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☆ U.C.L.A. Faculty Votes Against Rebuking University’s Chancellor
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Jill Cowan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Academic Senate at the University of California, Los Angeles, voted against two resolutions seeking to rebuke the school’s chancellor, Gene Block, largely over his handling of an attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment two weeks ago. The results of the votes, conducted after a three-hour meeting on Thursday, were released on Friday and showed that only 43 percent of voting members had backed a no-confidence motion. A motion to censure Dr. Block was evenly split, 88 for and 88 against, failing to achieve a simple majority of support. “It is clear that we are not united in how we view the major events of the past weeks and the campus response to them,” Andrea M. Kasko, the Senate chair, said in a statement. “I hope that we can try to find common ground as colleagues, and have the courage to listen with open minds and open hearts even when we do not agree.”Formal rebukes by faculty were unlikely to have practical implications for Dr. Block, 75, who is set to step down as chancellor in July, said William G. Tierney, a professor emeritus of higher education at the University of Southern California who has written about the response to campus protests across the nation.

Persons: Gene Block, Block, ” Andrea M, William G, Tierney Organizations: Senate, University of California, University of Southern Locations: Los Angeles, University of Southern California

☆ ‘Great enigma’: Amateur archaeologists unearth mysterious Roman object
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Emily Blumenthal | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Amateur archaeologists in England have unearthed one of the largest Roman dodecahedrons ever found, but mystery surrounds what it was actually used for. The 12-sided object is one of just 33 known to exist in Roman Britain, and one of approximately 130 in the world. It is considered “one of archaeology’s great enigmas,” according to the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, an amateur group based in the English region of Lincolnshire where it was found in June. “It is completely unique,” said Richard Parker, secretary of the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, adding that no similar objects have ever been found. Norton Disney History and Archaeology GroupParker told CNN there are no descriptions of the dodecahedron in Roman literature, and they have not been depicted pictorially in mosaics.

Persons: “, ” Andrea Martin, ”, Richard Parker, It’s, ” Parker, Parker, we’re Organizations: CNN — Amateur, Roman, Norton Disney, Archaeology Group, Lincoln Museum, Lincolnshire County, Lincoln Festival, CNN Locations: England, Roman Britain, Lincolnshire

☆ ‘Chowchilla’ details how 26 kids were buried alive in California – and how they escaped
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Holly Yan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

CNN —In 1976, gunmen stormed a school bus carrying 26 children – ages 5 to 14 – and their bus driver in Chowchilla, California. The Dairyland Union School District bus carrying 26 children and their bus driver was found empty and abandoned in July 1976. The kidnappers ordered the children and their bus driver into a moving van hidden underground. Bus driver Edward Ray speaks to reporters in 1976. “Chowchilla children are heroes,” she said in the CNN Film.

Persons: ”, “, didn’t, – pantyhose, –, Larry Park, Jodi Heffington, Jennifer Brown Hyde, van, ” Lynda Carrejo Labendeira, Edward Ray, ” Brown Hyde, Michael Marshall, Marshall, Hostages, Jim Palmer, AP Ray, ‘, ’, Mike Marshall, CNN “, LeRoy, Tatum, ’ ” Marshall, Ray, Ed Ray, ” Chowchilla, Ed Ray Day ”, Skip Shuman, Edward, Mike, Marshall “, Lenore C, ” ‘, ” Andrea, CNN Films ’ “, Park’s, “ Andrea, abductors, Frederick Newhall Woods, James Schoenfeld, Richard Schoenfeld, James, Fred Woods, Joe Rosenthal, who’d, Terr, Andrea, ‘ I’ve, Jodi Heffington Medrano, Heffington Medrano, Matthew Medrano, I’ve, William Newsom, California’s, Newsom, ” Carrejo Labendeira, “ Jodi, Carrejo Labendeira, “ ‘ Lynda, it’s, ’ ”, Heffington, couldn’t, Dominique Banos, “ Mr, Woods, Banos, ” Marshall Organizations: CNN, Dairyland, Dairyland Union School District, UPI, Workers, Fresno Bee, Tribune, Service, AP, Bus, Sacramento Bee, Marshall, CNN Films, California Gold Rush, San Francisco Chronicle, Larry Park CNN, James Schoenfeld California Department of Corrections, Mike Marshall CNN, ” Locations: Chowchilla , California, Livermore, Chowchilla, “ Chowchilla, Sacramento, Woods

☆ Wolverines receive protections as threatened species
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The North American wolverine has officially been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and will receive long-anticipated federal protections, US officials announced Wednesday, as the climate crisis melts away their snowy mountain habitats. “Based on the best available science, this listing determination will help to stem the long-term impact and enhance the viability of wolverines in the contiguous United States.”Adding wolverines to the list triggers legal protections for the threatened species under various environmental laws, preventing the population from further declining. The last time the species had been sighted in the region was between 2008 and 2018, according to scientists, though they have already been listed as threatened species under California’s Endangered Species Act. Conservationists and scientists have been calling for federal protections for years now, with some environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity even taking legal action. Despite the new science and growing calls for federal protections, initial proposals to protect the species were rejected in 2020 under former President Donald Trump.

