Los Angeles Times: Dr. Bob Sears, Critic Of Vaccine Laws, Again Accused Of Improper Vaccination Exemptions 
A Southern California pediatrician who is a vocal critic of mandatory vaccine laws faces a new complaint from the state medical board saying he wrote invalid vaccination exemption letters for children. The move marks the second time Dr. Bob Sears, of Dana Point, has been accused of negligence in issuing vaccination exemptions that were “without medical basis,” according to a complaint filed Tuesday by Kimberly Kirchmeyer, executive director of the Medical Board of California. (Lau, 6/22)

Capital Public Radio: Sanctuary Clinics Offer Respite For Undocumented Residents Amid Immigration Raids 
To help immigrants contend with these difficult situations, a new set of practices has emerged within health clinics that serve large numbers of undocumented patients. Immigration enforcement in hospitals is rare, but high-profile cases of such enforcement in or near hospitals, such as in Hernández's case, heighten fears in immigrant communities. (Garcia and Gaglianone, 622)

The Wall Street Journal: Gavin Newsom Proposes Wildfire Fund To Bolster PG&E, Other California Utilities
Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing a multibillion-dollar wildfire fund to help California’s utilities cover mounting fire-related liability costs that have threatened their financial health. The fund is part of a wider regulatory overhaul the Democratic governor unveiled Friday as he seeks to reach consensus with state lawmakers on fixing the crisis created by the collapse of PG&E Corp. , which sought bankruptcy protection in January after its role in sparking wildfires created more than $30 billion in potential liabilities. (Lazo and Blunt, 6/21)

CALmatters: Newsom's New Proposals On Wildfire Costs Walk A Political Tightrope
The proposals, to be fleshed out in legislation, are as sweeping and politically combustible as California fires themselves. Newsom wants to clearly define what constitutes reasonable and safe utility operations, flipping the standard of proof to a presumption of innocence in determining how to compensate victims; squeeze utilities to pay more for safety measures; and even tie executive compensation to companies’ safety records. The state law that assigns liability to a utility if its equipment sparks a wildfire will stay in place. That law determines whether a utility owes a fire victim money. A new “prudent manager” standard would determine whether that victim is paid by the utility’s investors or by a rate increase on its customers. (Cart, 6/21)

The Mercury News: California Congressman’s Bill Could Mean Benefits For Vietnam Veterans Who Were Stationed Offshore
He couldn’t taste it. He couldn’t smell it. He couldn’t even see it. But when Riverside-area resident George Swift, a Vietnam veteran and President of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 47, saw Inland chapter members develop Parkinson’s Disease, cancers and more, he realized Agent Orange was around him during the Vietnam War — though he never stepped foot in the country. (Kristoffersen, 6/24)

Los Angeles Times: Georgia's Abortion Ban Forces Political Reckoning Among TV And Film Workers
Zombies lurk beyond the train tracks. They have been here for years, working under lights, swatting mosquitoes, bringing eerie charm to streets of gothic homes and magnolia. Tourists come from as far away as Japan to glimpse the set of “The Walking Dead,” which has become a neighbor in this town of Bible school classes and soft-serve ice cream. The show, like many film and TV productions, was drawn to Georgia over the last decade by big tax breaks. Legislators were welcoming and the locals, including those in Senoia, adjusted to shooting schedules and the generally liberal inclinations of thousands of set designers, prop masters, actors, makeup artists and others who descended from California, New York and other film states. (Fleishman, 6/23)

Los Angeles Times: How A Trip On Magic Mushrooms Helped Decriminalize Psychedelic Plants In A California City
Carlos Plazola locked himself in a bedroom while his cousin stood guard. For five hours, he tripped on magic mushrooms, nibbling the fungi and sipping them in tea. He ingested 5 grams — a heady amount that connoisseurs call the “heroic dose.” It was Plazola’s first time using the mushrooms, which contain the naturally occurring hallucinogen psilocybin. He started having epiphanies, one right after the other, like lightning bolts. (Branson-Potts, 6/22)

Sacramento Bee: Air Quality In Downtown Sac Unhealthy For Sensitive Groups
The air quality in downtown Sacramento reached unhealthy levels for sensitive groups Sunday evening, according to officials. Children and people with asthma are the most at risk, the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District said in a news release. During this time, there is an increased likelihood of trouble breathing for active adults and children, and people with respiratory diseases. (Bobrowsky, 6/23)

The Mercury News: You'll Be Shocked How Much Working Long Hours Spikes Your Stroke Risk
The average American works about 47 to 50 hour per week, as ABC reports. The average Bay Area high-tech worker may well put that work ethic to shame. The scary news is that putting in such long hours over time can dangerously erode your health. In a new study in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke, French researchers found people who worked long hours for 10 years or more had a whopping 45 percent greater risk of stroke. And the association seemed stronger for people under the age of 50. That’s right, being younger may put you at higher risk. (D'Souza, 6/21)

