Florida Scoured Math Textbooks for ‘Prohibited Topics.’ Next Up: Social Studies.
The nitty-gritty process of reviewing and approving school textbooks has typically been an administrative affair, drawing the attention of education experts, publishing executives and state bureaucrats. But in Florida, textbooks have become hot politics, part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign against what he describes as “woke indoctrination” in public schools, particularly when it comes to race and gender. Last year, his administration made a splash when it rejected dozens of math textbooks, citing “prohibited topics.” Now, the state is reviewing curriculum in what is perhaps the most contentious subject in education: social studies.
North Dakota Supreme Court Blocks Abortion Ban, Says Constitution Protects Procedure
North Dakota’s Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision to block a ban on abortions in the state, and said the state constitution protects abortion rights in some situations. The ruling means abortion in the state remains legal until nearly 22 weeks after a women’s last period, while the case proceeds in a lower court. Although the state Supreme Court’s decision is not the final word on the matter, it is notable for its analysis of the state constitution. The court went beyond the narrow question it was asked: whether the lower court judge had overstepped his power in blocking the ban.
As a Possible Indictment Looms, Trump’s Team Plans to Attack
As former President Donald Trump faces likely criminal charges, his campaign is preparing to wage a political war. With an indictment looming from the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, Trump’s campaign is laying the groundwork for a broad attack on Bragg, a Democrat. According to two of Trump’s political allies, the campaign will aim to portray any charges as part of a coordinated offensive by the Democratic Party against Trump. It is unclear what data points, if any, the Trump team plans to point to beyond Bragg’s party registration in order to make a case that the district attorney is part of a broader political conspiracy against the former president.
Biden Plans to Name Nevada’s Spirit Mountain Area a National Monument
President Joe Biden plans next week to designate nearly a half-million acres of the Spirit Mountain area in southern Nevada as a national monument, according to two people familiar with the matter, protecting some of the most biologically diverse and culturally significant lands in the Mojave Desert. The area, also known by the Mojave name Avi Kwa Ame, represents the largest such monument that Biden has designated to date. But it could also put some of the most potentially productive land in Nevada off limits to wind and solar projects. Avi Kwa Ame is considered the creation site for Yuman-speaking tribes such as the Fort Mojave, Cocopah, Quechan and Hopi.
FDA Advisers Endorse Paxlovid’s Benefits as a COVID Treatment
A panel of expert advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday endorsed Paxlovid as a treatment for adults with COVID-19 who are at high risk for progression to severe illness. The move is likely to lead to full approval of the drug, which has been available under emergency-use authorization. The 16-1 vote came after the agency released a new analysis showing that Paxlovid reduced hospitalizations and deaths among both unvaccinated and vaccinated people. Agency researchers estimated, based on COVID rates in January, that Paxlovid could “lead to 1,500 lives saved and 13,000 hospitalizations averted each week in the United States.”
House GOP Hunts for Evidence That Biden Family Deals Were Improper
House Republicans on Thursday released financial records showing that Hunter Biden and other relatives of President Joe Biden’s received more than $1 million in 2017 from an associate who had entered into a business deal with a Chinese energy company, as they hunted for evidence that the president and his family have profited improperly from his position. The disclosure came as the House Oversight Committee ramps up its investigation into the international business transactions of Biden’s family, obtaining more than a decade of bank records through subpoenas and drawing accusations from Democrats of intruding into the lives of private citizens.
Macron, Risking Backlash, Pushes Through Law Raising Retirement Age
President Emmanuel Macron, worried that France’s parliament would not approve a fiercely contested bill raising the retirement age to 64 from 62, opted to ram the legislation through Thursday without a full parliamentary vote, a decision certain to inflame tensions over the measure. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne was met with heckling and booing when she informed the National Assembly of the government’s decision. “We cannot gamble on the future of our pensions,” Borne told lawmakers. “The reform is necessary.” The bill has prompted two months of major demonstrations and intermittent strikes.
Poland Says It Will Arm Ukraine With Warplanes, Raising Stakes
Poland’s president said Thursday that his country would transfer four Soviet-designed MiG fighters to Ukraine, “in the next few days.” The warplanes would be the first sent to Ukraine by a NATO country since Russia invaded last year. Ukraine has requested F-16 fighter planes from the United States, which a White House spokesperson said is “not on the table right now.” Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine, has lobbied its allies within NATO to send more and better weapons to help Ukrainian forces, and some saw President Andrzej Duda’s announcement as an effort to pressure other countries into sending jets, in a replay of earlier jockeying over sending tanks.
Pentagon Releases Video of U.S. Drone’s Encounter With Russian Jets
The Pentagon’s European Command on Thursday released video images of the events leading up to a Russian fighter jet colliding with a U.S. reconnaissance drone Tuesday, forcing the U.S. aircraft into the Black Sea. The dramatic video clip shows two high-speed passes by two Su-27 fighter jets, which spray a substance the Defense Department says is jet fuel on the drone. Defense Department officials said the video clip provided visual evidence to support the U.S. version of the episode, the first known physical contact between the Russian and U.S. militaries since the war in Ukraine started last year.
3 Dogs Die After Eating Poisoned Meatballs at a Race in France
Three dogs died last weekend after eating poisoned meatballs during a canine cross-country race in southern France, prompting an investigation by the local police. Within minutes of arriving at the parking lot for the race, one dog started vomiting and trembling, according to a veterinarian who was on the site. Then a second dog started exhibiting the same symptoms. Then a third. All three dogs were dead within 15 minutes. Organizers canceled the race and found more than 50 meatballs, each with dark seeds inside, scattered around the area. The veterinarian said laboratory tests were being conducted to determine the type of poison that was used.
By wire sources