The Full Belmonte, 9/26/2022
Far-right win in Italy
Giorgia Meloni at her party's electoral headquarters in Rome early today. Photo: Gregorio Borgia/AP
“Near-final results from Italy's general election show the country is set for its most conservative government in decades, Axios World author Dave Lawler writes.
Giorgia Meloni, who leads the Brothers of Italy, is in pole position to become prime minister.
Why it matters: It'd be Italy's first far-right-led government since World War II. Meloni would be Italy's first female prime minister.
A coalition of three right-wing parties is on course for majorities in both houses of the Italian Parliament.
The coalition also includes The League, led by far-right firebrand Matteo Salvini, and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia.
Meloni is seeking to reassure EU leaders that she'd govern as a center-right pragmatist.
Reality check: She has a history of defending far-right leaders, including Hungary's Viktor Orbán, and her party has fascist roots.” Read more at Axios
“A 45-year-old mother from Rome, Meloni is deeply conservative, openly anti-LGBTQ, and has threatened to place same-sex unions, which were legalized in Italy in 2016, under review. She has also called abortion a ‘tragedy,’ raising fears for the future of women's rights in the country. Meloni entered Italy's crowded political scene in 2006 and co-founded the Brothers of Italy in 2012, a party whose agenda is rooted in Euroskepticism and anti-immigration policies.” Read more at CNN
A satellite image shows Tropical Storm Ian near the coast of Cuba on Sunday. Ian has since been upgraded to a hurricane.
“A hurricane watch has been issued for the west coast of Florida as now Hurricane Ian threatens to soon arrive packing powerful winds and dangerous storm surge. According to the National Hurricane Center, lan grew to hurricane strength this morning with winds of 75 mph and even higher wind gusts. Models project different scenarios about where it could make landfall in Florida, and how strong it could be by midweek. While Ian's exact path remains uncertain, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has activated the National Guard, saying its impacts will be broadly felt throughout the state.” Read more at CNN
Ian strengthens to hurricane
Photo: Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images
“This line stretched beyond the parking lot of a Sam's Club in Kissimmee (south of Orlando) yesterday as Floridians prepared for Ian, which strengthened from tropical storm to hurricane this morning.
Ian is moving closer to Cuba, on a track expected to take it to Florida this week.
Photo: Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP
Above: Tampa residents waited over two hours yesterday to fill 10 free sandbags.” Read more at Axios
NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft prior to impact at the Didymos binary asteroid system. Illustration: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
“A NASA spacecraft is set to deliberately crash into an asteroid to see how the impact affects the space rock's motion. The DART mission -- or the
Double Asteroid Redirection Test -- launched 10 months ago and will be NASA's first full-scale demonstration of deflection technology designed to protect the planet from nefarious space objects.” Read more at CNN
Energy bills
“Many Americans are bracing for the cold reality that they will have to shell out more money this year to keep their homes warm during the winter. Families are expected to pay an average of 17.2% more for home heat this coming season, compared to last winter, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. This brings the two-year hike to more than 35%. Those who heat their homes with natural gas are facing the largest spike, with their costs expected to soar 34.3% to $952 for the season, the association said. Heating oil is expected to jump 12.8% to $2,115. And those whose heat runs on electricity can expect to see a nearly 7% increase to $1,328. Some people may not realize that energy bills will be costlier this winter, especially since gasoline prices had been falling for months.” Read more at CNN
“Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir, is so low it's getting perilously close to what's known as ‘deadpool,’ the level where the Hoover dam's hydropower turbines would be shut off for the first time in its 86-year history. It's forcing a reckoning for cities and farms in the desert Southwest that were built to rely on the Colorado River.” Read more at NPR
Ex-staffer’s unauthorized book about Jan. 6 committee rankles members
Former Rep. Denver Riggleman is set to publish his book Tuesday, just one day before the final public hearing of the Jan. 6 panel
“News that a former adviser to the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection is publishing a book billed as a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at the committee’s work came as a shock to most lawmakers and committee staff when it was announced last week.
