business
UnitedHealthCare CEO killed in NYC
The health care world is reeling from the news that Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group's insurance division, was shot and killed in a targeted attack in Manhattan yesterday. Thompson, 50, was walking alone to the company's investor conference around 6:45 a.m. when he was shot in the back and leg, the New York Police Department said in a press conference.
Reached by phone Wednesday morning, Thompson's sister-in-law, Maria Reveiz, described him as a wonderful person and hard worker. "We are shocked and heartbroken over this senseless murder," Reveiz said. "We, like the rest of the world, found out online, which is shameful."
Read more in two STAT stories: On what we know about the shooting and on how his family and colleagues have reacted to the news.
policy
The Supreme Court's conservatives seem wary to intervene on trans health bans
Conservative Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical yesterday when considering arguments that they should intervene in Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The court heard arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti that the state's ban discriminates against transgender youth and denies them equal protections. How the court rules on the case could have major implications for trans people of all ages, as well as for how much freedom states have to regulate health care more broadly in areas like reproductive health.
"Why isn't it best to leave it to the democratic process?" Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked the Biden administration's attorney. U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar and ACLU attorney Chase Strangio said the court doesn't need to make a sweeping constitutional ruling, but rather a narrow opinion that would instruct lower courts to demand more evidence from states instituting these types of bans.
My colleague Sarah Owermohle and I wrote about the arguments. Sarah was on the ground outside the Supreme Court, where she told me supporters of gender-affirming care for youth were blasting Bad Bunny at the same time as their opponents were bumping "God Bless the USA." Read more.
nutrition
Meanwhile, the U.K. is banning junk food ads
Starting next fall, children in the U.K. won't be exposed to television advertisements for junk food under a new law finalized this week. (That is, as long as those kids go to bed before 9 pm, when the ads are allowed to roll again.)
The rule is part of the government's efforts to curb obesity and reduce exposure to foods that are high in fat, sugar, and salt. Some of the foods that count as junk are obvious: Soft drinks, fast food, sugary breakfast cereals, and baked goods. But, demonstrating the complexity of packaged and ultra-processed foods, others are less so, like granola, instant porridge, and oatmeal. Notably, "total diet replacement products" and meal replacement products with an approved health claim are exempt.
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