Americans could soon lose access to some widely used antidepressant medications.As Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. prepares to wean the country off mental health medications, U.S. Health Department officials explored last week whether the department had the ability to ban certain treatments within a class known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, better known as SSRIs, Reuters reported Friday.That class of drugs includes Zoloft, Prozac, and Lexapro, which have been approved for public use for decades. People familiar with the conversations did not reveal to Reuters which drugs the Trump administration is in talks to restrict.HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon denied the report, declaring in a statement that Kennedy’s department “has not had any discussions about banning SSRIs, and any claims suggesting otherwise are false.”Yet the writing is on the wall. Kennedy blamed the country’s mental health crisis on medication earlier this week, announcing at a daylong mental health summit that America is suffering from a “dependency crisis driven by overmedicalization” of mental health and wellness. Kennedy also unveiled new policies that he said would rein in the prescription of the widely used drugs, though he explained that while he intends to steer America’s health institutions away from prescribing psychiatric medications, those currently on them should not stop doing so.Kennedy has railed against the use of mental health medication for years, even going so far as to spread falsehoods that antidepressants and other medications are the real underlying reason for school shootings and mass murder (as opposed to a lack of adequate gun control). A 2026 study published in the medical journal BMJ Mental Health found that roughly one in six U.S. adults are currently taking antidepressant medications—an uptick from previous decades. Between 2005 and 2008, just 11 percent of people above the age of 12 were using the mood stabilizers, according to CDC data.The American Psychiatric Association lists SSRIs as the first option for depression as an evidence-based treatment.“There are a lot of prescriptions because there are a lot of folks with illnesses that can respond to these medications,” including depression and several anxiety disorders, Dr. J. John Mann of the New York State Psychiatric Institute told Reuters. “Restricting use of these medications is not justifiable medically.”
Two press freedom groups are warning that Larry Ellison may “implement the CBS playbook” at CNN by getting rid of all the anchors President Donald Trump doesn’t like. In a letter sent Thursday to Paramount Skydance, Freedom of the Press Foundation and Reporters Without Borders demanded to see internal documents, alleging that there was “credible concern that Paramount leadership has offered, solicited, or effectuated a corrupt exchange: more favorable coverage of the Trump administration and its allies in exchange for favorable treatment by Trump administration antitrust and media regulators.”The groups warned that since taking over Paramount, Ellison had “wielded the company to benefit Trump and cater to his preferences,” and had promised to do the same to CNN if given the chance. Referring to a story The Guardian reported in November, the letter said: “Ellison reportedly raised the possibility that Paramount would include CNN in the purchase, then implement the CBS playbook: transforming CNN’s programming and firing anchors and commentators Trump dislikes.”Following the Ellison takeover of Paramount, and the installation of Bari Weiss as CBS News editor in chief, there has been a talent exodus from the network, including Anderson Cooper, longtime 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens, CBS News producer Mary Walsh, and CBS Evening News producer Alicia Hastey. 60 Minutes host Sharyn Alfonsi will also reportedly exit her role at the end of May after clashing with Weiss. Trump has repeatedly railed against CNN and lashed out at its stable of journalists, claiming the network is “fake news.”