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State and local officials have touted the settlements as providing desperately needed relief to communities hit hard by the crisis. But when the money will be paid out, and who will get it, remains far from clear, Reuters has found. Among the states where money is already reaching organizations on the ground are Massachusetts, Kentucky and Arizona. Most states share a significant portion of their total settlement funds with their city and county governments, which make their own independent decisions about how to spend. But in May, the board overseeing the state’s opioid settlement denied a joint application by Challenges and a county health department to fund harm reduction efforts, without explaining its decision.

Persons: Johnson, ”, Brandon Marshall, Julie Burns, Chris Bryan, Glenn Hegar, Lisa Ruzicka, “, Ruzicka, “ I’ve, drugmakers Johnson, Lauren Kestner, Tricia Christensen, –, we’re, ” Marc Burrows, Brendan Pierson, Disha, Alexia Garamfalvi, Claudia Parsons Organizations: Johnson, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Reuters, District of Columbia, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics Reuters, Brown University School of Public Health, Rhode, Texas, Hope Foundation, Walgreens, Alliance, state’s Department of Health, Human Services, Prevention Services, Community Education Group, Alabama Attorney, University of Mississippi Medical, Inc, Thomson, & $ Locations: Massachusetts, Texas, United States, Maryland, Illinois, . Arkansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Rhode, RIZE Massachusetts, RIZE, Kansas, North Carolina, Charlotte, Appalachia, Mississippi, Alabama, New York

☆ Will the I-95 collapse in Philadelphia hurt the economy? Look at other cities for answers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —A section of northbound I-95 in Philadelphia collapsed Sunday after a tanker truck caught fire underneath the highway. I-95 is an important artery for not only the East Coast, but for regional transportation and commuters in Philadelphia. Another analysis by the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development and the transportation department found the economic loss was about $17 million in 2007 and $43 million in 2008. Morning commutesThe Philadelphia bridge collapse also brings up another question: How will commuters get to work? Advocates for public transport in Philadelphia look to Atlanta, when the Interstate-85 bridge collapsed in 2018 after a massive fire.

Persons: Tumar Alexander, ”, ” Alexander, Kristen Scudder, ” Scudder, Scudder, Scrudder, Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Buttigieg, “ I’ve, Shapiro Organizations: New, New York CNN, Delaware, Regional Planning Commission, City, Philadelphia Office, Emergency Management, New Jersey Turnpike, of Transportation Statistics, University of Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Transportation, state’s Department of Employment, Economic, Bureau, Transportation, Invest, Atlanta Regional Commission, Southeastern, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, “, Twitter, Federal Highway Administration, FHWA, Gov Locations: New York, Philadelphia, East Coast, City of Philadelphia, New Jersey, Memphis, Minneapolis, Minnesota, West Memphis , Arkansas, Atlanta, Southeastern Pennsylvania, Roosevelt, Northeast Philadelphia

☆ Did N.Y. Leaders Leave Residents Unprepared for the Air Quality Crisis?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Emma G. Fitzsimmons | Luis Ferré-Sadurní | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Tuesday afternoon, the governor’s office issued a news release announcing that the wildfires were creating hazy conditions in New York City and elsewhere, urging residents to limit exposure and saying state experts were monitoring the situation. On Wednesday morning, as many New Yorkers woke up to a thick blanket of haze, the governor spoke to reporters in Albany about the situation, saying it was “an emergency crisis” and warning it could last several days. Asked about the wisdom of declaring a state of emergency, Ms. Hochul said that it was unnecessary. “A state of emergency is a mechanism you use when there’s something you can do about it,” she said. “We don’t have a lot we can do about the circumstances for contaminated toxic air coming into our airspace, so there’s not a need for deploying resources or bringing money to the table.”

Persons: ”, Jay Varma, Bill de Blasio, Hochul, there’s Organizations: Cornell Center for Pandemic Prevention, Mexico City, state’s Department of Environmental Conservation Locations: Beijing, Mexico, New York City, Albany

☆ Upstart News Site Has Youth on Its Side, and Albany in Its Sights
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Ginia Bellafante | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Out of these and other revelations came the notion for New York Focus, a nonprofit news site. But it would distinguish itself by concentrating on the way that power is exercised in Albany and how it filters down and affects almost everything. The order would have also prevented Mr. Lennon and writers like him from getting paid. A day after the New York Focus piece appeared, the corrections department rescinded the directive. In November New York Focus, with the Intercept as a partner, published the results of a yearlong investigation into allegations of physical and sexual abuse at Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Ulster County.

