Patch Geneva, IL -- Two Aurora girls were walking when they were approached by a man telling them to get in his car.
Reported by Patch 22 hours ago.
Police Investigating Possible Abduction Attempt in Aurora
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Listening to Victims: Closing Thoughts From Four Months Covering the Aurora Theatre Shooting Trial
When Kathleen Larimer, who lost her son, John, in the Aurora Theatre shooting, made her victim impact statement in the final days of the trial, she began by telling the judge, "I am so tired of crying." She and her husband, Scott, had been in the courtroom every day for four months, looking for answers that might help make sense of the murder of their youngest child. Over 100 people like Mrs. Larimer stood before Judge Carlos Samour in an Arapahoe County Courthouse and poured out their hearts in victim impact statements about the loss and devastation they experienced because of James Holmes.On July 20, 2012, I also took my teenage son to see The Dark Knight Rises at the midnight showing in Aurora, Colorado. Our theatre, however, was a few miles away from the Century 16. When the show was over I realized I had missed calls. Many calls. I rushed to the Century 16 Theatre to join my colleagues at NBC News in covering one of the most horrific mass shootings ever. It was so staggering in its carnage and complexity that it was difficult to get my head around it, even after covering the massacre at Columbine High School. The day of the attack was the first time victims began to tell their stories. The sentencing was the end of the three-year odyssey for those touched by the crime.
Over the months, sitting in the courtroom every day, we finally got some answers about the crime and why it happened. But even with light shed on the attack, it could not fill the dark hole in the hearts of the families who lost loved ones. Their anguish was palpable over the months. The large family of victims held each other up, especially during the last days of the trial, when they finally told the judge, in their own powerful voices, what they experienced and asked for a maximum sentence for the defendant who dodged the bullet of a death penalty.
When District Attorney George Brauchler made his final argument in the case, asking the judge to show no mercy to "this guy" and give the "maximum sentence for the maximum evil," I heard Mrs. Larimer sobbing quietly behind me. For months she and the other family members would sit across the aisle on the other side of the courtroom. I could swivel my head and observe them at key moments, document when they cried, when they glared at the defendant, when they couldn't take it any more and left the courtroom. Listening to Mrs. Larimer cry right behind me captured my complete attention. I did not turn around to see her, but her sorrow could not be ignored and I listened.
On Wednesday, August 26, Judge Samour made his pre-sentencing comments to the court. He addressed the concerns of victims who said the trial had been a waste of time and money, as the defendant had been willing to plead guilty two years earlier to avoid the death penalty. Samour suggested they should focus on what came out of the trial rather than on regretting the decisions that were made. Then, for each of the 12 who were slain, he referred back to victim impact testimonies and specific points made about those loved and lost. Was it a waste of time when Chantal Blunk spoke about her husband, Jonathan? Was it a waste of time when Sierra Cowden talked about her dad, Gordon? Was it a waste of time when Teresa Hoover spoke about her son, AJ? What struck me as he recalled their names and remarkable lives was that the judge heard the victims. He really heard them.
Judge Samour gave the defendant one of the harshest sentences ever imposed. 12 life sentences without the possibility of parole and an additional 3,318 years for the people he injured plus an explosives charge. Then dripping with contempt he said, "Sheriff, get the defendant out of my courtroom, please." Breaking with four months of decorum the victims cheered and applauded as James Holmes was taken from the court one last time. 1,132 days after the attack these families can now contemplate moving forward. Some have been galvanized into activism. They are fighting for common sense gun controls and working hard so that the faces of killers are not remembered long after the faces of their victims. Many, like Kathleen Larimer, are not certain what the future holds but through her tears, she found her voice. "Now that this is over, I have to go home and live with all that emptiness, and yet somehow be happy with life going on," she said. And when she came up to the microphone that last time, everybody listened.
For more information on Vicky Collins visit Teletrends Television Production.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 19 hours ago.
Over the months, sitting in the courtroom every day, we finally got some answers about the crime and why it happened. But even with light shed on the attack, it could not fill the dark hole in the hearts of the families who lost loved ones. Their anguish was palpable over the months. The large family of victims held each other up, especially during the last days of the trial, when they finally told the judge, in their own powerful voices, what they experienced and asked for a maximum sentence for the defendant who dodged the bullet of a death penalty.
When District Attorney George Brauchler made his final argument in the case, asking the judge to show no mercy to "this guy" and give the "maximum sentence for the maximum evil," I heard Mrs. Larimer sobbing quietly behind me. For months she and the other family members would sit across the aisle on the other side of the courtroom. I could swivel my head and observe them at key moments, document when they cried, when they glared at the defendant, when they couldn't take it any more and left the courtroom. Listening to Mrs. Larimer cry right behind me captured my complete attention. I did not turn around to see her, but her sorrow could not be ignored and I listened.
On Wednesday, August 26, Judge Samour made his pre-sentencing comments to the court. He addressed the concerns of victims who said the trial had been a waste of time and money, as the defendant had been willing to plead guilty two years earlier to avoid the death penalty. Samour suggested they should focus on what came out of the trial rather than on regretting the decisions that were made. Then, for each of the 12 who were slain, he referred back to victim impact testimonies and specific points made about those loved and lost. Was it a waste of time when Chantal Blunk spoke about her husband, Jonathan? Was it a waste of time when Sierra Cowden talked about her dad, Gordon? Was it a waste of time when Teresa Hoover spoke about her son, AJ? What struck me as he recalled their names and remarkable lives was that the judge heard the victims. He really heard them.
Judge Samour gave the defendant one of the harshest sentences ever imposed. 12 life sentences without the possibility of parole and an additional 3,318 years for the people he injured plus an explosives charge. Then dripping with contempt he said, "Sheriff, get the defendant out of my courtroom, please." Breaking with four months of decorum the victims cheered and applauded as James Holmes was taken from the court one last time. 1,132 days after the attack these families can now contemplate moving forward. Some have been galvanized into activism. They are fighting for common sense gun controls and working hard so that the faces of killers are not remembered long after the faces of their victims. Many, like Kathleen Larimer, are not certain what the future holds but through her tears, she found her voice. "Now that this is over, I have to go home and live with all that emptiness, and yet somehow be happy with life going on," she said. And when she came up to the microphone that last time, everybody listened.
For more information on Vicky Collins visit Teletrends Television Production.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 19 hours ago.
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Colorado families plagued by gun deaths use quilts to raise awareness
A group of Colorado families grieving over gun deaths — many of whom lost children in the Aurora theater shooting — donated fabric squares to a quilt exhibit intended to raise
Reported by Denver Post 18 hours ago.
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With Tougher Gun Control Laws, Alison Parker and Adam Ward Might Still Be Alive
*Alison Parker, 24, will never get married to the love of her life or fulfill her dream of being a news director. Adam Ward's fiancee will never wear the wedding dress that was delivered on the day of his murder. We need to stop easy access to any and all kinds of guns.*
As of 6:45 AM on Aug. 26, Andy Parker will never hear from beloved daughter Alison ever again. "I talked to her every day," he tearily told CNN's Chris Cuomo, explaining that she would always call to get his feedback on her on-air reports. "I'm never going to hear that again. And I just, you know, it just crushes my soul." the grieving father shared. How could he not want to have his baby girl to talk to and hug every day? Every father's wish has now been denied to him because an angry man was able to buy a Glock 9 mm pistol and gun her down in cold blood.
Melissa Ott, the devoted fiancee and colleague of WDBJ cameraman Adam Ward, was spending her last day on the job in the TV station's control room when she saw the man she loved mowed down. She was about to leave for a new job, with her wedding in the works. Her wedding gown was delivered later that day -- how heartrendingly ironic. Amazingly, she had the strength later that same day to take to Facebook and movingly share her grief and love for Adam, the man whom she had planned to share the rest of her life with.
"Today, my entire world was flipped upside down. Starting new adventures with my fiance, new jobs, a new city. Getting married, buying a home. That's now taken. I'm not ok. And won't be for along time...Adam, I will never find a man so happy, selfless, protective, funny or charming like you. You were the one. You understood me. My soulmate. I will always love you..." she wrote on Facebook.
Chris Hurst, the man Alison longed to marry, has also spoken out about losing the love of his life. "The love we had was so rare," he wants the world to know. "She told me she loved me to the ends of the earth," he choked back.
These two beautiful, loving spirits -- Alison and Adam -- were snuffed out by a man filled with hate who had no problem getting a gun. And they are just two of 8,525 victims so far this year who died from gun violence. Just two who senselessly died.
