The Trump administration is moving to more closely track and study microplastics and pharmaceuticals in Americans&#8217; drinking water, marking the first time federal regulators have formally flagged them as potential contaminants.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated that microplastics are a “growing threat to human health.”
The effort is split into two initiatives, first shared with The Daily Wire.
The Environmental Protection Agency will consider microplastics and pharmaceuticals a “priority contaminant group” in a current draft list. At the same time, a Health and Human Services-backed agency is launching the Systematic Targeting of Microplastics (STOMP) project to investigate the impact of microplastics and their effects on human health.
&#8220;For too long, Americans have vocalized concerns about plastics and pharmaceuticals in their drinking water. That ends today,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said on Thursday.
Microplastics have been detected in water, food, and household products, and some research has linked them to serious health issues like cancer, though scientists say more study is needed to understand their full impact, according to <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2025/01/microplastics-in-body-polluted-tiny-plastic-fragments.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stanford University School of Medicine</a>.
“Americans deserve clear answers about how microplastics in their bodies affect their health,&#8221; Kennedy Jr. said. &#8220;Through [Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health’s] STOMP program, we will measure microplastic exposure, identify sources of risk, and develop targeted solutions to reduce it,” he said.
As for the administration’s initiatives, the goal of STOMP is to focus on the impact of microplastics in the body, specifically how to “measure,” “target,” and “remove” them. It will identify the most dangerous microplastics and how they affect the human body.
The EPA’s decision to include microplastics on its draft Contaminant Candidate List “does not constitute regulation, but signals that a substance warrants serious scientific attention and may be considered for future regulatory action,” the agency told The Daily Wire.
“By placing microplastics and pharmaceuticals on the Contaminant Candidate List for the first time ever, EPA is sending a clear message: we will follow the science, we will pursue answers, and we will hold ourselves to the highest standards to protect the health of every American family,” Zeldin explained.
Kimberly Wise White, Ph.D., who serves as vice of regulatory and scientific affairs at the American Chemistry Council, said the organization supports &#8220;science-driven monitoring of microplastics in drinking water and research to better understand potential impacts.&#8221;
&#8220;People want clear answers on microplastics, and any drinking water monitoring program must address <a href="https://2244cf6a.streak-link.com/C1L0mjfUFGcEd_K5ZA0yrYvB/http%3A%2F%2Flink.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com%2Fls%2Fclick%3Fupn%3Du001.Qyj58FigvMRC96dcC2S4KNjCL20O7sP-2B4Pjq84SIXsEHUfMcmsBXBIl8DmU73q7pkMjL_SRyOrIcdwJbpfaG7RzzySYK8nAywSKGplH3LOjf4JVtkcvJrNDWVwpIurOw1tOLOU8IlSbJpQxLsxantCzquhbBXxlYNYtGXx9jLylLa4TmmrSrNcYZTV90UX2gJpZg-2B4QM4t7n2iNMEZX9KlwWHDxFMZWa9Z-2B1QTMDYG1BZIxbO1fhmIIajpIJMYEwHwjfONpNpI5UYWWaWr7r4pTlNsGKK5JzokpzVUBV7Tc9yyS3DTLgaZ6jr1OAJHqvS-2BUbTte2eSvXf7TpqKOLO2sUxfA6OIDxLnZ-2Ffyb7Fx7317OgFVi9xe0q7QKqDCCXxO6-2BOooz-2FuVNZEmrSOMQLUAwfFs1nc-2BLnUZ8Q6xJEw5Z6Aaj-2F8qXwwUkME-2BBSxTH1AOYHKzsLwq00fT2ILtrVxZ2cMA-3D-3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">several existing hurdles</a>, including developing clear definitions, ensuring adequate lab capacity, and standardizing sampling and testing methods to be used consistently across the country,” she added.
Zeldin and Kennedy Jr. are expected to formally announce the effort in Washington, D.C. on Thursday afternoon.

Richmond Water Crisis

Trump Admin Announces Major Steps Countering Big Pharma And Microplastics

Health

Health and Human Services

Lee Zeldin

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
My husband and I are expecting our fourth baby, but it took us a few births under our belt to figure out which birth plan worked for us. After two hospital births and a home birth, our decision for baby number four was easy: We’re planning to have another home birth.
Not every baby can or should be born at home. But if you’re lucky enough to have a healthy baby and a healthy pregnancy, home birth is a beautiful option. And it’s one that more and more families are choosing. While home births are still a small share of overall births in the United States (<a href="https://www.nacpm.org/communitybirthdata?utm">less than 2% of total births</a>), this rate has <a href="https://theweek.com/health/home-births-rise?utm">increased roughly 60%</a> over the last seven years. 
It’s not a mystery why we’re seeing such rapid growth in this seemingly radical birth plan. There is something seriously wrong with how hospitals handle childbirth in America. The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among wealthy countries. In the 1980s, maternal <a href="https://www.americanactionforum.org/insight/maternal-mortality-in-the-united-states/?utm">mortality rates began to increase</a> after about 50 years of decline. Some studies suggest that between 2000 and 2021, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/maternal-mortality/2021/maternal-mortality-rates-2021.htm?utm">maternal mortality in the United States nearly doubled</a>. That’s pretty shocking considering the medical advancements we’ve made. Childbirth has been around as long as people have. How are we still getting this so wrong?
When I first explored home birth during my third pregnancy, I found the philosophical differences between OBGYNs and home birth midwives staggering. OBGYNs are doctors. They are looking for medical problems and often find them. Midwives, by contrast, do not see childbirth as a medical problem to be solved. And, if you have a good midwife, she will guide you during pregnancy to set you up for a healthy delivery, preventing problems before they arise. 
In every meeting with my midwife, she checked in on my diet. I was given a nutrition plan (my pseudo-vegetarian diet had to go), encouraged to exercise, eat a lot of protein, and cut out sugar. “Sugar is hard on you, and it’s hard on the baby,” my midwife told me. This really struck me. It’s hard on the baby. Would an OBGYN ever be that brutally honest? Maybe. But usually after a mother has already been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Women in the United States face a cascading series of complications during pregnancy and birth. It is reasonable to assume that poor maternal nutrition plays a role.
But my decision to have a home birth didn’t come from a belief that doctors are bad or doing something inherently wrong. It came from my two experiences with hospital births. 
I went into my first childbirth having no “birth plan.” I gave birth at a hospital because that’s what you do. I had an epidural because why not? I want to be clear: There is nothing wrong with getting an epidural. But there are some things to consider before making this choice.
The ability to move your body during labor can be vitally important. If the baby is in an undesirable position for birth because you’ve been lying immobile on your back for hours due to the epidural, the baby could get in a bad spot. This could put the baby in distress and lead to an emergency C-section or, in the case of my oldest son, a vacuum birth.  
Flash forward to my second pregnancy, and my plan was to try to go without the epidural, but I would get one if I needed it. This was a ridiculous plan. If you would like a natural childbirth, you cannot leave the door open to the epidural. You need to be committed, your husband needs to be committed, and your doctors need to be committed. Because once things get hard, you will ask for the epidural. And that’s exactly what I did.
Everything was going well with the epidural until it wasn’t. The pain was gone, I was starting to feel like I might be able to get some rest, and then I started feeling exhausted. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. My heart rate and blood pressure tanked quickly, and I lost consciousness. The next thing I remember, nurses were screaming at me to open my eyes. I felt horrible. I felt weak. I felt like I was dying. 
They backed off the epidural medication, and my vitals improved. I was able to start talking, but I felt so weak. I couldn’t imagine how I could deliver a baby feeling this way. That’s when they told me they wanted to try the epidural medication again, confident that they could do it while keeping my vitals strong. I very groggily said, “Ok.” Minutes later, I was unconscious again. 
I have now learned that what I went through was just something that happens sometimes, but apparently, it’s not common enough for any of my nurses to have seen it before. They all looked terrified. Once they stabilized me, they shockingly wanted to try the epidural medication a third time. I had the wherewithal to say absolutely not. I need to be awake.
After about an hour, the pain of the contractions came back, and I was relieved. I didn’t want any remnants of the epidural medication in my body (although I’m sure there were some). I was still feeling very weak. After begging for and guzzling a strong cup of coffee, I delivered my beautiful second baby boy, and I felt incredible. I was completely connected to what was happening because I could feel it. It was hard, but I did it. I felt happier and stronger than I ever had in my life. The weakness was gone, replaced by pure euphoria. I felt like I could do anything.
When it was time for baby number three, I knew what I wanted. No epidural, no Pitocin (the drug given to almost every woman in a hospital, unless they specifically opt out, to speed up the labor process). I wanted a completely natural childbirth, which led me to pursue home birth.
My home birth was beautiful. I was in the comfort of my own home, with my own things. My midwife was with me the entire time. In a hospital, the doctor basically comes in when it’s time to push; it’s impersonal, rushed, and dehumanizing. At home, I didn’t have to ask permission to drink a cup of coffee. I didn’t have to ask permission to stand up and move around. There were no other patients for a doctor to tend. I felt completely taken care of.
When I gave birth at home, I felt the same way I did after my second. I can do anything. I felt euphoric because women have a natural hormone release that is supposed to happen during birth, which is vitally important for bonding with your baby and avoiding postpartum depression. An overly medicated birth can disrupt that important hormone release. Many women who have struggled with postpartum depression in the past choose an unmedicated birth for exactly this reason.
After I gave birth, my midwife stayed for about an hour and then left. We were able to rest. After being up all night, my husband, baby, and I took the best nap of our lives. No nurses came to wake us up every hour. Our baby wasn’t subjected to endless unnecessary tests that could wait until her first pediatrician appointment. We got what all three of us needed: sleep. We were comfortable, happy, and at peace with our beautiful baby girl. My midwife came back several times to check on us. I didn’t have to go anywhere.
Home birth isn’t for everyone, but my husband and I discovered it’s definitely for us. And if God continues to bless us with a healthy pregnancy, I am looking forward to another beautiful, unmedicated birth in the comfort of my own home.
***
Mary Clare Amselem is a stay-at-home mother and a former education policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation.

