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How machine learning can identify gun buyers at risk of suicide

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, with data showing one person takes their own life every 11 minutes.

Suicides also acconut for the majority of gun deaths in the country, and firearms are used in most completed suicides as about 90 percent of suicide attempts with a gun are fatal. 

Previous studies have also found an increased risk of suicide in the time period immediately following a handgun purchase, suggesting aquisition is a key risk factor.

Now, new research out of the University of California, Davis, suggests machine learning can forecast gun purchasers’ likelihood of firearm suicide through the use of handgun purchasing data. Identifying those at risk allows for prevention interventions and can ultimately help reduce suicide rates.

The proof-of-concept study was conducted by researchers at the Violence Prevention Research Program and is the first of its kind to investigate such a correlation. 

“While limiting access to firearms among individuals at increased risk for suicide presents a critical opportunity to save lives, accurately identifying those at risk remains a key challenge,” said study co-author Hannah S. Laqueur of the University of California in a statement. 

“Our results suggest the potential utility of handgun records in identifying high-risk individuals to aid suicide prevention.”

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Investigators assessed data from the California’s Dealer’s Record of Sale (DROS) database, which includes information on nearly 5 million handgun transaction records. Using random forest (RF) classification, they tested data’s ability to predict those at a heightened suicide risk within one year of purchase and identified which factors help determine this likelihood.

The purchases were completed by nearly 2 million individuals between 1996 and 2015, the majority of whom were men. California death record data were also employed to identify firearm suicides throughout the study period. 

Researchers found a 0.07 percent rate of suicide within one year of purchase (3,278 transactions among 2,614 individuals). Forty one risk factors for firearm suicide were identified, including older age, being a first-time purchaser, white race, living in close proximity to the seller and purchasing of a revolver. 

“The type of firearm purchased was the most important predictor of firearm suicide,” reserachers wrote, adding month of purchase was also an important factor, as peaks were seen throughout the spring and early summer.

Of the 5 percent of purchases deemed most risky, nearly 40 percent were linked with a purchaser who died by firearm suicide. Of the transactions with a predicted probability score of 0.95 or greater based on the the RF classification, 69 percent were associated with a purchaser who committed suicide via firearm within one year. 

“This study contributes to the growing evidence that computational methods can aid in the identification of high-risk groups and the development of targeted interventions,” Laqueur said.

However, because many firearm suicides also occurred among low-risk individuals, additional interventional methods are needed. 

More research is also needed to improve the predictive performance of the algorithm developed. Adding in factors like presence of a mental health disorder, which was not included in the dataset employed, could improve risk predictions.

Efforts to better equip firearms dealers and sellers to identify those at risk of suicide have been underway. For example, the Gun Shop Project develops and distributed tip sheets, brochures, and other suicide prevention communications to retailers and range owners throughout the country. 

Source: TEST FEED1

General Motors to build EV charging station network across the US

General Motors plans to build a network of fast electric vehicle charging stations at truck stops across the country to bolster the nation’s EV infrastructure to enable long-distance electric travel from coast-to-coast. 

The automaker on Thursday announced it is partnering with the Pilot Company to install a network of 2,000 DC fast charging stalls at up to 500 Pilot and Flying J truck stops at 50-mile intervals along major U.S. highways in an effort to accelerate the widespread adoption of electric vehicles. The stations will be capable of offering charging speeds of up to 350kW, which can give an EV about 100 miles of range in about 10 minutes. 

The stations will be operated and maintained by EV charging network EVgo and will be open to all electric vehicle brands, although General Motors customers will receive special benefits such as exclusive reservations and discounts on charging. 

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The first charging stalls are expected to begin operating sometime in 2023.

“We are committed to an all-electric, zero-emissions future, and ensuring that the right charging infrastructure is in place is a key piece of the puzzle,” Mary Barra, GM Chair and CEO, said in a statement. 

“With travel centers across North America, Pilot Company is an ideal collaborator to reach a broad audience of EV drivers.” 

The collaboration is part of a $750 million effort by General Motors to build a fast-charging network as the carmaker is set to roll out new electric vehicles over the next several years. The carmaker has also partnered with EVgo to build out a network of 3,250 charging stations in major metro areas by 2025.

Investment in EV infrastructure comes as major automakers are shifting away from traditional gas-powered cars to electric vehicles to curb harmful carbon dioxide emissions. Electric vehicles are steadily increasing their market share, accounting for about 4 percent of all car sales in 2020 and growing to more than 5 percent in 2021.  

