First Edition: December 2, 2019

Kaiser Health News: ‘I Feel Like I’m In Jail’: Hospital Alarms Torment Patients
When Kea Turner’s 74-year-old grandmother checked into Virginia’s Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital with advanced lung cancer, she landed in the oncology unit where every patient was monitored by a bed alarm. “Even if she would slightly roll over, it would go off,” Turner said. Small movements ― such as reaching for a tissue ― would set off the alarm, as well. The beeping would go on for up to 10 minutes, Turner said, until a nurse arrived to shut it off. Tens of thousands of alarms shriek, beep and buzz every day in every U.S. hospital. All sound urgent, but few require immediate attention or get it. (Bailey, 12/2)

Kaiser Health News: For Artist Inspired By Illness, ‘Gratitude Outweighs Pain’
People often ask Dylan Mortimer how it feels to breathe through transplanted lungs. He gets that a lot because while most people go through life with one pair of lungs, Mortimer is on his third. The 40-year-old artist has endured two double lung transplants in the past two years. He often shares his journey onstage as a speaker. But when the curtain closes, he leaves the rest of the storytelling to art. “I’m alive because of what someone else did,” Mortimer said. “That is humbling in all the best ways.” (Anthony, 12/2)

The Washington Post: How A Fight Over Health Care Entangled Elizabeth Warren — And Reshaped The Democratic Presidential Race
In mid-November, a few dozen of the country’s most influential advocates of Medicare-for-all were reviewing details of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s plan to finance the proposed government-run program when they learned that she had unexpectedly changed her position. Warren (D-Mass.), who had excited liberals when she initially embraced a Medicare-for-all idea first proposed by rival presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), was suggesting a more centrist idea: to delay enactment of the single-payer system and, in the interim, give consumers the choice to opt in. (Linskey, Stein and Balz, 11/30)

The Hill: Disability Advocates Raise Concerns About Democratic Candidates' Mental Health Plans 
Mental health proposals from Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) have sparked backlash from some advocates with disabilities, who argue that the plans would increase involuntary institutionalization. Plans by all three presidential candidates embrace a repeal of Medicaid’s Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion, which bars the federal program from paying for inpatient psychiatric treatment in facilities with more than 16 beds, according to Sara Luterman, a Washington, D.C.-area journalist focusing on disability issues. (Budryck, 11/27)

The New York Times: How A Divided Left Is Losing The Battle On Abortion
In late September, a woman in her 70s arrived at a skilled nursing facility in suburban Houston after several weeks in the hospital. Her leg had been amputated after a long-ago knee replacement became infected; she also suffered from diabetes, depression, anxiety and general muscular weakness. An occupational therapist named Susan Nielson began working with her an hour a day, five days a week. Gradually, the patient became more mobile. With assistance and encouragement, she could transfer from her bed to a wheelchair, get herself to the bathroom for personal grooming and lift light weights to build her endurance. (Dias and Lerer, 12/1)

The Hill: Pennsylvania Bill Would Require Burials, Cremation For Fetal Remains After Abortion, Miscarriage
A bill being considered by state legislators in Pennsylvania would require health care facilities to bury or cremate fetal remains after an abortion or miscarriage. House Bill 1890, which was introduced by predominantly Republican group of lawmakers in September and passed by the GOP-led state House last week, is now being considered in the state Senate. (Folley, 12/1)

Politico: 'Black Hole' Of Medical Records Contributes To Deaths, Mistreatment At The Border
The Department of Homeland Security's inadequate medical technology and record-management for the thousands of migrants who pass through its custody are contributing to poor care and even deaths, according to lawsuit records reviewed by POLITICO. A review by POLITICO of 22 deaths of detainees in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody between 2013 and 2018 revealed malfunctioning software and troubling gaps in use of technology, such as failure to properly document patient care or scribbling documentation in the margins of forms. (Tahir, 12/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Diabetes Patients’ Blood-Sugar Data Aren’t Being Shared
Parents of young diabetes patients say they haven’t been getting crucial readings from blood-sugar monitors worn by their children since early Saturday. The technological breakdown, the origin of which isn’t certain, threatens the proper care of the young diabetes patients. (Loftus, 12/1)

