The National School Safety and Security Services looked at 812 school threats throughout the country from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 2014. Its report, released this month, reveals that threats made against schools rose about 158 percent from a year ago.

Michigan was among the top 10 states in the country receiving threats, with Ohio ranking No. 1.

Rockford High School and Coopersville Area Public Schools were recent targets of threats. Rockfords threat was deemed not credible. Police determined the Coopersville incident as a swatting hoax in which a caller claims an incident is going on or will happen, just to have police S.W.A.T. (special weapons and tactics) teams respond.

The report clarifies what most parents and school officials have known for quite some time, which is that the issue of threats, in particular, is a growing concern for schools, Spring Lake Public Schools Superintendent Dennis Furton said. No community will be immune from this issue.

The report found that high schools received 70 percent of all school threats, while middle schools and elementary schools received 18 percent and 10 percent, respectively. The top threat made against schools was a bomb, followed by a shooting.

Scott Grimes, assistant superintendent of human services for Grand Haven Area Public Schools, said the report confirms what they know and what they prepare for in every building.

We must remain vigilant about preparing for these types of events to ensure student and staff safety is not compromised, he said. The number of threats made by use of social media is very troubling to us, especially those that allow for anonymity, making it very difficult to investigate.

Michigan law requires schools to conduct 10 emergency drills per year that include tornado, fire and lock-down practices.

In addition, our local first responders utilize our school sites for after-hours training specific to situations that could occur in a crisis, Grimes said. This training often times includes staff and, in some cases, students.

Local schools also have plans in place in the event there is a threat, including emergency response plans outlining the steps that would be taken by staff members. For example, if a bomb threat is made, a checklist is given to guide school staff through collecting information from the caller, Grimes said.

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Report sheds light on school threats

Over the past few decades there have been countless films telling the stories of sporting underdogs triumphing against all the odds, whether they be about football, baseball, or more notably boxing, and because of its ever-increasing popularity there have been quite a few films focusing on mixed martial arts.

Tapped Out is one of the most recent offerings from this ever-growing genre. Released last September by Solo Media Films and directed by Allan Ungar, the film stars Cody Hackman as Michael Shaw. As a twelve year old Shaw was a promising karate fighter who witnessed the brutal murder of his parents during a car-jacking, his one abiding memory of that night being that distinctive tattoo he saw on the neck of one of the murderers.

Seven years later and Shaws life has gone a little astray. Now living with his grandfather hes repeating his final high school year and is in almost constant trouble with the police and his teachers, but when his school principal and his grandfather come up with a way he can serve his community service hours his begins to change.

Shaw returns to the karate dojo where he used to train and meets Reggie Munroe, and even though he isnt exactly enthralled with the menial tasks Munroe gives to him he soon renews his interest in his training, as well as beginning a relationship with Munroes niece Jen.

But when Jen takes Shaw to a small-time cage fighting show he finds discovers that the promoters most prized fighter, Dominic Gray, is the man who killed his parents years before. Thus begins Shaws journey for redemption as it were, as he sets out to avenge the death of his parents.

Its the kind of story thats been seen countless times before over the years, and if truth be known when I read the publicity sheet I was sent with this DVD I thought the plot sounded kind of corny, but in the end cast and crew just about pull it off.

While Hackmans performance wont go down as one of the best in the history of film he does quite well as the kid with a massive chip on his shoulder who finds solace when he returns to his old stomping ground. Michael Biehn, he of Aliens and The Terminator, seems well cast as Munroe, the somewhat grizzled former serviceman and karate instructor who takes Shaw under his wing and eventually agrees to help train Shaw for his cage fighting career.

Most fans will probably be drawn by the various figures from the MMA world that play various parts in this film. Krystof Soszynski, as Dominic Gray, is a little one-dimension, but then again his main role in this film is to kill a couple of people and to look unbeatable while beating a few others up, while Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida play it for laughs a little when Munroe sends Shaw to them for a little ground fighting training.

Overall though Tapped Out isnt too bad. It doesnt overly tax the mind as far as the plot goes, and if youre not looking for a film with award-winning performances then this is a fun couple of hours, and thats why Im giving this film the thumbs up.

By day Im an unemployed retail worker, and at weekends I volunteer in a local museum, but by night Im the author of The Two Sheds Review, Britains longest running professional wrestling and mixed martial arts blog. Its been online in one form or another since June 2000!

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The Two Sheds Film Review: Tapped Out

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The Port of Seattle is doing a makeover of the fishers #39; net sheds at Fishermen #39;s Terminal, the homeport of the Pacific Northwest fishing fleet. The sheds wil...

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Wizard Training - Season 2 - Episode 52 - The Sheds Gone
Starring -------- Jason as Magius96 Get Minecraft at http://www.mojang.com -------------------------------- Intro Credits Background Music -------...

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For more on Metal Sheds visit- http://www.storageshedsoutlet.com or Call- 1-877-689-0730 Storage Sheds Outlet, leading providers of top quality outdoor stora...

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L.A.-based Two Sheds all began with a dare in 2005, whenJohnny Gutenberger wanted his wife to write songs that might match the beauty of her voice. Ten years, one album, a break here, a side project there, and a few rotating members all over later, the band of Johnny and Caitlin Gutenberger, Josh Barnhart, Phil Krohnengold, and Tess Shapiro are prepping the release of their second album, Assembling, out May 26 on Crossbill Records.

