Republicans Vow Not to Cut Veterans’ Benefits. But the Legislation Suggests Otherwise.

Addressing the impact of the House GOP debt-ceiling bill on veterans’ programs,“I’m dead serious that we’re not cutting veterans, and I mean it.” Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), chair of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, in a speech on the House floor, April 26. House Republicans have set themselves a tough, if not impossible, task […]

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El dolor, la esperanza y la ciencia chocan cuando los atletas recurren a los hongos mágicos

WAKEFIELD, Jamaica — El boxeador se sentía destrozado. Todos los días, se despertaba con dolor. A veces eran dolores de cabeza debilitantes. Otros, era su espalda. O sus puños. Sus costillas. Su nariz. Además, sufría de cambios de humor. Depresión. Ansiedad. Mike Lee no se arrepintió de su carrera. Había sido uno de los mejores […]

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Legal Pot Is More Potent Than Ever — And Still Largely Unregulated

David Hilzenrath Marijuana and other products containing THC, the plant’s main psychoactive ingredient, have grown more potent and more dangerous as legalization has made them more widely available. Although decades ago the THC content of weed was commonly less than 1.5%, some products on the market today are more than 90% THC. The buzz of […]

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California Debates Extending PTSD Coverage to More First Responders

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing “988,” or the Crisis Text Line by texting “HOME” to 741741. A paramedic for about 30 years, Susan Farren knew all was not well with first responders: Eight of her colleagues had died […]

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Health Programs Are at Risk as Debt Ceiling Cave-In Looms

The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner Read Julie’s stories. Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A to […]

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On the Night Shift With a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner

MISSOULA, Mont. — Jacqueline Towarnicki got a text as she finished her day shift at a local clinic. She had a new case, a patient covered in bruises who couldn’t remember how the injuries got there. Towarnicki’s breath caught, a familiar feeling after four years of working night shifts as a sexual assault nurse examiner […]

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Medi-Cal Enrollees in California: Here’s How to Verify Your Eligibility

If you are enrolled in Medi-Cal, as more than one-third of Californians are, make sure your county knows how to reach you, or you could lose your health coverage unnecessarily. You will likely hear and see public messages over the coming weeks urging you to update your contact information. Heed them. Then, sometime between now […]

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In Idaho, Taking a Minor Out of State for an Abortion Is Now a Crime: ‘Abortion Trafficking’

MOSCOW, Idaho — Mackenzie Davidson grew up in a Mormon household and sheepishly admits she knew little about pregnancy. “This is embarrassing,” she said, sitting outside a café along a street thronged with students in this college town. “But I didn’t know that you had to have sex to have kids until I was 13 […]

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Walensky to Leave CDC in June as Covid Emergency Winds Down

Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is stepping down at the end of June after 2½ tumultuous years leading the nation’s primary public health agency — and much of the Biden administration’s effort to combat the covid-19 pandemic. “I took on this role, at your request, with the goal of […]

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California Says New Cigarettes Appear to Violate State’s Flavored Tobacco Ban

California’s attorney general is warning two tobacco companies that their new cigarettes appear to violate a state ban on most flavored tobacco products that was upheld by voters last year. Attorney General Rob Bonta sent letters to R.J. Reynolds and ITG Brands LLC, dated April 25, warning that the packaging and promotional materials for nine […]

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