City News Service: LA County Continues To Report Elevated Daily COVID Cases 
Los Angeles County registered 4,690 new COVID-19 cases over the past three days, along with 16 new deaths, with health officials on Monday, April 25, again noting increases in average daily case numbers attributed to the infectious BA.2 subvariant of the virus. According to the county Department of Public Health, the county averaged 1,553 new COVID cases per day over the past seven days, up from 960 two weeks ago. (4/25)

CBS News: Ruby Princess Cruise Ship Docked In San Francisco With 143 Cases Of COVID-19
For the third time this year, the same Princess Cruise Lines ship has docked in California with passengers who tested positive for COVID-19. The Ruby Princess arrived in San Francisco on April 11 after a trip to Hawaii in which 143 passengers on board testing positive with the virus, the city's health department told CBS MoneyWatch. (Brooks, 4/25)

Bay Area News Group: COVID: How Effective Is Air-Filtration On BART, Bay Area Transit?
It seems that every Bay Area transit rider has a story of hopping on BART or Caltrain only to be hit by a wave of unpleasant smells. So with mask mandates on the outs, many passengers may be wondering: If BART can’t filter out the mystery scent from a few seats away, how can the system keep me safe from an unmasked passenger emitting the COVID-19 virus? There is some good news, experts say. Your BART car might smell, but the air-filtration systems that reduce COVID-19 transmission are stronger than what’s typically at work in your home, office or the restaurant where you just had lunch. (Kamisher, 4/26)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Councilwoman Angelique Ashby Positive For COVID
Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby tested positive for COVID-19 last week, she said in recent social media posts. Ashby, the councilwoman for Natomas who is also the city’s vice mayor, tweeted Saturday that she missed the grand opening of the North Natomas Community Center and Aquatics Complex that day because she was isolating “at home with Covid.” (McGough, 4/25)

Stat: Majority Of Family Members Of Covid Patients Treated In The ICU Report PTSD Symptoms
A majority of family members of Covid-19 patients treated in ICUs reported significant symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in the following months, according to a study published Monday that sheds new light on the impact of hospital visitation restrictions during the pandemic. The prevalence of PTSD symptoms was roughly twice the rate typically seen after a family member’s ICU stay before the pandemic, which the authors said was likely explained by the lack of access to loved ones during their ICU stay. “Those with higher scores reported more distrust of practitioners,” according to the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, and PTSD symptoms were especially prevalent among women and Hispanic family members. (Mulundika, 4/25)

Fox News: Long COVID-19 May Be Caused By Abnormally Suppressed Immune System In Some People: UCLA-Led Study
A possible contributor of Long COVID -19 may actually be an abnormally suppressed immune system, and not a hyperactive one, according to a UCLA- led research group. The study, recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. It contradicts what scientists previously believed, which was that an overactive immune response to SARS-CoV-2, often referred to as a "cytokine storm," was the root cause of the perplexing syndrome. Health experts told Fox News this "cytokine storm" is an over-reactive inflammatory response in the infected person that can potentially cause damage to lungs and other organs, possibly creating severe illness or even death. (McGorry, 4/25)

Forbes: Unvaccinated People Increase Risk Of Covid Infection Among Vaccinated, Study Finds
Unvaccinated people threaten the safety of vaccinated people even with high levels of immunization against Covid-19, according to a new study published in Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), countering a popular narrative that vaccination is purely is a matter of individual choice and supporting policies requiring the shots. (Hart, 4/25)

Los Angeles Times: How Many California Lives Were Saved By COVID-19 Vaccines? Scientists Have An Answer
The arrival of the first COVID-19 vaccines in December 2020 marked the start of a new, safer phase of the pandemic. For all that we know of life in the vaccine era — the inequities, the breakthrough infections, the partisan battles over mandates — it’s been hard to know what life would have been like without the shots. A new project from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health draws the clearest picture to date on what the state might have looked like had the vaccines never materialized. (Purtill, 4/25)