Source: TEST FEED1

Cruz: Response to Uvalde shooting 'indefensible'

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Wednesday said the police response to a the mass shooting inside a Uvalde, Texas elementary school in May was “indefensible” and “deeply, deeply concerning,” after surveillance footage from inside the school was released.

A day after the Austin American-Statesman published the footage — which showed at least 13 officers, some with riot gear and body armor gathered in the hallway for more than an hour while the gunman rampaged — Cruz told Reuters that police have provided “demonstrably false” information about the response.

“We need answers and we need accountability as to what the hell went wrong,” Cruz told the news wire service. “The 70-plus minutes they waited, it is heartbreaking, and I think it is indefensible.”

The gunman was inside Robb Elementary School for around 77 minutes, killing 19 children and two adults before police shot and killed him.

The law enforcement response has been widely criticized after police gave conflicting information about what happened, at first saying police responded within minutes and then later admitting it took more than an hour to confront the gunman.

Cruz has blamed the rise in gun violence across the U.S. on violent video games, slowing church attendance and social media bullying, as opposed to the proliferation of guns.

After the Uvalde shooting, he proposed boosting school-safety measures like installing bullet-resistant doors and windows. Cruz also attended a National Rifle Association conference just days after the May 24 bloodbath.

Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde school district police chief who was the commanding officer during the incident, has been placed on administrative leave pending several investigations into the incident.

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw has called the police response an “abject failure” and said the classroom doors were not locked, contradicting comments from Arredondo, who said police spent time searching for a key to unlock the doors.

The leaked surveillance footage has been controversial, in part because state and city officials were planning on releasing the video on Sunday after parents of the victims had a chance to review it.

On Tuesday, shortly after the Austin American-Statesman published the video and an accompanying narrative, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin slammed the paper for leaking the video, calling it “the most chicken way to put the video out.”

The newspaper’s editor, Manny Garcia, defended the decision to publish the video, saying it was in the public interest to “bring to light what happened at Robb Elementary.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Hundreds of female passengers sue Uber over sexual assault claims

More than 500 female passengers have filed a lawsuit against U.S.-based rideshare transportation service Uber, alleging that they were sexually assaulted by contracted drivers. 

In a complaint filed by San Francisco-based law firm Slater Slater Schulman LLP on Thursday, the women allege that they were “kidnapped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed and raped” among other incidents by drivers on the transportation platform. 

The lawsuit also claims that Uber, founded in 2009, was aware of the severity of the reported incidents of misconduct of some of the drivers on their platform since 2014, Bloomberg News reported. 

In a statement to the media outlet, Slater Slater Schulman’s partner Adam Slater said that Uber’s approach to reported incidents was “slow and inadequate,” noting that the company could’ve adapted more ways to address the issue. 

“While the company has acknowledged this crisis of sexual assault in recent years, its actual response has been slow and inadequate, with horrific consequences,” Slater said in a statement. “There is so much more that Uber can be doing to protect riders: adding cameras to deter assaults, performing more robust background checks on drivers, creating a warning system when drivers don’t stay on a path to a destination.”

The lawsuit comes weeks after Uber filed its own safety report, detailing that it has received up to 3,824 sexual assault reports from rideshares in the U.S. between 2019 and 2020. 

The safety report cited the 38 percent decline in the reported incidents as due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic but noted that the company has improved its safety measures due to recent investments and strengthening background checks as well. 

Former Uber employee Mark MacGann, who last week leaked the “Uber Files,” which contained up to more than 124,000 internal documents that revealed the company’s mishandling of misconduct, said in an interview that he felt “partly responsible” for the inappropriate activity within the company. 

“I was the one talking to governments, I was the one pushing this with the media, I was the one telling people that they should change the rules because drivers were going to benefit and people were going to get so much economic opportunity,” MacGann told the Guardian newspaper. 

In a statement to The Hill, an Uber spokesperson said that the company takes every single report of sexual assault “seriously.” 

“There is nothing more important than safety, which is why Uber has built new safety features, established survivor-centric policies, and been more transparent about serious incidents,” the spokesperson told The Hill. “While we can’t comment on pending litigation, we will continue to keep safety at the heart of our work.”

The Hill has reached out to Slater Slater Schulman LLP for comment and more information.

Source: TEST FEED1

Whose side is Donald Trump on — besides his own?

