Hospitals Dropping Vax Mandate Due To Labor Shortages, Court Order

On Sunday we noted that hospitals in four states have called in the National Guard to help alleviate a severe healthcare worker shortage caused by mass firings of those who refuse to comply with vaccine mandates.

Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that some of the largest US hospital systems have dropped vaccine mandates for workers amid soaring labor costs and struggles retaining enough nurses, technicians, 'and even janitors' to handle higher hospitalization rates due to the Delta variant.

According to hospital execs, public health authorities and nursing groups, pre-pandemic shortages of workers, including nurses, have been compounded by burnout, as well as the lucrative lure of nurses who work on short-term contracts in Covid hot spots.

More recently, thousands of nurses have left the industry or lost their jobs rather than get vaccinated. As of September, 30% of workers at more than 2,000 hospitals across the country surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were unvaccinated.

"It’s been a mass exodus, and a lot of people in the healthcare industry are willing to go and shop around," according to employment attorney Wade Symons, head of Mercer's US regulatory practice. "If you get certain healthcare facilities that don’t require it, those could be a magnet for those people who don’t want the vaccine. They’ll probably have an easier time attracting labor."

In November, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services didn't have the authority to force healthcare workers to take the jab - blocking a Biden admin rule which would have applied to some 10 million workers and would have required all employees at facilities participating in Medicare / Medicaid take the jab by Jan. 4.

"I don’t think the mandates were helpful and I think the court in Louisiana did everyone a service," said Ballad Health CEO Alan Levine, who oversees the administration of 21 hospitals in Tennessee and Virginia.

Mr. Levine said his company has about 14,000 employees, some 2,000 of whom are unvaccinated or didn’t request an exemption to the requirement. “That many people having to be terminated would have been devastating to our system,” Mr. Levine said. -WSJ

Meanwhile, one of the country's largest healthcare providers, HCA, suspended their previous deadline of Jan. 4 for all workers following the court halt.

"We continue to strongly encourage our colleagues to be vaccinated as a critical step to protect individuals from the virus," said spokesman Harlow Sumerford, who added that a majority of their roughly 275,000 workers were fully vaccinated.

Tenet and AdventHealth also announced that they were waiving the requirement following the court decision, while the Cleveland Clinic - which runs 19 hospitals in Ohio and Florida and employees roughly 65,000 people, along with Utah hospital giant Intermountain Healthcare, said they would similarly suspend the vax requirement.

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/hospitals-dropping-vax-mandate-due-labor-shortages-court-order

PEDO BUN 13 December 21

Treverson Roberts, 27, of Brooklyn, a dual United States and Grenadian citizen, forced a five-year-old boy to perform oral sex on him while the boy was temporarily left in Roberts’ care.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-pleads-guilty-sexual-assault-child-grenada

Former Florida Election Commission Attorney Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy And Distribution Of Child Pornography

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl/pr/former-florida-election-commission-attorney-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-and-distribution

Former Realtor Sentenced for Attempting to Entice a Minor

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/pr/former-realtor-sentenced-attempting-entice-minor

North Attleboro Man Indicted, Arraigned on Child Pornography and Distribution of Animal Abuse Video Charges

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/pr/north-attleboro-man-indicted-arraigned-child-pornography-and-distribution-animal-abuse

Erie Man Sentenced in Project Safe Childhood Case

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/erie-man-sentenced-project-safe-childhood-case

Brevard County Man Sentenced To 13 Years For Receiving Child Sexual Abuse Videos Over The Internet

https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/brevard-county-man-sentenced-13-years-receiving-child-sexual-abuse-videos-over-internet

Toowoomba man due to appear on child abuse material charges

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/toowoomba-man-due-appear-child-abuse-material-charges

Man jailed for sexually abusing girl in Beckton

https://news.met.police.uk/news/man-jailed-for-sexually-abusing-girl-in-beckton-439377

Brothers guilty of sexually exploiting young girls

https://news.met.police.uk/news/brothers-guilty-of-sexually-exploiting-young-girls-439380

Media SILENT As Hundreds of Thousands of Australian Workers RISE UP In Revolt Against ‘New World Order’ Vaccine Mandates

Hundreds of thousands of Australian workers took to the streets over the weekend to protest the “New World Order” vaccinate mandates as local government’s across the country continue to destroy civil liberties.

