San Francisco Chronicle: Here's What Largest Study In Decades Of California Homelessness Found
California’s homeless population is predominantly made up of people who lived in the state before losing their housing, with nearly half over the age of 50 and a disproportionate number who are Black and indigenous, according to a statewide study released Tuesday. (Moench, 6/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Homeless Numbers Rise In U.S. Cities
The number of homeless people counted on streets and in shelters around the U.S. has broadly risen this year, according to a Wall Street Journal review of data from around the nation. The Journal reviewed data from 150 entities that count homeless people in areas ranging from cities to entire states. More than 100 places reported increases in early 2023 counts compared with 2022, and collectively, their numbers indicate the U.S. might see a sharper climb than in recent years. Most major urban areas reporting data so far have seen increases, including Chicago, Miami, Boston and Phoenix. (Kamp and Najmabadi, 6/19)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Construction Costs Triple For Oceanside Homeless Shelter
Construction costs have risen to $7.6 million, more than triple the original estimate, for the 50-bed Oceanside homeless shelter expected to open in July on the former Ocean Shores alternative high school campus. The Oceanside City Council approved a $2.2 million construction budget in November 2021, with most of the money coming from federal grants. Since then, a number of issues have increased the costs for what’s called the Navigation Center, the city’s first year-round shelter. (Diehl, 6/19)

Orange County Register: CalOptima Health Wants To Create A Facility To Better Serve OC’s Unhoused, Aging Population 
CalOptima Health, the provider of publicly funded health coverage in Orange County, is investing about $49 million to create the Community Living Center of Tustin, with the purpose of addressing challenges faced by the one of the county’s most vulnerable populations, those experiencing homelessness and aging. (Torres, 6/17)

Voice Of San Diego: Poway’s Lack Of Shelters Limits Proposed Ban On Camps 
The city of Poway is expected to follow in San Diego’s footsteps next month and vote on an ordinance to ban camping. If it passes, sheriff’s deputies would have the authority to clear homeless encampments and personal property from public spaces. But whether Poway can legally enforce its ordinance depends on whether there are other places for unhoused residents to go. (Gray, 6/19)

Newsweek: Poverty Is Killing Nearly 200,000 Americans A Year
The land of the free is suffering from a "self-inflicted" injustice when it comes to poverty, experts say, as the rich are getting richer while thousands living without sufficient means die every year in the United States, as a recent study shows. The issue, according to an exclusive poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of Newsweek, worries a majority of Americans. (Carbonaro, 6/19)

CNN: Loneliness, Social Isolation Linked With Early Death
 If you’re lonely or socially isolated, you might have a higher risk of early death, according to a large new study. People who experienced social isolation had a 32% higher risk of dying early from any cause compared with those who weren’t socially isolated. Participants who reported feeling lonely were 14% more likely to die early than those who did not. (Rogers, 6/19)

The Press-Enterprise: VA Tolerates Hostile Work Environment At Hospital, Congressman Says 
Several VA Loma Linda Healthcare System whistleblowers have come forward with new allegations of retaliation, harassment and hostile working conditions amid a widening investigation by the House Veterans Affairs Committee, according to a lawmaker. On Friday, committee member U.S. Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia, met behind closed doors with VA Loma Linda’s interim director Bryan Arnette, and other officials to discuss the whistleblower complaints and map out needed changes. (Schwebke, 6/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: Advocates Call For Changes To 911 Response, But Police Are Ambivalent
A mountain of evidence shows police often fail to respond properly to people experiencing a mental health crisis. It can lead to avoidable deaths and criminalization of mental illness, especially among people of color. A poll commissioned by Public Health Advocates, a Davis-based health policy nonprofit, showed that more than two-thirds of California voters want behavioral health professionals to be part of the emergency response in non-life-threatening situations. (Work, 6/20)

San Francisco Chronicle: Mpox Anniversary: Amid Fears Of A New Outbreak, What Are The Risks?
San Francisco public health experts caution that people shouldn’t let their guard down this summer against a return of the mpox virus. (Castro-Root, 6/19)

