According to a new global analysis, children the world over lost the equivalent of one-third of a school year’s learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The New York Times reported that around 1.6 billion children worldwide missed a significant amount of class time during the peak of the pandemic.

How it affects Utah:

• According to a 2021 report by the Utah State Board of Education and The National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment, Inc.: “We are observing in some cases over two times the declines in student achievement in Utah compared to the effects attributed to Hurricane Katrina on students from New Orleans.”

Editorial: ‘I find myself at a loss for words’: Next steps for the nation after Tyre Nichols’ death

The death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police officers can’t be explained away by simple explanations or bumper-sticker slogans, according to the Deseret News Editorial Board. “And while studies show systemic racism may indeed be a problem associated with policing in America,” they write, “it’s too simplistic to blame racial prejudice as the sole cause of this crime.”

This editorial suggests more funding and a thorough review of law enforcement policies are needed to foster an environment of professionalism and respect.

Read what they had to say here.

More in Politics:

• Opinion: Mia Love’s ‘Qualified’ — an open look at her life (Deseret News)
• Is Utah overusing the Amber Alert system? This lawmaker thinks so (KSL) 🐝
• Here’s what Utah Sen. Todd Weiler’s bill on gender identity in schools actually does (KUER) 🐝

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Education:

• ‘Arrogant’ teachers think they know better than parents, Rep. Chris Stewart says after seeing now-disputed video (Deseret News) 🐝

Environment:

• Weather experts warn of an ice storm wreaking havoc in the South, canceling 1,000 flights (Deseret News)
• The Great Salt Lake is shrinking, but habitat work means more birds (Great Salt Lake Collaborative)

Family:

• First-time mothers are older than ever, CDC says (Deseret News)
• Profanity in public: What Americans really think (Deseret News)
• After a ‘hiccup’ held up a bill to protect Utah’s Native kids, tribal leaders are fighting for a hearing (Salt Lake Tribune🔒) 🐝

Health:

• COVID-19 will no longer be a public health emergency. What does that mean? (Deseret News)
• FDA Launches Plans for Food Program Revamp After Watchdog Review (Bloomberg Law)

Business:

• Airbnb and Expedia are raking in profits by holding customer cash (Deseret News)
• The FTX crash didn’t break Giddy (Utah Business)

Police and the Courts:

• Update on Dallas Zoo suspicious activities: Two monkeys have been stolen, police say (Deseret News)
• Star power? Growing list of celeb endorsers showing up in crypto/NFT lawsuits (Deseret News)
• 2 more Memphis officers disciplined, 3 fire department employees fired after Tyre Nichols’ death (Deseret News)

Culture:

• From the archive: The importance of Black History Month (Deseret News)
• Alec Baldwin formally charged with involuntary manslaughter (Deseret News)

Faith:

• Do parents care if their kids grow up to be religious? (Deseret News)

Northern Utah:

• Cache, Box Elder counties, USU delay school start on Tuesday (KSL)

Wasatch Front:

• 5-vehicle accident on I-15 snarls traffic in Utah County (KSL)
• Pleasant Grove man admits to handcuffing, threatening girlfriend (KSL)

The Nation:

• George Santos steps down from committee assignments (Deseret News)
• Congressional Black Caucus pushes Biden to restart police reform talks (The Independent)

The World:

• Police called off search for survivors of terrorist attack in Pakistan mosque (Deseret News)
• Why strange blue spirals keep appearing in the night sky over the Pacific (Deseret News)

Sports:

• How Lynne Roberts turned Utah women’s basketball team into one of the best in the country (Deseret News)
• Is new IOC proposal a ‘humiliation’ for Russia? Or a call for Ukraine supporters to boycott the Paris Olympics? (Deseret News)
• A look at NBA events happening during All-Star Weekend in Utah (Deseret News)