Daily Archives: August 30, 2020

The same faction of Big Ten coaches who pushed hard to hold onto the 2020 season in its traditional time slot are leading the charge to have the 2.0 version of the season happen earlier.

There are four ideas deep in the discussion phase for the Big Ten as it slogs forward from its contentious decision to cancel the 2020 fall season, sources told Yahoo Sports on Friday.

One of those ideas caught fire online on Friday afternoon the idea of the season starting Thanksgiving weekend after being initially reported Friday morning by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The other prominent idea revolves around starting near New Years, a plan first hatched publicly by Ohio States Ryan Day soon after the Big Ten canceled the season. Sources say the other potential start dates are mid-January and post-Super Bowl.

The Big Ten starting in November or, really, in the scheduled version of the 2020 season planted the seed of possibility of some type of reversal by the league of its cancellation of the fall season. Sources stressed to Yahoo Sports that isnt happening.

The push to play at some point in the calendar year of 2020 is being led by Wisconsins Paul Chryst, Ohio States Ryan Day, Penn States James Franklin, Nebraskas Scott Frost and Michigans Jim Harbaugh. Four of those five coaches would be among the favorites to win the league this year, and Nebraska has essentially put a Let Us Play bat signal over Lincoln for the past two months. Its not a coincidence that the high-end programs flush with NFL players want to use the best version of their roster.

The best way to contextualize the possibility of the Big Ten playing over Thanksgiving is that, for now, its just a possibility. Sources told Yahoo Sports that the discussion remains at the coach and athletic director level.

The Big Ten logo is displayed on the field before an NCAA college football game. (AP)

Before booking your Thanksgiving weekend in Madison or Ann Arbor, just remember that if it was up to the coaches and athletic directors, the Big Ten would still be attempting to play its regular schedule this fall.

This is a decision that lies with the Big Ten presidents. Not the coaches. Not the athletic directors. And not the league office. If the presidents do it, theyll have to articulate clearly not the specialty of the league these days whats so different playing in late November as opposed to early September. And remember, this is a league that didnt feel comfortable with full-contact football practices this month, so theres skepticism that the presidents will suddenly become bullish on playing.

But there are a few compelling variables that make a Thanksgiving start more realistic. One of those is that it would benefit television to have the games both start earlier and at a time when there are other college games playing, which increases the legitimacy of the season.

The second benefit for television is basic math. Sources told Yahoo Sports that the Thanksgiving model being discussed would be a 10-game model, plus one extra game. The New Years model being discussed, or really anything that starts in January, would be only eight games, plus one.

This is simplistic but important, as the great driver of collegiate decisions the past 15 years has been inventory. (Realignment taught us this a decade ago.) The Thanksgiving model would mean essentially 20 percent more inventory in a time fans associate with college football, which would mean the television audience would inherently be that much more interested in it. Think about it this way: Who wouldnt want a 20 percent pay raise?

Thats simplistic of course, because the theoretical value of what this truncated Big Ten season could be worth still hasnt been determined. The only sure thing is that its less than what the traditional season could have been worth, and the Big Ten is also facing a potential haircut that comes with the expectation that it wont be part of the College Football Playoff.

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Dont underestimate this. The Big Ten is in a fascinating spot with its television partners, as 2020 was scheduled to be the fourth year of a six-year deal. That means conversations about a new deal start in about a year, which could prove a motivator to work with them now for future benefits down the line.

It would behoove the league to dance with Fox and ESPN, as both television titans couldnt be thrilled with the leagues spree of miscommunications, poor messaging and messy headlines the past three weeks. Itll be fascinating to see where the Big Ten presidents land, as they have already once prioritized safety over television cash. It shouldnt be surprising if they start the season in the second semester.

The coaches pushing the November start are many of the same ones dealing with angry parent groups and its a delicate challenge trying to answer questions to parents and players when there arent clear answers available. Thats a difficult spot, attempting to show you are fighting when your actual clout is limited.