*We Can Have Stronger Gun Laws Without Harming Responsible Owners' Rights*
Less than three months ago, we lost nine precious souls at prayer in a Charleston church to another angry man, who wanted to kill and had no problem acquiring a gun. Are you accepting the idea promoted by the NRA and members of Congress who insist that "guns don't kill, people kill"? No -- people easily kill with guns. Especially when they can kill even large groups of people in seconds thanks to semi-automatic weapons.
Tougher gun laws can be put on the books without curtailing the rights of responsible gun owners. Background checks on every gun purchase in every state, prohibitions on gun ownership for people with a history of mental illness, a history of criminal activity, and/or threats of domestic violence or who have been convicted of road rage or who have a record of stalking or making threats against other individuals.
How about waiting periods between the approval of a gun purchase and picking up a weapon? Or restrictions on the numbers of guns you can purchase at once or within a certain period of time? And come on, should anyone who isn't a law officer or member of the military really need to carry a concealed weapon into churches, movie theaters, college campuses or bars? Isn't this just asking for trouble?
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a gun owner himself, spoke out after the on-air shootings of Alison and Adam, demanding stricter gun control laws. "There are too many guns in the hands of people who should not have guns," he told local Virginia radio station WTOP. "This is why I've long advocated for background checks." The governor is right. Something can be done and must be done.
*It Shouldn't Be So Easy To Legally Buy A Gun*
In 2013, 33,169 deaths in the U.S. were the result of firearms -- 11,208 by murder and 21,175 by suicide. The U.S. has 5 percent of the world's population but 31 percent of the world's mass murders by firearms! In July 2012, 12 people were killed and 70 others were injured in the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. In Dec. 2012, 26 people -- 20 of them children -- were slaughtered at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, and 32 were murdered at Virginia Tech University in April 2007. All these deaths were at the hands of angry or disturbed men who easily bought guns.
Does it have to be sooo easy? Is it really such a huge inconvenience to responsible gun owners to have to undergo a background check? Wouldn't gun owners put up with a little inconvenience if it meant that Alison Parker could talk to her father every day and Adam Ward could walk down the aisle with his beloved, Melissa? Maybe, maybe if it was harder to get a gun, Vester Flanagan wouldn't have ended up with one in his hands.
Alison's father, Andy, vows to fight "until [he sees] something happen" on gun control. "There has to be a way to force politicians that are cowards and in the pockets of the NRA to come to grips and make sense; have sensible laws so that crazy people can't get guns." He is so right. But, FYI, the NRA has spent a record amount of money so far this year lobbying Congress to make guns even easier to get! And last year, they spent $3 million, which was a record in itself. Let's hope that Andy Parker can succeed in forcing change so that we don't keep senselessly losing bright, loving souls like Alison and Adam, who deserved to have long, happy lives.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 16 hours ago.
As of 6:45 AM on Aug. 26, Andy Parker will never hear from beloved daughter Alison ever again. "I talked to her every day," he tearily told CNN's Chris Cuomo, explaining that she would always call to get his feedback on her on-air reports. "I'm never going to hear that again. And I just, you know, it just crushes my soul." the grieving father shared. How could he not want to have his baby girl to talk to and hug every day? Every father's wish has now been denied to him because an angry man was able to buy a Glock 9 mm pistol and gun her down in cold blood.
Melissa Ott, the devoted fiancee and colleague of WDBJ cameraman Adam Ward, was spending her last day on the job in the TV station's control room when she saw the man she loved mowed down. She was about to leave for a new job, with her wedding in the works. Her wedding gown was delivered later that day -- how heartrendingly ironic. Amazingly, she had the strength later that same day to take to Facebook and movingly share her grief and love for Adam, the man whom she had planned to share the rest of her life with.
"Today, my entire world was flipped upside down. Starting new adventures with my fiance, new jobs, a new city. Getting married, buying a home. That's now taken. I'm not ok. And won't be for along time...Adam, I will never find a man so happy, selfless, protective, funny or charming like you. You were the one. You understood me. My soulmate. I will always love you..." she wrote on Facebook.
Chris Hurst, the man Alison longed to marry, has also spoken out about losing the love of his life. "The love we had was so rare," he wants the world to know. "She told me she loved me to the ends of the earth," he choked back.
These two beautiful, loving spirits -- Alison and Adam -- were snuffed out by a man filled with hate who had no problem getting a gun. And they are just two of 8,525 victims so far this year who died from gun violence. Just two who senselessly died.
*We Can Have Stronger Gun Laws Without Harming Responsible Owners' Rights*
Less than three months ago, we lost nine precious souls at prayer in a Charleston church to another angry man, who wanted to kill and had no problem acquiring a gun. Are you accepting the idea promoted by the NRA and members of Congress who insist that "guns don't kill, people kill"? No -- people easily kill with guns. Especially when they can kill even large groups of people in seconds thanks to semi-automatic weapons.
Tougher gun laws can be put on the books without curtailing the rights of responsible gun owners. Background checks on every gun purchase in every state, prohibitions on gun ownership for people with a history of mental illness, a history of criminal activity, and/or threats of domestic violence or who have been convicted of road rage or who have a record of stalking or making threats against other individuals.
How about waiting periods between the approval of a gun purchase and picking up a weapon? Or restrictions on the numbers of guns you can purchase at once or within a certain period of time? And come on, should anyone who isn't a law officer or member of the military really need to carry a concealed weapon into churches, movie theaters, college campuses or bars? Isn't this just asking for trouble?
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a gun owner himself, spoke out after the on-air shootings of Alison and Adam, demanding stricter gun control laws. "There are too many guns in the hands of people who should not have guns," he told local Virginia radio station WTOP. "This is why I've long advocated for background checks." The governor is right. Something can be done and must be done.
*It Shouldn't Be So Easy To Legally Buy A Gun*
In 2013, 33,169 deaths in the U.S. were the result of firearms -- 11,208 by murder and 21,175 by suicide. The U.S. has 5 percent of the world's population but 31 percent of the world's mass murders by firearms! In July 2012, 12 people were killed and 70 others were injured in the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. In Dec. 2012, 26 people -- 20 of them children -- were slaughtered at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, and 32 were murdered at Virginia Tech University in April 2007. All these deaths were at the hands of angry or disturbed men who easily bought guns.
Does it have to be sooo easy? Is it really such a huge inconvenience to responsible gun owners to have to undergo a background check? Wouldn't gun owners put up with a little inconvenience if it meant that Alison Parker could talk to her father every day and Adam Ward could walk down the aisle with his beloved, Melissa? Maybe, maybe if it was harder to get a gun, Vester Flanagan wouldn't have ended up with one in his hands.
Alison's father, Andy, vows to fight "until [he sees] something happen" on gun control. "There has to be a way to force politicians that are cowards and in the pockets of the NRA to come to grips and make sense; have sensible laws so that crazy people can't get guns." He is so right. But, FYI, the NRA has spent a record amount of money so far this year lobbying Congress to make guns even easier to get! And last year, they spent $3 million, which was a record in itself. Let's hope that Andy Parker can succeed in forcing change so that we don't keep senselessly losing bright, loving souls like Alison and Adam, who deserved to have long, happy lives.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 16 hours ago.
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Bolingbrook Woman Charged With Robbing Aurora Liquor Store
Patch Naperville, IL -- The woman allegedly robbed the liquor store in June 2014.
Reported by Patch 16 hours ago.
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Leveraging Social Media to Increase Campus Awareness, Encourage Dialogue Across Universities
In the spring of 2007, Seung-Hui Choi killed 32 people and injured 25 more in what is now known as the Virginia Tech Massacre. College campuses across the country began conducting analyses of their own environments. Edward Summers, Chief Deputy to the President at Stony Brook University, wrote in "Making Campuses Safer" in The Huffington Post, "Less than four months after the shootings, we had intensified up our emergency policies, added sirens and loudspeakers and launched a much more robust program for all of our campus constituents -- students, faculty and staff. We've added regular table-top drills with local police agencies and we bring in specialized trainers, the most recent, to help us in the event of an active shooter on campus. We work with campus offices and departments in preparing customized emergency responses, ranging from 'Who do I call in an emergency?' to...'How do I exit this particular office safely?'"
In the Twitter Revolution of Arab Spring, Egyptian youth coordinated protests and demonstrations online, voicing support for ending the regime of Hosni Mubarak through social media. In David Wolman's "Facebook, Twitter Help the Arab Spring Blossom" in Wired, he wrote, "Social networks don't overthrow governments--people do, courageous people who, despite the risk of retribution or even death, take to the streets because they have had enough. Yet dismissing technology's role in the Arab Spring is equally erroneous. The speed of communication through digital channels gives activists unprecedented agility during street operations. Online, they can organize, debate, plan, and broadcast at a level of coordination that was unavailable, indeed unimaginable, in the past."
