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US Anti-Gun Violence Youth Group Issues Manifesto 

FILE - Student survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School walk through the halls of the state capitol to challenge lawmakers on gun control reform, in Tallahassee, Florida, Feb. 21, 2018.
FILE - Student survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School walk through the halls of the state capitol to challenge lawmakers on gun control reform, in Tallahassee, Florida, Feb. 21, 2018.

March for Our Lives, an anti-gun violence youth group that formed after a mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school last year, has published a six-point manifesto urging politicians to control what the group calls "a national public health emergency."

Citing a daily toll of 100 lives lost to shootings, the group said, "Gun violence is destroying our generation."

The incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, left 17 people dead and several others wounded.

"We believe it's time for a 'Peace Plan for a Safer America,'" the group wrote, describing the report's title. "The next President must act with a fierce urgency to call this crisis what it is: a national public health emergency. They must acknowledge that the level of gun violence in the U.S. is unprecedented for a developed nation — and only bold, new solutions can move the needle on the rates of gun injuries and deaths."

The document asks that national leadership heed six "bold" steps:

  • Change the standards of gun ownership
  • Halve the rate of gun deaths in 10 years
  • Accountability for the gun lobby and industry
  • Name a director of gun violence prevention
  • Generate community-based solutions
  • Empower the next generation

The first letter of each bullet point spells the word "change."

"Among young people, gun violence has become a top cause of death, second only to drug overdoses," the report stated. "It has many root causes, including hate, poverty, and despair."

The group proposes a national licensing and registry system, a ban on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and "other weapons of war," policies to disarm gun owners who pose a risk to themselves or others, and a national gun buy-back program "to reduce the estimated 265-393 million firearms in circulation by at least 30%."

FILE - Members applaud as U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the National Rifle Association's (NRA) 148th annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, April 26, 2019.
FILE - Members applaud as U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the National Rifle Association's (NRA) 148th annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, April 26, 2019.

The National Rifle Association (NRA), the largest gun rights advocacy group based in the United States, has been called one of the top three most powerful lobbying groups in the United States. An estimated 5 million people belong to the NRA.

"The gun control community is finally being marginally honest about their true wish list," wrote Amy Hunter, NRA media liaison, in an email. "The simple fact remains their proposals and ideas are out of the mainstream and most people will understand their real intent goes beyond what they publicly state."

Gun rights advocates cite the right to bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Gun ownership is a politically divisive issue in the United States.

The minimum age to possess a gun should be 21, March for Our Lives said, as it called for gun purchases to be limited to one firearm a month.

"Mobilize an urgent and comprehensive federal response: declare a national emergency around gun violence and announce an audacious goal to reduce gun injuries and deaths by 50% in 10 years," March for Our Lives wrote.

In this display in Washington, empty pairs of shoes - symbolizing the children killed by guns in the United States since the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012 - sit on the southeast lawn of the U.S. Capitol, March 13, 2018.
In this display in Washington, empty pairs of shoes - symbolizing the children killed by guns in the United States since the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012 - sit on the southeast lawn of the U.S. Capitol, March 13, 2018.

The group proposed that the president name a director of gun violence prevention whose mandate would be to "empower existing federal agencies ... that have all been structurally weakened by the gun lobby," naming those agencies as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The group also called for community-based solutions, such as programs to reduce urban, domestic and police violence as well as suicide while targeting mental and behavioral health. The proposal includes automatic voter registration for 18-year-olds and the creation of a Safety Corps, or Peace Corps for violence prevention. The latter would be a federal program for 16- to 25-year-olds to "unlock the power of young people to bolster civic infrastructure."

The report does not focus only on the kind of mass shootings that led to the creation of March for Our Lives, but includes national gun violence, particularly in urban centers.

"We cannot talk about gun violence in communities without talking about our national challenges with police violence," the report stated.

"Officer-involved shootings are now a leading cause of death for young American men. While police violence both contributes to, and is influenced by, weak gun laws, we also need structural reforms that directly produce better policing."

The nine-page report was anchored by 81 citations from universities, media, medical studies, legal groups and nonprofits focused on decreasing gun violence.

Federal leadership "must recognize that gun violence has many faces in our communities, from rural suicides to intimate partner violence to urban youth violence to violence driven by white supremacist ideologies.

And they must commit to holding an unpatriotic gun lobby and gun industry accountable not just for weakening our nation's gun laws, but also for illegal behavior in self-dealing that offends and contradicts America's vast majority of responsible gun owners," it said.

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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley

FILE - Students walk past Sather Gate on the University of California at Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif., May 10, 2018.
FILE - Students walk past Sather Gate on the University of California at Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif., May 10, 2018.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

STEM, business top subjects for international students

FILE - The Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh campus on Sept. 12, 2024.
FILE - The Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh campus on Sept. 12, 2024.

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

Safety and visa difficulties among misconceptions about US colleges

FILE - A person walks near buildings, Dec. 17, 2024, on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.
FILE - A person walks near buildings, Dec. 17, 2024, on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

Read the full story here. (January 2025)

Work opportunities help draw international students to US schools

FILE - Students cross the campus of Dartmouth College, March 5, 2024, in Hanover, NH.
FILE - Students cross the campus of Dartmouth College, March 5, 2024, in Hanover, NH.

US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)

British student talks about her culture shock in Ohio

FILE - Spectators look at the solar eclipse through protective eyewear on the football field at Bowling Green State University on April 8, 2023, in Bowling Green, Ohio.
FILE - Spectators look at the solar eclipse through protective eyewear on the football field at Bowling Green State University on April 8, 2023, in Bowling Green, Ohio.

A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.

Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.

Read the full story here. (December 2024)

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