The flight of families due to the high cost of living in Santa Clara County has caused school enrollment numbers to crash in East and North San Jose — and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change in the coming years. Alum Rock and Berryessa union school districts are predicting enrollment declines of 27% and 22%, respectively. Franklin-McKinley School District is also predicting a 22% drop. Lump in the end of millions in federal COVID funding and the loss of state dollars due to a plunge in student attendance, and districts have found themselves in dire financial straits. This decline in enrollment didn’t happen overnight. From 2010 to 2022 Franklin-McKinley’s enrollment declined by 38% . The district was able to pass a parcel tax this year that will generate about $3.3 million for the next nine years, but it won’t be enough to cover the loss of state and federal funding as it tackles a $20 million shortfall. Alum Rock is confronting the same problem. In the last nine years the district has lost more than 2,700 students. It has been so poorly managed , the Santa Clara County Office of Education has been involved in overseeing the administration. But with a $20 million deficit and enrollment dropping, seven schools may close. None of these districts want to disrupt the lives of families, it’s a superintendent’s worst nightmare. But districts can’t keep schools half full afloat with the same overhead costs. The money just isn’t there. Bond measures passed for capital needs such as building repairs and upgrades won’t get districts out of the hole either. Funding for curriculum and teacher salaries don’t come out of these bonds. There are only so many cuts a district can make before there is nothing left but to close or merge schools. Even the Berryessa Union School District in North San Jose needs to cut its operating budget by $6 million , and closing schools may be the only option. It’s hard to envision these school districts gaining students in the coming years to restore funding, when minimum wage earners living in East San Jose need to work more than one job to pay rent and the cost of gas and food remains high. The inability to maintain a good quality of life in Silicon Valley is pushing families out and preventing others from arriving. Low birth rates are another factor. Yet what’s happening today is not a one-off situation. In the early 1980s a slew of elementary and high schools closed throughout the county and state in the aftermath of Proposition 13 . The proposition, which capped a property tax rate to 1% of assessed value, changed the financial landscape in education. Property taxes were no longer flowing into school budgets and districts began closing campuses or cutting budgets. Decades later the financial loss to schools still stings, especially those in marginalized communities where property taxes are lower. But the circumstances today have worsened beyond the plight of school districts. Silicon Valley is confronted by a schism between the haves and have nots that has widened exponentially over the years, causing families to leave Santa Clara County for places more economically manageable. School districts have become collateral damage. What is the same as the 1980s is family angst and disruption, and yet, in the process the money saved could be applied toward enhancing curriculum or restoring programs. Cash-strapped districts could lease closed schools to day care providers, private schools or businesses and use the revenue to improve existing schools. Maybe it’s a new arts or music class or the ability to add a new sports program or wellness center with a counselor. At this juncture the strongest course of action for families, school boards and administrators is to work together to ensure the best outcomes are achieved for the children in the schools that remain open. Moryt Milo is an editor at San José Spotlight. Contact Moryt at [email protected] or follow her at @morytmilo on X, formerly known as Twitter. Catch up on her monthly editorials here .
Celtic centurion on Champions League progress amid 'ridiculous' financial gulf
By REBECCA SANTANA WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has promised to end birthright citizenship as soon as he gets into office to make good on campaign promises aiming to restrict immigration and redefining what it means to be American. But any efforts to halt the policy would face steep legal hurdles. Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the United States automatically becomes an American citizen. It’s been in place for decades and applies to children born to someone in the country illegally or in the U.S. on a tourist or student visa who plans to return to their home country. It’s not the practice of every country, and Trump and his supporters have argued that the system is being abused and that there should be tougher standards for becoming an American citizen. But others say this is a right enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, it would be extremely difficult to overturn and even if it’s possible, it’s a bad idea. Here’s a look at birthright citizenship, what Trump has said about it and the prospects for ending it: During an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Trump said he “absolutely” planned to halt birthright citizenship once in office. “We’re going to end that because it’s ridiculous,” he said. Trump and other opponents of birthright citizenship have argued that it creates an incentive for people to come to the U.S. illegally or take part in “birth tourism,” in which pregnant women enter the U.S. specifically to give birth so their children can have citizenship before returning to their home countries. “Simply crossing the border and having a child should not entitle anyone to citizenship,” said Eric Ruark, director of research for NumbersUSA, which argues for reducing immigration. The organization supports changes that would require at least one parent to be a permanent legal resident or a U.S. citizen for their children to automatically get citizenship. Others have argued that ending birthright citizenship would profoundly damage the country. “One of our big benefits is that people born here are citizens, are not an illegal underclass. There’s better assimilation and integration of immigrants and their children because of birthright citizenship,” said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies at the pro-immigration Cato Institute. In 2019, the Migration Policy Institute estimated that 5.5 million children under age 18 lived with at least one parent in the country illegally in 2019, representing 7% of the U.S. child population. The vast majority of those children were U.S. citizens. The nonpartisan think tank said during Trump’s campaign for president in 2015 that the number of people in the country illegally would “balloon” if birthright citizenship were repealed, creating “a self-perpetuating class that would be excluded from social membership for generations.” In the aftermath of the Civil War, Congress ratified the 14th Amendment in July 1868. That amendment assured citizenship for all, including Black people. