The Spine

Cross-spectrum coverage where partisan distortion is present, source-led coverage where it is not.

Health · recent

NPR

GLP-1 drugs appear to reduce cancer risk across multiple tumor types, but researchers say mechanism is still unclear

Multiple recent studies presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting suggest GLP-1 obesity and diabetes drugs may reduce cancer risk across several tumor types. The most prominent study tracked over 10,000 early-stage cancer patients and found GLP-1 use was associated with reduced cancer risk in six out of seven cancers examined. Researchers caution that all current evidence is correlative and that clinical trials to establish causation and mechanism are still in early stages.

Read the spine →
NPR

More Americans are surviving cancer, but many face lasting psychological effects that go unaddressed

There were more than 18 million cancer survivors in the United States in 2025, a figure projected to reach 22 million by 2035, according to the National Cancer Institute. Studies show cancer survivors are more likely to experience anxiety and depression that can persist for years after treatment ends, but mental health support remains inconsistent and often inaccessible.

Read the spine →
Fox News

New Jersey Assembly committee advances bill that would criminalize interference with abortion and transgender healthcare

New Jersey's Assembly Appropriations Committee approved a Democratic-backed bill on Monday that would criminalize interference with access to abortion and transgender healthcare services. The measure passed along party lines and could receive a full legislative vote later this week before reaching Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill. If signed into law, New Jersey would become the first state in the nation to explicitly criminalize such interference.

Read the spine →
Fox News

Pennsylvania Attorney General describes collaboration and early intervention as keys to leading nation in Medicaid fraud convictions

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, a Republican, said his state ranked first in Medicaid fraud convictions nationally for fiscal year 2025, according to the HHS Office of the Inspector General. Sunday attributed the ranking to aggressive investigation and prosecution practices, cross-agency collaboration, and early intervention to prevent large criminal enterprises from taking root. The state's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit recovered $4.64 for every dollar spent on investigations, Sunday said.

Read the spine →
Fox News

Jill Biden says Joe Biden will live with stage 4 prostate cancer for the rest of his life and has slowed down

Former first lady Jill Biden said Saturday that former President Joe Biden, 83, will live with stage 4 prostate cancer "for the rest of his life" because the cancer has metastasized to his bones. She made the remarks during a discussion with political commentator Ana Navarro tied to Navarro's new book, "View From the East Wing: A Memoir." Biden publicly announced his cancer diagnosis in May 2025.

Read the spine →
Fox News

Trump expands TrumpRx drug discount program to more than 800 medications through most-favored-nation deals

President Trump announced Friday that TrumpRx.gov has added 160 prescription drugs, bringing the program's total to more than 800 discounted medications. The expansion follows agreements with 16 major pharmaceutical companies under most-favored-nation pricing arrangements. Companies including Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are participating, with discounts covering GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, inhalers, HIV treatments, diabetes medications, and fertility drugs.

Read the spine →
Fox News

Tulsi Gabbard discloses husband's sacral chordoma diagnosis following seven-hour surgery and her DNI resignation

Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard posted on X on Thursday that her husband, Abraham Williams, was diagnosed with a "very rare sacral chordoma" and underwent nearly seven hours of surgery, which she described as successful. Williams returned home to recover but Gabbard said he "had a rough night and is in a lot of pain." Gabbard had previously announced her resignation as DNI, effective June 30, citing her husband's cancer battle.

Read the spine →
Washington Examiner

CMS Moratorium on New Home Health and Hospice Providers Draws Scrutiny Over Patient Access

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has imposed a nationwide six-month moratorium blocking approval of any new home health or hospice care providers. The action follows an investigation into healthcare fraud in Los Angeles County linked to organized crime rings. CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz has been decertifying providers whose billing raised red flags as part of a broader anti-fraud effort directed by President Trump.

Read the spine →
Washington Examiner

CMS Imposes Nationwide Moratorium on New Home Health and Hospice Approvals Amid Medicare Fraud Crackdown

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has imposed a six-month nationwide moratorium blocking approval of any new home health or hospice care providers. The action follows fraud investigations in Los Angeles County that uncovered connections between sham care providers and organized crime rings. CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz has been decertifying providers whose billing raised serious red flags as part of what President Trump described as a "war on fraud" in his State of the Union address.

Read the spine →
NPR

Michigan's vaccine waiver education requirement reduced exemptions, then eroded as enforcement became contentious

Michigan introduced a 2015 administrative rule requiring parents to attend an in-person vaccine education session before obtaining a nonmedical school vaccine waiver, which initially cut kindergarten waiver rates by 32%. In the years following, waiver rates rebounded, and the pandemic accelerated the decline in immunization rates. As of May 28, Michigan had recorded 14 measles cases in 2026, with seven in Washtenaw County alone.

Read the spine →
Fox News

Report argues FDA effectiveness reviews cost trillions and delay patient access to new treatments

A new report titled "The Multi-Trillion Dollar Opportunity in Reforming the FDA" estimates that cutting FDA effectiveness-review timelines by one year could generate more than $10 trillion in economic value. The report was co-authored by economist Tomas Philipson, a former acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. It argues that most of the decade-long drug approval process is spent on effectiveness trials rather than safety evaluations.

Read the spine →
Associated Press, CNN

WHO Director-General visits Bunia as five patients recover from Bundibugyo Ebola, new treatment center opens

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus traveled to Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri in eastern Congo, on Sunday for the opening of a new Ebola treatment center. Five patients have recovered from the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola during the current outbreak, including four discharged the same day. Official figures show 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths.

Read the spine →
NPR

NPR's weekly news quiz references Jill Biden, the pope's AI encyclical, and other recent events

NPR published its weekly news quiz on May 29, 2026, featuring questions drawn from recent headlines. One question references a first lady who feared her husband might be having a stroke, with imagery in the article showing Jill Biden alongside Jeff Bezos and a Roland Garros tennis scene. The quiz also touches on Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, which addressed artificial intelligence.

Read the spine →
CNN

Hantavirus-exposed cruise passengers may return home but face 24/7 state monitoring requirement

Eighteen Americans quarantined at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after exposure to the Andes strain of hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship may be allowed to return home as early as Monday, under a federal requirement that states post a full-time monitor outside their residences for the remaining three weeks of a 42-day quarantine period. There have been 13 confirmed cases of Andes hantavirus linked to the ship and three deaths. New York has declined to accept passengers under the new monitoring conditions, according to passengers who participated in a Thursday video call with federal officials.

Read the spine →
Associated Press, NPR

WHO chief arrives in Congo as aid reaches Ebola outbreak zone amid security and supply challenges

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Kinshasa, Congo, on Thursday to witness response efforts against an outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, a rare form of Ebola with no approved treatment or vaccine. A cargo plane carrying EU-donated medical supplies — including masks, gloves, boots, and medications — landed in Bunia, the northeastern town at the heart of the outbreak in Ituri province. The Congolese government has confirmed more than 1,000 suspected cases and at least 220 deaths since declaring the outbreak on May 15.

Read the spine →