#national-association

#national-association

A survivor of a farm school in rural Australia owed compensation by the Prince's Trust said he received threats and abuse after becoming the first person to publicly accuse Australian governor general Sir William Slim of child sexual abuse.After decades of silence, Robert Stephens told an Australian newspaper in 2007 the celebrated British war hero had molested him in the 1950s prompting other men to come forward.

Violent fights, stabbings and sex acts involving children are among the graphic videos being viewed by vulnerable young people on social media network Snapchat, new research has found.Researchers spoke to 13 children living in deprived areas across the UK to try and understand what young people are seeing on social media and how it affects them.

Two academics have called for investigations by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into every work-related suicide.Professor Martin McKee, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and University of Leeds professor Sarah Waters made the call in the British Medical Journal in the wake of headteacher Ruth Perry taking her own life in January.

The schools minister will look at concerns that last week's Sats exams were too difficult amid claims that a paper left some Year 6 pupils in tears.Nick Gibb said he does not want the exams which are taken by 10 and 11-year-olds in England to be too hard as that is not the purpose of the assessment.

Two teacher unions have opened new ballots for strike action after rejecting the government's recent pay offer.Members of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and National Education Union (NEU) rejected the pay and working conditions offer and ballots for members to vote on industrial action opened on Monday.

Getty Images Home buyers looking for mortgage rates to stabilize or even drop got good news Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve announced a pause in its monthslong campaign of interest rate hikes.The Fed controls the federal funds rate, a metric that directly affects short-term lending.But holding that key rate steady should filter through to other interest rates, including longer-term ones like mortgage rates.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra and allies in the U.S. Senate addressed the impending decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on the CFPB's constitutionality during the Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday.Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the committee chairman, asked Chopra during the hearing what it would mean for the CFPB to lose its independent funding structure.

Getty Images The economic outlook is hazy any month of the year, but June's uncertainty is murkier than usual.The unpredictability is driven by two unknowns: the fate of the federal government's debt ceiling and what the Federal Reserve will do at its June 13-14 monetary policy meeting.Mortgage rates could rise through the first half of June, then level off or fall in the second half after the market digests the results of the mid-month Fed meeting.

After falling for the first time since November 2022 in March, pending home sales remained unchanged in April, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).Year over year, pending home sales were down 20.3%, an improvement on the 23.3% annual drop recorded in March.

Millions of borrowers may learn soon whether they could receive up to $20,000 in debt relief under President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness program.The fate of the unprecedented debt cancellation program lies with the Supreme Court, which is expected to decide to either uphold or strike down the proposal in late June or early July.

A coalition of French environmental charities on Thursday accused the French state of negligence in regulating the use of pesticides, in a landmark legal case.Issued on: 01/06/2023 - 18:38 2 min Activists hold banners during a demonstration called by "Scientifiques en Rebellion" and "Extinction Rebellion" to reduce pesticides by 60 percent by 2023 and 90 percent by 2050 at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, March 4, 2023.

A letter carrier named Angela Summers was delivering mail on her usual route when she walked past a house where the Postal Service had recently stopped delivering because of concerns about a dog on the property.Upset that the mail had been stopped, a resident of that house, Tony Cushingberry, pursued Ms. Summers and fatally shot her on his street in Indianapolis on April 27, 2020, federal prosecutors said.

One in 5 child care centers will soon have to decrease the number of children they serve if Congress fails to act.Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on May 18, 2023, in Washington, D.C.Alex Wong / Getty Images Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) released a report on Tuesday finding that the U.S. is quickly hurtling toward a child care cliff that will plunge the country even deeper into its child care crisis come September unless Congress acts.

A primary school Sats paper that reduced some pupils to tears included texts on a giant bat colony, which was adapted from a New York Times article, a camping trip featuring sheep rustlers and a boy on a remote Scottish island who hears a wolf.The 12-page reading test, featuring three substantial texts followed by 38 questions to be answered in an hour, was published on Thursday, once the assessment window had closed.

If you've recently gotten a more expensive car insurance bill, you're not alone.Auto insurance costs were up about 15 percent in March from a year earlier, significantly higher than the latest reading on overall inflation of 5 percent.The average annual premium is about $2,000, according to the personal finance website Bankrate.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

USC has appointed an "interim executive administrator" to help steer a reeling department in the wake of Mike Bohn's resignation Friday.Denise Kwok, USC's executive senior associate athletic director for student-athlete development, will be the interim executive administrator while USC balances conducting a search for a new athletic director and navigating a transition to the Big Ten Conference.

(Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press)

Less than a month after he suffered a serious lower-leg injury that sidelined him for the season's final six games, UCLA's Jaylen Clark declared for the NBA draft.The junior guard who established himself as one of the nation's top defensive players made his announcement Wednesday on Instagram, declining to reveal whether he intended to plunge headlong into the June 22 draft or preserve his final season of eligibility in case he wanted to come back.

Congress Members Dan Goldman (D-Manhattan/Brooklyn) and Jamaal Bowman (D-Bronx/Westchester) on Monday sent a letter to several leaders of New York City's public and private universities, urging them to conduct an audit of their available space for possibly housing migrants.In the missive, the pair implored SUNY Chancellor John King, Jr.,CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez, New York University President Andrew Hamilton and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities to review available space that can shelter a portion of the tens of thousands of migrants who've come here over the past year.

Ministers are facing the possibility of fresh industrial unrest, as teachers and senior doctors prepare to ballot for strike action and hundreds of nurses gather for the Royal College of Nursing annual congress.It comes as RCN general secretary Pat Cullen called on Health Secretary Steve Barclay to restart pay negotiations with a proposed rise in double digits.

Teachers could miss out on an increased pay deal this year if they reject the Government's offer, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has suggested.After a period of intensive talks with education unions, the Government has offered teachers a 1,000 one-off payment for the current school year (2022/23) and an average 4.5% rise for staff next year (2023/24).

Industrial action by school leaders will be necessary if members reject the inadequate pay offer from the Government, a union leader has warned.The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has said it could move to a second formal industrial action ballot if its members turn down the pay offer.After a period of intensive talks, the Government has offered teachers a 1,000 one-off payment for the current school year (2022/23) and an average 4.5% rise for staff next year (2023/24).

Today marks the last day to submit a nomination for HousingWire's prestigious and first-of-its kind Women of Influence award.Each year, HousingWire's Women of Influence award spotlights women who are cultivating a new path forward for the housing economy and paving the way for the women who follow after them.

by Dennis Crouch
As a member and supporter of the National Association of Patent Practitioners (NAPP), I am looking forward to the NAPP Annual Meeting and Conference scheduled for July 19-21 in Alexandria, Virginia at the USPTO Headquarters.I invite all those invested in protecting intellectual property rights to attend, especially folks who are deep in the day-to-day business of protecting patent rights.

"After the per curium panel opinion in LKQ, obviousness for design patents continues with business as usual.But change may be on the horizon."Just like utility patents, design patents can be found obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103 by combining prior art references.But the test for obviousness for design patents differs from the more familiar standards for utility patents.

Existing home sales declined yet again in April, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), released Thursday.After posting a surprise 14.5% monthly increase in February, existing home sales were back down again in March, a trend that continued into April, with existing home sales posting a 3.4% monthly decline to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.28 million.

Homebuilder confidence is continuing to trend upward this spring, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) report, released Tuesday.In May, home builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes rose to an index value of 50, an increase of five points from the April reading.

The schools minister, Nick Gibb, has promised to review a controversial Sats paper, which is said to have left some pupils in tears, after teachers and parents expressed widespread concern about the difficulty of the test.The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said the English paper, which was taken by 10 and 11-year-olds in year 6 last Wednesday, was so difficult that teachers had struggled to understand the questions.

Headteachers could join a fresh wave of strike action likely to close schools across England after the National Association of Head Teachers said it would ballot its members on industrial action over teachers' pay.The NAHT joins the other three main education unions in asking its members to formally approve strikes after a motion to hold a ballot was approved by its executive at its annual conference in Telford.

Migrants try to stay warm as they wait in the rain after turning themselves over to U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing over from Mexico in Fronton, Texas on May 12. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images In the days before last week's end of the pandemic-era policy known as Title 42, around 10,000 people were crossing the southern border into the U.S. per day.

Two teacher unions have opened new ballots for strike action after rejecting the Government's recent pay offer.Members of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and National Education Union (NEU) rejected the pay and working conditions offer and ballots for members to vote on industrial action opened on Monday.

Getty Images Home buyers need not fret over the Federal Reserve's latest move to restrain inflation.Mortgage rates probably won't go up much, if at all, and might fall over the next few weeks.In its latest bid to get prices under control, the Fed raised the short-term federal funds rate Wednesday by one-quarter of a percentage point to a range of 5% to 5.25%.

Getty Images Mortgage rates have room to fall in May as the end draws near for this cycle of Federal Reserve rate increases.It's quite possible that this year's mortgage rates already peaked in March.They could gradually drop as unemployment rises, companies become less generous with wage increases and inflation subsides.