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” the 14th Amendment says. “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” But the 14th Amendment didn’t always translate to everyone being afforded birthright citizenship. For example, it wasn’t until 1924 that Congress finally granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S. A key case in the history of birthright citizenship came in 1898, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the states. The federal government had tried to deny him reentry into the county after a trip abroad on grounds he wasn’t a citizen under the Chinese Exclusion Act. But some have argued that the 1898 case clearly applied to children born of parents who are both legal immigrants to America but that it’s less clear whether it applies to children born to parents without legal status or, for example, who come for a short-term like a tourist visa. “That is the leading case on this. In fact, it’s the only case on this,” said Andrew Arthur, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports immigration restrictions. “It’s a lot more of an open legal question than most people think.” Some proponents of immigration restrictions have argued the words “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in the 14th Amendment allows the U.S. to deny citizenship to babies born to those in the country illegally. Trump himself used that language in his 2023 announcement that he would aim to end birthright citizenship if reelected. Trump wasn’t clear in his Sunday interview how he aims to end birthright citizenship. Asked how he could get around the 14th Amendment with an executive action, Trump said: “Well, we’re going to have to get it changed. We’ll maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it.” Pressed further on whether he’d use an executive order, Trump said “if we can, through executive action.” He gave a lot more details in a 2023 post on his campaign website . In it, he said he would issue an executive order the first day of his presidency, making it clear that federal agencies “require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their future children to become automatic U.S. citizens.” Related Articles National Politics | Trump has flip-flopped on abortion policy. His appointees may offer clues to what happens next National Politics | In promising to shake up Washington, Trump is in a class of his own National Politics | Election Day has long passed. In some states, legislatures are working to undermine the results National Politics | Trump taps his attorney Alina Habba to serve as counselor to the president National Politics | US announces nearly $1 billion more in longer-term weapons support for Ukraine Trump wrote that the executive order would make clear that children of people in the U.S. illegally “should not be issued passports, Social Security numbers, or be eligible for certain taxpayer funded welfare benefits.” This would almost certainly end up in litigation. Nowrasteh from the Cato Institute said the law is clear that birthright citizenship can’t be ended by executive order but that Trump may be inclined to take a shot anyway through the courts. “I don’t take his statements very seriously. He has been saying things like this for almost a decade,” Nowrasteh said. “He didn’t do anything to further this agenda when he was president before. The law and judges are near uniformly opposed to his legal theory that the children of illegal immigrants born in the United States are not citizens.” Trump could steer Congress to pass a law to end birthright citizenship but would still face a legal challenge that it violates the Constitution. Associated Press reporter Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes rose to more records Wednesday after tech companies talked up how much of a boost they’re getting from the artificial-intelligence boom. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to add to what’s set to be one of its best years of the millennium. It’s the 56th time the index has hit an all-time high this year after climbing in 11 of the last 12 days . The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 308 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite added 1.3% to its own record. Salesforce helped pull the market higher after delivering stronger revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit fell just short. CEO Mark Benioff highlighted the company’s artificial-intelligence offering for customers, saying “the rise of autonomous AI agents is revolutionizing global labor, reshaping how industries operate and scale.” The stock price of the company, which helps businesses manage their customers, jumped 11%. Marvell Technology leaped even more after delivering better results than expected, up 23.2%. CEO Matt Murphy said the semiconductor supplier is seeing strong demand from AI and gave a forecast for profit in the upcoming quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. All the optimistic talk helped Nvidia , the company whose chips are powering much of the move into AI, rally 3.5%. It was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500 by far. They helped offset an 8.9% drop for Foot Locker, which reported profit and revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations. CEO Mary Dillon said the company is taking a more cautious view, and it cut its forecasts for sales and profit this year. Dillon pointed to how keen customers are for discounts and how soft demand has been outside of Thanksgiving week and other key selling periods. Retailers overall have offered mixed signals about how resilient U.S. shoppers can remain. Their spending has been one of the main reasons the U.S. economy has avoided a recession that earlier seemed inevitable after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to crush inflation. But shoppers are now contending with still-high prices and a slowing job market . This week’s highlight for Wall Street will be Friday’s jobs report from the U.S. government, which will show how many people employers hired and fired last month. A narrower report released Wednesday morning suggested employers in the private sector increased their payrolls by less last month than economists expected. Hiring in manufacturing was the weakest since the spring, according to Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. The report strengthened traders’ expectations that the Fed will cut its main interest rate again when it meets in two weeks. The Fed began easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high in September, hoping to offer more support for the job market. The central bank had appeared set to continue cutting rates into next year, but the election of Donald Trump has scrambled Wall Street’s expectations somewhat. Trump’s preference for higher tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , which could alter the Fed’s plans . Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the central bank can afford to cut rates cautiously because inflation has slowed from its peak two years ago and the economy remains sturdy. A separate report on Wednesday said health care, finance and other businesses in the U.S. services sector are continuing to grow, but not by as much as before and not by as much as economists expected. One respondent from the construction industry told the survey from the Institute for Supply Management that the Fed’s rate cuts haven't pulled down mortgage rates as much as hoped. Plus, “the unknown effect of tariffs clouds the future.” In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.18% from 4.23% late Tuesday. On Wall Street, Campbell’s sank 6.2% for one of the S&P 500’s sharper losses despite increasing its dividend and reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. Its revenue fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, and the National Football League’s Washington Commanders hired Campbell’s CEO Mark Clouse as its team president. Gains for airline stocks helped offset that drop after JetBlue Airways said it saw stronger bookings for travel in November and December following the presidential election. It also said it’s benefiting from lower fuel prices, as well as lower costs due to improved on-time performance. JetBlue jumped 8.3%, while Southwest Airlines climbed 3.5%. All told, the S&P 500 rose 36.61 points to 6,086.49. The Dow climbed 308.51 to 45,014.04, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 254.21 to 19,735.12. In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi sank 1.4% following a night full of drama in Seoul. President Yoon Suk Yeol was facing possible impeachment after he suddenly declared martial law on Tuesday night, prompting troops to surround the parliament. He revoked the martial law declaration six hours later. In the crypto market , bitcoin climbed near $99,000 after Trump said he would nominate Paul Atkins , a cryptocurrency advocate, to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.
FBI Director Christopher Wray announced on Wednesday that he will resign in January before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. "After weeks of careful thought, I've decided the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down," Wray told bureau employees in remarks released by the FBI. Trump, who is to be sworn in as president on January 20, has announced the nomination of staunch loyalist Kash Patel to replace Wray as the head of the top US law enforcement agency and he welcomed the FBI chief's resignation. Wray was named by Trump in 2017 to head the 38,000-strong Federal Bureau of Intelligence but the incoming president has since soured on his choice. Wray had three more years remaining in his 10-year term as FBI director but faced potentially being fired by Trump. "The resignation of Christopher Wray is a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America," Trump said. The FBI raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in August 2022 to recover top secret documents taken without authorization from the White House. Trump was indicted for mishandling classified documents and obstruction of justice but the case was dismissed by a Trump-appointed judge. Wray, in his remarks to the FBI workforce, said stepping down "is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work." "In terms of how we do the work, we've got to maintain our independence and objectivity -- staying above partisanship and politics," he said. "That's what the American people expect of us and that's what they deserve." Patel, a former Trump advisor and Pentagon official, has been critical of the FBI and is known for his controversial views. A fierce defender of the incoming president, Patel supports the Republican hardliner notion of an anti-Trump "deep state" of allegedly biased government bureaucrats working to stifle Trump from behind the scenes, even having written a book on the subject. A son of Indian immigrants, Patel served in several high-level posts during Trump's first term including as a national security advisor and as chief of staff to the acting defense secretary. Trump, in his Truth Social post, accused law enforcement officials of using "their vast powers to threaten and destroy many innocent Americans, some of which will never be able to recover from what has been done to them." "Kash Patel is the most qualified Nominee to lead the FBI in the Agency's History, and is committed to helping ensure that Law, Order, and Justice will be brought back to our Country again, and soon," he said. "I look forward to Kash Patel's confirmation, so that the process of Making the FBI Great Again can begin." Attorney General Merrick Garland praised Wray's "principled leadership" of the FBI, saying he had served "honorably and with integrity." "The director of the FBI is responsible for protecting the independence of the FBI from inappropriate influence in its criminal investigations," Garland said in a statement. "That independence is central to preserving the rule of law and to protecting the freedoms we as Americans hold dear." cl/dwMarine vet Daniel Penny blamed a failed criminal justice system for forcing him into his highly-charged encounter with vagrant Jordan Neely on a crowded subway train — and slammed Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg for taking him to trial in the case. Penny, 26, speaking to Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro in his first interview since a jury acquitted him of negligent homicide charges, said prosecutors seem to have their heads in the sand. “It really showed their arrogance in kind of their lack of understanding of what’s really happening and, really, what public perception of