Denver Riggleman, a former Republican congressman, is set to publish ‘The Breach’ on Tuesday, just one day before the final public hearing of the Jan. 6 panel, which has gone to extraordinary lengths to prevent unauthorized leaks, as well as keep its sources and methods of investigation under wraps.
Riggleman’s book announcement came in the form of a tweet touting his upcoming appearance Sunday on ‘60 Minutes’ as his first time speaking publicly about the book. Lawmakers and committee staff were largely unaware that the former staffer had spent the months since leaving the committee writing a book about his limited work on staff — or that it would be published before the conclusion of the committee’s investigation, according to people familiar with the matter who, like others interviewed by The Washington Post, spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail private conversations.” Read more at Washington Post
Reproduced from Washington Post. Chart: Axios Visuals
“Registered voters in a Washington Post/ABC News poll say inflation and the economy are two of the most important issues in their decision, along with abortion and education.
The poll gives Republicans a 17-point lead over Democrats on handling the economy, and an 18-point advantage on inflation.
Democrats hold a 17-point advantage on abortion.
Republicans have a 22-point advantage on handling crime — which helps explain the GOP's increasing focus on the issue in midterm ads, as reported in a Washington Post front-pager:
Democrats accuse Republicans of stoking racial divisions, but ‘worry the attacks could resonate amid the rise in violent crime that has taken place with their party in power at the federal level and in many cities.’” Read more at Axios
Newsom pushes Dems to go on offense
Gavin Newsom in Austin yesterday. Photo: Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“California Gov. Gavin Newsom warned fellow Democrats yesterday that the GOP is ‘winning right now’ by controlling the national conversation, CNN's Maeve Reston writes from the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin.
‘These guys are ruthless on the other side,’ said Newsom — a prospective presidential candidate for 2024 or 2028, even though he denied it during the festival conversation.
‘They dominate the most important thing in American politics today and that’s the narrative — facts become secondary to narrative,’ Newsom continued. ‘They dominate with illusion. And we are getting crushed. We are on the defense over and over again."
Newsom said he didn't blame President Biden, but he said Dems need to be ‘organizing from the bottom up’: ‘Where are we — going on the offense every single day? They’re winning right now.’
Also at the festival, Rep. Liz Cheney told Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith she'd do ‘whatever it takes’ to make sure former President Trump isn't the GOP nominee in 2024 — including campaigning for Democrats:
‘[I]f he is the nominee, I won't be a Republican.’” Read more at Axios
Why Trump ran
Trump rally in Youngstown, Ohio, last weekend. Photo: Gaelen Morse/Reuters
“Maggie Haberman — in an excerpt by The Atlantic from her forthcoming book, ‘Confidence Man,’ out Oct. 4 — writes that former President Trump told her about running for president:
"The question I get asked more than any other question: 'If you had it to do again, would you have done it?' ... The answer is, yeah, I think so. Because here’s the way I look at it. I have so many rich friends and nobody knows who they are." Read more at Axios
Ukraine war: Protests in Russia's Dagestan region against new draft
By Matt Murphy & Merlyn Thomas
BBC News
Image caption, Police detain a protester in Makhachkala
“People in Russia's Dagestan region have clashed with police in the latest protests against Moscow's call-up of 300,000 military reservists.
Over 100 people were arrested during protests in the regional capital Makhachkala, OVD-Info, an independent Russian human rights monitor said.
It said it was concerned by reports of the province's ‘very tough detentions’.
Dagestan is a mainly Muslim region of Russia with a higher death toll than any other province in the war.
Recent analysis by the BBC's Russian service showed that at least 301 soldiers from Dagestan have died, 10 times more than in Moscow. The true figure is likely to be far higher.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested at mass protests since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilisation of military reservists on Wednesday.
While large protests have taken place in major cities across Russia in recent days - with more than 700 people being arrested on Saturday alone - the images of Dagestani demonstrators fighting with police marked a rare outbreak of violence against authorities.
