USA Today: LA Fire Weather To Persist As Concerns Mount For Air Quality
With fires still raging around Los Angeles and high winds expected to last through Friday, it's not clear when air quality in the region will improve, local experts said Thursday. The time it will take for smoke from wildfires burning around Los Angeles to dissipate is a moving target. Much of Los Angeles County is still experiencing unhealthy air due to smoke from the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires that have collectively burned over 29,000 acres, according to Cal Fire. All have little or no containment at this point. They've been aided by the notorious Santa Ana winds. (Cuevas, 1/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: How Toxic Is The Smoke From L.A. Fires Right Now?
As thousands of buildings burned in Los Angeles County this week, the skies above Southern California have become a stew of unhealthy gases and aerosols — much different than what typically blows from a wildfire. Scientists tracking the smoke in the Los Angeles basin say the synthetic materials burning in the recent fires, from cars and furniture to entire grocery stores, release compounds that can be much more hazardous than those from burning grasses and trees. (Alexander, 1/9)

Los Angeles Times: How To Protect Kids From Wildfire Smoke
Young kids are especially vulnerable to the effects of wildfire smoke. Here’s how you can keep them safe as fires continue to spread across Los Angeles County. (Gold and Sequeira, 1/9)

Yahoo!: How The California Wildfires Can Impact The Health Of People Hundreds Of Miles From Los Angeles
Currently, air quality in the immediate areas surrounding the fire is poor, while surrounding areas seem to be largely OK, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But doctors expect that will change as the fire continues to burn and winds shift. While wildfires create unhealthy air conditions for people who live in nearby areas, that smoke and particulate matter can drift and affect those who live thousands of miles away — with a recent study shedding further light on the quantifiable dangers of even faraway wildfires. (Miller, 1/10)

Los Angeles Times: National Guard Arrives In L.A., Curfews Planned To Crack Down On Looting In Fire-Ravaged Areas 
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna announced several measures Thursday to ramp up security in areas that have been evacuated because of devastating fires in the area. National Guard troops were in place Friday in some burn zones to provide protection. The sheriff also said the agency was working to implement a curfew that would run from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. “within the specific impacted areas around the two fire areas,” he said, referring to the Palisades fire in Pacific Palisades and the Eaton fire, which ignited in Altadena. He said he hoped to have it in place by Thursday night but definitely by Friday evening. (Toohey and Lin, 1/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: Emergency Alert Sent In Error Causes Confusion Across Los Angeles
A wireless emergency alert sent to all Los Angeles County residents on Thursday afternoon mistakenly warned of widespread evacuations. The alert, which caused substantial alarm, read: “This is an emergency message from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued in your area.” ... Local officials quickly clarified that no new evacuation orders had been issued for Los Angeles, with the city’s Emergency Management Department attributing the alert to a “technical error.” (Vaziri, 1/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: The Critical Emergency Prep Step That Everyone Forgets To Take
Water bottles. Medication. Cash. Flashlights. There’s a long list of items to keep handy in a go-bag in case of emergency. But what about the vehicle to evacuate in? “It’s pretty simple: Keep your tank filled at all times,” Cal Fire spokesperson David Acuña said Thursday. “If there is a chance of evacuation, fill it up.” (Mishanec, 1/9)

ABC News: California Wildfires Can Take Mental Health Toll On Residents, Firefighters 
Mental health experts say that most people are resilient and do not develop a mental health condition as a result of trauma from a natural disaster. However, those with more exposure to the event -- such as losing a home, losing a loved one or experiencing injury -- are at higher risk, the experts said. (Kekatos, 1/10)

Chief Healthcare Executive: Los Angeles Area Fires Affect Hospitals, Delaying Surgeries And Closing Clinics
The Cedars-Sinai medical campus remains open, but it is close to some of the wildfires. Cedars-Sinai postponed non-urgent surgeries Thursday and Friday. ... Some Cedars-Sinai locations outside of evacuation zones are being hampered by power outages, the system said. “We continue to contact affected patients, and we are doing everything we can to minimize disruptions to care,” the system said. (Southwick, 1/10)

