Latest news with #Curley
The Irish Sun
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Concern over ‘rushed' Leaving Certificate changes for nine subjects in WEEKS amid AI fears and ‘high stress' blast
MAJOR concerns have been raised over "rushed" changes to several Leaving Certificate subjects from September. Changes are set to take effect to the Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Arabic, Latin and Ancient Greek subjects in just a few weeks. A new subject, Climate Action and Sustainable Development, has also been added to the senior cycle curriculum. The changes will see 40 per cent of a overall marks come as a result of assessments such as project work, oral exams, or practical assessments. The remaining 60 per cent of marks will be made up from a traditional written exam. The move has been made in an attempt to more widely asses a student's capabilities and reflect progress from throughout the year, not just on exam day. READ MORE IN NEWS Similar structures are already in use for certain subjects such as Irish, where the oral exam forms 40 per cent of marks, art, where a project makes up 50 per cent of marks and music, where a practical exam makes up 50 per cent of marks. Design and Communication Graphics also has a similar marking scheme, with 40 per cent of marks coming from project work. However, ASTI raised concerns over damage to education quality and a rise in inequality over September's changes. ASTI President and Donegal school teacher Padraig Curley blasted the "sweeping changes" despite objections from teachers. Most read in Irish News He said: "Sweeping changes to the Leaving Cert are coming this September, despite major concerns about the use of AI in Leaving Cert Additional Assessment Components, the widening of inequalities amongst students, and a lack of adequate training for teachers.' Ireland's oldest Leaving Cert student awaits results as grandson to sit exams next year Curley claimed teachers will be "left grappling" with the changes in September. He said: "Last May almost 20,000 ASTI members voted down a proposed package of support measures because they failed to address teachers' most significant concerns. "The ASTI's priority is to enter a viable process which allows for teachers' real and valid concerns to be voiced and addressed. "We call on Minister McEntee to do everything in her power to ensure that this happens in a timely manner.' 'Classroom teachers will be left grappling with the unknown this September. FURTHER CHANGES "In addition, many teachers of biology, chemistry and physics face implementing new subject specifications in the absence of the necessary lab space, equipment and training for teachers. "This is a recipe for high stress for both students and their teachers.' The changes will kick in for new senior cycle students just days after thousands of outgoing students receive their exam results on August 22. And the changes will keep on coming after September of this year. English, Geography, and Physical Education will also adopt the new format from 2027. Additional subjects such as Drama, Film, and Theatre Studies will also be offered to leaving cert students. 1 Students starting fifth year in September will be impacted Credit: David Jones/PA Wire
Axios
2 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Why D.C. public stations may weather federal funding cuts better than others
While D.C.-area public TV and radio stations are facing holes in their budgets after Congress gutted their federal funding, they're likely in a better position to weather the hits compared to others across the country. Why it matters: The $1.1 billion in cuts to Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funding will hit PBS and NPR local member stations the hardest. These outlets are essential for gathering community news and issuing emergency alerts. By the numbers: Some of the DMV's public stations see higher shares of funding from CPB grants than the national average — about 10.3% for U.S. public TV stations as of fiscal 2023, and 4.1% for radio stations. This is based on data manually collected from station websites and shared with Axios by Alex Curley, a former NPR staffer who has been tracking public media financing on his blog, Semipublic. Zoom in: 20.7% of funding for WHUT (aka Howard University Television) comes from CPB grants. Yes, but: Some area stations like WETA and WAMU have said they are prepared to withstand the loss, due in part to the help of listener donations. Caveat: Curley's dataset is extensive, but incomplete. Between the lines: Public media stations in relatively populous, high-income cities like D.C. tend to have better access to donors. Rural stations tend to be more reliant on federal dollars, and are therefore more at risk. Zoom out: D.C. also has a higher share of local journalists compared to the nation at large.
