Beth Mole /

Recent stories by Beth Mole

1. Man dies on way home from Panera after having three “charged” lemonades

   A large lemonade contains up to 390 mg of caffeine, nearly the FDA's daily safe limit.

   Beth Mole – Dec 5, 2023 10:57 pm UTC

2. Texas sues Pfizer with COVID anti-vax argument that is pure stupid

   Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton struggles with relative vs. absolute risk.

   Beth Mole – Dec 4, 2023 11:13 pm UTC

3. Severe outbreak tied to cantaloupe sickens 117 in 34 states; half hospitalized

   Back away from your cantaloupe if you don't know the brand, the CDC warns.

   Beth Mole – Dec 1, 2023 3:32 pm UTC

4. Millions of lead pipes would finally be ripped out under proposed EPA rule

   The rule could generate up to $34.8 billion in health benefits each year.

   Beth Mole – Nov 30, 2023 7:31 pm UTC

5. FDA warns chemical company not to mix brake cleaner into hand sanitizer

   It's not the first time the regulatory agency chided the chemical company for this.

   Beth Mole – Nov 30, 2023 1:13 pm UTC

6. “Mystery” pneumonia in China is mix of common respiratory germs, WHO says

   Reports caused alarm, but experts say it looks like a post-COVID germ comeback.

   Beth Mole – Nov 27, 2023 11:03 pm UTC

7. Five women got eye syphilis from the same man—raising questions

   The cluster of rare cases suggests a new strain of syphilis may have spread.

   Beth Mole – Nov 22, 2023 6:00 pm UTC

8. Big Pharma fought drug pricing reform with record $7.5M dark money donation

   Dark money group American Action Network spend millions opposing drug pricing reforms.

   Beth Mole – Nov 22, 2023 5:44 pm UTC

9. The infectious disease forecast for Thanksgiving is looking dicey

   Respiratory virus season is in full swing as people ready for family gatherings.

   Beth Mole – Nov 21, 2023 7:58 pm UTC

10. Barefoot workers, bacteria found at factory that made big-brand eye drops

    Around 30 eye drop brands are recalled; FDA inspection report shows why.

    Beth Mole – Nov 17, 2023 10:57 pm UTC

11. Measles rises globally amid vaccination crash; WHO and CDC sound the alarm

    From 2021 to 2022, measles deaths increased 43 percent.

    Beth Mole – Nov 17, 2023 5:29 pm UTC

12. UnitedHealth uses AI model with 90% error rate to deny care, lawsuit alleges

    For the largest health insurer in the US, AI's error rate is like a feature, not a bug.

    Beth Mole – Nov 16, 2023 11:37 pm UTC

13. Lead-tainted fruit pouches poison 22 toddlers; blood lead levels 8x threshold

    Children who have eaten the recalled apple cinnamon pouches should get lead testing.

    Beth Mole – Nov 14, 2023 3:51 pm UTC

14. Daycare TB case exposes over 500 babies, children; emergency declared

    The health department has set up multiple clinics to test children as quickly as possible.

    Beth Mole – Nov 13, 2023 5:55 pm UTC

15. Obesity drug Wegovy reduces cardiovascular risks for those at high risk

    The finding means 15 fewer cardiovascular events per 1,000 patients treated.

    Beth Mole – Nov 13, 2023 3:58 pm UTC

16. Protective vaccination rates falling out of reach in US; exemptions hit record

    Vaccination exemptions among kindergartners rose from 2.6% to a record high of 3%.

    Beth Mole – Nov 10, 2023 10:57 pm UTC

17. Bored Ape creator says UV lights at ApeFest burned attendees’ eyes and skin

    ApeFest attendees quickly reported burning, painful eyes after Saturday event.

    Beth Mole – Nov 9, 2023 10:15 pm UTC

18. Funeral home of horrors: Owners arrested after 190 rotting corpses found

    Owners charged with abuse of a corpse, theft, money laundering, and forgery.

