| | | | |  | | By Erin Schumaker, Ruth Reader and Daniel Payne | | Presented by |  | | | | | | | 
Cox, a Republican, is teaming with Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat, on an initiative to boost community ties. | Spenser Heaps/The Deseret News via AP, Pool | At least restoration of the “common good” is still bipartisan. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Utah GOP Gov. Spencer Cox announced an effort to pursue that end last week, enlisting experts on loneliness, social activism, journalism and policy with differing political viewpoints for roundtable discussions on how to help Americans lead meaningful, fulfilled lives. “Our goal is to convene a series of informal conversations across the country that seek to break down the traditional zero-sum limitations of our current politics,” the group said in a statement. The big picture: The pair are part of a cadre of policymakers who’ve identified loneliness and a lack of social connection as forces making Americans sick, unhappy and unfulfilled. Now, they’re trying to determine whether policy can be part of the solution. The “common good” roster: — Bishop William Joseph Barber II, social activist and founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School — Felicia Wong, president and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank; Tim Carney, senior fellow, and Yuval Levin, director of social, cultural and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank — Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Social Connection & Health Lab at Brigham Young University — Ian Corbin, philosopher on the neurology faculty at Brigham and Women's Hospital & Harvard Medical School and senior fellow at Capita, a nonpartisan think tank — Sam Quinones, journalist, author, former LA Times reporter What’s next? Murphy and Cox held their first forum on Friday in Salt Lake City. Discussion topics included how to strengthen social institutions — like churches and social clubs — and whether the government can aid that effort, as well as how to bolster service programs and control technology, Murphy wrote on X. "We've become a hyper-individualistic country. I love entrepreneurship. I want people to succeed individually, but I want us to care about our neighbors in a way that I don't think we do like we did 30 or 40 years ago," Murphy said in a statement. "I know what we're doing is a little countercultural, but I do think it scratches a pretty big itch across this country." Roundtable conversations will continue across the country in the coming weeks.
| | A message from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research: Help create a world without Parkinson's. Learn more. | | | | | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF HEALTHCARE POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries, like healthcare, equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
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New Zealand | Daniel Payne/POLITICO | This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Bloodhounds might not have such good noses after all, new research suggests. Instead of a superior sense of smell, working breeds, such as German shepherds, bloodhounds and Labrador retrievers, rely on their training, according to a preprint study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, Science reports. A caveat: Wild dogs, like coyotes and wolves, are better sniffers than their domesticated counterparts. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Daniel Payne at dpayne@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.
| | |  Bertagnolli wants to keep young scientists engaged. | AP | Four months after unionizing, early-career researchers at the National Institutes of Health are getting raises. Minimum pay for postdocs is rising an average of 8 percent to $61,008 next year, with pay for those who haven’t yet earned a doctorate rising 4 percent to $28,224, NIH announced this week. More than 17,000 early-career researchers will get bigger paychecks — with additional increases of $500 for childcare and $200 for training available to those eligible. The pay hike for the researchers “is just a first step toward reaffirming their value and ensuring they are appropriately compensated,” NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli said in a statement. “I am hopeful these continued efforts help us attract and retain our nation’s brightest scientific minds.” Even so: The pay bumps fall short of what an NIH working group recommended last year. And while NIH plans to increase pay over the next three to five years to reach the working group recommendation of at least $70,000 for postdocs, that plan hinges on the agency’s budget, which is decided by Congress. Emilya Ventriglia, an intramural researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health, which is part of NIH, isn't among the early-career researchers getting a raise — but she’s still making more than the lowest paid PhD students. “I'm barely getting by on my roughly $50,000 a year,” Ventriglia said, adding, “More than 30 percent of my income goes to rent.” Ventriglia regularly considers defecting to work in the private sector. “I don't feel valued, and I'm not certain that I'm going into a career that's going to be viable as time goes. I'm looking at potentially being 40 years old and making — not enough to buy a car, let alone start a family.” Budget woes: After a decade of generous funding bumps, Congress cut NIH’s budget by $378 million this year, to $47.1 billion, down from $47.5 billion in fiscal 2023. Still, in February, Bertagnolli told Erin that early-career researchers are a high priority for her. “The last time NIH saw significant funding cuts, we lost a generation,” she said, referencing budget cuts during the federal spending wars between President Barack Obama and the Republican-controlled House in 2013.
| | | | A message from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research:   | | | | | | | POLITICO IS BACK AT THE 2024 MILKEN GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO will again be your eyes and ears at the 27th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles from May 5-8 with exclusive, daily, reporting in our Global Playbook newsletter. Suzanne Lynch will be on the ground covering the biggest moments, behind-the-scenes buzz and on-stage insights from global leaders in health, finance, tech, philanthropy and beyond. Get a front-row seat to where the most interesting minds and top global leaders confront the world’s most pressing and complex challenges — subscribe today. | | | | | | | | |  Biden says federal agencies are meeting the benchmarks he set in his October AI executive order. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | Federal agencies are working through the artificial intelligence benchmarks set by President Joe Biden’s executive order last fall. The administration says agencies have completed all of the items Biden requested they get done within six months and are making headway on future goals. Among the accomplishments: — The Food and Drug Administration issued a document outlining the agency’s strategy for protecting public health as it fosters medical product innovation in artificial intelligence. — The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the Department of Health and Human Services published a draft strategic plan that in part addresses how AI can be used responsibly and equitably in health care. — The National Institute of Standards and Technology has released standards on AI related to the development of biological threats, cybersecurity attacks, and hosted a workshop on new AI tools. What’s next? The White House’s Office of Personnel Management has published guidelines for agencies on how to staff up on artificial intelligence expertise. The Department of Energy has opened up grant funding opportunities for basic research on artificial intelligence. “Artificial intelligence can help crack the code on our toughest challenges from combating the climate crisis to uncovering cures for cancer,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.
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