CDC's 14-year ad campaign called Tips From Former Smokers was highly memorable/highly effective in motivating people to quit. Last year, as tobacco companies gave millions to political organizations related to Trump, the campaign went dark. By Christina Jewett www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/u...

STAT's new multi-part investigation, "The Deadliest Drug," is out. @levfacher.bsky.social and I have spent months examining the country's unchecked epidemic of injuries, diseases and deaths caused by excessive alcohol, and why the U.S. is ignoring its biggest substance use problem. @statnews.com

Trump officials have so far deprioritized alcohol, which many public health experts say is low-hanging fruit for addressing America's chronic health problems and eliminating unnecessary deaths. Once again: Alcohol causes more deaths each year in the US than at any point in the opioid crisis.

Some of the alcohol industry's top lobbyists are mega GOP fundraisers with deep Trump connections. Where's their public health opposition? Pretty much nowhere to be found.

NEW: The ICE office that customarily probes employee misconduct is being refocused to investigate ICE critics, opening hundreds of "doxing and threat" cases and subpoenaing tech companies to unmask anonymous posters. Detention facility inspections, meanwhile, are plummeting. by @regret.bsky.social

🤯 www.theexamination.org/articles/ame...

Today on The Fingers Podcast, it's me with @isabellacueto.bsky.social on the Trump admin's conspicuous disinterest in regulating the beverage-alcohol industry. We talk ICCPUD, Emily Oster, and much, much more. Tune in:

Today we take you inside the alcohol industry's influence. These are just some ways the beer, wine & liquor trades (and their stables of lobbyists) try to shape politics, policy, philanthropy, science. In the face of enormous business troubles, tactics are key: www.statnews.com/2026/07/01/a...

This @jaspar.bsky.social chart does a great job showing how far behind usual award levels the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is in 2025-2026. Full story: www.statnews.com/2026/06/30/m...

NEW: The Trump admin has all but ignored the nation's alcohol problem, which causes more deaths each yr than opioids. Even its addiction initiative sidesteps drinking. Instead, officials have stifled research, axed prevention efforts + muddled messaging. www.statnews.com/2026/06/30/m...

Horrifying: 800% increase in American babies born yearly with syphilis between 2012 and 2024. Congenital syphilis can cause bone deformities, brain damage, blindness, deafness, or other complications. Preventable with basic antibiotic. www.statnews.com/2026/06/15/p...

STAT has kept a running list of Kennedy's promises for 9 months now. We just ran a full update on the tracker. The refresh includes new deets on 10 HHS priorities that have gained traction in recent months, plus what's not moving & much more: www.statnews.com/2026/06/11/r...

!!! RFK Jr. claims his calendar is publicly available. We’ve been trying to get it for a year, via @statnews.com

CDC today released data showing self-reported alcohol use during pregnancy increased in the US between 2021 and 2024. Roughly 15% of women reported drinking, or nearly 1 in 8 pregnancies. We detailed this problem last month (1/2) www.statnews.com/2026/06/11/c...

my latest @consumerreports.org investigation is based on months of reporting and 120+ lab tests of popular snacks over a third of the products had more additives / contaminants in 1 serving than what health agencies have identified as safe to consume daily 🧵 www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...

A study on alcohol's health risks that was paid for by taxpayers but never released is now out – in a scientific journal. New: www.statnews.com/2026/06/09/s...

Diabetes researchers removed from a conference for handing out printed copies of their editorial warning that the Trump administration's funding cuts & delays will make America's health worse. The editorial: diabetesjournals.org/care/article...

Really timely conversation on the overlooked crisis in Cuba on @wamu.org – "The food is simply not going to market." No fuel to cook or go to work. Public health dissolving. Hospitals "eerily calm...but it's because people are getting ill and dying in their houses," reporter says. t.co/jsVuTrdHIh

A really important story about new details Trump officials released on Medicaid work requirements: www.statnews.com/2026/06/03/m...

a doozy from @sarah-todd.bsky.social — inside a longevity conference, people talked about how they might vibrate their scalps, replace their vital organs, buy tests and scans, and do any number of self-experiments to try and live forever: www.statnews.com/2026/05/27/l...

The news here (Taubenberger out as head of NIAID) tells you a lot about the chaos reigning at top science institutions in the US. 16 of 27 NIH institutes now have acting directors. And the second paragraph tells you about the chaos journalists face trying to get government responses…

When I started working with @isabellacueto.bsky.social on alcohol use during pregnancy, the best data we had ended in 2020 which left us with a big question: is the increase a blip? So I got busy replicating the studies we read and here's what I found: www.statnews.com/2026/05/19/d...

