Authorities in Australia will review laws that penalise the mishandling of radioactive material with a A$1,000 ($707) fine as a search for a hazardous capsule lost in the Outback enters a seventh day.

Officials from Western Australia’s emergency response department, defence authorities, radiation specialists and others are combing a 1,400 km (870 mile) stretch of highway for the tiny capsule, from a mining device, that was lost in transit more than two weeks ago. read more

The radioactive capsule was part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore feed being transported from Rio Tinto’s (RIO.AX) Gudai-Darri mine in the state’s remote Kimberley region to a facility in the suburbs of Perth – a distance longer than the length of Great Britain.

The penalty for failing to safely handle radioactive substances is A$1,000 and A$50 per day the offence continues, according to state legislation from 1975.

“That figure is ridiculously low but I suspect that it’s ridiculously low because people didn’t think such an item could be lost,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference in the state capital, Perth, referring to the fine.

The silver capsule, 6 mm in diameter and 8 mm long, contains Caesium-137 which emits radiation equal to 10 X-rays per hour.

“It shouldn’t have been lost,” Albanese said.

Rio Tinto apologised for the loss on Monday. It had entrusted shipment to specialist packing and transport operators.

The state minister for health, Amber-Jade Sanderson, told the news conference her government was looking to change laws to allow for higher penalties and cost recovery in such circumstances, she said.

“The current fine system is unacceptably low and we are looking at how we can increase that,” Sanderson said.

She said the investigation suggested the loss was the result of incompetence not conspiracy.

Authorities suspect vibrations on the bumpy road loosened screws and a bolt on the gauge letting the capsule fall out. The gauge was picked up from the mine site on Jan. 12 and was unpacked for inspection on Jan. 25 when the loss of the capsule was discovered.

People have been told to stay at least five metres (16.5 feet) away from the capsule if they spot it as exposure could cause radiation burns or radiation sickness, though driving past it is believed to be relatively low risk, akin to taking an X-ray.

($1 = 1.4152 Australian dollars)

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(NewsNation) — A police standoff with the man accused of kidnapping a woman and brutally attacking her in Oregon has ended, local media outlets KDRV and KTVL report.

Law enforcement officers surrounded the home Tuesday in Oregon, where they say the woman was tortured, according to reports.

An operator at the Grants Pass Police Department told NewsNation late Tuesday night that the department was “resuming normal activities.” KDRV, a television station in Medford, Ore., said the suspect, Benjamin Foster, was dead. KTVL, which is also based in Medford, said the standoff was “resolved.” Both stations cited local police.

Foster, 36, was underneath the house in Grants Pass and authorities tried to get him to surrender, a Grants Pass police lieutenant told KTVL-TV. It’s unclear exactly how the standoff was resolved.

Investigators said they received “credible information” Foster went into the home where the woman was found unconscious, bound and near death on Jan. 24. She remains hospitalized in critical condition.

According to The Daily Courier, officers from four law enforcement agencies saturated the area and assembled a SWAT team. As this happened, some residents in the area were asked to shelter in place.

This occurred after Foster was spotted Tuesday morning in Grants Pass walking a small dog.

Authorities have called Foster “extremely dangerous” and offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to his arrest and prosecution. He is wanted on the following charges: attempted murder, kidnapping and assault.

Police warned that Foster is “actively” using dating sites to potentially find new victims or people who may be able to help him avoid police.

Investigators found Foster’s car Thursday after raiding a property in the unincorporated community of Wolf Creek, around 20 miles north of Grants Pass. While there, they arrested a 68-year-old woman for hindering prosecution. She is accused of following Foster earlier that day as he intentionally drove his car over an embankment and then giving him a ride back to the property where Foster is believed to have been hiding and ultimately managed to escape.

This is not the first time Foster has faced similar allegations. In 2019, before moving to Oregon, Foster was arrested for holding his then-girlfriend captive inside her Las Vegas apartment for two weeks. The woman told investigators she was forced to eat lye and choked to the point of unconsciousness.

According to a police report, she suffered several broken ribs and had two black eyes as well as injuries from being bound at the wrists and ankles. She escaped when Foster let her out of his sight during a trip to a grocery store and gas station.

Foster was initially charged with five felonies and faced decades in prison. But in 2021, he reached a deal with prosecutors that allowed him to plead guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to two and a half years behind bars with credit for time served.

Grants Pass Police Chief Warren Hensman called it “extremely troubling” that Foster was a free man and able to prey on other women instead of being behind bars for crimes in Nevada.

Anyone with information on the case is urged to call the Grants Pass Police Department.