crime [is],” he said. “And no matter whatever anyone says on the news, it’s pretty prevalent. It just showed their arrogance that they were going to get me on something. “It was disheartening for sure — and I don’t mean to get political,” he told Pirro. “These are their policies that have clearly not worked, that the people, the general population are not in support of. “Yet, their egos are too big just to admit that they’re wrong and they can’t reverse what they’ve done, because that’s a political suicide for them, I guess,” Penny said. He said he was taken aback by how far the city subway system had deteriorated upon his return from active military duty when he began living and studying in the five boroughs. “Definitely different from what I remembered it to be before the Marine Corps. Before the Marine Corps pre-COVID, it was pretty tame, pretty safe,” he said. “I guess I was pretty innocent to all the things that were going on. “And then I got here and this whole new, I guess, perception of what happened or the perception of safety here in New York is was changed,” Penny added. Penny, who grew up in West Islip and had two deployments while in the Marine Corps, said he was on his way home from classes at City Tech in Brooklyn when he found himself in the middle of the heated subway scene on May 1, 2023 . “Once the jacket was thrown, he didn’t say anything prior to that, at least I don’t remember him saying anything prior to that,” he said. “It was — it was really at that point, too, there was that feeling that vacuum, that I’d never felt before in any situation.” He said he took off his earbuds as things quickly unfolded “to keep an eye on the situation” as Neely began screaming and threatening straphangers, loudly making demands from frightened passengers for fast food and drinks, and warned that he was willing to kill someone and go to jail. “Within those 15 seconds, I mean, there was contemplation,” Penny told Pirro . “Should I just wait? Should I go to a different car? Should I move away? But I saw the looks on — on the mother, on the, on the school kids, on the other passengers, women, children. “The threats were imminent and something had to be done,” he said. “[Passengers] were holding each other and just — and people were stuck to their chairs. They felt pinned, and I felt pinned. I felt nervous, I felt scared.” He said that’s when he decided to act. “When we first get to the ground, he lands on my chest. He knocks the wind [out of] me. I hit my head on the ... subway floor,” Penny told Pirro. “There’s a moment of calm. A feel of a tension in his body. “It’s almost like he was shocked that someone did something. And that lasted like a second or two. And I would — I was — in that second or two, I was hoping that that would be it,” he said. “Didn’t happen... [Neely] planted his feet on his ground and arched back. He was able to like lift me up and pedal his feet.” Penny, who called Neely “extraordinarily strong,” said he wrapped his legs around him and hung on — sensing the vagrant’s strength came in part from smoking the synthetic drug K-2. “I look over my shoulder and one of the things I say is, ‘where are the police?’ I’m exhausted, I’m tired,” he said. “I was swimming a mile a day and I was still, could not believe that his level of endurance. “At some point the thrashing ended” and police arrived — but didn’t tell him Neely had died when detectives later brought him in for questioning, he said. Penny was later indicted on manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the case. On Friday, with a jury hopelessly deadlocked on the top charge, prosecutors asked that the manslaughter count be tossed for jurors to deliberate only on the negligent homicide charge. On Monday the jury acquitted Penny on that charge .Sports on TV for Sunday, Dec. 29
CLEVELAND (AP) — Shortly after doing a face-down snow angel, firing a few celebratory snowballs and singing “Jingle Bells” on his way to the media room, Jameis Winston ended his postgame news conference with a simple question. “Am I a Brown yet?” he asked. He is now. And who knows? Maybe for a lot longer than expected. Winston entered Cleveland football folklore on Thursday night by leading the Browns to a 24-19 win over the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers, who had their five-game winning streak stopped. Winston's performance at Huntington Bank Field, which transformed into the world's largest snow globe, not only made him an instantaneous hero in the eyes of Browns fans but added another wrinkle to the team's ever-changing, never-ending quarterback conundrum. In his fourth start since Deshaun Watson's season-ending Achilles tendon injury, Winston made enough big plays to help the Browns (3-8) get a victory that should quiet conjecture about coach Kevin Stefanski's job. Some wins mean more than others. In Cleveland, beating the Steelers is as big as it gets. But beyond any instant gratification, Winston has given the Browns more to consider as they move forward. Watson's future with Cleveland is highly uncertain since it will still be months before the team has a grip on whether he's even an option in 2025, his fourth year since signing a $230 million, fully guaranteed contract that has proven calamitous. It's also possible the Browns will cut ties with Watson. They signed Winston to a one-year contract to be Watson's backup. But the unexpected events of 2024 have changed plans and led to the possibility that the 30-year-old Winston could become Cleveland's full-time QB or a bridge to their next young one. So much is unclear. What's not is that Winston, who leaped into the end zone on fourth-and-2 for a TD to put the Browns ahead 18-6 in the fourth quarter, is a difference maker. With his larger-than-life personality and the joy he shows whether practicing or throwing three touchdown passes, he has lifted the Browns. A man of faith, he's made his teammates believe. Winston has done what Watson couldn't: made the Browns better. “A very, very authentic person,” Stefanski said Friday on a Zoom call. “He’s the same guy every single day. He's the same guy at 5 a.m. as he at 5 p.m. He brings great energy to everything he does, and I think his teammates appreciate that about him.” Winston, who is 2-2 as a starter with wins over the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, has a knack for inspiring through fiery, preacher-like pregame speeches. But what has impressed the Browns is his ability to stay calm in the storm. “He doesn’t get rattled,” said Myles Garrett, who had three sacks against the Steelers . “He’s just tuned in and focused as anyone I’ve seen at that position. Turn the page. There was a turnover, came back to the sideline, ‘Love you. I’m sorry. We’re going to get it back.’ He was already on to the next one, ‘How can we complete the mission?’ “I have a lot of respect for him. First was from afar and now seeing it on the field in front of me, it’s a blessing to have someone who plays a game with such a passion and want-to. You can’t ask for a better teammate when they take those things to heart and they want to play for you like we’re actually brothers and that’s what we have to attain. That brotherhood.” Winston has done something else Watson couldn't: move the offense. The Browns scored more than 20 points for just the second time this season, and like Joe Flacco a year ago, Winston has shown that Stefanski's system works with a quarterback patient enough to let plays develop and unafraid to take shots downfield. The conditions certainly were a factor, but the Browns were a miserable 1 of 10 on third down, a season-long trend. However, Cleveland converted all four fourth-down tries, including a fourth-and-3 pass from Winston to Jerry Jeudy with 2:36 left that helped set up Nick Chubb's go-ahead TD run. RT Jack Conklin. Garrett outplayed Steelers star T.J. Watt in their rivalry within the rivalry partly because Conklin did a nice job containing Pittsburgh's edge rusher, who was held without a sack and had one tackle for loss. Conklin has made a remarkable comeback since undergoing reconstructive knee surgery last year. Owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam. Their desire to build a dome is well intended, but an indoor game could never come close to matching the surreal setting of Thursday night, when snow swirled throughout the stadium and covered nearly all the yard lines and hash marks. “It was beautiful,” Winston said. WR Cedric Tillman is in the concussion protocol. He had two catches before taking a big hit on the final play of the third quarter. 9 — Consecutive home wins for the Browns in Thursday night games. Three of those have come against Pittsburgh. An extended break before visiting the Denver Broncos on Dec. 2. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLThe raw milk recall in California grew bigger this week, as state officials discovered more traces of the bird flu virus in "multiple" lots of raw milk produced by Raw Farm. The farm had previously recalled two lots of raw milk -- one on Nov. 24 and another on Nov. 27 . Products in the recall now include all Raw Farm milk and cream produced between Nov. 9 and Nov. 27, 2024. The California Department of Public Health has quarantined Raw Farm and warns against "consuming any Raw Farm products for human consumption including raw milk, cream, cheese and kefir, as well as raw milk pet food topper and pet food kefir marketed to pet owners." No illnesses from consuming the raw milk batch have been reported, and state health officials say pasteurized milk remains safe to drink. Health officials have always said that raw milk carries some health risks, but warnings around raw milk consumption have been increased during the ongoing bird flu outbreak, which has caused some sporadic human cases in the US, mostly in people with direct contact with sick animals. Two cases, including one in a California child, have unknown exposure sources , according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No person-to-person spread has been detected. This is also not the first time the virus that causes bird flu, H5N1, has been found in grocery store milk. Earlier this year, fragments of the virus were found in roughly one in five pasteurized milk samples across the US, though additional genetic testing of the samples didn't turn up an activated or infectious virus. That's what experts have said would be the case, since pasteurization is expected to kill or inactivate bird flu virus, as it does other potentially harmful bacteria and viruses. The FDA has said that the milk supply is safe ; pasteurization is a requirement for commercial milk, making up the vast majority of milk found on store shelves -- though not all, depending on local laws around raw milk sales. California, for example, allows retail sale of raw milk; according to the state's post Sunday, health officials there have been regularly testing raw milk. But outside what the FDA refers to as the "commercial" milk supply, there's an ongoing trend of consumers choosing raw milk. While people who grew up on farms or around cattle might have had unpasteurized milk for dinner, raw milk has found a new audience in people in search of a food they feel is more natural or holistic or even part of a greater wellness or political trend . Here's what to know about pasteurization in milk and how to consider the raw milk wellness trend in bird flu times. What is pasteurization? Will it kill bird flu? Pasteurization is a heating process invented in the 1860s by French chemist Louis Pasteur and has been used widely since as a means to kill harmful bacteria and pathogens that can sometimes cause serious illness. These include bacteria that cause illness like E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella, and other pathogens. Pasteurization is also expected to kill or inactivate the virus that causes bird flu, which is why health officials continue to say there's no risk to pasteurized dairy products or the commercial milk supply. Some dairy products may be ultrapasteurized , which is when milk is heated more quickly than typical pasteurization (a couple of seconds) at a higher temperature and then rapidly cooled down. This extends its shelf life. Pasteurized dairy products can be organic or nonorganic. Whether you can buy or sell raw, unpasteurized milk depends on the laws in your state . In California, for example, you can buy raw milk from stores, although it has to be properly labeled with a warning stating it's unpasteurized. Jenna Guthmiller, an immunologist, influenza researcher and assistant professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Colorado, told CNET this spring that if someone were to drink milk contaminated with H5N1, it doesn't necessarily mean they would be infected. Influenza viruses are unstable outside the body, she explained, and milk "bypasses the normal process by which we get infected" with flu. Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said in an email earlier this year that finding bird flu virus material in pasteurized milk doesn't change the public health risk assessment for the commercial milk supply. "Pasteurization is a process that would destroy the viability of pathogens -- it's not a process that eliminates their genetic material," he said. Adalja previously noted it's "unclear" whether there would be a live virus in unpasteurized milk or if it could infect humans by their drinking it, he explained. Influenza viruses aren't spread to humans via ingestion. But on raw milk, he added, "there are many reasons not to drink it to begin with." Risks of drinking unpasteurized milk Drinking or accidentally inhaling raw milk that contains bird flu virus may lead to illness, health officials from California said this week while announcing the recalled lot. Unwashed hands with contaminated raw milk touching your eyes, nose or mouth may also lead to infection. The CDC issued a separate reminder this summer over the increased risks of drinking raw milk following detection of the H5N1 virus in raw milk . However, the experts I spoke with for this story before it was first published earlier this spring essentially said, in general, influenza is difficult to spread to people through eating or drinking. However, the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy reported this week that while the level of risk is currently unknown, unpublished studies in mice suggest there is a risk pathway. There's also the existing health risks of raw milk, which isn't part of what the FDA refers to as the "commercial" milk supply. "In my opinion, there's a concern with raw milk acquisitions which can become part of the food system, and people secure that milk outside of going to the grocery store," Meg Schaeffer, an infectious disease epidemiologist and National Public Health adviser at the analytics firm SAS, told CNET this spring. "Yes, we have enzymes in our body that can kill the virus," Schaeffer said. "It's not a likely pathway to infection, but it's not impossible." In general, drinking raw milk has health risks. In addition to what Guthmiller called "old timey" bacteria that used to be a problem back in the day before processes like pasteurization cleaned up the food supply, unpasteurized or raw milk can expose people to serious illnesses like E. coli and listeria. While it may cause only temporary or milder illness in most people, people with weakened immune systems, older adults, those who are pregnant and very young children are especially at risk of serious health effects from drinking unpasteurized milk. The risk is especially high in children, according to Schaeffer, who are vulnerable to severe illness. In serious cases, health effects from drinking raw milk that's been contaminated can lead to kidney failure. Schaeffer also pushed back on claims that diseases that once were a big problem in countries like the US, like tuberculosis, are no longer an issue. That's true about tuberculosis, she said, but we also have effective treatment for it. That's not the case, she said, for some types of illness that children can get from unpasteurized milk. "The diseases, if anything, are even stronger -- antibiotic resistant," Schaeffer said. She added that some bacteria that may be in raw milk may go undetected by farmers because they don't cause illness in cows but do in people. While buying raw milk from a farm you know sets higher safety standards and practices "good hygiene" during milking can reduce the risk of contaminated raw milk, it won't eliminate it , according to the CDC. Why people drink raw milk Proponents of raw or unpasteurized milk prefer it for different reasons , including its creamier texture and taste or anecdotal reports that it's easier on digestion or more nutritious. You can't argue with someone's taste or texture preferences when it comes to food. In terms of the nutritional or health benefits of raw milk compared with unpasteurized milk, research seems to have pushed back on or debunked the majority of claims. The FDA, for example, says that raw milk isn't a cure or antidote for lactose intolerance. The agency also claims on the same information page that people are misusing the results of a study from 2007 that was on farm milk consumption, not raw milk consumption. In an analysis of the risks versus benefits of raw milk research, Healthline reported that any small antimicrobial benefit from raw milk would be neutralized when it's refrigerated. It also reported, based on the results of a systematic review , that minor nutrient losses of water-soluble vitamins, including some B vitamins, are already low in milk generally. "Multiple studies have shown that pasteurization does not significantly affect the nutritional quality of milk," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concludes . "Scientists do not have any evidence that shows a nutritional benefit from drinking raw milk." As someone who grew up on a dairy farm, Guthmiller used to drink unpasteurized milk herself -- she gets it. When it comes to consuming raw milk, she said, "the risks certainly outweigh the pros." "We're getting to a point with pasteurization where it looks like real milk," Guthmiller said. In terms of nutritional quality, "you really do not affect the contents of the milk" by pasteurizing it, she said, because it's done so quickly. If you're looking for foods with proven gut-health properties , look at adding foods like kimchi, pickled vegetables, sourdough, apple cider vinegar and buttermilk. The importance of 'risk vs. benefits' in health and wellness I'd be a hypocrite if I wrote this without noting I've experimented with a few things in the wellness realm that were either not recommended by a health body like the CDC, or "rooted in science," as they say. Sometimes, I like wading into wellness waters tipped toward murky in the swirl of potential risk with potential benefit. A couple of tamer or lower-risk, lower-evidence examples include a time in my life when I dumped a spoonful of coconut oil into my coffee each day and the fact that I own a pair of blue-light-blocking glasses . Prior to bird flu in dairy cow times, the idea of raw milk was also intriguing to me because I like the notion of prioritizing foods that are locally sourced and full of fat for their satiating properties. But you won't find me traveling upstate to a local farm for a fresh jug of raw milk. This is true even as my current individual risk is relatively lower than that of a child or someone who's pregnant, and even if the milk supply remains safe, and bird flu proves virtually impossible to transmit through milk. (Outside of milk, it's worth noting that animal-to-human transmission of viruses is a growing threat.) I can get the same small or hypothetical benefit from other whole food sources outside raw milk, without rolling the dice.
