NPR: U.S. Sees A Sudden And Unexpected Drop In Fatal Overdoses
For the first time in decades, public health data shows a sudden and hopeful drop in drug overdose deaths across the U.S. "This is exciting," said Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute On Drug Abuse [NIDA], the federal laboratory charged with studying addiction. "This looks real. This looks very, very real." National surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already show an unprecedented decline in drug deaths of roughly 10.6 percent. That's a huge reversal from recent years when fatal overdoses regularly increased by double-digit percentages. (Mann, 9/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Medical Examiner Said Her Dad Died Of An OD. It Was A Huge Mistake
For three years, Kylie Robinson mourned her father’s death. James Robinson had died on May 7, 2021, from an accidental drug overdose while in a Tenderloin hotel room, San Francisco’s medical examiner had told her. She held a funeral in a Solano County veteran’s hall. She had him cremated. She spread some of his ashes in Hawaii. Other ashes were placed in custom-made jewelry. She erected a shrine in her living room with his decorative urn, got his name tattooed on her arm and named her son after him. (Gafni, 9/17)

AP: Man Who Sold Fentanyl-Laced Pill Liable For $5.8 Million In Death Of Young Female Customer
In 2019, Brandon McDowell was contacted by a sophomore in college who asked to buy Percocet, a prescription painkiller. What the 20-year-old sold her instead were counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that can be lethal in a dose as small as 2 milligrams. Hours later, Alexandra Capelouto, also 20, was dead in her Temecula, California, home. McDowell has been behind bars since 2022 with a fentanyl possession conviction. But the Capeloutos have now won an additional $5.8 million judgment against him for the death of their daughter. (Ding, 9/18)

Los Angeles Times: Newsom Decries SoCal City That's Banning Homeless Shelters
Gov. Gavin Newsom is threatening legal action against the city of Norwalk unless it reverses a ban on homeless shelters and other housing. “It is unfathomable that as our state grapples with a homelessness crisis, Norwalk would pass an ordinance banning the building of homeless shelters,” Newsom said in a statement. “It is counterproductive and immoral for any community to throw up their hands and say they’ve done enough while they still have people in need.” (Dillon, 9/17)

CalMatters: Homeless Students Can Sleep Safely In Their Cars At This California College. Other Campuses Say No
Pink hues adorn the horizon as the sun rises on a nondescript parking lot at Long Beach City College. The lot is quiet but not empty, with the same gray asphalt and slightly faded white lines as any other one on campus. But from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., it is much more than a place to park. The lot is a designated area for Long Beach City College’s Safe Parking Program, an initiative from the college’s Basic Needs Center that offers safe overnight parking for students and connects them to resources like showers and Wi-Fi. The program was created to address a particular student demographic: homeless students living in their cars. (Mendez-Padilla, 9/18)

Sacramento Bee: Homeless Family Sues Sacramento County Over Motel Conditions
A homeless woman who claims she was subjected to unlivable conditions while living at a Sacramento motel then evicted is suing the county. In addition to the county, the lawsuit, filed Aug. 29 in Sacramento Superior Court, names other governmental entities including the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the California Department of Social Services. It also names private entities including Shree Enterprises Inc., owner of the Greens motels, Step Up on Second Street, Sacramento Steps Forward and City of Refuge. (Clift, 9/17)

The Merced FOCUS: Valley Legislators Push Bills To Ease Nursing Shortage. Will Gov. Newsom Sign Them Into Law?
A number of bills authored by San Joaquin Valley state legislators that aim to ease the region’s shortage of nurses are awaiting California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval. Two bills authored by Merced legislators would create a pilot program for nursing students to earn bachelor’s degrees at their local community college, particularly in disadvantaged communities. The legislature also approved a handful of other bills from both Democratic and Republican Valley lawmakers that streamline various medical processes in an effort to ease healthcare challenges. (Vaccari, 9/17)

