Axios

The Supreme Court on Friday announced it will hear oral arguments on Dec. 4 in a case to decide whether states can ban gender-affirming care for minors.

The big picture: The Biden administration is challenging the constitutionality of a Tennessee law that bans all medical treatments prescribed for the purposes of helping a person under 18 transition out of their gender assigned at birth.

Human-caused climate change is having widespread and significant negative effects on young people's mental health across the country, a new study finds.

Why it matters: The study is one of the largest to date to examine how young people are responding to global climate change and government action.

A Florida judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday prohibiting Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration from threatening to prosecute TV stations that carry ads promoting the state's abortion rights referendum on November's ballot.

The big picture: A six-week ban took effect in Florida earlier this year, but if voters aprove the amendment next month it would guarantee abortion access until fetal viability — around 24–28 weeks of pregnancy.

Roughly 8% of U.S. teens report using tobacco products — the lowest rate since 1999, according to 2024 federal estimates released on Thursday.

Why it matters: Despite significant declines, public health advocates warn the trend has been slowed by the popularity of products like flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches among kids.

Several state Medicaid programs will soon cover Indigenous healing practices used by American Indians and Alaska Natives under waivers granted Wednesday by the Biden administration.

Why it matters: Native patients are likelier to trust traditional healing that's been used for generations, and may experience better outcomes if they're incorporated into their care.

An effort to get doctors to register their patients to vote during office visits is drawing the ire of national Republicans as Election Day nears and threatening to again make health care facilities partisan battlegrounds.

The big picture: Vot-ER, a nonprofit spearheading health care-related voting efforts, likens the initiatives to nonpartisan voter registration at local motor vehicle departments. Conservatives contend they're exploitive and stretch the boundaries of physician freedom.

Former President Trump said in August he'd "gladly" release his medical records. But with less than three weeks to go until Election Day, his campaign has yet to release any basic health data.

Why it matters: Vice President Kamala Harris has released detailed health records and called for the 78-year-old who'd be the oldest president inaugurated if he wins in November to do the same, as questions about his physical and cognitive health mount.