Axios

California has decided to play hardball with health care costs, adding steep penalties to enforce state-directed caps on per capita spending increases.

Why it matters: The move could prompt other states to follow, but also serve as a warning of the trade-offs that come with forcing providers to make do with less money.

Need a reading recommendation? "The Calamity Club" was last month's most-borrowed e-book on Libby, the library app tells Axios.

State of play: Author Kathryn Stockett's bestseller explores poverty and friendship through the eyes of two outcast women in 1930s Mississippi.

Just over 16% of Americans read for pleasure on an average day last year, according to new government data.

Why it matters: America's reading slump is sticking — remaining near the lowest level in at least two decades.