Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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mikespies.bsky.social @mikespies.bsky.social · 1d

5/The suicide prevention group is called American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The gun industry partner is called the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the gun industry's trade group.

mikespies.bsky.social @mikespies.bsky.social · 1d

4/Then the program was secretly shut down early, and in a meeting the suicide prevention group’s leader revealed, of the goal, that “It came out of work with a consultant,” and that it “wasn’t a hard and fast goal.” Measures were taken to cover tracks.

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mikespies.bsky.social @mikespies.bsky.social · 1d

3/At no point did the NSSF or AFSP temper the public’s expectations about the achievability of reducing suicide 20 percent by 2025. But suicide kept going up.

A Program Backed by the Gun Industry Failed to Reduce Suicide — and Was Secretly Shut Down Early

mikespies.bsky.social @mikespies.bsky.social · 1d

2/The effort was good for public relations and raising money, but it never came close to meeting its goal. Internal emails, documents, and a recording of a Zoom meeting reveal a partnership that in critical ways gave first priority to messaging and the interests of the gun industry.

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mikespies.bsky.social @mikespies.bsky.social · 1d

1/My latest story, part 4 of our series “The Secret Files of the Gun Industry,” begins in in 2016, when the country’s best-known suicide prevention group teamed up with the gun industry to tackle the biggest form of gun death + help reduce suicide 20% by 2025 www.thetrace.org/2025/10/gun-...

The country’s best-known suicide prevention group teamed up with the gun industry. The effort was good for public relations and raising money, but it never met its goal, and internal records show why.

Trump officials discussed sending elite Army division to Portland, text messages show

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Minnesota Star Tribune @startribune.com · 5d

The messages show high-level officials in the Trump administration discussing the possible deployment of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, an infantry force that has dropped into combat zones in both World Wars, Vietnam and Afghanistan.

A high-ranking White House official was indiscreetly texting about the Portland, Ore., planning last weekend, according to messages shared with the Minnesota Star Tribune.

bit.ly

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The Trace @thetrace.org · 9d

The September 28 attack on an LDS church in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, was at least the 20th high-profile shooting at a house of worship in the past two decades.

Collectively, these shootings left at least 92 people dead and 100 wounded.

A Timeline of High-Profile Shootings at Houses of Worship

The attack on a Mormon church in Michigan was one of many similar shootings over the past 20 years, according to an analysis by The Trace.

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Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · 8d

The Michigan attack was at least the 20th high-profile shooting at a house of worship in the U.S. over the past two decades.

Many of the shootings were motivated by hate, while others stemmed from domestic disputes or a grudge the attacker had against the church.

www.thetrace.org/2025/09/chur...

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Tim Dickinson @timdickinson.bsky.social · 11d

Live from "war ravaged" Portland

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mikespies.bsky.social @mikespies.bsky.social · 11d

3/We need to actively work to convince non-readers that we’re the ones bringing them the truth, and that perhaps means spending more time talking to listeners of podcasts like Joe Rogan, who now serve as the gatekeepers of info for many millions of Americans.

mikespies.bsky.social @mikespies.bsky.social · 11d

2/We don’t actively tell the story of who we are and what we do to people who aren’t our readers, and as a result we’ve left open a vacuum and allowed other people—the self-interested ones—tell our story in bad faith.

mikespies.bsky.social @mikespies.bsky.social · 11d

1/In the decades-long fight by self-interested parties to discredit news orgs, the posture of news orgs has been entirely passive + delusional. We want to believe the work speaks for itself, and in a perfect world it would, but in this one it doesn’t.

Billy Eichner: Jimmy Kimmel's Suspension Is an Attack on Our Fundamental Rights

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Brian Hiatt @hiattb.bsky.social · 17d

Worked with the great Billy Eichner on this piece he just wrote for us: www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv...

