Isabella Cueto
@isabellacueto.bsky.social
Reporter covering chronic disease, MAHA and more for STAT. 🔗 https://www.statnews.com/staff/isabella-cueto/
Inside today's MAHA Summit — and why some MAHA activists are appalled by it w/ @isabellacueto.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/09/29/m...
At MAHA Summit, a grassroots movement goes corporate
Federal officials and health care executives rubbed elbows at the ritzy MAHA Summit, causing some supporters to question what MAHA has become.
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Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. returned to his roots today at the Children's Health Defense conference — both via his public embrace of the group, and in his remarks, which leaned hard into anti-vaccine rhetoric. www.statnews.com/2026/09/17/r...
Kennedy renews attacks on vaccines at Children’s Health Defense conference
Health secretary RFK Jr. returned to his roots in a keynote address at a conference hosted by the Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine nonprofit he helped start.
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At the FDA, "hundreds of prospective new employees are stuck in pre-onboarding limbo and routine administrative tasks, like purchase approvals and travel payments, have fallen by the wayside," @margaretmanto.bsky.social reports. DOGE cuts coming back to bite. www.statnews.com/2026/09/17/f...
The FDA’s rebuilding effort is running into a new challenge
The FDA's plan to hire thousands of new workers is being slowed by an overwhelmed HR center.
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NEW: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will deliver a keynote address at event held by Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group he once led. Via @isabellacueto.bsky.social @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/09/14/r...
Kennedy to deliver keynote for anti-vaccine group he once led
RFK Jr. worked to distance himself from Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group he once led. Now, he's delivering a keynote at CHD's conference.
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Important story from my colleague @danielpayne.bsky.social: Even with an infusion of cash from the Trump administration, rural health care leaders are not feeling optimistic right now. www.statnews.com/2026/09/14/r...
The GOP’s $50 billion rural health fund is coming up short, hospital leaders say
Hospital leaders were excited about the Rural Health Transformation Fund until they saw the fine print.
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The Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild is shocked and disappointed by McClatchy’s decision to lay off 33% of its unionized workers at the Idaho Statesman, The News Tribune (Tacoma), Tri-City Herald, The Olympian and Bellingham Herald. This includes 10 journalists in Idaho, and seven across Washington
Laying off your soccer reporter when Lionel Messi is playing in your city is a sorry state of affairs.
Jonathan Tannenwald@jtannenwald.bsky.social · last mo.For those who haven't heard yet, the Miami Herald's corporate owners at McClatchy today laid off the paper's superb veteran soccer reporter Michelle Kaufman. An utter disgrace, and an enormous disservice to fans of the local soccer team that draws a lot of media interest in town and worldwide.
“The Miami Herald will no longer have a Miami beat” is the state of local journalism in a nutshell. Really, really bad.
Bill Grueskin@bgrueskin.bsky.social · 4w agoGood lord www.poynter.org/business-wor...
I, the only data reporter at the Charlotte Observer, am among the McClatchy layoffs in the bloodbath today. The HR person asked me not to talk about it! AMA. Anyway, here’s a link to one of my most important stories this year. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/a...
A Black teen found hanged near Charlotte church was a suicide, police say. Questions remain
In May, 16-year-old Juliana Nzita was found dead in a Charlotte churchyard. CMPD called it a suicide. Her family isn’t so sure.
charlotteobserver.com
McClatchy is a subsidiary of the hedge fund Chatham Asset Management, which seems determined to eviscerate local reporting in the United States. The idea that the Miami Herald will no longer have a city of Miami or city of Miami Beach reporter is unconscionable. www.poynter.org/business-wor...
McClatchy cuts more than 90 staff in its most severe layoffs in years - Poynter
At least 13 papers — including The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee and The Kansas City Star — lost reporters
poynter.org
Don't miss this one, from @isabellacueto.bsky.social and Lauren Chan: www.statnews.com/2026/09/01/m...
As MAHA champions nutrition, it’s ignoring the experts, dietitians say
A key aspect of the Make America Healthy Again agenda could be hampered by a shrinking and underpaid workforce of registered dietitians.
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Isabella Cueto@isabellacueto.bsky.social · last mo.MAHA wants to use nutrition to prevent and cure disease. That's dietitians' bread & butter. But the field is facing a litany of old and new problems that could derail the whole food-as-medicine endeavor. NEW w/ Lauren Chan: www.statnews.com/2026/09/01/m...
MAHA wants to use nutrition to prevent and cure disease. That's dietitians' bread & butter. But the field is facing a litany of old and new problems that could derail the whole food-as-medicine endeavor. NEW w/ Lauren Chan: www.statnews.com/2026/09/01/m...
As MAHA champions nutrition, it’s ignoring the experts, dietitians say
A key aspect of the Make America Healthy Again agenda could be hampered by a shrinking and underpaid workforce of registered dietitians.
statnews.com
After 14 years, there are new migraine prevention guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology. They feature many new treatments that have become available for people with 4+ migraine days per month – many of whom go without prophylactic treatment! www.statnews.com/2026/08/31/m...
New guidelines on migraine prevention reflect increasing options for patients
“There has been a wealth of new treatment available” for migraine prevention, said a co-author of new guidelines released Monday.
