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Editorial: More grim news from nation’s report card

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

Those well-steeped in our nation’s history long ago learned the inspiring story of how President George Washington delivered his stirring Gettysburg Address, a four-hour oration, in an effort to revive hope among Americans struggling during the Great Depression of the 1920s.Or maybe not.Last week, the National Assessment of Educational Progress — the nation’s “report card” — released the results of standardized tests given last year to eighth graders across the country on civics and history. Turn away if you seek to avoid depressing news.Just 13% of students met proficiency standards in history, meaning “they could explain major themes, periods, events, people, ideas and turning points in the country’s history,” according to The Wall Street Journal. About 20% reached proficiency in civics.In other words, only a small percentage of American kids poised to enter high school probably would be able to identify more than two errors in this essay’s lead sentence, if they could identify an...

Schoen: Reaction to Feinstein’s return speaks volumes about pols

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, returned to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday after an extended medical leave, which caused her to miss dozens of key Senate votes and prompted calls for her resignation.In addition to halting business on the committee – which was evenly split between Democratic and Republican Senators in her absence – for three months, Feinstein’s leave regrettably provoked a predictable political response from both sides: Republicans doubled-down on partisan obstructionism, while a divided Democratic Party played identity politics.To be sure, Feinstein has put Senate Democrats in an awkward position for months by insisting that she would be returning but not providing any indication as to when.She missed 91 votes during her prolonged absence , according to an NBC news tally, Politico reporting, as well as the Senator’s website, which enumerates her voting history. Feinstein’s absence held up vital Senate business, in...

Dear Abby: Controlling man wants girlfriend on hand 24/7

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

Dear Abby:  I’m 42 and my guy friend is 59. He’s a wonderful person and a great provider. I’ve known him for about a year now, but he seems a bit controlling. He wants me around seven days a week and expects me to be this submissive woman that I’m not. I’m very independent. I always earned my way in life with little to no help at all.I’m not perfect. I admit I can be a little confusing at times. But his constant complaining about how I’m not there confuses me. When I come over and hang out and spend time with him, he pushes me away and says it is my fault. Mind you, I have a 7-year-old daughter. I like him a lot, but he tends to be too much. Should I let it go or try to find some common ground and work things out? — Confused in the SouthDear Confused: I would vote for the former. Because you have a young daughter to care for, you cannot be at this “wonderful” high-maintenance man’s beck and call 24/7. If you can conve...

Search for missing 4-year-old boy at South Boston’s Castle Island continues after midnight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

First responders pushed past midnight searching for a missing 4-year-old boy last seen on Castle Island in Southie, state police report.A dive team was called in along with Boston police and fire, the State Police Air Wing and Boston EMS. The State Police Marine Unit is also on-scene. Massport and boats from the state Environmental Police were also assisting as the Mother’s Day search headed into deeper waters.They are “searching Castle Island … and in the surrounding ocean,” MSP said earlier in the evening.State Police gave one update confirming the missing child is a 4-year-old boy from South Boston.No official report was made at midnight, but some reports stated the search was not ending but it was also not producing any results.Castle Island is a peninsula in South Boston that’s right on the Harbor. The popular park featuring the historic Fort Independence has been the scene of countless celebrations and picnics.This is a developing story … 

California among healthiest states in country, according to a new study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) -- Health and wellness have become an ubiquitous part of the California lifestyle, but exactly how healthy is the state compared to others in the United States?A recent study using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data conducted by the pharmaceutical intelligence company, OZMOSI, found that California was among the top 10 healthiest states in the country.The study looked at 12 distinct criteria with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including quality of air, obesity prevalence, physical health, activity, health conditions and behavioral habits in the states. Scores were then given based on these criteria out of 100. San Diego speakeasy makes 2023 list of best bars in North America California ranked eighth on the list with a total score of 70.90 out of 100, according to the study.The Golden State's lower obesity rate and percentage of adults with high cholesterol contributed to it's overall high score, the study said, despite havin...

