Sacramento Bee: Health Care Industry Pumping Money Into California
Major health industry groups have spent more than $18 million on lobbying, according to an analysis by The Sacramento Bee, in an effort to kill or water down bills proposed to rein in rising health care costs and impose new regulatory requirements for insurers and health plans. The spending, similar to levels in the prior legislative session, foreshadows a costly and thorny political debate in the years ahead. (Hart, 7/6)

Ventura County Star: NARCAN: Opioid Crisis Rising In Ventura County, Police Carry Spray
With opioid deaths on the rise in Ventura County, patrol officers are encountering more overdose victims and risking contact with potentially deadly substances. Now, several law enforcement agencies have equipped personnel with a seemingly humble new tool that could save lives: nasal spray. Called Narcan, the spray version of the medication naloxone can reverse opioid overdoses without a syringe. The spray comes in plastic dispensers similar to over-the-counter cold remedies. Opioids include prescription painkillers and illegal drugs such as heroin. (Wenner, 7/5)

In other public health news —

The Mercury News: Working Long Hours Raises The Risk Of Diabetes
Mahee Gilbert-Ouimet, an epidemiologist and postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto, examined data from a database of more than 7,000 workers in Canada who were followed for more than 12 years, as Time reported, to better understand how work hours impact the risk of diabetes. In the study, published in BMJ Diabetes Research & Care, they report that women working more than 45 hours a week had a 51% higher risk of developing diabetes than women who only worked 35 to 40 hours a week. (D'Souza, 7/5)

Los Angeles Times: To Reduce Your Risk Of Obesity, It Helps To Have A Mom Who Follows Five Healthy Habits
Mothers lead the way for their children. And new research finds that the paths that moms walk (or the couches they sit and smoke on) make a powerful difference in their children’s propensity to become obese. A study that tracked close to 17,000 female nurses and their 24,289 kids has found that women who practiced five healthy habits — maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, eating a nutritious diet, consuming no more than moderate quantities of alcohol and not smoking cigarettes — had adolescents that were 75% less likely to be very overweight than the children of moms who practiced none of those healthy habits. (Healy, 7/5)

Capital Public Radio: Sacramento Approves Year-Round Bathroom For Homeless People 
The Sacramento City Council has approved a plan to open a restroom year-round specifically for homeless people. Under the plan, the city and Sacramento County would open the site of the Winter Sanctuary Shelter on North A Street for 12 hours a day. (Moffitt, 7/5)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Homeless: Bathroom Approved In River District 
Advocates for homeless people recently have pushed for expanded access to public bathrooms. They have noted that restrooms for homeless people are few and scattered, especially in the downtown area. As a result, they said, homeless people often relieve themselves on the streets. Conlin said the city has 55 public bathrooms, including 28 that are open around the clock.(Hubert, 7/5)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Victim Of Burn Attack Finds Forgiveness, Looks Ahead 
Julio Edeza’s body still bears the scars of the attack that burned 90 percent of his body two years ago, but he refuses to be defined by them or dwell on the past. He speaks optimistically about his future, repeatedly saying he is grateful. He lost a year in a coma, almost lost his life, but also found a new love and an outlook that surprised even him. ...Edeza was taken to Regional Burn Center at UC San Diego Health and put into a medically induced coma to help him withstand the pain he would endure over the next 11 months. (Warth, 7/5)

In other news from across the state —

KQED: Workers In Central Coast Pesticide Drift Tied To Dole, Driscoll's Were Sick For Days
A group of raspberry pickers, sickened by several chemicals that drifted onto the Watsonville field where they were working close to a year ago, felt sick for longer than previously known, according to newly revealed investigative findings. Last month, Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo announced that he issued his largest fine ever, penalizing several companies tied to a pesticide drift near State Route 152 that made 15 agricultural employees sick the morning of June 29, 2017. (Goldberg, 7/5)

KPCC: Fireworks Cause Bad Air In LA, But Amateur Athletes Aren't Phased 
Fourth of July celebrations brought lots of smoke to L.A County. Add the heat wave trapping that smoke, and L.A. on Thursday saw some of its worst air of 2018. But these local amateur basketball players said the thick air wouldn't drive them indoors. (Wells, 7/5)

