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March 22, 2023

Social frailty comes with health risks for older adults

CNN
—

Consider three hypothetical women in their mid-70s, all living alone in identical economic circumstances with the same array of ailments: diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure.

Ms. Green stays home most of the time and sometimes goes a week without seeing people. But she’s in frequent touch by phone with friends and relatives, and she takes a virtual class with a discussion group from a nearby college.

Ms. Smith also stays home but rarely talks to anyone. She has lost contact with friends, stopped going to church and spends most of her time watching TV.

Ms. Johnson has a wide circle of friends and a busy schedule. She walks with neighbors regularly, volunteers at a local school twice a week, goes to church and is in close touch with her children, who don’t live nearby.

Three sets of social circumstances, three levels of risk should the women experience a fall, bout of pneumonia or serious deterioration in health.

Of the women, Ms. Johnson would be most likely to get a ride to the doctor or a visit in the hospital, experts suggest. Several people may check on Ms. Green and arrange assistance while she recovers.

But Ms. Smith would be unlikely to get much help and more likely than the others to fare poorly if her health became challenged. She’s what some experts would call “socially vulnerable” or “socially frail.”

Social frailty is a corollary to physical frailty, a set of vulnerabilities (including weakness, exhaustion, unintentional weight loss, slowness and low physical activity) shown to increase the risk of falls, disability, hospitalization, poor surgical outcomes, admission to a nursing home and earlier death in older adults.

Essentially, people who are physically frail have less physiological strength and a reduced biological ability to bounce back from illness or injury.

Those who are socially frail similarly have fewer resources to draw upon but for different reasons — they don’t have close relationships, can’t rely on others for help, aren’t active in community groups or religious organizations, or live in neighborhoods that feel unsafe, among other circumstances. Also, social frailty can entail feeling a lack of control over one’s life or being devalued by others.

Many of these factors have been linked to poor health outcomes in later life, along with so-called social determinants of health — low socioeconomic status, poor nutrition, insecure housing and inaccessible transportation.

Social frailty assumes that each factor contributes to an older person’s vulnerability and that they interact with and build upon each other.

“It’s a more complete picture of older adults’ circumstances than any one factor alone,” said Dr. Melissa Andrew, a professor of geriatric medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who published one of the first social vulnerability indices for older adults in 2008.

This way of thinking about older adults’ social lives, and how they influence health outcomes, is getting new attention from experts in the United States and elsewhere. In February, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of California, San Francisco published a 10-item “social frailty index” in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

Using data from 8,250 adults 65 and older who participated in the national Health and Retirement Study from 2010 to 2016, the researchers found that the index helped predict an increased risk of death during the period studied in a significant number of older adults, complementing medical tools used for this purpose.

“Our goal is to help clinicians identify older patients who are socially frail and to prompt problem-solving designed to help them cope with various challenges,” said Dr. Sachin Shah, a coauthor of the paper and a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“It adds dimensions of what a clinician should know about their patients beyond current screening instruments, which are focused on physical health,” said Dr. Linda Fried, a frailty researcher and dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

Beyond the corridors of medicine, Fried said, “we need society to build solutions” to issues raised in the index — the ability of older adults to work, volunteer and engage with other people; the safety and accessibility of neighborhoods in which they live; ageism and discrimination against older adults; and more.

Meanwhile, a team of Chinese researchers recently published a comprehensive review of social frailty in adults age 60 and older, based on results from dozens of studies with about 83,900 participants in Japan, China, Korea and Europe. They determined that 24{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} of these older adults, assessed both in hospitals and in the community, were socially frail — a higher portion than those deemed physically frail (12{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502}) or cognitively frail (9{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502}) in separate studies. Most vulnerable were people 75 and older.

What are the implications for health care? “If someone is socially vulnerable, perhaps they’ll need more help at home while they’re recovering from surgery. Or maybe they’ll need someone outside their family circle to be an advocate for them in the hospital,” said Dr. Kenneth Covinsky, a geriatrician at UC San Francisco and coauthor of the recent Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences article.

“I can see a social frailty index being useful in identifying older adults who need extra assistance and directing them to community resources,” said Jennifer Ailshire, an associate professor of gerontology and sociology at the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

Older people who are socially vulnerable may need more assistance with health care.

