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Silver Co. Arranges Financing with Eric Sprott

This Canadian explorer plans to spend the capital on advancing the silver-copper-manganese project in Peru of which it is working toward 100% ownership. Find out why one expert rates the company Buy.




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Engineering Milestone Secures Progress for Key Lithium Project in Brazil

Lithium Ionic Corp. (LTH:TSX.V; LTHCF:OTCQX; H3N:FSE) has announced the initiation of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management (EPCM) services for its flagship Bandeira Lithium Project. See why the CEO Blake Hyland says that the company's momentum towards production is stronger than ever.



  • LTH:TSX.V; LTHCF:OTCQX; H3N:FSE

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Co. Completes Earn-In to Form JV at Advanced Stage Uranium Project in Athabasca Basin

Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (SYH:TSX.V; SYHBF:OTCQX; SC1P:FSE) has completed its earn-in requirements for a 51% interest at the Russell Lake Uranium Project in the central core of Canada's Eastern Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan. This comes as the need for more net-zero power is sparking a rebirth of the nuclear industry.



  • SYH:TSX.V; SYHBF:OTCQX; SC1P:FSE

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New Operational Permit Paves Way for Key Lithium Project in Brazil's "Lithium Valley"

Atlas Lithium Corp. (ATLX:NASDAQ) announced that it has received the operational permit for its Neves Project. Read what this permit, unanimously approved by Minas Gerais government in Brazil, allows Atlas to do.




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Co. Enters Quebec With Acquisition of Prospective Lithium Project

American Salars Lithium Inc. (USLI:CSE; USLIF:OTC; Z3P:FWB; A3E2NY:WKN) has signed a mineral claims purchase agreement with an arm's length vendor to acquire 100% of the Lac Simard South Project in Quebec. Find out why one analyst says the market for the important battery metal is due to wake up.




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Silica Project Grows by 40% with Strategic Land Acquisition in BC

Silicon Metals Corp. (SI:CSE) has expanded its Ptarmigan Silica Project by acquiring 919 hectares of contiguous claims, increasing its land position by 40% in British Columbia's Rocky Mountain Trench. Read more to find out how this expansion supports their vision for high-grade silica production.




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Strategic Gains Amid Growth as Mining Royalty Cash Flow and Production Surge

Vox Royalty Corp. (VOXR:TSX.V) reported its Q3 2024 financial results. Read more on how strong cash flow growth, record production, and key project milestones are driving these results.




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High-Impact Mining Conferences Set the Stage for Key Gold Project Updates

Dryden Gold Corp. (DRY:TSXV; DRYGF:OTCQB) has announced its participation in three significant mining investment conferences scheduled for November 2024. Read more about the company's plans to showcase major project updates and connect with global investors at these key events.




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Sylvia Earle: My Wish? To Protect Our Oceans

; Credit: Asa Mathat/TED / Asa Mathat

Manoush Zomorodi, Christina Cala, and SANAZ MESHKINPOUR | NPR

Part 4 of TED Radio Hour episode An SOS From The Ocean

Legendary oceanographer Sylvia Earle has been exploring and working to protect our oceans for more than half a century. Her message has stayed the same: we're taking our oceans for granted.

About Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle is an oceanographer, explorer, and author. She is the president of Mission Blue, an organization that aims to establish marine protected areas around the world. She is also a National Geographic Explorer.

Earle has led more than 50 expeditions and clocked more than 7,000 hours underwater. She was captain of the first all-female team to live underwater in 1970--one of many extended underwater stays. In 1979, she walked untethered on the sea floor at a lower depth than any other woman before or since. In the 1980s, she started the companies Deep Ocean Engineering and Deep Ocean Technologies with engineer Graham Hawkes to design undersea vehicles that allow scientists to work at previously inaccessible depths. In the early 1990s, she served as Chief Scientist of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. In 2009, she became the recipient of the million dollar TED Prize to continue her work to protect oceans.

Earle received an associate degree from St. Petersburg Jr. College, has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree from Florida State University, and a Doctorate of Psychology from Duke University.

This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by Christina Cala and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Twitter @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadio@npr.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.




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Obesity Drug's Promise Now Hinges On Insurance Coverage

Yuki Noguchi | NPR

When a promising new drug to treat obesity was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for sale in the U.S. last month, it was the first such treatment to gain approval since 2014.

