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New coalition forms to support MCAS, release testing reform recommendations

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

As high-stakes MCAS testing gets underway this school year and opposition to the test intensifies, including by the state’s teachers union which wants to eliminate it as a graduation requirement for students, a new coalition is taking up the mantel to reform and preserve the controversial tests.“It seems like it’s been very much of a one-sided narrative when it comes to MCAS and what it does or doesn’t do for students,” said Mary Tamer, director of Education Reform Now Massachusetts. “And we wanted to have a conversation and specifically reached out to folks who acknowledge the value of MCAS but also see the opportunities for improvement.”The pro-MCAS coalition, Voices for Academic Equity, was convened by Education Reform Now Massachusetts and made up of a dozen education organizations and partners, the group said in a release.The group released a report, “Toward a Better MCAS: Consensus recommendations from organizations serving the C...

Ex-Harvard prof sentenced, fined for lying about China ties

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

By MARK PRATT (Associated Press)BOSTON (AP) — A former Harvard University professor convicted of lying to federal investigators about his ties to a Chinese-run science recruitment program and failing to pay taxes on payments from a Chinese university was sentenced Wednesday to supervised release and ordered to pay more than $83,000 in restitution and fines.Charles Lieber, 64, the former chair of Harvard’s department of chemistry and chemical biology, was convicted in December 2021 of two counts of filing false tax returns, two counts of making false statements and two counts of failing to file reports for a foreign bank account in China.Lieber was sentenced to time served — the two days he spent in jail after his arrest — two years of supervised release — the first six months in home confinement — a $50,000 fine and $33,600 in restitution to the IRS, which has already been paid.Prosecutors in court documents had recommended three months in prison,...

Singapore executes man on pot charge

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

HONG KONG — Singapore on Wednesday executed a man accused of coordinating a cannabis delivery, despite pleas for clemency from his family and protests from activists that he was convicted on weak evidence.Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was sentenced to death in 2018 for abetting the trafficking of 2.2 pounds of cannabis. Under Singapore laws, trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis may result in the death penalty.Tangaraju was hanged Wednesday morning and his family was given the death certificate, according to a tweet from activist Kirsten Han of the Transformative Justice Collective, which advocates for abolishing the death penalty in Singapore.Although Tangaraju was not caught with the cannabis, prosecutors said phone numbers traced him as the person responsible for coordinating the delivery of the drugs. Tangaraju had maintained that he was not the one communicating with the others connected to the case.At a United Nations Human Rights briefing Tuesday, spokesperson Ravina Shamdasan...

Two UCF men’s basketball players file for early entry to 2023 NBA Draft

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

The NBA released a list of 242 players from colleges and professional teams who have applied for early entry into the 2023 draft Tuesday night and two members of UCF men’s basketball were on it.Taylor Hendricks, a projected top-10 pick in June’s draft, was included as expected.A name that’s somewhat surprising to see listed is UCF guard Ithiel Horton.While Hendricks had already publicly declared for the draft over a month ago — first by telling ESPN and then sharing a graphic on social media — Horton’s decision to file for early entry comes with little to no fanfare.The redshirt senior guard was one of two Knights to start all 34 of UCF’s games this past season. Hendricks, the program’s first one-and-done, was the other player to do so.It’s unclear when Horton made the decision to enter the draft early but the deadline for players to do so was Sunday night.If Horton wants to return to UCF and join the Knights in the Big 12 Confer...

'The big warm up' begins in San Diego

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The National Weather Service San Diego says the region's "big warm up" is expected to begin Wednesday and continue into the weekend.Say hello to a high pressure system that weather officials say will strengthen over Southern California the next few days, bringing with it much warmer temperatures. Headed to the beach this week? Here is the water temperature forecast Temperatures for inland areas are expected to reach the 80 degree mark Wednesday and hold steady before heating up further on Saturday, with forecast temperatures expected to hover right below 90 degrees.Meanwhile, the lower deserts will see 90 degree temperatures as early as Wednesday, according to NWS.As for the coastal areas, weather officials predict midweek temperatures to "coast" around 70 degrees before rising to the mid 70s this weekend. Weather officials say cool ocean temperatures and weak onshore flow will result in less warming for those coastal communities. Saturday and Sunday should be the w...

