The Bakersfield Californian: COVID Outbreak Closes M Street Shelter To New Clients
The M Street Navigation Center closed to new clients this week after a coronavirus outbreak that has sickened at least 40 people, including seven of the shelter's employees. (Cox, 8/23)

Reuters: US CDC Says New COVID Lineage Could Cause Infections In Vaccinated Individuals
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday the new BA.2.86 lineage of coronavirus may be more capable than older variants in causing infection in people who have previously had COVID-19 or who have received vaccines. CDC said it was too soon to know whether this might cause more severe illness compared with previous variants. But due to the high number of mutations detected in this lineage, there were concerns about its impact on immunity from vaccines and previous infections, the agency said. (8/23)

CNN: Early Testing Suggests Variant BA.2.86 Has Been Detected In US Wastewater, According To New CDC Report
Preliminary testing of wastewater in the United States has detected the new highly mutated coronavirus variant BA.2.86, according to a risk assessment posted Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC did not give details on where the positive wastewater sample had been collected but said it was part of routine monitoring through its National Wastewater Surveillance System. (Goodman, 8/23)

Stat: People Can Get Long Covid Without Testing Positive For Virus: Study
Of the 103 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the U.S., an estimated one-third have led to long Covid — a condition that ranges in severity, but can be debilitating. A new study suggests that even more people may be suffering from the post-viral syndrome without having ever received an official diagnosis of Covid-19. (Merelli, 8/23)

The Oaklandside: Judge To Decide If California Failed Low-Income Students During COVID
Kai Sanchez, 14, takes an online Spanish class from one of her teachers at Half Moon Bay High School on April 1, 2020.This fall, in a courtroom in Oakland, lawyers will reexamine the pandemic’s impact on K-12 schools in California—a subject many people might prefer to forget about but can’t because, like Covid itself, the effects are inescapable. The state of California defends itself over accusations that it mishandled remote learning during COVID, starting in the spring of 2020, and then failed to alleviate the harm its most vulnerable children experienced then and still experience. (Fensterwald, 8/23)

The Washington Post: Justice Dept. Brings Wave Of Cases Over $836 Million In Alleged Covid Fraud 
In one of the largest national crackdowns on fraud targeting federal coronavirus aid, the Justice Department on Wednesday said it had brought 718 law enforcement actions in connection with the alleged theft of more than $836 million. The vast array of criminal charges and other sanctions — part of a federal sweep conducted over the past three months — reflected the ongoing, costly work in Washington to recover stolen pandemic funds roughly three years after the peak of the public health crisis. (Romm, 8/23)

The Mercury News: Third Southern California School Board OKs Policy To Tell Parents If Students Are Transgender
The Temecula Valley school board voted early Wednesday, Aug. 23, to approve a policy to notify parents if their students are transgender, becoming the latest Southern California district to do so. The 3-2 vote came after midnight, capping a meeting that began Tuesday night, Aug. 22. The board’s conservative Christian majority — Joseph Komrosky, Jen Wiersma and Danny Gonzalez — voted yes. Trustees Steven Schwartz and Allison Barclay voted no. (Hoffmann, 8/23)

Los Angeles Blade: Temecula School District’s Forced Outing Policy Detrimental, Says AG
California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement Wednesday following Temecula Valley Unified School District Board’s decision to implement a mandatory gender identity disclosure policy that is detrimental to the well-being of LGBTQ+ students on August 22, 2023. (8/24)

AP: Gender-Affirming Surgeries In The US Nearly Tripled Before Pandemic Dip, Study Finds 
The increase likely reflects expanded insurance coverage for transgender care after the Obama administration and some states actively discouraged discrimination based on gender identity, lead author Dr. Jason Wright of Columbia University said. The dip in 2020 can be attributed to the pandemic. A little more than half the patients were ages 19 to 30. Surgeries in patients 18 and younger, were rare: fewer than 1,200 in the highest volume year. (Johnson, 8/23)

Los Angeles Daily News: With New Policies In Place, LGBTQ+ Donors Urged To Give Blood During Summer Shortage 
At a recent blood drive in downtown L.A., Los Angeles area resident Terry Brown was both excited — and nervous — to donate blood for the first time in decades. (Vergara, 8/24)