In clinical trials, weekly injections of semaglutide — or Wegovy, as it's been branded -- helped people drop an average of 15% of their body weight. That's an average of about 34 pounds over 16 months, before their weight plateaued, a far greater weight loss, obesity specialists say, than achieved with other drugs on the market. At least as important, Wegovy raised none of the alarm bells with the FDA or obesity doctors that it might trigger serious side effects of the sort experienced by some people taking fen-phen or some previous medical treatments for obesity.

But with a price tag for Wegovy of $1,000 to $1,500 a month, a very big question remains: Will insurers cover its significant cost for the many millions of people like Marleen Greenleaf, who might benefit?

Greenleaf grew up on the island of Trinidad, where her entire family paid little heed to what they ate and paid a high medical price, she says: "My husband has diabetes, my sister has diabetes, my brother has diabetes."

Since then, she's tried — and failed — at numerous diets, says Greenleaf, now 58 and an administrator at a charter school in Washington, D.C. Then, in 2018, she signed up for the clinical trial of a new drug — a once-weekly shot that changes the way her brain signals hunger.

A drug that finally stops her cravings

She noticed the change soon after her first injection of Wegovy: "For me, there was something that triggered in my brain to tell me that I was not hungry," she says. No more fierce cravings for the chocolate chip cookies she adores. Without the cravings she was able to slow down and reconsider the foods she'd been reaching for.

"I also wanted to eat healthier," she says. "I was looking at options, reading labels, looking at the calories — not just the calories, but also the sugar."

Over the 68-week research trial, Greenleaf dropped 40 pounds. Her blood pressure fell, which meant she qualified to donate her kidney to her husband, who was on dialysis.

"It was one of the best gifts of life that I could have ever given," she says.

But after that study ended, Greenleaf regained some of the weight. Wegovy is considered a long-term, possibly lifelong medication to treat chronic obesity. In the pre-marketing clinical studies, weight loss topped out at a total average weight loss of 15-18%, even as people continued to take the drug. And, as was the case with Greenleaf, once they stopped getting the weekly injections some of that weight came back.

Now, Greenleaf wants to resume the Wegovy shots.

"My only challenge actually is getting the insurance company to approve it," she says.

Reimbursement for obesity drugs' cost is patchy

Insurance coverage, it turns out, is a giant question — not just with Wegovy, but with obesity drugs in general. Some private insurers do include some prescription obesity drugs in the list of medicines they'll cover; it's too early to tell whether Wegovy will make those lists. Many doctors and patients are optimistic, because it is a higher dose of an existing diabetes medication called Ozempic, which is often covered by insurers.

A few select state Medicaid programs will cover medications that treat obesity, in some circumstances. But, significantly, Medicare does not cover obesity drugs — and many private insurers typically follow Medicare's lead.

Yet the demand for a good treatment is there, says Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, a leading obesity researcher at Harvard. She was not involved in conducting the Wegovy clinical trial, but closely followed it. "I'm excited about it," she says, because of the dramatic weight loss.

The drug acts on the brain so people eat less and store less of what they eat. That helps address the excess weight as well as helping with numerous related diseases of the liver or heart, for example.

Why the FDA has been slow to approve obesity treatments

There is a long history of drugs that have looked like promising treatments for obesity, then failed. Decades ago, amphetamines, were prescribed, until their addictive properties became apparent. In the 1990s, the combination of fenfluramine and phentermine — administered as the diet drug fen-phen — was heavily marketed, only to later be pulled from the market for causing heart valve problems.

Those experiences and others have made physicians skeptical.

"In obesity medicine field, we've learned to be cautiously optimistic each time we have a new medication that looks promising," says Dr. Ihuoma Eneli, director of the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who was not involved in the study of Wegovy.

So far, Eneli does not see any obvious concerns with the class of drugs that includes Wegovy, and calls the results so far "very promising." Wegovy is similar to another drug made by Novo Nordisk — Saxenda — which has been on the market since 2014, and which Eneli occasionally prescribes to her pediatric patients who are struggling with obesity.

In clinical research studies, the primary side effects reported after taking Wegovy affected the digestive system: nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain or intestinal infections.