The other aspect to playing in November that should be acknowledged is that many of the programs in the Big Ten havent said a negative peep about the league canceling the season. Minnesota, another team with a legitimate shot to win the league (or at least the West), had many players go public and say it was the right call.

There havent exactly been waves of protest from Michigan State, Indiana, Rutgers and Maryland. Just because schools havent been vocal doesnt mean their opinions dont matter.

These conference decisions are all ensconced in layers, and the opinions of medical experts will remain a primary driver in the Big Ten decisions. These are the same experts the league listened to when deciding to not have contact practices.

There are no easy decisions here. Theres a lot of public sentiment, player pressure and coaches pushing for football at the earliest possible dates. Thered be extra TV money to sweeten the pot, but that has yet to prove a driver.

The prospect of the ACC, SEC and Big 12 playing this season will also have an outsized impact on how the Big Tens decision is viewed. As those leagues get close to kickoff, a November start feels like a hedge by the Big Ten. If theres a spree of canceled games or health issues, the push for it may quiet some. If those leagues falter early, its the expectation that all the leagues would attempt to get on the same calendar again.

For now, its safest to label this notion as a well-intentioned and smart discussion among many constituents that want to play football this fall.

But if you look back at how the Big Ten presidents and medical experts have approached the 2020 season, theres a long way to go before rearranging Thanksgiving plans.

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How realistic is the Big Ten playing football in November? - Yahoo Sports

As the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 continues to accelerate the shift towards working from home, one new amenity is proving to be the new must have for any home.

Its no longer the master bathroom and no longer the kitchen, instead 2020 has made the home office and all the privacy and quiet that comes with it the new hot item being spotlighted by new real estate listings.

But what if youre stuck in a crowded house with nowhere left to take your Zoom calls? Turns out an increasing number of Americans have recently been turning to purchasing prefabricated, stand-alone office options.

For Boulder, Colorado-based Studio Shed, which has been building small offices and bedrooms that cost an average of $20,000 to $30,000 in backyards since 2008, business has been exploding. Studio Shed co-founder Mike Koenig tells Yahoo Finance that the shift to work from home during the pandemic has propelled sales to increase 14-fold over what his company saw last year.

Boulder, Colorado-based Studio Shed has seen demand for its prefabricated offices explode due to the shift to work from home during the pandemic.

Recently, we have seen a massive surge in the 80- to 120-square feet option, which is a perfect office size or home gym or kids study area, Koenig said. We were already seeing some very good growth having started in 2008 just seeing these shifts in the way people work and wanting to spend more time at home and maybe not commute, but starting in March its just been growing significantly.

Studio Shed's stand-alone offices vary in size and cost, but average about $20,000 to $30,000, including foundation and sight work costs.

While most of the demand for Studio Sheds home offices have traditionally come from Western U.S. states, Koenig says the East Coast has been experiencing a spike in demand as more people work from home. In many areas where permits arent required for add-on dwellings below 200 square feet, the pop-up office has become an attractive solution to reduce a cramped home feeling as homes double as workspaces.

As soon as March and April hit we definitely saw that Eastern part of the country grow, that market is up a couple hundred percent over last year, he said.

For the month of August, a traditionally slow month for sales, Koenig says business is pacing to top last years mark by a factor of 14.

Zack Guzman is the host ofYFi PMas well as a senior writer and on-air reporter covering entrepreneurship, cannabis, startups, and breaking news at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter@zGuz.

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Americans are shelling out $30,000 on these pop-up backyard home offices during the pandemic - Yahoo Finance

The NBA season is back on track, and it looks like Russell Westbrook is too.

According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, the Houston Rockets star will play in Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, several weeks after straining his right quad.

Had the NBA walkout not happened, Westbrook reportedly would have played in Game 5 on Wednesday, when it was originally scheduled. He was upgraded to questionable that day, which left room for him to make it into the game.