LAist: Nursing Home Evacuees Faced Cot Shortages In Pasadena, Medical Staff Say
Over the past two days, emergency crews evacuated at least 1,400 residents from dozens of Pasadena-area nursing homes and assisted living facilities as the Eaton Fire threatened the region, according to state officials. The mass evacuation of care-dependent residents, mostly over age 65, created immediate health risks for this fragile population and stretched public health officials' coordination capabilities to their limits. (Schrank, 1/9)

San Diego Union-Tribune: No Heat, No Water, No School: In Rural San Diego County, Power Shutoffs Pose Their Own Public Safety Risks
Thousands of residents in San Diego County’s rural backcountry lost power this week as San Diego Gas & Electric shut off lines to prevent the risk of wildfire during high winds and dry conditions. Tens of thousands more were warned of possible further outages. (Taketa, 1/10)

The Desert Sun: Biden Pledges 6 Months Of Wildfire Aid Despite Trump Threats To Cut Funds To California
As greater Los Angeles burns, incoming President Donald Trump has unleashed a blistering volley against Gov. Gavin Newsom and stepped up threats to withhold federal aid to California, which some experts say could be enduring its most costly disaster ever. (Wilson, Wire, Vanden Brook, Collins, 1/9)

Politico: Trump’s Critiques Of The Los Angeles Fires, Explained 
In short, Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom disagree about how much water should be pumped out of the state’s main rivers, which combine in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, to the much-drier farms of the Central Valley and cities of Southern California, and how much water should be kept in the ecosystem to keep declining fish populations alive, including the Delta smelt, a frequent Trump target. Their separate plans for the pumps make only marginal differences in actual water deliveries, but have taken on a political life of their own. (Von Kaenel, 1/9)

KTLA: These Mental Health Resources Are Available For Southern California Wildfire Victims
If you or a loved one is struggling with a mental health crisis, especially in the wake of the multiple wildfires across Southern California, here are some resources you can utilize. (Palm, 1/9)

The New York Times: Los Angeles Wildfires Will Make A Serious Housing Shortage Worse 
“One of the biggest challenges ahead will be getting people who lost their homes into permanent, long-term housing,” Victor M. Gordo, the mayor of Pasadena, said on Wednesday. Pasadena, which is battling the Eaton fire, has already lost hundreds of homes. The area’s tight rental market is likely to become further strained as many of the thousands of displaced residents turn to rental units, while figuring out their next move. The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles, as of Jan. 7, was more than $2,000, according to Zillow. (Kaye and Dougherty, 1/10)

Los Angeles Times: Rents Likely To Balloon In Wake Of L.A. Wildfires, Experts Say
Wildfires engulfing Los Angeles are likely to exacerbate the region’s housing affordability crisis now and long into the future, housing analysts and advocates said. Rents will increase, especially near the epicenter of massive fires around the Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Those planning to rebuild their homes will face intense competition for contractors. And impacts on wavering home insurance markets could lead to greater costs for all Angelenos. (Dillon, 1/10)

KRON4: California Senator Pushes For ‘Transgender Privacy Act’ 
California Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 59, also known as the “Transgender Privacy Act,” on Thursday. SB 59 would protect the privacy of transgender and nonbinary people by automatically making all court records related to their gender transition sealed and confidential to reduce risks that they will be “outed,” the senator’s office said. (Larson, 1/9)

Los Angeles Times: Judge Scraps Biden's Title IX Rules Expanding Protections For LGBTQ+ Students
The Biden administration’s Title IX rules expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students have been struck down nationwide after a federal judge in Kentucky found they overstepped the president’s authority. In a decision issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves scrapped the entire 1,500-page regulation after deciding it was “fatally” tainted by legal shortcomings. The rule had already been halted in 26 states after a wave of legal challenges by Republican states. (Binkley, 1/9)

