Kyiv claims ‘crazy’ Russia fired nuke-capable missileJeffrey Fleishman | (TNS) Los Angeles Times The national furor in recent years around banning books on race and gender in public schools is intensifying as President-elect Donald Trump threatens to shut down the Department of Education, emboldening conservatives to end “wokeness” in classrooms. Battles over books in school libraries have become emblematic of the country’s larger culture wars over race, historical revisionism and gender identity. A new report by PEN America found book bans increased by nearly 200% during the 2023-24 school year, including titles on sexuality, substance abuse, depression and other issues students face in an age of accelerating technologies, climate change, toxic politics and fears about the future. Book censorship has shaken and divided school boards, pitted parents against parents, and led to threats against teachers and librarians . It is part of an agenda driven by conservative parental rights groups and politicians who promote charter schools and voucher systems that could weaken public education. The issue goes to the heart not only of what students are taught but how federal and state education policies will affect the nation’s politics after one of the most consequential elections in its history. “It’s not just about taking a book off a shelf,” said Tasslyn Magnusson, an author and teacher from Wisconsin who tracks book censorship across the U.S. “It’s about power and who controls public education. It’s about what kind of America we were and are. We’re trying to define what family is and what America means. That comes down to the stories we tell.” She said she feared Trump’s return to the White House would further incite those calling for book bans: “I don’t have lots of hope. It could get a lot worse.” Over the last year, PEN counted more than 10,000 book bans nationwide that targeted 4,231 unique titles. Most were books dealing with gender, sexuality, race and LGBTQ+ storylines. The most banned title was Jodi Picoult’s “Nineteen Minutes,” about a school shooting that included a short description of date rape. Florida and Iowa — both of which have strict regulations on what students can read — accounted for more than 8,200 bans in the 2023-24 school year. “This crisis is tragic for young people hungry to understand the world they live in and see their identities and experiences reflected in books,” Kasey Meehan, director of PEN’s Freedom to Read Program, said in a statement. “What students can read in schools provides the foundation for their lives.” Trump’s calls to close the Department of Education would need congressional approval, which appears unlikely. Although public schools are largely funded and governed by state and local institutions, the department helps pay to educate students with disabilities, provides about $18 billion in grants for K-12 schools in poor communities and oversees a civil rights branch to protect students from discrimination. But Trump’s election has inspired conservative parental groups, including Moms For Liberty and Parents Defending Education, to strengthen efforts to limit what they see as a liberal conspiracy to indoctrinate children with books and teachings that are perverse, amoral and pornographic. Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, has criticized schools that she says spend too much time on diversity and inclusion when only about one-third of U.S. children are reading at grade level: “We’re talking about public school libraries and content for kids,” Justice told NewsNation after Trump’s victory. “I think it’s very clear that there are certain things that are appropriate for kids, certain things that are appropriate for adults. We’re just getting back to commonsense America.” Trump’s threat to deny federal funding to schools that acknowledge transgender identities could affect curricula and the kinds of books school libraries stock. During his rally at Madison Square Garden in October, Trump — who has has accused schools of promoting sex change operations — said his administration would get “transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.” Vice President-elect JD Vance has accused Democrats of wanting to “put sexually explicit books in toddlers’ libraries.” Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, told Newsmax that she was excited about Trump’s calls to remake education and “clean up a lot of the mess” he has inherited from the Biden administration. Trump “has centered parental rights back in his platform, which is incredible. He has prioritized knowledge and skill, not identity politics,” she said. “American children deserve better, and it is time for change.” In nominating Linda McMahon to be his secretary of Education, Trump appears to be pushing for more conservative parental control over what is taught and read in classrooms. A former professional wrestling executive, McMahon chairs the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-connected organization that has criticized schools for teaching “racially divisive” theories, notably about slavery and a perspective about the nation’s founding it views as anti-American. “Today’s contentious debates over using classrooms for political activism rather than teaching a complete and accurate account of American history have reinvigorated calls for greater parental and citizen involvement in the curriculum approval process,” the institute’s website says. Culturally divisive issues, including race and LGBTQ+ themes, cost school districts an estimated $3.2 billion during the 2023-24 school year, according to a recent study called “The Costs of Conflict.” The survey — published by the Institute for Democracy, Education and Access at UCLA — found that battles over books and teaching about sexuality and other topics led to increased expenses for legal fees, replacing administrators and teachers who quit, and security, including off-duty plainclothes police officers. “Are we really going to spend our tax dollars on these kinds of things?” asked Magnusson. “After Trump was elected, I saw a bunch of middle-class white ladies like me who were saying, ‘This isn’t America.’ But maybe it is America.” One school superintendent in a Western state told the study’s researchers that his staff was often consumed with correcting misinformation and fulfilling public record requests mainly from hard-line parental rights activists attempting to exploit cultural war issues to discredit the district. “Our staff are spending enormous amounts of time just doing stupid stuff,” the superintendent said. “The fiscal costs to the district are enormous, but [so are] the cultural costs of not standing up to the extremists. If someone doesn’t, then the students and employees lose. ... It’s the worst it’s ever been.” The survey found that 29% of 467 school superintendents interviewed reported that teachers and other staff quit their profession or left their districts “due to culturally divisive conflict.” Censoring books in school libraries grew out of opposition to COVID-19 restrictions. A number of conservative parental groups, including Moms for Liberty, which invited Trump to speak at its national convention in August, turned their attention to lobbying against “liberal indoctrination.” Their protests against what they criticized as progressive teaching on sexuality and race were focused on increasing conservative parental control over a public education system that was struggling at teaching children reading and math. That strategy has led to a national, right-wing effort that is “redefining government power to restrict access to information in our schools,” said Stephana Ferrell, co-founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project. “This movement to protect the innocence of our children believes if children never read it in a book they won’t have to know about it and can go on to lead harmonious lives. But books teach us cautionary tales. They instruct us. You can’t protect innocence through ignorance.” School districts across the country have removed “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe and “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George Johnson, which are about gender identity and include graphic depictions of sex, along with titles by renowned writers such as Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut, George Orwell, Maya Angelou and Flannery O’Connor. Related Articles National Politics | Trump vows tariffs over immigration. What the numbers say about border crossings, drugs and crime National Politics | Trump promised mass deportations. Educators worry fear will keep immigrants’ kids from school National Politics | Trump team says Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal brokered by Biden is actually Trump’s win National Politics | How Trump’s bet on voters electing him managed to silence some of his legal woes National Politics | After delay, Trump signs agreement with Biden White House to begin formal transition handoff Surveys show that most Americans do not favor censorship. The Florida Freedom to Read Project and similar organizations around the country have called for thorough public reviews of challenged books to prevent one scene or passage from being taken out of context. Moderate and liberal parents groups over the last two years have also become more active in school board politics. They have supported school board candidates who have defeated those backed by Moms for Liberty in Texas, Florida and other states. “People say the pendulum will swing back,” said Ferrell. But, she said, conservatives want to “stop the pendulum from swinging back.” Picoult is accustomed to conservatives attempting to censor her. Her books have been banned in schools in more than 30 states. Published in 2007, “Nineteen Minutes” explores the lives of characters, including a girl who was raped, in a town leading up to a school shooting and its aftermath. “Having the most banned book in the country is not a badge of honor. It’s a call for alarm,” said Picoult, whose books have sold more than 40 million copies. “My book, and the 10,000 others that have been pulled off school library shelves this year, give kids a tool to deal with an increasingly divided and difficult world. These book banners aren’t helping children. They are harming them.” ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
None
Sempra Named Among Newsweek's 'Most Responsible Companies'Farage: Badenoch must apologise for ‘crazy conspiracy theory’ on Reform numbers
