First Edition: Jan. 31, 2022

KHN: It’s Day 6 Of Covid, And A Rapid Antigen Test Comes Back Positive. Stay Home, Say Virologists
What does it mean if a person’s rapid antigen test result comes back positive after five days of isolation due to covid-19? According to the experts, that person is most likely still carrying a viral load high enough to infect others. “Anytime you’re positive by one of these rapid at-home covid tests, it means that you’ve still got a really high level of the viral protein, and most experts are interpreting that as a high level of virus present in your nasal passage,” said Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic and president of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology. (Bichell, 1/31)

KHN: In California Nursing Homes, Omicron Is Bad, But So Is The Isolation
Dina Halperin had been cooped up alone for three weeks in her nursing home room after her two unvaccinated roommates were moved out at the onset of the omicron surge. “I’m frustrated,” she said, “and so many of the nursing staff are burned out or just plain tired.” The situation wasn’t terrifying, as it was in September 2020, when disease swept through the Victorian Post Acute facility in San Francisco and Halperin, a 63-year-old former English as a Second Language teacher, became severely ill with covid. She spent 10 days in the hospital and required supplemental oxygen. Since the pandemic began, 14 residents of the nursing home have died of covid, according to state figures. (Marsa, 1/31)

KHN: States Were Sharing Covid Test Kits. Then Omicron Hit
In a few short months, states have gone from donating surplus rapid covid-19 tests to states with shortages to hoarding them as demand driven by the spike in cases strains supplies. Last January, North Dakota had amassed 2.7 million Abbott Laboratories BinaxNOW rapid covid tests from the federal government — roughly 3½ tests for each person in the state of 775,000 people. (Houghton, 1/31)

CNBC: The Latest Covid Variant Is 1.5 Times More Contagious Than Omicron And Already Circulating In Almost Half Of U.S. States
There are already dozens of cases across almost half of the U.S. of a new Covid subvariant that’s even more contagious than the already highly transmissible omicron variant. Nearly half of U.S. states have confirmed the presence of BA.2 with at least 127 known cases nationwide as of Friday, according to a global data base that tracks Covid variants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a statement Friday, said although BA.2 has increased in proportion to the original omicron strain in some countries, it is currently circulating at a low level in the U.S. (Kimball, 1/28)

The New York Times: The ‘Stealth’ Omicron Variant Is No Cause For Alarm, But It Could Slow Down The Decline In Cases
In recent days, headlines about a “stealth” Omicron variant have conjured the notion that a villainous new form of the coronavirus is secretly creating a disastrous new wave of Covid. That scenario is highly unlikely, scientists say. But the new variant, which goes by the scientific name BA.2 and is one of three branches of the Omicron viral family, could drag out the Omicron surge in much of the world. (Zimmer, 1/31)

Stat: Early Data Indicate Vaccines Still Protect Against Omicron’s Sister Variant
New data show that vaccines still protect against a spinoff of the Omicron variant, a welcome sign as the world keeps a close eye on the latest coronavirus iteration. BA.2, as the sublineage is known, is part of the broader Omicron umbrella. Scientists are paying more attention to it as it begins to eat into the dominance of the more common Omicron strain, which is technically called BA.1. (Joseph, 1/28)

CIDRAP: Studies Show Omicron Variant Less Severe But Causes More Reinfections
Two studies published yesterday in Eurosurveillance show the Omicron variant leads to fewer hospitalizations than the Delta variant, but an increased risk of infection in vaccinated and previously infected people. (1/28)

The New York Times: When Omicron Isn’t So Mild 
Regina Perez, 57, had never been hospitalized for her lifelong asthma condition until she came down with Covid this month. She started having difficulty breathing, even after taking her usual medications. “It kind of took over, almost,” she said. She wound up at St. Luke’s Hospital in Allentown, Pa., for most of a week at a time when nearly all the Covid patients sampled had contracted the Omicron variant. (Abelson and Jewett, 1/29)

The Washington Post: Covid May Have Seasons For Different Temperature Zones, Study Suggests 
Covid-19 transmission may have seasonal spikes tied to temperature and humidity, increasing at different times of the year for different locations, a new study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene suggests. Colder regions, such as the U.S. Northeast, may experience more cases during winter, while warmer regions, such as the southern United States, may see higher transmissions in the summer. More-temperate zones could experience two seasonal peaks. (Patel, 1/28)

