New results from a national exam find that America’s children have continued to lose ground on reading skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and have made little improvement in math.

Many colleges accused of tolerating antisemitism on their campuses have been settling with federal civil rights investigators in the weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who urged a tougher response to campus protests against the war in Gaza.

House Republicans have approved a bill to block strict new tailpipe pollution limits proposed by the Biden administration, calling the plan a back-door mandate for electric vehicles.

Scott, 67, has been quarantining at home all week after coming into contact in Florida on Nov. 13 with someone who subsequently tested positive. Scott, a Republican, said he was “feeling good” despite the mild symptoms and would be working at his home in Naples. “I want to remind everyone to be careful and do the right things to protect yourselves and others,” Scott said in a statement. House members could be regularly tested in the Capitol starting this week, but there is still no testing protocol for senators. The absence Scott and Grassley on Tuesday helped Democrats block the nomination of Judy Shelton, Trump’s controversial pick for the Federal Reserve.

Scott Applewhite)After months without internal testing protocols, members of the U.S. House and their staff will now have regular access to coronavirus testing at the Capitol physician’s office when they return to Washington from their home states. The tests, which have a six- to 12-hour turnaround, represent the first regular testing program in the Capitol since the beginning of the pandemic. While Monahan’s letter is addressed to all members of Congress and staff, it says the House of Representatives will be offering the regular daily testing hours for those who have traveled back to Washington. The office has already been providing tests to members and staff from both sides of the Capitol who were directly exposed to the virus. To keep members safe, House Democrats are holding their caucus elections this week virtually.

______NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Johnson & Johnson has begun a new late-stage trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, this time on a two-dose regimen. J&J plans to give up to 30,000 people two doses of the vaccine. A small, early-stage study of the vaccine found it triggered a strong immune response and was well tolerated. Gavin Newsom said he was pulling the “emergency brake” Monday on the state’s efforts to reopen its economy as coronavirus cases surge more dramatically than during a summer spike. ___BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday the number of new coronavirus cases is flattening following two weeks of new restrictions, but it’s too early to tell whether more will be necessary.