Portraits of Max, a very good boy, for the New York Times
Battlefield crosses, for the Knights of Columbus
Seattle downtown development, for Bloomberg News
Weight loss drugs, for the New York Times
![WENATCHEE, WASHINGTON - JUN 3, 2024. Lesa Walton has been using Wegovy as a treatment for obesity for the past two years, seen in her home in Wenatchee, Washington, USA, on Mon., June 3, 2024. Walton says she has lost 66 pounds since starting weekly Wegovy injections; an earlier attempt to lose weight through diet and exercise only helped her lose 9 pounds in 4 months. "It [the weight] just dropped off without even trying," Walton said of the effects of Wegovy, "You take this medication and realize you're not deficient. It's something in your body [that's stopping you from losing weight]. I was super mad about it for a long time. They treat you like it's your fault. I was in the military and always super active just to have this weight keep going on." Walton, 57, is an Air Force veteran, and now works from home in the VA medical system as a Rating Veterans Service Representative, making decisions about appeals to disability claim denials. Walton says her clothes don't fit after losing the weight. "Everything's too big. It [the weight loss] still doesn't seem real. That's why I've avoided getting new clothes. Is this who I am? Do I really weigh 145 pounds?" Her highest weight was 215 pounds, and she weight 209 pounds when she started Wegovy treatments. She said that other health problems she had when she was obese, including rheumatoid arthritis and high blood pressure, have disappeared after the weight loss. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the New York Times](https://i0.wp.com/www.mscottbrauer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/msb-1172020modcolor-1.jpg?fit=1536%2C1024&ssl=1)
![WENATCHEE, WASHINGTON - JUN 3, 2024. Lesa Walton compares her hand to a 2019 photo showing swelling from rheumatoid arthritis, a condition she had until losing weight after using Wegovy as a treatment for obesity for the past two years, seen in her home in Wenatchee, Washington, USA, on Mon., June 3, 2024. Walton says she has lost 66 pounds since starting weekly Wegovy injections; an earlier attempt to lose weight through diet and exercise only helped her lose 9 pounds in 4 months. "It [the weight] just dropped off without even trying," Walton said of the effects of Wegovy, "You take this medication and realize you're not deficient. It's something in your body [that's stopping you from losing weight]. I was super mad about it for a long time. They treat you like it's your fault. I was in the military and always super active just to have this weight keep going on." Walton, 57, is an Air Force veteran, and now works from home in the VA medical system as a Rating Veterans Service Representative, making decisions about appeals to disability claim denials. Walton says her clothes don't fit after losing the weight. "Everything's too big. It [the weight loss] still doesn't seem real. That's why I've avoided getting new clothes. Is this who I am? Do I really weigh 145 pounds?" Her highest weight was 215 pounds, and she weight 209 pounds when she started Wegovy treatments. She said that other health problems she had when she was obese, including rheumatoid arthritis and high blood pressure, have disappeared after the weight loss. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the New York Times](https://i0.wp.com/www.mscottbrauer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/msb-1172257modcolor-1.jpg?fit=1536%2C1024&ssl=1)
![WENATCHEE, WASHINGTON - JUN 3, 2024. Lesa Walton holds a Wegovy injector pen, which she has used as a treatment for obesity for the past two years, seen in her home in Wenatchee, Washington, USA, on Mon., June 3, 2024. Walton says she has lost 66 pounds since starting weekly Wegovy injections; an earlier attempt to lose weight through diet and exercise only helped her lose 9 pounds in 4 months. "It [the weight] just dropped off without even trying," Walton said of the effects of Wegovy, "You take this medication and realize you're not deficient. It's something in your body [that's stopping you from losing weight]. I was super mad about it for a long time. They treat you like it's your fault. I was in the military and always super active just to have this weight keep going on." Walton, 57, is an Air Force veteran, and now works from home in the VA medical system as a Rating Veterans Service Representative, making decisions about appeals to disability claim denials. Walton says her clothes don't fit after losing the weight. "Everything's too big. It [the weight loss] still doesn't seem real. That's why I've avoided getting new clothes. Is this who I am? Do I really weigh 145 pounds?" Her highest weight was 215 pounds, and she weight 209 pounds when she started Wegovy treatments. She said that other health problems she had when she was obese, including rheumatoid arthritis and high blood pressure, have disappeared after the weight loss. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the New York Times](https://i0.wp.com/www.mscottbrauer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/msb-1172291modcolor-1.jpg?fit=1536%2C1024&ssl=1)
![SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MAY 31, 2024. Scott Hagan is a primary care doctor based in Seattle who says he is skeptical of so-called "obesity first" treatments, seen here in Jefferson Park in Seattle, Washington, USA, on Fri., May 31, 2024. "Obesity first" treatment is a philosophy of medical care that treats obesity before addressing other conditions that may be associated with obesity, such as high blood pressure. Proponents say that by getting the obesity under control, the other problems tend to be resolved. Hagan says he has a different perspective. "I'm going to use treatments I know work to control those [non-obesity] health problems, and if we're still having trouble managing those conditions, then we can talk about obesity treatments, which could include medications," he said. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the New York Times](https://i0.wp.com/www.mscottbrauer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/msb-1170885modcolor-1.jpg?fit=1536%2C1024&ssl=1)
![SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MAY 31, 2024. Stefie Deeds is an internal medicine and obesity medicine doctor in Seattle who advocates "obesity first" treatments, seen here in her Deeds Health private practice in West Seattle, Washington, USA, on Fri., May 31, 2024. "Obesity first" treatment is a philosophy of medical care that treats obesity before addressing other conditions that may be associated with obesity, such as high blood pressure. Proponents, like Deeds, say that by getting the obesity under control, the other problems tend to be resolved. "If you treat obesity and patients can lose weight, then the other conditions improve as well," Deeds said, "If you treat [obesity], everything gets better." Deeds says she has seen in the results in her own patients, though she wishes the medicines like Wegovy and Ozempic were less costly. "It's a shame how expensive they are in the United States. They need to be more affordable because people deserve treatment," she said. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the New York Times](https://i0.wp.com/www.mscottbrauer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/msb-1171388modcolor-1.jpg?fit=1536%2C1024&ssl=1)
Street art and graffiti, for Cascade PBS
![A mural painted by mural artist Crick Lont (known as dozer_art on social media) for the 50th anniversary of hip-hop is seen in the Beacon Hill area of Seattle, Washington, USA, on Thu., May 30, 2024. "Because I'm a fan [of hip-hop]," Lont said, "I wanted to paint the biggest fan around." The mural features an image of Charlie, who Lont says is a long-time fixture of hip-hop shows in the Seattle area.](https://i0.wp.com/www.mscottbrauer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/msb-1169718modcolor-1.jpg?fit=1536%2C1024&ssl=1)
