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In a hopeful sign that San Francisco’s devastating overdose crisis may be turning a corner, the city saw the number of fatal overdoses fall for the second consecutive month — to 39 in July. That’s the lowest single-month figure since the city began releasing monthly figures in January 2020. July’s numbers follow a decline seen in June, when 49 people died of overdoses — the lowest monthly number in nearly two years. “We’re cautiously optimistic,” Dr. Grant Colfax, city and county of San Francisco director of health, said at a news conference Wednesday. (Ho, 8/14)

A growing portion of San Francisco’s homeless population is not from the city and more people are reporting the primary reason they became unhoused was alcohol or drug use, according to new city data obtained by the Chronicle. The findings are likely to further fuel the debate about who’s making up the city’s homeless population and why — as well as how to address the crisis. (Angst, 8/14)

The creeks around East Palestine, Ohio, were so badly contaminated by last year’s disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment that some workers became sick during the cleanup. Workers who reported headaches and nausea — while shooting compressed air into the creek bed, which releases chemicals from the sediment and water — were sent back to their hotels to rest, according to a report obtained by The Associated Press about their illnesses. The findings were not released to the public last spring, despite residents’ concerns about the potential health effects of exposure to the long list of chemicals that spilled and burned after the disaster. (Funk, 8/14)

Lilian Melgar Martínez started her day at 5 a.m. to harvest tobacco and sweet potatoes in the fields of Duplin County in North Carolina. As temperatures sweltered and the work days stretched into night, sometimes she would faint. The demanding schedule was gradually taking a toll on her health as the relentless pressure from supervisors only intensified. Melgar Martínez has lived in the state for about 20 years, most of which has been as an agricultural worker. Along with her husband and their children, the family has worked in the fields for years. Despite their critical role in an agriculture industry that generates over $70 billion annually in North Carolina, they have faced persistent barriers to essential healthcare services, including annual exams, vaccinations, and screenings for chronic conditions. (Cotto, 8/14)

A pair of new laws in New Hampshire aims to provide firefighters with more protection against cancers caused by their profession. Cancer is a leading cause of death among firefighters nationwide, according to the CDC. One law establishes a two-year cancer screening pilot program for active and retired firefighters. The other increases protections for firefighters from PFAS chemicals in their uniforms and firefighting gear, and aims to streamline the process of switching to PFAS-free apparel. Exposure to PFAS chemicals have been linked to certain types of cancers and other health issues. (Liu and Furukawa, 8/14)

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess is leaving on his own terms. The North Texas Republican and former OB-GYN has served more than two decades in Congress, making his mark on both energy and health care policy through posts on several powerful committees. Known to colleagues as an affable and mild-mannered policy wonk, he was also tapped earlier this year to chair the powerful Rules Committee, which plays a major role in what bills make it to the floor, though he will relinquish the gavel after just four months. (Yu, 8/15)