A Recap of This Week’s Top News – June 30, 2023

Changes to policy, scientific discovery, and expert recommendations and opinions all have the power to rapidly influence the landscape of a sector. Whether you’re a leader at a non-profit, a member of a university’s marketing department, or a stakeholder for a public health agency, being informed about the latest industry happenings can be the difference between exceeding and falling short on organizational goals. At Hager Sharp, our experts vigorously scan media coverage to identify areas of opportunity. And now, with the introduction of the Sharp Round-Up, you too can review what we consider to be some of the top news of the week.

Below you will find a compilation of news spanning the health and education, labor, and economy sectors. This list includes mainstream, DC-focused, and trade publication coverage from Saturday, June 24, to Friday, June 30. Let these clips serve as a resource when developing thoughtful strategies and use them to further foster organizational innovation and adaptability.

Here’s what you need to know.

Education News:

• The Supreme Court ruled to strike down affirmative action policies for colleges and universities on Thursday. The decision means that race can no longer be a specific factor for consideration in making admissions decisions at some universities.
• The Supreme Court ruled against Biden’s student loan forgiveness program on Friday morning, leaving millions of Americans to prepare for the pandemic-era freeze on loan payments to lift this fall.

Health News:

• Smoke from Canadian wildfires is back in the United States, causing unhealthy levels of air quality across the east coast. The air quality, along with a heat wave affecting much of the south, is causing concern for climate activists and health professionals alike.
• The White House announced this week that President Biden is using a CPAP machine to treat sleep apnea. This sleep condition is fairly common and has been documented in the president’s medical records since 2008, according to a CNN article.
• Every athletes worst nightmare – a torn ACL – is now believed to be able to heal itself. A study released this week found that surgery isn’t always necessary to repair the ligament. In fact, results from the study found that 90 percent of studied ACLs “showed signs of healing and repair on scans about three months later” with regular bracing and physical therapy. Sceptics claim that the signs of repair observed from the study could be scarring or a misread, rather than actual healing.
• A recent study shows that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps to combat racial divides in food insecurity. While racial disparities in food insecurity persist across the country, the study found that when used, the SNAP program was an “effective tool in minimizing inequities created by a lack of access to nutritious foods.”
• According to a Washington Post article, when seeking medical help, 60 percent of women and girls with endometriosis were told that the pain they were experiencing was from regular menstrual cramps. Endometriosis, a painful disease in which tissue grows outside the uterus, can often start in adolescence but doesn’t get diagnosed until adulthood, leaving thousands of women struggling.