To honor a favorite professor and help students with the expenses associated with internships and study abroad, 1979 Penn State alumna Maryann Hunter created a fund in political science.

The Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning today (May 7) advanced a plan to adjust tuition schedules for the summer 2020 semester due to the ongoing financial challenges many students and families are experiencing as a result of COVID-19 disruptions. The measure will go to the full board for a final vote on Friday, May 8.

"With unparalleled technology support, digital and curriculum innovation, a flexible structure including our Commonwealth and University Park campuses, effective outreach programming, and a wide array of top-ranked academic programs, Penn State is uniquely prepared for the arrival of the Class of 2024," wrote President Eric J. Barron in a message inviting accepted students to attend a four-part virtual series titled "Welcome to the Penn State Community."

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Apr 20, 2020 / 09:25 am (CNA).- On Friday, Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court will hold a virtual hearing to consider whether to decriminalize abortion for pregnant women infected with the Zika virus.

The legal intervention, called “Direct Action on Unconstitutionality-ADI 5581,” was filed with Brazil’s highest court by the National Association of Public Defenders. Supreme Court Justice Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha will present the legal action to the court, whose 11 members will have until April 30 to vote on the issue.

Several pro-life organizations have come out strongly against efforts to expand abortion, which is illegal in Brazil but is considered a “non-punishable crime” in cases of rape, a proven risk to life of the mother and, as of 2012, babies diagnosed with anencephaly.

“It’s a usurpation of powers because the Supreme Court does not have competency to rule on this matter,” said jurist José Miranda de Siqueira, president of the National Association of Citizens for Life. “This is a crime against the Federal Constitution of Brazil which in Article V guarantees the inviolability of the right to life.”

“We’re working with the Union of Catholic Jurists of Rio de Janeiro and will soon issue a strong statement on the issue,” continued Miranda, who is also a bioethics professor and authored a book on euthanasia, “O Poder sobre a Vida” (The Power over Life), which specifically addresses ADI 5581.

“Life is a preeminent right in the legal world. I’m asking people to pray and publicize this serious situation which is going on,” the lawyer added.

In an open letter to all Brazilians, the National Network for the Defense of Life and Family argued that the court challenge is “part of a strategy to introduce abortion in case of disabilities in general, or even abortion on demand, with the weak justification that the pregnant woman would be in a state of distress.”

“Eugenic abortion carries an enormous burden of prejudice and discrimination towards people with disabilities, sending an unseemly message that it would be better if they did not exist,” the pro-life organization added.

The Zika virus garnered international attention in 2015 after areas of Brazil noted a spike in cases of the birth defect microcephaly – a condition marked by abnormally small heads, brains, and developmental delays – following a recent outbreak of the virus in areas of northeastern Brazil.

Research on the virus suggested a link between Zika virus infection during pregnancy and severe neurological birth defects, including microcephaly and incomplete brain development.

A CitizenGo petition addressed to the Supreme Court justices called for the case to be removed from the docket and for the lives of the unborn to be respected. The petition was launched April 16. Within 24 hours, it had garnered 35,000 signatures and as of April 20 has 85,000.
 

Denver Newsroom, Apr 21, 2020 / 03:15 pm (CNA).- An Argentine archbishop has proposed 13 measures that would aim to allow churches to reopen churches during the coronavirus pandemic while reducing the risk of contagion.

The proposal is an effort to balance safety and the need for Catholics to receive the Eucharist, Archbishop Víctor Fernández of La Plata said this week.

In response to the pandemic, Argentina has been under lockdown since March 20. According to John Hopkins University, there are 3,031 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 145 deaths in the country.

Fernández said that although the Church is providing material sustenance to those hardest hit by the pandemic “when we think about sustaining the interior life of the faithful and encouraging its growth, we find ourselves in the serious difficulty of seeing them deprived of the Eucharist for a long time, and we can also foresee that this situation could last for several months.”

In a letter dated April 19 and addressed to the conference’s executive committee, the bishop said the Second Vatican Council teaches that “no Christian community is built up if it is not rooted and centered on the celebration of the Holy Eucharist,” and that Saint John Paul II emphasized that the Mass “rather than an obligation, should be felt as a requisite deeply inscribed in Christian existence.”

