GOP leaders want NC schools to go back to basics and use phonics to teach reading

T. Keung Hui
·4 min read

North Carolina Senate Republican leaders want schools to emphasize the use of phonics to help deal with how many young children are having challenges learning to read.

The Excellent Public Schools Act of 2021, which will be introduced this week, will require North Carolina school districts to train elementary schools teachers in the “science of reading,” a method of reading instruction that stresses phonics. The legislation comes as reading scores have dropped in the state despite the efforts of the Read To Achieve program to improve early childhood literacy.

“Read to Achieve is working well in some places and needs adjustment in others,” Senate leader Phil Berger said at a news conference Monday. “We want the best policies that put North Carolina students in a position to succeed. That’s our first and our only goal.

“If some things need fixing let’s fix them, and if some things are working well, let’s replicate them.”

Scores not improving in Read To Achieve

The Read To Achieve program was launched in 2012 by Berger as his signature education program to get more children proficient in reading by the end of third grade.

Due to COVID-19, no state end-of-grade reading tests were given last school year. But state reading scores in the 2017-18 school year were lower than they were in the 2013-14 school year.

In 2019, Berger introduced legislation passed by the General Assembly that he said would improve Read To Achieve. But Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, vetoed the bill and called Read To Achieve “ineffective” and “costly.”

Berger said he’s hopeful that the new legislation will be approved this time. The new bill incorporates elements of the 2019 bill plus some new features.

Science of reading

Legislators and State Superintendent Catherine Truitt, a Republican, stressed how the law promotes the science of reading. This puts North Carolina squarely in the midst of a national debate over how to teach reading.

Many schools across the country use an approach called “balanced literacy,” which includes some phonics. Phonics help teach students to read by associating sounds with letters. Balanced literacy also includes strategies such as having young students guess words they don’t know based on the context, such as by looking at pictures or the first letter in the word.

Truitt said “balanced literacy” has been taught to 75% of the nation’s teachers and has caused a crisis of illiteracy, especially among low-income students. She said schools need to go back to teaching using phonics, which she said has been proven by research to work.

Under the legislation:

▪ Schools would use federal coronavirus relief dollars to train elementary school teachers on the science of reading.

▪ The State Board of Education will develop literacy instruction standards based on the science of reading.

▪ School districts will review how they teach literacy and see if they meet the new standards.

Bonuses for teachers

Other parts of the bill will include:

▪ Creation of a signing bonus to encourage teachers who have proven to be effective to work at summer reading camps.

▪ Creation of a performance bonus for teachers who work at the summer reading camps based on how many of the students they work with who go on to pass the state exams.

▪ K-3 teachers developing individual reading plans for students who are not reading at grade level.

▪ The state Department of Public Instruction will develop a Digital Children’s Reading Initiative so parents can find resources online to help their children read.

Concerns about student learning

The new legislation comes amid concerns about how the switch to mostly remote instruction over the past year during the coronavirus pandemic has affected the state’s students.

Test results released this month show that the majority of high school students did not pass state end-of-course exams given in the fall. In addition, school districts reported that 23% of their students are at risk of academic failure and not being promoted at the end of the school year.

The test data also showed that the majority of third-grade students who took the beginning-of-grade reading exam scored at the lowest level and three quarters aren’t proficient in reading.

Berger said the Senate will act on legislation passed by the House requiring school districts to create a summer school program to help students who’ve fallen behind during COVID-19.

Recommended Stories

  • College students stole identities to pocket COVID financial aid in Louisiana, feds say

    The emergency funds were allotted to college students impacted by the pandemic.

  • J&J to supply 400 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to African Union

