Trans Youth Care Ban, Brown Shooting Suspect, Kennedy Center Renamed and more
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18 segmentsHey from CNN, I'm a phoma-DK with the five things you need to know for Thursday, December 18th. We start with the Trump administration's latest health policy changes. Officials say the federal government will block transgender care to children by targeting hospitals and doctors that provide it. Under the proposed rules, hospitals that provide care such as puberty blockers and surgeries for minors will be banned from participating in Medicare and Medicaid, and the government won't cover the treatments. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. called many types of transgender care quote, malpractice. Medical groups say the move intrudes on the relationship between a patient and physician and jeopardizes care for everyone. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump signed a new executive order easing restrictions on marijuana. Trump officials say they're not making weed legal nationally, although several states have legalized recreational marijuana, but they just want to learn more about its medicinal benefits. You're CNN Sanjay Gupta. So, you know, keep in mind again, there are these schedules of controlled substances, and they're basically scheduled from one to five based on how much benefit versus harm these substances may have. And cannabis, I think, somewhat inexplicably, was sort of in the highest schedule for a long time, meaning it had no perceived medicinal benefit and had a lot of potential harms such as heroin and LSD and ecstasy. And I think, you know, a lot of people, many of the doctors in the Oval Office there, many of whom I've interviewed, interviewed over the years, they had been making this point that it's very hard to collect the data showing the medicinal benefit if you've already classified as a Schedule 1. So classifying it as a Schedule 3 sort of changes the optics of it, if you will. More news coming up, including a potential break in the Brown University shooting investigation. Goldbelly's asking, what's the one food you'd fly across the country for? Maine's famous lobster roll, maybe Chicago's iconic deep dish, or Texas's legendary barbecue? Well, you can skip the flight. Goldbelly ships America's most iconic foods straight to your door nationwide. And here's the best part. Right now, they're celebrating National Restaurant Month with $50 off your first order. That's $50. It won't last forever. Order now on goldbelly.com. Investigators believe they've identified a suspect in the Brown University shooting, according to two law enforcement officials. Authorities have signed a warrant for the person's arrest and are currently looking for them. They're also trying to find out whether the person they're looking for is connected to an MIT professor's murder at his home earlier in the week, according to a law enforcement official. An official says that's based on new information that's emerged in the last 24 hours. The nature of that information wasn't immediately clear. Two students were killed Saturday when a gunman fired at people in a university building.
Now to a plane crash in North Carolina that left several people dead. State officials say a small private jet crashed shortly after takeoff about 40 miles north of Charlotte this morning. The North Carolina Highway Patrol says they believe former NASCAR driver Greg Biffel and his family members were on the plane that crashed at the Statesville Regional Airport. The state patrol says seven people were on the plane. The FAA and NTSB will investigate the crash. On Capitol Hill, House Democrats released more than 60 additional photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate. The latest batch includes images of a Ukrainian passport with female symbols, philosopher Noam Chomsky on a plane with Epstein, and Bill Gates posing for a photograph with a woman whose face was redacted by Democrats on the panel. Democrats said the estate didn't provide any context about the photos, and it wasn't immediately clear when or where they were taken or by whom. Democrats have chosen which photos to release since the panel received more than 95,000 images from the estate last week that lawmakers are still combing through. You can check them out for yourself on CNN.com or streaming on CNN All Access. Speaking of redactions, multiple sources tell CNN frustration is building up inside the Justice Department as it races to redact thousands of pages of files related to Epstein before they're released by tomorrow's deadline. Coming up, a change that Trump joked about came true. Hey, it's Christy from Lou Lemon. I'm in the office with What's New, and the breezily collection has definitely caught my eye. If you're like me and want to add some lighter, airy pieces to your wardrobe, this is a great place to start. There's a breezley tank, shorts, and pants, all in our swift fabric, which is super lightweight and stretchy. They're flowy staples you can mix and match for a really easy, elevated vibe, whether it's to and from the studio or just for every day. The breezily collection is in store now, or you can shop online at Lululemon.com.
The John F. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Center for the Performing Arts has been formally renamed the Donald J. Trump and John F. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Today, Trump's handpicked board voted unanimously to rename the institution. However, Democratic Representative Joyce Beattie, an ex-officio member of the board, said the vote was, quote, not unanimous. A source familiar with the matter says the vote took place during a board meeting where Trump called in. The president has frequently joked about the name change. Trump was elected chair of the center back in February. The move raises questions about whether the name change is legal, and members of the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. family have pushed back on the move. That's all for now. Join us again at 6 a.m. Eastern. I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of the Chasing Life podcast. We're going to talk to Dr. Jennifer McIntyre. She's a microbiologist and also founder of food safety strategy, which consults with food companies about how to deal with food safety, including cyclospora. Also, perhaps most importantly, we'll tell you what you can realistically do to protect yourself beyond the standard guidance to wash your fruits and veggies. If we look at outbreaks that have happened in the past, We usually hypothesized that there was water that was contaminated with raw sewage, including from somebody or maybe a few people who were carrying cyclospora. Listen to Chasing Life, streaming now, wherever you get your podcasts. Go inside the sports moments that brought us together and made history. From the underdogs to the rivalries and the miracles, the new CNN original series Decades in Sports. Watch back-to-back premieres August 2nd on CNN and next day on the CNN app.