The Rockets' Russell Westbrook will reportedly play in Game 5 against the Thunder after being out for several weeks with an injured quad. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The NBA walkout on Wednesday gave Westbrook a little extra time to rest his quad. On Thursday, the Houston Rockets star reportedly participated in his first full-speed 5-on-5 scrimmage since he injured his quad. A source told ESPNs Tim McMahon and Adrian Wojnarowski that it went very well, and Westbrook looked as explosive as ever.

Westbrook has been mostly out of commission since Aug. 4, just three games into the restart. He initially bruised his right quad and returned on Aug. 11 after sitting out for a few days. However, he woke up sore the next day and an MRI revealed that he had strained his right quad. He hasnt played since and has missed all four of the Rockets playoff games against the Thunder.

The series is tied 2-2, but the Thunder have won two straight games after initially falling into a 2-0 hole. With the Thunder putting up a real fight, the Rockets must be thrilled to get Westbrook back.

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Rockets' Russell Westbrook will reportedly play in Game 5 vs. Thunder - Yahoo Sports

Some 53 years before NBA players walked out on their season, 53 years before a police officer shot Jacob Blake, in the fall of 1967, Dr. Harry Edwards founded the Olympic Project for Human Rights. The goal was to fight racial injustice. Edwards ultimately helped engineer a boycott of the 1968 Games. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then Lew Alcindor, and other Black athletes refused to participate. Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists on a podium. Edwards stood by them. And he has watched as other athletes have taken similar stands in the half-century since.

There've been boycotts before, he says.

But this? A league-wide strike in the name of human rights? During the NBA playoffs?

Thats unprecedented, Edwards told Yahoo Sports. Which is why the multi-sport movement that unfolded Wednesday took even him, perhaps the worlds foremost authority on athlete activism, some time to wrap my mind around.

You can demonstrate, and I'm supportive of demonstration, he said over the phone Wednesday night. But at the end of the day, I've always advocated for the strongest possible action. And that was a boycott. And this is something that really got everybody's attention. And it's going to spread.

A boycott, or more accurately a strike, puts more teeth into the situation than a protest where statements are made, Edwards explained. Kaepernick made a statement. Tommie Smith and John Carlos made a statement. The athletes who are boycotting today with the NBA are sending a message: We are serious about this. Stop killing us! It's more important that we deal with that than we play a basketball game and entertain you out here. Stop killing us.

That's the message, he continued. Now the issue becomes, as I've told some of the athletes and the coaches how do you create a strategy that gets you to next steps? And that's always the challenge: To move from protest to progress.

NBA players met for nearly three hours Wednesday night at Disney Worlds Coronado Springs resort. The question looming throughout the meeting, sources told Yahoo Sports Chris Haynes, was the big one: Should they walk out on the remainder of the season?

The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers voted to do just that, sources told Haynes. Other teams, though, voted to play. On Thursday morning, the players met again, and decided to resume the playoffs.

To Edwards, however, the question of ending the season was never the right one to ask. I don't think that's the issue now, he said. They are not boycotting basketball any more than Kaepernick was protesting the flag and the anthem. Rather, players are sending a message about police brutality. A strike wasnt the endgame. It was a means to real, tangible change.

The players, Edwards said, should be negotiating a strategic plan for enacting that change. You've got to get people who are in the best position to leverage what they have access to to compel changes, he said. By that, first and foremost, he means the billionaires who own NBA franchises. They can pick up the telephone and call a governor, and a governor will pick up, he explained. They can call the attorney general, and the attorney general will pick up. They can call the mayor, and the police chief of a local town, and then have one of the athletes go with them to talk about these issues that we have to clean up.

In other words, these are people that have resources that they can leverage, to get this situation [fixed]. So owners, sponsors, broadcast partners anybody who benefits from basketball being played, and wholl suffer if it isnt played must help the players push for change. But they've got to be strategic about it, Edwards said.

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The NBAs board of governors also met Thursday. A prolonged strike would have pulled them to the negotiating table, to engage with players, coaches and league officials, to figure out how they can help push for racial justice. With the players deciding to resume play, their leverage is diminished. But they still have power. Theyll need to use it to get the owners to work together.

