Latest news with #Everytown
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gun advocacy group says speaker ‘shamefully lied' about surviving school shooting at Frankfort rally
FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — A national gun safety organization said one of its featured speakers during a Frankfort news conference lied about being a gun violence survivor. On Feb. 12, FOX 56 covered a gun safety rally hosted by Everytown, an organization focused on ending gun violence. Gun advocacy group says speaker 'shamefully lied' about surviving school shooting at Frankfort rally Crystal Rogers case: Steve Lawson's stepchildren, former coworkers testify on day 2 of trial Paducah man claims he was stabbed over lawn-mowing argument Multiple people spoke at the event, including a University of Louisville student, Calvin Polachek. Everytown identified Polachek as a gun violence survivor in the press release sent to FOX 56 and other media outlets. During the rally, Polachek told an emotional story of a school shooting at his high school in Dallas, Pennsylvania, claiming his best friend and several classmates were killed. However, in the past 24 hours, FOX 56 has received numerous emails and messages from community members in Dallas saying the story Polachek told was a complete lie. 'The sentiments I was getting from our community were troubled and disappointed, and maybe a little bit more severe than that,' said Dallas School District superintendent Thomas Duffy. Duffy said the district never experienced the shooting Polachek described. 'There certainly was some discomfort with a story like that being reported about in a relatively small district in the northeast part of that state,' Duffy added. 'The events that were described did not take place, thankfully, in our district.' Duffy said the district is working with its attorney to ensure parents and families know the truth. Kentucky's most misspelled word, according to study Drug overdoses see major decline: How Kentucky measures up UFO sightings in Kentucky: A look back on past 30 years 'They were well aware that this didn't occur here, and obviously our current parents and families, but just to affirm that the information conveyed about this horrific act of school violence was inaccurate,' said Duffy. Concern over Polachek's story isn't limited to Pennsylvania. Kentucky officials who attended the rally are speaking out, too. Kentucky State Representative Adam Moore was one of the speakers that day and said he is deeply troubled by what happened. 'Even if this is a person who is on my side of an issue, if that means responsible gun ownership, that does not mean that the lie is okay,' Moore said. 'I hate this. It is absolutely unethical and plain wrong to be lying about this stuff, even if he's on my side of the issue.' FOX 56 reached out to Everytown to ask when they learned Polachek's story wasn't true, which they said was after its Kentucky Advocacy Day. A spokesperson said, 'Calvin Polachek is not an active volunteer with Moms Demand Action or Students Demand Action, and we are deeply disappointed that someone would exploit the tragic, lived experience of many to use our platform to share a story that was not true. Calvin reached out to our Kentucky chapter, shamefully lied to our volunteers, and shared a tragic story that we later learned was not true. This is an affront to the countless survivors of gun violence who show extraordinary courage every day by reliving their darkest moments in service of the fight to end our country's gun violence crisis. We are revisiting our guidance to our grassroots networks in an effort to ensure this never happens again.' Trump escalates war of words on Putin as Ukraine ceasefire deal stalls President Trump's latest pardons include reality TV stars, Capitol rioters, and convicted sheriff Trump pardons former GOP Rep. Michael Grimm amid clemency spree FOX 56 also asked if Everytown is required to notify media outlets when something like this happens. The spokesperson reiterated what they said in the previous statement, saying, 'We are revisiting our guidance to our grassroots networks in an effort to ensure this never happens again.' We have learned that Polachek was a student in the Dallas School District. We reached out to him for comment, but haven't heard back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Opinion: After a Stray Bullet Kills a NYC Teen, Chancellor Calls for Community Support
