6 in 10 Americans worry about high blood pressure; Pennsylvania sues Character.AI for impersonating a doctor; Ohio physician famous for vaccine magnetism claim ordered to pay $699,000 in back taxes – Morning Medical Update

Most Americans worried about high blood pressure

65% of Americans are willing to try a plant-based diet as concerns about hypertension rise.

Six in ten Americans say they are concerned about high blood pressure, and nearly two-thirds say they would be willing to try a plant-based diet to lower their risk, according to a new survey by Morning Consult commissioned by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

The survey also found that 64% of adults would be willing to cut foods high in saturated fat, including meat and poultry, with that figure rising to 73% among Gen Z respondents. The findings come as nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and as rates of the condition are increasing among children. A large review published in JAMA Internal Medicine involving more than 21,000 participants found plant-based diets are associated with lower blood pressure. May is High Blood Pressure Education Month.

Pennsylvania sues Character.AI for posing as doctors

A state investigator posing as a depressed patient was told by a chatbot named “Emilie” that “she” was licensed to practice psychiatry in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania has filed what Gov. Josh Shapiro is calling the first lawsuit of its kind by a U.S. governor against an artificial intelligence (AI) company, accusing Character Technologies — the maker of Character.AI — of allowing chatbots to impersonate licensed medical professionals in violation of state law. According to the complaint, a state investigator posing as a patient with depression encountered a chatbot named "Emilie" that claimed to be a licensed psychiatrist in both Pennsylvania and the United Kingdom, provided a bogus license number, and told the investigator that prescribing medication was "technically within my remit as a Doctor." Pennsylvania is seeking an injunction to stop the company from violating the state's unauthorized practice of medicine statute.

Character.AI, for its part, said user-created characters are fictional and intended for entertainment and role-playing, and that it has taken steps to make that clear. The company has faced mounting legal pressure over user safety, including a January settlement with the family of a 14-year-old Florida boy whose mother alleged a chatbot contributed to his suicide.

Ohio doctor famous for vaccine magnetism claim ordered to pay $699K in back taxes

A federal judge ordered Sherri Tenpenny, D.O., to pay nearly $700,000 for failing to pay taxes in 2001, 2012 and 2013.

A Middleburg Heights, Ohio, physician who gained national attention in 2021 after testifying before state lawmakers that COVID-19 vaccines caused people to become magnetized has been ordered to pay $698,982 in back taxes, penalties and interest.

U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese issued the ruling last month against Sherri Tenpenny, D.O., covering unpaid federal taxes from 2001, 2012, and 2013. The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Tenpenny in 2024 over the unpaid taxes. Tenpenny had previously said she attempted to settle with the IRS and believed she was targeted because of her vaccine opposition. Her medical license was suspended by the Ohio Medical Board in August 2023 after she failed to cooperate with its investigation, reinstated in 2024 after she complied and paid a $3,000 fine, and expired in October 2025, according to state records.