Unlike other physicians, geriatricians regularly screen older adults for extra needs, albeit without using a well-vetted or consistent set of measures. “I’ll ask, ‘Who do you depend on most and how do you depend on them? Do they bring you food? Drive you places? Come by and check on you? Give you their time and attention?’ ” said Dr. William Dale, the Arthur M. Coppola family chair in supportive care medicine at City of Hope, a comprehensive cancer center in Duarte, California.

Depending on the patients’ answers, Dale will refer them to a social worker or help modify their plan of care. But he cautioned that primary care physicians and specialists don’t routinely take the time to do this.

Oak Street Health, a Chicago-based chain of 169 primary care centers for older adults in 21 states and recently purchased by CVS Health, is trying to change that in its clinics, said Dr. Ali Khan, the company’s chief medical officer of value-based care strategy.

At least three times a year, medical assistants, social workers or clinicians ask patients about loneliness and social isolation, barriers to transportation, food insecurity, financial strain, housing quality and safety, access to broadband services and utility services.

The organization combines these findings with patient-specific medical information in a “global risk assessment” that separates older people into four tiers of risk, from very high to very low. In turn, this informs the kinds of services provided to patients, the frequency of service delivery and individual wellness plans, which include social as well as medical priorities.

The central issue, Khan said, is “what is this patient’s ability to continue down a path of resilience in the face of a very complicated health care system?” and what Oak Street Health can do to enhance that.

What’s left out of an approach such as this, however, is something crucial to older adults: whether their relationships with other people are positive or negative. That isn’t typically measured, but it’s essential in considering whether their social needs are being met, said Linda Waite, the George Herbert Mead distinguished service professor of sociology at the University of Chicago and director of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project.

For older adults who want to think about their own social vulnerability, consider this five-item index, developed by researchers in Japan.

1. Do you go out less frequently compared with last year?

2. Do you sometimes visit your friends?

3. Do you feel you are helpful to friends or family?

4. Do you live alone?

5. Do you talk to someone every day?

Think about your answers. If you find your responses unsatisfactory, it might be time to reconsider your social circumstances and make a change.

February 10, 2023

Medicare and Social Security insolvency is right around the corner

A version of this story appears in CNN’s What Issues publication. To get it in your inbox, indication up for free in this article.

CNN
—

Both equally sides are misleading persons.

President Joe Biden is accusing Republicans of wanting to slice Social Protection and Medicare. He says he’ll defend these key pillars of the social basic safety internet.

Republicans, when they do want cuts to offer with “runaway” Washington investing, have promised they will not touch Social Security and Medicare (or protection paying).

Biden’s assure – centered on Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s fanciful proposal to demand federal legal guidelines, including those safety web programs, to expire just after five yrs if they are not renewed by Congress – would seem completely political.

Republicans’ assure to make cuts without having touching the safety web or the Pentagon seems mathematically difficult.

The chilly, difficult, actuarial truth of the matter is that we never need to have Scott’s approach to power a debate about Medicare funding, mainly because within 5 several years, the believe in fund that money Medicare medical center coverage (Medicare Part A) will have a zero stability.

Which is suitable. In their annual report, unveiled very last June, Medicare’s trustees noted that the hospital insurance policy belief fund will provide in $412.6 billion in 2023. It will shell out $415.6 billion. That indicates it will spend $3 billion a lot more than it generates in earnings this 12 months.

The healthcare facility insurance policy believe in fund will be fully long gone by 2028, which indicates the govt has 5 yrs to transform the equation. Browse the Medicare trustees report.

An ever-so-somewhat a lot more optimistic check out from the Congressional Finances Workplace is that the healthcare facility coverage believe in fund will be depleted by 2030.

Here’s what the trustees say: “If property were depleted, Medicare could pay back health ideas and suppliers of Section A companies only to the extent permitted by ongoing tax revenues—and these revenues would be insufficient to totally deal with expenditures. Beneficiary accessibility to well being treatment solutions could speedily be curtailed.”

Which is shorter on details, but it is obvious Medicare is warning that devoid of the trust fund, some products and services would be minimize promptly.

CBO indicates there would be an 8{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} slice in paying in the very first 12 months.

I talked to Natalie Davis, a former leading formal at the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Products and services and co-founder and CEO of United States of Care, a nonprofit seeking to strengthen the US overall health system. She’s uncertain lawmakers will permit any cuts take place.

