As governor calls on hybrid learning by March 1, school districts reevaluate plans

Maryland school districts are reevaluating reopening plans but are unsure they can meet the governor's request to do so by March 1.

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  • ‘The Walking Dead’ Has New Villains Thanks to Maggie Greene’s Return

    Eli Ade/AMCNegan better watch his back, because Maggie Greene is back in town. On Sunday night, The Walking Dead returned to close out its super-sized penultimate season with six more episodes—and kicked things off by giving Maggie a chance to explain what she and her son, Hershel, have been up to, and why it’s been so long since she touched base with Team Family. But the real question of this week has less to do with where Maggie’s been, and more to do with who the hell she’s managed to antagonize. It seems we’ve got a new villain on our hands, and they apparently have it out for her.It’s a rough week for Maggie: First, she comes face-to-face with Negan, who’s now at large in Alexandria after Carol sprung him from prison. Then, the onetime leader of Hilltop expressed her desire to return home there with her son and a group of survivors only to find out that the place has been reduced to a pile of rubble and bodies. And then, Maggie has to hear from Carol that Negan was actually with the Whisperers when they leveled Hilltop. “Alpha needed to die, and Negan was our best chance,” Carol explained. “We were gonna lose everything; Negan’s the reason we didn’t.”Maggie seems sympathetic, but she’s understandably not thrilled.But the group must press on—so Maggie, Daryl and Kelly head out for the settlement where Maggie’s been staying, along with her friends from the camp, Elijah and Cole. After a long day of walking (and murdering some walkers to take refuge in a storage container) Maggie reveals to Daryl that, like her old friends, she’s borne witness to a lot of tragedy over the past couple years.When Maggie first left Hilltop, she’d set out with a woman named Georgie, whose group helped nascent communities learn the farming and engineering skills required to make it in the apocalypse. “But it’d always go sideways,” she said. The group had been helping a community in Knoxville, Maggie continued, but when Georgie left to check out another community, things collapsed and she and Hershel ran. When Daryl asked what happened to the village Georgie had built, Maggie simply replied, “Not now.”“It’s actually good to say some of it out loud. Just can’t say all of it,” she said. “I almost came home after Knoxville; maybe I should have. Maybe I should have.” After the collapse, Maggie said, she brought Hershel to a place that used to belong to her grandmother on the coast—a place, she said, where she and Glenn had talked about visiting after her sister, Beth, died in Season 5. One night, she and Hershel stayed up late talking about his family. “He asked how his daddy died,” she said. “I knew he would; I knew it was coming. I told him that a bad man killed him. He wanted to know if that man got what he deserved. He wanted to know if that man was dead.”“The truth is I left home because I couldn’t have Negan taking up any more space in my head,” Maggie said. “And when I realized I didn’t want to bring Hershel back to that, the next morning we met a whole community of people who needed us as much as we needed them. And it felt like it was meant to be. But that’s over, too.”Daryl emphasized that things remain up in the air with regard to Negan—a thread that will certainly return later this season and, perhaps, beyond. Because the next morning, Maggie and the group arrive home—only to find it burned to the ground.Turns out, there’s a group called the Reapers hunting people down one by one in the woods now. We see several people Maggie had been staying with shot down before a man comes for Maggie—only to be surrounded by her group. But the man, dressed in military fatigues, refuses to answer any of Maggie’s questions. Instead, he tells her, “Pope marked you”—and then proceeds to blow himself up.There is no group called The Reapers in the Walking Dead comics; there isn’t even a group that seems particularly analogous, from what we’ve seen so far. It’s fascinating, given that we’re just on the verge of truly meeting the Commonwealth—another yet-unexplored community that appears to be the show’s endgame—that the show has now introduced another group to content with. They could be, as The Wrap posits, affiliated with the Civic Republic—villains of the spin-off World Beyond. But so far, it’s hard to guess at who these people are or what they really want.Lauren Cohan returned to Walking Dead during what would have originally been its season finale last year, after a brief trip to ABC for the now-defunct Whiskey Cavalier. Despite how long this series has floundered, both before and especially after her absence, Cohan’s presence feels like a refreshing return to form for the zombie drama—especially as it shuffles toward its final season. (She was always, and remains, one of the most emotive and compelling performers in the cast.) Nothing will ever fully atone for Glenn Rhee’s poorly executed, excruciatingly graphic death in Season 7. But it’s still somehow a little sentimental to see his son walk into Alexandria hand-in-hand with his mother. That said, however, in light of this week’s brief scare—which found Maggie racing through the woods looking for her son after finding the camp burned to the ground—I will say this: If Hershel dies, as so many children on this series have, we riot.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Students from Rep. Madison Cawthorn's college said he used 'fun drives' to corner women with sexual advances, report says

    Two former resident assistants told BuzzFeed News they warned women in their dorms not to go on drives with Cawthorn because "bad things happened."

  • Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine recommended for emergency use. How is it different?

    There are a couple major differences in how this vaccine works.

