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Lia DeGroot

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Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer conducts a news conference in the Capitol on Wednesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Democrats torn over shutdown endgame after election victories

By Sandhya Raman, Jessie Hellmann, Lia DeGroot, Aris Folley and Jacob Fulton
Posted November 5, 2025 at 7:32pm
Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, conducts a news conference on July 17.

Union call to reopen government exposes pain point for Democrats

By Lia DeGroot
Posted October 27, 2025 at 7:44pm
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is pictured during a news conference on April 16. Oz has signaled that his agency had something in the works on Medicare pricing for popular GLP-1 medications used to treat obesity and diabetes, even though the list of 2027 Medicare price negotiations included those medications.

Trump’s approach to lowering drug costs is raising questions

By Lia DeGroot
Posted October 22, 2025 at 7:01pm, Updated October 23, 2025 at 2:53pm
President Donald Trump makes an announcement on fertility coverage Thursday in the Oval Office of the White House. Standing behind him is Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.

Touting drugmaker deal, Trump encourages employer IVF coverage

By Lia DeGroot
Posted October 16, 2025 at 6:13pm
Bullet holes are seen in windows at the Centers For Disease Control headquarters in Atlanta following a shooting that left two dead on Aug. 9. Last week, the CDC was hit with layoffs blamed on the current partial government shutdown.

CDC workers ask Congress, where is ‘radical transparency’ now?

By Lia DeGroot and Ariel Cohen
Posted October 14, 2025 at 6:22pm
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., arrives for a news conference in the U.S. Capitol on the eighth day of the government shutdown on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025.

Democrats seize on conservative support as hope to end shutdown

By Sandhya Raman and Lia DeGroot
Posted October 8, 2025 at 5:37pm
President Donald Trump said Monday he'd make the "right deal" with Democrats on insurance tax credits.

Trump open to bipartisan health care deal to end shutdown

By David Lerman, Aidan Quigley and Lia DeGroot
Posted October 6, 2025 at 7:38pm
Sen. Bill Cassidy, seen here in the Capitol on July 22, says pregnant women should discuss the use of acetaminophen with their doctor.

White House autism-Tylenol link leads to confusion, pushback

By Lia DeGroot
Posted September 23, 2025 at 5:22pm
Protesters voicing support for the Centers for Disease Control rally outside the agency's Chamblee, Ga., campus on Friday during a meeting of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

Kennedy’s vaccine advisory panel upends shot recommendations

By Ariel Cohen and Lia DeGroot
Posted September 19, 2025 at 7:19pm
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies at a Senate Finance Committee hearing this month.

Kennedy adds vaccine advisers just before panel convenes

By Sandhya Raman and Lia DeGroot
Posted September 15, 2025 at 6:04pm
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pictured during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Sept. 4.

Broad ‘MAHA’ proposal largely calls for studies, awareness

By Lia DeGroot and Jessie Hellmann
Posted September 9, 2025 at 6:23pm
Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., is looking to address telehealth and other health provisions that expire at the end of September.

Key House committee lays groundwork for health extenders

By Lia DeGroot, Sandhya Raman and Jessie Hellmann
Posted September 3, 2025 at 4:11pm
Monarez at her confirmation hearing in June.

Kennedy to testify before Congress next week amid CDC tumult

By Jessie Hellmann and Lia DeGroot
Posted August 28, 2025 at 3:51pm
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., seen at an event on the National Mall on Aug. 4, announced the changes.

FDA sets more limited framework for COVID-19 vaccines

By Lia DeGroot
Posted August 27, 2025 at 4:57pm
Sunscreen and blankets are sold along Venice Beach in Los Angeles.

Congress sees bipartisan bright spot in sunscreen legislation

By Lia DeGroot
Posted August 25, 2025 at 5:36am
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on stage at the inaugural Great American Farmers Market on the National Mall on Monday.

HHS phases out mRNA vaccine trials for COVID-19, bird flu

By Ariel Cohen and Lia DeGroot
Posted August 6, 2025 at 1:42pm
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairs a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing in June.

