Gone Too Soon: Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain

Two icons left the world far too soon. Suicide took the lives of fashion designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain last week. Their deaths have shined a light on suicide and depression as major public health issues in the US.

Suicide rates have gone up twenty-five per cent in the past two decades, with increases in almost every state. Suicide now takes more lives yearly than automobile accidents and rates of teen depression have risen every year since 2011.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources. Here’s what you can do when a loved one is severely depressed.

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Sentence Commuted--Thanks, Kim

Kim Kardashian put selfies to the side and used her personal influence to help bring attention to the plight of Alice Marie Johnson to the Oval Office. Johnson, a woman who was given a life sentence for a first-time non-violent drug offense, came to Kardashian's attention last year and she used her notoriety to secure a one-on-one meeting with President Trump which secured a presidential pardon. 

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Trouble at the G7

Trump was in full Trump mode at the G7 summit. Spending a good part of the summit alienating U.S. allies such as France and Canada, the President tweeted that America was paying disproportionately more towards the costs of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) than fellow members, going on to say that the US gets "unfairly clobbered" on trade despite "protecting Europe at great financial loss."

"Change is coming!" he warned.

Read more here.