Free Republic

The health of U.S. children has deteriorated over the past 17 years, with kids today more likely to have obesity, chronic diseases and mental health problems like depression, a new study says. Much of what researchers found was already known, but the study paints a comprehensive picture by examining various aspects of children’s physical and mental health at the same time. “The surprising part of the study wasn’t any with any single statistic; it was that there’s 170 indicators, eight data sources, all showing the same thing: a generalized decline in kids’ health,” said Dr. Christopher Forrest, one of the...

The investigation into the couple was launched in 2021 after their then 8-year-old adopted daughter was brought to the hospital with organ failure, unconscious and covered in injuries.

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees says more than a fifth of Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are suffering from acute malnutrition. "They are suffering for purely man-made reasons," said the agency's commissioner-general Peter Hansen. "No drought has hit Gaza and the West Bank, no crops have failed and the shops are often full of food." He said the failure of the Middle East peace process and Israel's policy of sealing off Palestinian areas had had the effect of a terrible natural disaster. UnderspentThe UN agency is now launching a $200m appeal to fund what...