Pupils have been learning from home since the start of the year (Picture: Getty)There is a ‘real danger’ schools will stay closed until the summer, the Children’s Commissioner has warned. Anne Longfield said a ‘lack of planning’ has made this ‘inevitable’ as she called on ministers to create a roadmap for reopening schools. Her report came as Boris Johnson said they will ‘look at’ the idea of reopening classrooms in areas where the virus is less prevalent. When England’s latest lockdown was announced, the Prime Minister said it was his hope that coronavirus levels would be sufficiently reduced for schools to fully reopen around the middle of February. But as coronavirus continues to rage across the country, reports have suggested they may not reopen until after Easter at the ea

YouTube has been trying to clear out false claims about the pandemic for the last year (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)More than half a million misinformation videos about coronavirus have been removed by YouTube in the past 12 months, the Google-owned platform’s boss has said. Concerns around misinformation have been exacerbated by the pandemic, forcing tech giants to re-examine their rules against false claims such as suggestions the virus is a hoax or promoting medically unsubstantiated cures. ‘We’ve continued to make updates to our Covid-19 policies to stay current with the science, and we’ve removed more than half a million videos under these policies since February,’ said YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki. ‘Now our focus...

LOS ANGELES — A Santa Clarita man pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal fraud charge for obtaining $655,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans by submitting phony tax documents and employee information. Raymond Magana, 39, pleaded guilty, via Zoom, to a single count of fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. set a May 11 sentencing hearing in Los Angeles federal court. Magana admitted to using fraud to obtain $655,000 in PPP loans. Last month, co-defendant Steven R. Goldstein, 36, of Northridge, pleaded guilty to the same charge. Blumenfeld scheduled a March 30 sentencing hearing for Goldstein. Prosecutors say the defendants applied for more than five separate PPP business loans tota...

Summary List PlacementGood morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Wednesday. Sign up here to get this email in your inbox every morning. Have an Amazon Alexa device? Listen to this update by searching "Business Insider" in your flash briefing settings. Sign up for 10 Things in Politics You Need to Know Today — launching next week! Twitter bought Revue.  Revue, a competitor to the popular newsletter creator Substack, will operate as a standalone service.  Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $43.1 billion. Microsoft's stock price was up as much as over 5% in after-hours trading immediately following the release, to around $242 per share. Google halted donations to election refuseniks. The firm won't donate via its PAC this cycle to members of Congress who voted ag...

It comes as the boss of AstraZeneca says the UK is likely to hit its target of vaccinating all over-50s by March (Picture: AP / Metro.co.uk)The prime minister is preparing to reveal what England’s exit from lockdown will look like in the coming weeks. Sources think the ‘ambitious’ document is likely to be published around February 15, which is the date the PM had promised to review the current coronavirus lockdown measures. They believe some schools will be the first thing to reopen provided the country hits important targets such as the rollout of the vaccine and a drop in infection numbers. A source told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s at an early stage, but we are beginning to look at what the metrics and criteria will be when we are ready to start thinking about unlocking. ‘What are

A protester known as ‘Larch’ in part of a tunnel network (Credits: HS2 Rebellion/PA)HS2 protesters have claimed they have dug and are ready to occupy a 100ft tunnel network under a London park which they say is at risk from the railway’s construction. They claim Euston Square Gardens, a green space outside Euston station, will be built over with a temporary taxi rank before being sold off to developers. HS2 Rebellion, an alliance of groups and individuals campaigning against the planned high-speed railway, said ‘tree protectors’ were prepared to occupy the tunnels, dug ‘in secret’ over the last few months. Protesters claim they will stay underground ‘for as long as it takes to stop HS2’. A spokeswoman for HS2 Ltd said it could not comment on the specifics of protesters’ activ

OAKLAND — Police were at the scene of an injury shooting in a business corridor near Lake Merritt Tuesday night, authorities said. Shortly after 10:30 p.m., officers responded to a report of ShotSpotter activity in the 400 block of Cheney Avenue in the city’s Grand Lake neighborhood. When officers arrived, they found a person near Lake Park and Grand avenues suffering from a gunshot wound to a leg. No update was immediately available on the victim’s condition, or on any suspect or associated vehicle description. After providing medical care, officers responded to canvass the area for evidence. For information leading to the arrest of a suspect, police are offering up to $5,000 in each shooting. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3426 or Crime Stoppers of Oakland at 510-777...

Portugal, UAE, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and parts of South America and South Africa will be labelled ‘high-risk’ by the Government (Picture: EPA/Getty)The Prime Minister is set to introduce 10-day hotel quarantine stays for travellers returning from a list of 30 ‘high-risk’ countries this week, according to reports. Boris Johnson is believed to have met officials last night to sign off on the new scheme, which could cost international arrivals more than £1,000 each. Countries labelled ‘high-risk’ by the Government include Portugal, UAE, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and parts of South America and South Africa, MailOnline reports. The new system will be introduced in England later this week, with the Government ‘reserving the right’ to require all visitors from anywhere in the world...