    Johnson & Johnson has inked a deal with the African Union (AU) to supply up to 400 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine starting in the third quarter of the year, the drugmaker announced Monday.Why it matters: Disparities in vaccine access remain a challenge for Africans, especially as the continent struggles to contain the coronavirus variant that originated in South Africa. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeSouth Africa has a vaccination rate of 0.3%, and most other African countries are on par with that number. The U.S. maintains a 34.6% vaccination rate, in contrast.The virus has infected 4.18 million people across Africa and killed almost 121,000, according to Reuters.Details: J&J will deliver 220 million doses of its single-dose shot starting in the July-September quarter. The African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) will be able to purchase an additional 180 million doses through 2022. Regulators in African countries must still authorize the vaccine, but the World Health Organization approved it for emergency use earlier this month. Data shows that the vaccine is 85% effective in preventing severe disease and protecting against different variants, including the variant from South Africa, 28 days after vaccination, the company said.Most of the supplies will be produced by Aspen Pharma in South Africa.Our thought bubble, via Axios' Dave Lawler: The shots are to be manufactured mainly in South Africa, which would be a big development because right now there are virtually no shots being produced on the continent. And J&J’s vaccine could be particularly important to developing countries because it's relatively cheap and easy to ship and store, plus just a single shot.What they're saying: "From the beginning of this pandemic, Johnson & Johnson has recognized that no one is safe until everyone is safe, and we have been committed to equitable, global access to new COVID-19 vaccines," Alex Gorsky, J&J chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "Our support for the COVAX Facility, combined with supplementary agreements with countries and regions, will help accelerate global progress toward ending the COVID-19 pandemic."More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

  • Schumer is looking into 2 more reconciliation bills this year as Biden's massive infrastructure package comes in 2 parts

    The Senate majority leader may have found how Democrats can pass two more bills via reconciliation this fiscal year. An aide says it's exploratory.

  • New Underage Victim Accuses Ghislaine Maxwell of Abuse

    Frazer HarrisonGhislaine Maxwell, accused accomplice to sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, is facing more allegations of grooming underage girls for the sick pedophile.In a superseding indictment filed Monday, Manhattan federal prosecutors added a fourth unidentified minor victim to their case—and two new sex-trafficking charges against Maxwell. The complaint says the girl was 14 when the British socialite allegedly began grooming her for Epstein, who abused her from 2001 to 2004.In a letter to Judge Alison Nathan, federal prosecutors said a Manhattan grand jury returned the superseding indictment on Monday.“At this juncture, while the Government’s investigation is still ongoing, if trial remains set for July 12, 2021 as scheduled, then the Government does not intend to seek any further indictments in this case,” the assistant U.S. attorneys wrote.According to the indictment, Maxwell met the girl, referred to as “Minor Victim-4,” at Epstein’s Palm Beach home when she was 14 and “subsequently interacted” with her knowing she was underage at the time.READ FOR YOURSELF: The Indictment Against Epstein Confidante Ghislaine MaxwellProsecutors say Maxwell asked the girl about her family and her life, as she did with the other victims mentioned in the complaint, and “sought to normalize inappropriate and abusive conduct” by discussing sexual topics in front of her and being present when the girl was naked in Epstein’s massage room.Maxwell “encouraged and enticed one or more minor victims to engage in paid sex acts with Epstein” from 2001 to 2004, the document states.The 59-year-old heiress would allegedly call the girl, at times from New York, to book appointments for her to “massage” Epstein in Florida.The indictment says that after these encounters, Epstein’s employees including Maxwell would allegedly pay the girl hundreds of dollars in cash.Both Epstein and Maxwell, court papers allege, invited Minor Victim-4 to travel with Epstein and offered to help her obtain a passport. The girl declined their invitations.Maxwell and other employees also allegedly sent the teenager “gifts, including lingerie, from an address in Manhattan, New York” to her home in Florida. One of those gifts was sent via FedEx in 2002, according to the indictment.Epstein and Maxwell encouraged the girl to recruit other victims, the indictment says, and she brought multiple underage “masseuses” to the Palm Beach residence. She was paid hundreds of dollars in cash to recruit for Epstein, prosecutors say.The initial indictment against Maxwell, who was arrested in July 2020, charged her with grooming and abusing three victims from 1994 to 1997.Maxwell, a former girlfriend and employee of Epstein, has denied the accusations against her, and her family has embarked on a public-relations campaign to fight for her release from a federal detention facility in Brooklyn.Her trial for sex-trafficking charges is scheduled for July.This story is developing. Check back here for more updates.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • CDC director says she feels ‘impending doom’ as COVID cases again rise. ‘I’m scared’

    ”Now is one of those times when I have to share the truth and I have to hope and trust you will listen.”

