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☆ Biden administration announces focus on ‘flooding the zone’ with life-saving overdose reversal medicine
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Biden administration launched an initiative Wednesday that it describes as a nationwide call to increase training on and access to life-saving opioid overdose reversal medications, dubbed the Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose. Naloxone, sometimes sold under the brand name Narcan, is a medication that can rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Although the number of overdose deaths in the US has held steady recently, the nation has many more than other high-income countries, research shows. Almost half of adults in the US say they personally know at least one person who died from a drug overdose, according to a survey released this year. Drug overdose deaths reached a significant high in 2022 with more than 109,000, according to provisional data from the CDC, and fentanyl had been a significant factor contributing to the rise.

Persons: CNN —, Neera Tanden, Biden, Tanden, naloxone, ” Tanden, ” Ryan, Brian Murray, Dr, Sanjay Gupta Organizations: CNN, Biden, US Food and Drug Administration, White, “, Ryan Companies, American Library Association, Southwest Airlines, Los Angeles Unified School District, CNN Health, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC

The Oscar-nominated documentary short “The Last Repair Shop” is coming to broadcast television this weekend. The 40-minute film will air Saturday on ABC owned television stations and select affiliates, the studios announced Thursday. “It’s not too much to say I owe my career to people like the four repair people in our film,” Bowers said. The broadcast push is a first for an Oscar nominated short documentary. “We are all so excited that The Last Repair Shop has the opportunity to connect with audiences across the country.”

Persons: It’s, Ben Proudfoot, Kris Bowers, “, Bowers, “ King Richard ”, ”, Steve Bagmanyan, “ It’s, ” Bowers, Matthew Greenfield, David Greenbaum Organizations: ABC, Disney, Los Angeles Unified School District, Searchlight Pictures Locations: California, San Francisco , Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Fresno, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia , New York, Raleigh, Durham

Classes were canceled Monday for schools across Santa Barbara County, which was devastated by mudslides caused by powerful storms in 2018. Evacuation orders and warnings were in effect for mountain and canyon areas of Monterey, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. As of Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, said it was planning to open schools as usual Monday. ___Associated Press videographer Eugene Garcia in Ventura, Calif., and radio reporter Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.

Persons: Alexis Herrera, ” Herrera, Ryan Kittell, ”, Lindsay Horvath, ” Horvath, Gavin Newsom, Alberto Carvalho, videographer Eugene Garcia, Julie Walker Organizations: ANGELES, San Francisco Bay Area, Sunday, San Francisco International, Palisades, Central, Gov, Emergency Services, Los Angeles Unified School District, Associated Locations: California, San Francisco Bay, San Jose, Southern California, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Sacramento, San Francisco, Sierra Nevada, Hawaii, Northern California, Monterey, San Luis Obispo County, Los Angeles, LA, Topanga, Soledad, Los Angeles , Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Ventura counties, Southern, Ventura , Calif, New York

☆ Kaiser Permanente labor deal shows why short, disruptive strikes are becoming more common
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And the union’s win is just the latest reason why short strikes are happening more and more. That’s up 86% from the number of short strikes in the same period of 2021. There have been only 98 strikes lasting more than a week so far this year, or half the number of short strikes, a more modest 20% increase from 2021. The short duration strikes pain on employers while not forcing union members to give up as much. “Sometimes the shock of the short strike produces the movement at the table.

