New year sayings

San Francisco voters may decide this fall whether to set aside $70 million per year to finance new programs in the city school system that backers hope will boost enrollment and improve the quality of public pre-K-12 education. Supervisor Hillary Ronen and five colleagues on the Board of Supervisors are proposing a City Charter amendment that would fund public school initiatives designed to enhance academic achievement or student wellness. Those could include accelerated math and literacy curriculum as well as academic specialists, nurses, psychologists, social workers, after-school programs, athletic or artistic offerings, and more. The 25-year fund would use money from existing state property taxes — voters would not be asked to raise any new public dollars if the charter amendment makes it to the November ballot. The proposal is also an effort to shore up the San Francisco Unified School District after it was battered by the pandemic and a series of controversies that … [Read more...] about S.F. schools could get $70 million per year more if voters back proposal

Actor Jay Ellis remembers watching the 1986 movie “Top Gun” at an Air Force base in Austin, Texas. He was only 8 or 9 years old, and the blockbuster made him dream about becoming a fighter pilot. Ellis wanted to be part of that military community. Now, he plays Navy fighter pilot Payback in the anticipated sequel “Top Gun: Maverick,” which releases nationwide Friday and in select theaters starting Tuesday. He said he sees the film as a way to say thank you to the real men and women who inspired him as a boy. “I grew up around aviation, and I think about the sacrifice that so many men and women take — they give, rather — just for us to be safe,” he said. “I think we all wrap our arms around this community and we protect it so much. And we understand the responsibility to be amazing on-screen for these folks.” Jay Ellis gets real about pulling midair stunts in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ May 23, 2022 06:09 Both of Ellis' grandfathers, his … [Read more...] about ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ stars hope the film’s Black pilots will inspire a new generation of fans

This live blog is now closed. For the latest updates please check here . Russia has opened a long-anticipated new phase of the war in Ukraine , launching its eastern offensive in a bid to seize the country's industrial heartland. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed the move Tuesday , saying the Kremlin's goal was to achieve the “full liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics,” which together make up the Donbas region. The full-scale assault on Ukraine's east came as the last fighters in Mariupol, the besieged port city that is crucial to Moscow's goals, continued to hold out despite a new Russian deadline to surrender. It also followed Russian strikes across the country, hitting supply lines and military infrastructure and killing at least seven people in the western city of Lviv . The United States is expected to announce another package of military aid, which is expected to be similar in size to the $800 million one the administration … [Read more...] about Moscow launches a new phase of the conflict

This live blog is now closed. For the latest updates please check here . Russia began a new offensive Monday in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Russia in recent days had been building up its forces for an attack on what is Ukraine’s industrial heartland, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Kyiv for eight years. “We will not give away anything Ukrainian, and we do not need anything that is not ours,” Zelenskyy said. Explosions also rocked Lviv on Monday in a rare and deadly attack on the western Ukrainian city — up to now a safe hub for refugees , Western officials and the media — as the world braces for a major Russian offensive farther east . At least seven people were killed in the Russian missile strikes, Ukrainian officials said, with Russian forces striking areas across Ukraine while readying a new ground offensive in the east. In Mariupol, the strategically crucial southeastern port city … [Read more...] about Russia begins new offensive in the Donbas region

She would make a "fantastic adventure buddy" - but is still waiting for a chance to prove herself. Three-year-old Coco is desperately searching for a new home after being returned to the RSPCA's Solent Branch due to her nervous behaviour. The rescue team have been forced to label her as a "complex dog " - but they refuse to give up on the collie cross, who has become a familiar face on their reception. A spokeswoman told The Mirror : "She is quite stressed here in kennels and sadly is not getting much interest." Coco has been described as a "loving and loyal companion" who would need an owner with collie experience to help her understand the world doesn't need to be a scary place. Sign up to our TeamDogs newsletter for your weekly dose of dog news, pictures and stories. She needs an understanding owner with collie experience ( Image: RSPCA Solent Branch) Coco, who has been struggling with kennel life, has become a temporary receptionist, helping … [Read more...] about Adorable dog that works on RSPCA reception struggling to secure new home