Becker's Hospital Review: Radiology Group Urges CMS To Reconsider Cuts
In a Sept. 9 letter to CMS, El Segundo, Calif.-based Radiology Partners expressed concerns over the proposed 2025 Physician Fee Schedule, colorectal cancer screenings and radiation dose management. (Gregerson, 9/17)

The Wall Street Journal: 23andMe Board Resigns In New Blow To DNA-Testing Company And CEO Anne Wojcicki 
All seven independent directors of DNA-testing company 23andMe resigned Tuesday, following a protracted negotiation with founder and Chief Executive Anne Wojcicki over her plan to take the San Francisco-based company private. (Winkler, 9/18)

Modern Healthcare: CDC Diagnostic Recommendations Aim To Reduce Errors, Improve Care Works
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is launching a program to help hospitals reduce diagnostic errors and provide more safe, accurate patient care, the agency announced Tuesday. Missed, delayed or wrong diagnoses can occur due to a variety of factors, including communication breakdowns and technological issues, said Dr. Preeta Kutty, deputy associate director for science in the division of healthcare quality promotion at the CDC. (Devereaux, 9/17)

Becker's Hospital Review: CMS Updates Guidance For Rural Emergency Hospitals: 16 Things To Know
CMS has updated guidance for hospitals interested in converting to a rural emergency hospital, a Medicare designation that was made available Jan. 1, 2023. REHs are a provider type established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, to address concerns over rural hospital closures and provide rural facilities a potential alternative to closure. (Condon, 9/17)

Index-Tribune: Covid-19 Surge Slows In Sonoma County, But Health Leaders Urge Vaccinations
The summer surge of COVID-19 has been decreasing in Sonoma County in early September, but the county’s health officer warns that residents need to receive the new vaccines for it and the flu. (Johnson, 9/17)

NBC News: Virus That Can Cause Paralyzing Illness In Children Is Spiking In The U.S., Data Shows
The Kagolanu family in Los Altos, California, was in a heated game of Monopoly one Friday night in November 2014 when 7-year-old Vishnu's head began, inexplicably, to tilt to one side. Vishnu admits that even though he was losing the game, this wasn't attention-seeking behavior. "My dad was like, 'Hey, what are you doing? Move your head back straight,'" Vishnu, now 17, said. "I just thought, I can't do that." (Edwards, 9/17)

Bay Area News Group: How Lullabies Are Improving Health Care For Black Women And Their Babies In The Bay Area 
According to the Alameda Health System, Centering programs are shown to reduce racism-based disparities in maternal health outcomes such as pre-term birth and low birth weight. (Hunter, 9/18)

Times of San Diego: Anti-Abortion Advocate Sues, Alleging New San Diego Law Violates Free Speech Rights
An anti-abortion protester is suing the city of San Diego in federal court to protest a newly-enacted ordinance covering speech outside various sites, including healthcare facilities. Under the updated city law, speech is restricted within 100 feet of the entrance to certain sites, including those that provide reproductive care, churches and schools. and further restricted within an 8-foot bubble around persons within that zone. (Vigil, 9/17)

AP: VP Says Woman's Death After Delayed Abortion Treatment Shows Consequences Of Trump's Actions 
Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday that the death of a young Georgia mother who died after waiting 20 hours for a hospital to treat her complications from an abortion pill shows the consequences of Donald Trump’s actions. Amber Thurman’s death, first reported Monday by ProPublica, occurred just two weeks after Georgia’s strict abortion ban was enacted in 2022 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn nationwide abortion rights. Trump appointed three of the justices who made that decision and has repeatedly said he believes states should decide abortion laws. (Seitz, 9/17)

Reuters: US Senate IVF Bill Fails After Republicans Block It, Despite Trump Support 
A U.S. Senate bill aimed at enshrining federal protections and expanding insurance coverage for fertility treatments failed on Tuesday, as Republicans voted against it days after Donald Trump surprised supporters by voicing support for such a policy. The bill failed 51-44, falling short of the required 60-vote threshold after most Republicans voted against it for the second time. Democrats control the chamber by a slim 51-49 margin. (Warburton, 9/18)

