CBS News: New Bill Would Give California Parents More Control Over Whether State Can Store Their Kid's DNA
Should you have the right to know that the state is storing your child's DNA and that researchers or law enforcement may use it without your consent? This is an issue Julie Watts has been investigating for years, and today, parents are one step closer to getting that right. Most parents have no idea that California has been storing a DNA sample from every baby born here since the 80s. A bill that passed out of the state senate judiciary committee this week could change that. (Watts, 1/17)

KCRA: State Launches New Mental Health Resources For CA Kids And Teens
The state of California is now offering free mental health resources to kids, teens and their caregivers with the launch of two, new digital platforms. BrightLife Kids, by Brightline, offers services for children up to 12 years old; Soluna, by Kooth, hosts resources for teens and young adults ages 13 to 25 years old. The platforms, announced Tuesday, are free for all California young people. (Denyer, 1/18)

AP: Court Documents Underscore Meta's 'Historical Reluctance' To Protect Children On Instagram 
Newly unredacted documents from New Mexico’s lawsuit against Meta underscore the company’s “historical reluctance” to keep children safe on its platforms, the complaint says. New Mexico’s Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued Facebook and Instagram owner Meta in December, saying the company failed to protect young users from exposure to child sexual abuse material and allowed adults to solicit explicit imagery from them. (Ortutay, 1/17)

Modesto Bee: Brandel Manor Nursing Home In Turlock, CA Will Close
Brandel Manor nursing home and adjacent Cypress Place Assisted Living are closing their doors in Turlock. A notice on Brandel Manor’s website says the 145-bed nursing home and Cypress Assisted Living on North Olive Avenue “will no longer be accepting referrals for post-acute care, long-term care and assisted living.” (Carlson, 1/17)

The Desert Sun: Desert Healthcare District To Hold Meeting For Tenet Hospital Proposal
The Desert Healthcare District will hold another public meeting to discuss Tenet Healthcare's proposed lease for Desert Regional Medical Center at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 22 at UCR Palm Desert's campus. (Sasic, 1/17)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Pharmaceutical Giant Gilead Scraps Oceanside Expansion 
Gilead Sciences will not be moving forward with expansion plans to develop 27 acres of land in Oceanside. Instead, the biopharmaceutical company is relocating a portion of its local workforce to the Bay Area. Gilead makes antiviral drugs used to treat cancer, HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, influenza and COVID-19. Its Oceanside facility — a 70,000-square-foot clinical manufacturing plant off of Ocean Ranch Boulevard — focuses on pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. (Rocha, 1/17)

The New York Times: Apple Says It Will Remove A Health Feature From New Apple Watches 
Apple said on Wednesday that it would begin selling its flagship smartwatches without the ability to detect people’s blood-oxygen levels. The tech giant will drop the feature starting Thursday after losing a patent case over its blood-oxygen measurement technology two months ago. The court ordered Apple to stop selling its Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 devices. Rather than discontinue sales, the company sought permission to continue selling the devices after removing the infringing technology. (Mickle, 1/17)

CalMatters: Fund To Clear California Homeless Encampments Has Mixed Results 
For years, the Guadalupe River Trail — a winding path that snakes through the heart of downtown San Jose — had been home to hundreds of people living in tents and make-shift shacks. In recent months, many have vanished as part of a $750 million-push by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration — dubbed the Encampment Resolution Fund — to clear homeless encampments from cities throughout California. (Kendall, 1/17)

San Francisco Chronicle: This Is One Way Californians End Up ‘Incredibly Vulnerable’ To Homelessness, New Study Reveals
Thousands of women sleeping in shelters or encampments across California likely ended up there after fleeing domestic violence, according to new research that looks at how abuse can drive homelessness. A new report from UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative found that experiencing domestic violence increases the risk of homelessness for survivors, specifically for women who have very little financial means. (Angst, 1/17)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Downtown Homelessness? It Keeps Going Down. Countywide? Not So Much. 
The shift has been dramatic. Last month, outreach workers with the Downtown Partnership counted only 846 people living without shelter in San Diego’s urban core. It was the first time in more than two years that the downtown total dipped below 1,000. (Nelson, 1/17)

CalMatters: Fund To Clear California Homeless Encampments Has Mixed Results
For years, the Guadalupe River Trail — a winding path that snakes through the heart of downtown San Jose — had been home to hundreds of people living in tents and make-shift shacks. In recent months, many have vanished as part of a $750 million-push by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration — dubbed the Encampment Resolution Fund — to clear homeless encampments from cities throughout California. (Kendall, 1/17)