It's for the owners, the sponsors, the players, to all come out with a united front, saying, We're going to go to the governor of Wisconsin, and we're gonna work our way down through the attorney general, to the local DA, to the police commissioner, to the neighborhood organization groups, and so forth, Edwards said.

Milwaukee Bucks players have already spoken with Wisconsin politicians. They released a statement calling on the Wisconsin state legislature to reconvene after months of inaction and take up meaningful measures to address issues of police accountability, brutality and criminal justice reform. Next, theyll need others to echo their call. LeBron James, according to Haynes sources, was critical of NBA owners at Wednesdays meeting, suggesting they werent doing enough to support players and Black people facing systemic racism. Players, owners, union reps and league officials will meet Thursday afternoon to discuss next steps, according to the NBA.

The threat of a strike provided owners with incentive to listen to players and do more. But workers dont strike just to strike. Players dont protest just to protest. As Edwards likes to say: They protest for progress. And progress can be made even as the playoffs get back up and running.

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The NBA season will resume. Players, though, can still 'move from protest to progress' - Yahoo Sports

Les Miles is one of the many college football coaches who believe players are safer playing football in 2020. during the coronavirus pandemic. And, in true Miles fashion, he has a unique way of expressing that sentiment.

Miles said Thursday that if players opt out because of the pandemic then they opt into the pandemic. Last I saw it, the pandemic was worldwide, OK?

Heres his full quote, via the Topeka Capital-Journal:

If they opt out because of the pandemic, then they opt into the pandemic, Miles said at a news conference. The last I saw it, the pandemic was worldwide, OK? So I dont know what their advantage is to turn at this point away from what would be a good finish to a college career and opportunity to advance their abilities and then have a choice whether to go off to the NFL or to stay and compete. So wed love to have them stay and compete.

Miles made the comments about players opting out as he said defensive lineman Antione Frazier would be opting out of the 2020 season and entering the transfer portal.

Numerous players across college football have decided to skip the 2020 season because of the pandemic and some like Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley and Penn State LB Micah Parsons (before the Big Ten postponed the football season) have started preparing for the 2021 NFL draft. Other players who return to school in 2021 wont lose a year of eligibility. The NCAA said last week that every player in a fall sport would get an extra year.

Earlier this month, Alabama coach Nick Saban noted that players were much more liable to get coronavirus somewhere else on campus than they were at the football facilities or on the field. And hes right. The social distancing and mask-wearing policies that athletic departments have implemented are significant. And theyre only in place in those football facilities and not at dorms, apartments or even parties.

But players arent spending all of their waking hours at football facilities. College athletic departments arent set up like the NBA, WNBA or NHLs bubbles.

Thats why its hard to say that a player opting out of a football season is opting into the pandemic. Workouts and practices have been paused recently at Louisiana-Monroe and East Carolina because of coronavirus outbreaks among the teams.

And since COVID-19 is still so new, we dont know what its longterm health effects are. The risks of COVID-19, both known and unknown, were a big reason why the Big Ten and Pac-12 postponed their football seasons. If a player is concerned about the potential health effects from coronavirus or any other related reason, they have every right to make the choice not to play.

Nick Brombergis a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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Les Miles: Players opting out because of coronavirus pandemic then 'opt into the pandemic' - Yahoo Sports

If you dont vote, you dont exist.

These words from Gloria Steinem have stuck with me since she first spoke them during this conversation.

Throughout our friendship, weve spoken of our shared beliefs surrounding womens rights, the need for representation and the very timely conversation on voting.

I firmly believe that we vote to honor those who came before us and to protect those who come after us. Ms. Steinem, my friend Gloria, is one of the women I honor when I vote.

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did and that it allows you to reflect on who inspires you to vote as we approach this upcoming election. Your voice matters. Please use it.

Gloria Steinem: Welcome home. Im so glad that youre home!

Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex: Me too. For so many reasons. Weve talked a lot these last few weeks. I keep thinking my goodness Ive looked up to you for so long! Its wonderful to just be in your company, to learn so much and to feel inspired to be home. But also to help people remember why its so important to vote.

