See a collection of links to news stories about nurses in other nations, and how they are advocating for their patients.

Democrats gear up for the 2018 election, they confront big challenges: Polls in the last election showed a general electorate that deeply distrusted the party’s leaders, while new surveys show the Democratic base has lost faith in government — and now many swing voters believe Democrats aim to help the wealthy.

IS A SINGLE-PAYER health care system workable in California? My short answer is “yes.” I reached that conclusion by writing a research study, along with co-authors James Heintz, Peter Arno, and Jeannette Wicks-Lim, of the Healthy California single payer bill.

To some, the California Nurses Association’s political tactics in pushing for a single-payer health system seemed a bit, well, extreme. Others are impressed with the union’s drive and creativity, recalling how in 2005 CNA members taunted California’s then-governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, trailing him wherever he went to protest his attempts to roll back hard-won nurse-to-patient requirements in hospitals.

A circuit judge struck down the city’s minimum wage law on Wednesday just hours before it was set to go into force. Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer issued a sobering blow to the city’s law just after 4:30 p.m., declaring it void and out of step with state law. The city quickly said it would appeal to a higher court.