Latest news with #Burns
Los Angeles Times
19 hours ago
- Science
- Los Angeles Times
Orange County science reading challenge winners enjoy special JPL visit
Delaney Martinez was like a kid in a candy store. In reality, she was a kid in a laboratory when she and 11 other Orange County students took a special VIP tour of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge on June 17. Delaney, who makes science videos on her YouTube channel 'Science With Dee' and has more than 175,000 followers, certainly felt right at home. 'It was so much fun,' the 13-year-old said. 'My favorite part was definitely seeing all of the models of the Mars Rovers. Those were super-cool, because they had the very first model to the newest one. It was really cool seeing the comparison.' The students all earned the trip based on their work in the 2024 Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Race to Space Reading Challenge. Founder Pat Burns said she started the Race to Space Reading Challenge in 2021 after the Orange County Children's Book Festival, which she co-founded, had to go virtual the previous year due to the coronavirus pandemic. 'I missed having the kids really engaged,' Burns said. 'So I decided to not do a virtual book festival in 2021. I wanted to do a reading challenge, but wanted to be able to encourage STEM. To my surprise, we had more than 1,600 kids register and we had more than 500 finish it.' She retired from running the children's book festival following the 2022 edition to devote her time to the reading challenge. In the reading challenge's three years, more than 4,000 total students have participated. Divided by age group into four levels, the students chart their STEM book-reading progress on an online platform called Beanstack. Anything they read past the requirements earns them bonus tickets, which they can enter to win things like Zoom calls with astronauts, the trip to JPL, laptop computers, sports tickets or book bundles from publishers. Ryan Melendez, an incoming seventh grader at the Pegasus School in Huntington Beach, said his teacher Jaime Kunze-Thibeau recommended the program to him. The trip to JPL was one of the coolest things he did all year, he said. 'My favorite part would be the mission control center,' Ryan said. 'There were a bunch of people on computers there. I thought it was pretty cool. That would be a fun job to do.' After perusing the lab with two scientist tour guides, the students got to go to the California Institute of Technology for a special buffet lunch at the Athenaeum, a private club on the Pasadena school's campus. 'It's just stunning inside,' Burns said of the Athenaeum, which opened in 1930 with a formal dinner to celebrate Albert Einstein's first visit to Caltech. 'The architecture, the detailed woodwork, the white tablecloths, the waiters. The kids, about half of them, liked it as much as they liked the tour, which shocked me. They really appreciated and knew they were someplace special.' Julia Rundzio, an incoming sixth-grade student at Sequoia Elementary School in Westminster, also entered several tickets into the drawing and was selected for the JPL trip. For the next S.T.E.A.M. Race to Space Reading Challenge, she might help promote the program within her school, said Julia's father, Remi Rundzio. 'It's an amazing program,' Julia said. 'It motivates kids to read books that are not just fiction, but also have science elements and help educate about different things that are going on around us.' Other county students who went on the JPL trip included Emma Zirney and Kenzie Murdie of Lake Forest, Andrew Lee Golden of Garden Grove, Harry Lee of Fullerton, Madelyn Perez of Mission Viejo, Matthew Jay of Irvine, Rinal Jamal of Yorba Linda, Sahas Yalamanchili of Irvine and Sai Sitaraman of Fullerton. The students ranged from elementary age to high school. Burns said the program has relied on generous donations for the bonus opportunities, as well as funding from grants. This is the first year the students have been able to tour JPL due to previous COVID protocols. The 2025 edition of the S.T.E.A.M. Race to Space Reading Challenge blasts off Oct. 3, with registration starting Sept. 19. Burns said she's looking to connect with Rocket Lab to organize a bonus tour, or Vast, another Long Beach-based company that is developing artificial gravity space stations.
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Blue's Clues' star Steve Burns to launch adult-focused podcast
Steve Burns, the original star of the beloved children's show "Blue's Clues," is launching a podcast for adults. The former host is collaborating with Lemonada Media on the audio project, dubbed "Alive with Steve Burns." Burns, 51, initially rose to fame while hosting Nickelodeon's "Blue's Clues," a mystery show for preschool-aged kids, from 1996 to 2002. "It could basically be what we've always done," Burns said in a June 25 video announcement. "It used to be about shapes and colors and letters and numbers and vegetables and stuff," he continued. "But now it could really be about death, and sex and taxes and everything that makes it so weird and wonderful to be alive." Steve Burns: Original 'Blue's Clues' host talks about 'abrupt' departure in emotional video The podcast will 'continue what we started decades ago,' Burns says The podcast is expected to launch this fall, according to Lemonada Media. "There are a thousand podcasts you can listen to, this is one that listens back. I really want to continue what we started decades ago," Burns told Variety. "For us, it was all about curious investigation. It was about looking a little closer. About asking the right questions. About following the clues that helped lead us toward greater understanding." Lemonada Media is the home of other podcasts, including Duchess Meghan Markle's "Confessions of a Female Founder" and Lena Waithe's "Legacy Talk." Burns left Blue's Clues to get a higher education In 2021, for the 25th Anniversary of Blue's Clues, Burns revealed why he abruptly left the show and introduced fans to the new host, Joe. 'I just kinda got up and went to college. And that was really challenging by the way, but great because I got to use my mind and take a step at a time and now I literally am doing many of the things that I wanted to do.' Contributing: Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@
The Hill
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Hill
Former ‘Blues Clues' host Steve Burns launches podcast for adults
Original 'Blue's Clues' host Steve Burns, who abruptly left the Nickelodeon show in 2002 only to resurface in a viral video during the pandemic, has announced plans for a podcast. In the series, the youthful-looking adult deftly broke the fourth wall as an animated puppy named Blue left a trail of clues for a preschool audience to figure out. Burns says his new podcast, 'Alive,' will similarly invite listeners to take part. 'You know how there's like a billion podcasts that you can listen to? What if we made one that listens back?' Burns, now a 51-year-old with glasses, salt-and-pepper beard stubble and a penchant for wearing baseball caps, said in a TikTok video this week. 'It would be part podcast, part conversation — kind of like this.' The podcast, from Lemonada Media, is expected to premiere in the fall. It's billed as a continuation of the dialogue Burns began with his viewers way back in 1996 but with more mature topics that include mortality, loneliness, success and masculinity. The umbrella descriptor for the show promises discussions about 'what it means to stay human in a complicated world.' If that sounds a little heavy, a wistful video Burns released in 2021 to mark the 25th anniversary of 'Blue's Clues' met with rave reviews. In the clip, the musician and actor explained how he left the show, which continued with a different host, to go to college. 'We started out with clues, and now it's, what, student loans, jobs, and families,' Burns said then. 'And some of it has been kind of hard, you know? I know you know.' His podcast will join a stable of Lemonada offerings that includes 'Fail Better with David Duchovny' and 'Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.'
