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Living near a major highway may be associated with developmental delays in children. Researchers studied 5,825 children living in New York state outside of New York City. Parents periodically filled out a well-validated questionnaire that tracks developmental milestones in children from age 8 months to 3 years. Milestones encompassed physical, verbal and social domains. (Bakalar, 4/11)

The country’s rising suicide rate, part of an increase in what has been dubbed “deaths of despair,” is hitting the youngest Americans hard. The overall suicide rate rose 26% between 2007 and 2017, the most recent year for government data, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For children ages 10 to 17, over the same period, the rate more than doubled. The most painful and perplexing cases sometimes happen in the same town, at the same school, on the same block. (Lovett, 4/12)