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Republican Gov. Chris Christie signed a law Friday making New Jersey the third state to raise its smoking age to 21. Christie cited the strain on the health care system caused by tobacco-related illnesses. He also noted his mother died from the effects of smoking. (7/21)

Four days after The Times published a story about drug use by the then-dean of USC’s medical school, the university announced it was moving to fire Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito and said it was “outraged and disgusted” by his conduct. USC Provost Michael Quick said the university decided to act because it had been shown “extremely troubling” information that same day about Puliafito’s behavior. Quick provided no details. But he said it was “the first time we saw such information firsthand.” (Pringle, Elmahrek, Hamilton and Parvini, 7/23)

From meatpacking to agricultural fields, Latino immigrants often work the most menial jobs in America and their on-the-job death rate is 18 percent higher than the average worker, recent statistics show. The troubling trend has prompted a group of Democratic senators to call on the Labor Department to protect these workers. (Gollan, 7/23)

Frustration about health care reform rhetoric is palpable as Tennessee leaders grapple with high rates of chronic disease taking a toll on both the state's people and economy. But competing health care proposals at the center of the war raging in Washington don't directly address the stated goals of improving the quality of care and making it more affordable.  (Fletcher, 7/23)

Looking out a fourth-floor window of his hospital system’s headquarters, Alan Levine can see the Appalachian Mountains that have defined this hardscrabble region for generations. What gets the CEO’s attention, though, is neither the steep hills in the distance nor one of his Mountain States Health Alliance hospitals across the parking lot. Rather, it’s a nearby shopping center where his main rival ­— Wellmont Health System, which owns seven area hospitals — runs an urgent care and outpatient cancer center. Mountain States offers the same services just up the road. (Galewitz, 7/24)

The number of Valley Fever cases in California rose to a record level in 2016, with 5,372 reported — a jump of 71 percent from the previous year. Historically, about three-quarters of cases have been in the state’s heavily agricultural San Joaquin Valley. The fungal infection, known as coccidioidomycosis, or “cocci,” is most common in the southern portion of the Valley and along the Central Coast of California. (Bartolone, 7/24)

Premise Health is buying a biometric screening company as it expands its range of services to employers who are trying new tactics to manage health care costs. Premise bought eHealthScreenings, a company in San Antonio, Texas, that works with employers on getting employees' basic health stats tested through screening panels and biometric tests. (Fletcher, 7/21)

This summer, scientists in California are releasing 20 million mosquitoes in an effort to shrink the population of mosquitoes that can carry diseases. ...But the plan is to release millions of sterile male mosquitoes, which will then mate with wild female mosquitoes. The eggs the females lay won't hatch, researchers say. (Doubek, 7/21)

In the past year, both MetroHealth and the Cleveland Clinic have started expanding LGBT care to more locations. MetroHealth's PRIDE Clinic celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and plans to expand its offerings. (Christ, 7/23)

A recent survey by disability advocates found that 85% of disabled people and older adults didn't have enough workers to cover all their shifts. More than 40% of the 500 people surveyed couldn't find a worker seven or more times a month, according to the review by Survival Coalition, a collection of disability organizations. (Price, 7/21)

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that it has settled claims that Aurora Health Care discriminated against two patients with HIV. ...Two patients alleged that doctors working for the provider refused to complete procedures out of concerns with HIV transmission. (Liu, 7/22)

AB617 by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens (Los Angeles County), was touted as the less-grandiose partner to cap and trade, whose expansive reach allows California polluters to offset their emissions by reducing them in another state. Garcia’s measure is aimed closer to home, attempting to “address air pollution in the most burdened communities,” she said. (Cart, 7/23)

An estimated 15 million Americans have food allergies, including 200,000 Minnesotans. [Nona] Narvaez is the force behind laws requiring ambulances in the state to carry epinephrine and schools to keep lifesaving medications near students with severe food allergies. (Prather, 7/21)

Cleveland homes, childcare centers and schools built before 1978 would have to be certified as safe from lead hazards by 2021 under legislation City Councilman Jeff Johnson will introduce next month. Johnson, along with Cleveland Lead Safe Network (CLSN), created the proposed ordinance as part of a sweeping Lead Safe Cleveland Initiative that would first tackle lead paint hazards in homes and then go after reducing the risk from the toxin in soil and water. (Dissell and Zeltner, 7/23)

For years, advocates at the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP) have lamented the soot on their blinds and the hacking coughs that result from breathing in toxic diesel fumes spewing out of trucks as they enter and exit the Port of Oakland. Now, two federal agencies — the Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency — are launching a formal investigation into whether the city and the Port of Oakland are doing enough to mitigate air pollution in the neighborhood, which has historically been burdened by elevated levels of black carbon, nitric oxide and other toxic particles. (Baldassari, 7/22)

A drug testing lab in Gwinnett County that had been in the center of a campaign donation bundling scandal is up for auction amid a federal investigation. ...In 2014, employees and executives with the company came under federal scrutiny when they combined to give more than $80,000 to U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, who was seeking the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate. (Joyner, 7/21)

State Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, is the sponsor of SB162, which would prohibit licensed cannabis businesses from selling or giving away promotional hats, T-shirts or any branded merchandise that bears the name or logo of a cannabis company or product. Allen and his allies say the bill, which in May passed the Senate in a 40-0 vote, is meant to protect children from potentially harmful marketing practices. But for some whose businesses would be affected, the bill is seen as quashing free speech. (Mitchell, 7/23)

Ohio's law allows cities, villages and townships to restrict the number of marijuana businesses that can operate within their limits or ban them altogether. And more than 50 municipalities already have passed temporary or permanent bans, some because of public safety concerns. (Kilpatrick, 7/21)