Dozens of videos posted to social media showed protesters confronting police and other security officials in Makhachkala, with OVD-Info reporting that officers resorted to using stun guns and truncheons on the crowds.
In one video, a man detained by officials headbutts a police officer, before being beaten by other personnel.
Another video showed a security officer fleeing from a large group of demonstrators, some of whom attempted to grab and trip him as he ran.” Read more at BBC
'If Russia crosses this line'
“National security adviser Jake Sullivan warned of the devastating consequences Russia would face should nuclear weapons be used in Ukraine. ‘If Russia crosses this line, there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia,’ Sullivan said on NBC's ‘Meet the Press.’ Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he does not believe Russian President Vladimir Putin was bluffing when he said last week that he would be justified in using any force necessary — implying tactical nuclear weapons are not off the table.” Read more at USA Today
A woman attends a referendum at a mobile voting station in Mariupol on September 25, 2022.-, AFP via Getty Images
Russia school shooting: seven children among 13 dead
Authorities say gunman killed himself after attack in Izhevsk in Udmurtia region
Reuters and Associated Press in Moscow
Police and members of emergency services work near the scene of a school shooting in Izhevsk, Russia. Photograph: Reuters
“A gunman has killed 13 people including seven children and wounded another 21 at a school in Russia, before killing himself.
The motive for the shooting in Izhevsk, the capital of the Udmurtia region about 600 miles east of Moscow, was unclear.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes, said the gunman was wearing a balaclava and a black T-shirt with Nazi symbols. It said his identity had not yet been established.
The committee said the other victims were two teachers and two security guards. Those wounded were 14 children and seven adults, the committee said.
The governor of Udmurtia, Alexander Brechalov, said in a video statement that the as yet unidentified gunman shot himself.
The school educates children between grades 1 and 11. It has been evacuated and the area around it has been cordoned off, the governor said.
There have been several school shootings in Russia in recent years. In May 2021, a teenage gunman killed seven children and two adults in the city of Kazan. In April this year, an armed man killed two children and a teacher at a kindergarten in the central Ulyanovsk region before killing himself.” Read more at The Guardian
British pound plunges to new low as tax cuts spark concern
By DANICA KIRKA and JILL LAWLESS
“LONDON (AP) — The British pound fell to all-time low against the U.S. dollar early Monday after Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng pledged a sweeping package of tax cuts, fueling concerns about the government’s economic policy as the United Kingdom teeters toward recession.
The pound fell as low as $1.0373, its lowest level since the decimalization of the currency in 1971, before rallying to above $1.07 in London morning trading.
The weakening currency piles pressure on the U.K.’s new Conservative government, which has gambled that slashing taxes — and increasing borrowing to compensate — will spur economic growth. Many economists say it’s more likely to fuel already high inflation, push down the pound and drive up the cost of U.K. government borrowing — a potential perfect storm of economic headwinds.
The British currency has lost more than 5% of its value against the dollar since Friday, when Kwarteng announced the U.K.’s biggest tax cuts in 50 years.” Read more at AP News
September 26, 2022
Good morning. Iran is aflame with protests. Times reporters help you understand what’s happening.
A protest in Tehran last week over the death while in police custody of Mahsa Amini.Wana News Agency/Via Reuters
Ferocious dissent
“Few independent journalists are working inside Iran today. But videos, emails and other information coming from inside the country suggest that Iran is experiencing its most significant protests in more than a decade.
The demonstrations began after a 22-year-old, Mahsa Amini, died in police custody on Sept. 16, having been arrested for violating Iran’s law requiring women to wear head scarves fully hiding their hair. This weekend, the protests spread to at least 80 cities, and demonstrators briefly seized control of a city in northwestern Iran. In response, the country’s security forces have opened fire on crowds.
In today’s newsletter, I’ll try to help you make sense of what’s going on.