Los Angeles Times: Trucker Convoy Egged, Driven Out By Angry Residents In Oakland 
A trucker convoy that has rolled across the U.S. protesting coronavirus health measures and other government mandates met an unexpected roadblock in Oakland when neighbors came out in force to throw eggs at the group. Video posted on YouTube (warning: video uses explicit language) shows a cadre of big-rig cabs and smaller vehicles blaring their horns as they rolled through a quiet residential street in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. The caravan was protesting an abortion rights bill proposed by Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who lives in the East Bay neighborhood. (Choi, 4/25)

Stars And Stripes: VA Adds 9 Respiratory Cancers To List Of Illnesses Caused By Burn Pits
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday that it created a fast-track to disability compensation for veterans who developed one of nine rare respiratory cancers because of their exposure to toxic burn pits during overseas deployments. The cancers were added to the department’s presumptive list, which lowers the amount of evidence that veterans must provide to receive VA benefits. The cancers to be added to the list are squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, squamous cell carcinoma of the trachea, adenocarcinoma of the trachea, adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung, large cell carcinoma of the lung, salivary gland-type tumors of the lung, sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung, and typical and atypical carcinoid of the lung. (Wentling, 4/25)

CNN: Biden Administration Adds Nine Rare Respiratory Cancers With Ties To Burn Pits To List Of Service-Connected Disabilities
The move marks a significant step in the administration's efforts to expand benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, an issue that is quite personal for the President. Biden has long speculated that burn pits may have caused the brain cancer that killed his late son Beau Biden, an Iraq War veteran, while also noting he's been unable to prove it. Beau Biden died in 2015 after a battle with glioblastoma, which is not included in this new list from the veterans agency. The Department of Veterans Affairs said the determination was made following a review that found "biological plausibility between airborne hazards and carcinogenesis of the respiratory tract -- and the unique circumstances of these rare cancers warrant a presumption of service connection." (Saenz, 4/25)

Military Times: Nine Respiratory Cancers Added To List Of Illnesses Presumed Caused By Burn Pit Smoke
In a statement, VA Secretary Denis McDonough called the move overdue. “Veterans who suffer from rare respiratory cancers associated with their service deserve the very best America has to offer, but they’ve had to wait for the care and benefits they deserve for far too long,” he said. “That ends now. “With these new presumptives, veterans who suffer from these rare respiratory cancers will finally get the world-class care and benefits they deserve, without having to prove causality between their service and their condition.” (Shane III, 4/25)

Stars And Stripes: Tricare’s Autism Awareness Facebook Post Draws Ire From Parents Of Autistic Kids 
Cassandra Wheeler said she felt an upswell of anger when she saw a recent social media post by Tricare, the military’s health care provider, in support of Autism Acceptance Month. Tricare called for “inclusivity” and “tolerance” for autistic children through “patience, understanding, and education,” according to the April 8 post on the provider’s official Facebook page. As of Friday, it had received about 800 mostly critical comments, and was shared about 400 times. Wheeler, 34, the wife of a medically retired Army veteran and the mother of two autistic children, said Tricare gutted the care it provides for the autistic children of military families last year. (Burke, 4/25)

Military.Com: The Navy Is Deputizing Doctors To Enforce Drug Rules Even For Those Seeking Mental Health Help 
In the wake of reports that a Navy psychologist played an active role in convicting for drug use a sailor who had reached out for mental health assistance, the service is standing by its policy, which does not provide patients with confidentiality and could mean that seeking help has consequences for service members. (Toropin, 4/18)

Modern Healthcare: California Investigating Centene Over Alleged Medicaid Fraud 
California regulators are investigating Centene Corp. over allegations that the company overcharged the state's Medicaid department for drugs, according to a state Department of Health Care Services spokesperson. DHCS did not specify which branch of Centene it was investigating. Centene subsidiaries offer Medicaid managed-care plans in California and administer the state's Medicaid prescription drug program. (Tepper, 4/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: Thousands Of Stanford Nurses Strike Over Staffing Levels, Work Stress And Salaries
Thousands of nurses from Stanford and Lucile Packard Children’s hospitals walked off the job Monday morning amid stalled labor negotiations that have stranded many patients whose medical procedures, from chemotherapy to surgery, have been put on hold. A sea of strikers in blue union T-shirts lined the sidewalks outside the Palo Alto hospitals in a party-like atmosphere, cheering as horns from passing cars blared for hours in support. (Asimov, 4/25)

