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A California law that would ban firearms in most public places was blocked by a federal judge Wednesday. The law, struck down because U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney ruled that it violates the Second Amendment, would have gone into effect at the beginning of next month. It was signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) back in September and would have barred the concealed carrying of guns in locations like public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks and zoos.  (Suter, 12/21)

The gunshots rang out at 8:13 a.m., echoing across the high school football field and middle school garden. They continued for 49 minutes without interruption: an AR-15-style rifle, with .223-caliber bullets, ripping at 94 decibels through a community that did not even pause to wonder if a disaster was unfolding at the schools. It was just a typical morning in Cranston, R.I., where more than 2,000 children attend school within 500 yards of a police shooting range. There, local police officers sharpen their gun skills, sometimes until 8:30 at night. (Baumgaertner, 12/20)

Health officials have started contact tracing after a person at the UC Davis campus was identified as having contagious tuberculosis. UC Davis officials announced on Wednesday that they were working on identifying and notifying people who had been in close contact with the infected person. Only people who had at least 8 hours of exposure to the person are classified as close contacts. (Padilla, 12/21)

Over a 3-year period, three men in Mississippi were infected with a newly identified strain of the bacterium that causes melioidosis after contact with contaminated water and soil, the first known cases of environmental transmission in the continental United States, the New England Journal of Medicine reports today. Caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, melioidosis is a potentially life-threatening disease typically spread through inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact with the water or soil of tropical and subtropical regions, where it is endemic. (Van Beusekom, 12/21)

The last open-air water reservoirs in Baltimore have been covered. Drinking water at Lake Ashburton and Druid Lake previously exposed to both the elements and microscopic danger are now in protected tanks, the city department of public works said Thursday. The illness-inducing parasite cryptosporidium was detected in the water at Druid Lake Reservoir in September, prompting state officials to issue a boiled water advisory. (Mullan, 12/21)

While Marie Alexander was battling a serious infection, her “hospital room” was at her daughter’s home in Des Peres, where she was waited on by her grandchildren and snuggled with the family dog at night. Alexander, 75, was given an oxygen machine and intravenous medications to treat the infection. A doctor came by once a day, and nurses twice. She used an iPad to connect to providers virtually if she needed. (Munz, 12/21)

In Florida, one out of five residents is older than 65 and they have become one of the fastest growing in the state. Florida also has one of the fastest rising rates of Alzheimer’s dementia — 580,000 Floridians aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is a growing public health crisis in Florida and the impact of the disease is projected to rise as the population continues to age. (Monteilh, 12/21)

It was in early 2020, a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic, that the world Elizabeth Ramirez knew – filled with her three kids’ activities and a job as a human resource specialist – came to an abrupt halt. A teacher had called from her son’s El Paso school. Her 13-year-old, Orlando, mentioned suicide during a virtual class, sending Ramirez into a desperate search for an in-patient mental health facility. (Simpson, 12/22)