G: Really, weve been rescued by women of color in all of our recent elections because of a vote of conscience and compassion. The heart of the Democratic party has been Black women, actually, and now there is a potential Vice President who is Black and thats exciting.

M: Im so excited to see that kind of representation. You know, for me, being biracial, growing up, whether it was a doll or a person in office, you need to see someone who looks like you in some capacity. As many of us believe, you can only be what you can see. And in the absence of that, how can you aspire to something greater than what you see in your own world? I think maybe now were starting to break-through in a different way. Do you feel hopeful?

G: Oh yes, I do feel hopeful. We still require an adjective, if you know what I mean. There are doctors and women doctors and Black women doctors and Hispanic doctors the noun still tends to be confined to the ruling group. But well get past that.

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M: You know its so interesting. I was reading this book called Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Noble and it talks about how the digital space really shapes our thinking about race. For example, it wasnt that long ago that when youd start to type in a search engine why are white women it would start to autofill with words like so pretty or so beautiful. And then when you would type why are black women it would autofill with words like so angry or so loud. You get to see how our minds are being shaped by something so much bigger than what were actually feeling or putting out there.

G: Thats terrible isnt it? In a way, the computer age has made it clear by listing it so we can fight it more easily. ... I wonder if the COVID-19 disaster which is an unmitigated suffering and a very unequal suffering, I must say is teaching us something because it doesnt recognize race, gender or nationality. It sees human beings as human beings. And perhaps were beginning to see that too.

M: On top of that, its just giving everyone this moment of reset; to reevaluate what actually matters. I think its often forgotten how women like you and so many others before you fought for us to just be where we are right now.

G: If you dont vote you dont exist. Its the only place where we are all equal: in the voting booth. We not only have to vote but we have to fight to vote. You know what worries me the most are young people who I understand are the least likely to vote. And I can understand the feeling that they dont think they have an impact. Yet, its more important that they vote more than anyone else because theyre going to be alive long after I am. And they are going to be suffering the consequences. So I hope that each one of us goes to our neighbors, even if its online, and asks, Are you voting?

You know, I fear we get a case of the shoulds the what should I do? as opposed to Im going to do everything I can. We should ask ourselves: Who do I talk to every day? Are they registered or not? Whatever it is that is next to us we can do. If we each do that, then I think well be OK.

If you dont vote you dont exist. Its the only place where we are all equal: in the voting booth. Gloria Steinem

M: Ive been really concerned about voter suppression. We can already see all the different challenges that were facing. I had the chance to speak with Stacey Abrams about this to try to get a better understanding of what to do, for example, if youre a person of color and youre in line, for potentially hours on end, and during that time someone tries to intimidate you to tell you that you should get out of line because you might be under surveillance or any number of intimidation tactics that are so scary.

And then you think: You know, its not worth it. You decide to step out of line and relinquish your right to vote. Thats bad enough, but then theres a ripple effect because whoever is in the back of the line says, Whatever they did to themI dont want that to happen to me. That, I think, is so frightening. But I wonder how we circumvent that and how we get people to feel empowered.

G: Just people hearing you say that will help them be better prepared for it. I remember standing in lines in Florida that were eight hours long and that was a form of voter suppression. I was not voting. I was there to encourage. Because if you have young kids, how are you going to do that? But the result of that realization was that in the next voting opportunity people were saying, Ill take your kids. Ill drive you to the polls. Well move the polls closer to your neighborhood. It really is one step at a time.

M: And as women, there are so many things that are affecting us right now. You have been carrying the torch for so long.

G: I just want to say movements are family. I get to do what I love and care about every day of my life. How great is that? Well, almost every day.

M: Today is a great day.

G: Yea, today is a great day! I get to see you.

M: Youre so sweet. I feel really grateful to be a part of your family because it feels good when youre doing the right thing. When we had lunch recently and spoke about the 19th Amendment, I remember you were saying, Well of course its a recognition, but its only the right to vote for white women.