The Washington Post: Medicare Open Enrollment Ends Soon; Here's What You Need To Know
The door is closing on Medicare’s open enrollment period. If you are among the nation’s 60 million Medicare beneficiaries and want to switch plans, compare premiums or fish around for cheaper prescription drugs, you have a week left. If the barrage of TV commercials is any indication — with people such as National Football League legend Joe Namath hawking help lines — meeting the Dec. 7 deadline is hugely important. It affects your health, pocketbook and quality of life. (Heath, 11/29)

The Wall Street Journal: State Comptroller To Cuomo: Come Clean On Medicaid Cuts
New York state’s chief fiscal officer wants Gov. Andrew Cuomo to quickly provide more information about potential cuts to the Medicaid program, which the governor’s office recently put on the table to deal with a $4 billion cost overrun. Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said in an interview last week that he’s concerned about the situation, which has been developing since the state began its new fiscal year in April. A midyear update released by Mr. Cuomo’s Division of the Budget last month said the state could reduce payments and reimbursements to health-care service providers by $1.8 billion. Details will be coming in January, the update said. (Vielkind, 12/1)

NPR: Vaping's Surge Brings New Problems Environmental Waste
In her office at Boulder High School, the assistant principal has a large cardboard box where she can toss the spoils of her ongoing battle with the newest student addiction. "This is what I call the box of death," says Kristen Lewis. "This is everything that we've confiscated." The box is filled with vape pens like Juuls, the leading brand of e-cigarettes, dozens of disposable pods for nicotine liquid, and even a lonely box of Marlboros. (Daley, 11/29)

The Hill: Mass. Governor Signs Groundbreaking Vaping Flavor Ban Into Law 
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) on Wednesday signed into law the country’s most stringent ban on flavored vaping products, as well as menthol cigarettes. The new law immediately restricts the sale of all flavored nicotine vaping products and will ban menthol cigarettes starting June 1. Under the law, flavored vaping products will only be sold in licensed smoking bars, and they must be consumed onsite. (Weixel, 11/27)

The New York Times: The Class Of 2000 ‘Could Have Been Anything.’ Until Opioids Hit.
The Minford High School Class of 2000, in rural Minford, Ohio, began its freshman year as a typical class. It had its jocks and its cheerleaders, its slackers and its overachievers. But by the time the group entered its final year, its members said, painkillers were nearly ubiquitous, found in classrooms, school bathrooms and at weekend parties. Over the next decade, Scioto County, which includes Minford, would become ground zero in the state’s fight against opioids. It would lead Ohio with its rates of fatal drug overdoses, drug-related incarcerations and babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome. (Levin, 12/2)

The New York Times: Where The Nurse Prescribes Heroin
Homeless drug users in Scotland will be allowed to inject pharmaceutical-grade heroin twice a day under the supervision of medical officials as part of a new program intended to reduce drug deaths and H.I.V. infection. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week, a $1.5 million facility in Glasgow that opened on Tuesday will allow a handful of drug users to receive doses of the drug alongside other treatment for their physical and psychological health, according to Glasgow City Council. (Schaverien and McCann, 11/27)

NPR: To Prevent Fentanyl Overdoses, Some Cities Try High-Tech Drug Testing
Sarah Mackin runs a cotton swab around the inside of a tiny plastic baggie that appears to be empty. She spreads whatever residue the swab picked up onto a test strip that resembles a Band-Aid, then slides the strip into a buzzing machine about the size of a boxed, take-home pie. Then she waits, hoping for information that she can share with Boston's community of opioid users. (Bebinger, 11/27)

NPR/ProPublica: Why TeamHealth, Owned By Blackstone Group, Stopped Suing Poor Patients
After nine visits to the emergency room at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., in 2016 and 2017, Jennifer Brooks began receiving bills from an entity she'd never heard of, Southeastern Emergency Physicians. Unsure what the bills were for, Brooks, a stay-at-home mother, said she ignored them until they were sent to collections. She made payment arrangements, but when she was late, she said the collection agency demanded $500, which she didn't have. (Thomas, Miller, Raghavendran and Burke, 11/27)