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New documents raise questions about whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lied to Congress about his 2019 trip to Samoa, which he claimed had nothing to do with vaccines. www.statnews.com/2026/08/27/k...
RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents obtained by The Associated Press and The Guardian refute that testimony.
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Federal government asks for public comment on a proposal that could upend science. Then, it quietly removes some comments. @aniloza.bsky.social scoop: www.statnews.com/2026/08/25/r...
Comments on OMB research rule mysteriously removed from federal website
Some comments on a proposed OMB research rule have been mysteriously removed from a public-facing government webpage.
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tiny! 5-year-old! brains! by @mmolteni.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/08/19/b...
Brain organoids, kept alive more than five years, matured like human brains
Brain organoids kept alive more than five years continued to develop and mature, and showed molecular and genetic signatures like those of human brains.
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How Heidi Overton became Trump's pick to lead the FDA (And what industry leaders, senators, and MAHA activists are saying about the possibility of her leading the agency) w/ @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social @isabellacueto.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/08/19/h...
How Trump loyalist Heidi Overton became the president’s pick to run the FDA
If she wins confirmation as FDA commissioner, Heidi Overton will face plenty of big challenges.
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Exclusive: The American Cancer Society has cancelled its alcohol industry fundraiser, a luxe gala in NYC which was scheduled for the fall. The event came under scrutiny earlier this summer after STAT reported the details of it for the first time. www.statnews.com/2026/08/19/c...
American Cancer Society cancels alcohol industry fundraiser
The American Cancer Society had an optics problem: its annual Wine and Spirits Industry's Gala. It decided to do something about it.
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Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine sued the federal government today over how it rewrote dietary guidelines, including its quickly assembled panel of researchers w/ ties to beef, dairy, and other industries. New: www.statnews.com/2026/08/19/p...
Physician group sues Trump administration over dietary guidelines process
The suit, brought by a nonprofit that advocates for plant-based diets, claims HHS and the USDA used a “secret panel” of scientists to flip the food pyramid.
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Extraordinary scenes at the White House today as the president takes the vaccine schedule into his own hands with an executive order. Via @danielpayne.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/08/10/t...
reposting this story because .... www.statnews.com/2025/09/26/t...
3 burning questions about the MMR vaccine, answered
President Trump has said the MMR vaccine should be broken up. But experts see no medical benefit in separating one shot into three.
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Dan Diamond@ddiamond.bsky.social · 2mo agoBREAKING — Trump is planning to sign an executive order today that calls for spacing out childhood vaccines, breaking the MMR into three separate shots and making other key vaccine changes. @lenasun.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social
FDA is announcing new GRAS reforms today, which would give consumers insight into the chemical additives in their foods – some, for the first time. More deets, and reactions from some of the top players in this field, including David Kessler, here: www.statnews.com/2026/08/10/r...
FDA to require notice of additives in food supply for the first time
RFK Jr. is claiming a win with a new proposal on the food industry's GRAS loophole; nutrition advocates give mixed reviews.
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Medicaid work rules are sowing confusion over who's sick enough to get health coverage, @isabellacueto.bsky.social reports: www.statnews.com/2026/07/30/m...
Chronically ill people face confusion over new Medicaid work rules and ‘medically frail’ exemption
Patients, advocates, and experts fear the difficulty in documenting a frailty exemption to Medicaid work requirements will lead to millions losing coverage.
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In win for RFK Jr., Senate committee sends nominations of Erica Schwartz for CDC director and Sean Kaufman for ASPR to full Senate. www.statnews.com/2026/07/30/s...
Key Senate panel backs Trump’s picks for CDC, pandemic preparedness
In win for RFK Jr., Senate committee sends nominations of Erica Schwartz for CDC director and Sean Kaufman for ASPR to full Senate.
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For years, Red Bull funded research that showed consuming energy drinks and alcohol together is no more harmful than booze alone. That science became a policy backbone across the globe. The vast majority of independent studies disagree. Worth a read: www.statnews.com/2026/07/30/r...
Is it safe to drink Red Bull and alcohol? Questionable research tied to energy drink giant has shaped policy
Studies tied to Red Bull helped block warning labels about drinking alcohol along with energy drinks. Independent studies report risks in mixing the two.
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In Nebraska, the earliest adopter of Medicaid work reqs, low-income people are confused & scrambling to figure out what chronic diseases make them "medically frail," and how to prove they are too sick to work. Millions of Americans face the same situation come Jan. www.statnews.com/2026/07/30/m...
Chronically ill people face confusion over new Medicaid work rules and ‘medically frail’ exemption
Patients, advocates, and experts fear the difficulty in documenting a frailty exemption to Medicaid work requirements will lead to millions losing coverage.
statnews.com
STAT is hiring a Washington D.C. correspondent! Join our bureau in the nation's capital to cover health policy, the Trump administration, and the money shaping health care. globe.rec.pro.ukg.net/BOS1501BGMP/...
globe.rec.pro.ukg.net
Join us next Weds (7/29) to talk about the US's alcohol problem and how to solve it: www.statnews.com/event/deadli...
Office Hours with Isabella Cueto and Lev Facher
Join the journalists behind STAT’s series 'The Deadliest Drug' at 1 p.m. on July 29 for a discussion on a public health epidemic, alcohol, hiding in plain sight.
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