(NewsUSA) - Over the last thirty years, the efforts of parents, educators, and state leaders have laid the foundation for a pluralistic sea change in how we think about the education options available to families in the U.S. But over the last four, things went from incremental to warp speed. In 2023, 20 states added or expanded school choice programs, which, in sum, affected the largest group of eligible families in a single year, ever.

Some of the things most commonly associated with the modern school choice movement, like public charter schools and private school scholarship programs, are as old as I am, dating back to the early 90's. Others, like microschooling and hybrid homeschooling, have exploded in popularity due to the decidedly different lifestyles of the 2020s.

With so much change, it is critical that parents around the country understand the new landscape in American education. Events like National School Choice Week, a celebration organized by the National School Choice Awareness Foundation and happening nationwide from January 21-27, can be the perfect place for parents to explore changing options.

What does school choice look like in the country today? 33 states ensure parents can choose a traditional public school other than the one to which they're assigned, making it mandatory in at least some cases. 46 states (Montana being the newest) allow charter schools. All 50 states offer public magnet schools. 31 states offer private school choice programs. 35 states have a free, full-time online public school option for students. And the number of homeschooled students has nearly doubled in the last 7 years, now topping 3.1 million.

Today, the question for families is not whether they have school choice, but how they will utilize these transformative opportunities. By understanding the array of options, making personalized choices based on each unique child, and collaborating with educators, parents hold the key to shaping a future where every child has the chance to thrive. School choice is not just a policy; it's a pathway to a more personalized and empowering educational experience for our children and all families have the right to choose what's best for their kids.

Shelby Doyle, based in Nashville, TN, is the vice president of public awareness at the National School Choice Awareness Foundation, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that hosts National School Choice Week each January and maintains the nation’s largest online portfolio of English- and Spanish-language school navigation resources.

(NewsUSA) - Thought you weren’t eligible to give blood? Updated guidance is making it possible for more people to donate than ever.

Blood donations are essential for surgeries, cancer treatment, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries.^[1] But only 3% of eligible Americans give blood each year.^[1] Recent federal guidance may help change that. In May 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) eliminated its previous blanket waiting period for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have sex with MSM. The agency now recommends individual donor screening assessments to establish eligibility.^[2],[3]

“This change represents a shift toward a more inclusive and science-based approach to blood donation eligibility,” says Dr. Kamille West-Mitchell, chief of the blood services section in the transfusion medicine department at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. “It acknowledges that the focus should be on assessing individual risk factors for bloodborne infections rather than making exclusions based on sexual orientation.”

Other groups who are eligible to donate blood and may not know it include teens who are at least 16 years old (in most states) and people whose chronic conditions are being controlled through treatment.^[4],[5]

Under the new guidance, all prospective blood donors, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, will now answer questions about their sexual history to determine whether they are at high risk for HIV. If a prospective donor has had a new sexual partner or more than one sexual partner and had anal sex in the past three months, they will be deferred temporarily.^[6] Prospective donors taking medications to prevent or reduce the likelihood of HIV infection (PrEP or PEP) may also be deferred because those drugs may delay detection of HIV.^[6]

An equitable donor screening process is critical for a safe and reliable blood supply system,^[6] and FDA officials say that the new requirements will continue to ensure the safety of both donors and recipients.^[6],[7]

In the meantime, the demand for blood remains constant. Blood banks across the country urgently need donors of all types. But some are in particular demand. For example, Black blood donors can help Black patients with rare blood types who often need blood donated by someone of the same race.

Interested in making a lifesaving difference? Become a donor.

For more information, visit the NHLBI’s Blood Diseases & Disorders Education Program.

[1]Facts About Blood Supply In The U.S. | Red Cross Blood Services

[2]Blood Donation by Gay and Bisexual Men (aabb.org)

[3]Recommendations for Evaluating Donor Eligibility Using Individual Risk-Based Questions to Reduce the Risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission by Blood and Blood Products | FDA

[4]Blood Donation Eligibility Requirements | Red Cross Blood Services

[5]Questions About Donating Blood | Red Cross Blood Services

[6]ABC FAQ on FDA's IDA Change (americasblood.org)

[7]Inclusive Blood Donation Guidelines Updated | Red Cross Blood

(Vanessa Vasquez, Editor-in-Chief NewsUSA Tech) - Intel’s Meteor Lake introduced A.I. chips that brought in a new type of A.I. power dedicated specifically to A.I. processing, the Neural Processing UnA.I. It was designed to work similarly to the human brain, with many nerve cells and synapses to transmit and receive signals. The end result is a processor that outperforms any CPU or GPU. Rolling out to laptops before desktops or mobile platforms, Intel looks to bring A.I. directly onto consumers’ PCs, giving end users better privacy, lower latency, and bypassing the need to pay for third-party services.