Baby sleeping on mother’s chest in bed at home

I Trusted The System For Two Births. Then I Decided To Take Control.

babies

birth

Children

Upstream

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
I lay awake, mind racing, stressed about everything at once and yet nothing in particular. For years, through college, grad school, and early career, this was normal no matter how tired I was. The constant sleep advice—avoid screens, get to bed earlier, go to bed at the same time every night—never stuck long, especially the part about screens. I’m part of the laptop class by day, by night I freelance write, and sometimes at the end of a long day, after catching up on texts and group chats, I want to unwind by watching YouTube recipe tips. The damage is an embarrassing amount of screen time. And I know I’m not alone. 
Today, I’m not proud to say that my screen time hasn’t changed. But my sleep habits have, and I’m falling asleep peacefully in minutes. Here are the six tips I learned along the way.
Buy blue light-blocking glasses ASAP. For years, I lived by the “night light” mode on my phone and computer. The orange tinge was easier on the eyes, but I still lay awake anxious after putting away the comforting glow of my screens late at night. Then, last year, I finally bought a pair of high-quality blue light-blocking glasses. I’d heard mixed things about the benefits of blue-blockers, and the consensus seemed to be that not all are created equal. <a href="https://www.blublocker.com/collections/hyde-park/products/black-mod-blublocker-sunglasses-2907k">The pair</a> I ultimately bought claims to block 100% of blue light, and whether or not that is true, the glasses do truly work miracles. In the hours before bed, the orange-colored lenses color everything in a sunset-like hue, and even in the harsh daylight glow of the too-close laptop screen, my body is in twilight mode.
Find a way to be tired. I’ve thrown away all the advice about the benefits of an early-morning workout and a slow wind down in the evenings. Instead, the evenings are when I burn off all my nervous energy from sitting at a desk all day. The short-lived buzz of a social event or the adrenaline after a good workout are, for me, the perfect spike then crash to slide into the end of the day.
Turn on the incandescents. The saga of the incandescent bulb is an <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/debunking-myths-about-phasing-out-incandescent-lightbulb">ongoing one</a>. They’re banned under one government administration and <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91278591/trump-wants-to-bring-back-incandescent-lightbulbs-factories-dont-make-them-anymore">legal the next</a>, so most of us have switched to LED bulbs. They’re energy efficient and last much longer than incandescents, but frankly they’re just ugly. The light they put off is cold and clinical, the sort of shade you expect in a hospital, no matter the supposed “warm” shade of the LED.
In search of a small light for the evenings, I plugged in an old lamp—old enough that it still had a tiny incandescent bulb that had survived the changing electrical winds. It was the perfect light for some reading or typing before bed. But the unexpected benefit is that the incandescent bulb casts a calming, warm glow that no LED can compete with. And it’s not just aesthetics: <a href="https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/red-light-to-improve-metabolism-and-harmful-effects-of-led-glen-jeffery">Some health experts</a> think LEDS can impair mitochondrial (cell) health and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29251065/">suppress production of melatonin (the sleep hormone)</a>.
Even though incandescent bulbs are legal again, they’re not easy to find. You’ll have to search them out specifically and likely order them online. However, appliance bulbs (for your oven or microwave) are often incandescent and are still readily available at your local hardware store. Just be sure to check the wattage of whatever light you use most before bed.
Practice a routine, however short. Watching the evening routines of online personalities makes each bedtime seem as though it needs to be a full hour of skin care, reading, and unwinding. In reality, a routine can be as simple as reciting a prayer once your head hits the pillow, flipping through a few pages of a book, or putting on some white noise. Having a recurring routine each night—for me, it’s a prayer—has become a signal that it’s time to shut off the day. It’s not complicated or time-consuming. It’s recentering my relationship with God and succumbing to the peace of a familiar rhythm.
Don’t apologize for prioritizing sleep. If your bedroom gets blasted by sun hours before you need to wake up, buy blackout curtains. If, like me, you find the full moon to be a bright monthly nuisance, use an eye mask to block it out. If you have noisy neighbors, run a fan or sound machine. Whatever the problem is, don’t fret or apologize for trying to solve it. You’re not a sensitive or light sleeper just for needing a quiet, dark, or comfortable place to rest. You don’t need to power through disruptions to your sleep; there’s no medal for doing so. Just find what you need to be relaxed while you fall asleep.
Give yourself permission. At the end of every day, I have lofty goals. I think I can work on my sewing projects, take a long bath, read half a novel, flip through a cookbook, and still get to bed early. Instead, at the end of a particularly busy day, I’m lucky if I get through two pages of my latest read. Then, I lie awake feeling guilty that I didn’t get enough done or, worse, watched YouTube instead of reading. The next morning, I’m tired, and it spirals into another too-full day. Breaking the cycle simply means giving myself permission to let go of grand plans. Sometimes, scrolling or binging the latest show is the most appealing thing at the end of a long day. Sure, we can do our best to have better habits, but when it happens, stressing about it is only going to keep you up at night. Live your life, and don’t stress the little things.
***
Jordan Jantz is the assistant editor at IW Features as well as a freelance writer, editor, and website designer.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