Five main points
1. Iran’s government is again run by hard-liners.
In last year’s presidential election, the clerics who hold behind-the-scenes power in Iran disqualified nearly every candidate except for a hard-liner named Ebrahim Raisi. Since becoming president, Raisi has set out to reverse the legacy of his reformist predecessor, Hassan Rouhani.
‘On multiple fronts, Raisi has ferociously swung the pendulum back to the kind of xenophobic policies and tone-deaf rhetoric witnessed during the Revolution’s early days,’ Robin Wright wrote this weekend in The New Yorker. Among Raisi’s moves: calling for the police to strictly enforce the head scarf law, in a reversal of Rouhani’s policy.
Raisi has also taken a tougher line toward the U.S. In meetings connected with the United Nations gathering last week, for instance, he scoffed at the notion that Iran’s police were overly violent. ‘How many times in the United States, men and women are killed every day at the hands of law enforcement personnel,’ he told journalists on Thursday.
As Wright described, ‘His voice rose so loudly and so often that it was frequently hard to hear the English translation through our headsets.’
2. The rise of hard-liners has contributed to growing desperation among young Iranians.
‘The reason the younger generation is taking this kind of risk is because they feel they have nothing to lose, they have no hope for the future,’ Ali Vaez, Iran director for the International Crisis Group, told The Times. (My colleagues Vivian Yee and Farnaz Fassihi went into more detail in this recent story.) Many Iranians understand they are taking existential risks by protesting, given the regime’s history of responding to past protests with mass arrests.
‘I’m struck by the bravery of these young Iranians,’ my colleague David Sanger, who has been covering Iran for decades, said. ‘And by the ferocity of their desire to get out from under the rule of this government.’
Protesters in the streets of Tehran on Wednesday.Associated Press
3. The economy plays a big role in the dissatisfaction.
In 2018, Donald Trump decided to pursue a high-risk, high-reward policy toward Iran. He exited a nuclear deal that Barack Obama had negotiated three years earlier, which had lifted many sanctions in exchange for Iran’s taking steps away from being able to build a nuclear weapon. Trump reimposed those sanctions and added new ones, betting that doing so would force Iran to accept a tougher deal and maybe even destabilize the government.
Over time, the sanctions — combined with Iran’s pre-existing economic problems — plunged the country into an economic crisis. ‘Many Iranians are struggling to make ends meet, thanks to an economy decimated by mismanagement, corruption and sanctions,’ Vivian, who is The Times’s Cairo bureau chief, told me. ‘Some are even offering to sell their organs.’
She added:
In the past — say, when Rouhani first got elected, in 2013 — lots of Iranians felt genuinely optimistic that things would turn around, because Rouhani promised that the nuclear deal with the U.S. would help open up the economy and boost trade, along with getting the sanctions lifted. But the mood darkened when those benefits failed to materialize before President Trump scuttled the deal.
With the election of Raisi, a hard-liner who has spoken against returning to the deal and whose government hasn’t shown much flexibility in negotiations with Western powers over the last year, Iranians who had hoped for a recovery felt like there was no way things would improve.
Does all this mean Trump’s policy is succeeding? Many experts say it’s too soon to make that judgment. The policy has sharply raised the risk that Iran will soon have a nuclear weapon. And a week or so of protests does not mean Iran’s regime will collapse. If the regime does collapse, however, it will be fair to revisit Trump’s Iran legacy.
4. Biden is taking a tougher approach toward Iran than Obama did.
In 2009, during the last major wave of protests, Obama did relatively little to support them, out of a concern that Iran’s government could then portray the demonstrations as the work of foreign agitators.
This time, Biden is pursuing a more confrontational policy. ‘Part of the reason that there was a different kind of approach in 2009 was the belief that somehow if America spoke out, it would undermine the protesters, not aid them,’ Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, who also served in the Obama administration, said on “Meet the Press” yesterday. ‘What we learned in the aftermath of that is that you can overthink these things, that the most important thing for the United States to do is to be firm and clear and principled in response to citizens of any country demanding their rights and dignity.’