NOTUS (Allbritton Journalism Institute): Democrats Fought A Trump Policy On Transgender Homeless People. Will They Again? 
In 2019, then-HUD Secretary Ben Carson tried to institute a rule allowing single-sex homeless shelters to turn away transgender people. (Gonzalez, 1/10)

Los Angeles Blade: New Meta Guidelines Include Carveout To Allow Anti-LGBTQ+ Speech On Facebook, Instagram
New content moderation policies governing hate speech on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads that were enacted by parent company Meta on Wednesday contain a carveout that allows users to call LGBTQ+ people mentally ill. According to the guidelines, which otherwise prohibit use of such insults on the online platforms, “We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like ‘weird.’” (Kane, 1/9)

Platformer: Inside Meta’s Dehumanizing New Speech Policies For Trans People
One change Meta made this week was to eliminate restrictions on some attacks on immigrants, women, and transgender people. Specifically, its hateful conduct policy now allows “allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like ‘weird.’”... "A trans person isn't a he or she, it's an it," reads a new guideline telling moderators what is now allowed on Facebook and Instagram. (Newton, 1/9)

The New York Times: Inside Trump’s Search For A Health Threat To Justify His Immigration Crackdown 
President-elect Donald J. Trump’s advisers have spent months trying to identify a disease that will help them build their case for closing the border. According to four people familiar with the discussions, they have looked at tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases as options and have asked allies inside the Border Patrol for examples of illnesses that are being detected among migrants. (Kanno-Youngs and Aleaziz, 1/9)

Roll Call: Trump's Immigration Plans Could Imperil Long-Term Care Workforce 
President-elect Donald Trump’s vowed crackdown on immigration could strain an already struggling elder care workforce that relies on foreign-born workers in nursing homes and home health settings. Industry players and experts argue that increasing the long-term care workforce requires more immigration, and Trump’s plans could further undermine efforts to shore up the workforce as need for services increases with an aging population. (Hellmann, 1/9)

Becker's Hospital Review: 470 Kaiser Permanente Physicians In Northern California Reach Labor Deal
Resident physicians in Northern California have reached a tentative labor contract with Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente, according to statements shared with Becker's. The deal, reached Jan. 6, covers about 470 resident physicians who are members of the Committee of Interns and Residents, which is affiliated with the Service Employees International. The union said the contract includes significant wage increases over three years, a lump sum payment upon ratification, enhanced financial support, increased paid time off and a $40,000 annual patient-project fund. (Gooch, 1/10)

San Francisco Chronicle: Walgreens Is Closing These 12 S.F. Stores Next Month
Walgreens is set to close 12 San Francisco stores next month, citing a rise in business costs, the retailer confirmed to the Chronicle. ... Local officials quickly clarified that no new evacuation orders had been issued for Los Angeles, with the city’s Emergency Management Department attributing the alert to a “technical error.” (Parker, 1/9)

Modern Healthcare: Kaiser Permanente Leads Innovaccer's $275M Series F Funding Round 
Oakland, California-based Kaiser Permanente led a $275 million Series F funding round for Innovaccer, a company that sells technology to unify patient data across health systems. Innovaccer said the round will help it introduce new artificial intelligence and cloud capabilities. The company also said the new capital will help it to continue scaling a developer ecosystem that can allow health systems to implement AI tools with other third-party vendors. (Turner, 1/9)

CalMatters: Will California Finally Fix Medi-Cal Gap For Senior Health Care?
Gov. Gavin Newsom made a commitment two years ago to update a Medi-Cal rule that forces thousands of seniors and people with disabilities to choose between health care and paying for food and bills. The fix did not happen because of last year’s budget shortfall. Now aging and health advocates are back with a request to finally revise what they say is an unfair and outdated rule hurting some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. (Ibarra, 1/9)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Scripps Health To Explore Creating A Smart Shoulder Implant 
A new research project underway at Scripps Health will attempt to design and test a smart shoulder, one that could record and relay the actual forces that occur inside an implant after surgery. (Sisson, 1/9)

