The student and his parents knew he tested positive, but he went to school anyway.
A parent in Massachusetts willfully put other kids at risk of catching the coronavirus just by sending her son to school.
According to CNN the mayor and superintendent at Attleboro Public Schools say a mother whose identity they have chosen to conceal let her son go to school knowing he’d tested positive for COVID-19.
“The parents knew he should have not done that, he knew he should have not done that, we are six months into the pandemic,” says mayor Paul Heroux.
Now 28 students who came in contact with the student are required to stay home and quarantine for 14 days.
Seniors at a Brooklyn High School wait in line to return books and get their schedules for the year on September 14, 2020 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. While New York’s infection rate is currently below one percent, the U.S. as a whole stands at more than 6.7 million confirmed cases and nearly 200,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19, making it the world leader in both. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The teenager who tested positive came to school on Monday but failed to tell the school their test results until the next day. The student’s mother said she thought it was OK for the student to attend classes because the test results came in on Friday, September 11, so they figured the weekend would be enough days to quarantine.
But Heroux did not agree with the family’s strategy.
“The parents used very poor judgment, it’s very frustrating,” Heroux said. “The school department did everything they were supposed to do.”
When the high school superintendent, David Sawyer learned of the positive test results, he sent a letter to families Tuesday night informing them of the situation. He believes the district is doing all they can to stop the spread of the virus but says it’s almost impossible to stop it completely.
A student at the school, Iza King told WCVB News, “I think that is very frightening because he put everybody’s health in danger and put everybody at risk.”
Heroux asks that parents keep their children home if they have tested positive or are waiting results.
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USPS wanted to send every American a set of face masks but the White House said no
According to NBC News, the White House struck down a measure to send hundreds of millions of cloth masks to American households. The face coverings would have gone out via the United States Postal Service in April.
Instead of that happening, a senior Trump administration official reportedly said selected businesses, nonprofit organizations, and state and federal agencies received 600M masks. The mask distribution program was called Project America Strong.
The Washington Post first reported that the Trump administration initially planned to send masks to the households of U.S. residents across the country.
A digital sign displays a message about wearing masks at the Tropicana Las Vegas after the Las Vegas Strip resort reopened for the first time since mid-March because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on September 17, 2020 (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
This reportedly came after an internal email from The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was sent in response to an inquiry from a nongovernmental entity asking why the Trump administration did not move forward with the plan.
NBC reported that In the email, a senior HHS official says that the White House made the decision not to move forward because cloth face masks were widely available from a number of vendors and easily accessible to the American public.
The White House has not commented on the issue.
The Washington Post found that the masks would have been distributed to homes in areas with a high number of cases in April. At the time, cases were surging in parishes in Louisiana and areas of Washington state, Michigan, and New York state among other hot spots across the US.
In early May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services paid a group of textile manufacturers $640M to make masks under Project America Strong. The largest contract went to Hanes who reportedly created 450M masks between the months of May and July.
Getting rid of harmful papers is a vital step toward reestablishing readers' trust. Next, publishers should target articles that are flawed in other ways.
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Embarking on the path of entrepreneurship, one of the most expensive costs that business owners can incur is legal expenses. In efforts to help Black entrepreneurs amid the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, pandemic, the Official Black Wall Street organization, a platform and directory for Black-owned businesses across various sectors within the United States, is teaming up with Baker Botts, an international technology and energy firm, to provide financial support for legal service for Black-owned businesses.
Baker Botts announced the news this week with the firm promising to commit $10 million in free legal services over the course of three years for members within the organization. “Over the past several months, we have had the opportunity to conduct a series of listening and learning sessions across our offices and with our colleagues,” said Baker Botts Managing Partner John Martin in a press statement.
“We must acknowledge the pervasive racial inequality in our society, take ownership of it, and take action to contribute something enduring to solve the problem. This strategic collaboration is one small step in that direction. Providing equitable access to legal services is a necessary part of ensuring that Black-owned businesses thrive.”
“We are excited to work with Baker Botts and their extensive network of talented attorneys,” said Founder and CEO of Official Black Wall Street, Mandy Bowman in a press statement. “Black entrepreneurs often lack the exposure and resources needed to grow a business. Familiarizing Black-owned businesses with these services will benefit them and empower the Black community through economics and ownership.”
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‘I’m just proud to be part of securing the southern border, as an American.’
North Dakota contractor Tommy Fisher and his company, Fisher Industries, has received $2 billion in border wall contracts from the Trump administration.
Over the past nine months, Fisher has become Trump’s go-to builder at the border, The Washington Post reports. Prior to this, however, his company was unsuccessful in repeated attempts to land a border wall contract. According to the report, for two years, Fisher Industries was often passed over by the Army Corps of Engineers in favor of more qualified firms with experience “in building border walls.”
