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The huge increase in government aid prompted by the coronavirus pandemic will cut poverty nearly in half this year from prepandemic levels and push the share of Americans in poverty to the lowest level on record, according to the most comprehensive analysis yet of a vast but temporary expansion of the safety net. The number of poor Americans is expected to fall by nearly 20 million from 2018 levels, a decline of almost 45 percent. The country has never cut poverty so much in such a short period of time, and the development is especially notable since it defies economic headwinds — the economy has nearly seven million fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic. (DeParle, 7/28)

Lavita Harvey is well aware the federal moratorium on evictions ends Saturday. The Las Vegas mother of two teenagers lost both of her jobs during the coronavirus pandemic and has been unable to pay her $900-per-month rent. "I'm terrified. Job offers are coming in but they're coming in very slowly," she told CBS News. "It's the hardest thing to see in the world when you know that you're a single mother and you have no one to turn to, you'll be homeless." Harvey has been approved for more than $9,000 in federal rent help through a local program but the money hasn't come through yet. More than 8,000 other renters in Nevada's Clark County are still waiting for approval. (Shamlian, 7/28)

Since it opened in 2015, the Clarkston Community Health Center has attracted long lines of impoverished patients, at times becoming so busy that it has been forced to turn some away. The volunteer-run nonprofit has provided free care to more than 5,500 immigrants, refugees and U.S.-born people without health insurance. Some have traveled from Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee. (Redmon, 7/28)

Pennsylvania officials are warning against a surge in ticks this summer, including black-legged ticks, which carry Lyme disease, as well as invasive ticks from the American South and Asia. The state’s acting physician general, Denise Johnson, said this is the time of year when ticks are most active, noting that “this year we’re seeing more than ever.” She said there’s been an increase in tick bites as well as Lyme disease. “In Pennsylvania, every single county within the state does have ticks that carry Lyme disease,” Johnson said earlier this week. “And then ticks also can carry other diseases. ... This summer don’t let a tick make you sick.” (Kummer, 7/28)

Hard-hit communities across the U.S. hope to combat the rising number of fatal overdoses as the nation reached a morbid milestone in the drug epidemic: Drug overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 in 2020, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That marks a 29.4% increase from 2019. In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, home to Pittsburgh, the rate of overdose deaths noticeably surpassed Keystone State’s rate, which 16% to 5,172. (Goin, 7/28)

When Aiden feels lonely or is struggling with sobriety, he calls the number to the warm line. He can relate to the person on the other end of the phone because they also have experienced personal mental health or substance use issues. “Sometimes it keeps me from drinking, other times it’s just that I want to talk to somebody,” said Aiden, whose name has been changed at his request to protect his identity. “And I don’t know who to talk to. I have no friends left because I screwed up so much.” (Knopf, 7/29)

Bob Odenkirk, star of the “Breaking Bad” spinoff “Better Call Saul,” is in stable condition after suffering a “heart-related incident,” his representatives confirmed Wednesday evening. The 58-year-old actor was hospitalized Tuesday night in Albuquerque after collapsing on set. (Rao and Pietsch, 7/28)