Latest news with #SuicideandCrisisLifeline
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Community supports Santaquin family that lost father and son days apart
A Santiquin wife and mother says she wants their story to be one of love, not tragedy. Jenn Suiter was married to her husband for 25 years and was 'madly in love' with him. He was killed in a crash on I-15 in Payson just 10 days after the couple buried their son, who died by suicide. 'We are devastated, and there will always be a hole in my heart — but I will live for Christopher,' she said. Chris Suiter, 50, was killed when 19-year-old Riley Durst, of Draper, jumped the median cable on I-15 in Payson from the northbound lanes, entering southbound traffic. Durst and Chris Suiter both died on impact. 'I even named my company True Love Skin Care because (it was) inspired by our love,' Jenn Suiter said. Her son, Brian Suiter, suffered a traumatic brain injury after he broke his neck following a four-wheeling accident, which Jenn Suiter believes is the reason for his suicide. 'Traumatic brain injuries alter your brain in ways that we don't even understand. And when he took his life, I really just believed that it was just a symptom of his brain not working,' she said. Jenn Suiter said in a video statement that the world is filled with love and angels, and angels from both Earth and heaven have supported their family during these challenging times. 'If you knew two things about us, we would always say, 'Never give up, never surrender.' And my son was known for saying, 'Let's go,'' she said. In addition to many donations to a GoFundMe* account to help raise funds for funeral expenses, community members are putting on a benefit concert on June 24 in Payson. * does not assure that money deposited into the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call 988 to connect with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Crisis hotlines Huntsman Mental Health Institute Crisis Line: 801-587-3000 SafeUT Crisis Line: 833-372-3388 988 Suicide and Crisis LifeLine at 988 Trevor Project Hotline for LGBTQ teens: 1-866-488-7386 Online resources NAMI Utah: SafeUT: Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Utah chapter: Santaquin family mourning loss of father, son who died within 10 days of each other
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Shooting near Columbus elementary school was murder-suicide, officials say
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline available 24/7. To reach the 24/7 Crisis Text Helpline, text 4HOPE to 741741. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A shooting earlier this month near a Columbus elementary school was a murder-suicide, according to the Franklin County Coroner's Office. The shooting happened on May 12 in the 400 block of South Hampton Road, near Fairmoor Elementary School. Eastmoor Academy is also a short distance from the reported shooting location. Watch previous coverage in the player above. First responders line roads as body of killed deputy returned to Morrow County The victims were identified as Renita Hilson-Ziegler, 58, and Anthony Martin, 64. An autopsy report for Martin said he died of gunshot wounds to the chest, and the manner of death was ruled a suicide. Hilson-Ziegler's autopsy report showed she also died of a gunshot wound to the chest. Her death was ruled a homicide. A handgun was found on the floor near Martin, according to the coroner's office. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Judge Slaps Down Attempt to Throw Out Lawsuit Claiming AI Caused a 14-Year-Old's Suicide
Content warning: this story includes discussion of self-harm and suicide. If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. A judge in Florida just rejected a motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the chatbot startup — and its closely tied benefactor, Google — caused the death by suicide of a 14-year-old user, clearing the way for the first-of-its-kind lawsuit to move forward in court. The lawsuit, filed in October, claims that recklessly released chatbots sexually and emotionally abused a teenage user, Sewell Setzer III, resulting in obsessive use of the platform, mental and emotional suffering, and ultimately his suicide in February 2024. In January, the defendants in the case — Google, and cofounders Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas — filed a motion to dismiss the case mainly on First Amendment grounds, arguing that AI-generated chatbot outputs qualify as speech, and that "allegedly harmful speech, including speech allegedly resulting in suicide," is protected under the First Amendment. But this argument didn't quite cut it, the judge ruled, at least not in this early stage. In her opinion, presiding US district judge Anne Conway said the companies failed to sufficiently show that AI-generated outputs produced by large language models (LLMs) are more than simply words — as opposed to speech, which hinges on intent. The defendants "fail to articulate," Conway wrote in her ruling, "why words