(NewsNation) — The COVID-19 pandemic cost students about one-third of a school year’s worth of knowledge and skills over the last three years, causing many to fall behind in math and reading, according to a study released this week.

The stressors faced during learning remotely were not fixed as kids poured back into the classrooms, one of the researchers, Bastian Betthäuser, told The New York Times of the analysis of data from 15 middle- and high-income countries. 

“In order to recover what was lost, we have to be doing more than just getting back to normal,” he said. 

But while the education loss will be felt for years among students, the innovations in technology and at-home learning created because of the pandemic will reshape the education field for decades to come.

For better or worse, advances in technology and shifts toward virtual learning left their marks on students’ academic progress and emotional well-being.

Kids lost math and reading skills — the greatest decline in decades. Can they get caught up?

The skills lost over the pandemic were most felt in reading and math, data shows.

The average eighth-grade reading score was at its lowest point since 1998. And 2022 saw the largest-ever decline for fourth and eighth graders in math scores. 

Poorer students and students with learning differences were affected the most — with up to a 20% difference between the richest and poorest kids. 

Still, educators across the country are trying to find creative ways to help close those gaps, such as utilizing intensive tutoring plans that can be done virtually to reduce cost or teachers coordinating at-home visits to kids at risk of dropping out. 

“What we know is statistically students who miss a semester or are not successful in a semester, their likelihood of dropping out or not returning to school does increase every semester that they are unsuccessful,” principal Justin Ross-Hillard told CNN. “What we’ve adopted as a mindset is that we’re going to continue to chase after you.”

A mental health crisis is growing, but adults may be learning how to help

The state of kids’ mental health coming out of the pandemic is startling, with one in three parents reporting their child showing signs of emotional distress at least once a week.

Forty-four percent of American high schoolers feel persistently sad and hopeless. More than 60% of college students have at least one mental health condition, and these rates are even higher among students of color, poorer students and students from immigrant families.

The isolation during the pandemic coupled with economic uncertainty, racial reckonings and increased violence in schools weighed heavy on many students.

“The scope of so many of these tragic incidents happening, children feel like they’re living in an environment of threat, that if it can happen there, it can happen anywhere,” Dr. Marlene Wong told NewsNation after the Uvalde school shooting. 

The results will likely be long-lasting. Adolescent brains have a more difficult time recovering after trauma, leading to increased rates of severe anxiety and depression that can last into adulthood. Yet adults are learning to help kids cope better, too. 

One approach is called Psychological First Aid. It’s aimed at reducing the stress, anxiety and fear children feel in the wake of a crisis by showing teachers, coaches or parents how to build on the relationships that already exist. 

Other solutions include offering more counseling to make school a better environment for kids and teachers. 

Students who had a sense of support and belonging at school fared better, research shows. And teens who felt like they had a connection to an adult or their peers were significantly less likely to report feelings of sadness or hopelessness. 

Remote learning fast-tracked the education tech of the future

Although most students have returned to the classroom, technology adopted during the pandemic can be used to enhance even more traditional styles of teaching, according to research by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. 

Higher education students in particular could benefit from technology like virtual reality for interactive simulations or in-class polls and breakout rooms to complement in-person lessons, according to the research.

Meanwhile, video conferencing remains relevant for group projects, while machine-learning apps and chat tools can help teachers draft tests and assignments. 

A separate report by the Pew Research Center also noted that more rapid advancements in online technology could create a more personalized learning experience that would allow students to choose from a “menu” of classes across different schools. 

While some have embraced the merging of technology and in-person learning, others have chosen to keep their education remote. 

One mother, Heather Fray, told NewsNation in 2021 that she never imagined homeschooling her two children, one of whom requires special education. But the pandemic gave Fray the opportunity to try it out, and she was surprised by the results. 

“I actually saw him thrive in a lot of his areas of struggle, more so than any of the years in special education combined,” Fray said.

The Fray family isn’t alone. The overall rate of parents who opted to homeschool their children more than doubled in the school year that followed the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Associated Press.

The pandemic made the digital divide very obvious. What will it take to close it?

The pandemic underscored the disparities in high-speed internet access and officials responded with legislation aimed at easing the burden for underserved communities.

Emergency programming that started in 2020 through the federal government helps low-income homes stay connected through the pandemic, offering connected devices and discounted internet service to eligible families.

Rural communities, many of which still struggle with internet connectivity, found some relief through services like this program, which helped them provide hot spots and other equipment to students. 

More than 15 million households nationwide were registered through the program as of last week. 

Communities also worked to address the digital divide on a local level.

In Illinois, for example, a 2020 program called Chicago Connected provided free broadband access to pre-K-12 students and digital learning support to families within the city.

