By Chaseedaw Giles, KFF Health News

LOS ANGELES — Kris Edwards waited at home with friends for his wife, Erika “Tilly” Edwards, to go out to dinner, but she never made it back to the house they had purchased only four days earlier. Around 9 p.m. on June 29, a hit-and-run driver killed Tilly as she walked to her car after a fundraiser performance in Hollywood.

“I’ve just got to figure out how to keep living. And the hard part with that is not knowing why,” Edwards said of his wife’s death.

An engagement photo of Kris Edwards and his wife, Erika“ Tilly” Edwards, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in June 2025. (Chaseedaw Giles/KFF Health News/TNS)

Despite local, state, and federal safety campaigns, such as the global Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities, such deaths are up 20% in the U.S. from a decade ago, from 32,744 in 2014 to an estimated 39,345 in 2024, according to data from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Although traffic deaths have declined since peaking at 43,230 in 2021, the number of deaths remains higher than a decade ago.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pew Research Center found, Americans’ driving habits have worsened across multiple measures, from reckless driving to drunken driving, which road safety advocates call a public health failure. They say technology could dramatically reduce traffic deaths, but proposals often run up against industry resistance, and the Trump administration is focusing on driverless cars to both innovate and improve public safety.

“Every day, 20 people go out for a walk, and they don’t return home,” said Adam Snider, a spokesperson for the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state road safety offices.

Kris Edwards points to photos of his wife, Erika“ Tilly” Edwards, who was killed in June 2025. (Chaseedaw Giles/KFF Health News/TNS)

American roads have become more dangerous than violent crimes in some cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston are among the major cities that now report more traffic fatalities than homicides. In 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department reported an estimated 268 homicides and 302 traffic deaths, the second consecutive year that the number of people killed in collisions exceeded the number of homicide victims, according to Crosstown LA, a nonprofit community news outlet.

San Francisco reported more than 40 traffic deaths and 35 homicides in 2024. In Houston, approximately 345 people died in crashes and 322 from homicide.

“Simply put, the United States is in the middle of a road safety emergency,” David Harkey, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, testified during a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing this summer. Out of 29 high-income countries, America ranks at the bottom in road safety, Harkey said. “This spike is not — I repeat, is not — a global trend. The U.S. is an outlier.”

In January 2017, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti joined 13 other L.A. city leaders in pledging to implement the Vision Zero action plan and eliminate traffic deaths in the city by 2025.

Instead, deaths have increased.

Kris Edwards holds a leather photo album with memories of his wife, Erika“ Tilly” Edwards, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in June 2025. (Chaseedaw Giles/KFF Health News/TNS)

An audit released in April that was commissioned by the city’s administrative officer found that the level of enthusiasm for the program at City Hall has diminished and that it suffered because of “the pandemic, conflicts of personality, lack of total buy-in for implementation, disagreements over how the program should be administered, and scaling issues.” The report also cited competing interests among city departments and inconsistent investment in the city’s most dangerous traffic corridors.

Mayor Karen Bass’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Last year, California state Sen. Scott Wiener proposed a bill that would have required new cars sold in the state to include “intelligent speed assistance,” software that could prevent vehicles from exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 mph. But the bill was watered down following pushback from the auto industry and opposition from some legislators who called it government overreach. It was ultimately vetoed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said a state mandate would disrupt ongoing federal safety assessments.

Kris Edwards holds a note from a jar of origami hearts, a Valentine’ s Day gift from his wife, Erika“ Tilly” Edwards, after the couple got engaged seven years ago. He has yet to open all the hearts, which contain memories, poems, movies and quotes. Instead, he is saving some for when he needs them. (Chaseedaw Giles/KFF Health News/TNS)

Meanwhile, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an influential automotive lobby, this year sued the federal government over an automatic emergency braking rule adopted during the Biden administration. The lawsuit is pending in federal court while the Department of Transportation completes a review. Even before Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term, the alliance appealed to the president-elect in a letter to support consumer choice.

Under Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is prioritizing the development of autonomous vehicles by proposing sweeping regulatory changes to test and deploy driverless cars. “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards were written for vehicles with human drivers and need to be updated for autonomous vehicles,” NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser said in September in announcing the modernization effort, which includes repealing some safety rules. “Removing these requirements will reduce costs and enhance safety.”

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Some Democratic lawmakers, however, have criticized the administration’s repeal of safety rules as misguided since new rules can be implemented without undoing existing safeguards. NHTSA officials did not respond to requests for comment about Democrats’ concerns.