“Congress is likely to act in advance of this takes place, if our background tells us anything at all,” she informed me.

In the 1990s, among the a amount of deficit-reduction actions, Congress altered how doctors ended up reimbursed by Medicare. That technique, which evolved into an once-a-year political standoff recognized as the “doc fix,” has considering that been abandoned, but it did signify lawmakers operating together to alter the monetary picture of Medicare.

Democrats modified the equation at the time all over again and bought the have confidence in fund some years when they handed the Very affordable Care Act, which raised payroll taxes for men and women earning additional than $200,000 per calendar year.

If the belief fund is depleted, that does not necessarily mean Medicare will out of the blue cease operating. Medicare Aspect B, which covers health practitioner, outpatient and house health products and services, and Medicare Aspect D, which handles prescription medication, have various funding mechanisms, together with premiums paid by Medicare enrollees and dollars from the Treasury. The nonprofit Kaiser Family members Foundation has an in-depth search at Medicare funding.

What constitutes a Medicare reduce can be the issue of a lot disagreement.

Scott argued in an job interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Thursday that when Democrats passed laws giving Medicare the ability to negotiate some drug rates in an energy to reduce down on drug prices, they lower Medicare advantages.

If Medicare is paying significantly less funds, isn’t that a lower? Would seem additional like savings. CNN’s Daniel Dale seemed at the info of Scott’s declare.

The financial outlook of Social Safety, the retirement and disability system that pays much more than 65 million Americans a check at the time a month, is a bit various than it is for Medicare.

The price tag of Social Security, which is funded through payroll taxes, began to be greater than its cash flow in 2021 and will be better in all foreseeable future years, according to the most recent yearly Social Protection trustees report.

Two Social Protection believe in resources, both of those of which own US credit card debt in the sort of treasuries, need to protect expenditures for the future ten years. The have confidence in fund that pays checks to seniors will be depleted in 2034. Starting off in 2035, Social Security would only be equipped to shell out 77{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} of added benefits without having governing administration action.

CBO has a slightly dimmer check out and suggests the belief fund that backs checks to seniors will be fatigued in 2033.

In order to make Social Stability solvent for the following 75 a long time, the trustees have carried out the math and say three issues can be accomplished:

Improve the payroll tax that resources Social Protection from 12.4{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} to 15.6 {515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502}.
Decrease benefits by additional than 20{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} to all current and long term recipients or far more than 24{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} for potential beneficiaries.
Mix some edition of the tax raise and the reward reduction.

The more time lawmakers wait around, the far more complex the math gets.

There are other ideas floating all over. The Bipartisan Policy Middle introduced a specific proposal in 2016 that proposed changing the reward formula and steadily boosting the total retirement age by two several years to 69.

Biden has instructed taxing the wealthy or elevating company taxes. Others have suggested a wealth tax to convey in much more income. Republicans have pushed paying cuts, even though it is not crystal clear what specifically they would slice.

And it’s also essential to take note that these projections modify. Medicare really received a few yrs of solvency for the duration of the pandemic. But the very long-phrase craze has remained the similar.

“The producing on the wall could not be any extra crystal clear: Social Protection and Medicare continue to be on a dangerously unsustainable path,” claimed Michael Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Basis, back again when the trustees experiences were released. “Unfortunately, as a substitute of functioning to reinforce these necessary packages, lawmakers have their heads buried in the sand whilst the trust fund depletion grows nearer each 12 months.”

Minimal appears to have improved in the 8 months because he mentioned these words.

February 8, 2023

Harry Styles’ Grammy fashion: Rainbow jumpsuit divides social media

Created by Oscar Holland, CNN

Harry Styles experienced a night time to keep in mind. Not only did he take home two Grammy Awards on Sunday evening, but he also served up some of the ceremony’s most talked-about outfits.

The previous A person Route star began the night in a plunging technicolor jumpsuit that revealed a collection of butterfly and fowl tattoos on his otherwise bare upper body. The vibrant harlequin sample was brought to lifestyle by Swarovski crystals, though the legs of the sparkling garment flared out in excess of a pair of white boots.

Harry Styles in a rainbow-colored harlequin jumpsuit by Egonlab and Swarovski.

