Axios

The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared open to a Christian counselor's argument that Colorado's ban on youth conversion therapy hampers her First Amendment right to free speech.

Why it matters: A decision backing the counselor, Kaley Chiles, could force more than 20 states to revisit their bans on the practice, which aims to change sexual orientation and gender identities to align with a person's religious beliefs and has been discredited by leading medical associations.

Six former U.S. surgeons general warned in a Tuesday op-ed that changes made by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are "endangering the health of the nation."

Why it matters: The former officials, who served under both Republicans and Democrats, wrote that they could not ignore the "profound, immediate and unprecedented threat" of his policies.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday will debate how far states can go regulating mental health treatment when it takes up a case about conversion therapy — the discredited practice aimed at changing youths' sexual orientations or gender identities.

Why it matters: The outcome will determine whether therapists' conversations with patients are regarded as medical treatment or as a form of speech protected by the First Amendment.

The young adult suicide rate increased in most U.S. states from 2014 to 2024, a new analysis finds.

Why it matters: The numbers underscore the toll of the country's mental health crisis, which rages on even as the Trump administration cuts funding for programs designed to help vulnerable groups, like LGBTQ+ kids.

Multivitamins aren't magical substitutes for a healthy lifestyle, but they could be a part of one.

The big picture: A multivitamin feels like an easy health insurance policy, but most health professionals say healthy, whole foods are still the best bet.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially approved a set of recommendations Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine advisers made last month, including dropping a broad recommendation that Americans age 65 and older get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Why it matters: The updating of adult and child immunization schedules on Monday was necessary to allow people to get an updated COVID shot in every state without a prescription.

Immigrant detention centers nationwide are reporting placing more people in solitary confinement in 2025, sometimes for weeks at a time, according to new research.

The big picture: U.S. solitary confinement placements increasingly drag on for 15 days or longer, which the United Nations says constitutes psychological torture, according to a report by Harvard University researchers and Physicians for Human Rights.

This poll shows why Democrats are so confident about making Affordable Care Act enhanced tax credits a centerpiece of the government funding fight: They're popular, even among Republicans.

Why it matters: That's why even before the government shutdown, some Republican senators were already thinking about how to extend the credits — with changes — before they expire at the end of the year.

The rate of home births in the U.S. keeps climbing years after the pandemic surge.

Why it matters: The shift reflects a growing distrust of the traditional medical system and demand for more personalized maternity care.