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The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 58 cases as of Tuesday, and eight people in neighboring eastern New Mexico also have been diagnosed with measles. Public health officials in New Mexico have said they suspect some of the state’s cases are linked to the Texas outbreak, but haven’t confirmed it. Measles is a highly contagious disease. Here’s what you should know about how to protect yourself against measles, as well as what’s happening in Texas and New Mexico. Where are measles spreading currently? The West Texas cases are concentrated in Gaines County, which has 45 infections. Terry County to the north has nine confirmed cases, while Lubbock and Lynn counties have a case each and Yoakum County has two. The Texas Department of State Health Services said Monday that 13 people are hospitalized with measles. State health officials say this outbreak is Texas’ largest in nearly 30 years. Health department spokeswoman Lara Anton said last week that cases have been concentrated in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community especially among families who attend small private religious schools or are homeschooled. At least three of the New Mexico cases are in Lea County, which borders Gaines County in Texas. The state health department has said people may have been exposed at a grocery store, an elementary school, a church, Nor-Lea Hospital and a Walgreens in Hobbs, New Mexico. What is measles? Measles a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most kids will recover from the measles if they get it, but infection can lead to dangerous complications like pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death. Is the vaccine safe? Yes, the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and highly effective in preventing measles infection and severe cases of the disease. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old. The vaccine series is required for kids before entering kindergarten in public schools nationwide. Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, the U.S. saw some 3 million to 4 million cases per year. Now, its usually fewer than 200 in a normal year. There is no link between the vaccine and autism, despite a now-discredited study and health disinformation. Why do vaccination rates matter? In communities with high vaccination rates above 95% diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called herd immunity. But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that sickened more than 60. Five years earlier, measles cases were the worst in almost three decades in 2019. Gaines County has one of the highest rates in Texas of school-aged children who opt out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14% of K-12 children in the 2023-24 school year. Health officials say that number is likely higher because it doesnt include many children who are homeschooled and whose data would not be reported. What are public health officials doing to stop the spread? Health workers are hosting regular vaccination clinic and screening efforts in Texas. They are also working with schools to educate people about the importance of vaccination and offering shots. Devi Shastri, Associated Press health writer The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Thinking Machines Lab, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, has tapped about 30 leading researchers and engineers from competitors such as OpenAI, Meta and Mistral, it said in a blog post on Tuesday. The team roughly two-thirds of which comprises former OpenAI employees includes Barret Zoph, a prominent researcher who left the ChatGPT maker on the same day as Murati in late September. Zoph will serve as the startup’s technology chief. OpenAI co-founder John Schulman is the startup’s chief scientist. Schulman left OpenAI for rival Anthropic in August, citing wanting to “focus on AI alignment”. AI alignment refers to a process of encoding human values into AI models to make them safer and more reliable a key focus for Murati’s startup. Murati is among a growing list of former OpenAI executives, who are responsible for the launch of startups such as Anthropic and Safe Superintelligence. She is raising funds from venture capitalists for her new artificial intelligence startup, Reuters had reported in October. “While current systems excel at programming and mathematics, we’re building AI that can adapt to the full spectrum of human expertise and enable a broader spectrum of applications,” the startup said. The company plans to enable external research on alignment by sharing code, datasets, and model specifications, it said. After Murati joined OpenAI in June 2018, she frequently appeared alongside CEO Sam Altman as the public face of the ChatGPT maker. Her abrupt resignation had marked another high-profile exit from the company as it undergoes major governance structure changes. Prior to OpenAI, she had worked at augmented reality startup Leap Motion and Tesla. Krystal Hu and Arsheeya Bajwa, Reuters
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E-Commerce
