One of the most contagious diseases on the planet is having its worst U.S. outbreak since 1991

STAT's Morning Rounds newsletter leads with the U.S. facing its worst outbreak of one of the most contagious diseases on the planet since 1991, and notes that the CDC has added a single measles death to its online counter; the tally carries an asterisk reading "This number i" in the truncated excerpt. It also includes an aside about the MAHA movie.

The newsletter previews live coverage of Heidi Overton's appearance before senators today in her bid to become FDA commissioner. Overton, a soft-spoken physician once described as "bound by her faith," will answer questions from the Senate committee that holds the key to her eventual confirmation. She is likely to be asked about her views on abortion, vaccines, and how to rebuild an agency that DOGE decimated. Politicians, industry leaders, and public health groups are split on Overton: she is relatively unknown to the pharmaceutical industry and lacks managerial experience, but has been a key health policy adviser during President Trump's second term. Her rise has been meteoric; she once told a journalist her dream was to become a doctor and then return to her small hometown of Gallup, New Mexico, off Route 66. STAT's Margaret Manto has the scoop on Overton's prepared remarks and her past, including the former Trump administration official who brought her into the president's sphere.

The roundup also reports that the White House shelved a controversial NIH executive order that would have given a commission of political appointees veto power over grant awards, prompting thousands of researchers to collectively unclench. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the Appropriations Committee chair, confirmed the administration appeared to have reversed course after the drama started during a White House meeting last week, where the Office of Management and Budget director sought to assert more control over science funding—the latest in a series of attempts.

Finally, it covers radiologists rushing to embrace AI. Americans are getting more medical imaging, and radiologists' ranks aren't growing fast enough, leading the field to full-throatedly embrace AI tools to keep up, perhaps more than any other medical specialty, per STAT's Katie Palmer. Silicon Valley, private equity-backed practices, and outpatient and teleradiology groups are all joining the AI feeding frenzy; startups have aggressively developed and acquired their own tech, deploying it in-house and marketing their "AI-native" capabilities to radiologist employees and hospital customers. There is huge potential for a product that can reduce the administrative and workflow problems that eat up radiologists' time, but it is not a given that the strategy will pay off—for patients or their businesses.