The Washington Post: Clinic Pitches Unproven Treatments To Desperate Patients, With Tips On Raising The Cash
By the time he called the Lung Health Institute, Ed Garbutt was desperate. The Dallas computer parts salesman could barely walk the length of his house without gasping for breath. Unable to work, Garbutt, 64, was going broke paying for trips to the emergency room. Lung Health Institute staffers were reassuring, Garbutt recalled, telling him that more than 80 percent of their patients with lung disease said they found relief through their stem cell treatments — which would cost him $5,500, thanks to a summer sale. He said they told him that if he didn’t have the money, he could get it other ways, like fundraising on GoFundMe. (Wan and McGinley, 12/1)

The Wall Street Journal: GE Pitches Investors On Its Health-Care Unit, A Steady Source Of Cash
General Electric Co. aims to excite investors about its health-care unit, a business that was tagged to be cast off but is now central to the company’s turnaround efforts. GE Healthcare, which is based in Chicago and employs more than 50,000 people, makes magnetic-resonance-imaging machines and other hospital equipment. At the depths of its crisis, GE set plans to spin off the division. Now, Chief Executive Larry Culp refers to it as one of the conglomerate’s pillars. (Gryta, 12/1)

The New York Times: A Change In Medicare Has Therapists Alarmed
In late September, a woman in her 70s arrived at a skilled nursing facility in suburban Houston after several weeks in the hospital. Her leg had been amputated after a long-ago knee replacement became infected; she also suffered from diabetes, depression, anxiety and general muscular weakness. An occupational therapist named Susan Nielson began working with her an hour a day, five days a week. Gradually, the patient became more mobile. With assistance and encouragement, she could transfer from her bed to a wheelchair, get herself to the bathroom for personal grooming and lift light weights to build her endurance. (Span, 11/29)

The New York Times: New Strawberry-Flavored H.I.V. Drugs For Babies Are Offered At $1 A Day
About 80,000 babies and toddlers die of AIDS each year, mostly in Africa, in part because their medicines come in hard pills or bitter syrups that are very difficult for small children to swallow or keep down. But on Friday, the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla announced a new, more palatable pediatric formulation. The new drug, called Quadrimune, comes in strawberry-flavored granules the size of grains of sugar that can be mixed with milk or sprinkled on baby cereal. Experts said it could save the lives of thousands of children each year. (McNeil, 11/29)

The Associated Press: Study: For Babies Born With HIV, Start Treatment Right Away
When babies are born with HIV, starting treatment within hours to days is better than waiting even the few weeks to months that’s the norm in many countries, researchers reported Wednesday. The findings, from a small but unique study in Botswana, could influence care in Africa and other regions hit hard by the virus. They also might offer a clue in scientists’ quest for a cure. (11/27)

Reuters: Pfizer, Novartis Lead $2 Billion Spending Spree On Gene Therapy Production
Eleven drugmakers led by Pfizer and Novartis have set aside a combined $2 billion to invest in gene therapy manufacturing since 2018, according to a Reuters analysis, in a drive to better control production of the world's priciest medicines. The full scope of Novartis' $500 million plan, revealed to Reuters in an interview with the company's gene therapy chief, has not been previously disclosed. It is second only to Pfizer, which has allocated $600 million to build its own gene therapy manufacturing plants, according to filings and interviews with industry executives. (11/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Novartis Deal For Heart Drug Hinges On Succeeding Where Rivals Struggle
Novartis AG Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan has spent the past two years buying up cutting-edge science. His latest deal is a high-stakes bet that the Swiss health-care giant will succeed where many have struggled: launching a new heart drug. Cardiovascular diseases are the number-one cause of death in the U.S., but new drugs for conditions like high cholesterol and heart failure have proven tough to sell. (Roland, 11/29)

The Hill: Trump's Drug Importation Plan Faces Resistance In US, Canada
President Trump’s proposal to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada faces significant headwinds from U.S. pharmaceutical companies and the Canadian government. Canadian officials warn their country is too small to supply their neighbors to the south with prescription drugs, an argument that American drugmakers quickly seized on after years of aggressively opposing all drug importation efforts. (Hellmann, 12/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Early Drug Treatment Sharply Reduces Deaths From Ebola
A person’s chance of dying from Ebola increases substantially every day until he or she receives treatment, according to results from a landmark clinical trial conducted during a large epidemic in a violent region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The study, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, confirmed that two experimental drugs outperformed two others in saving the lives of people stricken with the deadly viral disease in northeastern Congo. (McKay, 11/27)