Persons: wolverine, ”, Hugh Morrison, Donald Trump, Biden, “ I’m, ” Andrea Zaccardi, they’re Organizations: CNN, wolverines, Wildlife Service Pacific Regional, ”, Yosemite National, Forest, Federal, Center for Biological, and Wildlife Service, Center for Biological Diversity, Fish and Wildlife Service Locations: United States, North America, Rocky, Alaska, Canada, Sierra Nevada, Yosemite, Inyo

Cher, “Christmas”Political Cartoons View All 1260 ImagesSomehow, “Christmas" is Cher's first holiday album — not that she hasn't been asked to do one in the past. “I didn’t know how I was going to make it a ‘Cher Christmas album.’” The secret, it turns out, was to get a bunch of A-list collaborators on her album, something she's never done before. Brandy, “Christmas with Brandy”For those looking for a seductive holiday album: the search is over. Like on “Christmas Gift,” which features her daughter Sy’Rai, and “Feels Different.”Elsewhere, Brandy offers a PG-13 holiday special. Humor abounds, like in the pop-rocking comedic additions of “You Made Me Believe in Christmas,” “Feels Like Christmas,” “Mean Christmas."

Persons: Maria Sherman, Ella Fitzgerald, “ Ella, hasn't, “, ”, she's, There’s Cyndi Lauper, ” Stevie Wonder, ” Darlene Love, ” Michael Bublé, Tyga, Brandy ”, Brandy, Sy’Rai, I’m askin, Andrea, Matteo, Virginia Bocelli, Andrea Bocelli, ” Andrea, Virginia, ’ Natale, levity —, David Foster, Katharine McPhee, Grace, Foster, Luther Vandross, “ Luther Vandross, ” “, Ally Brooke, Brooke Organizations: ANGELES, Associated Press, AP, Party, Chicago, Tabernacle Choir, Fifth Harmony Locations: Chicago, Italian, “

☆ UN warns of enormous gap in financing for climate adaptation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

That’s a more than 50% larger gap than UNEP had estimated in its 2022 report. Esam Omran Al-Fetori/ReutersThe issue — as well as who should pay for the loss and damage created by the climate crisis — is expected to be a key sticking point in climate negotiations at the COP28 talks in Dubai this December. A recent study showed that 55 of the world’s most vulnerable economies have already experienced losses and damages of more than $500 billion in the last two decades from the climate crisis. “If we don’t fund adaptation, we then get ourselves into a situation where we can no longer adapt,” Hinwood said. And for every $16 billion invested in agriculture each year, 78 million people could be alleviated from climate crisis related starvation or chronic hunger.

Persons: Andrea Hinwood, “, Esam Omran, ” Hinwood Organizations: CNN, UN, United Nations Environment, UNEP, “ Locations: Paris, Derna, Libya, Dubai

☆ Opinion | With War in Israel, the Cancel Culture Debate Comes Full Circle
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Michelle Goldberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Today, with people still struggling to understand the contours of this deeply complicated conflict, the book seems essential. “Because that was absolutely the ambition of the book, to depict real people” rather than villains and saints. Because I admire “A Day in the Life of Abed Salama” so much, I agreed to moderate a talk with Thrall this Thursday in Brooklyn. And in a time of war, particularly a war shrouded in fiercely competing narratives, free speech is more important than ever. And supporters of Israel are hardly alone in creating a censorious atmosphere; particularly on college campuses, it is Zionists who feel silenced and intimidated.

Persons: Nathan Thrall’s, Abed Salama, ”, Thrall, Salama, Beber Vanunu, Dany Tirza, Jamal Khashoggi, ” Thrall, “, Abed Salama ”, I’ve, it’s, ” Andrea Grossman, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Nguyen, gestured, ” Nguyen, didn’t Organizations: New York, West Bank, Crisis, The Guardian . American Public Media, Israel, Boston Palestine Film, Hilton, U.S . Campaign, Palestinian, University of California Locations: Israel, Saudi, Brooklyn, United States, Britain, Angeles, The, 92NY, Manhattan, Palestine, ”, Houston, Gaza, Davis

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Workers in California will soon receive a minimum of five days of paid sick leave annually, instead of three, under a new law Gov. The law, which takes effect in January, also increases the amount of sick leave workers can carry over into the following year. “Too many folks are still having to choose between skipping a day’s pay and taking care of themselves or their family members when they get sick,” Newsom said in a statement announcing his action. Newsom already signed a law to raise the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour. Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, a Democrat from Santa Cruz who authored the law and is a former local elections official, said the law creates necessary guardrails around elections.