Persons: Mehta’s, Sam Mellins, Lee Harris, John J, Lennon, sodomizing Organizations: York, state’s Department of Corrections, Community Supervision, Sullivan Correctional, New York, New York Times Magazine, New, PEN America, Shawangunk Locations: City, Hell, New York City, Albany, Chicago, York, New York, Ulster County

daily record (2003) 35: E.P.A.’s safe daily levels 377: Wednesday in New York City Source: New York City Community Air Survey and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Data shows hourly concentrations of PM2.5 particles, measured in micrograms per cubic meter, for seven N.Y.C. The air in New York City on Wednesday wasn’t just bad by the city’s standards. It was historically bad, even compared with places around the world that generally experience much more air pollution. Wednesday’s daily average was the highest since recording in New York began in 1999. Wednesday’s pollution, of course, was not caused by a power plant or vehicles, but by major wildfires in Canada, mostly in Quebec.

Persons: San Francisco —, Eric James, James Organizations: New York City, New York City Community Air Survey, New York State Department of Environmental, Records, Protection Agency, state’s Department of Environmental, Environmental Protection Agency, University of Colorado, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Administration Locations: New York, Portland ,, San Francisco, New York City, Canada, Northern California, Quebec, North America

☆ Opinion: A boast that could sink Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. CNN —“I’m the one that got rid of Roe v. Wade,” former President Donald Trump boasted Tuesday on Newsmax. Congress has the power to rein in the court, wrote CNN legal analyst and law professor Steve Vladeck, whose new book “The Shadow Docket” focuses on the Supreme Court. Courtesy Boaz FreundIn 2019, then-President Trump issued an executive order requiring hospitals to post the prices of common medical services and procedures. For some, its celebration of a multiracial but purely fictional British aristocracy may even be a big part of its appeal.”As escapism, “Queen Charlotte” is a success.

The online profile being investigated also includes several pictures showing a black tactical vest with an RWDS patch. In addition, the profile includes a screenshot from Google Maps showing the time at which the mall where the shooting took place was likely to be busiest. Even so, one fact weighed heavily on the suburban community outside Dallas where the murders occurred: There were children among the victims. Although the police would not indicate how many children died, officials including President Biden acknowledged that there were more than one. As of Sunday afternoon, one patient had been transferred to a children’s hospital and was in fair condition.

☆ A drug company abandoned a treatment for ‘bubble boy disease.’ After a 5-year fight, this little girl is about to get it
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Elizabeth Cohen Lauren Mascarenhas | Elizabeth Cohen | Lauren Mascarenhas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +29 min

The Sulacks weighed their options: Have a transplant with a match that was less than ideal – far less – or wait for gene therapy to become available. The news release didn’t say anything else about the SCID gene therapy. Or was the company abandoning its plans for SCID gene therapy altogether? In February, 2021, the parents of more than 20 children who were waiting for the gene therapy treatment, including the Sulacks, wrote a letter to Gaspar. Insurance companies have sometimes balked at paying for gene therapy, which is typically given in one treatment.

☆ California Governor Lifts Most Drought Restrictions on Water Use
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Jim Carlton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A flooded road in California’s Central Valley this week following winter storms. California Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted many of the state’s remaining drought restrictions, citing an unusually wet winter which has refilled most reservoirs, left the mountain snowpack at near record levels and eased, for now, fears of worsening economic malaise from the worst dry spell on record. The Democratic governor made the announcement Friday while touring flooded farm fields in the Central Valley north of Sacramento following a parade of storms which have pounded the Golden State for months. The state’s Department of Water Resources also said it would increase the amount of water it sends to cities to 75% of their allotments, up from a previous projection of 35%, this year.

☆ Missing Radioactive Capsule Found in Australian Outback, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Mike Cherney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Western Australia state’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services crews had been searching for the tiny capsule. SYDNEY—A tiny capsule containing radioactive material that sparked a massive search over hundreds of miles of highway in the Australian Outback has been found, authorities said Wednesday. The success “is testament to amazing inter-agency teamwork in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds,” Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services said on Twitter.