Bloomberg: Covid-Infected HIV Patient Developed Mutations, Study Shows
A South African woman suffering from inadequately treated HIV, and who harbored Covid-19 for nine months saw the respiratory virus develop at least 21 mutations while in her body, according to a study. Once the 22-year-old adhered to the anti-retroviral medication used to treat HIV and her immune system strengthened she was able to overcome the Covid-19 infection within six to nine weeks, the study, led by scientists from Stellenbosch and the University the University of KwaZulu-Natal showed. The research has not been peer reviewed. (Sguazzin, 1/30)

NBC News: Covid Predictions? These Experts Are Done With Them
Scientists say they can outline scenarios for how the virus could evolve, but variants remain Covid’s unknowable wild card. In two years, they have rewritten the script so radically, many researchers are cautious to venture educated guesses of how Covid-19 will play out. “There are various scenarios and they vary between rosy and gloomy,” said John Moore, a virologist and professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. He emphasized, colorfully, that anyone saying they knew for sure what would happen next was full of it. (Bush, 1/30)

Anchorage Daily News: Alaska’s COVID-19 Case Rate Is Again The Highest In The Nation As Hospitalizations Tick Up
As Alaska once again reports the highest COVID-19 case rate in the nation, the highly contagious omicron variant is continuing to snarl staffing at health care facilities that have had to adapt to the ups and downs of the pandemic. The state on Friday reported 5,897 cases of COVID-19 over the previous two days amid rising hospitalization numbers. Alaska’s seven-day case rate of 2,360.4 cases per 100,000 is higher than any other U.S. state, according to a CDC tracker. (Berman, 1/28)

Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Omicron Has Driven Mississippi To Its Highest Hospitalization Rate Yet
Omicron might loosen its grip on Mississippi in the next few weeks, health officials predicted Friday. "We’re gonna continue to report out a lot of cases, but I really feel like we’re turning the corner,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said. “We’ll start trending down, I think, probably in the next couple of weeks." Byers' optimism is in part driven by the numbers: decreased testing demand and a declining positivity rate. (Haselhorst, 1/28)

The Texas Tribune: Omicron Leads To Record-High COVID-19 Cases In Texas Schools
Students in Texas public schools are experiencing another year upturned by COVID-19 as the delta and omicron variants spread. Most schools are resuming in-person classes after winter break with a greater emphasis on testing, vaccinations and masking even as the highly contagious omicron variant surges. For now, schools are prohibited from requiring masks, though some continue to ignore the governor’s order banning mask mandates. Children ages 5-11 are now eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Several districts have temporarily closed or altered operations to compensate for staff shortages due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases. (Huang, Cai and Lopez, 1/30)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Inside A Georgia Hospital’s ICU, Medical Staff Wages War Against COVID
The numbers tell a story. But, from what the critical care doctors and nurses at Braselton’s Northeast Georgia Medical Center can see, the public isn’t listening. Since the omicron variant came roaring onto the pandemic scene two months ago, the state has set records for new infections. While the variant appears to cause a more mild illness in most people than previous strains, especially among those who are vaccinated, the sheer numbers are staggering. Even though a smaller percentage of people are getting critically ill, it’s enough to overwhelm intensive care units. (Oliviero, 1/29)

AP: Over 1,000 Wichita School Workers Out Because Of COVID-19 
More than 1,000 staff members in the state’s largest school district are in quarantine because of COVID-19, but currently all Wichita schools are open. The Wichita Eagle reports that district records show that nearly 14% of the school district’s staff — some 1,033 people — were off because of COVID-19 illnesses or exposure as of Friday. That is up from 912 and 646 in the previous two weeks. (1/30)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County's Daily Coronavirus Cases Continue Dramatic Decline, But Death Rate Remains High
The decline in the daily numbers comes as numerous family gatherings and community events are scheduled to mark the Lunar New Year this coming week. And with their NFC Championship win over the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, the L.A. Rams earned a trip to the Super Bowl on Feb. 13 in Inglewood. “For residents who are at high risk, including those older, immunocompromised, or with underlying health conditions, gatherings can be especially risky given the still high rates of transmission,” Barbara Ferrer, the county public health director, said in a statement. (Lin II, 1/30)

