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For Makenzie Gilkison, spelling is such a struggle that a word like rhinoceros might come out as “rineanswsaurs” or sarcastic as “srkastik.” The 14-year-old from suburban Indianapolis can sound out words, but her dyslexia makes the process so draining that she often struggles with comprehension. “I just assumed I was stupid,” she recalled of her early grade school years. But assistive technology powered by artificial intelligence has helped her keep up with classmates. Last year, Makenzie was named to the National Junior Honor Society. She credits a customized AI-powered chatbot, a word prediction program and other tools that can read for her. “I would have just probably given up if I didn’t have them,” she said. Artificial intelligence holds the promise of helping countless other students with a range of visual, speech, language and hearing impairments to execute tasks that come easily to others. Schools everywhere have been wrestling with how and where to incorporate AI , but many are fast-tracking applications for students with disabilities. Getting the latest technology into the hands of students with disabilities is a priority for the U.S. Education Department, which has told schools they must consider whether students need tools like text-to-speech and alternative communication devices. New rules from the Department of Justice also will require schools and other government entities to make apps and online content accessible to those with disabilities. There is concern about how to ensure students using it — including those with disabilities — are still learning. Students can use artificial intelligence to summarize jumbled thoughts into an outline, summarize complicated passages, or even translate Shakespeare into common English. And computer-generated voices that can read passages for visually impaired and dyslexic students are becoming less robotic and more natural. “I’m seeing that a lot of students are kind of exploring on their own, almost feeling like they’ve found a cheat code in a video game,” said Alexis Reid, an educational therapist in the Boston area who works with students with learning disabilities. But in her view, it is far from cheating : “We’re meeting students where they are.” Ben Snyder, a 14-year-old freshman from Larchmont, New York, who was recently diagnosed with a learning disability, has been increasingly using AI to help with homework. “Sometimes in math, my teachers will explain a problem to me, but it just makes absolutely no sense,” he said. “So if I plug that problem into AI, it’ll give me multiple different ways of explaining how to do that.” He likes a program called Question AI. Earlier in the day, he asked the program to help him write an outline for a book report — a task he completed in 15 minutes that otherwise would have taken him an hour and a half because of his struggles with writing and organization. But he does think using AI to write the whole report crosses a line. “That’s just cheating,” Ben said. Schools have been trying to balance the technology’s benefits against the risk that it will do too much. If a special education plan sets reading growth as a goal, the student needs to improve that skill. AI can’t do it for them, said Mary Lawson, general counsel at the Council of the Great City Schools. But the technology can help level the playing field for students with disabilities, said Paul Sanft, director of a Minnesota-based center where families can try out different assistive technology tools and borrow devices. “There are definitely going to be people who use some of these tools in nefarious ways. That’s always going to happen,” Sanft said. “But I don’t think that’s the biggest concern with people with disabilities, who are just trying to do something that they couldn’t do before.” Another risk is that AI will track students into less rigorous courses of study. And, because it is so good at identifying patterns , AI might be able to figure out a student has a disability. Having that disclosed by AI and not the student or their family could create ethical dilemmas, said Luis Pérez, the disability and digital inclusion lead at CAST, formerly the Center for Applied Specialized Technology. Schools are using the technology to help students who struggle academically, even if they do not qualify for special education services. In Iowa, a new law requires students deemed not proficient — about a quarter of them — to get an individualized reading plan. As part of that effort, the state’s education department spent $3 million on an AI-driven personalized tutoring program. When students struggle, a digital avatar intervenes. More AI tools are coming soon. The U.S. National Science Foundation is funding AI research and development. One firm is developing tools to help children with speech and language difficulties. Called the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education, it is headquartered at the University of Buffalo, which did pioneering work on handwriting recognition that helped the U.S. Postal Service save hundreds of millions