Bay Area News Group: Thousands Of Stanford, Packard Children's Nurses Begin Strike To Demand For Better Staffing, Mental Health Support
Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital canceled appointments, postponed surgeries and sent chemotherapy patients to sister hospitals as thousands of nurses walked off the job Monday to strike for better wages and working conditions, forcing hundreds of traveling nurses to scramble to meet patient demand. After treating patients without a contract since the end of March, 5,000 nurses lined streets near Stanford Hospital raucously picketing and urging medical center officials to deliver an agreement ahead of negotiations scheduled for Tuesday morning. (Lin and Toledo, 4/25)

The Bakersfield Californian: Clinica Sierra Vista Appoints Third CEO In Two Years 
Clinica Sierra Vista has appointed its chief medical officer to become the third person in about two years to lead the Bakersfield-based chain of community medical clinics. On April 6, the nonprofit's board of directors named family physician Dr. Olga Meave to the position of interim CEO, according to a copy of an email obtained by The Californian. Her appointment was not announced publicly, and Meave did not respond to repeated requests for comment. (Cox, 4/25)

CNN: Adolescent Suicides Increased In 5 US States During The Pandemic. Why Parents Should Be Concerned
The mental health of Americans has suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic, and new research shows the damage wasn't limited to adults. The number of suicides among adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 increased in five states during the pandemic, according to research looking at 14 states published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics on Monday. Data from Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Virginia and California also showed an increase in the proportion of adolescent deaths by suicide relative to suicides by people of all ages, the authors found. Conversely, Montana had a decrease in adolescent suicides and the proportion of adolescent deaths by suicide during the pandemic, while Alaska had a decrease in proportion only, the research found. (Rogers, 4/25)

NBC News: Teen Suicides Increased In Many States During Pandemic
Adolescents accounted for a larger share of suicides across 14 states in 2020 than they did over the previous five years, according to research published Monday. The findings were described in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics, as medical groups and health experts increasingly sound the alarm about the soaring mental health challenges of young people. In October, three prominent children's health organizations declared that child and adolescent mental health had become a national emergency. (Bendix, 4/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Wants To Hold The Prescription Drug Industry Responsible For The Opioid Crisis. Here Are 3 Ways The Trial Underway Is Unique
With billions of dollars at stake, San Francisco opened a federal court trial Monday against Walgreens pharmacy and three companies that manufacture or distribute opioids. The companies regularly “overstated the benefits and trivialized the risks of the long-term use of opioids” to their customers, City Attorney David Chiu’s office said in a filing with U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco, who is presiding over the non-jury trial. (Egelko, 4/25)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego Bans Flavored Tobacco, Including Menthol Cigarettes, In 7-2 Vote 
San Diego approved a ban Monday on flavored e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco, including menthol cigarettes, a move supporters said would boost public health for local teens and people living in many minority neighborhoods. The ban was harshly criticized by the owners of dozens of small neighborhood markets that sell flavored tobacco and vaping products. They called it a racist law that will prevent minorities from enjoying tobacco products of their choice. (Garrick, 4/25)

AP: Food Poisoning Sickens Coachella Shuttle Bus Drivers 
At least 24 shuttle bus drivers for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival became ill with food poisoning early Monday, authorities said. Reports began coming in shortly after midnight after subcontracted drivers dined at an off-site catering location unaffiliated with the festival, the Cal Fire / Riverside County Fire Department said in a press release. (4/26)

CalMatters: Abortion Rights: California Preps To Be A Haven 
California abortion clinics are building new facilities closer to transit hubs and training more staff. A package of a dozen abortion rights bills moving through the Legislature could expand the number of providers, provide financial assistance to women traveling to California to terminate their pregnancies, and legally protect the doctors who treat them. As new restrictions rapidly sweep the country in anticipation of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this summer that may dramatically scale back or even end the constitutional right to abortion, California is preparing to step into the void — and welcome a possible surge of patients losing access in dozens of other states. (Koseff, 4/25)

