A state judge on Friday lifted an order temporarily blocking Louisiana's abortion trigger bans from being in effect — nearly all abortions are now illegal in the state.
Driving the news: Louisiana's trigger laws had been blocked since June 27, after abortion providers sued the state over the bans, which they had said violated the state's constitution.
New York City health officials said Friday all New Yorkers should wear high-quality face masks indoors and near crowds due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.
Driving the news: "We're currently seeing high levels of COVID-19 in NYC," the city's Department of Health said in a tweet recommending N95, KN95 or KF94 masks for the public.
Why it matters: A lack of testing has kept public health officials in the dark about how widespread monkeypox is in the United States and posed new uncertainties for the medical system, Axios’ Arielle Dreher reports.
President Biden on Friday signed an executive order aimed at protecting abortion access after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Why it matters: Biden has faced intense pressure from his own party to act more aggressively on abortion. Many conservative states had "trigger laws" in place that banned or severely limited abortions in the days following the ruling and more bans are expected.
Five Republican senators are warning against fast-tracking a bill to cap insulin costs, saying its “far-ranging implications” merit congressional hearings and a more extensive discussion.
Why it matters: It could be a serious hurdle to bipartisan efforts to limit out-of-pocket costs for more than 37 million Americans with diabetes.
Flashback: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last month indicated he wanted to schedule a floor vote on the bill from Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) “very soon.”
That’s not sitting well with Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee, who say they want a chance to hear from experts, debate the legislation and potentially amend it in the committee.
“As with most proposals regarding drug pricing, their proposed changes involve trade-offs and far-ranging implications, which both deserve frank discussion,” the senators wrote to top lawmakers on the Finance panel.
The letter was signed by Sens. Pat Toomey, John Barrasso, Steve Daines, Rob Portman and Ben Sasse, who could be instrumental in getting the bill through the chamber.
Zoom out: The bill would cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for individuals with private insurance and Medicare.
It doesn't guarantee lower list prices for insulin and could instead shift more of the cost to health insurers, resulting in higher premiums. America’s Health Insurance Plans has said the bill raises serious concerns.
Yes, but: More than a dozen patient advocacy groups are pushing for a vote, saying many diabetes patients are rationing insulin and struggling to afford a drug needed to keep them alive.
As this summer heats up, so has the spread of the hot new version of COVID-19.
Why it matters: This subvariant of Omicron called BA.5 — the most transmissible subvariant yet — quickly overtook previous strains to become the dominant version circulating the U.S. and much of the world.
A 4-foot-tall droid named Pepper — preprogrammed with hundreds of jokes — is one of two robots now working at a nursing home in Roseville, Minnesota, entertaining residents and helping monitor their health.
A sample from its sometimes-salty repertoire: "I went on a date with a Roomba last week — it totally sucked."
Children under the age of 5 are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at a slower rate than other age groups, according to the AP.
Driving the news: About 300,000 children between 6 months and 5 years of age, or about 2% of the age group, have received the COVID-19 vaccine since it became available, CNN reported.
Sunny Balwani, the former president and chief operating officer of bankrupt blood-testing company Theranos, on Thursday was found guilty of 12 counts of conspiracy and fraud against certain investors and patients.
It's a similar verdict to one handed down in January to Theranos founder and ex-CEO Elizabeth Holmes, who once dated Balwani.
Why it matters: Balwani isn't a household name like Holmes, but he was instrumental in building a billion-dollar house of cards that duped both investors and patients.
Red River Women’s Clinic, the only remaining abortion provider in North Dakota, is suing state officials over the state's trigger ban, which is set to take effect later this summer.
A U.S.-based LGBTQ+ suicide prevention organization hopes a recent expansion to Mexico will be the footprint for the rest of Latin America and the world.
Why it matters: One in 20 Mexicans identify as LGBTQ+, a majority of whom are between the ages of 15 and 29, according to data from the country’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography published last month.
Merck is in advanced talks to acquire cancer drugmaker Seagen in a deal that could be worth at least $40 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Why it matters: This would be the year's largest health care merger, and possibly a top five merger overall (depending on if it tops Elon Musk's $44 billion Twitter bid).
Younger Black leukemia patients were likelier to die early or not go into complete remission than their white peers when receiving the same intensive treatment, according to a new study in Blood Advances.
Why it matters: The findings suggest race may factor into survival from acute myeloid leukemia and that a one-size-fits all approach that includes chemotherapy may not be optimal for some.
Help wanted: Mars Petcare is seeking 10,000 dogs and 10,000 cats for a biobank — an aggregation of biological samples, images and other data — that aims to improve the health of house pets by detecting maladies earlier.
Why it matters: Compared with human biobanking, animal biobanking is in its infancy. This initiative may be the largest and most ambitious so far to try to pinpoint what triggers disease in healthy pets by sifting through genomic patterns.
Democrats are trying again to enact government price negotiations for prescription drugs, with a revised plan that would be wrapped into a broader reconciliation bill.
State of play: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday released updated drug pricing language for review by the chamber’s rules referee, with a goal of passing it through the partisan reconciliation process, which wouldn't need any Republican votes.