The Hill: Democrats Block Ted Cruz Attempt To Pass GOP IVF Bill
Democrats on Tuesday blocked an attempt by Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Katie Britt (Ala.) to pass a GOP in vitro fertilization (IVF) access bill through unanimous consent, repeating a similar showdown that occurred earlier this year. Cruz sought unanimous consent for the IVF Protection Act, which was blocked by Democrats in June at the same time their own IVF access bill, the Right to IVF Act, was blocked by Republicans. (Choi, 9/17)

The New York Times: Deep Links Between Alcohol And Cancer Are Described In New Report
Adults under age 50 have been developing breast cancer and colorectal cancer at increasingly higher rates over the last six decades, and alcohol use may be one factor driving the trend, according to a scientific report published on Wednesday. (Rabin, 9/18)

KVPR: Report: Cancer Diagnoses Are More Common But So Is Surviving
The American Association for Cancer Research annual report, released Wednesday, points to a rapidly shifting — and mixed — disease landscape. On one hand, scientific advances are helping identify and treat cancer. Death rates are down by a third between 1991 and 2021, according to the report, which shares the latest data on cancer incidence, mortality, and survivorship as well as updates on cancer research. But, at the same time, cancer is also becoming more common — and it’s affecting people at younger ages. (Noguchi, 9/17)

The New York Times: These Four Common Infections Can Cause Cancer
A new report says that 13 percent of cancers are linked to bacteria or viruses. Vaccines and treatments offer powerful protection. (Agrawal, 9/18)

NBC News: Black Women Are More Likely Than White Women To Die Of All Types Of Breast Cancer
Black women are more likely than white women to die from even the most treatable types of breast cancer, a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found. The findings, experts say, underscore that it’s racial disparities, not biology, driving the biggest differences in death rates between Black and white women. While Black women and white women are diagnosed with breast cancer at similar rates, Black women are 40% more likely to die from the disease. (Sullivan, 9/17)

NBC News: Breast Cancer Treatment: Drug Kisqali Approval Expanded For Earlier Stage Disease
The Food and Drug Administration expanded the approval of Kisqali, a drug for metastatic breast cancer, to also treat patients with earlier stages of the disease, drugmaker Novartis said Tuesday. The approval means that tens of thousands of women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer will have access to a medication that can help prevent their cancer from coming back. (Fattah, Kopf and Park, 9/17)

Bloomberg: Harris Seeks To Cap Child Care Costs At 7% For Working Families
Vice President Kamala Harris said that she would seek to cap child care costs for working families at 7% of their income, her latest effort to assure voters that she will address the high prices and broad economic anxiety that has threatened her bid for the White House against Republican Donald Trump. “My plan is that no family, no working family, should pay more than 7% of their income in child care,” Harris said Tuesday at an event in Philadelphia with the National Association of Black Journalists. (Lowenkron and Woodhouse, 9/17)

Stat: Democrats Attack Trump-Vance Over Health Insurance Protections 
GOP vice presidential-hopeful JD Vance made some confusing comments over the weekend about deregulating health insurance. Democrats are using that to their advantage by characterizing the Trump-Vance ticket as being against a popular insurance protection. (Wilkerson and Owermohle, 9/17)

The New York Times: What R.F.K. Jr.’s Alliance With Trump Could Mean For Public Health 
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long voiced doubts about vaccine safety, has hopes of influencing federal health policy. Could he finally get the chance? (Baumgaertner, 9/18)

The Washington Post: House To Vote Wednesday On Doomed GOP Bill To Avert Government Shutdown
The House will vote Wednesday on the plan by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to fund the government, the speaker announced Tuesday — though the proposal lacks even enough Republican votes to pass and could deal the GOP a setback in government funding negotiations as a shutdown deadline nears. (Bogage, 9/17)

The Hill: Republicans Unlikely To Push Vote To Overturn Nursing Home Mandate
Republicans are not planning to force a vote on a resolution to overturn the Biden administration’s plan mandating minimum staffing levels in nursing homes, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said.  A resolution under the Congressional Review Act isn’t subject to the 60-vote filibuster and needs only a simple majority of votes. The CRA is a fast-track legislative tool that allows lawmakers to nullify rules even after the executive branch has completed them. (Weixel, 9/17)

