Reality TV
Parents of the late James Bonner Jr. sued Megalomedia and Mansfield Films in Harris County Court, claiming their exploitation and neglect led him to commit suicide while filming their reality show, “My 600-lb. Life.”
Read moremental health
CIA Contractor Defends Torture in Interrogations
An architect of the brutal CIA interrogation and detention program developed after the Sept. 11 attacks defended the agency and its practices on Tuesday as those techniques become the focus of an effort to dismiss key evidence against five men charged in the terrorist plot.
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Former CIA Contractor in Gitmo to Testify on Torture Program
A former CIA contractor who helped set up the agency’s torture program used to question detainees after the 9/11 terror attacks faced five men who were subjected to the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques in a pretrial hearing Tuesday.
Read moreImmigrant Will Stay Jailed Indefinitely Pending Competency Test
An undocumented immigrant cleared of murder in the 2015 shooting death of Kate Steinle will languish in jail indefinitely until he submits to a mental health evaluation, a federal judge warned Wednesday.
Read moreTrial on Pier Shooting Delayed Over Competency Concerns
The trial of an immigrant cleared of murder in a 2015 shooting on a San Francisco pier and now faces federal gun possession charges will be delayed pending a psychiatrist’s evaluation of his fitness to stand trial, a federal judge said Friday.
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Judge Rules on Sealed Documents in Newspaper Shooting Case
A judge ruled Tuesday to unseal some documents in the case of a man who has pleaded guilty but not criminally responsible to killing five people at a Maryland newspaper, but she declined to make public many records involving his mental health.
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Minister Says Church Gunman Had Demanded Money
The congregation at a Texas church where two people were shot to death had repeatedly given food to the gunman, according to the pastor, but declined to give money to him, angering a man who court records show was deemed mentally incompetent for trial in 2012.
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California High Court Revives Challenge to Mandated Reporting Law
An uncommonly divided California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that psychotherapists can challenge a state law requiring them to report patients who acknowledge during treatment to having viewed child pornography, finding the law provokes a very serious invasion of privacy.
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Kaiser Mental Health Workers Kick Off Five-Day Strike
Health care clinicians across California will take to the picket lines starting Monday and throughout the week at Kaiser Permanente’s network of medical facilities due to stalled contract negotiations for mental health workers.
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San Francisco Leaders OK Plan to Prioritize Mental Health Care for Homeless
Taking the first step in tackling one of San Francisco’s most intractable problems, city leaders on Tuesday advanced a bold plan to reform the city’s mental health care system and give homeless residents 24-7 access to care, but more funding is still needed for the program.
Read moreHigh School
Parents sued the Round Rock (Texas) Independent School District in federal court, claiming its co-defendant administrator and teacher exploited their daughter by using her anorexia nervosa the subject of a yearbook story about “mental illness.”
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Utah Becomes 19th State to Ban ‘Conversion Therapy’ for LGBT Children
In a victory for the LGBT community, the state of Utah will ban the controversial practice of conversion therapy for children.
Read morePanel Asked to Let Mentally Ill Inmate Fight for Better Care
An attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union asked an 11th Circuit panel Tuesday to reinstate a mentally and physically disabled Georgia inmate’s lawsuit seeking better medical care.
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Justice Department Says It Will Address Gun Violence
Attorney General William Barr announced an initiative Wednesday to enforce gun background checks, coordinate state and federal gun cases, and ensure prosecutors quickly update databases to show when a defendant can’t possess a gun because of mental health issues.
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Health Officials Link Childhood Trauma to Adult Illness
U.S. health officials estimate that millions of cases of heart disease and other illnesses are linked to abuse and other physical and psychological harm suffered early in life.
Read moreSupport Chickens
A Florida woman sued Lee County and her trailer park in federal court for not allowing her to keep four chickens, which are her emotional support animals.
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Guilty Plea in Newspaper Murders; Insanity Hearing Next
A Maryland man pleaded guilty Monday to killing five employees at an Annapolis newspaper, and a jury is to hear testimony next month about whether he was not responsible by reason of insanity.
Read moreMedicare
National Public Radio sued the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in federal court for records on antipsychotic drug use and the names of corporate nursing home chains that the CMS has identified as using antipsychotic medication at high rates at some 1,500 nursing homes.
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