Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would require plastic surgery patients to undergo a complete physical examination and get clearance before procedures. The bill was inspired by Donda West, who died of heart failure after undergoing extensive plastic surgery. Schwarzenneger's office said that the delay in the passage of the state budget only gave him time to enact California's highest-priority legislation. [LAT]

Naomi Campbell underwent a mystery operation in Brazil in March, and she recently revealed that the surgery was to correct her infertility. Campbell, who is currently dating a Russian billionaire, told People, "I was not able to have children up until March. Now it's in God's hands. I would love to have a family."

Jesse Jackson is currently in a Chicago hospital after checking in Wednesday with severe stomach pains. He spoke to reporters yesterday and said that doctors diagnosed him with viral gastroenteritis but are running more tests. His spokesperson does not know when he'll be released. [CT]

"In response to the death of Donda West, Kanye West's mother, the California State Senate on Wednesday approved a requirement that patients be given a physical exam before elective surgery, according to the Los Angeles Times. State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas told the paper that the measure was in response to West's death last November of complications related to cosmetic surgery. The family reportedly believes that a physical exam would have uncovered coronary artery disease. "Many of us are concerned about the quality of care extended to those who receive elective surgery," Ridley-Thomas said. The vote was 37 to 1." [MTV]

"When a doctor doesn't look an Asian-American patient in the eye, that might be seen as a sign of respect. But making eye contact is encouraged with black patients, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, which has published a guidebook for culturally competent care. As the country's ethnic profile diversifies, some states are trying to assure that health care providers are trained in 'cultural competency.' New Mexico passed a law last year requiring that higher education institutions with health education programs provide such training, though the state still is grappling with how it will be implemented. New Jersey and California are among a handful of states with similar measures already in place."

…despite rumors to the contrary. After the comedian was hospitalized with pneumonia over the weekend, news outlets and radio stations were flooded with calls saying that he had died. Not so, says his publicist, who told the Chicago Sun-Times, "It is a very horrible rumor. Nothing has changed from yesterday." [EUR]

From the Washington Post "New research suggests that people of African descent are much more likely to have a genetic trait that makes them more susceptible to infection with the HIV virus. Scientists estimate that the trait — which also provides protection against a form of malaria — might account for 11 percent of the HIV cases in Africa, the continent hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic. Overall, the finding shows how the past history of evolution and disease still affects people today, said study co-author Matthew J. Dolan, of the Wilford Hall United States Air Force Medical Center and San Antonio Military Medical Center. 'The benefit that the Africans got from a mutation that gave them some resistance to malaria has, statistically at least, rendered them some increased susceptibility to HIV,' he said."

Thanks, Ike.

Natalie Cole recently revealed that she has Hepatitis C, which doctors believe she probably contracted during her past drug use. "I’ve been so fortunate to have learned so much from my past experiences," said Cole. "I am embraced by the love and support of my family and friends; I am committed to my belief in myself and in my abiding faith to meet this challenge with a heartfelt optimism and determination. This is how I intend to deal with this current challenge in my life." She has responded well to anti-viral medication, and is now virus negative. [People]

From the Chicago Tribune: "The preferred treatment for kidney failure is an organ transplant. But although African-Americans suffer from kidney disease at higher rates than whites, they are less likely to be referred for transplants, less likely to be placed on a waiting list and less likely to get kidneys once on the list, according to a large body of research. With transplant lists growing, it can be daunting for a person of any race to get a life-sustaining kidney. But many African-Americans face additional hurdles—whether it's piecing together insurance to cover expensive anti-rejection drugs or searching for loved ones healthy enough to serve as living donors… The result is a glaring racial disparity in which many black kidney patients remain on dialysis, a treatment associated with lower quality of life and higher death rates."

"Doctors are getting ready to introduce a cheap in-vitro fertilization procedure across Africa, where women often are ostracized as witches or social outcasts if they cannot have children, officials said Monday. Millions of dollars go into family planning projects and condom distribution to prevent pregnancies in Africa, but experts said that more than 30 percent of women on the continent are unable to have children. 'Infertility is taboo in Africa,' said Willem Ombelet, head of a task force at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology looking into infertility in developing countries. 'Nobody has paid attention to this issue, but it is a huge problem and we need to do something.'"

A surveillance video from a Kings County Hospital waiting room that shows hospital workers ignore psychiatric patient Esmin Green as she collapses, convulses and dies have set off a firestorm in NYC. Worker ignored her dead body for an hour, and that was after she had waited 24 hours for emergency psychiatric treatment. Six hospital employees have been fired or suspended as a result of the June 18th incident. "What's happening in Kings County Hospital is an affront to human dignity," New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman said in a written statement. "In 2008 in New York City, nobody should be subjected to this kind of treatment. It should not take the death of a patient to get the city to make changes that everyone knows are long overdue." [CNN]

The omission of menthol-flavored cigarettes from a House bill to ban flavored cigarettes and its possible racial implications have been the buzz among public health and political circles for a while, but the Congressional Black Caucus is now demanding that the bill be revised to include a ban of menthol cigarettes, which are smoked disproportionately by blacks. [DP]