Eneli says such side effects and their frequency are milder than the problems that have arisen in the past. That good safety profile may mean the drug is "less likely to come up with unanticipated risks," she says.

But, the new drug will be of little use, she and other doctors who treat obesity say, if it's not also affordable for patients.

"Before I even bring up that drug with my patients, I'm looking to see which insurance they are having on the left side of my screen — because that will determine whether I bring it up," Stanford, the Harvard physician, says. "If it's out of reach, like I said, I won't bring it up."

Stanford says her patients on existing obesity medications do extraordinary things to keep their coverage so they can afford to stay on the drugs.

"Several nurses here at the hospital that are my patients stayed working — they were supposed to retire — so they could stay on their injectable medication," Stanford says,"because that's how beneficial it was to them."

Why some are willing to pay out of pocket

Some people, like David Scheesley, 42, says he would consider paying for Wegovy, even if he had to pay the full sticker price. The Hanford, Calif., correctional officer has tried since 2019 to lose weight on various diets — low-fat, all-meat, all-vegetable — without success. His weight has led to other health concerns — with his blood fats and his heart — which makes Scheesley think of his 5-year-old son.

"I want to see him for a lot of years; I don't want to have a stroke," he says. "I don't want to have diabetes. I want to be there for him. So, for me personally, that [monetary cost] is not astronomical, if it can give me some more time."

Novo Nordisk, the company that makes Wegovy, is in talks with insurers, and acknowledges that ensuring health insurance coverage of its drug is critical. The challenge, says Douglas Langa, executive vice president of Novo Nordisk North America, is getting doctors, patients, and politicians to recognize obesity as a disease — and that therefore insurance should cover the cost of medicine to treat it.

"There's a medical component to [obesity] that needs to be recognized; this is a disease state like we should be treating any other disease state," Langa says. He says about 40% of private insurers cover Saxenda, the similar weight-loss medication the company makes.

Langa tells insurance companies this, making the case for why prescriptions for Wegovy should be covered. His company is also heavily lobbying Congress to pass legislation to allow Medicare to cover obesity medications. It makes sense from a financial perspective, he argues, because obesity is the root disease underlying so many other diseases.

"We do believe insurers understand that [untreated obesity] is a gateway into 60 other health conditions," Langa says. The need is hard to ignore, he adds. More than 100 million people in the U.S. alone struggle with obesity.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.




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Sonata Software adds new functionality to its enterprise mobility product Halosys

Sonata Software announced that its Unified Enterprise Mobility Platform, Halosys, has been enhanced with additional features that boost optimization and usability




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IT sector is recession proof, clients have not stopped decision making on spends: Rishad Premji

“The technology services industry, at some level, is recession proof,” Premji said at the company’s 76th annual general meeting on Tuesday. “In good times, clients spend on new initiatives and business transformation and serving customers digitally. They focus on reducing costs when times are not so good,” he said addressing a question on inflation concerns.




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Catawba Co. joins other area counties & cities to approve settlement of Catawba River Basin Inter Basin Transfer issue

The Catawba County Board of Commissioners, at its January 19, 2010 meeting, joined with other local governments across the region in approving the agreement. The main points of the agreement hinged on Concord and Kannapolis modifying their ability, contained in their IBT certificate, to withdraw 10 million gallons of water per day (MGD) from the Catawba River at all times, by significantly limiting withdrawals during times of drought. The agreement limits withdrawals to 6 MGD during times of most severe drought, or �exceptional� drought; 7 MGD during �extreme� drought; 8.5 MGD during �severe� drought; and 9 MGD during �moderate� drought. Further, the agreement restricts Concord and Kannapolis from withdrawing more than 3 MGD from the Catawba until July 1, 2015, and after they first are withdrawing 5 MGD from the Yadkin River.




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Lighting Ceremony Kicks Off Construction Of UNCCs EPIC Project

Two members of the Catawba County Board of Commissioners, Vice-Chair Lynn Lail and Commissioner Barbara Beatty joined UNC Charlotte officials and leaders from business and power industries to celebrate the start of construction on the University�s Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC). EPIC is a planned research endeavor between the University and private partners with the goal of expanding energy engineering and research within the region based on industry needs. The Catawba County EcoComplex will play an important role in EPIC through research partnership between Catawba County and UNC-Charlotte




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FEMA grant will help pay to improve fire and rescue radio communications in Catawba County.

