First Edition: September 9, 2019

Kaiser Health News: Millions Of Diabetes Patients Are Missing Out On Medicare’s Nutrition Help
Louis Rocco has lived with diabetes for decades but, until he met with a registered dietitian in August, he didn’t know eating too much bread was dangerous for him. “I’m Italian, and I always eat a lot of bread,” he said. After two hour-long visits with a dietitian — including a session at his local grocery store in Philadelphia — Rocco, 90, has noticed a difference in his health. (Galewitz, 9/9)

Kaiser Health News: States Pass Record Number Of Laws To Reel In Drug Prices
Whether Congress will act this year to address the affordability of prescription drugs — a high priority among voters — remains uncertain. But states aren’t waiting. So far this year, 33 states have enacted a record 51 laws to address drug prices, affordability and access. That tops the previous record of 45 laws enacted in 28 states set just last year, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy, a nonprofit advocacy group that develops model legislation and promotes such laws. (Findlay, 9/9)

Kaiser Health News: ‘Crackhouse’ Or ‘Safehouse’? U.S. Officials Try To Block Philly’s Supervised Injection Site
Philadelphia could become the first U.S. city to offer opioid users a place to inject drugs under medical supervision. But lawyers for the Trump administration are trying to block the effort, citing a 1980s-era law known as “the crackhouse statute.” Justice Department lawyers argued in federal court Thursday against the nonprofit, Safehouse, which wants to open the site. (Feldman, 9/9)

The New York Times: Pelosi And Schumer, In Push For Gun Safety Legislation, Urge Trump To Defy N.R.A.
The top two Democrats in Congress called on Sunday for President Trump to defy the National Rifle Association and get behind legislation, already passed by the House but blocked in the Senate, to expand background checks to nearly all gun buyers. With gun control high on Congress’s agenda as lawmakers return to Washington this week after their August recess, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, sent a joint letter to the president, telling him that his “urgent, personal intervention is needed to stem the endless massacres of our fellow Americans by gunfire” and that he had a “historic opportunity to save lives.” (Stolberg, 9/9)

Reuters: Factbox: Democrats Step Up Calls For Gun Legislation As U.S. Congress Returns
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and other senior Democrats said on Sunday they will gather Monday afternoon to urge McConnell to "end his harmful legislative graveyard" and bring a House-passed bill expanding background checks on gun purchases to the Senate floor as soon as possible. The House Judiciary Committee is also expected to debate additional gun measures this week. McConnell said he would not bring a gun bill to the floor of the Republican-majority Senate unless it had the support of President Donald Trump, a Republican who has not provided details of measures he might support to address gun violence. (9/8)

The Associated Press: Congress Returns To McConnell's Legislative 'Graveyard'
McConnell has made it clear that he won't make any moves without Trump's commitment to sign the bills into law. But the president has flip-flopped on guns, first suggesting he'd be open to background checks legislation or other measures to try to stem gun violence, only to backtrack after speaking to the National Rifle Association and others in the gun lobby. The Senate leader is trying to avoid a politically uncomfortable situation of Republicans joining Democrats to pass bills, only to have Trump reject them. Against this backdrop, McConnell outlined what he must see before considering any guns legislation: "If the president is in favor of a number of things that he has discussed openly and publicly, and I know that if we pass it it'll become law, I'll put it on the floor." (Mascaro, 9/9)

The New York Times: Trump Aides’ Poll Finds Gun Control Politically Problematic For The President
President Trump assured Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, on Thursday that he was still considering legislation that could include background checks for gun buyers. But White House aides said they had polling data showing that gun control was politically problematic for the president, according to two people briefed on the meeting. Inside the White House, the issue of new gun control measures has largely been theoretical. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, has cautioned that it will be the president who will have to press his party to act. (Haberman and Martin, 9/6)

