For an occasional-use photograph and document scanner, the entry-level flatbed CanoScan LiDE 300 is a good value, but its LiDE 400 sibling is only $20 more and comes with valuable extras.

Iowa appears to be poised to consider a pay-for-performance compensation plan for teachers, following the lead of a handful of districts and schools that have embraced the controversial policy.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Apr 20, 2020 / 09:25 am (CNA).- On Friday, Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court will hold a virtual hearing to consider whether to decriminalize abortion for pregnant women infected with the Zika virus.

The legal intervention, called “Direct Action on Unconstitutionality-ADI 5581,” was filed with Brazil’s highest court by the National Association of Public Defenders. Supreme Court Justice Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha will present the legal action to the court, whose 11 members will have until April 30 to vote on the issue.

Several pro-life organizations have come out strongly against efforts to expand abortion, which is illegal in Brazil but is considered a “non-punishable crime” in cases of rape, a proven risk to life of the mother and, as of 2012, babies diagnosed with anencephaly.

“It’s a usurpation of powers because the Supreme Court does not have competency to rule on this matter,” said jurist José Miranda de Siqueira, president of the National Association of Citizens for Life. “This is a crime against the Federal Constitution of Brazil which in Article V guarantees the inviolability of the right to life.”

“We’re working with the Union of Catholic Jurists of Rio de Janeiro and will soon issue a strong statement on the issue,” continued Miranda, who is also a bioethics professor and authored a book on euthanasia, “O Poder sobre a Vida” (The Power over Life), which specifically addresses ADI 5581.

“Life is a preeminent right in the legal world. I’m asking people to pray and publicize this serious situation which is going on,” the lawyer added.

In an open letter to all Brazilians, the National Network for the Defense of Life and Family argued that the court challenge is “part of a strategy to introduce abortion in case of disabilities in general, or even abortion on demand, with the weak justification that the pregnant woman would be in a state of distress.”

“Eugenic abortion carries an enormous burden of prejudice and discrimination towards people with disabilities, sending an unseemly message that it would be better if they did not exist,” the pro-life organization added.

The Zika virus garnered international attention in 2015 after areas of Brazil noted a spike in cases of the birth defect microcephaly – a condition marked by abnormally small heads, brains, and developmental delays – following a recent outbreak of the virus in areas of northeastern Brazil.

Research on the virus suggested a link between Zika virus infection during pregnancy and severe neurological birth defects, including microcephaly and incomplete brain development.

A CitizenGo petition addressed to the Supreme Court justices called for the case to be removed from the docket and for the lives of the unborn to be respected. The petition was launched April 16. Within 24 hours, it had garnered 35,000 signatures and as of April 20 has 85,000.
 

Samsung will announce the next-generation foldable phone later this month; however, a newly-leaked hands-on video reveals exactly how its Galaxy Z Flip will perform in the real world.

WHEN Tamsin Calidas stepped aboard a ferry bound for the Hebridean island that would become her new home, it was with hope for a fresh beginning, one far from the tumultuous events and near-death experience she had faced in the city streets being left behind.

A rising Penn State senior has submitted a video to a national contest promoting the 2020 Census, which includes several other Penn State students and University President Eric Barron.

Penn State Health St. Joseph opened a curbside, chest X-ray service at the medical center’s main entrance at 2500 Bernville Road on May 4. This new service is part of its continued efforts to increase patient safety during the coronavirus pandemic.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has approved a series of new hires that will significantly expand his campaign ahead of the general election fight with President Trump.

The coronavirus is surfacing deep inside the White House

North Carolina officials' switch in reading-test vendors just weeks before the new school year got underway is spotlighting the often murky process of contracts and procurements for K-12 services.

Since learning is so nuanced, so too should be the means in which we assess it. Let's offer students the opportunity to be seen as whole people who can demonstrate different skills and knowledge in a plethora of ways over a period of time.

Within three weeks, a pandemic has completely changed the national landscape on testing. The U.S. Department of Education has now excused all 50 states and the District of Columbia from the requirement that they test all their students in math and English/language arts.

Following a March 19 announcement by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to end physical operations at many businesses statewide, Penn State Executive Vice President and Provost Nicholas P. Jones shared the following message with the University community.

Penn State Executive Vice President and Provost Nicholas P. Jones has shared a message updating the University community on steps being taken to monitor the evolving worldwide coronavirus outbreak and prepare for the safety and well-being of students, faculty, staff and visitors.

With its latest expansion into parts of Dallas and Omaha, Verizon's 5G network sits in 15 cities nationwide.

Each year, Penn State recognizes outstanding faculty and staff with annual awards in teaching and excellence. These awards highlight many of the faculty and staff who go above and beyond.