Persons: Gavin Newsom, Newsom, “, ” Newsom, ” Jennifer Barrera, ” Andrea Zinder, Shasta, Donald Trump, ’, Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, ”, Cathy Darling Allen, Hart InterCivic, Darling Allen, Patrick Henry Jones, ” Jones didn’t, ___ Sophie Austin, @sophieadanna Organizations: — Workers, Democratic, Wednesday, California Chamber of Commerce, unionize, Food, Commercial Workers Western States Council, Dominion Voting Systems, Santa Cruz, Democrat, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: SACRAMENTO, Calif, California, Northern California, Shasta, Santa, Shasta County, United States

☆ They had a teenage summer romance. Here’s what happened when they reunited years later
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

The summer Andrea first crossed paths with Lewis Kelly. He seemed aloof, “a loner,” as Andrea thought back then. When Andrea didn’t hear from him, she assumed he’d forgotten about her. “We’re so cute.”Then, as the date of his arrival got ever closer, Andrea started doubting herself. “I just want to make it work and be with you.”At this, Andrea started crying.

Persons: Andrea Camila, Andrea, Lewis Kelly, Lewis, –, She’d, ” Andrea, Niall, ’, Direction’s Niall Horan, ”, daydreaming, “, ” Lewis, “ Andrea, wasn’t, Andrea giggled, ’ ”, he’d, she’d, Imani Lee, Andrea didn’t, Lewis “, I’m, wouldn’t, It’s, hadn’t, We’re, ’ ” Andrea, Lewis didn’t, they’d messaged, Andrea messaged, they’d, They’d, it’s, he’s, sobs, “ We’re, Lewis wasn’t, “ They’d, didn’t, let’s, Andrea welled, “ It’s, Lewis Kelly “ Organizations: CNN, Sunshine State, CNN Travel, Facebook, Skype, Dublin City University, YouTube, Imani Lee Creative Locations: Clearwater Beach , Florida, Florida, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Europe, TikTok, Mexican

☆ The Leaning Tower of Pisa was once tilting dangerously. Today it’s a different story
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Sharon Braithwaite | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Pisa, Italy CNN —The Tower of Pisa was once feared on the brink of collapse as the lean that made it such a popular landmark threatened its very existence. Trouble from the startExperts say the future of the tower is secure following remedial work to keep it standing. Earth was extracted from beneath the foundations of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to help reduce its tilt. Thanks to an agreement between Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage and OPA, experts integrate satellite monitoring with data collected at ground level. The progress of these terrestrial and satellite monitoring activities will be presented next year, as part of the series of events scheduled to celebrate the tower’s 850th anniversary.

Persons: ” Andrea Maestrelli, Berta, Pisa Giovanni Paolo Benotto, Ignacio Palacios, Giulio Andreini, ”, Roberto Cela Organizations: Italy CNN, “, Opera, UNESCO, Getty, Italy’s Ministry, Cultural Locations: Pisa, Italy

☆ Deadly extreme heat is on the rise in national parks – a growing risk for America’s great outdoors
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Eric Zerkel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

More people are suspected to have died since June 1 from heat-related causes in national parks than an average entire year, according to park service press releases and preliminary National Park Service data provided to CNN. Ground zero for extreme heat deathsAll of this year’s suspected heat-related deaths took place in just three national parks: Grand Canyon, Death Valley and Big Bend. Heat risk and damage to national parks will only increase if unabated carbon pollution continues, Gonzalez said. That’s changing the personal risk calculus for summer recreation now and in the future in increasingly hotter national parks. Ronda Churchill/AFP/Getty ImagesPersonal responsibility weighs heavily in the policy direction the individual national parks take when dealing with the heat.