G: Yes, I think thats where were a little bit wrong with our celebration. We keep saying that women won the right to vote in 1920, which is true, it was the beginning. But Native American women came later, Asian American women came later, African American women only came really mostly with the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

M: I was reading something the other day and it made me think of The Equal Rights Amendment and Im curious to hear your thoughts on how we can get that over the line. Because it was 1970 that you were in Congress appealing for it, right?

G: Mm-hmm, yes thats right.

M: So there was a Native Alaskan named Elizabeth Peratrovich who fought for and ensured the passage of the 1945 Anti-Discrimination Act, and she said: Asking you to give me equal rights implies that they are yours to give. Instead, I must demand that you stop trying to deny me the rights that all people deserve.

G: Yes, I think that thats very good because were not supplicants, right? And, in fact, on the land where we are, before Europeans showed up, there were Native American cultures in which women were equal, in which grandmothers chose the Chief. It was a system of balance and our Constitution is based on that, which we should remember. And it was about a circular idea of consensus, circles of consensus going up rather than hierarchy, which is the source of the linked not ranked.

Gloria references the bracelets she has given Meghan that feature the motto Linked not ranked.

M: I love this.

G: Well, you know actually, we are linked not ranked is the shortest way Ive ever found to say what our goal is.

M: It means everything to me on every level; we are linked not ranked.

G: And I thank you for understanding that rank is less important than being linked. Thats a big thing.

M: You shared The Glorias with me, the advanced screening of [the film about your life directed by Julie Taymor]. Its just such a fantastic way to see the breadth of your life thus far and everything youve accomplished, but also understanding where you come from and how you became a feminist. As Ive gotten older Ive been able to understand that its not mutually exclusive to be a feminist and be feminine. And to own that and harness your femininity and your identification as a woman in all of the different layers.

G: Well, you can be a feminist and be masculine and a guy.

M: Like my husband! I love that when he just came in he said, You know that Im a feminist too, right Gloria?! Its really important to me that you know that.

G: That was wonderful.

M: But you need that. And I look at our son and what a beautiful example that he gets to grow up with a father who is so comfortable owning that as part of his own self-identification. That theres no shame in being someone who advocates for fundamental human rights for everyone, which of course includes women.

G: And also that he is a nurturing father. Because then your son will grow up knowing its OK to be loving and nurturing.

M: Well said. I know itll mean a lot to him when I share that.

Gloria, I couldnt have asked for a better day. This is so important. The next two months are so important. I want to thank you we all want to thank you for your wisdom and inspiration.

Edited for length and clarity.

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Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex: My conversation with Gloria Steinem - Yahoo Lifestyle

The start of this school year is certainly different than usual, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. One thing that likely wont change much? The need for teachers across the nation to have to dip into their own salaries to pay for classroom supplies, as its been estimated (pre-pandemic) that teachers spend an average of $479 per year out of pocket on their classrooms.

Educators are now faced with a likely increase in spending, for supplies needed to keep their classrooms both efficient and safe. And that has many worrying that their expenses will go above and beyond the federal $250 tax deduction available to teachers.

The #ClearTheList movement is near and dear to my heart because my mom was a school teacher." Lance Bass

I was very used to spending money out of my own pocket. My first year teaching, I spent over $2,500 for my classroom, Courtney Jones, an elementary school teacher and founder of ClearTheList Foundation, told Yahoo Life. I was like, there has to be a better way.

The reasoning behind why teachers are paying out of pocket, she says, isnt one-size-fits-all. Depending on the district or state, funds available to classroom supplies are allocated differently. But ultimately, the outcome is one that affects the teachers who want to provide their students with the best learning experience possible. [The costs] really go up if you get into underserved communities or [for] new teachers just coming fresh into the field. It really is just astronomical, Jones explains.

Fed up with seeing her fellow teachers struggle, Jones decided to get creative. The Texas teacher took to Facebook in hopes of bringing together a supportive community of teachers and it was met with overwhelming support. At that moment, the #ClearTheLists movement was started.

