8/20/13 - Israel frees 26 Palestinian prisoners before talks; Bolivia Records: Aymara Herder Is 123 Years Old

Today's Articles:

AP
August 13, 2013
"Israel frees 26 Palestinian prisoners before talks"

"Israel released 26 Palestinian inmates, including many convicted in grisly killings, on the eve of long-stalled Mideast peace talks, angering families of those slain by the prisoners, who were welcomed as heroes in the West Bank and Gaza."

ABC News
August 14, 2013

"Bolivia Records: Aymara Herder Is 123 Years Old"

"The native Aymara lives in a straw-roofed dirt-floor hut in an isolated hamlet near Lake Titicaca at 13,100 feet (4,000 meters), is illiterate, speaks no Spanish and has no teeth."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!"

5/23/13 - Disney World vows action after report of wealthy hiring disabled to skip lines; No Benefit Seen in Sharp Limits on Salt in Diet

Today's Articles:

CNN
May 15, 2013
"Disney World vows action after report of wealthy hiring disabled to skip lines"

"Disney World is looking into reports that some wealthy visitors are hiring disabled people to pretend to be family members so that they can skip lines."

New York Times
May 14, 2013

"No Benefit Seen in Sharp Limits on Salt in Diet"

"In a report that undercuts years of public health warnings, a prestigious group convened by the government says there is no good reason based on health outcomes for many Americans to drive their sodium consumption down to the very low levels recommended in national dietary guidelines."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

5/21/13 - Berlin Barbie bummer; feminists protest Dreamhouse opening; Venezuela to 'saturate the market' with 50 million rolls of imported toilet paper

Today's Articles:

CNN
May 16, 2013
"Berlin Barbie bummer; feminists protest Dreamhouse opening"

"While a Barbie-themed restaurant opening was hailed with general delight and fanfare in Taipei earlier this year, the opening of the blonde doll's new European digs is being met with quite a different reception in Germany."

CNN
May 15, 2013

"Venezuela to 'saturate the market' with 50 million rolls of imported toilet paper"

"To avoid getting caught with their pants down, Venezuelan officials say they will confront a toilet paper shortage by importing 50 million rolls to meet demand."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

5/17/13 - Lessons from a feminist paradise on Equal Pay Day; Ban on hypnotism to be lifted in Huntington Beach

Today's Articles:

American Enterprise Institute
April 09, 2013
"Lessons from a feminist paradise on Equal Pay Day"

"On the surface, Sweden appears to be a feminist paradise. Look at any global survey of gender equity and Sweden will be near the top. Family-friendly policies are its norm — with 16 months of paid parental leave, special protections for part-time workers, and state-subsidized preschools where, according to a government website, “gender-awareness education is increasingly common.” Due to an unofficial quota system, women hold 45 percent of positions in the Swedish parliament. They have enjoyed the protection of government agencies with titles like the Ministry of Integration and Gender Equality and the Secretariat of Gender Research. So why are American women so far ahead of their Swedish counterparts in breaking through the glass ceiling?"
Los Angeles Times
May 10, 2013

"Ban on hypnotism to be lifted in Huntington Beach"
"The Huntington Beach City Council has approved the introduction of an ordinance that would repeal a law prohibiting hypnotism."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

5/10/13 - Ref's death a consequence of lack of sportsmanship; What President Obama Gets Wrong About Citizenship and Tyranny

Today's Articles:

AP
May 7, 2013
"Ref's death a consequence of lack of sportsmanship"

"The football teams were still on the field, exchanging the traditional postgame handshakes, when Pete McCabe walked by. The veteran referee heard another official call his name and turned, only to be smashed in the face with a helmet by one of the players."

The Atlantic
May 8, 2013

"What President Obama Gets Wrong About Citizenship and Tyranny"

"You've grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that's at the root of all our problems," he said. "They'll warn that tyranny is always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices. Because what they suggest is that our brave and creative and unique experiment in self-rule is somehow just a sham with which we can't be trusted .... The founders trusted us with this awesome authority. We should trust ourselves with it, too ... when we don't, when we turn away and get discouraged and cynical, and abdicate that authority, we grant our silent consent to someone who will gladly claim it."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

5/9/13 - Why teenagers really do need an extra hour in bed; A Haven for the Deaf Draws Federal Scrutiny Over Potential Discrimination

Today's Articles:

New Scientist
April 22, 2013
"Why teenagers really do need an extra hour in bed"
"Backed by media mogul Barry Diller, chairman of IAC/Interactive Corp., Aereo was expected to draw attacks from the networks, Kanojia said. (Diller is a member of The Washington Post Co.’s board of directors.)"

