Clinical trials have long been plagued by inefficiency, lack of diversity and the inability to leverage data. The pandemic increased the need to modernize trials, which pushed many trials to lean on technology to conduct trials remotely. Ben Leonard explains why money is pouring into the space and why many clinical trials are still stuck in the previous century.

According to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court and obtained by POLITICO, the Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, kicking abortion policy to the states. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer filed a lawsuit last month challenging her state’s 1931 law banning abortion, which would go into effect when Roe is struck down. Alice Miranda Ollstein reports.

The Biden administration is scrambling to counter China’s new security pact with the Solomon Islands and a possible military base in the South Pacific nation. Phelim Kine reports.

Months before two infants died and another was hospitalized from bacterial infections, a whistleblower alerted senior FDA officials to what he said were "lax practices, including regulatory violations" at an Abbott Nutrition infant formula plant last October. But it was still months before the FDA investigated and formula was recalled. Helena Bottemiller-Evich reports.

Presenting Playbook Deep Dive: The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is back for the first time since 2019. Journalists, A-list celebrities and Washington’s power players will pack the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton. That means brunch is back too. On this week’s episode, Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza gets a tour from Tammy Haddad at the site of her annual garden brunch, one of the most sought after invites of the weekend. Plus, insights from comedian and WHCD alum Elayne Boosler and Ed Solomon of Anthony's Tuxedos in Georgetown.

The FDA may propose a rule banning menthol cigarettes as early as today, a decision 10 years in the making. Katherine Foley reports.

The world’s richest man has a lot of experience getting his way in Washington. But doing it as Twitter's owner may be different. Rebecca Kern reports.

Federal regulators are just beginning to tackle a technical flaw that threatens to hold back the United States’ next giant leap in communications: Many of our radios suck. John Hendel reports.

An alleged human trafficking ring in Georgia highlights many of the loopholes found in the H-2A agricultural visa program, renewing calls for an overhaul. Ximena Bustillo reports.

This week Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza is in Arizona to dig into a few big plotlines ahead of this year’s elections. Trump narrowly lost the state in 2020, Senator Mark Kelly – the Democratic incumbent – is one of the most vulnerable senators up for reelection this year and strategists are already looking at the 2024 Senate election to see who will run against Kyrsten Sinema. On this week’s Playbook Deep Dive Episode, Ryan joins Rep. Ruben Gallego for a long dinner and a few drinks. They discuss Gallego’s fraught history with Sinema, a potential campaign against her in 2024, the political environment in Arizona ahead of midterms and his deployment in the Iraq war.

Russia’s ambassador to the United States can’t get meetings with senior officials at the White House or the State Department. He can’t convince U.S. lawmakers to see him, and it's rare to find an American think tanker who’s willing to admit to having any contact with the envoy. Senior foreign affairs correspondent Nahal Toosi discusses her conversation with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. and D.C.'s loneliest man, Anatoly Antonov.

We're six and a half months out from the the midterms, and to keep track of the almost 500 seats up for grabs, POLITICO has launched an election forecaster. Steve Shepard, the man behind the tracker, breaks down his 2022 election predictions and which races to keep an eye on.

A newly drawn House district offered the prospect of electing Oregon’s first Latina to Congress. Then a top super PAC unexpectedly swooped in. Sabrina Rodriguez reports.

Gentrification has dramatically transformed Washington, D.C. — as a result, the city now has a smaller Black population. That decline mirrors a nationwide trend, nine of the 10 cities with the largest Black populations have also seen decreases in Black residents. Delece Smith-Barrow reports on the latest installment of The Recast’s Next Great Migration series: Washington, D.C. http://politico.com/news/magazine/2022/04/15/washington-dc-gentrification-black-political-power-00024515

Insulin is what economists would call a super inelastic product — no matter what the cost is, people will pay for it because it's a life-saving medication. Two bills currently in Congress hope to drive down costs. Katherine Foley reports.

American consumers are seeing food prices rise at the fastest rate since 1981. Supply chain snarls, labor shortages and climate challenges — plus the conflict in Ukraine — share the blame. Steven Overly reports.

As political pressure grows to crack down on Russian oligarchs, U.S. policymakers are taking a deeper look at an industry that has long avoided anti-money-laundering rules: real estate. POLITICO's Katy O'Donnell discusses the push in Congress to close foreign money loopholes.

A POLITICO investigation based on more than 50 interviews finds the FDA is failing to meet American consumers' expectations on food safety and nutrition. POLITICO's Helena Bottemiller Evich reports on the agency's structural flaws and the risks posed to Americans.

Trained by the U.S. Army, a group of trailblazing Afghan women became a formidable military force during the war in Afghanistan. They now live scattered around the U.S., stuck in immigration limbo. Amanda Ripley reports.

Federal protections for state and territorial cannabis markets don't apply to Native American tribes. Natalie Fertig reports.

On Monday, the U.N. offered a familiarly stark report card on the world’s progress on cutting emissions from the IPCC, which has been monitoring climate change since 1988. Despite the panel's regular reports about the consequences of burning fossil fuels, between 1990 and 2019 global emissions rose 54 percent and they are still rising. POLITICO's Karl Mathiesen reports.

Amazon has been pushing into health care for years, starting with wearable health devices and pharmacy services. But the nationwide expansion of its “Amazon Care” service is its biggest move in the rapidly growing telehealth industry, which could grow to a $20 billion sector over the next five years. Emily Birnbaum reports.

In a copy of a Zoom recording provided to POLITICO, New York City Mayor Eric Adams instructed administration staff that every single communication from a city agency, down to notices about cherry blossoms in bloom, must be approved by City Hall — warning that anyone violating his “discipline of message” would be fired. Julia Marsh reports.

A raft of punishing sanctions sent Russia’s currency crashing after its invasion of Ukraine. A month later, the ruble has staged a dramatic recovery — putting pressure on the Biden administration and allies to deploy even tougher measures. But officials say the ruble's recovery is not necessarily a sign of improvement in the Russian economy or Putin’s position. Kate Davidson reports.