GettyImages-5988-062080

Experts Say Ditch Screens Before Bed: I Tried These Six Tricks Instead

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a response to Democrat Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, who was defending New England favorite Dunkin&#8217; from the ire of MAHA.
The exchange came after Kennedy Jr. took aim at Dunkin&#8217; during a rally last week at Brazos Hall in Austin, Texas.
“We’re going to ask Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, ‘Show us the safety data that show that it’s OK for a teenage girl to drink an iced coffee with 115 grams of sugar in it,&#8217;” RFK Jr. said at the time. “I don’t think they’re going to be able to do it.”
“No one is taking away your Dunkin&#8217;. But isn&#8217;t it reasonable to ask whether a drink loaded with 180 grams of sugar is safe?” RFK Jr. wrote in response to Healey’s tweet, which included an illustration of a Dunkin’ beverage cup and text beneath it saying, “Come and take it.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
No one is taking away your Dunkin&#8217;. But isn&#8217;t it reasonable to ask whether a drink loaded with 180 grams of sugar is safe? <a href="https://t.co/nV6KLOBf94">https://t.co/nV6KLOBf94</a>
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy/status/2029648656005996907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
His position was further clarified after the rally.
“Secretary Kennedy also announced the closure of the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) loophole, requiring any new food ingredient to provide proof of safety,” MAHA Action, a Kennedy-aligned nonprofit, said in a statement <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hhs-secretary-kennedy-announces-nutrition-requirements-for-medical-licensing-baby-formula-safety-standards-at-austin-rally-for-real-food-302701305.html">posted</a> on Monday. 
“Companies including Dunkin&#8217; Donuts and Starbucks will be required to produce safety data they were supposed to have maintained. The reforms aim to ensure American foods follow the highest safety and nutritional standards globally.”
RFK Jr. railed against the GRAS loophole during a “60 Minutes” appearance last month.
“That loophole was hijacked by the industry, and it was used to add thousands upon thousands of new ingredients into our food supply,” Kennedy said at the time. “In Europe there’s only 400 legal ingredients. This agency does not know how many ingredients there are in American food.”
“There is…no way for any American to know if a product is safe if it is ultra processed,” he added.

Dunkin

RFK Jr. Takes Not So Sweet Dig At Democratic Governor In Dunkin’ Donuts Fight

Food

MAHA

Massachusetts

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
I&#8217;m in a very Chinese time in my life. No, you didn&#8217;t misread that.
A new trend has emerged on TikTok where Chinese-American girls are sharing the Eastern lifestyle with the rest of us. The videos have taken off, garnering millions of views from non-Chinese users looking to improve their health with the help of generations-old wellness routines.
It&#8217;s not cultural appropriation; it&#8217;s cultural appreciation.
&#8220;Tomorrow, you’re turning Chinese,&#8221; Chinese-American TikToker Sherry, one of the viral creators behind the craze, told her followers in a recent video. “I know it sounds intimidating, but there’s no point fighting it now. You are the chosen one.&#8221;
The viral fad has taken off as more and more young women are looking for ways to make America healthy again and turn to natural and homeopathic remedies. It has even converted the macho men of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXhW9H9bCmM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barstool Sports</a>, who are now starting their days with an &#8220;ancient Chinese&#8221; workout featuring &#8220;lymphatic hops&#8221; in the hopes of getting shredded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Day 2 of the Chinese work out. We’re both insanely sore but we’re here and about to dominate the day <a href="https://t.co/tBtv1aG7wG">pic.twitter.com/tBtv1aG7wG</a>
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarstoolBigCat/status/2024135141912707213?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
KB may be too brolic for the Ancient Chinese Workout™️… <a href="https://t.co/r4kcmNyATm">https://t.co/r4kcmNyATm</a> <a href="https://t.co/4TCg5aJSLD">pic.twitter.com/4TCg5aJSLD</a>
— The Yak (@BarstoolYak) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarstoolYak/status/2025963212231922044?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I tried some of the ancient practices for a week to see if the routine would change my physical and emotional health.
Each day, I started my morning with warm tea before I ate anything. I then went on a short walk to promote digestion after eating my breakfast, which was usually eggs and toast. The key is to keep your digestive system warm and not shock it first thing in the morning with cold food or ice water.
A study <a href="https://www.sdsu.edu/news/2025/10/sdsu-study-links-food-and" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> last year by San Diego State University found that individuals who consumed cold drinks had &#8220;increased anxiety, more sleep disturbances, and greater feelings of abdominal fullness.&#8221; On the other hand, those &#8220;who drank more hot beverages &#8230; reported lower levels of depression, improved sleep quality, and fewer digestive symptoms.&#8221;
&#8220;Researchers found food and beverage temperature, long recognized in traditional Asian medicine, has measurable links to anxiety, insomnia and gut discomfort,&#8221; the university said in a release at the time.
I wore slippers and never went barefoot, which Sherry explains is meant to prevent illness. Some of the Chinese creators also say it promotes kidney health and fertility by keeping the womb and abdomen warm.
&#8220;You&#8217;re letting cold enter your body and thus you&#8217;re weakening your body,&#8221; Sherry said in one video. &#8220;But if you&#8217;re wearing house slippers, you&#8217;re more likely to maintain that warmth and you&#8217;re less likely to get sick.&#8221;
Some of the girls behind the trend suggested drinking broth first thing in the morning. The broth wasn&#8217;t for me and felt too heavy to start my day. Instead, I opted for peppermint tea.
If I drank or ate anything cold, I would balance it out with a hot tea to keep my digestive system warm, as directed by the Chinese baddies. I also had a warm apple drink, which I made by boiling apples, ginger, honey, and goji berries, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine to support the kidney and liver detoxification systems. It was really delicious, but didn&#8217;t change my life in a week.
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@jenniethereporter/video/7608251340040572190" data-video-id="7608251340040572190">
<section><a title="@jenniethereporter" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@jenniethereporter?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@jenniethereporter</a>Chinese baddie tea!<a title="♬ Relaxed and chill lofi hip hop long version(1580488) - Koko ni studio" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/Relaxed-and-chill-lofi-hip-hop-long-version-1580488-7426811894536849424?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ Relaxed and chill lofi hip hop long version(1580488) &#8211; Koko ni studio</a></section>
</blockquote>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
The routine has also helped me prioritize self-care. I&#8217;ve found myself journaling, praying, reading, and adopting tasks that promote mindfulness.
One of the biggest differences I noticed was that a few days into walking after meals, I craved movement. I am usually a low-impact workout kind of girl and like doing pilates and yoga a couple times a week. But as I adopted more of the &#8220;Chinese baddie&#8221; lifestyle of increasing my movement throughout the day, I started going ham in the gym. For days, I&#8217;ve been lifting and even running on the treadmill. The endorphins were addicting, and so were the points on my Oura ring. I found I was walking for longer periods and exceeding 10,000 steps per day.
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@mollymyattporter/video/7599784621575884063" data-video-id="7599784621575884063">
<section><a title="@mollymyattporter" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mollymyattporter?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@mollymyattporter</a> Woke up a Chinese baddie <a title="chinesebaddie" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/chinesebaddie?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#chinesebaddie</a> <a title="♬ original sound - alex" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7313321369772854048?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ original sound &#8211; alex</a></section>
</blockquote>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
Another mood boost came from spending more time outside. As a result, I found myself interacting with the outside world more, rather than spending most of my day mindlessly scrolling on my phone. In many of the viral TikTok videos, Chinese-American girls said they intentionally make time to phone a friend or have social time in the morning to promote longevity. When I was out with the dog in the park during my walks, I ran into neighbors whom I&#8217;d never before interacted with and quickly fostered new friendships with them.
Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in 2023 <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> an &#8220;epidemic&#8221; of &#8220;loneliness and isolation&#8221; in America.
Loneliness affects somewhere between &#8220;one third to well over half of people in industrialized societies,” <a href="https://lifestylemedicine.stanford.edu/how-social-connection-supports-longevity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> Steven Crane, a research scholar at Stanford University.
“While healthy networks of social connection provide powerful protective health effects, increasing odds of long-term survival by 50%, loneliness itself is associated with many distinct detrimental health impacts on sleep, physical health, and mental health,&#8221; Crane says.
Overall, I see no harm in implementing the &#8220;Chinese baddie&#8221; routine in your day, even if it&#8217;s just one of your habits. After this week of wellness, I plan to continue walking in the morning after breakfast and keeping my slippers on at home. But I probably will ditch drinking warm water as soon as the Texas heat takes hold.
***
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Untitled design – 2026-02-23T125029.564