Persons: there’s, —, Kaiser, ”, Todd Vachon, John Borsos, Johnnie Kallas, “, ” Kallas, “ We’re, Lester Garcia, ” Garcia Organizations: New, New York CNN, Kaiser Permanente, United Auto Workers Union, General Motors, Ford, Hollywood, Writers Guild, SAG, Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Los Angeles Unified School District, Rutgers University, “, Labor Department, UAW, Sacramento City Teachers Association, Cornell, Starbucks Workers United, Los Locations: New York, Minnesota, Los Angeles

☆ Despite Cheating Fears, Schools Repeal ChatGPT Bans
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Natasha Singer | More About Natasha Singer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Students who depend on district devices and connectivity are restricted.”In May, New York City schools issued a public mea culpa, saying the district had acted too hastily and would unblock ChatGPT. This week, Mr. Carvalho said that Los Angeles schools were also working on a more permissive policy. As schools reopen for fall, educators and district leaders are wrestling with complex questions posed by the A.I. tools: What should writing assignments look like in an era when students can simply employ chatbots to generate prose for them? Some districts like Newark Public Schools are trying out specialized chatbots specifically designed for student tutoring.

Persons: OpenAI, Bard, ” Alberto M, Carvalho Organizations: “, Los Angeles Unified School District, Los, Newark Public Schools Locations: San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Newark

☆ Tropical Storm Hilary has weakened to a post-tropical cyclone but is still bringing life-threatening flooding and strong winds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Nouran Salahieh Joe Sutton Rob Shackelford | Nouran Salahieh | Joe Sutton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Hilary has weakened to a post-tropical cyclone that’s still bringing life-threatening flooding and gusty winds to much of the Southwest US, leaving streets like raging rivers and residents ordered to leave their homes. “Areas that normally do not experience flash flooding will flood,” the National Weather Service said. Strong and gusty winds are expected to persist across portions of the western US Monday, particularly in and near areas of higher terrain. Cars were stuck in floodwaters in the Spanish Hills area, the National Weather Service reported. The Los Angeles Unified School District – the nation’s second largest school district – will be closed Monday because of the storm.

Persons: Hilary, Monday, ” Flood, Todd Gloria, ”, –, San Bernardino County’s Yucaipa, “ Crews, Gustavo Araiza, David Swanson, Mike McClintock, ” McClintock, “ We’re Organizations: CNN, Southwest, Southern California, National Hurricane Center, Intermountain, National Weather Service, ” San Diego, United States Geological Survey, Golden State, Residents, Sunday, San Diego Fire, Los Angeles Unified School District, Pasadena Unified School District, San Diego Unified School District, Palm Springs, Palm, Getty, Caltrans, San Bernardino Fire Battalion Locations: Nevada, San Diego, California, arroyo, Southern California, Idaho, ”, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Ventura, Spanish, Mexico –, Imperial County, San Bernardino County, Barstow, Serrano, San Bernardino, Forest Falls, Oak Glen, Santa Clara, Pasadena, Long Beach, Palmdale, Death, AFP, Santa Clarita, Sand, Baker, Inyo County

☆ Meet Khan Academy's AI tutor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Nadia Bidarian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

More than 8,000 teachers and students will test education nonprofit Khan Academy’s artificial intelligence tutor in the classroom this upcoming school year, toying with its interactive features and funneling feedback to Khan Academy if the AI botches an answer. A conversation between CNN's Nadia Bidarian and Khanmigo, Khan Academy's AI chatbot tutor. Khan Lab School is a separate nonprofit founded by Khan Academy CEO Sal Khan. Khan Academy’s in-the-works AI learning course “AI 101 for Teachers,” created in partnership with Code.org, ETS and the International Society for Technology in Education, offers a path toward AI literacy among teachers. Imperfect, but improvingAn AI “tutor” like Khanmigo is not immune to the flubs all large language models face: so-called hallucinations.