2 San Diego beaches nominated for 'Best Beaches on the West Coast'

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Two beaches in San Diego have been nominated for USA Today's 2023 Readers' Choice for "Best Beach on the West Coast."With over 30 beaches spread across the region's coastline, San Diego is a perfect location for sunbathing, surfing, kayaking and more. This San Diego beach is considered ‘the most beautiful’ in the US: study But there are two specific beaches that some have considered top-notch while comparing them to all areas where sand meets the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. This is quite a compliment as the West Coast stretches over 1,000 miles. The first beach that's in the running is North County's Oceanside Harbor Beach. USA Today says this sandy spot "offers a relaxed and family-friendly atmosphere, with gentle waves suitable for swimming, boogie boarding and surfing."Some qualities that may set Oceanside Harbor Beach aside from others include its fire pits, volleyball courts, picnic table areas and the fact that it's in walking distance to a variety of sho...

Man who robbed same bank twice sentenced in federal court

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- A man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for robbing two credit unions in San Diego County last year. Akil Saeed Daniels, 41, will serve 110 months behind bars after holding up a California Coast Credit Union in Chula Vista and Mission Federal Credit Union in Poway.An interesting twist to the crime spree -- these robberies occurred just months after Daniels was released from a long stint in prison for robbing the very same Chula Vista credit union more than a decade earlier, said U.S. attorney Randy Grossman's office. Helicopter to drop larvicide across San Diego’s waterways During the most recent robbery of California Coast, which is located on H Street, officials say Daniels used a demand note. Ironically, the bank teller at that location in 2011, the time of the first robbery, still works for the credit union and was standing beside another teller when Daniels robbed that location for a second time in 2022.“Employees who have been through a robbery are...

Trump accuser begins to testify in rape lawsuit trial

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A writer suing Donald Trump took the stand Wednesday to tell jurors that the future president raped her after she accompanied him into a department store fitting room in 1996.“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. He lied and shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try and get my life back,” she testified.Trump denies E. Jean Carroll’s allegations. He hasn’t attended the trial thus far, but his lawyers said Tuesday it’s still possible he could decide to testify.Carroll, 79, has said she crossed paths with Trump at the revolving door to Bergdorf Goodman on an unspecified Thursday evening in spring 1996. At the time, she was writing a long-running advice column in Elle magazine. Trump was a real estate magnate and social figure in New York.She has said he asked her advice about selecting a gift for a woman, and she went along, thinking the experience would be funny. According to Carroll, they ended up in a lingeri...

Rogers teams up with SpaceX, Lynk Global to provide satellite-to-phone remote service

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc. is partnering with SpaceX and Lynk Global to deliver satellite-to-phone connectivity across Canada and bolster coverage in remote regions.The Toronto-based company says the moves are aimed at widening coverage for Rogers customers in areas that aren’t served by traditional wireless networks.Rogers and SpaceX plan to use the latter’s Starlink low-earth orbit satellites and Rogers’ national wireless spectrum to offer satellite-to-phone technology in Canada. The companies plan to start with satellite coverage for SMS text and will eventually provide voice and data access across areas such as national parks and rural highways that are currently unconnected.Starlink aims to offer broadband internet in areas where connections tend to be unreliable, expensive or unavailable. In December, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk tweeted that “Starlink works in even the most remote regions of Antarctica.”Musk has also previously tweeted that Canada “is a major pr...

Tech and metals stocks help lift S&P/TSX composite, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in technology and base metal stocks helped Canada’s main stock index climb higher in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 35.07 points at 20,474.94.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 15.64 points at 33,515.19. The S&P 500 index was up 12.40 points at 4,084.03, while the Nasdaq composite was up 148.27 points at 11,947.43.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.42 cents US compared with 73.41 cents US on Tuesday.The June crude contract was down a penny at US$77.06 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was down 14 cents at US$2.30 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was up US$3.40 at US$2,007.90 an ounce and the July copper contract was up a penny at US$3.88 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press