The New York Times
April 28, 2013

"A Haven for the Deaf Draws Federal Scrutiny Over Potential Discrimination"
"MAKING teens start school in the morning is 'cruel', brain doctor claims." So declared a British newspaper headline in 2007 after a talk I gave at an academic conference. One disbelieving reader responded: "This man sounds brain-dead."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

5/7/13 - The Legal Perils of Giving Medical Advice on the Internet; Amusement rides injure 4,000 kids each year, study finds

Today's Articles:

US News
April 9, 2013
"The Legal Perils of Giving Medical Advice on the Internet"

"Before Ronald Hines opened up a letter from the Texas Board of Veterinary Examiners last March, it had never occurred to him that he might be breaking the law."

The Columbus Dispatch
May 2, 2013

"Amusement rides injure 4,000 kids each year, study finds"

"As summer draws near, children will soon be freed from classrooms and will flock to amusement parks, festivals and fairs. But what they and their parents might not know is that more than 4,000 children nationwide visit emergency rooms each year because of injuries on amusement rides, according to a study released yesterday by researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

4/26/13 - School Vote Stirs Debate on Girls as Leaders; Photographer's loss offers hope for Boston wounded

Today's Articles:

The New York Times
April 11, 2013
"School Vote Stirs Debate on Girls as Leaders"

"When the elite Phillips Academy here went coed in 1973, some worried that women would quickly take over this venerable institution, the alma mater of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Samuel Morse and Humphrey Bogart, not to mention both Presidents George Bush."

AP
April 23, 2013

"Photographer's loss offers hope for Boston wounded"

"In the first horrific moments after the Boston bombing, with smoke still billowing around the wounded, I know what is going through the minds of the maimed victims."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

4/8/13 - "Are we naturally good or bad?; Twenty-year hiatus in rising temperatures has climate scientists puzzled

Today's Articles:

BBC
January 14, 2013
"Are we naturally good or bad?"

"Fundamentally speaking, are humans good or bad? It's a question that has repeatedly been asked throughout humanity. For thousands of years, philosophers have debated whether we have a basically good nature that is corrupted by society, or a basically bad nature that is kept in check by society. Psychology has uncovered some evidence which might give the old debate a twist."

The Australian News

March 30, 2013
"Twenty-year hiatus in rising temperatures has climate scientists puzzled"

"In a lengthy article this week, The Economist magazine said if climate scientists were credit-rating agencies, then climate sensitivity - the way climate reacts to changes in carbon-dioxide levels - would be on negative watch but not yet downgraded."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

3/29/13 - British teenage whiz strikes deal with Yahoo; S. Calif. girl who survived crash describes ordeal

Today's Articles:

Associated Press
March 26, 2013
"British teenage whiz strikes deal with Yahoo"

"Teenage programmer Nick D'Aloisio's decision to sell his news application Summly to Yahoo for what's rumored to be a massive payout has turned him into a media sensation. The sale caps a short but successful career at Apple Inc.'s vast app store, where hundreds of thousands of pieces of software compete for the attention of smartphone and tablet users."

The Atlanta Journal

March 26, 2013
"S. Calif. girl who survived crash describes ordeal"

"A 9-year-old girl who survived a rollover crash is out of a Southern California hospital and has described on video how she hiked more than a mile to find help for her father, who was later found dead."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

3/25/13 - Why should food stamps pay for junk food?; Kate Upton "Loved" Jake Davidson's Prom Invite, Says “It's the Cutest Video I've Ever Seen"

Today's Articles:

Washington Post
March 18, 2013
"Why should food stamps pay for junk food?"

"What really caught my attention, though, were the photographs that showed what some SNAP recipients bought with their government-funded debit cards: CheetosPuffs, a one-ounce handful of which contains 10 grams of fat; a box containing two dozen 12-ounce cans of Fanta Orange soda, each of which contains 44 grams of sugar; a carton of six-ounce Capri Sun drink pouches, each of which contains 16 grams of sugar."

Entertainment News

March 20, 2013
"Kate Upton "Loved" Jake Davidson's Prom Invite, Says “It's the Cutest Video I've Ever Seen""

"The 17-year-old's gutsy move to create a video asking Sports Illustrated model Kate Upton to be his date for his senior prom has definitely worked in his favor."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

3/19/13 - In China, Checklist for a Home Seller: First, Get a Divorce; 'Cutest. Story. Ever,' U.S. Interior says of a girl and two Yosemite sticks

Today's Articles:

The New York Times
March 8, 2013
"In China, Checklist for a Home Seller: First, Get a Divorce"

"When the Chinese government announced new curbs on property prices this month, homeowners bombarded social networking sites with complaints. They formed long lines at property bureaus to register to sell their homes before the restrictions went into effect."

