The Tennessee festival, which was canceled in 2020 and postponed from June 2021 to this week because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has now been canceled for this year for an entirely different reason: Hurricane Ida.
After making landfall in Louisiana this past Sunday — leaving millions without power, including all of New Orleans — Ida has continued to move throughout the Southeast, creating dangerous conditions in states including Tennessee.
“We are absolutely heartbroken to announce that we must cancel Bonnaroo,” organizers announced Tuesday. “While this weekend’s weather looks outstanding, currently Centeroo is waterlogged in many areas, the ground is incredibly saturated on our tollbooth paths, and the campgrounds are flooded to the point that we are unable to drive in or park vehicles safely.”
The statement continues, “We have done everything in our power to try to keep the show moving forward, but Mother Nature has dealt us a tremendous amount of rain over the past 24 hours. We have run out of options to try to make the event happen safely and in a way that lives up to the Bonnaroo experience.”
Bonnaroo 2021 was scheduled to begin this Thursday. The lineup includedformer Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison, Foo Fighters and many others.
The Tennessee festival, which was canceled in 2020 and postponed from June 2021 to this week because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has now been canceled for this year for an entirely different reason: Hurricane Ida.
After making landfall in Louisiana this past Sunday — leaving millions without power, including all of New Orleans — Ida has continued to move throughout the Southeast, creating dangerous conditions in states including Tennessee.
“We are absolutely heartbroken to announce that we must cancel Bonnaroo,” organizers announced Tuesday. “While this weekend’s weather looks outstanding, currently Centeroo is waterlogged in many areas, the ground is incredibly saturated on our tollbooth paths, and the campgrounds are flooded to the point that we are unable to drive in or park vehicles safely.”
The statement continues, “We have done everything in our power to try to keep the show moving forward, but Mother Nature has dealt us a tremendous amount of rain over the past 24 hours. We have run out of options to try to make the event happen safely and in a way that lives up to the Bonnaroo experience.”
Bonnaroo 2021 was scheduled to begin this Thursday. The lineup included Foo Fighters, former Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison, and many others.
After providing much needed entertainment with his marathon Instagram Live sessions throughout the pandemic, D-Nice brought the star power to the Hollywood Bowl Sunday.
The Isley Brothers, George Clinton, Common, Sheila E., Trey Songz, Common, Tank, and Erica Campbell were among the artists who performed during Club Quarantine Live, according to Billboard.
Ronnie Isley sang, with brother Ernie on guitar, their classics “Footsteps in the Dark” and “Between the Sheets.” Eighty-year-old George Clinton entertained the crowd — which included This Is Us star Sterling K. Brown — with a medley of Parliament-Funkadelic hits, “(Not Just) Knee Deep,” “Flash Light,” and his number one solo single, “Atomic Dog.”
“This is the party of all parties, right?” Common asked before he performed “The Light.” Then Sheila E. joined him on stage for “The Glamorous Life.”
The party took a somber note as D-Nice paid tribute to the late hip-hop pioneer, Biz Markie. He called for a minute of silence, then said, “Without Biz, I wouldn’t be on this stage right now. He inspired me to come back. So shine a light right now for Biz Markie.” As thousands of phone lights illuminated the iconic outdoor venue, the crowd chanted the hook to Markie’s classic, “Just a Friend.”
D-Nice will take Club Quarantine Live to New York City Thursday, Atlanta Friday, and Washington, D.C. on September 18.
FilmMagic/FilmMagic for Bonnaroo Arts And Music Festival
Bonnaroo won’t be happening in 2021.
The Tennessee festival, which was canceled in 2020 and postponed from June 2021 to this week because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has now been canceled for this year for an entirely different reason: Hurricane Ida.
After making landfall in Louisiana this past Sunday — leaving millions without power, including all of New Orleans — Ida has continued to move throughout the Southeast, creating dangerous conditions in states including Tennessee.
“We are absolutely heartbroken to announce that we must cancel Bonnaroo,” organizers announced Tuesday. “While this weekend’s weather looks outstanding, currently Centeroo is waterlogged in many areas, the ground is incredibly saturated on our tollbooth paths, and the campgrounds are flooded to the point that we are unable to drive in or park vehicles safely.”