As long as gun laws remain the same in the United States, statistics warrant that we are likely to continue to see more mass shootings, as evidenced by James Holmes killing of 12 people in the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado in the summer of 2012 and the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in Connecticut later that same year. Mother Jones reported in "A Guide to Mass Shootings in America" that of the at least 71 mass shootings in the past three decades, most of the killers obtained their guns legally. Since Australia established strict gun laws in response to a mass shooting in 1996, they haven't had any mass shootings.
Gun control in the U.S. teaches us that as long as nothing changes, we are at risk. So where exactly do the Twitter Revolution of Arab Spring and gun control and increased campus awareness in higher education meet? The Twitter Revolution teaches us that online communication and dialogue are rising to further prominence around the world in the digital age and can be an excellent tool in times of uncertainty and unrest. Meeting students on their digital ease and comfort level through social media listening and engagement is imperative.
In "3 Reasons Social Media is Right for Community Colleges," Uversity reports, "According to research from Dartmouth's Center for Marketing Research, social media has moved beyond the experimentation stage in higher education and is now being used at almost 100% of institutions to engage students." WooVue advises in "10 Ways to Increase your Safety on Campus": "Social media is another avenue...While text is a good communication tool, it's possible that you may not have an updated list of student phone numbers. With social media, you can keep everyone updated on the situation at hand, including students, staff, parents, alumni and the community at large...listen to the conversations students are having on or around your campus on various social media sites...It's very possible that you may be able to spot violent or strange behavior before anything comes of it."
Social media isn't going away. It's time to use it to reach more people and encourage dialogue. Universities and colleges, with their high concentration of young adults, can blaze the trail.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 15 hours ago.
In the Twitter Revolution of Arab Spring, Egyptian youth coordinated protests and demonstrations online, voicing support for ending the regime of Hosni Mubarak through social media. In David Wolman's "Facebook, Twitter Help the Arab Spring Blossom" in Wired, he wrote, "Social networks don't overthrow governments--people do, courageous people who, despite the risk of retribution or even death, take to the streets because they have had enough. Yet dismissing technology's role in the Arab Spring is equally erroneous. The speed of communication through digital channels gives activists unprecedented agility during street operations. Online, they can organize, debate, plan, and broadcast at a level of coordination that was unavailable, indeed unimaginable, in the past."
As long as gun laws remain the same in the United States, statistics warrant that we are likely to continue to see more mass shootings, as evidenced by James Holmes killing of 12 people in the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado in the summer of 2012 and the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in Connecticut later that same year. Mother Jones reported in "A Guide to Mass Shootings in America" that of the at least 71 mass shootings in the past three decades, most of the killers obtained their guns legally. Since Australia established strict gun laws in response to a mass shooting in 1996, they haven't had any mass shootings.
Gun control in the U.S. teaches us that as long as nothing changes, we are at risk. So where exactly do the Twitter Revolution of Arab Spring and gun control and increased campus awareness in higher education meet? The Twitter Revolution teaches us that online communication and dialogue are rising to further prominence around the world in the digital age and can be an excellent tool in times of uncertainty and unrest. Meeting students on their digital ease and comfort level through social media listening and engagement is imperative.
In "3 Reasons Social Media is Right for Community Colleges," Uversity reports, "According to research from Dartmouth's Center for Marketing Research, social media has moved beyond the experimentation stage in higher education and is now being used at almost 100% of institutions to engage students." WooVue advises in "10 Ways to Increase your Safety on Campus": "Social media is another avenue...While text is a good communication tool, it's possible that you may not have an updated list of student phone numbers. With social media, you can keep everyone updated on the situation at hand, including students, staff, parents, alumni and the community at large...listen to the conversations students are having on or around your campus on various social media sites...It's very possible that you may be able to spot violent or strange behavior before anything comes of it."
Social media isn't going away. It's time to use it to reach more people and encourage dialogue. Universities and colleges, with their high concentration of young adults, can blaze the trail.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 15 hours ago.
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Aurora theater shooting prosecutor considering U.S. Senate bid
The prosecutor in the Aurora theater shooting trial says he is considering a U.S. Senate bid, a much-anticipated first step sure to excite Republicans targeting Democrat Michael Bennet's seat in 2016.
Reported by Denver Post 14 hours ago.
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Many Americans Want Stricter Gun Laws. Will It Matter?
In the aftermath of a high-profile shooting, three things tend to happen: A crop of newly bereaved advocates renew the call for gun control legislation; support for such laws spikes briefly, if at all; and little change is actually effected.
Days after the fatal shooting of two journalists on live TV near Roanoke, Virginia, that pattern may be repeating.
"There needs to be some action that is taken out of an event like this -- out of an event like Sandy Hook, like Charleston, like Aurora, Colorado ... where these things just don't occur anymore," Chris Hurst, the boyfriend of slain reporter Alison Parker, told CNN on Thursday.** **Her father, Andy Parker, has vowed to become an advocate for increased gun control, saying he hopes he can prevent others from facing the same kind of loss he has.
In a HuffPost/YouGov poll conducted since the Wednesday morning shooting, 55 percent of Americans say gun control laws should be made stricter, 27 percent say they should remain the same and 12 percent say they should be eased. The level of support for gun control is as high as it's been in HuffPost/YouGov polls since the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting -- which isn't surprising, given that many Americans were taking the survey with the latest tragedy fresh in their minds, if not actively playing out on their televisions.** **
But that increase in support after the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre, proceeded to ebb away without bringing substantive changes in policy. Other recent shootings haven't produced any notable change in opinion at all. "I hope this time will be different for us," Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who's advocated unsuccessfully for gun control, told The New York Times. "It's like the hamster on the hamster wheel -- you just go round and round, something happens, everybody comes out and says, 'We need more gun restrictions,' and then it fades into the background."
*The latest spike in support for such restrictions might not even be that much of a spike. The Economist/YouGov poll, which has seen a slight uptick in support all year, found backing for gun laws just 3 percentage points lower at the beginning of August than the HuffPost/YouGov poll found it after the shooting. CBS News, which asks a similar question, has found support for stricter gun laws hovering between 47 and 54 percent for the past two years.*
There's also little change in responses to another question. In the latest HuffPost/YouGov poll, Americans said by a margin of 46 percent to 36 percent that shootings were more likely to be prevented by stricter gun control laws and enforcement than by more private citizens carrying guns for protection. Four HuffPost/YouGov surveys going back to 2012, taken both after high-profile shootings and at other times, found the percentage favoring stricter gun laws holding steady between 44 and 46 percent.
"The reaction has become sadly standardized," Don Haider-Merkel, a professor at the University of Kansas, told The Washington Post this week, adding that "proposals to restrict access to firearms tend to fade quickly."Part of the difficulty for gun control advocates is that the debate falls increasingly along intractable partisan lines. As recently as 2007, Republicans and independents who leaned toward the GOP were evenly split on whether gun rights or gun control is more important. Since the beginning of Barack Obama's presidency, however, the GOP has swung dramatically toward valuing gun rights, which three-quarters of Republicans now see as taking precedence.
With Democrats remaining staunchly pro-gun control, the gulf between the parties in the latest HuffPost/YouGov poll is actually greater than the divide separating gun owners and non-gun owners. Gun owners are 46 points less likely to support stricter firearms laws than people who live in households where no one owns a gun, while Republicans are 53 points less likely than Democrats to back such laws.Another long-standing problem for gun control advocates is that intensity tends to favor the other side. Staunch gun rights supporters may make up a small part of the electorate, but they're a powerful, easily mobilized voting bloc, with National Rifle Association backers ready to give an earful to politicians who propose new firearms laws. Greater gun control, on the other hand, tends to end up near the bottom of the list of issues that voters care about. Earlier this month, Democratic voters asked to name their top election priorities ranked gun policies dead last among eight issues.
"People will support this and they think it's a good idea, but they don't feel super deeply about it," Lanae Erickson Hatalsky of the centrist think tank Third Way told National Journal after an effort at passing new gun control laws failed in 2013. "They're not convinced that it will necessarily work and that it will work to change their own lives."
While 43 percent of Americans in the HuffPost/YouGov survey say stricter gun control laws would reduce the number of shootings in the U.S., another 47 percent believe they'd have no effect or would actually make things worse.
Still, many gun control supporters would like to see the issue spotlighted. Fifty-nine percent of Americans who want stricter gun laws say that presidential candidates haven't paid enough attention to gun-related issues this year, and just over half say the issue hasn't gotten enough traction in the media.
Even as support for gun control overall dissipates along with the horror in the months after a shooting, support for some specific restrictions also has remained high.