Harry Variations in a rainbow-coloured harlequin jumpsuit by Egonlab and Swarovski. Credit rating: Amy Sussman/Getty Visuals

Even though Types typically opts for red-carpet looks — and without a doubt jumpsuits — by Italian label Gucci, this just one was intended by Egonlab, an rising French manufacturer regarded for its genderless creations.

The outfit divided social media, with comments ranging from “he can pretty much dress in anything at all” to “appears to be like he forgot the jacket.” Some others dubbed the look an illustration of “clowncore,” while the singer also drew comparisons — the two favorable and disparaging — to two of Britain’s most flamboyant pop icons: Elton John and David Bowie.

Jumpsuits have turn into a little something of a signature glance for Models, who consistently wore them on phase through his Enjoy On Tour. It was no shock, hence, that he experienced a next a single all set for his much-anticipated Grammys efficiency.

Harry Styles in jumpsuit number two as he performs "As it Was."

Harry Styles in jumpsuit quantity two as he performs “As it Was.” Credit: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Using the stage for a rendition of strike track “As It Was” (which you may possibly bear in mind showcased a online video of the singer donning a — you guessed it — sequined purple jumpsuit), the star opted for a considerably less revealing, even though no significantly less exuberant, selection.

The overall performance drew a standing ovation from Taylor Swift, and his silver fringed structure gained plaudits online, too, although Twitter customers also when compared it to a embellished Xmas tree and a pair of metallic fringe curtains.

Harry Styles accepts the Best Pop Vocal Album award for "Harry's House."

Harry Kinds accepts the Very best Pop Vocal Album award for “Harry’s House.” Credit: JC Olivera/WireImage/Getty Pictures

Variations, who is recognized for daring and gender-fluid manner, opted for a little something a lot more official to collect his awards. Getting the stage to scoop up the coveted Album of the 12 months and Greatest Pop Vocal Album for “Harry’s Residence,” he appeared dapper in a cropped white accommodate jacket and wide-legged tan-colored trousers.

Even then, he couldn’t assistance but deliver some sparkle to the outfit in a shimmering reduced-lower top.

January 19, 2023

Bill Maher roasts failing educational system: Kids learn ‘nothing,’ just ‘rot their brains’ on social media

Invoice Maher sounded alarm bells about a failing educational program, warning that college students study “nothing at all” in a modern classroom since society is worried to “stigmatize” them.

On his latest “Club Random” podcast, the host talked to comic Sebastian Maiscalo about the potential risks struggling with his two children, declaring, “I do not know what you feel your kids are mastering in faculty. But I’m pretty much sure it is nothing. I necessarily mean, they do nonetheless instruct them how to read through, scarcely.”

He also lashed out at smartphones and social media, decrying them for “rotting” the brains of youthful folks today.

Maher contrasted what he observed as education right now and his possess.

Monthly bill MAHER SLAMS WOKE School CAMPUSES: ‘THERE IS A ROT, AND IT Will come FROM ACADEMIA’

“They did not let you out the doorway of superior school unless of course you experienced a sort of standard knowing of the planet and our location in it and essential items,” he claimed.

The host mentioned that he labored hard in topics like math and biology because “we have been frightened that if we did not do nicely, there would be horrible repercussions like acquiring still left again.” But in 2023, “They would never use that expression because… ‘Oh my God! You are stigmatizing men and women!’ Sure! I was anxious about staying stigmatized!’”

Maher concluded, “And that was fantastic. It is not poor to be a tiny scared.”

The “Club Random” host, who has no small children himself, prompted Maiscalo: “You should be concerned about what the f—ing cell phone, the portal to evil, and social media and TikTok and how that is rotting – and is rotting the brains of our youth.”

Invoice MAHER SKEWERS WOKE Remaining FOR NOT Comprehending Independence: ‘FREEDOM Must BE A LIBERAL THING’

"Real Time" host Bill Maher on the set of his HBO show.

“True Time” host Bill Maher on the established of his HBO demonstrate.
(HBO)

Maiscalo stated that his intention was to retain smartphones away from his kids right until “they get a [drivers] license.” Maher shot back again that these objectives are “likely to be incredibly really hard to keep the line” for dad and mom.

“When that kid goes to faculty and the other little ones have telephones. That’s what I’m speaking about! This is heading to pit you from the horror of exactly where The usa is now with this kind of nonsense,” Maher mentioned.

In December, Maher slammed younger environmentalists for blaming more mature generations.

