now take a call from the washington press club hosting its first newsmakers conference of 2016 looking at issues of sports injuries sustained by high school and middle school students and young adults happening right now. we will see you tomorrow morning writer on the washington journal. adopt federal compliance mandates. every state in the union has a concussion related law on the books. and a sports injury program regulation on the books. enforcement is the issue and compliance is the issue. that is what the doctors this the sports data person will be talking to us about. my name is mike smith and i serve on the national press club newsmaker community. -- committee. us get it started today. i am a columnist for campaigns and elections magazine and a blog writer for huffington post. i also own my own public affairs virginia, and,

have been a member of the national press club for 25 years. i tweet, so you will see a lot of tweets, #d.c.\/\ -- #dcconcussions you will find additional under our national press club site. various press releases have been put on the wire this morning including health research on the way here. washington's department of health provided a grant to children's medical medstar, and the agency first didn't health research, offering their technology platform to collect data and information from parents, teachers, and coaches, and provide information for done

-- diagnostic questions to help student athletes. monitoringefer to a and prevention program implemented on the playground of the d.c. parks and rec department. the will smith movie, returnedon," has attention to the issue of football and concussions. an item we just saw on the cable network about a sports injury, a young at wheat, the student had , it was found. it is not just nfl players. the movie noted the first autopsy, which helps identify, indicates the player may be hit tens of thousands of times in the head from high school up until college and onward to pro football.

28% of pro football players might suffer from brain injury. i will not limit the discussion from foot -- to football. we are talking about injury across the board and a lot is not allowing headers in the early parts of young athletes careers. society is becoming aware of the issue and so is congress and this eighth. i will mention a few things that happened in the last few weeks on the hill and statehouses that will allow us to provide for a policy discussion as well as a tech knowledge he platform discussion. it is interesting to see we have education beat reporters, technology, sports, and health and medical. this issue traverses a lot of different weeks. -- beats. fred has just said it reaches epidemic proportions as a public health issue.

christmas, there congressman called for a congressional investigation of concussions. he announced the broad review for the house energy and commerce committee. a chairman announced the committee will have a broad review of the injuries at the beginning of the year. this will include medical experts, professionals, nih, military, and the scientific research community and other stakeholders. he said we often hear about concussions in the context of servicemembers and athletes but this goes well beyond. it is a matter of public health and these are prevalent in all ages and across all populations are at do not know much about hedge,, how it affects subsets of the population, and other details critical to developing diagnostics treatments. thanks to public awareness, there are promising efforts underway. we have an opportunity to

improve our understanding and better care for kids and families. congressional caucus that has begun to take action is the congressional youth sports caucus. two of the chairs are marked of tech -- of texas and -- they work to inspect health, safety, fun, and physical activity among players, sports leaders, and parents. what we have learned is this is really a partnership between educators, schools, parents, coaches, and student athletes. what is this caucus doing around the issues of concussions? the caucus plans to meet and continue discussions. i would finally like to go to the state house, richmond. just on the 15th of december of last year, the commission on youth conducted a study providing a dozen recommendations and and holton,

some of them centered on concussions. request the which department of education work together to assess the feasibility of conducting regional information training on of dated concussion guidelines and awareness. trainings were conducted after the adoption of 2011 four guidelines for policies for student athletes. departments are encouraged. the u.s. centers for disease control guidelines, which jerry will talk about in a minute, and other nationally recognized resources for presenting two communities. they should focus on identification of concussion, use of smart phone applications, and long-term health effects. it is interesting the commission is asking for smart phone applications, things that can be used right on site, the use of the data, cloud-based technology, and the ability to ring it down to your smartphone on the playing field.

let me introduce our guest speakers and panelists. we will let you speak to them for a few minutes and then have a roundtable discussion or it chiefrard is the division of neuropsychology and director of the state concussion outcome recovery in education program at the children's national health program, or score. behavioralthe neural core research labs for children's national clinical and translational science institute and the intellectual and developmental disabilities research center. he treats persons and families with brain injuries and disorders involving pediatric concussion. he has been the principal investigator of several studies withearch a focus on the development of methods and tools for the evaluation of postconcussion neuropsychological functioning. he has developed several smart phone apps and will be talking a

lot about the grant and what we're doing to develop the current application. they have narrow cognitive tests for post-concoction -- postconcussion symptom scales for parents. heads-up concussion programs as intervening offer -- authored to the toolkit. thective participant in 2004, 2008, in 2012 internationals orts group consensus meeting and the american academy in neurology and russian guideline author channel. fors a neuropsychologist the capitals and baltimore ravens. though he just told me he is a giants fan. there is your first group. he consulted with organizations ice hockey, related to concussion management, and is on the advisory committee and the national advisory board of the positive coaching alliance. dr. michael yokel said is the vice president of medical affairs and executive director

at the hospital here in washington. he is a highly trained board-certified neurologist and psychiatrist. he currently serves as the medical director of the brain injuries program, an associate director of neurology program at medstar. he is also the program director of the brain injury medicine fellowship training program and is a graduate of gw university's medicine school and completed his residency training. he previously served in the navy and has a particular interest in headaches, sleep dysfunction, and management after a traumatic brain injury. he currently serves on the board of directors for the brain injury association in washington and has been an active member in maryland. he is an associate professor of clinical neurology -- neurology. and he studies traumatic brain injury for servicemembers returning to deployment. he also serves on the fda'scientific advisory board for a grant program.

he has received numerous awards, including outstanding educator award at georgetown. he is recognized as one of the top doctors in washington. charlie flew from san diego and made it ok. he is the executive director of the agency for student health research and founder of the platform for monitoring, educating, and engaging all stakeholders in concussion and sports injuries prevention. a cloud-based data analytics system. he graduated where he spent four years of football and two years of ncaa lacrosse. he earned his master's and educational facility design and is a registered education facility planner. he is a former elementary school classroom teacher and the athletic director at a george academy where he coached football, softball, and basketball at the school he was the athletic director at the san

diego ymca and coached baseball and softball there. he founded the agency for student health research which developed this free app and data platform. when it comes to dramatic brain injury, there is an app for that and we will find out how it is being formed. study worked the in an acquisition of data and information got underway to we are at the nine-month mark of starting to bring in surveys, information from parents, patients, students, and dr. joy is here to tell us a little bit about how it is going and give us a primer of -- on the issue of sports injury. dr. joy: thank you for coming to hear about the important issue.

are talking not only about concussions and its effect on kids but ultimately, what we can ands a society to prevent at the very least to minimize the effect on kids and families. the districtabout of columbia's legislation that to passed several years ago put the tension and intervention into place. any good policy has to be based on good research evidence, on data that allows us to make the best kinds of decisions we can. what we know in the field of mild traumatic brain injury or concussion is that the research right now for our youth populations is really minimal. institute of medicine's report in 2013 identified that

we were lacking in terms of our ultimate knowledge of this injury in kids. most of the research has at the collegiate professional levels or in a more narrow group of high school male football players. our ability to make good policy kids and for younger girls involved in sports, is not based on good scientific evidence at this point. we, back inless, 2009, recognized we needed to do something. in the state of washington, there was a youngster named unfortunately, sustained two blows to the head in an eighth-grade football game , unbeknownst to his coaches or to his parents. unfortunately, he suffered a permanent brain injury.