CapRadio: Downtown Sacramento’s Capitol Park Hotel Reopens As Homeless Housing, But At A High Cost
The former Capitol Park Hotel has reopened in downtown Sacramento with a spruced up appearance and a new purpose: It will now serve as permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless residents. The stately white-bricked building at 9th and L streets is a block from the state Capitol. It includes two towers, one built in 1911 and the other in 1912, which together have served as everything from a women’s college to a single room occupancy hotel. Most recently, it was used as an emergency homeless shelter. (Nichols, 1/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Chinese Lab Mapped Deadly Coronavirus Two Weeks Before Beijing Told The World, Documents Show 
Chinese researchers isolated and mapped the virus that causes Covid-19 in late December 2019, at least two weeks before Beijing revealed details of the deadly virus to the world, congressional investigators said, raising questions anew about what China knew in the pandemic’s crucial early days. Documents obtained from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by a House committee and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show that a Chinese researcher in Beijing uploaded a nearly complete sequence of the virus’s structure to a U.S. government-run database on Dec. 28, 2019. Chinese officials at that time were still publicly describing the disease outbreak in Wuhan, China, as a viral pneumonia “of unknown cause” and had yet to close the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, site of one of the initial Covid-19 outbreaks. (Strobel, 1/17)

The Recount: DeSantis Makes Baseless Claim At NH Town Hall: “Every Booster You Take, You’re More Likely To Get COVID As A Result.”
While campaigning in New Hampshire on Wednesday, Ron DeSantis made a baseless claim about the COVID-19 vaccines. “Every booster you take, you’re more likely to get COVID as a result of it,” the 2024 GOP candidate told a town hall crowd in Hampton. “They lied to us about the COVID shots. Remember, they said if you take a COVID shot, you will not get COVID? How true was that? Not at all,” the Florida governor said. “Now, every booster you take, you’re more likely to get COVID as a result of it.” (1/17)

Stat: Prior Authorization Will Have To Move Faster Under New Biden Rule
The Biden administration moved Wednesday to force insurance companies to give specific reasons for denying coverage, and to speed up the pre-approval process in general. The new rule applies to health insurance companies that offer Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Obamacare plans. It concerns so-called prior authorization requests, and will require insurers to return urgent requests within 72 hours and non-urgent requests within seven days. (Trang, 1/17)

Stat: Copay Coupons To Count Toward Deductibles, After Biden Court Move
Insurers will have to count drug copay coupons toward deductibles and patient spending caps in most cases, after a Biden move in federal court on Tuesday. Drug companies use copay coupons to help patients cover the cost of their drugs. (Wilkerson, 1/17)

The New York Times: Six Reasons Drug Prices Are So High In The U.S. 
Florida’s plan to save money by importing medications from Canada, authorized this month by the Food and Drug Administration, has renewed attention on the cost of prescription drugs in the United States. Research has consistently found that drug prices in America are significantly higher than those in other wealthy countries. In 2018, they were nearly double those in France and Britain, even when accounting for the discounts that can substantially reduce how much American health plans and employers pay. Here are six reasons drugs in the United States cost so much. (Robbins and Jewett, 1/17)

Axios: Companies Struggle To Know If They're Overpaying In Health Care
Employers are facing stronger legal requirements to ensure they aren't wasting their workers' money on overpriced health insurance, at the growing risk of financial consequences. But employers say secrecy around negotiated health care prices too often prevents them from accessing data that would help them figure out if they're getting a good deal. (Reed, 1/18)

Orange County Register: In The Race For Rep. Michelle Steel’s Seat, How Abortion Is Shaping Up To Be A Key Issue 
Abortion rights is, once again, shaping up to be a defining issue in the race for California’s 45th congressional district — and could shed light on how the matter could play an outsized role in 2024. The kerfuffle over how Rep. Michelle Steel has reaffirmed her support for anti-abortion legislation — and just who is qualified to speak about it — began when she added her name as a co-sponsor last week to legislation that’s nearly a year old. (Schallhorn, 1/17)

Axios: Male Birth Control Maker Raises $2.5 Million To Develop “Plan A”
Next Life Sciences has raised $2.5 million to develop a male contraceptive product called Plan A, which could become a nonsurgical alternative to vasectomies. This could help balance family-planning responsibilities that fall disproportionately on women. (Primack, 1/17)

