Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Jill Biden Feared Her Husband Was Having Stroke During 2024 Presidential Debate: Report
Former first lady Jill Biden says former President Joe Biden鈥檚 performance in his 2024 debate against Donald Trump 鈥渟cared me to death,鈥 and she worried her husband was having a stroke. 鈥淚 was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never,鈥 Jill Biden told CBS News in an interview slated to air Sunday. CBS published a clip from the interview Wednesday. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what happened,鈥 she said. 鈥淎s I watched it, I thought, 鈥極h, my God, he鈥檚 having a stroke.鈥 And it scared me to death.鈥 (Bradner, 5/27)
Updates from the Trump administration 鈥
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is recovering from treatment for thyroid cancer, just weeks after leaving the Justice Department. Bondi told CNN she had surgery a few weeks ago and is still undergoing treatment, but is 鈥渄oing well.鈥 President Donald Trump ousted Bondi in April, having criticized her for failing to bring lawsuits against his perceived political foes. (Daniels, 5/27)
The public is about to get its first look at the prices of drugs launched since President Trump struck his most-favored-nation deals with 17 drugmakers. (Wilkerson, 5/28)
Community health programs in South Africa have been heavily impacted by U.S. cuts to global aid. Which means there are fewer community and health workers to support low-income people with HIV and AIDS. We recently visited one of those programs, called We Care, to learn more about the experiences of the few employees who still remain. (Ozug, Zamora and Burnett, 5/27)
Dozens of students freshly trained as recruiters streamed into the dormitories on the sprawling green campus of the University of Zambia on a muggy morning in March. They wended their way past piles of papers, laundry and instant noodle packages, pouncing on any classmate who slowed long enough to listen to their pitch: 鈥淐ome with me, right now, and get an injection! It will protect you from H.I.V. infection for the next six months. It will take two minutes! And it鈥檚 free!鈥 (Nolen, 5/26)
On the immigration crisis 鈥
Immigration authorities have detained a pregnant woman and her 4-year-old son at Washington Dulles International Airport for over a week, after the pair arrived from Ghana on a tourist visa seeking medical treatment and were then taken into custody, their lawyers allege in a court filing. Anabella Gyasi, 38, arrived in the United States on May 19 after securing a visa and an appointment for her son at Akron Children鈥檚 Hospital in Ohio, where she hoped her son would get care for a physical abnormality affecting his hands, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. (Wu, 5/27)
The little girl approached the therapy dog outside the school library, reaching out to touch her fluffy blond coat. Social worker Nicole Herje leaned in. 鈥淗ow does it feel when you pet Sage?鈥 Herje said. 鈥淚 like it,鈥 the girl said. 鈥淚n Ecuador, I had a dog.鈥 A few months earlier, this girl and many of her classmates at Valley View Elementary were staying off the streets to avoid the immigration officers flooding their suburban Minneapolis community. Attendance plummeted as families kept their kids from school during the Trump administration鈥檚 enforcement surge. (Balingit and Steiner, 5/28)