The Associated Press: Crews Frantically Search For Missing Amid California’s Deadliest-Ever Fire
More than a dozen coroner search and recovery teams looked for human remains from a Northern California wildfire that killed at least 42 -- making it the deadliest in state history -- as anxious relatives visited shelters and called police hoping to find loved ones alive. (Mendoza and Flaccus, 11/13)

Sacramento Bee: Camp Fire Becomes California’s Most Deadly Blaze With 42 Fatalities So Far
The death toll from the Camp Fire reached 42 Monday, making the Northern California blaze the deadliest fire in state history. The number of fatalities far outstrips the 1933 Griffith Park Fire that killed 29 people in Los Angeles. With hundreds still reported missing in Butte County, the total is expected to grow. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said 13 more victims were found Monday, 10 in the Paradise area and three in Concow. Honea said eight of the victims were found inside homes, the others outside. (Sabalow, Yoon-Hendricks, Stanton and Sullivan, 11/12)

San Jose Mercury News: Camp Fire Death Toll Climbs To 42 With Many Still Missing
The devastating number of people who have perished is almost certain to rise as rescue and recovery workers sift through the ruins and ashes of houses. An untold number of people remain missing, and it could be days or weeks before their loved ones have answers. More than 7,000 homes, businesses and other structures have burned to the ground or been damaged beyond repair, leaving people shell-shocked and wondering how they will pick up the pieces. (Deruy and Bouscher, 11/12)

Los Angeles Times: Another Day Of Grim Discoveries As Death Toll Rises To 42 In Camp Fire
[Butte County Sheriff Kory] Honea said anthropologists from Cal State Chico and the University of Nevada, Reno with expertise in identifying human remains were helping in the grim search effort into mass casualties. In addition, Honea has requested 150 additional search and recovery workers, two military mobile morgues and a rapid DNA identification system. “I understand the toll that it takes on people not knowing what became of their loved ones,” the sheriff said. “My sincere hope is I don’t have to come each night and report a higher and higher number.” (Serna, Mason, Smith, 11/13)

The New York Times: California Fire Death Toll Now At 44 With Discovery Of 13 More Bodies
Allyn Pierce was trapped by a wall of fire as he tried to flee the flames coming closer and closer to his truck. Chris Gonzalez counted the ever-narrowing escape routes from his home as the highlands around him erupted into flames. Rebecca Hackett was engulfed by a red-orange hellscape as she sped toward safety in her car. “I was like, ‘I think I’m done,’” said Mr. Pierce, a registered nurse who was trapped in traffic in Paradise, Calif., where most of the community was burned. “I just kept thinking, ‘I’m going to die in melting plastic.’” (Del Real and Nicas, 11/12)

The Washington Post: Caught In The Inferno: How The Camp Fire Overwhelmed Paradise
It took only days for the blaze to become the most destructive in California history. (11/12)

Efforts continue on the Woolsey fire as well —

Orange County Register: Woolsey Fire Containment Reaches 30 Percent — Winds Still Feared As Federal Aid Is Approved
Crews kept up their steady progress Monday in bringing the massive Woolsey fire under control as they grappled with strong winds and high temperatures to reach 30 percent containment of a blaze that might have been ignited by failed electrical equipment and had already consumed 93,662 acres and put residents across Southern California on edge. Favorable weather overnight on Sunday, following a lull in the wind on Saturday, gave crews who have spent several grueling days battling the blaze the chance gain a foothold on a crisis that has terrified residents, exhausted firefighters and left a trail of devastation in its wake. (Emery, Cain, Rosenfeld, and Valenzuela, 11/12)

Politico: Trump's California Rants Belie Feds' Quick Disaster Response
President Donald Trump has repeatedly used his bully pulpit to threaten California’s federal funding, but the government — and his own party in Congress — don’t seem to be listening. After Trump’s latest threat over the weekend to withdraw funding, some feared the president may punish the Democratic-led state during one of its deadliest environmental disasters in modern history. But if recent history and the response from lawmakers are any guide, there is little reason to believe federal payments for disaster relief will be cut off. (Schreckinger and Cadelago, 11/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: Trump OKs Disaster Aid For California, But No Word On Whether He’ll Visit
President Trump, who toured Southern states after deadly hurricanes in recent months, has not scheduled a visit to California as the state battles deadly fires. But he did issue a declaration late Monday clearing the way for federal aid to flow to fire victims. (Kopan, 11/12)