Story by Vanessa Vasquez, Editor-in-Chief NewsUSA Tech

(Vanessa Vasquez, Editor-in-Chief NewsUSA Tech) - The Video Game Awards is a highly-anticipated ceremony often held in the early weeks of December. To no one’s surprise, Baldur’s Gate 3 won a game of the year at the recently concluded Video Game Awards for 2023. Cyberpunk 2077 also won best ongoing game, with Resident Evil Village bringing home the award for best VR/AR. With the continuous evolution, These awards would highlight the industry’s creative diversity and technological advancements.

Story by Vanessa Vasquez, Editor-in-Chief NewsUSA Tech

(NewsUSA) - Many wonderful organizations focus on finding homes for dogs in shelters, but one dog breeder is on a mission—to promote smarter dog breeding and fewer dogs in shelters to begin with.

“Prevention is the key to avoiding canine suffering and reducing the burden on shelters and rescues,” says Kate Dalman, a Crystal Lake, Illinois, breeder of German Shepherds. Dalman’s goal is to improve the competitive and largely unregulated world of dog breeding by educating breeders on best practices. 

Dalman, the owner of Herzog German Shepherds and founder of the nonprofit Herzog's Heroes, has established the Herzog Conscientious Breeders Alliance (HCBA). The Alliance, named for her first German Shepherd, is open to those who work with any dog breed.

The Alliance’s current goal is a year-end campaign to raise $20,000 to launch a first-of-its-kind breeder directory that will help create transparency and accountability in breeding programs.

“Current breeder databases allow breeders to pay for higher rankings,” says Dalman. “Our algorithm is completely transparent, and it will change how people choose the breeders they work with.”

Dalman and CEO, Mary Lanckhoff, are currently working to establish breeder guidelines and collaborating with rescue communities to curb unscrupulous breeders and reduce the number of dogs who end up in shelters.

The breeder guidelines will encompass the latest industry standards, genetic diversity recommendations, and responsible puppy placement strategies. The HCBA training program currently in development will teach breeders ways to minimize their footprint on the shelter population.

"These guidelines will make unscrupulous breeding practices far less lucrative for breeders trying to cut corners and make a quick buck exploiting dogs," says Dalman. "On the other hand, dedicated breeders will receive recognition for their work."

The directory will allow people looking to purchase a puppy to search for breeders with good reputations, and to identify breeders with bad reputations. "This will enable people to search a breeder before deciding to work with them and it will prevent unscrupulous breeders from continuing to fly under the radar," Dalman says.

Dalman and her colleagues continue to encourage breeders to join the HCBA, establish best practices to minimize their impact on the shelter community, and mentor up-and-coming breeders.

“We want to recognize breeders doing their part, but also lift up those breeders who need help,” she emphasizes. “This will create a higher breeding standard for everyone, which is what we want for dogs everywhere."

Your donations can help meet the end-of-year goal to launch the breeder directory! For more information, visit About 1 — Herzog's Heroes (herzogsheroes.org).

(NewsUSA) - The designation “GenNext” represents adults ages 18-34, the life stage often referred to as “emerging adulthood,” and refers to the next generation of workers, heads of households, consumers, and investors with significant decisions to make about their future. Many in this group are optimistic, despite experiencing personal and professional challenges wrought by recession, inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and job transitions with changing workforce expectations, according to a survey from financial services firm Edward Jones, with Next360 Partners and Market Cast.

Overall, the survey found GenNext to be a resilient group, although 80% of respondents currently see themselves as struggling or surviving financially.

“Our research offers a deeper understanding of GenNext, an age group defined by their shared experiences, not the year they were born,” says Lena Haas, head of Wealth Management Advice and Solutions at Edward Jones. “With most worried about rising costs and an inability to save, this will have vast implications for the wealth management industry.”

Contrary to popular belief, GenNext is hardworking and ambitious, but this demographic has distinct approaches to work and life in the face of today’s social and economic challenges. Money matters, but so does comfort, security, and stability.

Members of GenNext also value flexibility, and are open to alternative career paths, which further impacts their saving, spending and investing.

