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A Is for Abuse: The Saga of For-Profit Schooling in Africa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

Bridge International is the largest for-profit education chain in the world, serving upward of 750,000 children in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Liberia, and India. The founders, two Harvard graduates, developed an attractive business model for investors. With centrally-produced curriculum and bare-bone standardized schoolhouses, Bridge offered a vision of making a profit while doing good. But then rumors started to swirl about the dark side of the company.This week on Deconstructed: Journalists Neha Wadekar and Ryan Grim narrate the saga of Bridge International Academies. As allegations of sexual abuse and neglect emerged against Bridge, investor responsibility became the center of a controversy at the World Bank. [Upbeat music from video.]Shannon May: Between 700 million and 800 million children living in poverty across the globe, the majority of those children are not accessing a reasonable education.Ryan Grim: In the early days of the era of big tech disruption, two Harvard Unive...

Butler pledges to lead Maryland State Police into ‘new era’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

Acting Maryland State Police Superintendent Roland Butler told lawmakers Monday he is committed to moving the agency “into a new era,” as some senators have questioned whether someone who has spent nearly three decades in the department is the right choice to lead reforms in an agency under a federal discrimination probe.“It is my top priority,” Butler told the Maryland Senate Executive Nominations Committee. “I’ve heard your concerns and the concerns of your constituents, and I’m absolutely committed to addressing these issues head on. To begin, we must acknowledge and address all bias and discriminatory practices.”Butler, who would become the first Black superintendent of the agency with Senate confirmation, has served as chief of the State Police Field Operations Bureau, where he led a force of more than 1,000 troopers and investigative personnel assigned to 23 barracks. He also served on the superintendent’s staff and the Mar...

Reports: Dozens dead in fire at migrant facility in Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — At least three dozen migrants died in a fire at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico near the U.S. border, according to a newspaper report.The Diario de Juarez newspaper, which citied unnamed sources in the Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office, said the fire happened late Monday at a facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas.Neither Mexico’s National Immigration Institute nor the Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office responded immediately Tuesday to requests for confirmation.Ciudad Juarez is a major crossing point for migrants entering the United States. Its shelters are full of migrants waiting for opportunities to cross or who have requested asylum in the United States and are waiting out the process.Images from the scene showed ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue around the facility. Injured people have been taken to four hospitals, according to Diario de Juarez. Mexico’s attorney general’s office has launched a inquiry and ...

Stolen futures: Baltimore faces uptick in youth violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Decades after losing her older brother to gun violence, Michelle Hines tried everything to keep her teenage son safe: checking in regularly with his teachers, coordinating extracurricular activities, and most importantly, trying to prevent him from growing up too fast.Despite those efforts, Izaiah Carter was fatally shot earlier this month in a park adjacent to his Baltimore high school. He had recently turned 16.His death added to an alarming trend: more children and teens getting shot, even as gun violence overall trends downward in Baltimore. After several recent shootings of Baltimore high schoolers, including three teens killed within blocks of their schools, local leaders are ramping up efforts to reduce youth violence and increase student safety.Last week, officials announced an arrest in Izaiah’s case. Police provided few details about how they solved the killing, saying a motive hasn’t been identified.Hines said the arrest brings her some relief, but she wa...

Las 5 cosas que debes saber este 28 de marzo: La violencia en las escuelas de EE.UU. vuelve a hacer estragos

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

Tiroteo en una escuela de Nashville. La polémica reforma que postergó Netanyahu. Disney comienza a despedir a miles de empleados. Los beneficios e inconvenientes del café. Los seguidores de Taylor Swift llevan a Ticketmaster a la justicia. Esto es lo que debes saber para comenzar el día. Primero la verdad.1. La violencia en las escuelas de EE.UU. vuelve a hacer estragosAl menos tres niños y tres adultos murieron luego de un tiroteo este lunes en la escuela primaria Covenant, informó la policía de Nashville, Tennessee, en una conferencia de prensa. La policía confirmó antes que la persona sospechosa del tiroteo tenía 28 años y era de Nashville. La persona sospechosa resultó muerta y las autoridades señalan que su conexión con la escuela aún no está clara.2. Los detalles de la polémica reforma que postergó NetanyahuEl primer ministro de Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, postergó la reforma judicial que impulsa su gobierno en medio de las masivas manifestaciones en el país. ¿Por qué ha causa...

