Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalSettlement lays out big changes in use of psychotropic drugs in foster children
A settlement in a federal lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Social Services and its Children's Division for its failure to adequately supervise the use of psychotropic medications in foster children was given preliminary approval by U.S. District Court Judge Nanette Laughrey on Monday.
The civil rights action, M.B. v. Corsi, is the first federal class-action lawsuit in the U.S. focused on the use of psychotropic medications among youth in foster care, according to St. Louis University School of Law, which filed the case through its Legal Clinics with the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Children’s Rights and the National Center for Youth Law. The suit was filed on behalf of all minor children and youth who are or will be placed in Missouri foster care.
An estimated 13,000 children are in Missouri’s foster care system.
Filed in 2017, the suit alleged that Jennifer Tidball, acting state director for the Department of Social Services, and Tim Decker, director of the Children’s Division, unlawfully allowed children to be placed on psychotropic drugs without safeguards in place — a violation of a child’s 14th Amendment right to be free from harm while in state custody.
https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/settlement-lays-out-big-changes-in-use-of-psychotropic-drugs/article_95110598-a742-11e9-8c68-df6d80516f59.html
Settlement lays out big changes in use of psychotropic drugs in foster children
A settlement in a federal lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Social Services and its Children's Division for its failure to adequately supervise the use of psychotropic medications in foster children was given preliminary approval by U.S. District Court Judge Nanette Laughrey on Monday.
The civil rights action, M.B. v. Corsi, is the first federal class-action lawsuit in the U.S. focused on the use of psychotropic medications among youth in foster care, according to St. Louis University School of Law, which filed the case through its Legal Clinics with the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Children’s Rights and the National Center for Youth Law. The suit was filed on behalf of all minor children and youth who are or will be placed in Missouri foster care.
An estimated 13,000 children are in Missouri’s foster care system.
Filed in 2017, the suit alleged that Jennifer Tidball, acting state director for the Department of Social Services, and Tim Decker, director of the Children’s Division, unlawfully allowed children to be placed on psychotropic drugs without safeguards in place — a violation of a child’s 14th Amendment right to be free from harm while in state custody.
https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/settlement-lays-out-big-changes-in-use-of-psychotropic-drugs/article_95110598-a742-11e9-8c68-df6d80516f59.html
Meet the conservative college trying to take millions from Mizzou
The tiny Michigan college that's suing to take a multi-million-dollar bequest from the University of Missouri is a politically well-connected institution with big-name allies.
On paper it looks like a mismatch: Hillsdale College, a 1,500-student liberal arts school in rural southern Michigan, taking on the Show-Me State's nearly 30,000-student flagship university.
But Hillsdale is a conservative powerhouse. Its board of trustees includes J. Christopher Chocola, a former member of Congress and former president of the fiscally conservative Club for Growth, and Jeffrey H. Coors of the Colorado beer-brewing family, a major donor to Republican candidates and causes. Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak became chairman of the college's board in April.
The college prides itself on refusing any form of state or federal funding, including student grants or loans. That allows it to avoid government mandates, such as the requirements related to Title IX and affirmative action. Its most recent tax disclosure forms show Hillsdale with $1 billion in assets at the end of 2016.
https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/higher_education/meet-the-conservative-college-trying-to-take-millions-from-mizzou/article_a7131c64-a4c1-11e9-88a9-9f8b0d7ec1de.html
Turkey Calls Trump's Bluff
Turkey has just called Donald Trump's bluff by going ahead with the purchase of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missiles. The outrage in Washington is volcanic. Trump is vowing to rain fire and brimstone sanctions down on the disobedient Turks.
The S-400 is Russia's premier anti-air missile. It is believed highly effective against all forms of aircraft – including stealth planes – cruise missiles, medium range ballistic missiles, drones, and some other types of missiles. It offers the choice of a self-directing version with its own radar seeker, or a less expensive, 'semi-active' version that is guided by its launch-battery radar.
What makes this AA missile (SS-21 in NATO terminology) particularly deadly is its remarkable 400 km range. The S-400 is said by Russia to be able to unmask stealth aircraft. I've been told by Soviet security officials as far back as 1990 that their radars could detect US stealth aircraft.
The missile's remarkable range and detection capability puts at risk some of the key elements of US war fighting capability, notably the E-3 AWACS airborne radar aircraft, US electronic warfare aircraft, tankers and, of course, fighters like the new stealth F-35, improved F-15's, F-22's and B-1, B-2 and venerable B-52 heavy bombers used to carry long-ranged cruise missiles.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/07/14/turkey-calls-trumps-bluff?
