State Highlights: Kansas Lawmakers Push To Strongly Regulate Abortion Like Tennessee; Both Sides Speak Out As New Hampshire Committee Considers Anti-Abortion Bills

The Associated Press: Kansas Abortion Measure Advances In Tennessee Plan’s Shadow
Republican lawmakers in Kansas pushed a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the state constitution through the state Senate on Wednesday even as abortion rights advocates argued that it would lead to a ban on most abortions like a measure being pursued in Tennessee. The Kansas proposal, aimed at overturning a state Supreme Court decision last year protecting abortion rights, is modeled on a change that Tennessee voters approved in their state’s constitution in 2014. (1/29)

Associated Press: New Hampshire Lawmakers Consider Anti-Abortion Bills
New Hampshire is among the least restrictive states when it comes to abortion, but lawmakers are considering a package of bills that would swing it far in the other direction. Anti-abortion lawmakers and activists across the country have been pushing near-total bans on the procedure, hoping the new conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court will reconsider Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. (Ramer, 1/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Harvard Chemistry Chairman Under Investigation Is A Giant Of His Field
The Harvard University professor arrested and charged with lying to U.S. authorities about taking millions of dollars from the Chinese government is considered one of the fathers of a specialized field in nanotechnology. Charles M. Lieber has led a research lab at Harvard for nearly 30 years and generated in excess of $15 million in grants from government agencies since 2008. He was rated the top chemist of the aughts by one analytics organization that rated academic productivity. (Belkin, 1/29)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa., N.J. Get Failing Grades On Tobacco Control In New American Lung Association Report
The federal government and states like Pennsylvania and New Jersey all share the blame for not taking action to stem the alarming rise in vaping among the nation’s youth last year, according to the American Lung Association’s annual report. The State of Tobacco Control 2020, released Wednesday, grades states on key policies that could affect the rate of tobacco use, such as funding for tobacco prevention programs, access to services to quit tobacco, and setting the minimum age for sale of tobacco products to 21. This year’s report gives mostly failing or near-failing grades to Pennsylvania and New Jersey. (Giordano, 1/29)

Seattle Times: Even With Strike Ending Friday, Not All Swedish Medical Center Workers Can Return To Work
As striking Swedish Medical Center nurses and caregivers prepare to return to work Friday, they say there’s some confusion about who will be allowed back that day. About 7,800 Swedish workers began their three-day walkout Tuesday morning, with plans to return to their jobs starting Friday morning. Hospital management, however, said only certain caregivers should come back that day. (Takahama, 1/29)

The Associated Press: Bill To Allow Physician-Assisted Suicide Sparks Discourse
Opponents of assisted suicide held a press conference Wednesday to reject legislation allowing patients with terminal conditions to request a life-ending substance from a physician. While supporters of the proposal say the choice to end one’s own life is a human right, speakers at the event called the practice unethical. (Ringle, 1/29)

The Associated Press: House GOP Lawmakers Try To End Transgender Right In Iowa Law
Republican lawmakers on Wednesday proposed a bill to amend the Iowa Civil Rights Act by removing protections against discrimination for transgender people. Iowa law currently prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, ancestry and disability. Gender identity was added by lawmakers in 2007 when Democrats regained control of the Iowa Legislature and held the governor’s office with the election of Gov. Chet Culver. (Pitt, 1/29)

The CT Mirror: Catholic Leaders Endorse Vaccines, But Stop Short Of Backing Repeal Of Religious Exemption
The archbishop of Hartford, along with the bishops of Bridgeport and Norwalk, said Wednesday that they encourage the use of vaccines among school-age children, but they stopped short of endorsing an effort to repeal the state’s religious exemption from mandatory immunizations. A week before the start of the legislative session, the religious officials said the use of vaccines is “not immoral according to church guidance.” (Carlesso, 1/29)

The Washington Post: Video Shows Ottawa County Jail Staff Mocking Dying Oklahoma Inmate Terrall Ellis
From an isolation cell in the Ottawa County Jail, Terral Ellis begged for someone to help him. He could not feel his legs and he could not breathe, the 26-year-old told jail staff and the on-site nurse at the Miami, Okla., facility. It felt, he said, like his back was broken and he was bleeding internally. “I think I’m dying,” he said just after 10 a.m. on Oct. 22, 2015. (Mettler and Usero, 1/29)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Senate Should Designate PFAS Water Contaminants Hazardous Substances, Says Sen. Sherrod Brown
According to the Environmental Working Group, PFAS chemicals have been found in drinking water in Ohio communities including Cleveland Heights and Struthers, and on military bases including Camp Ravenna and Wright Patterson Air Force Base. The organization says PFAS have been detected in more than 1,400 communities in almost every state, and estimates that more than 100 million Americans may be drinking water contaminated by them. (Eaton, 1/29)

