Morning Breakouts

Latest California Healthline Stories

San Francisco Voters Hike Retirees’ Health Care Payments

San Francisco Proposition E, a measure that requires city taxpayers to pay a larger portion of health insurance costs for retired city workers, won last night by a “comfortable margin,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Medical Marijuana Measures Pass in Three States

Marijuana was a hot ballot issue for several states, as voters in Colorado and Nevada decided whether to allow the medical use of marijuana, and residents in Alaska and Mendocino County, Calif., determined whether to legalize the plant for general use.

Presidential Race Too Close to Call, Hinges on Florida

After an “extraordinary struggle for the presidency” and a “night of high drama and confusing vote counting,” the race between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush is too close to call, with the fate of Florida’s 25 electoral votes needed to decide the outcome, the Washington Post reports.

Orange County Voters OK Measure H, Reject Measure G

By a 65%-35% margin, Orange County voters yesterday approved Measure H, a ballot initiative backed by physicians and hospitals that would earmark 80% of the county’s tobacco settlement funds for health services such as antismoking programs.

Florida Judge Upholds $145B Award

Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Judge Robert P. Kaye yesterday upheld a $144.87 billion punitive-damage award, the most expensive in U.S. history, against the nation’s five largest cigarette producers, the Wall Street Journal report.

Issues Consumer Warning on Products Containing PPA

As expected, the FDA yesterday issued a public warning to consumers to immediately stop using any product containing the substance phenylpropanolamine, or PPA, because it is believed to increase the risk of suffering a rare but deadly type of stroke, the Washington Post reports.