“You happen to be not driving? Proper. You happen to be just with Greta on a sailboat all the time. You’re applying automobiles as substantially as we did. So, shut the f— up!” he mentioned.

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Photo of a person on TikTok. The app tracks all of your personal information.

Photograph of a particular person on TikTok. The application tracks all of your personal information.
(Fox Information)

Scott Whitlock is an editor for Fox Information Digital.

December 22, 2022

Kansas City area school board removes social justice lessons

Going against a district recommendation, the Lansing school board removed high school English curriculum after a parent complained that her daughter’s course had been “hijacked by a social-political agenda” and was “representative of critical race theory.”

The school board in Leavenworth County last week voted 4-3 to remove certain materials included in Senior Composition and Senior Literature courses, despite the objections of several other parents and students. That decision went against a district committee’s recommendation stating that the content as used in class is “appropriate for the age of students and learning objectives.”

Parent Kirsten Workman successfully challenged materials in a social justice unit, where students explored different topics and wrote expository essays. As a result, the classes will no longer include the video “Oscar Wilde Biography: His ‘Wild’ Life,” the films “The Laramie Project” and “13th,” and the essays “We Should All be Feminists” by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and “Willing to Be Disturbed” by Margaret J. Wheatley.

“My opinion is that my daughter’s writing course has been hijacked by a social-political agenda where she is force-fed ideas that are completely homogeneous and ignore other perspectives,” Workman wrote in her objection.

Several other parents and students urged the school board to dismiss the complaint, arguing that they should not bend to the will of “extreme radical parents.”

“There are extreme forces trying to denigrate quality public education in Lansing. These individuals couch this effort with words meant to scare, like ‘Marxism,’ ‘indoctrination’ and ‘propaganda,’” parent Nicole Yedlinsky told the school board.

“There are some individuals who mistakenly believe they can raise children in a vacuum. They believe high school students are not capable of complex thought. These parents should be having open conversations with their children regarding their own viewpoints, not disrupting the well-balanced, moderate education my children currently receive.”

The Lansing school board removed social justice curriculum in a high school English class, including the showing of the documentary “13th,” which features professor and activist Angela Davis. Netflix

Curriculum challenge

Workman called the five-week unit “indoctrination,” arguing that it taught students critical race theory, or CRT, an academic concept that explores the role of American institutions in perpetuating racial inequality.

CRT is not taught in K-12 schools, but has become a target of conservative parents and politicians and a catchall term for schools’ teachings on race, diversity and equity.

“My daughter is seventeen years old, and has not fully formed her own ideas yet. She is not a college student. This reading, presented in this context, does not serve as encouragement for a young mind to do the intellectual work required to support her own ideas, but rather to try on others’ ideas to see how they feel and whether that brings harmony to society,” Workman wrote in her objection.

Students told the school board that the course taught them to identify biases and consider a variety of perspectives to make informed opinions. One student said at last week’s meeting that, “listening to another person’s perspective is not indoctrinating.”

The debate in Lansing comes amid a nationwide push by some conservative parents and politicians to ban from schools certain books that deal with gender and sexual identity, as well as diversity and equity initiatives and curriculum on race.

Workman argued that the documentary “13th” was a direct example of CRT. The title refers to the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery and, according to Netflix, analyzes “the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.” The committee that reviewed the curriculum — made up of subject area experts, library specialists, parents and a student — reported that only clips of the documentary were shown to classes, and that the teacher stopped the film multiple times to point out biases.

The curriculum is designed to hone expository writing skills, having students explain facts.

“For a student to be able to master this type of writing, readers should be given a variety of alternating views and controversial material to ascertain biases and inaccuracies on their own. This is how they improve as critical thinkers, writers, and learners,” a committee member wrote.

The essay “Willing to Be Disturbed” encourages readers to be willing to have their beliefs challenged. “We Should All be Feminists” is a personal essay that explores how women are marginalized around the world and offers a unique definition of feminism, according to the author’s website.

“The Laramie Project” is a play and HBO film about the reaction to the 1998 murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming.

Workman said she objects “to my child’s exposure to literary themes which are heavily centered on sexuality, religion, morality, brutal murder and death,” adding that she does not want the course “to give my child the impression that hate crimes are even a remotely prevalent social issue in the U.S.”

The committee that reviewed the curriculum argued that the video shown in class is rated TV-14, “is factual, tells both sides of the story, and did happen.”

