedation. (Johnson, 6/27)
The New York Times:
Genealogists Turn To Cousins’ DNA And Family Trees To Crack Five More Cold Cases
When the Golden State Killer case was cracked in April with the help of a genealogist and an open-source ancestry site, many wondered if this was the new frontier of criminal investigations. This week all signs point to yes. In the last seven days, genealogical sleuthing techniques that are old to a handful of genealogists but new to most law enforcement have led to arrests in Washington State and Pennsylvania and unearthed a lead in a 37-year-old murder in Texas. All three cases were only revived when crime scene DNA was uploaded to GEDMatch, the same open-source ancestry site used in the Golden State killer case. (Murphy, 6/27)
NPR:
Cancer Lessons From A Network Of Exceptional Responders
Carol Martin is 67 and has advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer. "I have a particularly virulent form of that disease," she said. "I have squamous carcinoma, which means, according to my doctors, ordinarily the diagnosis to death is usually two months. "This June is two years out from my diagnosis." (Goldberg, 6/27)
The Associated Press:
Migrating Birds Create Flu Bonanza For Scientists To Study
Huge flocks of famished birds scour the sands of Delaware Bay for the tiny greenish eggs an army of horseshoe crabs lays every spring. It's a marvel of ecology as shorebirds migrating from South America to the Arctic time a stop critical to their survival to this mass crab spawning. It's also one of the world's hot spots for bird flu — a bonanza for scientists seeking clues about how influenza evolves so they just might better protect people. (6/28)
The New York Times:
Midlife Fitness May Protect Against Later Depression
Physical fitness in middle age is tied to a lower risk of later-life depression and death from cardiovascular disease, a new study reports. Both depression and cardiovascular disease are common in older people, and rates of depression are high in the presence of cardiovascular illness, especially stroke. Moreover, depression is a risk factor for adverse outcomes in cardiovascular disease patients. (Bakalar, 6/27)
The New York Times:
California Banning Soda Taxes? A New Industry Strategy Is Stunning Some Lawmakers
For years, the soda industry had an ironclad strategy when a city wanted to enact a soda tax: Spend a lot of money, rally local businesses, and shoot it down. That strategy worked again and again, until it didn’t. In 2014, Berkeley, Calif., passed the nation’s first tax on sugary drinks, which have been linked to heart disease, obesity and tooth decay. Two years later, six communities, including three more cities in California, enacted similar bills. (O'Connor and Sanger-Katz, 6/27)
The Associated Press:
US: Care Lacking At Troubled Washington Psychiatric Hospital
A patient at Washington state's largest psychiatric hospital received a new feeding tube but wasn't monitored for pain medications, vital signs or wound care. Another didn't receive doctor-ordered treatment for head, eye and toe injuries, while a patient prescribed an oxygen test every half-hour after an asthma attack was only checked a few times. (6/27)
The Associated Press:
Wisconsin High Court Caps Some Malpractice Damages At $750K
The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the state's cap on noneconomic medical malpractice damages on Wednesday, reversing an appellate ruling that awarded $15 million to a woman who had all four limbs amputated after a mishandled infection. The court ruled 5-2 in a long-running case closely watched by doctors, hospitals and the insurance industry. Chief Justice Patience Roggensack wrote that the cap doesn't run afoul of equal protection guarantees and that the Legislature had a rational basis for setting it at $750,000. She noted that lawmakers argued the cap would keep health care affordable and provide reasonable compensation for injuries. (6/27)