Cassidy, who defied Trump, aims to win with increasingly conservative base

By Lia DeGroot
Posted July 30, 2025 at 11:53am
Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., is a sponsor of legislation that would protect vaccine advisory board members from firing without cause.

Vaccine divide widens after CDC committee shake-up

By Ariel Cohen and Lia DeGroot
Posted July 17, 2025 at 7:00am
Speaker Mike Johnson holds up the final vote total on passing President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" budget reconciliation bill on Thursday.

Mammoth budget bill heads to Trump’s desk in time for July Fourth

By David Lerman, Lia DeGroot and Sandhya Raman
Posted July 3, 2025 at 2:50pm, Updated at 3:11pm
An Architect of the Capitol worker wheels a bin full of empty pizza boxes from Speaker Mike Johnson’s office as the House prepares for a long night on Wednesday.

House nears passage of sweeping GOP budget bill

By David Lerman, Lia DeGroot and Sandhya Raman
Posted July 3, 2025 at 12:24am, Updated at 3:55am
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., right, and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., do TV interviews in the Capitol on Wednesday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Vibe shift in House as Trump, GOP leaders begin to flip votes

By David Lerman, Sandhya Raman, Olivia M. Bridges, David Jordan and Lia DeGroot
Posted July 2, 2025 at 7:30pm
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters before heading to the House chamber for a procedural vote on Wednesday.

GOP leaders work to convince House holdouts on budget package

By David Lerman, Lia DeGroot, David Jordan and Sandhya Raman
Posted July 2, 2025 at 4:32pm
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seen at a hearing on Tuesday.

Supreme Court upholds preventive care coverage mandate

By Jessie Hellmann and Lia DeGroot
Posted June 27, 2025 at 1:05pm
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. conducts a news conference to discuss the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network survey, in April.

Panel recommends removing thimerosal from flu vaccines

By Lia DeGroot
Posted June 26, 2025 at 4:25pm
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. greets Iowa Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks before a House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday.

CDC’s overhauled vaccine panel presses on despite concerns

By Lia DeGroot
Posted June 25, 2025 at 3:56pm, Updated June 26, 2025 at 3:20pm
“Three years in, it’s clear that the heartbreak and damage being caused by Republicans’ war on abortion is only growing, but so is the public opposition,” says Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray.

On Dobbs anniversary, Dems note GOP bill’s abortion entanglements

By Lia DeGroot
Posted June 24, 2025 at 1:16pm
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., shown at a news conference on April 16, named new members to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday, after firing all 17 former panel members earlier this week.

Kennedy’s vaccine panel contains skeptics, nonspecialists

By Lia DeGroot, Sandhya Raman and Jessie Hellmann
Posted June 11, 2025 at 9:08pm
Dr. Marty Makary, Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, appears before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in March.

FDA won’t approve COVID shot for healthy, non-elderly population

By Lia DeGroot
Posted May 22, 2025 at 7:01am
President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., talk with reporters before a House Republican Conference meeting on the budget reconciliation bill in the Capitol on Tuesday.

Trump doesn’t satisfy GOP holdouts as budget bill talks drag on

By Caitlin Reilly, Lia DeGroot, Jessie Hellmann and Aidan Quigley
Posted May 20, 2025 at 2:16pm
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives to testify Wednesday at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing.

Kennedy defends budget request but is silent on big HHS changes

By Sandhya Raman and Lia DeGroot
Posted May 14, 2025 at 5:21pm
House Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., arrives to a meeting with Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and House and Senate Republicans in the Capitol Visitor Center about President-elect Donald Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency," on Dec. 5, 2024.

Most controversial Medicaid cuts left out of reconciliation text

By Jessie Hellmann, Sandhya Raman and Lia DeGroot
Posted May 12, 2025 at 2:55pm
President Donald Trump is seen on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One en route to the Middle East on Monday.