The Associated Press: Dems Want To Focus High Court Fight On Abortion, Health Care
In the budding battle royale over the Supreme Court vacancy, what's the Democratic sweet spot between satisfying liberal activists' demands for an all-out fight against President Donald Trump's pick and protecting senators facing tight re-election races in deeply red states? So far, the party's formula is to cast itself as defending the right to abortion and the 2010 health care law against a president itching to use the court to snatch both away. Democrats want to make it as excruciating as possible for a pair of moderate, pivotal Republican senators to back the selection because without a GOP defection, it's game over. (7/6)

Politico: Schumer’s Biggest Challenge Yet: Dem Unity On SCOTUS
The last time Senate Democrats stuck together through an all-consuming fight, the issue was Obamacare repeal — and they started off remarkably united against it. Now Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is aiming to replicate that performance in the imminent battle over Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, but his troops face a high risk of division right out of the gate. Under particular pressure to side with the president are the three red-state Democrats who voted for Justice Neil Gorsuch last year and face difficult reelection campaigns: Sens. Joe Manchin, Heidi Heitkamp, and Joe Donnelly. (Schor, 7/6)

Politico: McCaskill Braces For SCOTUS Onslaught
Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill is likely to oppose President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee for being too conservative. And her Republican opponent for reelection, a constitutional lawyer who once clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts, is itching to make her pay. “She’s been wrong on every single court nominee since she has been running for the Senate or in the Senate. So I’m not surprised in the least,” Josh Hawley, Missouri’s attorney general, said in an interview, sitting in a pickup truck with the AC blasting after marching in a July 4 parade. (Everett, 7/6)

The Washington Post: Trump Narrows List For Supreme Court Pick, With Focus On Kavanaugh And Kethledge
President Trump’s deliberations over a Supreme Court nominee now center on three candidates culled from his shortlist: federal judges Brett M. Kavanaugh, Raymond Kethledge and Amy Coney Barrett, according to White House officials and Trump advisers involved in the discussions. But Trump’s final decision on a replacement for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy remained fluid as he traveled Thursday to a political rally in Montana before heading to his golf course in New Jersey for the weekend, with the president pinballing between associates as he sought feedback and suggestions. (Costa and Kim, 7/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Has Finalists For Supreme Court Pick
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route to Montana for a campaign appearance for a Senate candidate, Mr. Trump didn’t name the finalists. “I’ll say on the record that I am interviewing some extraordinarily talented and brilliant people and I’m very, very happy with them and we will pick somebody who will be outstanding, hopefully for many years to come,” he said. Mr. Trump is searching for a successor to Justice Anthony Kennedy, a swing vote on the court who announced last month he would be stepping down. The vacancy is the second Mr. Trump has had to fill since taking office, giving him a chance to nudge to the right a high court that has been split between conservative and liberal factions for years. (Nicholas, 7/5)

The New York Times: Brett Kavanaugh, Supreme Court Front-Runner, Once Argued Broad Grounds For Impeachment
Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, the front-runner to replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on the Supreme Court, once argued that President Bill Clinton could be impeached for lying to his staff and misleading the public, a broad definition of obstruction of justice that would be damaging if applied to President Trump in the Russia investigation. Judge Kavanaugh’s arguments — expressed in the report of the independent counsel, Kenneth W. Starr, which he co-wrote nearly 20 years ago — have been cited in recent days by Republicans with reservations about him and have raised concerns among some people close to Mr. Trump. But Judge Kavanaugh has reconsidered some of his views since then, and there is no evidence that they have derailed his candidacy. (Landler and Apuzzo, 7/5)

Politico: Kethledge Gets 11th Hour Push As Potential Consensus Pick For Supreme Court
As Donald Trump moves to finalize his Supreme Court pick, Judge Raymond Kethledge is getting a behind-the-scenes push portraying him as the consensus choice of conservatives. Former aides and supporters of Kethledge, a Michigan resident who moves outside Washington circles and is considered the least known of the leading contenders, are quietly circulating positive information about the judge’s personal life, political profile and reassuring record on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. (Cadelago, Johnson and Gerstein, 7/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Says It Is Working To Reunite Families By Court Deadline
The Trump administration, in a race to comply with a court order to reunite up to 3,000 children with adult family members who crossed the border illegally, said Thursday it is encountering significant logistical hurdles. The federal government has until Tuesday to reunite children younger than 5 years old with their parents, under a court order issued last week by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego. Older minors must be reconnected with their parents by July 26, the federal judge ruled. (Radnofsky and Campo-Flores, 7/5)