The latest episode of Disney-owned The Simpsons indulged in the usual heavy-handed takedown of Republicans and conservatives by bashing Tucker Carlson and claiming that Americans vote for “gun nuts and climate deniers.” In a musical number led by actor Hugh Jackman and far-left Berkely economist and former Bill Clinton secretary of labor Robert Reich, Sunday night’s finale for the show’s 33rd season pushed a number of left-wing claims, from the absurd belief that Tucker Carlson wants Putin for president to the idea that Qanon now controls the Republican Party to the rich Ruling Class destroyed America’s middle class. The song mourned the death of the middle class and was directed at Bart Simpson to challenge his reverence for Homer Simpson’s job at the nuclear power plant. “You’ll never have the life our flabby dad had, what can he do that a robot can’t?” Lisa raps. “That job you see now needs a PhD / While paying student loans leaves you in poverty / No brand new car / No … [Read more...] about ‘The Simpsons’ Says Americans ‘Vote for Gun Nuts and Climate Deniers’

The problem is that most of the budget will be spent on one-time expenditures without any contribution to the advancement of the economy. Welfare budgets aimed at promoting public health and curbing unemployment will reach a whopping 200 trillion won next year. It would be much better if the money was spent taking care of the vulnerable class, overcoming our alarmingly low birthrate and creating jobs for the elderly. But the Moon Jae-in administration wants to spend money on creating 1.03 million public jobs — a 10 percent increase from this year — for senior citizens. The government is putting 21.3 trillion won into so-called Korean New Deal projects to help foster digital and green economies along with ratcheting up our social safety net. The colossal projects are already under fire for being replicas of earlier government projects. Besides, the projects have a plethora of loopholes and some are just plain wacky- sounding. These are far from what the Moon administration touted as … [Read more...] about Stop the spending

Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger has said Ukraine should accept giving up part of its territory to reach a peace deal with Russia, and end the now three-month-long war immediately. Talking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, 98-year-old Kissinger said that failing to restart negotiations with Russia and continuing to antagonize Moscow could have disastrous consequences for Europe's stability in the long term. "Negotiations need to begin in the next two months before it creates upheavals and tensions that will not be easily overcome," he said. "Ideally, the dividing line should be a return to the status quo ante. Pursuing the war beyond that point would not be about the freedom of Ukraine, but a new war against Russia itself." Kissinger, who served under the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford in the 1970s, warned against dragging on the war, and pressed for negotiations. The former secretary of state said Russia has … [Read more...] about Henry Kissinger: Ukraine should give up territory to Russia to reach peace

While tank movements, drone strikes, and conventional warfare have been key aspects of Ukraine's war against a Russian invasion, the online battle against disinformation and propaganda has been a hallmark of what many consider the first war of the digital age. Mike Madrid and Ron Steslow, known stateside as co-founders of the influential Lincoln Project, which they exited before it was hit by allegations and infighting, are among those who see the Ukraine-Russia war as part of a broader struggle between democracy and authoritarian forces. That's why the two men planned an under-the-radar 10-day trip to Ukraine in the beginning of May, aided by a Russian information specialist, to meet with three officials in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 's administration to discuss the work they've done and how they can be of help. "We believe there needs to be a global coalition of activists engaged in the fight for democracy," Madrid, now back in California, told Newsweek. He … [Read more...] about Ukraine May Use Lincoln Project’s Anti-Trump Tactics Against Putin

A cache of previously unseen police files from Xinjiang has brought to light further details about the Chinese government's systemic internment of Muslims, in what a leading researcher has described as "most likely the largest incarceration of an ethno-religious minority since the Holocaust." The file dump, which follows a hack into a Xinjiang police database, includes key speeches by senior officials responsible for running the region's "re-education" camps, which officials in Beijing have described as vocational training centers. The files also contain mugshots of more than 2,800 detainees, among them 15 minors. The Xinjiang police files , authenticated research coordinated by Dr. Adrian Zenz , were published on Tuesday as the United Nations ' top rights official, Michelle Bachelet, begins a highly watched six-day visit to China to assess its human rights condition. Zenz, director of China studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation NGO, is among the leading … [Read more...] about Xinjiang police files reveal horrors of China’s Uyghur internment camps