Advocates worry that without continued adoption of road safety regulations for conventional vehicles, factors such as excessive speed and human error will continue to drive fatalities despite the push for driverless cars.

“We need to continue to have strong collaboration from the federal, state, local sectors, public sector, private sector, the everyday public,” Snider, of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said. “We need everyday drivers to get involved.”

It took nearly a month for police to track down the driver of a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen allegedly involved in Tilly’s death. Authorities have charged Davontay Robins with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, felony hit-and-run driving, and driving with a suspended license due to a previous DUI. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is out on bail.

Kris Edwards now tends to the couple’s backyard garden by himself. Since his wife’s death, he has experienced sleep deprivation, fatigue, and trouble eating, and he relies on a cane to walk. His doctors attribute his ailments to the brain’s response to grief.

“I’m not alone,” he said. “But I am lonely, in this big, empty house without my partner.”

A hit-and-run driver killed Erika “Tilly” Edwards as she walked to her car after a fundraiser performance in Los Angeles’ Hollywood neighborhood in June 2025. Despite safety campaigns, U.S. traffic deaths are up 20% from a decade ago, according to the Department of Transportation. (Chaseedaw Giles/KFF Health News/TNS)

Edwards hopes for justice for his wife, though he said he’s unsure if prosecutors will get a conviction. He wants her death to mean something: safer streets, slower driving, and for pedestrians to be cautious when getting in and out of cars parked on busy streets.

“I want my wife’s death to be a warning to others who get too comfortable and let their guard down even for a moment,” he said. “That moment is all it takes.”

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

St. Paul is buzzing with creative energy all year round — but that’s especially apparent during the holiday gift-giving season, thanks to a mini-industry of craft markets and art festivals that pop up all over town.

The markets in this list are hosting hundreds of local artists and makers over the next month, and some are offering interactive art-making activities for you to get creative, too.

Nov. 22: Interact’s Great Big Holiday Sale

At Interact Center, a visual and performing art studio that serves artists with disabilities, you can browse hundreds of original works each priced at $20, between noon and 4 p.m. Interact’s theater company will present free performances from “A Christmas Carol Farce” at 12:30, 2 and 3:30 p.m. Meanwhile, at the nearby Interact Gallery (1902 W. Minnehaha Ave.), several exhibitions are on view, including the Big Winter Show.

Interact Center: 1860 W. Minnehaha Ave.; 651-209-3575; gallery.interactcenterarts.org

Nov. 22–23: Schmidt Holiday Market

A variety of creative folks, including resident artists in the brewery-turned-art community, will have handmade items for sale. Plus, attendees can participate in activities including spin art, create-your-own-ornament and printmaking, and food trucks will sling snacks. Market runs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 22 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 23.

Schmidt Artist Lofts: 900 W. Seventh St.; schmidtartists.com/holiday-markets

Nov. 28–Dec. 21: European Christmas Market

Shoppers check out holiday-themed birdhouses on display at the European Christmas Market, returning for its 11th year, at Union Depot in St. Paul on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. The traditional old-world Christmas market is the largest of its kind in Minnesota and runs Friday, Saturday and Sundays through Dec. 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

The annual outdoor market returns with 80+ craft, food and drink vendors, plus holiday entertainment and character visits. During its run, the market is open 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays (with a noon start time on Nov. 28); 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. Free admission.

Union Depot: 240 E. Kellogg Blvd; stpaulchristmasmarket.org

Nov. 28–29: Palace Theatre Holiday Market

The Palace Theatre sign is lit up atop the marquee at the downtown concert venue March 22, 2025. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

This is the third annual art market at the downtown concert venue, with 50+ booths — including some on the stage, a rare opportunity for the public to set foot up there. Market runs 2 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sartuday, Nov. 29.

Palace Theatre: 17 W 7th Pl.; 612-338-8388; market info at homespunevents.com/palacetheatreholidaymarket

Nov. 29: Holiday Market at Wandering Leaf Brewing

The lush brewery at Sibley Plaza on West Seventh is hosting more than a dozen local makers for Small Business Saturday. Market runs 1 to 6 p.m.

Wandering Leaf Brewing Company: 2463 W. 7th St,; 612-293-5754; wanderingleafbrewing.com

Nov. 30: Best of Scandia Artisan Market

A variety of artisan vendors from around town will be offering everything from ornaments to blankets to Swedish almond cakes to elderberry products. Market runs noon to 5 p.m., with the VinterLights! tree lighting to follow.

