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Our June News+ Story of the Month is @vanityfair ’s investigation into the alarming rise of counterfeit Ozempic. New weight-loss drugs may be game changers for some, but journalist @katherine_eban explains that sky-high prices and regulatory failures are fueling an underworld of dangerous fakes. How did at least 10,000 units of deadly counterfeits enter America’s drug supply and go undetected by authorities, including the FDA? Tap the link in bio to read the full piece. Writer: Katherine Eban Illustrations: Shawn Martinbrough; Coloring: Christian Sotomayor

In 2015, soccer star Brandi Chastain wrote a letter to her younger self. Almost a decade later, she revisited it for @playerstribune . “Twenty-five years ago women’s soccer in the United States changed forever,” Chastain writes. “The ’99 World Cup team set audience records, reclaimed the trophy on our home turf, and inspired a new generation of young girls … What’s transpired over the 25 years since our ’99 win is massive but it’s really still just the start of where women can go in sports.” Tap the link in bio to read her reflection and listen to the entire 2015 letter, via News+. Photo: Robert Beck/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

On the morning of July 27, 1973, two Brooklyn teenagers, 16-year-old Mitchel Weiser and 15-year-old Bonnie Bickwit, set out for central New York to attend Summer Jam, one of the biggest concerts in rock history. But on their way, Weiser and Bickwit vanished without a trace — and were never seen again. The couple, initially dismissed as romantic runaways, represent the oldest missing-teen cases in the U.S. But now, after decades of police mistakes and false leads, investigators have several theories about what might have happened to them — and have even identified a possible suspect. Read more at the link in bio, via News+. Photo: Rolling Stone/

Right now is a dangerous time of year for avocado lovers. Thousands of people slice their hands and fingers every year while cutting the fruit, and research shows that most of these injuries occur from April through July. Hand surgeons see these injuries so often that they have a name for it: avocado hand. The injury typically occurs when someone holds an avocado in one hand and wields a sharp knife in the other. When the knife slips or the person loses their grip on the avocado as they’re cutting it, the knife can slice into their palm or fingers. It’s not uncommon for people to sever nerves and tendons. In some cases, people stab themselves in the hand while using the tip of a knife to remove the pit. Want to avoid a trip to the emergency room while making your next batch of guacamole? Check out the link in bio for tips, via @washingtonpost . Photo: Getty Images

Simone Biles qualified for her third Olympic team after dominating the all-around at the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials in Minneapolis this weekend. She particularly dazzled in her floor routine, flying 12 feet into the air during one of her eponymous skills (a triple-twisting double backflip) and bringing the crowd to their feet. Watch the entire performance at the link in bio, via @forthewin . Photo: Nikolas Liepins/Anadolu via Getty Images #simonebiles #gymnastics #olympics

The Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump has immunity for some of his alleged conduct when he was president in his federal election-interference case, but maybe not for other actions, adding another obstacle to a trial taking place. In a novel and potentially consequential case on the limits of presidential power, the justices on a 6-3 vote on ideological lines rejected Trump’s broad claim of immunity, meaning the charges will not be dismissed, but said some actions closely related to his core duties as president are off-limits to prosecutors. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said that further proceedings are needed in lower courts are needed to determine what conduct he can be prosecuted for. "The president is not above the law," Roberts wrote. "But Congress may not criminalize the president’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the executive branch under the Constitution." Tap the link in bio to read what this means for Trump and the 2024 election, via @nbcnews . Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP, via Getty Images

