CapRadio: Parent Fentanyl Advocates Infuriated After California’s ‘Alexandra’s Law’ Fails A Second Time
Democrats on a Senate committee declined to advance a bipartisan proposal to require written warnings for dealers who knowingly distribute drugs containing fentanyl that results in someone’s death, frustrating advocates who want to see increased accountability for a crisis that kills thousands of Americans every month. Matt Capelouto, whose daughter is the namesake for the bipartisan bill known as “Alexandra’s Law,” shouted at lawmakers during the hearing, accusing them of “making every excuse for drug dealers” before storming out with other parents when it became clear the bill would not pass. (Nixon, 4/26)

AP: Punishment Or Prevention: California Debates Fentanyl Crisis 
Pamela Smith remembers vividly the last time she saw her only son alive. It was 3:18 a.m. on July 3, 2016, in Fresno, California, and 22-year-old Jackson Smith was lying motionless on a table in an emergency room while a nurse performed chest compressions. Earlier that night, he had taken an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl, and then he stopped breathing. Within seconds of his mother entering the emergency room, he died. (Nguyen, 4/27)

The Mercury News: Los Gatos Nursing Home Patient Killed By Contaminated Sandwich: Lawsuit
A San Jose man recovering from surgery at a Los Gatos nursing home was killed by a contaminated sandwich staff served him, a new lawsuit claims. Richard Truong, 71, ate the sandwich at Vasona Creek Healthcare Center, according to the lawsuit by his wife Nancy Truong and his daughter Cyn and sons Robert and Eric. (Baron, 4/26)

The Mercury News: Elizabeth Holmes' Last-Ditch Bid Will Keep Her From Going To Prison Thursday
A Hail Mary bid by Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has delayed her imprisonment for felony fraud. Holmes late Tuesday asked an appeals court to overturn an order by a trial judge to surrender herself for incarceration on Thursday. Under the court’s rules, she will remain free until a decision is made. (Baron, 4/26)

Sacramento Bee: California Tenants Lose On Rent Cap, Push Eviction Rules 
California tenants will likely not get a hoped-for reduction to the state’s rent cap after lawmakers removed a major provision from an eviction protection bill. The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday indicated support for legislation from Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, that would bolster a 2019 measure, Assembly Bill 1482, establishing a 10% statewide rent cap and preventing landlords from evicting tenants without a just cause. (Holden, 4/26)

The Bakersfield Californian: More Homeless People Moved To Permanent Housing In March 
March was a good month for the city, in terms of its homeless population. A record 36 people were moved out of the Brundage Lane Navigation Center, the city shelter, and into permanent housing. (Donegan, 4/26)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego To Pursue Buying Three Hotels To House Homeless People — At A Cost Of $383,000 Per Room 
The San Diego Housing Commission will apply for state funds to help purchase three extended-stay hotels with more than 400 rooms that could provide homes for people experiencing or facing homelessness. In a move contingent on funding from the state, commissioners voted 4-0 at the board’s April 20 meeting to pursue the purchase of the 107-unit Extended Stay America Hotel at 3860 Murphy Canyon Road for $40.7 million, the 140-unit Extended Stay America Hotel at 7440-7450 Mission Valley Road for $52 million and the 165-unit Extended Stay America Hotel at 2085-2095 Hotel Circle South for $65.2 million. (Warth, 4/25)

The Washington Post: House Passes GOP Debt Ceiling Bill, As U.S. Inches Toward Fiscal Crisis 
House Republicans on Wednesday approved a bill that would raise the debt ceiling, slash federal spending and repeal President Biden’s programs to combat climate change and reduce student debt, defying Democratic objections in a move that inched the United States closer to a fiscal crisis. Ignoring repeated warnings that the GOP’s brinkmanship could unleash vast economic turmoil, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) muscled his narrow, quarrelsome majority toward a 217-215 vote, accelerating a high-stakes clash with the White House with as few as six weeks remaining before the government could default. (Romm, Sotomayor and Caldwell, 4/26)

CNN: Work Requirements: Republicans Use Debt Ceiling Bill To Push Rules For Millions Receiving Medicaid And Food Stamps
 House Republicans are using the debt ceiling standoff to advocate for one of their longstanding goals – requiring more low-income Americans to work in order to receive government benefits, particularly food stamps and Medicaid. They see work requirements as a twofer, allowing them to reduce government spending, while bolstering the nation’s labor force at a time when many businesses are still struggling to staff up. (Luhby, 4/26)