ofa result, the state washington and one of my good friends and colleagues, dr. stan and the brain injury association, wanted to put out a good, educational platform and program for coaches and parents. they did that on a voluntary basis. what they found was when they went out to educate the public, there was at best a modest interest in the issue. they brought it to the state house and they recognized they would have to legislate the process. and the zachary law was passed in 2009. amazingly over the next five years, every state and the a somewhat similar law into place. i will say the district of columbia has really in itsuished itself policy and legislation in that number one, it included not just high schools orts, which about two thirds of our laws at this point still only focused on, but

also included youth sports, kids aged 5, 6, 7 and eight. it included -- colluded private and not just public schools. it also included what we need to be doing to help kids after the injury occurs and in particular, how we return somebody to school where youngster goes to work every day. it is quite the comprehensive program. i will also say that even more uniquely, they put their money where their mouth was and they have funded children's national health system and medstar and provided us the opportunity to bring charlie into educate and train coaches and parents to be sure we are getting school nurses to really lay the foundation for making our kids safer. guest --ur best to asked to guess at this point on

what we can do appear you will hear a little about the data we are collecting and the work charlie has been doggedly doing to put a structure in place that will tie together our schools, our families, our meta-systems, and our youth sport systems. i like to think of that as the four corners of a child's life, being able to make sure when an injury occurs, it affects all four corners. that information needs to be well communicated and coordinated so that youngsters are getting the best treatment they can. the law was built to try to identify the problem, typically by a nonmedical person or that is, the coach who may see something happen. so our efforts in the first year has been focused on how do we give coaches and information to recognize

the injury and know that number to the a blow or head body jerks that individual in such a way, but with number two, brings along a change that youngster's function, as identified by going through a list of signs and symptoms, that youngster has to be pulled out of harms way and evaluated by a medical professional and they cannot return to that field of risk until they have been cleared by a medical professional to say that brain has recovered and is able to handle the return. those are the three core principles of this law. educating, removing, and making sure we only return when ready. i will stop her and be happy to take some questions. we will hear from the doctor on some of the activities we have been doing in our grant.

but again, i want to give just a , positive message to the d.c. government for happen andng this also for the department of health in facilitating it. thank you. michael: thank you very much for having us. and allowing us to do -- to come and discuss this important topic. bitnted to start a little by talking about our clinical practice in medstar. highlights thely impact and we are seeing new concussion patients every single day. throughout the sports medicine network, throughout washington, d.c., and baltimore. throughout the region. similarly, the score program,

their program is in d.c., northern virginia, maryland, and everything will day, we are seeing new concussion patients. i think that really highlights the importance of this. athletes,student adult weekend warriors, college athletes, professional athletes that we are seeing. my personal practice as a brain injury specialist, i also see long-term effects. i see patients who have signs and symptoms of chronic, traumatic, or prolonged postconcussion syndrome. the only way we can prevent is to understand and identify and get the players out of the way. it is through the grant that we are able to begin this work.

about aanted to talk few numbers. through the program we have been working on in the past year, we hope to continue in the future. , which of 29 events included awareness events, direct training, refresher training, and train the trainer sessions. we touched over 6000 people during those 29 trainings. is someg we also did post training evaluation spirit we wanted to understand what do people know before they even came to our awareness event or a training session. there iswe found is truly a lack of understanding of the laws. there is a lack of understanding that laws even exist as it relates to concussion training.

overall, 40% of people realized that there were laws. the people we were assessing were parents, coaches, athletic trainers, nurses and guidance counselors, and certainly some had a better understanding with the athletic trainer's scoring at 100% awareness of the loss, thankfully, but parents, it was only 31% who admitted to even recognizing there was a law related to concussions for student athletes. this is an indication the program is critical and what we have found in our efforts doing is a challenge for us to get out in front of everybody and do the extensive awareness and training everybody needs spirit we are utilizing our own resources that are there also to care for these organizations and do this

training peer to we are collectively a limited resource. youths where the applications on smart phones and computers or whatever, it is a critical piece of the entire program p you will certainly hear more from charlie about that. shortly. and what this could bring to the program. is also important, particularly as the concussion movie is now out there, and parents and students and everybody are hearing about this, to recognize this is a real entity. in terms of the research, much more research needs to be done. we are in the infancy of , how can weg prevent concussions, how can we prevent cte, what does it take to develop that. we know it occurs by recurrent concussions and we also know you do not need a direct low to the head to get a concussion. what we do not know is how many concussions you have to have, how frequent are the concussions

in order to develop this, and are there other factors, genetic factors? we suspect there are we do not know what they are. certainly a lot of work needs to be done on the biological side, on the genetic side. a lot of work needs to be done understandingally the screening spirit we are using impact testing very often in the schools, in the colleges, and even in professional teams, to do baseline and coast -- postconcussion. how do you use that tool appropriately and effectively? much more research is needed. easythe program that department of health has funded, we are on the right track but it cannot stop now. it has to continue. these numbers show that and the numbers of concussions we are seeing show that. i appreciate the opportunity for all of you to calm and will be happy to take more westerns.

i will turn it over to charlie. >> good morning. thank you, michael, mike, and everyone for being here. it is a great honor to be here. working with medstar for children. this is h or menace opportunity for us to shown example to the country of what can be done at a regional level. was the needheard for more research and the understanding about the issues at hand. athleticer coach and director, i understood there is -- paperwork, pieces of paper every time there is a protocol put in place for concussions. for me, it was, how can we use hit a technology, being

compliant to amplify the effort of doctors and medical researchers like the two gentlemen here, too affect a larger and broader area. by doing that in a coordinated effort. that is the birth of how to put something together to meet those goals. deploy, the ideas we will be able to provide, the same level of care for any child who may suffer from potential injury or any other injuries other than head injuries. the would include anyone at park and rec facilities and public sectors. anyone at private institutions, private youth club organizations, schools, classrooms, cafeterias, locker rooms, wherever these head injuries may be occurring, also on the football field, lacrosse field, whatever it may be. as the information comes in, we are able to study the effect of that being deployed. trainings heading up

and being put into place so we can electronically distribute all of the necessary requirements, the recognition for parents and also for students and coaches to keep that training process. we are making that available for administrators at those levels, to be able to check the box and make sure their populations are going through the required trainings in accordance with the concussion apps. this is something we want to be able to amble fight on a larger scale. national statistics and national numbers and the rates of concussions happening, we want to know how we can affect local policy. we are able to look at the effects of concussion training , and then continue to work with those laws, let the data's

week toward what actions need to be taken, how we are able to reduce those numbers. it is a great honor and we are excited to be selected as the technology to be put in place here. i'm looking forward to working with children and medstar going forward and i'm excited for what the future will hold. thank you very much. mike: we will take a few questions and i would like to start off with one for the doctor spirit do you think we will look back in five years and say we did not know what we did not know? there is a must a meteoric rise in our ability to collect information, analyze, and you talked more about biological and genetic studies, on the field and what you are seeing. it seems the media cycle has caught up with concussions in the last few months. cycle's past. do you think in five years we will have a better handle on what is going on? we have to recognize

the brain is the most complex organ in the body and neuroscience has advanced dramatically over the last decade. in five years, we will clearly look back and say we now know so much more than we did five years ago, in the same way we are looking back now five years ago and saying our understanding and awareness of the injury has changed dramatically. behink the challenge will making sure we do not get ahead of ourselves with that. in all of my active work with the cdc, our efforts have been to promote awareness. we have to make sure we do not overstep where the evidence is, where the research is taking us. we are a lot of assumptions right now about the injury, some of which do not really apply. it is always a careful balance

and it ultimately comes down to how do we protect the child sitting in front of us to ensure they have the best experience, not just in sports. in clinic, i see kids in performing arts fall off the stage, kids who are just kids and their injured falling down in motor vehicle collisions. we want to make sure the brain health of children for all reasons is taken care of. in five years, with the funding that we can prioritize toward our youth, we will have a better understanding. i do not think it will be the complete answer, but a better understanding of some of the issues that will help us guide detection and clinical management. dr. yochelson: i agree that in five years we will be farther along but i do not think we will have the answers in five years. we are probably a decade off from a really full understanding.

