July 2016

After being pulled over for a busted taillight on July 6, Philando Castile informed a Minnesota police officer at his window that he owned a gun and had a license to carry it. As he reached for his license and registration, his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter then watched as the police officer fired four shots into Castile’s body. He died in the driver’s seat. Castile was one of 137 Black people in the United States killed by a police officer this year. Another Black man, Alton...

Tough love, interventions and 12-step programs are some of the most common methods of treating drug addiction, but journalist Maia Szalavitz says they're often counterproductive. "We have this idea that if we are just cruel enough and mean enough and tough enough to people with addiction, that they will suddenly wake up and stop, and that is not the case," she tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. Szalavitz is the author of Unbroken Brain, a book that challenges traditional notions of addiction and...

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) today announces a new initiative in the wake of the recent killings of two black men in St. Paul, Minn., and Baton Rouge, La., and of five police officers in Dallas. The AAP will convene a group of pediatrician experts to identify new approaches to protect children, adolescents and young adults from the epidemic of violence occurring in their everyday lives. The initiative's members, agenda and goals will be shared in the coming days, and will address...

From the tiny town of Kenyon, Minnesota, Police Chief Lee Sjolander has a message for the 12,000 other police districts across the country. Writing from his department’s Facebook page this morning, he advocates a humble role of public servitude that is antithetical to the toxic masculinity with which some police departments have been infected. “If I were your chief,” he writes, “and we worked for the same agency, serving the same great community, I would attend roll call, and here is what I...

Dallas Police Chief, David O. Brown, once said that “trust is hard to earn and easy to lose.” Since taking the reins of the police force in 2010, Brown has taken that principle to heart, transforming Dallas into a national symbol of community policing even as the department grapples with the tragic killing of five of its officers earlier this week. “All I know is that this must stop—this divisiveness between our police and our citizens,” Brown said at a mournful press conference on Friday.

Today I want to share with you 7 Triggers for childhood toxic stress... At the core of every human there is a soul and spirit that knows only love and compassion for the whole of who they are. Through life experience from the day of birth, we begin to be seen through well meaning family and friends from a lens of “their hopes and dreams” for us. Mothers, fathers, friends and even educators, from their own agenda. The desire being to fulfill their vision as a great teacher making a difference...

After being pulled over for a busted tail light on July 6, Philando Castile informed a Minnesota police officer at his window that he owned a gun and had a license to carry it. As he reached for his license and registration, his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter then watched as the police officer fired four shots into Castile’s body. He died in the driver’s seat. Allowing suspects to explain their side of the story reduced compliance issues Castile was one of 137 Black people in the...

Purpose Evidence for Action (E4A), a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, funds research that expands the evidence base needed to build a Culture of Health. Our mission is to support rigorously designed quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research that yields convincing findings regarding the population health, well-being, and equity impacts of specific policies, programs and partnerships. We are especially interested in research examining the health impacts of...

When the topic of immigration comes up in a political speech, facts are often distorted or buried under bombastic sloganeering. The result is a wide gap between the public’s perception and the realities of this issue. And the rise of Donald Trump and the surprising outcome of U.K.’s Brexit referendum show that politicos are spreading misinformation with great success. In his corner of the internet, data wizard Max Galka has also been questioning the quality of information people consume on...

If the U.S. presidential campaign has made one thing clear, it’s this: The United States is not Finland. Nor is it Norway. This might seem self-evident. But America’s Americanness has had to be reaffirmed ever since Bernie Sanders suggested that Americans could learn something from Nordic countries about reducing income inequality, providing people with universal health care, and guaranteeing them paid family and medical leave. “I think Bernie Sanders is a good candidate for president … of...

Heidi Aylward spent much of 2015 going to doctor’s appointments for back and joint pain, dizziness, swelling of the legs and feet, high blood pressure, elevated platelets, heart palpitations and extreme fatigue. 2016 isn’t looking much better. She’s worn a heart monitor, had a bone marrow biopsy and continues to have blood work. She holds down a job as a full-time project manager, tends to her daughters, home and pets. But she feels like her body is falling apart. “I’m not going to make it...

A new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides state-by-state results on adolescents (ages 12-17) who experienced at least one major depressive episode in the past year. Based on combined 2013 and 2014 data, the report shows the prevalence of major depressive episodes among adolescents residing in various states – from a high of 14.6 percent (annual average) in Oregon to a low of 8.7 percent (annual average) in the District of Columbia.