Silent suicide: The fatal combination of old age, loneliness and loss
Tom Rote, 70, lives alone on his property in Harrisburg. Many of his friends and family members have died in recent years, and he can no longer do some of the activities he used to enjoy, like flying in hot air balloons, now that he’s older.
Rote’s circumstances check every box when it comes to risk factors for depression.
He’s a white male, over the age of 65, living alone in a life full of loss. While these factors can increase the risk for depression in all people, for older adults they pose a bigger threat — silent suicide.
Among older adults, suicide prevalence is already high — and drastically underreported
https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/silent-suicide-the-fatal-combination-of-old-age-loneliness-and/article_7c0571d4-984b-11e9-95e6-4f258b3ba807.html
Silent suicide: The fatal combination of old age, loneliness and loss
Tom Rote, 70, lives alone on his property in Harrisburg. Many of his friends and family members have died in recent years, and he can no longer do some of the activities he used to enjoy, like flying in hot air balloons, now that he’s older.
Rote’s circumstances check every box when it comes to risk factors for depression.
He’s a white male, over the age of 65, living alone in a life full of loss. While these factors can increase the risk for depression in all people, for older adults they pose a bigger threat — silent suicide.
Among older adults, suicide prevalence is already high — and drastically underreported
https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/silent-suicide-the-fatal-combination-of-old-age-loneliness-and/article_7c0571d4-984b-11e9-95e6-4f258b3ba807.html
Getting the farm: How an innovative effort is supporting artisanal agriculture in central Missouri
For 13 years, Steve Landers of Centralia has been perfecting 72 acres of grass. Now, at age 74, he’s preparing to give it away.
We’re not talking lawns, or the kind of grass at the center of the debate over cannabis legalization. Landers’ masterpiece is a piece of land perfect for raising cattle. Raising grass-fed beef is a complex process, with precise ratios of acres of land to heads of cattle. It took Landers about a decade to get the right proportion.
Because Landers’ land has gone unplowed for over a decade, he considers it “too good not to leave someone.” That’s where Noah Earle comes in.
The pair has an arrangement they call “farm succession.” It’s a solution to a pervasive, two-way problem threatening small farms.
https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/getting-the-farm-how-an-innovative-effort-is-supporting-artisanal/article_1aa15c98-986c-11e9-b692-f7ad75dd90fc.html
Missouri Supreme Court May Have Dealt Big Blow To Bid To Overturn 8-Week Abortion Ban
The Missouri Supreme Court won’t reconsider an appeals court decision that effectively delays the ACLU of Missouri from gathering signatures to overturn Missouri’s recently passed eight-week abortion ban.
It’s a move that places the ACLU of Missouri’s referendum in serious jeopardy, because there may not be enough time to gather roughly 100,000 signatures to spark a 2020 election.
The Western District Court of Appeals ruled earlier this week that Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft didn’t have the authority to reject the ACLU’s referendum.
Ultimately, Ashcroft and Attorney General Eric Schmitt did not ask the Missouri Supreme Court to take up that case — and the state’s high court made the appeals court decision final on Friday. But the Supreme Court also denied a bid from the ACLU to have Ashcroft approve a ballot title by July 18.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/missouri-supreme-court-may-have-dealt-big-blow-bid-overturn-8-week-abortion-ban
Treating Kids' Peanut Allergies With Peanuts Might Work -- Or Cause More Reactions
When Porter Hall of Raymore, Missouri, was a year old, he broke out in hives after eating a spoonful of peanut butter. It led to a scary night in the emergency room and a diagnosis of peanut allergy.
But today, Porter, who’s now five, is giving peanuts another shot with the help of Kansas City doctors, who have been giving him tiny doses of peanuts over the course of months.
This oral immunotherapy treatment isn’t a cure, but doctors say these tiny exposures may help to reduce or prevent severe reactions – although some critics are warning families to consider the risks.
At Children’s Mercy Hospital in Overland Park, nurse practitioner Jodi Shroba gives Porter a quick once-over in preparation for administering a tiny dose of what’s essentially peanut dust.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/treating-kids-peanut-allergies-peanuts-might-work-or-cause-more-reactions
Webster Groves' Chess Wiz Thalia Cervantes Seeks National Championship
A Cuba-born teenager who lives in Webster Groves is trying to add to her already impressive chess resume over the next few days at the St. Louis Chess Club. Sixteen-year-old Thalia Cervantes is among 10 phenoms vying for the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship.
She moved with her family to the U.S. roughly five years ago seeking better opportunities. They settled in the St. Louis region mainly because of the international reputation of the chess club in the Central West End.
Cervantes is the current Pan American Girls under 20 champion and tied for fourth at last year’s World Youth Chess Championship. She is also a women’s international master and a national master.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/webster-groves-chess-wiz-thalia-cervantes-seeks-national-championship
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