Selena Simmons-Duffin

I’m going to post one here that just happened that is so upsetting.

This is a remarkable statistic: 18.7 million out of the 24.3 million Obamacare enrollees are in states won by President Trump in 2024.
www.kff.org/quick-take/m...

Thank you for your support!

Wow

Shutdown nears as Democrats fight to extend ACA tax credits With a government shutdown looming, Democrats are pushing to extend key tax credits that keep ACA premiums low. Without them, millions face rate hikes or risk losing their coverage.

Our senior producer @emilypisacreta.bsky.social spoke with @selenasd.com on @npr.org’s morning edition about the Obamacare rate hikes she’ll face if expanded ACA premium tax credits expire:

Https://www.npr.org/2025/09/25/nx-s1-5552639/shutdown-nears-as-democrats-fight-to-extend-aca-tax-credits

Trump goes beyond his own FDA with Tylenol warning | CNN President Donald Trump warned against Tylenol use during pregnancy, overstating its link to autism and contradicting some of the FDA’s guidance. CNN’s Meg Tirrell examines the FDA’s letter to doctors ...

Trump’s directives on Tylenol on Monday, compared with communications from the FDA: www.cnn.com/2025/09/24/h...

Judith Butler is being targeted by the US government. We must stand up | Joel Swanson What is happening to Judith Butler – a Jewish intellectual – in the name of fighting ‘antisemitism’ is outrageous

"In the name of 'fighting antisemitism', the Trump administration is publicly making an example out of arguably the most famous Jewish public intellectual in the country today."

Do Trans People Have A Right to Exist? Or, My Life As An Ideology

Wrote about The Heritage Foundation's plan to weaponize the FBI against transgender people's existence, which includes banning me from saying that's what they're doing

Los Angeles child dies from rare measles complication years after recovery The county health department said the death is a "painful reminder" of how dangerous measles can be in unvaccinated people.

Rolling the dice on a vaccine preventable illness is never the better option. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a rare and fatal complication of measles that can occur several years after the original infection. This is sad, this is avoidable. Vaccinate kids!
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

It Only Tuesday

It Only Tuesday https://theonion.com/it-only-tuesday-1819569397/

WOW great work by these student journalists.

Ruby Bridges, age 6

Ruby Bridges flanked by three U.S. Marshals on the steps of her school

Norman Rockwell's painting "The Problem We All Live With," depicting the event originally published as a centerfold in the January 14, 1964, issue of Look magazine.

Ruby Bridge talking to President Obama as they look at Rockwell's painting when it was temporarily displayed at the White House in 2011.

Happy 71st Birthday to Ruby Bridges, who at the age of 6 desegregated the New Orleans public schools.

She’s younger than 30 senators and our last two presidents—and only 7 years older than Barack Obama.

The past isn’t past.

She's bracing and saving to pay $2,800 a month for ACA health insurance next year Raiding retirement savings. Pondering job changes or even marriage. People who buy their own health insurance are strategizing ahead of major price hikes in 2026. Open enrollment starts Nov. 1.

We recently wrote a guide for Marketplace enrollees on price hikes they should expect come November if federal subsidies expire.

@npr.org spoke with one enrollee who estimates that if the subsidies expire, her monthly costs will skyrocket from $479 to $2,800.

www.npr.org/sections/sho...

The Future Of Podcasting Is Here, And It Sucks | Defector This week, Left Of Dial published its Essential Listening Poll, a compilation of the 100 best podcasts of all time, according to industry creators, writers, and scholars (Disclosure: I was invited to ...

There have been a ton of 20th anniversary "best of" podcast lists lately, and it has started to feel a bit like an obituary for an industry.

[gift link] defector.com/the-future-o...

Multiple journalists killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza hospital A hospital strike in southern Gaza has killed at least eight people, including four journalists. The attack happened on Monday.

Four journalists were killed by an Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital today, including Mariam Dagga, a freelancer with the @apnews.com. She has a 12-year-old son, who was evacuated from Gaza earlier in the war.