New York Post
3 days ago
- New York Post
MTA-contracted driver sexually attacks disabled woman: suit
An MTA-contracted driver repeatedly sexually assaulted a disabled passenger — and used a translator app to make sure she understood his crude remarks to her in Russian, a new lawsuit says. 'I will never forget his face,' Deshawn Curley, 54, said of her accused assaulter — who allegedly later told her he 'just got carried away.'' 8 Deshawn Curley is suing the MTA's Access-A-Ride program after one of its drivers allegedly sexually assaulted her twice on a ride home. Stephen Yang Advertisement Curley — a 54-year-old former Postal Service worker who has a nerve disability that makes traveling by train difficult — says in her Queens suit that her nightmare unfolded when she called for an Access-A-Ride on Feb. 4. A White Tesla pulled up with Kakha Chomakhidze behind the wheel to take Curley from LaGuardia Community College, where she was taking healthcare classes, back to her home in Flushing, the suit says. 8 The lawsuit claims that driver Kakha Chomakhidze touched the plaintiff's inner thigh twice as he drove her home. Kaxa Chomaxidze /Facebook Advertisement Curley said she told Chomakhidze he was late. 'He said, on his translator on his phone, that he didn't speak English,' she told The Post in an exclusive interview. The Russian-speaking driver then began using a translation app to tell her, 'I like black girls' multiple times as he drove them slowly along the Long Island Expressway, claims her suit against Access-A-Ride, which is run by the state and city taxpayer-funded Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 'I turned up my nose, and I was like, 'Just drive,' ' Curley told The Post. Advertisement 8 'I was crying,' Curley recalled of her alleged ride from hell. Stephen Yang But he kept speaking into his phone, translating over and over the same message, 'I like black girls' and asking her if she wanted to sit in the front seat, which she refused to do, she said. He then reached back with his right arm and touched the inside of her thigh, her suit says. 8 A text exchange between Curley and the MTA-contracted driver shows he apologized for his actions, according to her lawsuit. Queens Supreme Court Advertisement 'I was like — do not do that again,' Curley told The Post. Chomakhidze continued to make crude remarks through his phone app — then soon reached for her leg the second time, court documents claim. 8 Access-A-Ride provides paratransit for thousands of disabled New Yorkers. MTA 'I grabbed [his hand], and I said: 'I asked you not to do that — and you did it again,'' Curley told The Post. 'I'm so angry,' Curley recalled. 'My anxiety was on 100, my head started hurting. 'I was crying. I was like, 'No.' I'm like, no, that's not right for him to put his hands between my legs — not once, but freaking twice.' Curley told The Post that after finally arriving home and fleeing the car, she still had the driver's number and texted him the next day expressing her disbelief. 8 Chomaxidze allegedly sent an apologetic text the day after the incident. Kaxa Chomaxidze /Facebook Advertisement He replied, 'I just got carried away, I apologize,' her suit says. Curley filed a police report and called the MTA and was told he would be fired, court documents say. But Curley's suit says it took three phone calls and a month for Access-A-Ride to confirm he was gone. 'The first time they said, 'We did an investigation, and the driver said that you're lying,' ' Curley told The Post. Advertisement 8 Curley's suit says it took three phone calls and a month for Access-A-Ride to confirm the accused driver had been fired. Metropolitan Transportation Authority The disabled passenger was so traumatized that for months, she couldn't return to her continued-learning classes, where she was training to be a community health worker after her disability got worse years ago and forced her to retire, court documents say. 'I will not forget it,' Curley said of her experience, 'And it messed me up so bad, I didn't want to go to school no more. 'Who's to say that I'm the only person he did that to,' Curley added. 'He was too comfortable.' Advertisement Curley's lawyer, Mark Shirian, said, 'This case is about more than just one driver — it's about a system that utterly failed to protect a vulnerable passenger from sexual assault. 'When she bravely reported the assault, she was met with silence. Only after she presented written proof of the driver's admission did the companies involved act — weeks too late.' The MTA did not respond to a Post request for comment, but the contracted car service that Chomakhidze worked for, Belle-Rock, said he was fired after the alleged incident. 8 'When she bravely reported the assault, she was met with silence' for too long, said her lawyer, Mark Shiran. Metropolitan Transportation Authority Advertisement Chomakhidze was unable to be reached for comment by The Post. A pair of women at a Queens apartment listed online for the driver said the defendant does not live there but occasionally stops by to collect his mail. Chomakhidze meanwhile did not respond to Post texts or calls to the phone number attached to the text he allegedly sent Curley. Curley told The Post she hopes her lawsuit can push the handicapped-aid service to do better for disabled New Yorkers. 'When it happened to me, I couldn't advocate for myself at that time because I was in shock and I just took a step back,' she said. 'I'm complaining about somebody touching me, assaulting me, touching me between my thighs,' she said. 'They don't care. 'Just because you're disabled and you have Medicaid, they feel that low-income and stuff like that … no — I worked all my life, and I've been working since I've been disabled.' -Additional reporting by Reuven Fenton
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Citizen Brian Curley Signs with Arizona Diamondbacks
Brian Curley, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, officially signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks this week after being selected 92nd overall in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft. Curley agreed to a $700,000 signing bonus, coming in slightly under the slot value of $839,100, signaling Arizona's confidence in his long-term potential. Never miss Indian Country's biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Curley played his junior season at the University of Georgia, where he stood out with a 3.55 ERA, 85 strikeouts, and a .179 opponent batting average over 66 innings. He earned Second Team All-SEC honors. Before Georgia, he pitched at VCU and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024, but chose to return to college to improve his draft stock. His performance earned him Second Team All-SEC honors and a much more favorable draft position the following summer. Standing at 5-foot-10 and 212 pounds, his fastball consistently sits in the mid-90s and has touched triple digits. Some scouts see him as a future reliever, but the Diamondbacks are keeping the door open for him to start. The Diamondbacks have already assigned Curley to their Arizona Complex League affiliate, where he is expected to get his first taste of professional action this summer. His development will likely center around improving command and building stamina, with an eye toward potentially fast-tracking him into a high-leverage relief role if he doesn't stick in the rotation. About the Author: "Kaili Berg (Aleut) is a member of the Alutiiq\/Sugpiaq Nation, and a shareholder of Koniag, Inc. She is a staff reporter for Native News Online and Tribal Business News. Berg, who is based in Wisconsin, previously reported for the Ho-Chunk Nation newspaper, Hocak Worak. She went to school originally for nursing, but changed her major after finding her passion in communications at Western Technical College in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. " Contact: kberg@
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How will PBS/NPR cuts impact your local stations?
