Anirban Lahiri, Bryson DeChambeau carry Crushers to team title in LIV Golf finale
The Crushers are the team champions in the second year of the LIV Golf League
2023-10-23 07:19
Spain: Nightclub fire kills six in Murcia
Four other people were injured in the fire in south-eastern city of Murcia, authorities say.
2023-10-01 17:19
Britney Spears' ex-husband Jason Alexander allegedly booted from gym after he was arrested for stalking woman
The gym officially revoked his membership following police investigations into the stalking claims
2023-09-03 20:57
Florida school guidelines can punish trans students and teach how slavery ‘developed skills’ for Black people
A new set of standards for African American history in Florida schools will teach middle schoolers how enslaved people “developed skills” that could be “applied for personal benefit”. Another guideline instructs high schoolers to be taught that a massacre led by white supremacists against Black residents in Ocoee to stop them from voting in 1920 included “acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.” Members of the Florida Board of Education have defended the standards for African American history lessons they unanimously approved, with Ron DeSantis-appointed board member MaryLynn Magar assuring the attendees at a hearing in Orlando on 19 July that “everything is there” and that “the darkest parts of our history are addressed” in the curriculum. But civil rights advocates, educators and Democratic state lawmakers have warned that elements of the guidelines present a distorted, revisionist picture of the state’s history of racism. “The notion that enslaved people benefitted from being enslaved is inaccurate and a scary standard for us to establish in our education system,” Democratic state Rep Anna Eskamani told the board. State Senator Geraldine Thompson said that a recommendation suggesting that Black people sparked the Ocoee massacre is “blaming the victim”. Ms Thompson helped pass a law in 2020 that requires schools to teach lessons about the massacre. The Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, said in a statement that the standards represent “a big step backward for a state that has required teaching African American history” for more than three decades. “Our children deserve nothing less than truth, justice, and the equity our ancestors shed blood, sweat, and tears for,” NAACP president Derrick Johnson added in a statement. “It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow were a violation of human rights and represent the darkest period in American history. We refuse to go back.” The new standards add another victory in the DeSantis administration’s radical education overhaul and a “parents’ rights” agenda that has restricted honest lessons of race and racism in state schools, reshaped local school boards, and banned public colleges from offering classes that “distort significant events” or “teach identity politics”. Florida’s Board of Education also adopted five rules targeting LGBT+ students, including punishing transgender students and staff who use restrooms that align with their gender and add barriers to students who want their names and pronouns respected in and out of the classroom. LGBT+ advocates have accused the board and the governor’s administration of weaponizing state agencies to implement the DeSantis agenda as he mounts a national campaign, fuelled in part by what opponents have called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation adopted by several other states. That bill, which Mr DeSantis signed into law in 2022 and expanded earlier this year, has sparked fears that its broad scope could be used to effectively block discussion of LGBT+ people, history and events from state schools, and threaten schools with potential lawsuits over perceived violations. “This politically motivated war on parents, students, and educators needs to stop,” said Jennifer Solomon with Equality Florida. “Our students deserve classrooms where all families are treated with the respect they deserve and all young people are welcomed,” she said in a statement. “Let parents be parents. Let educators be educators. And stop turning our kids’ classrooms into political battlefields to score cheap points.” The African American history curriculum advanced by the board does not fully adopt the recommendations from the African American History Task Force, which urged the board to consider “contemporary issues impacting Africans and African Americans”. Education Commissioner Manny Diaz defended the standards as an “in-depth, deep dive into African American history, which is clearly American history as Governor DeSantis has said, and what Florida has done is expand it.” Under the new standards, students will be taught to simply “identify” famous Black people, but it fails to add requirements for students to learn about their contributions, challenges and stories overall. “We must do better in offering a curriculum that is both age-appropriate and truthful,” according to Democratic state Rep Dianne Hart, chair of Florida’s Legislative Black Caucus. “Education is a critical part of an individual’s personal foundation and when you chose to build a foundation on falsehoods, lies, or by simply erasing history, you’ve laid a foundation that will ultimately fail,” she said in a statement. The board’s adoption of the standards follow the board’s decision to ban the teaching of Advanced Placement African American Studies in high schools, claiming that the course “significantly lacks educational value” and “inexplicably” contradicted Florida law. A letter dated 12 January from the Florida Department of Education to the College Board, which administers AP exams, said the board is welcome to return to the agency with “lawful, historically accurate content”. Read More DeSantis campaign video crossed a line for gay right-wing pundits despite governor’s record on LGBT+ rights Florida schools remove books by John Milton and Toni Morrison and restrict Shakespeare under DeSantis rules Jury awards Florida girl burned by McDonald's Chicken McNugget $800,000 in damages Florida rulings ease concerns about drag performers at Pride parades, drag queen story hours What are the 10 largest US lottery jackpots ever won?
2023-07-21 04:56
Sacred cow: Ball makers break taboos for India's favourite sport
Stitching together cricket balls is a wearisome task for leatherworker Bunty Sagar, whose labours are frowned upon by many fellow Indians even if he...
2023-09-27 09:52
Court documents allege 'elder financial abuse' of Sen. Dianne Feinstein
A petition filed in San Francisco Superior Court alleges that California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has been the victim of "elder financial abuse" with regard to the management of a trust.
2023-08-18 07:21
Exxon Mobil buys Pioneer Natural in $59.5 billion deal with energy prices surging
Exxon Mobil is buying Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock deal valued at $59.5 billion, making it one of the oil giant’s biggest transactions ever
2023-10-11 19:17
E. Jean Carroll Wants to Add Trump’s CNN Town Hall Comments to Defamation Suit
The New York author who won a $5 million civil sexual-abuse trial against Donald Trump earlier this month
2023-05-23 06:19
Who is Mandy Benn? Woman who killed 2 Make-a-Wish charity ride bicyclists in head-on crash found guilty of murder
Mandy Benn, accused of killing Edward Erickson and Michael Salhaney, was convicted of second-degree murder and operating a vehicle under the influence
2023-10-08 20:52
13 Fascinating Facts About Grapes
Wine grapes and table grapes are a huge agricultural asset. It's no wonder that the humble grape is among the world's largest fruit crops.
2023-08-12 06:26
Rachel Morin update: Criminal profiler gets involved in hunt for killer as murder probe extends to Chicago
“Dog the Bounty Hunter” Duane Chapman has joined the search for Rachel Morin’s killer in Maryland as detectives are tracking leads hundreds of miles away in Chicago. Mr Chapman appeared on NewsNation this week to offer his expertise on possible clues in the surveillance video footage previously released by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office showing the man they believe is responsible for the mother-of-five’s killing in Bel Air last month. The footage is from the scene of a home invasion and assault in Los Angeles, where DNA found matched DNA at the Morin crime scene. Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler has said the suspect might be a serial killer. He confirmed to Law&Crime this week that detectives are now in Chicago tracking leads. Several weeks have now passed since Morin was found dead on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air in early August.She had set off on a walk along the trail on 5 August, with the alarm raised when she didn’t return home. Read More Rachel Morin was found dead on a popular Maryland hiking trail. Police finally have a break in the case Rachel Morin’s mother shares ‘unbearable’ pain as Bel Air killer still at large weeks after murder Rachel Morin killer ‘not going to stop’ unless arrested, police say as new clues dry up
2023-09-02 23:52
NY governor warns Belmont Stakes could be affected if air quality doesn't improve
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has warned that the Belmont Stakes could be canceled if air quality doesn't improve
2023-06-09 06:25
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