Axios

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued a New York doctor for sending abortion medication under the Empire State's shield law to Texas, which has a near-total abortion ban, his office said Friday.

Why it matters: The lawsuit, one of the first known of its kind, tests the future of shield laws enacted by blue states in the post-Roe era to help patients who live in states with abortion bans.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) put Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on notice Friday after reports seemingly linking the Health and Human Services nominee to an effort to revoke the polio vaccine.

Why it matters: McConnell, a childhood polio survivor, will be an important vote for President-elect Trump's nominees to win over. Kennedy is expected to spend next week on the Hill meeting with senators.

An ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in 2022 petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to revoke approval for the use of a polio vaccine on children on the grounds that the agency didn't do sufficient safety studies, documents show.

The big picture: Aaron Siri, a lawyer who worked for Kennedy during his presidential campaign, has filed more than a dozen petitions on behalf of private citizens requesting the government halt distribution of certain vaccines, also including the one for hepatitis B.

The Republican Party will aim to get rid of daylight saving time, President-elect Trump said in a post on Truth Social Friday.

Why it matters: Most U.S. adults dislike the semi-annual clock change — currently designed to maximized daylight during summer — and lawmakers have occasionally pitched scrapping it, without official success.

Daniel Penny, the former Marine acquitted this week in the death of an unhoused Black man, will join President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance at the Army-Navy football game Saturday.

Why it matters: The decision to prosecute Penny for Jordan Neely's death on a New York City subway train last year became a rallying point for some Republicans.

Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) want more information on private equity ownership of methadone clinics, and how those investments may impact both clinical decisions and lobbying efforts to restrict broader methadone distribution.

Why it matters: Private equity could have an opioids problem, after years of gobbling up abuse treatment facilities.

The CEO of UnitedHealthcare's parent company says he wants to help fix the U.S. health care system.

The big picture: The comments come nine days after the public killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in an act that has sparked a national discussion about the insurance industry.

The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was not a client of the medical insurer, a spokesperson for parent company UnitedHealth Group confirmed to Axios on Thursday night.

The big picture: NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York earlier Thursday there's "no indication" that Luigi Mangione "was ever a client of UnitedHealthcare," but evidence police allege the suspect wrote "does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organization in America."

Childhood flu vaccination is down so far this season in every state but Iowa, per new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Why it matters: Flu shots can help prevent kids from getting sick, but they appear to be getting swept up in a broader wave of vaccine skepticism that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic.

President-elect Trump floated the disproven claim that vaccines cause autism in his TIME magazine interview published Thursday.

The big picture: Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an open vaccine skeptic, to head the Department of Health and Human Services, prompting some health experts to warn of his lack of experience and how he could deliver setbacks to American health care.

President-elect Trump told Time magazine he will ensure the FDA will not block access to abortion pills on his watch, the first time he has made such a commitment.

Why it matters: Medication abortions account for nearly two-thirds of all abortions nationwide. Anti-abortion groups and some Trump allies see limiting access to abortion pill mifepristone as a top priority in the new term — but, for now at least, Trump does not.

Character.AI — the platform designed to let users chat with bots based on fictional characters — is releasing updated safety features days after parents filed a new lawsuit against the company and its founders, who now work at Google.

The big picture: The lawsuit claims that Character.AI "poses a clear and present danger to public health and safety" and calls for it to be taken offline and for its developers to be held responsible for releasing an unsafe product.

Platforms and apps that allow users to create and chat with AI-powered bots can addict teenagers, encourage self-harm and expose minors to adult content, according to experts.

Why it matters: Looser regulation of AI in the wake of the 2024 election could give freer rein to makers of problematic AI companion apps.

President-elect Trump will return to the Oval Office backed by a new team of senior officials and Cabinet members who are committed to exposing supposed conspiracies within the "deep state" they will now help run.

Why it matters: Trump bounded into politics with the racist "birther" conspiracy, crafted the '"Big Lie" to explain away his 2020 loss, and was swept back into office after falsely claiming Haitian immigrants were eating family pets in Ohio. Key players in his second administration share his conspiratorial worldview and are ready to act on it.

The vitriol directed at health insurers following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson could prompt more scrutiny of an industry thought to be facing a favorable regulatory outlook in the second Trump administration.

The big picture: Parent UnitedHealth Group's plummeting market value this week suggests investors fear a regulatory crackdown in response to the public outcry over coverage denials and corporate indifference.

President-elect Trump's nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health has drawn scorn for his views on herd immunity and COVID, but Jay Bhattacharya's arrival would put renewed focus on why a research institution with a nearly $48 billion budget doesn't have more breakthroughs.

Why it matters: The controversial Stanford professor could rattle the scientific establishment and turf-conscious lawmakers in Congress, but also satisfy skeptics' calls for a serious look under the hood at how NIH works.