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President Joe Biden will announce the creation of the first-ever federal office of gun violence prevention on Friday, fulfilling a key demand of gun safety activists as legislation remains stalled in Congress, according to two people with direct knowledge of the White House’s plans. Stefanie Feldman, a longtime Biden aide who previously worked on the Domestic Policy Council, will play a leading role, the people said. (Ward, 9/19)

Greg Jackson, a gun violence survivor who is the executive director of the Community Justice Action Fund, and Rob Wilcox, the senior director for federal government affairs at Everytown for Gun Safety, are expected to have key roles in the office, the people said. ... Since Biden was elected, gun violence prevention groups have pressed the White House to create such an office, arguing that it would help coordinate efforts across the federal government to reduce gun violence. Activists say this type of office would also allow the White House to exert more leadership on the issue. (Pager and Cox, 9/19)

Texas Rep. Michael Cloud re-introduced a bill Tuesday that would prohibit the president and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from declaring public health emergencies to enforce gun control measures. If enacted, the Protecting the Right To Keep and Bear Arms Act would also prevent government officials from restricting the production, sale or transfer of firearms and ammunition during major disasters or emergencies, "thereby preventing them from illicitly using public health authority." (Joseph, 9/19)

New Mexico’s top insurance regulator on Tuesday ordered health insurance companies to expand timely access to behavioral health services in response to the governor recently declaring a public health emergency over gun violence in the state’s largest metropolitan area. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham initially sought to ban people from the open and concealed carry of firearms in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County, but a federal judge put that effort on hold pending the outcome of multiple legal challenges. (9/19)

Gov. Mike DeWine announced a new gun initiative created to decrease gun violence within Ohio. DeWine was joined by state, local, and federal leaders for the debut of the Central Ohio Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC).This center serves to both investigate and eliminate gun violence within Central Ohio using the help of firearm evidence examiners, investigators, and intelligence analysts, according to a media release. (9/19)

Kai Koerber was a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a gunman murdered 14 students and three staff members there on Valentine’s Day in 2018. Seeing his peers — and himself — struggle with returning to normal, he wanted to do something to help people manage their emotions on their own terms. While some of his classmates at the Parkland, Florida, school have worked on advocating for gun control, entered politics or simply took a step back to heal and focus on their studies, Koerber’s background in technology — he’d originally wanted to be a rocket scientist — led him in a different direction: to build a smartphone app. The result was Joy, which uses artificial intelligence to suggest bite-sized mindfulness activities for people based on how they are feeling. (Ortutay, 9/20)

When Kevin Cataneo Salazar, 29, allegedly shot Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, he may have been using a handgun he had purchased legally despite a history of mental illness, authorities said Tuesday, raising questions about how he was able to slip through the cracks of a system designed to prevent such tragedies. Cataneo Salazar’s mother told The Times her son had been hospitalized for mental health crises and twice attempted suicide. (Castelman, Solis, Hernandez, Curwen and Winton, 9/20)