AP: California Senate Approves Ban On Schools Notifying Parents Of Their Child's Pronoun Change
School districts in California would be barred from requiring teachers to notify parents if their child asks to go by a new pronoun at school under a bill the state Legislature is weighing amid legal battles over the rights of parents and gender-nonconforming students. The state Senate approved the proposal Thursday, which would ban school districts from passing or enforcing policies requiring school staff to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation to anyone else without the child’s permission, with some exceptions. The goal is to protect students whose safety could be threatened if they live in unwelcoming households. (Austin, 6/13)

Politico: Top Newsom Adviser Steps Away From Healthcare Initiative Amid Standoff With Allies 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s growing discomfort with a proposed ballot initiative sponsored by leading health care groups is spilling out into the public amid tense discussions over the November ballot and state budget. Jim DeBoo, a top consultant in Sacramento and a former chief of staff to Newsom, confirmed to POLITICO on Thursday that he’s stepped away from his leadership role on the campaign to use a tax on some health insurance to fund improvements in Medi-Cal. (Cadelago and Bluth, 6/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Despite Abortion Pill Ruling, Crusade Against Contraceptives Continues
Even though the U.S. Supreme Court declined to limit the use of the abortion pill mifepristone Thursday, Republicans lawmakers have made little secret of what they want to ban next: contraceptives. From Donald Trump to Congress to state legislatures, conservatives are trying to restrict or deny access to contraceptives, often by employing campaigns riddled with misinformation and lies, like equating IUDs and emergency contraceptives with abortion. (Garofoli and Stein, 6/13)

The Washington Post: After Ruling, The Future Of Abortion Pills Rest With Biden Or Trump
The Supreme Court’s decision Thursday not to impose restrictions on a key abortion drug, while a victory for abortion rights advocates, crystallizes the stakes of the next presidential election for access nationwide. Because a president has enormous power to influence federal agencies that oversee abortion policy, a potential Trump administration could unilaterally choose to do what the Supreme Court did not: impose strict restrictions on mifepristone, one of two drugs used in over 60 percent of abortions — or even move to take the drug off the market entirely. (Kitchener and Scherer, 6/13)

Roll Call: Senate Falls Short On IVF Vote
The Senate on Thursday fell short of the votes needed to move forward on legislation that would protect access to and expand coverage of commonly used fertility treatments, with just two Republicans joining Democrats in support of the legislation. (Cohen and Raman, 6/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Abortion-Pill Ruling And IVF Battle Highlight Vulnerability For GOP
Reproductive-rights advocates saw some momentum during a dramatic week in which the Supreme Court maintained widespread access to abortion pills and Republicans were put on the defensive over whether they support in vitro fertilization. The rapidly unfolding events came as abortion and fights over related issues such as IVF and contraception are expected to drive turnout in the 2024 election. President Biden has campaigned aggressively on a pledge to protect abortion following the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that eliminated the right to the procedure. Former President Donald Trump has taken credit for appointing justices who joined that decision but has struggled to articulate a message and has warned fellow Republicans that the issue is perilous for them. (Lucey and Kusisto, 6/14)

Gallup: Record Share Of U.S. Electorate Is Pro-Choice And Voting On It
A record-high 32% of U.S. voters say they would only vote for a candidate for major office who shares their views on abortion. The importance of a candidate’s abortion stance to one’s vote is markedly higher among pro-choice voters than it was during the 2020 presidential election cycle, while pro-life voters’ intensity about voting on the abortion issue has waned. Also, voters’ greater intensity on the issue today compared with 2020 is explained mainly by Democrats, while Republicans and independents have shown little change. (Brenan and Saad, 6/13)

Politico: House Votes To Overturn Pentagon Abortion Policy, Pushing Defense Bill Hard-Right 
A Republican proposal to block a Biden administration policy that shores up troops’ access to abortion was added to the House Pentagon policy bill Thursday, a move that will jeopardize bipartisan support and complicate efforts to pass the legislation. Speaker Mike Johnson allowed a vote on the anti-abortion measure and a laundry list of other conservative amendments to ensure Republican support for the National Defense Authorization Act. But the tactic also means losing Democrats who had previously supported the bill, and there’s no guarantee Republicans can pass the bill. (O'Brien, 6/13)

Military.com: DoD To Reimburse Service Members Up To $1,000 For Shipping Breast Milk During Military Moves 
The Defense Department will now cover certain costs for service members to ship breast milk during a permanent change of station move. Service members breastfeeding an infant up to 12 months old can now be reimbursed up to $1,000 in shipping expenses as part of ongoing initiatives to alleviate out-of-pocket costs for troops during military-related travel. The benefit does not apply to military spouses or other family members who are nursing infants. (Kime, 6/13)