The New York Times: How Congress Passed An Assault Weapons Ban In 1994
President Bill Clinton had just been ambushed by his own party. It was August 1994 and a coalition of House Democrats wary of any new gun restrictions joined Republicans to unexpectedly sink the administration’s big crime bill on a procedural vote that was usually a test of party loyalty. Afterward, Speaker Thomas S. Foley and his top lieutenants, all Democrats, trooped down to the White House with a message for a shocked president who was already struggling on his signature health care proposal: Drop a divisive ban on assault weapons or the crime bill won’t pass. (Hulse, 9/7)

The Associated Press: US Mass Shooters Exploited Gaps, Errors In Background Checks
Most mass shooters in the U.S. acquired the weapons they used legally because there was nothing in their backgrounds to disqualify them, according to James Alan Fox, a criminologist with Northeastern University who has studied mass shootings for decades. But in several attacks in recent years gunmen acquired weapons as a result of mistakes, lack of follow-through or gaps in federal and state law. (Pane, 9/7)

The New York Times: Defying N.R.A., Texas Lieutenant Governor Favors Background Checks On Private Gun Sales
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas publicly endorsed expanding the state’s background checks to private gun sales on Friday, defying the National Rifle Association — a group that had previously given the conservative an A-plus grade for his Second Amendment bona fides. Mr. Patrick, a Republican who was elected to a second term in 2018, went so far as to say during an interview on Friday with The Dallas Morning News that he was “willing to take an arrow” from the gun lobby. (Vigdor, 9/6)

The New York Times: More Retail Chains Ask Customers Not To Carry Guns Openly
Several more of the country’s most ubiquitous retail chains said this week that they will ask customers to refrain from openly carrying guns in their stores. The requests, days after Walmart announced a similar policy, marked a notable shift in the debate about the presence of guns in everyday life in the United States. In a short statement posted Thursday, CVS Health requested that customers, other than authorized law enforcement personnel, do not bring firearms into its 9,900 stores in the country. Walgreens, with 9,500 stores, did so as well. (Zraick, 9/6)

The Washington Post: Guns, Government Funding And Calls For Impeachment — Congress Returns To Crowded Agenda
Lawmakers are searching for common ground on lowering prescription drug prices, an issue that has broad bipartisan support and even backing from Trump. Aides to Pelosi and a select group of House Democrats have been working largely behind closed doors on a prescription drug plan — one that would allow the federal government to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies. They face a difficult task crafting a plan that both passes muster with House liberals who want to take an aggressive approach and also allows for potential compromise with Republicans. (Bade and DeBonis, 9/8)

CQ: Fall Preview: Health Care
Health care costs will be a dominant issue on Capitol Hill this fall, with many lawmakers hoping to pass legislation to lower prescription drug prices and ban surprise medical bills. Each chamber has measures that would address the problems created when insured patients believe they are getting care covered by their insurance but end up paying out-of-network rates. The legislation would prevent hospitals from charging patients for out-of-network care in emergency situations or for out-of-network services at an in-network facility, a practice known as balance billing. (McIntire and Siddons, 9/9)

The Associated Press: Sens. Markey, Warren Press Health Officials On EEE Research
U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren are pressing federal health officials on research efforts to combat eastern equine encephalitis. The two Massachusetts Democrats this week sent a letter to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases within the National Institutes of Health seeking the current state of federal research into EEE and whether research into other viruses could help lead to better treatment for the mosquito-borne infection. (9/8)

Politico: Why The Most Pro-Marijuana Congress Ever Won’t Deal With Weed
This could be a big moment for marijuana and Congress. But Democrats are fighting Democrats over whether to focus on social justice issues or industry priorities like banking. Marijuana advocates are divided among themselves over whether to push for full legalization or settle for less far-reaching legislation. And many Republicans — some of whom are seeing the benefits of cannabis legalization in their home states — are still decidedly against any legalization on the national level, even for medicinal uses. (Demko and Fertig, 9/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump, 2020 Democrats Take Different Tacks On Mental-Health Policy
The 2020 presidential campaign has revealed a clear split on the future of mental-health policy, with President Trump focused primarily on addressing gun violence and his potential Democratic foes making a wider variety of proposals. Mr. Trump has focused on the issue in response to recent mass shootings, calling for more psychiatric institutions and making it easier to commit people for treatment. (Armour, 9/8)

