Politico: Newsom Makes Concessions On The Way To Mental Health Reform 
Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent four years trying to overhaul how counties pay for mental health care, betting his reputation on making a dent on homelessness, substance abuse and mental health problems. Now, he is making concessions amid concerns he’s going too far, POLITICO has learned. (Bluth, 8/16)

San Diego Union-Tribune: The New Monthly Homelessness Report Again Shows A Crisis Growing Faster Than It Can Be Contained 
The newest monthly report from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness repeats a grim trend: The crisis is growing faster than it can be contained. Said another way, about 7 people were housed for every 10 that lost a place to stay in July. (Nelson, 8/16)

Sacramento Bee: Judge Extends Order Barring Sacramento From Clearing Camps 
A federal judge has extended an order barring the city of Sacramento from clearing homeless encampments, due to extreme heat. The city cannot clear camps until at least Sept. 1, Judge Troy L. Nunley said in a ruling Wednesday. Previously the order was set to expire Thursday. (Clift, 8/16)

Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Scores A U.S. Policy Shift To Expedite Homeless Housing 
Los Angeles officials are celebrating the demise of one of their biggest obstacles to getting homeless people into permanent housing: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requirements that keep applicants waiting for months while their assigned apartments remain vacant. Responding to pleas from Mayor Karen Bass and city and county housing officials, HUD has agreed to exempt local housing providers from the rules that required applicants to produce identification and document their homeless status and income before moving into their apartments. (Smith, 8/16)

The Intercept: Clinic Fire Deals Blow To Abortion Access On California-Arizona Border
Members of a Southern California community are grappling with a devastating blow to critical abortion access after a major fire engulfed a Planned Parenthood clinic in the early morning hours of August 15. Located in El Centro, Planned Parenthood’s Imperial Valley Homan Center is the only abortion provider in greater Imperial County. While the facility had been a staple for care in the region since it opened in 2015, it became a safe haven for out-of-state abortion patients following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson ruling in 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade. (Mitchell, 8/16)

Times Of San Diego: Rep. Jacobs Calls Conservative Court's Ruling Against Mifepristone 'Gross Attack' On Women 
Rep. Sara Jacobs on Wednesday called the conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against access to the abortion drug mifepristone a “gross attack on our bodies and freedom.” ... “Right-wing Republicans know they can’t win at the ballot box so they’ve chosen to weaponize the courts and ignore decades of precedent and science to enact their dystopian, anti-abortion agenda,” said Jacobs, who represents central San Diego County. (Jennewein, 8/16)

NPR: Court Rules To Restrict Mifepristone But No Changes Until Supreme Court Rules
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that mifepristone, one of two pills used in medication abortions, should not be prescribed past seven weeks of pregnancy or via telemedicine. However, a previous stay by the Supreme Court means this won't go into effect right away. The pills will remain on the market in states where abortion is legal and available by telemedicine and mail for the time being. (Simmons-Duffin and Webber, 8/16)

Politico: Abortion Pill Ruling Sets Up Supreme Court Showdown 
The showdown at the Supreme Court, which could affect how millions of people end their pregnancies, is likely to come just months before a presidential election in which Democrats plan to make abortion rights a pillar of their campaign. One of the judges on the three-judge panel, Judge James Ho, wanted to go even further than rolling back access to the drug. He agreed with the most extreme position of the challengers that the FDA’s original approval should be stripped altogether, a move that would take the drug off the market entirely. But Ho, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, was overruled by his two colleagues — also Republican appointees — who said it’s too late for anti-abortion groups to challenge the original agency approval declaring the drugs safe and effective more than two decades ago. (Ollstein, 8/16)

AP: Common Arthritis Drug Could Boost Effectiveness Of Morning-After Pill, Study Finds 
Taking a common arthritis drug together with the morning-after pill Plan B could boost the contraceptive’s effectiveness, according to new research published Wednesday. Levonorgestrel, often called Plan B, is the most widely available type of emergency contraception. It works by preventing or delaying ovulation. Scientists estimate that it is about 95% effective when taken within a day after unprotected sex, dropping to 58% or lower within three days. The new study, published by the medical journal Lancet, suggests levonorgestrel can remain highly effective up to three days after unprotected sex when it is taken with piroxicam, an anti-inflammatory pain medication typically prescribed for arthritis. (Cheng, 8/16)