The statement continues, “We have done everything in our power to try to keep the show moving forward, but Mother Nature has dealt us a tremendous amount of rain over the past 24 hours. We have run out of options to try to make the event happen safely and in a way that lives up to the Bonnaroo experience.”
Bonnaroo 2021 was scheduled to begin this Thursday. The lineup included Foo Fighters, Tame Impala, Mastodon, Incubus, Phoebe Bridgers, Run the Jewels, Dashboard Confessional, Young the Giant, Glass Animals and Brittany Howard.
Major General Chris Donahue, commander of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, boards a C-17 cargo plane at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Maj. Gen. Donahue is the final American service member to depart Afghanistan, Aug. 30, 2021. – U.S. Central Command
(KABUL, Afghanistan) — With the U.S. military and diplomatic withdrawal now complete after 20 years in Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken over the country, including the Kabul airport, the site of an often-desperate evacuation effort the past two weeks.
But even as the last American troops were flown out to meet President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline, other Americans who wanted to flee the country were left behind and the Biden administration is now focused on a “diplomatic mission” to help them leave.
When President Joe Biden sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive one-on-one interview at the White House on Aug. 18, he said he was committed to keeping the U.S. military in Afghanistan as long as needed. “If there are American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out,” he said.
Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern.
Aug 31, 4:18 pm
President claims US prepared to handle collapse of Afghan military, government
Biden said the decision to depart Afghanistan by Aug. 31 was predicated on the “assumption” that the Afghan government “would be able to hold on for a period of time beyond military drawdown.”
“The assumption was that more than 300,000 Afghan national security forces that we had trained over the past two decades and equipped would be a strong adversary in their civil wars with the Taliban,” Biden said. “That assumption, that the Afghan government would be able to hold on for a period of time beyond military drawdown, turned out not to be accurate.”
Aug 31, 3:51 pm
‘It was time to end this war’: Biden
In his address to the nation, the president said it was time to end the war.
“We succeeded in what we set out to do in Afghanistan over a decade ago. Then we stayed for another decade. It was time to end this war,” he said. “This is a new world: Al-Qaida affiliates in Syria and ISIS attempting to create a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and establishing affiliates across Africa nation. The fundamental obligation of a president, in my opinion, is to defend and protect America. Not against threats of 2001 but against the threats of 2021 and tomorrow.”
“That is the guiding principle behind my decisions about Afghanistan,” he added. “I simply do not believe that the safety and security of America is enhanced by continuing to deploy thousands of American troops and sending billions of dollars.”
Aug 31, 3:51 pm
Biden says 90% of Americans who wanted to leave were able to leave
Biden touted efforts to get out Afghans who helped the U.S. mission in Afghanistan and said, “Now we believe that about 100 to 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan, with some intention to leave.”
“Most of those who remain are dual citizens, long-time residents who had earlier decided to stay because of their family roots in Afghanistan,” Biden said. “The bottom line, 90% of Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave were able to leave. And for those remaining Americans, there is no deadline. We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out.”
“90% of Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave were able to leave,” Pres. Biden says.
In his first formal remarks since the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan, the president said, “The extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravery and selfless courage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals.”
“For weeks they risked their lives to get American citizens Afghans who helped us, citizens of our allies and partners and others onboard planes and out of the country,” he continued. “And they did it facing a crush of enormous crowds seeking to leave the country. And they did it knowing ISIS-K terrorists, sworn enemies of the Taliban were lurking in the midst of those crowds.”
Pres. Biden on U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan: “The extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravery, and selfless courage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals.” https://t.co/dpSzkC2n0kpic.twitter.com/Su2JqZT8Vw
McConnell blasts Biden for breaking promise, leaving Americans behind
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized President Biden, claiming he broke his “promise” to get every American who wanted to leave Afghanistan out of the country before the U.S. military left, saying Biden’s “reckless withdrawal has created a humanitarian disaster and emboldened the terrorists.”
“Two weeks ago, President Biden specifically promised he wouldn’t pull out before every American who wanted out had gotten out. By their own admission, the Biden Administration has now broken that promise,” McConnell said Tuesday at an event in Ashland, Kentucky.
In an exclusive interview on Aug. 18 with ABC’s George Stephanopolous, Biden said that “If there’s American citizens left, we’re gonna stay to get them all out.”
