‘This Baltimore program shows how to fight generational poverty’
Leana S. Wen at The Washington Post
If Baltimore officials “want to disrupt the generational cycle of poverty, trauma and hopelessness that afflicts so many communities, a good place to focus their efforts is children,” says Leana S. Wen. Baltimore is a “case study in how social determinants such as poverty and educational inequities directly translate to health disparities.” The “public health community needs to hear about grassroots programs such as HeartSmiles and to find ways to document their full impact.”
‘Sequel to 1994 McDonald’s hot coffee case is now $47 million more expensive’
Robert Tyson at the Chicago Tribune
Court verdicts of $10 million or more have been “increasing in both frequency and severity — not just in certain big cities known for delivering plaintiff-friendly outcomes, but also all across the country,” says Robert Tyson. What “changed is the way plaintiffs’ lawyers are trying lawsuits.” Jurors are being “manipulated into awarding outsize verdicts by extremely skilled and opportunistic plaintiffs’ lawyers.” Their “new goal is to get jurors angry: angry at the defendant, who is often a corporation.”
‘Why are we still hiding periods in 2025?’
Chantal Blake at Al Jazeera
Schools “play a role in menstrual health awareness by offering menstrual health education, access to period products and hygienic facilities for girls to use to change their menstrual products,” says Chantal Blake. Every “parent and guardian should regard preparing girls for their first periods as observing their human rights.” Without “this instruction, girls can turn to social media or their peers.” Every “family has an opportunity to break the cycle of period shame by starting within their own home.”
‘America needs a state revival’
Madison Ray at Newsweek
Democrats and Republicans “often disagree, but they have more in common than they realize — especially when they are dissatisfied with the occupant of the Oval Office,” says Madison Ray. In “those moments, the importance of the states — the role they play and the powers they hold — snaps into focus.” Both “parties would do well to consistently recognize the dangers of an overreaching federal government — and the benefits of more state autonomy.” America’s founders “understood the perils of centralized power.”
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