Business Wire
2 days ago
- Politics
- Business Wire
Burns Bair Successfully Argues Class Certification Appeal in Prison Guard Wage Loss Claim in Wisconsin Supreme Court
MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a decision this week affirming that correctional officers at state penitentiaries can pursue class action litigation against the state prison system and seek additional compensation for their pre- and post-shift work. The ruling overturns an earlier appellate court decision and now allows an estimated 5,000 Wisconsin correctional officers to pursue their wage-and-hour disputes on a class-wide basis. Share The ruling overturns an earlier appellate court decision and now allows an estimated 5,000 Wisconsin correctional officers to pursue their wage-and-hour disputes on a class-wide basis. In overturning the Court of Appeals, the often-divided Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Court of Appeals' attempted expansion of United States Supreme Court's 'rigorous analysis' test relating to class certification, with both the majority and the concurring dissenters agreeing that class certification does not require a showing that the plaintiffs will prevail on the merits. Tim Burns of Madison-based Burns Bair LLP, who argued the case before the Court, noted that he was deeply honored to have been asked to argue the case in the Supreme Court by Court-appointed Class Counsel, Burger Law, Cuneo Gilbert and LaDuca, and DiCello Levitt. 'Every Wisconsin resident should recognize that these men and women are providing essential and thankless service under trying conditions and deserve to be paid for the time they are in this dangerous environment,' said Mr. Burns. Mr. Burns ran for election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2018 and this was his first argument before the Court since his race. The claims were originally brought by Nicole McDaniel and Matthew Davis, employees of detention facilities in Boscobel and Oshkosh, respectively, seeking additional pay for everyday tasks that extend past strict eight-hour work shifts. For example, all officers at the state's 20 prisons are required to receive and provide briefings on events and security concerns, and these mandatory meetings occur outside of their normal, compensable shifts. According to Mr. Burns, federal and state courts across the nation – including multiple appellate courts – have concluded that security screenings and correctional officers' other pre- and post-shift work are fundamentally integral to their jobs and as a result are compensable. The proposed class action is now remanded to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court for further deliberation and a trial, should that become necessary.
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Labor faces critical 'negotiations' with the Trump Administration to avoid section 899 'revenge tax', WAM Global's lead portfolio manager Catriona Burns declares
Donald Trump's controversial 'revenge tax' will force Australia to bargain with the United States on major points of contention as Labor looks to protect the $4.2 trillion super pool and investment. Section 899 of Trump's 'big beautiful bill' will allow the US to force taxes on nations it believes unfairly treats US firms – such as tech giants Meta and Alphabet. This comes as Australia targets big tech through its media bargaining incentive, while the nation's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme has also drawn the Trump Administration's ire. If the bill passes, Australians may be forced to pay upwards of 20 per cent more tax on US investments. WAM Global's lead portfolio manager Catriona Burns said the Albanese government will be forced to bargain with the US. 'We give up some of the penalties that we're potentially putting on the tech companies, for example, in exchange for walking back the penalties that would be put on Australia,' Ms Burns said on Business Now. 'There's absolutely negotiation that will still likely go on and we could come to a much more favourable resolution than what is being proposed at this point.' Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday told reporters he had discussed section 899 with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and made Australia's case against the looming tax. "We do not want to see our investors and our funds unfairly treated or disadvantaged when it comes to developments out of the US Congress,' the Treasurer said. This comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vowed to protect beef trade, the media bargaining code and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme after Trump first revealed sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs. Despite the threats to Australia's super industry and investment returns, Ms Burns argued that investing in the US may still be more beneficial if section 899 of the bill goes through considering the greater potential for returns. 'When you look at the companies, particularly in the tech space for example, that are in America, there (are) still some wonderful businesses to invest in,' she said. 'Some of the best businesses in the world are in the US, so even with this potentially capping the returns that you can generate out of investing in the US, it still may well be the best place to invest. 'Importantly, it may incentivise the companies that you invest in in the US to actually give more back to investors in the form of buybacks rather than dividends.' Many in Australia's $4.2 trillion superannuation system have expressed concerns about diminished returns if the legislation passes as hundreds of billions of dollars of members' funds is invested in the US. AMP's chief economist Shane Oliver earlier this month said section 899 of the bill, alongside other economic policies by the Trump Administration, 'called into question 'US exceptionalism' and its 'safe haven' status'. The Future Fund chair Greg Combet also expressed concerns about the bill where he argued the US was hurting itself by thwarting investment through section 899. 'Section 899 of the Bill will potentially and dramatically escalate tax rates for Australian institutional investors like the Future Fund,' Mr Combet said in a speech to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia earlier this month. 'In combination these policies and dynamics are making the US a more risky and uncertain investment destination.'