Universal background checks for gun sales, a policy that was overwhelmingly popular right after the Newtown massacre, still had 84 percent support at the beginning of this year, according to a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. A majority of Americans likewise back policies like banning the sale of large-capacity magazines and semiautomatic assault weapons.
The HuffPost/YouGov poll consisted of 1,000 completed interviews conducted Aug. 26-28 among U.S. adults, using a sample selected from YouGov's opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population.
The Huffington Post has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov's nationally representative opinion polling. Data from all HuffPost/YouGov polls can be found here. More details on the polls' methodology are available here.
Most surveys report a margin of error that represents some, but not all, potential survey errors. YouGov's reports include a model-based margin of error, which rests on a specific set of statistical assumptions about the selected sample, rather than the standard methodology for random probability sampling. If these assumptions are wrong, the model-based margin of error may also be inaccurate. Click here for a more detailed explanation of the model-based margin of error.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 13 hours ago.
Days after the fatal shooting of two journalists on live TV near Roanoke, Virginia, that pattern may be repeating.
"There needs to be some action that is taken out of an event like this -- out of an event like Sandy Hook, like Charleston, like Aurora, Colorado ... where these things just don't occur anymore," Chris Hurst, the boyfriend of slain reporter Alison Parker, told CNN on Thursday.** **Her father, Andy Parker, has vowed to become an advocate for increased gun control, saying he hopes he can prevent others from facing the same kind of loss he has.
In a HuffPost/YouGov poll conducted since the Wednesday morning shooting, 55 percent of Americans say gun control laws should be made stricter, 27 percent say they should remain the same and 12 percent say they should be eased. The level of support for gun control is as high as it's been in HuffPost/YouGov polls since the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting -- which isn't surprising, given that many Americans were taking the survey with the latest tragedy fresh in their minds, if not actively playing out on their televisions.** **
But that increase in support after the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre, proceeded to ebb away without bringing substantive changes in policy. Other recent shootings haven't produced any notable change in opinion at all. "I hope this time will be different for us," Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who's advocated unsuccessfully for gun control, told The New York Times. "It's like the hamster on the hamster wheel -- you just go round and round, something happens, everybody comes out and says, 'We need more gun restrictions,' and then it fades into the background."
*The latest spike in support for such restrictions might not even be that much of a spike. The Economist/YouGov poll, which has seen a slight uptick in support all year, found backing for gun laws just 3 percentage points lower at the beginning of August than the HuffPost/YouGov poll found it after the shooting. CBS News, which asks a similar question, has found support for stricter gun laws hovering between 47 and 54 percent for the past two years.*
There's also little change in responses to another question. In the latest HuffPost/YouGov poll, Americans said by a margin of 46 percent to 36 percent that shootings were more likely to be prevented by stricter gun control laws and enforcement than by more private citizens carrying guns for protection. Four HuffPost/YouGov surveys going back to 2012, taken both after high-profile shootings and at other times, found the percentage favoring stricter gun laws holding steady between 44 and 46 percent.
"The reaction has become sadly standardized," Don Haider-Merkel, a professor at the University of Kansas, told The Washington Post this week, adding that "proposals to restrict access to firearms tend to fade quickly."Part of the difficulty for gun control advocates is that the debate falls increasingly along intractable partisan lines. As recently as 2007, Republicans and independents who leaned toward the GOP were evenly split on whether gun rights or gun control is more important. Since the beginning of Barack Obama's presidency, however, the GOP has swung dramatically toward valuing gun rights, which three-quarters of Republicans now see as taking precedence.
With Democrats remaining staunchly pro-gun control, the gulf between the parties in the latest HuffPost/YouGov poll is actually greater than the divide separating gun owners and non-gun owners. Gun owners are 46 points less likely to support stricter firearms laws than people who live in households where no one owns a gun, while Republicans are 53 points less likely than Democrats to back such laws.Another long-standing problem for gun control advocates is that intensity tends to favor the other side. Staunch gun rights supporters may make up a small part of the electorate, but they're a powerful, easily mobilized voting bloc, with National Rifle Association backers ready to give an earful to politicians who propose new firearms laws. Greater gun control, on the other hand, tends to end up near the bottom of the list of issues that voters care about. Earlier this month, Democratic voters asked to name their top election priorities ranked gun policies dead last among eight issues.
"People will support this and they think it's a good idea, but they don't feel super deeply about it," Lanae Erickson Hatalsky of the centrist think tank Third Way told National Journal after an effort at passing new gun control laws failed in 2013. "They're not convinced that it will necessarily work and that it will work to change their own lives."
While 43 percent of Americans in the HuffPost/YouGov survey say stricter gun control laws would reduce the number of shootings in the U.S., another 47 percent believe they'd have no effect or would actually make things worse.
Still, many gun control supporters would like to see the issue spotlighted. Fifty-nine percent of Americans who want stricter gun laws say that presidential candidates haven't paid enough attention to gun-related issues this year, and just over half say the issue hasn't gotten enough traction in the media.
Even as support for gun control overall dissipates along with the horror in the months after a shooting, support for some specific restrictions also has remained high.
Universal background checks for gun sales, a policy that was overwhelmingly popular right after the Newtown massacre, still had 84 percent support at the beginning of this year, according to a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. A majority of Americans likewise back policies like banning the sale of large-capacity magazines and semiautomatic assault weapons.
The HuffPost/YouGov poll consisted of 1,000 completed interviews conducted Aug. 26-28 among U.S. adults, using a sample selected from YouGov's opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population.
The Huffington Post has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov's nationally representative opinion polling. Data from all HuffPost/YouGov polls can be found here. More details on the polls' methodology are available here.
Most surveys report a margin of error that represents some, but not all, potential survey errors. YouGov's reports include a model-based margin of error, which rests on a specific set of statistical assumptions about the selected sample, rather than the standard methodology for random probability sampling. If these assumptions are wrong, the model-based margin of error may also be inaccurate. Click here for a more detailed explanation of the model-based margin of error.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 13 hours ago.
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After TV slaying, reporter's dad finds voice on gun control
COLLINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Andy Parker's resolve to fight for gun control formed in the hours after his daughter was shot and killed on live television. In his first interviews after the tragedy, he briefly mentioned the issue as he eulogized Alison. By Friday, he was pledging a full-scale fight for tougher gun laws on national TV."This will be my mission," he told reporters.
Winning restrictions on guns has proved nearly impossible in the U.S., even after other high-profile tragedies garnered sympathy across the country and elicited similar pledges of activism from victim's relatives.
And Parker is starting his battle in unforgiving territory. Gun ownership is part of the fabric of southern states like Virginia and communities like Collinsville, a town of 7,000 where the Parker family has lived for 17 years.
"I've got to do something going forward that makes her life meaningful and will always be with me. And this is the way to do it," Parker told AP in an interview earlier this week.
Parker gained a strong supporter in Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a gun-owner himself, who has promised to help fight for stronger background checks for gun buyers.
"There are too many guns in America and there are clearly too many guns in the wrong hands. So we're going to continue to do what we can," McAuliffe said Friday during a condolence visit.
Yet it was unclear what measures would have prevented Vester Flanagan from buying the gun he used to kill reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward as they conducted a live interview Wednesday morning. With no apparent criminal record or other disqualifying incidents in his past, Flanagan passed a background check to buy his weapon.
Speaking outside the Roanoke television station where his daughter worked, Parker said he's not against gun ownership in general, but stricter background checks are needed to keep guns away from mentally ill people. He wants to close loopholes for buying guns at gun shows. He also doesn't see why civilians need assault weapons: "Who the hell needs a machine gun to go hunt?"
He acknowledged obstacles, ranging from a lack of political will to a desensitized public.
"Each time you think there's a tipping point, with Sandy Hook or Aurora, and nothing gets done," he said. Parker was referring to the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 26 children and educators and the July 2012 killing of 12 people in a packed theater in Colorado.
A push spurred in part by relatives of the Sandy Hook victims for stricter national gun control laws, including universal background checks, failed in Congress.
But the tragedy did push Connecticut lawmakers to adopt one of the strongest gun-control laws in the country.
Nicole Hockley, who lost her 6-year-old son in the shooting and is now communications director for the Sandy Hook Promise advocacy group, said Parker faces difficult choices as he considers how to fight gun violence.
"This is one of the most difficult issues in all of America. It's one of the hardest, one of the most politically tense, and one of the most polarized out there, and it's a long journey to make even simple changes," she said. "I would urge him to follow his heart and decide what he wants to do whether he wants to fight for legislative change or political change or whether he wants to focus on ways to prevent violence from ever occurring. None of them are easy."
Hockley said the defeat of gun control legislation in Congress led the group to change its strategy toward fostering a national dialogue on the issues of gun violence and mental wellness.
