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Where should you live to have the longest life expectancy? New data suggests heading out West is a good bet. Hawaii has the highest life expectancy of any U.S. state, according to new federal figures released on Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The combined average life expectancy for men and women in the state was 80.7 years old, the only U.S. state with an average expectancy rate above 80 years.  Washington state has the second-highest life expectancy, at 79.2 years. California was also high on the list, at 79.0 years. (Ansari, 8/23)

The average life expectancy in the U.S. dropped by nearly two years in 2020, down to 77 years from 78.8 in 2019. It was the country’s lowest average in nearly two decades. A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics looks at how that decline varied from state to state. ... (Bendix and Chiwaya, 8/23)

Proposals to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska will not appear on the November general election ballot after the efforts failed to collect enough signatures, the state’s top elections official said Monday. (8/22)

If you are in Colorado and you need treatment for, say, cancer, there are dozens of hospitals and clinics that can provide it for you. But those places are not equal. (Ingold, 8/22)

Missouri was the only state that did not allow a grab-and-go option for its Summer Food Service Program operators, according to an exclusive NBC News analysis based on responses from all 50 states. The result was a dramatic drop in the number of meals that Missouri kids received: up to 97% fewer than last summer at some sites, community operators across the state told NBC News. (Chuck, 8/23)

Teachers will not be forced to address students by the pronouns that match their gender identity even if a parent asks them to and transgender students will be barred from playing sports if two new policies targeting gender identity are approved Monday night by the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District board. (Lopez, 8/22)

KHN: ‘American Diagnosis’: As Climate Crises Batter The Bayou, Houma People Are Being Displaced 

Lanor Curole is a member of the United Houma Nation. She grew up in Golden Meadow, a small bayou town in Southern Louisiana. The impacts of repetitive flooding in the area forced her to move farther north. Louisiana’s coastal wetlands lose about 16 square miles of land each year. This land loss, pollution from the 2010 BP oil spill, and lingering devastation from Hurricanes Katrina and Ida are pushing many Houma people out of their homes. (8/23)