Stat: Trans Paper Controversy Shows Changing Research Standards
Last year, a Springer Nature journal published a study surveying 1,700 parents of adolescents and young adults with gender dysphoria. Just a few months later, the study was retracted because there had been no formal process for those parents to consent to the study. But the story didn’t end there. Ongoing fallout from the paper and its retraction has opened up an internal rift among academic editors and journal staff that led to one editor’s resignation, as first reported by Retraction Watch. (Oza, 9/18)

Reuters: Biden Makes History With 12th Senate-Confirmed LGBTQ Judge 
President Joe Biden secured the record for the highest number of openly LGBTQ judges appointed to the bench by any president when the U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted in favor of a military vet who spent years working as a prosecutor becoming a life-tenured judge in Philadelphia. The Democratic-led Senate voted 52-41 to confirm Mary Kay Costello to serve as a district court judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, becoming the 12th openly LGBTQ judicial nominee under Biden to win confirmation. (Raymond, 9/17)

Bloomberg: Kratom’s First FDA Study Suggests Capsules Safe At High Doses
Kratom leaves appear safe even at high doses when taken in capsule form, US regulators found in their first preliminary study of the popular botanical compound that they’ve targeted as a potential public health threat. The US Food and Drug Administration research is intended to help fill a void surrounding the compound that’s been used for centuries in Southeast Asia, where people chew the leaves to get their mind-altering effects. Important questions remain about its impact in drinks and concentrates — more common in the US — which contain higher levels of kratom and could pose greater danger to consumers. (Rutherford and Milton, 9/17)

Bloomberg: Novo Says Ozempic ‘Very Likely’ Target For Next US Price Cut
Ozempic, the blockbuster diabetes shot made by Novo Nordisk A/S, is “very likely” to be one of the next drugs targeted for a price cut in bargaining with the US government’s Medicare program, a company executive said. The Inflation Reduction Act, which allows the US to directly negotiate drug prices with manufacturers for the first time, last month slashed the cost of 10 of the world’s biggest medicines by 38% to 79% for 2026. (Smith and Muller, 9/17)

CNN: GLP-1 Pills Are Coming, And They Could Revolutionize Weight-Loss Treatment
Jared Holz thought about taking one of the new GLP-1 drugs for weight loss for months before he actually filled the prescription. And even when he got the drug, he waited a month before using it. Part of his hesitation: He dislikes needles, and all the drugs in this class that have been approved for weight loss come as shots that users give themselves once a week. (Tirrell, 9/17)

Los Angeles Times: Many California Foster Kids Could Be Uprooted As Insurer Flees Market
Monique Lewis has figured out a few tricks to lure her foster child to school. Some days, it’s McDonald’s frappuccinos. But on days the 13-year-old girl still struggles to get out of bed, a counselor from Aviva Family and Children’s Services is available to help out. ... The girl, whom The Times is not identifying because she is a minor, is one of thousands of California foster children who may soon have to move to a new home amid a statewide insurance crisis. (Ellis, 9/18)

Los Angeles Times: California Legal Weed Industry In Tumult After Times Pesticide Investigation
A scandal over California’s failure to keep pesticides out of legal cannabis is causing turmoil throughout the industry, with a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit, the departure of a top cannabis official, the state hiring a private investigator, and a race in the private sector to form a shadow regulatory system in the face of crumbling consumer confidence. Product testing, confidential lab reports, public records and interviews show California regulators have largely failed to address evidence of widespread contamination, after a Los Angeles Times investigation in June found high levels of pesticides in some of the most popular vape brands. Industry leaders fear those revelations give consumers one more reason to opt out of the higher-priced, highly taxed $5-billion legal market, beset by slumping sales and rising business failures as it is out-competed by the larger, unregulated underground cannabis economy. (St. John, 9/18)