The Hill: Harris Unveils Plan To Offer Health Care, Housing Assistance To Over 500K Veterans
White House hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) on Saturday unveiled a new plan to expand veterans’ access to health care and provide housing assistance to over half a million former service members. ...The California Democrat said that if she is elected, by the end of her first term, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would expand access to health care and housing assistance through the agency to the more than 500,000 veterans with other-than-honorable discharges. (Axelrod, 9/7)

ProPublica: Medicare-For-All Is Not Medicare, And Not Really For All. So What Does It Actually Mean?
Ritchard Jenkins reached into the black computer bag he keeps near his workstation at Graceful Touch Barber and Beauty Salon and rifled through medical papers, pulling out an envelope buried deep at the bottom. It was an unopened medical bill for $971.78, now 17 months overdue, that he had put out of sight and out of mind. Another unpaid bill from May for $447.13 rested in a nearby drawer. Both are the result of an arthritic knee that needs to be replaced and keeps the 55-year-old master barber in near-constant pain. (Johnson, 9/6)

The New York Times: What You Need To Know About Vaping-Related Lung Illness
Hundreds of people across the country have been sickened by a severe lung illness linked to vaping, and a handful have died, according to public health officials. Many were otherwise healthy young people, in their teens or early 20s. Investigators from numerous states are working with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration in an urgent effort to figure out why. Here’s what we know so far. (Richtel and Grady, 9/7)

The New York Times: Cases Of Vaping-Related Lung Illness Surge, Health Officials Say
Medical experts and federal health officials on Friday warned the public about the dangers of vaping and discouraged using the devices as the number of people with a severe lung illness linked to vaping more than doubled to 450 possible cases in 33 states and the number of deaths rose to five. The Indiana Department of Health announced the third death on Friday, and hours later, officials in Minnesota confirmed that a fourth person had died. (Richtel and Grady, 9/6)

The Washington Post: Vaping Lung Damage: What We Know About The Mysterious Illnesses
Patients typically experienced coughing, chest pain or shortness of breath before their health deteriorated to the point they needed to be hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other reported symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, fever and weight loss. Many victims have ended up with acute respiratory distress syndrome, a life-threatening condition in which fluid builds up in the lungs and prevents the oxygen people’s bodies need to function from circulating in the bloodstream. (Knowles, 9/7)

The Associated Press: US Health Officials Report New Vaping Deaths, Repeat Warning
U.S. health officials on Friday again urged people to stop vaping until they figure out why some are coming down with serious breathing illnesses. Officials have identified about 450 possible cases, including as many as five deaths, in 33 states. The count includes newly reported deaths in California, Indiana and Minnesota. (Stobbe, 9/6)

Reuters: Los Angeles County Resident Dies Of Lung Illness, Fifth U.S. Death Possibly Tied To Vaping
A Los Angeles County resident has died from a lung illness possibly tied to vaping, bringing the total number of such U.S. deaths to five, health officials said on Friday. Officials are warning against e-cigarette use as the exact cause of any link between vaping and the lung condition remains unknown. (9/6)

The Washington Post: Lung Illness Tied To Vaping Has Killed 5 People As New Case Reports Surge
Although federal and state officials said the definitive cause of the illness remains unknown, “the severity of the illness and the recent increase in the incidence of this clinical syndrome indicates that these cases represent a new or newly recognized and worrisome cluster of pulmonary disease related to vaping,” according to a report by health department officials in Wisconsin and Illinois, who conducted a joint investigation of 53 patients. (Sun, 9/6)