Bloomberg: White Kids Get Faster Treatment And More Drugs In The ER, Study Says
Non-White children in the US receive lower-quality health care, including in emergency settings, where they are less likely to get painkillers for broken bones and migraines, according to a review of recent medical research. From neonatal and primary care, to surgery and endocrinology, the quality of pediatric health care is almost universally worse for non-White children, regardless of their insurance status, according to research published Wednesday in the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health Journal. (Denham, 1/17)

Reuters: Minority Children In US Get Poorer Healthcare, Analysis Finds 
The quality of healthcare for minority children in the United States is universally worse than it is for white children, even after accounting for insurance coverage, an analysis of dozens of recent studies found. The pattern was similar across all medical specialties, including newborn care, emergency medicine, primary care, surgery, hospital care, endocrinology, mental health care, care for developmental disabilities, and palliative care, researchers said. (Lapid, 1/17)

The New York Times: Cancer Deaths Are Falling, But There May Be An Asterisk 
Cancer deaths in the United States are falling, with four million deaths prevented since 1991, according to the American Cancer Society’s annual report. At the same time, the society reported that the number of new cancer cases had ticked up to more than two million in 2023, from 1.9 million in 2022. Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease. Doctors believe that it is urgent to understand changes in the death rate, as well as changes in cancer diagnoses. (Kolata, 1/17)

ABC News: Cancer Deaths Declining Overall, But Troubling Increase For Colon And Breast Cancer In Younger Adults: Report
Deaths from cancer have declined by 33% since 1991, averting 4.1 million deaths. However, more people are being diagnosed with cancer than ever before, and at an earlier age, according to a major new report from the American Cancer Society. Experts say one big reason cancer deaths have declined is due to decreases in smoking rates, as well as improved treatments and targeted therapies. Still, experts are worried about the increase in some cancers in adults 50 and under - and say it's urgent to understand what's behind the troubling trend. (Thakur, 1/17)

Axios: New Cancer Diagnoses Expected To Hit Record High This Year
New cancer diagnoses in the U.S. are expected to top 2 million for the first time in 2024, driven in large part by an alarming increase in cancers among younger Americans, according to new American Cancer Society data. There have been major improvements in cancer survival, but there's a worrying rise in some cancers at the same time doctors are trying to figure out why they're seeing more young patients with cancer. (Reed, 1/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Your Healthspan Is As Important As Your Lifespan—And It’s Declining
Americans are living longer, but spending less time in good health. The estimated average proportion of life spent in good health declined to 83.6% in 2021, down from 85.8% in 1990, according to an analysis of the latest data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease study, a research effort based at the University of Washington. The decrease of time spent in good health is partly because medical advances are catching and treating diseases that once would have killed us. But it is also because of the rising prevalence, often among younger people, of conditions such as obesity, diabetes and substance-use disorders. (Janin, 1/17)

Stat: FDA Clears AI Tool For Detecting Skin Cancer 
The Food and Drug Administration cleared an AI-powered device for detecting skin cancer on Wednesday, giving primary care physicians a new way to evaluate troubling skin spots. Around 5 million skin cancers are diagnosed each year in the United States. Skin cancer is common, but most types are not that deadly when caught early. (Lawrence, 1/17)

Houston Chronicle: Rice Researchers Say 'Molecular Jackhammers' Can Kill Cancer Cells
Researchers at Rice University are developing “molecular jackhammers” that go inside the body and kill cancer cells by vibrating trillions of times per second. Their research has been tested in lab cultures of human melanoma cells, a kind of skin cancer, with 99 percent efficiency. It has also been tested in mice with melanoma tumors, half of which were deemed cancer-free after treatment. “We’ve found this to be a very efficient way to kill cancer cells,” said Ciceron Ayala-Orozco, a Rice research scientist in the Tour group and lead author on a study published in Nature Chemistry. (Leinfelder, 1/17)

CBS News: Nearly 50,000 Veterans Used Free Emergency Suicide Prevention In First Year Of Program, VA Says
Nearly 50,000 veterans received free emergency suicide prevention care in 2023, the first year of the program, the Department of Veterans Affairs will announce on Wednesday. In January 2023, the Department of Veterans Affairs instituted a new policy allowing eligible veterans and certain former service members in acute suicidal crisis to go to any VA or non-VA health care facility to receive emergency care at no cost. The policy covers emergency room care, inpatient or crisis residential care for up to 30 days, and outpatient care for up to 90 days. (Watson and Cook, 1/17)

