SANTA CLARA – Patrick Taylor Jr. admits there have been times when he wondered if at the present time would ever come.

“Sometimes it comes to mind,” Taylor said. “But you have to stay consistent and disciplined with your process.”

Taylor is the following man up within the running back room with rookie Isaac Guerendo out Friday before the 49ers travel to Miami to face the Dolphins in a battle of 6-8 teams.

Left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) was also ruled out. Listed as questionable were edge rusher Nick Bosa (hip/oblique), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Achilles) and edge rusher Robert Beal Jr. (ankle).

In his fourth season and his first with the 49ers, the 26-year-old Taylor has played in 44 games. Along with fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who opened a game on a single back set, Taylor is the 49ers' fourth running back this season, including Jordan Mason, Christian McCaffrey and Isaac Guerendo.

In three seasons with Green Bay, Taylor played 34 games without starting and remained within the NFL primarily through his work on special teams. He has 14 carries for 50 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers. Over the course of his profession, Taylor caught 79 carries for 311 yards and two touchdowns.

The most Taylor has ever moved the ball in a game was 11 times for 53 yards for Green Bay against the Detroit Lions in 2022.

It's not recent territory for Shanahan, who has played 15 different starting running backs within the regular season or playoffs since joining the 49ers in 2017.

The first was Carlos Hyde, followed by Matt Breida, Alfred Morris, Jeff Wilson, Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, Jerick McKinnon, Elijah Mitchell, Trey Sermon, Deebo Samuel, McCaffrey, Mason, Guerendo and Juszczyk.

Ke'Shawn Vaughn and Israel Abanikanda could also be available to support Taylor, with the chance that Samuel is also used at running back.

“He's been here since training camp, he's done a really good job for us, played in this league before with Green Bay and when he got opportunities with us he ran the ball well,” Shanahan said of Taylor. “When he’s not running the ball, he helps on special teams. A great opportunity for him and I’m glad we got him.”

In college at Memphis, Taylor rushed for two,884 yards on 536 carries and 36 touchdowns. He battled a Lisfranc foot injury that caused him to go undrafted.

Taylor attributes the 49ers' ability to have interaction and play running backs effectively partially to the direction of position coach Bobby Turner.

“He does a great job making sure we go into a game prepared and he has a lot of confidence in us that we will play well,” Taylor said. “When we’re out there, it’s just about playing freely and not hesitating.”

BROCK'S CHIP

Quarterback Brock Purdy's revelation that he'll should play with a chip on his shoulder again was news to Shanahan.

“He has a great challenge like every other player I’ve been with,” Shanahan said. “He was probably trying to answer a question and think of something to say to you.”

THE EMBREE INFLUENCE

Tight end George Kittle stays indebted to Jon Embree, who coached tight ends for the 49ers from 2017 to 2021 and was his coach as a rookie fifth-round draft select of Iowa.

In fact, Kittle said he's still getting pointers from Embree, who’s now Miami's tight ends coach and associate head coach under former 49ers assistant Mike McDaniel.

“I think coach Embree did a great job of showing me the basics and throwing me a life jacket because I was a freshman,” Kittle said. “At 5 a.m. our time, 8 a.m. Miami time, I get a random coaching point from him that says, 'Your footwork was garbage last week.' “You have to change your attitude,” and I always appreciate those coaching points.”

JUICE LEADS THE FIDE DEFENSE

Juszczyk is the one 49ers player to steer the fan vote for the 2025 Pro Bowl games.

Jusczyk is an eight-time Pro Bowler with the Baltimore Ravens and 49ers, rating ahead of Kansas City fullback Carson Steele.

Kittle is second amongst tight ends behind Raiders rookie Brock Bowers (and first within the NFC), while edge rusher Nick Bosa and tackle Trent Williams are sixth at their respective positions. Linebacker Fred Warner is the No. 7 ranked inside linebacker. Quarterback Brock Purdy is just not in the highest 10.

Pro Bowl teams are chosen through voting by fans, players and coaches. No 49ers player is ranked in the highest 10. There were nine 49ers who became Pro Bowlers last yr – Bosa, Juszczyk, Williams, Kittle, McCaffrey, Warner, quarterback Brock Purdy, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, Warner and cornerback Charvarius Ward.

Local News

A petition requiring candidates for office in Worcester to supply naturalization papers as proof of citizenship was met with strong opposition at a Worcester City Council meeting Tuesday night.

