Roblox Settles With Nevada, Will Pay $12M, Increase Protections For Kids
AP reports that Roblox will block access to adult-rated content and expand parental oversight for users under age 16. Also: The number of foods that can be purchased in Florida with SNAP is shrinking; North Carolina legislators recommend fixes to the state’s intertwined mental health and criminal justice systems; and more.
AP:
Roblox Reaches $12 Million Settlement With Nevada Over Youth Protections
Roblox, a gaming platform popular with kids, will implement increased protections for young users and pay more than $12 million to the state of Nevada in what state Attorney General Aaron Ford on Wednesday called a first-of-its-kind agreement. “This settlement will create a safer environment for our children online, and I hope that it will serve as a bellwether for how online interactive platforms allow our state’s youth to use their products,” the Democratic attorney general said Wednesday. (Hill, 4/15)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
WUSF:
SNAP Will Soon Allow Fewer Items At Checkout. What To Know
The list of food items you can buy with SNAP in Florida is shrinking. Starting on April 20, "soda, energy drinks, candy, and ultra-processed shelf-stable prepared desserts will no longer be available for purchase with SNAP benefits in Florida," according to the state agency administering the program. (Paul, 4/16)
KFF Health News:
New Federal Medicaid Rules Require One Month Of Work. Some States Demand More
Millions of people who apply for Medicaid in the coming years will have to prove they’ve been working, going to school, or volunteering for at least a month before they can gain or retain health insurance through the government program. But Republican lawmakers in some states think the new rules — part of the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed last July by President Donald Trump — don’t go far enough. (Liss, 4/16)
North Carolina Health News:
NC Lawmakers Recommend Reforms To Mental Health System
After spending six months examining the state’s involuntary commitment process, a special North Carolina House committee released a list of recommendations on Tuesday aimed at improving the state’s intertwined mental health and criminal justice systems. (Crumpler and Knopf, 4/16)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
Bill To End Gun Restrictions At NH Colleges Comes In For Criticism At Public Hearing
A bill to bar state colleges and universities from curbing gun rights on their campuses drew a crowd to Concord Tuesday. Most came to fight the bill, including the president of University of New Hampshire, students from several state colleges, and multiple members of law enforcement. (Rogers, 4/14)
ABC News:
Growing Number Of Trauma, Brain Injuries Linked To E-Bikes And E-Scooters At 1 Hospital: Study
E-bikes and e-scooters led to a growing number of trauma injuries at one New York City hospital, according to a new study published Wednesday. About 7% of all trauma visits between 2018 and 2023 at Bellevue Hospital Center were due to micromobility injuries. Micromobility is the use of small, lightweight and low-speed modes of transportation such as bicycles, e-bikes and e-scooters. The study showed a growing share of patients who sustained these injuries had accidents linked to e-bikes or e-scooters. (Cobern and Benadjaoud, 4/15)
NPR:
A Colorado Hospital Profits From Resolving Language Barriers
Maria Olivo started serving as her mom's interpreter when she was about five or six years old, whether they were at a bank or a doctor's office. They lived in Rifle, Colo., a desert town of about 10,000 people, where roughly 36% of people speak Spanish at home. Olivo often felt the weight of that responsibility and worried she would get something wrong. "I'm pretty sure that a lot of it I messed up," Olivo said last month at Grand River Health, Rifle's 57-bed hospital. "I wasn't sure half of the time, right? I was just a kid." (Zander, 4/16)
AP:
Arizona, Utility Reach Agreement Over Holding Off Electrical Shutoffs In High Heat
Arizona’s largest utility has agreed not to cut off electrical service to customers for nonpayment while forecasted high temperatures are 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) or above as part of a $7 million settlement of a lawsuit prompted in part by the 2024 death of an 82-year-old woman whose power was disconnected, Attorney General Kris Mayes said Wednesday. (4/16)
San Francisco Chronicle:
ICE Detainee's Sister Raises Alarm About Medical Neglect At Facility
When Senait Kifle visited her brother at California’s largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility on April 6, she screamed at the sight of him — he was barely recognizable. In the three weeks since her last visit, he’d deteriorated to the point where he needed a wheelchair, she said. His eyes were jaundiced, his legs were swollen, his face was so bloated that his chin looked “connected to his chest,” she said, and he told her he hadn’t been able to pee in some time. (Lyn Cheang, 4/15)