Los Angeles Times: Their Kids Died On The Psych Ward. They Were Far From Alone, A Times Investigation Found
Mia St. John’s cellphone lit up with a message from the psychiatrist treating her son. The voicemail shimmered with hope, the first she had felt in months. The doctor said Julian, admitted to a psychiatric facility with schizophrenia, seemed more cheerful, was talking more with other patients and would soon begin a new art project. (Karlamangla, 12/1)

Los Angeles Times: How To Reduce Suicides On The Psychiatric Ward
Over the last decade, more than 50 people have died by suicide while admitted to psychiatric facilities in California. The figure paints a bleak picture of the options available for people in the midst of a mental health crisis. So for families whose loved ones are suffering from suicidal thoughts, is there hope? Can hospitals actually stop people from dying by suicide? The short answer, experts say, is yes. (Karlamangla, 12/1)

The Wall Street Journal: As Suicides Rise, More Attention Turns To The People Left Behind
On the day before his 25th birthday, Jeannine Pembroke’s son killed himself. Soon the calls from family and friends dwindled, and Ms. Pembroke was alone with her grief. One afternoon, she sat at her computer in the house where her son had grown up and sent her first message to an online support group. “We are devastated, numb, angry, and so very sad,” she wrote. As suicides rise in the U.S., more attention is turning to the struggles of the people left behind. New research shows just how severe the aftermath is—and that it is different from other kinds of loss. People who lose a loved one to suicide are at a greater risk for post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide themselves. The grief can be longer-lasting and more debilitating. (Petersen, 12/2)

The Washington Post: Benefits Of Stem Cell Heart Therapy May Have Nothing To Do With Stem Cells, A Study On Mice Suggests
For 15 years, scientists have put various stem cells into seriously ill patients’ hearts in hopes of regenerating injured muscle and boosting heart function. A new mouse study may finally debunk the idea behind the controversial procedure, showing the beneficial effects of two types of cell therapy are caused not by the rejuvenating properties of stem cells, but by the body’s wound-healing response — which can also be triggered by injecting dead cells or a chemical into the heart. (Johnson, 11/27)

The Associated Press: Flu Season Takes Off Quickly In Deep South States
The flu season is off and running in the Deep South. The most recent weekly flu report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds high levels of flu-like illness in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina and Texas. The highest level in that report for the week ended Nov. 16 was in Mississippi. Doctors in the Magnolia State say they’re already seeing lots of patients. (11/29)

ProPublica: Tinder Lets Known Sex Offenders Use The App. It’s Not The Only One.
Susan Deveau saw Mark Papamechail’s online dating profile on PlentyofFish in late 2016. Scrolling through his pictures, she saw a 54-year-old man, balding and broad, dressed in a T-shirt. Papamechail lived near her home in a suburb of Boston and, like Deveau, was divorced. His dating app profile said he wanted “to find someone to marry.” Deveau had used dating websites for years, but she told her adult daughter the men she met were “dorky.” (Flynn, Cousins and Picciani, 12/2)

The New York Times: Swimmers Beware Of Deep Brain Stimulation
A lifelong swimmer leapt into deep water near his lakeside home, and was horrified to find himself completely unable to swim. Had his wife not rescued him, he might have drowned. He had recently received an electronic brain implant to control tremors and other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and somehow the signals from the device had knocked out his ability to coordinate his arms and legs for swimming. (Grady, 11/27)

The New York Times: Study Warns Helmets Don’t Offer Full Protection On Slopes
CONCORD, N.H. — For several years now, it has been almost de rigueur for skiers and snowboarders to strap on a helmet amid rising concerns about safety on the slopes. But a new study caution that helmets cannot protect skiers from all head injuries. (11/28)

NPR: Teens Who Threaten And Hit Their Parents: That's Domestic Violence Too
Nothing Jenn and Jason learned in parenting class prepared them for the challenges they've faced raising a child prone to violent outbursts. The couple are parents to two siblings whom they first fostered as toddlers and later adopted. In some ways, the family today seems like many others. Jenn and Jason's 12-year-old daughter is into pop star Taylor Swift and loves playing outside with her older brother. (Herman, 11/29)

