SAFE FOR SCHOOL?
A new CDC study makes the argument for keeping children in school for in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic (with certain caveats).
Here’s what it says:
A new CDC study makes the argument for keeping children in school for in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic (with certain caveats).
Here’s what it says:
If a student tested positive and quarantined, their siblings *also* automatically quarantined (length of quarantine not specified in study).
If a student/staff tested positive, anyone with close contact (sitting within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more) automatically quarantined.
“These findings suggest that, with proper mitigation strategies, K–12 schools might be capable of opening for in-person learning with minimal in-school transmission of SARS-CoV-2.”
Are kids safer in school? The study stops short of saying definitely, using the word "might" 14 times. Additional limitations to the study: Participants were mostly non-Hispanic white in a rural, middle-to-low income area. Available data showed mask compliance was over 90% regardless of grade; school ventilation systems were not studied.
A new CDC study makes the argument for keeping children in school for in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic (with certain caveats).
Here’s what it says:
If a student tested positive and quarantined, their siblings *also* automatically quarantined (length of quarantine not specified in study).
If a student/staff tested positive, anyone with close contact (sitting within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more) automatically quarantined.
“These findings suggest that, with proper mitigation strategies, K–12 schools might be capable of opening for in-person learning with minimal in-school transmission of SARS-CoV-2.”
Are kids safer in school? The study stops short of saying definitely, using the word "might" 14 times. Additional limitations to the study: Participants were mostly non-Hispanic white in a rural, middle-to-low income area. Available data showed mask compliance was over 90% regardless of grade; school ventilation systems were not studied.
Bipartisan lawmakers raise questions about a $1.9 trillion economic “rescue plan” by the new White House.
What To Know
Why It Matters
“Without decisive action, we risk falling into a very serious economic hole, even more serious than the crisis we find ourselves in.”
“There are still a lot of unanswered questions, most notably, how did the administration come up with $1.9 trillion dollars required, given that our figures show that there’s still about $1.8 trillion left to be spent.”
“This may end up hurting the exact people we’re trying to help more than anyone else.”
“This isn’t Monopoly money. Every dollar that we’re talking about here is being borrowed from our grandchildren. We have a responsibility to be stewards," said Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses w/ the Democrats. The Biden admin says it wants a vote on the stimulus bill in the next week or so, prior to the impeachment trial.
“525,600 minutes – how do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes – how do you measure a year in the life? How about love? …Seasons of love.”
Jonathan Larson
Larson wrote these lyrics for the famous Broadway play "Rent"- a retelling of the opera "La Boheme" - in NYC during the HIV epidemic. Larson, 35, died from an aortic aneurysm the day of the play's first public performance, 25 years ago today. Rent went on to earn international acclaim, a Pulitzer Prize & a Tony Award.
A journalist returns home after circumnavigating the globe with a special goal.
She met it, *with* one navy blue dress and *without* a chaperone – igniting headlines around the world and sidestepping a global pandemic.
The Story of Nellie Bly
“The American Girl will no longer be misunderstood. She will be recognized as pushing, determined, independent, able to take care of herself alone and single-handed, wherever she may be.”
“The influenza is coming around the world in a good deal faster time than Nellie Bly…”
Nellie completed this adventure shortly before her 26th birthday. Click on our source page for a complete list of what she brought with her on her journey.
Graduation day for the first woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S.
“I do not wish to give [women] a first place, still less a second one – but the most complete freedom, to take their true place whatever it may be.”
While men continue to outnumber women nearly 2:1 in the U.S. medical field, in 2019 more women than men enrolled in medical school for the very first time on record. The new Dir. of the CDC is Dr. Rochelle Walensky - the third woman to hold the post.
“In playing ball, and in life, a person occasionally gets the opportunity to do something great. When that time comes, only two things matter: being prepared to seize the moment and having the courage to take your best swing.“
Henry 'Hank' Aaron
Known as one of the best baseball players ever to play the game, Aaron broke records and racial barriers in his 23-year career. Admired for his athleticism and advocacy for civil rights, Aaron surpassed Babe Ruth's all-time home run record in 1974, and went on to hold the record for more than 30 years until 2007. Aaron died peacefully in his sleep on Friday.
“For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
Amanda Gorman
The first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate continued a tradition of a featured inaugural poet (past poets incl. Maya Angelou & Robert Frost) – Gorman made history as the youngest to ever appear. The 22-year-old once suffered from a speech impediment (as did Pres. Biden).
What we’ve learned & the questions still unanswered two weeks after the historic Capitol Hill riot.
“This is an unprecedented incident. If this investigation was a football game, we’d still be in the first quarter.”
Charges vary, but include the following:
The many lingering unknowns include:
BIG PICTURE: Although the number of criminal cases are increasing daily, the legal proceedings are still in very early stages. As the numerous investigations continue and new information develops, we expect to learn a lot more in the days and weeks to come.
The U.S. Constitution has ONE requirement for the new president on Inauguration Day – the rest has become tradition.
What It Is. Why It Matters.
”I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
A disagreement between lawmakers back in 1817 may have helped inspire the tradition of an outside inauguration:
“…when a small feud ensued between the Senate and the House of Representatives over which chairs would be used in the House chamber, the venue changed to an outdoor platform in front of the building.”
1801: Pres. Thomas Jefferson remains the only president to walk to and from his inauguration ceremony.
1925: Inaugural address first broadcast on the radio (Pres. Coolidge). 1949: First televised inauguration (Pres. Truman’s second term).
1961: Army flame throwers melted the snow off Pennsylvania Ave. so the parade could go on.
The presidential oath is typically recited with one hand on a Bible, though it is not required. John Q. Adams took his oath in 1825 using a book of law. Pres. Theodore Roosevelt held up his hand. Pres. Obama used Pres. Lincoln's Bible for both inaugurations, and added Dr. MLK Jr's Bible for his second. Pres. Trump also used the Lincoln Bible in addition to his own.
What to know about the home church of both Martin Luther King Jr. and one of the Senate’s newest members.
Ebenezer Baptist Church began with 13 congregants and now has at least 6,000.
In its 135-year history, there have been five Senior Pastors.
The current Senior Pastor, Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock, has served since 2005. Recently elected to the Senate in the GA runoffs, he will be the first Black senator from the state.
As we mark Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, we return to the church where it all began.
Ebenezer Baptist Church, spiritual home to Rev. Dr. MLK Jr. and Rev. MLK Sr., has also laid the foundation for one of the Senate’s newest members – Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock.
The very first federally-recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated at Ebenezer Baptist Church with a ceremony between King's wife, Coretta, and VP George H.W. Bush.
“Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
On the stormy night before he was killed, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a church in Memphis, Tenn. in a speech “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop." Nearly 20 yrs after his death, America celebrated its first Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in 1986. You can read/listen to two of MLK Jr's most famous speeches on source page.
He’s one of only two Americans we celebrate with a federal holiday.
How Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday became a national celebration.
“Dr. King’s was truly a prophetic voice that reached out over the chasms of hostility, prejudice, ignorance, and fear to touch the conscience of America. He challenged us to make real the promise of America as a land of freedom, equality, opportunity, and brotherhood.”
Martin Luther King Jr. and George Washington are the only Americans to have a national holiday observed in their honor.
While the federal holiday passed in 1983, it took longer for all the states to *also* celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. In 1999, New Hampshire was the last state to pass legislation to recognize the day.
Stevie Wonder wrote his famous song “Happy Birthday” in 1980 and released it as a rallying cry for the promotion of the holiday. Though MLK Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, his birthday is celebrated on the third Monday in January in order to remain consistent with other federal holidays.
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