  • Infant son of Browns WR Switzer to undergo surgery in Boston

    Browns wide receiver Ryan Switzer said his infant son will undergo surgery in Boston after doctors believe they found what was causing him to bleed. Switzer, who has been updating his son’s medical fight on social media the past few weeks, posted on Twitter on Monday that his son, Christian, was being prepped for an operation. Switzer said the surgeon working on their case assured the family “they found what they’re looking for in order to operate.”

  • Canada pauses AstraZeneca vaccine for under 55

    Canada is suspending the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for people under the age of 55 following concerns it may be linked to rare blood clots. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended a pause on AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations for people under 55 for safety reasons and the Canadian provinces, which administer health in the country, announced the suspensions Monday. “There is substantial uncertainty about the benefit of providing AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines to adults under 55 given the potential risks,” Dr. Shelley Deeks, Vice Chair of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

  • Boris Johnson Faces Legal Trouble After Claim He Quoted Shakespeare as Foreplay During Affair

    Reuters/Hannah McKayThe British prime minister likes to recite Shakespeare to get him in the mood for sex, according to the American woman whose extraordinary claims of a long affair with Boris Johnson could potentially land him in legal trouble.It’s been rumored for years that Jennifer Arcuri had a sexual relationship with Johnson, but she finally opened up about it this weekend. The businesswoman offered stomach-turning details of Johnson’s proclivities, telling the Sunday Mirror that the pair would read the bard’s works aloud before having sex on the sofa in the PM’s family home.“We moved on to reading Macbeth, which was a kind of foreplay routine we had,” said Arcuri. “I said, ‘Let’s skip to the good stuff.’ He said, ‘I love that about you, you just want to get to the good part.’ After we made love… I felt conflicted being there in his family home and seeing him like this but I couldn’t help but love the feeling of being desired.”Boris Johnson Makes Up With His Dog, Dilyn, After Threatening to Have Him ShotArcuri, who claims the fling lasted for four years, also shared sordid details of text messages he allegedly sent to her. In one, he apparently requested a photograph of her with the very specific instructions: “No clothes on.” After she sent a pic, he’s said to have simply replied: “Wow.” Johnson is also claimed to have reacted to a nude of Arcuri by describing it as “enough to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window,” thereby compounding his literary sins by quoting the crime novelist Raymond Chandler without attribution.While the salacious details have been the source of great amusement in the British press, they could have serious consequences. After its initial story, the Mirror reported that Johnson could be forced to give evidence in person over his alleged relationship. The affair is said to have overlapped with Johnson’s time as London mayor, but, despite her business appearing to receive special treatment, their relationship was never declared.Arcuri was allegedly granted access to events at three top-level trade missions that she wasn’t qualified for, and her companies also received £126,000 pounds (around $174,000) in sponsorship and grant money from organizations overseen by Johnson in his role as mayor.Boris Johnson Proposes Law to Stop People Being Canceled on CampusWhile Johnson avoided a criminal investigation into his relationship with Arcuri after investigators found “no evidence” that he used his position to influence the donations, investigators did conclude that some decisions were influenced by the pair’s relationship, so a separate investigation into Johnson’s conduct when he was mayor is now going ahead.That investigation, which is being carried out by the Greater London Authority, could see Johnson forced to give in-person evidence, according to the Mirror. Johnson’s press secretary said Monday that he’ll “engage” with the GLA inquiry over his links to Arcuri, though wouldn’t be drawn on whether Johnson would be willing to provide in-person evidence.The investigation will determine whether Johnson acted with “honesty and integrity,” and if Arcuri was given “preferential treatment.” If the prime minister refuses to give evidence without “reasonable excuse,” he could potentially face a fine or even a three-month jail term.As for the state of Johnson and Arcuri’s current relationship, she has fallen out with him over his repeated strong denials of the affair. “He just took the most cowardly, wet noodle of approaches,” said the California businesswoman. “A great leader is charismatic, courageous, and brave. None of these words I would use to describe Boris Johnson.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • An Alliance of Autocracies? China Wants to Lead a New World Order.

