NBC News: Judge Rules HIV-Positive Americans Cannot Be Banned From Joining Military
Americans with well-treated HIV can no longer be barred from enlisting in the U.S. military, a federal judge ruled Thursday, striking down the Pentagon’s last remaining policy limiting the service of those with the virus. “Defendants’ policies prohibiting the accession of asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals with undetectable viral loads into the military are irrational, arbitrary, and capricious.” ... wrote Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. (Sopelsa and Ryan, 8/21)

Orange County Register: Street Medicine Health Care For Unhoused Launches In Costa Mesa
CalOptima Health’s street medicine program, where unhoused people get health care services right where they are, this month expanded and began serving Costa Mesa’s homeless population. CalOptima, which runs the county’s health insurance programs that serve low-income people and the elderly, is partnering with Celebrating Life Community Health Center, which will administer the program out of a van staffed by medical personnel and packed with supplies. (Slaten, 8/21)

San Diego Union-Tribune: No Sign Of Deadlier Mpox Strain In San Diego County 
Local doctors are on notice to pay extra attention to anyone suspected of having an mpox infection as concern builds around a deadlier and more-infectious “Clade 1” version of the virus spreading rapidly in some African countries. (Sisson, 8/21)

CapRadio: Sacramento Puts On Hold Proposal To Allow More Cannabis Dispensaries
A Sacramento City Council committee on Tuesday put on hold a proposal to increase the maximum number of cannabis dispensaries by half after current owners said the market is oversaturated. City staff recommended raising the cap from 40 to 60 to give more participants in the city’s cannabis equity program opportunities to start businesses. But the council’s law and legislation committee said Sacramento first needs to expand where dispensaries can be located. (Lam, 8/21)

Fresno Bee: Forbes Says Fresno Is Worst Place For People Who Use Wheelchairs. How Does It Figure That?
Fresno is the least accessible city in the nation for people with mobility disabilities, according to a new study by Forbes Health. (Galan, 8/21)

CalMatters: How Kamala Harris' Record On Abortion In CA Prepared Her For 2024
At a fundraiser in San Francisco last week, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke bluntly about the future of reproductive rights: California is not immune to a national abortion ban, she said. “The stakes are high,” Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, said to a cheering crowd at the Fairmont Hotel that included Gov. Gavin Newsom and other high-profile Democrats. She continued the theme this week at the Democratic National Convention, where delegates have stressed their fears that reproductive rights could be curtailed nationwide. (Hwang, 8/22)

Los Angeles Times: Tim Walz Was A Staunch LGBTQ+ Ally, Long Before It Was Common
In a video intended to help introduce vice presidential nominee Tim Walz to a national audience ahead of his Democratic National Convention speech Wednesday night, a handful of students from his years as a high school teacher sang his praises. ... For Jacob Reitan, Walz was the teacher who had his back against bullies during one of the most difficult chapters of his teenage life, when he came out as gay just before his senior year of high school a quarter-century ago, in 1999. (Rector, 8/22)

The Washington Post: Tim Walz Bolstered By Clinton, Pelosi And Oprah In Formal Debut As Harris’s VP 
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz formally accepted the Democratic vice-presidential nomination on Wednesday. ... Riffing on a Harris campaign theme, Walz said Democrats and Republicans mean different things when they say “freedom.” “When we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love,” he said. “Freedom to make your own health-care decisions. And, yeah, your kids. Freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall.” (Viser and Wootson Jr., 8/22)

Roll Call: In Picking Walz, Harris Upends Notion Of 'Women's Issues' 
When Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris picked her running mate earlier this month, she chose a politician many undecided voters are used to seeing: a white-haired, Midwestern man with typical American values. But in Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, she’s found something different: a male politician who frequently speaks about fertility treatments as a men’s issue. (DeGroot, Raman and Cohen, 8/21)

The Washington Examiner: Oprah Winfrey Makes Surprise DNC Appearance To Back Kamala Harris
Oprah Winfrey took time in her speech to champion reproductive rights and the right for women to decide when, or if, they have children. (Winfrey herself chose to forgo motherhood.) “If you cannot control when and how you choose to bring your children into this world and how they are raised and supported, there is no American dream,” said Winfrey as the crowd clapped. (Quarshie, 8/21)

NBC News: RFK Jr. As Trump’s Health Secretary? Here’s What He Wants To Do
For weeks, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign has floated his interest in a Cabinet position in a future Trump White House while publicly denying he would accept it. On Tuesday, Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, told an interviewer the campaign was weighing whether to “join forces” with Trump and suggested that Kennedy would do an “incredible job” as secretary of health and human services. Trump later told CNN that he “probably would” appoint Kennedy to some role. (Zadrozny, 8/22)

Fox News: Trump Talks Cocaine, Health Care, And Biden's Debate With Comedian Theo Von 
Former President Trump appeared on an episode of "This Past Weekend" with comedian Theo Von for an interview that at times veered far outside the normal campaign trail conversations. Among the longest segments of the hourlong conversation was their discussion of alcoholism, substance abuse and the over-prescription of pharmaceuticals. (Nerozzi, 8/21)

Times of San Diego: SDSU School Of Public Health Secures Funding To Study Tijuana River Pollution
The Prebys Foundation has awarded a grant to San Diego State University’s School of Public Health for research into the pollution and sewage crisis in the Tijuana River Valley. South Bay residents and researchers are concerned about the risks to the economy and health of local communities amid exposure to pathogens like COVID-19, norovirus, antibiotic-resistant microbes and harmful chemicals. (Ramirez, 8/21)