gain thater to understanding, you need the research. two things. one is if you look at research in the area of concussion and brain injury, it is advancing exponentially. if you look at the number of studies in the field 10 years ago compared to now, it has dramatically increased and will continue. we need the data and the numbers. it is through apps such as injure free and similar ways to collect the data, it is almost impossible to collect sufficient data without that in this day and age. charlie, that goes to a question i have for you. big data with the cloud and the andity to really store compare analytics, you are starting to see states that are doing well and trends between districts in sports and counties and school systems. create aa chance to

little competition. tell me if you would, you mentioned minnesota and washington state, a few that are doing well at concussion education and prevention. charlie wund: we see a lot of different trends. that, in 2009, all 15 -- all 50 states and washington, d.c., had a law like washington state. up until 2014, the last state came on board. the legislation put in place there set the standard. i think now many states are revisiting those standards and looking at, again, how they can encompass not just high school addressingut also the youth sports markets outside of the education world. but also middle schools, elementary schools, kids in the performing arts stage, things of that nature.

we address the much larger issue. a number of states are trying to take active measures right now. the university interscholastic league, the governing body for all high school sports, they are making a concerted effort to collect information from their high school population on what information we can gather, how can we find the researchers who will study and help us make those decisions. as a former coach and athletic director, whenever wanted to be the ones to make those decisions. we wanted that coming from those who had the degrees to support the decisions being made. it is a community effort, addressing total population, but many different stakeholders involved in the process. we are seeing those being delivered now. the movie, concussion, was really heartbreaking and i believe will smith is up for a golden globe for his

performance. frank gifford, we found out around the holidays. do you think the nfl has been more responsive now on head trauma, injury, and some of the penalties associated, meaning the sports scoring penalty is related to head-to-head contact with these helmets? michael? i think they're much more receptive now than previously. i think they are looking at and understanding the data we have as well. we do haved earlier, to be careful about over interpreting the information we have. concurrentrecognize concussions are a serious problem but again, we see thousands of football players who have had recurrent concussions over their careers and many of them do not develop. we really need more data. certainly, they understand that we do need to look very carefully at the penalties and

how we can protect the players, particularly if that is the primary cause of the injury. >> the nfl was definitely pushed into self-examination. they also put money toward the nih, giving $30 million to study the problem. i think going beyond football, what has happened is it is now really asking all sporting organizations to examine what they are doing to really look at that risk reward balance. sure that how we are teaching kids in particular to play the game, how we are teaching officials to manage the game, and not come on importantly, and probably maybe even number one, how we are trying to modify the culture, but to early parents and their

focus and sometimes over focus on sports, and the outcome of the game, to really put injury prevention into perspective so that the goal of the game is not toays at the youth level dominate your opponent. it is actually to do the best you can with hopefully the outcome of winning the game. but to take safety into perspective and make sure we are really managing this carefully. i think the whole conversation, whether it starts with a concussion movie, with the nfl has done, what u.s. soccer has put in place, has really looking broadly and widely and many bodies,tional governing u.s. lacrosse, usa hockey, they have all been examining themselves, run the, and i think it is a good move going forward. need,e ultimately

honestly, from the perspective of not just myself but really a research place i work with, we need a national registry, we actually need, with the possibility of using somebody like injure free, to be able to register kids into a system, injury, and say, what is the denominator of the problem, meaning the kids out there playing, what is really the new minute -- the numerator of the problem, what is the percent likelihood that this particular's board will create this particular injury situation, then back it up and say, how do we prevent it and make sure we are maximizing reward over risk and benefit over cost. we do not have the national registry in order to make those decisions. fundamentally, that is what we need to do it if we put in place in every state a system such as charlie's to say, whatever tens

of hundreds of thousands of these athletes are now playing from the age of five through the age of 18, and we are providing education to all of these coaches and parents, physicians, now recognized we and record the injuries they have, we can now say, this is happening this way with the sport under these conditions, we can modify them in ways to reduce the risk. have a got to fundamental database in order to let that happen. opinion, why isn't there a federal reporting standard? is it a lack of will? >> i was asked a similar question by tom goldman a few weeks ago and i said, it is about priorities and funding. beenriorities have really to look at the professionals, to

look at the collegiate's. the ncaa has a wonderful grant going on right now. the care grant has multiple universities involved. they are developing data systems that will really help them understand not just head injuries but all kinds of injuries. we need the same thing for youth but the advocacy of that has been missing. i do not think it is will in this tense of, people believing the children are any less important, but i do not think we have had the voice find it to make it happen. along with it, we have not had ncaarganized body like the and that is why we are putting together the four corners consortium for youth sports and brain health to really try and garner the organizational system so we can put it in place. >> you mentioned the congressional committee in 2016. hundreds of thousands of youth

are still -- is time ticking away? >> we do not have time ever to wait for a youngster to be injured. we want our best policy to be based on the best evidence. we have interim tasks in between that but we have got to move the priorities toward our youth. >> you know the committee on house energy and commerce was the one for toys for century cures and that legislation was passed in the house last year, which largely -- largely went to medical devices and other kinds of breakthroughs that could get to market quicker and help patients. concussions were not included in that. i think maybe the folks on that committee are trying to bring that into the fold of the 21st century. charlie, do you have thoughts? charlie wund: we are seeing a lot of school districts themselves, organized, national governance bodies, are taking the actions without the pressure and without the funding.

they're finding ways to make changes happen. they are doing what they can for their population. many school districts we work with on a larger level are taking these types of actions to create the environment like he is describing. a lot of this is driven from a liability protection than point. let's get asch a much information as we can and put it in the hands of medical and caregivers who have the credentials, to put the changes into place. concussions may not be the number one issue for all athletic sports in the country. there may be field conditions, footwear issues, pre-warming up techniques that need to be modified. that is certainly the driver and that is what we're seeing from the youth organizations involved throughout the country. they are take steps on their own without that support or the funding mandate behind them.