The Wall Street Journal: People Urged To Stop Vaping Following More Deaths, Hundreds Of Illnesses
“While the investigation is ongoing, people should consider not using e-cigarette products,” the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday in a news release. The agency also said people should stop buying vaporizers, cartridges and liquids off the street or modifying vaping products bought legally. (Abbott and Maloney, 9/7)

Politico: Feds: Best To Stop Vaping — Especial Marijuana — As Lung Disease Deaths Rise To 5
Late Friday, the FDA said it had tested enough samples containing THC to issue a recommendation that vaping product users avoid any product containing the chemical, which is the psychoactive component of marijuana. Most of the samples contain large amounts of vitamin E. While the FDA isn't sure that vitamin E is a cause of the lung injury, "the agency believes it is prudent to avoid inhaling this substance" while federal investigations continue. (Owermohle and Ehley, 9/6)

Stat: Pneumonia Cases Linked To Vaping Are Still Rising. And Federal Officials Don’t Know What’s Causing Them
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a rising number of cases of mysterious pneumonias linked to vaping on Friday. Now, the agency reports 450 people from 33 states and one U.S. jurisdiction have been affected. Three deaths have been confirmed, authorities said, and another is being investigated. (Branswell, 9/6)

The Washington Post: Why More Ex-Smokers, And Smokers, Should Take CT Lung Cancer Test
The warnings are old hat by now: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking causes about 1 in 5 deaths in the United States each year. Despite nationwide decreases in smoking over the decades, lighting up remains the country’s leading cause of preventable disease. Luckily, writes Indiana University medical professor Richard Gunderman, there’s a test that can save smokers’ lives, even among those who have been on cigarettes for years. It’s CT lung cancer screening, and Gunderman makes a case for the tool at the Conversation, a not-for-profit media outlet. (Blakemore, 9/7)

The New York Times: Major Drug Maker Is Close To Settling Case To Avert First Federal Trial In Opioid Crisis
One of the biggest makers of generic opioids in the United States has reached a tentative settlement of claims to avoid the first federal trial of drug makers, distributors and retail chains for their roles in the opioid epidemic. Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, a company investigators for the Drug Enforcement Administration once referred to as “the kingpin of the drug cartel,” announced Friday that it had agreed to pay $24 million to two Ohio counties. Under the agreement, the company would also donate $6 million worth of drugs, including addiction treatment medications, to the plaintiffs, Cuyahoga and Summit Counties. (Hoffman and Thomas, 9/6)

The Washington Post: Mallinckrodt Reaches Settlement With ‘Bellwether’ Counties In Mammoth Opioid Lawsuit
Under the deal, Mallinckrodt would pay Cuyahoga and Summit counties $24 million in cash and donate $6 million in drugs, including addiction treatment medications. The proposed deal would take Ireland-based Mallinckrodt off the list of defendants facing the two counties in a test case of whether the drug industry should be forced to pay for the prescription opioid epidemic, which has killed more than 200,000 people since 1999. (Bernstein, Horwitz and Higham, 9/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Mallinckrodt Agrees To $30 Million Settlement In Ohio Opioid Litigation
Mallinckrodt still faces hundreds of other lawsuits, as do other manufacturers, retail pharmacies and wholesalers. The companies are accused by states, cities and counties of helping cause a public-health crisis with misleading marketing and by failing to stop excessive amounts of drugs from flooding the country. Mallinckrodt has denied the allegations. Analysts have pointed out that Mallinckrodt is highly leveraged and will find it difficult to resolve opioid litigation while being able to clean up its balance sheets. The company recently drew down the remaining availability of its revolving credit facility. (Hopkins and Armental, 9/8)

The Associated Press: A Purdue Bankruptcy Would Make Opioids Cases Even Messier
State and local governments have sought billions of dollars from Purdue Pharma as a way to hold the company and the family that owns it accountable for the nation’s opioid epidemic, a potential payout that is now clouded in uncertainty after state attorneys general said settlement talks had broken down, while the company says talks are not over. The attorneys general directly involved in the negotiations with the maker of OxyContin and the Sackler family said they anticipated Purdue filing soon for bankruptcy protection. (Mulvihill, 9/8)