    Beth Mole – Nov 8, 2023 10:19 pm UTC

19. Americans may soon get warnings about ultra-processed foods: Report

    Nutrition experts are reviewing data on ultra-processed foods for 2025 guidance.

    Beth Mole – Nov 8, 2023 6:15 pm UTC

20. Toxic toddler fruit pouches: “Extremely high” lead levels sicken 7 in 5 states

    Three brands of apple cinnamon fruit pouches have now been recalled.

    Beth Mole – Nov 6, 2023 10:04 pm UTC

21. Soda additive linked to thyroid toxicity may finally get banned by FDA

    BVO has largely been phased out of big-name sodas and was recently banned in CA.

    Beth Mole – Nov 3, 2023 9:13 pm UTC

22. Bizarre blip: Cases of fetuses with flipped organs quadrupled in China

    Doctors speculated cases could link to a COVID surge, but no conclusions can be drawn.

    Beth Mole – Nov 2, 2023 10:20 pm UTC

23. Tenn. vaccine chief, fired after promoting COVID shots, gets $150K settlement

    Dr. Michelle Fiscus was fired after sending a memo on vaccination rights of minors.

    Beth Mole – Nov 2, 2023 7:29 pm UTC

24. Despite spooky Consumer Reports’ testing, metals in chocolates aren’t scary

    Chocolate is just not a big source of either lead or cadmium in diets.

    Beth Mole – Nov 1, 2023 7:06 pm UTC

25. FDA warns of infection risk from 26 big-brand eye drops; stop using immediately

    No infections yet linked, but FDA found contamination in manufacturing facility.

    Beth Mole – Oct 30, 2023 4:27 pm UTC

26. Poison expert allegedly poisoned wife—with a shockingly toxic gout drug

    Colchicine is centuries old, but the line between toxic and nontoxic is still blurry.

    Beth Mole – Oct 27, 2023 10:42 pm UTC

27. Fall COVID shot uptake is an “abysmal” 7%; wastewater testing impaired

    Meanwhile, a quarter of the country's wastewater testing sites are offline.

    Beth Mole – Oct 27, 2023 7:47 pm UTC

28. Unprecedented diarrheal outbreak erupts in UK as cases spike 3x above usual

    Cryptosporidium cases linked to travel and swimming, but at unusually high rate.

    Beth Mole – Oct 26, 2023 8:10 pm UTC

29. Teeny jumping spider found in woman’s ear after days of torturous racket

    The spider was nesting on her eardrum—and there's video.

    Beth Mole – Oct 25, 2023 9:57 pm UTC

30. CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they’re useless

    Bogus homeopathic products based on pseudoscience will remain on shelves.

    Beth Mole – Oct 24, 2023 8:48 pm UTC

31. Nonprofit hospitals skimp on charity while CEOs reap millions, report finds

    Nonprofit hospitals got $28 billion in tax breaks—which made up 44% of their net income.

    Beth Mole – Oct 19, 2023 11:12 pm UTC

32. Pfizer hikes price of COVID antiviral Paxlovid from $530 to nearly $1,400

    The price hike is expected to exacerbate already poor uptake of the drug.

    Beth Mole – Oct 19, 2023 3:10 pm UTC

33. Stench leads officials to 189 rotting corpses at taxidermist’s funeral home

    One family who received ashes isn't sure if they're the "cremains" of a loved one.

    Beth Mole – Oct 18, 2023 10:56 pm UTC

34. COVID antiviral Paxlovid to see price increase following 400% vaccine hike

    The new price is not set, but one analyst suggested it could be up to 5x higher.

    Beth Mole – Oct 17, 2023 10:16 pm UTC

35. Raw milk outbreak sickens 14 in Utah—a state with loose laws, bad track record

    The people sickened range in age from 2 to 73.

    Beth Mole – Oct 13, 2023 8:07 pm UTC

36. Maryland’s first local malaria case in 40 years initially duped doctors

    The misdiagnosis is a global problem that could worsen as malaria territory expands.

    Beth Mole – Oct 13, 2023 5:17 pm UTC