Awards season has arrived in the form of the Golden Globes nominations. The awards, which honor both movies and television programs, is often viewed as a preview of the upcoming Oscars. In this week's episode, co-hosts Bruce Miller and Terry Lipshetz go over the list, focusing largely on the movies, which tend to shine brightest at the ceremony. But they also take time to review a few of the TV shows, including the great, but rarely funny "The Bear," which is again in the comedy or musical category. We also have an interview with "Nickel Boys" director RaMell Ross, who spoke with Miller prior to the film receiving a nomination for best drama. Miller also talked with Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who starred in the film. “Wicked”; “Anora”; “Emilia Perez”; “Challengers”; “A Real Pain”; “The Substance” “The Brutalist”; “A Complete Unknown,”; “Conclave”; “Dune: Part Two”; “Nickel Boys;” “September 5” Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain”; Hugh Grant, “Heretic”; Gabriel LaBelle, “Saturday Night; Jesse Plemons, “Kinds of Kindness”’ Glen Powell, “Hitman”; Sebastian Stan, “A Different Man” Amy Adams, “Nightbitch”; Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”; Karla Sofia Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”; Mikey Madison “Anora”; Demi Moore, “The Substance”; Zendaya, “Challengers” Pamela Anderson, “The Last Showgirl′′; Angelina Jolie, ”Maria”; Nicole Kidman, “Babygirl”; Tilda Swinton, “The Room Next Door”; Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”; Kate Winslet, “Lee” Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”; Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown’; Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”; Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”; Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice’’ “Alien: Romulus”; Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”; Deadpool & Wolverine”; “Gladiator II”; “Inside Out 2”; “Twisters”; “Wicked”; “The Wild Robot” “All We Imagine As Light′′; ”Emilia Pérez”; “The Girl With the Needle”; “I’m Still Here”; “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”; “Vermiglio” “Flow”; “Inside Out 2”; “Memoir of a Snail”; “Moana 2”; “Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”; “The Wild Robot” Selena Gomez, ”Emilia Pérez”; Ariana Grande, “Wicked”; Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”; Margaret Qualley, “The Substance”; Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave”; Zoe Saldaña, ”Emilia Pérez” Yura Borisov, “Anora”; Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”; Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown”; Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist”; Jeremy Strong, ”The Apprentice”; Denzel Washington, “Gladiator II” Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”; Sean Baker, ”Anora”; Edward Berger, “Conclave”; Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”; Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”; Payal Kapadia, “All We Imagine As Light” Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”; Sean Baker, ”Anora”; Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold, “The Brutalist”; Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain”; Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”; Peter Straughan, “Conclave” Volker Bertelmann, “Conclave”; Daniel Blumberg, “The Brutalist”; Kris Bowers, “The Wild Robot”; Clement Ducol, Camille “Emilia Pérez”; Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, “Challengers”; Hans Zimmer, “Dune: Part Two” “Beautiful That Way” from “The Last Showgirl” (music/lyrics by Andrew Wyatt, Miley Cyrus, Lykke Zachrisson); “Compress/Repress” from “Challengers’ (music/lyrics by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Luca Guadagnino; “El Mal” from EL MAL” from “Emilia Pérez” (music/lyrics by Clément Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard; “Forbidden Road” from ”Better Man′′ (music/lyrics by Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler, Sacha Skarbek); “Kiss the Sky” from “The Wild Robot′′ (music/lyrics by Delacey, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack, Ali Tamposi); ”Mi Camino′′ from “Emilia Pérez” (music/lyrics by Clément Ducol, Camille) “Shogun”; “The Diplomat”; “Slow Horses”; “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”; “The Day of the Jackal”; “Squid Game” “Abbott Elementary”; “The Bear; “Hacks”; “Nobody Wants This”; “Only Murders in the Building”; “The Gentlemen” Donald Glover, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”; Jake Gyllenhaal, “Presumed Innocent”; Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”; Eddie Redmayne, “The Day of the Jackal”; Hiroyuki Sanada, “Shogun”; Billy Bob Thornton, “Landman” Kathy Bates, “Matlock”; Emma D’Arcy, “House of the Dragon”; Maya Erskine, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”; Keira Knightley, “Black Doves”; Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”; Anna Sawai, “Shogun” Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”; Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”; Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”; Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building”; Kathryn Hahn, “Agatha All Along”; Jean Smart, “Hacks” Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”; Ted Danson, “A Man on the Inside”; Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”; Jason Segel, “Shrinking”; Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”; Jeremy All White, “The Bear” “Baby Reindeer”; Disclaimer"; “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”; “The Penguin”; “Ripley”; “True Detective: Night Country” Cate Blanchett, “Disclaimer''; Jodie Foster, ”True Detective: Night Country"; Cristin Milioti, “The Penguin''; Sofia Vergara, ”Griselda"; Naomi Watts, “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans”; Kate Winslet, “The Regime” Colin Farrell, “The Penguin”; Richard Gadd, “Baby Reindeer”; Kevin Kline, “Disclaimer”; Cooper Koch, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”; Ewan McGregor, “A Gentleman in Moscow”; Andrew Scott, “Ripley” Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear”; Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”; Dakota Fanning, “Ripley”; Jessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer”; Allison Janney, “The Diplomat”; Kali Reis, “True Detective: Night Country” Tadanobu Asano, “Shogun''; Javier Bardem, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”; Harrison Ford, “Shrinking”; Jack Lowden “Slow Horses”; Diego Luna, “La Maquina”; Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear” Jamie Foxx, “Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was”; Nikki Glaser, “Nikki Glaser: Someday You'll Die”; Seth Meyers, “Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking”; Adam Sandler, "Adam Sandler: Love You"; Ali Wong, “Ali Wong: Single Lady”; Ramy Youssef, “Ramy Youssef: More Feelings” —List compiled by The Associated Press Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!