>> i had one other question on helmets. $475 helmets. sensors measure impact of the head but do not necessarily say what is going on in the brain. in its own with kuwait, has its own surroundings, and it is not something measured internally. it is external. i have a question on helmets and whether sensors could help. believe it is i highly likely they can help. at this point in time, the challenge with sensors is we do not know what the thresholds are. we need a lot more research around that. then if there are different ways of measuring, even with the sensors, whether you are measuring a rotational force, or

impact, those may have different factors as well in terms of the likelihood of developing a concussion. i think there is great potential for sensors and i inc. right now -- i think right now, the use of sensors in standard practice is premature, and in some ways, i think it is a false sense of security versus an appropriate diagnostic tool. >> i will go you about a study we are doing at wake forest that is looking at youth football, in which we have sensors in the helmets, but what we are doing is evaluating the function of children ahead of the season. we are actually doing very specialized mri and very specialized ct scans of their brains. and then we are doing that at the end of the season and time together the biomechanical information we learn from the

sensors, with that functional and brain outcome. we are doing that over a number of years to see what the effects are of this, you know, basically, the forces. i agree 100% that our sensors at this point are not ready for clinical prime time. they are still a research tool and there has been a lot of study by my colleagues really at the collegiate level, trying to understand the science of sensors, how you place them, how they register information, screening out the false from the real information, the signal-to-noise ratio. think about putting a sensor not just in the helmet but the head on a five-year old out there playing whatever sport versus a 25-year-old and a helmet. differentry

situation. a sensor is not a sensor is not a sensor. the biomechanical information it has the potential of offering us, brain function and really cognitive and physical function, i think it will play an important role. >> can i ask you, it sounds like what you're talking about, flooding the zone with information. very simply, what is your goal? dr. yochelson: the goal is really to understand, in a variety of different ways, what will lead to clinical problems in the present and the future for any individual. whether you are talking about sensors, number of concussions and frequency of concussions, right now, we really sort of use the data that

we have or the information that we have to guide our clinical decisions. there is a paucity of that. as a clinician, i need these numbers to then come back and say, ok, based on what has happened to you as an individual this is whatte, you should do. should you go back into the game, should you go back to school, are there any medications. that is another thing we have not touched on it all. are there other treatments, particularly with biological or genetic predispositions, are there other ways to help to either protect against or treat hasncussion once it occurred? we are far from understanding that but it is a possibility. bothld say it is certainly . i think ideally, the prevention is what you want to do first but

you will never prevent 100% -- 100% of concussions. he will also understand how you prevent the chronic long-term effects and save lives. our goal is to maximize the three core principles of the law. number one, to maximize the recognition of a suspected injury to the brain to number two, to then act on that and remove the player from risk. three, to make sure they are allowed that appropriate recovery so they are not going back into harm's way when the brain is still in a vulnerable state. has said, when you go out to dinner tonight, whether it be one of your parents, your spouse, your friends, and they start to sweat profusely, and they start to grab their chest and breathe you are not a

cardiologist, but you will not just sit there and let them do that. you will do what we have all been trained to do, call 911. you want somebody to look at this individual. for is what we want concussions, the 911 of concussions, where we recognize we removeion for when somebody from a highly risky situation. we have got to educate folks because we know there are not professionals on the sidelines at most sports for kids under 18. the systemsrepare and the responsible individuals for making the 911 call so to speak. >> a question on policies is one on compliance. laws on theave the books and some are more progressive. it said they often takes an injury, parent, and lobbyist to make these things happen. >> can you talk more about the

acts of technology and how it would be applied in a real-life situation? a kid gets a hard hit on a football field, who brings up the app? how do the doctors come into this? how does this get tracked from recognizing to treating? >> absolutely. follow the point about the grant and the program itself put in place. the first portion of this is the distribution of concussion education training, making sure that coaches, parents, and students are going through what was required for them of participation. a coach and employee and staff member, a volunteer, or as a parent and child, just awareness and those things. aat is being satisfied for number of different platforms uploaded into the system. education trainings are being done by professionals. that and register that has been accomplished. then they are able to check off from a roster list silly coat

before a game could actually bring up on his or her smartphone a list of students, if they have gone through the required education trainings, their names will be in black and if not, they will be in red. they will know who has not been cleared to play. if there is a suspected concussion, a coach, there is no medical professional on the sideline, a coach or parent, trained tonged -- use the application or has access, is able to bring up a simple injury report process, drop-down menus, asking basic information. we are not asking them to do any type of diagnosis but are asking them to put in any size and symptoms. that information is then organizations,e the parents of the child, the coach of that particular team, anybody else who has been authorized. part of the process is to test

for doctors and medical tofessionals to have access the information so if a parent needs to come in for a suspected concussion evaluation, they could bring up the doctors will be able to pull up that information. will be able to designate, yes they do or know they do not have a concussion. if they do, they go into the fordard protocol outlined the recovery process, at which point, they hopefully do recover and then those medical professionals will be able to make that dedication inside a platform. that name will go from red to black. the coach can bring it up on the sideline, yes you are cleared, no you're not. >> coaching the sport, would have authorization to the app?

on theepends organization. we talk about anyone of the high schools here, it depends on how fast administration deploys the app. if they want coaches to have the access for injury reporting or read-only access. it is customizable in that sense. mike: we may want to talk about how you will tie the concussion recognitions app into this. how were two levels of make the information available. charlie built a system for athletic trainers and physicians to go through and do the assessment. they are medically educated clinical assessment. 90% of the time, we do not have a person on the sidelines. they go through what we through, what we go that we will tie into the system, that allows them to go identifynd literally

the incident and record the information, to give them a simple yes, take the kid off the field, no, it does not appear they nailed -- they need to be off the field right now. give them some guidance, but if i do not know about you, if i am taught something one day, three weeks later, i will asking myself, how to remember what i'm looking for. there is an app for that to remind you of the questions to ask. have that registered in the system and made available now as you pull them off the field and go to the medical professional to decide. >> if you look at the community and the ecosystem that exists in the process, there are a lot of gaps. it is about as much information as we possibly can, given the right tools to do that and passing that information, aggregating it and allowing a medical professional into view that.

looknt them to be able to through all the information they can and make the right clinical decision. it is that community we are trying to create here by allowing these types of evaluations to be accessible by authorized administrators. there are specific evaluations, the standard tool for athletic trainers on the sideline. if there is no athletic trainer, someone will be available for parents and coaches to go through some type of recognition process. andoing to the app store downloading this act, no matter who you are, it would have to be through an authorized person or a school system authorized to have access to the app. charlie wund: it is not a standalone. it is part of a system made available for every youth sports and youth athletic organization across the board. all schools or high schools as well. it is available to those organizations.

we start our deployment coming up next week. it is rolling out throughout washington, d.c., this week. a talk with the virginia board of education. >> on friday. secretary of education. it would be deployed through the state board of education. they are also talking about which states might be most appropriate. the department of education of the states are the governing authority and the department of health. charlie wund: we are also speaking with the youth soccer association. you talk about what they're doing on their own without the state push, until we await for those types of pushes to come. organizations that are forward thinking and proactive, working with some of the researchers here and also taking that guidance and putting their best foot forward for parents and families.

>> wendy you think it will be completed for all schools? charlie wund: the goal is for the start of next school year. a rollout will continue to occur throughout the year. when it comes to the school year, we will get as many as we can done by football season coming up. we want to make sure we get that covered in the process. >> you have a lot of good scientists and doctors available to you as well. usa soccer andt, usa lacrosse are taking bold steps as well. it is not just for all. those sports organizations are starting to work on data analysis. charlie wund: much of the focus has been football. at the professional adult level or the collegiate level. i have two daughters. what about the female athletes? we want to make sure there is a

standard level of care for all students or youth participants and athletics, and that is being accomplished. we are working with national governing bodies, usa rugby is one we are talking with. updating.lking about certainly, the ones under but did -- underfunded. the do not have education training programs. we want to provide them the technology that will allow them to ample five those efforts and take some of the best minds in the country here on this issue and ample fire their efforts as rugby as we can for the perfect -- purchase of technology. we can amplify the goal. want to thank our speakers and presenters for this informative session. we will see what the house

energy and commerce committee, the youth sports caucus, do with concussions as we move forward into the legislative session. resources, on the website, you can find play smart, your brain matters, the concussion awareness training program, medstar, and we are excited to be on the national press club, press.org, with coverage today. we want to thank c-span, the news, for covering today, and we look forward to your reporting. we are adjourned. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] >> i'm here with the national press club. [indiscernible] >> i look forward to seeing pictures.