Bloomberg: Oracle Cerner Contract With US Veterans Affairs Extended For Another Year
Oracle Corp.’s massive contract to modernize the health records system with the US Department of Veterans Affairs has been extended 11 months following renegotiations. The extension will have “an emphasis on improved fiscal and performance accountability,” the VA said Thursday in a statement. The VA is working toward “resuming site deployments in fiscal year 2025,” it said. (Ford, 6/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Alameda Hospital Cuts Elective Surgeries; Are Emergent Surgeries Next?
The only hospital in the city of Alameda, the public Alameda Hospital, will no longer perform elective surgeries after June 30 and plans to send those patients to two sister hospitals in Oakland and San Leandro. Hospital leaders said the move to reroute elective procedures is to “ensure the long-term viability” of Alameda Hospital and help offset the cost of seismic upgrades the hospital must complete by 2030 to remain operational. (Ho, 6/13)

Becker's Hospital Review: California Hospital EHR Nears Restoration After Cyberattack
Poway-based Palomar Health Medical Group said it is getting ready to bring its systems back online after "suspicious activity" forced them offline in May, NBC affiliate KNSD reported June 12. On June 12, Palomar Health sent a letter to patients saying its internet remains offline, but that it anticipates restoration in the coming week. Following this, Palomar Health stated it aims to resume operations for its EMR system. (Diaz, 6/13)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. General Is Closing A Mental Health Clinic This Summer
Longtime patients ... have worried about moving to other sites as the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services prepares to close the outpatient psychiatric clinic July 1. The county Department of Mental Health estimated the move would affect about 1,000 adult patients and up to 160 children and adolescents. Adults may switch to a Department of Mental Health facility less than two miles away in Lincoln Heights or its other clinics, including sites that may be more convenient for them, county officials said. (Alpert Reyes, 6/13)

Los Angeles Times: A Nurses Union In Riverside Fined Millions For Pandemic Strike 
The union representing nurses at Riverside Community Hospital has been ordered to pay more than $6 million to the hospital for the fallout from a 2020 strike. The unusual financial penalty was imposed by an arbitrator who found the 10-day work stoppage during the pandemic violated the terms of the labor agreement signed by HCA Healthcare, which operates the hospital, and Service Employees International Union Local 121RN. (Hussain, 6/13)

Modern Healthcare: Nursing Home Staffing Mandate Could Be Overturned In Congress
A congressional bid to overturn a regulation imposing staffing minimums on nursing homes is picking up momentum, with a key Democrat arguing Congress should vote within weeks, but the Republican leading the campaign says he wants a veto-proof majority. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized a rule in April that mandates nursing homes provide at least 3.48 hours of nursing care per resident, per day. (McAuliff, 6/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Medicare Will Recalculate Quality Ratings Of Medicare Advantage Plans
The federal government plans to redo this year’s quality ratings of private Medicare plans, a move that will deliver hundreds of millions in additional bonus payments to insurers next year. The decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was announced late Thursday, after The Wall Street Journal reported the agency’s plans. It comes in the wake of two court rulings that faulted the agency’s ratings, in cases filed by insurers SCAN Health Plan and Elevance Health. (Mathews, 6/13)

Times Of San Diego: Newsom To More Than Double National Guard At Ports Of Entry To Combat Drugs
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday he is more than doubling the number of California National Guard service members deployed statewide and at ports of entry — including those in San Diego County — to combat the flow of fentanyl and other drugs into the United States. The number of CalGuard service members will be increased from 155 to 392, according to a statement from the governor’s office. (Sklar, 6/14)

Los Angeles Times: The Dirty, Dangerous Secret Of California's Legal Weed
An investigation by The Times, in conjunction with cannabis industry newsletter WeedWeek, found alarming levels of pesticides in cannabis products available on dispensary shelves across the state, including some of the most popular brands of vapes and pre-rolled weed. Twenty-five of 42 legal cannabis products that The Times and WeedWeek purchased from retail stores and had tested at private labs showed concentrations of pesticides either above levels the state allows or at levels that exceed federal standards for tobacco. The contaminants include chemicals tied to cancer, liver failure, thyroid disease and genetic and neurologic harm to users and unborn children. (St. John and Halperin, 6/14)

Voice of San Diego: Federal Lawsuit Alleges East County Homeless Sweeps Violate Constitution
A federal lawsuit filed this week accuses the county, multiple cities and two state agencies of sweeping East County homeless camps without proper notice, taking unsheltered residents’ property and forcing them to move elsewhere without offering other options. The proposed class action filed by nonprofit Hope for the Homeless Lakeside and 16 homeless plaintiffs urges the U.S. District Court to order the county, cities of Santee and San Diego, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol to halt these practices and create safe places for unhoused residents to sleep and store their belongings. (Halverstadt, 6/14)

NBC News: FDA Recommends Covid Vaccine Update To Target KP.2 Strain
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it had advised drugmakers to update the Covid vaccines to target the KP.2 strain, a descendant of the highly contagious JN.1 variant that began circulating widely in the U.S. this winter. The announcement came just over a week after an FDA advisory panel voted unanimously to recommend that the Covid vaccines for the fall be updated to target the JN.1 variant or one of its descendants. (Lovelace Jr., 6/13)

Reuters: US Government To Fund Up To $500 Mln For Studies On Oral, Nasal COVID Vaccines 
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Thursday it will provide up to $500 million for mid-stage trials evaluating vaccines administered as a nasal spray or pill to protect against symptomatic COVID-19.The funding is part of Project NextGen, a $5 billion initiative led by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), to advance a pipeline of new, innovative vaccines and therapeutics providing broader and more durable protection against COVID-19 infection. (6/13)