I Followed TikTok’s Hottest Wellness Trend For A Week — Here’s What Happened

TikTok

The Trump administration is setting up an alternate system to monitor global disease outbreaks and assist in response in direct competition with the World Health Administration.
President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the WHO last year, citing complaints he has had about the United Nations health body dating back to his first term. The Trump administration is now spending billions to set up an alternative, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/02/19/alternative-world-health-organization-proposal/">The Washington Post</a>.
The Department of Health and Human Services, run by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is spearheading the effort to set up the new, U.S.-led global health body. The new agency will be built on dozens of bilateral agreements between the United States and other countries and extend the HHS’ international footprint to many more countries than it is currently operating in.
“This $2 billion in funding to HHS is to build the systems and capacities to do what the WHO did for us,” an official told the Post. Kennedy’s department has already requested the funds from the Office of Management and Budget.
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-orders-u-s-to-withdraw-from-world-health-organization">signed</a> an executive order on the first day of his second term withdrawing the United States from the WHO, citing an unfair cost burden that it placed on the United States and the agency’s poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So, we paid $500 million to World Health when I was here and I terminated it,” said Trump, referring to his first term when he initially withdrew from the organization. The president added that the cost to the United States “seemed a little unfair” in the context of what China paid to the WHO.
“China pays $39 million and we pay $500 million, and China’s a bigger country,” said Trump.
The financial burden the WHO placed on the United States had been substantially larger than the figure the president cited, according to HHS data. Assessed dues and voluntary contributions that the United States paid to the UN health agency amounted to roughly $680 million a year, amounting to 15-18% of the WHO’s total funding, the Post reported.
The president’s executive order also cites the WHO’s actions during the pandemic. Trump initially <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-united-states-will-withdraw-from-the-world-health-organization">withdrew</a> from the body in 2020 because of “the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.”

World Health Organization

Trump Left The World Health Org Last Year. Now, He’s Replacing It.

Department of Health and Human Services

Donald Trump

Executive

U.S.