East Bay Times: Bay Area’s Smoke-Filled, Unhealthy Air: When Will It End? 
With heavy smoke from the wildfires in Butte County drifting across the region, the Bay Area’s poor air quality is expected to remain at harmful levels through the week and possibly into next, so all residents are being advised to stay inside with doors closed and windows shut. “We’re expecting unhealthy air quality through Friday at the very least,” said Kristine Roselius, spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. “The air-quality index is in the unhealthy range, which is quite unusual in the Bay Area.” Roselius added that her agency’s admonishment against being outdoors doesn’t mean that relief is expected Friday, only that it’s as far as experts are comfortable with estimating air quality given the unpredictable nature of wildfires, in this case the historically deadly Camp Fire burning in Butte County. (Salonga, 11/12)

Capital Public Radio: Camp Wildfire Smoke Levels Reach ‘Emergency’ In Sacramento As City Distributes Free Masks At Fire Stations
Daniel Bowers, the city's director of emergency management, says the masks will be available at local fire stations. But he added that the city is not advising that people come get one. "The guidance is still paramount stay indoors and limit outdoor activity,” Bowers said. He explained that the prolonged effect of smoke inhalation can take its toll, especially on the elderly and young people. (Miller, 11/12)

KQED: Map: Here's Your Current Air Quality Report For The Bay Area
Smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County has created unhealthy air conditions in the Bay Area. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued an air quality advisory for the entire region through Monday. Here is how to protect yourself from wildfire smoke. See the map below, updated hourly, for air quality in your area. (Ahmed and Hailye, 11/9)

CALmatters: Despite Mass Shooting, California—With Tougher Gun Control—Has Lower Gun-Death Rate Than Most States
With another mass shooting in California, number 19 since 1984, the state leads the nation in most deaths from these kinds of violent killings—but only because it is by far the most populous state. That ranking belies the fact that California has one of the nation’s lowest overall gun deaths per capita. Experts point to the state’s restrictive gun laws, including new ones going into effect in January, and limited gun ownership for the relatively low rate of overall gun deaths of less than 8 per 100,000 people. (Aguilera, 11/9)

CALmatters: A New Survey Reveals Who Owns Guns In California—And How Many Got Them Without Background Checks
In a state that has some of the nation’s toughest gun control laws, one in four California gun owners own firearms that they somehow managed to buy without undergoing background checks, researchers at UC Davis’ Violence Prevention Research Program reported Sunday. An estimated 4.2 million California adults own guns, 14 percent of the population. California laws dating back decades make it a crime to buy or sell a gun without requiring the purchaser to submit to background checks. (Morain, 11/11)

And in other news —

The Washington Post: Ventura Shooting: Mass Shootings Are Increasingly Common. Grieving One While Escaping From Wildfires Is Not.
Volunteer chaplains hovered outside the crime scene Saturday afternoon when the trio of friends settled beneath the caution tape and started assembling. They had white computer paper, permanent markers, black electrical tape and 12 U.S. flags — one for each victim of the mass shooting inside Borderline Bar and Grill last week. (Mettler, 11/12)

East Bay Times: Washington Hospital Debuts New Critical Care Facility
After three-plus years of construction, Washington Hospital in Fremont will open its new $350 million, three-story emergency and critical care facility on Tuesday. The Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion, which stands adjacent to the current main hospital tower, is the largest public works project in the Washington Township Health Care District’s history, officials said. It is named after the founder of Fremont Bank, Morris Hyman, a well-known local businessman and philanthropist. The bank’s foundation made a large donation to the hospital in Hyman’s honor after his 2005 death. (Geha, 11/12)

In other news from across the state —

Modesto Bee: HOST House Program Helps Men Get A “Restart” On Life
Within half an hour one recent morning, three success stories walked through the door of HOST House. All are graduates of the Enterprise Restart residential program, the nonprofit Cambridge Academies runs at the Patterson shelter. First was Doug Thompson, who graduated the six-month program in June and now is on the Cambridge staff as a residential supervisor at HOST (Help Others Sleep Tonight), one of the featured agencies for The Bee’s annual fundraiser, “A Book of Dreams.” (Farrow, 11/10)

