"Pecan" isn't just a pie flavor this fall. And it doesn't just have one pronunciation.
Dig in: DoorDash named pecan 2025's top fall flavor, because orders of pecan-flavored items are up 28% year-over-year. That's after Snickers turned its special-edition pecan bar into a regular item, and as Starbucks brings back pecan beverages as a fall menu item.
Planned Parenthood and 75 other advocacy groups are urging the Trump administration to halt the planned destruction of $9.7 million worth of contraceptives meant for those in low-income countries.
Why it matters: The Trump administration is pushing to destroy the supplies as part of its dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development, even though the United Nations and reproductive organizations have offered to buy or ship the supplies to their intended recipients.
Worries about the spread of Chagas disease — which comes from an insect known as the "kissing bug" — are rising.
The big picture: Though experts have been concerned about the potentially fatal disease for years, the parasitic disease was only recently deemed endemic in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to contract with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to investigate the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism, according to a notice on the federal website.
Why it matters: Several large studies have already disproven the connection. But Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to promote the possibility of a link.
President Trump is turning up pressure on drugmakers to lower prices and demanding they commit within weeks to his "most-favored nation" policy, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick tells Mike Allen in the premiere episode of "The Axios Show."
Why it matters: The initiative — which calls for charging the U.S. less for drugs than comparable countries — continues Trump's efforts to reshape drug pricing through threats and public shaming.
Health care inflation hit a three-year high last month, in the latest sign that workers could soon be juggling big premium increases with higher prices for groceries, clothing and other items subject to President Trump's tariffs.
Why it matters: Medical prices have been steadily rising, but corporations projecting increases of 9% or more next year are no longer willing to insulate their employees from the pain.
The Trump administration can move ahead with plans to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood affiliates, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday.
Why it matters: Planned Parenthood previously warned such a move could lead to the closure of hundreds of clinics nationwide.
