Florida’s ‘anti-communism’ curriculum criticized as ‘propaganda’ by experts

Florida could soon be teaching students about the “dangers and evils of communism” under proposed new academic standards that some argue amount to “propaganda” and wrongly aim to rehabilitate the reputation of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who pushed the “Red Scare” communist panic in the 1950s.

The new standards for middle-and-high-school social studies classes stem from legislation (SB 1264) Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in 2024. The law mandates instruction on the “consequences of communism” and aims to prepare students to “withstand indoctrination on Communism at colleges and universities.”

The Florida Department of Education drafted the proposed standards and released them publicly last week. The State Board of Education is to vote on them Nov. 13.

The proposed standards cover 30 pages and more than 100 standards — benchmarks for what should be covered in class — including the death toll from communist regimes, how communist policies worsened people’s quality of living and the “dangers of pro-communist propaganda in entertainment and media industries.”

—Orlando Sentinel

Humanity is on path toward ‘climate chaos,’ scientists warn

Industries and individuals around the world burned record amounts of oil, gas and coal last year, releasing more greenhouse gases than ever before, a group of leading scientists said in a new report, warning that humanity is hurtling toward “climate chaos.”

The surge in global use of fossil fuels in 2024 contributed to extreme weather and devastating disasters including heat waves, storms, floods and wildfires.

“The planet’s vital signs are flashing red,” the scientists wrote in their annual report on the state of the climate. “The window to prevent the worst outcomes is rapidly closing.”

Some of the most alarming of Earth’s “vital signs,” the researchers said, include record heat in the oceans ravaging coral reefs, rapidly shrinking ice sheets and increasing losses of forests burned in fires around the world. They said the extreme intensity of Hurricane Melissa this week is another sign of how the altered climate is threatening lives and communities on an unprecedented scale.

—Los Angeles Times

Expedition to search for Amelia Earhart’s plane postponed

An expedition to investigate the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s plane in the South Pacific in 1937 has been postponed until next year.

Richard Pettigrew, the Oregon archaeologist leading the latest venture to solve the mystery of the legendary aviator’s demise, said in a news update that the expedition — originally scheduled to begin Nov. 4 — had to be delayed due to problems in securing the permits required for his team of 14 people to travel from Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, to Nikumaruru, a remote island in the Republic of Kiribati.

The goal of the mission is to investigate a white, airplane-shaped object researchers have spotted in a satellite photograph taken of Nikumaroro in 2020. The Taraia Object, as it’s being called, appears to be submerged below the surface of the lagoon at the center of the coral atoll.

Pettigrew and his team believe Earhart and her flight navigator, Fred Noonan, could not find their intended destination, tiny Howland Island, on the morning of July 2, 1937, and traveled 400 miles to the southeast, where they made an emergency landing on Nikumaroro. They believe the pair survived for several days before succumbing to the elements.

—The Baltimore Sun

Reports: 460 people killed in maternity hospital in Sudan

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The head of the World Health Organization has expressed shock at reports that more than 460 patients and family members were killed in a maternity hospital following the capture of the Sudanese city of al-Fashir by a militia.

"All patients, health personnel and health facilities must be protected under International Humanitarian Law," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X on Wednesday.

The Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, militia gained control of the city in the Darfur region over the weekend. According to the Sudanese Doctors' Network, at least 1,500 unarmed civilians were killed while trying to flee. There are videos showing dozens of unarmed men being shot.

The doctors accuse the RSF of genocide of the country's non-Arab population. Genocide is defined as the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group based on its nationality, ethnicity or religion, either in whole or in part. The RSF claims that it wanted to protect civilians in al-Fashir and provide safe corridors for those who wanted to leave.

—dpa