Fisher’s luck changed when the group We Build the Wall, led by former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon, contacted him in April 2019 about a project in New Mexico. Fisher accepted and led a group that constructed three miles of now-crumbling border fence along the Rio Grande. Despite sharp criticism over the shoddy work, his partnership with the group, as well as his ties to GOPers close to the president, allowed Fisher to rack up government contracts. In December 2019, he secured a $400 million contract. In May he bagged a $1.3 billion award, and in August he received a $289 million contract.
Bannon, meanwhile, was arrested last month on charges that he and three others ripped off donors through We Build The Wall, theGRIO previously reported.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Bannon and three others “orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors” in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $25 million to build a wall along the southern border of the United States.
According to the indictment, Bannon promised that 100% of the donated money would be used for the project, but the defendants collectively used hundreds of thousands of dollars in a manner inconsistent with the organization’s public representations.
The indictment said they faked invoices and sham “vendor” arrangements, among other ways, to hide what was really happening.
Fisher is not named in the indictment, and he denies being the unnamed “associate 2” who is said to be cooperating with investigators.
“Absolutely not,” Fisher said in a wide-ranging interview with The Washington Post. “We’ve never been talked to by the government, the FBI or the Justice Department.”
He also claims to not have had any dealings with We Build The Wall since January.
“Everything got cut off, and they didn’t pay any more,” Fisher said of Bannon’s group. “At that point, we pretty much cut ties.”
Fisher said he will continue building the steel barrier at the border unless he’s told to stop, as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has pledged to halt construction of the wall.
“I’m just proud to be part of securing the southern border, as an American,” Fisher said.
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The three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared skeptical of the argument that Harvard imposes a ‘racial penalty’ on Asian Americans
BOSTON (AP) — A panel of appeals court judges on Wednesday repeatedly challenged the legal claims of a group that accuses Harvard University of intentional discrimination against Asian American students who apply to the Ivy League school.
The three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston appeared skeptical of arguments made by Students for Fair Admissions, which says Harvard imposes a “racial penalty” on Asian Americans. When a lawyer for the group accused the school of racial stereotyping against Asian American applicants, a judge interrupted and questioned the basis of the claim.
“Where is the evidence of racial profiling here?” Judge Juan Torruella asked.
The panel is expected to make a decision on the case in coming weeks. Either way, legal experts believe the case will probably end up before the Supreme Court.
Students for Fair Admissions is asking the appeals court to overturn a trial-level judge’s 2019 decision finding that Harvard does not intentionally discriminate against Asian Americans. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs issued the decision in October after a three-week trial.
In this July 16, 2019, file photo, people stop to record images of Widener Library on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
In her ruling, Burroughs said Harvard’s admissions process is “not perfect” but concluded that there was “no evidence of any racial animus whatsoever.” She ruled that other factors beyond bias could explain why Harvard accepts Asian American students at lower rates than students of other races.
The group’s lawsuit alleges that Harvard admissions officers use a subjective “personal rating” assigned to each student to discriminate against Asian Americans. Using six years of admissions data, the group found that Asian American applicants averaged the highest scores in an academic rating but received the lowest personal ratings, and that they were admitted at lower rates.
Harvard denies any bias and defends its use of race in the application process. The school says race is one of many factors considered and that at most it provides a “tip” in favor of underrepresented students. It says the university has a “compelling interest” in attracting a diverse student body to its campus.
Presenting the case to judges, a lawyer for the group said Harvard’s practices go beyond the limited consideration of race that has been upheld by the Supreme Court. Attorney William Consovoy said the school’s efforts to keep a similar racial makeup among students from year to year amounts to illegal racial balancing.
“The statistical evidence in this case showed that the personal rating discriminates against Asian Americans in a statistically significant way,” Consovoy said.
But Judge Sandra L. Lynch challenged that allegation, saying that, presented with competing statistical models from both sides, the trial court judge sided with Harvard’s.
Harvard University campus. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Newsmakers)
“The district court actually found that Harvard’s statistical model was the more reliable one,” Lynch said. “So, again, I’m just trying to get your argument.” Consovoy argued that both models were deemed credible.
A representative for the U.S. Justice Department spoke in support of Students for Fair Admissions on Wednesday, arguing that race “pervades every aspect” of Harvard’s admissions process. Eric S. Dreiband, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said the school’s admissions process “unduly burdens” Asian American applicants compared to white applicants.
The Trump administration has opposed the use of race at Harvard and other colleges across the U.S. Last month, the Justice Department found that Yale University discriminates against Asian American and white applicants. The finding, which resulted from a two-year inquiry, was rejected by Yale as “meritless” and “hasty.”