She was a true hero, like all of our Palestinian colleagues in Gaza.
tinyurl.com/3cn5c9vb

AP freelancer among 4 journalists killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza hospital, health officials say Among the victims was Mariam Dagga, a freelancer for the Associated Press. Al Jazeera confirmed that its journalist Mohammed Salam was also killed in the strike. Reuters reported that its contractor c...

At least 192 journalists killed in Gaza in the 22-month conflict, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Comparatively, 18 journalists have been killed so far in Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to the CPJ.

apnews.com/article/mide...

RFK Jr. Vowed to Find the Environmental Causes of Autism. Then He Shut Down Research Trying to Do Just That. While touting a $50 million initiative to identify the causes of autism, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is helping lead an administration that is rolling back protections against pollution and toxic chemicals,...

NEW: For years, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed discredited theories linking vaccines to autism.

Now, scientists studying the condition fear he has preconceived notions that will harm the field and taint new funding for research.
propub.li/41JYl7o

Patient seeking care at NIH hospital detained by ICE NIH officials called immigration authorities after the patient presented a non-real ID while passing security at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center.

Federal immigration authorities detained a woman seeking medical care at the National Institutes of Health’s flagship research hospital after the patient presented a non-real ID while passing security.

CDC to disburse delayed funds for fighting fentanyl and more, staffers say Much of the public health agency's $9 billion budget had been in limbo but funds are finally flowing, according to CDC staffers, including for a key overdose prevention program.

NEW from me and @brianmannadk.bsky.social: The CDC will be able to fully fund the Overdose Data to Action or OD2A program ahead of a key budget deadline. CDC staff say this appears to be good news, although the funding situation is still fluid and confusing.

www.npr.org/sections/sho...

Time to Grow The 51st Help us hire Christina and Martin Full-Time!

Do you live in DC? Then you want @maustermuhle.bsky.social covering local government for you. Let’s make it happen @51st.news givebutter.com/SsQ8CG

GOP lawmakers tighten hold on elections administration in North Carolina A Republican-backed spending bill would allow the hiring of political appointees to state elections administrations staff.

A Republican-backed spending bill would allow the hiring of political appointees to state elections administrations staff.

www.wunc.org/politics/202...

Just read the Brown University agreement and this really jumped out.

"The University will not perform gender reassignment surgery or prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to any minor child for the purpose of aligning the child's appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex."

By a vote of 52-47, the #Senate invoked cloture on the nomination of Susan Monarez to be Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Party line vote with Senator Justice not voting.

Public media has been defunded. Your support keeps journalists on the ground, lifts unheard voices, and connects communities.

Help us plan for what’s next. Make a monthly gift today. Stand with public media: n.pr/458sOhq

Without federal funding, public media — and the truth-telling, community-connecting role it plays — is at risk.

Local stations may vanish. Millions could lose trusted news and vital information. If you are ready to join the fight for journalism, donate now: n.pr/458sOhq

Half a dozen gender care providers in blue states have announced in the last week or so they are shuttering their programs. I'm hoping to talk to families who uprooted their lives and moved to one of these states for care and now face losing it again. Happy to find ways to protect your identity!

ACA health insurance will cost the average person 75% more next year, research shows A new analysis shows that health insurance premiums for Obamacare are set to soar next year, as financial help that subsidized the cost expires. Congress is not likely to extend the subsidies.

“ACA health insurance will cost the average person 75% more next year, research shows”

“The average person who buys Affordable Care Act insurance will be paying 75% more for their premium, according to the analysis from KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group.”

As a longtime public health reporter covering the rise of anti-vaccine groups, I have seen them use personal stories to raise doubts about vaccines.
Today I saw immunization advocates push back by highlighting the stories of the toll of vaccine-preventable illness. A thread:

'Where's our money?' CDC grant funding is moving so slowly layoffs are happening The state and local health departments that rely on CDC funding say the money is not coming in on time and no one can tell them why. Some are laying off staff.

NPR - Health departments around the country have noticed there's something strange happening with funding from the CDC: It's not showing up on schedule and there's been no communication about why.