The latest With classes back in session, the thorniest issues seem to revolve around masking and vaccination requirements in schools. The Biden administration opened civil rights probes Monday into five states with policies currently banning school districts from mandating masks because they contend it should be a personal choice. In letters sent to state leaders in Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, the Education Department said that these states may be keeping their districts from meeting the needs of students with disabilities, who are at increased risk for severe illness from covid-19. The department did not include Arizona, Arkansas, Florida and Texas, because even though those states have tried to impose similar bans, the bans have not been implemented. The Los Angeles Unified School District is requiring weekly PCR coronavirus testing for all students, teachers and administrators, regardless of their vaccination status. Individuals who test positive will be sent home to quarantine for 10 days in accordance with federal health guidelines. The district's medical director said the aggressive approach, which also mandates masking for all and requires vaccines for teachers and staff, is "setting the standard on reopening schools safely in 2021." Meanwhile, in another California school district, an unvaccinated elementary school teacher brushed off fatigue and congestion as allergies and removed her mask to read to her class. Within days, half of her students had contracted covid-19. The incident occurred in May in Marin County, Calif., where masks were required indoors and students were spaced out in the classroom. A simulation recently published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects that in elementary schools without masking or regular testing, more than 75 percent of children could become infected within the first three months of class. The European Union recommended new travel restrictions Monday for American travelers who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus as the disease continues to surge across the United States. To be more specific, the E.U. removed the United States from the "safe list" of countries whose tourists should be permitted to travel through the bloc's 27 nations without restrictions. It will be up to each nation to decide whether to implement the restrictions, meaning U.S. travelers could encounter different rules across the continent. "It's very important to note that today's announcement by the E.U. impacts people who are unvaccinated and not people who are vaccinated," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. The pandemic has had a significant impact on global employment but has disproportionately hit working women. A Washington Post analysis of international employment data showed that 54 million women around the world lost their jobs last year, most of whom ended up leaving the workforce altogether. Some experts worry these pandemic losses may undo decades of progress in closing the gender gap in employment. Other important news Israeli scientists say the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus booster shot is very effective against infection and severe disease and may help in the fight against the highly transmissible delta variant. A county judge in Chicago told a mother she could not see her 11-year-old son until she got vaccinated. This after-school program encouraged young Black men to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, a success story for program leaders in an area with low vaccination rates among young people. The NFL fined Buffalo Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie nearly $15,000 for repeatedly failing to mask-up indoors — a league requirement. Now he wants you to know he's had his first Pfizer shot. | 
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