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With President Trump’s decision on U.S. participation in the Paris climate accords expected in the next few days, there has been widespread discussion of the many consequences that climate change will have for us and our children, including extreme weather events, displacement of people, submergence of lands and devastation to our oceans. But one of the most potentially deadly effects has been far less discussed: an increase in the spread of dangerous epidemics and the risk of a global pandemic. (Brian Deese and Ronald A. Klain, 5/30)

The Trump Administration, led by a president who repeatedly boasts that his business acumen will bring jobs back to American soil, now seems poised to strike a deal that will Make France Great Again. Or, more specifically, enrich the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur by granting an exclusive license to patents for a Zika vaccine. (5/30)

For all the fear-mongering and incessant focus on alleged threat that defines how we talk about the world outside America’s borders, the reality is that we are living in a moment of extraordinary progress and promise... But without a commitment to ensuring that this bright present continues into the future, there’s no guarantee it will last. Virtually everything that Donald Trump is doing on foreign policy risks reversing these gains (and I haven’t even mentioned his undermining of efforts to fight global climate change). (Michael Cohen, 5/30)

Shortly after being arrested for driving under the influence near his home in Florida Monday, golf legend Tiger Woods issued a statement saying the incident was the result of “an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications”—not alcohol. According to police documents, he blew a .000 breathalyzer and had fallen asleep in his car. (Olga Khazan, 5/30)

Over recent years, without much media fanfare, something fascinating occurred, a reminder that for all the ways in which we seem to be sliding backward, we’re lurching forward, too. The developing world turned a corner — thanks to medical advances, rising wealth and more — and communicable diseases like malaria and AIDS now kill fewer of its people than noncommunicable ones like heart disease, strokes, respiratory ailments and diabetes do. (Frank Bruni, 5/31)

Each year, Memorial Day serves as a reminder that there is a cost to freedom. The brave men and women in our U.S. military and their families have given of themselves to protect this great nation and they have earned our admiration and our respect. It’s because of this that we must continue to stand with our veterans and advocate alongside them to demand the very best our nation can offer in health care. (Angela Leet, 5/30)

Lately, the online patient support group I am part of, the XLH Network — short for X-linked hypophosphatemia, the genetic illness I and two of my children share — has been blowing up with news of a soon-to-be-released cure. KRN23 is a recombinant antibody that restricts excessive production of a hormone that prevents people with XLH from absorbing phosphorus, leading to our short stature, crooked legs, poor teeth and other symptoms of our type of dwarfism. Ultragenyx, the company responsible for KRN23, has carried out adult tests with no ill effect. Pediatric tests are still underway, but this looks like the real deal. This is truly a cure. It is hard to explain to anyone who does not have a condition like mine why this feels so bittersweet. But it does. (Sheila Beck, 5/31)