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The Trump administration on Wednesday announced a sweeping rollback of gun regulations, prompting criticism from gun control advocates who called the moves misguided and dangerous. ... The changes include rescinding a 2024 regulation from the Biden administration that sought to end what gun control advocates call the “gun show loophole.” That exemption allowed unlicensed dealers to sell firearms without performing a background check to see if the prospective buyer was prohibited by law from owning a gun. The administration also plans to rescind a 2023 rule that restricted pistol braces, an attachment that enables the shooter to hold the weapon against their shoulder like a rifle. A federal court had already struck down that rule. (Barrett, 4/29)

Unlike after President Reagan was shot in 1981, there’s been no sign of a fresh gun debate after an armed man attempted to storm a dinner featuring President Trump. (Bradner, 4/30)

The FDA tested 312 samples from 16 infant formula brands for contaminants like heavy metals, pesticides, and the “forever chemicals” known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The vast majority had undetectable or very low levels of contaminants, the agency said, with levels of lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic coming in below federal requirements for drinking water across all samples. (Todd, 4/29)

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday banned Chinese airbag inflators tied to at least 10 car crash deaths and injured two other people. NHTSA said an investigation revealed that frontal driver airbags exploded, sending large metal fragments into drivers’ chests, necks, eyes and faces. All recorded accidents took place in a GM or Hyundai vehicle, but the NHTSA said it “cannot confirm the risk is limited to these makes and models.” (Fields, 4/29)

The likelihood of snagging National Institutes of Health grants has plunged to historic lows, forcing frustrated academic researchers to resort to a variety of tactics to try to obtain funding and, in some cases, keep their jobs, according to a nationwide STAT survey and follow-up interviews with respondents. (Oza, 4/30)

When Naseer Paktiawal found out that his older brother was not feeling well after being taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in mid-March, he called an ambulance. Paktiawal said he watched the ambulance drive up to the Dallas facility where ICE processes people its officers have arrested. Later, he said he received another call from his brother, who told him that his condition was worsening and that the medics never checked on him. (Morrissey, 4/29)

"I'm on your veranda." That's the text Prossy Muyingo would get each night for years, sent by a 28-year-old standing outside her home in central Uganda. Immediately, Muyingo would pour a glass of water and, from the sideboard in her living room, fetch a birth control pill and bring it outside. "She was swallowing [the pill] from my house," explains Muyingo, who served as a community health worker in Mityana District for 12 years. The woman had told Muyingo that she feared her husband would beat her if he knew about the birth control. (Emanuel, 4/29)

The Trump administration has appealed a Massachusetts federal judge’s ruling that blocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent overhaul of the nation’s childhood vaccine schedule. A filing Wednesday evening in the District of Massachusetts indicates the administration is appealing Judge Brian Murphy’s order March 16. Murphy put any decisions made by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee on hold, ruling that Kennedy replaced the committee “unlawfully.” (Edwards and Grumbach, 4/30)

New reporting from Politico says the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is holding up $600 million in funds that Congress has appropriated for the use of vaccines in low-income countries. The move is intended to put pressure on Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the report said. Gavi said it has not received any funding for this year or last year, and the missing funds make up 15% of its operating budget. (Soucheray, 4/29)

The Supreme Court’s decision limiting the Voting Rights Act inflames an already raging partisan war over congressional districts and is expected to lead to a House with far fewer Black members. Republicans could use Wednesday’s ruling to capture a few more seats in this fall’s midterm elections but do not have enough time to immediately take full advantage of it. For the 2028 elections, they could capitalize on the decision to give themselves a dozen or so seats. (Marley, Cox and Meyer, 4/30)

Veterans of the civil rights movement and others said the Supreme Court decision felt like a bleak end to decades of gains in Black representation in the region. (Burch and Cochrane, 4/30)

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) told Republican House candidates Wednesday that he plans to suspend next month’s primary elections so state lawmakers can pass a new congressional map first, according to two people with knowledge of the calls. ... Landry’s announcement to suspend the May 16 primary could come as early as Friday — one day before early voting is to begin, according to people familiar with his plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Election officials sent ballots to overseas voters weeks ago. It’s unclear whether the governor’s suspension would apply only to primaries for the six House seats, or include other elections, including the heated Senate primary that pits incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) against Rep. Julia Letlow (R). Louisiana has six House seats, two of which are held by Democrats. (Merica and Marley, 4/29)