At the event, McConnell also warned of the continued threat from the Taliban, adding, “This fight will not end just because our politicians want it to go away.”
Aug 31, 2:19 pm
Scenes from Kabul the day after the US military withdrawal
Scenes around Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Tuesday showed Taliban fighters appearing to wear Afghan National Army uniforms after the militant group took control of the airport following the U.S. military’s full withdrawal from the country — a far different picture from the days preceding.
Resources left behind in the wake of mass evacuations, including equipment stamped with American and Afghan national flags, littered the area where U.S. troops recently stood guard. Taliban fighters have apparently since seized some equipment distributed to the Afghan army by the U.S. before it collapsed.
As the 20-year war came to a close on Monday, the Pentagon said that the cost, in human lives, was 2,461 troops killed and more than 20,000 injured.
Since the evacuation mission began, 6,000 citizens and more than 123,000 people — Afghan “friends and allies” — were flown out of Afghanistan by the U.S. and partners, but 100 to 200 American citizens still wanting to leave remain, officials said, as well as thousands of Afghans who worked with the U.S. and fear reprisal from the Taliban.
Aug 31, 2:02 pm
House GOP promising investigation into Biden’s withdrawal decision
GOP Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said Republicans had sent letters to the Department of Defense, the Department of State and the intelligence community asking agencies to preserve documents relating to the Afghanistan withdrawal for what they said would be a future investigation.
“We want the Democrats to join us but we are going to do it with or without, exercising our constitutional authority of oversight to get to the bottom of how this got so wrong,” McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said at a news conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
The announcement comes after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Friday there would be “a day of reckoning” for Biden, promising an investigation into the withdrawal. Other GOP House members criticized Biden’s withdrawal, with Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., saying “this disaster is solely the responsibility” of Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy criticizes Pres. Biden’s decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan: “Never in my lifetime would I ever believe America would have an administration knowingly make a decision to leave Americans behind.” https://t.co/99AMR8vJTBpic.twitter.com/QxbUS4dbwj
Harris presides over Senate passage of bill assisting Americans fleeing Afghanistan
Vice President Kamala Harris gaveled in a pro forma session of the Senate on Tuesday morning, to enable the passage of a bill that will help with the repatriation of Americans coming from Afghanistan, according to a White House aide.
The bill provides emergency, temporary assistance for Americans returning from Afghanistan. It was passed without any objection at roughly 10:30 a.m. and will now head to the president’s desk since it originated in and already passed the House.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday there is still a “small number of Americans — under 200, and likely closer to 100 — who remain in Afghanistan and want to leave.”
Aug 31, 10:18 am
Taliban spokesperson congratulates nation on ‘freedom,’ American defeat
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Taliban soldiers at a press conference hours after the last U.S. soldiers left the airport in Kabul that they had secured victory for the whole of the Afghan nation.
“Due to the sincerity, perseverance, and patience of our elders, we gained our freedom. I congratulate all of you and our nation on this freedom, and I hope that Afghanistan will never be occupied and that it will be free, prosperous, and the home of Afghans, and that there will be an Islamic government,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks from Reuters.
Mujahid said the Taliban wanted to sustain good relations with the rest of the world, that Afghanistan was not a country for occupying forces, and that Americans were defeated and could not achieve their goals.
“The nation has suffered a lot, and they have been repressed because of the occupation, have seen problems for 20 years, and can no longer tolerate misbehavior. Therefore, I call on all our militaries to treat the people well because the people have the right to peace, to unite, and we are the servants of the nation, not to dominate the people,” he said.
Aug 31, 10:04 am
Biden to defend Afghanistan withdrawal in speech to nation
President Biden is expected to defend his decision on Afghanistan when he speaks at 2:45 p.m. from the White House — a day after the last U.S. troops left in accordance with his self-imposed deadline but also while other Americans who wanted to leave were left behind to deal with an uncertain fate.
In an exclusive interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan offered more defense for the administration’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, perhaps foreshadowing Biden’s remarks this afternoon.
Though Stephanopoulos pressed him for details on the plan to evacuate the remaining Americans, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken said is “under 200,” Sullivan repeated they will use “every available diplomatic means with the economic leverage that we have,” but he did attempt to take credit for the successful evacuations — and even pinned some of the blame on the remaining Americans who weren’t able to make it out.