A partnership of all fourteen fire departments and all five rescue squads in the county with Catawba County Emergency Services has resulted in a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that will fund a large amount of the costs to purchase new radios to significantly improve communications by and between the fire and rescue agencies and the County�s 911 Communications Center.




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Public Health's WIC Program helps kids develop a healthy appetite!

Children learn their habits, attitudes and beliefs from their parents and other caregivers, and that includes their willingness to try new and healthy foods. The American Dietetic Association and Catawba County Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) encourages adults to be good role models and teach children how to appreciate nutrition and enjoy healthful eating.




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Important milestones begin in 2011 property revaluation in Catawba County

The final stages of the 2011 property revaluation process in Catawba County have begun with the presentation of the proposed 2011 Schedule of Values to the Board of Commissioners, and will continue into November, when property owners will receive notice of the new value of their property, and into December and early 2011 when the appeal process begins.




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Catawba County Public Health Educator wins Promising New Health Educator Award

Lindsey Smith was recognized by the North Carolina Society for Public Health Education as a new health educator in North Carolina who has made outstanding contributions to the profession.




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Catawba County Social Services program works to help adult adoptees, birth parents and close relatives find each other.

Family Builders, the adoption service of Catawba County Social Services, can now help adult adoptees, birth parents and their close relatives find each other. Not all counties in North Carolina offer this service, which is called Confidential Intermediary Services. Until recently all adoption records were sealed under North Carolina state law. In 2008, a new law took effect that allowed the release of certain records to adult adoptees and birth parents, if both parties agreed.




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Catawba County managers join mayors to assist with Mayors for Meals program

Three area mayors and several other local officials recently participated in Mayors for Meals in Catawba County. This event was sponsored by Catawba County Social Services� Senior Nutrition Programs, which operates Meals on Wheels, Seniors Morning Out and other senior nutrition programs serving more than 1,000 people.




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New Seniors Morning Out program begins in Claremont, NC

A new Seniors Morning Out location has opened at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Claremont. This program, which is operated by Catawba County Social Services, provides a nutritious lunch, plus social activities, for persons age 60 or older.




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Social Services program helping teens make smart choices wins national award

A Catawba County Department of Social Services program that helped teenagers enrolled in a poverty reduction and teen pregnancy program better understand the myths of government support programs has been named a winner of a 2011 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award.




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WIC program, Cooperative Extension join forces to plant "seeds" for healthy eating.

Area youth participating in the NC Cooperative Extension�s 4-H program helped children at Catawba County Public Health plant vegetable seeds. The activity was one of a series of visits by local North Carolina Cooperative Extension staff and volunteers to Public Health�s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) clinic designed to encourage WIC families to grow and eat fresh vegetables.




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Catawba County-Appalachian State University Biodiesel Research, Development and Production Facility officially opens.

The facility is now testing biodiesel fuel being produced by several companies in the region and from the harvest of crops growing around the landfill to test which ones grow best in the local climate while producing the best oils for biodiesel.




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Sheriff�s Office to assist in Operation Pill Stoppers drop box program.

The Catawba County Sheriff�s Office, in conjunction with The Cognitive Connection and The Foothills Coalition, is sponsoring an Operation Pill Stoppers program that now provides fixed locations for citizens to properly dispose of their unused and unwanted medications.




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Cable TV show profiling services of local governments, schools, quality of life, to premiere

�Catawba Communities,� a monthly show which will feature information about programs and services provided by local governments, school systems and associated agencies across Catawba County, will premiere on Charter Communications� Government Channel (Channel 3) on Tuesday, August 23, 2011, at 8:00 p.m.




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Program available for persons working at least 20 hours a week but need assistance with car repairs or insurance

The program of the North Carolina Department of Transportation provides limited funds for low-income persons who need to maintain or insure their car so they can continue working. It is administered by Catawba County Social Services




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Catawba County will begin a new cooking oil recycling program on February 1.

Used cooking oil will be accepted only at the Blackburn Solidwaste Convenience Center at 3864 Rocky Ford Road, Newton, NC 28658. No business waste accepted. The Blackburn Solidwaste Convenience Center is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.