About nine in 10 voters said the issue of health costs will influence their decision to vote and who to vote for in the 2026 midterm elections, with majorities saying it will have a “major impact” on both areas. While majorities of voters across parties said health care costs will impact their vote in November, the issue was more pressing for Democrats and independent voters. Overall, voters did not give very high marks to the Trump administration. (Choi, 4/29)

In Wisconsin, a liberal candidate for state Supreme Court won her April race by 20 points after highlighting her work supporting abortion rights. In Georgia, two liberal candidates running for their state’s highest court are running on their opposition to the state’s six-week abortion ban. And in California, a Planned Parenthood leader is running for Congress as a Democrat after Republicans slashed funding for the organization last year. (Panetta, 4/29)

After months of anticipation, Supreme Court justices heard arguments about a long-standing tactic used by generic companies to carve out a distinct market for a medicine, and did not appear inclined to alter legal standards for the maneuver. (Silverman, 4/29)

Healthcare conglomerates that dominate the pharmacy benefit manager market have gotten into the biosimilars business. Companies such as CVS Caremark owner CVS Health, Optum Rx owner UnitedHealth Group and Express Scripts owner Cigna seek to harness demand for lower-cost versions of biologic drugs and bolster their profits by establishing or repurposing overseas subsidiaries to produce private label biosimilars. (Tong, 4/29)

As federal regulators consider whether to implement a hotly contested 340B Drug Pricing Program rebate experiment, providers and drugmakers are speaking out on opposite sides of the debate. The 340B program requires drugmakers to sell outpatient medications to hospitals, community health centers and other safety-net providers for 25%-50% below list price as a condition of Medicaid covering their medicines. (Early, 4/29)

When it comes to prescription drugs, the Inflation Reduction Act may be best known for giving the federal government the authority to directly negotiate prices on behalf of people with Medicare. But a less-publicized measure written into the 2022 law could turn out to be more impactful. It’s the annual cap on out-of-pocket spending for medication, which went into effect in 2024. This change offers a much greater degree of protection to high-cost patients because it caps their annual spending at $2,100. At the same time, it has led to a substantial increase in spending by Medicare on prescription drugs. (Cohen, 4/29)

Patients using recalled True Metrix blood glucose monitoring systems linked to one death and over 100 serious injuries should switch to an alternative testing method when possible, the FDA said on Tuesday. (Monaco, 4/29)

TB or not TB? That has been the question for nearly 150 years, when Dr. Robert Koch first identified the rod-shaped bacterium that causes tuberculosis. This serious respiratory illness is currently the world's deadliest infectious disease, killing more than a million people a year. The most common test to determine if someone has tuberculosis hasn't really changed since the late 1800s. The process relies on phlegm. (Daniel, 4/29)

A 10-year follow-up study has revealed that, compared to sham surgery, partial meniscectomy did not improve patients' symptoms or function. On the contrary, the 10-year follow-up of patients who had undergone partial meniscectomy found them to have more symptoms, more reduced function, increased progression of osteoarthritis and a higher probability of subsequent knee surgery when compared to sham surgery. (4/29)

A US company has tested a brain implant in a Chinese patient in Shanghai, a rare sign of cooperation as the two countries compete to develop the most advanced neurotechnology. The company, Axoft, also said on Wednesday it raised $55 million. It’s tested its device temporarily in 11 patients, including the one in Shanghai, Chief Executive Officer Paul Le Floch said. The company plans to study its device in more patients in China this year and is planning multiple clinical trials in the country, he said. (Swetlitz and Tong, 4/29)

J. Craig Venter, a scientist and entrepreneur who raced to decode the human genome, died on Wednesday in San Diego. He was 79. His death was announced by the J. Craig Venter Institute, a nonprofit research organization founded by Dr. Venter and based in San Diego and Rockville, Md. The institute said in a statement that Dr. Venter had been hospitalized recently for side effects from cancer treatment. (Wade, 4/30)