AP: Missouri Hospitals Ask Office Workers To Help Nurses 
Hospitals across Missouri are asking staff members and administrators to take on additional duties to help deal with the current surge in COVID-19 patients. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that hospital employees are being asked to pick up shifts helping nurses by doing things like grabbing supplies or answering phones, or by filling absences in areas such housekeeping and patient transport. (1/30)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Suit Blocking Vaccine Requirement At Cincinnati Hospitals Tossed
A federal judge in Cincinnati Friday granted a plaintiff's motion to dismiss a lawsuit that sought to block COVID-19 vaccine mandates at five southwest Ohio hospital systems. In his decision, U.S. District Judge Timothy Black accepted a request to dismiss the civil case with prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs listed cannot refile the same case in his court. "This is not the first time plaintiffs have dismissed an action based on the same claims against the same defendants as in this case," the judge wrote. (Sutherland, 1/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Allows Third Shot For Those Who Got J&J Vaccine
San Francisco residents who got the Johnson & Johnson Janssen coronavirus vaccine and have been boosted with a second shot can now get a third, following an advisory issued this month by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Regardless of what brand of vaccine people had for their second dose, the city is advising a Pfizer/BioNTech shot for the third. (Ho, 1/28)

AP: Judge Upholds Minneapolis Vaccine-Or-Test Rule For Eateries
A Hennepin County judge has upheld Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s vaccine-or-test mandate for bar and restaurant customers after several business owners asked for a temporary restraining order against the initiative. The mandate that took effect this month requires customers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative virus test within three days to dine at restaurants licensed by the city. (1/30)

The Hill: New Jersey Gym Owner Who Defied COVID Closures Running For US House Seat 
A New Jersey gym owner who became known during the pandemic for defying the state’s COVID-19 closures is running for the U.S. House. Ian Smith, the owner of Atlis Gym in Bellmawr, announced on Twitter on Sunday that he is seeking to oust Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) to represent New Jersey’s third congressional district in Washington. (Schnell, 1/30)

NPR: New Hampshire Will Sell Rapid COVID-19 Tests In Liquor Stores
If you live in New Hampshire and are having trouble getting an at-home rapid COVID-19 test, you might soon find them among the bottles at state-run liquor stores. The New Hampshire Executive Council approved the request to sell 1 million at-home rapid COVID tests at liquor outlets across the state, Gov. Christopher Sununu said. The governor said he expects the at-home tests to be available at liquor stores within the next two weeks. "We will buy them for a certain price. We will put them on the shelves and sell them for that exact same price, approximately in the $13 range," Sununu said during a news conference this week. (Franklin, 1/28)

Politico: Omicron Has States Rethinking 'Broken' School Covid Testing 
State leaders and health experts are weighing a counterintuitive school Covid strategy: Less testing and contact tracing. Utah’s legislature suspended school testing requirements this month after high Covid rates strained the state’s system. Omicron’s quick spread left Vermont officials abandoning their onetime school test-and-trace program, while Massachusetts officials strongly encouraged schools to give up a diagnostics program endorsed by federal officials. (Perez Jr., 1/30)

NPR: Spotify Will Add A COVID-19 Advisory To Podcasts After The Joe Rogan Controversy
The music-streaming service Spotify says it will implement changes to guard against COVID-19 misinformation after some high-profile artists and public figures criticized the platform for hosting Joe Rogan's hit podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Music legends Neil Young and Joni Mitchell each pulled their music from Spotify over their objections to Rogan, who experts say has repeatedly made false claims about the coronavirus and vaccines. Over the weekend Nils Lofgren also confirmed he had his music pulled. Author and researcher Brené Brown said she would stop releasing new podcasts until further notice, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also expressed their concerns about COVID misinformation on the platform. (Hernandez, 1/30)

