Sacramento Bee: California Lawmakers Kill Psychedelics Legalization — And Hundreds More Bills. What Was Cut?
A California bill to regulate therapeutic psychedelic use and another that would require employers to allow employees to disconnect from work in their off hours were the latest victims of a process used to kill bills without public comment. The bill involving psychedelics, SB 1012, was the latest attempt by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, to move psychedelics out of the shadows and into a regulated environment. (Holden and Sheeler, 5/16)

CalMatters: These California Schools Connect Kids To Community Services. Will They Survive Budget Cuts?
Budget cuts may be looming for many California programs, but one multi-billion-dollar initiative has so far evaded the ax: an ambitious push to bring medical and dental care, counseling, parenting classes, cultural activities and other services to public schools. (Jones, 5/17)

NBC News: California Bill That Aimed To Combat Tween Skin Care Overuse Fails To Move Forward
A bill in California that aimed to ban the sale of anti-aging skin products to kids under 13 failed to advance in the state Assembly on Thursday after it was brought forward at an Appropriations Committee meeting. Democratic Assemblymember Alex Lee introduced AB 2491 last month to combat the controversial skin care craze influencing young children online. (Yang and Griffin, 5/17)

Los Angeles Times: Massive Budget Cuts Leave California Domestic Violence Survivors With Few Options
A spot in an emergency shelter can be a critical escape route for victims of domestic and sexual violence. But California has long had too few shelter beds — and without a $200-million infusion from the state, the options will soon dwindle even further. (Sharp, 5/17)

Inside Climate News: As California Considers Warning Labels For Gas Stoves, Researchers Learn More About Their Negative Health Impacts
A bill in the state legislature would require the appliances to feature information about ventilation. The proposal arrives on the heels of new findings about emissions harms. (St. Martin, 5/17)

CalMatters: Should California Doctors Report Domestic Abuse To Police? Here’s How Physician Lawmakers Voted
Should doctors be required by law to notify police immediately if they suspect a patient is the victim of domestic violence? That question divided three physicians holding seats in the California Assembly when it came up for a vote this week. Under current law, health care providers face misdemeanor charges if they don’t report suspected abuse to police, even if patients don’t want the police involved. (Sabalow, 5/17)

Stat: Microsoft's Peter Lee Says ChatGPT Shouldn't Be Used For Initial Diagnosis
Surging interest in generative AI among medical professionals since ChatGPT’s launch is perhaps a testament to its potential — but it could also lead clinicians, and patients to experiment with it before there is wider consensus on how to navigate its biases and other pitfalls, Microsoft’s head of research Peter Lee said Thursday at STAT’s Breakthrough Summit. (Ravindranath, 5/16)

California Healthline: The Lure Of Specialty Medicine Pulls Nurse Practitioners From Primary Care
Nurse practitioners have been viewed as a key to addressing the shortage of primary care physicians. But data suggests that, just like doctors, they are increasingly drawn to better-paying specialties. (Andrews, 5/17)

Capital & Main: Why Health Care Leaders Are Sounding An Alarm About The Danger Of A Trump Presidency
Some of the nation’s foremost health care leaders aren’t sure that Americans are paying much attention to the policies and practices that might accompany a second Donald Trump presidency. But those leaders certainly are. They are chilled by the possibilities — and they’re banging the warning drums now, not later. Because they’re not sure anybody is listening. (Kreidler, 5/16)

California Healthline: Watch: John Oliver Dishes On KFF Health News' Opioid Settlements Series
A recent broadcast of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” frequently cited KFF Health News in its examination of how billions of dollars from the opioid settlements are being spent. (5/17)

KQED: San Francisco Homelessness Up 7% Despite Decline In Street Camping
The overall number of people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco increased 7% to more than 8,300 people since the last count in 2022, according to data released Thursday. Every two years, the federal government requires cities to survey their unhoused populations for one night, called the Point in Time Count. The data is used to allocate funding to local governments to spend on homeless services, such as shelters, and is generally believed to be an undercount. (Johnson, Rancaño, 5/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Homelessness Rises Despite City Spending Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars, New Count Shows
Despite a massive increase in homelessness funding, San Francisco saw a 7% surge in its unhoused population over the past two years, reversing the gains shown in its last count, according to preliminary data from a one-night snapshot released Thursday. The city counted 8,328 unhoused people across the city, which was up from 7,754 in 2022. Unsheltered homelessness, which includes people living in tents, on sidewalks and in vehicles, dipped 1%, according to city estimates. (Angst, 5/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: As SCOTUS Considers Homeless Encampments, D.C. Clears One Of Its Own
In a city park, workers in hazmat suits were picking up the remains of someone’s life — a purse, bedding and whatever else had been left behind. They moved efficiently through the homeless encampment, shoveling everything left behind into a trash bag or nearby garbage trucks. At 20th St. NW and E St. NW in Washington, D.C., across the street from the State Department and Federal Reserve, residents of the encampment were still packing up. Some had been offered a place to stay by the city, but some said they hadn’t. ... The Thursday scene, which unfolded just three blocks from the White House, was a stark reminder of how homelessness has become a critical issue in communities across the United States. (Stein, 5/16)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego Area Surgery Centers Get Three Kudos, Five Dings In U.S. News Report 
Already well known for ranking and rating everything from colleges to children’s hospitals, U.S. News and World Report launched a new “Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers” list Tuesday. It includes 39 facilities in San Diego County. Most were rated “average,” though a handful rose above or sunk below the middle of the pack. (Sisson, 5/16)