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
Perhaps the most common feature of the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/politics/maha-birth-control-politics-of-the-pill">flurry</a> <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/public-health/population-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-birth-control">of</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/10/27/nx-s1-5535839/population-shift-birth-rate-misinformation">articles</a> <a href="https://www.kff.org/health-information-trust/misleading-narratives-and-social-media-shape-contraception-perceptions/">about</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953623004380">young</a> <a href="https://msmagazine.com/2025/12/17/young-women-teen-girls-gen-z-birth-control-beliefs-democrat-republican-tiktok-misinformation-contraception/">women</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/17/birth-control-why-are-influencers-turning-away-from-the-pill-and-towards-natural-contraceptive-methods">rejecting</a> <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/10/09/health/ob-gyn-reveals-troubling-trend-shes-seeing-with-gen-z-women/">hormonal</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/style/birth-control-skepticism-wellness-tiktok.html">birth</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/03/21/stopping-birth-control-misinformation/">control</a> is the claim that their concerns are fueled by “misinformation” or based on “unfounded theories.” I’m a younger millennial. I’ve never used hormonal birth control, and I don’t plan to. But what these writers and doctors fail to grasp is how fed up women are of being told their pain is normal and prescribed a pill at 13, only to be told they have “unexplained infertility” and need IVF at 30.
It doesn’t take a medical degree to hypothesize that women’s healthcare has gone terribly wrong. It is almost entirely structured around either suppressing or bypassing the female reproductive system altogether. When journalists and doctors claim women like me are misinformed, they reject an opportunity to help make women healthier. 
For 60 years now, the standard of care for women in the United States has been a protocol that seeks not to understand and work with the female body, but to inhibit and short-circuit it. It’s no surprise that the women who watched their mothers and grandmothers unquestioningly swallow the pill and continue to suffer are now demanding a better way.
The increased rejection of hormonal birth control also comes amid a tectonic shift in medical treatment for minors.  Several major medical associations recently issued <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pediatricians-group-says-research-doesnt-support-gender-affirming-treatments">statements</a> against pediatric gender transition in the wake of the Fox Varin lawsuit, which held medical providers responsible for performing a double mastectomy on a minor. Sex-rejection treatments and surgeries involve medicating children with puberty blockers and hormone therapies, among other things. And yet many adolescent girls, some as young as 11, are prescribed hormone therapy in the form of the hormonal birth control pill or an IUD, despite their long-term effects being largely unknown.
Of sexually active 15 to 19-year-olds, almost half are prescribed some form of hormonal birth control. This, despite the fact that there are no large randomized controlled trials on the effects of synthetic hormones during girls’ pubescent years. Some research on this cohort has shown <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/120/5/1135/71113/Contraception-and-Adolescents?utm">reductions</a> in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010782408002801?utm_source">bone mass</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40097087/">density</a>, which is itself concerning. But little exists on long-term effects to adolescent brain or cardiovascular health, both of which actively require sex hormones for development. Animal studies <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40188588/">show</a> that exposure to hormonal contraceptives during adolescence has persistent effects on the female brain and behavior, though it’s unclear how this translates to humans.
Your response to women rejecting hormonal birth control will almost certainly depend upon your answer to one question: What is medicine? The same ideology that undergirds the transgender movement forms the foundation of women’s health, too: “My body, my choice.” But making your body in your own self-image is not medicine. It’s choice theory applied to the human body. And the philosophy of choice will always be insufficient because it inherently rejects the bounds of reality.
What if women’s health was actually about making women healthy instead of maximizing choice? The solution to America’s health problem is the same as the solution to transgender ideology: Respect reality, recognize that our bodies bound us and we can’t make ourselves into whatever we choose to be, and accept that women’s bodies are different from men’s. That’s not only okay but also good. Women’s bodies were made to bear children; blaming the patriarchy or <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-pursuit-of-equality-is-ruining-your-marriage">raging about the system</a> will not change that fact. Let medicine be about restoring the body’s natural function, not trying to change it. When we become unfocused on what the practice of medicine is in principle, people get hurt, even when medical professionals have the best intentions.
As a woman who has been on the receiving end of so-called “women’s healthcare,” it seems as though there is little will to understand the potentially negative effects of hormonal birth control, or the positive effects of working with rather than against the female body’s natural function. After all, birth control is convenient and perhaps even something of a sacrament to the feminized, sexually evolved West.
“Women have been taking the pill for decades,” I was told by a pushy doctor at an Ivy League research hospital, who wouldn’t let me leave his exam room without a prescription for the minipill for the extreme cramps I was having in my early 20s. When I asked for a hormone panel to help diagnose a potentially underlying health condition, fearful I’d be unable to conceive later in life, he said, perhaps revealing more about himself than intended, that a hormone panel wouldn’t tell him anything.
But not all women’s health practitioners are so unimaginative. Dr. Naomi Whittaker is a board-certified OBGYN and surgeon focused on women&#8217;s restorative reproductive medicine. She’s also the founder of <a href="https://www.rrmacademy.org/">RRM Academy</a>, which employs both conventional medicine and the latest in restorative reproductive techniques. “Working with the female body rather than against it is the cornerstone of what I do,” she said. “I see hormones not as a nuisance to suppress, but as a language the body uses to communicate.” She calls restoring the body’s natural function “the spirit of restorative reproductive medicine.”
Even still, the establishment offers these doctors no help. Medical associations and education do not teach the kind of medicine Dr. Whittaker practices, and they are deeply skeptical of it. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine have <a href="https://www.asrm.org/globalassets/_asrm/advocacy-and-policy/advocacy-activities/2025/2025-08-13-joint_letter_opposing_rrm_081425.pdf">issued statements</a> and <a href="https://www.asrm.org/news-and-events/asrm-news/press-releasesbulletins/asrm-hosts-capitol-hill-briefing-for-policymakers--congressional-staff-to-hear-from-providers--patients-about-importance-of-ivf-access-realities-and-limitations-of-restorative-reproductive-medicine/">held congressional briefings</a> against restorative reproductive medicine. After all, it is a competitor to the medical status quo at a time when the government has expressed more interest in women’s health and fertility. It seems as though the medical establishment is vying for a cut of a much-hoped-for government check.
Regardless, women continue rejecting the status quo. And this rejection comes amid an explosion of so-called “fem-tech” companies marketing devices (usually wearables, such as rings or watches) to assist women in either avoiding or achieving pregnancy naturally.
These devices use sensors to track temperature, sleep, and heart rate, among other things, to pinpoint ovulation or even underlying health conditions. Natural Cycles, which uses an AI algorithm adjusted to each individual user, became the first app to be cleared by the Food and Drug Administration as birth control in 2018. And Oura, whose sensor-laden rings have become something of a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/09/oura-ring-lobbying-rfk-maha-washington-00770320?nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nname=playbook&amp;nrid=b076877d-0054-4fa6-8bd9-93aa06bde864">status symbol</a> in Washington, is aiming higher than transforming women’s healthcare: It is purporting to change the face of American healthcare altogether.
Wearables such as the Oura ring are not only designed for tracking menstrual cycles, though they can do that. They are also designed to help wearers know more about their bodies (sleep quality and blood oxygen, activity, or stress levels, for example) and to help alert them to potential illness. Only a few months ago, an older-style wearable — the Fitbit — alerted me that my heart was in arrhythmia and told me to go to the emergency room. At 31, I am not the usual candidate for atrial fibrillation, and the ER doctor assumed the device had been faulty. After performing an EKG, he was amazed to find the watch had been right. Untreated heart arrhythmias are the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in the world.
American medicine has long suffered from being reactive rather than proactive. We treat symptoms and diseases rather than teaching people how to avoid them. After all, symptom and disease management is where all the money is, and healthcare, like all businesses, needs money to survive. But wearables may be a sign that’s changing. After all, Oura’s market valuation of $11 billion dollars is more than four times greater than it was just three years ago. 
As women continue rejecting the pill, those beholden to the medical status quo will probably continue blaming women for falling prey to misinformation. That’s a lazy response. They’d do well to look a little closer: Women may be the early adopters of a new age of American medicine, rejecting pills and their unintended side effects in favor of preventative and restorative approaches, with wearables at the helm. American women seem to be ahead of the curve in heralding a return to true medicine. The only question is: Will the medical establishment get on board?
***
Katelyn Walls Shelton (<a href="https://x.com/AnnaKateShelt">@AnnaKateShelt</a>) is a visiting fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Bioethics, Technology, and Human Flourishing Program and a 2025 Robert Novak Journalism Fellow. Her Substack is <a href="https://katelynshelton.substack.com/">Technically Human</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Birth Control Pills, Female Contraception Estrogen Hormones, Prescription Medicine for PMS

The Pill Revolt — Why Millennial Women Like Me Are Rethinking Hormonal Birth Control

