The hackers have been using files and emails that warn about a new coronavirus strain to trick users into opening them. Doing so can secretly deliver malware to the victim's machine.

In an effort to help mitigate the disruptive effects of the deadly COVID-19 virus, an interdisciplinary team of Penn State researchers are developing a novel methodology to analyze its spread and the impacts on policy to create better-prepared and more-resilient health care systems.

Sabric, a financial crime information centre, shares its tips on staying safe over the festive season.

Get the inside line on the tournament and the eight teams involved with the free digital programme.

Superheroics. Crime capers. Historical fiction. Conspiracies. Put a world of wonderful stories in your pocket with these 10 excellent digital comics.

Own a Roku TV? Audio equipment can now be certified to be 'Roku TV Ready' meaning setup is simplified and control only requires one remote.

The most popular special education stories of the year examined the broken promises of special education, the aftermath of the lead crisis in Flint, Mich., and how educators lack confidence in their ability to meet the needs of children with disabilities.

Hongyan “Red” Yuan, an instructional designer at Penn State Berks and member of the board of the Reading Chinese Association (RCA), recently helped to coordinate the donation of 1,500 surgical masks to Penn State Health St. Joseph.

Get the inside line on the tournament and the eight teams involved with the free digital programme.

"I'm sure that when I get home, I'll be a better referee than when I arrived here." - We meet U19 EURO final referee Juan Martínez Munuera.

The National Council on Teacher Quality has found that the number of elementary programs teaching scientifically based reading instruction is increasing.

The National Council on Teacher Quality has found that the number of elementary programs teaching scientifically based reading instruction is increasing.

If you want new printer, there's only one manufacturer to consider—the same printer maker PCMag readers have rated the very best for more than a decade.

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.

Districts across the country are starting to see the blended learning light. We're encouraged by the growing number of forward-thinking leaders who are past the point of needing to be convinced about the potential of blended learning; and are now ready to get serious about implementation.

Many teachers leave preservice training without clarity on what the cognitive science says about how students learn to read.

CNA Staff, May 4, 2020 / 03:53 pm (CNA).- When he was just 15 years old, Fr. Geison Gerardo Ortiz Marín had to quit school and find a job to help support his family.

Faced with a difficult economy, Ortiz’s family was struggling financially. He quit school and found a job opportunity at a neighboring family’s bakery, where he worked for five years.

The priest told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language news partner, that he learned important life skills from the job, such as “knowing what it is to meet a schedule, getting up at dawn and working overtime. In short, it was an enriching experience.”

He took those life skills with him when he entered seminary at age 21. He has now been a priest for 10 years and serves as pastor of Saint Rose of Lima parish in Ciudad Queseda in northern Costa Rica.

Recently, however, Ortiz has returned to his roots as a baker to raise funds for the needy in his parish during the coronavirus pandemic.

Public Masses were suspended a month ago in Costa Rica due to the pandemic. As the lockdown continued, the priest could see the financial strain mounting on members of the community.

“A lot of people starting knocking on the rectory door asking for help, while the parish and local charitable groups weren’t getting any income from the collection,” he explained.

So Ortiz began baking. He uses around 55 lbs. of flour each workday to bake different kinds of bread, rolls and other items. A bag of baked goods sells for 1500 colones, or about $2.65.

“With 1500 colones here we can buy perhaps a 5-pound package of rice,” he said, adding that he has been able to help about 60 families so far.

From the sale of baked goods, he was able to raise extra funds, he said, which have ensured that anyone who has knocked on the rectory door has left with a package of rice, sugar or beans.

No one has been sent away empty handed, the priest said.

“I work all day long baking bread, selling it, and in the evenings I celebrate the Eucharist. I always tell the Lord, 'Thank you for the true bread that gives eternal life, which is the greatest of riches and is what I want our people to have, receive, taste and feel',” he said.

Ortiz encouraged other priests to find creative ways to help serve those in need during the challenging times presented by the pandemic.