One example: To combat Iran’s government’s attempts to shut down large parts of the internet and prevent protesters from communicating with each other, the Biden administration has authorized some technology companies to offer services inside Iran without risk of violating U.S. sanctions. The administration also allowed SpaceX — one of Elon Musk’s companies, which offers the Starlink communication service — to send satellite equipment into Iran.
‘The technology available today makes it easier for Iranians to communicate in secret than ever before,’ David Sanger said. ‘That’s why the Iranians are trying to bring down the whole internet inside Iran. That’s real desperation.’
5. In the short term, Iran’s government seems likely to prevail. Then again, revolutions are rarely predictable.
David put it this way: ‘History would suggest that since the state holds all the guns, this isn’t likely to last. But sometimes it’s a mistake to be a slave to past events. The successful Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 led many of us — me included — to suspect that Ukraine would shatter in a few days back in February.’
Related: Amini, the Iranian woman who died in police custody, was a member of Iran’s Kurdish minority. Their rage reflects a history of discrimination.” Read more at New York Times
“North Korea’s missile launch. North Korea test-fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday, South Korean officials said, right before U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris began her trip to Japan and South Korea. South Korea’s military said the act was a ‘grave provocation,’ while the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said it was not an ‘immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies.’
‘The missile launch highlights the destabilizing impact of the DPRK’s unlawful Weapons of Mass Destruction and ballistic missile programs,’ it added in the statement.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Ethiopia’s war. Doctors in Ethiopia’s Tigray region have warned they are facing acute insulin shortages and have only days worth of supply left, as the brutal war between the Ethiopian government and Tigray People’s Liberation Front takes a mounting human toll. Throughout the conflict, government forces have slashed the flow of humanitarian supplies into the region.
Andrew Boulton, the head of the International Diabetes Federation, called it a ‘humanitarian crime.’ ‘Even at times of war, there are agreements that essential medications should get through to the population,’ Boulton told the Guardian. ‘And this appears not to be occurring at the moment, in the best evidence that I have.’” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Pakistan’s flood disaster. The World Bank has committed $2 billion in aid to Pakistan as it grapples with extreme flooding that has killed at least 1,600 people, displaced nearly 8 million more, and fueled fears of spreading waterborne diseases. The sum marks the biggest aid package for Pakistan in connection with the floods so far.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi was elected unopposed to a third five-year term as leader of the ruling Frelimo party, even as his tenure as head of state ends in 2024.” Read more at Bloomberg
Buzz stops: bus shelter roofs turned into gardens for bees and butterflies
Bee bus stops first appeared in the Dutch city of Utrecht. Now the UK is planning for more than 1,000 and there is growing interest across Europe and in Canada and Australia
“Butterflies and bees are getting their own transport network as ‘bee bus stops’ start to pop up around UK cities and across Europe. Humble bus shelter roofs are being turned into riots of colour, with the number of miniature gardens – full of pollinator-friendly flora such as wild strawberries, poppies and pansies – set to increase by 50% in the UK by the end of this year.
Leicester is leading the charge with 30 bee bus stops installed since 2021. Derby has 18, and there are others in Southhampton, Newcastle, Sunderland, Derby, Oxford, Cardiff and Glasgow. Brighton council installed one last year after a petition was signed by almost 50,000 people.
‘We want to do it in as many cities in the UK as possible,’ said Louise Stubbings, creative director at Clear Channel UK, which manages 30,000 commercial shelters on behalf of councils. The average bus shelter has a shelf life of at least 20 years. Ones with living roofs have to be specially designed because the soil is so heavy, especially when it is full of water, and Clear Channel is installing them only where shelters need replacing.
‘We don’t want to rip perfectly good shelters out of the ground to put a new one in. You have to be really considered and mindful with planning these things and making sure the good they’re providing really is good,’ said Stubbings. The company declined to say how much bee bus stops cost compared with normal shelters.
Clear Channel aims to create at least 1,000 bee bus stops in the UK, hopefully more. They are already established in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, and the company is building them in France and Belgium later this year, with inquiries coming from as far afield as Canada and Australia.