The Wall Street Journal: A Prescription Of Poetry To Help Patients Speak Their Minds
Dr. Joshua Hauser approached the bedside of his patient, treatment in hand. But it wasn’t medicine he carried. It was a copy of a 19th-century poem titled “Invictus.” It isn’t often that doctors do rounds with poetry. But Dr. Hauser, section chief of palliative care at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, and colleagues are testing it as part of a pilot study. He entered Mr. Askew’s room. The patient had asked for “Invictus,” a dark poem by William Ernest Henley that he remembered from his past. (Reddy, 12/1)

The Associated Press: MRIs Of Dense Breasts Find More Cancer But Also False Alarms
Giving women with very dense breasts an MRI scan in addition to a mammogram led to fewer missed cancers but also to a lot of false alarms and treatments that might not have been needed, a large study found. The results give a clearer picture of the tradeoffs involved in such testing, but they can't answer the biggest question — whether it saves lives. (11/27)

The New York Times: M.R.I.S Can Better Detect Cancer In Women With Dense Breasts, Study Finds
Now, a new study provides strong evidence that supplemental M.R.I.s are more effective in finding tumors in these women than mammograms alone. The study, of more than 40,000 women with extremely dense breasts in the Netherlands, found that those who had mammograms followed by M.R.I.s, had more tumors detected than with mammography alone. The research also found that those who had M.R.I.s were less likely to find a palpable cancerous lump in between routine screenings; by the time tumors are big enough to be felt, they tend to be more advanced. (Rabin, 11/27)

NPR: Black Mothers Get Less Treatment For Their Postpartum Depression
Portia Smith's most vivid memories of her daughter's first year are of tears. Not the baby's. Her own. "I would just hold her and cry all day," Smith recalls. At 18, Smith was caring for two children, 4-year-old Kelaiah and newborn Nelly, with little help from her abusive relationship. The circumstances were difficult, but she knew the tears were more than that. (Feldman and Pattani, 11/29)

The New York Times: Asthma Control Is Critical During Pregnancy
Pregnant women with asthma should take special care to keep their asthma in check. Canadian researchers have found that asthma attacks during pregnancy are associated with a number of serious health problems for both mother and child. The observational study, in The European Respiratory Journal, used data on 103,424 pregnancies in women with asthma. (Bakalar, 11/27)

The Washington Post: After Miscarriage, I Was Rocked By Depression. Like Many Other Women, I Didn’t Get Follow-Up Care For This Loss.
The memory of our motionless baby boy on the ultrasound screen awakened me in the middle of the night. I squeezed my eyes shut repeatedly, but I couldn’t escape the image. My body ached, my heart raced and tears streamed down my face until they led to uncontrollable sobs, eventually waking my husband. I cried until morning. That was the first night after I miscarried at 12 weeks pregnant. Those early morning flashbacks lasted for weeks. (Reilly, 11/30)

The Washington Post: To Tackle Violence Against Women And Girls, U.N. Health Agency Pushes RESPECT Program
About 1 in 3 women has experienced violence during her lifetime, according to the World Health Organization — an epidemic that is truly worldwide. In the days leading up to Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, the United Nations health agency wants to spread awareness to prevent violence against women and girls. (Blakemore, 11/30)

NPR: Give Thanks For Adult Siblings And The Ties That Bind
We didn't expect to need the card table for spillover seating at this year's Thanksgiving dinner. We would be fewer than usual, just nine altogether, and the littlest one's high chair needs no place setting. As we got things ready, I felt deep gratitude for the family members who would be here — my husband, our two daughters, their husbands, my sister-in-law's 90-year-old mother and our two delightful granddaughters. But I also knew I would deeply miss the ones who couldn't make it. (Henig, 11/28)

The New York Times: How Racism Ripples Through Rural California’s Pipes
Bertha Mae Beavers remembers hearing stories as a child about the promises of California, a place so rich with jobs and opportunity that money, she was told, “grew on trees.” So in the summer of 1946 she said goodbye to her family of sharecroppers in Oklahoma and set out for a piece of it. For decades she labored in the Central Valley’s vast cotton and grape fields, where eventually her children joined her. Looking back, Ms. Beavers, who turned 90 this year, has sometimes wondered why she left home at all. It was all the same trouble, she said. (Del Real, 11/29)

