Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Older Americans On Fixed Incomes Struggle To Buy Food As Prices Soar
Since completing treatment for breast cancer, Toni Keller tries to stick to a healthy diet 鈥 she consumes lots of fruits and vegetables and no red meat. Keller, 65, moved into Storm Lake Senior Housing in May, a low-income community in the northwest Iowa city of Storm Lake. She spent some of her adult life out of the workforce, which substantially reduced the retirement benefits she now receives. (Grundmeier, 8/24)
More health news from across the U.S. 鈥
Nevada sued the Trump administration Monday over a plan requiring it and two other states to cut Colorado River water use, the first legal challenge to the federal government鈥檚 attempt to rescue the waterway, which is on the brink of collapse. The state in its challenge filed in U.S. district court said the Interior Department鈥檚 long-awaited drought management plan would cause 鈥渄evastating environmental, socioeconomic, and health and human safety impacts to southern Nevada and its citizens.鈥 (Kaplan, 8/24)
Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged on Monday that the city did not inform New Yorkers about a partial breakdown of the 911 system last week that prevented hundreds of callers from reaching operators for nearly seven hours. (Marcius and Goldenberg, 8/24)
With time running out until Medicaid work requirements kick in, state and federal authorities are hustling to get the word out. States, which must implement Medicaid work requirements under President Donald Trump鈥檚 2025 tax law, are deploying an arsenal of communications tools to educate beneficiaries, providers and other Medicaid stakeholders. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has plans of its own. (Early, 8/24)
Pennsylvania ranks second in U.S. natural gas production, accounting for about one-fifth of U.S. output in 2024, and has one of the most extensive histories of energy extraction in the country. A team of researchers from Penn State is trying to better understand the environmental impacts of these sites鈥攕pecifically, whether fracking is increasing radium content in local drinking water. According to a new study recently published in Environmental Science & Technology, the answer is not a simple yes or no. (Tkacik, 8/24)
On Monday, widely popular food influencer and philanthropist Keith Lee partnered with the Salvation Army and the city of Gary for a large-scale relief effort in northwest Indiana, where residents have been without power for two grueling weeks following historic weather. (Syed, 8/24)
Since opening its doors a little over a year ago, Bravo Zulu House in rural Winnebago built a community specifically for military veterans struggling with PTSD and recovering from alcohol and/or drug addiction. Now the sober living home is adding canine therapy to help support the veterans it serves, and in the process, they鈥檙e saving the dogs, too. (Yang, 8/25)
杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News: Where Florida鈥檚 Gun Violence Exacts Its Biggest Toll On Black And Latino Children
Just west of the St. Johns River, which divides this sprawling city racially and economically, 2-year-old A鈥檓ahri Robinson was murdered in his mother鈥檚 arms.This story also ran on The Trace. Ladonna Johnson was rocking A鈥檓ahri to sleep in March when he was shot in the head with a gun she kept for protection. A鈥檓ahri loved going outdoors and taking rides in his pull-along wagon. His mother called the toddler 鈥渟weet鈥 and 鈥渁ffectionate.鈥 When he was around, she said, 鈥測ou just felt love.鈥 (Chang, Clasen-Kelly, Pierce, Gavino and Jones, 8/25)
Two people were killed by lightning Sunday afternoon in Margate, Florida. The victims, a 31-year-old woman and her 2-year-old daughter, were struck while on a neighborhood sidewalk, according to local police. (Cappucci, 8/24)