  • GOP lawmakers reportedly cite 'public health emergency' in skipping votes, despite speaking at CPAC

    A number of Republican lawmakers have reportedly claimed to be unable to attend votes due to the COVID-19 pandemic — even though they're able to appear in person at CPAC. Several allies of former President Donald Trump in the House of Representatives have "skipped Friday's votes and enlisted their colleagues to vote on their behalf," signing letters declaring they can't themselves attend due to "ongoing public health emergency," yet at the same time, they're expected to speak at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, CNN reported on Friday. Among these lawmakers is reportedly Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who already spoke to CPAC attendees on Friday. But he's not alone, as CBS News' Rebecca Kaplan reports that a total of 13 House Republicans appearing at CPAC have made proxy voting requests, citing the pandemic as the reason. Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) was another one of these lawmakers, and his spokesperson told CBS that he "was forced to proxy vote for the first time" after the "Democrats rearranged the House schedule with extremely late notice," adding that "mentioning the pandemic in the letter is the standard language that both parties are required to use to proxy vote." The spokesperson also said that Budd "remains philosophically opposed to proxy voting" despite plans to do so himself. Notably, Kaplan points out, "among the votes they will miss tonight: one on the COVID relief bill." 13 House Republicans who are appearing at CPAC in Orlando Friday, Saturday and Sunday have active proxy voting requests with the House Clerk's office saying they can't attend votes due to the pandemic. Among the votes they will miss tonight: one on the COVID relief bill. — Rebecca Kaplan (@RebeccaRKaplan) February 26, 2021 More stories from theweek.comJournalist Tim O'Brien, who's seen Trump's taxes, thinks Trump's accountant will now flip in D.A. inquiryNewly confirmed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is 'obsessed' with creating 'clean-energy jobs'Ted Cruz jokes about Cancun trip at CPAC as over a million Texans still lack drinkable water

  • Residents of an Indian slum thought they were getting vaccinated like everyone else but were unknowingly part of a clinical trial

    After a white van advertised COVID-19 vaccines to a central-Indian slum, many of its residents feel duped after finding out they were in a trial.

  • Prince Harry knew he and Meghan Markle had something 'pretty special' by their second date. Here's a complete timeline of their relationship.

    The couple's royal love story began in 2016 when they were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend.

  • ‘At least 22 killed’ after President Biden orders first military strike

    The attack was carried out on Iranian-backed militias

  • 'Oath Keeper' Jessica Watkins denounced the extremist group but will stay in jail before her trial, judge says

    The ruling comes after Watkins requested pretrial release earlier this week due to safety concerns in jail related to her being transgender.

  • Police question South Dakota AG on fatal car crash: ‘His face was in your windshield’

    Investigators were skeptical about answers given by South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg while looking into a deadly car crash. Ravnsborg struck an individual while driving on Sept. 12, 2020, but what surprises those investigating the incident is that he claims he didn’t know he fatally struck the victim, per video footage released Tuesday. According to USA Today, Joe Boever, 55, was walking on the side of Highway 14 west of Highmore when he was struck by a vehicle.

  • House Passes Biden’s $1.9T Stimulus Plan—Without a Single GOP Vote in Favor

    Brendan Smialowski/AFP via GettyDemocrats are one big step closer to achieving their first major goal of the Joe Biden era. Early Saturday morning, the U.S. House approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill on a nearly party-line vote.The 219-212 vote allows the U.S. Senate to formally take up the legislation, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) intends to do immediately. But the party is under the gun: Many Democrats regard March 14—the day that extended unemployment benefits run out for millions—as a de facto deadline for getting the so-called American Rescue Plan on Biden’s desk.The legislation would replenish relief for the jobless by extending a weekly $400 check through August. It also fulfills a number of other promises Democrats campaigned on in 2020: $1,400 direct stimulus checks to supplement the $600 checks that went out in December, billions of dollars to hasten vaccine distribution, funds for schools, and aid for state and local governments. The House’s bill passed with an increase to the federal minimum wage—but the Senate’s procedural enforcer found that the proposal did not conform to the rules of fast-tracking a bill in the upper chamber. It effectively kills the prospects for a clean wage hike as part of the COVID legislation.Prior rounds of major COVID legislation passed the House with bipartisan support, but Friday’s vote all but confirmed Biden’s first relief effort will travel a starkly partisan path. The GOP, beset with infighting in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack and Donald Trump’s impeachment, have found cause for unity in opposing the relief plan, which they slammed as a bloated vehicle for liberal wish-list items. Democrats held out hope that at least a few Republicans would vote for the plan, but not a single GOP lawmaker backed the legislation, and its odds for picking up many Senate Republicans look dim.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Trump lost because 'character counts.' That's why his CPAC speech won't change anything.

    The problem in 2020 was with the Republican candidate. That won't change in 2024 if Trump stays on top.

  • TikTokers tried to prove that snow in Texas was 'fake' as weather conspiracy theories ran wild online

    From "fake snow" to Bill Gates, conspiracy theories about the Texas storm are spreading. Right-wing pundits and politicians aren't helping.