The Hill: HHS: About 100 Children Under 5 To Be Reunited With Parents Next Week
About 100 children under the age of 5 will be reunited with their families next week after getting separated by authorities at the U.S. border, officials said Thursday. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must reunite the children under 5 by Tuesday to comply with a court order handed down last month. (Hellmann, 7/5)

The Hill: HHS Working To Identify Children Separated From Families At Border
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says it is reviewing the cases of “under 3,000” children who may have been separated from their parents or families at the U.S. border. HHS officials are trying to whittle that number down further to identify the children who were actually separated from their parents by the U.S. government — as opposed to other circumstances before they came to the U.S. — ahead of a court-imposed deadline to reunite children with their families. (Hellmann, 7/5)

In other national health care news —

The Associated Press: Unsealed Lawsuit: Opioid Firm Placed Profits Over People
A newly unsealed lawsuit by Tennessee's attorney general says the maker of the world's top-selling painkiller directed its salesforce to target the highest prescribers, many with limited or no pain management background or training. Citing the public's right to know, Attorney General Herbert Slatery said Thursday that OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has dropped its previous efforts to shield details of the 274-page lawsuit in state court. The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and the Knoxville News Sentinel had also requested that the lawsuit's records become public. (7/5)

Politico: Sources: EPA Blocks Warnings On Cancer-Causing Chemical
The Trump administration is suppressing an Environmental Protection Agency report that warns that most Americans inhale enough formaldehyde vapor in the course of daily life to put them at risk of developing leukemia and other ailments, a current and a former agency official told POLITICO. The warnings are contained in a draft health assessment EPA scientists completed just before Donald Trump became president, according to the officials. They said top advisers to departing Administrator Scott Pruitt are delaying its release as part of a campaign to undermine the agency’s independent research into the health risks of toxic chemicals. (Snider, 7/6)

Stat: In The Age Of Mail-Order DNA, Firm Seeks To Balance Safety And Progress
Imagine being a store owner who sells machines without knowing exactly what they do. Some of your products could help farmers grow more nutritious crops while a few others could spread disease among thousands of people. Part of your inventory would do nothing at all. This is the quandary facing many biotech companies that specialize in synthesizing or printing DNA. By selling genes, they have empowered synthetic biologists seeking to genetically engineer organisms capable of fighting disease or producing industrial materials. (Chen, 7/6)

The New York Times: Airline Crew Have Higher Cancer Rates
Working as a flight attendant may increase the risk for cancer. Flight attendants are exposed to several factors known to increase cancer risk, including disrupted sleep patterns and exposure to the increased levels of cosmic ionizing radiation at high altitudes. (Bakalar, 7/5)

San Jose Mercury News: North Bay Shelter Is Home For Unaccompanied Minors, Not Children Separated At Border
A Bay Area organization took it upon itself to show up at an immigration shelter in Fairfield to deliver toys for who they believed were immigrant children separated from their parents at the US border. The shelter run by BCFS Health and Human Services does provide services for immigrant children and has, in that location on Pennsylvania Avenue, since 2009. (Murphy, 7/6)

Sacramento Bee: Senate Bill Is Not A Solution To Dumping Of Homeless Patients 
SB 1152, which was approved by the Senate Health Committee on June 26, requires hospitals to have a special discharge policy for homeless patients. But it does little to ensure the existence of these community-based resources. (Peggy Broussard Wheeler, 7/3)

Los Angeles Times: Trump's Own Figures Show That Obamacare Is Working Well For The Vast Majority Of Enrollees
Overall, according to the figures released by the agency, 10.6 million Americans had signed up for ACA coverage by February and paid their first month’s premium. That was about 3% ahead of the 10.3-million enrollment at the same moment in 2017, the agency said. The increase came in the face of Trump administration policies that would have the effect of discouraging enrollment. (Michael Hiltzik, 7/3)

Sacramento Bee: California Patients Are Getting Gouged By Pharmacy Benefit Managers. Legislators Can Stop It 
Californians living with chronic conditions such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis or hepatitis are disproportionately impacted when health care costs go up. Health insurance is supposed to make medications for these conditions more affordable, but this is not always the case due to common practices by the largely unregulated pharmacy benefit manager industry. (Liz Helms, 7/3)