Birth Control

Media Bias

Pregnancy

Technology

Women

Welcome to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire&#8217;s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
In this piece, Bethany Mandel — wife, mom of six, and bestselling author — shares her positive experience with GLP-1 inhibitors, the weight loss drugs that have everyone talking. We hope you enjoy. 
***
I normally would be embarrassed to write something like this. Weight, bodies, medication: It all feels too intimate, too confessional, and too likely to invite judgment. And yet here I am — because I now find myself explaining the same thing to people almost every day.
Most recently it was at the grocery store. The clerk did a double take, stared at me for a second, and finally asked, “What happened? Are you okay?” (She didn’t want to congratulate me on my weight loss if it resulted from a terminal illness, I suppose). A few days earlier, while I was shoveling my sidewalk, it was my neighbor. Last week, it was someone at our synagogue. Somewhere along the way, I realized I’m constantly typing the word “Zepbound” into other people’s phones or scribbling it on sticky notes for acquaintances who ask what I did.
Whatever shame I once felt has been worn down by sheer repetition. When you say something out loud often enough, it stops feeling like a secret. I’ve lost 50 pounds with weight-loss medication, and I’ve never felt better. I fit into my jeans from before I had kids, and running up and down my stairs to change the laundry doesn’t wind me.
For about a year after I stopped breastfeeding my youngest, I circled the idea of weight loss medication without letting myself touch it. I had six babies in nine years. My body had been in a near-constant state of pregnancy, postpartum, or nursing for a decade. Wanting help to lose the weight felt vain and indulgent — and a bit like cheating.
So, I did what you’re “supposed” to do. I dieted and I exercised. I joined a gym and was actually going with regularity. I tried to be disciplined and patient. And nothing happened. The scale didn’t budge, not an inch.
I was deeply suspicious of GLP-1 medication. It sounded too good to be true, and experience has taught me that when something sounds too good, the bill always comes due later. GLP-1, or “glucagon-like peptide-1,” agonists are a class of medications that were originally developed to help people with type 2 diabetes control blood sugar by mimicking a naturally occurring hormone that regulates appetite and glucose metabolism.
Over the past few years, these drugs have exploded in popularity for weight loss, with brands such as Ozempic and Wegovy becoming household names as newer versions like Zepbound joining the market. The <a href="https://www.kff.org/public-opinion/poll-1-in-8-adults-say-they-are-currently-taking-a-glp-1-drug-for-weight-loss-diabetes-or-another-condition-even-as-half-say-the-drugs-are-difficult-to-afford/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">surge</a> in prescriptions has been dramatic: About one in eight American adults says they have taken a GLP-1 medication at some point, and roughly 6% report currently using one. Now that the Trump administration has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumprx-officially-launches-with-promise-to-dramatically-cut-drug-costs-for-americans">negotiated</a> lower prices for these drugs, they may become even more popular.
Surely, I thought, there&#8217;s a catch. People on these drugs will get cancer, heart disease, or liver failure waiting down the road — right?
But the drugs have been on the market for over a decade, and I finally decided I was willing to suspend my doubts. What changed wasn’t vanity. It was a doctor’s appointment, the first one I’d had in years that wasn’t related to pregnancy, where I learned how close I was to being diabetic. Both my parents and my paternal uncles were diabetic. This wasn’t an abstract risk; it was family history catching up to me. My bloodwork told a story I could no longer ignore. That’s what changed my mind: not wanting to be thinner, but wanting to be around longer for my husband and kids.
I started the medication in June. Since then, I’ve lost 50 pounds. Yes, I look better. I’m not pretending that part doesn’t matter. But I’m also willing to bet that losing this weight will extend my lifetime, and that matters more.
We don’t actually know if there’s a hidden catch with these drugs. One <a href="https://x.com/saveusculture/status/2004750595371221322">viral</a> tweet from last year read, “Registering my long bet on Ozempic being a massive civilizational monkey’s paw just for the record.” But given how long GLP-1 drugs have been in use, the odds are shrinking that there’s some dramatic side effect. What we do know is that obesity has a very real, very documented cost. My bloodwork showed it. I was flirting with diabetes, and my cholesterol numbers were off the charts. We know obesity increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and early death. The “known known” is already bad. Even if there’s an “unknown unknown” with these medications, the alternative wasn’t neutral. It was a slow-motion worst-case scenario.
I’ve also been conservative with the medication. I stayed on the lowest dose, 2.5 mg, for four months, and I’ve been on 5 mg for two more. Honestly, the most important change wasn’t appetite suppression. It was resetting my relationship with food after years of pregnancy. I had hyperemesis (clinically bad “morning sickness”) with two of my pregnancies, and awful morning sickness with another. The only thing that prevented or eased pregnancy nausea was carbs: constant carbs and early carbs. The survival strategy was to shovel them in as fast and as often as possible. Over time, that hardwired a pattern: eat first, eat fast, eat carbs, just in case. I spent more than a decade reinforcing that loop.
The medication helped break it, but I did work too. I didn’t just eat less. I ate differently: fewer carbs and much, much more <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-flips-the-food-pyramid-and-announces-massive-changes-to-dietary-guidelines">protein</a>. Yes, my appetite is lower, but breaking the carb cycle was the real shift. 
Six months after starting, in January, I reran my bloodwork. Every single number moved into the normal range: glucose, cholesterol, and diabetes markers. All of it.
I still don’t evangelize these drugs, and I don’t think they’re for everyone. But they are able to improve health outcomes, like they did for me. I’m no longer at high risk for heart disease, diabetes, or stroke. I also don’t whisper about them anymore. So when the grocery clerk asks, or my neighbor pauses mid-conversation, I tell the truth. I’m on medication, and it helped. And I’m okay with that.
Bethany Mandel (<a href="https://x.com/bethanyshondark">@bethanyshondark</a>) is a homeschooling mother of six and a writer. She is the bestselling co-author, with Karol Markowicz, of Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Untitled design – 2026-02-16T134552.982

Weight-Loss Medication May Have Dangerous Side Effects. I Don’t Care.

weight Loss

Online telehealth company Hims &amp; Hers on Saturday reversed course on its launch of a $49 compounded version of Novo Nordisk&#8217;s Wegovy weight-loss pill after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it would take action against it.
&#8220;Since launching the compounded semaglutide pill on our platform, we’ve had constructive conversations with stakeholders across the industry. As a result, we have decided to stop offering access to this treatment,&#8221; the telehealth firm said.
The FDA said on Friday that it plans to restrict GLP-1 ingredients used in compounded drugs that companies such as Hims and online pharmacies have marketed, citing concerns over quality, safety and potential violations of federal law.
The Department of Health and Human Services said on Friday it would refer the company to the Department of Justice but did not make clear whether it could quickly halt the sale of the Hims&#8217; product, the cheapest GLP-1 therapy on the U.S. market.
Reuters reported on Thursday that Hims would begin offering copies of Novo Nordisk&#8217;s new Wegovy pill at an introductory price of $49 per month, about $100 less than the brand name.
The news caused a selloff in shares of Novo and rival Eli Lilly, whose own pill is expected to launch in April. The shares recovered some of the losses on Friday after FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary tweeted his concern after the market&#8217;s close on Thursday while Hims&#8217; shares fell.
&#8220;No one should be mass-compounding or selling knockoff GLP-1 products regardless of how they’re administered,&#8221; a Lilly spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters on Saturday after Hims &amp; Hers said it would stop offering its GLP-1 pill.
Compounding, in which pharmacies mix ingredients for specialized medicines or to copy a drug but at different dosages, has flourished as Americans chase cheaper prices for drugs. The practice is legal under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act in certain circumstances.
Novo on Thursday responded to Hims&#8217; launch by threatening legal action against the company while Lilly, which has battled compounded copies of its injectable drug Zepbound, said that patients deserved better than copies with no clinical evidence.
Hims&#8217; compounded drug is not FDA-approved and has not gone through clinical trials to prove efficacy.
Novo did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Saturday.
Hims &amp; Hers did not respond to a Reuters query about whether it would continue selling compounded semaglutide injections on its website. The company, alongside Novo and Lilly, is spending millions during Sunday&#8217;s Super Bowl to promote its offerings.
Novo has been losing share in the weight-loss market to rival Lilly and telehealth firms like Hims. Novo and Hims had a partnership in 2025 allowing Hims to sell injectable Wegovy, but the two companies walked away with Novo saying Hims had wrongfully marketed copycats of Wegovy. Hims&#8217; CEO Andrew Dudum accused Novo of attempting to control how clinicians at Hims make decisions.
Makary said in a statement on Friday that the agency will &#8220;use all available compliance and enforcement tools within its authorities to address unsubstantiated claims and associated public health concerns.&#8221;
HHS, which oversees the FDA, was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Anusha Shah and Amina Niasse; Editing by Caroline Humer and Andrea Ricci)