“This was strategically placed right before an election,” Worcester Mayor and City Councilor Joseph Petty said on the meeting. “It could have been placed a year ago. It could have been several months ahead. It seems to have been planted tonight, so we can all talk about it.”

He continued: “Unfortunately sometimes people believe this rhetoric, but I won't allow it.”

Worcester City Council voted unanimously to table the petition, stopping it from moving forward.

The Law already states that to run for office you need to be a registered voter, which requires citizenship. However, that’s petition The motion, submitted by the Worcester Republican City Committee, requested additional documentation.

The petition states that candidates who weren’t born within the United States but have turn out to be naturalized American residents must “present under oath to the city clerk naturalization papers or other legal documents as proof of citizenship” before they might be approved to run for office .

In its submitted justification, the committee stated: “Citizens of other countries should not impose tax, zoning, housing, infrastructure and education policies on American citizens.”

The committee also explained that the petition was submitted to acquire “FREE” press and promoting for the group.

“As you know, we live in a country based on the rule of law,” Mary Ann Carroll, chair of the Worcester City Republican Committee, said on the meeting. “I am here tonight to ask for your help in ensuring that the laws of our country, our state and our city are followed regarding candidates for election in the City of Worcester.”

Carroll added, “This is not a cumbersome additional step” to require naturalized residents to supply additional documents to prove their citizenship. “It only excludes people who are excluded by law.”

Carroll was within the minority when he spoke in favor of the petition. In the nearly two-hour public speech in the course of the meeting, only three out of 54 people spoke in favor of it.

Most said the petition was stuffed with bigotry, xenophobia and scaremongering.

“This is a trick,” said Fred Taylor, president of the local NAACP chapter, during a virtual call to the meeting. “A ploy to sow division, a ploy to incite hatred, a ploy to deter future candidates. “Hate has no place in the city of Worcester.”

Two city councilors are naturalized residents: District 5 member Etel Haxhiaj from Albania and member Thu Nguyen from Vietnam.

Haxhiaj said she was targeted online by individuals who demanded she hand over her naturalization papers and photos of her obtaining American citizenship.

“I am here to stay and I have nothing to prove to those of you who want to divide us,” Haxhiaj said on the meeting.

She continued: “Extremist ideas will not go unchallenged. It’s time for you to retire them and throw them in the trash where they belong.”

LOS ANGELES — Limping lizards, along got here Freddie Freeman, leaping around third base and hurtling toward the plate like a automotive with low engine oil and weak brakes. He runs as if he's going to stub his toe with every step. He runs as if the only of his shoe were crammed with thumbtacks. He walks like he's watched a Bruce Bochy instructional video.

He runs as if his right ankle is sprained and swollen and burning with every step—since it is. You can see it in his face. You can see that in his walk. And you would see it in the best way he stumbled into the waiting arms of Mookie Betts in the primary inning, setting the tone along with his looping dash home because the Dodgers trailed by 9 in Game 1 of the National League Championship :0 the Mets defeated series.

“I gave it everything I had,” Freeman said. “And I needed Mookie to keep me from falling over at the end.”

The pain, stiffness and general inability to maneuver didn't stop Freeman from scoring on Max Muncy's single. His trip symbolized the courage of his club. The Dodgers are banged up and hurting — but when their offense works prefer it did Sunday, they could just be higher than some other team in baseball. Only 4 are left. The Dodgers are the closest to reaching the World Series.

Freeman helped clear the best way in Game 1. He was considered one of three Dodgers to attract a walk when Mets starter Kodai Senga stumbled in the primary inning. When Muncy blasted a single up the center, Freeman needed to endure a 180-foot scramble to attain. He delivered two more hits, including an RBI single in a three-run fourth inning. In the eighth round, manager Dave Roberts replaced him on the sphere, as is now customary. Freeman ended the evening the best way he has ended most of them this postseason: unsure whether he would have the ability to play the following day.

“We have the utmost respect for him and the way he operates,” said outfielder Kevin Kiermaier. “He’s an absolute dog.”

His ankle is a each day crucible for Roberts. Freeman was injured on September 26 while sprinting through the pocket. Doctors told him the injury required 4 to 6 weeks of rest. After eight days he returned to the sphere. He called that injury “the hardest thing” he’s needed to cope with on a baseball field. And that was before he tried to play on it.

With Game 2 scheduled for Monday afternoon and left-hander Sean Manaea starting for the Mets, Freeman will not be within the lineup. Due to the short turnaround, he ran out of time. His pregame routine requires nearly five hours of treatment from physical therapist Bernard Li. “Me and Bernard Li could sleep here tonight,” Freeman said.

