Politico: Senate Candidates Steer Clear Of California’s Biggest Environmental Issue 
Water is the third rail of California politics — and the state’s Senate candidates are carefully steering around it. The only mention of water on Rep. Adam Schiff‘s campaign website is his work to restore the Los Angeles River. Rep. Katie Porter’s platform highlights her response to an oil spill off Huntington Beach. Rep. Barbara Lee‘s focuses on her efforts to rid drinking water of pollutants in disadvantaged communities. And former Dodger and Republican candidate Steve Garvey’s website doesn’t mention water at all. (Von Kaenel, 1/22)

Times Of San Diego: Lawson-Remer To Urge Supervisors To Back Prop. 1 Overhauling Mental Health System 
San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer announced Monday she will bring a resolution to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday to support Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $6 billion bond measure to modernize the Mental Health Services Act. She was joined by San Diego City Councilman Raul Campillo, Crystal Irving, president of SEIU Local 221 and medical professionals. (Ireland, 1/22)

Capitol Weekly: From The Streets To The Statehouse, Sex Trafficking Defies Simple Solutions 
For the first time in more than two decades, the new year added a new crime to California’s three-strikes law with the January 1, 2024 implementation of Sen. Shannon Grove’s SB 14. This past summer, the Assembly Public Safety Committee made headlines when it initially blocked the Bakerfield Republican’s proposal to include child sex trafficking on the list of crimes that can automatically put offenders away for life if they commit them and other serious, violent crimes three times. (Joseph, 1/22)

USA Today: Joe Biden Boosts Abortion, Contraception Access On Roe V. Wade Anniversary
President Joe Biden is taking steps to expand access to abortion medication and contraception, the latest moves by his administration to counter a wave of state abortion bans while he makes reproductive rights a centerpiece of his reelection bid. The new actions include expanding coverage for no-cost contraception through the Affordable Care Act under a new guidance from federal agencies. Federal employees will also receive greater access to contraception under guidelines issued to certain insurers. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is also expected to send a letter to private insurance companies and state Medicaid and Medicare programs reinforcing that they must provide no-cost contraception to people they serve. (Garrison, 1/22)

The Hill: Biden Says End Of Roe Left A ‘Cruel Reality’ For Women In The US 
President Biden said Monday that women in the U.S. face a cruel reality in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade’s demise, outlining the impact laws in red states that restrict abortion access have on women. Biden is expected to make abortion rights a major part of his reelection argument in the fall. On Monday, the president began remarks at a meeting with the White House reproductive rights task force by talking about women being turned away in emergency rooms and forced to go to court to fight for reproductive care. (Gangitano, 1/22)

Axios: Biden's Abortion Ambivalence Tests Key Democratic Campaign Message
President Biden has two positions on abortion: He's personally uncomfortable with it, but publicly adamant that a woman has a right to choose. Biden's ambivalent stance allows him to signal to voters that he accepts — but doesn't celebrate — abortion. It's a position that puts Biden in the center of the gray zone of American public opinion on abortion. (Nichols, 1/22)

Orange County Register: OC Board Of Supervisors To Consider Rent Relief Program For Residents On Verge Of Homelessness
Some families on the verge of homelessness could be eligible for rent relief support if a pilot program is approved by the OC Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Jan 23. Fourth District Supervisor Doug Chaffee is proposing to fund the emergency rental assistance program by allocating $500,000 from his district discretionary funds. In partnership with the nonprofit Friendly Center, families based in District 4 – including the cities of Brea, Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, Placentia, Stanton and parts of Anaheim – could receive help with up to three months worth of rent. (Torres, 1/22)

The Oaklandside: Oakland Renters Living In Cold And Darkness After Fire 2 Weeks Ago
Two weeks after the Jan. 5 fire, the renters are back in their building—but they still don’t have electricity, heat, or hot water, and they don’t know when they’ll get it back. “We’re eating out every day with five kids, spending money we don’t have,” said Bolaños on Friday afternoon. She said one of her children has gotten pneumonia since the fire and two others have asthma—conditions she believes are exacerbated by the cold they’re living in. One tenant had a baby since the fire, and another is pregnant, according to ACCE, a tenant advocacy group that has begun to work with the renters. In some cases, large multi-generational families are living in the studio and one-bedroom apartments. (Orenstein, 1/19)

Los Angeles Daily News: As The LA County Homeless Count Starts, Some Wonder If Tally Will Show Progress 
After thousands of volunteers walk the streets of Los Angeles County over the next three days to count those who are homeless, there are really two things the public wants to know: How many unhoused are there? And is that number higher or lower than last year? (Scauzillo, 1/22)

Los Angeles Times: Intimate Partner Violence Is A Precursor To Homelessness, Study Finds
One in five women who become homeless in California flee their homes to escape violence and escalating abuse by an intimate partner, a new analysis of a statewide survey has reported. The study by the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UC San Francisco found that a dearth of domestic violence shelters leaves women exposed to more violence in homeless encampments. (Smith, 1/23)

San Diego Union-Tribune: With Peter Seidler Gone, Will Other San Diego Donors Turn Toward Homelessness? 
When Peter Seidler died in November, national news outlets justifiably focused on his ownership of the Padres. The big investments. Marquee players. San Diego’s first trip to the National League Championship Series in forever. But Seidler’s public and behind-the-scenes contributions to ending local homelessness were similarly formidable. (Nelson, 1/22)

San Francisco Examiner: ChatGPT For Nurses: UCSF Health Developing Own AI Model 
The health care industry in San Francisco is embracing the potential benefits while weighing the possible risks of applying artificial intelligence to all aspects of the field, from patient treatment to improving staff efficiency. “These are predictive-analytics algorithms that support clinicians in delivering more efficient, more effective care,” said Kay Burke, the chief nursing informatics officer for UCSF Health. (Gurevich, 1/16)