I thought maybe a couple hundred teachers would join and we would just send gifts to each other to raise spirits, she says. In three weeks, we had over 30,000 members. In a month and a half, we had over 125,000. So it just really exploded really fast. And I realized that there was a pervasive issue here across the country.

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Now ClearTheList is much more than a social media movement, evolving into a nonprofit due to its success. I was very relentless because it was an issue that I felt needed to be addressed, Jones says. It was one thing to create a social media movement and for it to have that initial success, but I didn't want it to die out.

That perseverance has gained the attention of celebrities and organizations who are willing to put their money where their mouth is. That includes Lance Bass, who described the importance of ClearTheList to Yahoo Life, The ClearTheList movement is near and dear to my heart, because my mom was a school teacher, he says. Teachers spend so much of their own money on school supplies because most school districts cannot afford to buy them [I] do fundraisers every month, and every August I raise money for #ClearTheList to do my part to help get teachers supplies that they need.

Other celebs who have thrown their support behind the nonprofit include Khloe Kardashian, Kamala Harris and Jeffree Star and Jones is newly inspired by support from the Clorox Company, which has teamed up with ClearTheList to start an initiative stemming from a $1 million donation, aimed at funding and providing new opportunities for students and teachers alike. The effort brings with it a $25,000 sweepstake for schools and individual grant programs of up to $500 each.

They get the issue, they understand how pervasive it is, Jones says about Clorox, adding that it is so amazing to see a company understand it, particularly because their products are so important for classrooms right now.

Teachers heading back to classrooms are worried about a lot right now their safety, kids safety, social distancing, PPE materials, sanitizing their classrooms and much more. Try to just get into a teacher's shoes and understand where they're at, Jones says. They're trying to protect themselves and their families at home, but they're trying to protect their students above all. And they need help. Luckily, theyve found it through her foundation, and the generosity of its supporters, with over $1.2 million raised for this back-to-school season already.

This, she says simply, helps alleviate the stress on a teacher's finances.

To apply for the sweepstakes or donate to the cause, visit clearthelistfoundation.org and clorox.com/support-our-teachers

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How a school teacher raised $1M for educators around the U.S. with help from Khloe Kardashian, Lance Bass and Kamala Harris - Yahoo Lifestyle

WASHINGTON Out of 1,022 people who either attended or worked at several overnight summer camps in Maine that implemented measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, only three tested positive for it, a new study says. And those three cases did not result in secondary infections because proper measures were taken.

The encouraging news emerged from a new study the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made public on Wednesday. It comes on the heels of another CDC study, released last week, that showed that after childcare centers in Rhode Island opened in June, there were few infections and almost no secondary transmission throughout the surrounding community.

Together, the two studies seem to offer promise. These camps did it right. They followed the basic public health measures, said Dr. Ashish Jha, a Harvard epidemiologist.

Those measures included face coverings, enhanced hygiene measures, enhanced cleaning and disinfecting, maximal outdoor programming, and early and rapid identification of infection and isolation, according to the new studys lead author, Dr. Laura Blaisdell, a pediatrician at the Maine Medical Center who serves as a medical adviser to the American Camp Association.

CDC Director Robert Redfield celebrated the results. Using a combination of proven public health strategies to slow the spread of COVID-19, he said in a statement, campers and staff were able to enjoy a traditional summer pastime amid a global pandemic.

Jha contrasted the Maine approach with that of a Georgia camp that was more lax it did not require masks or adequately ventilate buildings and consequently became the site of a coronavirus outbreak earlier this summer. That experience called into question the much-longed-for resumption of other everyday activities, including schooling.

The Maine study was especially encouraging for colleges, Jha explained, since in both camps and colleges, young people live and play in close quarters. The biggest thing here is they were aggressive on entry screening, he said. Its really smart, and it works.

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The new CDC study followed attendees at summer camps in Maine between June and August. Approximately 1 week after camp arrival, all 1,006 attendees without a previous diagnosis of COVID-19 were tested, and three asymptomatic cases were identified, the study says. Following isolation of these persons and quarantine of their contacts, no secondary transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurred. (SARS-CoV-2 is the official international designation for the pathogen.)

