Floresco Productions/Connect Images/Getty Images As the Trump Administration makes deep cuts into the Education Department (ED), with the stated goal of eliminating the agency all together, House Republicans have proposed establishing a $5 billion voucher program for families to send their children to private schools. While the move props up Trump’s goal of “universal school choice,” opponents say vouchers and similar programs use public funds to promote private institutions at the expense of school systems that will continue to serve the vast majority of American students. The proposal was announced as part of a House budget reconciliation bill, an expedited...
FDA Approves The First At-Home Pap Smear Alternative
Courtney Hale/E+/Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the go-ahead for the U.S.’s first at-home alternative to the Pap smear. The Teal Wand, a self-administered test, will offer a "much preferred experience," to the traditional, famously uncomfortable Pap smear, according the device’s parent company, Teal Health. The Teal Wand is a vaginal swab that women can administer at home, and mail in to a lab to test for HPV (human papillomavirus). HPV causes the vast majority of cases of cervical cancer. Teal Health hopes to increase cervical cancer screening rates by making testing more comfortable and convenient...
British Dads Are Striking For Better Paternity Leave
kyonntra/E+/Getty Images At this point, we all know that parental leave in the United States is trash. We’re the only so-called “developed” country without guaranteed paid leave for new parents. The lucky few among us will have employers with generous leave policies. The less-but-still-kind-of lucky will be able to make use of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which guarantees 12 unpaid weeks of leave for certain employees. And 44% of us have no guarantees to leave, paid or unpaid, at all. This is often even worse for fathers than mothers: many companies with good maternity leave policies fall short...
Michigan County Will Surveil Teen Social Media Use To Prevent Violence
FG Trade Latin/E+/Getty Images A Michigan county has a plan to prevent violence among teens. By implementing government employees to monitor teens’ online activity, Wayne County law enforcement hopes to predict conflicts — and stop them before they turn deadly. And, good news if you’re on the lookout for a job — they’re hiring. The county, which includes Detroit and the surrounding area, is looking to add a “youth intelligence specialist” to its payroll, in what officials call a first-of-its-kind county initiative to prevent youth violence by tracking concerning posts on popular platforms, including TikTok and Snapchat. "Young people are...