Birmingham City Schools Free From State Control
Birmingham, Alabama’s school system is now free of state control. The state had taken over after financial mismanagement, corruption, and fighting among local board members so intense it sometimes got physical. Voters have since elected a very different school board. And now, Birmingham’s schools are independent again.
Alabama’s school board voted unanimously Thursday to release Birmingham’s 24,000 student system from state control. In 2012, after some local board members publicly begged for help, the state stepped in, citing among other things the system’s illegally low four-day cash reserve. Other board members fought the takeover in the public eye and in court but lost. Since then, staff have been cut, school zones realigned, and the system has well more than the required one-month operating reserves.
Alabama State Superintendent Tommy Bice calls it a “success story” and the “most aggressive intervention” his department has ever done.
The divorce between the U.S. and WHO is final this week. Or is it?
The U.S. is the only country allowed to withdraw from the World Health Organization. And Jan. 22 is the day when Trump's pullout announcement should go into effect. But ... it's complicated.
Trump’s Board of Peace has several invited leaders trying to figure out how it’ll work
It's unclear how many leaders have been asked to join the board, and the large number of invitations being sent out, including to countries that don't get along, has raised questions about the board's mandate and decision-making processes.
Researchers find Antarctic penguin breeding is heating up sooner
Warming temperatures are forcing Antarctic penguins to breed earlier and that's a big problem for two of the cute tuxedoed species that face extinction by the end of the century, a study said.
As Trump dismantles the existing world order, his version is still taking shape
In his second term, the president is embracing a foreign policy that breaks sharply from U.S. tradition. Both supporters and critics say he's upending a global system in place for 80 years.
Polyester clothing has been causing a stir online. But how valid are the concerns?
There has been a lot of conversation on social media about the downsides of polyester. But are those downsides as bad as they're believed to be? Are there upsides?
Trump promised to cut energy bills in half. One year later, has he delivered?
Cheap gasoline, yes. Drill, baby, drill? Not so much. And electricity bills are going up, not down.