Fernández said the letter he sent puts together the suggestions of several bishops and that it is understandable “that many of the faithful are calling on us to find some way to make the Eucharist accessible again.”

“We tell them that they can experience other forms of prayer, and they do, but as Saint John Chrysostom has said “’You can also pray in your home, however, you cannot pray the same way you do in church where the brethren are gathered together.’”

Fernández noted that Pope Francis “teaches that God ‘in the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter.’ It’s good that our faithful have learned that and so it’s not the same thing for them,” he said, adding that Catholics are eager “the food of the love that is the source of supernatural life.”

“It won’t be easy to prove that this situation is lasting too long, nor can we simply wait till the pandemic is completely over,” the prelate noted.

“We know that exposing yourself to infection is irresponsible especially because it involves exposing others to infection and indirectly could lead to a public health crisis that we don’t want to see in our country,” he said.

Aiming to send “a clear message to our People of God to show that we’re truly concerned and that we intend to take some steps that would allow us to resolve this situation as soon as possible,” without neglecting “the health concerns of the authorities” Fernández proposed a series of obligatory measures to celebrate the Eucharist publicly:
1) Keep a distance of two meters between people to the side, front and back. This will require removing or closing off half the pews in the church.
2) No more than two people per pew.
3) Once the pews are occupied in that manner, no more people are to be allowed to enter the church.
4) In the churches where there is usually a lot of people in attendance, the number of Masses should be increased so the faithful can spread themselves out over Saturday and Sunday at different times. Given the prevalence and closeness of churches this will not involve using transportation.
5) Mass should not be celebrated publicly at the most frequently visited shrines due to the difficulty of establishing appropriate controls.
6) There should be no line for communion, instead the Eucharistic ministers should go to the people positioned at the ends of the pews and place the Eucharist in the hand.
7) Every Eucharistic minister should wash his hands with soap before and after and apply alcohol gel.
8) The sign of peace and any physical contact should be omitted.
9) Mass should last no more than 40 minutes.
10) People should leave the church progressively, not all at once, and avoid greeting each other.
11) No intentions should be taken at Mass time, only those previously received by phone, mail or messages.
12) Those people who because of their age are prevented from attending may receive Communion at home.
13) The dispensation from the Sunday obligation should be temporarily maintained so that people who prefer to exercise extreme caution don’t feel obliged to attend.

The archbishop also pointed out in his letter that “if the economic impact has to be foreseen, it’s also appropriate to place a value on those things that provide consolation and strength to people during hard times.”

 

A version of this story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Apr 27, 2020 / 04:35 pm (CNA).- A majority of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Tribunal has voted against an intervention seeking to decriminalize abortion for expectant mothers diagnosed with the Zika virus.

The judges convened a virtual plenary session April 24 to hear arguments for and against the “Direct Action on Unconstitutionality-ADI 5581,” a legal intervention filed with the court by the National Association of Public Defenders.

While the court has until April 30 to vote on the matter, 7 of its 11 members have already voted in opposition, effectively rejecting the measure.

Abortion is illegal in Brazil but previous Supreme Court rulings have declared it a “non-punishable crime” in cases of rape, a proven risk to life of the mother and, as of 2012, babies diagnosed with anencephaly.

The Zika virus garnered international attention in 2015 after areas of Brazil noted a spike in cases of the birth defect microcephaly – a condition marked by abnormally small heads, brains, and developmental delays – following a recent outbreak of the virus in areas of northeastern Brazil.

Research on the virus suggested a link between Zika virus infection during pregnancy and severe neurological birth defects, including microcephaly and incomplete brain development.

However, some experts criticized what they described as technical and scientific flaws of the premise behind ADI 5581.
The Union of Catholic Jurists of Rio de Janeiro issued an official statement arguing that a causal relationship was never established between Zika virus and the microcephaly outbreak that occurred in Brazil.

Raphael Câmara, an obstetrician at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said that when an attempt was made in 2016 to allow abortion in Zika cases, little was known about the virus.

“Since then, we have answers to many of the issues raised in ADI-5581 in support of allowing abortion,” Câmara said. “The first fact is that recent studies show that fetuses of infected mothers are affected only 5 to 14% of the time, with the majority having mild problems, as shown by research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

“In addition, a study recently released by the CDC showed that 73% of Brazilian labs have a low accuracy rate for diagnosing the Zika virus, so the request is meaningless because we cannot talk about someone 'infected with Zika', but rather 'maybe infected by Zika.’ Is it based on this inaccuracy that we will kill fetuses?” the obstetrician continued.

