Rejected by his mother, a rare wild Asian horse foal finds a new mom in a grieving domestic mare
Marat, a Przewalski's horse, fell critically ill soon after his birth at the Minnesota Zoo nearly two months ago. He survived thanks to intensive care. But his mother rejected him when he returned.
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Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Mayors, doctor groups sue over Trump's efforts to restrict Obamacare enrollment
WASHINGTON (AP) — New Trump administration rules that give millions of people a shorter timeframe to sign up for the Affordable Care Act's health care coverage are facing a legal challenge from Democratic mayors around the country. The rules, rolled out last month, reverse a Biden-era effort to expand access to the Affordable Care Act's health insurance, commonly called 'Obamacare' or the ACA. The previous Democratic administration expanded the enrollment window for the coverage, which led to record enrollment. The Department of Health and Human Services rolled out a series of new restrictions for Obamacare late last month, just as Congress was weighing a major bill that will decrease enrollment in the health care program that Republican President Donald Trump has scorned for years. As many as 2 million people — nearly 10% — are expected to lose coverage from the health department's new rules. The mayors of Baltimore, Chicago and Columbus, Ohio sued the federal health department on Tuesday over the rules, saying they will result in more uninsured residents and overburden city services. 'Cloaked in the pretense of government efficiency and fraud prevention, the 2025 Rule creates numerous barriers to affordable insurance coverage, negating the purpose of the ACA to extend affordable health coverage to all Americans, and instead increasing the population of underinsured and uninsured Americans,' the filing alleges. Two liberal advocacy groups — Doctors for America and Main Street Alliance — joined in on the complaint. The federal health department announced a series of changes late last month to the ACA. It will shorten the enrollment period for the federal marketplace by a month, limiting it to Nov. 1 to Dec. 15 in 2026. Income verification checks will become more stringent and a $5 fee will be tacked on for some people who automatically re-enroll in a free plan. Insurers will also be able to deny coverage to people who have not paid their premiums on past plans. The rules also bar roughly 100,000 immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children from signing up for the coverage. HHS said in a statement that the polices 'are temporary measures to immediately tamp down on improper enrollments and the improper flow of federal funds.' Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. The mayors — all Democrats — argue that the polices were introduced without an adequate public comment period on the policies. 'This unlawful rule will force families off their health insurance and raise costs on millions of Americans. This does nothing to help people and instead harms Americans' health and safety across our country,' said Skye Perryman, the president of Democracy Forward, which is representing the coalition of plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The lawsuit does not challenge the Trump administration's restriction on immigrants signing up for the coverage. The Biden administration saw gains in Obamacare enrollment as a major success of the Democratic president's term, noting that a record 24 million people signed up for the coverage, thanks to generous tax breaks offered through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. But the program has been a target of Trump, who has said it is riddled with problems that make the coverage unaffordable for many without large subsidies. Enrollment in the program dipped during his first term in office.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
HHS layoffs were likely unlawful and must be halted, US judge says
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that recent mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were likely unlawful and ordered the Trump administration to halt plans to downsize and reorganize the nation's health workforce. U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose granted the preliminary injunction sought by a coalition of attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit filed in early May. DuBose said the states had shown 'irreparable harm,' from the cuts and were likely to prevail in their claims that 'HHS's action was both arbitrary and capricious as well as contrary to law.' 'The executive branch does not have the authority to order, organize, or implement wholesale changes to the structure and function of the agencies created by Congress,' DuBose wrote in a 58-page order handed down in U.S. district court in Providence. Her order blocks the Trump administration from finalizing layoffs announced in March or issuing any further firings. HHS is directed to file a status report by July 11. The ruling applies to terminated employees in four different divisions of HHS: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Center for Tobacco Products within the Food and Drug Administration; the Office of Head Start within the Administration for Children and Families and employees of regional offices who work on Head Start matters; and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. eliminated more than 10,000 employees in late March and consolidated 28 agencies to 15. Since then, agencies including the CDC have repeatedly rescinded layoffs affecting hundreds of employees, including in branches that monitor HIV, hepatitis and other diseases. The attorneys general argued that the massive restructuring was arbitrary and outside of the scope of the agency's authority. The lawsuit also says the action decimated essential programs and pushed burdensome costs onto states. 