Scandia Community Center: 14727 N. 209th St.

Dec. 5–7: Landmark Center Holiday Bazaar

This is the 47th annual holiday market at Landmark Center with a full-house lineup of artists, plus music performances all day. Market runs 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5 (with complimentary refreshments between 4 and 7 p.m.) and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 and Sunday, Dec. 7. Admission is $5 (cash/check only) but free for kids under 12.

Landmark Center: 75 W. Fifth St. W.; 651-292-3225; landmarkcenter.org/holiday-bazaar

Dec. 6: Art at Hidden River

The long-running art fair, which as of late has been held at Highland Park Middle School, presents a wide variety of fine art and crafts by both juried professional artists and youth. Market runs 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Highland Park Middle School: 975 S. Snelling Ave.; artistscircle.org/art-at-hidden-river

Dec. 6–7; 13–14: Winter Art Market at the Lofts

Local artists and performers will gather for two weekends at the Lowertown Lofts Artists Cooperative. Market runs noon to 5 p.m. each day. Plus, extra art and activities taking place at Master Framers (262 E. Fourth St.).

Lowertown Lofts Artists Cooperative: 255 E. Kellogg Blvd.; lowertownlofts.org

Dec. 7: It’s A Wonderful White Bear Lake Holiday Craft & Gift Market

This 7th annual market hosts handmade crafters working in a variety of mediums, from woodwork to photography to cosmetics to bakers and candy makers. Runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with free parking.

Craft Market at Mariner Middle School: 3551 N. McKnight Rd., White Bear Lake; market info at 651-444-9907 or on Facebook

Dec. 13: Last Minute Gifts Night Market

The fine folks at Springboard for the Arts are once again staging their annual craft fair as a night market, with 25 local makers and other performances and refreshments, too. Market runs 6 to 9 p.m.; free admission.

Springboard for the Arts: 262 W. University Ave.; 651-292-4381; springboardforthearts.org

Dec. 13–14; 20–21: Minnesota Merry Market at the State Fair

Brought to you by the same folks behind the Palace Theatre market, this sprawling holiday celebration features 80+ artists, plus food trucks, Santa visits and craft projects. The market itself is in the North End Events Center, and parking is free; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. all days.

Minnesota State Fairgrounds: Enter at Hoyt and Snelling avenues; market info at homespunevents.com/minnesotamerrymarket

Dec. 20: Indigenous Holiday Market

Co-hosted by Indigenous Roots, Blue Hummingbird Woman, Eagle and Condor Native Wellness Center and Trickster Tacos, plus a benefit concert featuring Corey Medina & Brother, Jada Brown, Obsidian James and Shadows in Stereo. Market runs noon to 4 p.m. at the Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center on the East Side.

Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center: 788 E. Seventh St.; 651-395-7145; more information on Facebook

Dec. 20: Inver Grove Heights Holiday Craft and Gift Expo

This market is set to feature about 75 vendors selling handmade crafts, upcycled gifts and baked goods. Free entry; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Veterans Memorial Community Center: 8037 Barbara Ave, Inver Grove Heights; more info on Facebook

By Paula Span, KFF Health News

For years, the two patients had come to the Penn Memory Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where doctors and researchers follow people with cognitive impairment as they age, as well as a group with normal cognition.

Both patients, a man and a woman, had agreed to donate their brains after they died for further research. “An amazing gift,” said Edward Lee, the neuropathologist who directs the brain bank at the university’s Perelman School of Medicine. “They were both very dedicated to helping us understand Alzheimer’s disease.”

The man, who died at 83 with dementia, had lived in the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia with hired caregivers. The autopsy showed large amounts of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, the proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, spreading through his brain.

Researchers also found infarcts, small spots of damaged tissue, indicating that he had suffered several strokes.

By contrast, the woman, who was 84 when she died of brain cancer, “had barely any Alzheimer’s pathology,” Lee said. “We had tested her year after year, and she had no cognitive issues at all.”

The man had lived a few blocks from Interstate 676, which slices through downtown Philadelphia. The woman had lived a few miles away in the suburb of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, surrounded by woods and a country club.

The amount of air pollution she was exposed to — specifically, the level of fine particulate matter called PM2.5 — was less than half that of his exposure. Was it a coincidence that he had developed severe Alzheimer’s while she had remained cognitively normal?

