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Parents Win First Round of Vaccine Case, Point to ‘Firm Direction From the Holy Spirit’ Not to Vaccinate
West Virginia MetroNews reported:
Three parents who believe they should not “elevate a man-made vaccine over God’s perfect design” have won the first round of a court case focused on the interaction between compulsory school vaccination laws and religious liberties.
Raleigh County Judge Michael Froble granted a preliminary injunction for the families seeking religious exemptions to West Virginia public school vaccinations requirements.
“The court believes the compulsory vaccination law is not valid without a religious exemption — that the constitutional law and constitutional review indicate that statute itself is not constitutional, is invalid without a religious exemption,” Froble said in announcing his ruling.
Many legal questions remain in the broad sense. The judge has not yet decided on a permanent injunction, a question that would be examined more thoroughly in the courtroom, possibly a month or more from now. It is possible that the attorneys in the case would take some questions to the state Supreme Court.
Using Cosmetics on Babies and Children Could Disrupt Hormones and Trigger Allergies
Would you dab perfume on a six-month-old? Paint their tiny nails with polish that contains formaldehyde? Dust bronzer onto their cheeks? An investigation by the Times has found that babies and toddlers are routinely exposed to adult cosmetic products, including fragranced sprays, nail polish and even black henna tattoos.
While these may sound harmless — or even Instagram-friendly — science tells a more concerning story. Infant skin is biologically different from adult skin: it’s thinner, more absorbent and still developing. Exposure to certain products can lead to immediate problems like irritation or allergic reactions, and in some cases, may carry longer term health-risks such as hormone disruption.
This isn’t a new concern. A 2019 study found that every two hours in the U.S., a child was taken to hospital because of accidental exposure to cosmetic products.
Researchers Report Potential Disease-Specific Signatures in Pediatric IBD
About 2.7 million people in the U.S. live with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which cause long-term inflammation in the digestive system. The number of children diagnosed with these conditions, like Crohn’s disease, is rising faster than in adults, but the reasons for the increase are puzzling.
Crohn’s disease, a type of IBD, can be life-changing, especially for young people. Symptoms including weight loss, fatigue, anemia and stomach pain can affect kids’ growth and daily lives.
Now, researchers from Arizona State University and Phoenix Children’s are teaming up to better understand IBD in children. Their latest study, “Multiomics-Based Profiling of the Fecal Microbiome Reveals Potential Disease-Specific Signatures in Pediatric IBD,” published in Biomolecules, looks at what’s happening inside the gut to help doctors find faster, less invasive ways to diagnose the disease and develop better treatments in the future.
Antidepressants for Kids and Teens: What the Science Says
Stanford Medicine News Center reported:
The kids are not all right. Four in 10 American high school students report prolonged feelings of sadness or hopelessness, a proxy for depression symptoms, according to a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2023. That’s up from 3 in 10 in 2013. Twenty percent said they had seriously considered suicide, up three points from 10 years earlier.
The stats are even more concerning for certain demographics: 53% of girls and 65% of LGBTQ+ teens report feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
As of 2022, about 4.5% of U.S. adolescents and young adults, ages 12 to 25, had received a prescription for antidepressant medication. Antidepressant prescriptions have been on the rise for all age groups in the U.S. the past decade; those rates increased even faster in the early months and years of the COVID-19 pandemic for adolescent girls and young women especially.
Over 852,000 Diffusers Recalled Over Child Health Risk
A Utah-based business has recalled over 852,000 home fragrance diffusers due to a risk of magnets detaching, potentially leading to infections, blood poisoning or other issues if children ingest the magnets. Pura Scents Inc. has recalled its Pura 4 Smart Home Fragrance Diffusers with detachable covers, the company reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
“The magnets on the inside cover can detach, posing an ingestion hazard to children,” the company said. “When high-powered magnets are swallowed, the ingested magnets can attract each other, or other metal objects, and become lodged in the digestive system.”
Pura Scents Inc. said about 851,400 units were recalled, as well as 1,100 sold in Canada. They were made in China and sold nationwide in the U.S. between August 2023 and May 2025 for about $50 at Pura.com, Amazon.com, Target.com and Scheels.com.