Military Times: Military Families May Get Better Access To Mental Health Care
Military families may get easier access to mental health outpatient care and counseling under two new provisions in the recently signed defense policy law. The fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act allows Defense Department health officials to waive out-of-pocket costs for the first three outpatient mental health visits each year for active duty families using Tricare. It also expands non-medical counseling services for military families through the Military and Family Life Counseling Program. (Jowers, 1/17)

AP: Package Mailed To Rural California Elections Office Tested Positive For Fentanyl, Authorities Say
Authorities are investigating a suspicious envelope sent to the elections office in Yuba County on Wednesday morning that might have contained fentanyl. The Yuba County Sheriff’s Department will investigate the incident. The envelope was sent to the Yuba County Registrar of Voters headquarters, about 40 miles (70 kilometers) north of the state Capitol in Sacramento. (Nguyen, 1/17)

San Diego Union-Tribune: After Month Of Rehab, San Diego Police Sergeant Shot In The Head Able To Walk Again
A San Diego police sergeant shot in the head in December — leaving him with injuries that initially left him unable to walk — returned home Tuesday after making what city officials called “an amazing recovery.” Accompanied by family members, Sgt. Anthony Elliott walked off an airplane and was greeted by Police Chief David Nisleit and several other officers at San Diego International Airport. (Kucher, 1/17)

The Hill: Assistant Coach For Golden State Warriors Dies Following Heart Attack At Team Dinner
Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević has died after suffering a heart attack at a private team dinner in Salt Lake City Tuesday night, the team announced on Wednesday. ... The Warriors were in Salt Lake ahead of their Wednesday night game against the Utah Jazz. The NBA has already postponed that game. Milojević was at dinner with multiple players and coaches Wednesday night when he was transported to a Salt Lake City area hospital, Nexstar’s KTVX reports. Despite life-saving efforts, the 46-year-old coach passed away late Wednesday morning. (Baker, 1/17)

KQED: Police Pilot New Tactics For People With Dementia As Advocates Urge Compassion
Gloria Brown was worried when she saw her husband raking leaves in the street outside their home in the city of San Mateo, bringing traffic to a halt. Arthur Brown had been diagnosed with dementia a couple of years before, and Gloria knew he could become agitated. He argued and raised his voice as she held his arms to coax him out of the street, but eventually, he allowed her to lead him indoors. (McDede, 1/18)

Los Angeles Times: Health Costs Of Plastics Run $250 Billion A Year
They are used to give plastic products their distinctive durability, bendability and sleek, nonstick surface. Yet some of these chemical additives have been tied to maladies such as breast and prostate cancer, heart disease and diabetes, as well as problems with children’s brain development and adult fertility. Of particular concern are a class of additives known as endocrine disruptors — chemicals that mimic and confuse hormone signaling in humans. (Rust, 1/18)

Stat: Congress’ Negotiations Over Doc Pay, Health Centers Fell Apart Ahead Of Spending Extension
Negotiations to add extra health care policies to Congress’ stopgap funding bill fell apart late last week, five sources told STAT. The provisions at issue included a bump to physicians’ Medicare pay rates and efforts to increase funding for community health centers and enact some behavioral health policies. (Cohrs, 1/17)

Reuters: US Congress Scrambles To Pass Stopgap Bill To Avert Government Shutdown
The U.S. Senate on Thursday will aim to approve a stopgap measure keeping the federal government funded through early March, averting a partial shutdown that would begin in less than two days if Congress fails to act. "I think we're on a good path to getting it done," Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock told Reuters, referring to the prospects of passing the temporary spending bill on Thursday or Friday. ... Senator Susan Collins, the senior Republican on the Appropriations Committee, said on Wednesday she was optimistic a government shutdown will be skirted. "This has been dragging on for a long time and I really don't know why," she said. (Cowan, 1/18)

Axios: How A Supreme Court Case Over Federal Power Could Affect U.S. Health Care
A Supreme Court hearing on a case that could significantly curtail the federal government's regulatory power has big implications for America's health care system. The justices on Wednesday are considering whether to overturn the 40-year-old legal doctrine known as the "Chevron deference," in which the courts have given leeway to federal agencies to reasonably interpret ambiguous laws or ones subject to multiple interpretations. (Millman, 1/17)