By Jade Walker

In an effort to boost birth rates, China is focusing on pain. Specifically, the excruciating agony of childbirth. While the practice of providing epidural anesthesia services to healthy pregnant women who are seeking pain relief during labor is widely utilized in many countries, only around 30% of pregnant women in China receive epidurals. To help promote a more “friendly childbearing environment,” large hospitals in China must now offer this service. Smaller hospitals should be prepared to provide epidurals by 2027. 

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A protester taunts a line of California National Guard troops protecting a federal building in downtown Los Angeles. Eric Thayer/AP

LA protests

The city is terrified, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. Not of crime or protests, but of ICE. “I can’t emphasize enough the level of fear and terror that is in Angelenos right now, not knowing if tomorrow or tonight it might be where they live, it might be their workplace, should you send your kids to school, should you go to work,” she said. Protesters are turning that fear into action, walking through city streets and standing in front of federal buildings to rail against the immigration crackdown. Local police have mobilized to keep the peace, but so have approximately 1,700 members of the National Guard who were deployed by President Donald Trump, not the state's governor. Last night, Trump ordered the deployment of another 2,000 National Guard members as well as a full Marine battalion based in Southern California. “The level of escalation is completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unprecedented — mobilizing the best in class branch of the US military against its own citizens,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

Anti-ICE protests spread

The LA protests, which began as a reaction to immigration raids, have sparked demonstrations around the country. Although about 150 demonstrators were arrested in San Francisco on Sunday, thousands more returned on Monday to march through the city’s Civic Center and Mission neighborhoods. Similar protests took place in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, New York, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Washington, DC. On Saturday, the nonviolent 50501 movement plans to hold "No Kings" protests nationwide to encourage those in power to uphold the Constitution and to seek an end to executive overreach.

Ukraine

Residents of Kyiv may have wanted to grab a few hours of sleep last night but finding such slumber was unlikely. Instead, the sky above Ukraine's capital filled with the sound of the air defense systems trying to stop incoming drones from causing more death and destruction. There were frequent explosions from the drones that got through the defenses and hours of blaring air raid sirens. Russia launched at least 315 drones at Ukraine overnight in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “one of the largest attacks on Kyiv.” The assault damaged high-rise buildings, homes and cars in seven districts of the capital and injured at least four people. Russian drones also struck the southern port city of Odesa, killing at least two people and damaging a maternity ward. 

Vaccines

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the entire panel of vaccine advisers that guides the CDC on the vaccine schedule and required coverage of immunizations. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Kennedy said the group was plagued with conflicts of interest and will be replaced with new members. Each of the 17 members on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices typically are experts in the field who served in four-year cycles. Removing the entire panel prematurely was unprecedented. “I’ve never seen anything this damaging to public health happen in my lifetime,” one just-dismissed panel member said. “I’m shocked. It’s pretty brazen. This will fundamentally destabilize vaccination in America.”

Harvard

The State Department has ordered US diplomatic posts around the world to “resume processing” Harvard University student and exchange visitor visas. The new guidance was announced after a judge halted President Trump’s latest attempt to block international students from attending the Ivy League school. In recent months, the Trump administration has demanded that Harvard change its hiring and admission requirements, eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and alter rules for on-campus protests. But the school has resisted those orders and filed a lawsuit claiming the government’s actions violate the First Amendment. On Monday, an amicus brief was submitted to the court that featured the signatures of more than 12,000 Harvard alumni in support of their alma mater. The White House did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the brief.

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Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit dismissed
A judge has dismissed the actor/director’s $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, alleging that the Hollywood couple sought to “destroy” his career.

Whole Foods’ distributor hacked
United Natural Foods, Inc., one of America’s largest publicly traded health food wholesalers, has taken some of its systems offline after a massive cyberattack.

Highlights from the red carpet
What theatrical garb did Broadway’s biggest names wear to the 2025 Tony Awards? Here are 13 fabulous looks.

Talk about motivation!
Wanna be in an Adam Sandler movie? Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry may get the chance — if he rushes for more than 2,000 yards this year.

Seeking a ‘craveable kick’?
Chipotle says that’s the goal of its new dip, which combines classic ranch with adobo pepper. The condiment will be available in restaurants next week and will be offered for a limited time.

Bestselling author Frederick Forsyth dies at 86
The thriller writer penned more than 25 books, including “The Day of the Jackal,” which was adapted into a film starring Edward Fox in 1973, and more recently a TV series starring Eddie Redmayne. 

686,061

That’s how many babies were born in Japan in 2024. It’s the first time the number of newborns fell below 700,000 since record-keeping began in 1899. 

“Ending a $5 million research study when it is 80% complete does not save $1 million, it wastes $4 million.”

— National Institutes of Health staffers, in a letter to their boss, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, about what they see as the politicization of research and the destruction of scientific progress under the Trump administration.

Ready for the second coming?
The film “Dogma,” which was released in 1999, has returned to theaters. Director Kevin Smith says the movie about two fallen angels trying to get back into heaven plays better now than when it originally debuted.

5 Things AM is edited by CNN's Andrew Torgan and Lauren Chadwick.

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