In Melbourne, protesters gathered outside parliament on Sunday, marching through the city center. Protestors could be heard chanting “my body, my choice” and “sack Dan Andrews,” as they peacefully protested against the draconian restrictions.

https://youtu.be/0utnQLmugkY

Melbourne has been a hotspot of anti-mandate protests in Australia of late, with demonstrators taking to the streets on a weekly basis. Similar scenes played out on Sunday in Sydney, Australia’s most populous city, where people voiced concerns over vaccine mandates for healthcare and education workers in the state of New South Wales.

Ahead of the reopening of Queensland’s border to only vaccinated travelers from other states, anti-mandate rallies across the region also drew several thousand activists.

The protests come amid reports of dozens of Omicron cases being detected across Australia, with the federal authorities shortening the waiting time before a booster dose can be administered from six to five months.

https://en-volve.com/2021/12/13/media-silent-as-hundreds-of-thousands-of-australian-workers-rise-up-in-revolt-against-new-world-order-vaccine-mandates/

Ex-Bush Speechwriter Calls for Hospitals to ‘Quietly’ Deny Care to Unvaxxed==

David Frum, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush and current full-time anti-Trumper at The Atlantic, has called for hospitals to prioritize COVID-vaccinated individuals over those who have resisted the aggressive mandates, scapegoating rhetoric and propaganda being pushed mainly by the radical Left.

In the course of several posts on Twitter, in which Frum admitted to raging daily against “the dumb-ass malignity of the anti-vaxxers,” the man who coined the term “Axis of Evil” recommended allowing hospitals to “quietly triage emergency care to serve the unvaccinated last.”

https://en-volve.com/2021/12/13/ex-bush-speechwriter-calls-for-hospitals-to-quietly-deny-care-to-unvaxxed/

CDC: 80% of Omicron cases found in the fully vaccinated, a third of them had received a booster dose

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/covid-19-pm-confirms-uks-first-death-with-omicron-cdc-80-of-omicron-cases-found-in-the-fully-vaccinated-a-third-of-them-had-received-a-booster-dose/

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1470387150936059910

Queensland Senator Pauline Hanson: “I Haven’t Had the Jab, I Don’t Intend to, I’m Not Putting That Shit in My Body.”

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/queensland-senator-pauline-hanson-i-havent-had-the-jab-i-dont-intend-to-im-not-putting-that-shit-in-my-body/

A massive COVID wave in Germany and Central Europe despite high vaccination

Reviewing Europe’s current Covid statistics one cannot but shudder. It is now clear that an enormous, record-breaking Covid wave is making its way through Germany and central Europe. Astoundingly enough, this is happening on the continent where many countries boast vaccine uptake between 65 and 70% of the total population.

Less than a year ago, Dr. Anthony Fauci stated that an inoculation rate between 60 and 70 percent would bring about herd immunity. According to a report from Axios which was published on December 25 of last year:

“Dr. Anthony Fauci has long cited 60% to 70% as the level of COVID infection/vaccination the country would need to achieve herd immunity — for the disease to fade and life to return to normal…”

Most countries in Europe now fall well within that range on the vaccination count alone.

The effect of the vaccines is further augmented by natural immunity which, according to some experts, may run as high as 50% in some populations. Nearly two years into the pandemic, people in many places have been extensively exposed to the virus and as a result possess natural antibodies. Therefore, inoculating, let’s say, 65 percent of the population with a good vaccine should result in overall immunity in the region of 80 percent. With this kind of immunity levels we should expect, if not elimination of the disease, then certainly a considerable decline in its occurrence.

It is, however, now amply clear that despite its high vaccination ratios Europe is nowhere close to achieving the promised relief. Not only that, but things are, in fact, much worse than they were at this time last year when there were no vaccines around.

