In the news today: Trump wants to end ‘wokeness’ in education; Australia's plans to ban social media for under 16s draws critics as well as supporters; and Tropical Storm Sara makes landfall in Honduras. Also, if you’re tired of memorizing passwords, give passkeys a try.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Doug Collins and Doug Burgum. (AP Photo)
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Trump’s latest administration picks include RFK Jr., Burgum, and Collins
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The president-elect has now named his Health and Human Services secretary, Veterans Affairs secretary and Interior secretary. Read more. |
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is picked to serve as Health and Human Services secretary. Kennedy ran for president as a Democrat, then as an independent, and then endorsed Trump. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines.
Doug Collins is picked to serve as Veterans Affairs secretary. Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command.
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Doug Burgum is picked to serve as Interior secretary. The governor of North Dakota, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary challenger who endorsed Trump and was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs.
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Trump wants to end ‘wokeness’ in education, vowing to use federal money as leverage
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Donald Trump’s vision for education revolves around a single goal: to rid America’s schools of perceived “wokeness” and “left-wing indoctrination.” The president-elect wants to keep transgender athletes out of girls’ sports. He wants to forbid classroom lessons on gender identity and structural racism. He wants to abolish diversity and inclusion offices. Read more.
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Trump’s education plan pledges to cut funding for schools that defy him on a multitude of issues. On his first day in office, Trump has said he will cut money to “any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content on our children.” On the campaign trail, he said he would “not give one penny” to schools with vaccine or mask requirements.
Trump’s opponents say his vision of America’s schools is warped by politics — that the type of liberal indoctrination he rails against is a fiction. They say his proposals will undermine public education and hurt the students who need schools’ services the most. “It’s fear-based, non-factual information, and I would call it propaganda,” said Wil Del Pilar, senior vice president for Education Trust, a research and advocacy organization.
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Perhaps his most ambitious promise is to shut down the U.S. Education Department entirely, a goal of conservative politicians for decades, saying it has been infiltrated by “radicals.” America’s public K-12 schools get about 14% of their revenue from the federal government, mainly from programs targeting low-income students and special education. Colleges rely heavily on federal money, especially the grants and loans the government gives students to pay for tuition.
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Australia’s plan to ban children from social media proves popular and problematic
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The Australian government’s plan to ban children from social media platforms including X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram until their 16th birthdays is politically popular, and leaders of all eight Australian states and mainland territories have unanimously backed the plan, although Tasmania, the smallest state, would have preferred the threshold was set at 14. Read more.
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Some experts in the fields of technology and child welfare have responded with alarm. More than 140 such experts signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemning the age limit as “too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively.” Details of what is proposed and how it will be implemented are scant. More will be known when legislation is introduced into the Parliament next week.
A major concern for social media users of all ages is the legislation’s potential privacy implications. Age estimation technology has proved inaccurate, so digital identification appears to be the most likely option for assuring a user is at least 16. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has suggested adopting the role of authenticator.
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AP PHOTOS: Once-traditional camel trading fair in India transformed into tourist attraction
It’s early morning in Pushkar, a city at the edge of the Thar desert in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan, and a herd of about a dozen camels led by two men is returning, raising a golden sand cloud. For the next two hours or so, when the heat is still bearable, prospective buyers will look for bargains among hundreds of camels. | |
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This content is created by AP Buyline in accordance with AP’s editorial guidelines and is supervised and edited by AP staff. |
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