For a learning pod of homeless students, school days unfold in a motel carport
“How are we feeling today?” a tutor asks two little boys as they take their seats. The children in the learning pod are sheltering with their families at the Hyland Motel in Van Nuys. “Can I have a snack?” a kindergarten boy seated at a low table — because the desks are too tall for him — asks Gerch. Learning pod volunteer Jill Ause helps a 5-year-old kindergartner learn about sounds and the letters of the alphabet. AdvertisementEmma Gerch, left, School on Wheels mobile classroom online tutoring coordinator, helps a 5-year-old kindergartner at the learning pod.
Source:Los Angeles Times
November 26, 2020 12:56 UTC
Retail workers fear for their safety this Black Friday: ‘An anxiety attack waiting to happen’
For retail workers, Black Friday is, as Hernandez puts it, the “most dreaded day of the year.” But this year, the day they hate has also become one they fear. Gavin Newsom pulled the “emergency brake,” rolling out new restrictions last week ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The rules allow retail stores and indoor malls in these counties to open, but with capacity limited to 25%. Retail experts have said stores shouldn’t expect the mass crowds they usually see on Black Friday. Employees at her shop wash their hands, wear masks, limit store capacity and disinfect benches and other surfaces regularly, Hernandez said.
Source:Los Angeles Times
November 26, 2020 12:03 UTC
Letters to the Editor: Save your Thanksgiving dinner until we’re vaccinated
To the editor: COVID-19 and politics have made this a tough time to be alive. I’m celebrating Thanksgiving with a close friend who has been very careful about staying healthy. (“Thanksgiving 2020: Alone again, unnaturally,” editorial, Nov. 22)I usually share the holidays with my family in Santa Barbara, but this year I proposed postponing Thanksgiving dinner until after we have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and it is safe to gather. Leslie Howard, Marina del Rey..AdvertisementTo the editor: Healing the soul of America cannot be left to one president or administration. We can begin now, on Thanksgiving Day, by naming and giving thanks for the blessings we share.
Source:Los Angeles Times
November 26, 2020 11:03 UTC
In a 5-4 ruling, Supreme Court sides with religious groups in a dispute over Covid-19 restrictions in New York
(CNN) In a 5-4 ruling, the US Supreme Court sided with religious organizations in a dispute over Covid-19 restrictions put in place by New York Gov. They also said that while the dispute was pending, Cuomo had already lifted any restrictions that applied to the organizations. The Court said that even though Cuomo had lifted some restrictions, the houses of worship "remain under a constant threat" because the restrictions could always be reinstated. "The Governor's guilt-by-religious-association restrictions have made it impossible for Applicants and their members to exercise their religious faith," they argued. Gorsuch said the Court precedent Roberts cited in that decision "hardly supports cutting the Constitution loose during a pandemic."
Source:CNN
November 26, 2020 06:21 UTC
Splitting 5 to 4, Supreme Court Backs Religious Challenge to Cuomo’s Virus Shutdown Order
Lawyers for the diocese questioned “the fluid nature of these modifications and the curious timing of the governor’s latest modification,” and they urged the court to decide the case notwithstanding the revisions. Lawyers for the synagogues said Mr. Cuomo should not be allowed to “feign retreat” when “he retains the unfettered discretion to reimpose those restrictions on them at a moment’s notice.”In a dissenting opinion on Wednesday, Chief Justice Roberts said the court had acted rashly. “But he also might not. And it is a significant matter to override determinations made by public health officials concerning what is necessary for public safety in the midst of a deadly pandemic. If the governor does reinstate the numerical restrictions the applicants can return to this court, and we could act quickly on their renewed applications.”In a second dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Elena Kagan, said Mr. Cuomo’s restrictions were sensible.
Source:New York Times
November 26, 2020 05:36 UTC
Carolyn Hax: Which is worse, that she’s pushy and obnoxious, or that she’s right?
Yes, it’s hard, but if you want this life, then you’re going to have step out of your comfort zone. You’re going to have accept the (many) rejections that come of it. You’re going to have to listen to any rejection advice and have the confidence to know when it’s useful and when it isn’t. ●Yes, the poster should ask herself if she’s bothered because she knows she should be sending her stuff out already, fair question, but: Twice a week? Makes me wonder what’s going on with Annie’s own life that she’s dishing out her advice to someone clearly not receptive to it.
Source:Washington Post
November 26, 2020 05:03 UTC
Iran releases Kylie Moore-Gilbert, British-Australian academic, in exchange for 3 prisoners
Iran released British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert on Wednesday, in a prisoner exchange for three Iranians, according to reports. Moore-Gilbert, 33, one of the most high-profile Western prisoners held by the country, was imprisoned for more than two years on spying charges. In a statement, she praised the people of Iran and thanked those who had worked for her release. “I came to Iran as a friend and with friendly intentions, and depart Iran with those sentiments not only still intact, but strengthened," she continued. “I am an innocent woman,” she wrote to prison authorities last year, the news organization reported.
