Aaron Mendelson
@amendelson.bsky.social
journalist @thetrace.org. data + investigations. based in los angeles.
priors: the center for public integrity, kpcc/laist, ucbsoj
email: aaron AT aaronmendelson dot com
priors: the center for public integrity, kpcc/laist, ucbsoj
email: aaron AT aaronmendelson dot com
Pinned
Aaron Mendelson
@amendelson.bsky.social
· Sep 18
The Quiet Crisis: What’s Driving Gun Suicides Among Older Americans?
More and more older Americans are dying by firearm suicide, a new analysis from The Trace and GQ reveals. Older white men and those in rural areas experience alarmingly high rates.
www.thetrace.org
Older Americans have the highest rates of gun suicide of any age group. Not by a little — by a lot.
Why? I spent months exploring this question through data, field reporting, and interviews with experts. Our story is up today on @thetrace.org
www.thetrace.org/2025/09/gun-...
Why? I spent months exploring this question through data, field reporting, and interviews with experts. Our story is up today on @thetrace.org
www.thetrace.org/2025/09/gun-...
Reposted by Aaron Mendelson
Yearly deaths caused by cars and trucks striking pedestrians rose 70 percent between 2010 and 2023, an examination of federal data and other public records by The Post shows.
The deadliest roads in America
The number of pedestrians killed by vehicles has increased in the U.S., with road infrastructure and inadequate safety measures among key contributing factors.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Yearly deaths caused by cars and trucks striking pedestrians rose 70 percent between 2010 and 2023, an examination of federal data and other public records by The Post shows.
Can’t believe I hadn’t read this before. Harrowing stuff, compelling read. Thanks @lapubliclibrary.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Can’t believe I hadn’t read this before. Harrowing stuff, compelling read. Thanks @lapubliclibrary.bsky.social
just amazing how bad AI is sometimes
November 14, 2025 at 11:45 PM
just amazing how bad AI is sometimes
Reposted by Aaron Mendelson
My latest for @thetrace.org challenges a common narrative. That gun violence “starts in the home”.
Adlone Morris was a Detroit cop and a devoted father. Still, his sons got caught up in the streets he patrolled.
Their story highlights the complexities of gun violence that are often ignored [1]
Adlone Morris was a Detroit cop and a devoted father. Still, his sons got caught up in the streets he patrolled.
Their story highlights the complexities of gun violence that are often ignored [1]
He Patrolled the Neighborhoods Where His Sons Were Drawn into Violence
Despite Adlone Morris's best attempts, he couldn't keep his sons from joining a gang as teenagers. Now they all work to make Detroit safer.
www.thetrace.org
November 13, 2025 at 2:51 PM
My latest for @thetrace.org challenges a common narrative. That gun violence “starts in the home”.
Adlone Morris was a Detroit cop and a devoted father. Still, his sons got caught up in the streets he patrolled.
Their story highlights the complexities of gun violence that are often ignored [1]
Adlone Morris was a Detroit cop and a devoted father. Still, his sons got caught up in the streets he patrolled.
Their story highlights the complexities of gun violence that are often ignored [1]
Excited to check this one out
November 8, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Excited to check this one out
Powerful story out today from @oklahomawatch.bsky.social that localizes the Gun Violence Data Hub's reporting on the alarming rates of gun suicide among older Americans
oklahomawatch.org/2025/11/07/i...
oklahomawatch.org/2025/11/07/i...
Isolation, Illness and Guns: Why More Older Oklahomans Are Dying by Suicide - Oklahoma Watch
More older Americans are dying by gun suicide. The rate is particularly high in Oklahoma, and especially in rural counties.
oklahomawatch.org
November 7, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Powerful story out today from @oklahomawatch.bsky.social that localizes the Gun Violence Data Hub's reporting on the alarming rates of gun suicide among older Americans
oklahomawatch.org/2025/11/07/i...
oklahomawatch.org/2025/11/07/i...
What kind of sick person seeks out an edited version of Marquee Moon
November 6, 2025 at 5:10 PM
What kind of sick person seeks out an edited version of Marquee Moon
Quite the lede in this WSJ data analysis of states with stand-your-ground laws: "It’s easier than ever to kill someone in America and get away with it." www.wsj.com/us-news/homi...