Billy Eichner writes that Jimmy Kimmel's suspension is an 'attack on each individual American'

Why the Political Blame Game Starts Moments After a Shooting

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Josiah Bates @josiahbates.bsky.social · 20d

After Charlie Kirk’s killing, the loudest voices rushed to assign blame. @jenmascia.bsky.social shows why that reaction is predictable, what it distracts us from, and why it matters.

The aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s killing has devolved into a national guessing game over the shooter’s politics. Experts say that’s missing the point.

The Quiet Crisis: What’s Driving Gun Suicides Among Older Americans?

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The Trace @thetrace.org · 20d

Even as more older Americans are dying by gun suicide, their deaths often stay hidden. Many isolated older Americans have no obituary, memorial, or funeral, and for those who do, the cause of death often goes unmentioned. But doctors and researchers have been sounding the alarm.

More and more older Americans are dying by firearm suicide, a new analysis from The Trace and GQ reveals. Older white men and those in rural areas experience alarmingly high rates.

Subscribe to The Trajectory

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Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · 21d

If you like stories like this that look at creative ideas to address America's gun violence epidemic, consider subscribing to my newsletter: The Trajectory.

It's free!!

Get our solutions coverage sent straight to your inbox.

The Gun Violence Data Hub — An initiative of The Trace

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The Trace @thetrace.org · Sep 7

The Gun Violence Data Hub, an initiative of The Trace, provides support, resources, and reliable data to newsrooms, researchers, and the public.

The Gun Violence Data Hub, an initiative of The Trace, provides support, resources, and reliable data to newsrooms, researchers, and the public.

datahub.thetrace.org

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The Trace @thetrace.org · Sep 8

Nearly two dozen universities experienced false alarms of gunfire since school resumed last month. In some ways these false alarms, which trigger a massive police response and nationwide news alerts, can be nearly as psychologically damaging as a shooting, experts say.
Read more: thetr.ac/EryMr

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mikespies.bsky.social @mikespies.bsky.social · Sep 7

Btw: if this is true, Mike Johnson clearly does not know that no one willingly becomes an informant

Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · Sep 6

Trump administration officials are perplexed by House Speaker Mike Johnson’s claims that Donald Trump was an FBI informant in the case against Jeffrey Epstein. More:
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

'What the Hell?' House Speaker Confuses White House With Claim Trump Was an FBI Snitch

Trump admin officials are perplexed by House Speaker Mike Johnson’s claims that Donald Trump was an FBI informant in the case against Jeffrey Epstein.

More Than 20 Active Shooting Hoaxes Have Locked Down Colleges Over the Past Two Weeks

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Aaron Mendelson @amendelson.bsky.social · Sep 5

The last two weeks have seen 20+ active shooting hoaxes at colleges around the U.S. — including one at Iowa State University in my hometown of Ames.

New analysis from @jenmascia.bsky.social www.thetrace.org/2025/09/swat...

Experts said swatting incidents can traumatize students and first responders.

Republican Governors Sent National Guard to D.C. Despite Violence at Home

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mikespies.bsky.social @mikespies.bsky.social · Aug 31

The background check system for firearms is built for speedy commerce—to do the absolute bare minimum without slowing down sales. The disqualifying criteria—a felony conviction or involuntary commitment—are not v useful, since the vast majority of ppl fit in neither category

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Brian Freskos @brianfreskos.bsky.social · Aug 29

Six GOP governors — MS, LA, TN, SC, OH, and WV — sent National Guard units to D.C., echoing Trump’s rhetoric about a city awash in crime.

But most of those states have some of the nation’s highest gun homicide rates, with counties worse than the capital Republicans portray as especially dangerous.

Most of the states backing Trump’s crime crackdown have areas with higher gun homicide rates than the nation’s capital, a Trace analysis shows.

Gun Rights Supporters Could Accept Significant Regulations, Per Industry's Research

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Sean Woods @seanwoods.bsky.social · Aug 29

NEW from @mikespies.bsky.social
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

After Parkland, the gun industry funded a study to “determine the most effective ways” to communicate about firearm ownership.