Virtual visits provide opportunities to learn about what Penn State York has to offer. Programming scheduled through May.

As armed conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and elsewhere continued to inflict much suffering and instability around the world, the heads of the UN and International Committee of the Red Cross issued an unprecedented joint warning about the impact of today’s conflicts on civilians and called on states to redouble their efforts to find sustainable solutions to conflicts. Welcoming the call to action, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, President & CEO of the International Crisis Group, said: “It is imperative that the world do much more to respond to early warning signs and prevent wars breaking out in the first place”.

November saw further military escalation and setbacks in Syria, particularly after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane it claimed had violated its airspace. Meanwhile, several countries faced extremist attacks claimed by the Islamic State (IS), including in Lebanon, France and Bangladesh. Violence also rose in Turkey between the state and Kurdish insurgents. In Venezuela, political tensions and violence increased ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for 6 December and could worsen, while both Nepal and Kosovo faced deepening political crises. In a positive step forward, Burkina Faso and Myanmar experienced peaceful and openly-contested elections last month.

The month saw an intensification of deadly violence in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura, with over 80 people killed following clashes with security forces. The African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC) made a welcome statement of intent to deploy forces to halt the slide toward civil war and mass atrocities. In Afghanistan, fighting raged between government and Taliban forces, particularly in Helmand province, while in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Niger, political tensions heightened. In a positive step forward, a peace deal was signed in Libya but uncertainties remain over the viability of the agreement. As stressed by Jean-Marie Guéhenno, President and CEO of the International Crisis Group, in today’s Ten Conflicts to Watch in 2016, it “should be seen as a beginning, not an end, to the peace process”.

The month saw an intensification of Yemen’s war, amid heightened regional rivalries between Saudi Arabia and Iran complicating prospects for peace. Political tensions increased in Haiti, Guinea-Bissau and Moldova, where protests over endemic corruption and a lack of confidence in the government could escalate. In Africa, Boko Haram’s deadly attacks increased in northern Cameroon, and Burkina Faso was hit by an unprecedented terror attack. On the nuclear front, in East Asia, North Korea’s announcement that it had carried out a successful hydrogen bomb test was roundly condemned, while nuclear-related sanctions on Iran were rolled back in accordance with the July 2015 deal.

The month saw conflict continue to rage in Turkey’s south east between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), looking likely to further escalate in March. Afghanistan and Somalia both saw armed insurgencies capture new territories. In Africa, political tensions rose in Chad, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, while in Venezuela, deadlock between the opposition-held parliament and government has brought the country closer to political and economic implosion. In Asia, North Korea’s announcement of a satellite launch in violation of UN Security Council resolutions prompted international condemnation and calls for tough new sanctions. On a positive note, the coming month brings the possibility of a final agreement to end Colombia’s decades-old insurgency.

The month saw violent extremist movements, including the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda-linked groups, carry out major deadly attacks in Turkey, Pakistan, Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia and Belgium. In Libya, the arrival of Prime Minister Serraj in Tripoli despite warnings from multiple factions could lead to further destabilisation. Meanwhile in Central Africa, political violence rose in Burundi and could break out in Chad around the 10 April presidential election. Yemen, South Sudan and even Syria saw progress, of varying degrees, toward peace talks or implementation of agreements, and in Colombia the start of talks between the state and the National Liberation Army (ELN) could lead to the end of the 52-year-old conflict.

The month saw fighting escalate again in Syria and Afghanistan, and erupt in Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenian-backed separatists and Azerbaijani forces. In Bangladesh, election violence and killings by extremist groups showed how new heights of government-opposition rivalry and state repression have benefitted violent political party wings and extremist groups alike. Political tensions intensified in Iraq and Macedonia, and security forces severely supressed opposition protests in the Republic of Congo and Gambia. On a positive note, new governments were formed in the Central African Republic and South Sudan to consolidate peace gains, and talks to end Yemen’s one-year-old civil war got underway, albeit later than planned.

The month saw Venezuela’s political, economic and humanitarian crisis worsen amid heightened tensions between the government and opposition, a situation which could lead to state collapse and regional destabilisation. Another major setback in electing a new president in Haiti prompted fears of further civil unrest. In West Africa, deadly violence in central Mali and south-east Nigeria spiked, while a power struggle in Guinea-Bissau led to a dangerous standoff. In Libya, factions for and against the fledgling Government of National Accord (GNA) advanced on Sirte to expel the Islamic State (IS), risking clashes over oil facilities, while Turkey saw heightened political polarisation and an increase in violence in Kurdish areas. Ongoing peace talks, despite slow progress and ongoing violence, remain the best chance to end major combat in Yemen.

