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California hospitals and the state’s largest health workers union reached an agreement Thursday to pull two competing initiatives from the November ballot hours before a state deadline. But a separate measure to impose a one-time tax on billionaires remains headed toward voters, potentially reshaping how California funds healthcare. That measure would levy a one-time 5% tax on California billionaires if approved by voters. Supporters estimate the tax would bring in $100 billion to replace recent state and federal healthcare cuts. The union accused Gov. Gavin Newsom, who tried to strike a last-minute deal to kill the ballot measure, of having “no plan” to prevent cuts projected to lose jobs and leave millions of Californians uninsured, according to recent projections. (Hwang, 6/25)

A city board voted Thursday to freeze rents for up to two years for about 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, delivering on a key piece of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s agenda while rattling the real estate industry. (Craig, 6/25)

Two brothers who own a Colorado funeral home where two dozen bodies were found in various stages of decay were arrested on Thursday, nearly a year after state inspectors followed the smell of decomposition to a room hidden behind a cardboard display, according to investigators and state records. The owners, Brian and Christopher Cotter, face more than 125 counts of state charges, including abuse of a corpse, forgery and theft, the 10th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said on Thursday. (Walker, 6/25)

A 74-year-old man convicted of fatally stabbing his wife became the oldest person executed in Florida’s modern history on Thursday, and the state is scheduled to execute another 74-year-old inmate next month. Dusty Ray Spencer was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Spencer was convicted of the 1992 stabbing death of his wife Karen. (Fischer and Collins, 6/26)

Louisiana voters will decide in November whether to ensure local water utilities can use federal funding to pay to replace residents’ lead pipes. The Louisiana Legislature also passed a framework to reduce other barriers to local lead pipe replacements that became law on June 21. In New Orleans, the Sewerage & Water Board has been awarded $152 million in federal dollars to start replacing lead lines. Lead, a toxic heavy metal, is common in water across the city, and the water utility predicts that at least half of its service lines contain lead. It’s unclear how many of the service lines on private property contain lead. (Parker, 6/24)

Matthew Lantz always wanted to be a firefighter. At 15, he started volunteering with the Timberville Volunteer Fire Department and plans to work for Rockingham County full-time when he graduates high school early and turns 18 this December. Getting that job will likely be easier because Lantz is already a certified EMT and firefighter, in part thanks to a program he had access to in high school. (Mangrum, 6/26)

Here’s another reason to cover up in the thick of tick season this summer: There is a bite that can leave you allergic to burgers, bacon and steak. That’s right—Lyme disease isn’t the only health threat ticks can pose. More people are learning about alpha-gal syndrome, a potentially life-changing allergy linked to the lone-star tick. (Reddy, 6/25)

The record-breaking heat that’s scorching Europe day and night this month would not have been possible without climate change, according to a new study. The World Weather Attribution rapid study released Friday found that the heat would have been virtually impossible just five decades ago, and is 200 times more likely today than it would have been 20 years ago. (St. John, 6/26)

More than 200 people may have died in Spain in recent days as a result of the record heat wave that has gripped much of Europe this week, according to data from a national monitoring system that estimates excess deaths. Researchers at Spain’s leading public health agency in Madrid, using models based on a decade of mortality records, and temperature and demographic data, projected the heat wave has caused 212 excess deaths since Sunday. (Crowe and Kaplan, 6/25)