With increasing evidence that chronic exposure to PM2.5, a neurotoxin, not only damages lungs and hearts but is also associated with dementia, probably not.

“The quality of the air you live in affects your cognition,” said Lee, the senior author of a recent article in JAMA Neurology, one of several large studies in the past few months to demonstrate an association between PM2.5 and dementia.

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Scientists have been tracking the connection for at least a decade. In 2020, the influential Lancet Commission added air pollution to its list of modifiable risk factors for dementia, along with common problems like hearing loss, diabetes, smoking, and high blood pressure.

Yet such findings are emerging when the federal government is dismantling efforts by previous administrations to continue reducing air pollution by shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

“‘Drill, baby, drill’ is totally the wrong approach,” said John Balmes, a spokesperson for the American Lung Association who researches the effects of air pollution on health at the University of California-San Francisco.

“All these actions are going to decrease air quality and lead to increasing mortality and illness, dementia being one of those outcomes,” Balmes said, referring to recent environmental moves by the White House.

Many factors contribute to dementia, of course. But the role of particulates — microscopic solids or droplets in the air — is drawing closer scrutiny.

Particulates arise from many sources: emissions from power plants and home heating, factory fumes, motor vehicle exhaust, and, increasingly, wildfire smoke.

Of the several particulate sizes, PM2.5 “seems to be the most damaging to human health,” Lee said, because it is among the smallest. Easily inhaled, the particles enter the bloodstream and circulate through the body; they can also travel directly from the nose to the brain.

The research at the University of Pennsylvania, the largest autopsy study to date of people with dementia, included more than 600 brains donated over two decades.

Previous research on pollution and dementia mostly relied on epidemiological studies to establish an association. Now, “we’re linking what we actually see in the brain with exposure to pollutants,” Lee said, adding, “We’re able to do a deeper dive.”

The study participants had undergone years of cognitive testing at Penn Memory. With an environmental database, the researchers were able to calculate their PM2.5 exposure based on their home addresses.

The scientists also devised a matrix to measure how severely Alzheimer’s and other dementias had damaged donors’ brains.

Lee’s team concluded that “the higher the exposure to PM2.5, the greater the extent of Alzheimer’s disease,” he said. The odds of more severe Alzheimer’s pathology at autopsy were almost 20% greater among donors who had lived where PM2.5 levels were high.

Another research team recently reported a connection between PM2.5 exposure and Lewy body dementia, which includes dementia related to Parkinson’s disease. Generally considered the second most common type after Alzheimer’s, Lewy body accounts for an estimated 5% to 15% of dementia cases.

In what the researchers believe is the largest epidemiological study to date of pollution and dementia, they analyzed records from more than 56 million beneficiaries with traditional Medicare from 2000 to 2014, comparing their initial hospitalizations for neurodegenerative diseases with their exposure to PM2.5 by ZIP codes.

“Chronic PM2.5 exposure was linked to hospitalization for Lewy body dementia,” said Xiao Wu, an author of the study and a biostatistician at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

After controlling for socioeconomic and other differences, the researchers found that the rate of Lewy body hospitalizations was 12% higher in U.S. counties with the worst concentrations of PM2.5 than in those with the lowest.

To help verify their findings, the researchers nasally administered PM2.5 to laboratory mice, which after 10 months showed “clear dementia-like deficits,” senior author Xiaobo Mao, a neuroscientist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, wrote in an email.

The mice got lost in mazes that they had previously dashed through. They had earlier built nests quickly and compactly; now their efforts were sloppy, disorganized. At autopsy, Mao said, their brains had atrophied and contained accumulations of the protein associated with Lewy bodies in human brains, called alpha-synuclein.

A third analysis, published this summer in The Lancet, included 32 studies conducted in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia. It also found “a dementia diagnosis to be significantly associated with long-term exposure to PM2.5” and to certain other pollutants.

Whether so-called ambient air pollution — the outdoor kind — increases dementia because of inflammation or other physiological causes awaits the next round of research.

Although air pollution has declined in the United States over two decades, scientists are calling for still stronger policies to promote cleaner air. “People argue that air quality is expensive,” Lee said. “So is dementia care.”

President Donald Trump, however, reentered office vowing to increase the extraction and use of fossil fuels and to block the transition to renewable energy. His administration has rescinded tax incentives for solar installations and electric vehicles, Balmes noted, adding, “They’re encouraging continuing to burn coal for power generation.”