Western Australia state’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services crews had been searching for the tiny capsule. A tiny capsule containing radioactive material that sparked a search over hundreds of miles of highway in the Australian Outback has been found, authorities said Wednesday. The success “is testament to amazing inter-agency teamwork in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds,” Western Australia state’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services said on Twitter.

☆ Utah is poised to be the first state to pass a gender-affirming care ban in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Utah is likely to become the first state to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors this year. The Utah Senate approved a bill Friday that would bar minors from receiving gender-affirming surgeries and place an indefinite moratorium on their access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Spencer Cox, who became the second Republican governor last year to veto a bill that bars transgender students from playing girls’ sports. Bri Martin, the editor of the student newspaper at West High School, described gender-affirming care as “nothing short of life-saving,” the Salt Lake Tribune reported. The bill also allows minors to sue medical providers for malpractice for gender-affirming medical care if the minor “later disaffirms consent” before they turn 25.

☆ Black maternal deaths and disparities increase in Mississippi
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The Mississippi Maternal Mortality Report shows that the maternal mortality rate increased by 8.8% between 2013‐2016 and 2017‐2019, with the latter period being the most recent one analyzed by researchers. Of the maternal deaths directly related to pregnancy, 87.5% were determined to be preventable. Velvet Johnson holds a sign calling for support of the Mississippi Black Women's Roundtable legislative agenda at Capitol in Jackson, Miss. It found that 42.5% of the maternal deaths it identified occurred more than 60 days but less than one year after delivery. Advocates from the Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable, an advocacy group, gathered at the Capitol to urge lawmakers to extend postpartum coverage.

☆ Court Pauses Implementation of California Fast-Food Wage Law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Heather Haddon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fast-food workers went on strike in November to demand that restaurant groups drop their referendum seeking to overturn a California labor law that would raise hourly wages. A state judge Friday put on hold a California law that could raise minimum wages for fast-food workers until a hearing can determine whether it should take effect next month. Save Local Restaurants, a group of franchisee and restaurant business associations, filed suit Thursday against the state’s Department of Industrial Relations challenging its intention to implement the law Jan. 1.

☆ Restaurant Group Sues to Block California Fast-Food Wage Law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Jacob Bunge | Ben Fritz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Efforts to block the law have drawn support from restaurant companies including McDonald’s. A restaurant industry group sued a group of California state officials Thursday, alleging that they plan to illegally begin implementing a new law that would set minimum hourly wages for fast-food workers. The group, including franchisee and restaurant business associations called Save Local Restaurants, said it filed the lawsuit in California Superior Court after the state’s Department of Industrial Relations informed them that the law would go into effect Jan. 1.

Known in the legal world as the “death penalty” of child welfare, it can happen in a matter of months. One in 100 U.S. children — disproportionately Black and Native American — experience termination through the child welfare system before they turn 18, the study found. Still, longer timelines can also reflect a stronger focus on family reunification and a willingness to devote greater resources to meet that goal, child welfare experts say. And some child welfare advocates have criticized the law’s focus on narrow initiatives like parenting classes, which they say fail to address poverty and the other root causes of neglect that prompt most child welfare cases. Snodgrass said she never imagined when her child welfare case started that she could lose her rights to her children.

☆ DOJ sues Arizona for placing shipping containers at the border
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Taylor Romine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The federal government is suing Arizona for placing shipping containers at the border as a temporary wall, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Doug Ducey, a Republican, issued an executive order telling the state’s Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to use shipping containers to fill in gaps along the border, and did so without official permits or authorization, CNN previously reported. The federal government has been battling with the state ever since to get the containers removed, according to the lawsuit. “Not only has Arizona refused to halt its trespasses and remove the shipping containers from federal lands, but it has indicated that it will continue to trespass on federal lands and install additional shipping containers,” the lawsuit states. “Arizona stands ready to cooperate with the federal government on construction of a border wall and always has been,” the letter from Ducey’s office said.

☆ At least 5 tornadoes confirmed in Texas as storms roll through southwestern US and blizzard conditions mount in the northern Plains
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Amir Vera Jason Hanna Monica Garrett | Amir Vera | Jason Hanna | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

More than 18 million people from Texas to Mississippi are under threat of severe storms Tuesday, including tornadoes. In Mississippi, the Meridian Public School District – which serves over 4,900 students – announced they will be closed Wednesday due to the threat of severe weather. The Lawrence County and McComb School Districts also announced they were closing Wednesday due to the threat of severe weather. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency also noted the severe weather expected in the state and asked residents to prepare. “With severe weather expected throughout Mississippi tonight and tomorrow, please review your severe weather preparedness checklist to make sure you are ready for the storms,” the agency said in a message on Twitter.

