Teen Mental Health Lawsuits Against Meta Allowed To Proceed, Judge Rules
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the social media company Meta must face lawsuits brought against it by U.S. states, claiming the company's addictive algorithms contribute to mental health problems in teens. Meanwhile, California's Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, mandates menstrual health education for middle and high school students.
Reuters:
Meta Must Face US State Lawsuits Over Teen Social Media Addiction
Facebook parent company Meta must face lawsuits by U.S. states accusing it of fueling mental health problems among teens by making its Facebook and Instagram platforms addictive, a federal judge in California ruled on Tuesday. Oakland-based U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected Meta's bid to toss the claims made by the states in two separate lawsuits filed last year, one involving more than 30 states including California and New York and the other brought by Florida. (Pierson, 10/15)
In other updates from California —
AP:
California Health Care Workers Get A Pay Bump Under A New Minimum Wage Law
Some of the lowest-paid health care workers in California will get a pay bump Wednesday under a state law gradually increasing their wages to at least $25 an hour. Workers at rural, independent health care facilities will start making a minimum of $18 an hour, while others at hospitals with at least 10,000 full-time employees will begin getting paid at least $23 an hour this week. The law will increase workers’ pay over the next decade, with the $25 hourly rate kicking in sooner for some than others. (Austin, 10/16)
USA Today:
California Students Will Learn About Periods, Menopause
California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved the Know Your Period Act in late September, making the Golden State among the first places to require menstrual health education. The new law, which goes into effect in January, is modeled after the first menstrual health education requirement in schools in Washington, D.C., last year, said Edgar Guerra, a spokesperson for Democrat California Assemblymember Lori Wilson, who authored the bill. (Jimenez, 10/16)
CBS News:
UC Davis Health Has New Clinic For Treatment-Resistant Depression
A UC Davis clinic is offering hope to those who are struggling with depression. Dr. Katharine Marder, a psychiatrist with UC Davis Health, works in the clinic for treatment-resistant depression. That is depression that hasn't gotten better with traditional treatments. It affects one in three people with depression. "What we do know is people with treatment-resistant depression do tend to have more severe depression," Marder said. "They tend to be sick for longer. They tend to have more disability and higher risk of suicide." (Garcia, 10/15)
CBS News:
Experimental SF Program Uses Meals To Help Dementia Patients Unlock Memories
The idea for this new experimental program is simple: use food to bring forgotten stories back to life. ... Studies have already shown that music can unlock memories from the past. Dr. Adrienne Green, the CEO of the San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living is betting the same thing can happen with food. "They're just coming back to life in ways that we don't see every day," she said. During a dinner party, residents got to share their dishes with the group and read a story they wrote with the help from specialists. (Hod, 10/15)
More health news from across the U.S. —
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Long Wait Times For Aid Could Be Addressed By Missouri’s Next Governor
Missouri’s next governor will face a $14 million decision in January aimed at addressing the state’s long-standing issues with granting welfare benefits to the state’s poorest residents. Less than a year after Missouri was among 16 states flagged by the federal government for long waiting times for applications for Medicaid and food stamps, the state Department of Social Services is asking for funding to hire 220 additional employees. (Erickson, 10/15)
AP:
Idaho Will Begin Using Deep Veins As Backup For Lethal Injection Executions, Officials Say
Idaho will begin using central veins deep in the groin, neck, chest or arm for executions by lethal injection if attempts to insert standard IV lines fail, the Idaho Department of Correction announced Tuesday. Using a central venous line — which involves threading a catheter through deep veins until it reaches a location near the heart — has long been a backup plan under the state’s official execution policy, but it has never been used because prison officials said the execution chamber was not designed in a way to protect the subject’s dignity during the process of inserting the line. The execution chamber has now been remodeled. (Boone, 10/15)
KFF Health News:
More Mobile Clinics Are Bringing Long-Acting Birth Control To Rural Areas
Twice a month, a 40-foot-long truck transformed into a mobile clinic travels the Rio Grande Valley to provide rural Texans with women’s health care, including birth control. The clinic, called the UniMóvil, is part of the Healthy Mujeres program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. The U.S. has about 3,000 mobile health programs. But Saul Rivas, an OB-GYN, said he wasn’t aware of any that shared the specific mission of Healthy Mujeres when he helped launch the initiative in 2017. “Mujeres” means “women” in Spanish. (Zionts, 10/16)
