The number of suicides per 100,000 young people ages 10 to 24 declined by nearly 12 percent, from 11 to 9.7, between 2021 and 2024. The decrease was driven largely by reductions among young men, whose suicide levels fell by nearly 15 percent, while suicides among young women declined by about 2 percent.
A far-left Brooklyn pol is hoping the third time's a charm with socialist Zohran Mamdani now NYC mayor as she pushes legislation that could give "young people" carte blanche to commit crimes without fear of being arrested. The legislation, reintroduced for a third time on Jan. 29 by Democratic Councilwoman Crystal Hudson, would require that "young people" be "diverted" to "community-based organizations to receive services in lieu of criminal enforcement."
Among the people working in the drug business in Brazil's favelas, there are those who once dreamed of being an airline pilot, an astronaut, a teacher or a writer but, as they say around here, took the wrong path. Now, their dream is a house of their own and a stable source of income away from crime. A luxury car or motorbike are also on their wish list.
Adolescence is second only to early childhood in the rapidity and sheer volume of changes occurring in brain development. Three different brain systems (and their interconnections) are at play: reward-driven behavior, harm avoidance, and regulatory behavior. At the same time, teens are experiencing powerful changes to their physical and sexual selves, accompanied by the hormonal cascade of puberty. During this period, there is an increase in brain receptors for dopamine, a neurotransmitter that has a strong effect on the experience of pleasure.
At the same time, children's development and families' needs do not end when the bell rings or when they enter kindergarten; continuous afterschool programming from early childhood through adolescence is critical. To fully realize the goals of universal childcaresupport working families, advance educational equity, and strengthen the economyNew York City must extend this vision to K12 students and make universal afterschool programming a core part of the solution.
But the city only committed funding through the current 2025-2026 school year, and city leaders made it clear that this was a pilot program they would support for the first few years and then hand over to the district to build into its budget or seek outside funding. That funding cliff has arrived just as OUSD navigates a serious budget deficit and needs to trim $100 million from next year's budget.
My local Target was the first place I noticed the shift. One day, a few years ago, a sign appeared: red text on white paper announcing that no one under 18 would be allowed in without an adult. Before the poster, every weekday afternoon, clots of teens would move through the arteries of the store, occasionally blocking them. The kids would laugh among themselves, swatch makeup on their arms, peruse the candy offerings.
RDAP is a voluntary program that lasts between nine and 12 months (ordinarily, it requires roughly 38 weeks to complete in five-day workweeks, three-hour-a-day segments). The 500-hour program strives to educate inmates on the dangers of addiction. Most importantly, relapse prevention is stressed with the goal of helping inmates during post-release stay clean and sober to avoid reoffending. Congress appropriates more than $100 million annually for RDAP.
They were right. If you've been around interscholastic sports long enough, you can sense trouble. The real problem arrived in the fourth quarter, when two players tackled each other at half court. Coaches and teammates rushed in, and one boy appeared to kick the player from the opposing team. Security and administrators broke up the tussle, but this time parents made it to the center of the action.