Author: Reporter

On top of the grievous toll in human life and misery for residents in gaza, Israel’s war against the Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups has been expensive, and the painfully high financial costs are raising concerns about the long-term effect of the fighting on the country’s economy. Military spending has ballooned, and growth has stalled, especially in dangerous border areas that were evacuated. Economists say the country could face declining investment and higher taxes as the war strains government budgets and forces tough choices between social programs and the military. Benjamin Netanyahu’s continuation of Israel’s war efforts has put...

Israeli residents of “Trump Heights” are welcoming the election of their namesake, hoping Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency will breathe new life into their remote settlement in the occupied Golan Heights. The Golan Heights is primarily viewed as occupied territory under international law, following Israel’s capture of the area from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967. In 1981, Israel unilaterally annexed the Golan Heights, a move that has not been recognized by most of the international community, including the United Nations. During his first term, Trump became the first and only foreign leader to recognize Israel’s...

Chris Stanislawski did not read much in his middle school English classes, but it never felt necessary. Students were given detailed chapter summaries for every novel they discussed, and teachers played audio of the books during class. Much of the reading material at Garden City Middle School in Long Island was either abridged books, or online texts and printouts, he said. “When you’re given a summary of the book telling you what you’re about to read in baby form, it kind of just ruins the whole story for you,” said Chris, 14. “Like, what’s the point of actually reading?”...

Isabella Pires first noticed what she calls the “gradual apathy pandemic” in eighth grade. Only a handful of classmates registered for service projects she helped organize at her Massachusetts school. Even fewer actually showed up. When she got to high school last fall, Isabella found the problem was even worse: a lackluster Spirit Week and classes where students seldom spoke. In some ways, it is as if students “just care less and less about what people think, but also somehow care more,” said Isabella, 14. Some teens, she said, no longer care about appearing disengaged, while others are so...

A Virginia museum has nearly finished restoring the nation’s oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children, where hundreds of mostly enslaved students learned to read through a curriculum that justified slavery. The museum, Colonial Williamsburg, also has identified more than 80 children who lined its pinewood benches in the 1760s. They include Aberdeen, 5, who was enslaved by a saddle and harness maker. Bristol and George, 7 and 8, were owned by a doctor. Phoebe, 3, was the property of local tavern keepers. Another student, Isaac Bee, later emancipated himself. In newspaper ads seeking his capture, his enslaver warned Bee...