Stat: Black And Hispanic Medical Student Enrollment Falls After Supreme Court Ruling
Enrollment of Black and Hispanic students in medical schools dropped precipitously last year after the Supreme Court banned the consideration of race in admissions, according to data released Thursday by the Association of American Medical Colleges. (McFarling, 1/9)

Becker's Hospital Review: What 12 Health System Marketing Chiefs Are Watching In '25
Artificial intelligence and personalizing the patient experience via digital are top of mind for health system marketing chiefs in 2025.Here are the trends that chief marketing officers say they'll be paying the closest attention to this year. (Bruce, 1/9)

CIDRAP: California Announces Temporary Ban On Poultry And Cattle Exhibits
California's state veterinarian in a January 7 statement announced a ban on all poultry and cattle exhibitions until further notice as part of the state's efforts to curb the spread of H5N1 avian flu to people and to uninfected animals. ... In other developments, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed 4 more H5N1 detections in dairy cattle, 3 in California and apparently 1 in Michigan that the state first announced in October 2024. The new confirmations push the national total to 923 and California's total to 706. (Schnirring, 1/9)

KQED: To Address Addiction, Medi-Cal Now Covers Native Healing Practices
Starting this month, Medi-Cal has expanded coverage to include traditional healing practices like music therapy, rituals and ceremonial dances to support those suffering from addiction. For years, Native people have argued that this more holistic, culturally-specific approach can help fill an important gap in the state’s approach to drug and alcohol treatment. (Lei, McClurg, Kariisa, Guevarra, 1/10)

The Hill: U.S. Leads World In Overdose Deaths, Report Reveals
The United States has the highest rate of drug overdose deaths out of 30 countries, according to a new report from the health nonprofit the Commonwealth Fund.  Overdose deaths in the U.S. dipped slightly around 2018 after a years-long rise. But those deaths began to rise again in 2019 and shot up during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  (O'Connell-Domenech, 1/9)

Los Angeles Times: In Wildfires, Angelenos Want To Help. We Need Coordination
The destructive winds and devastating fires that are sweeping through the Los Angeles area this week drove many, understandably, to their phones seeking information — and seeking to help. ... On Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Fire Department issued a relatively routine public request for off-duty firefighters to call a staffing line to report their availability to help combat the blazes. And this is where one strain of misinformation began. (Jay Balagna, Alyson B. Harding and Vanessa Parks, 1/9)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Don’t Deny Support To Transgender Individuals In Imperial Valley
Transgender people, particularly those in rural and underserved areas like Imperial Valley, face unique challenges, including limited access to affirming health care, education and community support. The assertion that affirming a transgender person’s identity is anything but necessary for their well-being reflects a profound misunderstanding of both science and humanity. (Nicole Verdes, 1/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: What Can Other Cities Learn From S.F.’s Approach To Homelessness?
A year ago San Francisco’s count showed a 7% increase in homelessness from 2022 to 2024. This was below the national average increase, yet with 8,328 unhoused people tallied — a number believed to be an underestimate — our crisis is very visible to everyone who lives in or visits the city. (Nuala Bishari, 1/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: This Tool Can Help Local Governments Fight Back Against Trump Policies
During my over 13-year tenure as Oakland city attorney, my office filed more than 150 lawsuits against businesses and other powerful entities to protect vulnerable residents from predatory conduct like wage theft, unsafe housing and discrimination. This legal strategy, known as affirmative litigation, sends a clear message to powerful interests: If you break the law in Oakland, you will be held accountable. Many local governments face tough budget times, and officials will be looking for programs to cut. Affirmative litigation should not be one of them. (Barbara J. Parker, 1/8)