KQED: California’s High Maternal Mortality Rates Drive Push For More At-Home Care
Alvin Vallejo, a public health nurse in San Francisco, steps inside a dilapidated apartment building in the Tenderloin neighborhood. He climbs a narrow staircase to visit a client on the third floor recovering from a high-risk pregnancy and a difficult birth. Vallejo turns down the hall, passes a communal bathroom, and knocks on a door. (McClurg, 8/23)

Sacramento Bee: Doctors And Hospitals Force California Moms Into C-Sections
Kaitlyn Weiss felt a searing pain on the surgical table, surrounded by strangers. She was in labor and she did not want to be in that icy operating room, so close to the scalpel meant to cut her open. When she felt that pain, she knew immediately, “This was my last opportunity to have some control over how this delivery was gonna go.” The charge nurse yelled “stop pushing,” but Weiss bore down. Her water broke all over the floor. As the anesthesiologist balked at the puddle, his hesitation gave her enough time for her final, fervent pushes. (Lange, 8/24)

NPR: New Class Of Flame Retardants Found In Breast Milk Raises Concerns
In the early 2000s, researchers tested breast milk samples from U.S. mothers and found high levels of toxic compounds used as a common flame retardant in household items. The compounds, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), were gradually phased out after a link was found with certain health risks. It sounds like a public health success story, but new research suggests it may not be quite that simple. This summer, scientists detected a new set of similar flame retardants in the breast milk of 50 U.S. women. (Roldan, 8/24)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Kaiser Permanente Makes Narcan Available To Public For Free To Help Counter Fatal Opioid Overdoses
Kaiser Permanente is distributing the lifesaving drug Narcan for free to Northern California members and nonmembers, a move aimed at reducing the number of fatal opioid overdoses, hospital officials said. (Espinoza, 8/23)

Fox News: Medical Professionals Utilizing AI To Judge Narcotics Prescriptions: Report
Health agencies and law enforcement are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) in their efforts to combat widespread opioid addiction, according to a report. Data-driven monitoring systems such as NarxCare offer numerical ratings of patients' medication history that give doctors a rudimentary idea of their risks, but professionals are split on their effectiveness, according to a report from MarketPlace. "We need to see what’s going on to make sure we’re not doing more harm than good," health economist Jason Gibbons told the outlet. (Nerozzi, 8/23)

The New York Times: Mallinckrodt’s Bankruptcy Plan Would Cut Payments To Opioid Victims By $1 Billion 
In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, Mallinckrodt disclosed that it had reached a plan to file for bankruptcy for the second time in three years. The plan would cancel a majority of the $1.25 billion that the company still owes under the original settlement agreement, in exchange for a final payment of $250 million that would be made before the company enters its second bankruptcy. The plan to cancel a majority of the outstanding payments was devised with backing from hedge funds that would control the company under a second bankruptcy. The funds had lent money to Mallinckrodt and were in a position to force the company to prioritize paying back its lenders over compensating victims. (Robbins, 8/23)

Sacramento Bee: Fire Department To Lead Sacramento Emergency Homeless Effort 
The Sacramento Fire Department will lead the city’s new inter-agency emergency response to homelessness, Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced Wednesday in his second of three State of the City addresses. Assistant Fire Chief Brian Pedro will head up the effort, which will include the Department of Community Response, the Sacramento Police Department, code enforcement, behavioral health workers from Sacramento County, park rangers and outside nonprofit providers that contract with those agencies. (Lange, 8/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Homeless Encampment Sweep Ban In Hands Of Ninth Circuit Court
A lawyer for San Francisco told a federal appeals court Wednesday that a U.S. magistrate was sidestepping the law and ignoring conditions on the streets by prohibiting the city from sweeping homeless encampments without offering their residents immediate shelter. One member of the court panel appeared to agree. (Egelko, 8/23)