Hims Drops Fat-Loss Pill After FDA Warning

Ozempic

Dozens of drugs are now available at discounted prices on TrumpRx.gov, a government website that officially launched on Thursday.
The site currently features 43 drugs &#8212; including those that tackle weight loss, autoimmune issues, fertility, addiction, and high cholesterol &#8212; at discounted prices for anyone who has a prescription.
The discounted prices were negotiated by the Trump administration, and the number of offered drugs are expected to rise in the coming weeks and months.
Consumers can browse through the <a href="https://trumprx.gov/browse">available drugs here</a>, or view them below (as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trumprx-drugs-website-discount/">compiled</a> by CBS News):
<ul>
<li>Abrilada Pen (autoimmune) — TrumpRx price: $207.60</li>
<li>Airsupra (respiratory) — TrumpRx price: $201</li>
<li>Azulfidine Tabs (rheumatology) — TrumpRx price: $99.60</li>
<li>Azulfidine En Tabs (rheumatology) — TrumpRx price: $130.80</li>
<li>Bevespi (respiratory) — TrumpRx price: $51</li>
<li>Cetrotide (IVF) — TrumpRx price: $22.50</li>
<li>Chantix (smoking cessation) — TrumpRx price: $106.20</li>
<li>Cleocin (antibiotic) — TrumpRx price: $94.35</li>
<li>Colestid (cholesterol) — TrumpRx price: $127.91</li>
<li>Cortef (inflammation) — TrumpRx price: $45</li>
<li>Cytomel (thyroid) — TrumpRx price: $6</li>
<li>Diflucan (antifungal) — TrumpRx price: $14.06</li>
<li>Duavee (women&#8217;s health) — TrumpRx price: $30.30</li>
<li>Estring (women&#8217;s health) — TrumpRx price: $249</li>
<li>Eucrisa (dermatologic) — TrumpRx price: $158.48</li>
<li>Farxiga (diabetes, cardiovascular) — TrumpRx price: $181.59</li>
<li>Genotropin (human growth hormone) — TrumpRx price: $89.67</li>
<li>Gonal F (fertility) — TrumpRx price: $168</li>
<li>Insulin Lispro (high blood sugar) — TrumpRx price: $25</li>
<li>Levoxyl (hypothyroidism) — TrumpRx price: $35.10</li>
<li>Lopid (cholesterol) — TrumpRx price: $39.60</li>
<li>Medrol (inflammation) — TrumpRx price: $3.15</li>
<li>Ngenla (human growth hormone) — TrumpRx price: $2,217</li>
<li>Nicotrol (smoking cessation) — TrumpRx price: $271.16</li>
<li>Ovidrel (fertility) — TrumpRx price: $84</li>
<li>Ozempic Pen (diabetes, weight loss) — TrumpRx price: $199</li>
<li>Premarin (women&#8217;s health) — TrumpRx price: $99</li>
<li>Premarin Vaginal Cream (women&#8217;s health) — TrumpRx price: $236.65</li>
<li>Prempro (women&#8217;s health) — TrumpRx price: $98.84</li>
<li>Pristiq (antidepressant) — TrumpRx price: $200.10 </li>
<li>Protonix (heartburn) — TrumpRx price: $200.10</li>
<li>Tikosyn (cardiovascular) — TrumpRx price: $336</li>
<li>Toviaz (bladder control) — TrumpRx price: $43.50</li>
<li>Vfend (antifungal) — TrumpRx price: $306.98</li>
<li>Viracept (antiviral) — TrumpRx price: $607.20</li>
<li>Wegovy (weight loss) — Pen TrumpRx price: $199</li>
<li>Wegovy Pill (weight loss) — TrumpRx price: $149</li>
<li>Xeljanz (rheumatology) — TrumpRx price: $1,518</li>
<li>Xigduo XR (diabetes) — TrumpRx price: $181.59</li>
<li>Zarontin (anticonvulsant) — TrumpRx price: $71.10</li>
<li>Zavzpret (migraine treatment) — TrumpRx price: $594.84</li>
<li>Zepbound (weight loss, sleep apnea) — TrumpRx price: $299</li>
<li>Zyvox (antibiotic) — TrumpRx price: $122.74</li>
</ul>
Currently, the drugs are for those buying out-of-pocket, as insurance is not accepted.
Trump announced his intention to lower prescription drug prices for Americans months ago. He&#8217;s repeatedly said that it&#8217;s &#8220;unacceptable&#8221; that Americans pay far more for drugs than other developed nations, arguing that these nations are being subsidized by the U.S.
Following through on his promise, Trump announced the official launch of TrumpRx on Thursday, as reported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumprx-officially-launches-with-promise-to-dramatically-cut-drug-costs-for-americans?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=TrumpRx+Officially+Launches+With+Promise+To+Dramatically+Cut+Drug+Costs+For+Americans">The Daily Wire</a>.
“For years, politicians from both parties have promised to bring down prescription drug prices and make health care more affordable, but they all failed. It was all words, as usual,” Trump said at the rollout. “But I’m actually getting it done; it is done, actually.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumprx-officially-launches-with-promise-to-dramatically-cut-drug-costs-for-americans?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=TrumpRx+Officially+Launches+With+Promise+To+Dramatically+Cut+Drug+Costs+For+Americans">TrumpRx Officially Launches With Promise To Dramatically Cut Drug Costs For Americans</a>