Ahead of the Supreme Court ruling, pro-life groups in Brazil had spoken out against efforts to expand abortion in the country. A CitizenGo petition against the legal action drew more than 184,000 online signatures.

The Brazilian Bishops’ Conference had also opposed the attempt, calling on Catholics to defend life and oppose abortion. The conference wrote an open letter and also wrote privately to the Supreme Court, reiterating the duty to value the inviolable gift of life.

In 2017, the conference stated, “It does not belong to any public authority to selectively recognize the right to life or who will live or die. This discrimination is evil and exclusionary.”

 

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Digital. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

 

Lima, Peru, May 7, 2020 / 06:00 am (CNA).- Two priests in a rural area of Peru aimed to fight the coronavirus pandemic by finding a way to supply oxygen tanks, much needed for medical treatment, to their region.

The recent death of two doctors from coronavirus in Iquitos, Peru, underscored the hard-hit region’s shortage of medical equipment and medications. Both doctors died because of the lack of oxygen to treat them.

The Medical Corps of Hospital III of Iquitos and the Medical College of Peru said in a joint statement last month that there is a shortage of medications in the Loreto region, and its capital Iquitos is "one of the cities hardest hit by the infection."

“We don’t have medications” to treat coronavirus patients and “not enough oxygen tanks, pressure gauges and refilled tanks,” they reported.

One doctor was in intensive care at Loreto Regional Hospital and the other at a hospital under the country’s universal health insurance program, both in Iquitos, the Medical College of Peru said on social media.

Fr. Raymond Portelli, a parish pastor in Iquitos, along with the diocesan administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Iquitos, Fr. Miguel Fuertes, decided to start a fundraising campaign to acquire an oxygen plant for the city.

Portelli himself is a doctor caring for COVID-19 patients.

To purchase the machinery, they needed to raise about $118,000.

The city does have an oxygen plant, but it only produces between 100 and 160 tanks a day. The dean of the Medical College of Peru, Miguel Palacios, told local media that quantity is not enough and that current production would need to be tripled.

The priests’ campaign was launched the morning of May 3 on social media, and in less than a day, they had raised about $300,000.

Both priests thanked contributors, and said that thanks to the amount collected, a “high capacity” plant could be purchased for Iquitos.

Portelli added that Fuentes is currently in Lima coordinating with a specialist for the acquisition of the plant.

“Pray a lot that this work can be accomplished quickly. May God bless all who have contributed. We hope to continue to cover all the expenses,” he added.

  This story was first published by CNA's Spanish-language news partner, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.



 

Ross LaJeunesse, Google's former head of international relations, published a scathing 2,175-word blog post today about his former employer. But he's also running for Senate in Maine, so it could be a good move, politically.

Reliable tipster Evan Blass shares details of HMD Global's next budget Android 10 smartphone, which is expected to be called the Nokia 5.2.

Chinese manufacturer TCL will no longer make BlackBerry-branded phones, nor will it have the right to 'design, manufacture or sell any new BlackBerry mobile devices' after August 2020.

Linda and Clifton Merchant met at Penn State Behrend and were married for 58 years. A new endowed legacy fund honors Linda Merchant and her time at the college.

Thaddeus Lorenz, senior in information science and technology, wasn’t always sure what his academic path would be. After starting at Penn State in the Division of Undergraduate Studies, he took some classes centered on one of his passions: coding. Then, he decided to make it more than just a passion.

Penn State Brandywine is offering a complimentary virtual seminar on Practical Social Media Tactics for the Busy Entrepreneur from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. May 18, through Zoom video conferencing.

Whether you're a first-year student looking to get a head start on your college career, a current student looking to get ahead or catch up, or a student at another college or university looking to earn credits over the summer, Penn State Brandywine offers numerous summer learning opportunities. Registration remains open for summer classes.

Penn State Brandywine has recognized students who have earned academic honors. Their accomplishments were celebrated through a virtual academic recognition website, which included a video message of congratulations from Chancellor Marilyn J. Wells. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the annual ceremony that is usually held on campus was held in a virtual format.

