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Walters: California’s achievement gap defies billions in school spending

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:55:17 GMT

When Jerry Brown returned to the governorship in 2011, a quarter-century after his first stint in California’s highest office ended, one of his early goals was changing how the state finances the education of nearly 6 million public school students.Brown had a plan, adapted from the theory of Michael Kirst, a distinguished academic and Brown’s long-time education advisor, to concentrate more money on students who chronically trail in academic achievement, albeit those from poor families and/or don’t speak English at home.Kirst called it a “weighted formula,” and the legislation he and Brown persuaded the Legislature to adopt a decade ago was called “Local Control Funding Formula,” or LCFF. It would give school districts with large numbers of at-risk students in those two categories extra funds on the assumption that they would improve achievement.The legislation lubricated passage by also eliminating most “categorical aids” – money for specific education programs – and t...

Taylor eyes Cameron rematch, questions linger over location, weight

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:55:17 GMT

DUBLIN (AP) — An Irish flag over her shoulders, Katie Taylor descended the steps from the ring in utter dejection.Taylor spent years dreaming of a homecoming bout. Now, she’ll need to figure out how to bounce back from the first loss of her professional career.Chantelle Cameron had spoiled Taylor’s homecoming by earning a majority decision at Dublin’s 3Arena to remain the undisputed super-lightweight champion.The 2012 Olympic gold medalist immediately said she’s “looking forward to the rematch” and can trigger it under terms of the contract for Saturday’s fight.Now come the questions of where, when and at which weight?“Wherever the fight is the biggest but I’m thinking back in Ireland,” Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn said when asked about the location for a potential rematch.Taylor and Hearn had looked at 83,000-capacity Croke Park for the homecoming with Amanda Serrano the planned opponent. Cameron stepped in after Serrano pulled out becaus...

Un gran tiburón blanco de más de 500 kg nada frente a la costa de Carolina del Sur

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:55:17 GMT

(CNN) — Un tiburón blanco de 3,6 metros fue avistado esta semana frente a las costas de Carolina del Sur, aproximadamente un año después de que fuera detectado cerca de la costa de Nueva Jersey.Ironbound, un tiburón blanco adulto de unos 539 kilos, fue registrado dos veces cerca de Carolina del Sur el jueves por la mañana, según OCEARCH, un grupo de investigación marina sin ánimo de lucro que proporciona datos de código abierto sobre la migración de los tiburones.(Crédito: OCEARCH)El tiburón fue marcado por primera vez el 3 de octubre de 2019 en las aguas que rodean Nueva Escocia y bautizado con el nombre de la isla canadiense West Ironbound.OCEARCH captura y coloca a los tiburones un rastreador que emite pitidos cada vez que emergen a la superficie del océano, un esfuerzo destinado a mejorar la recopilación de datos.El año pasado, a finales de abril, Ironbound fue detectado frente a las costas de Nueva Jersey. En aquel momento, el tiburón tenía unos 20 años, explica Bob Huete...

Sunak ranks China as top challenge to global security

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:55:17 GMT

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described China as the biggest challenge to the world on Sunday at the end of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.“China poses the biggest challenge of our age to global security and prosperity,” Sunak told reporters at the G7 meeting, which ends on Sunday. “They are increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad.”The British prime minister stopped short of calling for a “de-coupling” between China and the West, but supported “de-risking,” the expression used by G7 leaders in their joint communique on Saturday.“We will work together as the G7 and other countries to make sure that we can de-risk ourselves and the vulnerability of supply chains that we have seen from China, take the steps necessary to protect ourselves against hostile investment and do so in a way that doesn’t damage each other,” Sunak said.G7 leaders issued a tough statement towards Beijing, in which they agree...

Ukraine says it still has toe-hold in Bakhmut despite Putin’s ‘liberation’ claim

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:55:17 GMT

KYIV — Ukraine said its forces still control a small part of Bakhmut despite Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday hailing the “liberation” of the embattled eastern Ukrainian city by Russian forces.Asked on Sunday if Russians had taken Bakhmut, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded “I think no,” at a press conference at the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, Japan. Russia’s Wagner mercenary force on Saturday claimed the capture of the industrial city in the Donbas region, which has been at the center of some of the fiercest fighting in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.Putin on Sunday congratulated the Wagner paramilitary group and the Russian army “on the completion of the operation to liberate” Bakhmut, according to a statement on the Kremlin’s website.But Ukrainian officials said several buildings in the southwestern part of the city remain under Kyiv’s control.“It is a small area tha...