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Three County program honored by NC Association of County Commissioners

County programs which developed QR (Quick Response) codes for building permits; reach families affected by economic distress, and serve as an ongoing, immediate source of food for students during weekends and extended breaks from school; and promote healthy, sustainable policies that improve physical activity and nutrition in schools were honored.




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National Association of Counties honors two Catawba County programs with Achievement Awards

A Catawba County Social Services program that serves as an ongoing, immediate source of food for students who often go hungry, during weekends and extended breaks from school, and a Green Vendor Exhibition designed to shine a spotlight on existing and potential vendors that specialize in providing recycled and environmentally-friendly products and services, have been named winners of 2012 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Awards.




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Catawba County EcoComplex featured in report on "green" building projects in 5 Southeastern states.

The EcoComplex is a system that recovers all useable products and by-products from a group of private and public partners located in a close-knit defined area. This group of partners works together to use each other�s waste products either as a source of energy (electricity, steam, or heat) or as a raw material for the production of their own product (pallets, lumber, compost, brick shapes/art). The EcoComplex is also focused on making and using �green� energy and on economic development.




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Proposed County solid waste management franchise agreement would provide additional recycling services.

The agreement would substantially increase the number of items collected for recycling across Catawba County, with further expansion of items collected as needed over time; begin �single stream� collection of recyclable commodities so recycled materials would no longer be required to be separated at curbside; increase Republic Services� investment in Catawba County by $13 million; and protect more than 150 local jobs.




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Maker of products for textile industry locates first US manufacturing facility in Conover

Chinese maker of products for the textile industry has located its first US manufacturing facility in Conover, creating 78 new jobs.




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County to mail data verification, income & expense request, to property owners as 2015 revluation process continues.

Catawba County will mail data verification, income and expense request, to property owners as 2015 revluation process continues on May 17, 2013. Owners are requested to verify the information found on the data verification sheet, provide pertinent additional information and make any necessary corrections, and return the form to the revaluation office. http://www.catawbacountync.gov/events/revalmailer13.asp




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Leadership Academy helps families in transition through Family Care Center project.

County employees in the first Leadership Academy recently helped families in transition through a Family Care Center project.




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Budget Office again wins national award, for producing budget document judged easy to read and understand.

Budget Office wins national award, for producing budget document judged easy to read and understand, for 25th straight year




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Annual financial report for Fiscal Year 2012-2013 shows County improved financial position with conservative approach

Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2012-2013 shows Catawba County improved its financial position with conservative approach.




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Social Services program named 1 of 15 programs in US making critical difference in lives of youth in foster care

Social Services program honored as one of only 15 programs in U.S. making critical difference in lives of youth in foster care.




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Dental care provided for hundreds of children by Catawba County Public Health.

Dental care was recently provided for hundreds of children by Catawba County Public Health.




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How The Pandemic Changed The College Admissions Selection Process This Year

Lisa Przekop, director of admissions at University of California, Santa Barbara, says that many high schoolers this year wrote their application essays about depression and anxiety during the pandemic.; Credit: Patricia Marroquin/Moment Editorial/Getty Images

Mary Louise Kelly | NPR

College-bound high schoolers are making their final deliberations ahead of May 1, the national deadline to pick a school. That day will mark the end of a hectic admissions season drastically shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many colleges dropped standardized testing requirements, and because some high schools gave pass/fail grades and canceled extracurriculars and sports, admissions counselors had to change how they read and evaluate applications.

"[It was] definitely the craziest of all my 36 years, without a doubt," says Lisa Przekop, director of admissions at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The UC school system received the most applications in the United States.

Like many others, Przekop says all of her staff has been working remotely throughout the pandemic. But if pivoting to working from home wasn't a challenge enough, Przekop says the school saw an increase in applications of 16%.

"On top of all that, we had to devise a way of doing our admissions selection process without the use of SAT or ACT scores," she says. "So any one of those things would have been a major change, but to have all of them at the same time was beyond anything really that I could've imagined."

Przekop spoke with All Things Considered about how what counselors looked for in applications this year changed, what topics they saw in admissions essays and how the process might have actually improved in spite of the pandemic.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.


Interview Highlights

Has it all added up to more time spent on every individual application?