Within its first two years, the program connected more than 60,000 households to broadband and was recently expanded to reach an additional 3,000 students.

(NewsNation) — An alarming new analysis shows students across the world lost up to 35% of expected learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data was reviewed and published in the journal Nature Human Behavior.

In October, the National Assessment of Educational Progress Exams revealed the devastating effect the pandemic had on learning.

For eighth-grade students, the average reading score was lower compared to all previous assessment years dating back to 1998.

The decrease was even worse for math and marked the largest ever recorded decline for fourth and eighth-grade students. The average eighth-grade mathematics score decreased by eight points compared to 2019 and was lower than all previous assessment years going back to 2003.

There has been no upward progress in approximately two years, according to the analysis. Even more problematic, the negative consequences hit children from low socio-economic family backgrounds the hardest.

The debate continues over whether shutting down in-person learning was the right move.

“It’s hard to say it’s hard to know what the counterfactual would be like,” said Phyllis Jordan, associate director of Future Ed. “Would more people have died or what would have happened? What I will say is that even in places that opened schools, there were not consistent learning gains.” One thing is for certain: the pandemic had a devastating effect on the mental health of the youth.

“My daughter just fell apart,” said parent Leslie Pollak. “(She was) outgoing, she was very active — everything from academics to sports, and we just don’t know what happened. She started sleeping through the Zoom classes, and then all of a sudden, she stopped going to certain classes.”

Dr. Harris Pastides of the University of South Carolina said stories like Pollak’s are common.

“People who studied this said, ‘Prepare to be virtual, prepare to be hybrid. But don’t close to schools because we’ve learned about the devastating impact on students, learning, their families and teachers.’”

The study comes as President Joe Biden informed Congress this week that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared.

The move to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations would formally restructure the federal coronavirus response to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health that can be managed through agencies’ normal authorities.

It comes as lawmakers have already ended elements of the emergencies that kept millions of Americans insured during the pandemic. Combined with the drawdown of most federal COVID-19 relief money, it would also shift the development of vaccines and treatments away from the direct management of the federal government.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Protesters marked the two-year anniversary of Myanmar’s military coup with a “silent strike” in major cities and rallies overseas on Wednesday, as exiled civilian leaders vowed to end what they called the army’s “illegal power grab”.

The Southeast Asian country’s top generals led a putsch on February 2021 after five years of tense power-sharing under a quasi-civilian political system created by the military.

The overthrow of the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi derailed a decade of reform, international engagement and economic growth, while leaving a trail of upended lives in its wake.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the coup, with a resistance movement fighting the military on multiple fronts after a bloody crackdown on opponents that saw Western sanctions re-imposed.

Myanmar’s military is due to issue a statement on Wednesday that may decide whether to extend a state of emergency, ahead of a promised poll this year that critics call a sham aimed at retaining power in the country.

The army’s National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) met on Tuesday where it discussed the situation in Myanmar including the actions of the National Unity Government (NUG), a shadow administration formed by opponents, and the so-called people’s defence force fighting the army, state media reported.

“The unusual circumstances of the country whereby they are making attempts to seize state power in an insurgent and terror-like ways (was discussed),” the military-owned Myawaddy media said on Tuesday.

Myawaddy reported the NDSC planned to release the “necessary statement” on Feb 1, without giving further details.

A telephone call to a military spokesperson seeking comment was not answered.

Myanmar’s military took power after complaining of fraud in a November 2020 general election won by Suu Kyi’s party. Election monitoring groups found no evidence of mass fraud.

The junta, led by Min Aung Hlaing, says its crackdown is a legitimate campaign against “terrorists”.

It declared a state of emergency for a year when it took power and has since extended it twice for six months, with the latest phase expiring on Wednesday.

The constitution allows for two extensions, though some sections appear to give more flexibility on the issue.

“For two years, the people of Myanmar have stood together, their heads held high, and steadfastly resisted Min Aung Hlaing and the Myanmar military’s attempt to overthrow the elected government,” the NUG said in a statement.

The NUG added that “together with ethnic allies, who have opposed the military for decades, we will end the military’s illegal power grab.”

In the main commercial cities of Yangon and Mandalay, images on social media showed deserted streets in what coup opponents said was a silent protest against the junta.

In Thailand, hundreds of protesters held a rally outside the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, while activists also staged a protest in the Philippine’s capital, Manila.

“We are the people, we have the future,” protesters in Bangkok chanted. “The revolution must prevail.”

The United States and allies including the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada imposed further sanctions on Myanmar on Tuesday, with curbs on energy officials and junta members, among others.

