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Health

    Londyn Smith De Richelieu poses for a portrait around Mount Vernon, in Baltimore, Thursday June, 1, 2023.
    Baltimore’s director of LGBTQ affairs denied surgery, claims discrimination by Johns Hopkins doctor
    Londyn Smith de Richelieu, the director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs in Baltimore, has filed a complaint alleging that she was discriminated against by the office of one of the city’s top gender reassignment surgeons.
    Nora Aldabbagh has been living in her tent outside My Sister’s Place Women’s Center for over a year, and worries about where she can spend the day during extreme temperatures.
    Baltimore temps could hit 100 degrees Friday. Here’s how residents beat the heat.
    The heat index — how hot it feels — could climb to 110 degrees.
    Smoke turns the sky hazy in downtown Baltimore in this photo of the Inner Harbor waterfront as the Domino Sugar sign sits in the distance.
    It’s going to be dangerously hot in Baltimore Thursday and Friday
    The temperatures in Baltimore and around Maryland are expected to reach dangerous levels Thursday and Friday.
    Want to pouring a fresh glass of tap water? Officials say ‘Forever chemicals’ have long been in our tap water.
    ‘Forever chemicals’ have long been in our tap water. Maryland, U.S. officials say enough already.
    There is a movement afoot to rid the chemicals linked to health hazards from water systems.
    Anna McPhatter is the dean of Morgan State's School of Social Work and director of the Center for Urban Violence and Crime Reduction.
    Commentary: Addressing city’s violent crime means making tough choices
    Morgan State University’s new Center for Urban Violence and Crime Reduction will engage all segments of Baltimore as it seeks answers for addressing the “carnage” from gun violence in the city, says Anna McPhatter, dean of Morgan’s School of Social Work and director of the center.
    The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.
    Class-action lawsuit filed against Johns Hopkins over data breach
    This same software has been implicated in multiple other cyber breaches nationwide involving large heath care organizations and companies.
    Gregory Miller is president and chief executive officer at Penn-Mar Human Services.
    Advocate Greg Miller talks about how to better understand, help those with intellectual and developmental disabilities
    As the nation marks Disability Pride Month, Gregory Miller, president and chief executive officer of Penn-Mar Human Services, talks about his work on behalf of people with disabilities.
    Mayor Brandon Scott addressed the city's pools during his news conference Wednesday.
    Pool’s out for summer: Patterson Park’s pool won’t reopen this season as city tackles repairs
    Baltimore officials acknowledged this week that the Patterson Park pool won't reopen this summer so it can undergo much-needed repairs. It comes after a radio station's video of kids swimming without permission in a city pool's green water went viral.
    File photo shows hands of an old man and a woman in the sunlight.
    Maryland ranks among top states for Alzheimer’s disease
    Alzheimer’s prevalence in the state is likely due to demographic data, including the numbers of seniors, Black and Hispanic people in Maryland.
    Juan Batty gets his beard trimmed by barber Derel Owens inside the TIME Organization’s Barber Shop on July 11, 2023. Owens joined the non-profit organization to focus on cutting hair while also counseling clients so they feel their best physically and mentally.
    How a Baltimore barber goes beyond the shop and gives life advice to people in need
    Derel Owens, a barber in Southwest Baltimore, has been counseling clients of the TIME Organization since getting his psychiatric rehabilitation program license last September.
    A proposed federal ban on menthol cigarettes has raised concerns among some law enforcement officials and civil rights advocates that it could lead to problematic police encounters, particularly with Black smokers, says Diane Goldstein, a retired police lieutenant who is executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership.
    Commentary: Menthol cigarette ban could mean unfair policing of Black smokers
    A proposed federal ban on menthol cigarettes has raised concerns among some law enforcement officials and civil rights advocates that it could lead to problematic police encounters, particularly with Black smokers, says Diane Goldstein, a retired police lieutenant who is executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership.
    A cannabis plant grows in the Amsterdam Cannabis College, a nonprofit charitable organization that gives information on cannabis and hemp use on February 7, 2007 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city council in Amsterdam has recently voted in favour of introducing a citywide ban on smoking marijuana in public areas. A successful trial ban in the De Baarsjes district of Amsterdam has been declared a success after a reduction in anti social behaviour.
    Using weed to improve your mental health? Not so fast, experts say.
    While there’s evidence of medical benefits from cannabis, long-term use can be harmful to those with mental health disorders or those at risk for one.
    A man in Cecil County died from a heat-related illness, according to the Maryland health department.
    Marylanders urged to ‘take every precaution’ after first heat-related death of the year
    A 52-year-old man died from a heat-related illness in Cecil County, according to the Maryland Department of Health.
    Photo collage of two young women behind a circular pill pack of birth control and a ripped-up prescription form
    First over-the-counter birth control pill gets FDA approval
    American women and girls will be able to buy contraceptive medication from the same aisle as aspirin and eyedrops.
    Kiran, 8, and Taylor, 6, hold up signs that say “DON’T SHOOT. We want to grow up.” during a Safe Streets peace walk on July 7, 2023 in Brooklyn. Gun violence such as the recent mass shooting in that South Baltimore neighborhood has a lasting effect on how many Baltimore young people view their lives, says Adam Schwartz, an author who has taught high school in Baltimore for 25 years.
    Commentary: What a mass shooting costs our community’s children
    Gun violence such as the recent mass shooting in South Baltimore has a lasting effect on how many Baltimore young people view their lives and their community, says Adam Schwartz, an author who has taught high school in Baltimore for 25 years.
    Maryland is beginning the process of re-enrolling all 1.8 million Medicaid beneficiaries. Organizations like Health Care for the Homeless help patients through the process of reenrolling in Medicaid, which can include creating email addresses, locating necessary paperwork to enroll and selecting insurance.
    17,000 more Marylanders lost Medicaid coverage last month
    Twelve percent of the 139,000 people up for renewal in June lost their health insurance for preventable reasons, bringing the total of avoidable coverage losses to 42,000 over two months.
    Black therapist surrounded by police and Black clients
    Black therapists cope with their own trauma, influx of new patients as a result of the pandemic
    The pandemic and the national racial reckoning led to a surge in patients and clients for Black therapists. Some of those therapists are still processing the experiences themselves.
    Malkia Murray, a nurse, describes the experience of treating 19 mass shooting victims, mostly teens, at MedStar Harbor Hospital.
    19 gunshot victims went to a small South Baltimore hospital. They all lived.
    The staff at MedStar Harbor Hospital is used to tending gunshot wounds once every other week. But last weekend they treated two-thirds of the Brooklyn mass shooting victims.
    From left, Aniya Ponton, Ryeona Watson and Samahj Chestnut won $13,000 to create a bus that brings fresh, locally sourced produce to food deserts in Baltimore. They are eighth graders at New Song Academy.
    Meet the middle school girls who will bus fresh produce to Baltimore food deserts
    A group of eighth grade girls from Baltimore have a new idea to bring fresh food to your door: a bus that parks in your neighborhood, chock full of locally farmed dinosaur kale, berries, cabbages and squash.
    Photo collage of patient in medical gown sitting on exam table, reading chat bubbles that partially obscure white doctor’s coats and stethoscopes hung on the wall.
    Johns Hopkins Medicine joins national move to charge patients for messaging their doctor
    Johns Hopkins medical offices will begin charging a fee to send some messages through its online patient portal, according to a memo to staff obtained by The Baltimore Banner. The change goes into effect July 18.
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