Persons: —, Khanmigo, George Washington, Cleopatra, Martin Luther King Jr, CNN's Nadia Bidarian, Khan, Kristen DiCerbo, she’s, DiCerbo, “, Oz, ” DiCerbo, “ We’re, Albert Einstein, Einstein, Socrates, Christopher Nolan’s “ Oppenheimer, ”, Thomas Jefferson, Khanmigo’s Thomas Jefferson, GPT, Leo Lin, Sal Khan, they’ve, Khan Academy’s, ” Ernest Davis, Davis, it’s, ” Davis, Rama Ramakrishnan, ChatGPT, ” Ramakrishnan, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, Khan Academy, Khan, American, Khan Lab, . New York City Public Schools, Seattle Public Schools, Los Angeles Unified School District, EdWeek Research, Code.org, ETS, International Society for Technology, NYU, MIT Locations: Arizona, Independence, California, . New York, Education, United States

LOS ANGELES, July 2 (Reuters) - Thousands of Los Angeles-area hotel workers went on strike on Sunday demanding pay hikes and improved benefits in a region where high housing costs make it difficult for low-wage earners to live close to where they hold jobs, union officials said. Unite Here Local 11, which represents 15,000 workers at more than 60 major hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties, declared the strike a day after the workers' contract expired. [1/4]People protest in front of Hotel Indigo as unionized hotel workers in Los Angeles and Orange County go on strike, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. July 2, 2023. Los Angeles has been a flashpoint for labor strife on several fronts this year, including the protracted writers strike and a three-day walkout in March by education support staff for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles and Gabriella Borter in New York; Editing by Mary Milliken and Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kurt Petersen, Maria Hernandez, David Swanson, Hernandez, Steve Gorman, Gabriella Borter, Mary Milliken, Josie Kao Organizations: Southern, Hollywood, InterContinental, Hotel, Millennium Biltmore, JW Marriott, Fairmont, Sheraton Universal, Universal, REUTERS, Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Coordinated, Westin Bonaventure, Los Angeles City News Service, Los Angeles Unified School District, Thomson Locations: ANGELES, Los Angeles, Orange, Fairmont Miramar, Santa Monica, Universal City, Laguna Cliffs, Dana Point, Indigo, Orange County, Los Angeles , California, U.S, L.A, Beverly Hills, Long Beach, West, New York

☆ Toxic algae is making sea lions on Southern California beaches aggressive and unpredictable: It's the ‘new normal,' marine mammal expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

An algal bloom near southern California beaches is causing sea lions to act unpredictably. It's also causing the sea lions to give birth to stillborn pups, a marine mammal expert said. For the past month, beachgoers have spotted sea lions across Southern California's coastlines — from Ventura to San Diego counties — exhibiting peculiar behavior. The cause is a toxic algal bloom that experts have told Insider is the "worst outbreak" in Southern California yet. Sea lions rest at the Marine Mammal Care Center facility.

Persons: It's, unpredictably, John Warner, Warner, we've, There's Organizations: Service, Marine Mammal Care, Mammal Care, beachgoers, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Fisheries, Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute, USA, Warner, Los Angeles Unified School District, Environmental, Group, ABC News, California's Locations: California, Southern California, Southern, Ventura, San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara

☆ Opinion | Mississippi’s Many Education Lessons
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “Mississippi Is Offering Lessons for America on Education,” by Nicholas Kristof (column, “How America Heals” series, June 1):Mississippi schools prove that all the reasons for the failure of children to learn how to read and excel have been excuses. Critics will no doubt claim that its success is an aberration, but the evidence is clear. Walt GardnerLos AngelesThe writer taught for 28 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District and was a lecturer in the U.C.L.A. Graduate School of Education. To the Editor:“Thank God for Mississippi” is both the beginning and the exuberant ending of Nicholas Kristof’s article.

Persons: Nicholas Kristof, Walt Gardner, Nicholas Kristof’s, Kristof Organizations: America, Education, ”, Los Angeles Unified School District, Graduate School of Education, Harvard Locations: Mississippi, Walt Gardner Los Angeles, Arkansas, Alabama

☆ New York City's public schools reverse their ban on ChatGPT — admitting it had been 'knee-jerk fear'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New York City public schools are lifting the ban they placed on ChatGPT in January. David Banks, chancellor of the NYC public school system, said the tool caught NYC schools off-guard. The New York City public school system is reversing its ban on ChatGPT. Several other school districts across the country placed restrictions on ChatGPT earlier this year, too, including Baltimore County Public Schools, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Seattle Public Schools. Now, the NYC school system is saying it's ready to embrace AI in the classroom.