MILWAUKEE , Dec. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of WEC Energy Group WEC today announced that it is planning to raise the quarterly dividend on the company's common stock to 89.25 cents per share in the first quarter of 2025. This would represent an increase of 5.75 cents per share, or 6.9 percent. The directors expect to declare the new dividend at their regularly scheduled meeting in January. The dividend — which would be equivalent to an annual rate of $3.57 per share — would be payable March 1, 2025 , to stockholders of record on Feb. 14, 2025 . "The board's review today is consistent with our ongoing plan targeting a dividend payout ratio of 65 to 70 percent of earnings," said Scott Lauber , president and CEO. "The projected dividend for 2025 is in line with the company's longer-term objective to grow earnings per share at a 6.5 to 7 percent compound annual growth rate." In addition, the company introduced earnings guidance for 2025. Calendar year 2025 earnings are expected to be in a range of $5.17 to $5.27 per share. The midpoint of the range is $5.22 per share. This represents growth of 7.6 percent from the midpoint of the company's 2024 adjusted guidance of $4.85 per share. WEC Energy Group WEC , based in Milwaukee , is one of the nation's premier energy companies, serving 4.7 million customers in Wisconsin , Illinois , Michigan and Minnesota . The company's principal utilities are We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy Resources. Another major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds and owns electric generating plants. In addition, WEC Infrastructure LLC owns a growing fleet of renewable generation facilities in states ranging from South Dakota to Texas . WEC Energy Group ( wecenergygroup.com ) is a Fortune 500 company and a component of the S&P 500. The company has approximately 34,000 stockholders of record, 7,000 employees and more than $45 billion of assets. Forward-looking statements Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based upon management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning management's expectations and projections regarding earnings, earnings growth rates, dividend payments and future results. In some cases, forward-looking statements may be identified by reference to a future period or periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "forecasts," "guidance," "intends," "may," "objectives," "plans," "possible," "potential," "projects," "should," "targets," "will" or similar terms or variations of these terms. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions, including business and competitive conditions in the company's service territories; timing, resolution and impact of rate cases and other regulatory decisions, including rider reconciliations; the company's ability to continue to successfully integrate the operations of its subsidiaries; availability of the company's generating facilities and/or distribution systems; unanticipated changes in fuel and purchased power costs; key personnel changes; unusual, varying, or severe weather conditions; continued industry restructuring and consolidation; continued advances in, and adoption of, new technologies that produce power or reduce power consumption; energy and environmental conservation efforts; electrification initiatives, mandates and other efforts to reduce the use of natural gas; the company's ability to successfully acquire and/or dispose of assets and projects and to execute on its capital plan; terrorist, physical or cyber-security threats or attacks and data security breaches; construction risks; labor disruptions; equity and bond market fluctuations; changes in the company's and its subsidiaries' ability to access the capital markets; changes in tax legislation or our ability to use certain tax benefits and carryforwards; federal, state, and local legislative and regulatory changes, including changes in rate-setting policies or procedures and environmental standards, the enforcement of these laws and regulations and changes in the interpretation of regulations or permit conditions by regulatory agencies; supply chain disruptions; inflation; political or geopolitical developments, including impacts on the global economy, supply chain and fuel prices, generally, from ongoing, escalating, or expanding regional conflicts; the impact from any health crises, including epidemics and pandemics; current and future litigation and regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries; changes in accounting standards; the financial performance of American Transmission Company as well as projects in which the company's energy infrastructure business invests; the ability of the company to obtain additional generating capacity at competitive prices; goodwill and its possible impairment; and other factors described under the heading "Factors Affecting Results, Liquidity and Capital Resources" in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and under the headings "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors" contained in the company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 , and in subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as may be required by law, the company expressly disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information. View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wec-energy-group-announces-plan-to-increase-dividend-by-6-9-percent-302324331.html SOURCE WEC Energy Group © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Artificial intelligence-driven scams surge in Colorado. Here’s what you need to know.
