Alex Wayne
@aawayne.bsky.social
Executive Editor, KFF Health News
Read and republish everything we do for $0: https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us/
Florida man | Never cruise
*I do not respond to most PR pitches*
AlexW@kff.org
Read and republish everything we do for $0: https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us/
Florida man | Never cruise
*I do not respond to most PR pitches*
AlexW@kff.org
Reposted by Alex Wayne
A retiree wrote this email to a DHS attorney. Within five hours, DHS demanded Google turn over records for his account.
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
February 3, 2026 at 3:15 PM
A retiree wrote this email to a DHS attorney. Within five hours, DHS demanded Google turn over records for his account.
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech.
New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
Reposted by Alex Wayne
Having a body cam is just the first step. You also gotta turn it on and release the footage.
DHS has footage of Alex Pretti's killing. Yet it won't even say whether it's own investigators have it.
www.propublica.org/article/alex...
DHS has footage of Alex Pretti's killing. Yet it won't even say whether it's own investigators have it.
www.propublica.org/article/alex...
February 2, 2026 at 11:08 PM
Having a body cam is just the first step. You also gotta turn it on and release the footage.
DHS has footage of Alex Pretti's killing. Yet it won't even say whether it's own investigators have it.
www.propublica.org/article/alex...
DHS has footage of Alex Pretti's killing. Yet it won't even say whether it's own investigators have it.
www.propublica.org/article/alex...
Does your health insurance now cost more than your mortgage? Or did you drop your coverage altogether this year?
We want to hear from you. Check out our new series, Priced Out, and tell us about your own experience trying to pay for health care.
kffhealthnews.org/priced-out/
We want to hear from you. Check out our new series, Priced Out, and tell us about your own experience trying to pay for health care.
kffhealthnews.org/priced-out/
Priced Out - KFF Health News
Skyrocketing health care costs and insurance premiums combined with congressional inaction have forced a perilous decision upon many people: Pay higher prices for health insurance or go uncovered. KFF...
kffhealthnews.org
February 2, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Does your health insurance now cost more than your mortgage? Or did you drop your coverage altogether this year?
We want to hear from you. Check out our new series, Priced Out, and tell us about your own experience trying to pay for health care.
kffhealthnews.org/priced-out/
We want to hear from you. Check out our new series, Priced Out, and tell us about your own experience trying to pay for health care.
kffhealthnews.org/priced-out/
Reposted by Alex Wayne
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...
www.propublica.org
February 1, 2026 at 9:10 PM
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
Reposted by Alex Wayne
🚨 New from me: Grant review at more than half of NIH's institutes could be frozen by the end of the year.
That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027.
A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications.
A short 🧵
That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027.
A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications.
A short 🧵
Exclusive: key NIH review panels due to lose all members by the end of 2026
Thirteen of the agency’s advisory councils, which must review grant applications before funding is awarded, are on track to have no voting members.
www.nature.com
January 22, 2026 at 7:46 PM
🚨 New from me: Grant review at more than half of NIH's institutes could be frozen by the end of the year.
That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027.
A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications.
A short 🧵
That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027.
A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications.
A short 🧵
Went to Terry Black's once at the advice of the Uber driver who picked me up at the airport. Good, but overpriced even for Austin. Plenty of other choices.
Kaleb Blain, a 35-year old trans man and pitmaster, was fired from the legendary BBQ restaurant Terry Black’s after he was doxxed over Charlie Kirk comments.
Now he’s running his own barbecue spot in Waco: “I feel better than I ever have.”
By @kitoconnell.com
thebarbedwire.com/2026/01/21/b...
Now he’s running his own barbecue spot in Waco: “I feel better than I ever have.”
By @kitoconnell.com
thebarbedwire.com/2026/01/21/b...
‘Barbecue Saved My Life’: Meet Waco’s Antifascist Transgender Pitmaster
Kaleb Blain went from the fast-paced world of 911 dispatching to the “low and slow” of BBQ, where he’s built a following.
thebarbedwire.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Went to Terry Black's once at the advice of the Uber driver who picked me up at the airport. Good, but overpriced even for Austin. Plenty of other choices.