    President Joe Biden wants to forge an “alliance of democracies.” China wants to make clear that it has alliances of its own. Only days after a rancorous encounter with U.S. officials in Alaska, China’s foreign minister joined his Russian counterpart last week to denounce Western meddling and sanctions. He then headed to the Middle East to visit traditional U.S. allies, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as well as Iran, where he signed a sweeping investment agreement Saturday. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, reached out to Colombia one day and pledged support for North Korea on another. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times Although officials denied the timing was intentional, the message clearly was. China hopes to position itself as the main challenger to an international order, led by the United States, that is generally guided by principles of democracy, respect for human rights and adherence to rule of law. Such a system “does not represent the will of the international community,” China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, told Russia’s, Sergey Lavrov, when they met in the southern Chinese city of Guilin. In a joint statement, they accused the United States of bullying and interference and urged it to “reflect on the damage it has done to global peace and development in recent years.” The threat of a U.S.-led coalition challenging China’s authoritarian policies has only bolstered Beijing’s ambition to be a global leader of nations that oppose Washington and its allies. It shows an increasingly confident and unapologetic China, one that not only refutes U.S. criticism of its internal affairs but that presents its own values as a model for others. “They’re actually trying to build an argument like, ‘We’re the more responsible power. We’re not the spoilers or an axis of evil,’” John Delury, a professor of Chinese studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, said of China’s strategy. As result, the world is increasingly dividing into distinct if not purely ideological camps, with both China and the United States hoping to lure supporters. Biden made that clear in his first presidential news conference Thursday, presenting a foreign policy based on geopolitical competition between models of governance. He compared Xi to Russian President Vladimir Putin, “who thinks that autocracy is the wave of the future and democracy can’t function” in “an ever-complex world.” He later called the challenge “a battle between the utility of democracies in the 21st century and autocracies.” China, for its part, argues that it is the United States dividing the world into blocs. Xi set the tone shortly after Biden’s inauguration, telling this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that multilateralism should be based on consensus among many countries, not a view advanced by “one or the few.” “To build small circles or start a new Cold War, to reject, threaten or intimidate others, to willfully impose decoupling, supply disruption or sanctions, and to create isolation or estrangement will only push the world into division and even confrontation,” Xi said. In pushing back on criticism of its policies in recent days, China has championed the primacy of international organizations like the United Nations, where Beijing’s clout has grown. Wang noted that more than 80 countries at the U.N. Human Rights Council had expressed support for China’s actions in Xinjiang, the far western region where authorities have detained and interned Uyghur Muslims in a campaign the United States declared a genocide. As a result, the world is increasingly dividing into distinct, if not purely ideological, camps, with both China and the United States hoping to lure in supporters. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that Wang secured an endorsement of its Xinjiang policies, as well as its quashing of dissent in Hong Kong, from Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, though a Saudi statement did not mention Xinjiang. China’s most striking alignment is with Russia, where Putin has long complained about U.S. hegemony and its use — abuse, in his view — of the global financial system as an instrument of foreign policy. The Russian foreign minister arrived in China on March 22 railing about U.S. sanctions and saying the world needed to reduce its reliance on the U.S. dollar. China and Russia have drawn closer especially since Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 was met with international outrage and Western penalties. While the possibility of a formal alliance remains remote, the countries’ diplomatic and economic ties have deepened in common cause against the United States. So have strategic ties. The People’s Liberation Army and the Russian military now routinely hold exercises together and have twice conducted joint air patrols along Japan’s coast, most recently in December. The two countries announced this month that they would build a research station on the moon together, setting the stage for competing space programs, one led by China and the other by the United States. “The latest steps and gestures by the Biden administration, seen as hostile and insulting by the Russian and Chinese leaders, have predictably pushed Moscow and Beijing even deeper into a mutual embrace,” said Artyom Lukin, a professor of international studies at the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia. Chinese officials, like the Russians, have repeatedly said the United States lacks the standing to criticize other nations. They cite as evidence its military interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and accuse it of instigating public protests against governments it opposes. In his extraordinary confrontation with U.S. officials in Alaska, China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, cited racism and police brutality in the United States, along with mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, as evidence of the country’s decline. China’s State Council released a report on human rights in the United States on Wednesday, using as an epigraph George Floyd’s plea to the police, “I can’t breathe.” “The United States should lower the tone of democracy and human rights and talk more about cooperation in global affairs,” Yuan Peng, president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, a government think tank, wrote the same day. From that perspective, Xi’s outreach to North Korea and Wang’s visit to Iran could signal China’s interest in working with the United States to resolve disputes over those two countries’ nuclear programs. Biden’s administration may be open to that. After the Alaska meetings, Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned both as potential areas where “our interests intersect” with China’s. In other areas, a chasm is widening. Since Biden’s election, China has sought to prevent the United States from forging a united front against it. It appealed to the new administration to resume cooperation after the confrontations of the Trump years. It sealed trade and investment agreements, including one with the European Union, hoping to box out Biden. It did not work. The first results of Biden’s strategy emerged last week, when the United States, Canada, Britain and the European Union jointly announced sanctions on Chinese officials over Xinjiang. China’s condemnation was swift. “The era when it was possible to make up a story and concoct lies to wantonly meddle in Chinese domestic affairs is past and will not come back,” Wang said. China retaliated with sanctions of its own against elected officials and scholars in the European Union and Britain. Similar penalties followed Saturday on Canadians and Americans, including top officials at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a government body that held a hearing this month on forced labor in Xinjiang. All affected will be barred from traveling to China or conducting business with Chinese companies or individuals. Theresa Fallon, director of the Center for Russia Europe Asia Studies in Brussels, said China’s sanctions on Europeans were an overreaction that would drive officials into an anti-China camp. They could also jeopardize China’s investment deal with the European Union, as many of those penalized are members of the European Parliament, whose approval is required. So could new campaigns by Chinese consumers against major Western brands like H&M and Nike. Until now, many EU nations have not wanted to explicitly choose sides, eschewing the kind of bipolar ideological divisions seen during the Cold War, in part because of deepening economic ties with China. With each new twist in relations, however, clearer camps are emerging. “The Chinese mirror all the time,” Fallon said. “They always accuse people of Cold War thinking because I think that’s really, deep down, how they think.” This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2021 The New York Times Company