Six Words Every Killer Should Know: ‘I Feared for My Life, Officer’
The number of legally sanctioned homicides has grown substantially in states with expanded self-defense rights under stand-your-ground laws.
www.wsj.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Quite the lede in this WSJ data analysis of states with stand-your-ground laws: "It’s easier than ever to kill someone in America and get away with it." www.wsj.com/us-news/homi...
I’m in DTLA picking up an item from Roadrunner Bags, but seems like many other folks are here for the Dodger victory parade
November 3, 2025 at 4:47 PM
I’m in DTLA picking up an item from Roadrunner Bags, but seems like many other folks are here for the Dodger victory parade
Time to lock in and throw on the big game ... Warriors at Pacers
November 2, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Time to lock in and throw on the big game ... Warriors at Pacers
Reposted by Aaron Mendelson
Even as more older Americans are dying by gun suicide, their deaths often stay hidden. Many isolated older Americans have no obituary, memorial, or funeral, and for those who do, the cause of death often goes unmentioned. But doctors and researchers have been sounding the alarm.
The Quiet Crisis: What’s Driving Gun Suicides Among Older Americans?
More and more older Americans are dying by firearm suicide, a new analysis from The Trace and GQ reveals. Older white men and those in rural areas experience alarmingly high rates.
www.thetrace.org
October 28, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Even as more older Americans are dying by gun suicide, their deaths often stay hidden. Many isolated older Americans have no obituary, memorial, or funeral, and for those who do, the cause of death often goes unmentioned. But doctors and researchers have been sounding the alarm.
Paul Newby is one of the most quietly powerful elected officials in America. Here's what he's been up to. Great reporting from @dougbockclark.bsky.social here.
Appreciate him linking to stories I did at CPI on state supreme courts and Newby's conflicts of interest
www.propublica.org/article/paul...
Appreciate him linking to stories I did at CPI on state supreme courts and Newby's conflicts of interest
www.propublica.org/article/paul...
October 30, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Paul Newby is one of the most quietly powerful elected officials in America. Here's what he's been up to. Great reporting from @dougbockclark.bsky.social here.
Appreciate him linking to stories I did at CPI on state supreme courts and Newby's conflicts of interest
www.propublica.org/article/paul...
Appreciate him linking to stories I did at CPI on state supreme courts and Newby's conflicts of interest
www.propublica.org/article/paul...
Ohtani getting the Barry Bonds treatment in extra innings in the World Series. Wild
October 28, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Ohtani getting the Barry Bonds treatment in extra innings in the World Series. Wild
RIP. Grateful I got to see him play in 2011 with Gary Peacock and Keith Jarrett in Berkeley
Breaking News: Jack DeJohnette, the jazz drummer who played with Miles Davis and spent decades with Keith Jarrett’s Standards Trio, died at 83.
Jack DeJohnette, Revered Jazz Drummer, Dies at 83
Endowed with spectacular range, he played with Miles Davis, led New Directions and Special Edition, and spent decades with Keith Jarrett’s Standards Trio.
nyti.ms
October 27, 2025 at 6:37 PM
RIP. Grateful I got to see him play in 2011 with Gary Peacock and Keith Jarrett in Berkeley
1989 TIME Magazine ad about the need to address carbon in the atmosphere ... from the Mobil Corporation.
"Global temperatures seem to be increasing"
"Global temperatures seem to be increasing"
October 23, 2025 at 6:01 PM
1989 TIME Magazine ad about the need to address carbon in the atmosphere ... from the Mobil Corporation.
"Global temperatures seem to be increasing"
"Global temperatures seem to be increasing"
"Amid presidential rhetoric of 'warzones' and 'hellholes,' an important data point is being overlooked. The 80 percent of Americans who live in cities will lose far fewer of their neighbors to gun violence this year." www.thetrace.org/2025/10/gun-...
October 23, 2025 at 5:25 PM
"Amid presidential rhetoric of 'warzones' and 'hellholes,' an important data point is being overlooked. The 80 percent of Americans who live in cities will lose far fewer of their neighbors to gun violence this year." www.thetrace.org/2025/10/gun-...
Warriors look good. If these old dudes can stay semi-healthy they will be dangerous
October 22, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Warriors look good. If these old dudes can stay semi-healthy they will be dangerous
"The Supreme Court said on Monday that it will consider whether people who regularly smoke marijuana can legally own guns" apnews.com/article/supr...