Bloomberg: Soaring Health-Care Costs Forced This Family to Choose Who Can Stay Insured
The Maldonados’ story is a tale of middle-class Americans juggling family finances. With the ever-present pressure of a mortgage and looming college tuition, many otherwise-financially sound families face a stark choice when health-care premiums shoot wildly higher: Take on debt or opt out of the medical system and hope for the best. The Maldonados’ story is part of Bloomberg’s year-long examination of Americans struggling to afford the rising costs of health care—and the painful financial and medical trade-offs that inevitably follow. (Kasumov, 11/13)

In other national health care news —

The Associated Press: Ousted Minnesota Republican Faults McCain For Losing House
A recently defeated Republican congressman is blaming the Democratic House takeover on the late Republican Sen. John McCain's vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act. First-term Minnesota Rep. Jason Lewis argued in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece first published Sunday that McCain's vote against repealing the federal health care law last year "killed the reform effort." Lewis said the vote also unleashed a wave of Democratic attack ads against Republicans across the country on health care issues. (11/12)

Bloomberg: Democrat Sinema Wins Republican-Held U.S. Senate Seat In Arizona 
Kyrsten Sinema became the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Arizona in three decades, after an extended vote count delivered an upset victory and a blow to Republicans and President Donald Trump. ...Sinema is a former Green Party activist who over time became a moderate Democrat. Like many on the ballot from her party, she stressed her support for Obamacare and its popular protection for people with pre-existing health conditions. But she also distanced herself from more liberal Democrats by rejecting a push to expand Medicare to cover all Americans. (Litvan, 11/12)

The Wall Street Journal: A Reckoning With The Dark Side Of The Restaurant Industry
When television personality and former chef Anthony Bourdain killed himself in June, Charles Ford, the general manager of a high-end restaurant in Chicago, took the news as a personal call to action: He would no longer be silent about his three suicide attempts. “I don’t want to hide it anymore,” says Mr. Ford, 31, who says he slashed his wrists on three occasions between late 2015 and spring 2016. Workers with suicidal impulses and other emotional crises often hide their pain in his profession, Mr. Ford says. “We need to do everything we can to turn this around, and the first step is saying it out loud.” (McLaughlin and Osipova, 11/12)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Considers Making Food Labels Disclose Sesame To Help Allergy Sufferers
Sophie Schmults has never had Chinese food or hummus. She is careful with what hamburger buns she eats. And she is wary of any food that says it contains “spices” or “natural flavorings.” The 13-year-old, diagnosed with a sesame allergy when she was a baby, says a measure being considered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to add sesame to the list of allergens that packaged-food labels must disclose would dramatically change her life. (Reddy, 11/12)

The Hill: Opioid Crisis Poses Challenge For Vets 
Advocates are working to ensure that veterans are not overlooked as Congress and the Trump administration push to address the opioid epidemic. They say two sweeping opioid bills passed in recent years is a good start, but that the programs they cover need dedicated funding to ensure success. (Weixel, 11/13)

The Hill: VA Under Pressure To Deliver Trump Reforms 
A law overhauling how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) allows patients to seek outside care is falling behind in implementation despite President Trump’s boasts about the reforms. Trump has long touted the law, which makes it easier for veterans to access private or community health-care programs, as essential to improving the beleaguered agency. (Kheel and Hellmann, 11/13)

The Hill: Dems Aim To Balance Oversight, Bipartisanship On VA Committee
House Democrats are planning to step up oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) next year with their new majority, probing topics from underperforming health centers and steps toward privatization to reports of “shadow rulers” at the VA. Democrats say that while they want to maintain the bipartisan nature of the 24-member House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, they also need to hold the Trump administration accountable if there are abuses. (Sullivan, 11/13)

The Washington Post: House Science Committee’s Likely Next Chair Wants A Return To Science
As soon as it became clear that Democrats would gain control of the House of Representatives after the midterm elections, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.) announced that she was seeking the chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. Johnson, 82, plans to make the committee “a place where science is respected and recognized,” she said in a statement Tuesday night. In 2010, she became the first female and first African American ranking member of the science committee. Johnson, trained as a psychiatric nurse, has served on the committee for more than two decades. If she secures the chair, she will succeed Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), who has held the position since 2013. (Guarino, 11/12)