WASHINGTON — When 16-year-old Carlos Hernandez Vasquez fell ill in a holding facility at the U.S.-Mexico border, he was diagnosed with the flu and given medication, then sent back to a cell to recuperate on a concrete bench. But Carlos didn't get better. The Guatemalan migrant died May 20 from...
Father's Day: Lesser-Known Ways Dads Improve Children's Lives
Father’s Day is a time when people think about the influence of their fathers on their lives. Traditionally, Father’s Day has been about thanking fathers for their help, their role in teaching new skills or even their jokes. While many dads may deserve praise for these reasons, in fact many...
Triple-Digit Heat Triggers Cooling Centers Throughout Fresno
Here comes the heat. And with it, the opening of cooling centers throughout Fresno. Tuesday's high is expected to reach 105 degrees in the Fresno area. The city of Fresno opens its designated locations for escaping the heat when the temperature reaches that height. Here are the cooling center locations....
What’s Wrong With Anti-Vaxxers? They’re Just Like the Rest of Us.
Whenever I talk about my research on how parents come to decide to reject vaccines for their children, my explanations are met with a range of reactions, but I almost always hear the same questions. What is wrong with those parents? Are they anti-science? Are they anti-expert? Are they simply...
$10 Million Prize Ready for Software That Teaches Illiterate to Read
LOS ANGELES — The challenge was to develop software that could easily be downloaded onto tablets that poor children around the world could use to teach themselves to read, write and do simple arithmetic. The incentive was $10 million for the winner. Nearly 200 teams from 40 countries around the...
Psychology Behind Why Your Mom May Be the Mother of All Heroes
Each May, the United States celebrates Mother’s Day, and for good reason. According to surveys I’ve conducted, over 25% of Americans cite their mother as their number one hero. Fathers come in a distant second at 16%. Moms are indeed the mother of all heroes. More than 60 years ago,...
Walters: Can We Protect Kids From Becoming Zombies?
We’ve all seen children, often very young children, hunched over from heavy book backpacks, shuffling along sidewalks just an hour or two after sunrise on their way to school. They look like zombies, and that’s because California’s public schools often begin their classes so early in the morning that many...
Mapping US Counties Where Traffic Air Pollution Hurts Kids the Most
In the U.S., over 6 million children had ongoing asthma in 2016. Globally, asthma kills around 1,000 people every day – and its prevalence is rising. This condition has a high economic cost. Each year in the U.S., more than US$80 billion is lost because of asthma. This is mainly...
What Is the Paralyzing Mystery Illness Striking More US Children?
NEW YORK — One morning last fall, 4-year-old Joey Wilcox woke up with the left side of his face drooping. It was the first sign of an unfolding nightmare. Three days later, Joey was in a hospital intensive care unit, unable to move his arms or legs or sit up....
Border Is Overwhelmed, Resulting in Quick Release of Families
WASHINGTON — The number of migrant families and children entering the U.S. from Mexico is so high that Border Patrol is immediately releasing them instead of transferring them to the agency responsible for their release, forcing local governments to help coordinate their housing, meals and travel. "We need to work...