RFK Jr. Ally Guilty of Rape; SAMHSA Worker Dies of Suicide; Conflicts at USPSTF

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Actor Russell Brand, an ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, was found guilty of rape and multiple counts of sexual assault in a trial in the United Kingdom. (Politico)
Meanwhile, the White House alliance between President Trump and the MAHA movement championed by Kennedy appears to be fraying. (Politico)
MAHA leader Tony Lyons said he’s open to working with Democrats who play nice with Kennedy. But Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, MD, the senator-elect in Michigan, said he plans to investigate Kennedy for staffing cuts at FDA and CDC. (The Hill, New York Post)
Axios looked at how Democrats will use their new health oversight powers when they control both houses of Congress.
In other midterm election news, Democrat Amish Shah, MD, an emergency doctor and former state representative, won a House seat in Arizona over a former NFL kicker. (KJZZ)
An employee of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) died by suicide last week. (Government Executive)
Google’s artificial intelligence chatbot Gemini helped a 13-year-old girl prepare a suicide plan, according to a lawsuit in California that alleges the company released the chatbot while knowing it could be dangerous. (The Hill)
Prosecutors dropped charges against Kseniia Petrova, the Russian researcher who was detained for months when she came to the U.S. with frog embryos to be used in cancer research. (The Guardian)
Actor Christina Applegate, who previously announced she had been misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), said she is being tested for diseases that mimic MS. (People)
The doctor who oversaw Christa Pike’s failed execution said he hadn’t done an IV placement in 13 years. (People)
Four new members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) own stock in companies that could be affected by USPSTF decisions. (New York Times)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is considering using celebrities and influencers to warn people about fake medicines and medical devices. (Newsweek)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) commuted the sentences of all of the state’s 548 death row inmates to life in prison without possibility of parole, saying he believes capital punishment is immoral. (CalMatters)
The Trump administration gave Arkansas another 6 months to develop a replacement plan for its Medicaid expansion program after the state had asked for a 2-year reprieve. (Arkansas Advocate)
Canada authorized Moderna’s influenza and COVID-19 combination vaccine. (CTV News)
A British doctor who was in the Congo and tested positive for Ebola was evacuated to London for treatment. (AP)

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call or visit the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.