Supreme Court will consider whether people who regularly smoke pot can legally own guns
The Supreme Court will consider whether people who regularly smoke marijuana can legally own guns, the latest firearm case to come before the court since its 2022 decision expanding gun rights.
apnews.com
October 20, 2025 at 4:25 PM
"The Supreme Court said on Monday that it will consider whether people who regularly smoke marijuana can legally own guns" apnews.com/article/supr...
Reposted by Aaron Mendelson
It's projects like this that make me proud to be part of @thetrace.org. I'm from Brownsville, and I don't think I've ever seen it captured this way in any other news outlet.
These Neighborhood Groups Are Fighting to Rewrite Brownsville’s Legacy of Violence
I first met Gene Krell in February of 2020, when I was photographing the Black Lives Matter movement in New York City. Krell was a native of Brownsville, a residential neighborhood on the east side of...
www.thetrace.org
October 17, 2025 at 2:56 PM
It's projects like this that make me proud to be part of @thetrace.org. I'm from Brownsville, and I don't think I've ever seen it captured this way in any other news outlet.
Reposted by Aaron Mendelson
BREAKING from PP
We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens*
The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied:
Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer
More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado
www.propublica.org/article/immi...
by @nicolefoy.bsky.social
We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens*
The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied:
Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer
More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado
www.propublica.org/article/immi...
by @nicolefoy.bsky.social
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 16, 2025 at 4:06 PM
BREAKING from PP
We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens*
The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied:
Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer
More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado
www.propublica.org/article/immi...
by @nicolefoy.bsky.social
We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens*
The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied:
Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer
More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado
www.propublica.org/article/immi...
by @nicolefoy.bsky.social
Will Russell Westbrook be the first-ever current/former/future MVP to ever play for Sacramento? I think so
October 15, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Will Russell Westbrook be the first-ever current/former/future MVP to ever play for Sacramento? I think so
Reposted by Aaron Mendelson
In our collaboration with the Maine Monitor, the publication zeroed in on how older Mainers are more likely to die by gun suicide than car crashes. The story highlighted our project on the gun suicide crisis among older Americans.
Learn about how the collaboration happened:
Learn about how the collaboration happened:
Behind the Stories: The High Rate of Suicides Among Older Mainers
Here's how The Gun Violence Data Hub and The Maine Monitor collaborated on a story about the alarming prevalence of gun suicides among older residents in the state.
datahub.thetrace.org
October 14, 2025 at 5:35 PM
In our collaboration with the Maine Monitor, the publication zeroed in on how older Mainers are more likely to die by gun suicide than car crashes. The story highlighted our project on the gun suicide crisis among older Americans.
Learn about how the collaboration happened:
Learn about how the collaboration happened:
Today, we're debuting a new feature on @thetrace.org called 92 Days in Gun Violence. It's a quarterly update. The big finding thru Q3 is that have been fewer shooting deaths in 2025 than any year in a decade.
Plus more on gun sales, our work, and recent research:
www.thetrace.org/2025/10/shoo...
Plus more on gun sales, our work, and recent research:
www.thetrace.org/2025/10/shoo...
October 10, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Today, we're debuting a new feature on @thetrace.org called 92 Days in Gun Violence. It's a quarterly update. The big finding thru Q3 is that have been fewer shooting deaths in 2025 than any year in a decade.
Plus more on gun sales, our work, and recent research:
www.thetrace.org/2025/10/shoo...
Plus more on gun sales, our work, and recent research:
www.thetrace.org/2025/10/shoo...
Reposted by Aaron Mendelson
After weeks of waiting, California's governor signed a bill that will allow mid-rise apartment buildings near major transit stops in California's biggest metro areas. https://cal.news/4n3hzge
📝 @frombenc.bsky.social
📸 Ray Chavez
📝 @frombenc.bsky.social
📸 Ray Chavez
October 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
After weeks of waiting, California's governor signed a bill that will allow mid-rise apartment buildings near major transit stops in California's biggest metro areas. https://cal.news/4n3hzge
📝 @frombenc.bsky.social
📸 Ray Chavez
📝 @frombenc.bsky.social
📸 Ray Chavez