Sofi Gratas

A clip from this story on jails and mental health reads: Last year, a man sentenced for stealing a rifle stayed in that cell 129 days. He was waiting for a spot to open at Montana’s only state-run psychiatric hospital after a mental health evaluator deemed he needed care, according to court records. A man in the next cell around the same time was on the same waitlist roughly five months. He faced near-daily stints in the jail’s emergency restraint chair — a steel contraption wrapped in foam with straps for his shoulders, arms, and legs. He regularly saw the jail’s mental health doctor. Still, Joel Shearer, a Lake County detention commander, said the man routinely experienced psychotic episodes and asked to be locked in the chair when he felt one coming on and stayed there until his screams subsided. “Somebody who’s having a mental health crisis — they don’t belong here,” Lapotka said. “We don’t have anywhere else.”

Jails have become de facto psychiatric hospitals, and they are very much not equipped for it.

Important & chilling story by Katheryn Houghton @kffhealthnews.org kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

It took me until today to realize I can just water down my coffee.

Federal judge in Georgia grants temporary restraining order to protect international student visas Lawyers representing 133 plaintiffs suing for a right to due process are asking the court to grant a temporary restraining order to restore protections for international students studying in the U.S.

A collab between us GPB reporters — as it stands, the temporary restraining order remains in effect.

www.gpb.org/news/2025/04...

Trump’s Immigration Tactics Obstruct Efforts To Avert Bird Flu Pandemic, Researchers Say - KFF Health News Preventing and detecting bird flu infections among farmworkers is a key defense against a potential pandemic. Immigration raids and threats have undermined these efforts, researchers say.

🚨My latest: Trump's deportation tactics are undermining the bird flu response, outreach workers say.

Detecting cases is key but farmworkers at highest risk - mainly immigrants - are afraid to leave home for care. @kffhealthnews.org / ABC

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Do you know about health-related programs that have been cancelled due to federal funding cuts or delays?

@kffhealthnews.org we're looking to cover stories about programs that provided *direct* services to people.

Send me a DM or email amym@kff.org 🌈

On top of layoffs, HHS ordered to cut 35% of spending on contracts Federal health agencies have to slash their spending by more than a third, on top of the 10,000-person staffing cuts.

JUST IN: Federal health agencies have to slash their spending by more than a third, on top of the 10,000-person staffing cuts.

Not an opinion - just fact- that the public, not just reporters, benefit from access to open records.

Georgia's public health community warns of fallout from proposed federal funding cuts In anticipation of cuts from the federal government, the Georgia Department of Public Health had already made plans to tighten the belt around its budget. Grants cut this week were originally issued i...

What #federalfundingcuts The #Georgia Department of #PublicHealth will face are at this point, frankly, unclear. But I got an idea from those with experience and in policy and advocacy about what could happen. www.gpb.org/news/2025/03...

Just … maybe don’t feed your cats raw food

Bill criminalizing 'doxxing' in Georgia advances in spite of free speech concerns • Georgia Recorder An attempt to crack down on so-called doxxing has been met with concerns from attorneys and First Amendment advocates who say the proposal is too broad and would hamper free speech. Senate Bill 27, wh...

Bill criminalizing ‘doxxing’ in Georgia advances in spite of free speech concerns

Nice catch!

Doctors for America - Updated Guide to Navigate Interstate Abortion Care Doctors for America filed a lawsuit today against the OPM, CDC, FDA, and HHS for the removal of a broad range of health-related data and other information

ICYMI

Doctors for America Releases Updated Guide to Navigate Interstate Abortion Care as First Criminal Charges are Filed in Louisiana

doctorsforamerica.org/pr-kyr-updat...

Tort reform passes Georgia House, advances closer to becoming law The Georgia House narrowly passed a bill that would limit civil lawsuits in the state, bringing Gov. Brian Kemp’s top legislative priority closer to becoming law.

#Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s legacy legislation passed the House yesterday. www.gpb.org/news/2025/03...

All the talk about how to combat misinformation online often leaves out a core problem: misinformation is free, real journalism often isn't.