"We shouldn't be waiting for our politicians to change the law. It's not like all gun violence is going to disappear just because of a couple of laws. This is a multifaceted problem and it's going to require many solutions."
Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said Parker's advocacy so soon after his daughter's death "speaks volumes about his strength and his commitment to fight for reform." The advocacy group was formed after Ronald Reagan's press secretary James Brady was shot in an assassination attempt on the president.
Parker, 62, is not a political novice. He is a former member of the Henry County Board of Supervisors and a failed Democratic candidate for the state legislature. He said Friday he would stand up to Virginia's legislators to demand change and issued a challenge to President Barack Obama to make a renewed push for gun control.
Despite his message, Parker, perhaps in a sign of Southern pragmatism, said he was thinking about getting a gun himself now that he was in the public eye and taking on such a controversial issue.
"I don't own a gun. We don't have a gun in our family. I'm probably going to have to get one," he said.
Mark Tosh, the president of Town Police Supply in Collinsville, a gun store a mile from Parker's home, said he believes stricter enforcement of existing laws is needed, rather than more laws. He said it's also the responsibility of gun store employees to exercise judgment.
"If any one of our staff members doesn't feel good about the sale ... they can terminate the sale at any time," he said.
Alison Parker's boyfriend and WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst said he admired what Andy Parker was doing.
"Andy speaks with enough articulation and courage for many, many others," Hurst said.
Hurst said he hadn't decided on taking a position on gun control, partly because he's a journalist. But he says no one should have to suffer the pain caused by the shootings.
"Every single day there are more people who were killed by gun violence. It is a horrible, unimaginable grief that you have to go through for this. I don't want anyone else to go through that. So I will do whatever it takes to make sure that grief is lessened and love is enhanced," he said.
Parker said he hopes that people don't become desensitized and think: "'Oh gosh this is another tragedy ... What are we going to have for dinner tonight?' We can't let that happen."
___
Drew reported from Collinsville. Associated Press reporters Michael Melia in Hartford, Conn.; John Raby in Roanoke, Va.; and Dan Huff in Collinsville contributed to this story.
Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 13 hours ago.
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Aurora, Illinois Bans Alcohol Sales To People On 'Habitual Drunkard' List
Reported by Opposing Views 6 hours ago.
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Implosion impresses: Crowds watch as blasts bring down old CU health building (9News video)
The implosion of a vacant medical building on Colorado Boulevard to make way for redevelopment made for a thrilling show early Saturday. At about 8 a.m., series of cannon-like concussions could be heard as some 170 charges blasted the eight-story Biomedical Research Building, which then collapsed in a heap to the cheers of onlookers. University of Colorado Hospital and other medical facilities formerly housed at the CU Health Sciences Center at Colorado and East Ninth Avenue moved in 2008 to Aurora.…
Reported by bizjournals 14 hours ago.
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Stanford men's basketball wins in Italy
Sophomore forward Reid Travis had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Stanford improved to 2-1 on its exhibition tour of Italy with a 91-81 victory over Jesi Aurora.
Reported by San Jose Mercury News 12 hours ago.
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Father Of Slain Journalist: 'They Messed With The Wrong Family'
WASHINGTON -- The father of slain TV journalist Alison Parker said that NRA supporters and lawmakers who voted against passing stricter gun laws have "messed with the wrong family."
Andy Parker, speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, vowed to continue the push for stronger gun legislation and more in-depth background checks for those wanting to purchase weapons.
Parker's daughter was one of two journalists working for TV station WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia, who were killed earlier this week by a disgruntled ex-employee of the station. Parker has since made the rounds on TV shows, calling politicians "cowards" for failing to pass gun legislation.
"What I would like for everyone to know and to keep in mind is, you know -- just don't be desensitized to this issue," Parker said. "And don't go, 'Oh, gee, this is another horrific incident, what's for dinner tonight, honey?'"
Parker said he fears the public will forget his daughter's story, which is why he plans to "hold politicians' feet to the fire."
"I just want people to know that I'm going to be working on this for a long time," he said. "I know that this is not a sprint. It's a marathon."
Parker expressed some frustration with questions that echoed comments made by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, putting the blame on mental health access rather than gun laws.
"I have been asked by several media outlets, you know, well, Trump says 'this is not a gun issue, it's a mental health issue,'" Parker said. "Well, he's half-right. It is a mental health issue. But there's a linkage there between guns and mental health, and there's got to be some kind of protocol established, so that we keep people from getting guns."
Unlike after the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, and Aurora, Colorado, Parker hopes this time results in the passage of gun legislation. He plans to visit Washington to meet with Mark Kelly, husband to former congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D), who was gravely injured in a mass shooting in Arizona in 2011.
Parker has also talked with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) who promised to help in any way possible, as well as former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, he added.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 17 hours ago.
Andy Parker, speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, vowed to continue the push for stronger gun legislation and more in-depth background checks for those wanting to purchase weapons.
Parker's daughter was one of two journalists working for TV station WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia, who were killed earlier this week by a disgruntled ex-employee of the station. Parker has since made the rounds on TV shows, calling politicians "cowards" for failing to pass gun legislation.
"What I would like for everyone to know and to keep in mind is, you know -- just don't be desensitized to this issue," Parker said. "And don't go, 'Oh, gee, this is another horrific incident, what's for dinner tonight, honey?'"
Parker said he fears the public will forget his daughter's story, which is why he plans to "hold politicians' feet to the fire."
"I just want people to know that I'm going to be working on this for a long time," he said. "I know that this is not a sprint. It's a marathon."
Parker expressed some frustration with questions that echoed comments made by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, putting the blame on mental health access rather than gun laws.
"I have been asked by several media outlets, you know, well, Trump says 'this is not a gun issue, it's a mental health issue,'" Parker said. "Well, he's half-right. It is a mental health issue. But there's a linkage there between guns and mental health, and there's got to be some kind of protocol established, so that we keep people from getting guns."
Unlike after the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, and Aurora, Colorado, Parker hopes this time results in the passage of gun legislation. He plans to visit Washington to meet with Mark Kelly, husband to former congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D), who was gravely injured in a mass shooting in Arizona in 2011.
Parker has also talked with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) who promised to help in any way possible, as well as former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, he added.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 17 hours ago.
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Realtor Lois Bradbury Puts Families First With Piggy Bank Challenge for Non-Profit
Non-profit organization, Families First, provides a unique combination of prevention and intervention services, each designed to help parents put their children's needs first, and Realtor Lois Bradbury of RE/MAX Professionals says she’s proud to have sponsored a piggy bank for the local nonprofit in an effort to raise funds for the children in the community.
Englewood, CO (PRWEB) August 31, 2015
Bradbury, who has sponsored a piggy bank for many years at the Families First County Fair, is often a point of call when the Families First organization needs extra help, especially when one of the children is having a birthday and a cake or gifts are needed.
From sponsoring birthday parties to volunteering her time, Bradbury believes in making a difference in the lives of these children. Families First provides services which strengthen families, empower parents, and nurtures children. The funds raised go towards children’s birthday parties, toys and clothing, household items for the Families First home, among other needs.
“This is my 15th year supporting Families First,” she said. “This non-profit holds such a special place in my heart. My husband and I are also involved by participating in other fundraising events, such as their annual golf tournament and spring gala. It is truly a family affair.”
As to why Bradbury has participated for so many years, including the recent Piggy Bank Challenge, she pointed out that a report of a child abuse is made every ten seconds in the United States. More than 30,000 reports of maltreatment were reported in Colorado during 2013, and the highest number of child victims are age five and under.
About RE/MAX Professionals – Lois Bradbury
RE/MAX Professionals – Lois Bradbury works with buyers and sellers serving the entire Greenwood Village, CO real estate market including the surrounding communities such as Denver, Cherry Hills Village, Englewood, Centennial, Aurora, Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker and Littleton. Her office is located at 9200 E Panorama Circle, Suite 140, Englewood, CO, 80112. For more information, please visit: http://www.loisbradbury.remaxagent.com, or call (303) 268-4207.
About the NALA™
The NALA offers local business owners new online advertising & small business marketing tools, great business benefits, education and money-saving programs, as well as a charity program.
Media Contact:
Tiffani Tendell
news(at)thenala(dot)com
805.650.6121, ext. 361 Reported by PRWeb 4 hours ago.
Englewood, CO (PRWEB) August 31, 2015
Bradbury, who has sponsored a piggy bank for many years at the Families First County Fair, is often a point of call when the Families First organization needs extra help, especially when one of the children is having a birthday and a cake or gifts are needed.
