(AP) – Nearly 4,400 fewer US teens and young adults died by suicide than projected in the first two-and-a-half years of the 988 mental health crisis hotline, a sign the program is working even as it faces long-term funding challenges. Suicide deaths among 15- to 23-year-olds were 11% lower than what researchers expected between July 2022 – when the lifeline launched – and December 2024, researchers wrote in a study published Wednesday in JAMA . "The 988 program is one of the largest federal