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with a faith-based pregnancy center that raised First Amendment concerns about an investigation into whether it misled people to discourage abortions. The high court’s unanimous ruling is a procedural victory for First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, which is challenging a New Jersey investigation of its practices. (Whitehurst, 4/29)

A bill that makes female genital mutilation a crime in the state of Connecticut, among other provisions, received final passage in the House on Tuesday afternoon with the unanimous support of those voting. For survivors, the bill’s passage was a hard-fought victory, with several other attempts at legislation failing to cross the finish line in recent years. (Tillman, 4/28)

Colorado is expanding a law that lets parents leave unharmed newborns at fire stations or hospitals without facing child abandonment charges. Under the new version of the “Safe Haven” law signed this week by Gov. Jared Polis, parents will have 30 days to drop off babies they don’t want to keep. That’s up from just 72 hours. (Brown, 4/29)

In April, two babies were relinquished at Connecticut hospitals under the state’s Safe Havens Act, according to the state Department of Children and Families. The babies were surrendered to Yale New Haven Hospital and Connecticut Children’s at the University of Connecticut Health Center, DCF said. (Bunnell, 4/29)

The Minnesota Senate on Wednesday cleared $150 million for HCMC hospital in Minneapolis which leaders warn could close in just months if it isn't given a lifeline and fast. The measure to support Hennepin Healthcare—the state's busiest trauma hospital—was part of a health and human services package that the DFL-led Senate approved on a party-line vote. The broader spending bill also includes $115 in stabilization for other hospitals that are facing financial struggles, especially with some looming federal changes coming to Medicaid. (Cummings, 4/29)

A class action lawsuit against New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services over its management of a Medicaid-funded program is headed to trial, following a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro. (Richardson, 4/28)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: States Rush To Figure Out How To Enforce Trump’s Medicaid Work Requirements

State officials remain uncertain on how to enforce a requirement that many adult Medicaid enrollees show they’re working — even as one state launches its program this week — and they’re taking a variety of approaches to the job, including, in a handful of states, using artificial intelligence. A �鶹Ů�� survey of Medicaid officials from 42 states and the District of Columbia offers insights into key policy decisions state officials face as the Jan. 1, 2027, deadline for implementing the work requirement nears. Lingering questions include which diseases and illnesses will qualify Medicaid beneficiaries for exemptions and how to automate compliance verification. (Spears, 4/30)

One year after San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie moved to restrict the distribution of free drug supplies such as foil and pipes, there’s little evidence that the shift has helped meaningfully ease the city’s drug crisis. For decades, San Francisco has embraced a harm reduction strategy, providing free supplies intended to reduce the risks associated with illicit drug use. But last April, Lurie declared that the city had lost its way and needed to pivot as part of a new, tougher crackdown on open air drug use. (Angst, 4/29)

She was 13 years old and scared of the dark when she arrived at a residential treatment center that had promised her adoptive parents it would help her heal — from the pain of not knowing who her mother was or why she’d given her away. Kate plugged in a night light in the dorm room. She had needed one since she was sexually assaulted at another facility, she said. Her roommate turned it off. She panicked. She ran and then curled into a ball, heaving, weeping. Three employees followed her — to comfort her, Kate thought. (Galofaro and Ho, 4/28)

Pasadena public health officials confirmed a whooping cough outbreak at Don Benito Fundamental School, which is near Eaton Canyon. Scientists detected four confirmed cases of pertussis, better known as whooping cough, according to the Pasadena Public Health Department. Officials said they are working closely with the Pasadena Unified School District to monitor for additional cases. (Rodriguez, 4/29)

Harold Wilken still remembers the moment nearly 30 years ago when he was sprayed with herbicides after a hose broke on his family farm in Danforth, Illinois. A decade later, Wilken was diagnosed with cancer. He said he believes years of herbicide exposure contributed to his health problems, including tonsil and lymph node cancer. (Freitag, 4/29)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: When Natural Disasters Strike, Another Crisis Hits Those Recovering From Opioid Addiction

