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Latest California Healthline Stories

A Law Was Meant to Free Sick or Aging Inmates. Instead, Some Are Left to Die in Prison.

The First Step Act was supposed to help free terminally ill and aging federal inmates who pose little or no threat to public safety. But while petitions for compassionate release skyrocketed during the pandemic, judges denied most requests.

Cleanup Workers Got Sick After Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. They Want BP to Pay.

After the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2020, Rodney Boblitt’s job was to patrol a 14-mile stretch of coastline in the Florida Panhandle looking for signs of oil washing ashore. Today, the 54-year-old is among thousands of other cleanup workers who are experiencing health issues and suing BP. But proving their health conditions were caused by the oil has been challenging.

Republican Lawmakers Shy Away From Changing Montana’s Constitutional Right to Abortion

Lawmakers in 14 states have passed near-total bans on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But in some conservative-led states where court rulings determined their constitutions protect abortion, including Montana, politicians haven’t asked voters to weigh in.

In California, Democrats Propose $25 Minimum Wage for Health Workers

State Sen. María Elena Durazo and Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West want to give health facility support staffers a raise. Hospitals, nursing homes, and dialysis clinics are expected to resist.

It Takes a Village: Foster Program Is a New Model of Care for Indigenous Children

A foster care program on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota is attracting attention from officials elsewhere as they search for ways to reduce trauma inflicted on Indigenous families, who’ve faced generations of high rates of family separation.

‘The Country Is Watching’: State’s Homeless Crisis Looms as Newsom Eyes His Political Future

As Gov. Gavin Newsom enters his second term, his legacy as governor and path forward in the Democratic Party hinge on his making visible headway on California’s homeless crisis. We lay out the possibilities — and challenges — as he unleashes an $18 billion battle plan.