Becker's Hospital Review: Medical Device Instructions Need A Rewrite, APIC Says
Instructions for medical devices are unnecessarily complex, and the federal process for these labels needs an overhaul, according to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. In a 27-page report shared with lawmakers and the FDA, the organization said most medical supply manuals are obsolete for current infection prevention and control practices. (Twenter, 5/16)

Modern Healthcare: What Biden’s Tariffs On Chinese Medical Supplies Mean For Industry
The Biden administration's decision to raise Chinese tariffs on a wide range of goods could boost domestic manufacturing and lessen worries about the safety of products healthcare providers use daily — or it could raise prices. The U.S. has imported $14.9 billion in medical equipment in 2024, compared with $14 billion at this time last year, according to the Census Bureau. (DeSilva, 5/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Surging Hospital Prices Are Helping Keep Inflation High
One reason U.S. inflation is still high: Increases in prices for procedures to prop open clogged arteries, provide intensive care for newborns and biopsy breasts. Hospitals didn’t raise prices as early in the pandemic as supermarkets, retailers and restaurants. But they have been making up ground since then. Their increases have contributed to stubbornly high inflation readings from the consumer-price index, which in April increased 3.4% from a year ago. (Evans, 5/16)

CapRadio: Solano, Yolo Counties Release Public Health Warning For Raw Milk As Avian Flu Concerns Grow
Perhaps you’ve noticed the egg aisle at the grocery store sometimes being completely empty. At the Safeway in Pollock Pines, signs posted apologize for the inconvenience, blaming an outbreak of avian influenza. The “Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza,” or H5N1 virus, has been affecting wild birds across the country since at least 2021. More recently, the virus jumped to chicken and other poultry birds, elephant seals and now dairy cattle. In the most recent outbreak, a single human case has been detected in Texas. (Gonzalez, Picard, 5/16)

KFF Health News' 'What The Health?' Podcast: Bird Flu Lands As The Next Public Health Challenge
Public health authorities are closely watching an unusual strain of bird flu that has infected dairy cows in nine states and at least one dairy worker. Meanwhile, another major health system suffered a cyberattack, and Congress is moving to extend the availability of telehealth services. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. (5/17)

Bay Area Reporter: Pelosi HIV Money Doesn't Necessarily Fix SF's Federal Funding Shortfall
Though Congressmember Nancy Pelosi announced $1.6 million in new federal funding for San Francisco from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program to reduce infections, that doesn't mean the city isn't still facing an HIV funding shortfall from the feds. As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, HIV/AIDS advocates are concerned that the dire situation of the city's fiscal picture means that there may be cuts and are fighting to preserve existing services, though they hope for additional funds. (Ferrannini, 5/16)

The New York Times: C.D.C. Warns Of A Resurgence Of Mpox
With Pride events scheduled worldwide over the coming weeks, U.S. officials are bracing for a return of mpox, the infectious disease formerly called monkeypox that struck tens of thousands of gay and bisexual men worldwide in 2022. A combination of behavioral changes and vaccination quelled that outbreak, but a majority of those at risk have not yet been immunized. (Mandavilli, 5/16)

The Desert Sun: Mosquito Traps In Indio, Mecca Test Positive For West Nile Virus
Mosquito traps in Indio and Mecca have tested positive for West Nile virus, just days after samples showed the virus was detected in Coachella. However, no human cases of West Nile virus have been reported in the valley. (Sasic, 5/16)

Los Angeles Times: What Military Doctors Can Teach Us About Power In The United States
Power is invisible, but its effects can be seen everywhere — especially in the health records of active duty military personnel. By examining details of 1.5 million emergency room visits at U.S. military hospitals nationwide, researchers found that doctors invested significantly more resources in patients who outranked them than in patients of equal or lesser rank. The additional clinical effort devoted to powerful patients came at the expense of junior patients, who received worse care and were more likely to become seriously ill. (Kaplan, 5/16)

Stat: Military Medical Care Influenced By Rank And Race, New Study Finds
Higher ranking military officers receive more resources and better care than low ranking military officers, according to an analysis of 1.5 million military ER visits published Thursday in the journal Science. (McFarling, 5/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: Most SPF Sunscreens Don’t Work, Study Finds. Here’s What To Look For
As summer approaches, sunscreen inevitably comes to mind, yet a recent study reveals that only a quarter of sunscreen products on the U.S. market offer truly safe and effective protection. The nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Environmental Working Group conducted a review of over 1,700 sunscreens for its annual report and found that roughly 25% meet contemporary standards for sustained protection, while the rest fall short. Many of these products also contain toxic ingredients that can do more harm than good to people and the environment. (Vaziri, 5/16)

