Los Angeles Times: Jury Begins Deliberating Sanity Of Man Convicted Of Killing Newport Beach Urologist
An Orange County Superior Court jury began deliberating Tuesday whether a 79-year-old Lake Elsinore man was legally insane the day he fatally shot his former Newport Beach doctor in 2013. On Monday, the 12-member jury swiftly convicted Stanwood Elkus, a retired barber, of first-degree murder in the slaying of Dr. Ronald Gilbert, who had been Elkus’ urologist years earlier. Prosecutors said Elkus used a fake name to get an appointment in Gilbert’s Newport office, where he shot the 52-year-old physician 10 times after he walked into the exam room. (Fry, 8/22)

Orange County Register: St. Joseph Hoag Health CEO To Leave In December 
Richard Afable, the executive vice president of Providence St. Joseph Health Southern California Region – Orange County/High Desert and president and CEO of St. Joseph Hoag Health, will leave those positions in December. He will then focus on his upcoming role as the chair of the California Hospital Association and mental health advocacy. (Madans, 8/22)

Los Angeles Times: Depressed But Can't See A Therapist? This Chatbot Could Help
Fifty years ago, an MIT professor created a chatbot that simulated a psychotherapist. Named Eliza, it was able to trick some people into believing it was human. But it didn’t understand what it was told, nor did it have the capacity to learn on its own. The only test it had to pass was: Could it fool humans? (Lien, 8/23)

KERA: 'Smart' Pill Bottles Aren't Enough To Help The Medicine Go Down 
A number of companies are now selling wireless "smart" pill bottles, Internet-linked devices aimed at reminding people to take their pills. But recent research suggests that actually changing that behavior may take more than an electronic nudge. (Silverman, 8/22)

In other health technology news —

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Petaluma Health Center Mines Health Records To Improve Patient Health 
The Petaluma Health Center was among 13 North Coast community clinics receiving more than $1 million in federal quality improvement funds. Many are members of the Redwood Community Health Coalition, a consortium of 17 community health clinics in Sonoma, Napa, Marin and Yolo counties. According to HHS, the centers receiving the funds showed high levels of performance in one or more categories, including improving quality of care, increasing access to care, enhancing delivery of high value health care, addressing health disparities and success in achieving a patient-centered medical home providing primary care for dental, mental and medical needs. (Espinoza, 8/22)

Capital Public Radio: Enlisting Amazon's Alexa In The Campaign To Cut Food Waste 
Biodegradable, compostable organic material makes up 40 percent of California's waste stream. Food waste is a big part of that. The Natural Resources Defense Council recently launched a campaign to give consumers concrete tips for cutting back on food waste. (Mitric, 8/22)

Sacramento Bee: Did McClellan Air Force Base Poison Their Water? Lawsuits Revive Neighborhood Fears 
The Air Force has consistently denied that toxins have escaped the base boundaries and contaminated drinking water supplies, but a series of new lawsuits by two area water districts seeking $1.4 billion in damages has renewed concerns among some who spent years drinking water from area pipes and wells. Some residents now refuse to drink or cook with water piped into their homes. (Stanton, 8/22)

In other environmental health care news —

KPCC: Could Torrance Refinery Keep Toxic Leak From Homes? No Proof Yet, AQMD Says
Torrance Refinery has not proven that it can contain the spread of a deadly chemical if it were released and formed a dense vapor cloud, according to findings the South Coast Air Quality Management District is scheduled to share detail on Wednesday. The chemical – Modified Hydrofluoric Acid, or MHF – is the subject of a ban proposed by the AQMD. A public meeting to inform the agency’s rulemaking process is scheduled at the agency’s Diamond Bar headquarters. (McNary, 8/22)

The Associated Press: Senate Panel Plans 2 Hearings On Girding Health Insurance
The Senate health committee will hold two hearings early next month on how the nation's individual health insurance marketplaces can be stabilized, as party leaders grasp for a fresh path following the collapse of the Republican effort to repeal and replace much of former President Barack Obama's health care law. GOP and Democratic leaders are exploring whether they can craft a bipartisan but limited bill aimed at curbing rising premiums for people who buy their own insurance. (Fram, 8/22)

USA Today: Senate Panel To Hold Hearings On Health Insurance Reform
“Eighteen million Americans, including 350,000 Tennesseans – songwriters, farmers, and the self-employed – do not get their health insurance from the government or on the job, which means they must buy insurance in the individual market,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “My goal by the end of September is to give them peace of mind that they will be able to buy insurance at a reasonable price for the year 2018,” Alexander said. (Collins, 8/22)

The Hill: Kasich: Bipartisan Healthcare Plan Could Come In A Week 
Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) are working on a bipartisan proposal to stabilize ObamaCare that they say could be unveiled as soon as a week from now. “We’re getting very close,” Kasich said in a joint interview with Hickenlooper on Colorado Public Radio. “I just talked to my guys today, and men and women who are working on this with John’s people, and we think we’ll have some specifics here. John, I actually think we could have it within a week.” (Sullivan, 8/22)

Politico: Trump Sticks It To GOP In Thundering Phoenix Speech
President Donald Trump put the Republican Party on notice on Tuesday evening — implicitly attacking two Republican senators on their home turf, threatening a government shutdown over his border wall, and demanding that senators kill the filibuster because it's impeding his agenda. ... Trump did not name Sen. John McCain or Sen. Jeff Flake by name in his remarks — he joked that his aides pleaded with him not to mention the senators explicitly — but it was unmistakable who he was talking about. Over and over, Trump noted that Senate Republicans were "one vote away" from passing a bill to repeal Obamacare. The crowd at the Phoenix Convention Center immediately began jeering McCain, a longtime Trump critic who delivered the tie-breaking vote that sank the overhaul bill. The 80-year-old McCain is being treated for brain cancer. (Isenstadt, 8/23)

Los Angeles Times: Trump Fills Phoenix Speech With Charged Language, Accusing Media And Fellow Republicans Of Failings
Raising the subject of the failed GOP effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, Trump repeatedly noted that the Senate fell “just one vote away from victory after seven years of everyone proclaiming ‘repeal and replace.’ One vote,” he said, referring to McCain. At that, a member of the audience screamed “Traitor,” seemingly referring to the Navy veteran who spent years as a Vietnam War prisoner before going into politics.Trump, in a sarcastic tone, characterized Flake as an inconsequential senator.“Nobody wants me to talk about him,” Trump said. “Nobody knows who the hell he is.... See, I haven’t mentioned any names and now everyone is happy.” (Decker, 8/22)