Trump signs order to level US drug prices with other countries

By Lia DeGroot
Posted May 12, 2025 at 1:11pm
Casey Means speaks at a health and nutrition roundtable discussion held by Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson on Sept. 23, 2024. (Screenshot/Office of Sen. Johnson)

Trump drops surgeon general pick, taps influencer for job

By Lia DeGroot
Posted May 7, 2025 at 6:18pm
From left, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, talk as they arrive for a vote in the Capitol on Wednesday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Collins urges reversal of Trump’s biomedical research clawbacks

By Lia DeGroot
Posted April 30, 2025 at 1:45pm
The seal of the Health and Human Services is pictured on a podium in the department's headquarters on April 16. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Greater share of US losing faith in health guidance, poll says

By Lia DeGroot
Posted April 29, 2025 at 11:23am
The CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control studies injuries, including those related to firearms, domestic violence and traumatic brain injuries.

Health groups urge RFK Jr. to reinstate injury center staff

By Lia DeGroot
Posted April 14, 2025 at 10:29am
A sign for the Food and Drug Administration is seen outside of the headquarters in White Oak, Md. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Fired FDA communications staff worry about impact on public health

By Lia DeGroot
Posted April 14, 2025 at 6:04am
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, speaks on Wedneday outside the Department of the Health and Human Services after requesting a meeting with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Also appearing are, from left, Reps. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., Kathy Castor, D-Fla., Troy Carter, D-La., Marc Veasey, D-Texas, Lori Trahan, D-Mass., Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., and Nanette Barragán, D-Calif. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., also attended.

As Kennedy tours West, frustrated Democrats demand meeting

By Lia DeGroot
Posted April 9, 2025 at 2:57pm
Matt Cutler, right, a former Health and Human Services employee who was fired on Tuesday, talks with Maine independent Sen. Angus King, left, inside the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Tuesday.

HHS layoffs cut deep swath through health infrastructure

By Sandhya Raman, Lia DeGroot and Jessie Hellmann
Posted April 1, 2025 at 6:06pm
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington on March 10.

HHS to cut 10,000 jobs, ‘streamline’ operations

By Lia DeGroot and Sandhya Raman
Posted March 27, 2025 at 11:20am
Dr. Marty Makary, nominee to be commissioner of the FDA, appears before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for his confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on March 6.

Targeting FDA user fees would leave agency gutted, experts say

By Lia DeGroot
Posted March 27, 2025 at 7:00am
Martin Makary, nominee to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, appears before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for his confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 6.

Senate confirms Makary for FDA commissioner

By Lia DeGroot
Posted March 25, 2025 at 9:35pm
People protesting personnel cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hold signs outside the organization's main headquarters on Wednesday in Atlanta. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

Weldon nomination yanked amid vaccine concerns

By Lia DeGroot and Jessie Hellmann
Posted March 13, 2025 at 11:17am, Updated at 1:58pm
A health care worker conducts a COVID-19 test at a drive-thru testing facility at George Washington University on May 5, 2020.

On COVID-19 anniversary, concerns about the lessons unlearned

By Lia DeGroot
Posted March 13, 2025 at 7:00am
Martin Makary, nominee to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, appears before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for his confirmation hearing on Thursday.

Makary tells Senate panel he plans to review FDA job cuts

By Lia DeGroot
Posted March 6, 2025 at 3:07pm
Martin Makary speaks during a screening of the HBO documentary film 'Bleed Out' in 2018 in New York City.

FDA pick may differ from HHS head RFK Jr. in some key areas

By Lia DeGroot
Posted March 5, 2025 at 4:28pm
Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon, left, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appear during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Texas measles outbreak results in death

By Lia DeGroot
Posted February 26, 2025 at 5:26pm, Updated February 27, 2025 at 10:35am
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., leaves the Democratic Senate luncheon in the Capitol on Tuesday.

Senate Democrats press HHS over FDA firings

By Lia DeGroot
Posted February 21, 2025 at 1:00pm
A demonstrator holds a DOGE sign during the "No Kings Day" protest to oppose the Trump administration’s policies including efforts to cut the federal workforce, at the Capitol Reflecting Pool on Monday.

