State Highlights: 60% Of California Wildfire Victims Reported To Be Elderly, Many Found In Or Near Their Homes; Romaine Lettuce E. Coli Outbreak Linked To One California Farm So Far

Los Angeles Times: Many Victims Of California’s Worst Wildfire Were Elderly And Died In Or Near Their Homes, New Data Show
Rose Farrell is the oldest victim of the devastating Camp fire to be identified so far. She was 99, and she died inside her home on Herman Road in Paradise. Evva Holt, 85, died inside a pickup truck after she was evacuated from Feather Canyon Gracious Retirement Living. She made it only a mile. (Ganga, Newberry, St. John and Lin, 12/13)

The Associated Press: Tainted Romaine Lettuce Traced To At Least 1 California Farm
U.S. health officials have traced a food poisoning outbreak from romaine lettuce to at least one farm in California. But they cautioned Thursday that other farms are likely involved in the E. coli outbreak and consumers should continue checking the label before purchasing romaine lettuce. (12/13)

PBS NewsHour: FDA Identifies A Farm Linked To The Romaine Lettuce E. Coli Outbreak
Adams Bros. Farms, the producer linked to the pre-Thanksgiving outbreak, has not shipped lettuce since Nov. 20 and has cooperated with the investigation, the FDA said in a statement. While this positive sample is a significant development in helping investigators explain the outbreak in part, the FDA said, “The outbreak may not be explained by a single farm, grower, harvester, or distributor.” In other words, the probe continues. (Santhanam, 12/13)

The New York Times: A Human Heart, Left Aboard, Sends Airplane Back To Where It Started
The announcement that came over the intercom on Southwest Flight 3606 from Seattle to Dallas on Sunday had nothing to do with turbulence. It was not about connecting flights, troubling weather, or delays. This one was highly unusual: A human heart had been left behind on the airplane, the announcement said, and was presumably needed by someone right away. With that, the airplane turned around in midair — and headed back to Seattle where it had started. (Johnson, 12/13)

California Healthline: In California, Doctors Accused Of Sexual Misconduct Often Get Second Chances
The doctor instructed his patient to stand in front of him. He cupped her crotch and inserted his fingers into her vagina through her clothes, moving his hand repeatedly to her rectal area. Then he squeezed her breasts, according to a formal accusation filed by the Medical Board of California. The patient, accompanied to the appointment by her 4-year-old granddaughter, asked why that was necessary to diagnose a urinary tract infection, according to the documents. He told her to let him do his job. (Ostrov and Rowan, 12/13)

Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Gov.-Elect Bill Lee Popular, Health Care Top Issue, Poll Says
A majority of Tennesseans have a favorable view of Gov.-elect Bill Lee as he heads into office while health care remains a key issue among registered voters, according to a new poll from Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt's latest poll, released Thursday, found 57 percent of respondents had a favorable view of Lee, who last month was elected Tennessee's 50th governor. ...Although Lee remains popular among registered voters, the top issue for Tennesseans is health care.  Thirty percent of respondents said health care was the state's top priority, followed by education. (Ebert, 12/13)

CNN: Missouri Police To Launch Review Of Destroyed Rape Kits Following CNN Investigation
The police chief in Springfield, Missouri, on Thursday told a rape victim advocacy group that the department will review sex crimes cases in which the agency destroyed rape kits. Chief Paul Williams' pledge to Me Too Springfield came two weeks after he apologized to sexual assault victims and invited them to contact him if they felt their cases were mishandled. (Fantz, 12/13)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Cleveland Clinic Akron General Academic Program Trains Spiritual Caregivers To Work In Hospitals, Other Health-Care Institutions
Cleveland Clinic Akron General is training prospective chaplains in the use of "spiritual-care skills" to enhance the healing of patients in hospitals and other health-care settings. The hospital's Clinical Pastoral Education program is offered through the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, which is accredited by the U.S. Department of Education. Students learn to counsel patients' families, including children, as well as caregivers and clinical staff. (Conn, 12/13)

The CT Mirror: Advocates Warn Fiscal Caps Could Tighten On Social Services, Local Aid
Social services advocates warned Thursday that a series of new caps in the state budget could dramatically drain resources away from education, other services for children, and local aid over the next decade. Analysts for Connecticut Voices for Children, a New Haven-based policy research group, also cautioned that these caps could promote a shift in tax burdens from the wealthy to the middle class and poor. (Phaneuf, 12/13)

Stateline: Few Wells Tested For Contamination After Major Flooding From Hurricanes
More than 30 above-ground hog lagoons overflowed in North Carolina after Hurricane Florence, sending pig waste into water inundating surrounding communities. Floodwater from Florence and Michael also contained agricultural runoff, fuel and other contaminants that can seep into the aquifer or flow into man-made wells through their ground-level ventilation systems. Without data, though, scientists and public health officials won’t know the full impact of the flooding on private wells. (Beitsch, 12/14)

The Associated Press: Tennessee Republican Sparks Pushback After Vaccine Comment
A Tennessee physician recently elected to Congress received criticism Thursday from top state leaders for alleging without evidence that vaccines may cause autism. "Let me say this about autism," said Republican U.S. Rep.-elect Mark Green of Ashland City in a Tuesday town hall. "I have committed to people in my community, up in Montgomery County, to stand on the (Centers for Disease Control) desk and get the real data on vaccines. Because there is some concern that the rise in autism is the result of the preservatives that are in our vaccines." (12/13)

The Star Tribune: Judge Backs Statewide Ambulance License For Children's
An administrative law judge has recommended that regulators grant a statewide license to Children’s Minnesota to operate a new quad-cab ambulance for transporting patients between hospitals across Minnesota. The state’s Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board (EMSRB) is expected to make a final decision next week on the controversial proposal from Children’s, which has been opposed by other EMS providers including the ambulance service at the Mayo Clinic. (Snowbeck, 12/13)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Board Backs County Staff For Jail Medical Service
The Milwaukee County Board on Thursday put up a unanimous front in support of hiring county employees instead of a private contractor to provide inmate medical services at the jail and House of Correction. Board approval of a proposal by Board Chairman Theodore Lipscomb Sr. to study the feasibility of making the switch was a vote of no confidence in the current contractor to do the job. (Behm, 12/13)

The Associated Press: Health Care Company Founder Shares $20M With Workers
The founder of a home health care company has given about $20 million of his person funds to the company’s workers. The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware, reports BAYADA Home Health Care founder Mark Baiada gifted the money this month to the company’s more than 20,000 workers. The amount gifted to each worker was based on the worker’s lifetime earnings with the company. The amounts ranged from $50 for new hires to tens of thousands for those who have been with BAYADA for decades. (12/14)

The Associated Press: 5 Convicted In Meningitis Outbreak Case; 1 Acquitted
Four former employees and an owner of the Massachusetts facility responsible for a nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak that has killed more than 100 people and sickened hundreds were convicted Thursday of fraud and other offenses. A Boston jury acquitted another employee, pharmacist Joseph Evanosky, of all charges after several days of deliberations. (12/13)

Boston Globe: Proposed Marijuana Store Too Close To Counseling Agency, Opponents Say
Does a marijuana dispensary belong downstairs from a counseling agency that helps families cope with addiction? Is an outlet that sells pot any more dangerous than a convenience store that sells beer or wine or a Mexican restaurant known for its Margaritas? In Rowley, 16 miles north of Salem, the answers to those questions depend on zoning laws and how much tax money could flow into the town treasury. (Greenstein, 12/13)