They say it takes a village to raise a child, but in our increasingly online post-pandemic world, our families are forced to navigate resources alone. In many communities, including my own, the responsibility to care for, monitor and protect our children falls solely to families and schools. Imagine how much stronger our cities would be if we were to embrace an ecosystem of care, with faith institutions, businesses, and local organizations working alongside families and schools. Across the country, there is a deep youth mental health crisis that is fueling a trend of violence among our babies. In Denver, Colorado, an average of 700 young people under 25 are affected by gun violence each year. In Alameda County, California, gun violence is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 17. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter According to Everytown statistics, 60 children and teens are impacted by firearms every day in the United States. As parents and guardians, we pour our whole selves into our children. No one should ever have to endure the agony of losing a child, especially to something as preventable as gun violence. Earlier this month, in my community, Evette Jeffrey, a 16-year-old girl in the Bronx was killed by a stray bullet fired by another teenager. As a mother, an educator, and a lifelong Bronxite, this tragedy was personal for me, and I saw firsthand the impact of this devastation across the borough. The following week, another two babies were victims of gun violence in Brooklyn. It is unacceptable that over 30 children under the age of 18 have been killed or injured in New York City this year alone. The pandemic lockdowns left our young people feeling isolated and emotionally adrift. The CDC reports the number of children experiencing persistent sadness or hopelessness remains 10% higher than in 2013. For two years, we told our children that their entire lives are online, from their instruction to enrichment, and beyond. Now, we're seeing the repercussions: Our kids don't know who to talk to or where to go when they are in crisis. Related Teens are increasingly tethered to their phones — half of those aged 12 to 17 reported four or more hours of daily screen time between July 2021 and December 2023. Throughout the pandemic, our children were forced to live their lives through social media and virtual schooling. Now, as we bring them back to in person socialization, it's no wonder that they're ill equipped. As the leader of the nation's largest school district, it is my responsibility to lead New York City Public Schools' response to this mental health epidemic at its root. If we are to do right by our kids, we cannot just address the symptoms of this crisis. The solution lies in community interdependence. We've seen glimpses of this kind of symbiosis at work in places like California, which like New York City, is offering free online mental health counseling, or Chicago, where local nonprofits are supporting afterschool programs and other services at high-poverty campuses. We must continue to scale this work. In our schools, we must teach our kids how to use technology responsibly and appropriately. Devices can be used to enrich and support classroom instruction, offering real-time support in math class or opportunities to explore the world without leaving the neighborhood. We must also learn to take care of ourselves so that we can be better and stronger for our kids. We are role models, leaders, and safe, trusted grown-ups. Our students must be able to turn to us without judgement in times of need. But this goes beyond us. For this to work, I call upon our business owners to be more than just bystanders. When you welcome our kids by name when they enter your store, it shows that there are adults who care and who they can turn to when they need to feel seen, heard, and protected. Related I call upon our faith leaders to be active partners with the schools in their communities. If they see a child who is struggling, reach out so we can get them help before it's too late. Robust in-school mental health supports are essential, but they can't stand alone. We need community mental health partners to amplify their impact. Local universities, we need you to bolster the mental health worker pipeline and place young professionals-in-training in schools to build out capacity. We're asking our community-based organizations and leaders with social capital in our neighborhoods to keep their ears to the ground — aware of brewing tensions, conflicts, and signs of distress — so we can act before violence erupts. The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments noted that 'developing and sustaining comprehensive mental health systems should be a shared endeavor between schools and community partners.' We all bear a collective responsibility in ensuring that every child gets the bright and bold future they deserve, and it is up to us to work together to identify at-risk youth and intervene early. As New York City mourns the loss of one of our own, I remain committed to honoring that life by protecting others. Our young people are crying out for help, and we must answer. It will take all of us. Let's get to work. All of us — community members, business leaders, faith leaders, and families — need to rally together to make sure our students have a safe adult in their lives they can turn to in times of crisis. Let's get to work.
The Verge
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Verge
If algorithms radicalize a mass shooter, are companies to blame?