Proud that @freedom.press is partnering with @wired.com to do something about that. And shoutout to @404media.co and any other outlets also doing this.

Georgia Won’t Say Who’s Now Serving on Its Maternal Mortality Committee After Dismissing All Members Last Year Before ProPublica’s reporting on the deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, the names of committee members had been publicly released. Now, Georgia says releasing the identities would be a…

NEW: Before reporting on Amber Thurman and Candi Miller's deaths, ProPublica received the names of maternal mortality committee members from the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Now the department says that releasing names would violate state law.

By @amyyurkanin.bsky.social

🧵Bird flu (H5N1 avian influenza) update

Per CDC the risk of bird flu infection for the public is low (no documented human to human transmission). But risk of infection for people exposed to infected animals is moderate to high. People most likely to come into contact with an infected animal include

Sign of the times

Trump freeze on resettlement funding leaves new refugees scrambling to adjust in U.S. Thousands of newly arrived refugees lost financial support and help with setting up their new lives in America. Aid groups are challenging the freeze in court as they scramble to keep refugees housed.

Thousands of newly arrived refugees lost financial support and help with setting up their new lives in America. Aid groups are challenging the freeze in court as they scramble to keep refugees housed.

One piece being that the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear Guy vs Augusta Housing Authority this summer. And then tort reform. I’ve only gotten glimpses into what all these possible changes to the legal system could mean for people who seek reprieve through the courts. #gapol

Public housing authorities are angling for more legal protections. Where does that leave tenants? How the legal precedent of sovereign immunity could change the way housing authorities in Georgia are held responsible in cases where tenants allege harm.

I’ve been told that #Georgia Gov. Kemp’s tort reform proposal could also affect cases that deal with alleged negligence at public housing. This story reported for #GPB had been in my head for months until the pieces came together … www.gpb.org/news/2025/02...

Georgia DFCS relied on controversial laboratory for drug tests crucial to custody decisions - The Current Investigation reveals how Georgia child welfare agency DFCS handled allegations against its drug testing provider, Averhealth, after whistleblower complaint and false claims probe by Department of Jus...

Georgia's child welfare agency, the department which oversees more than 10,000 children in foster care, used a laboratory probed for false claims to make crucial decisions regarding custody. #gapol
thecurrentga.org/2025/03/01/g...

A small box truck with an electronic billboard sign on the sides urging fired federal workers to contact ProPublica with tips.

When @propublica.org reporters Brett Murphy & @annamaria.bsky.social found out that fired #USAID workers could go to the office one last time to clean out their desks, they pitched this crazy idea. What if we rented a billboard truck to advertise how to get in touch with @propublica.org? So we did.

New data here www.cdc.gov/media/releas...

#CDC

USAID cancels large contracts of Georgia peanut butter supplier Mana, which produces peanut-butter based food pouches in Georgia, said USAID had terminated $12 million of its contracts to feed malnourished children in Africa.

USAID cancels large contracts of Georgia peanut butter supplier

The thing about TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) is that it is NOT used as much as you would think. For one, there are strict work requirements. But it’s also hard to apply, said some advocates at today’s meeting. And the benefits have stayed the same for decades.

Some bills I’ll be watching that were presented today #gapol

SB 195, which is would give pharmacists green light to give out PEP and PREP. #Georgia has some of the highest #HIV rates in the U.S.

HB 500, which would increase TANF cash assistance for families and kids living below poverty

Meanwhile in Georgia we’ve had a #measles case that may have exposed more than 100 people, according to the state Department of Public Health.
Watch this space … 🎤

ProPublica Opens Application for Five New Local Partners for Its 50 State Initiative ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.

COME WORK WITH ME!

Are you a local journalist looking to spend a year diving into an accountability project of importance to your community?

@propublica.org is accepting our next round of Local Reporting Network proposals.

Deadline: April 14

*Applying will be more fun than doing your taxes.

More outcry over cuts at the #CDC here at the Georgia Capitol today #gapol

Some state Democrats implored Gov. Kemp and AG Carr to use their “direct lines of communication with the administration” to speak out against the firing of 1000+ employees. So far Kemp has said he supports “right sizing”.