The administration has halted new offshore wind farms, announced oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, and moved to stop California’s plan to transition to electric cars by 2035. (The state has challenged that action in court.)

“If policy goes in the opposite direction, with more air pollution, that’s a big health risk for older adults,” Wu said.

Last year, under the Biden administration, the Environmental Protection Agency set tougher annual standards for PM2.5, noting that “the available scientific evidence and technical information indicate that the current standards may not be adequate to protect public health and welfare, as required by the Clean Air Act.”

In March, the EPA’s new chairman announced that the agency would be “revisiting” those stricter standards.

The New Old Age is produced through a partnership with The New York Times.

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Hikari’s beautifully moving and affably humorous story of human connection, “Rental Family,” kicks off with one funeral and culminates with another, demonstrating the evolution that our protagonist, Philip (Brendan Fraser), goes through during his personal journey between these two events.

The first funeral is a shock. Philip is a struggling actor in Japan, with one massively successful commercial as a toothpaste superhero mascot under his belt. His agent has booked him a gig as “sad American,” a role he can easily play with his looming height, doleful eyes and a heart he wears on his sleeve. Late as usual, he dashes to check in for work, and is shocked to bumble into a somber funeral. He’s even more shocked when the formally dressed corpse starts emotionally reacting to the tearful eulogies.

The scene is a marvel of revelation and reaction from Fraser, and in fact, much of the genius of his performance in “Rental Family” comes from his reactions, especially as he discovers the weird and wonderful new job he’s stumbled into.

In the screenplay by Hikari and Stephen Blahut, Philip finds himself working for Tada (Takehiro Hira), who runs a company called Rental Family, where he and his staff are hired by clients to role-play in various real-world scenarios — the fake funeral, for example, or as a mistress apologizing to a spurned wife, or just for friendship. Philip’s first role is quite complex: he plays a Canadian man getting married to a young Japanese woman in a show wedding for her conservative parents. She’s queer and needs an out in order to be with her partner. Philip, who is earnest and honest to a fault, chafes at the “lie,” but soon realizes that he’s helping someone to live their authentic life, and so he throws himself into the gig.

The Rental Family service is about maintaining the Japanese values of propriety and politeness through performance, and the little (or big) white lies are manipulations to get what the clients want: an apology, companionship, love, admiration, closure.

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Philip’s most challenging high-wire act proves to be posing as the long-lost American father of a shrewd and emotionally intelligent young girl, Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman), in order to secure her school admission. Both Philip and Mia’s mom (Shino Shinozaki), his client, soon realize that it’s much more complicated for Mia than just pretending to be a nuclear family for a school interview.

While playing daddy, Philip also juggles a role as a journalist profiling an aging, iconic screen actor, Kikuo Hasegawa (Akira Emoto), from whom he learns surprising lessons about life, memory and legacy. He finds himself deeply connecting with his clients, young and old, and learning from both of them, while becoming tangled in their lives.

Empathy pours off Fraser in waves, which is what made his Oscar-winning performance in “The Whale” actually work. Hikari channels that quality to good use in “Rental Family,” but never oversteps. The film is sweet and affecting, but never treacly or overly sentimental. She knows how to balance humor and poignancy; to allow Philip to be a grown man with his own needs and peccadillos and mistakes, though we never question his motivations because of the inherent goodness that radiates off Fraser.

Hikari’s beautiful, naturalistic style also perfectly suits this story. A native of Osaka, the Tokyo that she showcases is one of quotidian everyday life, not the exotic, futuristic, neon city that an outsider might show us. Her Tokyo is one of small, cramped apartments, karaoke bars, public transit, hotels, temples and schools. It’s a world occupied by normal people who sometimes need a little help, a little push, a little assistance to get the things that they want in life. Philip is there to provide that service even though he’s also in need of his own connection to others.

But it’s the stumbles and mishaps along the way that actually help Philip to grow. By the time we get to the second funeral, we see how much he has bloomed in relationship to other people. Fraser has an openness to his expression that’s like a flower unfolding, beaming in the sunlight of recognition and personal fulfillment. As an actor, Fraser’s second act has been a sight to behold, and he is the emotional anchor of this wonderfully life-affirming and quietly resonant film about the importance of being together that announces Hikari as a major talent to watch.

‘Rental Family’

3.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements, some strong language, and suggestive material)

Running time: 1:43

How to watch: In theaters Nov. 21