Politico: Biden: I'll Meet With McCarthy — But Not On Debt Limit 
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he is open to meeting again with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — but would not give in to the Republican’s demand for negotiations on the debt limit. “Happy to meet with McCarthy,” Biden said at the end of a brief press conference at the White House. “But not on whether or not the debt limit gets extended. That’s not negotiable.” (Cancryn and Haberkorn, 4/26)

Politico: Why The Senate Isn't Jumping At The Opportunity To End The Debt Crisis
The Senate still isn’t ready to save the day on the debt ceiling. As the House GOP scrambles to pass its ultimately doomed bid to raise the nation’s borrowing limit, across the Capitol almost no one is working to devise legislation that can overcome a Senate filibuster, win a House majority and get President Joe Biden’s signature. And time is ticking: Financial analysts are increasingly worried that the nation could default on its debt by early June if the limit isn’t raised. (Everett, 4/26)

Roll Call: Senate Panel Airs Fallout From Supreme Court Abortion Decision 
The Senate Judiciary Committee dove into the partisan divide on abortion policy Wednesday in the aftermath of last year’s Supreme Court decision that overturned a constitutional right to an abortion. Committee Chair Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., framed the patchwork of legal decisions and state legislation on abortion as “chaos” in the wake of the June decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. “Lives have been disrupted, lifesaving health care has been declared illegal, and women have been denied their fundamental liberties,” Durbin said. (Macagnone, 4/26)

The Hill: GOP Senators Grow Weary Of Tuberville Abortion Stalemate On Defense Nominees 
Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) prolonged hold on the promotions of Pentagon officials is rattling fellow Republicans, who worry the potential cost to national security is starting to outweigh whatever political points Tuberville may be scoring against the Biden administration.  Tuberville on Tuesday blocked an effort to advance 184 military promotions and vowed not to back down anytime soon. The Alabama senator began holding up military promotions in February to protest the Department of Defense’s policy to give service members up to three weeks of leave to obtain abortions or undergo fertility treatments and reimburse their travel costs.  (Bolton, 4/27)

Military.com: For 1st Time In 2 Years, VA Has A Full-Time Benefits Chief 
The Department of Veterans Affairs will have a full-time benefits chief for the first time in two years after the Senate confirmed President Joe Biden's pick for the job. (Kheel, 4/26)

Military.com: Toxic Exposure Law Triggers Tsunami Of Veteran Disability Claims 
More than a half million veteran claims have been filed under the PACT Act, the landmark legislation passed last year that eased requirements for many veterans exposed to burn pits and other battlefield pollutants to apply for disability benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday. (Kime, 4/26)

Military Times: Early Data Shows 37% Suicide Decrease In Units With Holistic Health
Early data gathered from the Army’s new health and fitness program has shown more than a one-third reduction in suicides among soldiers in units that have incorporated the program. Other detrimental behaviors or outcomes such as substance abuse and physical injuries also saw lower reported rates among those brigades with the Holistic Health and Fitness program in place, also called H2F, than units without the program, which saw increases during the COVID-19 pandemic in every negative outcome category. (South, 4/26)

CalMatters: Long COVID: California Patients Struggle To Get Care
A bout with COVID-19 two years ago left Mindy Lym with such severe sensitivities to light and sound that she and her partner left their San Francisco home and moved to rural Washington, where there were fewer triggers. In the past two months, she has paid more than $7,500 out-of-pocket for medical care. Although she can afford it, she knows few people can do the same. Stephen Mintz gets just $60 per week from disability, which he receives after the chronic fatigue from COVID-19 kept him from regular work. He spent all of his savings and borrowed money from family. Without more relief payments from the state, he doesn’t know how he’ll pay his bills. (Hwang, 4/27)

Los Angeles Times: California Heat Wave Forecast To Bring Year's Hottest Weather
Temperatures across California started to rise Wednesday, kicking off a heat wave that’s expected to bring some of the state’s warmest days so far this year. Highs are forecast to reach into the 90s and 100s by Saturday, which is expected to trigger increased snowmelt and flooding, primarily in the Central Valley. (Toohey, 4/26)

LAist: Why It’s A Tough Time For California’s Cannabis Industry
The California Cannabis industry is going through it. Since 2021, the wholesale price for cannabis is down over 50%, the state has seen a significant drop in active growers, and legal establishments are still fending off competition from illegal sellers. On top of all of that, the winter weather has been unusually harsh, walloping farms in Northern California. The industry’s problems raise a lot of questions: are regulations too unwieldy? Taxes too high? Is there an oversupply of marijuana, or simply not enough stores to sell it in? (4/26)