Federal dollars are also not an option for reimbursement because regulations prohibit federal funds from being used to replace stolen SNAP funds. SNAP participants say they cannot wait that long after a month or more of stolen benefits plunged them into financial turmoil. Washington, D.C., also reimburses SNAP skimming victims. In the meantime, anti-hunger advocates say there’s no reason states can’t fill the gap for SNAP skimming victims. How states can helpCalifornia, one state that restores stolen benefits, has a law allowing state funds to be used that dates back to 2013.

☆ A teen and his mom are starting over in another state after attacks on trans care
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

The department began opening investigations into families days later, but Laird told NBC News in March that she didn’t have plans to move. The family’s story reveals part of the impact Abbott’s directive is having on the families of trans youths in Texas. They left out of fear that Noah would lose the care recommended by his medical team, but also because the state was becoming increasingly hostile for trans people, Laird said. He added that Laird and Noah are far from the only ones who have left the state — he knows of several. At least three other families with trans kids have also said in interviews that they have moved.

Audiences will see how the battle in the Texas Legislature over gender-affirming care for trans children is far from a mere partisan philosophical argument or campaign talking point for me. That’s the year a flood of anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced in the Texas Legislature — the majority of which directly targeted trans kids and their families. This year dealt Texas trans families a double blow when state Attorney General Ken Paxton delivered a nonbinding legal opinion that gender-affirming care for children was child abuse — followed by a directive from Gov. We acted quickly as a family, breaking the news of our pending out-of-state move to Noah over an unforgettably sad dinner. Despite it all, Texas is where our hearts reside, no matter how many miles might separate us and how directly damaging Republican rhetoric has been.

☆ Getting laid off? Know your rights
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The abrupt and unceremonious way that thousands of Twitter employees got laid off last week was a spectacle. But it was also a helpful reminder that while employers can get rid of many workers at will (and with zero graciousness), employees are not without rights when they are laid off en masse. Technically you will remain on the company’s payroll and will continue to receive pay and benefits in the interim, and then any severance you’re given would kick in. A second reason many offer severance: “Good will and fairness to the employees and to the community as a whole. Or, if you just have some very simple questions, some employment lawyers might offer a free consultation by phone.

Among the violations “confirmed” by state investigators from the Kentucky Cabinet were improper use of restraints and aggression by staff members. As of Oct. 20, 32 children who are in state custody remained in Brooklawn’s care, according to the facility. Police and state officials say they are still investigating Ja’Ceon’s death, and no charges have been filed. Brooklawn said the facility has implemented new safety measures and increased training for staffers who provide direct care to children. This type of incident should never be allowed to happen again.”Some child advocates say Ja’Ceon’s death should prompt systemic change.

☆ Flesh-eating bacteria: What to know about Vibrio vulnificus, and how to avoid it
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Vibrio vulnificus causes an estimated 80,000 illnesses and 100 deaths in the United States every year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vibrio vulnificus is one of the bacteria that can cause what’s commonly known as a flesh-eating infection. Vibrio vulnificus infection is the leading cause of death related to eating seafood in the United States. With skin infections, a doctor will first take samples from the infected area to determine if Vibrio vulnificus is what’s causing the problem. Up to 50% of Vibrio vulnificus infections don’t respond to certain antibiotics anymore, studies show.

☆ California governor signs bill offering legal refuge to transgender youths
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-30 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday that aims to legally protect transgender youths and their parents if they flee conservative states that have restricted access to gender-affirming care. The bill seeks to “offer refuge” to trans minors and their families “if they’re being criminalized in their home states,” state Sen. Scott Wiener, who introduced the bill, said on Twitter after Newsom signed it. Kay Ivey signed a bill that makes it a felony for medical professionals to provide gender-affirming medical care to people under 19. “We believe that no one should be prosecuted or persecuted for getting the care they need — including gender-affirming care,” Newsom said in a statement after signing the measure. It prohibits California health care providers from releasing medical information in relation to other states’ laws prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors.

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