National News - Page 121

Florida bans teaching critical race theory in schools

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By Leah Asmelash Florida has become the latest state to ban critical race theory, continuing the growing charge by Republican lawmakers against schools teaching about systemic racism. After hours of debate and public comment Thursday, the Florida State Board of Education unanimously approved the amendment banning critical race theory. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed much of the board, spoke ahead of the meeting, saying critical race theory would teach children “the country is rotten and that our institutions are illegitimate.” “That is not worth any taxpayer dollars,” he said. The amendment states topics must be “factual and objective,” and

Robert E. Lee’s former mansion reopens with new focus on the enslaved people who lived there

By David Williams The Virginia plantation house where Gen. Robert E. Lee lived before he abandoned it to lead the Confederate army during the Civil War has reopened after a multimillion-dollar renovation that focuses new attention on the enslaved people who lived and labored there. Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, was built by enslaved people and indentured workers between 1802 and 1818, and more than 100 African Americans were enslaved there in the decades leading up to the war, according to the National Park Service. The park service worked with the descendants of several enslaved families to tell

High school recipient of $40K scholarship asks that it be given to a community college student

By Anna Sturla A Massachusetts high school student made an unexpected announcement during her graduation ceremony last week when she asked that a $40,000 scholarship awarded to her be given to a student attending community college instead. “I am so very grateful for this. But I also know that I am not the one who needs this the most,” Verda Tetteh, 17, said during the Fitchburg High School graduation ceremony on Friday. The crowd, made up of her fellow classmates, their families, teachers and school administrators, applauded and cheered Tetteh after she made her announcement. “When she started speaking on

FBI faces its own racial reckoning while leading probes into police shooting deaths

By Jessica Schneider The Federal Bureau of Investigation just unveiled a newly created position to tackle its decades-old diversity problem: chief diversity officer. Scott McMillion is a 23-year veteran of the FBI who is stepping into the role at a time when racial tensions have boiled over nationwide, with the FBI taking the lead in a growing number of civil rights investigations. Its Charlotte office launched a probe into the police shooting death of Andrew Brown Jr.; its Louisville office is investigating Breonna Taylor’s death in the wake of a botched police raid; and the FBI has partnered with the

Employees protest against Houston hospital’s policy that all staff must be vaccinated against Covid-19

By Carma Hassan, CNN A group of Houston Methodist Hospital workers protested on Monday the health care system’s requirement that staffers be vaccinated against Covid-19, according to CNN affiliate KTRK. Employees had to get the Covid-19 vaccine by June 7, according to Houston Methodist. More than 100 staffers at Houston Methodist filed a lawsuit on May 28 against the health care system over its vaccine policy, saying the vaccines are “unapproved” and “experimental.” The plaintiffs are asking for a temporary injunction against the policy. Jennifer Bridges, one of the plaintiffs, told KTRK that employees who did not comply with the

A Florida high school paused distribution of its yearbook over coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement

By Christina Maxouris Florida teacher David Fleischer says his students on the yearbook committee spent the past year carefully planning the topics and events they wanted to include in their high school’s yearbook — and they were proud of the finished product. But on Friday, the students at West Broward High School in Pembroke Pines were told that the book’s distribution had been suspended by the school district because of two pages that focused on the Black Lives Matter movement, Fleischer told CNN. “I found out that it was because there were some complaints from teachers and from parents about

US reports lowest average of daily Covid-19 infections and deaths since March 2020. But experts warn millions are still vulnerable

By Aya Elamroussi The US is making significant strides in curbing the coronavirus pandemic just in time for the summer, with reported infections reaching a new low over the last year. The country averaged less than 14,400 daily reported infections and 427 deaths over the past seven days, according to Johns Hopkins University data. It’s the lowest the US has seen since late March 2020, just weeks after the pandemic was first declared. The good news comes as about 42% of Americans are fully vaccinated, while nearly 52% have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the

Obama’s question for the media: How do we start telling a ‘common story?’

Analysis by Brian Stelter “All of us as citizens have to recognize that the path towards an undemocratic America is not gonna happen in just one bang,” Barack Obama said in an arresting interview with Anderson Cooper on Monday night. It happens “in a series of steps,” Obama said, citing the devolution of places like Hungary and Poland. So how can it be avoided? That was one of the major themes of Cooper’s hour-long interview. Obama cited “structural barriers to our democracy working better” like the filibuster and partisan gerrymandering. But he repeatedly brought up the media, as well. He

County makes Juneteenth paid holiday for staff

By Zoe Brown On Monday, Jackson County designated Juneteenth as an official paid holiday for county staff. This comes after the county legislature approved Ordinance 5513 during a meeting at the county courthouse. A release states: “Per the ordinance, the County will observe Juneteenth as a paid holiday for staff and close county offices on the third Friday in June. This year, that day will be Friday, June 18.” Once signed by County Executive Frank White Jr., the ordinance will immediately take effect. This is the second year that Jackson County will be recognizing Juneteeth as a holiday. White signed

Boston mayor fires city police commissioner after investigation into domestic violence allegations

By Amir Vera Boston Mayor Kim Janey announced Monday that she has fired Dennis White as commissioner of the Boston Police Department, effective immediately. The termination stems from White’s ex-wife accusing him of domestic violence 20 years ago, according to his attorney. White has denied those claims and the allegations were resolved in court in 1999, White’s attorney said. Janey said she reached her decision after considering the results of an independent investigation into multiple allegations, along with testimony and information that he provided during a hearing on June 1. “Dennis White has repeatedly asserted that the domestic violence allegations

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