The month saw Venezuela’s political, economic and humanitarian crisis worsen amid heightened tensions between the government and opposition, a situation which could lead to state collapse and regional destabilisation. Another major setback in electing a new president in Haiti prompted fears of further civil unrest. In West Africa, deadly violence in central Mali and south-east Nigeria spiked, while a power struggle in Guinea-Bissau led to a dangerous standoff. In Libya, factions for and against the fledgling Government of National Accord (GNA) advanced on Sirte to expel the Islamic State (IS), risking clashes over oil facilities, while Turkey saw heightened political polarisation and an increase in violence in Kurdish areas. Ongoing peace talks, despite slow progress and ongoing violence, remain the best chance to end major combat in Yemen.

The STEM School shooting underscores the huge challenges educators face in keeping students safe, even as fatal and injurious gunfire inside K-12 schools remains statistically rare.

The cleverly designed SideTrak Portable Monitor gives you a second screen that can stay attached to your laptop, even while traveling.

Source: www.businessinsider.com - Friday, May 08, 2020
Los Angeles' food truck population of over 800 trucks faces a downturn in profits during the coronavirus pandemic, which threatens the livelihood of dozens of vendors. Trucks, many of which are family-owned, are losing up to 60% to 70% of their business. The disintegration of Los Angeles' food truck scene is creating ripple effects as truck owners, employees, and commissaries take financial hits. California recently allowed food trucks to obtain a permit to sell at rest stops, giving vendors the chance to sell to truckers outside the LA proper. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . Los Angeles' food truck scene of over 800 operational trucks is facing a difficult time as business essentially grinds to a halt during the coronavirus pandemic. Food trucks, which are often run as small family businesses, cost on average $29,000 to run in LA, according to a report by the US Chambers of Commerce . But as the lifeblood of food trucks — foot traffic, social gathering, and events — disappears in the wake of the coronavirus, families and small businesses are suffering. "Food trucks rely on people to gather. That model went away pretty quickly," Ross Resnick, founder of food-truck-booking company Roaming Hunger, told the Orange County Register in March. "Pre-corona, it's events, it's workplaces, it's nighttime gatherings in markets. When you close your eyes and imagine a food truck, you imagine a group of people." There are

Right now the popular Echo Dot is $20 off and Echo Buds are $40 off. Plus, you can save up to $35 on the Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite, and up to $40 on the Echo Show 5 or 8.

Unless schools do a better job of collecting and analyzing the products of learning, teaching experts say, the drive to align classroom instruction with states' academic standards and testing programs will be incomplete.

As a U.S. senator and vice president, Biden focused on preschool, gun-free school zones, and the Obama administration's response to the Newtown, Conn. school shooting in 2012.

Holders Lyon face Bayern, Atlético take on Barcelona, Arsenal meet Paris and Glasgow play Wolfsburg.

Nine stadiums across eight cities will host games at UEFA Women's EURO 2021 in England.

By Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, C.S.J.

In this political season—some call it the theater of the absurd—discussions about women presidents evoke strong views.

In the1960s, there was one woman whose contributions to society were so far reaching that, if the times had been more propitious to women, she could have been elected President of the United States.  But it was not to be.

Eunice Kennedy (1921-2009)

Eunice was the fifth child and the third daughter born to Rose and Joseph P. Kennedy. As the granddaughter of John F., “Honey Fitz,” Fitzgerald, the famous mayor of Boston, she inherited her mother’s natural political instincts; from her father, the energy, initiative and drive of a human dynamo.    

Rosemary was the third child and first daughter born into the Kennedy family.  Unlike the bright brood of eight other brothers and sisters, she was found to be retarded. Eventually, this fact changed the lives of millions of retarded children and adults because Eunice looked after her older sister for the rest of her life.   

“I had enormous respect for Rosie,” Eunice said of her sister. “If I had never met Rosemary, never known anything about handicapped children, how would I have ever found out?  Nobody accepted them any place.” Through Rosemary’s limitations, Eunice discovered her ministry—really her genius—to spend herself and achieve marvelous things for retarded children throughout the world.  

Academic and Professional Preparation

Educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Roehampton, London and at the Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, Eunice graduated from Stanford University in 1943 with a Bachelor’s degree in sociology.  She worked for the Special War Problems Division of the U.S. State Department and eventually moved to the U.S. Justice Department as executive secretary for a project dealing with juvenile delinquency.  

In 1951, she served as a social worker at the Federal Industrial Institution for Women before moving to Chicago to work with the House of the Good Shepherd women’s shelter and the Chicago Juvenile Court.  

