
US education secretary warns of 'bumps in the road' as schools reopen amid Covid surge
CNN
There will be "bumps in the road" as schools attempt to reopen in the new year amid a record surge in Covid-19 cases, US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Sunday.
Cardona, speaking on Fox News Sunday, said the Biden administration goal remains that all schools open for in-person learning full-time. But he acknowledged a spike in infections among teachers and other classroom personnel could cause disruptions to the plan as students return to school after the holidays.
He said school district leaders around the country were already confronting a significant number of staff unavailable to work when school resumes Monday.

The Pentagon has ordered the military command that oversees new recruits’ enlistment to hold off on initial training for people who are HIV-positive and recently enlisted in the military, CNN has learned, saying that a decision on reinstating a Defense Department ban on their joining the military was “expected in the next few weeks.”

The European Union and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries formally signed a long-sought landmark free trade agreement on Saturday, capping more than a quarter-century of torturous negotiations to strengthen commercial ties in the face of rising protectionism and trade tensions around the world.

Judge restricts federal response to Minnesota protests amid outrage over immigration agents’ tactics
Immigration agents carrying out a sweeping operation in Minnesota can’t deploy certain crowd-control measures against peaceful protesters or arrest them, a federal judge ruled Friday. The order follows widespread outrage over a fatal shooting, reports of US citizens getting detained and Minnesotans getting asked for documents for no clear reason.

The smell of wet grass from the recent atmospheric river rains, mud and gasoline wafts through the warm Southern California air as Alec Derpetrossian works the chainsaw with a foreman, Randy Magaña, who helps him guide where to put the blade. Derpetrossian is still learning how to adequately use the large tool.









