Supermarket merger could change grocery prices. And, a deadly mosquito-borne disease

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Today's top stories

The biggest supermarket merger in U.S. history is now in the hands of a federal judge. Government regulators are asking a district court in Oregon to stop the deal between Kroger and Albertsons, the top two U.S. supermarkets. Kroger owns Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Harris Teeter and Ralphs while Albertsons owns Vons and Safeway. The $25 billion merger has been under review for almost two years.

AP

• 🎧 “It touches on the hottest topic of the year: grocery prices,” NPR’s Alina Selyukh tells Up First. The Federal Trade Commission argues combining the two competitors would raise prices and reduce options for shoppers, giving more power to the new grocery giants. The companies say Kroger already has lower prices than Albertsons and will invest in dropping Albertson's prices immediately. They also argue that national giants like Walmart, Costco and Amazon are their biggest threats and have more sway over suppliers. The regional chains say they can only compete with these stores and go nationwide if they merge.

Plymouth, Mass., fields and parks have been ordered to close from dusk to dawn in an effort to stop the spread of a mosquito-borne disease. It’s called Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and was detected in a horse in the area. The disease is rare but has a fatality rate of about 30%. There is no treatment or vaccine available for EEE, the CDC says. The virus attacks the central nervous system and can cause meningitis or brain swelling. Those who survive often have ongoing neurological problems.

• 🎧 Humans and horses are considered "dead end" hosts for EEE, which means there isn't enough of the virus in their blood to spread to other mosquitoes, NPR’s Pien Huang says. The virus spreads more broadly through birds. Its footprint has expanded over the past 15 years, likely due to climate change. Warmer temperatures make mosquito season longer, and shifts in weather and seasonal patterns affect when and where birds migrate.

In Nashville, students and teachers are returning to The Covenant School for the first time since a shooter killed three nine-year-old children and three adults, including the school’s headmaster, a year and a half ago. The tragedy compelled three moms to join a debate over guns in one of the U.S.’ most conservative states. Their mission: help pass some kind of gun control in Tennessee. But these women aren’t your typical gun control activists — they’re lifelong conservatives and believers in the Second Amendment.

• 🎧 Nashville Public Radio’s Meribah Knight tells Morning Edition that the moms, Sarah Shoop Neumann, Melissa Alexander and Mary Joyce have had issues getting people in their party to listen and make change. Joyce recounts having to tell her daughter her friends were murdered and says she will continue to work to prevent this from happening to other children.
• ➡️ "Supermajority," a series from NPR's Embedded podcast, follows the mothers on their journey for change. Listen to the first episode here.

Deep dive

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A potentially ground-breaking nose spray version of the drug epinephrine will soon hit the market, giving people having allergic reactions an alternative to needles like EpiPen. The FDA approved the drug this month for adults and older children. But some allergists are not in a hurry to prescribe it. The new option, called neffy, could provide a cheaper, less painful and more convenient option than an autoinjector, but studies have not been done on people who are having life-threatening reactions, raising concerns about the drug's effectiveness.

• 👃 In clinical trials, drugmaker ARS Pharmaceuticals found that neffy delivers the same amount of epinephrine to the bloodstream as the needle option. Epinephrine is the only life-saving treatment for anaphylaxis, a severe or sometimes life-threatening allergic reaction.
• 👃 In a small, open-label study, the drugmaker used food to trigger allergic reactions in 15 people. All had reactions, three of which were serious, and everyone got the drug. Neffy brought relief to all participants within five minutes, similar to the autoinjector.
• 👃 Neffy's two-year shelf life is longer than the EpiPen's 12 to 18 months.
• 👃 The nasal cavity can become blocked during a severe allergic reaction, preventing absorption of the drug, according to Dr. Robert Wood, director of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center’s Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology.

Click here for more about the new nose spray option.

Picture show

NPR

Thousands of delegates flocked to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last week in style — literally. They wore outfits that symbolized their support for Vice President Harris. Many of the looks referenced memes and trends in popular culture. Some even paid homage to women icons like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.

• 📷 See photos of some of the most eye-popping outfits from the convention.

3 things to know before you go

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1. The National Park Foundation has received a $100 million gift from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help pay for programs to enhance the park system. It’s the largest grant benefiting national parks in U.S. history.
2. Millions of Australians can now officially ignore their bosses outside of working hours, thanks to a new law enshrining their “right to disconnect.”
3. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is being held for questioning by authorities in Paris in connection to an investigation into criminal activity on the messaging service app, including the spread of child pornography and facilitation of illegal drug sales.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.