>> today, president obama announcing executive actions to reduce gun violence. the plan includes 10 provisions, including one to require background checks for gun sales made online and at gun shows. the president is expected to make the announcement in about 40 minutes from the white house. we will take you there live and then get reaction. tweet or a facebook message on the president's executive actions on guns. later today, back on the road to the white house with rand paul, holding a town hall meeting in new hampshire at 6:30 eastern time. we will have that life on c-span2. you on the road to the white house, access to candidates, town hall meetings, speeches, rallies, meet and greet. we're taking your comments on and by phone.ook, everything we cover is available on our website.

>> we need to know how many people are reading us. we need to know how they are coming to us. if they are not coming directly to the website and are coming to us through facebook, google, twitter, snap chat, reddit, or any of these other venues, we should know that. night, washington post executive editor talks about the changes to the post. he also discusses the depiction of his work as editor in chief of the boston globe in the movie, "spotlight." >> the movie is quite faithful to the broad outline of the investigation. it is a movie and not a documentary. you had to compress within two hours, a seven months plus investigation, including things that happened afterwards. you had to introduce a lot of characters and important themes that emerged over the course of the investigation.

>> president obama announcing new executive actions on guns. we will take you live to the white house in 40 minutes on c-span. until then we will take a look at a discussion about isis and domestic terrorism. this is from today's washington journal. omar joins us in a discussion on islamic extremism. she is with the u.s. institute of peace. from your perspective as a muslim american, do you think the parents and the san bernadino attack changed the way americans often think about islam and's country? absolutely, there was speculation before and people were suspicious of the american muslim community. they were waiting for confirmation. what happened with these attacks is people felt validated. after theen said that

paris attacks, it felt worse in washington, d.c. then after 9/11 because of that confirmation, the assumption this is a confirmed fact. host: what you mean by that? guest: i have been hitting cold stares in the streets and someone yelled at me. i did not think about it in the beginning. i had a friend behind me. this has happened to be in the past for you know this is animosity. not ridden the metro since paris because i don't want to take chances. an image from that islam as in the united states? how can the muslims fix that? guest: it's an image problem but i don't the goods for the muslims to fix. there are 1.5 billion muslims worldwide. are we look at the people talking to violent extremism, it is a small percentage of the muslim community. it's more the responsibility of the collective.

it includes the media doing responsible reporting. san bernadino showed us there is a huge gap in our media. it is up to legislators to understand collective punishment thing all group of people and terms of a percentage of action and american muslims have a role to play. think it's every american's responsibility to fight any form of extremism like it's every american's responsibility to fight any form of discrimination. we've got a special line from muslim americans. otherwise, our lines are as usual -- president obama after the san bernardino attacks talked about

the role muslim americans have to play in this effort. here a bit from his speech. before weobama: succeeded in defeating terrorism we must acknowledge them as some of our strongest allies rather than push them away through suspicion and hate. that does not mean denying the fact that an extremist ideology has spread within some muslim communities. it is a real problem that muslims must confront without excuse. muslim leaders here and across the globe have to continue working with us to decisively and unequivocably rejected the hateful ideology that groups like al qaeda promote. to speak out against not just thosef violence but interpretations of islam that are incompatible with the values of religious tolerance, neutral respect, and human dignity. host: what was your reaction to that speech?

guest: the idea of enlisting the american is -- muslim community is essential. the rhetoric we are seeing, i call it from americanism where there is only one classification of americanism is dangerous. i continue to emphasize this is everyone's responsibility. you cannot put fighting this in one community alone. you need to enlist all americans. you need to enlist all americans. among them are american muslims. to assume its american muslims are muslims in general, strategically, it's a bad assumption. the number one people being killed by violent extremist groups within the islamic extremism are other muslims. some might see us as the prime target. they don't want moderate muslims. i don't know what that term means. they don't want people who have

different interpretations were living in the west. the president says that allies with me to be and listed. it's not just us, it's a larger group. about facing these realities without excuse? guest: there is a challenge because we have been put on the defensive. it's difficult when every single conversation is targeting your religion. her first reaction is to stand up and defend the religion without excuses. that is the challenge facing. i haven't put in the situation where people attack islam. i have to step back and understand that people are in a place of fear. because of that, there is a challenge of being alienated. that's the president was probably sensing and other people have sensed in the past. there is no hesitation from the american muslim community about

violence. it's defense in the religion was i which in as is a beautiful religion. it's frustrating people cannot see that side of it. host: we will start working in phone calls, democrats -- also republicans have a number. also a special line for muslim americans -- our line for democrats first in midland, georgia. caller: good morning, don't cut me off. you cut democrats off of the line. say to the lady 100%. ice of to you.m aleichem muslims represent who i am. you are not the only group of people that donald trump is

targeted. he has targeted african-americans, everybody, mexican -- but we have to come muslim, as a group, blacks, indians, and the rest, to defeat a four like that on election day. he wants to send not only you out of the country, he wants to send everybody out. i just spent $5,000 on the hillary clinton campaign. she will in this election because there is no other choice. into charleston and kill nine like people that we know did that. it's the donald trump's of the world and we will put it out. about thist to talk election and the rhetoric in this election. how do you think the muslim american community, .9% of the

u.s. population, what role they will play in this election? when we look at the issues in terms of islam phobia, it's a good to look at our history. i don't think this is just a muslim issue. it's unresolved issues in america and now we are the latest target. i think the american muslims in terms of the election fighting in role if they can join coalitions. a major affect. i am not a believer that american muslims should vote in a block. we are not a monolithic voice and have incredible diversity. i would not advocate for muslims to vote within a particular block. it's important we are active in joining other column -- coalitions. we are part of the american fabric and money to demonstrate that. host: clermont, florida, is up next, go ahead. caller: thank you.

say that youto have devout muslims, devout christians --out i will not go into all the but the muslims will kill infidels and jews according to the quran. if a person tells me they are says, and i don't quaran then what is happening is this lady here is probably not a devout muslim. is that what theq'ran says? does not absolutely say that. i'm a devout muslim and follow to the letter. my religion has given me

strength. i question interpretations every day and i believe is the role of muslims. first verse given to muslims was read. it was not pray or fast. says is nowhere where it you need to do killing could it's simply understand ations have been manipulated. manipulate toward violence and it's importantly understand the role of religion in the public square. it's not just an islamic problem. look at burma, the central african republic, south sudan. there are all kinds of religious extremists that exist everywhere. at the front and center is the islamic extremism. that's something we're facing and something i is a devout muslim an expert in conflict resolution is dedicated to address the rest of my life.

host: what is the u.s. institute of peace? guest: it's a federal institute we have created from congress to help fight me types of conflicts violence we are a believer that sometimes conflict can be positive. there is never a excuse to turn to violence. host: some of those on twitter -- you are a palestinian who grew up in south carolina? guest: yes, my parents arrived in lubbock, texas. my father was a university professor. we moved to northern virginia when i was in junior high school can i have traveled overseas and lived in england for a few years and lived in iraq and jordan.i have worked in afghanistan and all over. i have worked in over 30 countries. host: mostly with the u.s. institute of these? at least the past eight

years. to invest in communities, you have to invest in women so i work for women's international. i worked for the world bank and the u.n.. host: let's go to day and wisconsin on or line for democrats. caller: good morning and thank you. side ifinitely on your think this whole country should unite once again. six --as a time -- i was i am 68 years old and i've never seen such division. when you look at what's going on in the state of florida, it's working, whatever they are doing. the hate and splitting up they are doing of our country and the religions in our country and everything is working. the president and you are right it i think most deep down in their hearts don't want this to happen to our country. what's happening is we're turning into a little middle east can i truly believe that.