In Japan, a major donor and investor before the coup, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno on Wednesday urged the military government to restore the democratic political system.

The junta has pledged to hold an election in August this year. State media recently announced tough requirements for parties to contest, a move that critics say could sideline the military’s opponents and cement its grip on politics.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party was decimated by the coup, with thousands of its members arrested or jailed, including Suu Kyi, and many more in hiding.

It has described this year’s planned election as “phoney” and said it would not acknowledge it. The election has also been dismissed as a sham by Western governments.

“You cannot have a free and fair election when you arrest, detain, torture and execute leaders of the opposition,” U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar Tom Andrews told reporters at the United Nations on Tuesday.

Some 1.2 million people have been displaced and over 70,000 have left the country, according to the United Nations, which has accused the military of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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Most Adani Group stocks dropped on Wednesday, extending losses to $72 billion after a short-seller report criticised the conglomerate and despite the group completing a closely watched share sale a day earlier.

Hindenburg Research’s report last week alleged improper use of offshore tax havens and flagged concerns about high debt. It added that shares in seven Adani listed companies have an 85% downside due to what it called “sky-high valuations”.

The group, led by Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest people, had denied the allegations and called them baseless, adding that it has always made necessary regulatory disclosures.

Investors have, however, dumped shares in the aftermath of the report which has become one of the billionaire’s biggest business and reputational challenges.

“There was a slight bounce yesterday after the share sale went through, after seeming improbable at a point, but now the weak market sentiment has become visible again after the bombshell Hindenburg report,” said Ambareesh Baliga, a Mumbai-based independent market analyst.

“With the stocks down despite Adani’s rebuttal, it clearly shows some damage on investor sentiment. It will take a while to stabilise,” Baliga added.

On Wednesday, Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) lost 2% and Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) slipped 3%. Adani Power (ADAN.NS) fell 5%, while Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS) slumped 10%, down by its daily price limit.

Adani Total Gas, a joint venture between France’s energy major Total (TTEF.PA) and Adani Group, has been the biggest casualty of the short seller report, losing about $27 billion in value since last Wednesday.

Adani Enterprises had bounced over the last two sessions as the group mustered support from investors to haul the flagship firm’s share sale over the line on the last day of sale. The company has still lost over $7 billion in value.

Hindenburg said in its report it had shorted U.S.-bonds and non-India traded derivatives of the Adani Group.

The Jan. 26 police shooting of a 36-year-old double-amputee in southeastern Los Angeles is the latest killing of a Black man to set off protests about police violence.

Activists and the family of Anthony Lowe Jr. took to the Huntington Park Police Department headquarters on Monday to condemn the killing. “They murdered my son in a wheelchair—with no legs,” Lowe’s mother Dorothy said.

Last week, five police officers were charged with second-degree murder for beating 29-year-old Tyre Nichols in Memphis—leading to his death days after. Protests broke out across the U.S. following Nichols’ death.

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What is the police’s account of the Lowe shooting?

In a Jan. 30 statement, the Huntington Park Police Department said its officers were responding to a stabbing on the afternoon of Jan. 26.

The stabbing victim described his attacker as a man in a wheelchair. The attacker allegedly “dismounted the wheelchair, ran to the victim without provocation, and stabbed him in the side of the chest” with a “12-inch butcher knife,” before fleeing the scene in the wheelchair.

In the search for the assailant, they located the alleged suspect, later identified as Lowe, a few blocks away, holding a knife. Huntington police said its officers attempted to detain the man, but authorities said he ignored verbal orders and “threatened to advance or throw the knife at the officers.” They also said they tasered the suspect twice.

“The suspect continued to threaten officers with the butcher knife, resulting in an officer-involved shooting,” the statement read.

L.A. County Fire Department Paramedics declared the suspect dead at the scene.

What about the police officers involved?

The police officers involved were placed on paid administrative leave per protocol, according to the Huntington police.

The Huntington Park Police Department, Homicide Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the shooting.

How is the family reacting?

A grainy video of the incident, which TIME could not independently verify, is circulating online, appearing to show Lowe, dismounted from his wheelchair, hobble away from two police officers as he carries what appears to be a large knife. A police car then blocks the view.

The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that Lowe’s sister identified him in the video. It also said that the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department collected video from a nearby establishment, though it does not intend to release the footage.

Cliff Smith, an organizer with the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police, called on Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón to prosecute the officers involved. “We want specific justice,” he said at the press conference outside local police headquarters Monday.

Lowe’s mother Dorothy said, “This situation is worse than George Floyd. When these videos go out, it’s going to be all bad.”

The family has not commented on Lowe’s alleged involvement in the stabbing incident.