Congressional Republicans voted to strip more than $1 billion in funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) this week, a move that could force local radio and television stations to consolidate, cut services or shutter altogether, particularly in rural areas. The CPB is a publicly funded nonprofit that subsidizes more than 1,500 NPR, PBS and local radio and television stations across the country. Congress has typically earmarked $535 million annually for the corporation. The rescissions bill headed to President Trump's desk would claw back funding for the next two fiscal years. Walt Gregg manages KUHB in St. Paul, Alaska, located on a small island in the Bering Sea, and KCUK in Chevak, Alaska. He said the stations will be forced to close by next summer if the CPB is shut down. 'Without them, that community doesn't have anything,' he said. 'There's no local TV, there's no local newspapers. Some of them barely even have internet, still to this day.'Stations in major cities would also stand to lose millions, although federal funding accounts for a far smaller share of their budgets. Here's how the public media stations across the country stand to be impacted. Rural stations hit hardest In 2023, CPB funding accounted for nearly 97 percent of KUHB's revenue, making it one of the most vulnerable in the country, according to analysis by Alex Curley, a former product manager for NPR who has been collecting data on public media stations on his Stubstack. Other vulnerable stations include KCUW in Pendleton, Ore.; KSHI in Zuni Pueblo, N.M.; KNSA in Unalakleet, Alaska; KSDP in Sand Point, Alaska; and KGVA in Harlem, Mont. All these stations serve predominantly Native American communities and rely on CPB funds for at least 80 percent of their annual revenue. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who expressed concerns about how tribal stations would fare under the cuts, said he reached a deal with Trump's budget office to redirect some unrelated funding to the outlets. The average radio station in the African-American Public Radio Consortium, meanwhile, relies on the federal government for 28 percent of its budget, Curley estimated. 'The more revenue that you generate, the safer you are. That doesn't mean that you're necessarily completely safe, but most of the stations that are at risk, they're not making a lot of money,' Curley said. The impact of the cuts could also be disparate across states. Curley estimated that the average station in West Virginia depended on federal funding for 37 percent of its revenue, the highest percentage of any state, followed by Alaska and New Mexico. In 2011, NPR executives attempted to map out what would happen if the federal government stopped funding the CPB. Their report, obtained by The New York Times, was bleak. Up to 18 percent of about 1,000 member stations would close, it found, impacting the Midwest, the South and the West the most. Curley estimated that 65 of 433 stations he analyzed, about 15 percent, would be at risk of closing in the next three years if they lost federal funding. Largest stations still face cuts Curley estimates that public media stations rely on federal funding for about 15 percent of their budgets, on average. Stations in major cities may have less reliance than stations in rural areas. Federal funding represents about 7 percent of the annual budget of KQED, a PBS affiliate in San Francisco. For Baltimore's WYPR, that number is about 6 percent. The proportion is similar for Chicago Public Media, which owns WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, and for WHYY in Philadelphia. WBUR in Boston gets about $1.6 million per year from the CPB, about 3 percent of its annual budget. But the potential cuts still come at a difficult time for local media, which has been wracked by layoffs and consolidation over the past two decades. KQED laid off 45 people this week, representing about 15 percent of its workforce. The station had been operating at a $12 million budget deficit, the looming federal cuts notwithstanding. The direct loss of CPB funding could also force stations to scale back their own programming or air a more limited range of programs from NPR or other stations. The big picture The shuttering of local stations could compound the dramatic shrinking of local media over the past two decades, according to a report from Muck Rack and Rebuild Local News. Federal funding directly accounts for about 1 percent of the budget of NPR's national headquarters. The broadcaster also has about 250 member stations, also funded by the CPB, that pay NPR fees to air their programs. Those member fees account for about 30 percent of NPR's annual revenue. Member stations themselves receive, on average, about 13 percent of their funding from the CPB. The role of local radio, which can cover local government alongside disaster or emergency alerts, has been a rallying point for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), one of the few Republicans to oppose the cuts. She highlighted this effort July 16, after Alaska was hit by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake and tsunami warnings were relayed through local stations. 'Some colleagues claim they are targeting 'radical leftist organizations' with these cuts, but in Alaska, these are simply organizations dedicated to their communities,' Murkowski posted on the social platform X. Gregg, the station manager in Alaska, said that if his stations closed, they would likely never come back. He said his listeners were angry, but many were ultimately resigned to the loss. 'A lot of people in the bush communities in Alaska are kind of numb to that stuff because they've been through this so much in the past, where things just go away and they just never come back,' he said. Amalia Huot-Marchand contributed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