The camps took the kinds of measures that would be difficult to undertake in a large city, or even a suburb. Camps and schools are not the same, said Blaisdell, who has been volunteering in a medical capacity at her sons camp for 20 years. At the same time, the camps hosted attendees from 41 states and six countries, as well as one U.S. territory.

Some came from coronavirus hot spots, including Texas and Florida. A college could encounter a similarly challenging demographic distribution from its incoming students.

Attendees and their families were advised to drive to camp. Once they arrived, campers were asked to stay within their new cohorts for two weeks and not mix with other children. They were routinely monitored for symptoms, with daily temperature checks, and diagnostic tests administered between every four and nine days.

No attendees declined testing, the CDC study says, a subtle reminder that public health measures mean little if people refuse to adhere to them. The results came back two or three days later. Across the country, people continue to report waiting as long as two weeks to learn the results of their coronavirus tests.

Two adults and one child eventually tested positive, despite showing no symptoms.

A new CDC guidance says that people who do not show coronavirus symptoms do not always need diagnostic tests. But people without symptoms can still spread the disease. Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist, said the Maine approach showed what a wrong-headed move the CDC was making by dropping the guidance to test asymptomatic people.

If the camps had not done such testing, they would not have found the three people infected with the virus. Those people could then have spread the disease to other campers.

Blaisdell described to Yahoo News what happened once those positive tests were returned: The three sickened individuals were isolated, while their respective cohorts were moved into what she described as a shadow camp, apart from other attendees. They were still able to take part in camp activities, but without potentially becoming transmitters of the virus. They were also regularly tested.

The strategy proved successful. No cohort members received a positive test result, and all were released from quarantine on day 8 after the asymptomatic campers positive test result, the CDC study reported. No secondary transmission was identified.

Blaisdell said that keeping children in small, well-defined groups was critical to the camps success. Cohorting allowed us to decrease spread by kids in small, stable relationships.

The study she and four other authors from outside Maine published Wednesday through the CDC describes how stable, small, segregated cohorts allowed camps to isolate and quarantine a wide age range of younger attendees with potential COVID-19 symptoms and exposures while continuing camp operations in other cohorts.

Classrooms are natural cohorts. So are some college arrangements, such as Greek-letter organizations and special-affiliation houses. At the same time, both schools and colleges are bound to be subject to much more movement throughout the surrounding community than an isolated camp in rural Maine.

Nobody can promise a COVID-free environment, Blaisdell told Yahoo News, but by enforcing a culture of compliance, the camps were able to have a relatively normal summer.

We did do singing around the campfire, she said, adding a caveat that can be attached to virtually any human activity in 2020: It looked different this year.

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A thousand kids and counselors went to summer camp in Maine. Only 3 got the coronavirus. - Yahoo News

Summer 2020, which basically didnt even happen, is wrapping up and every day feels like that one week between Christmas and New Years when nothing makes any sense and time doesnt exist.

Were all feeling it, but were not alone. A Dunkin Donuts sign went viral on Twitter for having a truly bizarre message announcing that pumpkin-flavored coffee and donuts were back on the menu.

Uh oh spicy! Pumpkin! Hahahaha pumpkin tasty, the sign reads.

The original photo was taken by another Twitter user, Jesenia Santana or @notjambalaya, who drove by the sign on her way to work in Portland, Maine.

The signs message is apparently a play on a very odd video from 2016, so many meme connoisseurs appreciated the reference. Unfortunately, someone drove by the sign and saw that an employee who may or may not have been responsible for it in the first place was taking the message down.

In a meta twist, Dunkin Donuts Twitter got in on the fun too.

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Social media tactics for fast food companies are truly a sight to behold. Check out the lengths Burger King went to for Pride month.

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'Dunkin' Donuts out here having a breakdown': Bizarre sign causes drivers to do a double-take - Yahoo Lifestyle