Los Angeles Times chronicles life and death behind bars

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November 22, 2011

Today's Daily Briefing features reporters' struggles to access health information, the health of truck drivers and women who have just given birth, and a must-read about what it means to die in prison.

Keeping Secrets: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Georgia "does not allow public review of reports that hospitals submit" about patient suicides, sexual assaults and surgical errors. Health Policy Solutions reports that U.S. Department of Health and Human Services tried to keep media out of a Denver meeting to gather public comment on provisions of the Affordable Care Act. For more on challenges to health reporters' access to information, peruse William Heisel's Slap Series.

On the Road: Abby Ellin at The New York Times reports on the challenges of staying healthy when you spend your days driving a truck and eating at truck stops. You can also hear and see the drivers in the story.

Post-Partum in Style: Hillary Brenhouse reports from Taipei for Time on a modern (and money-making) twist on an ancient tradition.

Image removed.Must Read: A gripping story by Kurt Streeter in the Los Angeles Times starts this way:

The two men walked slowly through the steel-framed door, the older one leading the younger. The door slammed shut behind them.

"Don't worry," said the older man, John Paul Madrona. "It's true people die here, but we help them."

"What's it going to be like?" Freddy Garcia asked.

Read the two-part story about what it means to die in prison and watch a video about Garcia.

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