ProPublica: Data Touted By OxyContin Maker To Fight Lawsuits Doesn’t Tell The Whole Story
Purdue Pharma has tried to refute accusations that it fueled the opioid crisis by arguing it was a small player in the U.S. market for prescription pain relievers. But a new ProPublica analysis of government data shows that the company, the maker of OxyContin, had a far bigger impact than it portrays. Purdue’s position rests on a Drug Enforcement Administration database, made public by a court order in July, which shows Purdue sold 3.3% of the prescription opioid pain pills in the U.S. from 2006 to 2012. (Armstrong and Ernsthausen, 9/9)

Reuters: Novo Nordisk To Cut Insulin Prices In The U.S.
Novo Nordisk will offer cheaper insulin to U.S. diabetics, the Danish drugmaker said on Friday, in response to criticism over the high price of the medication and after similar moves by rivals Sanofi and Eli Lilly. President Donald Trump has made high prescription drug prices a top issue in the 2016 presidential campaign and said that drug companies were "getting away with murder". (9/6)

The Associated Press: Hospital Closings Hit Hard On The Edge Of The Rust Belt
Carrie Jones is looking for work for the first time in two decades. She's even more worried about what will happen to her psychiatric patients. "Where are they going to go?" Jones said. "We're honestly like their family." Jones is among nearly 1,100 employees being laid off at Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling and sister facility East Ohio Regional Hospital in nearby Martins Ferry, Ohio. (Ra, 9/8)

The New York Times: Phone Service Problems Leave More Than A Dozen Hospitals Unable To Take Calls
More than a dozen hospitals in and around New York City lost phone service on Friday night, hampering their ability to answer the incoming calls of relatives who were seeking to speak with patients or check on their status. Hospital officials said that there was no danger to patients and that they were making contingency plans, though some were advising outside callers to reach patients on their cellphones. (Vigdor, 9/7)

The Associated Press: Women Seek Abortions Out Of State Amid Restrictions
At a routine ultrasound when she was five months pregnant, Hevan Lunsford began to panic when the technician took longer than normal, then told her she would need to see a specialist. Lunsford, a nurse in Alabama, knew it was serious and begged for an appointment the next day. That's when the doctor gave her and her husband the heart-wrenching news: The baby boy they decided to name Sebastian was severely underdeveloped and had only half a heart. (9/8)

NPR: Title X Rules On Discussing Abortion Worry Doctors
Clinics that take federal Title X family planning funding are adjusting to a new set of rules that limit what health care providers can say to their patients about abortion. Though Planned Parenthood pulled out of the program in August rather than comply with the rules, thousands of other clinics continue to use grants from the federal program for family planning and sexual health services. These clinics are now under pressure to make sure their staff comply. (Gordon, 9/9)

The Washington Post: Google Bars Ads For Unproven Therapies, Including Stem Cells
Responding to ubiquitous online marketing by stem cell clinics selling unapproved treatments for everything from achy joints to Alzheimer’s, Google announced Friday it will no longer accept ads for “unproven or experimental medical techniques,” including most stem cell therapy, cellular therapy and gene therapy. The Internet giant said it was taking the step after seeing “a rise in bad actors” trying to take advantage of patients by offering “untested, deceptive treatments.” Often, Google said in a post explaining the new policy, “these treatments can lead to dangerous health outcomes and we feel they have no place on our platforms.” (Wan and McGinley, 9/6)

Stat: In An Emergency, Where Ambulances Take Patients Differs By Race 
Ambulance crews are generally supposed to take seriously ill patients to the closest hospital that offers the necessary emergency services, such as stroke or trauma care. However, new research shows that patients are sometimes transported somewhere else, and that their race may have something to do with it. A national study published in JAMA Network Open on Friday found there were differences in the emergency departments where patients were taken by emergency medical services, based on their race or ethnicity. (Corley, 9/6)