Faculty from six campuses were awarded a grant from Penn State’s Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence to seek a multi-campus approval as a Certified Family Life Educator program.

WHEN Tamsin Calidas stepped aboard a ferry bound for the Hebridean island that would become her new home, it was with hope for a fresh beginning, one far from the tumultuous events and near-death experience she had faced in the city streets being left behind.

The Unremembered Places

The exercise yard lies just below my window. Every day I pace around it 12 times before returning to solitary confinement. The King George V park in Bearsden, of course, does not resemble the interior of any jail and the restrictions on my liberty are minor in comparison to those who have been imprisoned down the ages.

CARO RAMSAY, AUTHOR

Bellisario College internship office seeks to bolster its offerings with feedback from alumni and friends, as well as some creative approaches.

People find it convenient to use Facebook or other social media accounts to sign up for most new apps and services, but they prefer to use their e-mail address or open a new account if they feel the information in the app is too sensitive, according to a team of researchers.

Entries from two Penn State students were among winners in categories for professional television journalists as part of the Keystone Media Awards.

Within days of the University's shift to remote learning, faculty, instructors and teaching assistants in the Department of Geography moved 35 resident instruction courses into remote delivery mode to teach 1,947 students.

Security expert Max Eddy doesn't want creepers spying on him (or his dog) through insecure hardware, but that's not why he doesn't have internet-connected cameras in his home.

A Florida city made the difficult decision to fork over the cash after ransomware hijacked city computers. Everyone needs to make their own choice, but I firmly believe you should never pay the ransom.

Deepfakes, or doctored videos, have mostly been used to harm the reputations of celebrities and politicians. Now the AI-assisted technology is being used to trick companies out of big money.

Penn State Health has opened two regional clinics to care for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 who have health care needs that are serious enough to warrant a face-to-face appointment.

Eight Penn State Health doctors have been named among the Pennsylvania Medical Society's "Top Physicians Under 40."

The Association for Clinical and Translational Science recently recognized Steven Hicks for his achievements. Hicks received the Early (Faculty) Career Development Award.

The staff of Hershey Medical Center is one of only several academic hospitals in the country with specialized infrastructure and and training geared around offering care during a contagion outbreak. But they have another advantage, too. “We are all a family,” says one doctor. “And we look out for one another.”

The spring season at Penn State College of Medicine is packed full of research presentations, awards and ceremonies. Since experts cannot predict when social distancing guidelines will be relaxed, College of Medicine leaders plan on celebrating many of these springtime celebrations virtually — including commencement.

Reports of suspected child abuse have declined in Pennsylvania since the onset of social distancing guidelines. But experts in the Penn State Center for the Protection of Children say this does not correlate with an actual decline in abuse cases.

Despite J.D. Salinger's distaste for technology, his published work is coming to e-readers later this week. His son, Matt Salinger, is responsible for the push to get his father's work in front of young readers.

After two prosecutors recused themselves from investigating Ahmaud Arbery's death, Gregory and Travis McMichael were arrested.

The U.S. coronavirus death toll has surpassed 77,000.

Roy Horn was 75.

Siena Salvaggio, who will graduate Saturday with a 4.0 GPA in finance and a minor in economics, has been named Smeal’s spring 2020 finance student marshal.

Cecelia Minnick, who will graduate this Saturday with a 3.98 GPA in accounting and minors in information systems management and legal environment of business, has been selected as Smeal’s spring 2020 accounting student marshal.

North Carolina officials' switch in reading-test vendors just weeks before the new school year got underway is spotlighting the often murky process of contracts and procurements for K-12 services.

Elementary school teachers in the Peach State are using "game-based" formative assessments to take a pulse on their students' learning.

As the two big groups of states craft common-assessment systems, experts warn that the smallest details could undermine their work.

This isn't the first time states and schools have turned to projects, portfolios, exhibitions, and essays to measure students' learning. Here are lessons from the last go-around.

Since learning is so nuanced, so too should be the means in which we assess it. Let's offer students the opportunity to be seen as whole people who can demonstrate different skills and knowledge in a plethora of ways over a period of time.

Louisiana and New Hampshire are among the handful of states that have stepped up to experiment with crafting new student assessments under the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Here's a handy glossary on terms like project-based learning, competency-based learning, and standards-based grading.