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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Going Sober in October Can Help You and Others

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Wednesday, September 28, 2022   

Ohioans are encouraged to participate in a new national challenge to improve their health and the lives of others. During the Sober October event, people of legal drinking age can pledge to abstain from alcohol for a month while raising money to help people in recovery.

Luke Frazier, director of marketing for SMART Recovery, a nonprofit program including a network of support groups in Ohio and other states, said one in four Americans reported increased alcohol use during the pandemic.

"People were isolated, they were without their normal support," Frazier observed. "They were maybe bored and not going to work. So all these things contributed to people using alcohol more and some of them getting into trouble as a result."

Among Ohio adults, 17% reported excessive alcohol use in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Frazier explained the challenge is not necessarily directed toward people who think they might have a drinking problem. He pointed out it is about showing solidarity with people in recovery. However, he noted, participants will likely experience the positive benefits of quitting alcohol, which include greater energy, better sleep and even weight loss.

"Maybe they decide that those benefits are important enough to them and that they want them to be longer-lasting," Frazier suggested. "And so they decide that alcohol may not play an important enough part in their life even to use alcohol. So they may decide to completely abstain."

Alcohol use is widely accepted in American culture, and Frazier acknowledged many people are able to have a couple of drinks socially without it becoming a problem.

"But there certainly is a kind of a level of encouragement out there to take part," Frazier asserted. "The notion that you need alcohol in order to have a good time or celebrate or to be at a party, that needs to be addressed. In fact, many people report because they have a clearer head, and they're not kind of losing control of their own senses that they have a great time."

According to federal data, nearly 15 million Americans struggle with alcohol use disorder, including about 400,000 teenagers. But only 10% have received treatment. Excessive drinking is the third-leading preventable cause of death in the United States.


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Health and Wellness

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Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

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Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

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Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

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Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

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New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

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Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

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Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

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