From sponsoring birthday parties to volunteering her time, Bradbury believes in making a difference in the lives of these children. Families First provides services which strengthen families, empower parents, and nurtures children. The funds raised go towards children’s birthday parties, toys and clothing, household items for the Families First home, among other needs.
“This is my 15th year supporting Families First,” she said. “This non-profit holds such a special place in my heart. My husband and I are also involved by participating in other fundraising events, such as their annual golf tournament and spring gala. It is truly a family affair.”
As to why Bradbury has participated for so many years, including the recent Piggy Bank Challenge, she pointed out that a report of a child abuse is made every ten seconds in the United States. More than 30,000 reports of maltreatment were reported in Colorado during 2013, and the highest number of child victims are age five and under.
About RE/MAX Professionals – Lois Bradbury
RE/MAX Professionals – Lois Bradbury works with buyers and sellers serving the entire Greenwood Village, CO real estate market including the surrounding communities such as Denver, Cherry Hills Village, Englewood, Centennial, Aurora, Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker and Littleton. Her office is located at 9200 E Panorama Circle, Suite 140, Englewood, CO, 80112. For more information, please visit: http://www.loisbradbury.remaxagent.com, or call (303) 268-4207.
About the NALA™
The NALA offers local business owners new online advertising & small business marketing tools, great business benefits, education and money-saving programs, as well as a charity program.
Media Contact:
Tiffani Tendell
news(at)thenala(dot)com
805.650.6121, ext. 361 Reported by PRWeb 4 hours ago.
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Stephen M. R. Covey to Keynote at Leadership Excellence and Development Forum (LEAD2016) in Nashville
HR.com announces keynote speaker, Stephen M. R. Covey, world renowned inspirational speaker and leadership icon, to present at LEAD2016 in Nashville in February 2016.
AURORA, On (PRWEB) August 31, 2015
HR.com has officially released the confirmation that Stephen M. R. Covey, cofounder of CoveyLink and the FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice is scheduled to speak at the annual Leadership Excellence and Development Forum (LEAD2016) next February. Covey, a sought-after and compelling keynote speaker and adviser on trust, leadership, ethics, sales, and high performance speaks to audiences around the world. He is the New York Times and number one Wall Street Journal best-selling author of The Speed of Trust, a groundbreaking, paradigm-shifting book.
Stephen M. R. Covey is the former CEO of Covey Leadership Center, which, under his stewardship, became the largest leadership development company in the world. Covey, with Greg Link, led the strategy that propelled his father's book, Dr. Stephen R. Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to be one of the two most influential business books of the twentieth century, according to CEO Magazine.
"At HR.com, we are thrilled to bring Stephen M.R. Covey to our LEAD2016 forum lineup of amazing inspirational speakers. Live attendees in Nashville and simulcast viewers around the globe will be motivated in striving for their own personal and professional leadership excellence by his experiences and words", stated Debbie McGrath, CEO and Chief Instigator, HR.com.
LEAD2016 will bring leaders from across business, industry and education together to exchange with one another and witness life-changing inspirational speakers. On February 3rd, 2016 thirteen speakers will be broadcast live from the event via high definition web stream technology. The second day, February 4th, will be a productive day of Leadership and HR-specific roundtables and workshops.
In addition to Stephen M. R. Covey, other LEAD2016 confirmed speakers thus far are:· Tacy M. Byham, CEO and thought-leader
· Theo Fleury, former NHL All-Star and inspirational speaker
· Eileen McDargh, master facilitator and author
· Ken Medema, entertainer and inspirational storyteller
· Sister Helen Prejean, author and humanitarian
· Bonnie St. John, Fortune 500 business consultant and former Paralympian
Interested individuals can attend the live event or be instrumental in simulcasting these world-class speakers into their workplace, community or corporate event. Find more information here: http://www.LEAD2016.com
About LEAD2016
LEAD2016 is a 2-day leadership forum designed to inspire leadership in people from all walks of life, live simulcast to hundred of remote host sites internationally. The event will bring top thought leaders and the world's best leadership practices into any organization and is scheduled for February 3rd and 4th, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. This intimate venue will host the speakers who will be broadcast out to hundreds of host sites across the continent. The world renowned event will provide attendees with the tools and resources they need to create top leaders throughout their entire organization. The Leadership Excellence & Development Forum targets all levels of leadership and personal corporation goals by helping attendees create a company-wide leadership program.
About HR.com
HR.com, the largest global social networking and resource site for HR Professionals is committed to providing a deeper understanding of the HR function for 250,000+ members by offering a Global Leadership annual event, Leadership500 Awards, HR Certification Exam Prep Courses, certification programs, a personal development app, monthly themed HR epublications, 4,500+ webcasts, 1,200+ eLearning credits, 230+ virtual conferences, blogs, community networks, industry news and advisory boards. http://www.hr.com
HR.com contact:
Debbie McGrath
Chief Instigator and CEO
http://www.LEAD2016.com
dmcgrath(at)hr(dot)com Reported by PRWeb 4 hours ago.
AURORA, On (PRWEB) August 31, 2015
HR.com has officially released the confirmation that Stephen M. R. Covey, cofounder of CoveyLink and the FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice is scheduled to speak at the annual Leadership Excellence and Development Forum (LEAD2016) next February. Covey, a sought-after and compelling keynote speaker and adviser on trust, leadership, ethics, sales, and high performance speaks to audiences around the world. He is the New York Times and number one Wall Street Journal best-selling author of The Speed of Trust, a groundbreaking, paradigm-shifting book.
Stephen M. R. Covey is the former CEO of Covey Leadership Center, which, under his stewardship, became the largest leadership development company in the world. Covey, with Greg Link, led the strategy that propelled his father's book, Dr. Stephen R. Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to be one of the two most influential business books of the twentieth century, according to CEO Magazine.
"At HR.com, we are thrilled to bring Stephen M.R. Covey to our LEAD2016 forum lineup of amazing inspirational speakers. Live attendees in Nashville and simulcast viewers around the globe will be motivated in striving for their own personal and professional leadership excellence by his experiences and words", stated Debbie McGrath, CEO and Chief Instigator, HR.com.
LEAD2016 will bring leaders from across business, industry and education together to exchange with one another and witness life-changing inspirational speakers. On February 3rd, 2016 thirteen speakers will be broadcast live from the event via high definition web stream technology. The second day, February 4th, will be a productive day of Leadership and HR-specific roundtables and workshops.
In addition to Stephen M. R. Covey, other LEAD2016 confirmed speakers thus far are:· Tacy M. Byham, CEO and thought-leader
· Theo Fleury, former NHL All-Star and inspirational speaker
· Eileen McDargh, master facilitator and author
· Ken Medema, entertainer and inspirational storyteller
· Sister Helen Prejean, author and humanitarian
· Bonnie St. John, Fortune 500 business consultant and former Paralympian
Interested individuals can attend the live event or be instrumental in simulcasting these world-class speakers into their workplace, community or corporate event. Find more information here: http://www.LEAD2016.com
About LEAD2016
LEAD2016 is a 2-day leadership forum designed to inspire leadership in people from all walks of life, live simulcast to hundred of remote host sites internationally. The event will bring top thought leaders and the world's best leadership practices into any organization and is scheduled for February 3rd and 4th, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. This intimate venue will host the speakers who will be broadcast out to hundreds of host sites across the continent. The world renowned event will provide attendees with the tools and resources they need to create top leaders throughout their entire organization. The Leadership Excellence & Development Forum targets all levels of leadership and personal corporation goals by helping attendees create a company-wide leadership program.
About HR.com
HR.com, the largest global social networking and resource site for HR Professionals is committed to providing a deeper understanding of the HR function for 250,000+ members by offering a Global Leadership annual event, Leadership500 Awards, HR Certification Exam Prep Courses, certification programs, a personal development app, monthly themed HR epublications, 4,500+ webcasts, 1,200+ eLearning credits, 230+ virtual conferences, blogs, community networks, industry news and advisory boards. http://www.hr.com
HR.com contact:
Debbie McGrath
Chief Instigator and CEO
http://www.LEAD2016.com
dmcgrath(at)hr(dot)com Reported by PRWeb 4 hours ago.
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Aurora police investigate stabbing
A man in Aurora reported that he was stabbed in the chest early Monday morning, police say.
Reported by Denver Post 23 hours ago.
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Shootings, Guns and Public Opinion
Last week the country was shocked by the on-air shooting of a reporter and cameraman - shocked, but perhaps not surprised. Gun violence has become an all-too-common part of the news, and after each incident, a debate erupts over gun control. Public opinion data over more than fifty years reveals a country ever less willing to restrict gun ownership, even as mass shootings and other high-profile shooting incidents continue to make news. From the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research archives:
Tragedy in the news. Again.