Persons: –, spokespeople, That’s, Patrick Gonzalez, ” Gonzalez, Gonzalez, Nicolo Sertorio, Abby Wines, Joelle Baird, Baird, Matthew Levy, Maggie Peikon, ”, I’ve, Peikon, that’s, ” Peikon, Ronda Churchill, “, ” Wines, ” Baird, James Thompson, It’s, ” Andrea Walton Organizations: CNN, Service, National Park Service, Climate Central, University of California, Death, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, American Hiking Society, Tourists, Visitor, Getty, Emergency, Region Public Affairs, “ Locations: Big Bend, Mississippi, Alaska, Berkeley, America, Indonesia, Ronda, AFP, Death Valley, Lake Mead, Arizona, Nevada

☆ India to have 2.9 million more people than China by mid-2023, UN estimate shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The demographic data from the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) “State of World Population Report, 2023” estimates India’s population at 1,428.6 million or 1.4286 billion against 1.4257 billion for China. The United States is a distant third, with an estimated population of 340 million, the data showed. Population experts using previous data from the UN have projected India would go past China this month. Although India and China will account for more than one-third of the estimated global population of 8.045 billion, the population growth in both Asian giants has been slowing, at a much faster pace in China than in India. “The Indian survey findings suggest that population anxieties have seeped into large portions of the general public,” Andrea Wojnar, Representative for UNFPA India, said in a statement.

☆ Europe drought: This once-thriving lake has all but dried up -- a story repeated across Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

While in the United States, the snow and rain that have pummeled California have helped fill reservoirs and ease unrelenting drought, winter has been far from kind to many parts of Europe. A buoy is seen on the banks of the partially dry Lake Montbel as France faces a record winter dry spell. “Lake Montbel remains at an abnormally low level,” Franck Solacroup, the regional director of the Adour-Garonne Water Agency, which covers the area that includes Lake Montbel, told CNN. Farmers like Rouquet, who rely on the lake, are having to make tough decisions on what to grow. “This is the most extreme winter in terms of low snow cover,” she told CNN.

The film won nominations for best picture, best director and its stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan won nods for best performance by an actress and actor in a leading role. The nominations were announced by Allison Williams and Riz Ahmed on Tuesday morning at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Voting for the nominations concluded Jan. 17, and 9,579 members of the academy were eligible to vote, according to Variety. Neither women of color made it to the list for best leading actress. The Oscar nominations come just weeks after the Golden Globes returned to the airwaves.

☆ British nurses launch historic strike, as pay and staffing crises threaten the NHS
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“The reality is, every day, nurses across the UK are walking into understaffed hospitals,” Mackay said. “I feel really sorry for the young girls who are now trying to get into the profession, they have to pay for their training. Nurses’ pay dropped 1.2% every year between 2010 and 2017 once inflation was taken into account, according to the Health Foundation, a UK charity that campaigns for better health and health care. Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesEarlier this year, the RCN rejected an offer by the government to increase nurses’ pay by a minimum of £1,400 ($1,707) a year, which amounted to an average rise of 4.3%, well below the rate of inflation. Members of Britain’s armed forces were being trained to drive ambulances and firefight in the event of strike action, ministers said earlier this month.

☆ Climate activists throw liquid at Klimt painting in Vienna
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

BERLIN — Climate activists in Austria on Tuesday attacked a famous painting by artist Gustav Klimt with a black, oily liquid and one then glued himself to glass protecting the painting’s frame. Members of the group Last Generation Austria tweeted they had targeted the 1915 painting “Death and Life” at the Leopold Museum in Vienna to protest their government’s use of fossil energies. After the attack, police arrived at the museum and the black liquid was quickly cleaned off the glass protecting the painting, Austria Press Agency reported. It’s one of the latest pieces of art to be targeted by climate activists to draw attention to global warming. Just Stop Oil activists also glued themselves to the frame of an early copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” at London’s Royal Academy of Arts, and to John Constable’s “The Hay Wain” in the National Gallery.

☆ Don’t bother with dietary supplements for heart health, study says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Six supplements that people commonly take for heart health don’t help lower “bad” cholesterol or improve cardiovascular health, according to a study published Sunday, but statins did. Some people believe that common dietary supplements – fish oil, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, plant sterols and red yeast rice – will lower their “bad” cholesterol. The fatty deposits can block the flow of oxygen and blood that the heart needs to work and the blockage can lead to a heart attack or stroke. He calls these supplements “21st century snake oil.”In the United States, the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act of 1994 sharply limited the US Food and Drug Administration’s ability to regulate supplements. “The good news, we know statins work,” Khera said.

☆ Meet the Pop Icons Who Inspired a Generation of Arab Queens
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Shane O Neill | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Surfacing Meet the Pop IconsWho Inspired a Generation ofArab QueensAs children, the drag queens of Beirut didn’t have to look far for inspiration. ... / ... Click to unmute RotanaShe doesn’t particularly like Haifa’s voice, and doesn’t think she’s a good dancer either. Just this year, Feghali appeared on Lebanese TV impersonating her. ... / ... Click to unmute Télé LibanFor Diva, performing as Sabah and incorporating Arab culture into her drag represents a paradigm shift in how Beirut’s L.G.B.T.Q. The sender’s bio read, “Future Lebanese drag queen.”“This is what I want to see,” Anya said, using an expletive.

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