| | | | | | | Presented By Robin Powered | | | | Axios What's Next | | By Alex Fitzpatrick, Jennifer A. Kingson and Joann Muller · Jul 11, 2022 | | Alex here. Just wanted to give a big thanks to Jennifer, who held down the fort last week while I was stuck in bed with COVID-19. - My biggest takeaway? Even a "mild" case can be pretty rough, and it's worth avoiding infection if you can — though the latest, ultra-transmissible variants are making that harder than ever.
- Also, "Brooklyn 99" is incredibly binge-able.
Today's Smart Brevity count: 1,084 words ... 4 minutes. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Making 'red flag' laws work |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | "Red flag" laws — which allow judges to confiscate guns from people who threaten violence — tend to be toothless unless they have a local champion: A sheriff, district attorney or other authority figure who makes it their business to teach people to use them effectively, Jennifer A. Kingson reports. Why it matters: Coaxing states to implement red flag laws is a centerpiece of the gun bill that President Biden recently signed. - Similar laws already on the books in Illinois and New York didn't prevent the recent mass shootings in Highland Park and Buffalo.
- But research shows that when police officers, educators and community leaders are encouraged to use these laws and trained in their nuances, more court orders are filed that keep firearms away from potentially dangerous people.
Where it stands: 19 states and the District of Columbia have such laws, which enable law enforcement, family members and school officials to petition civil courts to remove firearms from people who show signs of being homicidal or suicidal. Lessons learned: In the early days of California's law, which took effect in 2016, it "wasn't being used unless there was a local champion or someone who was in a position of influence who was saying, 'Here is this law, it's on the books, let's start using it,'" said Veronica Pear, a professor at the University of California, Davis who published a recent study about the law's efficacy. - From 2016 to 2019, at least 58 people who threatened mass shootings had their guns confiscated in California because of gun violence restraining orders, Pear found.
What they're saying: "There's so much important work that needs to be done in order to really take advantage of the preventive potential of these red flag laws," says Shannon Frattaroli, who directs the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health. Frattaroli identified three places where red flag "champions" have made a difference: - In Maryland, former Montgomery County Sheriff Darren Popkin "took it upon himself to develop a training protocol and program" for the state's 2018 red flag law, and "went on the road," driving around the state to train officers, Frattaroli said.
- In King County, Washington, senior prosecutor Kimberly Wyatt leads a unit dedicated to handling "red flag" cases.
- Broward County, Florida — home to Parkland — "filed a total of 255 petitions and seized more than 400 guns in just the first year" of the state's 2018 red flag law, CNN reports. That's in large part due to the efforts of Sheriff Gregory Tony.
The big picture: Red flag laws are considered a nascent policy tool in the broader field of "behavioral threat assessment" — the practice of evaluating and intervening when people show disturbing signs. What's next: The $750 million in the bipartisan gun safety law for red flag laws has "tremendous potential" to improve how they're implemented, Frattaroli said. - "It's a sizable investment," she said. "I'm eager to watch how those grants are awarded and what states and localities do with that money."
|     | | | | | | 2. Enter the robo(call)cops |  | | | Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios | | | | Federal regulators are stepping up efforts to rid our voicemail inboxes of those annoying auto warranty robocalls, Axios' Ina Fried reports. Why it matters: Car warranty scams have resulted in more than 8 billion unwanted and possibly illegal calls. The details: The Federal Communications Commission recently sent cease-and-desist letters to several wireless carriers warning them to stop carrying this suspicious robocall traffic or "face all their traffic being blocked by other providers." What they're saying: "Auto warranty scams are one of the top complaints we get from consumers and it's time to hold those responsible for making these junk calls," FCC chairperson Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. Read the rest. | | | | | | | | 3. Recession? What recession? |  The latest jobs numbers don't exactly scream "recession." - The U.S. economy added 372,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate held at 3.6% — close to the lowest level in a half-century, Axios' Courtenay Brown reports.
Why it matters: All this healthy job growth means workers generally haven't lost the leverage they've been enjoying lately. Yes, but: Even if the broader numbers look OK, several high-profile companies have announced layoffs, rescinded job offers and paused hiring, especially in sectors like housing and tech. - And if a recession does hit, workers can probably kiss that sweet, sweet leverage goodbye.
Read the rest. | | | | | | | | A message from Robin Powered | | Roll-out strategies to boost employee engagement | | |  | | | | Robin's step-by-step, actionable playbook helps hybrid work beginners better facilitate flexible work. What's in it for you: Learn to connect hybrid teams, increase engagement and leverage data. Plus, get free planning templates to create unique workplace strategies. Download the guide. | | | | | | 4. A seal of approval for facial recognition tech |  | | | A harbor seal seen in Svalbard, Norway. Photo: Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images | | | | A team of Colgate University undergrads has developed a facial recognition system used to identify individual harbor seals, coastal issues magazine Hakai reports. Why it matters: Researching wild animals can shed light not only on their unique behaviors but also on broader issues such as climate change. - And there's been a big push lately toward less-invasive tracking techniques.
The details: "Team members snapped more than 2,000 pictures of seals around Casco Bay, Maine, during a two-year period," per Hakai. - "They tested the software using 406 different seals and found that SealNet could correctly identify the seals' faces 85% of the time."
Yes, but: As with other facial recognition tech, SealNet has its limitations — it was thrown off by a rock that looked an awful lot like a seal's face, for instance. | | | | | | | | 5. 🛰 Webb pics incoming |  | | | A James Webb Space Telescope test image produced in May. Photo courtesy of NASA, CSA and FGS team | | | | Mark your calendars, fellow space nerds: NASA is set to release the James Webb Space Telescope's first images tomorrow, Axios' Miriam Kramer reports. Why it matters: This long-awaited milestone will set the stage for the rest of the $10 billion telescope's mission to rework our understanding of how the universe evolved. The images are expected to demonstrate Webb's broad capabilities. - The first batch will reveal the fine details of star formation, an exoplanet's atmosphere, an incredibly deep image of the universe and more.
- It's still not clear, however, what these images will actually look like.
- "There are things we are expecting and hoping to see, but with a new telescope and this new, high-resolution infrared data, we just won't know until we see it," Joseph DePasquale of the Space Telescope Science Institute said in a statement.
The big picture: Webb is expected to change scientists' understanding of our cosmos' early history. - By using infrared light, the telescope will be able to cut through cosmic dust and see farther into the past than ever before, revealing the first galaxies and stars to form in a nascent universe.
Share this story. | | | | | | | | A message from Robin Powered | | Tech that connects hybrid teams | | |  | | | | Robin's step-by-step Hybrid Work 101 guide shares key ways to create a thriving hybrid workplace. It covers: - The tech you need to better connect your teams.
- How to adjust your office for flexible work.
- Leveraging data to assess your strategies.
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