… Gun deaths, by homicide and suicide, are pretty common in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 33,636 Americans died by firearm in 2013 — about one person every 15 minutes. And they disproportionately happen to young people. … David Hemenway, a professor of public health at […] Read more »
How Vaccinations Become Partisan
One of the more interesting moments in last Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate was when Ben Carson, a physician, was asked to comment on Donald Trump’s previous comments supporting the idea that vaccinations can lead to autism. … In many cases, people’s opinions on issues are not well formed, and they […] Read more »
You can blame CNN (and the news media) if childhood vaccinations go down
There were a lot of half-truths and out-right falsehoods peddled at CNN’s Republican debate Wednesday night, but perhaps the most damaging among them was the assertion by Donald Trump that childhood vaccinations cause autism, and others’ skepticism about the safety of the vaccine schedule set out by the American Academy […] Read more »
U.S. Catholics Open to Non-Traditional Families
When Pope Francis arrives in the U.S. for the World Meeting of Families later this month, he will find a Catholic public that is remarkably accepting of a variety of non-traditional families, according to a new Pew Research Center survey that provides an in-depth look at American Catholics’ views on […] Read more »
Three in 10 Parents Worry About Child’s Safety at School
Twenty-nine percent of U.S. parents say they fear for their child’s safety at school. This is down from the 33% found immediately after the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012, but still above the 25% measured a few months before that incident occurred. CONT. Justin McCarthy, […] Read more »
PDK/Gallup Poll: Testing doesn’t measure up for Americans
Student engagement at school and whether students feel hopeful about their future are far better factors to consider when evaluating schools than using standardized test scores, according to the results of the 47th annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. … Among other findings of this […] Read more »