As evidence, the group points to a U.S. Education Department investigation into Harvard’s admissions practices in the 1990s. In that case, the agency also explored whether Harvard discriminates against Asian Americans. The school was ultimately cleared.
Speaking on behalf of the university Wednesday, attorney Seth Waxman said the school’s personal rating, which was also examined during the federal inquiry, has “assumed a Frankenstein-like significance.” But he argued that the 1990s investigation only helps Harvard’s case.
“It reached the exact same conclusion, based on its review of all the evidence, that Judge Burroughs did,” he said.
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The August wedding reception at the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket is linked to more than 175 confirmed cases of the virus
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — At least seven people have died in connection to a coronavirus outbreak that continues to sicken people in Maine following a wedding reception held over the summer that violated state virus guidelines, public health authorities said.
The August wedding reception at the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket is linked to more than 175 confirmed cases of the virus, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.
Maine authorities have identified overlaps between the wedding reception and outbreaks elsewhere in the state. An employee of the York County Jail attended the wedding, Maine CDC officials have said. Maine health officials have also said an outbreak at a Madison rehabilitation center, which is the site of six of the seven deaths, is connected to the wedding because an employee of the facility lives in the same household as a person who attended.
The virus cases stemming from the wedding have spanned hundreds of miles in a state that had largely controlled the spread of the coronavirus through the summer. Maine has reported less than 5,000 cases of the virus in total since March.
Medical professionals conduct a nasal swab test at the COVID-19 Bondi Beach drive-through testing center on July 07, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
But the growing number of cases related to the wedding, which exceeded the state’s guidelines of 50 people or less at indoor gatherings, could undo some of that progress if it continues to swell. Authorities have said more than 65 people attended the wedding.
The six people from the Madison rehabilitation facility who died were all residents of that facility and none of them attended the wedding reception, said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of Maine CDC.
“Maine CDC is concerned about where we are, and I’m asking everyone else to share in that concern. COVID-19, right now, is not on the other side of the fence. It is in our yards,” Shah said. “The gains that Maine has made against COVID-19 are ones that could, and unfortunately can, be washed away.”
The wedding was also officiated by pastor Todd Bell of Calvary Baptist Church in Sanford. The Maine CDC is currently investigating to determine if an outbreak at the church is connected to the wedding outbreak. That outbreak has sickened 10 people, Shah said.
Calvary Baptist Church issued a statement on Tuesday that said “a number of Calvary Baptist Church members attended” the wedding reception. The statement said the church is taking precautions to limit the spread of the virus, and it will defend its right to continue holding services.
A woman administers a swab test to a young girl at a Covid Test site in South London on September 15, 2020 in Greater London, England. The site saw a steady stream of drive in traffic, but only a small handful of walk-ins over the course of the first hour of opening. The Department Of Health has appealed to Britain’s biomedical sector for 400 further laboratory technicians as the nation’s return to school increases demand for Covid-19 tests. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
“The Calvary Baptist Church has a legal right to meet. The authority of a local Christian church, a Jewish synagogue, or a Muslim mosque to gather for their respective religious services is a time-honored part of our nation’s history since its inception,” the statement said. “These religious activities are also fully protected under the First Amendment to our United States Constitution.”
Bell has been critical of government attempts to control coronavirus, and videos show he has held services without the use of social distancing. He hired a lawyer known nationally for defending the religious rights of churches. Neither Bell nor the attorney working with the church, David Gibbs of Florida, personally responded to a request Tuesday for comment.
Maine CDC spokesperson Robert Long said the agency’s investigations suggest “multiple potential points of transmission related to the August 7 wedding and reception.” The agency is working to limit the spread of the virus and support people affected by it, he said.
Shah said the state’s percent positivity rate has ticked up to 0.63% for the previous seven days. At one point, the rate was less than half a percentage point. The rate remains well below the national average of about 5%, Shah said.
___
Associated Press writer David Sharp contributed to this report.
___
This story has been corrected to show that an employee of the Madison facility lives in a household with someone who attended the wedding. The employee did not attend.
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The plastic crown once worn by rapper Notorious B.I.G. sold for over almost $600K at an auction.
Sotheby’s held an inaugural hip-hop auction where memorabilia from several legendary rappers was auctioned off to the highest bidders with Biggie merchandise raking in the most money.
TheGrio reports the international auction house had items from both Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur up for grabs. Letters penned by the “California Love” rapper to a high school sweetheart were available as well as the plastic crown of his East Coast rival. The shiny gold crown with fake gemstones was autographed and worn during the now-iconic King of New York photoshoot three days before his murder in Los Angeles.
After the auction, Sotheby’s announced on social media that the proceeds had reached $2M. A portion of the money goes to the Queens Public Library Foundation for their hip hop programs and Building Beats, a non-profit organization that teaches tech, entrepreneurial, and leadership skills to youth through music programs. The crown sold for $594,750 total, according to the official listing.