A head teachers' union has expressed concern over this week's Sats exams for 10 and 11-year-olds amid claims that an English paper left some pupils in tears and damaged their mental health and wellbeing.Hundreds of parents and teachers have complained online about Wednesday's Year 6 reading exam, with one saying on Mumsnet that her daughter had found the paper really hard and awful.

The Prime Minister and his wife will welcome volunteers, Ukrainian refugees in the UK, and youth groups to Downing Street for a lunch to mark the coronation.Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty will host the event on Sunday as part of the Big Lunch celebrations taking place across the country over the coronation weekend.

Newton Minow, as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, appears before the House Antitrust Subcommittee which was probing newspaper competition, in 1963, in Washington, D.C. Minow died on Saturday.AP CHICAGO Newton N. Minow, who as Federal Communications Commission chief in the early 1960s famously proclaimed that network television was a "vast wasteland," died Saturday.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) announced on Thursday that it has appointed James W. Tobin III as its new president and CEO.Following an extensive search, the NAHB Board of Directors ratified the selection of the CEO Executive Search Committee on May 3, appointing Tobin to lead the 140,000-member association.

The majority of schools in England were forced to shut their doors to some pupils as tens of thousands of teachers went on strike, data suggests.More than half of state schools in England restricted access to pupils or were fully closed during walkouts by teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU), according to Department for Education (DfE) data.

Teachers in England who are members of the National Education Union (NEU) will take part in a latest walkout on Tuesday 2 May, which threaten disruption to more than 22,000 schools.The walkout is the fifth undertaken by educators this year as professionals demand improved pay and working conditions in response to the cost of living crisis.

Teachers in England who are members of the National Education Union (NEU) will take part in a latest walkout on Tuesday 2 May, which threaten disruption to more than 22,000 schools.The walkout is the fifth undertaken by educators this year as professionals demand improved pay and working conditions in response to the cost of living crisis.

Ofsted inspections are a brutal process and they need to change, the vice-president of the National Association of Head Teachers has said.Simon Kidwell believes the framework that underpins the inspection needs redesigning, declaring that it is not fit for purpose and it's not working.Ofsted has been under scrutiny after Ruth Perry, a head teacher at Caversham Primary School in Reading, Berkshire, took her own life in January while awaiting its report which downgraded her school from the highest rating to the lowest.

Government guidance on teaching relationships, sex and health education should be changed to be more inclusive for pupils exploring their gender identity, a school leaders' union has said.The current Department for Education (DfE) guidance is presenting barriers for schools who want to talk about gender identity with their students, an assistant headteacher suggested.

Headteachers should stop working as Ofsted inspectors until a pay dispute with the Government is resolved, a school leaders' union has said.An emergency motion on inspections was tabled at the annual conference of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) in Telford on Saturday, following the death of Ruth Perry.

School leaders who work as Ofsted inspectors should hand in their badges and refuse to be complicit in the watchdog's reign of terror, the sister of a headteacher who took her own life has said.Ruth Perry, headteacher at Caversham Primary School in Reading, Berkshire, died while waiting for an Ofsted report which downgraded her school from the highest rating to the lowest possible.

School leaders will debate whether Government guidance on teaching relationships, sex and health education should be changed to be more inclusive for pupils exploring their gender identity.Some schools are being put off from talking about gender identity with pupils as the Department for Education (DfE) guidance on the topic makes it sound scary, an assistant headteacher has said.

Schools across England could be forced to close after four unions announced coordinated strike action in a long-running dispute over pay.It means teachers and school leaders could stage walkouts at the same time, causing widespread disruption.The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) will re-ballot its members in England during the summer term on strike action, with possible walkouts in the autumn if the ballot is successful.

For the first time since November 2022, pending home sales fell in March, posting a 5.2% month-over-month decrease, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors(NAR).The monthly drop resulted in the Pending Home Sales Index recording a reading of 78.9, down 23.3% year over year.

A coalition of 24 housing organizations, individual leaders and trade groups, led by the National Housing Conference (NHC), are urging President Joe Biden to exempt affordable housing development and repair from the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Don't call it a comeback?Pending home sales rose for the third month in a row in February, but at 0.8%, the uptick over January was less than is typically seen in the run-up to the spring housing market.Month-over-month, contract signings increased in three U.S. regions, but declined in the West, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The first version of what the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid will look like is here, and it's not the short application many have hoped for.It has 46 questions and runs 21 pages, although many students won't have to answer all the questions.Still, a combination of technology and legislative changes should lead to a simpler process to fill out the application, which is essential for students to access need-based federal and state financial aid.