Mental health in Illinois schools, used Christmas trees, increased rural outreach by colleges and universities, and more
Used Christmas trees help protect wetlands restoration: They can slow erosion and protect new wetland growth Read about how old holiday trees are making a difference, in Yale Climate Connection.
More than two-thirds of Illinois public schools already offering mental health screenings: A new report focused on improving access to mental health services for Illinois schoolchildren shows that 71 percent of the state’s schools are already providing the screenings, with smaller schools being less likely to screen for mental health. Read WREX-13’s summary of the report and how kids’ mental health is being bolstered by Illinois’ Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative, signed by Gov. JB Pritzer in February 2022.
Reynolds calls out Trump for “misleading” Iowans with campaign ads: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says campaign ads from the Donald Trump campaign for president that feature old clips of her praising him are “unfair to Iowans,” reports The Hill. Reynolds has actually endorsed Florida Gov. Ron De Santis, running a distant third behind Trump and Nikki Haley for the Republican presidential nomination, with the state’s caucuses less than a month away.
New Ebony Alerts will help focus on missing Black children and women: Almost 40 percent of missing children in America are Black, even though Blacks account for 14 percent of the population. In addition, Black children are more likely to be reported as “runaways” (instead of “missing”) than white kids, says the Black and Missing Foundation. Ebony Alerts are how the state of California is trying to address this imbalance; read KRON-4’s report about the program that starts in January.
Rural outreach increasing among colleges, universities: Rural areas typically have higher higher school graduation rates than suburbs and cities, yet fewer of those graduates go to college, writes The Hechinger Report. Read in Hechinger about new efforts among elite and public colleges and universities to visit schools in rural areas.
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Folkloric holiday figures, medical marijuana in Ukraine, and finally ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
Ukraine Parliament hopes cannabis will relieve PTSD from war: Medical marijuana is now legal in the Ukraine, following the country’s parliament vote at the end of December. The move comes after years of debate and is propelled, reports Marijuana Moment, by a nationwide outbreak of post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by Russia’s invasion in xxxx and the ensuing war.
St. Nick, Krampus aren’t the only folkloric winter holiday figures: Learn about Iceland’s Jólakötturinn, Italy’s La Befana and Celtic Britain’s Mari Lwyd, too, from Interfaith America.
Veterans ejected during ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ era getting new help: Some of the 100,000 LGBTQ+ people kicked out of the U.S. military from 1994 to 2011 still have a “dishonorable discharge” on their record, simply because of their sexuality. Now, the Biden administration is helping to track down an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 whose records still bear Don’t Ask Don’t Tell dishonorable discharges, which can interfere with veterans’ access to health care, home loans, and college tuition, reports Southern Illinois Now.
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons, showing U.S. Navy officials starting the repeal of the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 2011)
Daybreak board game, Iowa refuses food help, Black Santas and an LGBTQ+ Hallmark
New board game inspires climate change awareness: The new board game “Daybreak” asks players to collaborate and stop a two-degree Celsius temperature change. Read about it in this story by Alaska’s KCAW.
Iowa rejects federal summer program that provides low-income families $40 a week subsides: Citing what they say would be a $2 2 million administrative cost to the state, Iowa officials have said “no” to the federal Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program for food in between school months. Iowa Capital Dispatch explains more about the decision and reasons behind it.
Black Santas and LGBTQ+ themed holiday specials flourish this year. Taking a look back seven years ago, when an essayist’s call for non-white Santas raised a ruckus, NBC News takes a look at how the modern-day preponderance of Black Santas is connected to race relations. The network also explores how increased LGBTQ+ plotlines and characters on the Hallmark Channel have infuriated conservative commentators.
(photo credit: soulchristmas, Flickr)
Elijah McClain paramedics convicted, racial biases of AI, expanded marijuana pardons and more
Paramedics who injected Elijah McClain with ketamine convicted of negligent homicide: The Colorado health workers had injected the 140-pound young adult with a dose appropriate for a 200-pound person, contributing to his death. Read CBS News‘ rundown of the trial that concluded Friday.
New FDA-approved test for opioid use disorder looks at “brain reward pathways:” The new test is intended for people considering use of opioids for short-term medical situations like recovery from surgery and may help those prone to opioid addiction understand this quality beforehand. (MedicineNet).
Judge to rule by the new year on Iowa’s book ban: A restriction on “pornographic” books in public schools has been too broadly interpreted by schools to focus too much on LGBTQ+ content, according to an attorney defending the state of Iowa against lawsuit by a family and the ACLU. (Iowa Public Radio).
AI facial recognition duplicates existing biases: A case against the national drugstore chain Rite Aid has highlighted how artificial intelligence duplicates implicit bias by building pre-existing prejudices into algorithms, Forbes writes.
Biden expands pardons for cannabis offenses: The president’s proclamation Friday pardons, for the first time, those with criminal records related to possession on federal properties, reports Marijuana Moment.
(photo credit: The White House through Wikimedia Commons, showing President Joe Biden signing the first marijuana offenses pardon of his term in October 2022.)