Adrienne Hurst and Dan Farrell andListen and follow The DailyApple Podcasts | Spotify | StitcherLakishia Fell-Davis is aware that at this point, in 2023, most people are treating the coronavirus pandemic as a thing of the past. For her, though, Covid still poses a real threat: Fell-Davis has Type I diabetes, putting her at higher risk of hospitalization and long-term complications from illness. She felt much more comfortable when schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District were online during the first year and a half of the pandemic and her kids, Makayla and Kevin, were attending virtually. Sure, they missed their friends, but they were shy and soft-spoken children who had never really strayed far from home. Fell-Davis cried when she learned that in the fall of 2021, the school district would require students and teachers to return to in-person learning.

☆ AI is going to offer every student a personalized tutor, founder of Khan Academy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, recently gave a TED Talk on AI's potential impact on education. The technology could offer personalized tutors to every student at a large scale, he said. Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, an educational nonprofit that aims to provide free learning resources, is not necessarily fearful of the technology. In a TED Talk that was released this week, Khan explained the potential benefits of AI across the field of education, likening the possibilities to a personalized tutor for every student. Khan said AI could also offer personalized assistance to teachers, by helping with pre-class work like lesson planning, filling out report cards, and general administrative tasks.

The release is poised to widen what pupils do with AI just as educators are grappling with its consequences. Rosensweig said Chegg focuses on math and the sciences, not the essay drafting that has challenged schools. Rosensweig said Chegg has structured and checked its answers to ensure accuracy. Asked if AI will prompt Chegg to shrink its pool of 150,000 experts contributing to its content, he said the company already balances humans with technology. Analysts in recent months have questioned whether Chegg can grow its base of 8 million subscribers as students embrace the largely free ChatGPT software, created by the startup OpenAI.

☆ Los Angeles Schools Reach Deal on Pay Raises With Support Staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Sara Randazzo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Los Angeles District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, at lectern, SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias and Mayor Karen Bass on Friday. LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Unified School District reached a deal Friday to increase pay and improve benefits for 30,000 support staff, culminating a week that saw the nation’s second-largest school system shut down for three days by a strike. The accord with Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, if approved by union members and the school board, will affect a workforce of bus drivers, cafeteria workers, janitors, teachers’ assistants and other support staff, who haven’t had a contract since 2020.

☆ Los Angeles School Strike Ends Without New Contracts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Sara Randazzo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LOS ANGELES—Students are set to return to classrooms in the Los Angeles Unified School District on Friday after a three-day labor strike ended, but without contract agreements for 65,000 teachers and support staff in the nation’s second-largest school system. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stepped in this week to help broker a deal between the district and Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, both sides said. The union, which represents 30,000 bus drivers, cafeteria workers, janitors, teacher’s assistants and other support staff, hasn’t had a contract since 2020.

☆ Los Angeles schools to reopen after three-day workers' strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Jorge Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES, March 23 (Reuters) - School will be back in session on Friday for 420,000 Los Angeles students after a three-day strike by education workers disrupted classes and social services in the second-largest school district in the United States. ... We look forward to seeing our students and employees back in classrooms," the school district said on Twitter on Thursday. "We're three days in and I'm willing to do some more (strike) days if we have to," said Tiffany Barba, a special education assistant and one of thousands who attended a closing rally on Thursday at Los Angeles State Historic Park. The union was demanding a 30% salary increase plus an additional $2 per hour for the lowest-paid workers, the Los Angeles Times reported. Reporting by Jorge Garcia in Los Angeles and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, Calif.; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