Becker's Hospital Review: States, Specialties With Highest Demand For Travel Nurses 
California has the highest demand for travel nurses, and med-surg was the specialty in highest demand, according to a Nomad Health report. The "Nomad Health Q4 2023 Healthcare Jobs Report" examined internal job data collected from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 to determine the highest percentage of unique jobs by state in the last quarter of 2023. Nomad Health is a travel nurse job and education site. (1/19)

GovInfo Security: Judge Again Says Meta Pixel Privacy Case Dismissal Unlikely
A federal judge on Wednesday said he is inclined to let proceed a putative class action lawsuit against Meta over its gathering of data from medical center patient portals through a web activity tracking tool. In an amended complaint, plaintiffs allege that the social media giant violated their privacy by harvesting individually identifiable health information from medical websites that had embedded the Meta pixel tracking tool. (McGee, 1/17)

Bloomberg: Samsung Races Apple On No-Prick Glucose, Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices 
Samsung Electronics Co. is exploring the development of noninvasive glucose monitoring and continuous blood pressure checking, setting its sights on ambitious health-care goals in a race with Apple Inc. and other tech giants. The work is part of a broader push to put health features in a range of devices, including its just-announced Galaxy Ring, said Samsung executive Hon Pak, who is overseeing the effort. The company aims to eventually give consumers a complete picture of their well-being via sensors on different parts of the body and around the home. (Gurman and Lee, 1/22)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Oyster-Linked Norovirus Case Count Hits 81 In San Diego County 
San Diego County tallied a dozen additional food poisoning cases associated with oysters harvested in Mexico, driving the total to 81 as of Monday afternoon, according to the county health department. But the pace of new cases, which stood at 69 Friday, appeared to be dwindling, likely due to a widely publicized blanket prohibition against consumption of bivalves sources from south of the border following norovirus infections linked to consumption of the popular raw delicacy. (Sisson, 1/22)

CBS News: Cantaloupe-Linked Salmonella Outbreak That Killed 6 People Is Over, CDC Says
A deadly salmonella outbreak linked to cantaloupes has ended, the CDC said. The statement comes after health officials in recent weeks issued a flurry of warnings and recalls over the melons. The CDC said on Friday that cantaloupes recalled in connection with the bacteria outbreak had passed their use-by-dates and were no longer for sale. Sweeping recalls of whole and pre-sliced cantaloupes from brands such as Malichita and Rudy began last November, with major grocers such as Kroger, Trader Joe's and Walmart also pulling melons from their shelves, according to the CDC. (Napolitano, 1/22)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento County Of Education Increasing Mental Health Help
The dreams of Ethel I. Baker Elementary School fourth-grade students ranged in depth and complexity when shared aloud during a Thursday morning discussion: One boy sought to end world violence, while another simply wished his mother could get more work. In a neighboring fifth-grade class, a slide projected emojis depicting different emotions, and children discussed what activities wasted their time in a roundtable conversation. (Desai, 1/23)

VC Star: Moorpark OKs Sites For Delivery-Only Medicinal Cannabis
Moorpark has made an exception to its ban against cannabis dispensaries. That City Council voted 5-0 Wednesday to approve an ordinance allowing delivery-only medicinal cannabis dispensaries on two large properties zoned for industrial use. The sites are in the 700 block of Science Drive and the 5900 block of Condor Drive. (Mason, 1/21)

Fox News: Cancer Is Now Leading Cause Of Death Among HIV-Positive People, Report Says: ‘Of Great Concern’
Cancer is now the leading cause of death among those who are HIV positive. The finding was announced in a report released last week from the American Cancer Society (ACS). Titled "Cancer Facts & Figures 2024," the report noted that at least 10 cancers are associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Kaposi sarcoma, cervical cancer, liver cancer, anal cancer, lung cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma. HIV-infected people are also 10 times more likely to develop infection-related cancers compared to the general population, the report stated. (Rudy, 1/23)

Reuters: CDC Says JN.1 Variant Accounts For About 86% Of COVID Cases In US 
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday estimated COVID subvariant JN.1 to account for about 85.7% of cases in the United States, as of Jan. 19. The agency said JN.1 remains the most widely circulating variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the country and globally. There is no evidence at present that JN.1 causes more severe disease than other variants, the CDC said, adding that currently available vaccines are expected to increase protection against the variant. (1/22)

ABC News: Why Americans May Be At Risk Of Heart Problems As COVID, Flu Spread: Expert
As a surge of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19 and influenza, continue to spread across the United States, experts are warning it could lead to a rise in cardiovascular complications. ... Dr. Deepak Bhatt, director of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital in New York City, said there are two potential routes by which these infections can contribute to heart problems. "The more common pathway is if somebody gets really sick, say with influenza, running a high fever or getting dehydrated, getting hospitalized because of complications of influenza," he told ABC News. "That's a setup for having heart problems." (Kekatos, 1/22)

CIDRAP: CDC Warns About RSV Vaccine Administration Errors In Babies, Pregnant Women
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today warned clinicians about errors in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) administration in young children and pregnant women, which follows the release of two newly approved RSV vaccines for adults and an injectable RSV monoclonal antibody preventive called nirsevimab (Beyfortus) for babies and young children. The events involving children younger than 2 years old who received Pfizer's Abrysvo or GSK's Arexvy were rare, with 25 such cases reported. Most occurred in babies younger than 8 months and in outpatient settings. Meanwhile, about 128 instances of pregnant women mistakenly getting Arexvy were reported, also most commonly reported in outpatient settings, including pharmacies. Abrysvo is the only RSV vaccine recommended for pregnant women as a tool for protecting young babies from RSV infection. (Schnirring, 1/23)