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Amid a mental health crisis, toy industry takes on a new role: building resilience

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:55:18 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — As more children emerge from the pandemic grappling with mental health issues, their parents are seeking ways for them to build emotional resilience.And toy companies are paying close attention.While still in its early phase, a growing number of toy marketers are embracing MESH — or mental, emotional and social health — as a designation for toys that teach kids skills like how to adjust to new challenges, resolve conflict, advocate for themselves, or solve problems. The acronym was first used in child development circles and by the American Camp Association 10 years ago and gained new resonance after the pandemic. Rachele Harmuth, head of ThinkFun, a division of toy company Ravensburger, and resilience expert and family physician Deborah Gilboa, formed a MESH taskforce earlier this year with the goal of getting manufacturers to design toys with emotional resilience in mind and to have retailers market them accordingly. “We just need to educate parents and educators j...

1 person dead in southeast Austin homicide, according to police

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:55:18 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – One person has died in a southeast Austin homicide early Saturday morning, according to the Austin Police Department.Austin police officers responded to a shots fired call just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning and found a victim on the ground with injuries, APD said at a press event.The incident occurred at an apartment complex located at 1700 Burton Drive in southeast Austin, according to police. Austin-Travis County EMS took the victim to Dell Seton Medical Center where they were pronounced dead, per APD.Homicide investigators were on scene and conducting a preliminary investigation. APD said it is conducting interviews but has no information on suspects yet.One person has died in a southeast Austin homicide early Saturday morning, according to the Austin Police Department (KXAN Photo)One person has died in a southeast Austin homicide early Saturday morning, according to the Austin Police Department (KXAN Photo)APD said this was likely an isolated incident and th...

What to know before Saturday's St. Louis Blues home opener and pep rally

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:55:18 GMT

ST. LOUIS - It's almost time for the St. Louis Blues home opener! The season began Thursday in Dallas, but the Blues saved the grand festivities for the weekend. The Blues open the home slate of the 2023-24 season on Saturday with a matchup against the Seattle Kraken. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Enterprise Center.If you’re planning to head to Downtown St. Louis on Saturday, either to attend the game or enjoy a hockey atmosphere, you'll want to plan ahead. Tens of thousands are expected between the big game and a pregame pep rally. Here's what to expect for the pep rally and home opener: Pregame rallyFrom 3-5:30 p.m., the Blues will host an outdoor pregame rally at Union Station. The rally includes live music, T-shirt tosses, contests and appearances from Blues staff and alumni. Some lucky fans might even win tickets to the home opener. The Well Hungarians, a country rock band, will perform live music starting around 3 p.m. New captain Brayden Schenn will speak on the gr...

Officers shoot knife-wielding man in downtown L.A., police say

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:55:18 GMT

Los Angeles Police Department officers shot a man allegedly armed with a knife in downtown Los Angeles early Saturday morning.The shooting at Broadway and 6th Street occurred around 1:30 a.m. when officers who were on patrol spotted a man running around with a knife, police said.Few details have been released about what led up to the shooting, but police confirmed the man was taken to a local hospital.His condition is unknown.Footage shared to the Citizen app appeared to show officers providing first aid to the man, who was lying in the middle of the street.No further details were available.Alexis Lewis contributed to this report.

Is Delta-8’s “Gray Area” Finally Gone?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:55:18 GMT

Ever since delta-8 THC hit the hemp scene, there have been clouds of uncertainty surrounding its legality. Nothing in the 2018 US Farm Bill clearly said whether hemp-derived delta-8 was legit. Many people in the hemp community assumed delta-8 was OK so long as it met the ≤ 0.3 delta-9 THC standard. However, a few US states claim delta-8 should be treated as an illegal “Schedule I” drug just like delta-9.Much of this speculation over delta-8’s legal status has been silenced thanks to a landmark Appeals Court opinion. While this may not fully put the delta-8 controversy to bed, it suggests hemp-derived delta-8 products meet the 2018 US Farm Bill’s standards.Wait, What Did The US Court of Appeals Say About Delta-8?On May 19th, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit released a shocking opinion on the legal status of delta-8 THC. According to the judges presiding over this case, delta-8 THC fits the 2018 US Farm Bill’s terminology on legal hemp-derive...

