Virginia judge blocks governor's executive order allowing students to opt out of mask mandate
CBSN
A northern Virginia judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin's executive order that allows parents to opt their children out of locally imposed school mask requirements.
Arlington County Circuit Court judge Louise M. DiMatteo wrote that Youngkin doesn't have the authority to override local school boards' decisions, citing a law passed when Democrats were in control last year that requires school boards to prioritize in-person instruction while abiding by COVID-19 mitigation strategies.
Currently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends "universal indoor masking by all students (ages 2 years and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status."
Scientists say they've discovered the world's biggest coral, so huge it was mistaken for a shipwreck
Scientists say they have found the world's largest coral near the Pacific's Solomon Islands, announcing Thursday a major discovery "pulsing with life and color." The coral is so immense that researchers sailing the crystal waters of the Solomon archipelago initially thought they'd stumbled across a hulking shipwreck.