Reuters: Pentagon Ran Secret Anti-Vax Campaign To Incite Fear Of China Vaccines
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus. The clandestine operation has not been previously reported. It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China, a Reuters investigation found. Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the military’s propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vax campaign. Social media posts decried the quality of face masks, test kits and the first vaccine that would become available in the Philippines – China’s Sinovac inoculation. (Bing and Schectman, 6/14)

CIDRAP: More COVID-19 Patients Died In Understaffed Hospitals, New Data Show
A new study in the International Journal of Nursing Studies suggests chronically understaffed US hospitals had higher rates of COVID-19 patient deaths early in the pandemic. "Our study found that individuals' likelihood of surviving was related to hospitals' investments in nursing services prior to the pandemic—in terms of hiring sufficient numbers of RNs [registered nurses], employing nurses with bachelor's educational preparation, and sustaining favorable work environments," said Karen Lasater, PhD, RN, the lead author of the study, in a press release from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. (Soucheray, 6/13)

Stat: USDA Reports Suggest Containing Bird Flu Outbreak In Dairy Cows Will Be Challenging
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released two reports Thursday that lay out what has been learned about how H5N1 bird flu is moving among dairy cow herds in the United States. The reports do not shed much new light on the situation. Instead, they sum up what is known: that the outbreak was probably the result of a single “spillover” of the virus from wild birds into a dairy herd, likely late last year, and that movement of cows, farmworkers, and shared equipment appears to be responsible for the spread. (Branswell, 6/13)

CIDRAP: USDA Reports Reveal Biosecurity Risks At H5N1-Affected Dairy Farms 
Shared equipment and shared personnel working on multiple dairy farms are some of the main risk factors for ongoing spread of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu in dairy cows, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said today in a pair of new epidemiologic reports. (Schnirring, 6/13)

Stat: Global Vaccine Expert Criticizes 'Ineptitude' Of U.S. Bird Flu Response
Seth Berkley, a longtime and widely respected global health leader, said Thursday that it has been “shocking to watch the ineptitude” of the U.S. response to the avian influenza outbreak among dairy cattle, adding his voice to a chorus of critics. In a presentation in London about vaccine development, Berkley, the former CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, raised the issue of H5N1 bird flu when discussing whether the world was ready for another pandemic following its experience with Covid-19. (Joseph, 6/13)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Proposed Funding Reduction Will Devastate State’s Overcrowded Emergency Departments 
Medi-Cal is the state-funded insurance that covers one-third of all Californians. Medi-Cal patients represent 42 percent of all emergency department visits; emergency physicians provide care to a higher percentage of Medi-Cal patients than any other specialty. Medi-Cal patients have fewer choices for and access to timely outpatient treatment because Medi-Cal physician payment rates are so low that few specialists accept patients with Medi-Cal. (6/11)

Fresno Bee: Gavin Newsom Must Sustain Funding For Crime Victim Services 
Annually, the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) enables thousands of Californians like Courtney who are experiencing sexual and domestic violence to access essential services — including safety planning, counseling services and safe housing. (Sandra Henriquez and Krista Colon, 6/11)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF's Controversial Program To Give Residents Free Alcohol Is Working
For 45 years, Bruce nearly stopped eating entirely. Instead, he drank his breakfast, lunch and dinner. Severe alcohol use damaged his brain, doctors said. His balance was off, and he regularly lost the ability to stand up. He cycled in and out of hospitals. “They told me, ‘If you keep drinking like you are, you’re going to be in a wheelchair.’ But I’ll be damned if I didn’t listen.” (Nuala Bishari, 6/8)

The Mercury News: Answer To Solving San Jose's Homeless Problem Is All Of Above
Despite billions and billions in spending, no city in California has yet to adequately address the homelessness crisis. We can — and must — make San Jose the first. We can, because we know what’s working. For years, we failed to prioritize immediate, safe alternatives to life on our streets and in our creeks. Recently we’ve decided not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. And it’s paying off. Since implementing our all-of-the-above approach, we’re seeing rates of unsheltered homelessness go down. (Matt Mahan, 6/8)

Sacramento Bee: Should Clean Air And Water Be A Fundamental Human Right? California Voters To Decide
In the Golden State, we pride ourselves on our future-facing environmental values and our climate leadership. At the same time, nearly 1 million residents, primarily in disadvantaged communities, are without access to clean drinking water, and California cities such as Los Angeles, Long Beach and Fresno are burdened year after year by some of the dirtiest, most polluted air in the nation. (Terry Tamminen and James Strock, 6/12)

CapRadio: Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez Taking Leave Following Breast Cancer Diagnosis
There’s really no way to ease into this. At least not for me. So, here we go. Two days after my 40th birthday, I found a lump in my breast. I went to the doctor the very next day. And that discovery expanded into six biopsies across both breasts — which I learned is quite a lot. When the doctor called with the results they said it was a mixed diagnosis. (Vicki Gonzalez, 6/10)