Why was a major candidate for the presidency just asked about a lesson set to be taught to middle school students in Florida social studies classes? Governor Ron DeSantis found himself answering yet more questions about his state’s new conservative-friendly social studies curriculum at a press event in Utah over the weekend as the Republican sees continued signs that his record on racial and social issues in the Sunshine State will be an issue in the upcoming GOP primary debates and, potentially, the 2024 general election. Mr DeSantis’s campaign held a summit with donors in Utah this past weekend where top advisers pledged a reboot to the Florida governor’s stagnating presidential bid including cutbacks to pricy expenditures including private events that have not helped his standings in the polls improve. The candidate himself held a press conference on Friday, where the question about Florida schools was directed to him. The Florida Department of Education’s social studies standards for the 2023-2024 school year, released this month, provide lesson topics for middle school teachers including a “benchmark clarification” which instructs educators to teach students that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit”. It isn’t clear what “their personal benefit” would be in this scenario. The line is included as part of a broader lesson entitled: “Examine the various duties and trades performed by slaves (e.g., agricultural work, painting, carpentry, tailoring, domestic service, blacksmithing, transportation).” Mr DeSantis has come under fire for the curriculum changes, from both Democrats and Republicans alike. Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris railed against Mr DeSantis without naming the Florida governor. “There is a national agenda afoot. Extremist so-called leaders for months have dared to ban books. … Extremists here in Florida, passing a law ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ trying to instill fear in our teachers … And now, on top of that, they want to replace history with lies.” And former New Jersey Gov Chris Christie, who is seeking the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, also called out the governor for what he claimed was a lack of leadership. While the change to the curriculum itself is subtle — a single sentence added to a much larger document — the news of its insertion played into a larger narrative of Florida’s right-wing shift under the DeSantis administration. Florida schools, in particular, are the biggest battleground for this war, where liberal groups and nonpartisan experts alike warn that students are increasingly the recipients of a whitewashed educational environment devoid of anything that conservatives find unseemly or uncomfortable, such as discussions of the sins of slavery, representation of LGBT+ persons in the classroom or teaching materials, and other narratives that brush up against conservative belief systems. The changes to Florida schools had already earned the state the condemnation of the NAACP and other civil rights groups, something that has enraged conservatives and drawn the state into an ugly national fight against any group or organisation that the governor perceives to have a liberal agenda, including the Disney corporation. Now, he is officially a candidate for president and facing the reality that his loyally conservative record in Florida has failed to allow him to make serious inroads against Donald Trump and his support base, while he remains engaged in fighting off competitive rivals like Vivek Ramaswamy and others in the crowded Republican primary contest. It remains to be seen whether his campaign reset (which continued this week with layoffs of roughly a third of his staff) will be a necessary fat-trimming measure or the sign of his campaign’s early demise; what is certain is that the issue of the quality of education in Florida’s schools is not going away, at least any time soon. Read More Four cars in Ron DeSantis motorcade crash into each other on way to Tennessee fundraisers Biden laughs off impeachment threat after McCarthy teases inquiry Trump goes on late-night Truth Social rampage against ‘loser’ and ‘lowlife’ Mitt Romney Ron DeSantis: The new Jeb Bush Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his presidency? DeSantis campaign fires aide behind neo-Nazi meme video

The myth that malware attacks don’t affect Macs is thoroughly busted. Just this year, we’ve

A man lit a small fire to heat up his coffee kettle. It was a hot and windy

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2023--

SpaceX will not be cleared to launch its 400-foot-tall (121 metre) Starship rocket until a “mishap investigation” is completed, regulators have said. A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned of a launch delay for the biggest rocket ever built, just hours after SpaceX boss Elon Musk said the craft was “ready to launch” on Wednesday. SpaceX made its first and only attempt at an orbital Starship launch in April, with the rocket exploding over the Gulf of Mexico just three minutes into the 90 minute flight. The crewless rocket broke up into pieces over an empty stretch of water, however the debris blast created by Starship’s huge engines at its launchpad drew heavy scrutiny from regulators. Concrete dust drifted more than 10 kilometres from the launch site, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, while concrete chunks and metal shards were discovered within a 700-acre zone surrounding the pad. SpaceX claimed the mission was a success, as Starship and its Super Heavy booster were able to lift off on its maiden test flight, however the FAA launched an investigation soon afterwards. Following Mr Musk’s latest comments that the latest version of the rocket is ready to launch pending regulatory approval, the FAA warned SpaceX that it would need to wait for the investigation to conclude. “The SpaceX Starship mishap investigation remains open,” the FAA said in a statement. “The FAA will not authorise another Starship launch until SpaceX implements the corrective actions identified during the mishap investigation and demonstrates compliance with all the regulatory requirements of the licence modification process.” SpaceX has made numerous alterations and improvements to Starship and its launch pad, including remedial measures aimed at preventing launch debris and a new method for separating the upper stage from its booster rocket. Nasa has already awarded SpaceX a multi-billion dollar contract to develop Starship for its Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the surface of the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. Mr Musk also plans to use the rockets for more ambitious longer term goals, including establishing a permanent human colony on Mars before 2050. “As the most powerful launch system ever developed, Starship will be able to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights,” SpaceX notes on its website. “Starship will also help enable transport of many satellites, large space telescopes, and significant amounts of cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.” Read More ‘It’s becoming like an airport’: How SpaceX normalised rocket launches SpaceX abandons YouTube for live streams of launches in favour of X/Twitter Starship ‘ready to launch’, Elon Musk says SpaceX crew streak across sky before splashing down off Florida coast SpaceX smashes rocket launch record as Musk eyes historic Starship mission

All players who signed up to participate in the XDefiant Open Session can get the XDefiant Beta on Xbox Series X|S by downloading the game from the Microsoft Store.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 12, 2023--

Square Enix is considering dropping numbers from 'Final Fantasy' titles.

A TikTok-famous creator Chris Rooney has been found safe after going missing in Fredericksburg Virginia. Concerns grew for Rooney, famously known as the "Yeet Baby" creator, who was last seen on July 25 in his town of 30,000 people. In a since-deleted story on his Instagram account, they said: "He has been found safe. He is safe. Thank you for your prayers." The news of his disappearance soon hit social media, where fans frantically tried to piece together his whereabouts. Before he was found, one creator by the name of @joysparkleshine took to TikTok to explain the situation. She later followed up with an update, informing followers he had been found. The 35-year-old gained viral fame when he started posting on TikTok in January 2020. He is the man behind the "Yeet Baby" account that has since racked up 5.6 million followers. On the account, Rooney frequently posts clips with his niece Marleigh. Rooney is married to his wife, Emily, and the pair share Louie the cat together. Reports have suggested the pair are going through a divorce. Their separation was confirmed in one of his TikToks. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It comes after a Reddit post went viral which saw Rooney respond to a TikTok troll that said: "Alcohol is poison. You lost your beautiful wife because of it so that tells me you need to stop drinking 100 per cent. Have you tried naltrexone? Reddit - Dive into anything from tiktokgossip "If a man said something like this to my face, with such confidence and such inaccuracy… that it’s not even remotely true… Comments like this, they trigger me," he said. "They make me an angry person. So please don’t make me an angry person. Because if I’m around other angry people, you know… we’re going to have to get to fighting because too many stupid comments like this." Officials have not yet disclosed the circumstances behind Rooney's disappearance. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese e-commerce and fintech conglomerate Rakuten Group Inc will raise up to 294.2 billion yen ($2.18 billion) by

Mark Zuckerberg was all-in on the metaverse last year, willing to spend whatever it took to dominate virtual