Student Brooke Worrall, who served on the committee, argued that the curriculum is valuable and helped teach students critical thinking skills.

“Not only did we learn how to analyze facts during these lessons but also how to spot bias and/or propaganda,” Worrall said. “The information was presented to us by the teachers very well. The teachers presented to us this information in a neutral manner without suggesting an opinion in any way. Typically, after these lessons the students were given the chance to discuss with classmates and do our own research to form our own opinions.”

Workman first met with Principal Alan Penrose in September, saying that her daughter was instructed in class to analyze literature using a “Marxist lens” and other social-political theories, according to district documents. She continued discussing her concerns about classwork with the principal, who in October allowed her daughter to work from the library and complete alternate assignments.

She then submitted a challenge to the curriculum. The principal gave her daughter several options, according to the committee report, including returning to class, completing a class online or enrolling in a new literature class for college credit. Workman reportedly rejected those ideas and argued for her daughter to stay in class and for the content to change.

Last month, the school board directed the superintendent to form a committee to review the curriculum.

‘Disrupting the classroom’

Students pleaded with the school board to allow teachers to continue offering safe spaces in class to discuss difficult topics.

“Disrupting the classroom like this is hurting the teachers’ right to teach and the students’ right to learn,” student Alexis Perry told the school board. “…There is a teacher shortage in America, and having attacks like this on our teachers and their ability to teach is driving that number up.”

Perry said the curriculum challenge already is “affecting my fellow classmates in other classes, with the fear that their teaching environment is going to be disrupted. … I used to want to be a teacher. And things like this, where I’m seeing teachers losing their ability and their right to teach and my right as a student to learn, doesn’t make me want to do that.”

This past spring, the Lansing school board voted 4-3 to approve a parents bill of rights, modeled after Republican-supported legislation that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed, calling the measure a “teacher demoralization act.” The Kansas House failed to override the veto, but Republicans made it a hallmark of campaigns this fall. The parents bill of rights outlines ways parents can oversee their child’s education, including reviewing and objecting to books and curriculum.

Across the country, Republican lawmakers have pushed for such “curriculum transparency” measures, arguing that schools needed to increase transparency and parent involvement.

Many public school advocates and teachers fought back against the proposed parents bill of rights in Kansas, arguing that parents were already afforded the rights spelled out in the legislation. Some teachers told The Star that they already provide parents with learning materials and are happy to address complaints as they arise. They worried that such legislation would have a chilling effect on open and flexible classroom instruction.

This story was originally published December 21, 2022 5:30 AM.

Sarah Ritter covers K-12 education for The Kansas City Star. Formerly a reporter for the Quad-City Times, Sarah is a graduate of Augustana College.

November 28, 2022

After US Soccer changes Iranian flag on social media, Iran calls for US to be kicked out of 2022 World Cup

CNN
—

Iran point out media has called for the US to be kicked out of the 2022 Earth Cup just after the United States Soccer Federation transformed Iran’s flag on its social media platforms to display support for protesters in Iran.

The federation had temporarily shown Iran’s countrywide flag on its formal Twitter, Instagram and Fb accounts without having the emblem of the Islamic Republic. A now-deleted graphic of the Team B standings posted on Saturday shown the Iranian flag only bearing its eco-friendly, white and pink colours.

US Soccer informed CNN on Sunday that it wished to adjust the official flag for 24 hours to exhibit “support for the women of all ages in Iran battling for fundamental human rights” but often prepared to go back again to the unique flag.

A US soccer federation screenshot displaying Iran's national flag on social media without the emblem of the Islamic Republic.

The improve “was a one particular-time graphic,” US Soccer advised CNN. “We have the most important flag on our web page and other sites.” The emblem is at the moment back again on the flag on US Soccer’s social media channels.

A spokesperson for the State Division told CNN it did not coordinate with US Soccer in the sporting body’s decision to transform Iran’s flag on its social media accounts to clearly show assist for protesters in Iran.

“We seem ahead to a tranquil and aggressive match on the field. The United States carries on to obtain techniques to assistance the Iranian persons in the encounter of condition-sponsored violence in opposition to gals and a brutal crackdown towards peaceful protestors,” the Point out Department advised CNN.

Iran state media reported Sunday that the United States must be straight away kicked out of the event and suspended for 10 games for a “distorted image” of the country’s flag.