Quick answer, yes. Things are much more nuanced now. And although a student may have, for instance, planned to do certain activities, well many of those activities were canceled. The other big difference was students were a lot more depressed this year, obviously. Everybody's more anxious, including students. They're applying for college which is stressful in and of itself. And so what we found is a lot of students used their essays to talk about depression, anxiety, things like this. To read essay after essay after essay about depression, anxiety, stress — is taxing. And so we really had to encourage staff to take more breaks as they were reviewing. So it definitely slowed the whole process down at a time when we had more applications to review.

Can you give any insight into what you are basing your decisions on this year?

Absolutely. Maybe in the past I would've focused on that GPA right away. Now when I'm looking at that academic picture, I have to look at the fact that did the student challenge themselves as much as they could have? Were the courses even available? Do I see any trends in their academic performance? If their spring term of last year, their junior year, was all pass/no pass, can I safely assume that they did well in those courses? And that's where you really had to rely on what the students shared in their essays to try to piece that together.

Are you noticing greater diversity in the students applying to UC?

In terms of ethnic diversity, yes, we are seeing that. In terms of diversity of experience — for instance, first generation students and students with lots of different socioeconomic backgrounds — we're definitely seeing that. I'm seeing students who are very committed to the environment more so than i've seen before. I'm seeing students who are more politically aware and active than I've seen before. So I'm definitely seeing a pattern of behaviors that look a little bit different than students in the past.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.




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Supreme Court Rules Cheerleader's F-Bombs Are Protected By The 1st Amendment

Nina Totenberg | NPR

Updated June 23, 2021 at 12:20 PM ET

The U.S. Supreme Court sided with students on Wednesday, ruling that a former cheerleader's online F-bombs about her school is protected speech under the First Amendment.

By an 8-1 vote, the court declared that school administrators do have the power to punish student speech that occurs online or off campus if it genuinely disrupts classroom study. But the justices concluded that a few swear words posted online from off campus, as in this case, did not rise to the definition of disruptive.

"While public schools may have a special interest in regulating some off-campus student speech, the special interests offered by the school are not sufficient to overcome B. L.'s interest in free expression in this case," Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the court's majority.

At issue in the case was a series of F-bombs issued in 2017 on Snapchat by Brandi Levy, then a 14-year-old high school cheerleader who failed to win a promotion from the junior varsity to the varsity cheerleading term at her Pennsylvania school.

"I was really upset and frustrated at everything," she said in an interview with NPR in April. So she posted a photo of herself and a friend flipping the bird to the camera, along with a message that said, "F*** the school ... F*** cheer, F*** everything."

Suspended from the team for what was considered disruptive behavior, Brandi and her parents went to court. They argued that the school had no right to punish her for off-campus speech, whether it was posted online while away from school, as in this case, or spoken out loud at a Starbucks across the street from school.

A federal appeals court agreed with her, declaring that school officials have no authority to punish students for speech that occurs in places unconnected to the campus.

The decision marked the first time that an appeals court issued such a broad interpretation of the Supreme Court's landmark student speech decision more then a half century ago. Back then, in a case involving students suspended for wearing black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War, the court ruled that students do have free speech rights under the Constitution, as long as the speech is not disruptive to the school.

Although Brandi Levy is now in college, the school board in Mahanoy, Pa., appealed to the Supreme Court, contending that disruption can come from outside the campus but still have serious effects on campus. It pointed to laws in 47 states that require schools to enforce anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies.

The high court, however, focused on the facts in Levy's case, concluding that while her posts were less than admirable, they did not meet the test of being disruptive.

"We do not believe the special characteristics that give schools additional license to regulate student speech always disappear when a school regulates speech that takes place off campus," Breyer wrote. "The school's regulatory interests remain significant in some off-campus circumstances."

In a concurring opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote: "If today's decision teaches any lesson, it must be that the regulation of many types of off-premises student speech raises serious First Amendment concerns, and school officials should proceed cautiously before venturing into this territory."

In a dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the school was right to suspend Levy because students like her "who are active in extracurricular programs have a greater potential, by virtue of their participation, to harm those programs."

"For example, a profanity-laced screed delivered on social media or at the mall has a much different effect on a football program when done by a regular student than when done by the captain of the football team," Thomas wrote. "So, too, here."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.