  • Markets brace for the Archegos test

    Data: YCharts; Chart: Axios VisualsHas the stock market gotten ahead of itself? That's the question traders are asking heading into Monday's session, in the wake of a dramatic fall-off in a handful of stocks owned by a hedge fund manager named Bill Hwang.Driving the news: Hwang was making highly leveraged multi-billion-dollar bets on companies including U.S. TV networks ViacomCBS and Discovery. When those stocks started to fall, Hwang's fund, Archegos, was forced to liquidate the positions at any price, and both companies ended up losing about half their value as a result.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeThe big picture: This week's trading is likely to give an indication of how many high-flying stocks have been bid up by debt-fueled speculators like Hwang. If the strength of the market reflects robust underlying demand, then ViacomCBS and Discovery are likely to bounce back up, and other stocks will be largely unaffected by the turmoil at Archegos.If stock prices are the result of a speculative bubble, however, the implosion of Archegos is exactly the kind of catalyst that could spark spectacular drops in many other stocks that have seen impressive run-ups in recent months.More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

  • Why FIFA blocks the U.S. men's national team from playing for an Olympics spot

    The U.S. once again will not have a men's soccer team competing at the Olympics, but the best the United States has to offer isn't allowed on the pitch.

  • Watch Dr. Pimple Popper wrestle with a scrambled egg lipoma until it bursts out of her patient's shoulder blade

    Dermatologist Dr. Sandra Lee poked, snipped, and squeezed the "bossy" orange-sized lipoma that had been growing for six years.

  • Jurors shown video at ex-officer's trial in Floyd's death

    The video of George Floyd gasping for breath was essentially Exhibit A as the former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee on the Black man’s neck went on trial Monday on charges of murder and manslaughter. Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell showed the jurors the footage at the earliest opportunity, during opening statements, after telling them that the number to remember was 9 minutes, 29 seconds — the amount of time officer Derek Chauvin had Floyd pinned to the pavement last May. The white officer “didn’t let up" even after a handcuffed Floyd said 27 times that he couldn’t breathe and went limp, Blackwell said in the case that triggered worldwide protests, scattered violence and national soul-searching over racial justice.

  • Watch heartwarming cheers and honks from tugboat crews as the Ever Given ship is finally freed in the Suez Canal

    Videos show boats honking in celebration that the massive cargo boat was finally freed on Monday.

  • Indonesia bombing: Worshippers wounded in Makassar church attack

    At least 14 people are injured as worshippers leave a Palm Sunday service in Makassar on Sulawesi.