keep doing what you are doing. i speak up but there is so much out there and so much hate and division. it's very sickening. hank you for what you do. guest: thank you. i am reassured to hear you say that and i appreciate it. i am an optimist and people make fun of me for that. i would like to think this is the last burst of hate and discrimination as the majority of people have been moving toward more peaceful -- it's not shown in the media but it's overwhelming. there is a lot of positive we don't see i try to emphasize that is much as possible. from the mass shootings, we see this last burst of an attempt to that hasld system structural violence built in i think that will not last. the majority of people are good and will push for good of me to make sure our voices are louder.

the voice of hate and discrimination right now is much louder. i wrote an article living in england called " i felt more welcome on the bible belt." ofever felt that kind prejudice in south carolina but nothing is hateful is now i would like to think the majority of people are good and this is the last attempt to keep an old system that is archaic and needs to disappear. host: we have a special line for muslim americans and we have karen on that line. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm a convert but my husband is from the middle east and he was born in the muslim religion. we see this donald trump issue differently. strategic wayng a to to the american public something horribly that we all need to think about which is why do they hate us?

according to new research in 2011, in no muslim countries to even 30% of the population believe that arrows did 9/11. arabs did 9/11. people believe that the wars have been wars and muslims. the american people don't talk about that. strategically, you have to find a way to bring that into the american conversation. the mainstream media will not bring that in. donald trump is very clever and very strategic. that's what he is doing. i hope it is. guest: i have heard some people highlight that that donald trump is much more strategic in terms of raising issues that have not been discussed publicly. i'm a fan of the difficult conversation but what donald

trump is doing is inciting violence. he has blood on his hands. it's irresponsible, that type of rhetoric he is doing. i cannot think of any strategy that would validate that type of hate speech. he is dividing out americans between trump americanism and we know that looks like an everyone else. i think you're bringing up a good. atould encourage you to look a foreign-policy debate between iali.andjon hirshi i said we need to look at the social and political circumstances that led to extremism. we cannot solve conflict and what does a must go to the root cause which is social, political, and economic. look at that debate and i look forward to hearing your feedback. host: it's also stood on the u.s. peace website.

there was the taxicab driver that was beat up in new york for the family that had shootings that were drive-bys. community had the first killing in california. no one is safe and what you saw with roderick -- with rhetoric against muslims after 9/11, you don't see what you see now. republican rhetoric as validated that kind of action against muslims and given them an excuse to turn the negative rhetoric to violent action. host: indiana, on our line for republicans is next. go ahead. just want to remind everyone that we are a democracy in the united states. we have freedom of religion and freedom of speech. as taken aald trump lot of bashing for how insecure this country really is.

he did not say he was going to ban muslims forever. coming overones here, he wanted to double check what is going on. i think that would make the country feel safer. i went to home depot, i am a contractor and i live in indiana. depot and ie home don't know if he was a muslim or not but different skin. i don't walk around judging people in their religion but if i feel like my government is overseeing everybody whether jin or you believe in the

devil or whatever your religion is, when i see someone else of color or someone else of a different ethnic background, i won't be as scared. i feel like i am protected because my government has taken action to make sure no one slips through the cracks. i appreciate your honesty and i think it's an and. i agree and i don't think donald trump is intentionally trying to create hate it's what he's doing with his words. i think it's irresponsible. i would invite you to consider looking at the statistics. the mass shootings are overwhelmingly not people with different skin color. when you look at what we see in terms of its in the u.s., it's on grown terrorism that is not linked as much to overseas. the mass shootings still continue to be our major issue to there is a real double

standard and how things are when i i am astounded see how oregon is being covered. there is that stand up out there and it amazes me. at one point, it was called it to the test. whoperformed militia of the have taken over a federal building and you look at the 12-year-old boy who shot for carrying eight begun. it baffles me. i am all for safety and security. i live in some of the most dangerous parts of the world and i look over my shoulder. i have received death threats are all over the world could what scares me the most of the country i'm trying to defend, the country work for is where i feel the most unsafe because of this rhetoric turning toward violence. host: for people who have not had your expense and her try to understand islam, what you say to those who see violence and majority muslim countries? they conclude that violence is a

product of these governments of islam. guest: i emphasize it is not a product of islam. it's being used as one of the many different from having a voice. the only form of understanding strength is violence. butle are turning that way when i walk around group which are radicalized, i continue to have the size of there is never an excuse for violence and it does not work. what we have seen as nonviolent resistance that has the most sustainable results. violent revolutions, 80% go back into violence afterwards. you can look at the arabs spring and you see that dramatically. the ones were peaceful like tunisia have the best chance. fragile and has challenges but it is a beacon of hope in the region and it was a nonviolent religion -- resistance. when you look at syria and

libya, you look at where they are today and statistically be on the middle east, nonviolent resistance has more sustainable results. you can be angry. you look at the dictatorships and you look at the authoritarian economics and you're not attention. it's a bumper sticker but it's true . with the u.s. institute of peace, we introduce other means and goals where you can have your voice heard and hold people accountable and do transformation without having to cup arms. vice presidenthe at the u.s. institute of peace. you can check out their website. us for the next 25 minutes and we are take your calls and questions including john from baltimore, maryland on her line for democrats. caller: good morning and thank you for your time. i will make it quick. i work in academics and health care of i am beyond shocked at

the behaviors and attitudes of folks who are highly educated that still don't get that being muslim is an ideology. i am christian and my family has been. i am just looking at this thinking the muslims out there really need to speak out and the americans out here really need to free their history. those of us who don't understand what led to world war ii and world war i and what we would do if invaders came into our area, the lack of understanding and education blows my mind even among those who feel they are educated. i wonder what your thoughts are relative to how we educate people. --you look at the bible again, my family and i are very christian.

so many times in history, the bible has been used in christianity has been used for terrible version. yet we don't judge it that way. how do we change this and get it to be being about people and not ideologies? i would like to hear your thoughts. guest: thank you. story, the dominant narrative that muslims are new and are immigrants. i'm a proud immigrant but that's not an accurate story. muslims have been here since the duration of this country. africans brought over for slavery, the majority were muslims. we have a rich history of muslims who fought in the civil war to they have been part of the social fabric of the american committee from the very beginning. the idea that we are only

emigrants, only different colored skin, is just false. i have very rarely spoken about religion. i think religion is a very private thing. in the last few years, i have tried to counter the narrative. i know many american muslims are doing the same. they are speaking out. they are not getting the attention they deserve. a lot of time the narrative of the american muslim is what is shown on tv, and we do not show the black american muslim community to we are sticking to this narrative of new immigrants who are struggling to integrate into this community. i see america as my prayer mary -- as my primary home. i am proud to work for the government. i think there is a limit to how many times we can repeat that. articles was,rite i am a muslim but not an and cyclopedia on islam. every muslim having to defend