Reposted by Alex Wayne
The loss of enhanced ACA subsidies, coupled with the challenging economic conditions, has made health coverage unaffordable for many farmers. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Farmers Now Owe a Lot More for Health Insurance - KFF Health News
More than a quarter of the agricultural workforce purchases health insurance through the individual marketplace, a much larger share than the overall percentage of U.S. adults. After a tough year for ...
kffhealthnews.org
January 22, 2026 at 5:01 PM
The loss of enhanced ACA subsidies, coupled with the challenging economic conditions, has made health coverage unaffordable for many farmers. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Reposted by Alex Wayne
We set out to determine how many images of women and girls Grok created during its nudifying spree. What we found was “industrial-scale abuse,” experts said. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/t...
Musk’s Chatbot Flooded X With Millions of Sexualized Images in Days, New Estimates Show
www.nytimes.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:56 PM
We set out to determine how many images of women and girls Grok created during its nudifying spree. What we found was “industrial-scale abuse,” experts said. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/t...
Reposted by Alex Wayne
ICE says it detains the "worst of the worst." Meet Liam Ramos, age 5.
January 22, 2026 at 5:11 PM
ICE says it detains the "worst of the worst." Meet Liam Ramos, age 5.
Reposted by Alex Wayne
Q: Did you uncover evidence to prove Trump knew his claim the election was stolen was false?
SMITH: Yes
Q: And Trump claimed it was stolen while he privately acknowledged he lost?
SMITH: Yes
Q: Yet on the 5th anniversary of J6, Trump still promoted the stolen election theory on a govt webpage
SMITH: Yes
Q: And Trump claimed it was stolen while he privately acknowledged he lost?
SMITH: Yes
Q: Yet on the 5th anniversary of J6, Trump still promoted the stolen election theory on a govt webpage
January 22, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Q: Did you uncover evidence to prove Trump knew his claim the election was stolen was false?
SMITH: Yes
Q: And Trump claimed it was stolen while he privately acknowledged he lost?
SMITH: Yes
Q: Yet on the 5th anniversary of J6, Trump still promoted the stolen election theory on a govt webpage
SMITH: Yes
Q: And Trump claimed it was stolen while he privately acknowledged he lost?
SMITH: Yes
Q: Yet on the 5th anniversary of J6, Trump still promoted the stolen election theory on a govt webpage
Reposted by Alex Wayne
The new chair of the #ACIP was on the Why Should I Trust You? podcast. The interview was ... enlightening. Among other things, Kirk Milhoan seemed to question whether kids still need to be vaccinated against polio & said he doesn't like “established science.” www.statnews.com/2026/01/22/v...
Top CDC vaccine adviser questions need for polio shot, other longstanding recommendations
The chair of a federal vaccine advisory panel charted a new course for the committee in a podcast released Thursday, questioning longstanding recommendations.
www.statnews.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:18 PM
The new chair of the #ACIP was on the Why Should I Trust You? podcast. The interview was ... enlightening. Among other things, Kirk Milhoan seemed to question whether kids still need to be vaccinated against polio & said he doesn't like “established science.” www.statnews.com/2026/01/22/v...
Reposted by Alex Wayne
A thing to keep in mind here: This issue of ICE/DHS barring clergy from offering pastoral care or religious rites to detainees is triggering lawsuits, protests (with arrests of pastors) and blowback from *Pope Leo.*
NEW: My dispatch from *inside* Minnesota's Whipple building today (the facility where ICE has rooted its operations in the region), where a group of clergy attempted to offer pastoral care to immigrant detainees.
They were denied — an emerging national pattern. religionnews.com/2026/01/13/f...
They were denied — an emerging national pattern. religionnews.com/2026/01/13/f...
Faith leaders are denied access to immigration detainees in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (RNS) — The question of offering pastoral care to immigrant detainees has become a theological and legal flashpoint since President Donald Trump launched his mass deportation effort last y...
religionnews.com
January 13, 2026 at 9:40 PM
A thing to keep in mind here: This issue of ICE/DHS barring clergy from offering pastoral care or religious rites to detainees is triggering lawsuits, protests (with arrests of pastors) and blowback from *Pope Leo.*
Reposted by Alex Wayne
Rick Pazdur, very briefly and until recently the FDA's top drug regulator, rang the alarm about political influence at the agency at a @statnews.com event.
At the end, he quipped: "I hope the IRS doesn’t come and audit me now.”
www.statnews.com/2026/01/13/r...
At the end, he quipped: "I hope the IRS doesn’t come and audit me now.”
www.statnews.com/2026/01/13/r...
