Latest news with #WillDuPree
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
‘It's deadly': The risks of drowning and knowing how to save a life
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Local first responders would like people to know what to do in case of a drowning. Austin Public Health said an average of 14 people a year die by drowning in Travis County. Between 2007 and 2016, a total of 140 deaths happened due to unintentional drowning. Half of them were in natural bodies of water — like creeks, lakes or rivers — while 25% of them were in swimming pools. It's why first responders are highlighting the life-saving power of CPR and of an automated external defibrillator, or AED. Captain Trevor Stokes with Travis County Emergency Services District No. 2, otherwise known as the Pflugerville Fire Department, joined KXAN's Will DuPree and Avery Travis to mark CPR and AED Awareness Travis: We know this week is really meant to highlight how people can save lives and be safe out on the water. But let's talk about the issue of drowning. How big of a problem is it in Central Texas? I think a lot of folks growing up in this area learned to swim growing up, or were around swimming pools or the lake. Why might that knowledge maybe make us a little lax about the risks of drowning. Captain Trevor Stokes: So the biggest issue we see is obviously for children, so we recommend putting all the efforts into prevention. Obviously, knowing CPR is a good thing, but at that point, something's already happened. So drowning is silent. It's deadly, and it happens very quickly. So when enjoying water, especially in pools or even an open body of water, like we saw with the incident there at Lake Austin or Town Lake, is having a PFD, wearing a PFD, not just having it near you, but actually wearing it despite your ability to swim. That's a preventative measure. People typically don't drown when they're wearing a PFD. They surface to the top of the water. But more importantly, with kiddos, always having somebody who is watching the children, and then rotating that person regularly. So that's not someone who's reading a book, who's on their phone, they're not distracted, they're watching. Also, if you're in a pool, or if you're in a body of water where visibility is good, having a swimsuit that is not the same color as, say, the bottom of the pool. So that at any moment a kid slips below the surface, you immediately can recognize that. But rotating that person and making sure they understand what their responsibilities are prevents it. Also having likes or any prevention mechanisms so people can't wander off to the water, wander off to the pool, unaided or unassisted or even unwatched, that's a big thing. Will DuPree: Okay, so those are lots of things that people can keep in mind for sure. But if an emergency should happen, obviously calling 911, is important, but so is the importance of someone being a bystander who can jump in and perform CPR. What's the impact that can have on potentially saving someone's life? Stokes: So having knowledge of doing CPR and immediately starting that process while someone is calling 911 — it raises the potential for a save so much higher. CPR is an easy skill to learn. Anyone can do it. You can go to Actually, the Pflugerville Firefighters Association has a free class that goes on monthly. All the information is on our website. There's also a playlist that will help you remember the tempo. But early compressions, early CPR is the best chance to make that a survivable event. Travis: I think we even have that playlist pulled up so we can give it a scroll and let people see some of the songs you guys are actually trying to make this, you know, even entertaining and catchy, something easy for people to remember and learn and kind of put those skills into practice. I saw a Sabrina Carpenter song on there, and so I'll be practicing my CPR to that later today. So we're showing that resource for people and where you can find it. But I do want to ask for someone who the thought of jumping in as a bystander might be really scary, even if they've practiced, even if they've learned the skills. What would you say to folks, who you know that's a scary moment, to jump in and try to do something like that, if you've only ever practiced, maybe on a practice dummy or in a class? Stokes: Well, it's interesting. We're doing Stillwater training right now at Lake Pflugerville. Last year, while we were out there doing that, someone actually started drowning while we were there. So as first responders, we're trained to do that. But even that group had a little hesitation, because they're like, surely, this is not happening right in front of us. So even for trained professionals, it can be stressful. The reality, though, is paying attention, making sure that someone is always watching, especially with kiddos, we can prevent that from ever happening. DuPree: We mentioned a little bit earlier about the device known as an AED, talk to us about what that is and how helpful it can be in an emergency. Stokes: So an AED is an automated external defibrillator, so it's a piece of equipment that has become very popular in public places all across the world. You'll see them in malls. You'll see them in airports. The way they're designed now is you don't need any training in them. As a matter of fact, some of the manufacturers prefer you don't have some training on, say, another brand, and then have to use that from the time you turn it on, it will walk you through every single step. Those that are located near a pool or a body of water — there's very specific directions drawing the person off before you do it. But other than that, it allows the best chance to restart the heart, should it be an electrical issue. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Report: Number of Americans identifying as Christian considered stable after years of decline