this religion is unrealistic. it is exhausting having to repeat it and prove it every time. builta country that was on innocent until proven guilty here, and we consistently have caveats to that. line forhave a special muslim americans. we have a call on that line from new york, new york. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. you are on with manal omar. , i have oneomar question for you. that muslims are the victim of -- since 1000 years , you go and take over palestine. you tell me that 200 years, these crusaders destroying muslim middle east. tell me one muslim country from

afghanistan to yemen which has not been victim of aggression by the europeans. then the americans came onstage. we thought it would be a new chapter in the history of will defendamerica the religious rights of the muslims. now in this country, think about that muslims are the most thisted entity since tragedy. how many muslims have to die? my main question to you is, why have muslims become apologizers? tell theey not americans, do not destroy the muslim word? you have killed the babies in

the arms of their mothers leaving their country. thing, it was said that the germans are winning. we should help the russians. and russians are winning, we should help the germans. each otherhould help so there is not a single drop of blood left there. so as a community leader, do not become and apologizer. do not tell what the muslims should do. also tell what the americans should do. do not destroy the muslim word. thank you. i think that is a really important point. first of all, i do not represent the muslim community. i am a conflict resolution prison, and mediator. i am part of the muslim community, but i am not a leader. an impact and

other muslim organizations, and i do not want to take their place. my specialty is conflict resolution and middle eastern africa. but as a member of the muslim community, i think every individual has a voice. i shared the agreement and terms of we are not apologists. that said, i have his eyes word of no excuses. part of it is taking responsibility. killed aspeople being of this islamic extremism, by the islamic state and boko haram and others. we have to react because we are the primary targets, the primary victims. just as i hear you in terms of not being an apologist, i would like to invite you about thinking about not being a victim. muslims are not victims it we have had occupation and colonization. i do not know of any country that has not. i do not like the term victim are the term victims of

aggression. i think muslims are providers and active citizens of the communities they live. there is a history. i would not classify us as a victims. we have a voice and a stand and always find a way to step up it we have to stay true to our religion. we are born and raised in the thisl fact -- fabric of country. host: mainstream islam, who are the leaders of that, and how have they responded to isis, boko haram, who say they represent the true form of islam? some of the organizations were listed on the council of -- some of the organizations i listed, including care, have the largest gatherings globally for muslims in the world. institutions are trying to step forward and counter the voices.

have across the country denounced isis and violent extremism. i will travel in two weeks to morocco for a conference on how to protect minorities in muslim majority countries. so you are seeing those who what i would consider to be muslim leaders and people representing the community very eloquently and very proactively talking against violent extremism within the community. i think that is their role. as an individual, i am part of the american muslim community, but my primary role is within conflict resolution. years, more the past 20 doing development and peace building. i am always hesitant to say that i represent the whole community. i was not elected or appointed and i never applied for a job to represent the muslim community. i am just part of it. host: we have a call on our line for republicans. caller: i have a question.

first, i want to say, wow, she is really well-schools. she has an answer for everything. but i have never seen so many muslims in this country. are they here legally? how did they get here? paying their way? who is building these mosques? where is all this money coming from? i did not know they were such wealthy people. another thing, a statement i want to make, she viciously attacked donald trump. donald trump is the only candidate that i have heard say that he loves america. muslims not hear the say they love america. they just want to live here, and they want to tell us how to live. this is our country. we are americans. we have a voice also. host: manal omar? guest: i mean, i do not think he

is the only person to say he loves america. i think the actions of all the candidates say they love america. i am coming off as viciously attacking tromp. i am simply stating the effect he has on the community. i stand by that. i think his speeches are hateful. he has mobilized for violence. i say everywhere in the world that they go to that i do not think there is ever an excuse for hateful speech and incitement of violence. no circumstances should allow that to happen. i not an expert in terms of the history of how many numbers and how we came and what the per capita of the muslim community is, but i will say that it is known that most muslims in america are highly educated and high professionals. my father came from a small village where most of them work illiterate. he learned how to read right in the village he came from and palestine. he did software in the 1970's

and was offered a phd scholarship to the u.s. that is how we came here. that was through hard work. to me, that is the american dream. someone from a small village who started playing with computers before they were even being developed and was able to be a value added to the u.s. was brought to this country, so he gave a lot. maurice is waiting in south carolina on our line for independents. caller: good morning. ,es, i wanted to ask manal omar , you have a lot of hate being directed towards muslims these days. she is a representative pretty much for the u.s. how many people do you represent within the organization, and are there enough of you guys to really be proactive and kind of tackle the balance of some of this hate and rhetoric that has

been put out here around the united states and the world? the second question, going back to donald trump and the rhetoric he has been putting out across america, what are you guys doing about that in terms of channeling a lot of moves that he is making? this is his political base right now, and i do not see anything coming to a close with him using that rhetoric to push himself into the white house. guest: thank you. i think it is a really good opportunity to emphasize that the u.s. institute of peace, all our work is overseas. we do not do domestic worker it we are not part of any elections, and we do not side with any candidates. in terms of what is happening in the u.s., there is a tie with what is happening in the middle east. we are realizing that there are oldorders or states in the sense of them. there is this ideology spreading

in terms of violent extremism. it is not limited to islam. we see it with the emergence of christian militias. in burma, there is conflict with the buddhists. violent extremists are emerging globally. in terms of my own personal activities, i am consistently looking for coalitions. i am a huge believer in what the american muslims are facing and what we are looking at with the upcoming election, it will be our chance to really address the structural violence of that is built into our institutions. muslims, particularly immigrant muslims, are the latest victims of that structural violence. again, i do not believe in victims spirit i believe in survivors. so they are taking this opportunity to build coalitions with lack lives matter and with communities across the board. that is my dream, that we're able to address that so it is andlast of the old system

we are able to introduce new systems. i do not believe people are bad. i do not believe individuals are born to hate. i believe it goes into the way we run our institutions, which is pitting individuals against policeher, pitting against communities, pitting muslims against christianity. those systems are arcadia -- archaic. we have to be more united and peaceful. i think this is the beginning of that movement. gone tont middle has marginalized communities, and there is a recognition that they need to step forward, just like moderate muslims need to step forward. the more moderate and united people need to step forward. i think it has to get this bad for this to happen. host: on our special line for muslim americans, from omaha, nebraska. caller: what i see a lot in america is they get the word muslim and arab mixed up.

arabs, andlims are not all arabs or muslims. my family are sicilians, but they are arab sicilians. that being said, when america has asked hears the word muslim, they think of arab mediterranean's, arab north africans, arab middle eastern spirit they do not put into their mind that there are plenty of white muslims are cries -- across america. there are plenty of muslims in the oriental countries, malaysia, india. i want to remind people, the last time we went to the extreme on race when we were talking like this, we ended up throwing all the japanese into internment camps during world war ii. but when america hears the word muslim, i do not find them putting an association with >> to will take you live to the

white house where president obama's announcement on new executive actions on guns is taking place. of friday,orning december 14, 2012, my sweet little boy, my son, daniel, was among 21st graders and six brave educators that were shot to death at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, coming connecticut. those three years since 26 precious lives were lost at that school, far too many more lives have been lost to gun tragedies in this country. nowtoo many people right who are hearing these words are grieving the loss of a loved one to gun violence.

