California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced a new bill in the state Legislature on Wednesday that would allow Arizona abortion providers to be quickly approved for work in California, in response to Arizona implementing one of the country’s strictest abortion laws. An Arizona Supreme Court decision earlier this month implemented an 1864 abortion law preventing access to the procedure in nearly all circumstances starting May 1. Despite calls from national Republicans to replace the law with a less strict measure, Republican state lawmakers have shot down attempts to overturn it. “Arizona Republi ..read more

A divided Supreme Court seemed skeptical that Idaho’s strict abortion ban conflicts with a federal emergency care law, but there appeared to be a split by gender as well as ideology during the nearly two hours of argument.  The four female justices, including conservative Amy Coney Barrett, pushed back the hardest against Idaho’s assertion that its law, which prohibits doctors from performing an abortion except when a woman’s life is in danger, supersedes the federal emergency care statute EMTALA.  Doctors face up to five years in prison for violating Idaho’s law.  The lib ..read more

Added sugars will be limited for the first time in school meals around the country as part of gradual changes in nutrition standards announced Wednesday in a rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  The changes will shed sugar in meals starting in the fall of 2025 and cut back on added sugars in flavored milk. As part of the updates aimed at strengthening child nutrition, schools will be required to “slightly” reduce sodium in meals as well. Sugar will be limited in school meals beginning fall 2025 and will be fully implemented by fall 2027, adjusting the nutrition in breakfa ..read more

The Biden administration on Wednesday will head to the Supreme Court to defend one of its primary efforts to protect abortion rights after the fall of Roe v. Wade.   At stake is whether a federal emergency care law passed 37 years ago trumps state laws that ban abortion in nearly all circumstances.   The Justice Department contends the law requires hospitals that receive Medicare funding to provide an abortion if necessary to stabilize the health of an emergency room patient, regardless of state abortion bans.   Conservatives say the administration is trying to us ..read more

Particles of bird flu were detected in some samples of pasteurized milk, though the virus in that form is not a threat to humans, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Tuesday. As a bird flu epidemic spreads through avian and cattle livestock across the country, the FDA increased testing of domestic milk supplies. Some of the testing samples found inactive remnants of the bird flu virus, killed during the pasteurization process, the agency said. “To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe,” the FDA said Tuesday. The agency ..read more

A ..read more

A ..read more

A ..read more

A ..read more

A ..read more