TV News LIES

An Indiana University undergraduate, a psychiatric researcher and a digital arts alumnus are working to bring a powerful, virtual-reality-based addiction therapy to a broader audience with support from the university.

Izzy Branam, a junior psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington, is the CEO of Relate XR, a startup that combines psychology with VR technology to treat substance use disorders by introducing individuals in recovery to their “future selves.” The technology is based on research developed by Brandon Oberlin, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the IU School of Medicine and an assistant professor of psychology at the IU School of Science, both at IU Indianapolis.

The company’s third partner and co-founder is IU alumnus Andrew Nelson, the founder of a virtual reality development company based in Indianapolis. Nelson worked extensively with Oberlin in prototyping the technology and the software development for the project.

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Earlier this month, a high school student in Joliet, Ill. tested positive for a highly contagious disease that has claimed more lives than any other throughout human history.

Many mistakenly believe this pathogen was eradicated decades ago. It not only still exists but is thriving, especially in some of the poorest countries around the world. The ability to monitor this disease, save lives and protect the health of Americans grows weaker by the day as the U.S. deprioritizes international funding to combat it.

It’s tuberculosis. Since its diagnosis in 1882, it’s killed more than a billion people — more than malaria, HIV/AIDS, smallpox, influenza, cholera and the plague combined.

Tuberculosis has taken the lives of notable figures such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, George Orwell, Frederic Chopin and Charles IX, among others. And it’s still being transmitted in astonishing numbers today.

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Air in the U.S. has gotten cleaner for decades, adding years to people's lives and preventing millions of asthma attacks, but nearly half of Americans still live with unhealthy air pollution, a new report finds.

The report comes as the Trump administration is considering rolling back some key air quality regulations.

Air quality across the country has improved dramatically since regulations like the Clean Air Act were put in place in the 1970s to govern sources of pollution like coal-fired power plants and emissions from diesel trucks. Despite that progress, the air is still unhealthy and polluted in many parts of the country. In 2023, nearly half of the country's inhabitants — 156 million people — lived in places heavy in smog or soot pollution that harms their lungs, hearts, and brains, according to the newest edition of the American Lung Association's State of the Air report.

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Eight artificial dyes will be eliminated from medications and the nation's food supply by the end of 2026, including those found in candy, ice cream, soft drinks and jams, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

These artificial dyes – detailed during an April 22 news conference in Washington – are used to offset color loss due to exposure to light, temperature extremes as well as to provide color to colorless and "fun" foods, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

For years, Kennedy has railed against Big Food and Big Pharma and blamed the nation’s “chronic disease epidemic” on additives and junk food, including during his campaign for president in the 2024 Democratic primaries and then as an independent. After he endorsed President Donald Trump, Trump incorporated those ideas into his own campaign and they're now part of the new administration's Make America Healthy Again agenda.

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The US supreme court on Monday heard arguments in a case that could threaten Americans’ access to free preventive healthcare services under the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

At issue is the constitutionality of the US preventive services taskforce, which plays a critical role in determining which preventive services health insurers must cover without cost to patients. The 16-member panel of medical experts, appointed by the health secretary without Senate confirmation, has designated dozens of life-saving screenings and treatments as essential preventive care.

If the justices uphold the lower court’s ruling, health associations said in a filing, life-saving tests and treatments that have been cost-free would become subject to co-pays and deductibles, deterring many Americans from obtaining them.

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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in a new interview, said autism was an epidemic with an impact that surpasses the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is an epidemic. It dwarfs the COVID epidemic and the impacts on our country because COVID killed old people. Autism affects children and affects them at the beginning of their lives, the beginning of their productivity,” Kennedy said during a Sunday interview with radio host John Catsimatidis on WABC 770 AM’s “The Cats Roundtable.”

“And it’s absolutely debilitating for them, their families, their communities,” he added.

His statements come after the secretary faced scrutiny earlier this week for claiming “autism destroys families” at a Wednesday press conference.

In the past, Kennedy has also promoted anti-vaccine rhetoric with unproven theories that vaccinations are linked to autism.

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