“I believe that this is a special moment,” he said. “God has allowed me to return to my origins. God has allowed me to help meet the needs of our brothers. This is a moment in which the Lord is allowing us to live in solidarity and to reach out in a very special way.”

Meaghan Paige, a women’s fashion brand started by a Penn State Brandywine alumna, is supporting the local community by offering free, handmade cloth face masks during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Salt Path

NATURE BOOK

Faculty and students at Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State College of Nursing have launched a Contact Tracing Task Force in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

A larger screen and waterproof casing are being offered to encourage sales for 'worry-free summer reading.' Will you be willing to pay $199 for it, though?

Starting at $249.99, it's pricey, but the previous generation is a PCMag Editors' Choice product, and this new model promises to be even better.

Whether you're considering joining the digital book revolution, or just want a new device to replace an older one, here are the best ebook readers on the market today.

The collection and use of data about just how prepared individual children are to enter kindergarten can be a ticklish proposition.

FineReader 15 is the best all-round PDF-and-OCR app there is, with a smooth, modern interface, fast performance, and a deep feature set.

Some of the most important pre-literacy skills begin in infancy. This timeline shows examples of the milestones children meet on their path to fluent reading.

In a new ongoing series, Education Week will interrogate the cognitive science behind how young students acquire foundational reading skills, with a focus on grades K-2, and explore the challenges educators face in teaching kids to read.

One of the giants of the literacy world is grappling with the recent push for the "science of reading"—and responding to critics who say her early reading program doesn't align to evidence-based practice.

Many teachers leave preservice training without clarity on what the cognitive science says about how students learn to read.

A new report from Student Achievement Partners claims that the popular reading program from literacy giant Lucy Calkins doesn't align to evidence-based practice. The review is the first in a new series that will evaluate reading programs against the scientific research base.

At a roundtable discussion in Washington, D.C., leaders advocated for states to play a stronger role in championing science-backed instruction and translating research into practice, focusing on levers like teacher training, certification, and system-wide professional learning.

The Tennessee department of education is proposing unsually comprehensive legislation that will require all current and new K-3 teachers, and those who train them, to know evidence-based reading instruction.

As schools apply more scrutiny to the methods and materials they use to teach early reading, educators and parents in some states have started to form new advocacy efforts—trying to pressure states and districts to adopt new approaches to teacher training and evaluating materials.

Children adapt their attitudes toward reading to conform to their classmates' perceived gender stereotypes, in ways that put boys at a disadvantage, according to a new study in the journal Child Development.

The National Education Policy Center and Education Deans for Justice and Equity released a joint statement on Thursday, claiming that "there is no settled science of reading."

In the wake of falling reading scores on the test known as the Nation's Report Card, 12 major education groups are calling on schools to adopt evidence-based reading instruction.

As schools apply more scrutiny to the methods and materials they use to teach early reading, educators and parents in some states have started to form new advocacy efforts—trying to pressure states and districts to adopt new approaches to teacher training and evaluating materials.

The National Education Policy Center and Education Deans for Justice and Equity released a joint statement on Thursday, claiming that "there is no settled science of reading."

Get the inside line on the tournament and the 16 teams involved with the free digital programme.

California, which has a mixed history when it comes to evidence-based reading instruction, has a plan to use federal funds for literacy programs that some say are out of sync with the science.

Get the inside line on the tournament and the eight teams involved with the free digital programme.

Vatican City, Mar 31, 2020 / 10:28 am (CNA).- Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo of Burkina Faso has tested positive for the coronavirus, his archdiocese announced Tuesday. He is the second cardinal known to have tested positive for the virus, which is now a global pandemic.

Ouédraogo, 75, has been admitted to a medical clinic in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou.  He is “in good condition and his close collaborators are reported to be self-isolating,” a spokesman for Burkina Faso’s bishops’ conference, Fr. Paul Dah, told ACI Africa on March 31.