as a nation, we have to do better. we are better. we are better than this. of 2013, i had the honor of introducing resident obama in the rose garden. unfortunately, that was to announce a bill that had been proposed to close the loophole in the federal background check system for firearm sales have been blocked. by members of congress. some members of congress. but president obama delivered an address that day that was palpably charged with genuine passion and commitment. the president made a promise to not give up. ira member standing there with my family and vice president biden, listening to our president speak. hours feelings of despair were

replaced with feelings of hope. i remember thinking, who will help them with this? it is a tall order. to knowen, i've come and respect and learn from many amazing individuals and organizations that are doing good, smart work in this space and many of you are here right now. many of the folks in the gun violence prevention coalition including sandy hook promise have had numerous meetings with vice president biden and president obama and their top advisers to advise this issue. but we cannot do it alone. the president cannot do it alone. deaths isrelated preventable. we need your help. we need everybody engaged in this. president obama did a promise as

an elected official and a promise as a father that he would do everything in his power to protect our nation's children, to make our communities safer, and curb the loss of life to gun violence in america. we celebrate another example of how president obama and vice president eitan continue to keep that promise. it is with such great honor that i introduce to you the president of the united states, barack obama and vice president joe biden. [applause]

[cheering] president obama: thank you. thank you everybody. please have a seat. thank you so much. america, i want to thank you for your introduction. i still remember the first time we met and the time we spent

together. and the conversation we had about daniel. that changed me. hope, earnestly, has been that it would change the country. week, ars ago this anding member of congress 18 others were shot at at a supermarket in tucson, arizona. it wasn't the first time i'd had to talk to the nation in response to a mass shooting, nor would it be the last. , binghamton, aurora, um creek, newtown, the navy yard, santa barbara, charlson, san bernardino.

many. thanks to a great medical team and the love of her husband, and, my dear friend colleague, gabby giffords, survived. she is here with us today. [applause] president obama: thanks to a great medical team, her wonderful husband, mark, who by the way the last time i met with mark as a small a side, you might no marks twin brother is in outer space.

he came to the office and i said how often are you talking to him? he said i usually talk to him every day but the call was coming in right before the meeting so i think i may have not answered his call. which made me feel kind of bad. that's a long distance call. [laughter] him if his brother, scott, is calling today, he should take it. .urn the ringer off gabby when sheh was in the hospital. hink at that point that she was going to survive. , right before memorial.

about an hour later, yet he first opened her eyes -- gabby first opened her eyes. pain that she and her family have endured these past five years. rehabilitation, the work, and the effort to recover from shattering injuries. then, i think of all the americans who are not as fortunate. every single year, more than 30,000 americans have their lives cut short by guns. 30,000. suicides, domestic violence, gang shootouts, accidents,

hundreds of thousands of americans have lost brothers and sisters. or they have buried their own children. many have had to learn to live with a disability. or learn to live without the love of their life. a number of those people are here today. they can tell you some stories. this room, right here, there are a lot of stories. there's a lot of heart ache. there's a lot of resilience and strength, but there's also a lot of pain. this is just a small sample.

the united states of america is not the only country on earth with violent or dangerous people. we are not inherently more prone to violence. but we are the only advanced country on earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency. it does not happen in other advanced countries. it's not even close. somehow wed before, have become numb to it and start taking this is normal -- thinking this is normal. how to of thinking about

solve the problem, this has become one of our most polarized partisan debates. is ate the fact that there general consensus in america about what needs to be done. thursday i of why on will hold a town hall meeting in virginia on gun violence. my goal here is to bring good people on both sides of this issue together for an open discussion. i am not on the ballot again. i am not looking to score points. disagree without impugning other people's motives or without the disagreeable. -- being disagreeable. but we do need a sense of urgency about it. in dr. king's words, the fear of urgency is now.

because people are dying. the constant excuses for inaction no longer do. they no longer suffice. that's why we are here today. not to debate the last mass shooting, but to do something to prevent the next one. [applause] to prove that the vast majority even at our voices aren't toys the loudest or most extreme -- are always the loudest and most extreme care enough about a little boy like

takel to come together and commonsense steps to save lives and protect more of our children. i want to be absolutely clear. i have said this over and over again. this also becomes routine. there is a ritual about this whole thing that i have to do. i believe in the second amendment. it is there, written on the paper. it guarantees a right to bear arms. no matter how many times people around, i words know constitutional law, i know a bit about the amendments. i get it. [applause] but i also believe we can find ways to reduce gun violence

consistent with the second amendment. we all believe in the first amendment. the guarantee of free speech. accept that you cannot yell fire in a theater. we understand there are some constraints on our freedom in order to protect innocent people. privacy,h our right to but we accept that you have to go through metal detectors before being allowed to board a plane. it's not because people like doing that. is partnderstand that of the price of living in a civilized society. what's often ignored in this debate is that the majority of gun owners actually agree.

a majority of gun owners agree that we can respect the second amendment while keeping an irresponsible, lawbreaking feud from inflicting harm on a massive scale. today, background checks are required at gun stores. if a father wants to teach his daughter how to hunt, he can walk into a gun store, get a background check, and purchase his weapon safely and responsibly. this is not seen as an infringement on the second amendment. whatary to the claims of some gun rights proponents this has not been the first step in some slippery slope to mass confiscation. contrary to claims of some presidential candidates, apparently before this meeting,

this is not a plot to take away everybody's guns. youpass a background check, purchase a firearm. some gun sellers have been operating under a different set of rules. a violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over the internet with no background check, no questions asked. a recent study found that one in 30 people looking to buy guns on one website had criminal records. one out of 30 had criminal records. we are talking about individuals convicted of serious crimes like illegal gun position and violent assault. people with lengthy criminal history buying weapons. this was just one website within the span of a few months. we have created a system in which dangerous people are

allowed to play by a different set of rules than a responsible gun owner who buys his or her gun the right way and subjects himself to a background check. that does not make sense. everybody should have to abide by the same rules. most americans and gun owners agree. changewhat we try to three years ago after 26 americans including 20 children were murdered at sandy hook elementary. does the united states senators, joe manchin, a democrat from west virginia, and republicans in west virginia, all defenders of the second amendment, with eight grades from the nra, that's hard to get. they worked together in good

with folksulting like our vice president who has been a champion on this for a long time. to write a common sense compromise bill that would have required virtually everyone who buys a gun to get a background check. pretty common sense stuff. 90% of americans supported that idea. 90% of democrats in the senate voted for that idea. because 90% of republicans in the senate voted against that idea. how did this become such a partisan issue? republican president george w. bush once said, " i believe in background checks at gun shows or anywhere to make sure guns don't get into the hands of people that should not have them." senator john mccain introduced a bipartisan measure to close the

gun show loophole saying we need this because criminals and terrorists have exploited and are exploiting this loophole in our gun safety laws. nra used to support the expanded background checks. by the way, most of its members still do. most republican voters still do. how did we get here? how did we get to the place where people think requiring a comprehensive background check means taking away people's guns? each time this comes up, we are fed the excuse that commonsense reforms like acheron checks might not have -- like background checks might have not stopped the last massacre or the one before that. so why bother trying? thinking.hat [applause]

we know we cannot stop every act of violence and evil in the world. but maybe we could try to stop one act? some of you may recall at the same time that sandy hook disturbed person in china took a knife and tried to kill a bunch of children in china. but most of them survived. he did not have access to a powerful weapon.

we may not be able to save everybody but maybe some. we try to take steps to reduce traffic accidents. as ronald reagan once said, if mandatory background checks could save more lives it would be well worth making it the law of the land. the bill before congress three years ago met that test. unfortunately too many senators failed theirs. [applause] in fact, we know that background checks make a difference. after connecticut passed a law requiring background checks and gun safety courses, gun deaths decreased by 40%. 40%. [applause]