“I expect him to stay in there,” Roberts said, “until I hear otherwise.”

Freeman has now gotten used to this routine. That yr, he began doing crossword puzzles, a habit his elders practiced when he debuted with the Atlanta Braves in 2010. He is now 35 years old. “When I first came here, I pictured it as older guys in the clubhouse doing crossword puzzles,” he said. “Now I’ve become one.” He passes the time on the training table filling within the gaps. However, his rehab is basically not a passive experience. The exercises test his pain tolerance and mobility.

“Believe me, it’s not my fault that I’m just lying there,” he said.

Before Freeman takes the sphere, the training staff applies sparrow tape to stop his ankle from rolling again. The aesthetics will not be nice. Freeman limps as he climbs the steps to the dugout for early work. He limps as he runs onto the sphere for pregame introductions. He limps almost the complete time the sport starts, causing something like this a limping lizard from many years ago.

“Ever since I came here, everyone said, 'Look at what this guy is going to play through, you've never seen anything like it,'” Kiermaier said. “That was in August and we are facing the most important games of the year. For him to do what he did is absolutely amazing.”

The injury prevents Freeman from flexing the joint at the highest of his ankle. Every step is a challenge. The discomfort was so great that he left early in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. He couldn't play in Game 4. In Game 5, Muncy called a mound meeting to provide Freeman a breather after a difficult play at first base. He may not play on Monday and may not appear in three consecutive games in New York.

On Sunday, when Freeman faced a team that had defeated the Phillies within the preliminary round, he helped his club rating its first goal. The Dodgers knew they may not see Senga for long. Batters repeat a mantra when facing a starter in tight quarters: “He'll go as long as we let him go,” as Muncy explained before the sport. The group knows they will force an opposing manager's hand by assembling quality bats. “If we put a bunch of really bad hitters together, they're probably going to keep running him out,” Muncy said. “If we put together a lot of good at-bats, score a few runs and have a lot of traffic on the bases, we probably won’t see him all that often.”

Senga was erratic early on, unable to regulate his fastball or his forkball. Betts, Freeman and Teoscar Hernández loaded the bases with walks. Muncy hit a thigh-high cutter to center field. Freeman had built a big lead, enough for third base coach Dino Ebel to wave him home. Every step looked painful. Mets first baseman Pete Alonso clipped the baseball, sparing Freeman the ignoble try to slip. Instead, Betts waited for him, arms outstretched. The 170-pound outfielder braced himself for impact from his 220-pound teammate.

“Luckily I lift weights so I was able to hold him,” Betts said. “He gives us everything he has.”

Freeman wore something between a grimace and a smile as he escaped Betts' grasp. He limped back to the dugout. He still had a number of more goals to go.

“It’s not going to get better,” Freeman said. “But I think we're at a good point where it won't get worse again. Unless I roll it again.”

He plays like there's no tomorrow. Because when tomorrow comes, he may not have the ability to play.

COACHELLA, Calif. — With the presidency at stake in battlegrounds like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, why would Donald Trump enterprise to California, one of the vital Democratic states, just weeks before Election Day?

Trump will almost definitely lose California, and that won't change after his planned Saturday stop in Coachella, a desert city east of Los Angeles best known for the annual music festival that bears that name. Still, there are practical reasons for his visit, despite the Republican candidate's Nov. 5 prospects in essentially the most populous state.

The former president lost California in a landslide in 2020. He received greater than 6 million votes, greater than any Republican presidential candidate before, and in some rural counties that typically favor conservatives on the ballot, his margins exceeded 70%.

That's an enormous pool of potential volunteers who can work on state races and take part in phone banks in essentially the most competitive states. And Trump is predicted to attract extensive media coverage within the Los Angeles market, the second-largest market within the country.

Trump is visiting Coachella between stops in Nevada, at a Latino roundtable in Las Vegas early Saturday – where he praised Hispanics as “so energetic” – and Arizona at a rally in Prescott Valley on Sunday. He narrowly lost these two swing states to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.

Attendees waiting in scorching temperatures near 100 degrees Saturday said they didn't expect Trump to win their state but were thrilled to see him.

“It's like a meeting of like-minded people,” said Tom Gibbons of Palm Desert, who has supported Trump since 2016 but was only capable of see him in person on Saturday as he lined up at a food truck on the Polo Fields to accommodate the group on the Coachella event. “Everyone understands the heartbeat of America, the plight of the working man. … It’s calming.”