CNN

March 1, 2013
"'Cutest. Story. Ever,' U.S. Interior says of a girl and two Yosemite sticks"

"'I am a Yosemite Junior Ranger. I went to Yosemite recently and accidentally brought home two sticks. I know I'm not supposed to take things from the park, so I am sending them back. Please put them in nature.  Thank you, Evie'"

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

3/6/13 - 106-year-old Malabar cook to get diploma; Making sense of the Clashing Sequester Numbers

Today's Articles:

Mansfield News Journal
February 28, 2013
"106-year-old Malabar cook to get diploma"

"It took a long time but 106-year-old Reba Williams, Louis Bromfield’s cook at Malabar Farm from 1943 to 1957, will receive her high school diploma from Mount Vernon High School in the coming days."

NBC

March 4, 2013
"Making sense of the Clashing Sequester Numbers"

"In the raucous debate over the cuts in federal spending, also known as the sequester, which began taking effect Friday, a lot of numbers are being tossed around -- $85 billion, $42 billion, $1.2 trillion. And lots of adjectives, too -- “massive,” “deep,” “severe,” “arbitrary” and more."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

3/1/13 - Babies can hear syllables in the womb, says research; Sotomayor chides prosecutor for ‘racially charged’ question

Today's Articles:

BBC
February 25, 2013
"Babies can hear syllables in the womb, says research"

"Scientists say babies decipher speech as early as three months before birth.  The evidence comes from detailed brain scans of 12 infants born prematurely."

USA Today

February 25, 2013
"Sotomayor chides prosecutor for ‘racially charged’ question"

"A homeless Kansas City man will soon have well over $100,000 after returning an engagement ring to a woman who accidentally dropped it in his cup earlier this month."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

2/25/13 - Do We Live in a Post-Truth Era?; Laura Ingalls' Sister May Not Have Lost Eyesight To Scarlet Fever

Today's Articles:

Reason
February 1, 2013
"Do We Live in a Post-Truth Era?"

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts," the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) famously quipped. But when it comes to social and environmental problems nowadays, nearly everyone thinks he is entitled to his own facts, and an army of experts is on hand to manufacture and promote the carefully curated truths they require. "

National Public Radio
February 7, 2013
"Laura Ingalls' Sister May Not Have Lost Eyesight To Scarlet Fever"

"Audie Cornish talks with University of Michigan pediatrician Beth Tarini, who writes in the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics that Mary Ingalls, sister of author Laura Ingalls Wilder, likely did not go blind as a result of scarlet fever. Tarini talks about what led her to research Ingalls' illness, and how she learned more about what might have actually caused her blindness."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

2/22/13 - 3 Reasons N. Korea Can’t Nuke the U.S. (Yet); Why You Won’t Be the Person You Expect to Be

Today's Articles:

Discovery News
January 25, 2013
"3 Reasons N. Korea Can’t Nuke the U.S. (Yet)"

"Thursday, North Korea stated explicitly that in addition to planning a third nuclear test, it would also be "targeting" the United States with its nuclear program.  But although the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has rockets and an active nuclear program, threats of a nuclear attack may be bluster, according to some experts – at least for now."

The New York Times
January 3, 2013
"Why You Won’t Be the Person You Expect to Be"

"When we remember our past selves, they seem quite different. We know how much our personalities and tastes have changed over the years. But when we look ahead, somehow we expect ourselves to stay the same, a team of psychologists said Thursday, describing research they conducted of people’s self-perceptions."

Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!

1/9/13 - Let's Give Up on the Constitution; J.J. Abrams grants movie wish to dying Trekkie

Today's Articles:

New York Times
December 30, 2012
"Let's Give Up on the Constitution"

Op-Ed:  "As the nation teeters at the edge of fiscal chaos, observers are reaching the conclusion that the American system of government is broken. But almost no one blames the culprit: our insistence on obedience to the Constitution, with all its archaic, idiosyncratic and downright evil provisions."


CNET
January 3, 2013

"J.J. Abrams grants movie wish to dying Trekkie"

"Sometimes it's easy to forget the incredible social power of the Internet, but this story about director J.J. Abrams granting a dying man's "Star Trek" wish serves as a great reminder."


Sign in here to access the full lessons!

OR

Send your students to log in to the Student Zone!