“By posting a distorted graphic of the flag of the Islamic Republic of #Iran on its official account, the #US soccer crew breached the @FIFAcom charter, for which a 10-activity suspension is the ideal penalty,” Iran condition-aligned Tasnim information company wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “Team #Usa should really be kicked out of the #WorldCup2022.”

FIFA did not straight away respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Iran and the US perform each and every other on Tuesday in a crucial Team B match. It is a have to-earn tie for the US if it is to progress to the knockout phases.

Iran is showing at this World Cup less than the shadow of domestic turmoil. The United Nations Superior Commissioner for Human Rights Chief, Volker Turk, has reported that the state is in a “full-fledged human rights crisis” as authorities clamp down on anti-regime dissidents.

Protests, referred to by experts as the most significant considering the fact that the institution of clerical rule pursuing the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and violence have rocked Iran in latest months and threatened the really character of the country’s regime, which has been in power for more than 40 years.

It was sparked by the loss of life of Mahsa Amini, a 22-12 months-old girl who died right after staying detained by Iran’s morality police, allegedly for not abiding by the country’s conservative dress code. Iranian security forces have unleashed a violent reaction.

The most up-to-date controversy arrives following a working day of difficulties in advance of the two teams’ Team B clash in Doha at the Al Thumama Stadium.

US Soccer’s selection came on the exact same working day the previous US Men’s Nationwide Team’s (USMNT) head mentor Jurgen Klinsmann said he will try out to communicate with Iran’s manager, Carlos Queiroz, to “calm issues down” just after Klinsmann’s opinions about Iran’s tradition had been branded “outrageous remarks.”

Pursuing Iran’s 2- victory about Wales on Friday, Klinsmann reviewed Iran’s mindset toward the recreation of soccer, led by Queiroz, for the duration of a panel discussion on the BBC.

“That’s their culture and which is their way of doing it and which is why Carlos Queiroz, he matches actually very well in the Iranian national workforce,” Klinsmann stated. “He struggled in South The us. He unsuccessful with Colombia to qualify then he failed with Egypt to qualify as very well and then he went again appropriate just before the World Cup now and guided Iran where he labored previously for a very long, prolonged time.

“This is not by coincidence. This is all purposely. This is just aspect of their lifestyle. Which is how they enjoy it and they do the job the referee. You noticed the bench normally leaping off, usually working the fourth, the linesmen and the fourth referee on the sideline, continually in their ears. They are frequently in your experience on the subject.”

The 1990 World Cup winner continued: “This is their culture and they kind of make you lose your emphasis and make you reduce your focus and what is really important to you.”

On Saturday, Queiroz responded to Klinsmann in a series of tweets.

“Even not understanding me personally, you dilemma my character with a common prejudiced judgment of superiority,” Queiroz wrote. “No subject how substantially I can regard what you did within the pitch, these remarks about Iran Lifestyle, Iran National Workforce and my Players are a shame to Soccer. Nobody can hurt our integrity if it is not at our stage, of system.”

Queiroz additional: “As American/German, we have an understanding of your no guidance. No challenge. And in spite of your outrageous remarks on BBC hoping to undermine our efforts, sacrifices and abilities, we assure you that we will not create any judgments pertaining to your tradition, roots and track record and that you will constantly be welcome to our Loved ones.”

The Iran Football Federation, in a statement, demanded Klinsmann apologize and resign from his Qatar 2022 Technical Analyze Group situation with FIFA. Iran reported it has requested FIFA “for quick clarification on this make any difference.”

CNN has attained out to FIFA for remark but did not get a response at time of publication.

On Sunday, Klinsmann reported on BBC Breakfast: “There was stuff definitely taken out of context. I will check out to give him a call and serene points down. I have hardly ever criticized Carlos or the Iranian bench. Some even considered I was criticizing the referee simply because he did not do anything about the way they were behaving on the bench.

“All I explained was their emotional way of doing items, which is really admirable in a particular way. The total bench life the game. They’re jumping up and down and Carlos is a very psychological coach. He’s consistently on the sidelines striving to give his players all his energy and route.”

The federation invited Klinsmann to take a look at Group Melli Camp in Doha and “for a lecture on the millennial Persian society and the values of soccer and activity.”

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‘Disrupting the classroom’

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