Driving the news: Holmes, who was found guilty on Jan. 3, 2022, for defrauding investors in her failed blood-testing company, had booked a one-way ticket to Mexico for later that month, according to prosecutors.
Doctors sent patients home with opioids after emergency department visits about 8% of the time in 2019–2020, down from about 12% in 2017–2018, according to figures released today by the CDC.
Why it matters: It continues a downward trend line from about 21.5% of emergency department discharges in 2010–2011 that resulted in an opioid prescription and a signal that efforts to educate doctors and reduce the use of opioids have gained traction.
As anti-abortion activists gather in Washington, D.C., on Friday to celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade — a singular cause that united abortion opponents for decades — some factions are split on the movement's next steps.
The big picture: While mainstream anti-abortion messaging still revolves around sanctioning doctors or clinics, a small but growing group of self-described abortion abolitionists are taking steps to single out and punish those seeking to end a pregnancy.
The lesion removed from First Lady Jill Biden's left eyelid last week was a "very common, totally harmless, non-cancerous growth," White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor said in a condition update.
The big picture: Biopsy results showed this lesion that surgeons spotted while removing a cancerous one from above her right eye and another from her chest was "consistent with seborrheic keratosis," O'Connor said in a letter, dated Wednesday.
"Dr. Biden is recovering nicely from her procedures," he said. "She experienced some anticipated mild bruising and swelling, but feels very well."
The government has new rules to determine what's really organic and what's a sham.
Why it matters: The term "organic" has been stretched over the years as these foods become increasingly popular — and pricey. Products labeled organic that don't meet government standards are hitting store shelves.
Only 19% of hospitals fully comply with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule that requires facilities to post estimated costs for items and services, an analysis published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine has found.
Why it matters: The U.S. continues to spend more on health care than other countries for less value, and federal efforts to bring transparency to pricing have so far yielded little.
Antibiotic-resistant superbugs are killing more people each year than HIV and malaria, but progress against them worldwide has largely stalled in the wake of the pandemic.
Why it matters: As COVID-19 made crystal clear, disease doesn't recognize borders, and one country's problem can quickly become a global threat.
The federal health department's framework for monitoring high-risk research on viruses and other agents that can cause pandemics doesn't meet key criteria for effective oversight, a new watchdog report concludes.
What they found: The Government Accountability Office found HHS has an unclear policy for reviewing and approving research involving pathogens that are altered to make them more transmissible or deadly — and that other policy gaps may allow the research to occur without appropriate oversight.
Women in states with abortion bans are nearly three times more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth or soon after giving birth, according to a report from the Gender Equity Policy Institute shared first with Axios.