of dollars by automating processing. “We are able to solve the postal application with very high accuracy. When it comes to children’s handwriting, we fail very badly,” said Venu Govindaraju, the director of the institute. He sees it as an area that needs more work, along with speech-to-text technology, which isn’t as good at understanding children’s voices, particularly if there is a speech impediment. Sorting through the sheer number of programs developed by education technology companies can be a time-consuming challenge for schools. Richard Culatta, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education, said the nonprofit launched an effort this fall to make it easier for districts to vet what they are buying and ensure it is accessible. Makenzie wishes some of the tools were easier to use. Sometimes a feature will inexplicably be turned off, and she will be without it for a week while the tech team investigates. The challenges can be so cumbersome that some students resist the technology entirely. But Makenzie’s mother, Nadine Gilkison, who works as a technology integration supervisor at Franklin Township Community School Corporation in Indiana, said she sees more promise than downside. In September, her district rolled out chatbots to help special education students in high school. She said teachers, who sometimes struggled to provide students the help they needed, became emotional when they heard about the program. Until now, students were reliant on someone to help them, unable to move ahead on their own. “Now we don’t need to wait anymore,” she said. This story corrects that Pérez works for CAST, formerly the Center for Applied Specialized Technology, not the Center for Accessible Technology. The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .LONGVILLE — The Cass County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, Dec. 12, identified the 18-year-old man whose body was recovered Tuesday from Blackwater Lake as Blake Herman of Brainerd. At 5:57 p.m. Monday the Cass County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch received 911 reports of two individuals who were traveling on an ATV and went through the ice on Blackwater Lake in Woodrow Township, rural Longville. ADVERTISEMENT Their location was calculated using 911 mapping technology. Responders and deputies arrived in the area and located Dylan Wheeler, 20, of Longville, in the water. Wheeler was rescued and transported to shore, where he was treated by emergency medical services personnel for exposure and hypothermia before being transported to a St. Cloud Hospital via a helicopter. Wheeler is expected to make a full recovery, the sheriff's office reported Thursday. The search for Herman continued into Monday evening for but was unsuccessful. Cass County Sheriff Bryan Welk reported Herman's body was located and recovered from Blackwater Lake at 12:55 p.m. Tuesday. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office extended its appreciation for the assisting agencies on this rescue and recovery. The Longville Fire Department, Lake Country First Responders, North Memorial Ambulance, North Memorial Air Care, Minnesota State Patrol, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Walker Fire Department, and the Lakes Area Dive Team assisted at the scene and with rescue and search recovery efforts. A GoFundMe was created to assist the family with funeral and memorial expenses and can be found at tinyurl.com/j2yz8928 . ADVERTISEMENTWEC Energy's CEO Scott Lauber sells $677,998 in stock
DETROIT — In the end, the amount and way the Red Wings were losing lately was simply too much to ignore. And with that, the Wings fired coach Derek Lalonde and replaced him with former San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan on Thursday. In a release just after noon, the Wings announced that Steve Yzerman, the Wings’ executive vice-president and general manager, named McLellan the team’s 29th head coach in franchise history and signed McLellan to a multi-year contract. The Wings also hired Trent Yawney as an assistant coach, replacing Bob Boughner, another former Sharks head coach who oversaw the defense and penalty-kill. McLellan will be behind the bench Friday, as the Wings return from the three-day NHL holiday break to host Toronto. Yzerman and McLellan will address the media on Friday. McLellan is San Jose’s all-time winningest coach, compiling a 311-155-63 mark over seven full seasons from 2008-15. He won three Pacific Division titles and had a 30-32 record in the postseason, reaching the conference finals in 2010 and 2011. McLellan’s Sharks teams finished with more than 100 points four times, winning the President’s Trophy in the 2008-09 season that also saw McLellan named a finalist for the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year. The Wings have struggled to a 13-17-4 record, good for 30 points, just two points above Buffalo for last place in the Eastern Conference. They trail Ottawa by eight points (38-30) for the final of two Eastern Conference wild-card positions. After just missing the playoffs last spring on the final