KQED: 'An Impossible Situation': Tensions Rise As Federal Court Weighs Legality Of SF Encampment Sweeps
Protesters and counterprotesters went head-to-head outside the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Wednesday, where a panel of three judges heard arguments over whether to appeal an injunction that prevents the city from moving unhoused people under certain circumstances. The legal battle started in September 2022, when the Coalition on Homelessness sued San Francisco for violating the city’s own ordinances around clearing encampments. Attorneys for the Coalition, representing both the ACLU and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, argue that the city has violated federal precedent by not providing appropriate shelter before removing unhoused people, and that it trashed personal belongings during its sweeps. (Johnson, 8/23)

Bay Area News Group: Who Is Responsible For Overseeing Homeless Housing In The Bay Area?
As San Jose works to double its total homeless housing stock under growing pressure to get a handle on the crisis, who exactly is responsible for making sure it’s safe and habitable? And are there similar levels of oversight for the rest of the Bay Area and California? (Varian, 8/24)

Los Angeles Times: It Takes A Village To House The Homeless. Residents Say The Cecil Hotel Is Failing To Provide
The Cecil Hotel set itself up as permanent supportive housing for L.A.'s homeless. But it's struggling to meet the needs of its vulnerable tenants. (Ding, 8/24)

Los Angeles Times: In Watts Housing Project, Death Kept Knocking This Summer 
Even before a pair of shootings nearby drew attention in late July, the Imperial Courts public housing project in Watts had seen a lot of death. (Dixson, 8/24)

Los Angeles Times: California Looks At Giving Unemployment Pay To Striking Workers
California lawmakers are resurrecting legislation that would allow workers on strike to collect unemployment benefits, reigniting a familiar political battle between labor unions and businesses. Under Senate Bill 799, striking workers would be eligible to collect unemployment benefits after they’re on strike for two weeks, an early version of the bill released on Tuesday shows. (Wong, 8/23)

Sacramento Bee: Why UC Workers Say They Must Sleep In Their Cars To Do Their Jobs For The Wages Paid 
Veronika Honcharuk drives 133 miles one way to get to her job in San Francisco from her home in Placerville. She logs patients’ admission information in the emergency department at UCSF’s Helen Diller Medical Center. She works 12 hours a shift, three days a week. To clear enough money to cover her parking ($300), gas ($600) and her car payment ($400) each month, she must put in a week and a half at her job. Honcharuk’s employer frequently offers her the opportunity to work overtime, she said, and she usually takes it because she needs the money. But if she works those extra hours, she will likely sleep in her car until the next shift rather than making the journey home and back. The drive time would eat up five to six hours. (Anderson, 8/23)

Los Angeles Times: California Tenants Could Face Tax Bill For Subsidized Housing 
Under the arcane tax rule of possessory interest, thousands of California tenants in subsidized housing could face individual tax bills upwards of $1,000 a year. (Khouri, 8/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: Sacramento County Reports First West Nile Virus Death Of 2023
Sacramento County reported its first West Nile virus death of the year on Wednesday. The individual was in their 70s and had an underlying chronic disease, according to Sacramento County Public Health. There are 16 other cases of confirmed or suspected West Nile virus in the county. As of August 22, there were 26 human cases in California, two of them fatal. (Munce, 8/23)

Military.com: 32,000 Veterans Have VA Disability Claims Decisions Delayed By Technical Glitch 
Roughly 32,000 veterans are receiving letters this month notifying them that their disability claims submitted through the VA.gov website weren't processed, with the error dating back to 2018 for some. A Department of Veterans Affairs official told Military.com Monday that the letters were going to all veterans “impacted by the issue,” which was described as a "technical issue" that resulted in the claims not being automatically routed for processing. (Kime, 8/23)

The New York Times: AI Helps A Stroke Patient Speak Again, A Milestone For Tech And Neuroscience 
“We’re just trying to restore who people are,” said the team’s leader, Dr. Edward Chang, the chairman of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. (Belluck, 8/23)

Bay Area News Group: Sexy Feeling: Stanford Scientists Find Where Lust Lives 
The source of desire has long been elusive, the stuff of poets and musicians. Now, Stanford University researchers have found it doesn’t live in the heart but in a very specific set of cells in the brain. (Krieger, 8/24)

