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Since the start of the school year, at least 1,000 schools in 35 states have closed for in-person learning due to COVID-19, according to Burbio, a New York-based data organization that tracks K-12 school closing patterns. The company's tracker shows that schools have been closed for range from one day to several weeks. For the time being, the majority of students have switched to online study. Others were forced to close without warning. According to Burbio, a small percentage of students postponed the start of school or switched to hybrid learning. The increased number of closures coincides with a fight in schools over mask requirements and an increase in pediatric COVID-19 infections, mostly due to the extremely contagious delta form. President Joe Biden's administration stated late last month that it is looking into five states that have banned districts from requiring children to wear masks, claiming that such rules violate the civil rights of children with disabilities and

Following a stalemate in negotiations with the EU, the UK has decided to put plans for post-Brexit checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland on hold indefinitely. As part of political squabbling dubbed "the sausage wars," grace periods aimed to smooth the transition into new trading arrangements and inspections on the island of Ireland have twice been extended. David Frost, who is coordinating negotiations with the EU to update the contentious Northern Ireland protocol, announced a new extension on Monday evening, with no new timeframe set for the talks' conclusion. Every three or six months, the UK wants to "create space for negotiations to place without deadlines looming," according to a government source. They also stated that they had communicated their decision to the EU in a transparent manner. Setting a new deadline so soon after the current grace periods expire in October, according to the source, "doesn't assist develop a creative climate

Millions of Americans will lose their unemployment benefits on Monday when three federal programs come to an end. This week, more than 8 million people who are unemployed in the United States will lose all of their benefits. The exact amount varies depending on who is counting, with some estimating 7 million and others closer to 9 million. In addition, over three million people will lose a $300 weekly supplement on their jobless payments from the state. Whatever the exact numbers are, it means that millions of people in the United States may find it difficult to make ends meet at a time when COVID-19 infections are on the rise across the country, spurred by the highly contagious delta version. Although there are signs that the spread of the delta variant is cooling hiring and could slow overall economic growth, President Joe Biden has stated that states can use federal funds to extend jobless benefits beyond Labor Day. However, no state has expressed interest in doing so. In August, th

As he faces a rising red wall rebellion over tax rises, Boris Johnson will tell mutinous MPs that the healthcare system is in danger and that they "cannot expect it to recover alone." One Conservative frontbencher told the Guardian that they were debating their position on a proposed national insurance increase to pay a social care overhaul and address the NHS backlog. They questioned why they should serve in a government that was not pursuing the Conservative agenda for 2019, with a second vow, the triple lock on pensions, also due to be breached. A number of former Labour red wall MPs expressed concern that the tax rise will disproportionately affect workers in their constituencies while leaving retirees unaffected. The prime minister will argue on Tuesday that the tax increase, which could earn up to £10 billion a year by increasing national insurance contributions (NICs) for companies and employees by 1.25 percent, is necessary to address the NHS waiting list situation. I