The Associated Press: Monsanto Weed Killer Ruling Is 1st Step In Long Legal Battle
With its stock dropping and more lawsuits expected, Monsanto vowed Tuesday to press on with a nationwide legal defense of its best-selling weed killer Roundup after a San Francisco judge upheld a verdict alleging it causes cancer. Legal experts said the decision will have little value in courtrooms across the country where similar cases are pending, but it will likely lead to more lawsuits. Similar lawsuits doubled from 4,000 to 8,000 after a San Francisco jury awarded groundskeeper DeWayne Johnson $389 million in August. (10/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Behind Bayer’s Tough Defense Of Roundup
Bayer AG’s $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto Co. this year made the German drug and chemicals company the world’s biggest supplier of crop seeds and pesticides—and brought it thousands of lawsuits alleging Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide causes cancer. But Bayer has a history of fighting big-ticket litigation and has seen much worse. So officials are projecting calm, even after a judge Monday rejected Bayer’s request to reverse an August jury verdict against the company in the first Roundup case to go to trial. (Randazzo, Bunge and Bender, 10/23)

Los Angeles Times: Judge Reverses Order That Barred Reporting On Search Warrant In Case Of Newport Beach Surgeon
An Orange County Superior Court judge Tuesday reversed an order barring journalists from reporting on a search warrant filed in the case against a Newport Beach surgeon facing felony charges of drugging and raping seven women dating to 2009. Grant Robicheaux, 38, once dubbed Orange County’s most eligible bachelor, and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, 31, are accused of rape by drugs, kidnapping, oral copulation by anesthesia, assault with intent to commit sexual offenses and other crimes. They have denied all accusations of nonconsensual sex. (Fry, Winton and Sclafani, 10/23)

The Associated Press: Judge Reverses Order On Media In Alleged Surgeon Rape Case
"It was absolutely an order that violated the constitutional rights of the reporters in the courtroom who happened to come back for that afternoon session," she said. Last week, Jones took journalists' copies of the documents saying they were sealed and barred them from reporting the contents. The reporters and other members of the media had received the copies from Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer at a press conference earlier in the day criticizing the district attorney's handling of the case against Dr. Grant Robicheaux. (10/23)

Orange County Register: Search Warrant Becomes Center Of Debate Over Criminal Probe Into Newport Beach Surgeon And His Girlfriend
Carried out in January, the warrant and supporting affidavit written by Newport Beach police Detective Marie Gamble details allegations from three women, two of whom Grant William Robicheaux and Cerissa Laura Riley have since been charged with sexually assaulting. The first alleged incident detailed in the warrant occurred on April 12, 2016, when a woman told investigators that Robicheaux and Riley had provided her with drugs and sexually assaulted her. The second woman told detectives that on Oct. 2, 2016 she blacked out at a bar and woke up to find a man she didn’t know, later identified as Robicheaux, on top of her, hitting her in the face. The third woman also told detectives that the couple had drugged and raped her, but police have not filed criminal charges in relation to those allegations. (Emery, 10/23)

In other news —

Reuters: USC, Gynecologist Face More Claims Despite Class-Action Settlement
Fourteen more women accusing a former University of Southern California gynecologist of sexual misconduct sued the physician and the university on Tuesday, as their lawyer decried a proposed class-action settlement with the school as "grossly inadequate." Women's rights attorney Gloria Allred said the tentative $215 million deal reached last week to settle claims brought in federal court against Dr. George Tyndall and USC by his former patients would let the university off too easy, without the school fully accounting for its role in the scandal. (10/23)

Capital Public Radio: Understanding How Prop. 8 Would Affect The Dialysis Industry
California voters have 11 ballot measures to consider this midterm election and you've likely seen some of the television ads for a few of them. One of the more controversial propositions has received a ton of money and attention on TV, and many people remain confused on what a "yes" or "no" vote means. CapRadio Health Care Reporter Sammy Caiola discusses the pros and cons of Proposition 8, which is a measure intended to regulate dialysis clinic spending. (10/23)

Capital Public Radio/KXJZ: San Joaquin County Measure B Would Tax Cannabis To Support Childhood Programs
Voters in San Joaquin County will decide this election whether to tax cannabis businesses, but elected officials in the county are divided. Measure B would impose a 3.5 to 8 percent tax on all commercial cannabis businesses. In the first year 30 percent of the revenue would go towards childhood programs, increasing to 50 percent after five years. San Joaquin County Supervisors split 3-2 in support of the measure. (Ibarra, 10/23)

Capital Public Radio: McGeorge Law School Hosts California Initiative Forum 2018 To Explain Ballot Measures
McGeorge School of Law will host a California Initiative Forum where students and faculty will discuss the 11 propositions on the 2018 ballot. Associate dean Mary-Beth Moylan returns to Insight to preview the event and go over the measures that might be hardest for voters to understand.You can attend the California Initiative Forum at McGeroge School of Law on Wed. Oct. 24 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (10/23)