In advance, EW is premiering You Get To Me, a wonderfully smokey, slightly bluesy track off the collection. It doesnt take much more than a few bars to see why Johnny originally dared Caitlin. The track and upcoming tour dates are below.

Upcoming Tour Dates:

Feb. 24 Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite Feb. 25 San Francisco, CA @ Noise Pop (The Chapel)

March 27 Boise, ID @ Treefort (Neurolux) March 28 Tacoma, WA @ TBA March 29 Portland, OR @ Valentines

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Two Sheds premiere 'You Get To Me'exclusive

TIME U.S. LGBT Report Sheds New Light on Lives of Homeless Gay Youth Christoph HetzmannsederGetty Images Youth in New York share experiences selling their bodies in order to survive in new Urban Institute report

A new report paints a grim picture of homeless youths selling their bodies in order to survive on the streets.

In partnership with the New York-based Streetwise and Safe, the Urban Institute interviewed 283 youths who had engaged in sex work or so-called survival sex with people of the same gender, mostly while homeless, for its latest study.

The research built on several studies on homeless youth, including a survey out of New York that found that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth were seven times more likely to have traded sex for food or a place to stay.

Meredith Dank, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute and lead author of the study, said she realized during earlier research on sex work that there was not enough good information about why LGBT youths made these decisions, so the study focused on letting them tell their own stories.

I realized at that point that there was so much that we didnt know about this population, she tells TIME. And if we were really going to be able to serve the needs of these young people we needed to know exactly what their experiences were and the large breadth of their experiences.

Many of the stories detailed in the report are telling; and a great deal of those who engaged in the work didnt identify as gaybut they found themselves selling their bodies to people of the same sex in order to survive.

One 20-year-old straight male described his experience: He asked me like do you really need the money? At that moment I thought I did. I felt I did and . . . like it was just like he grabbed me by like my waist and he just started doing it. And it was like . . . and I just like, try to close my eyes. Just try to think about something else.

Another 19-year-old gay Latino said he felt he had no choice: If you have no food in your stomach, if you have no transportation, but you have a man in your face willing to give you money for a half hour. You put your pride to the side, you throw everything out the window and you forget who you are and you forget what youre doing and you learn to be someone else.

The exact number of homeless youth is hard to pin down. In 2014, the Department of Education reported that 1.3 million school children are homeless. The Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated that a total of 578,424 people were homeless on a given night in 2014about 10% were between the ages of 18 and 24. According to some estimates, as many as 40% of homeless youths are LGBT.

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Report Sheds New Light on Lives of Homeless Gay Youth

A three-character code brings relief to patients with psoriasis and sheds light on complex immunoregulation processes: IL-4, an abbreviation for the endogenous signaling molecule Interleukin 4. The substance's ability to inhibit inflammation is well known, but its mechanism of action was not fully understood. Scientists from the Technische Universitt Mnchen (TUM) and the University of Tbingen have now shown in an animal model and in a study on patients exactly how IL-4 helps against psoriasis at the molecular level and the important role it plays in our immune system.

Inflammation is a defense strategy of the body against invaders. Increased amounts of blood and fluid flow into the infected areas, and the release of signaling molecules summon immune cells to the site of infection to effectively neutralize the pathogens. However, poorly coordinated or misdirected immune reactions can trigger inflammation even in the absence of external agents, thus causing undue tissue damage. This is the case in psoriasis and other autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

The body's own signaling molecule as a therapy candidate

"Together with colleagues from Tbingen, we were able to show in earlier studies that the signaling molecule IL-4 is a promising candidate for the treatment of psoriasis," explains Prof. Tilo Biedermann, who holds the chair for Dermatology and Allergology and is Director of the Clinic and Polyclinic for Dermatology and Allergology. "However, before IL-4 can be used as a standardized medication, we have to understand the exact mechanism of action -- and we've now succeeded in doing just that."

The scientists followed a translational approach in their study -- the laboratory findings were applied to patients without delay. They first used human and mouse cells to unravel the molecular effects of IL-4 on inflammation. To this effect, the scientists discovered that IL-4 inhibits specific immune cells in a natural way: it prevents the cells from synthesizing and releasing two signaling molecules, known as IL-23 and IL-17.

"The discovery is very interesting in that IL-23 activates special T-cells in the body, thus triggering inflammation. Evidently IL-4 is able to effectively block this pathway," says Biedermann. In subsequent experiments with mice, the scientists also found that administration of IL-4 specifically inhibits inflammation of the skin via this mechanism.

IL-4 reduces psoriasis in patients

The scientists also checked the findings from the animal model in a patient study. Twenty-two patients with psoriasis received subcutaneous injections of IL-4 over a period of six weeks. Tilo Biedermann and his colleagues then examined samples from the patients' affected skin areas before and after the treatment.

The results confirmed the previous experiments: Before treatment with IL-4, the study participants had high levels of IL-23 and IL-17 in their inflamed and itchy skin. After successful treatment, the two substances were barely detectable. The result was that inflammation and psoriatic skin changes had disappeared.

"Our study results show that IL-4 very selectively and successfully suppresses inflammation. This therapeutic approach could therefore be very interesting for the treatment of other autoimmune diseases," explains Biedermann. "Moreover, we now have a better understanding of how IL-4 functions as an important 'checkpoint' in the immune system and will be able to better appreciate and exploit its significance in the future."

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Marshaling the body's own weapons against psoriasis

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