Month: July 2018

You’ve probably heard people complain how it seems like people get dumber when the temperatures get hotter. Well, as it turns out, there appears to be some truth in that belief, according to a study published Tuesday on the PLOS Medicine website.

Researchers from Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that the human brain functions 13 percent slower when it has to work in extreme heat.

How was the study conducted?

Scientists studied 44 college students over a 12-day period in Boston in July 2016, one of the city’s worst heat waves on record, according to KDKA-TV.

Twenty-two undergrads lived in air-conditioned brick-based buildings while the other 22 lived in similar type buildings with no air conditioning.

Scientists added that the buildings the students lived in made the effect of heat on their brains even worse.

“These buildings have a hard time shedding heat during hotter summer days created by the changing climate, giving rise to indoor heat waves,” study co-author Joseph Allen told KDKA in a press release.

The participants performed two self-administered cognition tests each day.

What were the findings?

Those living in the buildings without air conditioning performed more than 13 percent worse on math and memory tests than their cohorts who lived in air-conditioned dorms.

There’s long been a belief that older people or those who are ill are the ones whose health is most at-risk during higher temperatures.

“Most of the research on the health effects of heat has been done in vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, creating the perception that the general population is not at risk from heat waves,” Jose Guillermo Cedeño-Laurent, the study’s lead author said in the release.

“Knowing what the risks are across different populations is critical considering that in many cities… the number of heat waves is projected to increase due to climate change.”

Harvard University Climate Change Solutions funded the study.

via TheBlaze.com – Stories

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://www.theblaze.com

Schools should encourage students to turn in classmates who exhibit “concerning” behaviors, according to a new set of school violence prevention guidelines released Thursday by the U.S. Secret Service.

But it shouldn’t be considered “snitching,” according to the report.

The recommendations in the 32-page report, “Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model,” is partly a response to the mass killings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas.

Among other things, the report suggests training students, parents, teachers, and other staff members so they can recognize threatening behaviors and learn how to report them.

Is this considered ‘snitching?’

Students should be taught that reporting suspect behavior is not considered “snitching” the report states.

“Snitching is informing on someone for personal gain, here students are encouraged to come forward when they are worried about a friend who is struggling, or when they are trying to keep someone from getting hurt,” according to the guidelines. “Remind students that if they are concerned about a classmate or friend, they need to keep speaking out until that person gets the help they need.”

The guide cautions that there is no composite profile for student attackers. Some do well in school and others do not, for example, according to the report. Some were loners, while others were well-liked and popular.

A series of steps are recommended including the development of a multidisciplinary threat assessment team, a definition of “concerning” behaviors and establishing a central reporting system such as a school website, an email address, a phone number or a phone app, for example.

What is considered concerning behavior?

Schools are also urged to develop definitions for concerning behavior and a process for documenting them. One potentially concerning behavior is an “inappropriate” interest in weapons, school attacks, or other forms of violence.

Schools should also keep tabs on whether the student has been under a lot of stress or had a series of recent losses and challenges, the guide suggests. Other considerations are whether the student has a trusting relationship with an adult at the school and whether the student feels emotionally connected to other students.

“The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting tragedy served as the impetus to go beyond our past work and go in depth regarding the how: how do we solve this epidemic?” Secret Service Director R. D. Alles said. “The report truly is an operational guide, and I am confident that if embraced and followed by our nation’s communities and schools, we will together reduce the occurrence of violence and the tragic loss of life.”

via TheBlaze.com – Stories

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://www.theblaze.com

WASHINGTON, D.C.  — What can we expect of Brett Kavanaugh if he’s confirmed as Justice Anthony Kennedy’s successor on the Supreme Court?
Kavanaugh’s record and background show he will be a fair, impartial and principled justice — and that’s precisely what our nation needs.

via CanadaFreePress.Com

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://canadafreepress.com/

On Thursday, the Trump administration announced that almost half of the children who were five years old or younger and separated from adults at the U.S. border couldn’t be reunited with them because many of the adults were violent criminals, and some of the adults weren’t even the children’s parents.

via Daily Wire

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://www.dailywire.com/rss.xml

A Texas public school district is investigating a teacher over a tweet lambasting the teen boys who were seated at a Whataburger table last week when a man was caught on video throwing a drink in one of their faces and walking off with his “Make America Great Again” hat after allegedly ripping it from his head.

“These s**tcake kids r the same type to wear a MAGA hat to the African American museum,” read a July 4 tweet apparently from Anthony Aguirre Junior High social studies teacher Jogi Pattisapu’s account, the Houston Chronicle reported. “The same douchebag kids who do a Nazi salute in a class picture then claim it was a joke. F*** EM.”

Channelview Independent School District spokeswoman LaKeisha LeBlanc told KSAT-TV that Pattisapu “is a teacher” in the district and that officials “are aware of the comments made on social media” and that the “district is taking this matter seriously and we are conducting an investigation.”

LeBlanc told the Chronicle on Tuesday she couldn’t comment on whether disciplinary action will be taken.

What’s the background?

Hunter Richard, 16, and his friends were sitting at a Whataburger in San Antonio after midnight July 4 when a man allegedly ripped the cap off Richard’s head — pulling out some of his hair in the process, the teen told WOAI-TV — and then picked up a drink from the table and threw it in Richard’s face.

“You ain’t supportin’ s**t, n*****,” the man is heard saying in cellphone video of the incident.

The grinning man is then seen walking from the restaurant with Richard’s cap, calling the teen a “b***h ass, motherf***er” and informing Richard that his cap “is going right in my f***in’ fireplace, b***h.”

Richard and his two friends, both also 16, told the station the attack was unprovoked.

Here’s a clip of the incident. (Content warning: Profanity and racial slur):

Kino Jimenez, 30, was located by robbery task force detectives, police told the paper, and was taken into custody on a warrant for theft of person in connection with the incident.

Jimenez characterized his actions as a “lapse of judgment” and “out of character,” adding that he became enraged when he saw the teen’s MAGA hat, likening it to hooded caps worn by the Ku Klux Klan.

As for the tweet in question, a bit more apparently was expressed in the thread

When a Twitter user asked — in regard to the tweet in question — how support for the attack could be justified, here was the response:

There’s an archive of other posts in the thread. Some of the highlights:

Pattisapu declined to provide more information to the Chronicle when reached by phone Tuesday.

What does the school district have to say about electronic communication for personal use?

The district’s electronic communication policy doesn’t specifically address social media but does offer general guidelines for electronic communication for personal use, the Chronicle said.

“All employees shall be held to the same professional standards in their public use of electronic communication as for any other public conduct,” the policy states, according to the paper. “If an employee’s use of electronic communication violates state or federal law or district policy, or interferes with the employee’s ability to effectively perform his or her job duties, the employee is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.”

via TheBlaze.com – Stories

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://www.theblaze.com

via Weasel Zippers

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://www.weaselzippers.us

via The Gateway Pundit

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com

via Conservative Tribune

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://www.westernjournal.com/ct

via Conservative Tribune

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://www.westernjournal.com/ct

via The Gateway Pundit

Enjoy this article? Read the full version at the authors website: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com