Pazdur warns that politics, ‘chaos’ are damaging FDA
At a STAT event, veteran drug regulator Richard Pazdur, who left the FDA last month after 26 years, said that politics and 'chaos' were damaging the agency.
www.statnews.com
January 13, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Rick Pazdur, very briefly and until recently the FDA's top drug regulator, rang the alarm about political influence at the agency at a @statnews.com event.
At the end, he quipped: "I hope the IRS doesn’t come and audit me now.”
www.statnews.com/2026/01/13/r...
At the end, he quipped: "I hope the IRS doesn’t come and audit me now.”
www.statnews.com/2026/01/13/r...
Reposted by Alex Wayne
Immigration agents are choking people in America's streets & using tactics against their own policy/training. Many LEO agencies have banned their use
A Colombian TikToker. An ICU nurse. A father holding his child.
A 16-year-old citizen
DHS calls this "utmost professionalism"
w/ @mckenziefunk.com
A Colombian TikToker. An ICU nurse. A father holding his child.
A 16-year-old citizen
DHS calls this "utmost professionalism"
w/ @mckenziefunk.com
We Found More Than 40 Cases of Immigration Agents Using Banned Chokeholds and Other Moves That Can Cut Off Breathing
Civilians have had apparent seizures. One had his eyes roll back. Another had ribs broken. “I felt like I was going to pass out and die,” said a 16-year-old citizen put in a chokehold. The government ...
www.propublica.org
January 13, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Immigration agents are choking people in America's streets & using tactics against their own policy/training. Many LEO agencies have banned their use
A Colombian TikToker. An ICU nurse. A father holding his child.
A 16-year-old citizen
DHS calls this "utmost professionalism"
w/ @mckenziefunk.com
A Colombian TikToker. An ICU nurse. A father holding his child.
A 16-year-old citizen
DHS calls this "utmost professionalism"
w/ @mckenziefunk.com
Reposted by Alex Wayne
Callaghan said that he asked if he was under arrest after officers asked for him to hand over his identification and his cellphone.
“And then they said to me, ‘Well, you’re white, you won’t be any fun anyway. You can get out of the car.’”
“And then they said to me, ‘Well, you’re white, you won’t be any fun anyway. You can get out of the car.’”
“Be not afraid.”
January 13, 2026 at 3:20 AM
Callaghan said that he asked if he was under arrest after officers asked for him to hand over his identification and his cellphone.
“And then they said to me, ‘Well, you’re white, you won’t be any fun anyway. You can get out of the car.’”
“And then they said to me, ‘Well, you’re white, you won’t be any fun anyway. You can get out of the car.’”
Reposted by Alex Wayne
NEW: While so much attention is being paid to possible *causes* of autism, states are starting to cut funding on *treatment* for kids who already have it.
I wanted to know why.
Read my latest with @arjonesreports.bsky.social
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
I wanted to know why.
Read my latest with @arjonesreports.bsky.social
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
It's the 'gold standard' in autism care. Why are states reining it in?
Budget shortfalls and nearly $1 trillion in looming federal Medicaid cuts have prompted states to rein in spending on a widely embraced autism therapy, pinching families who depend on the services.
www.npr.org
December 23, 2025 at 1:00 PM
NEW: While so much attention is being paid to possible *causes* of autism, states are starting to cut funding on *treatment* for kids who already have it.
I wanted to know why.
Read my latest with @arjonesreports.bsky.social
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
I wanted to know why.
Read my latest with @arjonesreports.bsky.social
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
Reposted by Alex Wayne
In eastern Congo, where rape is widespread, the cancellation of USAID funding for life-changing — sometimes lifesaving — post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kits has left many victims vulnerable, according to nearly 50 interviews.
Congolese rape survivors search in vain for medicine after USAID cuts
In eastern Congo, where rape is widespread, the cancellation of USAID funding for PEP kits has left many victims vulnerable, according to nearly 50 interviews.
wapo.st
December 22, 2025 at 7:00 PM
In eastern Congo, where rape is widespread, the cancellation of USAID funding for life-changing — sometimes lifesaving — post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kits has left many victims vulnerable, according to nearly 50 interviews.
Reposted by Alex Wayne
Trump officials were warned repeatedly that cutting off food aid to refugees in Kenya would lead to violence and death. They did so anyway, and thousands starved. @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/keny...
After Trump Officials Cut Food Aid to Kenya, Children Starved to Death
“Brutal and traumatizing”: Interviews and a trove of internal documents show government officials and aid workers desperately tried to warn Trump advisers about impending disaster and death.
www.propublica.org
December 17, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Trump officials were warned repeatedly that cutting off food aid to refugees in Kenya would lead to violence and death. They did so anyway, and thousands starved. @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/keny...