The Associated Press: Utah Banning ‘Conversion Therapy’ With Mormon Church Backing
Utah is on its way to becoming the 19th state to ban the discredited practice of conversion therapy in January after state officials formed a proposal that has the support of the influential Church of a Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Republican Gov. Gary Herbert announced Tuesday night that church leaders back a regulatory rule his office helped craft after legislative efforts for a ban on the therapy failed earlier this year. (11/27)

The Associated Press: Uber Driver Says S. Carolina Hospital Dumped Patient On Him
An Uber driver says a South Carolina hospital dumped a patient on him, saying where she ended up was his responsibility. Chris Wilson tells The Greenville News that he stopped in October at AnMed Health Medical Center, a common pickup location for patients headed home. He says he instead was greeted by 59-year-old Tambralyn Hill, who was moaning in pain and too weak to walk. (11/29)

The New York Times: Boys, 10 And 14, Are Among 5 People Shot In The Bronx
Five people, including two boys, ages 10 and 14, were shot in the Bronx on Wednesday by a man firing into a crowd, the police said. The hail of bullets caused chaos on a block with stores, a day care center and students headed to after-school classes the day before Thanksgiving. None of the injuries sustained by those who were hit in the shooting, on Courtlandt Avenue near East 151st Street in the Melrose neighborhood, were life threatening, the police said. The other victims were two women, ages 35 and 19, and a 20-year-old man, the police said. (Shanahan, 11/27)

The Associated Press: New Orleans Shooting Leaves 11 Wounded On The Edge Of The French Quarter
New Orleans police said that, early Sunday morning, 11 people were shot on the edge of the city’s famed French Quarter. A statement from police said two people were in critical condition and no arrests had been made. Police Supt. Shaun Ferguson told the Times-Picayune/the New Orleans Advocate that a person of interest had been detained. Police said 10 people were taken to two hospitals and another walked in. Further details haven’t been released. (12/1)

The Associated Press: Records: Arkansas Youth Treatment Center Broke Federal Rules
State records indicate an Arkansas youth mental health treatment center broke federal rules by using chemical injections to restrain young people held in seclusion. Inspection records obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette say the Piney Ridge Treatment Center was cited for at least 13 violations of Medicaid rules prohibiting simultaneous restraint and seclusion in 30 days. (12/1)

The Associated Press: Lawsuit Filed Over Hepatitis A Outbreak Linked To Berries 
An Omaha woman who contracted hepatitis A after eating blackberries she bought at a Fresh Thyme grocery store has sued the company. The woman who filed the lawsuit Wednesday, Kerrie Tabaka, said she was hospitalized for a week for treatment of hepatitis A and continues to experience fatigue and other symptoms. (11/27)

The Associated Press: Mountain Village Embraces Its Legacy As Cure Center For TB
Tuberculosis put Saranac Lake on the map. Through the middle of the 20th century, ailing people seeking a “rest cure” reclined on cottage porches in the community to take in the crisp Adirondack Mountain air. Saranac Lake grew into a mini-metropolis of medical care, with a dozen trains chugging in and out daily, a famous mountainside tuberculosis sanitorium, hotels — and three undertakers. (12/1)

The New York Times: ‘Turn Off The Sunshine’: Why Shade Is A Mark Of Privilege In Los Angeles
There is no end to the glittering emblems of privilege in this city. Teslas clog the freeways. Affluent families scramble for coveted spots in fancy kindergartens. And up in the hills of Bel-Air, where a sprawling estate just hit the market for a record $225 million, lush trees line the streets, providing welcome relief from punishing heat. They say the sun has always been the draw of Los Angeles, but these days, shade is increasingly seen as a precious commodity, as the crises of climate change and inequality converge. (Arango, 12/1)

The Associated Press: Technology To Keep Lights On Could Help Prevent Wildfires
B. Don Russell wasn’t thinking about preventing a wildfire when he developed a tool to detect power line problems before blackouts and bigger disasters. The electrical engineering professor at Texas A&M University figured he might save a life if his creation could prevent someone from being electrocuted by a downed live wire. (12/2)