Analysis: This Hall of Fame class could be an all-time great

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

The Springfield Symphony Hall lists a capacity of 2,611. This is going to be a problem when the basketball world heads to western Massachusetts on Aug. 12.Act surprised on Saturday when the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announces its class of enshrinees for 2023. Among the finalists: Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade, Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich. It’s widely assumed that they’ll enter the Hall this summer, in what will be a most star-studded event.“We might need a stadium for that one,” Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said.He’s not wrong. More than 2,611 people will want to go to this. Probably more than 261,111 people will want to go to this.It was never a question that the biggest names — the Nowitzki, Gasol, Wade, Parker group — would get into the Hall. The question was about Popovich. Not if. But when.The NBA’s all-time winningest coach, a five-time champion and the coach of the team that won Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games quietly rejected overtures ...

Handmade blankets welcome refugees, immigrants to US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — “Welcome to the USA,” says a note attached to a hand-crocheted blanket of purple, white and gray stripes.Hollie Shaner-McRae, of Burlington, who made the blanket as a gift for a refugee, wrote of her great-grandparents coming to the United States from Ukraine, Russia and Poland. One great-grandfather was a tailor and the other was a barrel maker, she wrote. “Both were so brave and came to America as teenagers,” she wrote in the note. “I hope you make friends and feel safe here,” Shaner-McRae wrote to whomever would receive the blanket. “Vermont is blessed to have new families arrive and enrich our world.”The quilt was one of at least 86 artistic blankets that crafters sewed, crocheted and knitted as gifts for refugees and immigrants to make them feel welcomed in their new community in Vermont. The handmade creations were on display at the Heritage Mill Museum in Winooski, Vermont, before they were given away to refugees last week. The effort ...

Denver weather: Slow warm-up before another snow chance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver’s weather will be dry and mild for the next couple of days. The next system moves in Thursday night with a chance of a rain and snow mix. Weather today: Cool sunshineThe Pinpoint Weather team forecasts sunshine and dry weather Tuesday with breezy afternoon winds. Denver’s high temperature will climb to 51 degrees.Pinpoint Weather: Afternoon highs on March 28. Snow photos from late-March snowstorm With sunny skies and temperatures well above freezing, the snow that is left on the ground from Monday's storm will see significant melting.Looking ahead: Another chance of snowWednesday will stay dry and a touch warmer with highs in the mid-50s.The next storm system on the Front Range will move in late Thursday into Friday morning. Pinpoint Weather: Snow totals by March 31. As of now, it looks like this storm will be spotty rain and snow showers with minimal accumulation for the metro. Mountains will pick up most of the snow. Snowfall totals: Here’s how much sno...

Denver Zoo offers free access to East High School students, staff, family

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Following last week’s shooting at East High School, the Denver Zoo is offering students, staff and family members free access.The zoo, which is located just across City Park from East High School, posted on Twitter saying, “As the school’s next-door neighbor, we stand in solidarity with the Angels community and offer our support. ‘It keeps getting closer and closer’: Students react to shooting at Denver East High School In the announcement, the zoo said those who are part of the school community can present their East High School ID at the main entrance for unlimited free access until May 1.“It’s our sincerest hope that we serve as a place of comfort, safety, gathering and healing for everyone in our beloved community, and especially those coping with acts of senseless gun violence,” the zoo said on Twitter.

EU ministers pass 2035 car engine ban law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:55 GMT

EU ministers on Tuesday formally — and finally — signed off on legislation phasing out sales of new polluting cars and vans by 2035, ending last-minute resistance from Germany and a small group of allies.The price for Tuesday’s agreement was a backroom deal last week between the European Commission and Berlin that will see extra technical legislation published later setting out a workaround for e-fuels — a synthetic greener alternative to gasoline that does emit CO2 from the tailpipe.However, such a loophole will still have to be approved by the EU institutions. A Commission pledge to revise its CO2 emission standards if the technical fix is rejected will also be dependent on approval by the European Parliament and member countries.The 2035 rules are a critical part of the EU’s Fit for 55 package of green legislation, aimed at addressing rising road transport emissions.In addition to setting the 2035 clean car target, the legislation raises the interim 2030 emi...