Even though we do not know the exact threshold required for herd immunity against Covid 19, one thing is certain. If the vaccines worked the pandemic should be now largely under control, given Europe’s high vaccine uptake. Unfortunately, the opposite is the case. Even as we speak, Germany and central Europe are in the grip of the worst wave since the beginning of the pandemic. This wave is likely to travel further and sweep through other parts of the old continent.

We will show you the reality of the situation by presenting the relevant data in an easy-to-see, straightforward way. We do this by juxtaposing graphs that depict vaccination rates with graphs that show case rates in the countries we discuss.

Neither side in the vaccine debate would dispute the validity of the data presented below. The data is taken from the Google Coronavirus Statistics tool which draws its material from official sources and government databases. The data is publicly available and widely accessible. If you wish to verify or reproduce the data used in this piece, you can do so easily by going to google.com and typing “coronavirus” plus the name of the country whose statistics you want to examine. Once the country’s data comes up, you can choose in the horizontal menu that appears under the term “Statistics” what type of date you want to see: “New Cases” or “Vaccinations.”

http://www.stationgossip.com/2021/12/a-massive-covid-wave-in-germany-and.html

>>15188787

25 pages

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21068069/stossel.pdf

SMOKING GUN: Emails Show Facebook Connected Non-Profit Built Direct Connection to Wisconsin State Voter Database in 2020 Election Vote Harvesting Operation

The Wisconsin Election Hearing that occurred last week exposed criminal conduct across the state.

We previously reported on the hearing last week in Wisconsin that uncovered numerous shocking criminal actions that occurred in the 2020 Election. One action that was startling was the development of a database with up-to-the-minute reports of who voted and who didn’t in the 2020 Election.

A key element identified in the work related to the hearing was that local Wisconsin officials were working with Michael Rubenstein to build this database that was connected to Wisconsin data on a real-time basis. We reported on this in October.

In an interview with OAN’s Christina Bobb, Wisconsin Senator Brandtjen says:

They built interactive programs that really became probably the largest ability to harvest ballots in Milwaukee…you give this kind of information to a non-profit from the city of Milwaukee, and we have their IT Department involved, the United States Postal Service had to be able to scan the ballots and know exactly when they’re coming back to Milwaukee that’s certainly an advantage that was given only to these communities that recevied CTCL dollars…As you see as you go into these emails here, they had a direct connection into the Wisvote system.

See the explosive interview below.

The people of Wisconsin need to demand all election-related IT records for before, during, and after the the 2020 Election and have them analyzed by an independent IT audit group. Records showing all activity into and out of the state’s voter database should be the focus.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/smoking-gun-emails-show-facebook-connected-non-profit-built-direct-connection-wisconsin-state-voter-database-2020-election-vote-harvesting-operation/

South Korea To Use Facial Recognition Cameras To Track COVID Cases, Ensure Mask Compliance

Authorities in South Korea are set to use the country’s facial recognition camera network to track people with COVID in real time and ensure they are wearing face masks.

The system will first be tested in Bucheon, on the outskirts of Seoul, in January before being extended to other areas of the country.

The scheme uses artificial intelligence and facial recognition software linked to the city’s 10,820 security cameras “to track the movements of active cases and their close contacts, and to determine whether they wore a mask,” reports RT.

One official said the system was needed to reduce the workload on the team tasked with tracking COVID cases in the city by relying on information such as records of card purchases and cellphone location data.

“Using facial recognition technology will enable that analysis in an instant,” said Bucheon Mayor Jang Deog-cheon, adding that it reduces the burden on workers having to spend “hours analyzing a single [segment of] CCTV footage.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/south-korea-use-facial-recognition-cameras-track-covid-cases-ensure-mask-compliance

Former Chris Cuomo producer trained girls as young as 7 in ‘sexual subservience’: court docs

A veteran CNN producer who worked “shoulder to shoulder” with ex-anchor Chris Cuomo bragged about luring girls as young as 7 to his home for “sexual subservience” training and believed “a woman is a woman regardless of age,” according to court papers released Monday.