“We do believe that there is an important dimension of humanitarian assistance that should go directly to the people of Afghanistan.”
“We got out between 5,500 and 6,000 people — Americans from Afghanistan — we got out 97 or 98% of those on the ground and the small number who remain, we contacted repeatedly over the course of two weeks to come to the airport to come to a rally point. 5,500 or more did that,” Sullivan said.
In response to criticism from many Republicans lawmakers like Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Sullivan contended that only the president, as commander in chief, knows what it is to make these hard decisions.
“Those criticizing are not the ones who have to sit in the Situation Room and make the hard calls about the threats that we face and the objectives we’re trying to obtain and President Biden made that hard call and it is a call he believes will ultimately serve the interests of our people, all of our citizens and our country,” he said.
He also insisted aid will not be given to the Taliban unless they adhere to international obligations.
“It will be about whether they follow through on their commitments, their commitments to safe passage for Americans and Afghan allies. Their commitment to not allow Afghanistan to be a base from which terrorists can attack the United States or any other country,” Sullivan said.
Aug 30, 9:19 pm
Taliban wield American-supplied equipment, uniforms after withdrawal
Moments after the last U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan, Taliban fighters entered the Kabul airport, wielding American-supplied weapons, equipment and even uniforms.
Aug 30, 8:59 pm
Military releases image of last soldier out of Afghanistan
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, of the 82nd Airborne Division, was the last American service member to depart Afghanistan, according to Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command.
“On the last plane out was General Chris Donahue, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and my ground commander, and he was accompanied by our — our charge d’affaires, Ambassador Ross Wilson, so they came out together,” McKenzie said at the Pentagon briefing. “So the state and defense team came out on the last aircraft and were in fact the last people to step on the ground.”
Aug 30, 8:04 pm
US engaging Taliban, but not recognizing it
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. will continue to engage the Taliban going forward — engagement that will be “driven by one thing only — our vital national interest.”
“The Taliban seeks international legitimacy and support. Our message is any legitimacy and any support will have to be earned,” he said. “The Taliban can do that by meeting commitments and obligations on freedom of travel; respecting the basic rights of the Afghan people, including women and minorities; upholding its commitments on counter-terrorism; not carrying out reprisal violence against those who choose to stay in Afghanistan; and forming an inclusive government that can meet the needs and reflect the aspirations of the Afghan people.”
But the Taliban have already violated many of those — denying freedom of travel to some, violating their commitments on counter-terrorism, carrying out reprisal violence and more.
Aug 30, 7:37 pm
Commitment to Afghans who worked with US ‘has no deadline’: Blinken
For Afghans who worked alongside the U.S. who wanted to leave but weren’t able to get out, the U.S. would continue to try to help them, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in remarks Monday evening.
“Our commitment to them has no deadline,” he said.
To that end, he thanked Qatar and Turkey for trying to make the Kabul airport operational soon, allowing safe passage to these people.
“This would enable a small number of daily charter flights, which is a key for anyone who wants to depart from Afghanistan moving forward,” Blinken said. “We’re also working to identify ways to support Americans, legal permanent residents and Afghans who have worked with us to depart via land routes.”
But he tempered expectations.
“We have no illusion that any of this will be easy,” Blinken said. “Or rapid. This will be an entirely different phase from the evacuation that just concluded. It will take time to work through a new set of challenges.”
Aug 30, 5:01 pm
Number of Americans left in Afghanistan in the ‘low 100s’
There are still Americans left in Afghanistan that the United States is trying to get out of the country, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said.
“I believe our Department of State is going to work very hard to allow any American citizens that are left, and we think the citizens that were not brought outnumber in the low — very low 100s,” McKenzie said. “I believe that we’re going to be able to get those people out.”
There were no evacuees left at the airport when the last U.S. flight left, he said.
McKenzie also said the U.S. would also “negotiate very hard, and very aggressively, to get our other Afghan partners out.”
Aug 30, 4:35 pm
All US troops have departed Afghanistan: Pentagon
All U.S. troops have departed Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense, concluding America’s military ground presence there and its longest war.
Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, made the announcement from the headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Florida, after being introduced in the Pentagon Briefing Room by press secretary John Kirby.