AP: US Government Report Says Fluoride At Twice The Recommended Limit Is Linked To Lower IQ In Kids
A U.S. government report expected to stir debate concluded that fluoride in drinking water at twice the recommended limit is linked with lower IQ in children. The report, based on an analysis of previously published research, marks the first time a federal agency has determined — “with moderate confidence” — that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. While the report was not designed to evaluate the health effects of fluoride in drinking water alone, it is a striking acknowledgment of a potential neurological risk from high levels of fluoride. (Stobbe, 8/21)

The 19th: How Wildfire Season Affects Pregnant People — Both Physically And Mentally
In the midst of yet another hazy summer, as over 50 large fires burn in the West, a new report published today by Human Rights Watch examines the growing risk that fire season poses to pregnant people and lays out recommendations for how to address the threat. (Kutz, 8/21)

KVPR: Updated COVID Vaccines Are Coming Soon
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to green light new COVID-19 vaccines any day now to help people protect themselves from the latest strains of the virus. The new COVID vaccines are designed to keep the shots up to date with the virus, which keeps evolving to evade our immune systems. (Stein, 8/22)

USA Today: Surprising New Long COVID Symptoms Show Up In Kids And Teens
A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health identified the most common long COVID symptoms in school-aged children and teenagers. Researchers found teenagers between 12 and 17 were more likely to report fatigue, pain and changes in taste and smell, whereas, younger schoolchildren between 6 and 11 were more likely to have difficulty focusing, sleep problems and stomach issues, according to the report published Wednesday in JAMA. (Rodriguez, 8/21)

CNN: Covid Tied To Higher Risk Of Depression, Anxiety, PTSD And Other Conditions, With The Unvaccinated Most Affected, Study Shows 
Having a severe case of Covid-19 appears to be linked with an increased risk of subsequent mental illness, including depression and anxiety disorders, and a new study finds that the association is strongest among people who were not vaccinated against the disease. (Howard, 8/21)

CIDRAP: New Research Finds Link Between COVID-19 And Gestational Diabetes
COVID-19 infection during the first 21 weeks of pregnancy is associated with a slightly higher risk of gestational diabetes, according to an analysis of insurance claims by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers. The team published its findings this week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Schnirring, 8/21)

New Scientist: Intestinal Parasites May Reduce Covid-19 Vaccine Effectiveness
Covid-19 vaccines may be less effective in people who have intestinal parasite infections, or roughly a quarter of the world’s population. This is suggested by experiments in mice infected with parasitic worms, who developed significantly weaker immunity after covid-19 vaccines than mice without parasitic infections. Previous research has shown that people with intestinal parasites have impaired immune responses to some vaccines, such as those for tuberculosis or measles. This is because the parasites suppress processes that vaccines trigger to confer immunity, such as the activation of pathogen-killing cells. Intestinal parasite infections are most prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions and often occur due to limited access to clean water and sanitation. (Wade, 8/21)

CNN: Mediterranean Diet May Reduce Covid-19 Risk, Study Finds 
A healthy diet has long been hailed by some experts as one potentially important factor influencing the risk of Covid-19, or how bad someone’s case gets. But a team of researchers in Indonesia looked into how a specific lifestyle might affect these odds — finding that following the Mediterranean diet may reduce your risk of getting Covid-19, according to a review published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One. (Rogers, 8/21)

Becker's Hospital Review: Everest Ransomware Group Shifts Focus To Healthcare
The ransomware group known as Everest has begun targeting the healthcare sector. Everest, a ransomware-as-a-service organization, is notorious for infiltrating systems by exploiting compromised user accounts and leveraging common remote access tools, according to an Aug. 21 news release from the American Hospital Association. (Diaz, 8/21)

Becker's Hospital Review: Hospitals, Physicians Split After Noncompete Strikedown
A federal court on Aug. 20 struck down the Federal Trade Commission's sweeping noncompete ban, claiming that it was "unreasonably overbroad" and that the FTC lacks authority to implement nationwide rules defining unfair methods of competition. The rule, which was initially set to take effect Sept. 4, would have invalidated tens of millions of existing noncompete agreements and banned hospitals and other employers from entering into or attempting to enforce any new noncompetes. (Condon, 8/21)

Modern Healthcare: Hospitals Investing In Affordable Housing See Fewer ED Visits
Health systems investing in affordable community housing have seen significant decreases in inpatient and emergency department visits among patients experiencing homelessness. Hospitals are creating housing programs and partnering with local building developers, health departments and governments to connect patients to stable housing options. (Devereaux, 8/21)

Becker's Hospital Review: Health Systems Brace For The 'Silver Tsunami'
Around 10,000 Americans turn 65 years old every day, gaining access to Medicare benefits. The number of Medicare beneficiaries is expected to continue growing in the next five years, and health systems are making changes to keep up. ... "In the next five years, the most significant disruptor to healthcare will be the capacity challenges associated with the 'silver tsunami' of baby boomers hitting the age of healthcare consumption," said Jonathan Washko, assistant vice president of CEMS operations at North Shore LIJ Health System. "In this environment, coupled with lowering revenues, staffing shortages and higher expenses, healthcare is being forced from an abundance mindset to one of scarcity." (Dyrda, 8/22)

CIDRAP: Deep-Sequencing Technique Provides More Complete Picture Of Resistant Bacteria In Hospitals 
A new genomic sequencing technique could help hospitals better track and control the spread of multiple drug-resistant pathogens, researchers reported yesterday in The Lancet Microbe. (Dall, 8/21)