NoneIt’s Black Friday season once again, meaning it’s the best time of year to save some money. We’ve gathered a list of our favorite indie app deals this holiday season – allowing you to try out something new on your iPhone, all while supporting small, independent app developers. There are 25 apps highlighted here, but there’s even more deals to find, linked at the bottom. #1: Subjects Subjects is a streamlined planner designed to help students keep track of timetables, homework, and grades — all in one sleek app. Deal: 70% off annual plan, now $2.99/year from November 29th-December 2nd . #2: Proxyman Proxyman is a best-in-class native macOS app to capture, decrypt, and mock your HTTP(s) requests/responses with powerful debugging tools. Deal: 30% off all plans through the end of Cyber Monday, using code “BLACKFRIDAY2024” #3: SongCapsule SongCapsule is your personal DJ. It automatically scans your music library to create playlists and mixes that you’ll love — no requests needed. Deal: Half off for Black Friday, now $2.49 from November 28th to December 2nd. #4: Ambre Ambre is a recipe organizer that instantly syncs recipes and Meal Plans, including the recipe progress, across all your Apple devices. Import recipes within seconds from anywhere: cookbooks, social media, audio and of course websites. Deal: 50% off Ambre+ annual subscriptions for first time customers, now $19.99/year. #5: CardPointers CardPointers helps users maximize their credit card rewards and offers, saving users money. If you have multiple credit cards, it can often be difficult to mentally keep track of the best way to earn the most points. CardPointers aims to make credit card management easier for everyone. Deal: 50% off CardPointers+ through December 3rd at this link . #6: Lil Artist Lil Artist offers a safe and stress-free learning environment where your child can explore and learn at their own pace. With a collection of interactive games, digital storybooks, math learning, memory games, coloring, logic puzzles, Alphabet tracing and bedtime stories, Lil Artist provides endless fun and educational opportunities for kids. Deal: 50% off lifetime plan, now $34.99 for Black Friday #7: MacWhisper MacWhisper lets you quickly and easily transcribe audio files into text with OpenAI’s state-of-the-art transcription technology Whisper. Whether you’re recording a meeting, lecture, or other important audio, MacWhisper quickly and accurately transcribes your audio files into text. Deal: 40% off Lifetime Pro, making it under $30 – using code BLACKFRIDAY40. #8: Karo Karo makes task delegation seamless! Assign tasks to anyone in your contacts, and Karo takes care of all the follow-ups and reminders. The best part? The receiver gets notified via messages or WhatsApp—no app download required. Deal: 50% off for Black Friday, with Annual being available for $14.99/year, and Lifetime available for $39.99. #9: Capture – Quick Notes Capture tackles the everyday struggle of keeping track of your thoughts and ideas by offering a super easy way to jot them down the moment they hit you. It keeps everything organized and accessible, syncing seamlessly across your devices and allowing you to easily export notes to your favorite platforms. With features like automatic data recognition, widgets, Siri, and a Share extension, Capture makes staying organized effortless. Deal: 50% off lifetime, now $5.99 (down from $11.99) from November 22nd to December 5th . #10: Access Access is a native app offering secure and convenient storage for IDs, cards, documents, and more. It’s the missing companion to Apple’s new Passwords app. Deal: 40% off on Access+ Lifetime through December 4th, now available for just $14.99 . #11: Meadow Meadow is a a therapy companion app that lets you track and set reminders for any upcoming therapy sessions. Track and diagnosis, thoughts, and treatment goals all in one app that stores all data locally on the device or in the user’s iCloud. Deal: Available for $0.99 during Black Friday, down from $3.99 #12: SubManager SubManager allows you to easily keep track of all of your subscriptions across the web, serving as a useful management tool. It provides reminders, and serves as a one stop shop for subscription tracking. Deal: 70-80% off SubManager+, single user plan available for $0.99 and family sharing for $2.49 (one time purchases!) from November 29th to December 2nd. #14: StringCatalog.com StringCatalog.com is designed specifically for iOS developers to save hours of manual work. It connects directly to GitHub and automatically localizes your app’s strings every time you push code—eliminating tedious localization tasks and helping developers reach new global audiences in minutes. Deal: 30% off 12 month plan using coupon code “9to5mac” #15: Recurrence Recurrence helps you track the repeating tasks in your life. Perfect for chores, bill payment, and much more! Recurrence puts history at the forefront, allowing you to see when something was last done & accompanying notes. Deal: 50% off lifetime purchase, now $9.99 (down from $19.99) #16: Budget Flow Budget Flow is a modern, easy-to-use app for managing your income and expenses. It’s quick to set up, requires no registration, and can even be used offline. Deal: 50% off lifetime in-app purchase ($34.99 instead of $69.99) #17: Study Snacks Study Snacks is a beautifully designed and playful app that helps you learn more vocabulary words, making it a great tool for studying. It supports iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. It transforms your study lists into a puzzle game. Deal: 50% off annual for your first year ($2.49/yr), 33% off lifetime ($12.99). Deal available from Nov 28th-Dec 1st. #18: TimeWave TimeWave is a minimalist and modern timer app, allowing you to create sequential timers, as well as specific timewaves for each of your workflows. Deal: 50% off lifetime family plan, available for $4.99 from November 25th-December 4th. #19: SongCapsule Quiz SongCapsule Quiz lets you explore playlists, test your music knowledge, and discover new songs while playing. Deal: 50% off Deluxe Lifetime, now available for $4.99 from November 28th to December 2nd. #20: Calorific – Calorie Counter Calorific is a nutrition tracking app that allows users to easily log their meals by simply taking photos, providing instant insights into calories and macronutrients. It features intelligent meal estimates, barcode detection for packaged foods, and manual entry to track daily nutritional intake effortlessly. Deal: 50% off first year using code “BF24” from November 22nd-December 5th. #21: DateMinder Dateminder syncs your important contacts and their key dates directly to your app, calendar, and widgets, ensuring you never miss a moment. Whether it’s birthdays, anniversaries, or other significant dates, Dateminder keeps you organized and in touch, all from one beautifully designed interface. Deal: 50% off for Black Friday, now $0.49/month, $4.99/year, or $12.49 lifetime. #22: Unite 5 Unite for macOS allows users to turn any website into a standalone macOS app with its own window, dock icon, and capabilities. Built on WebKit, Unite apps combine the functionality of a browser with the seamless experience of a native macOS application. Deal: 50% off from November 27th-December 2nd, now $14.99 for single user, $24.99 for family, and $44.99 for Pro. #23: Quick Capture – Obsidian Quick Capture lets you send anything to any vault in Obsidian 10x faster, including voice notes with transcripts, attachments, and scanned documents. Deal: 50% off lifetime plans for a limited time #24: Itemlist Itemlist is a powerful inventory tracker for home and small business, available on iOS and iPadOS (with macOS support coming soon), allowing users to easily organize and locate their belongings. Deal: 50% off Lifetime Pro plan, now $29.99 for Black Friday #25: What’s going on? “What’s going on?” is a social diary app that helps users stay genuinely connected with close friends and family while creating your personal journal, where you can document your thoughts, ideas, daily happenings, as well as monitoring a timeline of memories from families and friends. Deal: Lifetime plan 70% off, now available for $12.99 for Black Friday More Indie App Deals While I could only highlight the top submissions, that doesn’t mean these are the only deals out there! Indie developer Matt Corey has put together a website with over 400 indie apps that’ll be offering deals from November 29th-December 3rd. Give it a look if you want to find even more . Follow Michael: X/Twitter , Bluesky , Instagram
Alabama A&M Football Player Medrick Burnett Dies After Head-On Collision During Game