Biden Wheelchair Bombshell; Rethinking Race-Based Scholarships; Toxic Booze Kills 14
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Health news and commentary gathered by MedPage Today staff
by
MedPage Today Staff
May 14, 2025 • 2 min read
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Biden aides discussed his possible use of a wheelchair if he were reelected for a second term, in large part due to degeneration of his spine, according to a new book. (Axios)
“History shows us that work requirements work,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, MBA, and two other Cabinet officials argued in an editorial. (New York Times)
The Trump administration has cut $2.7 billion in NIH grants in its first 3 months, according to a report issued by Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee. (CNN)
Meanwhile, the administration reinstated some fired workers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, including employees conducting research and providing services for firefighters with cancer and coal miners with black lung disease. (Politico)
Harvard researcher Kseniia Petrova describes her ordeal with ICE, which started with frog embryos. (New York Times)
One-fourth of children have a parent with a substance use disorder, researchers found. (NPR)
The FDA issued a request for information to identify outdated or unnecessary regulations.
Universities and medical schools are reconsidering their race-based scholarships. (Washington Post)
HHS said it will not force insurers to follow laws requiring them to cover mental health treatment the same way they cover treatment for physical ailments. (STAT)
In other behavioral health news, the Trump administration is vowing to crack down on drug trafficking while at the same time cutting funding for substance use prevention and treatment. (New York Times)
In a poll, most Americans said the administration is not handling the measles outbreak responsibly. (Reuters via MSN)
A judge overturned a Michigan law requiring a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion, saying that it conflicts with voters’ passage in 2022 of a referendum codifying abortion rights into the state constitution. (AP)
The Capitol Police arrested 25 people who were protesting the Republican-led reconciliation bill that would cut billions of dollars from health and welfare programs. (Axios)
Two more staff members have left Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Penn.) office in the wake of concerns about Fetterman’s mental and physical health. (Politico)
In India, 14 people died and six were hospitalized after drinking toxic liquor. (AP)