night of the season on a tiebreaker, the Wings struggled from the start this season. They lost three of their first four games and have struggled mightily to get to, or above, the .500 mark ever since. The Wings have lost their last three games, and the way they did likely pushed Yzerman to replace Lalonde. The Wings let a third-period lead slip away at Little Caesars on Dec. 20 to Montreal and lost, 4-3, then lost the next night in Montreal, 5-1, watching the Canadiens score the last five goals consecutively with not a ton of pushback. Monday, the Wings were shut, 4-0, at LCA, looking listless, at times. The Wings were serenaded with a loud chorus of boos after each period, culminating with a lot of pent-up frustration at the end of the game. Lalonde, 52, ended his Wings career with an 89-86-23 record. This was his first NHL head-coaching job, and he was in his third season guiding the Wings. After last season’s exciting finish and near-playoff miss, there was plenty of optimism heading into this Wings season. The team’s overall defense needed to improve, and scoring was expected to be an issue because of the personnel losses the Wings had, but the roster appeared to be competitive. But Lalonde wasn’t able to appreciably fix any of the problem areas. The Wings rank 25th in goals-against (3.26), only slightly better than last season’s final average (3.35). Scoring goals has been a larger-than-expected issue. With the departures of Jake Walman, Shayne Gostisbehere, David Perron, Robby Fabbri and Daniel Sprong, the Wings were hoping for internal improvement, but it hasn’t happened. They currently rank 29th, at 2.56 goals scored per game (the Wings were 13th last season, scoring 3.12 goals per game). Add to that, a dismal penalty kill that ranks 31st (68.8%), and it’s made for a frustrating season. In steps McLellan, 57, who was an assistant coach under Mike Babcock from 2005-08. Yzerman, incidentally, was the captain in his final playing season and first season for McLellan in Detroit under Babcock. McLellan has 16 seasons of NHL head-coaching experience, posting a 598-412-134 regular-season record and a 42-46 postseason mark with the Los Angeles Kings (2019-24), Edmonton Oilers (2015-19) and Sharks (2008-15). His 598 regular-season wins are ranked 24th in NHL history and sixth-most among active coaches behind Paul Maurice (891), Lindy Ruff (876), Peter Laviolette (823), John Tortorella (757) and Peter DeBoer (632). Teams coached by McLellan have reached the 50-win mark three times and the 100-point plateau six times. McLellan’s teams have also advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs nine times, including six consecutive postseason appearances with the Sharks. Known as an upbeat coach with strong communication skills, McLellan is regarded as an effective coach of young players dating back to a successful junior hockey coaching career. McLellan, along with Yzerman, will be under increasing pressure to end a Wings’ streak of not making the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons. Only Buffalo, at 13 seasons, has a longer current streak.
Rapes, torture, killings -- a litany of abuses blamed on Assad forcesMacron to name new French PM Friday after days of deadlock
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Late pop sensation Liam Payne is reported to have been in constant contact with hotel staff, asking for alcohol and information on where to get cocaine shortly before his untimely passing. Now, text messages purportedly from Payne to an escort have emerged, showing him allegedly offering her $5,000 (£3,900) for a "party." Argentine journalist Mauro Szeta posted the alleged exchanges on his website ViaSzeta, which seem to show texts from a southeastern Florida number via WhatsApp to an escort. The messages are said to include a link to Payne's Instagram account and a proposition to "play." The text, believed to be from Liam, stated: "'I have all day... I'd gift you $5,000... US dollars,' the message reads. 'You come to my hotel, we party, just me and u." It's reported that the woman's WhatsApp profile picture showed her with a friend, prompting the response: "Who's your friend, do you want to bring her? " To this, the escort is claimed to have answered: "Let's go Noe until 7pm, 5000 USD both, it's the whole day the two of us together.", reports the Mirror . The person sending the messages, supposedly Payne, replied: "Ok fine, but bank transfer." An employee at the hotel has spoken out about yet another troubling incident. Liam allegedly made several calls to receptionists asking for alcohol and where he could buy cocaine. Furthermore, a bellboy who delivered a complimentary fruit platter to Liam's room at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires claimed he was insulted by the artist after declining his request for drugs. Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile , select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Esteban Grassi, the chief receptionist who dialed 999 to secure urgent medical help for Liam before his fatal fall from a balcony while under the influence, is currently part of an official inquiry that also includes four other suspects. The reputable Argentinian news outlet Todo Noticias disclosed WhatsApp messages which Grassi, one of the three individuals who were seen helping Liam back to his third-floor room, allegedly submitted to court authorities. A message from a contact saved as Santiago Benitez Bellboy AM in Esteban's phone detailed an unsettling encounter: "Hello Esteban how are you? Sorry for bothering you but I wanted to let you know about a little situation I had with the person in room 310. When I went to hand him a guest amenity and welcome him to the hotel and Argentina, he invited me into his room (which was a complete mess) and asked me if I could get him cocaine." The bellboy expressed his uncomfortable encounter to his superiors, stating, "I told him, 'I'm sorry sir, but neither I or any other staff can help you with that type of service' to which he replied that I was useless and told me to get out of his sight. I felt a bit threatened because he didn't behave very politely." It was a response which led to an ill-mannered retort from the guest who then branded him as useless and demanded he leave his presence. The bellboy admitted feeling somewhat threatened by the discourteous behaviour. In what appears to be a mention of another hotel worker, identified locally as Gilda Martin who is head of security and part of the investigation, the bellboy's message went on: "I'm going to tell Gilda this too so you're both aware and there's no misunderstandings in case this man mentions my name again at some point in his stay, because he asked me what my name was. I'm just telling you and Gilda this." Mr Grassi aimed to calm the worried junior worker, advising him "not to worry" regarding what Liam had said. Mr Grassi further disclosed details to investigators about Liam's time at CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, as reported by Todo Noticias: "I understand he was more active at night, that he ran reception repeatedly to ask for alcohol all the time and ask where he could get drugs, specifically cocaine." He asserted that he had to act as a middleman with two female escorts who spent time with Liam because of a language barrier, as they spoke no English and the musician did not speak Spanish. Mr Grassi has corroborated earlier reports that the ex-One Direction star requested $300 and alcohol upon inviting them to his room. He recounted: "Liam asked me to act as translator. "That's when they tell me he had to pay them but they didn't specify why. They told me he owed them 5,000 dollars but it seemed strange to me because he had asked me previously for 300 dollars and although I'm not an expert about these things, the amount of money they were asking for seemed a bit excessive to me. ". In addition, Todo Noticias published screenshots of WhatsApp messages allegedly from Liam's phone, which bears a southern Florida area code of 561. These messages were shown to Mr Grassi by one of the women, claiming it as evidence that he owed them money. Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.Expanded CFP field draws more bets and on more teams
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to donate $1 million to Donald Trump's inaugural fundSyracuse hosts Georgetown for milestone battle in longtime rivalryBashar al-Assad's government has been accused of carrying out torture, rape, summary executions and other abuses since since Syria's civil war started in 2011. UN investigators have said that accountability must be taken at the highest level after the downfall of the hardline ruler on Sunday. Here is what we know about the extent of the abuses committed: In 2013 a former Syrian army photographer known by the codename "Caesar" fled the country, taking with him some 55,000 graphic images taken between 2011 and 2013. The photos, authenticated by experts, show corpses tortured and starved to death in Syrian prisons. Some people had their eyes gouged out. The photos showed emaciated bodies, people with wounds on the back or stomach, and also a picture of hundreds of corpses in a shed surrounded by plastic bags used for burials. Assad's Syrian government said only that the pictures were "political". But Caesar testified to a US Congress committee and his photographs inspired a 2020 US law which imposed economic sanctions on Syria and judicial proceedings in Europe against Assad's entourage. In Germany and Sweden eight people suspected of crime against humanity were arrested in July in an operation codenamed "Caesar". Germany, the Netherlands and France have since 2022 convicted several top officials from the Syrian intelligence service and militias. UN investigators say they have lists with the names of 4,000 government officials and operatives responsible for abuses. Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 2012 spoke of a "torture archipelago" in which the "use of electricity, burning with car battery acid, sexual assault and humiliation, the pulling of fingernails, and mock execution" were practised in government prisons. