A Recap of This Week’s Top News – May 5, 2023
Changes to policy, scientific discovery, and expert recommendations and opinions all have the power to rapidly influence the landscape of a sector. Whether you’re a leader at a non-profit, a member of a university’s marketing department, or a stakeholder for a public health agency, being informed about the latest industry happenings can be the difference between exceeding and falling short of organizational goals. At Hager Sharp, our experts vigorously scan media coverage to identify areas of opportunity. And now, with the introduction of the Sharp Round-Up, you too can review what we consider to be some of the top news of the week.
Below you will find a compilation of news spanning the health and education, labor, and economy sectors. This list includes mainstream, DC-focused, and trade publication coverage from Saturday, April 29, to Friday, May 5. Let these clips serve as a resource when developing thoughtful strategies and use them to further foster organizational innovation and adaptability.
Here’s what you need to know.
Education News:
- Miguel Cardona, the U.S. Secretary of Education, noted that a pay raise would not be enough to improve teachers’ work lives. They also need improved working conditions, such as support and mentorship, school counselors or social workers, well-trained administrators, and instructional leaders.
- The Department of Education plans to tweak a pilot program for prisoner higher education programs. The department’s announcement states that the Pell Grant for incarcerated students will be revamped so that students can stay enrolled, but the colleges they enroll in have to meet the same standards as other new colleges.
- The National Assessment of Education Progress, often called “the nation’s report card,” showed another decline in students’ proficiency in history and civics. These results further demonstrate how the pandemic affected students’ performance and show students’ lack of understanding of their country and government.
Health News:
- The U.S. surgeon general has declared loneliness the latest public health epidemic, noting that widespread loneliness poses health risks as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes daily. Loneliness increases the risk of premature death by 30%, and those with poor social relationships have a greater risk of stroke and heart disease, depression, anxiety, and dementia.
- Until now, treatments for Glioblastoma, an often fatal type of brain cancer, have been limited. However, scientists at Northwestern Medicine say they have created a new technique that can deliver drugs directly to tumors in the brain. The novel device uses microbubbles to open the blood-brain barrier, allowing chemotherapy drugs to reach critical areas of the brain.
- A new study that analyzed nearly 6,000 packaged foods showed that food products marketed towards children were most often higher in sugars and lower in other nutrients. The study found that colorful labels and cartoon packaging may indicate a certain food is not nutritious.
- Overdose death rates involving fentanyl have tripled from 2016 to 2021, yet another indication of how the opioid epidemic worsened during the rise of COVID-19
Perspectives and Opinions:
- Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, a free online platform for education tutoring, is worried about the potential effects of artificial intelligence on students. Khan noted that a popular AI service, ChatGPT, is often incorrect in some subjects and does not help students learn, but instead just spits out answers.