Nation & world news – at a glance – for Saturday, August 26, 2023

Mental health spending surged during the pandemic

Use of mental health care increased substantially during the coronavirus pandemic, as teletherapy lowered barriers to regular visits, according to a large study of insurance claims published Friday in JAMA Health Forum. From March 2020 to August 2022, mental health visits increased by 39%, and spending increased by 54%, the study found. Its examination of 1,554,895 claims for clinician visits also identified a tenfold increase in the use of telehealth. The study covers visits for about 7 million adults throughout the country who receive health insurance through their employers, so it excludes many patients with very severe mental illnesses, and it does not cover acute or residential care.

Trump's mug shot: ‘not comfortable' but potentially lucrative

Former President Donald Trump has done his best to appear unfazed and unbowed by having been indicted four times since March, but even he acknowledged that he did not enjoy one particular element of his booking in Georgia on Thursday night on racketeering charges: the mug shot. "It is not a comfortable feeling - especially when you've done nothing wrong," he told Fox News' website afterward. Nonetheless, he made the most of it. Not long after its release, the photo appeared on Trump's campaign website, under a "personal note from President Donald J. Trump." At the bottom were several tabs users could click to donate to his campaign.

Sweltering temperatures disrupt the new school year

The heat wave that blanketed a large portion of the country this week prompted several schools to cancel classes or send students home early, underscoring how ill-prepared many districts are to cope with extreme weather events. In Des Moines, Iowa, school bus drivers received medical aid at the end of shifts. Chicago teachers were told to turn off lights and draw shades to keep classrooms bearable. A marching band instructor outfitted students with water backpacks to prevent them from passing out - at 7:30 a.m. The heat was a reminder, education experts and parents said, of the need to make schools more resilient to climate change.

At least 5 dead in Michigan after severe storms

At least five people died in Michigan after severe storms Thursday night brought heavy rain, strong wind gusts and three tornadoes. Three people - a woman, 21; and two girls, 3 and 1 - were killed in a car accident Thursday night in Kent County in western Michigan, according to Sgt. Eric Brunner, a spokesperson for the Kent County Sheriff's Office. A man in the car was seriously injured. Two more were killed in Ingham County, in the central part of the state, the county's emergency management department said in a post on Facebook. One of the deaths occurred in Lansing, and the other was along Interstate 96.

Obesity treatment relieves heart failure symptoms, drugmaker's study finds

One of the leading new obesity drugs, Wegovy, eased symptoms and raised the quality of life of patients with obesity and a common type of heart failure, a study funded by the drug's maker found, adding to the evidence that the medications can produce health benefits beyond weight loss. The study, published Friday in The New England Journal of Medicine, evaluated the drug in people with a condition known as preserved ejection fraction, in which the heart pumps normally but has lost the flexibility needed to fill with blood. The condition accounts for roughly half of all heart-failure cases.

Charges of arson as Greek wildfire becomes largest recorded in European Union

Firefighters battling Greece's worst wildfire season on record fought two major blazes Friday: one in Evros, home to what an official has called the biggest wildfire the European Union has faced, and the other near Athens, the capital. Greek authorities investigating the causes of the fires arrested dozens of people on suspicion of arson. A government spokesperson on Friday blamed "the explosive mix of climate change" along with arson. He said 160 people had been arrested nationwide on arson charges, 42 of them accused of intentional arson and the remainder accused of setting fires through neglect.

Seafood called safe after Fukushima water dump, but some won't eat it

Seafood is having a bad week in East Asia, where it's a major part of the diet. Experts say Japan's discharge into the ocean of treated radioactive wastewater from the ruined Fukushima nuclear power plant, which began Thursday, does not and will not pose health risks to people who eat seafood. But though scientific evidence bears that out, not everyone is convinced. The Chinese government has widened a ban on seafood imports to include all of Japan instead of only some regions. The wastewater release has fueled deep anxiety over seafood in China and South Korea, leaving some wondering whether sushi, sashimi and other products were still safe.

Man accused in 9/11 plot is not fit to face trial, board says

A military medical board has concluded that Ramzi Binalshibh, who is accused of conspiring in the 9/11 attacks, has a mental illness that makes him incompetent to face trial or plead guilty in the death penalty case, according to a report filed with his trial judge Friday. In 2008, a military lawyer disclosed that her client was restrained with ankle shackles and that the Guantanamo Bay prison had him medicated with psychotropic drugs. For years, Binalshibh has resisted the idea that he has a mental illness and should be severed from the trial with the man accused of being the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and three others.

Russia pushes long-term influence operations aimed at the U.S. and Europe

Russia is intensifying efforts to spread pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine messages in the United States and the West, using influence-laundering techniques to hide the efforts of its intelligence agencies to manipulate public opinion, according to a newly declassified U.S. intelligence analysis. The analysis looks at how Russian intelligence services - in particular, the Federal Security Service - have been secretly using allies inside nominally independent organizations to spread propaganda and cultivate ties with rising leaders, efforts intended to play out over the long term. The operations are focused on developing a network of young leaders the Kremlin hopes will support Russia in their home countries.

With Prigozhin's death, Putin projects a message of power

As news broke Wednesday of the presumed death of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian President Vladimir Putin was presiding over a televised World War II anniversary ceremony on a stage lit dramatically in red. Flanked by service members in dress uniforms, while a metronome's beats sounded, he held a moment of silence. The eerie split screen - the reported fiery demise of the man who launched an armed rebellion in June and the Russian president telegraphing the state's military might - may have been coincidental. But it underscored the imagery of dominance and power that Putin, 18 months into his invasion of Ukraine, appears determined to project.

Ex-president Sarkozy to face trial over charges of campaign financing by Libya

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was ordered Friday to stand trial on corruption charges over allegations that his 2007 campaign received illegal funding from the Libyan government of Moammar Gadhafi, in one of many legal entanglements dogging the French politician since he left office. After a decadelong investigation, magistrates in Paris ordered Sarkozy to be tried on charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, criminal conspiracy and concealing the misappropriation of public funds, according to France's top financial prosecutor. If convicted, Sarkozy could face up to 10 years in prison. A trial is scheduled for early 2025, but appeals from Sarkozy could delay the date.

By wire sources