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The mental-health crisis keeping kids out of school · Apple News Today

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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Thursday, May 18th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, a new ban on TikTok, what to know about a grave climate warning, and the secret danger hiding in your turkey sandwich.
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  But first, more and more kids across the country are having a hard time making it to school and staying in the classroom. Psychologist Jonathan Dalton told "USA Today" about how intense anxiety can cause school avoidance.
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  Jonathan Dalton: We are all designed, our hardwiring is to avoid things that make us scared. The challenge is that, just like our smoke alarm can't tell if we burned our toast or the curtains are on fire, the same is true for these kids. So, what's happening is… [VOICE FADES OUT]
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  Health reporter Adrianna Rodriguez says school avoidance got worse during the COVID pandemic. Some kids didn't return to classrooms when they re-opened. Parents tell her there's little information out there about how to help kids whose anxiety is making them afraid to go to class.
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  Adrianna Rodriguez: A lot of people don't know what to do. They don't know where to go. They don't really know if it's just them. You know, a lot of parents had communicated to me that they felt helpless, they felt guilty, they felt like a failure as a parent.
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  Jayne Demsky's son started avoiding school in the 6th grade. Experts say those behaviors often show up in kids who are in transition: going from elementary to middle, or middle to high school. Rodriguez tells the family's story.
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  Rodriguez: At first it started, you know, not wanting to go to school a day or two, not wanting to go to school an entire week. That week kind of goes into weeks and then into months. And then he became totally school avoidant, where he was not going to school.
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  Frustrated by the lack of resources, Demsky started an organization called the School Avoidance Alliance to raise awareness. It estimates that up to 28% of students in the country avoid school at some point. Because there's no standard guidance on getting kids back in the classroom, Rodriguez says schools and families often have to come up with their own solutions, which can be a combination of therapy and accommodations by schools.
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  Rodriguez: Experts tell me that it's really everyone who needs to be responsible. This includes parents, this includes mental health experts, and it includes schools. You know, they all need to communicate and work together in order to help the student.
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  Demsky's son went on to graduate and find a job. His mother says he's managing his anxiety now and thriving. She says she hopes that their story of getting through the mental health challenge of school avoidance will give hope to other families dealing with it.
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  Let's take a moment now to look at some major moves from a few different state legislatures, starting with Montana.
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  It's now the first state to ban TikTok. Lawmakers say they did it out of concern that China's government could get access to Americans' data through the social media app. The bill doesn't target individual users, but it will fine TikTok, and app stores offering it, if they don't block access in Montana by the end of the year. Legal challenges are sure to come. TikTok calls the law a First Amendment violation.
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  In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a number of new bills into law. They regulate gender-affirming care, rules on gender pronouns in schools, bathroom use, and other issues that LGBTQ+ people say the state should stay out of. DeSantis held a public event to sign the bills.
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  Ron DeSantis: What we've said in Florida is, we are gonna remain a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy, and kids should have an upbringing that reflects that.
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  DeSantis is expected to officially enter the presidential race next week.
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  And finally, on to Texas, which is also moving to limit medical options for transgender people. The legislature passed a bill to ban doctors from providing gender-affirming treatment to children. If the governor signs it into law, Texas will be the most populous state to ban gender-affirming care for minors.
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  The World Meteorological Organization has a grave new warning for our warming planet. The world is almost certain to hit record-high temperatures in the next five years. And there's a strong chance that global temperatures will be more than 1.5 degrees Celsius over historical levels. That's a dangerous tipping point, where catastrophic effects can happen.
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  The WMO says the rise is because of both ongoing human action and the coming El Niño. That weather system will bring warmer temperatures. But the agency says their report does not mean the globe will permanently cross the 1.5-degree threshold by 2027. Whether it's a long-term impact is largely up to how people act, or don't.
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  The impact of climate change on food and water supplies is forcing millions of people to leave their homes, becoming climate refugees. A recent report from the Norwegian Refugee Council shows that climate disasters, combined with conflicts like the war in Ukraine, forced a record 71 million people around the world to flee their homes last year.
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  One big driver of that displacement was the flooding in Pakistan last summer. Some villages are still underwater. "NPR" recently checked in on how the recovery is going. Shabnam Baloch is the Pakistan country director for the International Rescue Committee. She tells "NPR" that she's worried about a repeat disaster.
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  Shabnam Baloch: There are predictions that this monsoon, which is around the corner - in end of May, we start the monsoon - there are 70% chances of flood this year as well. And we are in no capacity to respond to these floods.
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  "The Health Menace Inside Your Sandwich." Now that's the kind of headline that makes you stop and think because it's aimed straight at your lunch. "The Wall Street Journal" reports on research linking processed meat to various health problems, like Type 2 diabetes, dementia and certain types of cancer. Doctors are telling us to eat less deli meat, bacon and sausage. And one big concern is salt. Processed meats can have up to 400 percent more sodium than unprocessed meat. There's also research connecting certain preservatives to health risks, including colon cancer.
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  Now, all of that is not particularly new, but what is new is governments are starting to take action. New York City is phasing out processed meats from meals in public schools and hospitals by 2025. The World Health Organization is working on new recommended limits on consumption. And U.S. regulators are setting sodium-reduction goals for processed meats.
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  Now, the industry says it uses a safe level of preservatives and it offers many reduced-sodium products. But health experts would like to see food companies do more. Unprocessed turkey, pork and beef don't have the same negative health impacts. A cardiologist argues to "The Journal," that means the industry could change its processing to create healthier products. And he'd like to see that because, every now and then, he loves to have a BLT.
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  One more quick thing before we let you go. Today, in New York, the PGA Championship is set to start. We'll have coverage through the weekend on the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, stick around.
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  We've got a narrated article coming up next from "Bloomberg Businessweek." It's a spy story about an iconic product: Coca-Cola. A former chemist tried to steal trade secrets in a messy espionage scheme involving China.
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  It's an interesting story. So, sit back, enjoy listening to that, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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