The Associated Press: Some 9/11 Firefighters May Have Higher Heart Risks Now
Firefighters who arrived early or spent more time at the World Trade Center site after the 9/11 attacks seem to have a modestly higher risk of developing heart problems than those who came later or stayed less, doctors reported Friday. The research might have implications for any efforts to expand the list of health problems eligible for payment from a victim compensation fund. (9/6)

Los Angeles Times: Firefighter Study Links Time Spent At 9/11 Site In New York With Heart Problems
The research might have implications for any efforts to expand the list of health problems eligible for payment from a victim compensation fund. The study doesn’t prove that dust or anything else about the disaster caused the firefighters to experience greater heart risks. Nor does it compare the New York City firefighters to the general population or to other responders, such as paramedics or construction workers. (Marchione, 9/6)

Los Angeles Times: Scientists Are Hopeful About A Vaccine To Prevent HIV
First there were the drugs that could knock back HIV to undetectable levels, and the virus was no longer synonymous with a death sentence. Then came a treatment that allowed people who were HIV-negative to remain that way, even if their partners weren’t. But to truly defeat the virus that causes AIDS, doctors need a vaccine. And after decades of dead ends and dashed hopes, they may finally be on the verge of having one. (Baumgaertner, 9/6)

Los Angeles Times: Economic Hardship Tied To Increase In U.S. Suicide Rates
Suicides reached a 50-year peak in 2017, the latest year for which reliable statistics are available. The vast majority of those suicides happened in the country’s cities and suburbs, where 80% of Americans live. But a new study shows that the nation’s most rural counties have seen the toll of suicide rise furthest and fastest during those 18 years. The new research ties high suicide rates everywhere to the unraveling of the social fabric that happens when local sports teams disband, beauty and barbershops close, and churches and civic groups dwindle. (Healy, 9/6)

The New York Times: Death By Diet Soda?
Does guzzling diet soda lead to an early demise? There was a collective gasp among Coke Zero and Diet Pepsi drinkers this week after media reports highlighted a new study that found prodigious consumers of artificially sweetened drinks were 26 percent more likely to die prematurely than those who rarely drank sugar-free beverages. (Jacobs, 9/6)

NPR: Prenatal 'Bootcamp' For New Dads Taught By Dads Helps Whole Family
"Before I became a dad, the thought of struggling to soothe my crying baby terrified me," says Yaka Oyo, 37, a new father who lives in New York City. Like many first-time parents, Oyo worried he would misread his newborn baby's cues. "I pictured myself pleading with my baby saying, 'What do you want?' "Oyo's anxieties are common to many first-time mothers and fathers. One reason parents-to-be sign up for prenatal classes, is to have their questions, such as 'What's the toughest part of parenting?' and 'How do I care for my newborn baby?' answered by childcare experts. (Fraga, 9/8)

The New York Times: Yes, Texting While Walking Is Relatively Safe. (But Still Annoying.)
If you have crossed a street in a major city recently, the odds are good that you have bumped into someone staring at a phone. Perhaps your eyes were also locked on your phone at the time. Maybe they are on the screen as you cross the street right now. (If so, look up! This story can wait.) Worried about the danger that addictive smartphones might pose on car-clogged streets, New York State lawmakers in 2017 ordered New York City to study “the dangers of being a distracted pedestrian.” (Gold, 9/6)

The Washington Post: The Health Risks Of Supplements And Alternative Medicine
A few weeks ago, a patient came to me complaining of nausea, muscle weakness and fatigue. Her urine was tea-colored despite drinking loads of water. A middle-aged woman, she seemed worried she had cancer or some deadly disease. Her lab tests revealed significant liver dysfunction. But her symptoms were not due to liver cancer, hepatitis or other disease. It turned out she had liver toxicity from a green tea supplement that she’d heard was a “natural” way to lose weight. (McBride, 9/7)

