Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Ruling Requiring In-Person Visits for Abortion Pill

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a federal appeals court ruling that would have required in-person doctor visits for women seeking abortions using mifepristone. The order, issued yesterday, came three days after the court extended its own timeline for making a decision in the case.

The action preserves access to mail-order versions of the abortion pill while the lawsuit continues. The court’s decision is not the final resolution of the legal dispute, which has involved multiple twists and turns. Access to mifepristone remains available during the ongoing proceedings.

The outbreak has produced 246 suspected cases and 65 reported deaths. Early testing results indicate the outbreak is being caused by an Ebola species other than the Zaire strain, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The only licensed vaccines protect against Ebola Zaire, though experimental immunizations exist for other species.

The Africa CDC said sequencing was ongoing to determine the exact strain. The agency cited several reasons for concern, including spread in urban areas, movement of people for work, regional insecurity and conflict, and challenges with infection prevention and control.

The outbreak is occurring near the borders with Uganda and South Sudan. The Africa CDC said it was convening a meeting with global and regional health authorities, vaccine and drug developers, and charitable groups. Ituri province was affected by a 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak that was the second largest on record.

In the week after President Trump took office for a second time, his administration dismantled the United States Agency for International Development. The agency had been one of the world’s largest providers of international aid, including health aid.

A new analysis published yesterday found that regions that received more USAID support have experienced more violent conflict since the agency’s dissolution. Areas receiving the most U.S. aid showed a 6.5% greater probability of experiencing conflict compared with regions that received no aid.

That increase included a roughly 10% rise in riots and battle-related fatalities, according to the study published in Science.

Department Questions Admissions Practices at Medical Schools

The Department of Justice sent a letter to Yale’s School of Medicine alleging it was illegally discriminating against applicants who are not Black or Hispanic. The department sent a similar letter to the medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles, last week.

The actions represent the latest effort by the Trump administration to address diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the scientific workforce following a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that prohibited affirmative action in college admissions. The letters cited differences in average test scores and GPAs between students of different racial groups over the past three admissions cycles.

Funding and Graduate Admissions MIT’s research enterprise has shrunk 10% from a year ago as the university deals with federal funding shortfalls and policy changes. President Sally Kornbluth warned of a persistent drop in graduate admissions in a video posted to YouTube yesterday.

Kornbluth attributed the challenges to the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape higher education, increased taxes on large university endowments, and changes in immigration policies that have discouraged international students. The university faces a $300 million deficit that has already led to shuttered libraries and reduced undergraduate admissions.