The Washington Post: Voters Have Big Health-Care Worries, But Not The Ones Democrats Are Talking About
Medicare-for-all. Medicare for all who want it. Health care as a form of freedom. As they campaign, most of the 23 Democratic candidates for president are trumpeting bold ideas to achieve the party’s long-held dream of ushering in health coverage for every American. The problem is that many voters are not focused on such lofty goals. They want something simpler — to pay less for their own health care. (Goldstein, 6/21)

The New York Times: ‘Medicare For All’ Vs. ‘Public Option’: The 2020 Field Is Split, Our Survey Shows
“Medicare for all” is the hottest idea in the Democratic presidential race for overhauling the nation’s health care system, and it is a phrase quite likely to be heard repeatedly at the first debates this week. But despite all the buzz, it turns out that the concept is dividing the 2020 field. A new survey of the Democratic candidates by The New York Times finds that many of them prefer less sweeping changes than the Medicare for All Act, the single-payer bill introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders and supported by Senator Elizabeth Warren and several other presidential hopefuls. A majority of candidates in the survey — including former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the leader in early polls — said they would rather add a “public option” in the health care system that would compete with private plans. (Gabriel and Goodnough, 6/23)

The Associated Press: 2020 Democrats Strongly Defend Abortion Rights At Forum
Twenty Democratic presidential candidates attending a Planned Parenthood forum on Saturday vowed to defend abortion rights under nearly any circumstance while largely ignoring nuances around the issue that have already roiled their party heading into the 2020 election. The event sponsored by Planned Parenthood Action Fund — the group's political arm — was the first of the election season centered on abortion. It came on the sidelines of the South Carolina Democratic Party's state convention, a pivotal gathering of the party faithful in the South's first primary state. (6/22)

Politico: Biden's Stands On Abortion Remain A Mystery After Hyde Flap
Joe Biden’s recent flip on federal funding for abortions has activists on both sides wondering: What does he believe now when it comes to reproductive rights? For decades, the former vice president opposed late-term and so-called partial birth abortions, lamenting that one ban enacted in the 1990s did not go far enough. He supported Republican presidents’ prohibitions on funding for groups that promote abortions overseas, and backed legislation that would have allowed states to overturn Roe v. Wade. He even fought unsuccessfully to widen religious groups’ exemptions from the Affordable Care Act’s mandate for birth control coverage. (Ollstein, 6/21)

The New York Times: Veterans Agency To Offer New Depression Drug, Despite Cost And Safety Concerns
Confronted by a rising rate of suicides in some groups of veterans., the Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday decided to approve the use of a new and costly depression drug, despite concerns among doctors and other experts about the drug’s effectiveness. The decision to endorse the drug — called Spravato, and manufactured by Janssen, a unit of Johnson & Johnson — came days after President Trump offered to negotiate a deal between the drug maker and the agency. Johnson & Johnson reportedly was working with associates at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, and the company has been supporting V.A. suicide-prevention efforts. (Carey and Steinhauer, 6/21)

USA Today: VA Health Care Workers: We Are Disciplined For Reporting Problems
Three Veterans Affairs health care professionals who reported patient care issues say the agency continues to try to silence them, jeopardizing veterans and undercutting a key Trump promise of whistleblower protection. They work at different sites – in the Phoenix area, Baltimore, and Iowa City, Iowa – yet the VA response has been similar. All were stripped of assigned patient-care and oversight duties, and they suspect VA managers are retaliating against them for speaking out, and sidelining them to prevent them from discovering or disclosing any more problems with veteran health care. (Slack, 6/22)

The New York Times: New Sex Drug For Women To Improve Low Libido Is Approved By The F.D.A.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug to treat low sexual drive in women, the only one besides Addyi, which entered the market in 2015. The drug, to be called Vyleesi, will be sold by AMAG Pharmaceuticals and is intended to be used 45 minutes before sex, via an auto-injector pen that is administered in the thigh or abdomen. (Thomas, 6/21)

Politico: Agriculture Department Buries Studies Showing Dangers Of Climate Change
The Trump administration has refused to publicize dozens of government-funded studies that carry warnings about the effects of climate change, defying a longstanding practice of touting such findings by the Agriculture Department’s acclaimed in-house scientists. The studies range from a groundbreaking discovery that rice loses vitamins in a carbon-rich environment — a potentially serious health concern for the 600 million people world-wide whose diet consists mostly of rice — to a finding that climate change could exacerbate allergy seasons to a warning to farmers about the reduction in quality of grasses important for raising cattle. (Bottemiller Evich, 6/23)

The Washington Post: Migrant Detainees Aren't Entitled To Toothbrushes, Soap, Government Argues
The government went to federal court this week to argue that it shouldn’t be required to give detained migrant children toothbrushes, soap, towels, showers or even half a night’s sleep inside Border Patrol detention facilities. The position bewildered a panel of three judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Tuesday, who questioned whether government lawyers sincerely believed they could describe the temporary detention facilities as “safe and sanitary” if children weren’t provided adequate toiletries and sleeping conditions. One circuit judge said it struck him as “inconceivable." (Flynn, 6/21)