The Trump administration is giving Americas schools and universities two weeks to eliminate diversity initiatives or risk losing federal money, raising the stakes in the presidents fight against wokeness and sowing confusion as schools scramble to comply. In a memo Friday, the Education Department gave an ultimatum to stop using racial preferences as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring or other areas. Schools are being given 14 days to end any practice that treats students or workers differently because of their race. Educators at colleges nationwide were rushing to evaluate their risk and decide whether to stand up for practices they believe are legal. The sweeping demand threatens to upend all aspects of campus operations, from questions on college applications to classroom lessons and campus clubs. Its meant to correct what the memo described as rampant discrimination in education, often against white and Asian students. Schools have been operating on the pretext that selecting students for diversity or similar euphemisms is not selecting them based on race, said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights. No longer. Students should be assessed according to merit, accomplishment and character. The guidance drew sharp backlash from civil rights groups and university groups. Some believe its vague language is meant to have a chilling effect, pressuring schools to eliminate anything touching on the topic of race even if it may be defensible in court. Creating a sense of risk around doing work that might promote diverse and welcoming campuses is much more of the goal than a clear statement of existing law, said Jonathan Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents. The memo is an extension of President Donald Trumps executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs. It essentially reflects a change in the federal governments interpretation of antidiscrimination laws. As legal justification, it cites the 2023 Supreme Court decision barring race as a factor in college admissions. Although the ruling applied only to admissions, the memo says it applies more broadly. Put simply, educational institutions may neither separate or segregate students based on race, nor distribute benefits or burdens based on race, it said. On Monday the Education Department announced it also cut $600 million in grants for organizations that train teachers. The programs promoted divisive concepts like DEI, critical race theory and social justice activism, the department said. The new guidance seeks to remove race from areas including financial aid, housing, graduation ceremonies, hiring and promotion. It also takes aim directly at college admissions, suggesting colleges have sought to work around the Supreme Court’s decision. Using non-racial information as a proxy for race will now be viewed as a violation of federal law, the memo said. As an example, it said it’s unlawful for colleges to eliminate standardized testing requirements to achieve a desired racial balance or to increase racial diversity. Dozens of colleges across the U.S. have dropped SAT and ACT requirements in recent years for a variety of factors. The guidance reaches beyond the scope of the Supreme Court’s decision and is almost certain to be challenged in court, said Angel B. Pérez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. While the Supreme Court decision bans race as a factor in evaluating applicants, the memo aims to ban race even in the recruitment of potential students, he said. Practices that have long been commonplace could suddenly become legal liabilities, Pérez said, including recruiting in underrepresented areas or buying lists of potential students with certain academic and demographic information. Companies including the College Board and ACT have long sold lists of students to colleges, acting as a matchmaker and providing a pool of potential applicants who meet certain criteria. Colleges and universities are going to find themselves between a rock and a hard place, Pérez said. They know that what theyre doing is not illegal, but they are worried that if they do not comply, not having federal funding will decimate them. College application essays are targeted by the memo, raising questions about how far colleges can go in inviting students to share their personal experiences, including their race. The guidance says colleges can’t use essays as a way of predicting a student’s race. In the Supreme Court decision, Chief Justice John Roberts said nothing in the ruling prevents colleges from considering an applicants discussion of how race affected his or her life, though he warned that colleges couldn’t simply use essays as an indirect workaround to consider applicants’ race. In a campus letter at the University of Michigan, President Santa J. Ono said leaders are working to understand the implications. Some colleges said they expect little change from the memo. At Oregon State University, a legal review concluded that its programs are fully compliant with all state and federal laws, according to a campus message from Rob Odom, vice president of university relations and marketing. The department memo appears to take aim at scholarships reserved for students from certain racial backgrounds. Theres been legal debate about whether the Supreme Court decision extends to financial aid, with some schools and institutions deciding to scrap racial requirements for certain scholarships. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators said theres no consensus on the question, and the group is trying to understand how the memo could affect student aid. What we do know, however, is that 14 days is insufficient time for schools to assess and implement any necessary changes to be in compliance, the group said in a statement. The last thing students need when making plans about how to pay for college is uncertainty over when or whether they will receive financial aid theyve been relying on. The confusion around Trump’s order was apparent at last week’s confirmation hearing for education secretary nominee Linda McMahon. Asked whether classes on African American history would run afoul of the president’s order, McMahon said she wasn’t quite certain. Collin Binkley, AP education writer The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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