In New York court on May 20th, lawyers for nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety argued that Meta, Amazon, Discord, Snap, 4chan, and other social media companies all bear responsibility for radicalizing a mass shooter. The companies defended themselves against claims that their respective design features — including recommendation algorithms — promoted racist content to a man who killed 10 people in 2022, then facilitated his deadly plan. It's a particularly grim test of a popular legal theory: that social networks are products that can be found legally defective when something goes wrong. Whether this works may rely on how courts interpret Section 230, a foundational piece of internet law. In 2022, Payton Gendron drove several hours to the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, where he opened fire on shoppers, killing 10 people and injuring three others. Gendron claimed to have been inspired by previous racially motivated attacks. He livestreamed the attack on Twitch and, in a lengthy manifesto and a private diary he kept on Discord, said he had been radicalized in part by racist memes and intentionally targeted a majority-Black community. Everytown for Gun Safety brought multiple lawsuits over the shooting in 2023, filing claims against gun sellers, Gendron's parents, and a long list of web platforms. The accusations against different companies vary, but all place some responsibility for Gendron's radicalization at the heart of the dispute. The platforms are relying on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to defend themselves against a somewhat complicated argument. In the US, posting white supremacist content is typically protected by the First Amendment. But these lawsuits argue that if a platform feeds it nonstop to users in an attempt to keep them hooked, it becomes a sign of a defective product — and, by extension, breaks product liability laws if that leads to harm. That strategy requires arguing that companies are shaping user content in ways that shouldn't receive protection under Section 230, which prevents interactive computer services from being held liable for what users post, and that their services are products that fit under the liability law. 'This is not a lawsuit against publishers,' John Elmore, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told the judges. 'Publishers copyright their material. Companies that manufacture products patent their materials, and every single one of these defendants has a patent.' These patented products, Elmore continued, are 'dangerous and unsafe' and are therefore 'defective' under New York's product liability law, which lets consumers seek compensation for injuries. Some of the tech defendants — including Discord and 4chan — don't have proprietary recommendation algorithms tailored to individual users, but the claims against them allege that their designs still aim to hook users in a way that predictably encouraged harm. 'This community was traumatized by a juvenile white supremacist who was fueled with hate — radicalized by social media platforms on the internet,' Elmore said. 'He obtained his hatred for people who he never met, people who never did anything to his family or anything against him, based upon algorithm-driven videos, writings, and groups that he associated with and was introduced to on these platforms that we're suing.' These platforms, Elmore continued, own 'patented products' that 'forced' Gendron to commit a mass shooting. A meme-fueled shooting In his manifesto, Gendron called himself an 'eco-fascist national socialist' and said he had been inspired by previous mass shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, and El Paso, Texas. Like his predecessors, Gendron wrote that he was concerned about 'white genocide' and the great replacement: a conspiracy theory alleging that there is a global plot to replace white Americans and Europeans with people of color, typically through mass immigration. Gendron pleaded guilty to state murder and terrorism charges in 2022 and is currently serving life in prison. According to a report by the New York attorney general's office, which was cited by the plaintiff's lawyers, Gendron 'peppered his manifesto with memes, in-jokes, and slang common on extremist websites and message boards,' a pattern found in some other mass shootings. Gendron encouraged readers to follow in his footsteps, and urged extremists to spread their message online, writing that memes 'have done more for the ethno-nationalist movement than any manifesto.' Citing Gendron's manifesto, Elmore told judges that before Gendron was 'force-fed online white supremacist materials,' Gendron never had any problems with or animosity toward Black people. 'He was encouraged by the notoriety that the algorithms brought to other mass shooters that were streamed online, and then he went down a rabbit hole.' Everytown for Gun Safety sued nearly a dozen companies — including Meta, Reddit, Amazon, Google, YouTube, Discord, and 4chan — over their alleged role in the shooting in 2023. Last year, a federal judge allowed the suits to proceed. Racism, addiction, and 'defective' design The racist memes Gendron was seeing online are undoubtedly a major part of the complaint, but the plaintiffs aren't arguing that it's illegal to show someone racist, white supremacist, or violent content. In fact, the September 2023 complaint explicitly notes that the plaintiffs aren't seeking to hold YouTube 'liable as the publisher or speaker of content posted by third parties,' partly because that would give YouTube ammunition to get the suit dismissed on Section 230 grounds. Instead, they're suing YouTube as the 'designers and marketers of a social media product … that was not reasonably safe and that was reasonably dangerous for its intended use.' Their argument is that YouTube and other social media website algorithms' addictive nature, when coupled with their willingness to host white supremacist content, makes them unsafe. 