West
Motorcyclist dies at Death Valley National Park, another hospitalized amid triple-digit heat
A motorcyclist died Saturday from suspected heat exposure in California’s Death Valley National Park, and another was hospitalized as sweltering temperatures shattered records in the West over the weekend.
Officials did not release any details about the motorcyclist who died. The other motorcyclist was rushed to a Las Vegas hospital for “severe heat illness,” the park said in a statement. No details about their condition were immediately provided.
The two victims were riding through the Badwater Basin area of the park as part of a group of six motorcyclists, the park said. The other four members of the party were treated at the scene.
Temperatures at the park over the weekend hit a high of 128 F.
TEXAS HIKER DIES ON TRAIL AT GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK; OFFICIALS WARN OF EXTREME HEAT
The scorching temperatures prevented emergency medical helicopters from responding, as the aircraft cannot generally fly safely over 120 F, officials said.
The park was under an “extreme summer heat” alert, which advises visitors to avoid hiking after 10 a.m., drink plenty of water and “travel prepared to survive.”
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK SHOOTING LEAVES SUSPECT DEAD, OFFICER INJURED
Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds echoed a similar warning in a statement.
“While this is a very exciting time to experience potential world record setting temperatures in Death Valley, we encourage visitors to choose their activities carefully, avoiding prolonged periods of time outside of an air-conditioned vehicle or building when temperatures are this high,” Reynolds said.
Officials warned that heat illness and injury are cumulative and can build over the course of a day or days.
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Besides not being able to cool down while riding due to high ambient air temperatures, experiencing Death Valley by motorcycle when it is this hot is further challenged by the necessary heavy safety gear worn to reduce injuries during an accident,” the park statement said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
Nevada
UNLV partners with Nevada Highway Patrol to boost trooper wellness
By Police1 Staff
LAS VEGAS — The UNLV Tourist Safety Institute launched an eight-week emergency responder resilience program in August, designed to help Nevada State Police Highway Patrol officers improve their social and emotional wellness. The training focuses on mindfulness, emotional regulation, attention control, and maintaining effective interpersonal relationships to help officers manage the stresses of their profession.
George Togliatti, director of the Nevada Department of Public Safety, praised the program, noting the challenges law enforcement officers face.
“[Our officers] are in an interesting profession, and it is a challenging profession where they are exposed to tragedy and trauma and negative things in life,” Togliatti said.
He emphasized that the program helps address the stigma surrounding mental health in law enforcement.
The program was developed by researchers at UNLV’s Greenspun College of Urban Affairs. Troopers voluntarily signed up for the in-person training, which is tailored to the specific demands of law enforcement.
According to Steven Pace, a former FBI hostage negotiator and assistant professor of criminal justice at UNLV, the training helps officers be more present and make better decisions in high-stress situations.
“This is something that will not slow you down. What it is designed to do is to make you more present in the moment so that you’re able to be more situationally aware and make better decisions.”
Steven Pace
Nicholas Barr, assistant professor at the UNLV School of Social Work, explained that mindfulness techniques can help officers regulate their emotions and improve their relationships with colleagues and the community.
“Neuroscience research shows us that exposure to prolonged stress can produce negative effects impacting physical, mental, and social health,” Barr said.
Revolutionizing officer performance with neuroscience, virtual simulation and real-time biofeedback technology
The program also has broader community benefits, as explained by Joel Lieberman, professor of criminal justice at UNLV.
“Participants will be able to use the tools they learn in the program to support community members experiencing highly stressful and emotionally charged reactions to situations.”
Joel Lieberman
The UNLV Tourist Safety Institute, approved by the Nevada Legislature in June, continues to work on various public safety research projects.
Police1 is using generative AI to create some content that is edited and fact-checked by our editors.
New Mexico
CSU-Pueblo crushes New Mexico Highlands | KRDO
The CSU-Pueblo football team exploded for a 67-28 win over New Mexico Highlands.
The Thunderwolves reached the 66 point mark for the second straight week.
CSU-Pueblo improves to 5-1 this season.
KRDO NewsChannel 13 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.
Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here
If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.
Oregon
Letter from the Editor: We help decipher Oregon’s dismal test scores
As I have said before, journalists work behind the scenes every day to lobby for release of public information. That came into sharp relief recently when Oregon delayed publishing school test scores.