  • Merkel won’t take AstraZeneca vaccine, says she's too old

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she won't take AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine because she is too old, a comment that comes as millions of Germans refuse to take the vaccine because they do not trust it.

  • At CPAC, Cruz and Hawley remain defiant about Capitol riot

    Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley appeared at CPAC Friday and gave their most extensive public remarks since Jan. 6, when both were seen by critics as having helped incite a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol.

  • Biden administration sanctions Saudi operatives, but not crown prince, after blaming him for Khashoggi killing

    After blaming Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Biden administration is announcing new sanctions against Saudi operatives, but not against the crown prince himself. The U.S. on Friday declassified an intelligence report concluding that Mohammed bin Salman "approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi." Shortly after the report's release, Politico's Natasha Bertrand reported the U.S. Treasury Department is announcing new sanctions against General Ahmed al-Asiri, former deputy head of the Saudi intelligence services, as well as the crown prince's personal protective detail, over their alleged roles in the Washington Post journalist's killing. However, according to Bertrand, "Crown Prince MBS will NOT be sanctioned," and Politico quotes a senior administration official as saying that the "aim is recalibration, not a rupture, because of the important interests that we do share" with Saudi Arabia. Similarly, The New York Times reports that President Biden "has decided that the price of directly penalizing" the crown prince "is too high" and that he's "simply too important to American interests to punish." Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday did, however, also announce a new "Khashoggi Ban" policy, under which the State Department will impose visa restrictions on individuals "believed to have been directly engaged in serious, extraterritorial counter-dissident activities" while "acting on behalf of a foreign government." Blinken also said the U.S. is now imposing visa restrictions against 76 Saudi individuals under this policy. But a lack of direct punishment for the crown prince is likely to draw criticism, Politico's Nahal Toosi noted. "For activists, the WHOLE POINT was to punish MBS," Toosi said. "Will Biden's other new sanctions/policies appease them? Doubt it." And the Times writes that "in the end, Mr. Biden came to essentially the same place on punishing the young and impetuous crown prince as did Mr. Trump." More stories from theweek.comJournalist Tim O'Brien, who's seen Trump's taxes, thinks Trump's accountant will now flip in D.A. inquiryNewly confirmed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is 'obsessed' with creating 'clean-energy jobs'GOP lawmakers reportedly cite 'public health emergency' in skipping votes, despite speaking at CPAC

  • Myanmar police launch most extensive crackdown; one woman shot and wounded

    The violence came after Myanmar's U.N. envoy, saying he was speaking for the ousted civilian government, urged the United Nations to use "any means necessary" to reverse the Feb. 1 coup. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide. The coup, which stalled Myanmar's progress toward democracy, has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets and drawn condemnation from Western countries, with some imposing limited sanctions.

  • 18 times celebrities wore actual wedding dresses on the red carpet

    Sometimes stars wear dresses and gowns designed with brides in mind on the red carpet. Sometimes they repurpose the dress they wore to their wedding.

  • South Dakota's legislature is moving to impeach its attorney general after investigators uncovered a hit-and-run victim's glasses in his car

    Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg initially said he thought he'd hit a deer. Then the victim's glasses were found in his car.

  • Pakistan expert: Religiosity aiding spike in militancy

    Militant attacks are on the rise in Pakistan amid a growing religiosity that has brought greater intolerance, prompting one expert to voice concern the country could be overwhelmed by religious extremism. Pakistani authorities are embracing strengthening religious belief among the population to bring the country closer together. Militant violence in Pakistan has spiked: In the past week alone, four vocational school instructors who advocated for women’s rights were traveling together when they were gunned down in a Pakistan border region.

  • Israel's unvaccinated fear exclusion

    Israel has led the world in COVID-19 vaccination with health ministry figures on Friday (February 25) showing 50% of the population has received at least one shot.But now the country is facing another challenge that other countries will have to grapple with - how to balance public health and the rights of the unvaccinated. Despite the strong government numbers, some officials privately estimate that 10% of Israelis over 16 - that's around 650,000 - do not intend to get vaccinated.Some employers already plan to ban unvaccinated workers from the office, which rights groups fear could cost them their jobs, especially for those where remote working is not possible. And asking employees to share their vaccine status could violate medical privacy rights. Some employers and advocates are concerned parliament hasn't passed any laws on returning to offices or offering protections for the unvaccinated.The health ministry did not comment when asked if legislation was being drawn up.Early discussions on guidelines and legislation point to employers, authorities and courts putting public health concerns before individuals' demand. This is Sharon Abraham-Weiss, executive director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, or ACRI. "The question is how do we reopen the market, the economy, and life, without harming people that cannot or would not get vaccinated."Israel's largest labor union suggested that unvaccinated workers who can't work at home show negative tests to their employers every 72 hours as a potential workaround.The "Green Pass system" was launched in the country last Sunday (February 21).A government-validated certificate is granted for those who have had both doses of the vaccine or have recovered from COVID-19. In one of its first applications, only those who carry this pass were allowed to attend a small open-air concert in Tel Aviv this week.