Fresno County officials say after a couple months with an increase in suicides during the COVID-19 pandemic, they now believe the year will end with a lower number than in the previous two years. "At this time, we are not seeing a statistically significant difference in suicide rate for any age...
Despite the Distancing, Making a Connection This Holiday Could Save a Life
The holidays are here, and it’s time to put out an SOS. Much like the signal transmitted by a ship in distress, this SOS is a call to action, a request for help: Start a conversation. Offer a connection. Save a life. The 2020 holiday season will be unlike any...
Video Shows Hanging Death of Homeless Black Man Was Suicide
VICTORVILLE — Video has confirmed that a Black man found hanging from a tree at a Southern California homeless encampment killed himself after breaking up with his girlfriend, it was reported Friday. Malcolm Harsch, 38, was found May 31 in a dirt field in Victorville, a desert city northeast of...
Opinion: What Is the VA’s Role in Criminal Behavior?
The Veterans Health Administration has contributed to an epidemic of suicide and criminal behavior among veterans, leaving state and local communities to pick up the pieces. It is time for Congress to investigate. (The Veterans Health Administration is a part of the Department of Veterans Affairs.) According to the 2017 VA/DOD...
Regulators to Set up 3-Digit Suicide Hotline Number Like 911
NEW YORK — Federal regulators are setting up a new three-digit number to reach a suicide prevention hotline in order to make it easier to seek help and reduce the stigma associated with mental health. Once it's implemented, people will just need to dial 988 to seek help, similar to...
Woman Charged in Boyfriend's Suicide Pleads Not Guilty
BOSTON — A former Boston College student made her first court appearance Friday to face charges that she encouraged her boyfriend to take his own life in what prosecutors describe as a toxic and abusive relationship. Inyoung You, 21, pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston...
Epstein May Have Gamed the System From Beyond the Grave
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The will that Jeffrey Epstein signed just two days before his jailhouse suicide puts more than $577 million in assets into a trust fund that could make it more difficult for his dozens of accusers to collect damages. Estate lawyers and other experts say prying open...
Federal New York Lockup Draws New Scrutiny in Epstein Death
NEW YORK — The apparent suicide of Jeffrey Epstein has brought new scrutiny to a federal jail in New York that, despite chronic understaffing, houses some of the highest-security inmates in the country. Epstein's death is also the latest black eye for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, the jail's parent agency that...
Epstein: How he Died and What It Means for His Accusers
NEW YORK — Financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in New York, officials said Saturday. His death angered some accusers who had hoped to confront him in court and see him serve a long prison sentence. It also raises questions about how he was able to harm...
Epstein: How he Died and What It Means for His Accusers
NEW YORK — Financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in New York, officials said Saturday. His death angered some accusers who had hoped to confront him in court and see him serve a long prison sentence. It also raises questions about how he was able to harm...