Gun-related homicide deaths have been decreasing in number since the 1990s. But the number of active shooter events and mass shootings have increased in recent years.
Such terrible events make headlines. Pollsters have asked the public about their attention to news stories about these tragedies since 1998. While many stories of national-reported shootings are followed very or fairly closely by half or less of the public, some such incidents gain the attention of eight in ten or more.
Decreasing support for stricter gun laws
These incidents are occurring at a time of notable change in public opinion on gun control. In polls since 1989, decreasing proportions of Americans have said they favor stricter gun laws. Although high-profile incidents can increase support briefly, the cumulative effect of the increasing number of mass shootings does not appear to be higher support for restrictions on guns.
The same trend can be seen in public attitudes about the importance of controlling gun ownership versus the right to own guns. The country is about evenly divided on this issue at the moment, while only fifteen years ago, a majority believed controlling gun ownership was more important. Gun owners are more likely to say protecting the right to own guns is more important. In a 2013 Pew poll, 72% said so, versus 30% of those living in a household with no gun. It is worth noting, therefore, that this decline has occurred despite a simultaneous decline in gun ownership rates
.The data on public opinion about handguns in particular goes back to the 1950s and reveal the magnitude of changing American attitudes about guns. More than twice as many Americans in 1959 said that handguns should be banned than said so in 2014. While there have been occasional rises in the proportion of people saying that there should be a ban, such as immediately following the shootings of John Lennon, Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II and following Columbine, the overall trajectory has continued away from banning handguns. The country is now nearly equally split on this issue. Banning assault rifles is similarly divisive: in a 2012 Gallup poll, 44% were for and 51% against a law that would do so.
Americans do want some limits on possessing guns. In a 2014 Pew poll, 49% said that it was more important to protect the right to own guns than to control gun ownership; but among those who said so, 76% said there should be some restrictions on gun ownership. Background checks are supported by most Americans; in a 2015 CBS poll, 88% favored background checks for all gun buyers. A 2015 Pew poll found 70% of the country supported a federal database of gun sales.
How do high-profile shooting incidents affect attitudes about gun control?
A slight majority in polls since 2013 have said that stricter gun laws would do at least a little to help prevent gun violence specifically. However, polls in the wake of national tragedies like the slaughter of schoolchildren in Newtown, CT found the country uncertain as to the effectiveness of gun control laws in averting such crimes. After the shootings in Tucson and Sandy Hook, majorities believed that stricter gun laws would have had no effect in preventing the violence that occurred.
In fact, Americans have become less convinced that anything at all can be done to prevent this sort of gun violence. A slim majority after the Columbine shootings thought that government and society could take action that would be effective in preventing shootings like that one from happening again. But after mass shooting incidents in recent years, up to two-thirds of the country have said that such shootings will happen again regardless of what action is taken. In a 2014 AP/GfK Knowledge Networks poll, just 8% of the country were extremely or very confident that the U.S. government can effectively minimize the threat Americans face from mass shootings, while 25% were moderately confident and 63% were not too or not at all confident.
Multiple poll questions show that Americans have become increasingly skeptical that gun laws can do much to stem the tide of violence. In 1989, the public was divided on whether stricter guns law would reduce the amount of violence in the country. In polls in the 2013 and 2015, a majority said they would not. On this measure, the attitudes of the country overall have come in line with attitudes of gun owners in 1989.
On a personal level, most Americans have also become convinced that a gun in the home brings more safety than risks. The perception that guns increase personal safety may have the effect of making mass shooting incidents seem more of an argument against than for gun control. In a 2015 Pew poll, 54% of the public said that gun ownership in this country does more to protect people from becoming victims of crime; 40% said it does more to put people at risk.
Troubled individuals or a troubled society?
After Columbine and other school shootings in 1999 and 2001, the public was asked if these events were indications that something was seriously wrong in the country or isolated incidents that do not indicate anything about the country in general. A strong majority of Americans saw something seriously wrong. After more recent incidents, the country has been asked whether a shooting reflects broader problems or is just the isolated acts of troubled individuals. In some cases the public has been divided (Newtown and Virginia Tech); in others, firm majorities say these are isolated acts (Tucson and Aurora).
Those who hope that changing gun laws can help to prevent shootings incidents like last week's on-air homicide or the murder of nine people in the church in Charleston in June have to overcome significant barriers in American attitudes. Those who argue that gun laws are ineffective, that these events are isolated incidents, and that guns bring more safety than danger appear to be winning the public debate.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 20 hours ago.
Tragedy in the news. Again.
Gun-related homicide deaths have been decreasing in number since the 1990s. But the number of active shooter events and mass shootings have increased in recent years.
Such terrible events make headlines. Pollsters have asked the public about their attention to news stories about these tragedies since 1998. While many stories of national-reported shootings are followed very or fairly closely by half or less of the public, some such incidents gain the attention of eight in ten or more.
Decreasing support for stricter gun laws
These incidents are occurring at a time of notable change in public opinion on gun control. In polls since 1989, decreasing proportions of Americans have said they favor stricter gun laws. Although high-profile incidents can increase support briefly, the cumulative effect of the increasing number of mass shootings does not appear to be higher support for restrictions on guns.
The same trend can be seen in public attitudes about the importance of controlling gun ownership versus the right to own guns. The country is about evenly divided on this issue at the moment, while only fifteen years ago, a majority believed controlling gun ownership was more important. Gun owners are more likely to say protecting the right to own guns is more important. In a 2013 Pew poll, 72% said so, versus 30% of those living in a household with no gun. It is worth noting, therefore, that this decline has occurred despite a simultaneous decline in gun ownership rates
.The data on public opinion about handguns in particular goes back to the 1950s and reveal the magnitude of changing American attitudes about guns. More than twice as many Americans in 1959 said that handguns should be banned than said so in 2014. While there have been occasional rises in the proportion of people saying that there should be a ban, such as immediately following the shootings of John Lennon, Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II and following Columbine, the overall trajectory has continued away from banning handguns. The country is now nearly equally split on this issue. Banning assault rifles is similarly divisive: in a 2012 Gallup poll, 44% were for and 51% against a law that would do so.
Americans do want some limits on possessing guns. In a 2014 Pew poll, 49% said that it was more important to protect the right to own guns than to control gun ownership; but among those who said so, 76% said there should be some restrictions on gun ownership. Background checks are supported by most Americans; in a 2015 CBS poll, 88% favored background checks for all gun buyers. A 2015 Pew poll found 70% of the country supported a federal database of gun sales.
How do high-profile shooting incidents affect attitudes about gun control?
A slight majority in polls since 2013 have said that stricter gun laws would do at least a little to help prevent gun violence specifically. However, polls in the wake of national tragedies like the slaughter of schoolchildren in Newtown, CT found the country uncertain as to the effectiveness of gun control laws in averting such crimes. After the shootings in Tucson and Sandy Hook, majorities believed that stricter gun laws would have had no effect in preventing the violence that occurred.
In fact, Americans have become less convinced that anything at all can be done to prevent this sort of gun violence. A slim majority after the Columbine shootings thought that government and society could take action that would be effective in preventing shootings like that one from happening again. But after mass shooting incidents in recent years, up to two-thirds of the country have said that such shootings will happen again regardless of what action is taken. In a 2014 AP/GfK Knowledge Networks poll, just 8% of the country were extremely or very confident that the U.S. government can effectively minimize the threat Americans face from mass shootings, while 25% were moderately confident and 63% were not too or not at all confident.
Multiple poll questions show that Americans have become increasingly skeptical that gun laws can do much to stem the tide of violence. In 1989, the public was divided on whether stricter guns law would reduce the amount of violence in the country. In polls in the 2013 and 2015, a majority said they would not. On this measure, the attitudes of the country overall have come in line with attitudes of gun owners in 1989.
On a personal level, most Americans have also become convinced that a gun in the home brings more safety than risks. The perception that guns increase personal safety may have the effect of making mass shooting incidents seem more of an argument against than for gun control. In a 2015 Pew poll, 54% of the public said that gun ownership in this country does more to protect people from becoming victims of crime; 40% said it does more to put people at risk.
Troubled individuals or a troubled society?
After Columbine and other school shootings in 1999 and 2001, the public was asked if these events were indications that something was seriously wrong in the country or isolated incidents that do not indicate anything about the country in general. A strong majority of Americans saw something seriously wrong. After more recent incidents, the country has been asked whether a shooting reflects broader problems or is just the isolated acts of troubled individuals. In some cases the public has been divided (Newtown and Virginia Tech); in others, firm majorities say these are isolated acts (Tucson and Aurora).