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in 2022 more than 100,000 people had died in the prisons since 2011. In 2023, the UN's top court, the International Court of Justice, ordered Syria to stop "inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment". In 2020, seven Syrian refugees filed a complaint in Germany saying that they had been victims of torture and sexual violence, including rape, electric shocks on the genitals, forced nudity or forced abortion between 2011 and 2013. The UN said in 2018 there had been systmatic rape and sexual violence against civilians by soldiers or pro-Assad militias. It said an investigation had found rebels had committed similar crimes, but fewer. On November 25, 2024, the Syrian Human Rights Network (SNHR) said there had been at least 11,553 incidents of sexual violence against women, including girls aged under 18, by the warring parties since March 2011. Some 8,024 could be blamed on the Assad government and the others mainly on the jihadist Islamic State. In 2016 UN investigators said Syrian authorities were responsible for acts which came down to "extermination" and could be compared to "crimes against humanity". It pointed to the Saydnaya prison outside Damascus, which was described in 2017 by Amnesty International as a human slaughter house carrying out a "policy of extermination". The United States said there was a "crematorium" at the prison which was used to dispose of the bodies of thousands of inmates. In 2022 the Syrian Observatory for Human Righs said around 30,000 people had been killed at Saydnaya, some of them after being tortured. In April 2020, the chemical weapons watchdog OPCW accused the Syrian army of chemical weapons attacks in Latamne in northern Syria in 2017. In November 2023 France issued international arrest warrants against Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher and two generals on suspicion of complicity in the chemical attacks in August 2013 near Damascus, which according to US intelligence left 1,000 dead. Assad's forces have also been accused of using sarin gas on the rebel town of Khan Sheikhun in April 2017, and also of chlorine gas attacks. Assad's government denied using chemical weapons. Israel says it has staged strikes on some chemical weapons sites this week to stop supplies falling into the hands of extremists. acm-lc/jmy/tw
Each year, independent bookstores across the Western Slope appeal to readers of all ages and interests, helping them find the perfect book to understand their world better or escape into a new one. Summit Daily spoke to six independent bookstores — the Bookworm of Edwards, White River Books in Carbondale, Explore Booksellers in Aspen, Next Page in Frisco, Off the Beaten Path Books in Steamboat Springs and Mountain Shire Books in Winter Park — to hear more about the top books and trends of 2024 as well as those things that remain consistent year after year in the world of reading. For each of the six Western Slope bookstores, a different list of titles topped their bestsellers across fiction, nonfiction, young adult and cookbooks. There was only one book that made it into the overall top five at every store: “The Women” by Kristin Hannah, a work of historical fiction that follows a woman during and after her service in the United States Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War. While the book was a national bestseller this year — debuting as the No. 1 fiction on the New York Times Best Sellers list in February and remaining there for 45 weeks — it also speaks to the consistent popularity of the genre. “Historical fiction readers, as per usual, just cannot be stopped,” said Jenna Meier-Bilbo, book and sideline buyer at Off the Beaten Path Books in Steamboat Springs. Miriam Roskam, owner of Mountain Shire in Winter Park, hypothesized that the genre’s consistent popularity is rooted in the opportunity it presents for readers. “Authors are able to take liberties and draw readers in, which allows readers to get lost in an entertaining story and learn more about a specific time in history,” Roskam said. “Readers are a group of people who care about the world — where we came from and where we are going — and tend to want to learn more about the past.” Another historical fiction — and national bestseller — made several of the store’s top fiction lists: “James” by Percival Everett, which re-images Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by sharing the story through the eyes of Jim, an escaped slave and Huckleberry’s companion in his travels. “Go as a River” by Crested Butte resident Shelley Read made it on a few of the lists as well with its local hook. The historical fiction is set outside of Gunnison and Paonia and tells the story of the lost Western Slope communities and peach orchards during the creation of Blue Mesa Reservoir. The top young adult reads varied significantly at each store. Only two titles showed up on multiple lists: “The Summer I Turned Pretty” by Jenny Han and “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder,” by Holly Jackson. Many of the young adult reads are part of a series and fall into the romantic-fantasy