Covering Suicide
It’s been one week since Parrish acting police chief Sonny Sorrell committed suicide near a granite memorial to slain police officers in downtown Birmingham. News coverage was full of accounts of the suicide and that of a woman found hanging under a bridge in northern Alabama. Suicide is a very tricky thing for journalists to cover — and mental health professionals say if it’s not covered well a lot of harm can result. In the latest installment of our Making Sense of Mental Health series, reporter Francesca Rosko talks with Lisa Hermes of the Birmingham Crisis Center.
Jenn Burleson-MacKay knows first hand the difficulty of covering suicide. She teaches reporting classes at the University of Alabama and several years ago, as a reporter in Virginia, she had to cover the suicide of a teenage girl named Galen. The story made national news because a man who sold drugs to Galen was charged with murder.
Transgender veterans’ health services in question as VA rescinds guidance on care
In an internal VA memo seen by NPR, the VA says it's rescinding a directive that contains detailed guidance on the kind of care transgender veterans can receive at VA facilities.
Trump reclaims a Justice Department reshaped in his wake
The rare speech at the Justice Department comes as the Trump administration has spent the last several weeks trying to reconfigure the agency, including demoting attorneys who worked on cases related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and firing officials who investigated the president himself.
The NWSL is adopting a tool to protect players from online abuse, commissioner says
NWSL's Jessica Berman says the league is adopting a tool to monitor and protect players from online abuse. The NWSL was scrutinized for not doing more to protect player Barbra Banda from harassment.
Zelenskyy wants U.S. to hit Russia with ‘maximum’ sanctions if it refuses a ceasefire
Ukraine's president said he hopes the U.S. applies "maximum additional sanctions" on Russia if it refuses to accept a 30-day ceasefire, describing the Russian leader's "bravado" as a stalling tactic.
More Norwegian ski jumpers have been suspended due to a major cheating scandal
Team officials are accused of altering athletes' suits to enhance their aerodynamics. The suspension by International Ski and Snowboard Federation (IFS) follows last week's FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.
Senate passes spending bill to avoid a government shutdown
The Senate voted 54 to 46 to approve a spending bill to fund the government through the end of September.