The visit to California gives Trump an “opportunity to influence and win over this large group of Trump supporters,” said Tim Lineberger, who was communications director for Trump's 2016 campaign in Michigan and in addition worked in the previous president's administration. He “comes here and activates this.”

Recalling that Californians made calls to Michigan voters on Trump's behalf in 2016, Lineberger said the campaign's decision to maneuver to protected, Democratic ground presently was “an aggressive, offensive play.” been.

California can also be a source of campaign money for each parties, and Trump might be fundraising. Photos with the previous president at Coachella cost $25,000, including special seating for 2 people. A “VIP experience” cost $5,000.

With California's upcoming congressional elections that would resolve which party controls the House of Representatives, the Coachella rally is “a type of election rally that motivates and energizes California Republicans when they're not so close to what “What's occurring within the national campaign,” said Republican consultant Tim Rosales.

Rosales also said he would watch for Trump to continue his long-running feud with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

For Republicans, “it's motivating when you possibly can pick at California just a little bit and the governor … takes the bait,” Rosales said.

Newsom predicted Wednesday that Trump would denigrate the state at the rally and disregard its strengths as the world's fifth-largest economy. The governor said that for the first time in a decade, California has more Fortune 500 companies than any other state.

“You know, Trump won’t say that,” he predicted.

Jim Brulte, a former chairman of the California Republican Party, said he believes Trump is aiming for something that has eluded him in previous campaigns: winning more total votes than his Democratic opponent.

“I believe Donald Trump is coming to California because he wants to win not only the Electoral College, but the popular vote. There are more registered voters in California than residents in 46 of the other 49 states,” Brulte said.

The Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles is located on the Pacific coast south of the city. But Trump has long had a fractious relationship with California, where no Republican has governed the state since 1988 and Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by about two to one.

California has been home to the so-called Trump resistance during his time in office, and Trump often portrays California as representing everything he believes is wrong with America. As president, he called the homeless crisis in Los Angeles and San Francisco a disgrace and threatened to intervene.

On Saturday, he will likely spend time tying California's problems to Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee and San Francisco Bay Area native who served as California's attorney general and represented the state in the Senate.

His campaign released a statement saying that under Harris, “the infamous 'California Dream' has changed into a nightmare for on a regular basis Americans.”

Jessica Millan Patterson, chairwoman of the state Republican Party, said she looks forward to hearing how Trump compares his agenda to a Democratic White House “that has left Californians less protected and with less money of their pockets.” have”.

She promised that Republicans will “do our part to achieve a majority in the House of Representatives.”

---

Kamala Harris is at the top of a big party running for president. Some people have celebrated her candidacywithin the hope that this is able to encourage voters enough to elect the primary woman president.

But the glass ceiling that prevented Hillary Clinton from running for president in 2016 stays stable at other political levels across the country.

My Research with Diana Da In Lee, Yamil Velez And Chris Warshaw shows that girls are still underrepresented amongst local officials in just about all political offices in cities and counties.

Like many other qualities of public officials, comparable to Profession or Racethe gender of elected officials influences the way in which they do politics. Research has shown that girls and particularly Working class womenelected to state and federal offices in countries around the globe make different spending decisions. More women in elected office may very well be especially significant on the local level, since that's where a lot of those state or federal spending decisions are literally made intimately.

Congress is notorious for having few women in office, but until now, researchers and the general public knew little or no about how women and diverse ethnic groups are represented outside of the federal government.

We Data collected from city, county, and college district elections over the past three many years in all cities with at the very least 50,000 residents and all counties with at the very least 75,000 residents in 2020. Using this data, we calculated the proportion of winning candidates who were men and women, respectively.

Our published research shows that the proportion of girls amongst elected officials in district and city administrations is lower than their proportion within the population.

The gap is especially large between the proportion of girls within the county population and the proportion of girls in county office. While women make up just over half of the county population, they make up just over 1 / 4 of the representatives who serve on county councils or county commissions. Women are even less common in county administration, sheriffs, and district attorneys. The office of sheriff is especially male-dominated, with women holding lower than 5% of those positions.

The situation is somewhat higher when it comes to female representation in city government offices. Women are usually not well represented within the mayoral office – only 24% of mayors are women – and just over a 3rd of elected city councillors are women. The relatively smaller gender gap amongst elected officials in city government is an improvement over the counties, but gender parity is way from achieved.

