August 2022
Black Covid long-haulers felt invisible to the health care system, so they formed their own support groups
These Black-led groups have popped up across the country as more and more Black people have reported prolonged Covid symptoms — and difficulty receiving treatment. Chimére L. Smith, 40, thought her bout with Covid in March 2020 would pass within two weeks, as most mild cases do. But the Baltimore English middle school teacher found […]
Record-breaking heat bears down on China’s hazmat-wearing Covid health workers
“Every day when I finally get off work, the only thing I want to do is take a shower and fall asleep,” one health worker told NBC News. HONG KONG — It’s been a summer that has seen heat records jump across the globe. China’s health workers have been particularly impacted, enduring relentless heat waves wrapped head-to-toe […]
Short-staffed school districts are hiring students to serve lunch and answer phones
As the nation’s labor crunch hits public education, some administrators say student-employment programs can open up career paths. Skeptics worry teens aren’t well served by the initiatives. While her peers study civics or economics in class, Saniyya Boykin, a 17-year old senior at Camden High School in Camden, South Carolina, preps food for the next […]
Netflix’s ‘Partner Track’ star Arden Cho talks sexism and racism in big law
“Maybe if she was a man, maybe if she was not Asian, maybe she would have already been partner,” the actress says of her character. Arden Cho knows a thing or two about the challenges with breaking a glass ceiling as an Asian American woman. For most of her acting career, Cho, who rose to […]
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell sees inflation battle lasting ‘some time,’ warns of economic pain
“These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain,” Powell said. JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — The U.S. economy will need tight monetary policy “for some time” before inflation is under control, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday in remarks that warned of […]
Texas woman arrested after video of racist rant against women of South Asian descent, alleged assault in parking lot goes viral
Plano police said in a statement that Esmeralda Upton was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and terroristic threats. She remained in city jail Thursday with bond set at $10,000. A Texas woman has been arrested, authorities said, after she was caught on video hurling racist abuse at a group of women of South Asian descent […]
San Diego State University Welcomes Largest Incoming Class Ever
San Diego State University is poised to welcome its largest ever incoming class following a record number of applications, it was announced Monday. The university has admitted nearly 6,500 students — chosen from nearly 77,000 first-time student applications received between October and December, its highest-ever number of applications. Admitted students are from around the region, […]
Water firms face growing criticism over beach sewage
Water companies are facing mounting criticism from environmental campaigners and politicians over sewage being pumped on to British beaches. Downing Street condemned the industry for not reducing sewage discharge and putting shareholders before customers. Pollution warnings remain in place across more than 20 beaches and swimming spots in England and Wales after heavy rain overwhelmed sewers. […]
James Webb: Space telescope reveals ‘incredible’ Jupiter views
The world’s largest and most powerful space telescope has revealed unprecedented views of Jupiter. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) took the pictures of the Solar System’s biggest planet in July. The images show auroras, giant storms, moons and rings surrounding Jupiter in detail that astronomers have described as “incredible”. The infrared images were artificially […]
Nasa Moon mission gets go-ahead to launch
The American space agency says it is ready to launch its giant new Moon rocket next Monday. Nasa officials conducted a flight-readiness review late on Monday and concluded there were no substantive technical issues in their way. The rocket, known as the Space Launch System, will send a capsule, called Orion, on an excursion around […]
Can a sleepy Japanese town become Asia’s Silicon Valley?