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan putting a twist on State of the City speech

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:55:18 GMT

When San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan gives his first State of the City address on Oct. 21, he plans to touch on the same themes he laid out in his inaugural speech in February — homelessness, blight and public safety — as well as economic investment, a fourth theme that he added in his budget message this spring.There’s nothing surprising about that, but what is different is that Mahan wants the audience at San Jose City College that day to do more than just listen. He wants them to take action, too. There’ll be stations where people can sign up to be a graffiti guard and get equipment and training to keep their neighborhood clean, others might sign up to volunteer at a community kitchen or pick up hygiene kits to distribute to the homeless.“This has been really core to my philosophy of government and how it should work at its best,” he said in an interview this week. “We will be building the State of the City around the idea of collective action....

When Harvey Milk fought the culture wars at this Walnut Creek high school

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:55:18 GMT

On a September evening in 1978, Harvey Milk left his home base in San Francisco’s Castro district, the epicenter of America’s gay rights movement, to venture out to the East Bay suburbs.Milk’s destination was Walnut Creek’s Northgate High, where he fought that era’s version of the culture wars and helped change the course of LGBTQ+ history in the final two months of his life. In front of a live TV audience, San Francisco’s first openly gay supervisor artfully debated John Briggs, a conservative Orange County state senator, who was pushing an initiative that would prevent LGBTQ+ teachers and their supporters from working in California’s public schools. It proved to be such a pivotal moment in gay rights history that the high school will commemorate it with a public ceremony on Monday, Oct. 16.News accounts show that the charismatic Milk crushed it in the debate, effectively countering Briggs’ claims that “homosexuals want your children.” Two months later, the “Mayor of Ca...

Photos: 12th Annual Autumn Lights Festival at Lake Merritt Gardens in Oakland

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:55:18 GMT

Thousands of local residents flocked to the lights like moths as Oakland’s popular 12th Annual Autumn Lights Festival sold out again this weekend.The event is a benefit for the nonprofit Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt (FGLM) and features more than 60 locally-produced illuminated art displays throughout the eight-acre municipal gardens. FGLM is a volunteer organization which formed in 2004 and helps preserve and maintain the gardens.Volunteers provide maintenance assistance as the City of Oakland’s gardening staff has been significantly reduced over the years. The collection of themed gardens, which were established more than a half century ago, require various levels of upkeep and attention.If you didn’t see the the lights up close, you may have seen the dueling spotlights crissccossing the downtown skyline from the gardens by the lake.The festival, which began on Thursday and ran three nights from Oct. 12-14, is concluding tonight. See their website for more inf...

Prince George’s Co. police charge DC teen in domestic killing of relative

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:55:18 GMT

Prince George's County Crime Solvers vehicles parked outside of an apartment complex along the 440 block of Telfair Boulevard. (Courtesy, Prince George's County Police ) Prince George's County Crime Solvers vehicles parked outside of an apartment complex along the 440 block of Telfair Boulevard. (Courtesy, Prince George's County Police ) Prince George’s County, Maryland, police have arrested a teenager they believe murdered a family member earlier this month.Police said Jammi Cooper, 36, was killed in a shooting on Oct. 5, at around 10:50 p.m. while in the unincorporated portion of Capitol Heights. Both he and the teen are residents of the District.Preliminarily, investigators believe that the teen — an unid...

Virginia teen named ‘America’s Top Young Scientist’ for skin cancer-fighting soap

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:55:18 GMT

A 9th grader from W.T. Woodson High School in Annandale, Virginia, was named “America’s Top Young Scientist” Wednesday and the winner of 3M’s Young Scientist Challenge.Heman Bekele, 14, took the top spot in the competition for working on a compound-based skin cancer treating soap, according to a news release.Beyond the prestigious title, Bekele is also getting $25,000.Heman Bekele, winner of the 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge. (Courtesy 3M)“The need for scientists and innovators to develop solutions for the world’s biggest challenges has never been greater. This year’s Young Scientist Challenge finalists have demonstrated the skills required to re-imagine what’s possible — intelligence, curiosity, collaboration, and resilience,” John Banovetz, 3M executive vice president, chief technology officer and environmental responsibility, said in the release.“The magnitude and complexity of the issues these young minds are workin...