Fecal Bacteria at U.S. Beaches; America’s Hoarding Problem; Nasal COVID Vax Trial

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Excessive fecal bacteria in the ocean has caused several beaches to close across the U.S. (ABC News)

The FTC opened an investigation into Teva Pharmaceuticals, saying the company refuses to take down bogus patents for its inhalers for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. (Washington Post)

A new surgical technique helped people with below-the-knee amputations control their prosthetic with their brains and with less phantom pain. (Nature Medicine)

Nearly a quarter of Colorado’s dairy herds have been affected by bird flu. (Colorado Sun)

The U.S. awarded Moderna $176 million to advance the development of its bird flu vaccine. (Reuters)

Bankrupt Steward Health Care spent millions surveilling its critics even as its financial woes mounted, records show. (Boston Globe)

America’s hoarding problem requires a national response, a new Senate report says. (Axios)

Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the head of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, was released after 7 months of imprisonment in Israel; he alleged torture. (BBC)

Louisiana has legalized a novel punishment for sex crimes: surgical castration; the new law will go into effect next month (NPR)

North Carolina is trying to incentivize hospitals to reign in medical debt for middle- and low-income residents. (AP)

With a new revised state law, Minnesotans now only need a doctor’s permission to access medical marijuana. (Star Tribune)

Mississippi faces a shortage of Black doctors as lawmakers ramp up attacks on diversity programs. (KFF Health News)

Also in Mississippi: a federal judge refused to block a law that requires drugmakers to discount their products to low-income hospitals’ contract pharmacies. (Reuters)

A Johnson & Johnson lawsuit against a scientist over her paper linking talc products to cancer has been dismissed. (Reuters)

NIH launched a phase I trial testing the safety of an investigational nasal COVID vaccine that aims to increase protection against new variants.

A Georgia chiropractor admitted to nearly $15 million in healthcare fraud related to a kickback scheme involving durable medical equipment, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Kids who faced housing insecurity in childhood had adverse health effects in adolescence, according to a study in Pediatrics.

The Biden administration will invest more than $200 million to help primary care providers improve healthcare for older adults, HHS announced.

Umbilical cord milking in non-vigorous infants did not appear to increase the risk for neurodevelopmental impairment, a secondary analysis of a randomized trial found. (JAMA Network Open)

Here’s why some scientists are calling for more regulation on noise pollution. (NPR)