Up First from NPR - UN Court Rules on Gaza, Four Years After George Floyd's Death, ADHD Cases Rise

Episode Date: May 25, 2024

The International Court of Justice orders Israel to suspend its offensive in Rafah. How policing has changed in Minneapolis since George Floyd was killed. Federal researchers find that more kids are being diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A United Nations court orders Israel to suspend its military campaign in Rafah. The court can't enforce its rulings, but the move will likely add international pressure on Israel. I'm Aisha Roscoe. And I'm Scott Simon, and this is Up First from NPR News. Senior United Nations officials have consistently underscored the immense risks associated with the military offensive in Rafah. Israel disputes the ruling and says it is not violating international law. We'll have more on that story. Also, four years after the police killing of George Floyd, what's changed in Minneapolis?

And why more and more kids in the U.S. are getting diagnosed with ADHD. So please stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend. Now, Our Change will honor 100 years of the Royal Canadian Air Force and their dedicated service to communities at home and abroad. From the skies to our change, this $2 commemorative circulation coin marks their storied past and promising future. Find the limited edition Royal Canadian Air Force $2 coin today. The order by the International Court of Justice comes as Israel is increasingly isolated diplomatically.

And here's Kat Lonsdorff, who's been following all of this from Tel Aviv, and joins us now. Kat, thanks so much for being with us. Thanks, Scott. Let's begin with what the International Court of Justice is saying. Yeah, so there were actually four rulings issued yesterday. One, that Israel must cease its military offensive in Rafah. Two, to reopen the Rafah border with Egypt to allow humanitarian aid in. Three, that Israel needs to allow UN investigators access to Gaza to collect evidence for a genocide case. And finally, that Israel has to hand over a report within a month

to show what it's done to comply with these court orders. Now, all of these have to do with a broader case that South Africa filed earlier charging Israel with genocide, but we won't know the result of that for months or even years. Court orders, but any particular legal effect? Well, this doesn't mean that Israeli forces are going to withdraw from Rafah, not necessarily. Like you said, the ICJ doesn't have the power to enforce its rulings. It can't force Israel to stop. And Israel, for its part, responded by saying that it is already complying with the ruling. You see, there's some vague language in there. Take a listen here to how the court president, Nawaf Salam, words it. Israel must immediately hold its military offensive and any

other action in the Rafah governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. So one international law expert we talked to pointed out that the way the court chose to word that order leaves enough ambiguity for Israel to continue its offensive there. You know, Israel says it's in Rafah to defend itself against Hamas, and that they're reducing the damage to the civilian population as much as possible. Let me ask about Rafah, the city to which nearly a million people were told to flee for safety

back in December, and is now the center of intense fighting. Do we know what conditions are like there? Yeah, they're bad. Israeli troops are pushing into the city and people have been told to evacuate yet again. So some 800,000 people have left Rafah this month, but there's not really many options for places to go. You know, our producer there, Anas Baba, says that many have fled to central Gaza where fighting is also still happening and they're living in destroyed buildings. Meanwhile, Rafah is plunging into a deeper humanitarian crisis. The crossing there, which was the main artery for aid since early on in the war, it's been closed since Israel seized it on May 7th. So there's very little food and water and fuel to be found, which is why one of those four orders from the court was to reopen

this crossing for aid. And aid groups say that the fighting makes it hard for them to access even the small amount of aid that is getting in through other crossings. And what about the situation in the rest of Gaza? They're also really, really bad, the conditions. The fighting is now happening throughout Gaza. So there's increasingly a feeling that nowhere is safe. And while there are a few other ways that aid can get into Gaza, including through that new pier that the U.S. military built, it's just not nearly enough. There's a real risk of famine for the 2 million people living there. Disease is spreading, and there are very few hospitals still operational due to lack of fuel. And international aid groups warn that people are running out of water.

Some are living on just 3% of the minimum standard for daily water needs. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf in Tel Aviv. Kat, thanks so much. Thanks. The viral video of George Floyd's death sparked weeks of protests and calls for police reform around the country. What's changed in Minneapolis where the killing occurred? Minnesota Public Radio's John Collins joins us. John, thanks for being with us. Thanks so much for having me. How have the Minneapolis police, at least so far, been held accountable?

You know, the main thing that's happened is prosecutions. That's the four officers that were involved in George Floyd's killing. They were either convicted or pleaded guilty to both federal and state charges, with, of course, Derek Chauvin, who was the officer who placed his knee on Floyd's neck, now serving more than 20 years. And these prosecutions were very significant because charges against officers for using lethal force are pretty rare in the United States, and then convictions are even rarer. So these convictions were a big win for prosecutors, and then for members of the public who really pushed for these former officers to be charged in Floyd's death. Minneapolis police were also investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice

and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Where do these investigations stand? Both of these investigations found glaring issues with the Minneapolis Police Department. On the state side, the city and State Department of Human Rights negotiated a court-enforced agreement that requires all sorts of changes to the policies and practices of the Minneapolis police. So that's everything from training to crowd control to officer wellness. And I spoke to Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero, and she says the city has made progress setting up the foundation for really systemic change, but there's a long way to go. There's so much hunger for community members to

see really big substantive changes. And there's this urgency around that because we know lives are at stake here. And to get there, it takes a lot of really important small steps. And the separate federal consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice has not yet been finalized, but that's expected very soon here. So that would make Minneapolis the first city in the country to be under both state and federal consent decrees on policing at the same time. John, what are some of the other changes that Minneapolis has made? Minneapolis has totally revamped its public safety structure. They hired a commissioner for the first time.