‘We want to roll this out to as many countries as possible. We see this as a long-term, scalable addition to our bus shelters. We’d like to do them everywhere, the positive effects are incredible,’ said Stubbings.
Clear Channel is working with the Wildlife Trusts to maximise the benefit to wildlife. Native flowers such as kidney vetch, thyme, selfheal and wild marjoram have been chosen to attract a range of pollinators including common carder bees, buff-tailed bumblebees, peacock butterflies, small tortoiseshell butterflies and chequered hoverflies. As well as the wildlife benefits, the roofs also absorb rainwater, and make a small contribution to offsetting the urban heat island effect.” Read more at The Guardian
Kenya Kiambu building collapse: Rescue efforts under way
“Three people have died and scores injured after a six-storey building collapsed in Kiambu, central Kenya.
Rescue efforts are under way and emergency workers have managed to pull a child from the rubble.
Several others have also been rescued but ‘sadly, some are feared to have succumbed to their injuries’, Kiambu county Governor Kimani Wamatangi said.
Building collapses in Kenya have in the past been blamed on poor structural design or sloppy construction.
The cause of this collapse is unclear but the building was under construction when it came down.
Eyewitnesses said it fell on to an adjacent building. It is not known how many people are still under the debris.” Read more at BBC
“Don't be alarmed if you see thousands of baby puffins being tossed off a cliff in Iceland this time of year. The tradition, known as puffling season, helps the birds find the ocean and it's actually a crucial life-saving endeavor.” Read more at NPR
Starter homes fade
A shotgun house built in 1910 in Tampa's Ybor City, once known as the "Cigar Capital of the World." Photo: Library of Congress
“It can now take more than a decade for a typical U.S. first-time buyer to afford the down payment on a modest house, ravaging American middle-class basics that have been in place for 75 years.
Why it matters: ‘Affordable homes’ are no longer affordable.
Zoom out: Surging mortgage rates are making the prospect of an affordable home even more distant, Axios chief economic correspondent Neil Irwin tells me.
The rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage spiked last week, reaching 6.7% Friday, according to Mortgage News Daily. That's up from 3.3% at the start of the year.
What's happening: The U.S. has a deepening housing crisis, including an acute shortage of ‘small, no-frills homes that would give a family new to the country or a young couple with student debt a foothold to build equity,’ The New York Times reports in a front-page story (subscription).
Factors include land costs, construction materials and government fees.
The typical new home has grown in median square feet over the past 60 years — while the typical household has shrunk in number of people.
Those long-term trends were accelerated by the pandemic, which drove up demand and prices as people scattered, worked from home and snapped up second residences.
Local policy is also driving this new reality. Communities nationwide ‘are far more prescriptive today than decades ago ... Some ban vinyl siding. Others require two-car garages. Nearly all make it difficult to build the kind of home that could sell for $200,000 today,’ The Times explains.
By the numbers: By the end of this year, it'll take 11.3 years for a first-time homebuyer with median income to save for a 10% down payment, S&P Global wrote in a July report, ‘The American Dream May No Longer Be In Reach’ (registration required).
It would take that would-be homeowner 22.6 years to save for a 20% down payment.
Both are more than twice their pre-pandemic rates — 5 years for 10% down, 10.6 years for 20% down.
60% of U.S. households could be priced out of the housing market by 2025, S&P estimates.
What's next: Communities, builders and buyers may be forced to rethink what a starter home looks like.
The answer, The Times says, might be a condo.” Read more at Axios
“In New York’s midtown Manhattan lies a multibillion-dollar problem for building owners as decades-old office towers sit partially empty. They’re too outdated to attract tenants seeking the latest amenities and too new to be demolished or converted for another purpose. It’s a situation playing out around the globe as employers adapt to flexible working after the Covid-19 pandemic, with vacancy rates soaring from Hong Kong to London and Toronto.” Read more at Bloomberg
Office buildings in New York. Photographer: Amir Hamja/Bloomberg
Long days, long weekends: the four-day week takes off in US schools
The shorter school week is increasingly popular for rural school districts trying to recruit teachers. But what does it mean for students and families?