The Washington Post: Long Island Nurses Made $1.5 Million Selling Fake Coronavirus Vaccination Cards, Prosecutors Say 
For years, Julie DeVuono has offered to help people avoid vaccination. In 2017 and 2018, the nurse’s pediatric practice advertised “vaccine exemption workshops” that it said would detail tips for “the best chance of acceptance.” Now DeVuono and an employee face charges for allegedly selling fake coronavirus vaccination cards and entering them into a state database. Authorities say the pair from Long Island left behind a ledger recording profits of more than $1.5 million in less than three months. (Knowles, 1/310)

The Boston Globe: Mental Health A Top Concern For Colleges As Students Return For Spring Semester
As the spring semester gets underway on campuses across the region, college mental health staff say they’re inundated with students seeking care — a sign that, though classes remain largely in person, the stressors caused by the pandemic over the past two years are far from gone. In recent months, many institutions have redoubled their efforts to meet the increased needs of students even as they’ve begun to shift their strategy away from a singular focus on therapy and toward an effort to help students form friendships and to foster a warmer, closer-knit, and more supportive campus culture. “We know we can’t counsel or therapy our way out,” said Barbara McCall, executive director of Middlebury College’s Center for Health and Wellness. (Krantz, 1/30)

Crain's Detroit Business: Pandemic Caused More Mental Illness But Without Staff, Industry At An Impasse
While emergency rooms and intensive care units have been filled with the physically ill during the pandemic, mental health centers are equally overwhelmed. About 400 new patients will enter CNS Healthcare's eight locations this month. That's up from an average of about 150 prior to the pandemic. And the community behavioral health clinic is managing these patients with 60 fewer workers than prior to the pandemic and more than 100 new positions that could be filled. "We're seeing more and more people experiencing levels of crisis and anxiety," said Michael Garrett, president and CEO of CNS Healthcare. "There are a lot of different stressors going on in the world, from the pandemic to economic anxiety. This isolation and loneliness is the perfect storm on our mental health system." (Walsh, 1/28)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Home Health Care Shortages Have Families Struggling
A survey this month of 122 members of the Pennsylvania Home Care Association found that their nonmedical care worker staffs have declined by a quarter since the beginning of 2020 and skilled medical care workers by 20%. More than 90% of providers surveyed said they had declined requests for care since 2020 due to staff shortages. Some home health workers have found more lucrative jobs and may never return, said Denise Tyler, an expert on aging policy and long-term care with the nonprofit research institute RTI International. (Laughlin, 1/31)

The Hill: Senators Give Glimpse Into Upcoming Supreme Court Nomination Battle
Senators from both parties on Sunday gave a glimpse into how they might approach President Biden’s Supreme Court nomination, with some signaling they would support his choice of the first Black female justice and others suggesting his nominee wouldn’t get a single Republican vote. Biden last week reaffirmed a campaign promise that he would nominate a Black woman to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer at the end of the Supreme Court’s term later this year.  (Chohi, 1/30)

The Hill: How Breyer's Replacement Could Reshape Court's Liberal Wing 
The seating of Biden’s nominee, who he has said would be the country’s first Black female justice, will not fundamentally shift the balance of the 6-3 conservative majority court. But replacing Breyer with a justice who is ideologically to his left could reshape the three-member liberal minority and alter the court in more subtle ways. ... Breyer’s departure means [Justice Sonia] Sotomayor will become the court’s senior-most liberal justice. Significantly, the senior-most justice in the majority selects which justice writes the opinion. The same goes for the losing side. ... Given the court’s conservative supermajority, liberal justices are often relegated to the dissenting minority on hot-button issues, from disputes over abortion restrictions and religious liberty to voting rights. Sotomayor, now the court’s most liberal member by a wide margin, has shown herself to be uncowed by the court’s ideological lopsidedness, frequently blasting conservative rulings with fiery dissents. (Kruzel, 1/30)

Stateline: Here's How Abortion Access Would Change If Supreme Court Erodes Roe
As the nation awaits a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could significantly erode abortion rights, state laws on the issue have taken on a whole new meaning. Soon, more than at any time in nearly half a century, obtaining an abortion will depend on where you live. In 1973, the high court guaranteed the right to abortion everywhere in its landmark Roe v. Wade decision. That ruling made state abortion bans largely symbolic, and federal courts routinely invalidated them. In many cases, the strictest laws represented political posturing without the risk of a public backlash because the statutes never took effect, said David Karol, an associate professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland. (Vestal, 1/28)