Acknowledging that the withdrawal has been completed, McKenzie said the last U.S. military plane has cleared Afghan airspace.
He said that the U.S. military’s 20-year mission in Afghanistan is over.
Sony and MGM know fans have been champing at the bit for the repeatedly pandemic-delayed James Bond thriller No Time to Die, and to that end, two new final trailers dropped today.
Both the domestic and international trailers are similar, but they play out in very different ways.
The domestic trailer leans into this being Daniel Craig‘s final turn in the tux, opening with the legend, “In the beginning he became 007,” complete with scenes from his previous films including Casino Royale and Skyfall.
“…Every mission, every sacrifice has led him to this,” the domestic titles tease.
“The wait is over,” opens the foreign release, hinting at the movie’s bumpy road to theaters.
Both trailers showcase more of Bohemian Rhapsody Oscar winner Rami Malek‘s villain Safin, who is masterminding a global catastrophe. “We both eradicate people to make the world a better place,” he tells Bond. “I just want to be a little tidier.”
Safin’s plot remains mysterious, but he’s apparently such a baddie that an incarcerated Blofeld, played by Oscar winner Christoph Waltz, is worried. He smiles as he tells Bond in the foreign snippet, “Now your enemy is my enemy. How did that happen?”
“Well, you live long enough…” Bond smiles.
At the center of the scheme is apparently Bond’s mysterious love interest from SPECTRE, Léa Seydoux‘s Madeline. “When her secret finds its way out, it’ll be the death of you,” Blofeld warns him.
As expected, the trailer is action packed, though several of the car chases and high-flying sequences have been glimpsed in previous teasers.
“If we don’t do this, there will be nothing left to save,” Bond urges Lashana Lynch‘sNomi, Bond’s successor to the 007 designation.
In 2015, John Mayer described himself as a “recovered ego addict,” and said that’s why he used to do stupid things like talk about his famous girlfriends to the press. But now that he’s older, John says he doesn’t have that desire to feed his ego any longer.
During a Q&A on his Instagram Stories on Tuesday, John was asked if he still felt like a “recovering ego addict.” He responded, “No, and I’ll tell you why. Your 20s and 30s are like the hours between 8pm and 11 pm on a weekend night. You’re kind of frantically hoping for the most validating plans to come through.”
John, who’s 43, continued, “Your 40s are like 11:30 pm where you’re like ‘Hey, I would have been home anyway even if I had gone out.’ The pressure is off.”
During the Q&A, John also revealed that the one song he wished he’d written is “Gentle on My Mind,” his “favorite rock star haircut of the past” is David Lee Roth‘s flowing blonde locks during his heyday with Van Halen, and “the one piece of clothing he would kill to get his hands on” is the t-shirt that Guns ‘n Roses frontman Axl Rose was wearing when he got arrested at an airport in 1989.
John was also asked if he ever felt like quitting music. He responded, “Yes. One time I handed in an album and was told it ‘had no hits on it.’ I cried. Told myself I was gonna quit and go to design school. That album was Continuum.”
Continuum, of course, included now-classics like “Gravity” and “Waiting on the World to Change.” It won John two Grammys and sold more than five million copies.
Jason Davis/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Martina McBride on Monday celebrated the 30th anniversary of signing her first recording contract, with RCA Nashville. To mark the milestone, the singer reflected on her illustrious career by breaking down her five biggest hits in an interview with Billboard.
Looking back on her 1994 hit single “Independence Day,” McBride said she “knew I wanted to record this song immediately.”
“Halfway through the first listen I claimed it as mine. Looking back, it was kind of a ballsy move, I guess…to record and release this song,” she grinned. “I recognized the brilliance of the songwriting immediately and also felt a connection with this mother and child. I haven’t heard anything else that sounds like it to this day.”
Martina then dished on her 1995 song “Wild Angels,” telling the outlet, “I have always loved the energy of this song and the melody” and added, “This was my first No. 1 song.”
When looking back at 1997’s “A Broken Wing,” McBride said the song “felt really special” when she heard it, adding she “felt like it would empower someone who needed to hear it. I still haven’t heard a song about emotional abuse that is quite this direct.”
