Why are America’s schools so short-staffed? Experts point to a confluence of factors including pandemic-induced teacher exhaustion, low pay and some educators’ sense that politicians and parents — and sometimes their own school board members — have little respect for their profession amid an escalating educational culture war that has seen many districts and states pass policies and laws restricting what teachers can say about U.S. history, race, racism, gender and sexual orientation, as well as LGBTQ issues.

“The political situation in the United States, combined with legitimate aftereffects of covid, has created this shortage,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. “This shortage is contrived.”

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The dishonesty of right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was spotlighted in a Texas court on Wednesday as a lawyer for a pair of Sandy Hook parents cross-examined the Infowars founder and fact-checked his answers in real-time.

The jury hearing the case will determine how much Jones will have to pay the parents, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, who won a default judgment against him earlier this year. An attorney representing Heslin and Lewis has asked the jury to award $150 million in damages.

Jones, who was the sole witness for the defense during the trial, did not fare well Wednesday as he was cross-examined by the plaintiffs' attorney, Mark Bankston.

In a remarkable moment, Bankston disclosed to Jones and the court that he had recently acquired evidence proving Jones had lied when he claimed during the discovery process that he had never texted about the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting.

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As the floodwaters receded, tales of survival emerged Tuesday from victims who were roused from sleep by alerts and quickly found themselves trapped in their homes by floating furniture blocking the doors.

They described the experience as surreal, recalling how they had to ford through waist-deep water to reach loved ones only to be turned back by the swift current or watch as trucks and uprooted trailers were swept away.

William Haneberg, director of the Kentucky Geological Survey, said the rains came so fast there really was no time to escape, even if they heeded the weather service alerts.

“It’s mountainous terrain and the valleys are very narrow," he said. "A lot of the areas affected are very remote. It may take you an hour to go through the curving mountain roads. In a lot of the remote areas, there may only be one way out. So if you wait too long, the bridges may be washed out.”

People also have a tendency to tune out storm warnings, and generational ties to the land in Appalachia make some reluctant to leave, even if they know they live in a flood-prone area, Haneberg said.

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Former President Donald Trump welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to one of his luxury golf resorts barely a week after the Central European leader made remarks that have been compared to Nazi rhetoric. 

Trump released a statement saying it was “great spending time with my friend” and that the two were also celebrating Orban’s April electoral victory, in which Trump endorsed him.

Both men are scheduled to address the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas later this week. Orban will speak to the gathering Thursday afternoon and Trump is to deliver closing remarks on Saturday.

Orban’s presence however invited criticism and dismay following a July 23 speech in Romania in which he said that he wanted to prevent Hungary from becoming a “mixed-race” country and railed against a “flood” of migrants being “forced” on the country.

Zsuzsanna Hegedus, who is Jewish and a long-time Orban ally and adviser, resigned after the speech.

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Under Georgia law, fetuses now have “full legal recognition” as living people. That means their parents can claim them as dependents on their tax returns — even before delivery.

The state’s department of revenue said Monday that it would begin recognizing “any unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat … as eligible for the Georgia individual income tax dependent exemption” — amounting to $3000. Taxpayers must be prepared to provide relevant medical records and documents if requested by the department.

The tax benefit is a byproduct of a law that went into effect July 20 banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Georgia House Bill 481 was initially approved in 2019 but was deemed unconstitutional, given the protections granted by Roe v. Wade. Once that long-standing precedent was overturned in June, a federal appeals court cleared the way for Georgia’s abortion ban to become law. The court also agreed that “personhood” could be redefined to include fetuses.

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Some 43 years ago, the United States Congress overwhelmingly passed — and President Jimmy Carter signed into law — the Taiwan Relations Act, one of the most important pillars of U.S. foreign policy in the Asia Pacific.

The Taiwan Relations Act set out America’s commitment to a democratic Taiwan, providing the framework for an economic and diplomatic relationship that would quickly flourish into a key partnership. It fostered a deep friendship rooted in shared interests and values: self-determination and self-government, democracy and freedom, human dignity and human rights.

And it made a solemn vow by the United States to support the defense of Taiwan: “to consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means … a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United States.”

Today, America must remember that vow. We must stand by Taiwan, which is an island of resilience. Taiwan is a leader in governance: currently, in addressing the covid-19 pandemic and championing environmental conservation and climate action. It is a leader in peace, security and economic dynamism: with an entrepreneurial spirit, culture of innovation and technological prowess that are envies of the world.

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Primary results:  Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri & Washington

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Senators have reached a deal to pass veterans health care legislation, after the GOP blocked the legislation last week and pushed for multiple amendments.

At his weekly press conference, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said leadership had reached agreement to vote on three amendments at a 60-vote threshold and then pass the legislation, which boosts health care benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances such as Agent Orange and burn pits. He confirmed shortly after that he had the necessary buy-in from senators to quickly vote on the measure on the floor.

"I believe it will pass and pass this evening, so that's very good news," Schumer added.

The three amendments that will get votes are from Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), according to a Democratic aide.

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The Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco is urging U.S. senators to reject the pending Respect for Marriage Act, which would protect same-sex marriage from a potential rollback by the Supreme Court.

“People who experience same-sex attraction should be treated with the same respect and compassion as anyone, on account of their human dignity, and never be subject to unjust discrimination,” Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone wrote in a July 22 “Dear Senator” letter posted on the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “It was never discrimination, however, to simply maintain that an inherent aspect of the definition of marriage itself is the complementarity between the two sexes.”

 Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should revisit those rulings. Despite some Republican support in the House, the Senate version of the Respect for Marriage Act — which was co-authored by California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein —faces a difficult road.

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San Francisco’s Superior Court revoked the right to vote in school board elections from non-citizen parents on Friday in response to Orange County lawyer James V. Lacy’s lawsuit against the city over three months ago. 

Superior Court Judge Richard B. Ulmer ruled that the 2016 ordinance that gave voting rights to non-citizen parents—including green card holders, work visa holders, refugees and undocumented immigrants—is “contrary to the California constitution and state statutes and thus cannot stand.” 

The writ also includes a permanent injunction prohibiting the city from using the ordinance to allow non-citizen voting in future elections. 

Ulmer’s decision came just a month after a Staten Island Supreme Court Justice denied a law that allowed non-citizens to vote in New York elections—deeming it unconstitutional. 

“When noncitizens vote in an election, the voting rights of citizens are wrongly diluted,” Lacy said in a prepared statement.

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