'A safer design exists,' the complaint states, but YouTube and other social media platforms 'have failed to modify their product to make it less dangerous because they seek to maximize user engagement and profits.' The plaintiffs made similar complaints about other platforms. Twitch, which doesn't rely on algorithmic generations, could alter its product so the videos are on a time delay, Amy Keller, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told judges. Reddit's upvoting and karma features create a 'feedback loop' that encourages use. 4chan doesn't require users to register accounts, allowing them to post extremist content anonymously. 'There are specific types of defective designs that we talk about with each of these defendants,' Keller said, adding that platforms that have algorithmic recommendation systems are 'probably at the top of the heap when it comes to liability.' During the hearing, the judges asked the plaintiffs' attorneys if these algorithms are always harmful. 'I like cat videos, and I watch cat videos; they keep sending me cat videos,' one of the judges said. 'There's a beneficial purpose, is there not? There's some thought that without algorithms, some of these platforms can't work. There's just too much information.' After agreeing that he loves cat videos, Glenn Chappell, another attorney for the plaintiffs, said the issue lies with algorithms 'designed to foster addiction and the harms resulting from that type of addictive mechanism are known.' In those instances, Chappell said, 'Section 230 does not apply.' The issue was 'the fact that the algorithm itself made the content addictive,' Keller said. Third-party content and 'defective' products The platforms' lawyers, meanwhile, argued that sorting content in a particular way shouldn't strip them of protections against liability for user-posted content. While the complaint may argue it's not saying web services are publishers or speakers, the platforms' defense counters that this is still a case about speech where Section 230 applies. 'Case after case has recognized that there's no algorithms exception to the application of Section 230,' Eric Shumsky, an attorney for Meta, told judges. The Supreme Court considered whether Section 230 protections applied to algorithmically recommended content in Gonzalez v. Google, but in 2023, it dismissed the case without reaching a conclusion or redefining the currently expansive protections. Shumsky contended that algorithms' personalized nature prevents them from being 'products' under the law. 'Services are not products because they are not standardized,' Shumsky said. Unlike cars or lawnmowers, 'these services are used and experienced differently by every user,' since platforms 'tailor the experiences based on the user's actions.' In other words, algorithms may have influenced Gendron, but Gendron's beliefs also influenced the algorithms. Section 230 is a common counter to claims that social media companies should be liable for how they run their apps and websites, and one that's sometimes succeeded. A 2023 court ruling found that Instagram, for instance, wasn't liable for designing its service in a way that allowed users to transmit harmful speech. The accusations 'inescapably return to the ultimate conclusion that Instagram, by some flaw of design, allows users to post content that can be harmful to others,' the ruling said. Last year, however, a federal appeals court ruled that TikTok had to face a lawsuit over a viral 'blackout challenge' that some parents claimed led to their children's deaths. In that case, Anderson v. TikTok, the Third Circuit court of appeals determined that TikTok couldn't claim Section 230 immunity, since its algorithms fed users the viral challenge. The court ruled that the content TikTok recommends to its users isn't third-party speech generated by other users; it's first-party speech, because users see it as a result of TikTok's proprietary algorithm. The Third Circuit's ruling is anomalous, so much so that Section 230 expert Eric Goldman called it 'bonkers.' But there's a concerted push to limit the law's protections. Conservative legislators want to repeal Section 230, and a growing number of courts will need to decide whether users of social networks are being sold a dangerous bill of goods — not simply a conduit for their speech.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
11-year-old accidentally shot by sibling dies in Wisconsin