genre or are thriller-mystery reads. Show Captions Hide Captions While a fiction title took the No. 1 spot in five out of the six stores, nearly every store’s bestseller list contained some nonfiction reads as well. Only Next Page Books in Frisco had fiction books in all of its top five spots. Of the nonfiction books topping their lists, “A Walk in the Park,” by Kevin Fedarko was one of the most popular titles. The book tracks the author’s 750-mile, end-to-end traverse of the Grand Canyon. The popularity of this title follows a consistent and unsurprising trend for mountain booksellers. “Many of our customers remain interested in books about the natural world: its beauty, its imperilment and its resilience,” said Clare Faye, the book buyer at Explore Booksellers in Aspen. “Our locals and visitors care deeply about their backyard and the bigger ‘backyard’ of the greater natural world. They seek out books that will help them better understand this world and the challenges it faces.” This means that year after year, Explore sells titles relating to outdoor adventure, local history, climate change and more, Faye added. Explore Booksellers was the only one out of the six stores that had two nonfiction titles at the top of its 2024 bestsellers. After “A Walk in the Park,” which took the No. 1 spot, was “Aspen Journey: Past to Present” by Susan Dalton, a coffee table book that Faye said has sold well in every season. “It is both a gorgeous and comprehensive history of Aspen that tells the town’s story from before it was settled up to today,” Faye said. For many of these stores, water and the environment — including on topics of both climate change and recreation — is a prominent topic of interest. At Carbondale’s White River Books, after “A Walk in the Park,” its top nonfiction reads were “Life After Deadpool,” by Zak Podmore, who grew up in Glenwood Springs, about the dropping levels in Lake Powell and “Colorado River: Chasing Water” a photo book by Basalt-resident Pete McBride. “Where Are Your Men? Rafting Western Waters with the Ladies,” by Zan Merill was the top nonfiction seller at Mountain Shire, covering stories of women on river trips. “Crossings” by Ben Goldfarb, dealing with how roads are transforming Earth, also made the Winter Park store’s top nonfiction list. No matter the genre, nearly all of the bookstore’s top sellers were released in either 2023 or 2024. Off the Beaten Path in Steamboat and Next Page in Frisco had the most exceptions to this. Three of the Steamboat store’s top five bestsellers were released before 2020: Its third-bestselling nonfiction title was also “Braiding Sweetgrass,” by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which was published in 2013. While over a decade old, Meier-Bilbo said the 2020 pandemic “reignited this interest in Indigenous practices in the natural world in a lot of ways and through a lot of disciplines.” Wall Kimmerer’s book hits all of those notes, she added. “The Midnight Library” also took the fifth overall spot at Next Page, which had two other 2022 books among its bestsellers in 2024. This included “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks and “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt. For nonfiction reads, Next Page had “The Body Keeps the Score” by Besser Van Der Kolk, which was published in 2014 and among its top three this year. For cookbooks, “Half Baked Harvest Every Day,” by Silverthorne-based author Tieghan Gerard was on four of the six lists. Although it hadn’t yet made Off the Beaten Path’s list, Meier-Bilbo expected it to be there after holiday shopping concluded. Outside of Gerard’s cookbook, the top cookbooks varied from location to location. Many of them leaned locally or gave nods to ski country, including two of Mountain Shire’s top sellers: “Apres Ski” by Cider Mill Press and “Backcountry Cocktails” by Steven Grasse. The Winter Park’s store leaned cozy with “Every Season is Soup Season” by Shelly Westerhausen Worcel and Wyatt Worcel rounding out its top three. Similarly, “Apres All Day” by Kelly Epstein was among the bestsellers for Explore Booksellers. In Steamboat, Off the Beaten Path’s top cookbooks leaned local, Meier-Bilbo said. Its top seller was “Damn Good Gluten Free” by Steamboat resident Peggy Curry followed by “Steamboat Entertains Again,” a fundraiser cookbook for the local winter sports club. The Bookworm of Edwards also had a hyper-local cookbook — “From the Restaurants of Vail” from Park City Publishing — among its best sellers. “Mocktail Club” by Derick Santiago took the No. 1 spot at the Eagle County store. In addition to their top titles, a few other trends have stood out to booksellers in recent years. “Books have seasons. Like everything, they come and go in popularity or trends, and are often responding to a larger conversation or situation we are actually living with and storytelling is a reflection of us as a society,” said Izzy Stringham, the owner of White River Books in Carbondale. This year, Stringham noticed a significant shift toward “lighter fiction.” “I think the heaviness of the world around us is