Susie Armitage
On fall Fridays at Hull-Daisetta high school, in the small town of Daisetta in south-east Texas, sneakers squeak across the volleyball court as the Lady Cats run warm-up drills. Football coaches, players and cheerleaders prep for the night’s game. A local church serves lunch for the students. But there are no classes, and in the parking lot, just a handful of teachers’ cars.
Hull-Daisetta is one of a growing number of US schools – at least 1,600 in 24 states, according to a 2021 study, up from just 257 in 1999 – that have moved to a four-day schedule, giving students and teachers either Fridays or Mondays off. Students on a four-day schedule generally have longer days to make up for the time missed on their day off.
While the shorter week is upending traditional ideas about K-12 education, it is generally driven by concerns about money rather than claims it will improve student performance – and its long-term impacts on learning are still unclear. Some states that have allowed the schedule, including Minnesota, New Mexico and Oklahoma, have since moved to limit it, while others have seen a rapid expansion.
US schools have experimented with a four-day week as far back as the 1930s. When gas prices soared in the 1970s, administrators sought to save on bussing and energy costs. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, another wave of schools adopted the practice to address shrinking budgets.
More recently, the upheaval of the pandemic – with its shifts to online and hybrid learning and added stress on teachers, students and families – may have made some districts more open to dramatic change. The four-day week is still primarily limited to small, rural schools in US states west of the Mississippi, where travel distances are greater and hiring qualified educators is a challenge.” Read more at The Guardian
“Broncos win ugly affair: Safeties and fumbles highlighted Denver’s 11-10 win over San Francisco last night, improbably sending the Broncos to 2-1 this season and ending a chaotic day of football.
Judge’s chase stifled: Rain intervened Sunday in the Bronx to end the Yankees’ 2-0 win over the Red Sox after just six innings, cutting short another chance for Aaron Judge to tie the A.L. home run record. He has 10 games left to hit two home runs to pass Roger Maris.
U.S. takes Presidents Cup: Jordan Spieth led the way for a convincing American victory in the Presidents Cup, as expected, but the weekend brought up questions about changing the event’s format.” Read more at New York Times
Rihanna to headline the next Super Bowl halftime show
By JAKE COYLE
FILE - Rihanna attends an event for her lingerie line Savage X Fenty at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles on on Aug. 28, 2021. Rihanna is set to star in the Super Bowl in February 2023, the NFL announced Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
“NEW YORK (AP) — Rihanna will take center stage at February’s Super Bowl halftime show.
The singer, who declined to perform in the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show out of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, will headline the 2023 Super Bowl, the NFL announced Sunday along with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and Apple Music. Rihanna posted an image on Instagram of an arm outstretched holding an NFL football.” Read more at AP News
‘Don’t Worry Darling’ shrugs off drama, opening with $19.2M
By JAKE COYLE
This image released by Warner Bros. Entertainment shows Harry Styles, left, and Florence Pugh in a scene from "Don't Worry Darling." (Warner Bros. Entertainment via AP)
“After off-screen drama threatened to consume Olivia Wilde’s ‘Don’t Worry Darling,’ the Warner Bros. release opened No. 1 at the box office, debuting with $19.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ was engulfed by a storm of controversies that revolved around everything from Pugh’s allegedly strained relationship with Wilde to whether Styles might have even spit on co-star Chris Pine at the film’s Venice Film Festival premiere. (Styles denied it.) The movie, too, was torched by critics (38% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and arrived in theaters with more baggage than any recent release.
For an original film that cost $35 million to make, a $19.2 million launch was solid — and slightly more than the studio had forecast. A large number of moviegoers — including plenty of Styles fans — turned up to see what all the fuss was about.” Read more at AP News
“Lives Lived: Nancy Hiller was one of America’s most renowned woodworkers, breaking a barrier in a male-dominated trade. She died at 63.” Read more at New York Times