A day after Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina in late September 2024, Toni Brewer had no power or water. The storm had strewn fallen trees across most roads, wiped out phone and internet communications, and put some neighborhoods near her Asheville home underwater. Brewer cleared out the food in her refrigerator, grabbed some clothes, and drove more than an hour southwest with her partner to Franklin, to stay with relatives. (Jones, 4/30)

Federal environmental regulators and water quality advocates want the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to rectify a policy restricting who can submit water samples used to decide whether waters are too polluted and below Clean Water Act standards. Currently, Wyoming only accepts water samples collected by the state and federal government and their subdivisions when it’s directly making “impaired” water determinations — that’s been the case since 2020, according to state officials who in March proposed to continue that policy. (Koshmrl, 4/29)

A leak from a tank at the University of Illinois Chicago's Biologic Resources Laboratory prompted a safety alert Wednesday morning. UIC said there was a chemical spill and leak from a tank at the laboratory building at 1840 W. Taylor St. (Harrington and Kelly, 4/29)

Humana had been a holdout when it came to cutting back on supplemental Medicare Advantage benefits. Not anymore. Humana President and CEO Jim Rechtin told investor analysts Tuesday that the second-leading Medicare Advantage insurer by membership will streamline its offerings next year to shrink the gap between its expenses and federal payments. “The priority is not growth. The priority is, number one, being on track for 2028,” Rechtin said during a call to announce the company’s first-quarter financial results. (Tepper, 4/29)

GE HealthCare plans to increase the price of its products and trim costs and is reorganizing its leadership team after a disappointing first quarter. Jay Saccaro, vice president and chief financial officer, attributed the price increases to higher costs for memory chips and elevated freight, oil and other commodity-related expenses due to ongoing geopolitical pressures. (Dubinsky, 4/29)

Aidoc, an artificial intelligence-enabled imaging company, announced it has secured $150 million in a Series E funding round. The company has raised more than $500 million in funding with the latest round. Aidoc’s AI-powered model is designed to examine images from CT scans, MRIs and X-rays in order to detect diseases. (Famakinwa, 4/29)

Medical misdiagnosis costs hundreds of billions of dollars each year in the U.S., a financial burden that quietly drains household finances—especially for women, who are more likely to face years of repeat appointments, tests, and prescriptions before getting the right answer. For many, this means hundreds or thousands of dollars in extra bills each year, often for care that doesn’t resolve their symptoms. The average American family spends around 11 percent of their household income on healthcare premiums and out-of-pocket costs, according to the law firm High Rise Financial. (Laws, 4/30)

Seeking relief from what they describe as unsustainable workloads, MetroHealth System union organizers asked hospital leadership Tuesday to immediately recognize a proposed union for primary caregivers. If MetroHealth recognizes the union, bargaining could begin without the need for a vote, said organizers who announced their request during a Tuesday evening rally. (Washington, 4/29)

A nationwide survey of 380 US internal medicine (IM) resident physicians suggests that those interested in specializing in infectious diseases (ID) are more likely to cite early exposure to the specialty, mentorship from an ID physician, and interests in public or global health, while uninterested respondents report concerns about compensation, training length, and limited procedural opportunities. (Van Beusekom, 4/29)

Recent college graduates are entering one of the toughest entry-level job markets in years, as hiring slows and concerns mount that artificial intelligence could reshape early career roles, The New York Times reported April 28. Junior-level job postings on Indeed fell 7% in 2025, while applications per posting surged, according to an April 23 report from the Indeed Hiring Lab. As competition intensifies, some graduates report applying to more than 100 jobs without securing an interview, the Times reported. (Gooch and Kuchno, 4/29)

Health systems are reassigning duties and reallocating staff because of AI and automation — or at least having conversations with employees that it’s coming, CIOs and digital leaders told Becker’s. AI has already started to replace some healthcare jobs or duties, though any mass replacement of humans by the technology has been overhyped, leaders say. Other health systems, typically smaller ones, say they’ve yet to be affected. (Bruce, 4/29)

