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Pemco Mutual Insurance Company
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Korva Coleman
In Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. Layoffs are underway at the Food and Drug Administration. These come amid an effort to cut the Department of Health and human services by 25%. And NPR's Sidney Lupkin reports.
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Sidney Lupkin
Emails went out to FDA staffers early Tuesday morning that they no longer had jobs. The entire team that handles communications for the agency has been cut. According to an HHS fact sheet, 3500 FDA jobs are being eliminated. It says the drug, device and food reviewers and inspectors will be spared. Many FDA staffers and their work are funded by user fees paid by the industry. Congress passed the first user fee law in 1992 to fund staffing to speed drug approvals. The fees are paid drug and device companies, as well as the makers of certain tobacco products. Some of the staffers funded by these fees tell NPR they lost their jobs, too, but because they weren't paid by taxpayers, those layoffs won't save taxpayer dollars. Sidney Lupkin, NPR News.
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Korva Coleman
Wisconsin voters are choosing the next justice to sit on the state Supreme Court. The conservative candidate is former Republican Attorney General Brad Schimmel. He says Wisconsin's top court should not make decisions for voters.
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Brad Schimmel
When judges make decisions about what the law, they're taking it out of your hands as a voter. Instead of the voters deciding what the law is through their legislative representatives, you got four justices on the Supreme Court that'll decide what the law is for you. In the end, that's the death of our republic.
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Korva Coleman
His opponent is Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, a liberal. Tens of millions of dollars have been poured into the race. That includes from liberal George Soros, who donated $2 million to Wisconsin Democrats to support Crawford. Billionaire Elon Musk and his allies gave millions to support the conservative candidate Musk. Even two one million dollar checks to Wisconsin voters. That drew outrage from Wisconsin resident Lynn Olson.
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Lynn Olson
The Elon injection is really destructive. And offering a million dollars for a vote has got to be illegal, right? Come on. So I am already voted in favor of Crawford. I'm trying to save democracy.
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Korva Coleman
Elon Musk says he is exercising free speech. Stocks opened lower this morning, as NPR's Scott Horsley reports.
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Scott Horsley
The S&P 500 index just wrapped up its worst quarter in three years and investors are bracing for more tariffs from the Trump administration. Although the White House has offered few details about what's in store, European leaders say they're prepared to fight back against Trump's trade war and have a strong plan to do so. A bankruptcy judge in Texas has rejected Johnson and Johnson's plan to resolve thousands of lawsuits over baby powder by putting a spin off company into chapter 11. It's the third time the legal tactic has failed. JJ now says it will defend its baby powder in court against claims that asbestos contamination caused cancer. The company has also reformulated its baby powder to use cornstarch rather than talc. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
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Korva Coleman
You're listening to npr. New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker has been speaking now for the past 15 hours straight on the floor of the US Senate. He's criticizing the Trump administration on its actions, including tariffs, rejecting U.S. allies and on immigration. Booker has been supported by other Democratic senators who joined him in speaking throughout the night. The video sharing app TikTok is full of people sharing personal symptoms they say are connected to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. NPR's Burleigh McCoy reports on a study that looks at the accuracy of these videos.
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Burleigh McCoy
A recent study in PLOS ONE had clinical psychologists rate the accuracy of 100 popular ADHD TikTok videos, and they found less than half of the claims made in these videos aligned with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a tool that mental health experts use to help diagnose and treat their patients. No video got a perfect score, the researcher said, and many lacked nuance. Researchers warn that when people think they have ADHD based on these videos, it could prevent them from getting the help they need, since these symptoms could be rooted in other disorders such as depression or anxiety. Instead, they suggest people see a therapist if they can, and always check the credentials of the tiktokers who are sharing medical advice. Brillian McCoy, NPR News.
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Korva Coleman
Chances are lessening. Rescuers will find survivors from last Friday's massive earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. More than 2,700 people have been killed in Myanmar. Another 20 died in Thailand. Images from Myanmar's city of Mandalay near the epicenter show parts of the city are in ruins. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.
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