GenNext does not expect the same job stability as previous generations, according to the Edward Jones survey. They place less value on employer loyalty and plan for highly mobile careers of moving from one job to another, wearing many hats, and engaging in “side hustles” and multiple jobs to fund their lifestyles. Although they were born in the digital era, the GenNext lifestyle prioritizes real-world experiences; more than half of survey respondents reported being happiest when at home with friends and family, and they value face-to-face connections in work and home life.

GenNext cited a short-term mindset when it comes to finances, prioritizing everyday expenses, budgeting and saving for large purchases over other financial matters. When it comes to financial planning, more than half (52%) talk to their parents, many of whom may have long-term relationships with financial advisors. Although only 12% currently discuss finances directly with a financial advisor, two-thirds (68%) said they viewed financial advisors as a sounding board for ideas.

“Working with a financial advisor can help improve your financial knowledge and confidence and help you feel more in control,” added Haas. “It’s never too early to get started. Financial advisors can help remove burden and complexity and help you focus on the most important first steps.”

Visit edwardjones.com/financialfuture for more information.

(NewsUSA) - When it comes to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), the United States government needs to adjust its mission and tradecraft to advance American interests, according to experts at the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a bipartisan nonprofit organization.

Despite its current position as a global leader GenAI, the issue facing the United States is how to shape GenAI’s global use and function so that it reinforces these interests, according to a new report from SCSP.

The authors outline recommendations for a new model of statecraft and the creation of global institutions to chart a way for GenAI to be used for good, and to put guardrails in place to protect against negative consequences.

SCSP advises the U.S. government to bring together different departments, authorities, talents, and tools, and to establish domestic regulatory policies that also reflect a global context, to work alongside like-minded allies, but not to disadvantage the U.S. private sector in global competition.

Platforms Statecraft. A platform approach to foreign policy and GenAI should include an updated mission with competition around technology platforms, as well as joint efforts across government agencies, modernization, and sub-national diplomacy to ensure that U.S. policy is tied into domestic innovation at the state and local levels.

New Tools. The adoption of GenAI tools by the Department of State will change the way workforces do their jobs, but these high-tech tools do not replace decision-making by policy experts; instead, GenAI tools provide additional, and potentially novel, recommendations and solutions based on an amount of information that no one human can process as quickly as a machine. Agency-wide programs to leverage GenAI could include a centralized GenAI infrastructure, a tailored GenAI system to handle sensitive information, and training policy makers to understand how GI works and where human oversight is needed.

Global Frameworks. To manage GenAI as a geopolitical and transnational issue, SCSP recommends creating a leaders-level forum to bring together key nations and address the highest-level risks that GenAI may pose; a leaders-level agenda item on GenAI in bilateral dialogues between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of Chine to help manage strategic stability risks; and a working-level forum for like-minded national to explore positive use cases around GenAI and mitigate against practical challenges.

For more information, visit scsp.ai.

(Matthew Du, NewsUSA Reporter) -  

New York City, collaborating with platforms like Airbnb, is enforcing a law that requires short-term rental hosts to register with the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement. This law, effective from early 2022, aims to curb unregistered rentals, with platforms like Airbnb prohibited from processing transactions for unregistered properties. 

Hosts now face stringent requirements, including being present during the guest's stay and not renting out entire homes. Despite these restrictions, Airbnb, which has over 39,000 listings in New York City, views the regulation as a de facto ban. The city's enforcement mirrors actions in other U.S. cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, which also regulate short-term rentals. Meanwhile, Airbnb's share price remains resilient, recently boosted by its inclusion in the S&P 500.

(Matthew Du, NewsUSA Reporter) - Although the World Wildlife Fund does not list brown bears (Ursus arctos) as endangered, their numbers in Alaska are dwindling, primarily due to legal hunting practices. Popular hunting locations like Cold Bay and the Izembek Refuge Area are known worldwide for trophy brown bears. Adding to the threat is the Willow Project by ConocoPhillips, an oil-drilling initiative first greenlit by the Trump administration in 2020. This project, focused on petroleum extraction to lessen U.S. oil imports, poses another significant challenge to the survival of Alaska's brown bear population.

(Matthew Du, NewsUSA Reporter) - Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the jury in Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial to return Friday morning after dismissing them earlier Thursday. 

Kaplan presides over the trial of Bankman-Fried, who currently faces charges that include wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering about the operation of crypto exchange FTX.

The defense has questioned the former CEO on several topics. Still, foggy memory seems to be a common theme amongst many of Bankman-Fried’s answers, which comes in stark contrast to the claims that Bankman-Fried had made following the collapse of FTX and before his criminal charges.