sad news
I’m in a deep funk this evening. I thought I’d write something deep and well-thought-out for the second post of my newly revived blog. But this evening, I heard two bits of news that made me sad.
Children’s Hospital Colorado is suspending all gender-affirming care to patients under 18 years old amid an investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
On Friday, the hospital announced that it had notified patients’ families and team members of the decision. Children’s Colorado said that the HHS investigation threatens the hospital’s Medicaid and Medicare funding.
“Following the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) announced referral of an investigation against Children’s Hospital Colorado (Children’s Colorado), the hospital must suspend all medical gender-affirming care for patients under 18 years old while we await federal court rulings and assess the rapidly evolving legal landscape,” the hospital said in a statement.
and
Washington, D.C. (January 5, 2026) — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress to steward the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting, announced today that its Board of Directors has voted to dissolve the organization after 58 years of service to the American public.
The decision follows Congress’s rescission of all of CPB’s federal funding and comes after sustained political attacks that made it impossible for CPB to continue operating as the Public Broadcasting Act intended.
“For more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans—regardless of geography, income, or background—had access to trusted news, educational programming, and local storytelling,” said Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of CPB. “When the Administration and Congress rescinded federal funding, our Board faced a profound responsibility: CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks.”