Agency firings prompt worries about preparedness, FDA inspectors

By Lia DeGroot
Posted February 19, 2025 at 7:00am
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Jan. 29.

Senate confirms RFK Jr. for HHS secretary

By Lia DeGroot
Posted February 13, 2025 at 11:55am
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Jan. 29.

The MAHA movement in Congress: Who and what to watch

By Lia DeGroot
Posted February 6, 2025 at 7:00am
Sen. Bill Cassidy waits to vote in the Senate Finance Committee on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be secretary of Health and Human Services on Tuesday.

Key GOP vote on RFK Jr. faces high-stakes primary

By Lia DeGroot
Posted February 5, 2025 at 5:30pm
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., waits to vote in the Senate Finance Committee on the nomination of Robert Kennedy Jr. to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Senate panel approves RFK Jr. nomination

By Jessie Hellmann and Lia DeGroot
Posted February 4, 2025 at 11:57am, Updated at 1:15pm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of Health and Human Services, arrives for his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing Wednesday.

Kennedy to divest interest from HPV vaccine lawsuits

By Lia DeGroot
Posted January 31, 2025 at 3:47pm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies at his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing Wednesday.

During Day 2 of RFK Jr. hearings, some GOP concerns

By Jessie Hellmann and Lia DeGroot
Posted January 30, 2025 at 5:04pm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of Health and Human Services, and his wife Cheryl Hines, arrive for his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.

Democrats grill Kennedy on vaccines, abortion in Senate hearing

By Lia DeGroot and Jessie Hellmann
Posted January 29, 2025 at 3:12pm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of Health and Human Services, makes his way to a meeting with Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Dirksen Building on Jan. 8.

HHS pauses communications through Feb. 1, memo says

By Lia DeGroot
Posted January 22, 2025 at 6:49pm
Red Dye No. 3 can have deleterious health effects. The ring is a strawberry Ring Pop (red no. 40 and red no. 3).

FDA moves to ban Red Dye No. 3, years after groups petitioned agency 

By Lia DeGroot and Sandhya Raman
Posted January 15, 2025 at 2:59pm
Outgoing FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, pictured during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on April 11, 2024, had said the labeling proposal was on his list of priorities before the end of his tenure.

FDA publishes long-awaited front-of-package labeling proposal

By Lia DeGroot
Posted January 14, 2025 at 3:04pm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of Health and Human Services, makes his way to a meeting with Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Dirksen Building on Wednesday.

Hawaii governor sounds alarm over RFK Jr.’s stance on vaccines

By Lia DeGroot
Posted January 8, 2025 at 5:57pm
Robert Kennedy, Jr., nominee to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, arrives for his meeting with Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., in the Hart Senate Office Building on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024.

Kennedy faces questions about food, vaccines in GOP meetings

By Ariel Cohen, Lia DeGroot, Jessie Hellmann and Sandhya Raman
Posted December 17, 2024 at 6:53pm, Updated December 18, 2024 at 3:11pm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives for a meeting with Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., on Monday.

Trump defends polio vaccines, rejects school vaccine mandates

By Lia DeGroot
Posted December 16, 2024 at 7:38pm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the Libertarian National Convention on May 24 in Washington.

Senate Democrats search for common ground with Kennedy

By Ariel Cohen and Lia DeGroot
Posted December 12, 2024 at 7:00am
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s intended nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has called for an overhaul of the FDA, including the possible elimination of the agency’s nutrition programs.

FDA’s nutrition goals similar to Kennedy’s, experts say

By Lia DeGroot
Posted November 20, 2024 at 2:37pm, Updated at 6:00pm
Pharmacy prescription drugs, for daily use to combat various medical problems, sit in a home in Sullivan County, N.Y.

Future of Medicare drug price negotiations murky under Trump

By Lia DeGroot and Jessie Hellmann
Posted November 15, 2024 at 10:18am
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., testifies during a hearing of the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on July 20, 2023.