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Security cameras captured video of a University of Mississippi student leaving his campus apartment twice on the morning he was last seen alive, University Police Department Capt. Jane Mahan testified Wednesday in the trial of the man accused of killing the student. Jimmy “Jay” Lee, 20, was a gay man well known in the LGBTQ+ community at Ole Miss and in Oxford, where the university is located. He vanished July 8, 2022. Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr., 24, of Grenada, Mississippi, is charged with capital murder in Lee's death, and his trial began Tuesday in Oxford. Herrington has maintained his innocence. Police said cellphone history showed conversations between Herrington and Lee on the morning Lee disappeared. Jurors on Wednesday were shown video clips of Lee leaving his own apartment shortly after 4 a.m., wearing a robe and slippers. The clips showed him returning about 40 minutes later and leaving again just before 6 a.m. When he left the last time, he was looking at his cellphone. A friend of Lee, Khalid Fears, testified Tuesday that he had a video chat with Lee while Lee left the apartment around 6 a.m. that day. Lee said he was going back to see a man he had seen hours earlier, Fears testified. Mahan testified Wednesday about the timeline of the video clips showing Lee at the campus apartment. She said campus police started searching for Lee after his mother, Stephanie Lee, called later that day to request a welfare check on her son after he didn't respond to multiple messages. Jay Lee's apartment had an electronic key card, and Mahan testified that police contacted the campus housing department to put an alert on his card, which would automatically send police an email if the card were used. An assistant district attorney, Gwen Agho, asked Mahan if Lee ever returned to his apartment after he was recorded leaving that morning. “Not that I've ever been notified of, no,” Mahan said. Lee and Herrington saw each other twice during the hours before Lee disappeared, Agho said during opening arguments Tuesday. She said the men had sexual contact during their first meeting, and Lee was upset when he left Herrington’s apartment. Herrington invited Lee back — and before Lee arrived, Herrington searched online for how long it takes to strangle someone, Agho said. Herrington “was not openly in the LGBTQ community,” she said. A witness, Kizziah Carter, testified Wednesday that he was driving home from work at about 7:30 that morning and saw Herrington jogging along a road in Oxford. Carter said he knew Herrington and honked to greet him, and Carter flagged him down to ask for a ride. The road was near an apartment complex where Lee's car was found later in the day. Carter said he drove Herrington to Herrington's apartment in another complex. Surveillance video also recorded Herrington running from where Lee’s car was found, and he was later seen picking up a shovel and wheelbarrow at his parents’ house, authorities said. Lee’s body has not been found. In October, a judge declared him dead at the request of Lee’s parents. Lee’s active presence on social media fell silent after July 8, 2022, and no transactions have appeared on his credit card since then, prosecutors said. Herrington was arrested two weeks after Lee vanished, then released five months later on a $250,000 bond. A grand jury indicted him in March 2023. Herrington’s attorney, Kevin Horan, told jurors Tuesday that prosecutors have “zero” proof that Lee was killed or that any crime happened. Both Herrington and Lee had graduated from the University of Mississippi. Lee was pursuing a master’s degree. He was known for his creative expression through fashion and makeup and often performed in drag shows in Oxford, according to a support group called Justice for Jay Lee. Prosecutors have announced they do not intend to pursue the death penalty, meaning Herrington could get a life sentence if convicted. Mississippi law defines capital murder as a killing committed along with another felony — in this case, kidnapping.
John Fetterman joins Truth Social with post calling for Joe Biden to pardon Donald Trump
AP News Summary at 2:48 p.m. EST
