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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told staff members at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the US would have done better in the Covid outbreak by listening to “dissenting voices,” according to a recording of the event reviewed by Bloomberg News. (Nix, 8/7)

The U.S. Senate voted Friday to confirm Mark Cruz, a citizen of the Klamath Tribes, to lead the federal agency that provides healthcare for some 2.8 million Native American and Alaska Native patients. Cruz was confirmed to serve a four-year term as director of the Indian Health Service, a position that has sat vacant since late 2025. At his July confirmation hearing, Cruz said he would advocate “ferociously” to improve health outcomes in Indian Country and bring lived experience to the role. (Peters, 8/8)

The National Institutes of Health plans to close the door on one of the few pathways available to international students on visas to forge a career in biomedical research in the United States. (Oza, 8/7)

Several thousand veterans await the outcome of a bill currently stalled in the U.S. Senate that would add roughly $833 a month to their benefits. H.R. 6047, known as the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act of 2026, would benefit those already eligible for a monthly aid and attendance allowance due to service-connected disabilities or traumatic brain injuries. (Gramegna, 8/10)

More than 142,000 post-9/11 veterans who screened positive for a possible deployment-related traumatic brain injury and agreed to a comprehensive VA evaluation did not ultimately receive one, according to a new Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) watchdog report. The VA Office of Inspector General found that 301,177 veterans agreed to receive a comprehensive traumatic brain injury evaluation after screening positive between Sept. 11, 2001, and March 31, 2025. Only 158,907 received the evaluation, leaving 142,270 without the follow-up assessment. (LaBee, 8/10)

Former President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has metastasized into his bones and spread further into his body, his son Hunter Biden said in a late Friday interview with the BBC. Hunter Biden said the disease has taken a “very painful” toll on his father, who has remained outspoken on politics since leaving office in 2024. “It’s very debilitating in many respects,” he continued. “But he’s still out there. He’s still doing his thing. He so believes in this country.” (Orellana Hernandez, 8/8)