Those who hope that changing gun laws can help to prevent shootings incidents like last week's on-air homicide or the murder of nine people in the church in Charleston in June have to overcome significant barriers in American attitudes. Those who argue that gun laws are ineffective, that these events are isolated incidents, and that guns bring more safety than danger appear to be winning the public debate.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 20 hours ago.
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Magna announces closing of interiors transaction with Grupo Antolin
AURORA, ON, Aug. 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - Magna International Inc. announced today that it has completed the sale of substantially all of its interiors operations to Grupo Antolin, as previously announced. The completed sale transaction does not include two joint ventures in...
Reported by PR Newswire 20 hours ago.
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Moms Are Committed to Doing 'Whatever It Takes' to End This Scourge That Threatens Our Families
Just hours after his daughter Alison, a Virginia reporter, was shot and killed on live television, Andy Parker passionately spoke out against the gun lobby and our nation's lax gun laws. And he is determined to fight until we see change in this country. In today's Washington Post, Parker asks all of us, "What do we need to do to stop this insanity? In my case, the answer is: 'Whatever it takes.'"
"Whatever it takes" -- such brave and profound words from a man enduring a kind of pain and anguish I cannot even imagine.
To the Parker family, to the family of cameraman Adam Ward, who was also fatally shot that day, to the families of the 88 Americans who die daily from gun violence, as well as the hundreds of others injured, I am here to say that Moms are committed to doing "whatever it takes" to end this scourge that threatens our families and communities by passing commonsense gun laws.
We are wrapping up a long, cruel summer of senseless, preventable gun violence. Americans are being gunned down in our churches, schools, movie theaters, military recruitment centers, workplaces, and homes. Which is why we're turning September 10 -- the week Congress returns from its summer recess -- into a national day of action to make good on our pledge to do "whatever it takes."
Despite many wins for gun sense on the state level, I know many Americans are livid and dispirited that Congress has done nothing to make America safer from gun violence. I've heard it said too often: If Congress didn't take action after twenty children and six teachers were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary ... after six people were murdered in Isla Vista, California ... after 20 people were slaughtered at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado ... it never will.
But something DID happen after Sandy Hook: Moms Demand Action happened. And now, in conjunction with Everytown for Gun Safety, we are the largest grassroots movement fighting for gun sense in America. And our 3 million members refuse to buy into the media's fatalistic predictions and the gun lobby's empty rhetoric.
The reality is that we're winning. Over the past nearly three years, we've helped close background check loopholes in more than six states. We've pushed nearly a dozen states -- red and blue -- to pass laws that will help keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. And we've influenced major restaurants and retailers -- like Starbucks, Chipotle and Target -- to adopt gun sense policies to keep customers safe.
We're building momentum building in the states and in boardrooms and sending a strong signal to Congress that they'd better get in line with the rest of the country. It's not a matter of whether Congress will act -- it's a question of when.
But it's time to make the "when" sooner than later. Given that more than 30,000 Americans are shot and killed every year, we don't have time to wait. We're done asking politely -- we're now demanding for Congress to act.
Here's one way we can work together to turn tragedy, anger and despair into action:
On September 10, Moms, survivors, and supporters will descend upon Washington, D.C., to #DemandAVote and tell our leaders and lawmakers that they must take action to end this crisis. We're also planning gatherings in communities across the country to reclaim our everyday spaces -- like houses of worship, movie theaters, and workplaces -- from the grip of gun violence.
I think I speak for many American moms and dads when I say the unceasing gun violence this summer has left me angry and scared. Every day, I shed tears because I'm worried about the safety of my children. My husband, John, tells me the gun violence prevention work I do clouds my judgment -- that we're safe and our five children will be okay.
But what I know all too well from my work with Moms is that we're all just one degree of separation from a gun violence tragedy. None of us are truly safe given our culture of guns for anyone, anywhere, anytime -- no questions asked. Andy Parker knows that now, as do all of the heroic survivors I work with every day.
That doesn't mean we pack up and leave the country or lock ourselves inside our homes. It means that if Americans want to be safe -- as safe as other developed nations -- we must fight. I don't mean post about a shooting on Facebook. I mean kick and scream and work and yell. Do "whatever it takes," every single day.
Do it for Alison and Adam. Do it for your own friends and loved ones who could be the next victims of senseless and preventable gun violence. Together, we must do "whatever it takes" to stop the violence. You can start by following our #WhateverItTakes campaign on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about our September 10 events across the country and other ways you can become involved.
My friend Richard Martinez whose only son, Christopher, was shot and killed picking up a sandwich at a deli in Isla Vista, always says, "If only I'd acted after Sandy Hook, maybe my son would be alive today." Please join the fight so you never have to ask yourself that question.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 16 hours ago.
"Whatever it takes" -- such brave and profound words from a man enduring a kind of pain and anguish I cannot even imagine.
To the Parker family, to the family of cameraman Adam Ward, who was also fatally shot that day, to the families of the 88 Americans who die daily from gun violence, as well as the hundreds of others injured, I am here to say that Moms are committed to doing "whatever it takes" to end this scourge that threatens our families and communities by passing commonsense gun laws.
We are wrapping up a long, cruel summer of senseless, preventable gun violence. Americans are being gunned down in our churches, schools, movie theaters, military recruitment centers, workplaces, and homes. Which is why we're turning September 10 -- the week Congress returns from its summer recess -- into a national day of action to make good on our pledge to do "whatever it takes."
Despite many wins for gun sense on the state level, I know many Americans are livid and dispirited that Congress has done nothing to make America safer from gun violence. I've heard it said too often: If Congress didn't take action after twenty children and six teachers were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary ... after six people were murdered in Isla Vista, California ... after 20 people were slaughtered at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado ... it never will.
But something DID happen after Sandy Hook: Moms Demand Action happened. And now, in conjunction with Everytown for Gun Safety, we are the largest grassroots movement fighting for gun sense in America. And our 3 million members refuse to buy into the media's fatalistic predictions and the gun lobby's empty rhetoric.
The reality is that we're winning. Over the past nearly three years, we've helped close background check loopholes in more than six states. We've pushed nearly a dozen states -- red and blue -- to pass laws that will help keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. And we've influenced major restaurants and retailers -- like Starbucks, Chipotle and Target -- to adopt gun sense policies to keep customers safe.
We're building momentum building in the states and in boardrooms and sending a strong signal to Congress that they'd better get in line with the rest of the country. It's not a matter of whether Congress will act -- it's a question of when.
But it's time to make the "when" sooner than later. Given that more than 30,000 Americans are shot and killed every year, we don't have time to wait. We're done asking politely -- we're now demanding for Congress to act.
Here's one way we can work together to turn tragedy, anger and despair into action:
On September 10, Moms, survivors, and supporters will descend upon Washington, D.C., to #DemandAVote and tell our leaders and lawmakers that they must take action to end this crisis. We're also planning gatherings in communities across the country to reclaim our everyday spaces -- like houses of worship, movie theaters, and workplaces -- from the grip of gun violence.
I think I speak for many American moms and dads when I say the unceasing gun violence this summer has left me angry and scared. Every day, I shed tears because I'm worried about the safety of my children. My husband, John, tells me the gun violence prevention work I do clouds my judgment -- that we're safe and our five children will be okay.
But what I know all too well from my work with Moms is that we're all just one degree of separation from a gun violence tragedy. None of us are truly safe given our culture of guns for anyone, anywhere, anytime -- no questions asked. Andy Parker knows that now, as do all of the heroic survivors I work with every day.
That doesn't mean we pack up and leave the country or lock ourselves inside our homes. It means that if Americans want to be safe -- as safe as other developed nations -- we must fight. I don't mean post about a shooting on Facebook. I mean kick and scream and work and yell. Do "whatever it takes," every single day.
Do it for Alison and Adam. Do it for your own friends and loved ones who could be the next victims of senseless and preventable gun violence. Together, we must do "whatever it takes" to stop the violence. You can start by following our #WhateverItTakes campaign on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about our September 10 events across the country and other ways you can become involved.
My friend Richard Martinez whose only son, Christopher, was shot and killed picking up a sandwich at a deli in Isla Vista, always says, "If only I'd acted after Sandy Hook, maybe my son would be alive today." Please join the fight so you never have to ask yourself that question.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 16 hours ago.
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Jury gets case after white supremacist vows to 'die a martyr' for Kansas Jewish site killings
The man who admitted killing three people at two suburban Kansas City Jewish sites told jurors Monday that he hoped to "die a martyr" for the shootings, which he said were motivated by "the genocide against white people by Jews." The jury of seven men and five women began deliberating Monday afternoon, shortly after hearing the rambling closing argument by Frazier Glenn Miller, 74, of Aurora, Missouri, who is representing himself at trial.
Reported by FOXNews.com 16 hours ago.
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