Senators approved the legislation 24-10 early Thursday with just hours left before lawmakers’ Friday deadline to pass bills. It needs at least another vote of approval in the GOP-led House before it can go to Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who supports it. The bill seems to be a part of a broader national push to restrict access to abortion.

The U.S. birth rate continues to fall, reaching another record low in 2018, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says that one possible explanation for the continued drop in births could be economic uncertainty, along with the fact that people may still feel uneasy about their economic situation.

The Alabama Senate approved a measure on Tuesday that would outlaw almost all abortions in the state, setting up a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the case that recognized a woman’s constitutional right to end a pregnancy.

A California jury has ordered Monsanto to pay more than $2bn to a couple that got cancer after using its weedkiller, marking the third and largest verdict against the company over Roundup. The victory for the Pilliods follows two consecutive trial wins for families taking on Monsanto over Roundup, the world’s most widely used weedkiller, which research has linked to NHL, a cancer that affects the immune system.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the death rates from pretty much every major cause — heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, suicide, sepsis, guns, infant mortality — remain highest in the South. A lot of the poor health outcomes there reflect longstanding poverty, fewer health care resources, and longstanding barriers to care.

Reports the FDA and other inspectors filed show they found numerous generic drugmakers falsifying records, covering up manufacturing problems and attempting to hide poor test results. Because of what the FDI said they found, it “would question the safety and efficacy of those drugs.”

Texas lawmaker Jonathan Stickland called vaccines “sorcery” Tuesday in a string of Twitter posts criticizing a vaccine expert. The US is currently struggling with a historic resurgence in measles cases, largely as a result of some parents rejecting immunizations because of erroneous information, often distributed through social media.

The bill now signed into law bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The law will certainly be legally challenged by opponents.

The Centers for Disease Control is reporting that over 700 cases of measles have been reported in the U.S. in 2019. This year’s measles outbreak is the worst in the U.S. in 25 years.

Nearly 300 students and staff at UCLA and Cal State LA are under quarantine as health officials warn they might have been exposed to measles. The news comes at a time when measles cases in the United States have surpassed the highest number on record since the disease was declared eliminated nationwide in 2000.

The members of the multi-billionaire Sackler family who own a painkiller manufacturer and are being sued by hundreds of state and local officials as part of the opioids litigation want to settle, a leading lawyer for the family said this week.

“This is the greatest number of cases reported in the United States since measles was eliminated from this country in 2000,” according to a CDC statement issued Wednesday. The agency attributed the high number of cases primarily to a few large outbreaks — one in the state of Washington and two others in New York City.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced it is investigating several new reports of measles and warned the chances of being exposed to the disease have increased in the local area. According to the CDC, 2019 is set to break the record for the number of annual measles cases since the disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.

Sixty medical professionals were charged with illegally prescribing more than 32 million painkillers. In one case, patients consented to having their teeth pulled so they could obtain opioid prescriptions from a dentist and then paid in cash. ‘‘If these medical professionals behave like drug dealers, you can rest assured that the Justice Department is going to treat them like drug dealers,’’ said Brian Benczkowski, an assistant attorney general.

Some parents are upset at NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio for ordering mandatory measles vaccinations for certain New York zip codes. The parents are seeking a temporary restraining order against the decision, calling its measures, “drastic”.

The number of confirmed cases of measles in the United States this year jumped by nearly 20 percent, making it country’s second-worst outbreak in nearly two decades. The outbreak has been caused by a growing and vocal fringe of parents in the United States who oppose vaccines believing that they can cause autism, something that’s contrary to all available scientific evidence.

A superbug fungus, Candida auris, has now reached 12 states and infected more than 600 people. The fungus is resistant to nearly all anti-fungal medications available and is highly contagious. The fungus kills 30-60% of all who become infected.

A growing measles outbreak in New York City has led officials to declare a public health emergency in parts of the city. “I would expect that this outbreak is going to get bigger before it comes under control,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja of The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “There are pockets that have lower than required [vaccination rates] to keep measles at bay.” It’s in these areas where there’s potential for a lot of measles spread.