Tens of millions of dollars of advertising has not changed President Biden’s polling deficit. Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial has not altered the race’s trajectory. And Mr. Biden’s significant cash and infrastructure advantages have yet to pay political dividends. So on Wednesday, the one weekday Mr. Trump is not confined to a courtroom, the Biden campaign shook up the race, publicly offering to bring forward the first presidential debate by three months. The move was meant to jolt...

Deadly drug overdoses in the United States declined last year for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, new preliminary federal data show. The big picture: It's a rare glimmer of positive news amid a drug epidemic that's gripped the nation for over two decades and still continues to kill over 100,000 people each year. By the numbers: Drug overdose deaths fell 3% from 111,029 in 2022 to 107,543 last year, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and...

Inflation slowed last month, offering a note of relief to cash-strapped shoppers after three months of bigger-than-expected price increases. Consumer prices in April were up 3.4% from a year ago, according to the Labor Department, a smaller annual increase than the month before. The cost of living rose 0.3% between March and April. Rising rents and gasoline prices were partially offset by falling prices for groceries, including household staples such as eggs and milk. "Core" inflation,...

The U.S. Supreme Court restored a Louisiana electoral map that has two of the state's six congressional districts with Black-majority populations for use in the Nov. 5 election - a ruling on Wednesday with potential implications for which party will control the U.S. House of Representatives. The justices granted a request by state officials and a group of Black voters to temporarily halt a federal three-judge panel's decision throwing out Louisiana's newly redrawn map that includes two Black...

The Biden administration said Tuesday it’s doing everything it can to help evacuate several American doctors who are stuck in Gaza amid a total military siege by Israel of the Rafah crossing, with some trapped saying they are witnessing a “complete eradication of everything.”  White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday the White House is monitoring the situation involving the trapped U.S. medical workers. “We’re tracking this matter closely and working to...

As a controlled explosion rocked the Dali on Monday, nearly two dozen sailors remained on board, below deck in the massive ship's hull. The simultaneous blasts sent pieces of Baltimore's once iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge into the dark waters of Maryland's Patapsco River, seven weeks after its collapse left six people on the bridge dead and the Dali marooned. Authorities - and the crew - hope that the demolition will mark the beginning of the end of a long process that has left the 21...

A Minnesota teachers union has reportedly expelled one of its members, a school counselor who blew the whistle on the school district’s transgender policies. Elementary student counselor Christina Barton received a letter from her union, the Rochester Education Association informing her that she was being kicked out, according to local newspaper the Post Bulletin. The union accused Barton of violating the National Education Association’s “code of ethics,” saying she “...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly exploded in anger after President Joe Biden set a “red line” for his Israel support, three people with knowledge of his remarks, including one of Netanyahu’s aides, told Axios. During an interview with CNN, Biden said he would restrict aid to Israel if it decides to invade Rafah where about one million individuals are seeking refuge. Following Biden’s remarks Netanyahu got upset in a cabinet meeting, telling the officials that he knew...

Judge Merchan’s daughter is making millions doing online fundraising for Democrats, including Democrats raising money off the Trump trial. See what I did there? I violated the Trump gag order. Republican politicians have done the same, at least according to progressives outraged by the recent procession of top Republicans who have trooped to New York City to assail the prosecution of Donald Trump. The cavalcade of Republicans, who have indeed said very similar things about the trial,...

Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey had only been with the Food and Drug Administration for about a month when she was tasked with reviewing a drug named thalidomide for distribution in America. Marketed as a sedative for pregnant women, thalidomide was already available in Canada, Germany, and several African countries.It could have been a very simple approval. But for Kelsey, something didn't sit right. There were no tests showing thalidomide was safe for human use, particularly during pregnancy.When Chemie Grünenthal released thalidomide in West Germany years earlier, they called it a "wonder drug" for pregnant women. They promised it would treat anxiety, insomnia, tension, and morning sickness and help pregnant women sleep.What they didn't advertise were its side effects.Because it crosses the placental barrier between fetus and mother, thalidomide causes devastating — often fatal — physical defects. During the five years it was on the market, an estimated 10,000 babies globally were born with thalidomide-caused defects. Only about 60% lived past their first birthday.In 1961, the health effects of thalidomide weren't well-known. Only a few studies in the U.K. and Germany were starting to connect the dots between babies born with physical defects and the medication their mothers had taken while pregnant.At the outset, that wasn't what concerned Kelsey. She'd looked at the testimonials in the submission and found them "too glowing for the support in the way of clinical back up." She pressed the American manufacturer, Cincinnati's William S. Merrell Company, to share research on how their drug affected human patients. They refused. Instead, they complained to her superiors for holding up the approval. Still, she refused to back down.A sample pack of thalidomide sent to doctors in the U.K. While more than 10,000 babies worldwide were born with thalidomide-related birth defects, FDA historian John Swann credits Dr. Kelsey with limiting the number of American babies affected to just 17.Over the next year, the manufacturer would resubmit its application to sell thalidomide six times. Each time, Kelsey asked for more research. Each time, they refused.By 1961, thousands of mothers were giving birth to babies with shocking and heartbreaking birth defects. Taking thalidomide early in their pregnancy was the one thing connecting them. The drug was quickly pulled from shelves, vanishing mostly by 1962.Through dogged persistence, Kelsey and her team had prevented a national tragedy.In 1962, President John F. Kennedy honored Kelsey with the Federal Civilian Service Medal. He thanked her for her exceptional judgment and for preventing a major tragedy of birth deformities in the United States:“I know that we are all most indebted to Dr. Kelsey. The relationship and the hopes that all of us have for our children, I think, indicate to Dr. Kelsey, I am sure, how important her work is and those who labor with her to protect our families. So, Doctor, I know you know how much the country appreciates what you have done."But, she wasn't done yet. Later that year, the FDA approved new, tougher regulations for companies seeking drug approval, inspired in large part by Kelsey's work on thalidomide.Reached via email, FDA historian John Swann said this about Kelsey's legacy: "[Her] actions also made abundantly clear to the nation the important public health role that drug regulation and FDA itself play in public health. The revelation of the global experience with that drug and America's close call indeed provided impetus to secure passage of a comprehensive drug regulation bill that had been more or less floundering during the time FDA was considering the application."Kelsey continued to work for the FDA until 2005. She died in 2015, aged 101, just days after receiving the Order of Canada for her work on thalidomide.Bureaucratic approval work is rarely thrilling and not often celebrated. That's a shame because it's so critical.People like Kelsey, who place public health and safety above all else — including their career — deserve every ounce of our collective respect and admiration.This story originally appeared on 05.20.16