The reason cited by the Department of Education was hard to argue with: The state said it wanted to make the scores more transparent and easier to digest.
“The change comes after The Oregonian/OregonLive reported on a national study that ranked Oregon among the worst states in the country for student achievement transparency,” education reporter Julia Silverman wrote.
But skeptical journalists also wondered whether the delay was to give government spinmeisters a bit more time to soften the blow of bad results. And the planned release on a Friday raised eyebrows further.
Lynne Terry, editor of the Oregon Capital Chronicle, flagged the issue for other Oregon journalists.
The “Friday news dump” is a tried-and-true tactic to bury news on a day (better yet a Friday afternoon or evening) when newsrooms are slammed wrapping up the workweek. And follow-up articles over the weekend are less likely because of lighter newsroom staffing. By Monday, interest fades as new storylines emerge.
The dropping of important information on Fridays has been around as long as there have been people paid to manage the release of bad news.
Marc Siegel, Education Department spokesperson, denies that was the intent. “That idea never came up. ODE chose Friday to give journalists more time to review, ask clarifying questions and write about a very large volume of data and ensure the data are accessible to the public and press.”
As far as Oregon test scores, a short embargo is typical for complicated data sets.
“I have been covering test score data release in Oregon for 27 years,” said Betsy Hammond, longtime education editor at The Oregonian/OregonLive. “We have always gotten the data on an embargoed basis with about three days to parse it before we are allowed to make it public. …
“In my experience, having three days to examine and analyze the data and ask school districts questions has helped our newsroom and others avoid mistakes and provide accurate contextualized information to help readers understand what’s there.”
She and Silverman agreed, however, that the Friday release was problematic. Test scores have routinely been released on Thursdays, three days after journalists receive them under embargo. Keep in mind the tests were given last spring.
After hearing of the unexpected delay, journalists from the Salem Reporter, Oregon Capital Chronicle, Oregon Public Broadcasting and The Oregonian/OregonLive wrote to the director of the Education Department, Charlene Williams, and copied their concerns to the office of Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek.
Citing public records law, the letter noted timely release was required. Also, “embargoing public information until a Friday is a common tactic to limit the dissemination of that information to the widest audience possible,” the letter said. “As journalists, our job is to help the public understand a wide variety of issues, including public education. Releasing information near a weekend, when it is commonly known people consume less news, will from our perspective limit transparency.”
Ryan Haas, managing editor at OPB, took the lead in drafting the letter. The Salem Reporter’s Rachel Alexander, who had filed the records request, signed on along with Hammond and Terry.
Kotek’s office said the initial delay was solely “to ensure the data was more accessible and comprehensible to the press and public.” Upon learning of the media’s public records request, the governor’s office asked the department to move up the release time.
By Monday, the Department of Education said it would release the information on Thursday, as usual. And indeed, the news was bad.
Silverman had noted it was difficult for people to compare school performance over time, from before the COVID-19 pandemic to afterward. Comparing test results for each school or district involved finding data points in multiple large spreadsheets.
That remains the case (though Siegel said more data would soon be available).
Even with the extra time, the data released Thursday is not easy to parse for parents. Comparing the new scores to those from just before and after the pandemic requires locating and downloading at least six separate Excel files from the state’s website.
The Oregonian/OregonLive to the rescue. In order to add clarity, data specialist Mark Friesen jumped in to create data visualizations showing pre- and post-pandemic performance trends for every school in our database, found at schools.oregonlive.com.
Readers can compare test scores in 2018 to the current scores. This helps pinpoint learning losses during the pandemic.
We hope readers find it informative.
-
Technology4 days ago
Charter will offer Peacock for free with some cable subscriptions next year
-
World3 days ago
Ukrainian stronghold Vuhledar falls to Russian offensive after two years of bombardment
-
World3 days ago
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange says he pleaded ‘guilty to journalism’ in order to be freed
-
Technology2 days ago
Beware of fraudsters posing as government officials trying to steal your cash
-
Virginia4 days ago
Status for Daniels and Green still uncertain for this week against Virginia Tech; Reuben done for season
-
Sports1 day ago
Freddie Freeman says his ankle sprain is worst injury he's ever tried to play through
-
Health19 hours ago
Health, happiness and helping others are vital parts of free and responsible society, Founding Fathers taught
-
News19 hours ago
Lebanon says 50 medics killed in past three days as Israel extends its bombardment