NBC News: New Nonhormonal Menopause Drugs Ease Symptoms But Face Insurance Hurdles
New drugs to treat debilitating menopause symptoms — namely hot flashes — are finally on the market or are in development. But doctors say insurance companies either won’t pay for them or make women try and fail with other, perhaps less effective, drugs before they do. The conundrum has left women who might benefit from the new drugs at the mercy of health insurance companies. (Edwards, Thompson and Herzberg, 5/16)

CIDRAP: COVID-19 Linked To Increased Preterm Birth, Other Problems In Pregnancy
Findings from a large study in California, which distinguished the COVID-19 pandemic period from individual SARS-CoV-2 infections, suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection is tied to increased preterm birth (PTB), high blood pressure during pregnancy, and severe maternal morbidity. The study is published as a research letter in JAMA Network Open. (Soucheray, 5/16)

CIDRAP: HPV Vaccine Program Tied To Big Drop In Cervical Cancers Across All Socioeconomic Strata
England's human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program is linked to dramatically lower rates of cervical cancer and precancerous lesions in all socioeconomic groups, reveals a study led by Queen Mary University of London researchers. For the observational study, published yesterday in BMJ, the researchers analyzed the effect of the country's school-based HPV vaccination program on the incidence of cervical cancer and grade 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN3) in English women aged 20 to 64 years from January 2006 to June 2020. (Van Beusekom, 5/16)

The New York Times: Scientists Calculated The Energy Needed To Carry A Baby. Shocker: It’s A Lot
It takes a lot of energy to grow a baby — just ask anyone who has been pregnant. But scientists are only now discovering just how much. In a study published on Thursday in the journal Science, Australian researchers estimated that a human pregnancy demands almost 50,000 dietary calories over the course of nine months. That’s the equivalent of about 50 pints of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream, and significantly more than the researchers expected. (Zimmer, 5/16)

CalMatters: How CA's Bursting Budget Became A $45 Billion Deficit
In 2022, Newsom’s budget staff evidently looked at a spike in tax revenue as the state’s economy recovered from the pandemic, mostly due to massive amounts of federal relief funds, and concluded that the cornucopia would continue indefinitely. That conclusion – or wishful thinking – led to extrapolating that a $97.5 billion surplus would emerge in 2022-23 and future years. However that number never appears in budget documents and was merely a verbal boast from Newsom. (Dan Walters, 5/16)

Los Angeles Times: Democrats Show That They’re No Better Than Trump In Allowing Politics To Interfere With Science
Anyone who cares about the importance of science in the making of government policy had to be deeply dispirited by the hearing into the origins of COVID-19 staged by a Republican-led House subcommittee on May 1. The sole witness at the hearing, and its target, was Peter Daszak, the head of EcoHealth Alliance, a nongovernmental organization tasked with overseeing international virus research funded by federal agencies. (Michael Hiltzik, 5/17)

Stat: Helping Hospitals And Community Health Centers Plan For Resilience 
Extreme weather fueled by accelerating climate change puts patients, providers, and health care facilities at severe risk, jeopardizing lives. Unpredictable shifts in weather patterns are creating new regional extremes, and communities have to adjust to survive. (Marquisha Johns, 5/17)

Fresno Bee: Fresno Can Reduce Health Inequalities By Addressing The Root Causes Of Medical Problems
If you live in Fresno, it is hard to find a doctor or enter a hospital bed because the city has lower ratios of these health-care services than other regions. (Dr. John Zweifler, 5/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bird Flu Is Spreading. Let’s Finally Point The Blame Where It Belongs
As avian influenza spreads through overcrowded factory farms and millions of birds are culled in response, everything from wild birds to undercover investigators has been blamed for the prevalence of this deadly avian disease. Blaming those without power — those with no control over the conditions that allow this deadly pathogen to proliferate — is an effort to distract consumers from the real problem: factory farming. (Gene Baur, 5/14)

Stat: Bird Flu: Don't Repeat Covid's 'Health Versus The Economy' Framing
The Biden administration announced new programs on May 10 to incentivize dairy farmers and workers to collaborate with public health efforts to investigate and mitigate the H5N1 avian influenza outbreak among dairy cattle. Farmers and agriculture officials have called such testing “overreach,” telling public health officials to “back off.” But the Biden administration’s new programs are a first step toward creating trust and collaboration between public health and industry. (Celine Gounder, 5/17)

Orange County Register: The Beginning Of The End Of Cannabis Prohibition
For the first time in its history, the Justice Department is calling for a change in the federal legal status of cannabis — which is currently classified as one of America’s most dangerous drugs. The Attorney General’s office recently confirmed that it’s circulating a proposal to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act. The move, which affirms a prior recommendation by the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA, marks an about-face for bureaucracies that have traditionally maintained a “flat earth” perspective for all things cannabis. (Paul Armentano, 5/14)