  • Michael Phelps on the pandemic's impact on mental health struggles: 'It honestly destroys me'

    Michael Phelps is best known as a former Olympic swimmer – but he's also made waves being vocal about his mental health challenges.

  • Andre Drummond on joining Lakers: 'I'm not here to do anything besides win'

    New Lakers center Andre Drummond had his first news conference Monday and made it clear why he joined: 'I'm not here to do anything besides win.'

  • New satellite images show North Korea may be preparing to launch ballistic missile submarine

    North Korea appears to be preparing to launch a new submarine capable of firing nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, with US and South Korean intelligence “thoroughly monitoring” developments at the North’s Sinpo shipyard. New satellite images of the shipyard, on the east coast of the peninsula, show that a floating dry dock has been positioned alongside the launch quay for the vast construction hall where the submarine is being completed. Analysis of the images by experts from The Stimson Center think tank and posted on the 38 North web site suggest the new vessel “may be nearing completion or is ready to be rolled out and launched in the near future”. The news came as European members of the Security Council requested an urgent meeting on Tuesday to discuss the North’s recent ballistic missile launches, which are in contravention of previous Security Council resolutions, with the possibility of additional sanctions on Pyongyang. Recent events suggest that Pyongyang is returning to the “fire-and-fury” diplomatic strategies of the past. Last week, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles from its east coast, the first such launches in nearly a year and widely interpreted as Pyongyang’s first challenge to the new administration of US President Joe Biden. Under the terms of United Nations resolutions, North Korea is banned from firing ballistic missiles. On Monday, North Korea accused the United Nations Security Council of “double standards” for criticism of its recent missile launches. In a statement issued through the North’s KCNA news agency, a senior foreign ministry official defended the launches, saying, “Many other countries across the globe are firing all kinds of projectiles." Work to refurbish the Shinpo construction hall was completed in late 2016 and it is believed that assembly of the submarine began shortly afterwards. There are additional signs that the vessel may be ready to launch, the analysts said, including an official visit to the site in July 2019 by Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, during which images of the submarine were released by state media. Storage areas at the site that were as recently as last summer full of components for the craft are also now empty. “We are thoroughly monitoring the situation, with close coordination between the South Korean and US intelligence authorities,” a spokesman for the South Korean Defence Ministry told a press conference on Monday. The North has already conducted a series of tests, from submerged barges, to simulate the firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile. The 2,720-tonne vessel that it is constructing is believed to be designed to carry three ballistic missiles and would theoretically be capable of sailing into the Pacific to threaten US military facilities in Hawaii or even the mainland of the continental US. The US military has warned that the North deploying such a weapons system would be a significant increase in its offensive capabilities and a new cause for concern, but analysts have told The Telegraph that the threat is more limited as US and Japanese underwater monitoring technology will allow the submarine to be closely tracked.

  • ‘I fear I will be murdered’, says teacher who showed Mohammed cartoons

    The teacher who prompted protests after showing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed fears that he and his family will be murdered, his father has said. The religious studies teacher remains in hiding after receiving death threats and has told his family “it’s all over” and he will never be able to return to his job or his home. Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire sent pupils home last week and issued an apology after the parents of Muslim children gathered at the gates to protest. The RS teacher was described as a “terrorist” in a letter from one community leader. His family has now accused the school’s head teacher, Gary Kibble, of “throwing him under a bus” by failing to fight his corner while he lives as a fugitive. The teacher’s father said: “My son keeps breaking down crying and says that it's all over for him. He is worried that he and his family are all going to be killed. “He knows that he's not going to be able to return to work or live in Batley. It's just going to be too dangerous for him and his family.” The teacher, who lives with his partner and children, fears he will suffer the same fate as Samuel Paty, a teacher who was beheaded in Paris last year after showing his pupils a cartoon of Mohammed during a lesson on freedom of expression. His father told MailOnline: “Look what happened to the teacher in France who was killed for doing the same thing. Eventually they will get my son and he knows this. His whole world has been turned upside down. He's devastated and crushed.

  • 'Great British Baking Show' contestants call for the show to fix its diversity issues

    Former bakers proposed solutions like hiring diverse judges and hosts and holding the production staff accountable to help repair some of the issues.