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The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and Brown University are the latest schools to reinstate SAT or ACT score requirements in their admissions process. UT Austin announced Monday that standardized test scores will be required again, starting with applicants for the fall of 2025. “Our goals are to attract the best and brightest students and to make sure every student is successful once they are here. Standardized scores combined with high school GPA support this goal by improving early identification of students who demonstrated the greatest academic achievement, the most potential, and those who can most benefit from...

The federal government’s free at-home COVID-19 test program will be suspended beginning Friday in response to a drop in respiratory diseases. The Biden administration brought back the free test program last year ahead of the respiratory viral season. By going to COVIDtests.gov, households could order a free pack of four at-home COVID-19 tests. This most recent batch of free tests was the sixth round made available. A banner on the website now states that “ordering for free COVID-19 tests via this website will be suspended after Friday, March 8, 2024. All orders placed on or before March 8 will be...

Michelle Obama says life in the White House challenged her in ways she “never anticipated.” The former first lady is poised to open up about the experience in a forthcoming episode of “On Purpose with Jay Shetty,” which premiers Monday. In an exclusive clip obtained by ITK, Shetty asked Obama what being part of the first family at the White House revealed to her about herself. “That I’m pretty strategic and smart and resilient,” Obama, 59, replied. “The White House tests you in ways that you never anticipated,” the mom of two said.

The Biden administration on Monday said it is offering another round of free at-home Covid tests to U.S. households ahead of the holiday season, when more people gather indoors and the virus typically spreads at higher levels. Starting Monday, Americans can use COVIDtests.gov to request four free tests per household. Those who have not ordered any tests this fall can now place two orders for a total of eight tests, according to the website. The administration in September allowed people to request an initial round of four free tests through the site, resuming a federal program that temporarily shut down...

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Tuesday said he had tested positive for COVID-19 and would miss votes this week in the Senate. His office confirmed to The Hill he plans to return to Washington next week. Tillis, who had planned to host a Halloween “dog parade” on Tuesday, said he no longer would be able to attend but suggested Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) could take his place. “Unfortunately I have COVID and won’t be able to kick off today’s Bipawtisan Howl-o-ween Dog Parade. But believe me, it will all work out. I know the perfect person for the job…,” Tillis...

The state Department of Public Health is encouraging residents to order free at-home COVID-19 test kits when the federal government makes them available again next week. This comes after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that households will be able to order up to four free tests through COVIDTests.gov starting on Monday, Sept. 25. The state Department of Public Health said the tests are intended to be used through the end of the year and will detect the variants that are currently circulating. They are also urging residents to use the COVIDTests.gov site to see if...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home COVID-19 tests and is restarting a website allowing Americans to again order up to four free tests per household — aiming to prevent possible shortages during a rise in coronavirus cases that has typically come during colder months. The Department of Health and Human Services says orders can be placed at COVIDTests.gov starting Sept. 25, and that no-cost tests will be delivered for free by the United States Postal Service.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. According to a release from the governor's office, DeWine was experiencing mild cold symptoms on Monday. DeWine believed it was just a head cold, so he continued his work day on Tuesday but his symptoms worsened. His doctor advised he take a COVID test, which came back positive. The governor reportedly had a 101-degree fever at the time of taking the test around 5:30 p.m. He is resting at home at this time, according to the release. DeWine's positive test comes just hours after he and Columbus Mayor...

Failing the New York State teachers’ exam really paid off — especially for a Queens man who learned this month he’s getting a $2 million windfall over it. Roughly 5,200 black and Hispanic ex-Big Apple teachers and once-aspiring educators are expected to collect more than $1.8 billion in judgments after the city stopped fighting a nearly three-decade federal discrimination lawsuit that found a certification exam was biased. It’s the largest legal payout in city history. Court rulings found the exam violated civil-rights laws, allowing far more white candidates to pass.The case is expected to generate hundreds of other future million-dollar...

​Russia said Wednesday it will no longer give the United States advance notice of its missile tests — a month after suspending its participation in the most recent nuclear arms agreement between the two countries. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters that Russia will halt the information exchange after suspending “implementation” of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty​ (START)​. “There will be no notifications at all,” Rybakov said, according to Russian news agencies.

