Two years into the pandemic, one thing is certain: Remote education is no substitute for in-person learning. Rather, the decision to close schools—some for a year and a half—has been catastrophic. Performance on standardized tests has plummeted for all students, with minority and poor students suffering the largest achievement losses. Nearly two-thirds of students who attend mostly Black schools, for example, are now behind. According to Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B Fordham Institute, “We haven’t seen this kind of academic achievement crisis in living memory....

This ranking recognizes the greatest workplaces overall, by state and based on their performance in the following areas: empowerment of women, promotion of veterans, development of entry-level employees and support for LGBTQ associates. America’s Greatest Workplaces 2023 will be determined by conducting a large-scale independent survey of employees who work for companies employing at least 1,000 people in the U.S. During the query, participants will be asked to determine the weights assigned to individual statements about their employment experience....

The 1776 Declaration of Independence marked America’s true political, moral and philosophical Founding. The British subjects residing in the many colonies united as “one people” in opposition to the despotic claims to rule offered by a distant king and Parliament in Great Britain. There were roughly 600,000 black slaves in the brand-new 13 United States, but as soon as the ink was dry on the Declaration’s parchment, the principles contained in that document made the existence of the American slave population an obvious and undeniable injustice....

Consider all the technological failures that visited me in the course of that fortnight: A perfectly good personal computer that was barely two years old died on me. The technician told me that the motherboard was shot, but I stopped listening after he said “mother” because we can only blame our mothers for so much, right? Did I mention that this computer was less than two years old? The computer that I bought to replace it–even fancier, even more state-of-the-art, and even more unnecessarily souped up with gizmos, gadgets and gee-gaw’s–broke down on me less than a week after it arrived in the mail (the mail, by the way, performed perfectly)....

Here’s who will represent the American Leagues in this year’s Midsummer Classic: MORE: Worst All-Star selection ever for all 30 teams American League Starting lineup (voted on by fans) C: Matt Wieters, Orioles (injured, Salvador Perez of Royals will start) 1B: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers 2B: Robinson Cano, Mariners SS: Derek Jeter, Yankees 3B: Josh Donaldson, A’s OF: Jose Bautista, Blue Jays (leading overall vote getter) OF: Mike Trout, Angels...

Now a full-time stallion, American Pharoah will stand at stud for $200,000 per live foal, Coolmore Stud announced Friday morning. It was first reported by ESPN.com. By breeding up to 200 mares in a year, the horse could make as much as $40 million annually. MORE: 2015 Breeders’ Cup in photos The first Triple Crown winner since 1978 and winner of the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, American Pharoah has earned more than $8....

The then-29-year-old skeleton racer hurtled down the ice slick, surging around its turns and bobs, gliding to a halt just .04 seconds slower than the eventual bronze medalist, Russia’s Elena Nikitina. It was Russia’s first-ever medal in women’s skeleton. Fourth-place Uhlaender left Sochi broken-hearted and empty-handed. Less than two weeks ago, a Russian insider tipped off The New York Times to a state-wide doping scandal — one that implicated dozens of the country’s Olympic medalists who competed in Sochi — in which more than 100 urine samples were alleged to have been tampered with or replaced entirely....

Nuclear fusion is the way the sun generates power. It involves two small, lighter nuclei joining together to create one heavy nucleus. When they join together, energy is released. However, achieving this in a stable state, meaning the energy can be harnessed, is extremely difficult. High pressures and temperatures of around 150 million degrees Celsius are required. Generally scientists have been focused on producing fusion energy in two types of devices— tokamaks and stellarators....

As part of the First Day Hike Programs, which encourages people to spend time outdoors to exercise and connect with nature, families and friends can be led by knowledgeable state park staff and volunteers. Would-be hikers can choose from a variety of distances and rigorousness, while also soaking up the natural beauty of the American land. First Day Hikes began more than 25 years ago at the Blue Hills Reservation, a state park in Massachusetts....

The survey, which was conducted by Gallup, found that 31 percent of Americans say the pandemic situation in the country is improving. In October, 51 percent said the same, according to the poll. Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans that say the coronavirus situation is getting worse has almost doubled since October. Thirty-five percent now say so, compared with 18 percent that said the same in October, the poll found....

The federal government has included a one-page letter in an envelope with all stimulus payment checks sent to recipients. A copy of the letter, seen by Newsweek, shows Trump’s signature at the bottom of the page. “We are fully committed to ensuring that you and your family have the support you need to get through this time,” the letter reads. It also states the amount the person is receiving and instructions for how to claim the funds....

The ABC News/ Ipsos poll released on Sunday showed that Americans were equally split, 34 percent to 34 percent, about whether these bills will hurt or help the economy. Only 6 percent think the bills would have no impact on the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, 25 percent don’t know if the bills would have any effect. It also showed that 68 percent of Democrats think that the bills would help the economy if they went into effect, compared to only 7 percent of Republicans and 29 percent of independents....

“Because of the current situation in the United Kingdom, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants,” the CDC said in a statement on Monday. In the event an American would have to travel to the U.K., the CDC urged all citizens to make sure they are fully vaccinated beforehand. The CDC announcement comes as the U.K. is experiencing a rapid surge of coronavirus cases due to the highly contagious Delta variant....

At that time, the Spartans embodied their namesake: This was a program Dantonio built with chip-on-the-shoulder talent instead of blue chips. It worked over time, and Michigan State built its resume with thrilling victories against Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State. It was a top five program with a top five coach because of that disciplined approach. It earned everything, and a banner senior class was enjoying those rewards....

With LA’s summer squad taking the floor at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, the newly-minted Lakers head coach joined NBA TV’s broadcast of the game, where he made sure to express his excitement to coach the former MVP. Ham, who plans to employ a four-out, one-in offense in LA, envisions Westbrook thriving during the 2022-23 season. MORE: Why Lakers hired Darvin Ham as next head coach “Russ, in my opinion, man — he’s in great shape, he’s durable, and in this system — this four-out, one-in system — he’s gonna have a chance to screen and roll and make plays in the half roll,” Ham said on NBA TV....

St. Brown was drafted in the fourth round in 2021, the 17th receiver picked. The USC product hasn’t forgotten those picked ahead of him either. After the Lions beat the Commanders in September, St. Brown called out Commanders receiver Dyami Brown, taken 82nd in the third round by Washington. “I don’t forget things like that. … I didn’t see him in the game much,” St. Brown told reporters after the game....

On Saturday, Ross Douthat argued in The New York Times that Barrett’s “combination of elite accomplishment with a faith and a family life that’s unusual among her high-achieving peers” raises an important question: “can there be a conservative feminism that’s distinctive, coherent and influential?” In Douthat’s view, the reason this kind of feminism “doesn’t play a substantial role in our politics right now is that it hasn’t been distilled into a compelling policy agenda—pro-woman, pro-mother, pro-work-life-balance—by our increasingly male-dominated conservative party....

Despite decades of European integration, the French, the Swedes and the Greeks are more French, Swedish and Greek than ever before. The network of European politicians once headed by Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman, who forged the EU in the 1950s, has not been replaced. Europe has failed to coalesce into any kind of political-economic-social grouping that is willing and able to act as a partner with America. In fact, instead of consolidating, it clones itself....

Peacock and Lewis make an odd couple–an 87-year-old African-American woman in failing health and a 40-year-old white man. She’s quiet, he’s voluble. She’s one of the most celebrated cooks alive, winner of the Grande Dame Award of Les Dames d’Escoffier International and–just two weeks ago–she was made a member of the James Beard Hall of Fame. Her three cookbooks, especially “The Taste of Country Cooking,” are classics of American cooking....