All Fluence tipsheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
Want to manage your subscription to TheDailyAgenda.com? HERE: https://fluence-media.co/managesubscription
POLLING
TRUST: Via de Beaumont, VERBATIM: “A year after changes to federal leadership in the U.S. public health system, a new poll finds that trust in public health agencies has dropped dramatically. Only 50% of U.S. adults say they trust health recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), compared to 77% in spring 2025.”
“The fraction who say they trust their state health department has declined from 80% to 66% and the fraction who say they trust their local public health department has fallen from 82% to 70%.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eeJtUc
MORE: Via PBS, VERBATIM: “That partisan breakdown specifically is worrying, said Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, adding that the data demonstrate a ‘deep polarization of facts and science.’” CASTRUCCI: “We now live in a world where scientific fact is understood through a partisan lens,” he said, “and while we can make partisan differences between health facts, disease doesn’t discriminate.” Measles, Ebola and hantavirus “don’t really care what we think,” he added. “If we don’t have a united response, that is extraordinarily dangerous for our country.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43Xjpb8
MORALITY: Via Gallup, VERBATIM: “Americans’ views of the moral acceptability of five of the 20 behaviors Gallup tracks annually have fallen significantly since last year, with each dropping between six and nine percentage points.”
“Those behaviors include using birth control (83%), having a baby outside of marriage (58%), gambling (57%), sex between teenagers (35%) and cloning animals (27%). Birth control, gambling and cloning animals have all hit record lows this year after holding relatively steady throughout most of the trend.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3RTYhjy
CHILDCARE: Via The Harris Poll, VERBATIM: “Research from The Harris Poll on behalf of KinderCare finds that working parents in the US spend more than a third of every month in complete burnout. And the cause is often the daily scramble to find childcare they can count on. The gap in care drives much of this strain with 81% of parents say they’re constantly thinking about childcare gaps. 60% say parenting pressures are harming their mental health. And 76% feel extremely frustrated by how little childcare support exists in the US.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4olpaZM
ICYMI… lunch take featured a Minneapolis Fed survey in which 80% of childcare providers said the industry is in a crisis. READ: https://fluence-media.co/43qqaSJ
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
MEDICAID SUPPORTS HEALTH CARE FOR ALL OF US: Medicaid keeps Minnesota’s hospitals strong and ensures communities across the state have access to care. Policymakers must protect Medicaid so every Minnesotan — regardless of income or health status — can get the care they need, when they need it. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/3FtrCuH (SPONSORED: Minnesota Hospital Association)
HEALTH HEADLINES
SMOKE: Via KQDS-TV, VERBATIM: “A new study finds wildfires may be making the U.S. smoggy again, potentially back-peddling long-standing efforts to clean-up the air. After more than a decade of progress in the U.S. to reduce smog levels, scientists now say since 2015, smoke from increasingly larger wildfires has been reversing those trends making the air dirtier and potentially deadlier.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4umunSj
NUTRITION: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Monday that numerous medical school accrediting organizations and assessors have agreed to increase nutrition requirements for U.S. medical education. HHS said in a release that eight medical school organizations had agreed to ‘increase nutrition requirements at every level of U.S. medical education, competency-evaluation, training, and residency.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ainoCQ
RFK JR: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Shortly after the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in Africa a public health emergency, a reporter asked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. if he was worried about the virus. Six Americans had already been exposed. His response was brief: ‘Yeah, we’re working on it’ . . . Mr. Kennedy’s approach to the crisis reflects his broader management of the Department of Health and Human Services, which affects the health of 340 million Americans and provides health care to 40 percent of the population through Medicare and Medicaid. Mr. Kennedy has shown little interest in managing the details of work in his department, according to multiple colleagues. Instead, they say, he is single-mindedly focused on his top priorities, including food recommendations and pesticide exposures, and hunting for evidence to support his long-held beliefs that vaccines are harmful.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4v7WmGU
SEX ASSAULT: Via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “A clinic in south Minneapolis will soon offer forensic sexual assault exams, giving survivors another option for care besides the emergency room. Southside Community Health Services, which previously operated out of an elementary school, recently opened its new location on East Lake Street. The community health center aims to support low-income and uninsured residents in a diverse corridor of the city.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43qnt3z
MENTAL HEALTH: Via KSTP-TV, VERBATIM: “Vail Communities says new state and private funding will keep its Minneapolis and St. Paul clubhouses open for now after the nonprofit faced closure. The nonprofit said the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) surprised them in a March letter by saying more money was off the table, leaving Vail Communities facing closure as of this month. Following 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reporting in April, DHS has seemingly reversed course in the nick of time.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/43matft
LEGISLATORS STEPPED UP FOR HCMC, BUT MORE SUPPORT IS NEEDED FOR RURAL HOSPITALS: Savings from the 340B drug program help local hospitals sustain access to cancer treatment, specialty services, and technology investments in rural communities. While drug companies continue to raise prices and rake in profits, rural hospitals will be forced to stretch limited resources even further if legislators don’t step up to strengthen the 340B program. READ MORE: Tough times for rural hospitals after legislative session - KSTP.com 5 Eyewitness News (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
RESEARCH & INNOVATION
SMARTPHONES: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “The enduring mystery of the fertility decline has a new culprit: the smartphone. Experts have long wondered if phones played a role in the birthrate decline — which began in 2007, the same year that Apple introduced the iPhone — but until now there had not been hard evidence to prove it. Two new papers, one published Monday and the other in May, are the first academic endeavors that test whether the smartphone was a cause.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eh3BoE
KIDS: Via CHOP, VERBATIM: “Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, found that a year after receiving their first smartphone at age 13, teens at 14 who spent significant time on their phones were more likely to experience depression, obesity, and insufficient sleep.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aBHU1i
AI: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators have shown that an artificial intelligence (AI) tool can analyze routine pathology slides to help clinicians classify meningiomas, the most common primary brain tumor in adults, and better understand a patient’s risk of tumor recurrence.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3PUTJc5
TELEHEALTH: Via Military.com, VERBATIM: “Rural veterans with chronic kidney disease and refractory hypertension are hospitalized more frequently and die at higher rates than veterans in urban or suburban areas. Many go years with their kidney care managed exclusively by a primary care provider who may not have the training or time to adjust the specialized medications these patients need. A new VA study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology shows that the VA’s telenephrology program is closing that gap, and saving lives in the process.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ebTamh
NEW CFO: Via Brooklyn Park-based CVRx, VERBATIM: “CVRx, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVRX), a commercial-stage medical device company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative neuromodulation solutions for patients with cardiovascular diseases, announced today that Jared Oasheim, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, will be stepping down from his role to pursue other professional opportunities. To support a seamless transition, Mr. Oasheim will remain with the Company until a successor is appointed and remain available as an advisor through February 2027.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4xfpbm0
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
GLP-1: Via University of Pennsylvania, VERBATIM: “A large study found that women taking GLP-1 drugs, the medication class behind Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound, were about 30% less likely to develop breast cancer. Researchers say the findings are promising but not yet proof, and clinical trials are now being planned to test whether these drugs could help prevent breast cancer.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eaXjXt
Copyright © 2026 Fluence Media, All rights reserved.
You signed up or are media / a public official interested in health care news from Fluence Media.
Our mailing address is:
Fluence Media
PO Box 270031
Minneapolis, MN 55427