Stock market today: Asian markets, oil lower as recession fears, debt ceiling darken outlook

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

Asian shares were mostly lower Monday, dogged by persisting worries over a possible recession and the risk of a default on the U.S. national debt. U.S. futures and oil prices also fell. Shares in Thailand fell after the country’s main opposition parties easily bested other contenders in an election result that fulfilled many voters’ hopes in a chance for change after nine years under a former coup-leading general. The SET was down 0.8% in early trading.This week will bring major updates on the Chinese and Japanese economies. China’s faltering rebound from disruptions caused by limits on travel and other activities during the COVID-pandemic has raised worries that it won’t provide the sort of growth needed to offset slowdowns in other major economies. “The sharp moderation in China’s economic surprise index since the start of the month suggests that economic data are turning in less optimistic than before, which puts some doubts on markets’ reopening bets,” Yeap Jun...

Kehinde Wiley is taking his art everywhere, all at once

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Kehinde Wiley was already well into his influential art career when his portrait of Barack Obama — arms crossed, perched on a chair amid brilliant foliage — was unveiled in 2018. But there’s no doubt it changed the artist’s life.Here’s one way he describes the shift: Now, should he ever show up at the bank and realize he’s forgotten his ID — which hasn’t happened yet, but still — he could say: “You know that portrait of Obama? I’m that guy, and I didn’t bring my ID, so if you could just Google that…”But Wiley, proud as he is of the groundbreaking work — an official portrait of a Black president by a Black artist — does wonder how long he’ll be referred to in that context.“I wonder if I will ever be able to do anything that lives up to the gravity of that moment,” he says. “Everybody wants to be seen in a number of different contexts … but I mean, what a great project to be involved in. So, come on, here’s the world’s smallest violin, playing just fo...

Biden proposal would let conservationists lease public land much as drillers and ranchers do

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration wants to put conserving vast government-owned lands on equal footing with oil drilling, livestock grazing and other interests, according to a top administration official who defended the idea against criticism that it would interfere with industry.The proposal would allow conservationists and others to lease federally owned land to restore it, much the same way oil companies buy leases to drill and ranchers pay to graze cattle. Companies could also buy conservation leases, such as oil drillers who want to offset damage to public land by restoring acreage elsewhere.Tracy Stone-Manning, director of the Bureau of Land Management, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the proposed changes would address rising pressure from climate change and development. While the bureau previously issued leases for conservation in limited cases, it has never had a dedicated program for it, she said.“It makes conservation an equal among the m...

UN to commemorate Palestinians’ 1948 flight from Israel for the first time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — For the first time, the United Nations will officially commemorate the flight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from what is now Israel on the 75th anniversary of their exodus — an action stemming from the U.N.’s partition of British-ruled Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is headlining Monday’s U.N. commemoration of what Palestinians call the “Nakba” or “catastrophe.”Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, called the U.N. observance “historic” and significant because the General Assembly played a key role in the partition of Palestine. “It’s acknowledging the responsibility of the U.N. of not being able to resolve this catastrophe for the Palestinian people for 75 years,” Mansour told a group of U.N. reporters recently.He said “the catastrophe to the Palestinian people is still ongoing:” The Palestinians still don’t have an independent state, and they don’t have the right to return to their homes ...

New Chicago mayor’s progressive strategy to be tested amid public safety, growth concerns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson will take office Monday, facing an influx of migrants in desperate need of shelter, pressure to build support among skeptical business leaders, and summer months that historically bring a spike in violent crime.Progressives viewed Johnson’s election as evidence that bold stances lead to victory at the ballot box. Now, his first term leading the nation’s third-largest city will test the former union organizer’s ability to turn those proposals into solutions for stubborn problems worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, including public safety, economic growth and housing affordability. “There’s no honeymoon in mayoral politics or city governments,” said Dan Gibbons, CEO of the City Club of Chicago and a former staffer for the city’s longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley. “Everyone has your phone number, you get the blame and you don’t get the credit.” Johnson, 47 and a former organizer for the Chicago Tea...