John Griffin, who has been suspended from the network pending an investigation into the allegations, attempted to lure at least four girls, ages 16, 14, 13, and 9, to his Vermont ski house for deviant training sessions on such things as “spanking” and “c–k worship,” the documents allege.

The 44-year-old cable-network honcho was arrested Friday by FBI agents, but his indictment was unsealed Monday. It revealed how the producer used a “BDSM dating, Fetish and Kink” Web site to try to find parents who would allow Griffin to train their minor daughters to be “sexually subservient,” the papers claim.

Throughout 2020, Griffin had a number of conversations with the “purported” parents of young girls where he “espoused a ‘way of life’ in which women are sexually subservient and inferior to men,” prosecutors wrote in the indictment.

“There is a natural, wanton whore at the core of ANY female, whether she knows it or not,” Griffin told a person who claimed to be the mother of a 16-year-old daughter last summer, prosecutors said.

He then allegedly proposed “a little mother-daughter trip” to his Ludlow, Vermont, ski house for the sexual training, the indictment says.

Around the same time, Griffin spoke to another person who claimed to be the mother of 13-year-old and 9-year-old girls, saying, “It’s your job, in concert with me, [to] see that [the 13-year-old daughter] is trained properly,” according to the document.

“When handled appropriately, a woman is a woman regardless of her age,” Griffin told the person, court records allege.

“One of the big lies of this society is that women are delicate innocent angels and they are in actuality, naturally, the dirtiest sluts possible, in EVERY metric,” he added, according to the papers.

After a number of text and phone conversations with the person, Griffin allegedly transferred the purported parent $3,350 to cover the costs for a trip from Nevada to Boston.

https://nypost.com/2021/12/13/cnn-producer-trained-girls-in-sexual-subservience-court-docs/

This is asshat who just got Covid in the US - interesting

Julian Assange should not be extradited to United States, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says

One of the government's most senior ministers has called for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be kept in Britain and tried there or returned to Australia.

Key points:

The Deputy Prime Minister says Julian Assange should not be extradited to the US

The Opposition Leader has also backed an end to Mr Assange's ongoing incarceration

The Wikileaks founder faces a renewed chance of extradition after a previous court ruling was overturned

Mr Assange is facing extradition to the United States after the UK High Court last week overturned a decision that he should not be sent to the US.

The US government has pursued Mr Assange's extradition to face espionage charges since his organisation, WikiLeaks, released classified military cables in 2010 and 2011.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has penned an editorial for the Nine newspapers saying Mr Assange should be tried for any crime he is alleged to have committed on British soil, or be sent home.

"Assange was not in breach of any Australian laws at the time of his actions. Assange was not in the US when the event being deliberated in a court now in London occurred," Mr Joyce wrote.

"The question is then: Why is he to be extradited to the US? If he insulted the Koran, would he be extradited to Saudi Arabia?"

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-14/barnaby-joyce-opposes-extradition-of-julian-assange/100697630

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/coronavirus/victoria-and-federal-government-partner-with-moderna-to-build-facility-to-manufacture-millions-of-mrna-vaccines/news-story/c36558c7ebb34fe2a32f2eb01304b6b1

Dan Andrews is ordered to front court for 'concealing TREASON and fraud' in an extraordinary win by anti-lockdown campaigners who convinced a bush court to accept a private prosecution

Daniel Andrews is accused of 'concealing an overt act of treason'

The matter has been listed with the Myrtleford Magistrates Court on Friday

Mr Andrews is charged with, but not limited to, concealing treason and fraud

Myrtleford is a town in northeast Victoria, 280 km northeast of Melbourne

The hearing will take place over video link due to ongoing Covid-19 concerns

In Victoria, ordinary citizens can pay $85.70 and file a criminal charge in court

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has appeared on a criminal court listing after a charge of concealing treason was successfully filed with a court.

Mr Andrews has been summonsed to appear before the Myrtleford Magistrates' Court on Friday, with a court date listed for 9.30am.

While the prosecuting agency on the court record is listed as 'unknown', it is understood anti-lockdown campaigners Jim Rech and photographer Dezi Freeman had the matter listed privately.