Alcohol addiction treatment, while neglecting medications to help people cut back — or even harm-reduction used for other drugs — relies heavily on programs like AA. For many, that has worked well. What about everyone else? NEW from @levfacher.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/05/14/a...

Today my colleague @isabellacueto.bsky.social dropped the first installments of our series "The Deadliest Drug," which highlights our invisible alcohol epidemic. Alcohol kills more people than fentanyl, meth, + cocaine combined. The question is: Why do we let it? www.statnews.com/2026/05/12/a...

Nearly one-third of people who meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder aren't asked about their drinking at the doctor's office, research suggests. That's a problem — especially because validated, simple and quick tools have been around for decades. @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/05/12/a...

Today, we dive into a unique liver crisis emerging in the US due to our high rates of metabolic disease (obesity, type 2 diabetes) & heavy alcohol use. That combo is driving liver disease in younger adults who may not even know the damage they're doing. www.statnews.com/2026/05/13/l...

STAT's new multi-part investigation, "The Deadliest Drug," is out. @levfacher.bsky.social and I have spent months examining the country's unchecked epidemic of injuries, diseases and deaths caused by excessive alcohol, and why the U.S. is ignoring its biggest substance use problem. @statnews.com

5 years ago, docs amazed the world by bringing a young woman's severe lupus into remission. The field of CAR-T therapy has exploded since, as new — sometimes unexpected — autoimmune diseases respond to treatment, and other tools are on the horizon... www.statnews.com/2026/04/09/a...

A mother's persistence helps revive an all-but-abandoned drug class and could aid her son and thousands of others with neuromuscular conditions. www.statnews.com/2026/04/08/d...

As the FDA touts a faster route for drugs to get to rare disease patients, many advocates are left scratching their heads about the agency's other recent decisions. Smart story from @jasonmast.bsky.social, who is on STAT's cute-baby beat. www.statnews.com/2026/02/26/r...

Brain-computer implants have helped some patients with ALS or paralysis move, speak and function So why are they not yet approved? Companies, researchers and regulators can't agree on how to actually prove, in large trials, they work Via @rosebroderick.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/02/26/b...

It's been a year since Kennedy became health secretary. What has he accomplished? We updated our tracker: www.statnews.com/2025/09/10/r...

8/ For more on what kids are experiencing inside the Dilley detention center, read the full story by reporter @micarosenberg.bsky.social:

1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken. Hundreds of kids are still detained. We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵

With a new U.S. vaccine schedule in hand, RFK Jr. allies aim for a bigger prize: changing state law If they're successful, vaccine requirements for schools and daycares could be a thing of the past w/ @isabellacueto.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/v...

NEW: President Donald Trump’s top immigration officials have repeatedly made statements after violent encounters involving agents - including two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis this month - that were later contradicted by evidence, Reuters found. www.reuters.com/world/us/evi...

Turns out there's a lot of historical precedent for the government's new milk mustache campaign! Dive in for some early 20th century eugenics history + 1990s throwback trivia: www.statnews.com/2026/01/22/n...

A deeper look at how new US dietary guidelines were shaped reveals rushed scientific reviews, industry-funded studies, and unanswered questions that are of great consequence to the American people. Exclusive: www.statnews.com/2026/01/17/n...

"Cuts affect organizations providing a broad array of services, including comprehensive opioid treatment; addiction care for people experiencing homelessness; helping adults transition out of prison," and more. www.statnews.com/2026/01/14/s...

A reminder that we're tracking Sec. Kennedy and MAHA's promises, with regular updates, here: www.statnews.com/2025/09/10/r...

How saturated fats lost ..and won in new dietary guidelines. @sarah-todd.bsky.social's smart piece: www.statnews.com/2026/01/08/s...

Nearly half of Trump-appointed experts involved in shaping the new dietary guidelines have financial ties to meat and dairy industries. Exclusive with @sarah-todd.bsky.social and @elizabethcooney.bsky.social --> www.statnews.com/2026/01/07/n...

We've got a new food pyramid, emphasis on limiting ultra-processed foods and eating more protein, and a lot more. Story with @isabellacueto.bsky.social & @elizabethcooney.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/01/07/d...

“Our kids are going to die from some of these diseases that we have resources against,” Elizabeth Choma, a D.C. pediatric nurse practitioner, said. New from @isabellacueto.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/01/06/w...

If you haven't cloned yourself to be able to see every cool session at AASLD's #TLM25, maybe read our (free) newsletter? We'll be sending out letters with interesting studies + tidbits from the conference tomorrow and Tuesday AM. Sign up here: www.statnews.com/signup/aasld...

7 burning questions about Trump’s big deal for cheaper weight loss drugs. Via @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/11/06/t...

I'll be covering #TLM25 for @statnews.com this weekend. Say hi if you see me, or lmk what you're most looking forward to learning about!