Brianna Villafane was in lower Manhattan protesting police violence when officers charged into the crowd. One of them gripped her hair and yanked her to the ground. “I felt someone on top of me and it was hard to breathe,” she said. “I felt like I was being crushed.” The New York City civilian oversight agency that examines allegations of police abuse investigated and concluded that the officer had engaged in such serious misconduct that it could constitute a crime. Villafane received a letter from the agency, known as the Civilian Complaint Review Board, about its conclusions. The next step would be a disciplinary trial overseen by the New York Police Department, during which prosecutors from the oversight agency would present evidence and question the officer in a public forum. “I was happy and I was relieved,” she recalled. Then last fall, the police commissioner intervened. Exercising a little-known authority called “retention,” the commissioner, Edward Caban, ensured the case would never go to trial. Instead, Caban reached his own conclusion in private, deciding that it “would be detrimental to the Police Department’s disciplinary process” to pursue administrative charges against the officer, Gerard Dowling, according to a letter the department sent to the oversight agency. The force that the officer used against Villafane was “reasonable and necessary.” A ProPublica investigation found that since becoming commissioner last July, Caban has short-circuited dozens of disciplinary cases. Some involved officers accused of wantonly using chokeholds, deploying Tasers, and beating protesters with batons. The NYPD declined to comment on specific cases that were retained. It also declined to answer questions about Caban’s use of the practice, responding instead with a statement that said it works closely with the oversight board in making such decisions. Dowling also did not respond to a request for comment. Tap the link in bio to read more, via @propublica . Photo illustration: Andrea Wise/ProPublica. Source photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Long before she rewrote the ‘Drag Race’ herstory books, drag queen Jinkx Monsoon dreamed of performing. “It’s in my baby book,” she says. “As soon as I could form sentences, I said I wanted to be an actor.” She’s taken diversions as a writer, producer, singer, and stand-up comedian. “But my whole life, I’ve loved being onstage. And the whole time, I knew I wanted to play the female roles.” This past year, she made her dreams a reality: bringing pathos to the wacky but wounded Audrey in ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ off-Broadway, and delighting audiences as the villainous Maestro on ‘Doctor Who.’ To cap off Pride Month, she returns to Broadway’s ‘Chicago’ for a short second run as Matron “Mama” Morton, after breaking box-office records at New York’s Ambassador Theatre early last year. Years after coming out as nonbinary, Monsoon now uses she/her pronouns and is in the process of medically transitioning. Every day, she keeps fighting for equality. “I’m getting all these wonderful opportunities as a trans actress that I never thought in my lifetime I’d see someone getting, let alone me,” she says. But, like countless others in the queer community, she still encounters hatred in day-to-day life. “At the same time, I walk down the street and deal with [hate]. It’s scary, but it’s why I keep doing everything. I’ve got this chance to help people see a better way and I’ve got to use it.” Tap the link in bio to read more, via @USATODAY . Photo: Jennifer S. Altman

In the first presidential debate of 2024, former President Donald Trump defended abortion restrictions levied by Republican-led states across the country and falsely accused Democrats of supporting the murder of babies after they are born. President Joe Biden, who has staked his reelection campaign on reproductive rights, called the end of federal abortion protections “a terrible thing” but did little to articulate his support or clearly push back on Trump’s false claims. Misinformation — and confusion — took center stage on one of the biggest issues in the country right now. Swipe and tap the link in bio to read more on what was said — and what’s true — via @19thnews . Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Supreme Court sided with a small, southern Oregon town in a 6-3 ruling Friday, saying it has the authority to enforce ordinances that criminalize behaviors associated with being unhoused — like sleeping or camping on public property or parks — even when no shelter is available. Why it matters: The decision effectively gives the OK to other metropolitan areas struggling with rising homelessness to enact similar restrictive laws targeting outdoor camping, Axios Portland co-author Meira Gebel writes. The other side: Attorneys representing the unhoused residents of Grants Pass told Axios last month that “driving people out of their hometown, is cruel and unusual,” especially when there are few available affordable housing options. 🔗 Read more about the ruling at the link in our bio.

Your parents’ trauma and the effects of it — whether from war or genocide, abuse or environmental factors — could be genetically passed down from one generation to another, emerging science suggests. Epigenetics is the study of how genes are turned off and on. The molecular process, known as gene expression, boosts the activity of some genes and quiets others by adding and removing chemical tags to genes. Multiple research studies have suggested this may be a mechanism through which a parent’s trauma could be imprinted in the genes of offspring. “If you feel you have been affected by a very traumatic, difficult, life-altering experience that your mother or father has had, there’s something to that,” says Rachel Yehuda, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience of trauma at Mount Sinai in New York. Her work points to a small epigenetic “signal” that a life-altering experience “doesn’t just die with you,” she says. “It has a life of its own afterwards in some form.” Tap the link in bio to read more, via @natgeo in Apple News+. Photo: Tek Image, Science Photo Library, via National Geographic

Throughout the first 2024 presidential debate, CNN moderators did not fact-check candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump — and instead, moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash focused mostly on keeping them within the time limits, and only interjected a handful of times. Earlier this week, CNN’s political director said not to expect much fact-checking, if any, from Tapper and Bash during the debate. But still, not everyone was happy about it. Throughout the broadcast, the network came under criticism on social media for not correcting false statements — particularly those made by Trump. “The absence of real-time fact checking is the biggest failure of this debate,” wrote Anthony Coley, an NBC News and MSNBC contributor, on X. Tap the link in bio to read more, via @washingtonpost . Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images