Looks like rough days ahead for newspapers and magazines in capturing future readers, notes Grumpy Editor.
Escaping most editors desks is a report that 65 percent of eighth graders in American public schools are not proficient in reading while 67 percent are not proficient in mathematics, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2017 test results released by the U.S. Department of Education, reports CNSNews.com.
Among 27 large urban districts NAEP test scores, Detroit public school eighth graders rank lowest with just 7 percent proficient or better in reading and 5 percent proficient or better in math.
Also scoring low in tests are public schools in Cleveland, Baltimore and Fresno (Calif.).
Among states, Louisiana public elementary schools rank lowest in teaching students math while New Mexico public elementary schools are at the bottom in teaching reading
IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...
KIDS CAN’T READ ANALOG CLOCKS. Schools in the United Kingdom are beginning to remove analog clocks from classrooms because students are complaining they can’t read them, reports The Telegraph, London. Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary at the Association of School and College Leaders in England, points out the current generation isn't "as good at reading the traditional clock face as older generations,” adding, "nearly everything they’ve got is digital so youngsters are just exposed to time being given digitally everywhere.”
BOY SCOUTS TO DROP "BOY" FROM NAME. With girls soon being allowed to join Boy Scouts, the organization will operate under a new name effective in February: Scouts BSA. Parent organization remains Boy Scouts of America, which already is starting to admit girls into the Cub Scouts.
CHICAGO'S JEWISH STAR ENDS RUN. The bi-weekly Chicago Jewish Star, the Windy City’s oldest independent Jewish voice, published its final edition on Friday, blaming the industry-wide decline in advertising as reason for the closure.
BLASTS FROM HEAVY WEAPONS CAUSE PROBLEMS. Service members exposed to high levels of “blast overpressure” from heavy weapons, such as recoilless rifles, experience problems with memory loss and decision making, according to the Center for New American Security think tank.
STILL HIGHER GASOLINE PRICES SEEN. Blaming rising crude oil prices, gasoline prices are likely to continue climbing through summer. "This will be the most expensive driving season since 2014," says Tom Kloza, head of energy analysis at Oil Price Information Service.
FRONT PAGE GUN AD TRIGGERS CRITICISM. Sun Sentinel newspaper of Broward County, Fla. gets much coverage — and criticism — in placing a gun ad on its front page. Individuals at the paper "deeply regret" location of the ad, says publisher Nancy Meyer. “We are taking steps to ensure this does not happen again," she adds.
MOST FOREIGN AID NATIONS DON’T FOLLOW U.S. POSITIONS. The 13 biggest beneficiaries of U.S. foreign assistance in the previous, current, and next fiscal years voted in line with U.S. positions at the United Nations an average of 26.5 percent of the time last year. The lineup: Israel (94 percent), Afghanistan (21 percent), Egypt (21 percent), Ethiopia (21 percent), Iraq (21 percent), Jordan (22 percent), Kenya (20 percent), Nigeria (22 percent), Pakistan (24 percent), South Africa (18 percent), Tanzania (21 percent), Uganda (21 percent) and Zambia (19 percent).
OLDER AMERICANS TARGETS OF SCAMMERS. Five million older Americans are financially exploited each year by scammers, including family members, for as much as $37 billion. And the rip-offs continue to move upward.
VENEZUELA’S INFLATION RATE SOARS. Economists note Venezuela's inflation rate, already by far the world's highest, spiked from a whopping 4,966 percent to nearly 18,000 percent in March and April, a trend that, if it continues, could push the country's annual rate to more than 100,000 percent by year's end, reports the Miami Herald.
U.S.-CHINA TRADE TALKS AT STALEMATE. Two days of trade talks between the U.S. and China ended inconclusively on Friday, as both sides presented tough demands neither would agree to, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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