A cancer diagnosis may not be enough: Trump and Democratic states clash in court over who’s too sick to work - POLITICO

The administration declared in an interim final rule released last month that a diagnosis, even for a disease as grave as cancer, isn’t enough to claim an exemption from the 80-hour requirement, unless beneficiaries submit additional proof that they physically can’t work. Democratic attorneys general from 25 states and Washington, D.C. plan to argue the rule is both too strict, in not offering blanket exemptions to people with certain diseases, and too vague, in failing to guide states on how to determine who is too sick to work — and will ask the judge to block the stricter medical frailty policy...

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/28/trump-dems-court-battle-over-medicaid-work-requirements-01013114

 

Michigan health officials identify ‘potential source’ of parasite outbreak

The Michigan health department is urging restaurants and commercial kitchens in the south-east to thoroughly wash leafy greens, snow peas, some herbs and raspberries or, ideally, to cook them. After identifying lettuces as the potential culprit, Michigan officials also recommended purchasing whole heads of lettuce rather than pre-washed, bagged greens, discarding outer layers of leaves and thoroughly washing the inner leaves… 

In part, delays have been exacerbated by the Trump administration’s funding cuts, Kowalcyk said, citing both grant cuts to state and local health departments and changes to federal surveillance systems that make it harder to get “the whole picture”. 

The Trump administration cut in March 2025 $11.4bn in grants to state and local health departments. Although those grants were earmarked for pandemic activities, Kowalcyk said they also built out local health department capacity. Michigan public health labs alone lost $5.5m, according to Bridge Michigan, a local news outlet…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/13/cyclospora-outbreak-parasite-explosive-diarrhea

 

Opinion | Russia might have caused Havana syndrome. A new inquiry is needed. - The Washington Post

A just-published investigation by Russian, American and German journalists has unearthed startling new information about the so-called Havana syndrome, or "Anomalous Health Incidents," as the government calls the unexplained bouts of painful disorientation that U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers have suffered in recent years. The new information suggests but does not prove that Russia's military intelligence agency is responsible…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/01/investigate-havana-syndrome-russia/

‘They don’t care’: how the US lets down workers with serious illnesses

Currently under the Family and Medical Leave Act, about 40% of all US workers aren't eligible for unpaid leave and many workers can't afford to utilize leave because it's unpaid, with low-income workers disproportionately lacking any access to short-term disability insurance through employers. More than 60% of low-wage US workers have no access to paid sick days on the job...

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/18/walmart-sick-workers-serious-illnesss

Lack of child care is keeping record number of parents out of work

The data underscores how important child care is to a functioning economy, especially at a time — like this "tripledemic" fall — when more people are getting sick…

https://www.axios.com/2022/11/16/lack-of-child-care-is-keeping-record-number-of-parents-out-of-work

Whistleblower warns baffling illness affects growing number of young adults in Canadian province | Canada | The Guardian

Several new cases in New Brunswick involve caretakers of those afflicted, suggesting a possible environmental trigger…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/02/neurological-illness-affecting-young-adults-canada

Being there for an ailing girlfriend vs. being there for yourself - The Washington Post: Perspective | Carolyn Hax

She has lupus, and that's serious, but it doesn't mean his emotional needs don't matter....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/carolyn-hax-being-there-for-an-ailing-girlfriend-vs-being-there-for-yourself/2020/04/01/724c4754-704e-11ea-b148-e4ce3fbd85b5_story.html

Tennessee Has Staggering Rate Of Bankruptcy Due To Medical Debt

The State of Tennessee is in the midst of a health care crisis, where its residents are struggling with debt, bankruptcies, and a lack of access to health care, while suffering from some of the highest rates in the United States of preventable illnesses.
https://shadowproof.com/2019/11/20/tennessee-health-care-crisis-medical-debt-bankruptcy-closing-hospitals/

Paging Dr. God for treatment (Third place — High school essay contest: Shiv Shah | Freethought Today)

Diagnosis: Patient presents with active hemorrhage and hemoptysis.
Treatment: Patient has refused treatment on account of “God will save us.”
Diagnosis: Patient has a circular, third-degree burn with recurring sepsis.
Treatment: Patient has refused treatment on account of “God will save us.” https://www.freethoughttoday.com/vol-36-no-06-august-2019/third-place-high-school-essay-contest-shiv-shah

Marianne Williamson isn’t funny. She’s scary - Vox

Williamson's views on depression and illness are dangerous. The media is complicit in spreading them....
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/7/31/20748594/marianne-williamson-debate-democratic-july-2019-depression

Institutionalized racism is keeping black Americans sick - The Hill:

Decades of institutional racism that exposed African Americans to many health inequities that have led to the current health crisis.
https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/443455-institutionalized-racism-is-keeping-black-americans-sick

A Teenager Was Diagnosed With Schizophrenia—but It Turned Out to Be an Infection From His Cat - Health.com

He thought he was the "evil, damned son of the devil." ...
https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/cat-scratch-schizophrenia

The Science Is Clear: Dirty Farm Water Is Making Us Sick - WIRED

Lettuce contaminated with pathogens have sickened and killed people. But the FDA has shelved Obama-era plans to test the culprit: farms' irrigation water. ....
https://www.wired.com/story/the-science-is-clear-dirty-farm-water-is-making-us-sick/