Sources have told Daily Mail Australia the private prosecution had been rejected from several Victorian courts before finally being put into the criminal justice stream in Myrtleford - 280 km northeast of Melbourne.

Addressing 'freedom' protesters last month, Mr Rech claimed to have been successful in having the matter brought before the court, but it had since been suppressed to the general public.

Mr Rech, who refers to himself as a 'Commonwealth Public Official' is known to have tried similar proceedings against other members of parliament across the country, reportedly arresting 'those sitting on the bench without any Crown authority'.

Daily Mail Australia noted the matter is in fact listed on the court's Electronic Filing Appearance System, which is accessible to the wider community.

'He was charged with, but not limited to, misprision of treason and fraud. And as a result of those charges being filed and served, they were served at his electoral office,' Mr Rach told protesters.

'The police have been given notice … The courts have been told to suppress the listing but we put it out there, we’ve been to the court registrars.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10306595/Victorian-Premier-Daniel-Andrews-listed-court-concealing-TREASON.html

Horror as EIGHT men – aged between 34 and 71 - are arrested over 'child sex abuse phone chat line'

Eight men have been arrested over a phone chat line where they allegedly shared and discussed child sexual abuse material.

The group of men, aged between 34 and 71, have been charged over their alleged involvement in the chat service after police searched homes around NSW including in Petersham, Cranebrook, Coffs Harbour, Shoal Bay, Gerroa, Surry Hills, and Stanmore.

A 40-year-old man was arrested and charged on Tuesday morning with five counts of using a carriage service to transmit, publish or promote child abuse.

Police allege the group were using the chat service to spread and discuss material relating to child sex abuse.

During the raids, mobile phones, other electronic devices and cannabis were found.

Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty, said the alleged offenders had tried to access some of the material.

'We will allege that each of the men arrested by detectives over the past month expressed desires to engage in sexual activity with children, and in some cases, attempted to access child abuse material from other users of the service,' she said.

'Producing, disseminating or possessing child abuse material are serious offences, and detectives will continue to dismantle these types of operations, so children are free from harmful situations, exploitation and abuse.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10306711/Eight-men-arrested-NSW-alleged-phone-chat-line-child-sex-abuse.html

Aerial photos show Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch restored to a 'children's fairytale' complete with carnival rides after billionaire pal of Bill Clinton bought the 'rotting estate' for $22million

Billionaire Ron Burkle purchased Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch for $22 million in December last year

Stunning DailyMail.com aerial photos show that he's restored it back into a fairytale 'children's paradise'

The wealthy businessman has reinstalled carnival rides and repaired the train track, which wraps around the 2,700 acre estate

Burkle has recreated Jackson's playful theme with a slide, swings, spinning tea cups and pirate ship

'It was kind of a depressing place. It wasn't the beautiful place that it was before. It just needed flowers and life in it again,' Burkle said of the transformation

Burkle was a financial adviser to Michael Jackson after meeting him at an event in the mid-2000s

The 69-year-old businessman flew on Jeffrey Epstein's private jet the Lolita Express at least three times with Bill Clinton

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10293367/Aerial-photos-Michael-Jacksons-Neverland-restored-childrens-fairytale-state.html

British female pedophile, 62, who sexually abused seven-year-old boy on webcam and loaned him to a pervert who flew from Canada to the UK is jailed for more than six years

Astrid Hilton sexually abused boy on webcam for pleasure of online predators

Horrific abuse included paedophile flying to UK from Canada to molest victim

She escaped justice for 16 years, but was finally reported to police last year

Hilton was jailed for six years and eight months at Northampton Crown Court

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10304919/Female-paedophile-62-sexually-abused-seven-year-old-boy-webcam-loaned-pervert.html

“The Mob Was Summoned to Washington by President Trump” – BREAKING: Unhinged Demon Liz Cheney Hints Federal Charges Against President Trump

Liz Cheney read subpoenaed text messages from FOX News personalities to Mark Meadows tonight during the sham January 6 Committee hearing.

