Nurse Shortage Looms; Louisiana Abortion Bill Yanked; STI-Preventing Underwear OK’d

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Raising the cap for the first time in nearly 50 years, California lawmakers upped the amount people can win in medical malpractice lawsuits. (CBS News)

Up to 450,000: that’s the number of nurses short the U.S. may fall by 2025, according to a McKinsey analysis.

The FDA approved an oral version of edaravone (Radicava ORS) to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

A proposed Louisiana bill that would have charged women having abortions and their doctors with criminal murder charges was withdrawn. (AP)

Just one day after reporting their first-ever case, North Korea announced an “explosive” outbreak of over 350,000 COVID cases with six deaths so far. (CNN)

Families of veterans who died or were infected during a COVID outbreak in a Massachusetts’ Holyoke Soldiers’ Home reached a $56 million settlement. (ABC News)

As of Friday at 8:00 a.m. EDT, the unofficial U.S. COVID toll reached 82,378,216 infections and 1,000,693 deaths, increases of 117,876 and 336, respectively, from this time yesterday.

An Ohio district court entered a permanent injunction to shut down a local woman’s alleged fake vax card operation. (Department of Justice)

Combined, the top seven of America’s publicly traded health insurance and services company CEOs made over $283 million in 2021, the most of any year in the past decade. (STAT)

The first single-use latex underwear to prevent STIs during oral sex was given the greenlight by the FDA. (New York Times)

Eli Lilly, Sanofi, and Novo Nordisk face a new lawsuit in Arkansas over allegedly driving up the cost of insulin. (FiercePharma)

The grim milestone of 1 million COVID-related deaths in the U.S. means that over 250,000 kids lost a parent or caregiver during the pandemic. (ABC News)

A vaccine for the rare but potentially fatal mosquito-borne equine encephalitis virus was safe and effective in a phase I clinical trial. (Lancet Infectious Diseases)

After only receiving a few orders, Africa’s first factory made to produce COVID vaccines may halt production and shutter its doors. (New York Times)

Eight Senators are working to get the Department of Defense to ensure abortion access for service members. (The Hill)

Allegedly the meat industry fueled “baseless” claims there was a nationwide meat shortage in the beginning of the pandemic to persuade the Trump administration to keep factories open for business, which led to the death of 269 workers. (Washington Post)

Identical twin sisters gave birth to sons on the same day, in the same hospital, with the exact same measurements. (ABC News)