pushing people to want entertainment and escape,” Stringham said. This has included rising sales in science fiction and fantasy for many of the stores, as readers seek this “sense of escapism,” as Kai Burner, the Bookworm’s assistant manager and kids’ book buyer, put it. “With frequent turmoil and unease in the world, escaping into a science fiction or fantasy story is ideal,” Roskam said. “While some people do enjoy reading current events and topics that are directly applicable to the time, a lot of people, myself included, like reading books with a decent amount of separation from reality.” The popularity of many of these fantasy and other titles has been driven by social media — specifically, TikTok. Meier-Bilbo now says she follows social media extremely closely to try and predict what the next book to “trend” will be. In some cases it’s the new releases, but in other times it’s older releases that are being reintroduced to new generations, audiences and readers. Specifically, Meier Bilbo has seen social media create a new seriousness around the romance genre. While always popular, romance books are being accepted with a new openness as they make it into the mainstream online, she said. “Social media also causes interest in an entire author’s work all at once — for example, Sarah J Maas and Colleen Hoover — rather than single title interest,” said Christopher Green, the general manager and adult book buyer at The Bookworm of Edwards. With social media has also come a new enthusiasm about reading, Meier Bilbo acknowledged. However, for some readers, it’s not always about escape as many readers lean into more political topics. Meier Bilbo said the Steamboat store has seen an increase in readers looking for books on political activism, union and labor movements, constitutional history and more. Stringham noted that “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius and “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson are consistent sellers for Explore. “I think some books speak to people on the level of their humanity, whether it’s through humor or shared experience, and that places it outside of the trend cycle,” Stringham said. Within kids literature, Burner said she’s noticed “more books are addressing current struggles” in ways that are more accessible for kids. This, Burner added, has led to kids “actually engaging” with these books. Green said the Bookworm has a resurgence in banned book interest for both contemporary and classic titles as groups across the U.S. attempt to pull books from libraries. PEN America recorded over 10,000 instances of book banning in the 2023-2024 school year. The American Library Association reported that book challenges increased 63% in 2023 over the previous year. As these independent stores persevere, the diversity of books reflects readers’ openness and desire to sometimes escape. “It’s encouraging to see our customers reach for time-worn classics, notable nonfiction and new literary breakouts,” Faye said. “Many of our top sellers indicate a readership that is interested in exploring various perspectives, political ideas and experiences.” Overall, it’s been a good year for books and bookstores. Despite surging book bans, the popularity of e-commerce sites like Amazon and the constant competition for attention driven by technology, these independent bookstores have found their groove in recent years. “While challenges and changes are a constant, this is a great time to be in books,” Stringham said. “People love to roll their eyes and predict my shop’s demise, but nothing has actually killed books.” On the contrary, reading is on the rise. “(Books) are being printed at a higher rate than ever before. Hundreds of titles release every single week. More authors from all kinds of backgrounds are getting traction,” Stringham said. “People want to come in and touch and browse and chat about books, not just click online, alone in their houses.” It’s a commonly-held misconception that reading is a dying form of entertainment, according to Green. “We continue to see strong readership across all ages and demographics, including a strong newer adult market of 20-somethings,” Green said. To Burner, it’s an obvious sign “that in times of turmoil in the world, books continue to be people’s safe places for escapism or learning.” This extends from books into these independent bookstores, which serve as safe community spaces that give people a place to land and discover, Burner said. “Indie bookstores are on the uptick, and we’re generally seeing more openings than closings these days,” Meier-Bilbo said. The American Booksellers Association, which represents independent bookstores, has seen its membership expand significantly since the pandemic in 2020. Between 2022 and 2023, 291 bookstores opened in the country, according to the association. Of these, 230 were brick-and-mortar stores, 34 were pop-ups and nine were mobile stores. “That’s an energy that has to be maintained in the long term if you want these places to be around for your community,” Meier-Bilbo said. “These places exist because you patronize them.”