So these leftists subpoenaed Mark Meadows text messages from AT&T or another carrier.

Now they are releasing them publicly.

This was during the hearing on Monday where the committee discussed charging Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

Liz Cheney attacked Trump supporters, the one-million who showed up on January 6th at the Ellipse to hear President Trump. Liz Cheney described Trump voters this way, “The mob was summoned to Washington by President Trump.”

This demon!

Cheney read text messages from FOX personalities Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade and others.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/mob-summoned-washington-president-trump-breaking-unhinged-demon-liz-cheney-hints-federal-charges-president-trump/

Artist whose Instagram handle was 'Metaverse' for nine years had her account DISABLED days after Facebook announced its name change to Meta

Instagram account with 'Metaverse' handle disabled after Meta name change

Artist Thea-Mai Bauman created the account in 2012 and had 1,000 followers

But it was disabled when Instagram's parent firm Facebook changed its name

Instagram later restored it; said it was 'incorrectly removed for impersonation'

An artist whose Instagram handle was 'Metaverse' for almost a decade had her account disabled days after Facebook announced its name change to Meta, it has emerged.

Australian Thea-Mai Bauman created the account in 2012 to document her life studying fine art in Brisbane, as well as her trips to Shanghai, where she built an augmented reality firm called Metaverse Makeovers.

She used the handle @metaverse alongside her creative work and had fewer than 1,000 followers when Instagram's parent company, Facebook, announced at the end of October that it was changing its name to Meta.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10305505/Artist-Instagram-handle-Metaverse-account-disabled-Facebook-change.html

Jan. 6 Panel Votes to Hold Mark Meadows in Contempt Over Refusal to Comply With Subpoena

All nine members of the January 6th Committee voted in favor of holding Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with their subpoena.

Each member of the Committee chaired by Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS) presented arguments for why Meadows' testimony remains paramount to their investigation.

Meadows was Donald Trump's Chief of Staff leading up to and on January 6th. The Committee had intended to hold a deposition with Meadows to gain further insights on the documents he had previously provided them.

Thompson opened the meeting by detailing how far along the investigation has gotten. He said that in the coming weeks, a dozen key witnesses will give testimony to bring the investigation total witnesses over 300, to go along with over 30,000 records.

Once Thompson finished summarizing the investigation, he moved on to discussing the topic of the meeting, Mark Meadows. Rep. Thompson went on to dismiss the notion that Meadows is shielded by executive privilege and praised him for cooperating early in the investigation.

However, Thompson said Meadows' early cooperation quickly faded. Saying, “When it was time for him to follow the law, come in, and testify on those questions, he changed his mind and told us to pound sand. He didn’t even show up.”

Thompson concluded his remarks by pointing out that the vast majority of individuals in the investigation have been cooperative. He did point out the few that have defied the Committee's inquiry.

Saying, "If you're listening at home, Mr. Meadows, Mr. Bannon, Mr. Clark, I want you to know this: History will be written about these times, about the work this Committee has undertaken. And history will not look upon any of you as a martyr."

Steve Bannon was unanimously voted in contempt of Congress on October 21st. Jefferey Clark was unanimously voted in contempt of Congress on December 1st. He was given a new deposition that will be held on December 16th. Mark Meadows was unanimously voted in contempt of Congress on December 13th.

https://sputniknews.com/20211214/jan-6-panel-votes-to-hold-mark-meadows-in-contempt-over-refusal-to-comply-with-subpoena-1091499628.html

Police Responding To ‘Suspicious Death’ at Tesla Factory

Fremont, CA – The Fremont Police Department said Monday night they were investigating a ‘suspicious death’ at the Tesla factory in Fremont. The factory is located at 45500 Fremont Blvd.

According to police, “at approximately 3:26 p.m., Fremont Fire Department personnel responded to Tesla on a report of a subject down in the parking lot, firefighters provided medical aid and pronounced the subject deceased.”

