Cancer screenings have been missed and criminal convictions overlooked because of how data is collected about people’s biological sex and gender identity, an independent review found.

Dr. Joe Whittington, 47, has been an emergency room physician for two decades, but he can still find it tough to quiet his mind after leaving the hospital.As he tried to doze off after one particularly chaotic shift, he kept thinking about a victim of a motorcycle crash whose vital signs had tanked, a patient who developed sepsis and another whose heart had suddenly stopped beating.His tendency to replay the night’s events — and his irregular work hours — often made it tricky for him to fall asleep. Over the years, he tried deep breathing, meditation and melatonin, before finally stumbling upon a technique called cognitive shuffling.The sleep strategy helps to “force my mind out of that loop and into a state where I can finally rest,” said Dr. Whittington, who has shared it on his Instagram account, which has more than 750,000 followers.“Cognitive shuffling” has been touted on social media for years, but does it really work? We spoke with sleep experts and the scientist who created the technique to learn more.What is cognitive shuffling?Cognitive shuffling is a mental exercise that involves focusing your mind on words that have no association with one another, as a way of signaling to your brain that it’s time to fall asleep. The task is meant to be engaging enough to distract you from the thoughts that may be preventing you from falling asleep, but not so interesting that your brain perks up.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

2 hours ago

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During his first term, President Donald J. Trump unveiled a bold initiative to end the H.I.V. epidemic in the United States by 2030 by focusing on 57 jurisdictions with the most urgent needs.The plan, which Mr. Trump announced in 2019 at a State of the Union address, surprised advocacy groups. But it was widely lauded, and successful.By 2022, the plan had driven down new infections nationwide by 30 percent in adolescents and young adults, and by roughly 10 percent in most other groups.This time around, the Trump administration’s stance on H.I.V. appears to be much the opposite.The Department of Health and Human Services is now considering shutting down the H.I.V. prevention division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and shifting some of its activities to a different agency, according to federal officials.The C.D.C. provides funds to states and territories for detecting and responding to H.I.V. outbreaks, prevention, syringe exchange, expanded testing in emergency rooms and education and awareness. Roughly one in four new diagnoses of H.I.V. is made with agency funds.The administration’s plan has not yet been finalized, and its potential timing is unclear.“It’s not 100 percent going to happen, but 100 percent being discussed,” said a federal official who was not authorized to speak to the media about the matter.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Matt Hancock has defended government deals to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, saying the country was in a “desperate situation” at the time.

The Trump administration halted some food testing and shut down a committee studying bacteria in infant formula. Earlier funding cutbacks under the Biden administration now threaten state labs and inspectors.In the last few years, foodborne pathogens have had devastating consequences that alarmed the public. Bacteria in infant formula sickened babies. Deli meat ridden with listeria killed 10 people and led to 60 hospitalizations in 19 states. Lead-laden applesauce pouches poisoned young children.In each outbreak, state and federal officials connected the dots from each sick person to a tainted product and ensured the recalled food was pulled off the shelves.Some of those employees and their specific roles in ending outbreaks are now threatened by Trump administration measures to increase government efficiency, which come on top of cuts already being made by the Food and Drug Administration’s chronically underfunded food division.Like the food safety system itself, the cutbacks and new administrative hurdles are spread across an array of federal and state agencies.At the Food and Drug Administration, freezes on government credit card spending ordered by the Trump administration have impeded staff members from buying food to perform routine tests for deadly bacteria. In states, a $34 million cut by the F.D.A. could reduce the number of employees who ensure that tainted products — like tin pouches of lead-laden applesauce sold in 2023 — are tested in labs and taken off store shelves. F.D.A. staff members are also bracing for further Trump administration personnel reductions.And at the Agriculture Department, a committee studying deadly bacteria was recently disbanded, even as it was developing advice on how to better target pathogens that can shut down the kidneys. Committee members were also devising an education plan for new parents on bacteria that can live in powdered infant formula. “Further work on your report and recommendations will be prohibited,” read a Trump administration email to the committee members.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Three deaths are being investigated as part of a listeria outbreak linked to desserts supplied to NHS hospitals and care homes.

5 hours ago

Arguments about benefits always revolve around a single concept: fairness.