A new chief came in just recently. They also announced plans to create a new early intervention system. So they say they'll use data to track police officers who seem to be in trouble or on a troubled path and intervene before something tragic happens. And another high point has been the expansion of the city's behavioral crisis response teams. So people in Minneapolis can now call 911 in non-violent situations and unarmed mental health responders are going to show up to help. So Minneapolis appears to be investing in the sort of public safety efforts that do not require armed police, which is what a lot of folks were calling for way back in 2020. And how are the city and the police department

still contending with some of the other consequences of what happened to George Floyd in 2020? The Minneapolis Police Department lost a ton of officers after Floyd's death. So officials say they want to bring on more young, more diverse candidates who also live in or have roots in the city of Minneapolis. Chief Brian O'Hara said they're turning the corner on staffing, but they're not there yet. And then finally, there's the question of what happens to the third precinct building, which was famously set on fire during these protests. It's been closed off. It's been surrounded by barbed wire and concrete since not long after

Floyd's killing. And it's really become a symbol to the community and also a reminder of what happened to Floyd. There are some proposals, but tellingly, four years later, it's still not clear what's going to take the place of the precinct. Reporter John Collins of Minnesota Public Radio, thanks so much. Thank you. ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is one of the most common developmental conditions in kids. And it's getting even more common. A new report from federal researchers says that one out of every nine children has been diagnosed with ADHD. Here to tell us more is NPR health correspondent Maria Godoy. Hi, Maria.

Hi, Aisha. So, Maria, how many kids are we talking about here? A lot of kids. So this new report comes from CDC researchers, and they found that just over 7 million children and adolescents have gotten an ADHD diagnosis at some point in their lives. That's a million more kids than were diagnosed eight years ago. Do we know what's driving this increase? Like, do more kids have ADHD or are we just more aware of it? Yeah. So better awareness and diagnosis is a big factor here. And, you know, this data was gathered in 2022. It was during the pandemic.

One researcher I talked to said one thing that probably happened is that kids were being screened for other issues. And then their doctors picked up on their ADHD, too. And, of course, kids were home doing virtual school during the pandemic. So parents could see their kids' attention problems firsthand. And, you know, interestingly, the study found that more girls are now being diagnosed with ADHD than they used to be. Why would that be? Like, why more girls? So ADHD used to be thought of as only a hyperactivity or impulsivity disorder because

that's how it tends to manifest in boys. Here's Melissa Danielson with the CDC. She's the study's lead author. Boys often will have kind of hyperactive or impulsive ADHD where they'll run out into the street or jump off things or do things that might make them more likely to be injured. But ADHD looks different in girls. They tend to have more inattention, so they might be daydreaming or they hyper focus on a task, even though it might not be the thing that they're supposed to be focusing on. And now that doctors know that difference, they're getting better at spotting ADHD in girls.

And the new report found the gender differences in diagnoses are narrowing, which is actually a good thing. Why is that good that more kids are being diagnosed? Because it's really important to treat ADHD. Dr. Max Wisnitzer is a professor of pediatric neurology at Case Western Reserve University. He says kids who go undiagnosed with ADHD can have a lot of problems, not just at school, but at home. I had a girl, a teenager, who is clearly symptomatic, but never been formally diagnosed, and is causing chaos and mayhem within the family unit because people believe all her behaviors are deliberate in nature. You know, when really it's just the way her brain works.

He said this particular patient was never ready for school on time. She got sidetracked doing chores. And these are the kinds of issues that medication and behavioral therapy can help address because they give kids and their parents strategies to manage ADHD so kids can function better at home and in school. And the earlier kids get help, the better because kids who go untreated are at risk of other problems too. What sort of problems are they at risk for? Kids with ADHD are at higher risk of things like depression and anxiety in childhood. And then as adults, they face greater risk of health problems like obesity, diabetes, heart disease. So if ADHD is being spotted in more kids, they can get the help they need.

Do researchers know what causes ADHD? You know, they're not really sure, but there's strong evidence that genetics plays a big role. Treatment involves a combination of medication to address symptoms like impulsivity, hyperactivity, and attention. And then behavioral therapy, so things like mindful breathing, coping skills to help with time management, establishing routines at home that help keep kids on track. These are skills that are crucial for parents, actually, too, that they learn it so they can help their kids. That's NPR's Maria Godoy. Thank you so much, Maria. Oh, it's my pleasure.

And that's up first for Saturday, May 25th, 2024. I'm Aisha Roscoe. And I'm Scott Simon. Danny Hensel produced today's podcast with help from Fernando Naro-Roman and Michael Radcliffe, who also directed. It was edited by Jim Kane and Matthew Sherman. Our technical director is Hannah Glovna with engineering support from Carly Strange, Joby Tansako, and Stu Rushfield. Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor. Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer.

Our deputy managing editor is Jim Cain, who's managed to get his name twice in these credits. Tomorrow on the Sunday Story podcast, why second mortgages that homeowners lost track of are coming back to haunt them. We hear from NPR's Planet Money team. And given that this is a three-day long holiday weekend, even more time for you to listen to us, news, interviews, sports, and more banter than usual. Ayesha, banter. Banter.

Well, look, with the hot dogs and stuff on the grill, have NPR on in the background. Exactly. And listen, you can find your local station at stations.npr.org.