Always seen as Japan’s backwater, Tokushima is not where you would expect to see the opening of a special new school for tech-savvy young entrepreneurs. Located on the southern island of Shikoku, the sleepy, rural region doesn’t have a reputation for being a thriving place. But the area, which has been suffering from both an […]
What to do with clothes you no longer wear
Model Ellie Jolliffe says she was shocked at the amount of waste she saw when working on modelling jobs, in particular for e-commerce companies. “I’ve been on shoots where there are boxes and boxes of deadstock – clothes which are no longer on sale. They’ve never been worn. No-one wants to buy them. Tonnes of […]
Man in D.C. threw brick through car window in suspected anti-Asian hate crime, injuring two
The suspect allegedly followed the three victims and yelled anti-Asian slurs before threatening them with a large knife. Three people of Asian descent were threatened with a knife and attacked with a brick in a suspected anti-Asian hate crime in Washington, D.C., last week, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. The suspect approached the three people after […]
Why Technology Will Never Replace the Classroom
Jody Passanisi, Shara Peters The pandemic was a forced experiment to see if online learning worked—and now we are seeing all the ways it failed. Credit: Hananeko_Studio/shutterstock Almost 10 years ago, in an article for Scientific American, we explored the following question, which was, at the time, hypothetical: Could an online learning system replace a classroom? In the […]
How much grain is being shipped from Ukraine?
Over half a million tonnes of wheat and other types of food have been shipped from Ukraine’s ports in the past month, says the United Nations. On 22 July, Russia lifted its blockade of the ports, allowing ships to use a safe corridor through the Black Sea. However, Ukraine is only exporting grain at half […]
Cineworld shares plunge on bankruptcy fears
Shares in Cineworld have fallen more than 60% as concerns mount that the world’s second largest cinema chain is about to file for bankruptcy. The company, which also owns the Picturehouse chain in the UK, is struggling under $5bn worth of debt. Like other cinema chains, Cineworld was hit hard by the pandemic. Cineworld recently […]
Andrew Tate banned from Facebook and Instagram
Meta has banned influencer Andrew Tate from Facebook and Instagram for violating its policies. The former kickboxer rose to fame in 2016 when he was removed from TV show Big Brother over a video which appeared to depict him attacking a woman. He went on to gain notoriety online, with Twitter banning him for saying […]
Study Shows First Signs That Student Learning Is Rebounding
Noble Ingram New findings suggest that the tide may be slowly turning on pandemic-related learning loss. Credit: twinsterphoto/shutterstock Since schools first shuttered in March 2020, researchers and educators alike have recognized the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on student learning. But data released this summer captures a potential shift in that narrative, and some reasons for hope, […]
Thai cave rescue film prioritized cultural nuance: ‘Most Thai people will get it immediately’
Ron Howard’s film “Thirteen Lives” employed actors with regional accents and producers from Thailand to ensure the depiction of the miraculous rescue remained a fully Thai story. In “Thirteen Lives,” a documentary-styled dramatization of the 2018 flooded cave-complex rescue in northern Thailand, telling the story from the perspective of the local Thai people was a priority. […]
After protests, UC San Diego agrees not to fire Chinese postdoc who raised concerns
The case sparked a wave of activism from the scholar’s peers while her visa was put in jeopardy. The University of California, San Diego has reached a settlement with Li Jiang, a postdoctoral scholar from China who said her contract was left to expire after she raised concerns about data methodology in her lab, potentially […]
Social Security recipients are set to receive a major increase in monthly benefits
The Social Security Administration’s annual cost of living adjustment is based on inflation readings, and inflation has seen 40-year highs for months. Social Security recipients struggling with higher inflation are likely to get a major boost in their monthly benefits starting next year. Thanks to the high inflation reading for July, beneficiaries could receive as much […]
Teachers say in new survey they’re being told not to talk about racism and race
Over half of teachers and almost 6 in 10 teachers of color oppose legal limits on discussing race and racism. “It’s heartbreaking for our youth,” a Latino activist and educator said. One in 4 teachers report being told by school officials or district leaders to limit their classroom conversations about race, racism or bias, a […]
The number of LGBTQ Asian American and Pacific Islander political candidates has doubled. They share some reasons why.
“We’re navigating a very challenging last couple of years,” an expert said. “It really says something about these candidates that they’re willing to be very visible.” Janani Ramachandran, 30, says she’s always lived at the intersection of two isolations. As an openly gay South Asian woman growing up post-9/11, she felt that few people could […]