☆ Los Angeles education strike cancels school for 420,000 students
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Alan Devall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/9] Los Angeles school workers protest in front of LAUSD headquarters during the first day of a walkout over contract negotiations that closes the country’s second largest school system in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Aude GuerrucciLOS ANGELES, March 21 (Reuters) - Some 30,000 education workers backed by the teachers' union walked off the job for a three-day strike in Los Angeles on Tuesday, canceling school for nearly half a million students in the second-largest school district in the United States. Thousands of protesters gathered for a rally outside the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters, vowing to continue their pickets for another two days under the banner, "United for L.A. The service workers are backed by the 35,000 members of the teachers' union United Teachers Los Angeles, which refused to cross their picket line. Dozens of meal and safe-place sites were opened across the city on Tuesday, with school district employees and volunteers distributing more than 124,000 meals, the district said.

☆ Here are the schools and colleges that have banned the use of ChatGPT over plagiarism and misinformation fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Education officials are trying to stop students from using OpenAI's ChatGPT. Seattle Public Schools and Los Angeles Unified School District put similar limits on the use of the bot in December. Seattle Public Schools also cited cheating concerns for the ban, per GeekWire. A spokesperson told the publication that "Seattle Public Schools does not allow cheating and requires original thought and work from students." In India, Bangalore's RV University banned students from using ChatGPT.

The email went out to students at Knox College, a small liberal arts school in Illinois, on the evening of Dec. 12. But this group had a new wrinkle for Knox students. “We have compromised your collage networks,” the email said, written in the kind of broken English common among international ransomware hackers. For you, its a sad day where everyone will see your personal and private info.”The incident at Knox College marks the first known case in which hackers used their access to contact students directly in order to intimidate them. The hackers’ website lists an entry to download data for Knox College but doesn’t actually lead to any student data.

☆ How Los Angeles Avoided National Academic Plunge During Pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Ben Chapman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Los Angeles Unified School District largely opted to keep schools closed months longer than some other large districts. The bleak picture of American educational progress that emerged with the release of the Nation’s Report Card this week came as no surprise to educators who were bombarded during the pandemic by disruptions in instruction, student mental-health problems and labor shortages in schools. It was, however, unexpected for one of the largest districts in the nation to outpace other districts and states, despite keeping schools closed until fall 2021, months longer than many other places, researchers said.

☆ LA City Council president resigns after she was caught on tape calling the Black son of a fellow Democratic politician a 'monkey'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The president of Los Angeles City Council resigned on Monday after leaked audio revealed that she made racist remarks about a fellow Democratic politician's Black son. Martinez came under heavy criticism after the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that she made racist comments behind closed doors about Councilman Mike Bonin's son. In a conversation with other local officials, Martinez described Bonin's son, who is Black, as a "monkey." However, her statement said she was resigning as president of the council. Martinez, a 49-year-old Democrat, became the City Council president in 2019 after previously serving as a member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education.

Drug cartels are using brightly colored “rainbow fentanyl” pills to target children as young as middle schoolers, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration warned Monday, signaling a new threat in the opioid crisis. “This is another tactic that they’re using to get more fentanyl to more people,” Milgram said. The DEA and other law enforcement agencies have seized fentanyl in the colorful presentation in 21 states, she said. In recent weeks, Milgram said, the agency has been called to middle schools to investigate fake pills that looked like medication but were actually fentanyl. The district is offering the lifesaving drug Narcan at all schools free to reverse the effects of fentanyl.

Criminal hackers have recently targeted U.S. school districts and will likely continue to escalate their attacks this school year, federal agencies warned Tuesday. Hackers infected the district’s computer networks with malicious software, locking up files and demanding a ransom payment. While classes in Los Angeles weren’t canceled, the attack caused a “significant disruption” to the school district and some of its services, the district announced. Since then, there haven’t been any such high-profile ransomware attacks on energy infrastructure. Ransomware attacks on schools also run the risk of giving hackers access to children’s personal information, the government warned.

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