Nashville School Shooter Manipulated Mental Health Providers, Report Says
Audrey Hale, who died in the 2023 attack, was able to convince providers and family members that her "homicidal and suicidal ideations were well in her past," the investigative case summary concludes. Meanwhile, efforts are underway in Florida's Miami-Dade County and in Ohio to ban fluoride from public drinking water. More news comes from Indiana, North Carolina, and California.
AP:
Police Say The 2023 Nashville School Shooter Hid Mental Health Issues From Doctors And Family
The shooter behind the 2023 Nashville elementary school attack that killed six people, including three children, had been obsessively planning it for years while hiding mental health issues from family and doctors, a police report released Wednesday reveals. (Mattise, Kruesi and Loller, 4/2)
ABC News:
More Cities, Counties Start To Remove Fluoride From Public Drinking Water
More cities and counties across the U.S. are moving to ban fluoride in public drinking water after Utah became the first state in the country to do so. The Miami-Dade County commissioners voted 8-2 on Tuesday to stop adding fluoride to the public water supply. Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, who sponsored the legislation, referred to fluoride as a "neurotoxin" and that studies show it "should not be in the water." (Kekatos, 4/2)
Post-Tribune:
Indiana Medicaid Bill Amended, Passed House Committee
A major Indiana Senate Medicaid bill has been amended and passed the House Ways and Means committee. Senate Bill 2 — authored by Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka — places restrictions on Medicaid, including work requirements on an insurance program for Hoosiers with a medium income and between ages 19 to 64, according to Post-Tribune archives. (Wilkins, 4/2)
North Carolina Health News:
Three Rural NC Counties Map Out Paths To Reducing Opioid Deaths
Across rural North Carolina, the opioid epidemic has left a devastating mark — overdose deaths have surged, families have been shattered and communities have struggled to find resources to fight the crisis. More than 4,440 overdose-related deaths were reported across the state in 2023, with rural counties accounting for about 41 percent of the toll. (Baxley, 4/3)
In news from California —
San Francisco Chronicle:
Former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra Announces Run For Governor
Xavier Becerra, who served as Health and Human Services secretary under President Joe Biden, will run for California governor in 2026, he announced Wednesday. Becerra faced a tough first two years as HHS secretary, a post he took over during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Stein and Burke, 4/2)
CBS News:
San Francisco Ends Policy Of Providing Drug Paraphernalia Without Treatment
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie on Wednesday announced that the city would no longer give users free paraphernalia to consume drugs without providing treatment counseling. The move marks a shift away from the standing policy of providing supplies for people to use drugs in a safer manner, including clean foil and needles. San Francisco has long been criticized for its lax views on public drug use. (Ramos and Pehling, 4/2)
Los Angeles Times:
A Federal Judge Is Demanding A Fix For L.A.'s Broken Homelessness System. Is Receivership His Next Step?
With the top city and county elected officials sitting in his jury box, the judge lectured for more than an hour, excoriating what he called the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” of homeless services in Los Angeles. But when it came time to reveal the drastic remedy anticipated by a courtroom full of spectators, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter hit pause at a hearing last week. (Smith, 4/2)
Redlands Daily Facts:
Death Of Veteran Found In Car At California VA Latest In String Of Suicides
A military veteran wanted by police was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a parked vehicle this week at the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans' Hospital in the latest of a string of suicides connected to the VA Loma Linda Health Care System in California. (Schwebke, 4/2)