Nearly half of U.S. adults may not be getting enough sleep, CDC survey data suggested. In 2024, 30.5% of adults slept less than 7 hours per night on average, falling short of recommended guidelines, said Amanda Ng, PhD, MPH, of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in Hyattsville, Maryland, and co-authors. Only 54.8% of Americans woke feeling well-rested most days or every day, Ng and colleagues reported in NCHS Data Brief. Overall, 15.4% had trouble falling sleep, and 18.1% had trouble staying asleep. Women were more likely than men to have trouble falling and staying asleep, and were less likely than men to wake up well-rested. (George, 4/29)

Surging concentrations of carbon in the atmosphere have produced potent changes in the way plants grow, draining the nutrients from food. (Ahmed and Kaplan, 4/30)

Exposure to common urban air pollutants in the first year of life is associated with a higher burden of respiratory infections and wheezing, according to a longitudinal study led by the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. The findings were presented late last week at the Pediatric Academic Societies 2026 Meeting in Boston. (Bergeson, 4/29)

Increasing your daily consumption of ultraprocessed foods by 10% — basically the equivalent of a small bag of potato chips — may raise your risk of dementia even if you normally eat a healthy plant-rich diet, according to a new study. (LaMotte, 4/29)

San Francisco-based chocolatier Ghirardelli has issued a voluntary recall of certain powdered beverage mixes after a supplier flagged potential Salmonella contamination in an ingredient, the company said Wednesday. The recall affects more than a dozen bulk products — including chocolate and white frappe mixes, hot cocoa powders and flavored drink bases — that were primarily distributed to restaurants and other food service customers. (Vaziri, 4/29)

A study analyzing 1,154 children and adolescents breaks new ground in how to think about the growing diagnosis. (Cha, 4/30)

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), mostly infects the lungs, nose, throat, and respiratory tract, and can cause illness ranging from mild cold and fever-like symptoms to severe pneumonia and bronchitis. A recent study has found that having a respiratory infection can act as a shield against the spread of cancer cells. (Mondal, 4/29)

Scientists have developed a way to turn the body's own immune cells into cancer-fighting agents—without removing them from the body—by using red blood cells to deliver genetic instructions. Current CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) therapies typically involve collecting a patient's T cells, genetically modifying them in the laboratory, and then reinfusing them in a process that can take weeks. The new strategy aims to bypass that step. (Ricks, 4/29)

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive type of brain cancer that is known to be very difficult to treat. One reason why this type of cancer is often resistant to available treatments is that it is characterized by a highly diverse cellular structure and complex interactions between cancerous cells and neighboring healthy cells. (Fadelli, 4/29)

Mediastinal lymph node clearance in stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) more than doubled with the addition of immunotherapy to chemotherapy and facilitated more complete surgery, a small prospective study showed. (Bankhead, 4/29)

Scientists at UC San Francisco have discovered that these "brain blips" are not random events, as had been believed. Rather, they unfold in a predictable pattern that can be detected a full second before they occur — raising new possibilities to ward them off altogether. (4/30)

GLP-1s have been shown to reduce drug cravings. What if they can help prevent drug-fueled child abuse and neglect? (Naomi Schaefer Riley, 4/29)

The White House has nominated Erica Schwartz, a strikingly conventional candidate, to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Schwartz, formerly a deputy US surgeon general, is a lawyer and medical doctor by training. She’s by most accounts a decent choice. If confirmed, she’ll face three big challenges. (4/30)

Our former colleagues in Congress recently heard from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the first time in more than half a year. (Michael C. Burgess and Larry Bucshon, 4/30)

The 2026 Main Residency Match was the largest in the program’s 74-year history. With 48,050 active applicants, 41,482 residency training positions were filled. Among the celebrations, however, Match Day announcements triggered a surge of posts on X and other social media platforms calling for new restrictions on international medical graduates (IMGs) in the match, claiming that U.S. medical graduates (USMGs) had been displaced. (Manal Khan, Abishek Bala and Sarah Mohiuddin, 4/30)

Social media has turbocharged the normalization of cosmetic work. One plastic surgeon said that his Gen Z patients take selfies at their appointments “as if it’s a concert or a ‘get ready with me’ video. They want everyone to know.” Like haul vlogs, it’s a way to say, “Look what I just bought.” (Amy Odell, 4/30)