Northeast
PA Education Department agrees to cancel requirement for teachers to adopt guidelines deemed 'woke'
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has agreed to cancel its requirement for schools to enforce teaching guidelines that were deemed “woke” in a recently settled lawsuit.
Pennsylvania officials were requiring schools to adopt a set of instructions on how to approach teaching under their “Culturally-Relevant and Sustaining Education Program Framework Guidelines” (CR-SE).
The guidelines included mandating teachers to “design learning experiences and spaces for learners to identify and question economic, political, and social power structures in the school” and “disrupt harmful institutional practices, policies, and norms.”
The Thomas More Society, a faith-based legal group, filed a lawsuit against the PDE in April 2023 on behalf of a group of parents and public school districts who argued the mandate violated their First Amendment rights.
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Pennsylvania state Capitol building in Harrisburg. (John Greim/Getty Images)
The PDE agreed to settle the suit in November and rescind its CR-SE guidelines.
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“We are incredibly pleased with this settlement agreement, which forces the Pennsylvania Department of Education to rescind the state’s ‘Culturally-Relevant and Sustaining Education’ guidelines – securing an important victory for Pennsylvania parents, students, and teachers,” Thomas Breth, special counsel for the Thomas More Society, said in a statement.
“Our agreement is a triumph against the Department’s blatantly ideological and illegal attempt to inject ‘woke’ activism into school curricula across Pennsylvania, which demanded educators affirm their belief in these ideological tenets and then impose the same upon their students,” Breth added.
Just days after the settlement, the department issued new suggestions under their new “Common Ground Framework,” though schools are no longer required to comply with the guidelines.
Pennsylvania was requiring schools to adopt a set of instructions on how to approach teaching under their “Culturally-Relevant and Sustaining Education Program Framework Guidelines” (CR-SE). (iStock)
Asked about the settlement, PDE highlighted their new guidelines in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.
“PDE is proud to offer this resource as an improvement on previously issued guidance, with an expanded focus on digital literacy, mental health, and trauma – real issues that impact those in all spaces of learning within every Pennsylvania community,” Erin James, PDE press secretary, said in a statement.
The new guidelines encourage educators to “understand the importance of differences in marginalized learners and historically underrepresented groups,” such as gender identity, according to the department’s website.
Additionally, teachers in the state are still encouraged to “create an equitable learning environment by challenging and debunking stereotypes and biases about the intelligence, academic ability, and behavior of historically marginalized learners.”
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Connecticut
Scammers use AI images of injured pets to target owners, Blumenthal warns Connecticut residents
In a new and rapidly expanding scam, swindlers are using images generated by artificial intelligence to tap the wallets of desperate and heartbroken owners of lost pets.
In a press conference on Friday, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, warned state residents about a fraud that is becoming “more and more rampant.”
Scammers manipulate photos of lost pets posted by owners on social media to make it appear the animal has been hurt, according to media reports from around the nation.
In Florida and Texas, for example, scammers have told owners of missing dogs that their pets were hit by cars, with an accompanying image of a dog that looks like theirs on a veterinarian’s operating table, WESH 2, a Hearst TV station affiliate in Florida, reported recently. The scammer then demands payment for the surgery.
An urgent demand for money is a red flag, Blumenthal said, along with the claim that a lost pet has been hurt and images of an injured pet. The Federal Trade Commission, as the nation’s consumer protection agency, should issue a formal warning about the scam, the senator said.
Numerous reports of lost pet scams have surfaced recently, Popular Science reported in March, describing a few common scenarios, including the one in which the owner is sent an image of what appears to be their injured pet at a veterinary hospital and another, in which the owner is sent images of what appears to be their pet at a shelter, about to be euthanized. But, the article states, these images are false.
Other types of lost pet scams involve an offer of fake pet-finding services, according to the Better Business Bureau.
“You may receive a message from someone on social media about drone technology and search parties that can help you find your pet,” the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization reported. “The person will ask you for payment up front and will likely ask you to send it through a peer-to-peer payment app. Before paying for services, always search for the business on BBB.org or check BBB Scam Tracker.”
All types of cyber-scams have been proliferating in the nation, according to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report. Since the agency’s Internet Crime Complaint Center was launched about 25 years ago, complaints have surged, the FBI reported, with a current average of about 3,000 complaints each day.
In 2025, losses reported to the center continued to climb, surpassing $20 billion, the FBI reported. Investment-related fraud once again made up the largest part of the losses, followed by business email compromises and tech support scams, the agency reported.
PORTLAND, Maine (WGME) — It’s graduation season, and 37 medical school grads received their degrees Saturday at USM.
The students graduated from the MaineHealth Maine Track program, which is a part of Tufts Univeristy in Boston.
Program leaders say students specifically trained in community-based medical practices across Maine.
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Eleven of the graduates will begin their residencies at MaineHealth Maine Medical Center in Portland.
A science-based, mission-driven beekeeping company dedicated to improving pollinator health, Best Bees installs and manages professionally maintained hives for homes, businesses, and institutions.
Host Rachel Holt visits with their team to learn how urban beekeeping is helping strengthen biodiversity.
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