CNN: Meta Criticized For Making Reproductive Health An R-Rated Issue
Meta tweaked its “adult products or services” advertising policy last October to include clearer guidelines about reproductive health, clarifying that it allows the promotion of “reproductive health products or services” if the content is targeted to “people aged 18 or older.” ... However, female reproductive experts tell CNN that the advertising policy is still too restrictive and is creating barriers for how younger people around the world access information about female reproductive health issues, including the menstrual cycle, which can start as early as 8 years old. (Gretener, 8/15)

Military Times: Protest Of $65 Billion Tricare West Health Contract Goes To Court
The start of new Tricare contracts remains up in the air as a protest involving the West Region’s $65.1 billion contract heads to federal court. Although Defense Health Agency officials say there will be no disruption to patient care, the ongoing dispute could delay some of the improvements beneficiaries were expecting. The new Tricare contracts, for example, would allow patients to transfer specialty care referrals to a new doctor when they move, even if their new duty station is not in their current Tricare region. Also possibly delayed are service improvements that are expected to reduce the average time to answer customers’ calls to 20 seconds. (Jowers, 8/16)

Stat: Health CEOs Hauled In $4 Billion As Inflation Pinched Workers
The health care industry didn’t just provide a safe haven for jittery stock investors in 2022, a year defined by inflation and higher interest rates. It also provided a stable stream of wealth for top executives, who collectively pocketed billions of dollars in what was otherwise a rough patch for the economy. (Herman, Parker, Feuerstein, Lawrence and Ravindranath, 8/17)

Modern Healthcare: The Joint Commission Acquires National Quality Forum
The Joint Commission has acquired the National Quality Forum, with the goal of consolidating quality measures and integrating more industry voices into the development of standards. Putting the healthcare improvement organization under the umbrella of the commission should reduce the burden on health systems by eliminating unaligned, competing measures and creating more streamlined and consistent clinical performance measurement, according to the groups. (Devereaux, 8/16)

Stat: The Latest Recall Of Philips Ventilators Reveals One Death, Two Injuries
In March, Philips recalled more than 73,000 ventilators that absorbed dust and dirt into breathing tubes. This week, the Food and Drug Administration reported that the issue has been associated with at least one death and two injuries. (Lawrence, 8/16)

CapRadio: Sacramento County Confirms Six Human Cases Of West Nile Virus, Investigating More
Sacramento County has confirmed six human cases of West Nile Virus this season, and is investigating eight other probable cases, according to a county public information officer. Public Health Services spokesperson Samantha Mott said the first case was reported to the county on July 7, and cases are confirmed if they test positive in a lab and the individual develops symptoms. (Wolffe, 8/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: Culprit In Deadly Dinner Party May Be Mushroom Infamous In California
Three people died after eating wild mushrooms at a family lunch in Australia last week, and investigators are blaming the same dangerous fungal species responsible for poisoning dozens of Bay Area residents in recent years. And the deadly species is set to bloom again soon. (Mishanec, 8/16)

The Hill: Lawsuit Says Brita Misled Users About Ability To Filter Out ‘Forever Chemicals,’ More
A lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles claims that water filtration company Brita allegedly misled users about the ability of its popular products to remove a number of hazardous contaminants from tap water, including “forever chemicals,” or PFAS, which may cause cancer. The proposed class action suit claims that Brita, by “falsely, misleadingly, and deceptively marketing” their products “sought to take advantage of consumers’ need for safe and clean drinking water.” (Tanner, 8/16)