The cardinal is president of the African continental bishops’ conference, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). He was elected to the post in July 2019. He has been Archbishop of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso for ten years, and was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2014.

Ouédraogo is the second bishop from Burkina Faso known to have contracted COVID-19, as countries across Africa implement lockdowns and restrictions to slow the spread of the virus across the continent.

Another Burkina Faso bishop, Archbishop Emeritus Séraphin François Rouamba of Koupela, tested positive for COVID-19 after being admitted to Our Lady of Peace clinic for urgent treatment on March 19.

The 78-year-old archbishop has since been transferred to another hospital and is reportedly in stable condition, according to a March 25 statement from Bishop Laurent Birfuore Dabire of Dori, Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso has the largest documented coronavirus outbreak in West Africa, with 249 documented cases as of March 31, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

The coronavirus has spread throughout the African continent to 47 countries, according to the Africa Center for Disease Control. In North Africa, Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco each have more than 500 documented cases, and the South African government has reported more than 1,300.

Three Nigerian states began two-week mandatory lockdown this week to combat the spread of the virus, including Lagos, Africa’s most populous city with more than 20 million people.

Zimbabwe and Mauritius have also implemented national shut-downs, and the bishops in South Sudan and Zimbabwe have suspended public Masses.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, vicar general of the Diocese of Rome, tested positive for coronavirus on March 30.

Other bishops in Italy, France, China, and the United States have also tested positive for COVID-19, and Bishop Angelo Moreschi, 67, died in the Italian city of Brescia on March 25 after contracting the coronavirus.

 

 

CNA Staff, Apr 17, 2020 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- A Catholic priest is one of two people in Kenya to be charged with “negligently spreading an infectious disease” after authorities allege he did not comply with quarantine regulations after he traveled to the country from Italy. 

Fr. Richard Onyango Oduor denied the allegations on Thursday, April 16, and is currently free after he posted bail. He will appear in court on May 2, after he spends another 14 days in quarantine. 

According to Kenyan media, Fr. Oduor is based in Rome and flew to the country to preside at a relative’s burial service. At that burial service, he distributed the Eucharist, interacting with several people. According to local media reports, as many as 60 people who came into contact with Fr. Oduor reported to the hospital, but it is unclear how many of them were eventually diagnosed with COVID-19. 

Fr. Oduor eventually tested positive for the virus, was hospitalized for a period of two weeks, and has since recovered. He was arrested on April 9, immediately after he was released from the hospital. 

Oduor reportedly traveled throughout Kenya from March 11 through 20, and was unaware that he had been infected with the coronavirus. During this period. Oduor took busses and a plane, and celebrated several Masses. 

Kenyan officials were able to locate and quarantine more than 130 people who had come into contact with Oduor before he was diagnosed with the coronavirus. This number includes priests at a parish in Nairobi where Oduor stayed before traveling to his hometown for the burial.

Archbishop Anthony Muheria, who leads the Archdiocese of Nyeri and is the apostolic administrator for the Diocese of Kitui, declined to comment about the case to Reuters, and said it was up to civil authorities to handle Oduor’s case. 

Kenya has banned public gatherings, reduced the number of people who are permitted to attend a funeral, instituted a curfew, and increased restrictions on who can travel to areas that have the highest number of cases.

In Kenya, 234 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and 11 have died. 

Oduor was arrested on the same day Gideon Saburi, the deputy governor of Kilifi, a county in Kenya, was charged with spreading coronavirus. Saburi is alleged to have appeared in public while suffering from the virus between March 6 and March 22. He has also pleaded not guilty and was released on April 16 after posting bail.

Not content to dominate the high-end desktop (HEDT) market with its new 32-core CPU, today AMD announced the upcoming launch of its most powerful Threadripper yet: the 64-core, 128-thread Ryzen Threadripper 3990X.

Unveiled here at CES, the new Ryzen 4000 CPU family is the first to use AMD's cutting-edge 7-nanometer production process.