USA Today: Mapping The Y Chromosome, Which Makes Males Biologically Distinct
Two decades after the human genome sequence was completed, researchers have finally finished a map of the piece that makes males distinct. The Y chromosome is what distinguishes biological males from females. It determines male fertility, including sperm production, and typically is used to determine paternal lineage for tracking inheritance and ancestry. (Weintraub, 8/23)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Sonoma County Public Health Officials Launch Investigation Into Possible Bacterial Infections After Tough Mudder Endurance Race 
Sonoma County Public Health has launched an investigation into multiple cases of potential infections reported among participants of an endurance race held last weekend in Sonoma. (Smalstig, 8/23)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Fails To Place Older Foster Kids, Lawsuit Alleges 
Los Angeles County is condemning older foster youth to long, destabilizing stints of homelessness and couch-surfing by failing to provide them with appropriate homes, a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges. (Ellis, 8/23)

AP: Man Convicted Of Killing Kristin Smart Is Attacked In Prison And Hospitalized In Serious Condition
The man convicted of killing Kristin Smart, who vanished from a California college campus more than 25 years ago, was hospitalized after he was attacked in state prison, his lawyer said Wednesday. Paul Flores was taken Wednesday from Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga to an outside hospital where he was in serious condition, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. (8/23)

Roll Call: FDA Taps New Human Foods Program Head After Baby Formula Crisis
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday announced the selection of its first deputy commissioner for human foods — part of an effort to reorganize the agency’s oversight of food safety after contaminated baby formula caused major shortages last year. James “Jim” Jones, a former EPA official, will start his new role on Sept. 24 leading the new Human Foods Program, which will oversee food safety, chemical safety, nutrition and other areas. (Hellmann, 8/23)

Axios: Biden Admin Invests $24M In Researching MRNA To Fight Cancer
The Biden administration's new biomedical research agency is providing $24 million for research leveraging an mRNA platform to train the immune system to fight cancer and other diseases, officials told Axios first. The project, led by Emory University in Atlanta, supports the administration's "cancer moonshot" — part of President Biden's "unity agenda" — aimed at cutting the cancer death rate in half over 25 years. (Reed, 8/23)

Politico: White House To Name First 10 Drugs For Medicare Negotiations Early 
The Biden administration is expected to disclose early next week the first 10 prescription drugs selected for Medicare price negotiations, ahead of a White House event Tuesday to celebrate the milestone, four people involved in the plans told POLITICO. The announcement will mark a major step in a bid to lower drug prices through the first-ever direct negotiations between Medicare and pharmaceutical manufacturers over a set of medicines. (Lim and Cancryn, 8/23)

Stat: Mid-Year Drug Price Hikes Are Back Despite Inflation Reduction Act
It’s almost a tradition. At the start and halfway points of each year, many pharmaceutical companies raise drug prices to bolster revenue and reportedly fund new research. (Bajaj, 8/24)

CBS News: FDA Says To Stop Using 2 Eye Drop Products Because Of Serious Health Risks
Federal health regulators are warning consumers to immediately stop using two additional eye drop products because of potential bacterial or fungal contamination. The Food and Drug Administration is advising people not to buy "Dr. Berne's MSM Drops 5% Solution" and "LightEyez MSM Eye Drops – Eye Repair," warning that they could pose a serious health risk, including vision- and life-threatening infections. The agency noted that it doesn't know of anyone who has reported a problem due to the products. (Cerullo, 8/23)

NBC News: Federal Staffers Recommend Safety Requirements For Nursing Pillows After Dozens Of Infant Deaths
The Consumer Product Safety Commission staff on Wednesday recommended the first federal requirements to make nursing pillows safer and discourage caregivers from setting babies down on the pillows to sleep, citing dozens of deaths associated with the popular infant product. ... “Because infants frequently fall asleep during or after feeding, nursing pillows are foreseeably misused for infant sleep, which creates a potential hazard for the infant,” according to the staff’s draft proposal. (Khimm and Chuck, 8/23)