School boards are the one exception. In the varsity boards we studied, women are barely overrepresented in comparison with men. This could also be because school boards are what political scientists like us call “Stereotype congruent” Offices for ladies who Voters see the country as more competent in areas comparable to education and health.

People learn early in life through a process that researchers call “gender-specific political socialization” to query the place of girls in politics. Because of this, women show less interest in politics or are less prone to run for office, and this lack of political ambition is clear early in childhood. Other research shows that in maturity Gender-specific expectations of girls to have a successful profession alongside motherhood may further limit their interest in running for office. Our research shows the results of those differences in ambition between men and ladies in politics: women are underrepresented in just about all local political offices, except school boards.

As Kamala Harris runs against Donald Trump within the presidential election this fall, many experts and voters Celebrating the representation of girls – and particularly women of color – in politics. But regardless of the final result in November, the gender gap between city and county residents and their local elected representatives shall be large. As a result, vital policies implemented by local governments may not fully reflect the desires of the population.

Christian McCaffrey's status will proceed to be assessed on a spontaneous basis, together with his availability being judged more on the premise of his well-being and with a view to the long haul somewhat than a particular Sunday.

McCaffrey was surprisingly ruled out of Monday night's 32-19 win over the New York Jets at Levi's Stadium resulting from a calf/Achilles tendon injury.

And this problem has been happening for a while, which implies there could possibly be lots more Jordan Mason within the 49ers' immediate future with a road game against the Minnesota Vikings coming up in Week 2.

Mason gained 147 yards on 28 attempts, each profession highs, and scored a touchdown against the Jets.

McCaffrey suffered a calf strain in Week 17 against Washington last season after which sat out the ultimate game of the regular season against the Los Angeles Rams. He was on the injured list with a calf injury within the divisional playoff win over Green Bay but made it through the playoffs.

But McCaffrey, who has long set the pace in practice, largely stayed out of the fray while a two-year contract extension was negotiated. At the club's mandatory minicamp in July, McCaffrey told NFL Network he was effective and would play if it was an actual game.

Except when the actual games start, McCaffrey doesn't play. Why? According to educate Kyle Shanahan, since it's not a playoff game.

“If it was a playoff game, he made it very clear to me that he thought he could go,” Shanahan said Tuesday in a conference call with local reporters. “But when you hear something like that and it's not a playoff game and it's Week 1 — especially when you're dealing with lower extremities like that — it was a tough decision. But hearing all the words and stuff made it easier in the long run.”

In any case, McCaffrey's condition might be closely monitored to maintain him healthy throughout the season and never maintain the danger of further injury in a sensitive area that’s liable to setbacks and re-injury.

“It's not just a calf, it's Achilles tendonitis and Achilles tendinitis and things like that come and go,” Shanahan said. “When it starts causing problems, you have to be very careful.”

It was a calf/Achilles problem in 2019 that led to the Warriors' Kevin Durant eventually tearing his Achilles tendon within the NBA Finals. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw sat out Week 18 against the Rams last season with Achilles tendinitis and eventually tore his Achilles tendon while entering the sector within the Super Bowl.

Even though McCaffrey is listed as day-to-day, you’ll be able to safely assume the 49ers won't add last yr's NFL Offensive Player of the Year back to the lineup until they deem the danger to be minimal.

Shanahan said the one other injuries from the Jets game were a calf injury to protect Aaron Banks and an ankle injury to wide receiver Jauan Jennings. Both injuries, Shanahan said, are being treated on a day-to-day basis.

A choice might be made later this week as as to if defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (knee), safety Talanoa Hufanga (knee) and linebacker Dee Winters (ankle) might be available for the sport against Minnesota, Shanahan said.

Williams holds on

Left tackle Trent Williams played 70 of 72 snaps after missing all of coaching camp and participating in just 4 practices before games. Shanahan was curious to see how Williams would do, but wasn't surprised by the top result.

“You never know how someone is going to come back when you haven't seen them for so long,” Shanahan said. “But watching him practice on Monday and seeing how he was on Wednesday was a good sign that he was going to be OK.”

Williams said afterward he was in “uncharted territory” and needed two infusions to get through it, but he didn't expect any problems until Week 2 in Minnesota.

Originally published: September 10, 2024 at 11:50 am

A six-year-old girl lost one in every of her white Adidas lace-up sneakers as she and her 21 classmates practiced fleeing for his or her lives after an imaginary intruder entered their school.

