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Even as the world is racing to contain the deadly Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Trump administration is moving ahead with a plan that could decimate support for programs that detect and snuff out exactly such outbreaks. The new plan, proposed by the State Department, aims to overhaul the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s work on a landmark global H.I.V. program that also helps countries manage surveillance for emerging diseases, strengthen laboratory networks and support childhood immunizations. (Mandavilli, 6/17)

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday announced a $700 million investment into behavioral health programs, indicating an emphasis on faith-based recovery organizations. Kennedy, a recovered heroin addict, announced a $96 million funding opportunity for the Trump administration’s Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-based Treatment and Support (STREETS) program, along with $612 million in funding opportunities for additional behavioral health programs. (Choi, 6/17)

The Trump administration on Wednesday said it was announcing $700 million in “new funding” for mental health and addiction programs, with an emphasis on combating homelessness resulting from severe, untreated mental illness. (Facher, 6/17)

The Trump administration’s Justice Department is challenging several state laws passed by Virginia Democrats targeting the work of federal immigration enforcement officers. The complaint, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia’s Richmond Division, challenges state laws that seek to ban federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks and restrict 287(g) agreements between federal immigration enforcement and state and local law enforcement agencies. The Justice Department argues the face mask ban illegally attempts to regulate the federal government and threatens federal officers with prosecution for concealing their identities. (Leayman, 6/17)

The path to becoming a scientist is long and twisting, making it difficult to assess whether programs intended to help those careers along are successful. But on Wednesday, the results of one such study are being published after 20 years of research. The paper in the journal Science Advances found that two diversity-oriented programs supported by the National Institutes of Health doubled the odds that an undergraduate student would earn a Ph.D. (Oza, 6/17)

Senate Democrats are opening an inquiry into the Trump administration’s remaking of federal vaccine policy, demanding officials produce records by next week. (Payne, 6/18)

In February at Republicans’ private Capitol Hill clubhouse, President Donald Trump’s chief pollster delivered a message about voters and their desire to hear about affordability. The briefing, attended by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., additional Cabinet members and others, didn’t focus on immunizations, as Republican strategists had concluded vaccine skepticism carried political risks. (Roubein and Sun, 6/17)

The U.S. Labor Department told all 50 states on Wednesday that they need to get serious about fighting fraud and waste in unemployment insurance, or else they won’t get more money for those programs from the federal government. It’s the latest example of President Donald Trump ’s administration scrutinizing potential theft or misuse in state programs that get funding from Washington. While the letters went to all governors, the public announcement about them focused on issues in three states where Democrats are in charge. That’s been the case for many similar announcements from the Republican administration. (Mulvihill, 6/17)

Frank Ssekamwa says the United States presented his country with an impossible choice. If it accepted the terms of a new health agreement, Uganda would have to give the U.S. access to the data of millions of his fellow citizens — a decision he worries would make their personal information more vulnerable to breaches and possible exploitation. But if it refused, the East African nation would likely lose out on more than a billion dollars to address HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and other illnesses, even as its people face ongoing threats from Ebola and other deadly infectious diseases. (Lerner and Barry-Jester, 6/17)

The FDA approved oral tebipenem pivoxil (Utebzi) as the first oral carbapenem antibiotic to treat complicated urinary tract infections (UTIs), the agency announced on Wednesday. (Rudd, 6/17)

In a new letter, advocacy groups are urging the US government to make an experimental Ebola treatment, Mapp Biopharmaceutical’s MBP134, available for trials and emergency use in countries affected by an ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring Uganda. (Soucheray, 6/17)

For months, and sometimes longer, parents of kids with disabilities say they have waited for the Education Department to make progress on their complaints of bullying or other discrimination. Now that the department is offloading civil rights enforcement and special education, some parents and advocates warn a process that has largely been stalled since President Donald Trump took office will see only more chaos and roadblocks. (Hollingsworth, Ma and Balingit, 6/18)

After a White House press conference last fall promoted the use of leucovorin (folinic acid) for autism and raised concerns about acetaminophen (Tylenol) use during pregnancy, Google searches for leucovorin were nearly 380% higher than expected over the next 14 days, according to a study by Yale researchers published last week in JAMA Network Open. Searches for leucovorin together with terms indicating an intent to purchase (like “buy” or “order”) rose more than 200%, and those connecting acetaminophen with autism and pregnancy soared, increasing 1,322%. (Bergeson, 6/17) 

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) says she does “not regret” her vote to confirm conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in 2018, but she says she is “disappointed” that he ruled with the conservative majority in 2022 to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. Collins told News Center Maine in a televised interview that she does not rue her support for Kavanaugh’s confirmation, arguing he was qualified to serve on the Supreme Court, but she disagreed with his decision to give states the power to set their own laws restricting abortion. (Bolton, 6/17)