strung together by an LLM are speech." The motion to dismiss did find some success, with Conway dismissing specific claims regarding the alleged "intentional infliction of emotional distress," or IIED. (It's difficult to prove IIED when the person who allegedly suffered it, in this case Setzer, is no longer alive.) Still, the ruling is a blow to the high-powered Silicon Valley defendants who had sought to have the suit tossed out entirely. Significantly, Conway's opinion allows Megan Garcia, Setzer's mother and the plaintiff in the case, to sue Google, Shazeer, and de Freitas on product liability grounds. Garcia and her lawyers argue that is a product, and that it was rolled out recklessly to the public, teens included, despite known and possibly destructive risks. In the eyes of the law, tech companies generally prefer to see their creations as services, like electricity or the internet, rather than products, like cars or nonstick frying pans. Services can't be held accountable for product liability claims, including claims of negligence, but products can. In a statement, Tech Justice Law Project director and founder Meetali Jain, who's co-counsel for Garcia alongside Social Media Victims Law Center founder Matt Bergman, celebrated the ruling as a win — not just for this particular case, but for tech policy advocates writ large. "With today's ruling, a federal judge recognizes a grieving mother's right to access the courts to hold powerful tech companies — and their developers — accountable for marketing a defective product that led to her child's death," said Jain. "This historic ruling not only allows Megan Garcia to seek the justice her family deserves," Jain added, "but also sets a new precedent for legal accountability across the AI and tech ecosystem." was founded by Shazeer and de Freitas in 2021; the duo had worked together on AI projects at Google, and left together to launch their own chatbot startup. Google provided with its essential Cloud infrastructure, and in 2024 raised eyebrows when it paid $2.7 billion to license the chatbot firm's data — and bring its cofounders, as well as 30 other staffers, into Google's fold. Shazeer, in particular, now holds a hugely influential position at Google DeepMind, where he serves as a VP and co-lead for Google's Gemini LLM. Google did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publishing, but a spokesperson for the search giant told Reuters that Google and are "entirely separate" and that Google "did not create, design, or manage" the app "or any component part of it." In a statement, a spokesperson for emphasized recent safety updates issued following the news of Garcia's lawsuit, and said it "looked forward" to its continued defense: It's long been true that the law takes time to adapt to new technology, and AI is no different. In today's order, the court made clear that it was not ready to rule on all of 's arguments at this stage and we look forward to continuing to defend the merits of the case. We care deeply about the safety of our users and our goal is to provide a space that is engaging and safe. We have launched a number of safety features that aim to achieve that balance, including a separate version of our Large Language Model model for under-18 users, parental insights, filtered Characters, time spent notification, updated prominent disclaimers and more. Additionally, we have a number of technical protections aimed at detecting and preventing conversations about self-harm on the platform; in certain cases, that includes surfacing a specific pop-up directing users to the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Any safety-focused changes, though, were made months after Setzer's death and after the eventual filing of the lawsuit, and can't apply to the court's ultimate decision in the case. Meanwhile, journalists and researchers continue to find holes in the chatbot site's upxdated safety protocols. Weeks after news of the lawsuit was announced, for example, we continued to find chatbots expressly dedicated to self-harm, grooming and pedophilia, eating disorders, and mass violence. And a team of researchers, including psychologists at Stanford, recently found that using a voice feature called "Character Calls" effectively nukes any semblance of guardrails — and determined that no kid under 18 should be using AI companions, including More on Stanford Researchers Say No Kid Under 18 Should Be Using AI Chatbot Companions
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mental health crisis continues to grow, responders call for more resources
ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — Last May alone the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline exceeded a half million calls and texts. Monthly call volumes in every state have also increased over the past year. UPMC Altoona's mobile crisis unit responded to some of those calls locally but they said their resources may not be enough to address the growing mental health crisis in our communities. Rates of mental illness, substance use disorder and suicide attempts are all on the rise, nationwide and in Central Pennsylvania. Despite a growing need for mental health services, there's a rapid declining in the number of resources available to help, putting a strain on those that are left. 'A lot of agencies are overbooked. You know, they're filled so it's hard to get into places so that is definitely a struggle,' said Trisha Ruggiero, Program Manager at UPMC Western Behavioral Altoona Crisis Services. Ruggiero said Blair County is in substantial need of more agencies to help people before they ever find themselves in crisis. She said that many people in the area are on medical assistance and that many therapists will not take their insurance, creating additional need for therapists who will see patients with limited resources. 'Compassion and empathy,' St. Marys students create suicide prevention coin The decline in the number of treatment options means many people are being forced to suffer longer before getting help. 'Because the system is so strained, we definitely are seeing a lot more people engaging in the crisis system. We're kind of a stopgap,' said Michael Edelstein, Manager of Clinical Services at UPMC. 'So where people might have been, we had opportunities to engage with outpatient treatment or, you know, different residential programs, things like that, you know, we're seeing them at our doorsteps are getting those calls.' Edelstein said we're seeing the greatest lack of resources available for children and older Americans. But he also said there's a huge need for providers able to address substance use as drugs are a major contributor to growing mental health challenges. 'It was always a concern to run into someone with a substance challenge in our field. Now it's not uncommon for some of our teams to really be reviving people using that naloxone because the substance challenges are so pervasive,' Edelstein said. Rising rates of homelessness make both mental health concerns and substance abuse issues more difficult to address long–term, which is why Altoona Crisis Services has adapted to bring help to the patient through their 24/7 mobile team. Ruggiero said they are able to go out into the community and talk with someone in crisis where they are rather than bring them to the hospital, which can be intimidating or upsetting for some. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is always available to call if you're in need of help. But Ruggiero said calling 911 is also an option as Altoona Crisis Services partners with EMS services and will respond to calls placed to 911 as well. Altoona Crisis can be reached directly by calling 814-889-2141. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Wynonna Judd Admits Late Mom Naomi Was ‘Very Hard' on Her About Weight
During Lifetime's two-night docuseries The Judd Family: Truth Be Told, opened up about her complex relationship with her mother and musical partner, Naomi Judd. Naomi Judd died by suicide on April 30, 2022, at her farmhouse in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee. She was 76 years old at the time. Wynonna, 60, and Naomi, were a mother-daughter musical duo formed in the early '80s. Known for major hits like 'Why Not Me,' 'Girls Night Out,' and 'Love Can Build a Bridge,' the pair went on to experience undeniable success—and they had the accolades to show for it. The Judds earned five Grammy Awards, nine CMA Awards, and eight ACM Awards during their time together. Moreover, the Judds were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame following Naomi's death, although they were originally scheduled to be inducted on the day she passed. Even so, Naomi and Wynonna's dynamic wasn't always the easiest to navigate. 'I think Naomi was scared to death that we were not going to keep her as part of this duo,' Woody Bowles, who handled PR for the Judds, said in the docuseries. 'Naomi was searching for any way she could contribute to the show,' including 'by being pretty,' producer Don Potter added. According to Bowles, Naomi wanted her Wynonna to have 'the WASP waist' and to 'look as much like her as she could.' Related: In Wynonna's own words, she reflected, '[My mom] was 36 years old, she was ready to be [on] fire. As the kids would say today, she had drip. She was foxy. But then, I was so aggravated by her sexuality.' The 'No One Else On Earth' artist recalled, 'Mom was very hard on me. She was terrified of losing me, of course, but she never would say it that way,' she said. 'It was always, 'Well, if you lost 20 pounds, you could be a pop star.'' Bowles explained that their rift over Wynonna's weight led to a lot of conflict. 'I think Naomi felt like Wynonna's weight reflected badly on her as a mother,' he revealed. 'The two of them would lock themselves in the back of the bus, screaming and yelling. Several times, we had to cancel shows, because Wynonna had stripped her voice.' If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available 24 hours a day through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
