MICHIAN NEWS: Whitmer presses Biden to address abortion more directly.

MICHIAN NEWS :Whitmer presses Biden to address abortion more directly.

As he runs for reelection to the presidency, Jump Ahead Governor Gretchen Whitmer is pressuring Joe Biden to support abortion rights more.

When asked if Biden should be talking about abortion more in an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Whitmer said, “I think it would be good if he did.” “I am aware that a fundamental principle of his ideology is that women alone, in conjunction with their families and medical experts, possess the knowledge to determine the best course of action for themselves.”

Democrats have benefited from abortion rights in Michigan, according to Whitmer, the Democratic governor of a purple state and co-chair of Biden’s reelection campaign. Abortion rights helped Democrats win majorities in both houses of the state legislature, marking the first time in decades that the entire state’s government turned blue. Whitmer also believes that abortion rights will help Democrats win reelection in 2022.

Prominent Biden campaign figures have said that the president’s primary concern is abortion rights; nevertheless, compared to other Democrats, Biden has been more circumspect when discussing the matter.

The president, a Catholic, has said that the historic Roe v. Wade ruling “got it right,” despite the fact that he himself is not “big on abortion” due to his religious beliefs. Since then, he has opposed attempts to limit access to abortion drugs and denounced judicial decisions that restrict access to abortion.

In an attempt to win the first presidential election after Roe was overturned in 2022, Biden and his supporters are prepared to run on what has been called the strongest abortion rights platform of any general election contender.

Whitmer said in the Sunday interview that it wouldn’t hurt for Biden to promote that message personally.

“I believe that the public is curious in this president’s combat history. And I believe he has said that it could be beneficial to use a little more direct language, Whitmer added.

Esports has provided Kent County’s teenage criminals with a new outlet.

In collaboration with the neighbourhood organisation Jump Ahead L3C, the Kent County Circuit Court Family Division has introduced a new esports programme that attempts to pair young offenders with good role models and provide training on life skills like as personal finance, health care, civic involvement, and more. (Image from MLive file)Jake Could

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan: With the use of video games, a new Kent County programme aims to divert young criminals from the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

The 17th Circuit Court Family Division and Jump Ahead L3C, a nonprofit organisation that works to prevent neighbourhood violence by empowering and educating young people in Grand Rapids, have partnered to create the new Youth Justice Esports League.

Kids in Kent County who are under court supervision or probation between the ages of 11 and 17 are eligible to participate in the esports programme, which begins on Tuesday, January 23. Through gaming, the programme connects young offenders with good role models and offers training on life skills such as civic involvement, personal finance, and health care.

Jump Ahead L3C’s creator and CEO, Deandre “Dee” Jones, said that his goal is to address the “school-to-prison pipeline” by using esports as a constructive outlet and teaching juvenile offenders vital lessons that will empower them as young adults.

According to Jones, MLive/The Grand Rapids Press, “(This programme) is able to get those kids from going on a path of potentially jail or prison, or dead, to the path of potential college eSports scholarships, free education, and well-paying jobs and careers.”

Every Tuesday night, the group will get together for a two-hour class. According to Jones, speakers will address the pupils for the first hour of each session on a variety of issues, such as financial literacy or the operation of life insurance. These are themes that the children are unlikely to have studied in school or at home.

After that, the pupils will have the opportunity to engage in online contests and video game play. Jones also intends to bring in esports coaches from nearby schools and institutions to speak with youngsters about various esports career options and college scholarships.

According to Jones, the intention is to utilise esports as a platform to teach children valuable life lessons and to establish connections with community members who have had similar struggles but have succeeded.

“My goal is to witness the change in those kids from feeling lost in society and without direction to being able to achieve anything they set their minds to,” Jones said. “I know that the youth that participate in the Youth Justice Esports League will go through the same thing because I’ve seen it and experienced it myself.”

Jones wants to show young offenders that they can change their ways since she was a teenager who spent time in the Kent County Juvenile Detention Centre.

When Jones, then 15 years old, took a pistol to East Kentwood High School as a sophomore in 2010, he was placed under arrest. Having spent time in both juvenile prison facilities and residential homes, he is aware of the expectations placed on young people, particularly Black males in their adolescent years, to demonstrate their manhood by resorting to violence.

However, Jones made the decision to change his ways, and he finally earned his diploma from Lighthouse Academy, a rigorously disciplined school for students who have experienced trauma in the past or have struggled in the educational system.

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Jones now wants to inspire other young criminals to alter their course in life. Esports, in his opinion, might be a useful tool for involving kids and keeping them “off the streets and out of trouble.”

“Esports fosters community and fosters friendships,” he said. It may transform lives and alter the course of a family’s history. It also contributes to the development of culture and a feeling of community. It may increase confidence, collaboration, leadership, and reading and math efficiency.

The new esports programme, according to Gabe Reister, supervisor of juvenile probation officers for the 17th Circuit Court Family Division, should help young offenders discover good role models in individuals like Jones, who had similar upbringings and achieved success.

Reister said, “We want children to see that they can succeed despite having faced difficulties, getting into trouble, and being a part of our system.” “We want them to realise that, hey, there are people just like you who have overcome challenges and turned their lives around.”

According to Reister, there are now around 300 children in Kent County who are on probation. If their probation officer refers them to the programme, students may enrol in the Youth Esports Justice League, he added.

Due to capacity restrictions, the programme can only take up to 12 students at first, but Reister said that the intention is to enrol a new cohort of students every three months.

According to Jones, the program’s ultimate expansion and replication in other areas are its main objectives. He expressed his belief that esports, by beginning with young criminals, may contribute to reforming Michigan’s criminal justice system.

“We are making every effort to link with the top-tier esports resources available in higher education institutions and individuals who are eager to support students and young people involved in the criminal justice system, with the goal of altering their life’s course,” he said.