Boston Globe: Volunteers, Including Marty Walsh, Fan Out Across Boston For Annual Homeless Count
Hundreds of volunteers, including city and state officials and clergy, fanned out across the streets of Boston Wednesday night to conduct an annual homeless count. For 40 years, volunteers have spent one winter night combing the streets, checking doorways, alleys, overpasses and MBTA stations for people. Those living in emergency shelters, transitional housing and special programs focused on homeless youth and veterans will also be counted on Wednesday. (Greenberg and McDonald, 1/29)

Los Angeles Times: Homeless HHH Housing Map: Where Is It Being Built?
Tracking the city’s progress. (1/29)

Boston Globe: Southbridge Community Hospital Will Give Up Its Independence, Join UMass Memorial
UMass Memorial Health Care in Worcester has agreed to acquire 119-bed Harrington Hospital in Southbridge, the two organizations announced Wednesday. The deal would extend UMass Memorial’s reach across Central Massachusetts while giving Harrington the financial security and increased name recognition that comes with being part of a larger system. (Dayal McCluskey, 1/29)

Denver Post: Colorado Hospital Association Withdraws Lawsuit Over Reinsurance Contributions
The Colorado Hospital Association announced Wednesday it was withdrawing a lawsuit alleging the state overstepped its bounds by asking hospitals to pay $40 million earlier than they’d planned. The issue centers around a fee on hospitals to support the state’s new reinsurance program. Reinsurance reduces how much insurance companies have to pay for their most expensive customers, so they don’t have to charge everyone as much to cover their costs. Monthly premiums for insurance bought on the individual market have declined about 20%, though some people may pay more because their subsidies also fell. (Wingerter, 1/29)

Kaiser Health News: Listen: Colorado Ski Area Opts For Novel Effort To Stop Avalanche Of Health Costs
Julie Rovner, the chief Washington correspondent for Kaiser Health News, joined WAMU’s “1A” host Todd Zwillich and Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway on Wednesday to talk about an innovative program to cut health care costs being used by Summit County, home to some of the state’s premier ski resorts. They also discussed how some states, including Colorado, are exploring sponsoring a health plan — or a public option — open to residents that could cut costs. They also took questions from listeners. (1/29)

The Oregonian: EPA Awards Oregon $1 Million To Help Test For, Remove Lead In Drinking Water In Schools, Day Cares
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded Oregon $1.1 million to help identify sources of lead in drinking water in schools and child-care facilities. “Ensuring access to clean drinking water and protecting children from exposure to lead are critically important to EPA,” EPA Region 10 Administrator Chris Hladick said Wednesday in a statement. “This funding will support our states’ efforts to keep children in schools and child care programs safe from the adverse health impacts of lead in drinking water.” (The Oregonian/OregonLive Politics Team, 1/29)

The Mercury News: ‘Resilience Center’ Aims To Heal Trauma From Gilroy Shooting
After the media vans had moved on and Christmas Hill Park finally re-opened in the wake of the July mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, a community was left to mourn those who died, and devote their attention to those who were wounded. Thousands of residents invested immense emotional capital trying to bring normalcy back to their world, and put off their own trauma to help restore their city’s spirit. With those examples in mind, Santa Clara County’s criminal victim advocates launched the Gilroy Strong Resilience Center, which opened Tuesday in the city’s downtown. (Salonga, 1/28)

Des Moines Register: Vaccination Rates For Polk County Students Drop, Report Says
The number of unvaccinated or undervaccinated students in the Des Moines area rose sharply in the past year, according a report from the Polk County Health Department. In 2019, 2,937 of 88,901 students in Polk County were not fully vaccinated, the immunization report released Tuesday states. Though that’s 3.3% of all county schoolchildren, it’s a nearly 13% increase from 2018 in the proportion of children without full vaccinations. (Davis, 1/28)

Kansas City Star: FBI Won’t Let Missouri Background Check Marijuana Employees
Hundreds of hopefuls are expected at job fairs for the medical marijuana industry within the next week, but one legal hiccup may stand in their way of employment. Last May, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informed the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), which licenses and regulates the state’s fledgling medical marijuana industry, that it will not have access to its national fingerprint background check database. (Thomas, 1/30)