The Hill: Durbin Defends Biden Focus On Black Woman As Supreme Court Nominee 
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Sunday defended President Biden's promise to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. "This is not the first time that a president has signaled what they are looking for in a nominee," Durbin said on ABC's "This Week," citing commitments from two former presidents, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, to appoint a woman to the court ahead of the nominations of Sandra Day O'Connor and Amy Coney Barrett, respectively. (Beals, 1/30)

The Hill: Graham: Nominating A Black Woman To The Supreme Court Wouldn't Be Affirmative Action
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday pushed back against the notion that President Biden's vow to nominate a Black woman the Supreme Court was akin to "affirmative action," saying he was in support of making U.S. institutions "look like America." "Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America. You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America. Affirmative action is picking somebody not as well qualified for past wrongs," Graham said on CBS's "Face the Nation." (Choi, 1/30)

ABC News: Majority Of Americans Want Biden To Consider 'All Possible Nominees' For Supreme Court Vacancy: POLL 
A new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds that a plurality of Americans view the Supreme Court as motivated by partisanship, while President Joe Biden's campaign trail vow to select a Black woman to fill a high-court vacancy without reviewing all potential candidates evokes a sharply negative reaction from voters. (Shepherd, 1/30)

AP: Senators: Extending Drug Shelf Life Could Ease Supply Woes 
Senators from Maine and Maryland want the federal government to extend the shelf life of prescription drugs that are in short supply to try to help address shortages. Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin introduced the bill, which would direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make the change. The FDA has said amending expiration dates of some drugs could help alleviate shortages, according to the senators. (1/30)

The Wall Street Journal: Drugmakers Raised Prices By 6.6% On Average Early This Year
Drugmakers raised list prices by an average of 6.6% in the first few weeks of this year on cancer, diabetes and other prescription medicines, sticking with more moderate increases while lawmakers scrutinize pricing practices. In all, about 150 drugmakers raised prices on 866 products in the U.S. through Jan. 20, according to an analysis from Rx Savings Solutions, which sells software to help employers and health plans choose the least-expensive medicines. (Walker, 1/30)

Modern Healthcare: ThedaCare Scraps Lawsuit To Prevent Employees From Leaving For Ascension
ThedaCare has halted its attempt to get a court to block seven employees from leaving to work at a competitor, the Neenah, Wisconsin-based health system announced Friday. The case against Ascension Northeast Wisconsin faced an uphill battle after a judge lifted an temporary order blocking the workers from quitting ThedaCare's flagship hospital for the same positions less than seven miles away at St. Louis-based Ascension's Appleton facility. ThedaCare's attorney filed a voluntary dismissal notice in Outagamie County Circuit Court on Friday. (Bannow, 1/28)

Modern Healthcare: Aetna Wrongfully Denied Proton Therapy Claims, Court Rules
Aetna wrongfully denied coverage of cancer patients' proton therapy after the insurer tried to prove that the treatment was experimental and investigational, a federal judge ruled. Aetna's ambiguous definition of "medically necessary" failed to justify its exclusion of proton therapy for treating non-metastatic breast or prostate cancer in adults, Judge Kenneth Marra ruled in a summary judgment from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Thursday. The lawsuit will now proceed to class certification that could expose Aetna to liability for a group of patients with similar complaints. (Kacik, 1/28)

NPR: Researchers Find Alzheimer's Link To Overactive Microglia Cells
It all started with genetic data. A gene here, a gene there. Eventually the story became clearer: If scientists are to one day find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, they should look to the immune system. Over the past couple decades, researchers have identified numerous genes involved in various immune system functions that may also contribute to Alzheimer's. Some of the prime suspects are genes that control humble little immune cells called microglia, now the focus of intense research in developing new Alzheimer's drugs. Microglia are amoeba-like cells that scour the brain for injuries and invaders. They help clear dead or impaired brain cells and literally gobble up invading microbes. Without them, we'd be in trouble. (Stetka, 1/30)