“Achieving an overall total of $2 million, the auction was a celebration of the history and cultural impact Hip Hop has had on art and culture from the late 1970s through the “Golden Age” of the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, and up to the present,” the auction house posted on Instagram.
Hopeful purchasers were able to privately view stock before the event through appointments, according to theGrio. Over 100 pieces, including unique artifacts, contemporary art, curated experiences, photography, fashion, jewelry, publications, and other rare items relating to hip-hop culture were part of the sale.
The aforementioned love letters written by Tupac sold for $75,600. Another letter autographed by the late rapper went for the highest bid of $17,640. Other lots included in the auction were Prince Paul‘s original Gravediggaz ‘The Undertaker‘ jacket and Too Poetic’s Grym Reaper jersey which sold together for $6,048.
Salt-n-Pepa’s Push It jackets went for $23,940, a complete run of The Source magazine for $32,760, and a pair of Drake‘s unreleased Air Jordan IV Retro prototype size 11 shoes for $32,760. Overall, Biggie’s headpiece brought in the largest amount.
“Since its birth in the Bronx in the 1970s, hip hop has become a global cultural force, whose massive influence continues to shape all realms of culture: music, fashion, design, art, film, social attitudes, language, and more,” Cassandra Hatton, vice president & senior specialist in Sotheby’s books and manuscripts dept. said, according to theGrio.
A White House staffer tested positive for coronavirus
Coronavirus is still showing up at the White House. According to CNBC Trump confirmed a member of his staff has tested positive for the virus. A journalist reportedly heard “a couple of positives today,” while at the White House and rumors quickly swirled there were more than one.
But there is one confirmed case and Trump says he has had no contact with the individual who has tested positive. At a recent briefing, journalists asked press secretary Kayleigh McEnany who on the staff has been infected but she would not reveal the person’s name.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany holds a news conference at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House September 16, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The White House hosted a large gathering with world leaders yesterday but reports say the infected employee did not affect the gathering that took place on the South Lawn.
“I don’t share people’s personal medical information,” McEnany said to reporters.“We’re not going to confirm the identities,” McEnany said. “But it did not affect the event and press was not around,” the infected person.
But when Trump spoke in the White House briefing room he offered a bit more information.
“I heard about it this morning at a very small level,” Trump said, in reference to the sick staffer. Then he added, “Last night I heard about it for the first time, and it’s a small number of cases.”
But this isn’t the first time someone in the White House or close to Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus. Back in May, Trump’s driver was among the cases.
But despite some reports that multiple staffers have tested positive, the President said, “It was one person,” he repeated, then adding, “not a person that I was associated with.”
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Guests like Gabriela Cámara, Ghetto Gastro, Nia DaCosta, and Brie Larson discussed how to understand where others are coming from, whether through food or films.
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The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately give specific details about what led up to the child’s death because of confidentiality concerns.
As of today, about 800 children across the United States received diagnoses with multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, also known as MIS-C. It’s associated with COVID-19.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MIS-C is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Children with MIS-C may have a fever and various symptoms, including abdominal (gut) pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling extra tired.
The CDC says it does not yet know what causes MIS-C. However, many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19 or had been around someone with COVID-19.
Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly puts a cotton swab in a sampling tube as he takes a coronavirus (COVID-19) test during a preview of a new COVID-19 testing site inside Cashman Center on August 3, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
This latest death of a two-month-old girl further dispels common misconceptions that children cannot contract the coronavirus.
The chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Health explained at a press conference Wednesday that the chances of children getting the virus are smaller but emphasized children are not immune.
“Studies show that while children are less likely to get severely ill from COVID-19, they still can,” Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said. “And they can also pass it on to others including adults who are more likely to get sick or ill from COVID-19.”
The last known coronavirus-related child death happened in April. That’s when 5-year-old Skylar Herbert of Detroit died from the deadly virus. In her case, she developed meningoencephalitis, which caused her brain to swell. Doctors put her on a ventilator on April 4. She died two weeks later.
In the press conference, Khaldun said also that the state of Michigan is averaging under ten deaths per day which is down from earlier in the pandemic.
Michigan health officials did share that there were 25 reported cases of multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in recent months. The state health department also recorded 41 confirmed or probable cases of Kawasaki disease since March 1.
The Kawasaki disease is an illness that affects mostly children under the age of 5 with inflammation throughout the body. Its symptoms can cause: rash, fever, and eye irritation among other flare-ups.
At WIRED's virtual conference, actress Brie Larson, VR director Elijah Allan-Blitz, and Magic Labs Media founder Van Jones talked about their new short films.
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