Sometimes I think that Donald Trump must be a mole, secretly working to help Democrats defeat Republicans.

I wondered whose side he was on when during his chaotic presidency he managed to rile up enough voters and get them so fed up with his combative style that they turned on him and turned the House, the Senate and the White House over to the Democrats.  

And now, instead of sitting back and enjoying the good life at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, we hear hints that he may announce plans to run for president again — and that he may actually go public with his plans before the November midterms.  

Guess who’s praying he does? Correct, the Democrats! They may despise just about everything about the former president, but they know how much they need him. They know that he galvanizes their base; he gives Democrats a reason to get out of bed in the morning. He’s the gift that keeps on giving. 

At the moment, voters are focused on Joe Biden. And they don’t like what they see. But a Donald Trump candidacy, with all the attention from a Trump-hating media that it would garner, would change everything.

And just the other day, there was bad news at the doorstep of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It came from a New York Times/Siena poll that said 64 percent of Democrats don’t want President Biden to run for reelection in 2024. 

Only 13 percent say the country is on the right track, “the lowest point in Times polling since the depths of the financial crisis more than a decade ago,” the Times reports.

“More than three-quarters of registered voters see the United States moving in the wrong direction, a pervasive sense of pessimism that spans every corner of the country, every age range and racial group, cities, suburbs and rural areas, as well as both political parties,” is how the Times put it.  

Overall, Biden’s job approval rating is a dismal 33 percent, according to the poll. And yet …

And yet, when asked who they would vote for in a hypothetical rematch between Biden and Trump in 2024, Biden wins 44 to 41 percent. Let that sink in. Joe Biden, politically speaking, is a dead man walking, the most unpopular president of the modern era — and he still beats Donald Trump!

Yes, polls can be wrong and even if they’re not, they represent only a snapshot in time. Still, Republicans would be smart to pay attention to this one — and contemplate the question: Is it time to move on and let Donald Trump wallow in his delusion about a stolen election all by himself?

Apparently, more than a few Republican voters are wondering the same thing because, according to the Times’ poll, nearly half of GOP voters — 49 percent — don’t want Trump to run in 2024.  

Sixteen percent say if Trump turns out to be the GOP nominee in 2024, they would either vote for Biden, back a third-party candidate, wouldn’t vote at all, or aren’t sure what they’d do. 

And the poll found that a majority of primary voters under 35 years old — 64 percent — as well as 65 percent of those with at least a college degree, said they would vote against Trump in a presidential primary. 

His role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot seems to be contributing to his unpopularity within his own party. “While 75 percent of primary voters said Mr. Trump was ‘just exercising his right to contest the election,’” the Times reports, “nearly one in five said he ‘went so far that he threatened American democracy.’”

So, with Democrats on the ropes as we approach the November midterms, with voters unhappy with inflation, gasoline prices, crime and a lot more, why would Donald Trump even consider announcing his candidacy before November and risk messing up a good thing for his party?  “The former president’s advisers say he may do this so soon because he doesn’t like the attention other potential candidates are getting,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

No one wants Donald Trump to get into the 2024 presidential race sooner rather than later more than the Democrats.

The question is: Will he and his ego conspire to give them what they want? Or to put it another, snarkier, way: Is Donald Trump a mole, secretly working to help Democrats beat Republicans — or does it just look that way?

Bernard Goldberg is an Emmy and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University award-winning writer and journalist. He was a correspondent with HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” for 22 years and previously worked as a reporter for CBS News and as an analyst for Fox News. He is the author of five books and publishes exclusive weekly columns, audio commentaries and Q&As on his Substack page. Follow him on Twitter @BernardGoldberg.

Source: TEST FEED1

Dozens unaccounted for in southwest Virginia flooding

Dozens of people in southwestern Virginia are unaccounted for after flooding hit the region and authorities are conducting search-and-rescue efforts. 

Eric Breeding, the chief deputy of the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, said at a press conference on Wednesday that authorities are following up on about 40 missing persons as a result of the flood, but there are no confirmed fatalities from the flooding. He said a hotline has been set up for people to report loved ones that are missing. 

The sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post that the number unaccounted for means family members and loved ones have not been able to contact them, but they are not necessarily missing. 

Breeding said the American Red Cross is aiding authorities in their efforts and about 18 search-and-rescue organizations are assisting in locating those reported missing. 

He said authorities began receiving reports of rising water levels and road obstructions around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday. He said the sheriff’s office, Virginia State Police and local fire departments and emergency medical services agencies began to respond to survey the area. 