The Biden administration announced on Monday that it plans to end on May 11 a pair of emergency designations implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.... Here are three things that could be undone with the lifting of the national and public health emergencies. Title 42 Title 42 was a policy implemented by the Trump administration that allowed Border Patrol officials to expel foreign nationals at the border, citing public health protections related to the pandemic.... Medicare and Medicaid beneficiary benefits ...With the end of the public health emergency, Americans will need to start paying for COVID-19 tests and treatments such as...

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, the central bank announced Wednesday. The Fed leader is isolating at his home and plans to work remotely, in accordance with COVID-19 guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Powell is vaccinated and boosted, according to the release. No further details on Powell’s illness were provided. Powell’s positive tests comes as the Fed faces the issue of inflation and an economic slowdown with the risk of a recession looming. The Fed chair was in Sweden last week to deliver remarks on central bank independence.

Hong Kong CNN — Almost 250 million people in China may have caught Covid-19 in the first 20 days of December, according to an internal estimate from the nation’s top health officials, Bloomberg News and the Financial Times reported Friday. If correct, the estimate – which CNN cannot independently confirm – would account for roughly 18% of China’s 1.4 billion people and represent the largest Covid-19 outbreak to date globally. The figures cited were presented during an internal meeting of China’s National Health Commission (NHC) on Wednesday, according to both outlets – which cited sources familiar with the matter or...

The American Bar Association is under fire after taking steps to abandon LSAT entrance exam scores as a law school admissions requirement after a study showed that minority applicants score lower. The Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar approved the proposed standards revision earlier this month.The proposed change now goes to the association's policy-making body, the House of Delegates, for review in February. "But final approval to change ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools rests with the council, which serves as an independent arm of the ABA for...

Washington, DC, public schools will require that all students and staff test negative for the coronavirus before they are allowed to come back from Thanksgiving break. “To support a safe return from Thanksgiving break, all students and staff are expected to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test,” the district website reads. “Families should test their students and upload test results…on Sunday, November 27.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced on Monday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. “Just wanted to let Marylanders know that after testing positive for COVID-19, I am working from home,” Hogan wrote in a tweet on Monday. “Fortunately, I’m up to date on my boosters and my symptoms are minimal,” added Hogan, whose second term as Maryland’s governor is coming to an end in January. Hogan, who has been mentioned as a potential 2024 presidential candidate and is a frequent critic of former President Trump, tested positive for the virus in a breakthrough case last

President Biden on Wednesday got behind the wheels of pricey luxury vehicles at the Detroit Auto Show — just a day after drawing jeers for throwing an “inflation reduction” party despite worse-than-expected August data that showed US wages aren’t keeping up with surging prices. Biden revved a gas-guzzling Chevrolet Corvette Z06, which starts at $105,000, before sitting in the driver’s seat of an electric Chevrolet Silverado EV, which starts at $39,900, and checking out an electric Ford Mustang Mach-E, which goes for around $47,000. The president then drove around the showroom in an electric Cadillac Lyric, which starts near $63,000....

The White House on Thursday said it had purchased 100 million rapid at-home COVID-19 tests with its “limited funding,” as the administration continues to call on Congress to pass more pandemic funds. The Biden administration said in a press release that the 100 million domestically manufactured tests would be directed into the Strategic National Stockpile. White House officials had no further comment on the tests when reached by The Hill.

China has put several more of its cities and tens of millions of residents under new lockdowns, including the world’s largest wholesale hub and port cities. Many travelers are now stranded and struggling for food, production orders have been canceled, and businesses are closing because of the Chinese regime’s strict “zero-COVID” measures. According to Chinese media, since early August, a new wave of COVID-19 has swept through 25 of China’s 31 provinces, spanning from the southernmost Hainan Province to the Xinjiang region and Tibet in the west. World’s Largest Wholesale Hub Under Full Lockdown.. Yiwu city in the eastern Zhejiang...

CDC has abandoned ship on cruise restrictions!