An 11-year-old boy died after his sibling accidentally shot him on Friday, authorities said. The incident happened at a home in Racine, Wisconsin, about a half hour's drive south of Milwaukee. Officers went to a hospital in the area where the boy's family had taken him to treat his gunshot wound, the Racine Police Department said in a news release. He died from his injuries, according to the department. Police said a suspect has been "identified and apprehended" and that their investigation is ongoing. "Racine Police investigators are interested in any additional information that anyone may have about this incident," the department said, asking that anyone with knowledge of the shooting contact the police investigations unit or report tips anonymously through Crime Stoppers. Hundreds of unintentional shootings by children happen every year in the United States, according to the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety, which has tracked such incidents annually since 2015. In 2023, Everytown recorded 411 unintentional shootings by children nationwide, which resulted in 158 deaths and 269 injuries. It was the highest number of incidents counted in a single year since the nonprofit started tracking them. At the time, a study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at a two-decade rise in children's deaths while playing with guns and found the vast majority of cases involved guns that were loaded and not securely stored. The study's authors concluded that unintentional deaths from firearms were preventable. Not including Friday's incident in Racine, at least 63 unintentional shootings by children have already occurred this year, according to Everytown. They resulted in 28 deaths and 36 injuries reported in 28 states. In Wisconsin, a 6-year-old boy unintentionally shot and killed himself with a handgun on April 1 at a home in Milwaukee, the data shows. Car bomb outside Palm Springs fertility clinic was act of terrorism, officials say Why bonding is the heart of infant care Greg Tarzan Davis switches sides in "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning"
The Independent
16-05-2025
- The Independent
Texas mother accused of terrorism over claims she bought ammo, gear for son planning mass violence
A Texas mother has been charged with a terrorism-related crime after being accused of buying her 13-year-old son ammunition and tactical gear as he allegedly planned mass violence at his middle school, authorities said Thursday. The boy, who was also charged with terrorism, had shown up to the school this week wearing a mask and tactical gear but left shortly after, according to San Antonio police. He was later detained off campus. In recent years, parents of children who committed school shootings around the U.S. have been taken to court, though in this case no attack happened. The gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety said it had not found a similar case in which a parent was charged when violence did not occur. Authorities in San Antonio said the boy's mother had previously been contacted by police, her son's school and Child Protective Services with concerns about her son. 'She appeared to be dismissive and unconcerned with her son's behavior," San Antonio police Chief William P. McManus said at a news conference. 'Her behavior is not only dangerous, it's abhorrent, especially as a parent.' The mother has been charged with aiding in the commission of terrorism. She is free on a $75,000 bond. The Associated Press does not normally identify juveniles in criminal cases and is not naming the mother to avoid identifying the 13-year-old boy, who is being held in juvenile detention. Joseph Appelt, the mother's attorney, said he was unable to comment as he had just been appointed to the case Thursday and was still learning about it. Michael Wynne, a Houston-based criminal defense attorney not connected to the case, said he believes laws and prosecutions of parents over allegations they played some sort of role in a school shooting or plans for one 'are headed in this direction … because of the tragic consequences that can ensue if a parent continues to neglect their responsibilities.' 'What we've had in place so far clearly has not worked," Wynne said. 'We have to do something else because the consequences are so tragic and so dire.' Around October, Child Protective Services reported its concerns about the boy's family to police. In January, he was found in his school drawing violent pictures and in April he was suspended after researching mass shootings on a school computer, McManus said. He was allowed to return to campus earlier this month. On Sunday, a family member saw the boy with a bullet, McManus said. 'He claimed his mother bought him the bullet and tactical gear," McManus said. 'The next day, the family member found loaded magazines and an improvised explosive device and immediately contacted police.' Police say the mother provided her son with gun magazines and ammunition for them. McManus said 'some very disturbing things' were found inside the mother's home, including 'Nazi swastikas and things like that." The mother was charged under a law passed by the Texas Legislature in 2023 that detailed a specific criminal charge of terrorism, and a state registry for anyone convicted of a crime conducted for the purpose of terrorizing the public. Republican state Sen. Phil King, who authored the bill, had said it was aimed at helping law enforcement identify suspects when investigating threats. Nick Suplina, senior vice president of law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, said parents and gun owners have the responsibility to prevent kids from accessing deadly weapons without supervision. 'Parental culpability cases are not one-size-fits-all, but this one stands out for such utter disregard for warning signs that it begs for criminal charges to be brought, even if, thankfully, a major tragedy was avoided here,' he said in a statement. In Michigan last year, Jennifer and James Crumbley were the first U.S. parents held criminally responsible for a mass school shooting committed by a child. They are serving 10-year prison terms for involuntary manslaughter. ___ ___