Los Angeles Times: Actor Cary Elwes Recovering After Rattlesnake Bite In Malibu 
Cary Elwes is recovering after suffering a rattlesnake bite in Malibu on Saturday, according to statements by the actor and authorities. Firefighters were dispatched at 2:53 p.m. to Topanga State Beach, said Craig Little, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. (Yee, 4/25)

CapRadio: California Mayors Ask Newsom For Continued Funding For Homelessness Program 
Mayors from some of California's biggest cities are pleading with Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature to extend spending on services for unhoused people. At a press conference at the state Capitol Monday, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said the state's Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Grant Program has made a difference in her city. "Without this continued funding, roughly two-thirds of our existing shelter systems will fall off a fiscal cliff," Schaaf said. (Milne and Nichols, 4/25)

AP: California Mayors Want $3 Billion Over 3 Years For Homeless 
The mayors of California’s 11 largest cities asked Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature on Monday to approve $3 billion over three years in the state budget for flexible homeless funding to go directly to cities. The mayors said flexible homeless funding is approved annually and they are asking for a three-year commitment from lawmakers and the governor. (4/25)

Modesto Bee: CA Mental Health Advocates Criticize CARE Court Homeless Plan 
Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a plan to create a civil court system to compel treatment for people suffering from serious untreated mental illness, saying it’s time for the state to “take some damn responsibility to implement our ideals. ”Newsom presented his proposal — the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court, or CARE Court — as a way to help unhoused residents with conditions that cause psychosis. (Holden, 4/25)

Los Angeles Daily News: Disputes At L.A.’s Top Homeless Agency As LAHSA Director Resigns
Heidi Marston, the executive director of the countywide Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, announced Monday, April 25, that she is resigning — an abrupt move made at a politically fraught time that will leave LAHSA in flux and could have ramifications beyond the agency. (Chou, 4/25)

AP: Leader Of LA Homeless Agency Resigns Amid Dispute With Board 
The leader of a Los Angeles homeless agency announced her resignation Monday amid a dispute with the organization's board over her efforts to increase the minimum pay level for staff. The disagreements between Heidi Marston, executive director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and the agency’s politically-appointed Management Committee came to a head about two months after volunteers worked to count the county's homeless population. (Dazio, 4/26)

KQED: Stories And Solutions For The Housing Crisis 
From voice memos to emails and social media, dozens of listeners reached out and shared stories of housing insecurity and loss, advocacy work, and visions for an equitable housing future. In this bonus episode, hear from seven people for whom housing is at the center of everything. (Aldana, 4/25)

Orange County Register: Orange County’s $1.02 Million Home Price Is 15th Pandemic Record 
Orange County’s median home price in March cracked seven figures for the first time at $1.02 million — the 15th record high set in the pandemic era. Across Southern California, the median home price of $735,000 also was an all-time high — up 4% for the month and 17% over 12 months. Buyers  grabbed 23,225 residences — existing and newly constructed — in the six counties, up 37% for the month but down 9% over the past year. (Lansner, 4/25)

Orange County Register: Coastal Commission Staff Says Poseidon’s Ocean-To-Tap Water Plant Should Not Be Built 
Poseidon Water’s long-running, controversial effort to turn the ocean off Huntington Beach into tap water for much of Orange County suffered a potentially fatal blow Monday, April 25 when staff for the California Coastal Commission released a report saying the project should not be built. Citing a range of economic and social factors, including environmental damages from the proposed plant and the company’s track record for slow-walking environmental projects that would offset harm caused by its existing desalination plant in Carlsbad, the staff recommended that the commissioners vote against approving the project May 12 when they hold a public hearing in Costa Mesa. (Mouchard, 4/25)

San Diego Union-Tribune: All The News That's Fit: Functional Fat, Muscle Types And Hospitals On Hot Days
Fat or adipose tissue isn’t just inert blubber threatening our health and self-esteem, it’s a functional part of our bodies, interacting with other organs to boost muscle and brain metabolism. Like everything else, it loses functionality with age, but new research shows that rigorous, regular exercise can help keep your fat fully functional — at least the fat you don’t actually burn off. And fat cells that are healthy and happy can help ward off a lot of human diseases, from cancer to diabetes. (Lafee, 4/26)