The Washington Post: Hiking With Baby Makes Kids And Parents Happy, Mom Finds
Six-year-old Mason Hodges can rattle off any number of plant and animal species when out in the woods, his knowledge deeper than many adults. He’s also environmentally aware and understands he should treat the Earth with respect. His mother, 47-year-old Shanti Hodges, credits this to how he’s been hiking with her since birth. Shanti is the accidental founder of a movement that is now well over 200,000 families strong. Hike it Baby began right after Mason was born, when Utah-based Shanti found herself feeling cooped up indoors and out of touch with the hiking community she loved. (Loudin, 9/7)

The New York Times: The Challenge Of Identifying Sjogren’s Syndrome
Angelica Divinagracia, a 54-year-old fitness instructor in Los Angeles, woke one morning with her tongue literally stuck to the roof of her mouth. Though she normally drank lots of water, especially after strenuous workouts with clients, she thought her chronically dry mouth was due to dehydration. That is, until an even more troublesome symptom — excruciating scratchy eye pain unrelieved by drops — prompted an immediate visit to her ophthalmologist. (Brody, 9/9)

Los Angeles Times: California Vaccine Bill Exemption Rules Agreed To By Newsom And Lawmakers
The author of a bill to clamp down on school vaccine exemptions agreed to scale back parts of it under a deal reached Friday with Gov. Gavin Newsom following a chaotic week of negotiations. But their pact was quickly met with fierce opposition from protesters who had hoped the governor’s apprehension signaled trouble for Senate Bill 276. (Gutierrez, 9/6)

The Associated Press: California Lawmaker, Governor Reach Deal On Vaccine Bill
Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan of Sacramento amended a companion bill to reflect the governor's wishes, days after lawmakers sent Newsom a bill cracking down on doctors who sell fraudulent medical exemptions. Pan said in a statement he appreciates Newsom's commitment to sign the bill and the amendments, which he says will "ensure we maintain the community immunity needed to protect our kids." (Thompson, 9/6)

The Wall Street Journal: New Measles Vaccination Law Means No Prom, Sports Or Classmates For Some Students
One mother pulled her children out of school this fall to avoid vaccinating them and drafted their 73-year-old grandmother to watch them all day. Another working parent stays up late scouring the internet for curricula for home schooling. And a high-school senior begged her local school board on Thursday to ask the state to delay imposing its new ban on religious exemptions for vaccination requirements. (Brody and West, 9/8)

The Associated Press: Experts: St. Louis Kids Feeling Impact Of All The Violence
Experts say the violence in St. Louis, including the recent killings of 12 children, is traumatizing the city's youngest residents. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that about 300 people turned out Thursday for a meeting at Vashon High School that was called after a recent rash of killings that included the deaths of an 8-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy. (9/6)

The Washington Post: With Or Without Insurance, People Come For Free Medical And Dental Care In Baltimore 
As the sun rose Saturday, Delores Connolly stood in line outside a public school here clutching a numbered ticket. Connolly, 61, who has health insurance, was waiting to enter a clinic offering free medical and dental care. “She’s playing with me now,” Connolly said, fidgeting as a uniformed woman at the entrance to Pimlico Elementary/Middle School repeatedly called out No. 92, in English and Spanish. Connolly was No. 93. Dental care was dropped from her Medicaid coverage this year, Connolly said, and her plan would not cover eyeglasses to replace a pair she had lost. She had queued up at 5:30 a.m. at a temporary clinic operated in Baltimore over the weekend by the nonprofit Remote Area Medical (RAM). (Jamison, 9/7)

Los Angeles Times: Homeless Housing Proposal In Echo Park: Is It 'Trumpian?'
Battles over where to build housing or shelters for homeless people are nothing new at Los Angeles City Hall, which has witnessed an uproar over such plans from Koreatown to Venice. But the latest fight is poised to split the City Council itself, as one councilman promotes a plan that another is denouncing as “Trumpian.” (Reyes, 9/8)