Trump Vows US Drug Price Cuts Of Up To 80% In Industry Blow

Here Are The 43 Drugs Now Offered At Discounted Prices On TrumpRx

Prescription Drugs

Trump Administration

TrumpRx

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it would take action against telehealth provider Hims &amp; Hers for its $49 weight-loss pill, including restricting access to the drug&#8217;s ingredients and referring the company to the Department of Justice for potential violations of federal law.
Federal action to limit the production of compounded drugs would be a win for Novo Nordisk, which has been losing share in the weight-loss market to rival Eli Lilly and telehealth firms like Hims. However, the FDA did not make clear whether it could quickly halt the sale of Hims&#8217; product, the cheapest GLP-1 therapy on the U.S. market.
Shares of Hims fell 14.1% in after-hours trade.
The FDA said it plans to restrict GLP-1 ingredients used in non-approved compounded drugs that companies such as Hims and other compounding pharmacies have marketed as alternatives to authorized treatments. The agency cited concerns over quality, safety and potential violations of federal law.
On Thursday, Reuters was first to report that Hims would begin offering copies of Novo Nordisk&#8217;s new Wegovy pill at an introductory price of $49 per month, about $100 less than the brand name.
Novo Nordisk later said it would take legal action against the telehealth company over its plan to sell compounded copies of the drug.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services&#8217; General Counsel, Mike Stuart, also said on Friday he has referred Hims &amp; Hers to the Department of Justice for investigation over potential violations.
Hims said in a statement that the company &#8220;has always operated with a deep commitment to the safety and best interests of consumers and in compliance with applicable law.
&#8220;We have a long history of successfully working with regulators, and look forward to continuing to engage with the FDA to ensure safe access to affordable healthcare.&#8221;
A Lilly spokesperson said the company applauded the FDA action. &#8220;For years, compounders have been putting patients at risk by unlawfully mass-producing knockoff drugs using substandard ingredients from illicit foreign suppliers and selling them without clinical evidence that they’re safe or even work. Patients deserve better, and we look forward to decisive action by FDA, other regulators, and law enforcement.”
Compounding, in which pharmacies mix ingredients for specialized medicines or to copy a drug but at different dosages, has flourished as Americans chase cheaper prices for drugs.
The practice is legal under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act in certain circumstances, like when prescribed by a physician to address patient side effects or during a drug shortage.
Hims&#8217; compounded drug is not FDA-approved and has not gone through clinical trials to prove efficacy.
The FDA&#8217;s enforcement actions against Hims could include sending a warning letter, pursuing a court injunction or conducting an administrative seizure of products, said Joanne Hawana, a member at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
The agency would need the help of the Justice Department to pursue an injunction, as it lacks independent litigation authority, Hawana said.
The FDA&#8217;s statements suggest that &#8220;this announcement by Hims, to the government, is concerning enough that they decided they’re going to escalate,&#8221; Hawana said.
Thus far, the FDA&#8217;s actions on weight-loss drugs have been limited to warning letters sent in the fall of 2025 to combat misleading direct-to-consumer advertising and marketing.
Commissioner Marty Makary said in a statement on Friday that the agency will &#8220;use all available compliance and enforcement tools within its authorities to address unsubstantiated claims and associated public health concerns.&#8221;
The health regulator said that, in promotional materials, companies cannot claim that non-FDA-approved compounded products are generic versions or the same as drugs approved by FDA.
It added that &#8220;they also cannot state compounded drugs use the same active ingredient as the FDA-approved drugs or that compounded drugs are clinically proven to produce results for the patient.&#8221;
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru and Leah Douglas in Washington; additional reporting by Amina Niasse in New York; Editing by Alan Barona and David Gregorio)

Pharmaceutical Companies in India

Hims Stock Tumbles As FDA Targets Its Discounted Weight-Loss Drugs

President Donald Trump on Thursday officially launched the federal government&#8217;s highly anticipated direct-to-consumer medication website called TrumpRx.
The site, which Trump lauded as a major win for his administration, will give Americans access to big discounts on popular and high-priced medicines. Now, consumers can pay low prices that are comparable to those in other developed nations, keeping in line with the Trump Most-Favored Nation policy.
&#8220;America was being overcharged for medicine. The same drugs, made in the same factories, at the same dosages, are costing Americans up to 1,000% more than in any other country,&#8221; the live <a href="https://trumprx.gov/">TrumpRx site</a> reads. &#8220;This is unacceptable.&#8221;
&#8220;Starting tonight, dozens of the most commonly used prescription drugs will be available at dramatic discounts for all consumers throughout our new website, it&#8217;s called TrumpRx.gov,&#8221; the president announced at Thursday&#8217;s launch.
&#8220;For years, politicians from both parties have promised to bring down prescription drug prices and make health care more affordable, but they all failed. It was all words, as usual,&#8221; he added. &#8220;But I&#8217;m actually getting it done; it is done, actually.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨 <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;Starting tonight, dozens of the most commonly-used prescription drugs will be available at dramatic discounts for all consumers throughout a new website: <a href="https://t.co/QSJ4wskHM1">https://t.co/QSJ4wskHM1</a>.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/tB9FdIZMWZ">pic.twitter.com/tB9FdIZMWZ</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2019566096836366586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
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According to the White House, Trump was able to make deals with major companies like AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer to get the lower drug prices for Americans.
&#8220;Additional drugs from other companies that have signed MFN pricing deals will be made available through TrumpRx.gov in the coming months,&#8221; a press release said, adding, &#8220;Depending on the manufacturer of a given drug, patients with valid prescriptions will be able to access savings through user-friendly coupons that can be printed or downloaded onto their phones or through channels set up by the manufacturer and integrated into TrumpRx.gov.&#8221;
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<div id="attachment_1039745" style="width: 935px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1039745" class="wp-image-1039745 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-05-at-7.33.51-PM-925x576.png" alt="" width="925" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-05-at-7.33.51-PM-925x576.png 925w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-05-at-7.33.51-PM-300x187.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-05-at-7.33.51-PM-768x478.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-05-at-7.33.51-PM-1536x956.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-05-at-7.33.51-PM-2048x1275.png 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 925px) 100vw, 925px" />Screenshot: Trump RX</div>
A White House fact-sheet sent to The Daily Wire listed the following examples of reduced-price medications:
<ul>
<li>The monthly prices of Ozempic and injectable Wegovy will fall from $1,028 and $1,349, respectively, to an average price of $350 and as low as $199, depending on dosage strength.</li>
<li>The monthly price of the Wegovy pill will fall from $1,349 to as low as $149, depending on dosage strength.</li>
<li>The monthly price of Zepbound will fall from $1,088 to an average price of $346 and as low as $299, depending on dosage strength.</li>
<li>Gonal-F, one of the most commonly-used fertility drugs, will see its price reduced to as low as $168 per pen, depending on dosage strength.</li>
<li>The price of Cetrotide, another commonly used fertility medicine, will drop from $316 to $22.50.</li>
<li>The price of Ovidrel will fall from $251 to $84.</li>
<li>Bevespi Aerosphere, an inhaler used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), will be discounted from $458 to $51.</li>
<li>Airsupra, an inhaler used to treat asthma symptoms and attacks, will see a price drop from $504 to $201.</li>
<li>Eucrisa, a topical ointment for atopic dermatitis, will be discounted from $792 to $158.</li>
<li>Insulin Lispro will be available for as low as $25 per month.</li>
<li>Duavee, a medication used to treat hot flashes and osteoporosis, will see its price cut from $202 to $30.</li>
</ul>
America&#8217;s HealthShare (AHS), a popular health sharing ministry, praised the development from the administration.
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“America&#8217;s healthcare system is broken, and people are simply paying too much for medicine and hospital visits. America’s HealthShare enthusiastically supports the effort to offer working families and elderly people on fixed incomes access to more affordable prescription drugs,&#8221; America’s HealthShare President David Lejeune said in a statement sent to The Daily Wire.
&#8220;Our law and policy makers can and should work with this Administration, in bipartisan fashion, to address long-term solutions to America’s healthcare system,&#8221; he added. &#8220;At America&#8217;s HealthShare, we are proud to support the Make America Healthy Again movement by restoring freedom and accountability in healthcare through an innovative approach.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumprx-trump-scores-significantly-lower-prices-for-popular-weight-loss-drugs">TrumpRx: Trump Scores Significantly Lower Prices For Popular Weight Loss Drugs</a>
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US-VOTE-TRUMP

TrumpRx Officially Launches With Promise To Dramatically Cut Drug Costs For Americans

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