Fremont Police Homicide Investigators are on scene and have taken over the investigation.

https://breaking911.com/breaking-police-responding-to-suspicious-death-at-tesla-factory/

California Schools Phase-Out 'D' & 'F' Grades For High School Students

As high school students transition out of distance learning imposed by pandemic restrictions, several California districts are dropping the use of “D” and “F” grades in an attempt to reengage students in school and boost entry into the state’s public colleges.

Los Angeles Unified, Oakland Unified, Sacramento City Unified, and San Diego Unified are among the districts phasing out “D” and “F” grades for high school students.

If students fail a test or don’t finish their homework, they will be given another chance to retake the test or receive an extension on submitting assignments.

“Our hope is that students begin to see school as a place of learning, where they can take risks and learn from mistakes, instead of a place of compliance,” stated Nidya Baez, assistant principal at Fremont High in Oakland Unified, according to statements obtained by Bay City News.

“Right now, we have a system where we give a million points for a million pieces of paper that students turn in, without much attention to what they’re actually learning,” Baez said.

According to Bay City News, if students do not pass the final exam or finish homework by the end of the semester, they would earn an “incomplete.” The news outlet reported that the aim is to encourage the learning of course material without compromising students’ ability to enter the University of California and California State University should students receive a poor grade.

Advocates of such “competency-based learning” suggest that assessment should be based on what students have learned instead of how they perform in tests.

The announcement of grading changes come after some public schools in California gave students the option of changing their letter-based grades to pass/fail grades.

Sam Davis, board director of Oakland Unified School District, told ABC News that the “D” grade should be dropped but students should still be given the appropriate grade if they fail.

“D grades are not valid for college eligibility at UC and Cal State but obviously if students don’t master the material, they shouldn’t be getting credit for the class, then they would be getting an F,” Davis told ABC in a Dec. 9 interview.

According to reports obtained from educators, ABC pointed out that many students sitting at a “D” only work enough to avoid getting an “F” grade.

In an interview with ABC, Alix Gallagher, director of strategic partnerships and policy analysis for California Education, emphasized the importance of “rapid specific feedback” to help students improve.

Gallagher told Bay City News that grades vary “from teacher to teacher,” and that instruction, rather than grading, is “what leads to learning.”

In the same report from Bay City News, math and science teacher Debora Rinehart said that “not reporting Ds and Fs is the equivalent of lying about a student’s progress.”

“I will work with any student before or after school or even on the weekend to help them learn. However, I will never lie about their knowledge level,” Rinehart stated.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/california-schools-phase-out-d-f-grades-high-school-students

Vox Buys Thrillist Publisher Group Nine As Wave Of Media Consolidation Continues

It has already been a pretty busy year for media deals.

And as digital advertising rates quietly creep higher, Vox Media is responding to rival Buzzfeed's recent public offering via SPAC by acquiring rival Group Nine, the publisher of Thrillist, NowThis, The Dodo, PopSugar and Seeker.

If the all-stock deal goes through, Vox will own 75% of Group Nine, according to internal memos seen by CNBC and WSJ.

The deal would leave the combined company a private firm. However, Vox would be free to use a SPAC set up by Group Nine to go public and raise more public and private funds, if need be.

Vox CEO Jim Bankoff and Group Nine CEO Ben Lerer sent emails to employees after WSJ broke the news on Monday.

A deal would mark the end of an excruciatingly long series of on-and-off talks with various digital media rivals.

Group Nine has held on-and-off merger talks with Vox, BuzzFeed and other digital media companies for years, as CNBC reported last week. The name of the game is scale; the more properties and clicks, the better equipped they will be to compete for advertising dollars with Facebook and Google.

Vox's Bankoff reportedly told his staffers that the deal isn't signed but is expected to take place shortly and will close in early 2022. Lerer will take a board seat at Vox. Vox's publications, which include New York Magazine, the Verge, Eater, Curbed, Vox and SB Nation, will remain intact after the acquisition, according o the memo.

He added that management has no plans to go public. Still, the SPAC we mentioned above isn't simply going away. If Vox changes its mind (or finds it needs more runway to burn), the SPAC option remains open and easily accessible.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/vox-buys-thrillist-publisher-group-nine-wave-media-consolidation-continues

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