That led her to discussing “Concrete Angel,” a song about child abuse, which she released in 2002. “I hesitated to record it because I thought it might be too heavy. But in the end I followed my gut, which was telling me I needed to do it,” she said. “I think, in the end, it’s a healing song for many.”
Martina ended with 2003’s “This One’s for the Girls,” of which she said, “It can be difficult to find an uptempo song with substance. I love the way this song hits on different stages of life. It’s really timeless.”
Peacock revealed in an announcement video on Tuesday that they have tapped newcomer and West Philadelphia native Jabari Banks to play the role of Will in the forthcoming The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot, Bel-Air. Original Will and Fresh Prince star Will Smith surprised Banks in the video, sharing the news of his casting. As previously reported, the hourlong series is a reimagining of the ‘90s sitcom as a drama series. It is based on a viral YouTube trailer created by writer Morgan Cooper that explores Will’s “complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air.” Additional casting has yet to be announced.
In other news, Starz has announced additional casting for the second season of Power Book III: Raising Kanan. LeToya Luckett, Omar Dorsey, Krystal Joy Brown and Paulina Singer have all been tapped for recurring roles. Luckett will play Kenya, Jukebox’s mother who comes back into her life; Dorsey a charismatic businessman named Cartier “Duns” Fareed; Brown will play Marvin’s anger management therapist, Renée Timmons; and Singer will star as Zisa, an up-and-coming singer looking to make a name for herself. A season two premiere date for Raising Kanan has yet to be announced.
Finally, Paramount+ has unveiled a Thursday, November 11 premiere date for their The Game reboot. During the Television Critics Association virtual presentation on Tuesday, Paramount+ shared that Tim Daly and Toby Sandeman have also been added to the cast. Meanwhile, fan favorite Coby Bell will make a special appearance in his original role as former footballer Jason Pitts. As previously reported, the new series is set in Las Vegas and centers on a “modern-day examination of Black culture through the prism of pro football.”
(FLA.) — Florida’s Department of Education announced on Monday that it would withhold school board members’ salaries in Alachua and Broward counties because of their school mask mandates.
Both counties’ school districts said on Tuesday they still plan on requiring masks because of the COVID-19 pandemic and are exploring legal action.
The department’s announcement came after a circuit court judge in Florida ruled on Friday that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent executive order banning school mask mandates overstepped his authority. The Florida Department of Education did not mention the ruling in its announcement.
“We’re going to fight to protect parent’s (sic) rights to make health care decisions for their children. They know what is best for their children. What’s unacceptable is the politicians who have raised their right hands and pledged, under oath, to uphold the Constitution but are not doing so,” Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said in the department’s announcement.
DeSantis had also initially threatened to withhold superintendent’s salaries, before admitting that he did not have the ability to do so.
On Aug. 11, DeSantis’ press secretary, Christina Pushaw, said the state “could move to withhold the salary of the district superintendent or school board members” as punishment.
“I’m very troubled by the state’s action,” Alachua County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Carlee Simon said in a statement to ABC News on Tuesday. “Our School Board members made a courageous decision to protect the health and lives of students, staff and the people of this community, and a court has already ruled they had the legal right to do so. They deserve praise, not penalties.”
Simon said that the district has already begun exploring legal action in tandem with other districts.
Broward County Public Schools interim Superintendent Dr. Vickie Cartwright said in a video statement shared by the district on Tuesday that they have consulted with legal advisers and believe they are still complying with state rules even with the mandate.
“The health and the safety of our students, teachers, and staff continues to be our highest priority. As such, we will continue to mandate the mask, knowing that our data … is demonstrating that the use of the mask is helping to minimize the spread of COVID-19,” Cartwright said.
Rosalind Osgood, the chair of the Broward County school board, confirmed on Tuesday to ABC News that Broward County is one of the districts working with Alachua to file a lawsuit.
The state and the counties have fought over mask mandates for weeks. On Aug. 20, Florida’s Board of Education gave both counties 48 hours to reverse mask mandates, but both districts refused.
Nationwide debates around mask mandates have escalated recently as the school year begins.
On Monday, the federal Department of Education announced civil rights investigations into five states banning mask mandates. Florida is not one of those states, “because those states’ bans on universal indoor masking are not currently being enforced as a result of court orders or other state actions,” according to the Education Department.