The girl's teacher asked her to proceed walking without her shoe, then grabbed it herself and gave it back to the girl once the category had settled into their designated protected place.

The girl recently recounted losing her shoe on her morning automobile ride to high school. This was just one in every of several examples through which the girl or her siblings described what they need to do—run “to that fence,” “across that field,” or “into that woods”—if an intruder entered their school constructing.

I do know this story since the girl is my daughter.

In the quarter century for the reason that Columbine High School massacre of April 20, 1999, a whole generation of youngsters, including my very own, lived under the specter of school-related gun violence. More recent tragedies, equivalent to people who occurred, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in December 2012 and Robb Elementary School in Texas in May 2022 display the continued nature of this threat.

Unfortunately, gun violence is on the forefront of all contemporary American education. Rampage and burglary exercises have change into standardnot only for my children, but for just about all American school children.

I’m concerned in regards to the incontrovertible fact that preparedness drills – just like the one through which my daughter temporarily lost her shoe – sometimes Cause harm to studentsFor example, a recent study showed that energetic intruder drills can result in: Sorrow and fear for college kids. In one other case, one in every of these exercises led to Hysteria and mass panic in a Florida school when students tried to flee from their alleged intruder. Students and teachers alike experienced fear on the announcement of an actual threat that there was “no exercise.”

As Researcher in developmental and academic psychology – and as Faculty member training future teachers – I understand the necessity for schools to make sure the security and protection of the country’s 55 million school-age young peopleBut isn't there a greater technique to protect children within the post-Columbine era?

I’m not the just one asking this query. A brand new initiative by the National Academies was created to evaluate the impact of college shooting drills on student health and well-being and to discover best practices for preparing schools to reply to threats of violence.

A have a look at the trends

To gain insight into the prevalence of gun violence in schools, my colleagues and I conducted a study on School shootings and mass shootings at schools that took place in American K-12 schools from 1997 to 2022. We used two public databases to count School shootings And Mass shootings at schools which took place every school yr.

School shootings were defined in our study as “any single incident in which a weapon is drawn or fired for any reason, or a bullet strikes school property, regardless of the number of victims, the time of day, or the day of the week.” Mass school shootings were defined as people who occurred at an elementary or highschool and met the federal definition of a mass shooting in effect on the time of the shooting: 4 or more victims killed through December 2012, or three or more victims killed starting in January 2013.

During the 25 school years we studied, 1997-2022, there have been 1,453 school shootings. More than half of them, 794, occurred within the last five years, 2017-2022. Our analyses found a sharp increase in class shootings after 2017with the variety of shootings rising from a then-record high of 89 within the 2017-2018 school yr to 328 within the 2021-2022 school yr.

While the number of college shootings has increased dramatically lately, the number of college mass shootings has not increased at the identical rate—although they’ve change into deadlier. In total, 11 mass school shootings occurred between the 1997-1998 and 2021-2022 school years, leading to a complete of 126 deaths and 122 injuries. Five of those mass school shootings occurred throughout the 1997-2012 school years, while six occurred throughout the 2012-2022 school years. Yet the fatality rate has nearly doubled over the past decade, rising from 7.6 deaths per mass shooting throughout the 1997-2012 school years to 14 deaths per mass shooting throughout the 2012-2022 school years.

Efforts to maintain students as protected as possible are of the utmost importance. Of course, I would like my children's schools to do every part they will to guard their students. Many of the present student safety measures – equivalent to the appointment of School representative – have not proven to stop school shootings or reduce the severity of college shootingsregarding injury or death in the event that they occur.

Gunshot wounds at the moment are the Most common explanation for death amongst children and adolescents within the United States. While school shootings and mass shootings account for under a portion of gunshot injuries amongst school-age youth, gun violence – including school-related gun violence – is a Public health crisis. As such Public health approach is deserved.

Building on research

I see no less than 3 ways schools and communities might help reduce gun violence in and around schools:

1: Educate parents and families about protected gun storage.

Educators and health care providers locally – including Pediatricians, general practitioners and psychotherapists – can take part in counselling families, Safe storage of firearmsHealthcare providers may work to grasp Laws to guard against extreme risks In their states, such laws allow them to coordinate with law enforcement to remove firearms from private homes when an individual is identified who may pose a risk of harm to themselves or others.

2: Use evidence-based, school-wide approaches to advertise school safety.

