CNN Opinion | We need to address the digital divide causing an educational crisis

(CNN) – Millions of American students won’t be heading back to the classroom this fall, at least not full time. From Los Angeles to New York, remote learning will continue into the fall.

That leaves a staggering number of students at risk of falling behind or dropping out. Up to 30% of schoolchildren — as many as 16 million American kids — lack internet access or laptops for online learning, a study by Common Sense Media and the Boston Consulting Group warned.

This isn’t just a problem for this fall. Missing months of learning will have catastrophic effects down the line. Students who have lost foundational skills will have trouble keeping up when school finally resumes, and they’ll be at greater risk of being held back, dropping out or failing to enroll in college. —more—

CNN Business | Why a new generation of Black farmers is getting into the business

New York (CNN Business) – W. Kamau Bell visits Oklahoma to learn how politics and economic disparity has impacted family and independent farmers. Watch “United Shades of America” Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.

Visitors to the Soul Fire Farm Facebook page on Friday afternoons will find a virtual farming lesson in session.

For the past several weeks, Leah Penniman, co-director and farm manager at Soul Fire in Rensselaer County, New York, has been speaking to fellow Black farmers about their work and offering tips to viewers as part of a weekly “Ask A Sista Farmer” event.  —more—

CNN | Miami Marlins cancel home opener after coronavirus outbreak, ESPN reports

(CNN) – The Miami Marlins’ home opener against the Baltimore Orioles set for Monday has been canceled due to a number of Marlins players and staff testing positive for Covid-19, according to multiple reports.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, eight players and two coaches have tested positive for the coronavirus, bring the total cases on the team to at least 14. This is the first game to be canceled this season.

The positive tests come just days after MLB began its abbreviated 60-game season, which had been delayed from its usual April opening because of the pandemic, and already threaten to upend the young season.  —more—

CNN travel | Sick of working from home?  Work at a hotel instead

(CNN) — The kids are clamoring for attention, the laundry needs doing, and what’s for dinner again?

Many US workers have had no choice but to adapt to working from home in recent months since offices shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

And for many, the lack of structure and boundaries is taking a terrible, emotional toll. A new option awaits if you want to shake up your WFH routine: Work from a hotel.  —more—

CNN health | Why it’s now harder to control Covid-19

(CNN) – At least 1,000 American deaths linked to the coronavirus were reported Tuesday, and the spread shows no sign of slowing down.

The harrowing death toll comes as states across the country report record-breaking numbers of new cases. More governors are making masks a requirement as overwhelmed testing labs and hospitals are raising alarm. And officials are debating whether to send children back to school in person.  —more—

CNN | A Starbucks barista received nearly $80,000 in tips after being singled out for refusing to serve a customer not wearing a mask

CNN – A Starbucks barista who was publicly shamed by a customer after asking her to wear a face mask has received nearly $80,000 in virtual tips after a Facebook post that criticized him went viral.

Lenin Gutierrez, 24, was working his usual shift at a San Diego Starbucks on a Monday morning when a woman — who was not wearing a mask — walked in and attempted to place an order, he told CNN.

Gutierrez asked her if she had a face mask — but before he was even able to show her company guidelines requiring customers to wear one, the woman flipped him off and “started cursing up a storm,” he said.  —more—

CNN Business | The new rules of buying and selling a house in a coronavirus world

(CNN) – Thinking it might be time to start shopping for a home?

The real estate market seized up after the stay-at-home orders in March, and it is now slowly coming back to life in various parts of the country. But house hunting might look different than before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

The rules about how showings and closings can take place and what agents can do will vary depending on local public health regulations, real estate association guidelines and individual comfort levels.  —more—

CNN health | The psychological benefits of prayer: What science says about the mind-soul connection

(CNN) – Carol Kochon prayed during her husband’s 42-day hospitalization for Covid-19.

Susceptible to lung infections, Rob Kochon had been feeling sick and developing shortness of breath for about four days when he was was admitted to a Florida hospital on Tuesday, March 17. He was diagnosed with double pneumonia.

The next day, a coronavirus test came back positive. On Friday, Rob was relocated downtown to AdventHealth Orlando so he could be intubated. On March 29, he flatlined three times after mucus blocked his lungs.  —more—

CNN Business | United is mortgaging its frequent flyer program to raise $5 billion

New York (CNN Business) – United Airlines is mortgaging its Mileage Plus frequent flyer program, its latest effort to raise the cash it needs to weather the Covid-19 crisis.

The term loan will come from Goldman Sachs (GS), Barclays (BCS) and Morgan Stanley (MS), and it will take seven years to repay. The interest rate was not disclosed. United says between this and an additional $4.5 billion in federal loans for which it expects to be eligible, it estimates it will have $17 billion in cash on hand by the end of September, roughly three times the normal cash it carries.

US air travel is down about 80% compared to a year ago in the most recent estimates, but that indicates some modest rebound in demand for air travel from earlier this spring, when United and other carriers reported air travel demand was “virtually zero.”  —more—

CNN Business | Airbnb is making a huge comeback

New York (CNN Business) – Here’s another sign that summer travel is rebounding: Airbnb said it’s experiencing a surge in bookings as customers emerge from several months of being cooped up in their homes because of Covid-19.

Airbnb revealed that it had more US bookings between May 17 and June 3, which encompassed Memorial Day on May 25, than the same time period a year earlier. That signals Americans are ready to travel, albeit primarily within the United States.

CEO Brian Chesky said he’s noticed travelers are preferring to stick to drivable domestic destinations within 200 miles of their home. The malaise of international travel restrictions is making it difficult for people to explore outside of their home countries.–more—