STAR TV

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

After a plane fell into the water, injuring two people at the Bournemouth Air Festival, an eyewitness described how a pilot avoided a "catastrophe." On Saturday, a wing-walker plane crashed away from the exhibition area off the coast of Bournemouth. Alan Badenhorst assisted in the rescue of the couple by hauling them onto his boat in Poole Harbour. According to Dorset Police, the crew suffered minor injuries. He described the pilot's performance as a "great feat of flying." When Mr Badenhorst observed the low-flying aircraft, he was in a dinghy with his partner and their three young children. "He remarked, "The plane continued dropping lower and lower." "The plane then slammed into the ocean and flipped over." The father of one, from Wareham, Dorset, said his family then rushed to the Aerosuperbatics plane's help, dragging the pilot and a woman from the sea and into their dinghy. According to him, the plane sank shortly after. "

Following accusations that he helped obtain an accolade for a Saudi contributor, a former close assistant to Prince Charles stood aside temporarily from his post as chief executive of a royal organization. Michael Fawcett coordinated assistance for Saudi businessman Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, according to the Sunday Times and Mail on Sunday publications. According to The Times, the billionaire gave The Prince's Foundation more than 1.5 million pounds ($2.1 million) to fund heritage restoration projects of importance to Charles, including properties he used. At a private ceremony in 2016, Charles awarded Mahfouz an honorary CBE, or Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, according to the story. Saudi Arabia denies any wrongdoing. In a statement, the Prince's Foundation stated Fawcett offered to temporarily step down as the organization's top executive while an inquiry is conducted. Fawcett will help with the probe, according to the report. Fawcet

Since announcing a "break" barely two weeks after the channel's inception, the veteran broadcaster has not been on it. Neil has yet to return to the channel, despite assertions that the sabbatical was just short and that he will return "before the summer is up." Now, amid rumors of a power struggle at the top of the right-wing broadcaster, the former BBC executive is poised to go. Neil, the chairman and cornerstone broadcaster of GB News, was set to return on Monday, September 6. This has now been canceled, according to reports.  According to The Telegraph, he is poised to resign without appearing on the program again. According to the newspaper, GB News CEO Angelos Frangopoulos intends to steer the channel in a path similar to Fox News in the United States. Before the launch, Neil stated unequivocally that this would not happen. Neil was said to have been "near to tears" at one point during the early phases of the fledgling channel due to technical ch

Lord Young's daughter died unexpectedly after complaining of a terrible headache, leaving her friends and family in a state of shock. After becoming unwell amid a heat wave, Gaia Young died on July 21. She went for a bike ride, bought some vintage clothing, and had a friend over for supper on the day she was rushed to the hospital. She excused herself later that evening and sat on a sofa in the front room. "She abruptly removes herself from the table," her mother, Dorit Young, said. We were completely unaware of it at first. "Then she calls on the landline to say, 'Mum, I'm in the front room with a very bad headache.' Gaia herself believed she was suffering from a heat stroke. But an hour later, she was violently vomiting, and the ambulance arrived at 9.30 p.m., and I sat in the ambulance with her." Gaia was transferred to the University College London Hospital (UCLH) with no underlying medical issues and was confirmed brain dead 16 hours later. She

President Joe Biden used the word "abortion" for the first time as president on Wednesday, in response to a new Texas law that effectively outlaws most abortions. The lack of the term from Biden's public remarks and pronouncements has enraged advocates, who argue that it represents an issue that has fallen off the priority list even as women's right to abortion is under attack in states across the Midwest and South. The Supreme Court refused a motion from Texas abortion clinics to put the state legislation on hold, ensuring it will remain in effect for the time being. Patients have already been turned away by abortion clinics in the state because they are unsure of their legal status. Biden used the word again in a statement released Thursday morning, calling the Texas law a "extraordinary assault on a woman's constitutional rights." Biden criticized the law's unique enforcement mechanism, which allows ordinary persons to initiate civil actions again

Ministers could ignore their official vaccine consultants for the first time and push for Covid vaccinations for all 12- to 15-year-olds, after a scientific body ruled that the net health benefit of vaccination was too tiny. Ministers will seek additional data that could help them overturn the watchdog's decision, highlighting a deepening divergence between the government and scientific experts over the next phase of the vaccine campaign. After days of speculation, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) released a statement on Friday saying that while the health benefits of vaccinating the entire age group outweighed the risks, "the margin of benefit is considered too small to support universal vaccination of healthy 12- to 15-year-olds," At this time, the evidence is insufficient to justify universal immunization of healthy 12- to 15-year-olds." On Friday, a line of young people formed in London to get vaccinated. Instead, the group advised expan