We interviewed more than 30 students and educators, of all ages and experience, about how they grew and changed in 2020 — or just made it to the next day.
For Alanis Broussard, it was about making sure the world coming to a stop didn't stop her from moving forward.
For David Miyashiro, this past year has been difficult because of what educators like him couldn't provide to students and their families.
Educator Monica Fuglei reflected on previous times teaching was difficult, and how the past year in its entirety has been a crisis.
From grade school to graduate school, developing young minds in close physical proximity halted abruptly in mid-March 2020.
Teachers shifted to nurturing and encouraging through screens, with little training.
Like many beach and outdoor destinations, Cancún is seeing a spike in visitors as vaccinated vacationers and those with pandemic fatigue book getaways despite the CDC’s continuing advice not to travel. 🧵 👇 usatoday.com/in-depth/trave…
Our own @DawnGilbertson reports seeing tourists – most of them Americans – dance and shoot videos of the white-gloved performer belting out “Billie Jean” and “Thriller” while they sipped margaritas, martinis, piña coladas and other free drinks.
“My husband and I decided, look, we still need to have some sort of mental health break,” one couple said.
For those who are eligible, the tool will show a "Payment Status" of when the payment was issued as well as the payment date for direct deposit or mail. usatoday.com/story/money/20…
"Get current on your bills, set a little to the side for the future, and support your local small businesses." usatoday.com/story/money/pe…
Some individuals who died in 2020 may still qualify for stimulus checks through the Recovery Rebate Credit.
People of color, who were more likely to die and lose their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis, were also less likely to have access to paid leave. bit.ly/313mvdf
Tameka Henry often had to take off a week or more every month to care for her ill husband and their children. In December, when she and her daughter contracted COVID-19, Henry once again had to go without pay as she recuperated at home.
Clara Vasquez says that in her last job as a home health aide, she would cobble together hours a month at a time to take care of her and her family's needs. By the end of the year, if she never took a day off, she'd have about a week of personal time.
Nearly 5,000 records pried loose following USA TODAY’s October investigation into Florida’s child welfare system detail calls to the Florida Department of Children and Families abuse hotline, revealing allegations of foster care abuse are more widespread than previously reported.
Former Department of Children and Families Secretary Chad Poppell said his agency had done a “bad job” caring for kids, promising to establish specialized teams to investigate foster care abuse allegations and review the agency’s decisions in those cases. usatoday.com/story/news/inv…