Fox News: Alcohol Consumption Can Directly Cause Cancer, Study Says
The consumption of alcohol is a direct cause of several kinds of cancer, according to researchers. In a recent large-scale genetic study led by Oxford Population Health and published in the International Journal of Cancer, a team from Oxford, Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, worked to investigate gene variants linked to lower alcohol consumption in Asian populations. To do so, the team used DNA samples from more than 150,000 adults – the majority of whom were women – in the China Kadoorie Biobank study. (Musto, 1/29)

NBC News: Marijuana Use May Cause Cognitive Impairment Even When No Longer High
A recent analysis of previous research on the impact of cannabis on young’s people’s cognition found that many of the known learning and memory difficulties — such as slowed processing speed, and difficulties in focusing — could linger for weeks. Verbal learning, retention and recall were especially affected for longer periods when the person was no longer high, researchers from the University of Montreal found. (Carroll, 1/30)

The Washington Post: Bed Rest After Hospitalization May Hamper Recovery For Older Patients 
Hospitalization often spells the beginning of the end of older patients’ mobility. Bed rest could be to blame — and in-hospital exercise programs could provide the jump-start older patients need to maintain their functionality at home, a study in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests. (Blakemore, 1/30)

ABC News: 14 Guests At Ohio Hotel, Including At Least 6 Children, Hospitalized After Carbon Monoxide Leak
Fourteen guests at an Ohio hotel were hospitalized, including some who are in critical condition, due to a "life-threatening" carbon monoxide leak, police said. Police responded to several 911 calls Saturday evening of people found unconscious around the pool area of the Hampton Inn in Marysville, Ohio, police said. Marysville is a suburb of Columbus. (Pereira and McDuffie, 1/30)

Detroit Free Press: No Health Risk Found In Air Near Jeep Plant In Detroit
Residents who have been complaining for months about strong paint odors from a Stellantis plant on Detroit's east side received some assurance Thursday night from a state toxicologist about health risks of the air in their neighborhood but left frustrated over unanswered questions and uncertainty over asthma and other concerns. A community outcry over the air around the plant, which makes new versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, has led to multiple investigations and violation notices from the state and prompted the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to lead a virtual community meeting Thursday, attended at one point by almost 150 people who heard from state and federal environmental and health officials. (Lawrence, 1/28)

Axios: Navy To Drain Polluted Water After Fuel Contamination In Hawaii 
The Hawaii Department of Health authorized the Navy on Thursday to discharge treated water from its Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility after the water forced Army and Navy families from their homes into hotels. The contaminated tap water contained diesel fuel 350 times the safe level after a jet-fuel spill in November. The Navy will pump up to 5 million gallons of water a day from the Red Hill Shaft into the Halawa Stream in order to get rid of the contaminated tap water. The discharge was authorized under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit. (Frazier, 1/29)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Toxic Foam Used At Military Bases Raises Contamination Concerns
Cleanup of cancer-causing contaminants found at hundreds of military installations — including those in Nevada — has prompted frustrated senators to urge the Pentagon to improve communication with local communities to develop long-term plans to reduce health risks. High levels of contamination in Nevada were found at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs and particularly at Nellis Air Force Base, which landed on a Superfund clean-up list under the Environmental Protection Agency. The groundwater contamination is at unsafe levels and could spread. (Martin, 1/28)

AP: Universal Health Care Bill Faces Deadline In California
California Democrats must decide Monday whether to advance a bill that would make the government pay for everybody’s health care in the nation’s most populous state; a key test of whether one of their most long-sought policy goals can overcome fierce opposition from business groups and the insurance industry. A bill in the state Legislature would create the nation’s only statewide universal health care system. It’s still a long way from becoming law, but Monday is the last chance for lawmakers in the Assembly to keep the bill alive this year. (Beam, 1/31)

AP: Study Finds Litany Of Mental Health Issues At Vermont Prison
Staff and inmates at the Vermont state prison in Springfield have high rates of suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, according to a survey conducted by University of Vermont researchers. According to the survey done last June, 49% of staff at the Southern State Correctional Facility developed anxiety since starting their career, 46% developed depression, 43% became overweight or obese, 40% developed high blood pressure and 39% developed post-traumatic stress disorder, The Times Argus reported. (1/30)