Reposted by Alex Wayne
NEW: Pardoned January 6 rioters have been advising Justice Department officials how to pursue – and perhaps prosecute – the very prosecutors who helped put them behind bars.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
December 17, 2025 at 2:32 PM
NEW: Pardoned January 6 rioters have been advising Justice Department officials how to pursue – and perhaps prosecute – the very prosecutors who helped put them behind bars.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Alex Wayne
With no extension of enhanced tax credits, ACA enrollees are going to start the year with premium payments increasing by an average of 114%, or over $1,000 a year per person. Some will find a way to pay it, some have switched to higher deductibles, and some have dropped coverage.
December 16, 2025 at 4:21 PM
With no extension of enhanced tax credits, ACA enrollees are going to start the year with premium payments increasing by an average of 114%, or over $1,000 a year per person. Some will find a way to pay it, some have switched to higher deductibles, and some have dropped coverage.
Reposted by Alex Wayne
Enten highlights that Trump is underwater on every key issue: "The report card is negative. Every single day since March 12 Trump has been in the red. 281 days in a row. The bottom line is Americans don't like what Trump is doing and they haven't liked what Trump's doing for a long period of time."
December 17, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Enten highlights that Trump is underwater on every key issue: "The report card is negative. Every single day since March 12 Trump has been in the red. 281 days in a row. The bottom line is Americans don't like what Trump is doing and they haven't liked what Trump's doing for a long period of time."
Reposted by Alex Wayne
President Trump’s attack on Rob Reiner after the Hollywood director and his wife, Michele, were found dead drew immediate outrage, including from some fellow Republicans.
Trump Seizes on Rob Reiner’s Death to Attack the Hollywood Director
The president attributed the killing of Rob Reiner and his wife to “Trump derangement syndrome.” There was no indication that the couple’s political beliefs were linked to their deaths.
nyti.ms
December 15, 2025 at 7:30 PM
President Trump’s attack on Rob Reiner after the Hollywood director and his wife, Michele, were found dead drew immediate outrage, including from some fellow Republicans.
Reposted by Alex Wayne
This is the fifth GOP congressperson I’ve seen criticizing Trump’s post on Rob Reiner, and the first who isn’t either leaving the House (MTG, Bacon), a frequent critic (Massie), or in a swing district (Lawler).
December 15, 2025 at 7:20 PM
This is the fifth GOP congressperson I’ve seen criticizing Trump’s post on Rob Reiner, and the first who isn’t either leaving the House (MTG, Bacon), a frequent critic (Massie), or in a swing district (Lawler).
Reposted by Alex Wayne
Fetterman expressed surprise when I confirmed we had a copy of the letter he wrote to Israel President Herzog, pushing for a pardon for Netanyahu. “I know you guys use things like leaks but I don’t know who did that.” Story from @joshkovensky.bsky.social + me: talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fetterm...
Fetterman Writes Letter Asking Israel’s President to Pardon Netanyahu
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) prepared a letter in recent days asking Israel’s...
talkingpointsmemo.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Fetterman expressed surprise when I confirmed we had a copy of the letter he wrote to Israel President Herzog, pushing for a pardon for Netanyahu. “I know you guys use things like leaks but I don’t know who did that.” Story from @joshkovensky.bsky.social + me: talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fetterm...
Reposted by Alex Wayne
🧵My talk w/John Weiser, an HIV expert & doctor who resigned from CDC after refusing to censor data.
"I thought about my transgender patients and how I would face them...knowing that I had erased their existence from CDC."
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
"I thought about my transgender patients and how I would face them...knowing that I had erased their existence from CDC."
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
This HIV Expert Refused To Censor Data, Then Quit the CDC - KFF Health News
HIV physician John Weiser talks about why complying with President Donald Trump’s orders to erase transgender people is bad for science and society. And he notes that acquiescing didn’t spare the CDC ...
kffhealthnews.org
December 10, 2025 at 7:33 PM
🧵My talk w/John Weiser, an HIV expert & doctor who resigned from CDC after refusing to censor data.
"I thought about my transgender patients and how I would face them...knowing that I had erased their existence from CDC."
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
"I thought about my transgender patients and how I would face them...knowing that I had erased their existence from CDC."
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...