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☆ Psychedelic therapies are on the horizon. Who will administer them?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Danica Jefferies | Danica Jefferies Is An Intern With The Data Graphics Team For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Psychedelic therapy is nowhere near as simple as filling a prescription and taking a pill at home. A clinical psychologist, she founded and now leads the first accredited psychedelic therapy training program in the U.S. at the California Institute of Integral Studies. The psychedelic therapy program entails 150 hours of instruction and several in-person training sessions. So why the growing interest in using psychedelic drugs for mental health? Treatment with psychedelic drugs is not as simple as giving the patient a pill to take at home, and it’s not for everybody.

☆ Who in the U.S. gets paid sick leave, in four charts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Danica Jefferies | Danica Jefferies Is An Intern With The Data Graphics Team For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Roughly 1 in 5 civilian workers in the U.S. don’t have paid sick leave, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Paid sick leave was at the heart of the dispute between rail workers and freight companies, with some workers demanding seven days paid sick leave. Many sick leave mandates allow workers to take 5 to 8 paid sick days, depending on how many hours they work and the number of employees in the business. Several states including these four have passed legislation blocking cities and counties from enacting paid sick leave. In 2021, Texas became the latest to ban municipal ordinances requiring businesses to provide paid sick leave.

☆ Nancy Pelosi’s 10 terms in House party leadership are among the most of any U.S. representative
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Danica Jefferies | Danica Jefferies Is An Intern With The Data Graphics Team For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Pelosi, D-Calif., has served 10 terms as the leader of the House Democrats since 2003, including four terms as the speaker. According to an NBC News analysis of House data, only Sam Rayburn has led a party in the House longer. Pelosi’s move upholds a pledge she made in 2018 to serve no more than two additional terms as the leader. Pelosi made the announcement a day after NBC News projected that Republicans would gain a slim majority in the House in the next Congress. She became the first woman to lead either party in Congress after she was elected House minority leader in 2002.

☆ Colorado just legalized ‘magic mushrooms,’ an idea that’s growing nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Danica Jefferies | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

DENVER, CO - MAY 19: "u201cFun guy"u201d with harvested Mazatec psilocybin mushrooms from their growing tubs May 19, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. Bills that would decriminalize possession have been introduced in 19 states — including Missouri, Iowa and Kansas — though none have been enacted. And more than a dozen states — including Florida, Oklahoma and Texas — have introduced legislation to further study the health benefits of psilocybin. Some opponents of the Colorado measure say it would promote using these substances before the FDA says they are safe. "I'm hoping the rest of the country can learn the hard lessons from my state's foray," said Luke Niforatos, who leads two national organizations that opposed the drug legalization measure.

☆ Colorado legalized ‘magic mushrooms.’ Could the rest of the U.S. follow?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Danica Jefferies | Danica Jefferies Is An Intern With The Data Graphics Team For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Voters in Colorado approved a ballot measure legalizing the use of psilocybin and psilocin, two psychedelic compounds found in so-called magic mushrooms, in Tuesday’s midterm election, becoming the second state to do so in two years. The initiative allows for the use of psilocybin at state-regulated centers under the supervision of licensed facilitators. It also legalizes personal private use, growing and sharing of psilocybin and psilocin, as well as three additional psychedelic compounds — DMT, ibogaine and mescaline — by adults over the age of 21. “I’m in awe of what we were able to accomplish,” said Veronica Lightning Horse Perez, one of the lead proponents behind the legalization effort. But a growing body of research has found therapeutic, anti-anxiety uses for the chemical, prompting some states to consider relaxing restrictions.

☆ A potentially cancer-causing chemical is sprayed on much of America’s farmland. Here is where it is used the most.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Danica Jefferies | Danica Jefferies Is An Intern With The Data Graphics Team For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

For those only exposed through food, the EPA says that glyphosate residues on food are safe up to certain thresholds. The chemical giant Monsanto introduced glyphosate in its product Roundup in 1974. “Glyphosate is the most widely used chemical weedkiller in human history because of genetic engineering,” said Dave Murphy, the founder of Food Democracy Now, an advocacy group that tests glyphosate in food. “It’s sprayed ubiquitously and Monsanto has, for decades, just maintained that it’s the safest agricultural chemical ever made.”The EPA’s safety limits for glyphosate exposure from food are twice the levels allowed in the European Union. The company pointed NBC News to other studies — including some that it has sponsored — that either refuted a link to cancer or challenged the relationship between acres sprayed and exposure levels.

☆ A potentially cancer-causing chemical is sprayed on much of America’s produce. How high is exposure near you?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Danica Jefferies | Danica Jefferies Is An Intern With The Data Graphics Team For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The chemical giant Monsanto introduced glyphosate in its product Roundup in 1974. “It’s sprayed ubiquitously and Monsanto has, for decades, just maintained that it’s the safest agricultural chemical ever made.”The EPA’s safety limits for glyphosate exposure from food are twice the levels allowed in the European Union. Additionally, two reports by organic advocacy groups found glyphosate in food products including cereals, cookies, crackers and sandwich bread. The EPA concluded in 2020 that glyphosate posed “no risks to human health” and was not likely to cause cancer. But a federal appeals court rejected that determination in June, stating that the EPA did not adequately assess the risks to endangered species and human health.

The state of abortion rights has been upended by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. With the end of nearly 50 years of federal abortion protections, more than a half-dozen states rushed to ban the procedure completely, while others have imposed new restrictions. As of Sept. 23 more than a dozen states have banned abortions. The bans have kicked off a wave of legal challenges in several states, including Louisiana, where litigation has stalled enforcement. NBC News is tracking the status of state-level abortion laws and restrictions across the country, as well as exceptions in places where bans are in effect.

That has led to sharp rises in prices for new and used cars — if there are any left on the lot — and to scalpers snatching’ up the latest video game consoles to resell at inflated prices. Many industries, including oil refineries, car factories and airlines, cut staff and production in 2020 at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving them understaffed when demand for travel roared back. Gas prices only started falling in the summer, after a prolonged rise at the start of the year. And rising natural gas prices have led to spikes in the cost of electricity, sending energy bills soaring in some cities. The federal government has taken steps to combat rising prices.

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