Trump taps RFK Jr. to lead HHS

By Ariel Cohen, Lia DeGroot and Sandhya Raman
Posted November 14, 2024 at 5:44pm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign rally former President Donald Trump at Macomb Community College on Nov. 1 in Warren, Mich. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

How RFK Jr.’s health proposals would stack up in practice

By Lia DeGroot
Posted November 8, 2024 at 2:53pm
Sarah McBride, Democrat representative-elect for Delaware, is seen on the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20.

How key results could influence health policy

By Sandhya Raman, Lia DeGroot and Jessie Hellmann
Posted November 6, 2024 at 4:10pm, Updated at 7:28pm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump shake hands at a campaign rally in Glendale, Ariz., on Aug. 23.

Trump victory highlights distrust in public health institutions

By Lia DeGroot
Posted November 6, 2024 at 10:36am
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., testifies during the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government in 2023. Kennedy has emerged as a major surrogate for former President Donald Trump in the final days of the 2024 campaign.

Kennedy hints at vast health agency overhaul if Trump elected

By Lia DeGroot
Posted October 30, 2024 at 4:53pm, Updated October 31, 2024 at 2:46pm
Cigarette use among middle and high schoolers dropped to the lowest levels since 1999, but e-cigarettes remained the most commonly used tobacco product among youth for the 11th consecutive year, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Youth tobacco use drops to 25-year low, CDC survey concludes

By Lia DeGroot
Posted October 17, 2024 at 2:27pm
A worker at St. Supery winery in Rutherford, Calif., pours a glass of wine for a tasting. Since the Dietary Guidelines for Americans were last updated in 2020, more research has emerged suggesting that even drinking moderately could be associated with health issues.

Dietary guidelines become mired in row over alcohol safety

By Lia DeGroot
Posted October 16, 2024 at 6:30am
Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio (left), speaks with Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., after their vice presidential debate on Tuesday in New York City. This is expected to be the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 general election.

Vance’s attempt to rewrite Trump’s Obamacare history

By Niels Lesniewski and Lia DeGroot
Posted October 2, 2024 at 8:39am
During Tuesday’s hearing, Senate HELP Chairman Bernie Sanders said he had received confirmation from “all of the major PBMs” that they wouldn’t reduce coverage if Novo Nordisk lowered their prices.

Novo Nordisk CEO blames PBMs, insurers for Ozempic price tag

By Lia DeGroot
Posted September 24, 2024 at 2:20pm
Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing in 2023.

Analysts say market forces will lower cost of obesity drugs

By Lia DeGroot
Posted September 23, 2024 at 7:00am
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris debate for the first time at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Sept. 10.

Presidential contenders stay mum, for now, on menthol ban

By Lia DeGroot
Posted September 12, 2024 at 12:56pm
An exhibitor (out of frame) shows attendees a rapid fentanyl detection test during the Multilateral Conference on Synthetic Drugs in Mexico City on April 23.

CDC sees link between overdoses, other mental health disorders

By Lia DeGroot
Posted August 29, 2024 at 4:12pm, Updated at 6:26pm
A health care worker receives a COVID-19 vaccine at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

FDA greenlights updated COVID shots, prepares for fall rollout

By Lia DeGroot
Posted August 22, 2024 at 3:24pm
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic nominee for president, speaks during a rally to kick off their campaign at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia on Aug. 6.

In picking Walz, Harris upends notion of ‘women’s issues’

By Lia DeGroot, Sandhya Raman and Ariel Cohen
Posted August 21, 2024 at 7:00am
Food and Drug Administration headquarters, White Oak, Md. (Al Drago/CQ Roll Call file photo)

FDA rejects MDMA therapy for treatment of PTSD. What’s next?

By Lia DeGroot
Posted August 12, 2024 at 12:02pm
Then-Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., speaks with guests during a campaign event at the University of Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 28, 2016.

Walz’s personal experiences shape his health policy outlook

By Ariel Cohen, Lia DeGroot and Sandhya Raman
Posted August 6, 2024 at 3:01pm