'The intended effect … was the wholesale elimination of many HHS programs that are critical to public health and safety,' the lawsuit argued. The cuts are part of a federal 'Make America Healthy Again' directive to streamline costly agencies and reduce redundancies. Kennedy told senators at a May 14 hearing that there is 'so much chaos and disorganization' at HHS. But the restructuring had eliminated key teams that regulate food safety and drugs, as well as support a wide range of programs for tobacco, HIV prevention and maternal and infant health. Kennedy has since said that because of mistakes, 20% of people fired might be reinstated. The states who joined the lawsuit have Democratic governors, and many of the same states — plus a few others — also sued the Trump administration over $11 billion in cuts to public health funding. A preliminary injunction was granted in that case in mid-May. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Anne Wojcicki's nonprofit gets court approval to buy 23andMe for $305 million
NEW YORK (AP) — Anne Wojcicki's bid to buy 23andMe, the genetic testing company she cofounded nearly 20 years ago, has received the court greenlight. That means Wojcicki's nonprofit TTAM Research Institute will purchase 'substantially all' of San Francisco-based 23andMe's assets for $305 million. The transaction — which arrives more than three months after 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — is set to officially close in the coming weeks. 'I am thrilled that TTAM will be able to build on the mission of 23andMe to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome,' Wojcicki said in a statement Monday — later adding that, 'the future of health care belongs to all of us.' The sale, which was approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brian C. Walsh on Friday, marks the end of a monthslong bidding war between TTAM and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals — a biotech company that had previously agreed to buy most of 23andMe's assets for $256 million in May. But Wojcicki's nonprofit later topped that offer, winning the final round of bidding held last month. Under the deal, TTAM will acquire 23andMe's signature 'Personal Genome Service' provided through the company's saliva-based DNA testing kits — as well as research operations and its Lemonaid Health subsidiary, a telehealth services provider that 23andMe previously planned to wind down. Wojcicki had worked to take 23andMe private for some time. With the company struggling to find a profitable business model since going public in 2021, she's maintained that it would operate better outside market pressures. But that endeavor proved to be tumultuous — notably in September of last year, when all of 23andMe's independent directors resigned from its board citing a 'clear' difference of opinion with Wojcicki on the company's future following drawn-out negotiations. Leading up to 23andMe's March bankruptcy filing, subsequent efforts from Wojcicki to acquire the company were unsuccessful. And when 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 in late March, Wojcicki resigned as CEO — noting at the time that she was stepping down to be 'in the best position' as an independent bidder. Now that Wojcicki's nonprofit will acquire 23andMe, it's unclear whether the co-founder will step back into the CEO seat. But despite stepping down from the top post months ago, Wojcicki has remained on the company's board throughout the bankruptcy process. Beyond financial strains leading up to 23andMe's bankruptcy, privacy concerns related to customers' genetic information also emerged — dating back to even before the bankruptcy process with a 2023 data breach. But concern what new ownership could mean for 23andMe users' personal data has bubbled up in recent months. The genetic testing business had about 13 million customers at the time of its sale hearing, court documents note. In June, 27 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit seeking to block the sale of personal genetic data by 23andMe without customer consent. And in a memorandum opinion outlining his approval 23andMe's sale to TTAM on Friday, Walsh acknowledged these states' objections to the acquisition — but that noted many had since been resolved. Still, California, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah 'remain actively opposed to the sale.' Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. In a statement to Politico on Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office maintained that 23andMe's sale 'does not comply' with genetic privacy law in the state — and said it was 'disappointed' with the court's approval, adding that it was evaluating next steps. The Associated Press reached out to Bonta's office and 23andMe for further comments on Tuesday. When announcing its intended sale to Wojcicki's nonprofit last month, 23andMe confirmed that TTAM 'has affirmed its commitment' to comply with the company privacy policies and applicable law. That means TTAM will honor existing policies around consumer data, the company said, which includes allowing users to delete their data and 'opt out' of research. All customers will be emailed at least two business days before the acquisition closes — with details on TTAM's privacy commitments and instructions on how to delete data or opt out of research, 23andMe said. The company added that TTAM will offer customers two years of Experian identity theft monitoring at no cost. 23andMe reiterated those privacy policies on Monday. And Wojcicki added that, 'Core to my beliefs is that individuals should be empowered to have choice and transparency with respect to their genetic data and have the opportunity to continue to learn about their ancestry and health risks as they wish.'
