You may be just a few hours away from the Fourth of July holiday. Now, may we present to you a video of a bear that is truly channeling the spirit of a mellow summer BBQ.
This encounter happened on Friday afternoon, just as Mark Hough of Altadena, Calif., was settling into a relaxing margarita. Suddenly, a bear appeared in his backyard.
It could have been a terrifying event — until Hough noticed the bear had lowered itself into his hot tub and was having a "grand old time,"
he told The Associated Press. He started filming.
The bear splashes around in the sunshine and appears to dunk its face in a jet, plays with the chlorinator and munches on flowers.
After that, Hough tells the AP, the ursine bather "popped out of the bushes, walked right over to the margarita, knocked it over and lapped it."
The bear was spotted a short time later in a tree, perhaps sleeping it off. "So he had his margarita, he had his Jacuzzi, and now he's ready for an hour nap," Hough said.
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IN THE NEWS: Digging deeper
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Flawed Teachers' Grant Program Is Still Mired In Mistakes
The Education Department is reviewing what happened with a federal program that was intended to supply grants to teachers who agreed to teach a high-need subject in a school that serves low-income families. The federal grant is supposed to help the teachers pay for college or graduate school. NPR has reported that, to their shock, thousands of teachers learned their grants were converted into loans, which they're expected to pay back. Many teachers can't afford to pay back the loans.
Now NPR has learned that the government ordered an outside company to fix the problem for teachers whose grants were wrongly converted. This effort was led by the company whose mistakes caused the problem in the first place. So the Education Department hired a second company to repair the problem, but it turns out that this effort crashed, too. And that's on top of the discovery that thousands more teachers were affected by the surprise loan conversions than initially believed.
A group of 19 U.S. senators has now written Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, citing NPR's reporting and demanding that the mistakes be fixed. The Education Department has released a statement, saying it's "committed to improving this program, and is currently reviewing all aspects of its administration of the program to ensure that we provide students who want to teach in underserved communities the resources and support they need." But the agency is telling affected teachers to call the student loan ombudsman office.
If you believe you’ve been affected, you can also reach out to NPR reporters to share your story — details are at the bottom of our latest piece. |
 What country makes the vast majority of fireworks used in the U.S.? Boom.
 Which country supplies the most humanitarian aid in the world? Give it a go. |
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Today's newsletter was written by Camila Domonoske and Korva Coleman.
The news never stops, but the newsletter is taking tomorrow off to throw some pork ribs (for Korva) and veggie burgers (for Camila) on the barbecue. Happy July 4! Send news tips, grilling tips, or any other tips that come to mind tocdomonoske@npr.org. |
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