A release from the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office states that the flooding is concentrated Dismal River, Patterson, Hale Creek, Pilgrims Knob, Whitewood and Jewell Valley, which are near the state’s border with West Virginia. 

Billy Chrimes, a search and rescue specialist for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, said at the press conference that “well over” 100 homes were affected by the water. He said about 10 miles of area were affected.

He said there have been no significant injuries so far.

The release states that Sheriff John McClanahan is asking people to avoid the flooded area.

Source: TEST FEED1

US schools remain segregated even as student population grows more diverse: report

Since 2010, the U.S. population has grown increasingly diverse thanks to demographic changes and improvements in collection and processing of race and ethnicity data. 

However, despite these trends, a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found K-12 schools remain divided along racial, ethnic and economic lines. 

Between 2020 and 2021, around 18.5 million children — more than one-third of the country’s student population — attended a school where 75 percent or more of the student body were of a single race or ethnicity, researchers found. Of these, 14 percent attended schools where 90 percent or more of the student body was of one race or ethnicity.

Less diverse schools were more common in the Midwest and Northeast United States, compared with Southern and Western regions.

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The current report is a follow-up to a similar analysis conducted by the GAO in 2016, while the newer findings do show some progress made in this area.

District boundaries are often used to determine which schools children attend, and thus can contribute to division based on race and ethnicity. In their analysis, researchers also found “new school districts that seceded from existing districts usually had higher percentages of white and Asian students than districts they left.” These offshoots tended to be wealthier than remaining districts too.

Around 13,500 majority same-race/ethnicity schools are located within 10 miles of a predominately same-race/ethnicity school of a different race/ethnicity, authors added. “Of these schools, 90 percent have a different same-race/ethnicity pair in a different school district.” 

Public schools are also partially funded by taxpayer dollars, meaning lower-income schools often have less resources than their wealthier counterparts. These factors, along with wealth disparities and differences in income and housing, all contribute to education inequities. Historic practices like redlining have also led to decades-long disparities in community wealth and investment. 

Findings in the current report are consistent across public, charter and magnet schools. 

Researchers used data from the Department of Education’s Common Core of Data to assess school diversity between 2014 and 2021.

Source: TEST FEED1

Pro-Biden group pours money into touting bipartisan gun safety law

The pro-Biden group Building Back Together launched a six-figure ad campaign in key midterm swing states on Thursday, touting the passage of the bipartisan gun safety legislation that President Biden signed the week.

The ad is slated to run in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Nevada, which are all home to competitive gubernatorial, Senate, and House races this campaign cycle.

The Hill was the first outlet to report the group’s latest ad buy news.

The 30-second spot, titled “Bottom Line,” highlights the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which enhances background checks for gun purchasers between the age of 18 and 21, makes obtaining firearms through straw purchases or trafficking a federal offense and clarifies the definition of a federally licensed firearm dealer. Additionally, the law puts aside $750 million to help states administer red flag laws and closes the so-called boyfriend loophole by barring individuals from possessing a firearm for at least five years if they are convicted of a misdemeanor crime of violence involving a current or former romantic partner.

The bipartisan legislation passed the House in a 234-193 vote, with fourteen Republicans joining Democrats in supporting the measure. The Senate also approved the measure, with 15 Republicans including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) joining Democrats.

Biden and his allies have promoted the legislation, which is one of the president’s biggest bipartisan achievements during his administration. The law and the ad buy come as Biden continues to face dismal approval ratings in the face of his first midterm election as president.

“President Biden made a promise to the families of victims in Uvalde, Texas, Buffalo, New York, and countless other communities across the country grieving loved ones lost to gun violence: to take action and save lives,” Building Back Together Executive Director Danielle Melfi said in a statement to The Hill.
Despite the bipartisan achievement, Republican leadership has seemingly shut the door on additional gun control talks.

“No, we’re done,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the lead Republican on the legislation, said when asked whether Republicans would negotiate with Democrats on limiting access to assault-style rifles or other gun control reforms in the wake of the Highland Park, Ill. mass shooting earlier this month.

Source: TEST FEED1

Watch live: House Judiciary holds hearing on individual freedoms after Roe v. Wade ruling

The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday is scheduled to hold a hearing on individual freedoms in the United States following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The hearing is scheduled to begin 9 a.m. ET.

Watch the live video above.

Source: TEST FEED1