In 1953, she married Sargent Shriver, an attorney who later worked in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.  He was the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps; the founder of the Job Corps, and the architect of Johnson’s “war on poverty.”  During his service as the U.S. ambassador to France from 1968 to 1970, Eunice studied intellectual disabilities there.  
    
Advocate for the Mentally Retarded

Among advocates of every kind, Eunice excelled as this country’s advocate for the mentally retarded.   In 1962, an exhausted and distressed mother of a retarded child phoned Eunice at her home.  No summer camp would accept her child, she said. Eunice responded with largesse by opening her own home as a summer camp—free of charge—at Timberlawn, the family estate in Maryland,. She would get in the pool and teach the youngsters to swim, loving them as her own children.

Eunice and Her Brothers

Eunice’s advocacy for the mentally retarded was overshadowed by the political pursuits of her three brothers, but she far surpassed them as the natural politician.  More than once it has been said that Eunice would have made a fine President of the Unites States.

Eunice made it a habit of calling the offices of her more famous brothers urging them to another project for the retarded. Teasingly, they dubbed her repeated requests nagging. Yet, they dared not ignore them.

President Kennedy set up research centers on mental retardation.  Robert Kennedy inspected squalid state mental institutions, and Sen. Edward Kennedy helped write the Americans with Disabilities Act.  “It was extraordinary of her to conceive that she too, could play a role comparable to that of her brothers,” Edward Shorter says, author of The Kennedy Family and the Story of Mental Retardation.  “Her leadership role would be in the area of mental retardation rather than on the big political stage.”

In 1968, Eunice founded the Special Olympics.  Today, they include more than 2.25 million people in 160 countries. “She had the genius to see that she, in fact, was capable of major achievements helping these kids, and that is what she did.  She dedicated her life to it,” writes Shorter.  

Awards

Among the many awards Eunice Kennedy Shriver received, the most notable are:
1984  Presidential Medal of Honor by Ronald Reagan highest civilian award in U.S.
1990  Eagle award from the U.S. Sports Academy
1992  Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged
1995  Second American to appear on a U.S. coin while still living
2006  Papal Knighthood and made Dame of the Order of St. Gregory
2009 Smithsonian Institute’s National Portrait Gallery unveiled an historic portrait of her, the first portrait of the NPG has ever commissioned of an individual who had not served as a US President or First Lady.
2010 The State University of New York at Brockport, home of the 1979 Special Olympics, renamed its football stadium after Eunice Shriver.  (Awarded posthumously)

Later Years    

At 85, Eunice was not about to retire or relax.  She continued her tireless work on the issues concerning those with special needs “because in so many countries, the retarded are not accepted in the schools, not accepted in play programs, just not accepted. We have so much to do.”     Eunice Kennedy Shriver and her husband were devout Roman Catholics and lifelong Democrats. Both staunchly pro-life, Eunice was a member of Feminists for Life. She died in 2009, her husband, in 2011.  

The epilogue of the Book of Proverbs is a fitting tribute to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a woman of noble character.  She lived for others.

Proverbs 31:10-31 Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character    
10 [a]A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
    and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
    and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
    where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
    and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

 

Plummeting student enrollment and skyrocketing education costs have led Vermont lawmakers to begin a controversial consolidation of its vast mostly rural education system. But are Vermont residents willing to give up their small community schools?

In Calhoun County, Miss., the local district pays $9,275 a month for the slowest Internet service in all of Mississippi. They're not the only ones with these issues—many rural schools struggle to get high-speed access. But all that could be about to change.

The format, the dates, the key contenders: all you need to know about the competition's sixth edition.

To view more press releases, please visit http://ir.wintrust.com/news.aspx?iid=1024452.

To view more press releases, please visit http://ir.wintrust.com/news.aspx?iid=1024452.

To view more press releases, please visit http://ir.wintrust.com/news.aspx?iid=1024452.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is delivering his mini budget, just days after being appointed to the post. What his speech live.

There will be two all-European quarter-finals at the FIFA Futsal World Cup with Spain meeting Russia, and Portugal up against Italy following the conclusion of the round of 16 in Thailand.

Moldova, Sweden, France, Latvia, England and Finland won through from the FIFA Futsal World Cup preliminary round to join the top teams in December's main round.

These places give new meaning to the term "golden years". And no fewer than four of the five top retirement villages listed in the 2019 Estate Ratings report by New World Wealth are in the Western Cape.

Consumers must be careful simply to assume their fortune lies in investment property, cautions Steven van Rooyen, Principal at Leapfrog Milnerton.

Property experts weigh in on the Monetary Policy Committee of the SA Reserve Bank's decision to lower interest rates.