AUSTIN (KXAN) — After years of steady decline, the number of Americans who identify as Christian is 'leveling off' at around six out of 10 people, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. The religious landscape study released this week is the largest single survey that the center conducts, and the numbers are considered authoritative figures on the size of U.S. religious groups, because the U.S. Census does not collect this kind of information. The mass survey included 37,000 Americans with the center. According to the new study, it found that 62% of U.S. adults identify as Christians, which is a 9% decline since 2014 and a 16% drop since 2007. In the last five years, the Christian share of the adult population 'has been relatively stable, hovering between 60% and 64%' between 2019 and 2024, according to the study. Additionally, the survey said 36% of adults in Texas 'are highly religious.' Furthermore, 67% identify as Christians, 6% identify with other religions and 26% identify as religiously unaffiliated. To break down the survey, KXAN's Avery Travis and Will DuPree spoke with Director of Religion Research at Pew Research Center Alan Cooperman. Read a transcribed version of the interview below, or watch in the video player above. Some responses have been edited for clarity. Avery Travis: Before we get into the findings and results of this survey, we want to ask you, why is it important for the center to study this, especially on such a large scale? Alan Cooperman: Well, we study religion because we think religion is really important to individuals and to societies. We don't promote any particular religion or religion as a whole. Will DuPree: And Alan, according to this survey, what does religion in America look like today? And how has that really changed over time? Cooperman: Well, the big news in American religion is stability. Because over the last 20 plus years, organized religion has broadly been in decline in really all across the United States. The percentages of Americans who identify as Christians had been going down by about one percentage point per year, and the shares who don't identify with any religious group. We sometimes call them the nones, N-O-N-E-S, have been rising by about one percentage point per group per year. And this has been going on for a few decades now. But just in the last few years, those numbers have leveled off. So we're now hovering right around 62% Christian nationwide, 29% who don't identify with any religion. Travis: Let's talk about Texas. How does our state compare with what we're seeing in the rest of the country? Cooperman: So Texas is a religious state, as I'm sure your folks know. In Texas right now, it's about 67% of adults who identify as Christian. Now Texas has not been immune from the big national trends. That number is 10 points lower than it was in 2014 when it was 77%. But still, Texas is a little more Christian than the nation as a whole. The share of people who don't identify with any religion is a little lower in Texas than it is across the whole. Texans are religious, not just in their identities, but also in what they do. So for example, 50% of Texans say they pray every day. Nationwide, it's 44% and Austin, I hate to break this to you, if it ever was weird, it's not so weird. Austin looks a lot like the country as a whole. It really does, in terms of the shares that are present, that are Christian, the shares that are nuns, and the shares who pray daily, attend religious services. Austin's very much kind of like the national average. Travis: Really interesting. So as you mentioned there, the study is not only looking at what people say they believe, but how those beliefs influence people's daily practices. What are we seeing as a national trend over time? You mentioned going to church, praying daily. Have we seen a change in recent years in people's day to day lives? Cooperman: Yes, Avery. Almost every measure of religious behavior and engagement had been down, had been declining over the past few decades. But again, just in the last few years, since around 2019-2020, those things seem to have leveled off. So the share of people who say they pray daily is leveled off. The share of people who say they attend religious services. Religious services, about a third of Americans who say they go once a month or more. Again, a little over four in 10 say they pray every day. Same with belief in God and a lot of these other measures that after long term declines seem to be stabilizing. DuPree: Alan, final question for you here this morning, what about other religions outside of Christianity? What did the survey find there? Cooperman: So, those shares are still fairly low, but they're growing. So all the non-Christian religions together today make up about 7% of the U.S. population. Ten years ago, 5% and that includes Jews, who are about 2% and that number is pretty stable. Muslims, about 1% also rising over time. Hindus, Buddhists, each also around 1% and also have been rising over time. And immigration is part of the reason for the increase in those non-Christian religions, aside from Judaism. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