Source:Fox News
November 26, 2020 04:18 UTC
The reason we know it's about to get better (opinion)
Frida Ghitis, (@fridaghitis) a former CNN producer and correspondent, is a world affairs columnist. She is a frequent opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. View more opinion on CNN. That sunny disposition clouded over for at least half the country after Donald Trump won the presidency four years ago. Is it reasonable now for those of us who found the Trump presidency abhorrent to rekindle our optimism?
Source:CNN
November 26, 2020 03:33 UTC
Coronavirus cases in US may be 8 times higher than previously reported, CDC warns
There may have been as many as 53 million coronavirus cases in the U.S. by the end of September, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate. That would be nearly eight times as many cases as had been reported by that time. Even now, the CDC is reporting fewer than 12.5 million confirmed cases in the U.S. since January. CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGEThe number of new coronavirus cases being diagnosed in the U.S. has been steadily rising since early October, CDC data show. Many states have added new restrictions in response to rising cases.
Source:Fox News
November 26, 2020 03:33 UTC
British-Australian academic freed by Iran in apparent prisoner exchange
(CNN) Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the British-Australian academic detained by Iran for more than two years on espionage charges, has been freed in an apparent prisoner exchange for three Iranians. Moore-Gilbert, a lecturer on Middle Eastern studies at the University of Melbourne, had been detained in Iran since 2018. "I came to Iran as a friend and with friendly intentions, and depart Iran with those sentiments not only still intact, but strengthened." In a press conference Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called Moore-Gilbert's release a "miracle." Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said in a statement that she was "extremely pleased and relieved" to see Moore-Gilbert's release.
Source:CNN
November 26, 2020 03:11 UTC
Maradona, Covid-19, Macron: Your Thursday Briefing
More than 1.2 million cases in the U.S. have been identified in the past week, and the country is on pace to reach 13 million known cases within days. Scientists are expressing deep foreboding about the arrival of Thanksgiving and cold weather during such a surge. On the front lines: Doctors and nurses are running on empty. “This is my job, what I wanted to do for a living,” said a critical-care physician in Houston who brought the virus home with him, sickening his whole family. “And it could have killed my children, could have killed my wife — all this, because of me.”Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.
Source:New York Times
November 26, 2020 03:00 UTC
Home nurse, 64, dies saving paraplegic patient from fire
A 64-year-old home nurse died trying to save her 71-year-old paraplegic patient from a fire before the nurse succumbed to smoke from the blaze, Louisiana authorities said Tuesday. The homeowner said Gwendolyn Theus, the nurse, alerted her to a fire inside the home in Delhi, 250 miles north of New Orleans on Monday evening. Theus unsuccessfully tried several times to wheel the woman's bed out of the room, state fire officials said. She then pulled the woman from the bed and tried pushing her out of a window, but Theus became overwhelmed by smoke. Investigators have not been able to get inside the home to determine the cause due to extensive damage.
Source:Fox News
November 26, 2020 02:48 UTC
New Jersey church and synagogue ask Supreme Court to lift COVID restrictions on gatherings
A New Jersey church and synagogue asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to intervene in their lawsuit alleging the state unequally applies COVID-19 restrictions to religious activities. The petition to Justice Samuel Alito comes after a lower court rejected their attempts to file an injunction. Wednesday's move is the latest in a series from religious entities challenging coronavirus restrictions. Kevin Robinson of Saint Anthony of Padua Church filed their suits earlier this year, prompting a series of court battles. The emergency application came as Democratic Gov.
Source:Fox News
November 26, 2020 02:37 UTC
Couple finds more than 66 bottles of Prohibition-era whiskey hidden in the walls of their New York home
(CNN) When a New York couple was told their over 100-year-old home was built by a notorious bootlegger, they passed it off as small town legend. But during a recent home renovation, the couple discovered something that revealed the legend could be true. In early October, Nick Drummond and Patrick Bakker said they found more than 66 bottles of whiskey from the Prohibition-era hidden within the walls and floorboards of their home, which was built in 1915. Drummond, who documented the unexpected find in a series of posts on social media , wrote on his Instagram. The couple had been living in the house nestled in the small village of Ames, located about three hours away from New York City, for a little over a year before they decided to begin major renovations two months ago.
Source:CNN
November 26, 2020 02:26 UTC
Trump administration blocks controversial Alaska Pebble Mine project
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers officially blocked a decades-long struggle to blast open the controversial Pebble Mine Wednesday, located near the world’s largest natural salmon fishery in Bristol Bay, Alaska. "This action is based on all available facts and complies with existing laws and regulations," the Army Corps added. "It reflects a regulatory process that is fair, flexible and balanced." Alaska’s senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both members of the Republican Party, applauded the Army Corps decision Wednesday. “This is the right decision, reached the right way,” Murkowski said in a statement.
Source:Fox News
November 26, 2020 02:26 UTC