The Hill: E-Cigarette Maker Juul Boosts Lobbying More Than 400 Percent Amid Scrutiny 
E-cigarette company Juul Labs has increased its spending on lobbying by more than 400 percent in the past three months as it faces regulatory threats from the Trump administration and Congress. Juul spent about $1.2 million on lobbying in the third quarter of 2018, which runs from July through the end of September, according to newly released disclosure reports.  (Hellmann, 10/23)

Los Angeles Times: Heated Tobacco Product Touted As Safer Alternative To Cigarettes Is No Less Dangerous Than Smoking, Studies Find
In 30 countries around the world, consumers can slide a roll of dried tobacco into a sleek device, heat it to 350 degrees and inhale. The result is a hit of nicotine that feels like it’s coming from a traditional cigarette without producing any smoke. Tobacco giant Philip Morris International wants to sell this device in the United States and is seeking regulatory approval on the grounds that the IQOS system is less dangerous than old-fashioned smoking. But an independent review of company data submitted to the Food and Drug Administration shows that IQOS resulted in no less harm than cigarettes on 23 of 24 measures. It may even cause some health problems that cigarettes do not, including liver disease. (Healy, 10/23)

Sacramento Bee: UC Davis Spars With Largest Employee Union Over Second Strike
The University of California and its largest employee union, AFSCME Local 3299, both came out throwing punches Tuesday as the university’s lowest-paid workers hit the picket line for the second time in six months to push for better wage increases and job security. Roughly 500 employees marched at Sacramento’s UC Davis Medical Center and chanted union slogans such as “What do we want? Contracts! When do we want them? Now!” in a picket line that stretched down the block. (Anderson, 10/23)

Orange County Register: Santa Ana Riverbed Homeless Lawsuit: Proposed Settlement Filed In Federal Court
A proposed settlement in the civil rights lawsuit filed by homeless people against Orange County has been submitted to the federal judge overseeing the court case. The agreement could be finalized at a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter on Monday, Oct. 29. The plan, negotiated between county attorneys and lawyers representing homeless people dislodged from tent encampments along the Santa Ana River Trail, met the Oct. 22 deadline imposed by Carter at a previous hearing. (Walker, 10/23)

In other news —

KPCC: Skid Row Typhus Outbreak
This month Los Angeles declared a typhus outbreak in downtown L.A. The county's Department of Public Health has counted 64 typhus cases this year, including ten downtown. But is there more than a simple concern over public health behind calling this an outbreak? (10/23)

The New York Times: Two Weeks Before Midterms, Transgender People Feel Like ‘Pawns’
When the news broke on Sunday morning, many transgender people, world-weary, saw it as grimly predictable: With two weeks to go until the midterm elections, the Trump administration was considering a new move that would undermine federal civil rights protections for the transgender community. This time, they thought, it was the nuclear option. Under the terms of a proposal reported by The New York Times on Sunday, the administration would adopt a narrow definition of gender as an unchangeable biological condition — either male or female — that is determined by genitalia at birth. Such a move would not only roll back protections for transgender people: It could also legally negate their very existence. (Stack, 10/23)

Stat: CDC Director Warns Against Potential ‘Stigma’ Of Trump Transgender Proposal 
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday suggested a Trump administration proposal that would define someone’s sex at birth risked heightening stigma around transgender people. The director, Robert Redfield, did not directly criticize the proposal. But when asked whether any such effort might hamper efforts to treat HIV, especially among transgender women, he replied: “We need to understand that stigmatizing illness, stigmatizing individuals is not in the interest of public health.” (Swetlitz, 10/23)

In other national health care and election news —

The Hill: White House Report Warns Of The ‘Costs Of Socialism‘ Ahead Of Midterms
The White House on Tuesday issued a report warning of the dangers of socialism two weeks ahead of pivotal midterm elections. The report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers fits with a larger campaign strategy from Republicans trying to portray Democrats as extremists for ideas gaining traction in their party, including Medicare for All, the health proposal that would provide government-run health insurance to cover everyone. (Sullivan, 10/23)

The New York Times: Sandra Day O’Connor, First Female Supreme Court Justice, Says She Has Dementia
Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve as a justice on the United States Supreme Court and a critical swing vote for much of her tenure, revealed on Tuesday that she had dementia and had decided to withdraw from public life as the disease advanced. In a letter addressed to “friends and fellow Americans,” Justice O’Connor, 88, wrote that she was told she had early-stage dementia “some time ago” and that doctors believed it was most likely Alzheimer’s disease. (Haag, 10/23)