School safety could be supported by evidence-based approaches, equivalent to Positive behavioral interventions and supportthat goals to enhance school practices that impact student outcomes. This positive approach could be used to proactively address the social, emotional and behavioral needs and promote safety in schools. This approach also allows school personnel to watch and manage students' mental health needs, address school-wide behavior and discipline issues, and promote a protected school climate. Accordingly, it will possibly help reduce potential threats of student gun violence.

3: Support laws and regulations on gun safety and violence prevention.

Community members, including parents and teachers, in addition to policy makers can support Gun safety laws, evidence-based violence prevention practices and regulationsFor example, child access protection laws – laws that penalize gun owners when children have access to firearms – Gunshot wounds And Carrying weaponsand thus contribute to safety in and around schools.

Hope for the longer term

The National Institute of Justice has made it a priority to support recent research examining gun violence and mass shootings, including research on the effectiveness of college campaigns to coach families about protected gun storage.

These efforts will provide essential recent insights into how Preventing gun violence in schools.

While my very own children and tens of millions of other children attending school within the United States today proceed to face the specter of gun violence in schools, I hope that future generations will experience school without fear of somebody showing up at their school with a gun.

During a campaign rally with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on August 8 in Michigan, Harris's running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, used the word “damn.” 4 times during his transient remarks, including in two sentences in a row:

“If you have a billion dollars, you don't care about your pension. But if you're like my mother and your pension is your only income, it's damn important,” he said.

The following day, in Glendale, Arizona, Walz used the term eight more times. A day later, at a rally in Las Vegas, he used the expression again eight times.

And in a social media post on August 13, he stated that he was “rattling proud“ of his military service.

These incidents were obviously not mistakes or momentary lapses in judgment. What was the vice presidential candidate trying to perform by repeatedly using a term that some people find offensive?

I’m a cognitive scientist who studies and writes about Language and communicationOne query that occurred to me was whether Walz spoke as he at all times did or whether he consciously developed a brand new way of expressing himself.

A consistent story

It seems that Walz's use of the word “damn” in public is nothing recent to him.

In 2023, for instance, he stated: “Minnesota has waited an extended time“ for gun control measures.

At a press conference in Iowa two months later, he stressed – twice – that folks should mind their very own business.rattling businesswhen it got here to abortion, LGBTQ issues and college curricula.

Previously, in 2022, he said that the 2022 Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade was not “do something to prevent abortions.” In 2020, he stated that the choice to ban police from using chokeholds on suspects “a damn low bar.”

And even earlier, in 2015, then US Representative Walz was quoted as saying: “to hell with politics“ as he solid his vote totally free trade agreements.

Apparently this term has been a part of the candidate's normal speaking style for a few years.

Although research suggests that swear words cause people to perceived negativelyWalz's efforts on the ballot box don’t appear to have harmed him. He has won eight out of eight elections during his political professionMember of the U.S. House of Representatives for six terms and Governor of Minnesota for 2 terms.

During this time there was also a major Increase in swear words utilized by politicians on social media, and this may occasionally have made such language seem less offensive to his voters.

Politicians and obscenities

Walz's caustic language has an extended tradition in American politics. One of the primary heads of presidency to make use of such language publicly was the populist Andrew Jackson – although history says that his Parrot with vulgar mouth The statement that he needed to be faraway from his funeral in 1845 may or is probably not true.

In the twentieth century, Jackson was joined by people like Harry Truman, who called General Douglas MacArthur “stupid bastard.“ Lyndon Johnson was notorious for loosen up his conversations with words like “piss” and “shit.” And other candidates for top office, like Barry Goldwater, noted that only a “rattling idiot“ would attempt to predict the longer term.

Vice presidents are also known for turning the tide at unexpected moments. Dick Cheney famously told U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy to “go away”fuck you“ during a debate in the Senate. And then-Vice President Joe Biden told President Barack Obama that passing health care reform “a damn big deal.”

And even presidents who didn’t curse publicly may very well be quite vulgar of their private meetings, because the transcripts of Richard Nixon's conversations within the Oval Office made clear. Nixon had a keenness for the word “damn” and have used it often in conversation along with his employees.

In short, many politicians in other contexts have chosen to specific themselves in an identical option to how Walz did throughout the election campaign.

A phenomenon price reporting?

Journalists seem to seek out these episodes remarkable enough to put in writing about. In 2012, for instance, Rolling Stone made an enormous deal about Obama calling Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney “an idiot“ in an interview with the magazine.