Liverpool punish rivals’ errors with dominant win over Leicester to stretch lead
No, US student ranks didn't plummet after Department of Education creation | Fact checkPresident Emmanuel Macron is to name a new prime minister on Friday, aides said, after days of deadlock over finding a candidate to replace Michel Barnier whose ousting by parliament pushed France into a fresh crisis. Barnier was toppled in a historic no-confidence vote on December 4 and there had been expectations Macron would announce his successor in an address to the nation even a day later. But in a sign of the stalemate in French politics after inconclusive legislative elections this summer, he did not name his successor then and has now missed a 48-hour deadline he gave at a meeting meeting of party leaders on Tuesday. On Thursday, Macron left France on a day-long trip to key EU and NATO ally Poland but shortened the visit in an apparent bid to finalise the appointment. "The statement naming the prime minister will be published tomorrow (Friday) morning," said an aide to to the president, asking not to be named, late Thursday just after Macron touched down from the trip to Poland. "He is finishing his consultations," the aide added, without giving further details. Whoever is named will be the sixth prime minister of Macron's mandate after the toppling of Barnier, who lasted only three months, and faces an immediate challenge in thrashing out a budget to pass parliament. Each premier under Macron has served successively less time in office and there is no guarantee for the new premier that they will not follow this pattern. Macron remains confronted with the complex political equation that emerged from the snap parliamentary polls -- how to secure a government against a no-confidence vote in a bitterly divided lower house where no party or alliance has a majority. All the candidates widely floated so far have encountered objections from at least one side of the political spectrum. "They are stuck," said a person close to Macron, asking not to be named and lamenting that "each name gets blocked." "No one is in agreement around the president," added the source, expressing hope Macron will surprise everyone with an unexpected choice. Macron's rumoured top pick, veteran centrist Francois Bayrou, raises hackles on the left -- wary of continuing the president's policies -- and on the right, where he is disliked by influential former president Nicolas Sarkozy. Beyond Bayrou, prime ministerial contenders include former Socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve, current Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu, a Macron loyalist, and former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. Another name being discussed in the media is Roland Lescure, a former industry minister, but the nomination of the former Socialist risks inflaming the right. These "are names that have been around for years and haven't seduced the French. It's the past. I want us to look to the future," Greens leader Marine Tondelier said. "The French public want a bit of enthusiasm, momentum, fresh wind, something new," she told France 2 television. Polls indicate the public is fed up with the crisis. Just over two-thirds of respondents to one Elabe poll published on Wednesday said they want politicians to reach a deal not to overthrow a new government. But confidence is limited, with around the same number saying they did not believe the political class could reach agreement. In a separate IFOP poll, far-right National Rally (RN) figurehead Marine Le Pen was credited with 35 percent support in the first round of a future presidential election -- well ahead of any likely opponent. She has said she is "not unhappy" that her far-right party was left out of the horse-trading around the government, appearing for now to benefit from the chaos rather than suffer blame for bringing last week's no-confidence vote over the line. In a critical looming moment, Le Pen on March 31, 2025 faces the verdict in an embezzlement trial on charges she denies. If convicted, she could lose the chance of standing in the 2027 elections and with it her best chance yet of winning the Elysee. burs-tgb-sjw/rlp
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