After another ugly start, Jameson Taillon and the Chicago Cubs must find a way to get the veteran on track

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:55:17 GMT

Jameson Taillon is searching for answers.The right-hander’s Chicago Cubs career continues to get off to a rocky start. This time Citizens Bank Park served as the backdrop for Taillon’s struggles. One inning doomed Taillon, a common theme in his four starts since returning from the injured list.A six-run first inning by the Philadelphia Phillies put the Cubs in a hole they couldn’t recover from in a 12-3 loss Saturday. Kyle Schwarber’s grand slam on a hanging curveball represented the first blow. Taillon surrendered eight runs (six earned) in 2⅓ innings.Through seven starts, Taillon, who signed a four-year, $68 million contract in December, owns an 8.10 ERA. Taillon said he physically feels great with no lingering issues from his groin strain. Reoccurring struggles to put away hitters and inconsistent command keep putting Taillon in a bad spot.“I have to clean it up,” Taillon said. “I feel like the stuff’s there, just comes down t...

Hezbollah stages wargames for media, asserts readiness to confront Israel

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:55:17 GMT

AARAMTA, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanese militant group Hezbollah put on a show of force Sunday, extending a rare media invitation to one of its training sites in southern Lebanon, where its forces staged a simulated military exercise.Masked fighters jumped through flaming hoops, fired from the backs of motorcycles, and blew up Israeli flags posted in the hills above and a wall simulating the one at the border between Lebanon and Israel.The exercise came ahead of “Liberation Day,” the annual celebration of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon on May 25, 2000, and in the wake of a recent escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza. Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers and Hezbollah have had long-standing ties.The recent heightened tensions also come months after Lebanon and Israel signed a landmark U.S.-brokered maritime border agreement, which many analysts predicted would lower the risk of a future military confrontation between the two countries.The Israeli militar...

Estonia, Latvia plan joint purchase of German medium-range IRIS-T air defense systems

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:55:17 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Estonia and Latvia plan jointly to acquire German air defense systems for the protection of the two NATO nations’ airspace in what would be the biggest defense cooperation deal between the Baltic neighbors that border Russia, the Estonian and Latvian defense ministries said Sunday. According to the provisional deal, deliveries of the medium-range IRIS-T SLM air defense system — manufactured by weapons maker Diehl Defence of Germany — could begin in 2025.The value of the deal and detailed information about the numbers of the system weren’t disclosed as talks with the supplier are still ongoing, defense ministries of the two countries said.Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur described the deal as “a joint project of historical proportions for our defense cooperation, the largest one to date” between Tallinn and Riga.“Presuming that negotiations are successful, we (Estonia and Latvia) hope to reach contract and, subsequently, announce the official winning bidde...

Animal rights activists protest octopus farm plans in Spain

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:55:17 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Animal rights activists gathered Sunday in Madrid to protest plans for the construction of an octopus farm in Spain, saying there are no respective laws in the country and the European Union to guarantee the welfare of the animals in captivity.The proposed farm, which aims to breed octopuses on a large scale in captivity, is scheduled to be built next year in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean. A few dozen people showed up to express their concerns regarding a project that plans to confine 3 million octopuses in pools, despite these creatures being solitary predators in their natural habitat.“It is similar to imprisoning tigers together. They will prey on one another and will also attempt to escape due to their high intelligence and adeptness”, said Jaime Poasada, a spokesperson for the protest called by various animal welfare organizations.Octopuses grown in captivity will behave differently from those in the wild, said Nova Pescan...

Analysis: Japanese PM faces dilemma at G7 as he balances anti-nuke goals with reality of threats

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:55:17 GMT

HIROSHIMA (AP) — 8:15 on the morning of Aug. 6, 1945.It’s a big reason leaders from the world’s most powerful democracies descended on Hiroshima for this weekend’s Group of Seven summit: Part commemoration, part effort to confront the continuing consequences of the moment a U.S. B-29 Superfortress released what the Americans named “Little Boy” over the city in the first wartime use of a nuclear bomb.It also presents Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the driving force behind Hiroshima’s selection for the G7 venue, with a unique dilemma.On the one hand, he is keen to promote the vision of a world without nuclear weapons that has long been a cornerstone of his political rhetoric. On the other, he is mindful of the widespread domestic worry over aggression by nuclear-armed neighbors.Kishida’s difficult balancing act could be clearly seen in the G7’s overwhelming focus on building support for Ukraine’s defense against nuclear-armed Russia...