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Prosecutors Get Their 1st Guilty Plea In The Jan. 6 Oath Keepers Conspiracy Case

Ryan Lucas | NPR

Updated June 23, 2021 at 6:56 PM ET

Federal prosecutors secured their first guilty plea Wednesday in the Justice Department's sprawling conspiracy case involving the Oath Keepers extremist group in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

At a hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., Graydon Young pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. The 55-year-old Florida resident agreed to cooperate with investigators, which could prove critical as the government pursues the remaining defendants in the high-profile case.

Young is one of 16 people associated with the Oath Keepers to be charged with conspiracy, obstruction and other offenses over the Capitol riot. Prosecutors say the defendants coordinated their efforts and actions to try to disrupt Congress' certification of the Electoral College count on Jan. 6.

More than 500 people have been charged so far in connection with the Capitol breach, but the Oath Keepers conspiracy case is one of the most closely watched because of the allegations and the link to an extremist organization.

Young is the second defendant linked to the Oath Keepers to plead guilty. Jon Schaffer pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding and entering restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon in April.

According to Young's statement of offense, he coordinated with his co-conspirators ahead of Jan. 6 and used encrypted messaging apps to maintain "operational security."

On the day itself, the document says, Young and some of his co-conspirators pushed through U.S. Capitol Police lines guarding the Capitol and into the building.

"Mr. Young believed that he and the co-conspirators were trying to obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding, that is, a proceeding before Congress, specifically, Congress's certification of the Electoral College vote," the document says.

At Wednesday's hearing, Judge Amit Mehta read that passage to Young to ensure that it was accurate.

"Yes, sir," Young replied, "that is correct."

According to the plea deal, Young has agreed to cooperate fully with prosecutors, including sitting for interviews with investigators and testifying before the grand jury and at trial.

The government, meanwhile, has agreed to dismiss the remaining charges against him. Even so, Mehta said Young is facing a possible prison sentence of 5 to 6 1/2 years under the sentencing guidelines.

Wednesday brought another significant development in the Capitol investigation.

Anna Morgan-Lloyd, a 49-year-old from Indiana who described Jan. 6 as the "best day ever," became the first Capitol riot defendant to be sentenced.

Morgan-Lloyd was not accused of taking part in any of the violence at the Capitol. She pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of "parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building."

Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced her to three years of probation and no jail time.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.




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More Effort Needed to Avoid Problems Associated With New Flight Control Systems

More targeted aircraft testing and simulation should be conducted to uncover design characteristics in new flight control systems that -- in rare circumstances -- may mislead pilots and result in unstable or dangerous flight conditions, says a new report by a National Research Council committee.




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Reforms Needed to Improve Childrens Reading Skills

Widespread reforms are needed to ensure that all children are equipped with the skills and instruction they need to learn to read, according to a new report from a committee of the National Research Council.




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Science-Based, Unified Approach Needed To Safeguard the Nations Food Supply

Outdated food safety laws and a fragmented federal structure serve as barriers to improving protection of the nations food supply from contamination or other hazards, according to Ensuring Safe Food From Production to Consumption.




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New Research Needed to Improve Detection, Identification Techniques for Finding Pipe Bombs, Catching Bomb Makers

Increased research is the key to developing more widely applicable detection systems to find pipe bombs before they explode and to help catch the perpetrators when a bomb has gone off, says a new report from a committee of the National Research Council.




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Marijuanas Components Have Potential as Medicine - Clinical Trials, Drug Development Should Proceed

Marijuanas active components are potentially effective in treating pain, nausea, the anorexia of AIDS wasting, and other symptoms, and should be tested rigorously in clinical trials.




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New Report Proposes Framework To Encourage Fluency With Information Technology

The explosive growth of information technology is having a profound impact on our lives.




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EPAs Methylmercury Guideline Is Scientifically Justifiable For Protecting Most Americans But Some May Be at Risk

While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys guideline for protecting the public from a toxic form of mercury is justifiable based on the latest scientific evidence, some children of women who consume large amounts of fish and seafood during pregnancy may be at special risk of neurological problems.




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U.S. Health Care Delivery System Needs Major Overhaul To Improve Quality and Safety

The nations health care industry has foundered in its ability to provide safe, high-quality care consistently to all Americans, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Reorganization and reform are urgently needed to fix what is now a disjointed and inefficient system.