Los Angeles Times: Could Fourth Of July Trigger Summer COVID-19 Spike? What L.A. County Data Show
Summer has been a fraught and cautious time in the pandemic era, with travel and gatherings for holidays and vacation fueling COVID-19 spikes each of the last three years. Could the fourth time be the charm? (Lin II and Money, 6/19)

ABC News: Health Experts Worry As Meta Rolls Back Some COVID Misinformation Policies 
Public health experts fear that Meta's decision to roll back some of its COVID-19 misinformation measures will lead to more disinformation about the virus, treatments for it and vaccines. The company announced the changes on Friday after it asked its independent oversight advisory board whether it should continue its COVID-19 misinformation policy for Facebook and Instagram or take a "less restrictive approach." (Kekatos, 6/19)

NBC News: YouTube Removes Video Of RFK Jr. And Jordan Peterson For Misinformation
YouTube said Monday that it had removed a video of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaking with podcast host Jordan Peterson for spreading what the company said was vaccine misinformation. The decision is the latest challenge for Kennedy as he seeks to find support for a Democratic presidential run after years as an anti-vaccine crusader. The video was removed amid a broader tug-of-war online between vaccine conspiracy theorists and prominent doctors. (Ingram and Goggin, 6/19)

CapRadio: Top U.S. Health Official Praises Davis Dining Program; Weighs In On Hot Topics
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra dropped by the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento to praise the facilities’ sustainable food production and to answer questions about issues top of mind in the Golden State. During the Thursday visit, Becerra toured the medical center’s kitchen and sampled some of Chef Santana Diaz’s food, which Becerra said made him reconsider his position on red beets. (Wolffe, 6/20)

AP: Former North Carolina Health Official Is Picked To Be New CDC Director
Dr. Mandy Cohen, a former North Carolina official, will be the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the White House announced Friday. Unlike the last two people to serve as head of the nation’s top federal public health agency, Cohen has prior experience running a government agency: She was secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services from 2017 until last year. Before that, she held health-related jobs at two federal agencies. “Dr. Cohen is one of the nation’s top physicians and health leaders with experience leading large and complex organizations, and a proven track-record protecting Americans’ health and safety,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. (Stobbe, 6/16)

AP: Popular 'Low T' Treatment Is Safe For Men With Heart Disease, But Doctors Warn It's No Youth Serum
Testosterone replacement therapy is safe for men with “low T” who have heart disease or are at high risk for it, a new study suggests. But doctors warn the popular treatment is no “anti-aging tonic.” The research, published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that heart attacks, strokes and other major cardiac issues were no more common among those using testosterone gel than those using a placebo. (Ungar, 6/16)

Fox News: Most Women Diagnosed With Early Breast Cancer Will Survive Beyond 5 Years, Study Finds
Death rates from breast cancer have been on a steady decline in recent decades, dropping 43% between 1989 and 2020. The average risk of dying from breast cancer in the five years after an early diagnosis has fallen from 14% to 5% since the 1990s, according to a recent study from the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, that was published in the British Medical Journal. (Rudy, 6/20)

The Washington Post: Obesity Increases Risk Of 13 Types Of Cancer
Being overweight or obese increases a person’s risk for at least 13 types of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those diseases are breast cancer (in postmenopausal women), multiple myeloma, meningioma (a type of brain cancer) and cancers of the esophagus, colon and rectum, uterus, gallbladder, upper stomach, kidneys, liver, ovaries, pancreas and thyroid. (Searing, 6/19)

CNN: A Daily Aspirin May Lead To Anemia In Older Adults, Study Says
Aspirin is one of the most commonly used medications in the US. Studies show that more than 40% of adults ages 60 or older take an aspirin every day to prevent dangerous blood clots that could lead to a heart attack or stroke. In recent years, experts have backed away from blanket use of aspirin therapy for all older adults, however, after studies showed that it carried an increased risk of major bleeding that most likely outweighed any benefit in preventing first heart attacks or strokes. However, it’s still recommended in some cases for people who have had a heart attack or stroke, to prevent another. (Goodman, 6/19)