To stop the next mass shooting, make schools softer, not harder, these experts say.

Taking a public health approach to shootings like the one in Parkland, Fla., would identify potential attackers, make sure they're getting the mental health care and community support they need, and temporarily take their guns if necessary.

Kelly Jo Smart for NPR Thirty percent of all cancer patients. A million deaths every year. All from one defective gene we’ve spent decades trying to block RAS is like a switch jammed in the “on” position, ordering cancer patients’ cells to divide over and over and over again. It was first discovered in the early 1980s, and since then, many pharmaceutical companies have tried and failed to build a drug that could shut the process down. Cancer researchers moved on to easier problems. But an initiative launched four years ago finally seems to be getting somewhere, with human testing possible this year. Elissa Nadworny/NPR You’re dropped, with few resources, in a foreign country where you don’t know the language. Could you rebuild your life in 3 months? That’s the mission for refugees arriving in the U.S. Resettlement money provides them with a 90-day runway to develop language skills, adjust to a completely new environment, address neglected health issues and more. In one Virginia city, neighbors are stepping in to make that runway longer, helping however they can. Often that means giving driving lessons or helping fill out paperwork — so much paperwork. LA Johnson/NPR Want to prevent school shootings? Don’t arm staff members, this group says — give them the tools to spot and help those who need it Studies consistently have found key factors that can make schools safer, researchers say: Cultivating social and emotional health, connecting to community resources and, in particular, responding to troubled students. Shut down bullying, discrimination and harassment. Make discipline in-house and inclusive. And when a real threat emerges, these experts say, leverage the entire community, and tougher gun laws, to address it. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images The government has lifted the ban on bringing home elephant trophies, which the president once described as a 'horror show' African elephant populations fell by 30 percent from 2007 to 2014 by one estimate. President Trump had put a hold on lifting the ban in November, tweeting that advocates of big-game hunting “will be very hard pressed to change my mind that this horror show in any way helps conservation.” But after a National Rifle Association win in court, the Fish and Wildlife Service quietly rolled back the ban this week. Sara Wong for NPR A year after her dad’s death, her mom emerged from mourning with a demand: Jump out of a plane with me “It was a little alarming and death-wishy, but you'd have to have a heart of coal not to sign on,” writes Hanna Rosin, co-host of NPR’s Invisibilia podcast. And it made a kind of sense: Rosin’s dad had been a paratrooper, so thousands of feet up was as good a place as any for her mom to try finding him — and closure. “I watched with growing terror as a stranger pushed my mother out an airplane door,” Hanna writes. “And then it was my turn.” You received this message because you're subscribed to our Best of NPR emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002