Los Angeles Times: Orange Unified May Be Latest To Adopt Transgender-Child Policy
Teachers, principals and counselors at Orange Unified School District could be required to notify parents or guardians that their child is transgender under a new policy set to be considered Thursday. The policy is similar to measures that have been adopted by school boards in Chino and Murrieta that sparked protests and, in Chino’s case, raucous public meetings and a rebuke from the California attorney general, who warned that adopting such policies could be a violation of the state’s antidiscrimination law, infringe on students’ privacy rights and “potentially put them in a harmful situation.” (Hernandez, 8/16)

Bay Area Reporter: Long-Term HIV Survivors Fighting For Their Lives All Over Again
The fight against the HIV epidemic has seen a number of good milestones lately — the World Health Organization reaffirmed July 22 that those who consistently take antiretroviral treatment and maintain undetectable viral loads don't transmit the virus during sex. But those who've acquired HIV infection tell the Bay Area Reporter that they're still fighting for their lives. "As HIV gets older, so are we getting older," Hulda Brown, a 79-year-old straight ally, said in a recent interview. "We need different housing, safer housing, and chairlifts. You may need to walk with a cane. As you get older, we've had to adjust. We need a place to go to find services to explain to us the changes happening in our body, and how we can adapt." (Ferrannini, 8/16)

AP: Inmates At California Women's Prison Sue Federal Government Over Sexual Abuse 
Eight inmates at a San Francisco Bay Area lockup — dubbed the “rape club” by prisoners and workers alike — filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the federal Bureau of Prisons, saying sexual abuse and exploitation has not stopped despite the prosecution of the former warden and several former officers. (Rodriguez, 8/16)

The Washington Post: Cancers Among Younger Americans Are On The Rise, New Study Shows 
Most cancers in the United States are found in people age 65 and older, but a new study shows a concerning trend: Cancer among younger Americans, particularly women, is on the rise, with gastrointestinal, endocrine and breast cancers climbing at the fastest rates. A study published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open showed that while cancers among older adults have declined, cancers among people younger than 50 have increased slightly overall, with the largest increases among those age 30 to 39. (Bever, 8/16)

USA Today: Pig Kidney Functions In Brain-Dead Man For Over A Month
Doctors in New York have managed to keep a brain-dead man in a state of sort of suspended animation for more than a month after removing his kidneys and replacing them with one from a pig. Dr. Robert Montgomery, who directs the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, said he hopes that by showing the kidney can function successfully in a brain-dead person, it will clear the way for the Food and Drug Administration to approve clinical trials in living people. (Weintraub, 8/16)

Fox News: Researchers Use Artificial Intelligence To Help Diagnose Autism, Study Says
Researchers are proposing using artificial intelligence technology to help diagnose autism spectrum disorder. In a recent article published in Scientific Reports, researchers from Brazil, France and Germany reportedly used magnetic resonance imaging to train a machine learning algorithm. The work – in which the "quantitative diagnostic method" is proposed – was based on brain imaging data for 500 people, with more than 240 that had been diagnosed with autism. (Musto, 8/16)

Stat: Schizophrenia Gene Found To Be Linked To Cells' Energy Dysfunction
The heritable nature of schizophrenia has been known for about a century. But researchers are still trying to learn how genes that have been linked to an increased risk of the disease actually lead to schizophrenia. (Cueto, 8/16)

CBS News: Pain After A Heart Attack May Predict Likelihood Of Death Within Years Following, Study Finds
Experiencing pain a year after having a heart attack is common, but new research says it may also be a clue in predicting a patient's long-term survival. According to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, people who had moderate or extreme pain were more likely to die within the next 8 years compared with adults who did not have any post-heart attack pain. (Moniuszko, 8/16)

CBS News: Teenage Smokers Have Different Brains Than Non-Smoking Teens, Study Suggests
A research team led by the universities of Cambridge and Warwick in Britain and Fudan University in China found that teens who started smoking cigarettes by 14 years of age had significantly less grey matter in a section of the brain's left frontal lobe. Tuesday's findings, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, indicate that adolescents with less grey matter on the left frontal lobe have less cognitive function and therefore are more inclined to break rules and develop bad habits such as smoking. (Lyons, 8/16)