Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed

ProPublica: How The VA Fails Veterans On Mental Health
A veteran with a known history of suicidal thoughts showed up at a St. Louis hospital before dawn one morning and was left unmonitored in an exam room for hours. Another was deemed at risk of suicide by a hospital psychiatrist in Washington, D.C., then forcibly discharged, even as he tried to stay, by the same hospital’s emergency department. Another still in Pittsburgh was assigned a behavioral health nurse who failed to complete thorough suicide screenings or review his suicide safety plan, and didn’t follow up when he said he wished he was dead. In all three cases, independent inspectors documented serious failures by the Department of Veterans Affairs. And in all three cases, the veterans involved went on to kill themselves or other people. (McGrory and Bedi, 1/9)

The New York Times: Clown Cardio Doesn’t Take Exercise Too Seriously
Whenever Alex Lee mentions Clown Cardio, he is met with some confusion. “People will say, ‘What is that? People dressed like clowns chasing after you?’” Mr. Lee, a 42-year-old technical writer who lives in Los Angeles, said after a recent class. No one’s wearing face paint or red noses — nor are they necessarily chasing anyone (more on that later) — but this hourlong session, which costs $20, incorporated a bicycle horn, mini circus tents from Ikea and carnival-style popcorn boxes. Jaymie Parkkinen, who founded the class at Pieter Performance Space in Los Angeles, compiles theater games usually reserved for improv warm-ups and turns them into aerobic exercises with clown-themed props: a game similar to blob tag, wherein the tagged link arms and chase everyone; a more chaotic version of musical chairs; a circus tent version of Capture the Flag; disorderly dance competitions. (Benson, 1/11)

The Washington Post: Behind The Push For Padel, Pickleball’s Posher, Privileged Cousin
Invented in Acapulco in 1969 by the Mexican industrialist Enrique Corcuera, padel (technically pronounced with a Spanish inflection, “PAH-del”; many Americans simply say “paddle”) is a game of doubles, played with a low-pressure tennis ball, a paddle, and a glass back wall and corners on a shrunken tennis court. A blend of racket games with elements of tennis, racquetball and squash, the sport is enjoying a meteoric rise in popularity in the United States, rivaled only by the overnight, mass-consciousness epiphany that was pickleball. At the moment there are still fewer than 300 padel courts in the country, according to the U.S. Padel Association (USPA). But if you move in the right circles, in the right places, or at least follow the right accounts, padel is everywhere. (Cameron, 1/9)

Los Angeles Times: Paralyzed Man Climbs Yosemite's El Capitan With Only His Arms 
Dangling from a thin rope thousands of feet above Yosemite Valley last October, Zuko Carrasco could feel his arms tremble. A paraplegic who had lost the use of his legs eight years earlier in a bizarre accident — a trust fall gone awry — he had spent a week ascending El Capitan, the world’s most famous big wall rock climb, one tiny pull-up at a time. A “good pull” moved him up about 4 inches. He would need to perform something like 9,000 of them to reach the summit. Along the way, he suffered dehydration, searing blisters on his hands and, at times, soul-crushing doubt. He shivered in the early morning and evening shadows and baked in the midday sun. That was the worst because the injury that paralyzed him from the waist down also prevented him from sweating properly, adding heat stroke to the long list of mortal dangers he had to contend with. What kept him going? Desperation. (Dolan, 1/11)

The New York Times: Marijuana Buyers From Texas Fuel A ‘Little Amsterdam’ In New Mexico
In a desert valley along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, the city of Sunland Park has generally offered few amenities for its roughly 17,000 residents. No large grocery store. Few shops. Little to offer those uninterested in the racetrack casino or a hike to the gigantic cross of Cristo Del Rey that looms from a nearby mountaintop. But for Texans who live in El Paso, just over the state line, Sunland Park has lately become a regular destination. The reason: marijuana. Cars with Texas plates flock regularly to the many cannabis dispensaries — one with a drive-through, another offering discounts on “Texas Tuesday” — that have sprung up since New Mexico began legal recreational sales in 2022. (Goodman and Schaff, 1/7)

The New York Times: An Ultrasound Experiment Tackles A Giant Problem In Brain Medicine 
There is a problem with the recently approved Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm. It can remove some of the amyloid that forms brain plaques that are hallmarks of the disease. But most of the drug is wasted because it hits an obstacle, the blood-brain barrier, that protects the brain from toxins and infections but also prevents many drugs from entering. Researchers wondered if they could improve that grim result by trying something different: they would open the blood-brain barrier for a short time while they delivered the drug. Their experimental method was to use highly focused pulses of ultrasound along with tiny gas bubbles to pry the barrier open without destroying it. (Kolata, 1/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Here’s What It’s Like To Retire On Almost Nothing But Social Security 
Many Americans reach retirement with almost no savings. No 401(k). Few investments. And almost no income aside from a monthly Social Security check. Roughly one in seven Social Security recipients ages 65 and older depend on their benefits for nearly all their income, according to an AARP analysis. Unable to maintain the lifestyle of their working years, they trim their already trim budgets, move into smaller homes, or rely on the kindness of relatives to get by. (Dagher and Tergesen, 1/6)