Stat: Crowdfunding Raises Millions For Unproven And Potentially Harmful Treatments 
Crowdfunding campaigns have raked in millions of dollars for scientifically unproven — and potentially dangerous — medical treatments since 2015, according to a new analysis. The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, turned up 1,059 campaigns that raised money for five unproven or possibly risky treatments: homeopathy or naturopathy for cancer, hyperbaric oxygen for brain injury, experimental stem cell therapy for brain or spinal cord injuries, and long-term antibiotics for chronic Lyme disease. Almost all of the campaigns were on GoFundMe, the largest crowdfunding platform of its kind. (Thielking, 10/23)

The New York Times: What Big Pharma Fears Most: A Trump Alliance With Democrats To Cut Drug Prices
The pharmaceutical industry, pilloried by President Trump for the last two years, is war-gaming for the possibility that its worst fear is realized: that Democrats, if they flip control of the House, find common ground with the president to rein in drug prices. Democrats say they are determined to squeeze the industry’s prices and profits, and they have a stack of legislative proposals that could do so. Drug makers are quietly making contingency plans. (Pear, 10/20)

Politico: ‘Winter Is Coming’: Companies Brace For Flurry Of Investigations
Washington law firms are preparing for a boom in business from a projected Democratic takeover of the House in 2019, anticipating that pharmaceutical, tech, and oil and gas companies will need help navigating a flurry of oversight investigations. Law firms that specialize in helping businesses manage congressional investigations, including Covington & Burling and Akin Gump, have been tracking Democrats’ criticisms of a host of corporations all year. (Levine, 10/22)

NPR: Why Are Suicide Rates Higher In The Mountain West?
At the confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado rivers, the town of Grand Junction, Colo., sits in a bowl of a valley ringed by tall mountains, desert mesas and red rock cliffs. For local residents like Victoria Mendoza, sometimes the setting makes her and others feel isolated. "I know we can't really fix this because it's nature," says Mendoza. "I feel like people in our valley feel like there's only life inside of Grand Junction." (Siegler, 10/23)

The Wall Street Journal: After A School Shooting, A Town Frays
At a September school-board meeting in this rural town, a group of families stood before a lectern to recite the names of loved ones killed in a school shooting last May. When Scot Rice, whose wife Flo was shot five times that day, began reading the names of those injured, board president J.R. “Rusty” Norman interrupted to tell him his allotted time was up. “There’s dead bodies between me and you,” Mr. Rice shot back, as two police officers approached him. (Frosch and Hobbs, 10/24)

Politico: U.S. 'Turning The Tide' On The Opioid Crisis, Health Secretary Says
The U.S. is beginning to turn the tide on the opioid epidemic, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said Tuesday, pointing to new federal data showing a slight dip in overdose deaths last year. Preliminary CDC data released last week shows drug overdose deaths, which spiked in 2017, dropped 2.8 percent toward the end of last year and the beginning of 2018. Azar credited federal, state and local efforts, one day before President Donald Trump will sign overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation to address the opioid crisis. (Ehley, 10/23)

The Associated Press: US Health Chief Says Overdose Deaths Beginning To Level Off
"We are so far from the end of the epidemic, but we are perhaps, at the end of the beginning," Azar said at a health care event sponsored by the Milken Institute think tank. Confronting the opioid epidemic has been the rare issue uniting Republicans and Democrats in a politically divided nation. A bill providing major funding for treatment was passed under former President Barack Obama. More money followed earlier this year under President Donald Trump. And on Wednesday Trump is expected to sign bipartisan legislation passed this month that increases access to treatment, among other steps. (10/23)

The Hill: Drug Overdose Deaths Have Hit 'Plateau' Health Chief Says 
Trump will sign a sweeping, bipartisan comprehensive opioid bill on Wednesday, which Azar said will provide a wide variety of tools to help combat the epidemic. The bill creates new programs, and expands and reauthorizes existing programs across almost every federal agency, which are aimed at addressing all aspects of the opioid epidemic, like prevention, treatment and recovery. (Weixel, 10/23)

The Washington Post: Feds Will Aid Infants And Mothers Affected By The Opioid Epidemic
The Trump administration is stepping up aid for infants and mothers caught in the opioid epidemic, promising to help states cope with some of the worst collateral damage of the drug crisis, according to prepared remarks scheduled for delivery Tuesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar. (Bernstein, 10/23)

Politico: Meth And Cocaine Complicate Trump's War On Drugs
President Donald Trump will tout his response to the opioid crisis when he signs a sweeping bipartisan bill this week, but other drug-related deaths are on the rise and little is being done to address the broader scourge of addiction. Fatalities from misuse of methamphetamine, cocaine and benzodiazapines have surged while Washington’s latest efforts to fight drug addiction funnel new money and resources almost exclusively to localities ravaged by the opioid crisis or pay for treatments and overdose-reversal drugs that don't work for stimulants. (Ehley, 10/23)