Los Angeles Times: Rules For Gay Blood Donors Are Based On Outdated Fear, Not Science
In my senior year I helped organize a blood drive in my high school gymnasium. I felt newly mature as I signed the consent form; the idea that my transient discomfort potentially could help save a life inspired me, and I committed to making blood donation a habit. When I received my American Red Cross Donor Card weeks later indicating that I was “O-negative” – a universal donor – I became all the more motivated.I’m now, years later, a physician who sees patients benefit from transfusions every day, from children with sickle cell disease to adults with leukemia. My husband sees blood products being put to work even more dramatically on his shifts in the emergency department, as they’re rapidly infused into trauma patients. When there’s no time for matching blood types, it’s O-negative blood like mine that is pumped into these patients’ veins. (C. Nicholas Cueno, 7/5)

Los Angeles Times: No, Trump Should Not Abandon His Supreme Court List
Presumably, as you read this, the White House is setting up its war room for the Supreme Court confirmation battle to come. The interns are stocking the mini fridges and hanging the musk-masking air fresheners that are de rigueur for any top-flight political bunker. But before the administration goes to the mattresses, it first must pick a nominee. And that is why I hope White House counsel Don McGahn is hanging a sign for all to see: “It’s the list, stupid.” Over the next week, the White House will come under incredible pressure from the news media, the Democrats and some Republicans (pro-choice and abortion-squeamish) to abandon the list of potential Supreme Court nominees President Trump campaigned on (and later expanded slightly). On Sunday, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine told ABC’s “This Week” that the president “should not feel bound” by the list. (Jonah Goldberg, 7/3)

The Hill: California Just Banned Soda Tax — It Should Set Off Alarm Bells Everywhere
At the California State Capitol last Thursday, teenage health advocates from Stockton urged lawmakers to stand with communities like theirs and put people’s health over corporate profits. After more than a year of knocking on doors, talking with people at farmers markets, and attending community events to build support for a soda tax in their city, these young activists were up against an unexpected challenge — a state law that would render their efforts meaningless by banning cities from adopting soda taxes until 2030. These young people talked emotionally about how chronic health problems affect their families in a city where 36 percent of youth suffer from diabetes or pre-diabetes — and shared how the beverage industry misleads consumers about the safety of their products. As the youth spoke out against the bill, the other side was conspicuously quiet. That's because the American Beverage Association — representing the soda industry — wasn’t even in the room. It didn’t need to be — its fingerprints were already all over the legislation that ended up being signed by Gov. Jerry Brown later in the day. (Larry Cohen, 7/1)

The Mercury News: Pro/Con: Was The U.S. Supreme Court Right About Union Dues?
Reversing its own decision from more than four decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that government workers who don’t want to join unions cannot be forced to pay fees for collective bargaining. In these competing pieces, a backer and an opponent of the decision debate whether the high court was right and what it will mean for California. (6/30)

Los Angeles Times: Protecting Your Skin And Saving Baby Corals Doesn't Have To Be Mutually Exclusive
Beach season is officially in full swing, with Americans heading to the coast to swim, lounge, camp, party and generally cool off from the heat-drenched cities. And because we’ve been so well trained to avoid the harmful ultraviolet rays that cause skin cancer, most beachgoers will be mindful to slather on a generous coating of sunscreen. This is a sound and healthy practice for humans when they bake on the sands of California’s beaches, but it turns out it’s not so great for the health of the oceans when people covered in sunscreen take a cooling dip in the waves. A study conducted by an international team of scientists found that exposure to the two most common ingredients in sunscreen — oxybenzone, or BP-3, and octinoxate — is toxic to coral development in four ways. BP-3 in particular was correlated with bleaching, which is a sign of ill health, DNA damage and abnormal skeleton growth and deformities in baby corals (yes, there are baby corals). ...But let’s be clear: This is no call to skip the SPF 50. Skin cancer is a serious and all too common affliction; one-fifth of Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the time they are 70, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. (7/6)

Civil Eats: 3 Reasons To Be Concerned About The USDA’s Proposed GMO Labeling Rules 
Released in May, the regulations come out of a 2016 law signed by President Obama prohibiting existing state GE labeling laws, such as Vermont’s, which required on-package mandatory labeling, and instead created a nationwide standard. Instead of proposing straightforward rules, the 100-page USDA document presents a range of alternatives on a number of key issues, and leaves a handful of questions open for comment, to be decided in the final rule. (Rebecca Spector, 7/3)