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Throughout the Pacific Northwest, temperatures are forecast to be the highest of the summer and aren’t predicted to drop until the weekend. In Seattle and Portland, this heat wave could approach records for longevity. Both cities are under excessive heat warnings until Thursday evening. Seattle may see the mercury hit 90 on four consecutive days through Friday, while Portland may get afternoon temperatures hovering near 100. (Cappucci, 7/26)

Depleted by two years of fighting a global pandemic, some of the state’s largest health systems have had to temporarily close their operating rooms due to staffing issues, exacerbating their financial troubles. Many of the operating rooms have been shut off and on for months, due to unexpected staff absences and family leaves. An influx of sicker-than-expected patients onto hospital floors and into emergency rooms, many of whom delayed care during the pandemic, has also complicated staffing plans, as more specialized nurses or larger teams are needed to care for more complex patients. (Bartlett, 7/26)

Virginia State Police has temporarily reduced the operating hours for its Med-Flight helicopter service in central and southwest Virginia due to a shortage of pilots. State police said until more pilots can be hired and trained, the service has been reduced from 24-hour coverage to 16 hours per day, from 8 a.m. through midnight, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. The changes went into effect on Sunday. (7/26)

A Florida teenager was recently hospitalized by what his family described as a rare infection from a "brain-eating amoeba," though a state health official said the agency has no confirmed cases of the illness. Caleb Ziegelbauer's parents took him to the emergency room after he experienced what were described to NBC affiliate WBBH of Fort Myers as headaches and hallucinations. The symptoms began about a week after he and his family took a trip to a beach in Port Charlotte, Florida, on July 1. (Gariano, 7/26)

A California state auditor’s report slammed the State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday for what it called a lethargic approach to funding projects that should be getting safe drinking water to nearly 1 million state residents who do not have it, many of them in disadvantaged communities. (DiFeliciantonio, 7/26)

The lawsuit filed by Attorney General John Formella calls CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens and their subsidiaries “the last link in the opioid supply chain and the critical gatekeeper between dangerous opioid narcotics in the public.” It accuses the companies of flouting their duty to protect public health and safety by failing to stop suspicious prescriptions and diverted drugs. (Ramer, 7/26)

General Assembly leaders acknowledged on Tuesday that a compromise for North Carolina to finally embrace Medicaid expansion likely won’t come quickly and pinned success for a near-future agreement in part on buy-in from a key health care interest group. (Robertson, 7/26)