In 2016, the New York Times published a story about Donald Trump, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, Bernie Sanders and Lindsey Graham under the headline “Rude and proud of it”, which details the candidates’ use of expressions equivalent to “damn”, “hell” and “bullshit”.

And in 2019, a Los Angeles Times columnist complained that Democratic presidential candidates Corey Booker, Steve Bullock and Beto O'Rourke “curse a blue stripe', using expressions like “f—ed up.”

Why is such behavior considered newsworthy?

This could also be due partly to our high expectations of the behavior of political leaders – at the very least in public. When politicians use vulgar language, they deviate from this lofty standard. This appears to be the case regardless that generations of politicians have did not live as much as this ideal.

Advantages of the blue language?

People often use cross-border language to create a certain impression. And in Walz's case, he could also be trying to determine – or enhance – his role as an everyday guy, an everyman. Some observers have identified that Donald Trump's use of swear words an indication of the authenticity of the previous president.

Younger adults are also more tolerant of swear words than members of older generations. The widespread use of swear words in Hip-hop and other music genres could also be a reason for this.

As Walz continues his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, it would be interesting to see whether he chooses to make use of a more moderate approach to speech or whether he views his outspokenness as a bonus reasonably than a drawback.

For the umpteenth time within the last 60 years, Californian electricity consumers are being pressured for more cash. As usual, the explanation given is that they should pay a whole lot of thousands and thousands of dollars to maintain the facility on.

But later, Governor Gavin Newsom panicked because renewable energy was coming online more slowly than expected, so he negotiated a deal that may extend the nuclear plant's life until 2022 and supply state loans that the federal government would underwrite.

Does anyone seriously consider the administration will do this if Donald Trump returns to the White House? The same goes for the newest “loan” that state legislatures reluctantly approved this summer as a part of their budget agreement with Newsom. PG&E mustn’t be expected to pay it back.

Currently, it isn’t federal taxpayers who’re funding PG&E to maintain the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant running beyond next yr. Instead, it’s electricity customers nearly in every single place in California. Yes, even in case your electricity comes through Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, or PacifiCorp, you’ll still be held accountable for Diablo.

A giant query is why this extension can be forced on thousands and thousands of people that don't deal directly with PG&E. Newsom's answer is that the facility from Diablo Canyon is required to stop blackouts during this yr's record heat, even when that power must travel a whole lot of miles through the state's power grid to be useful.

But what about all of the so-called “peaker plants” that operate in periods of high electricity demand across the state? When they were approved, their purpose was to maintain the grid running during times of utmost need. Are they redundant now that Diablo Canyon has been restarted? Utility officials and the ignorant state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) aren't answering that query.

Instead, thousands and thousands of electricity customers are forced to pay ever-increasing bills without argument. Most do it themselves, shelling out whatever amount is on their monthly bill. And who's to say Diablo Canyon shall be more reliable than ever? If it really works, this power plant can produce 8.5% of all of the energy needed to run all of California's electrical facilities.

However, Diablo Canyon was shut down for much of 2022 since it violated PG&E's own management procedures. Those outages occurred when a hydrogen cooling system in Unit 2 of the plant leaked and needed to be manually shut down. Hi, Peaker.

Diablo was equally unreliable in 2020 and 2021, when it experienced 149 days of unplanned outages over a 476-day period. Essentially, the plant produced next to nothing for a 3rd of the time. How smart is it to depend on a plant that has proven liable to prolonged outages for backup power? What happens when those outages occur during heat waves and other times of extremely high air con usage?

It's all a part of an extended line of California governors, Republican and Democrat, coddling large private utilities. All of them received large campaign contributions from the businesses. Newsom's own earnings totaled greater than $10 million over the course of his profession.

That $10 million is a no brainer for PG&E and the others after they can snap their fingers and get sycophantic political tools to get a whole lot of thousands and thousands, often billions, in consumer money. In fact, despite the fact that the utility's customers are paying to run Diablo Canyon, the PUC may soon approve even more cash to the businesses, starting once more with PG&E.

Instead of limiting these firms to applying for a base rate increase every 4 years, they’ll now be asked to pay as repeatedly as they’ll persuade the PUC that they need more cash to create latest power for the electrical vehicles that the state hopes will dominate latest automobile sales within the near future.

All of this implies higher costs for patrons, more inflation, and fewer money in most wallets. That makes now a great time for the PUC to make itself electable and accountable to the thousands and thousands it likes to beg for money.

Send Thomas Elias an email at tdelias@aol.com and browse more of his columns online at californiafocus.net.