Entertainment
Trump administration launches digital DEI reporting line
The Department of Education is now inviting parents to submit complaints about diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that may be happening at their child’s school.
Last week, the federal agency launched a new “End DEI” portal that parents can use to report “discrimination based on race or sex” in publicly-funded schools for kindergarten through 12th grade.
The department has the authority to investigate discrimination based on race, sex, and disability, among other protected characteristics, and already offered a form for such reports.
The End DEI portal appears to specifically target instruction or curriculum that conservatives have long attacked. A text introduction on the online form notes that students should “have access to meaningful learning free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination.”
The department’s news release introducing the portal also includes a lengthy quote from a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a far-right political organization that has pushed book bans and backed Trump’s presidential campaign.
Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice argued that children are being taught “critical theory, rogue sex education and divisive ideologies.”
“Parents, now is the time that you share the receipts of the betrayal that has happened in our public schools,” Justice said in her statement.
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Conservatives have previously supported the use of tip lines to report what they consider objectionable discussions or curriculum in the classroom.
In 2022, Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin created a tip line to receive related reports. In 2021, one New Hampshire Moms for Liberty chapter even offered a $500 bounty to the first person who caught a public school teacher breaking a new law intended to discourage educators from discussing “divisive concepts.”
The End DEI portal allows parents to submit their email address, school or school district, and a brief description of the alleged discrimination, as well as attached JPG, JPEG, PNG, and PDF files. The portal says that the education department will use the submissions for potential investigations.
Major unions that represent educators — the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association — are fighting back against the Trump administration’s pressure to eradicate DEI from schools.
NEA President Becky Pringle called the End DEI portal a “stunt” and defended DEI initiatives in a statement.
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs create a sense of belonging where we all feel comfortable sharing our ideas and lived experiences,” Pringle said.
The American Federation of Teachers recently sued the Trump administration for threatening to cut off funding for schools that do not comply with its demand to effectively cease efforts designed to achieve “diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity” by Feb. 28.
The administration argued in a Feb. 14 memo that those efforts unlawfully preference certain racial groups.
“This vague and clearly unconstitutional memo is a grave attack on students, our profession and knowledge itself,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “It would hamper efforts to extend access to education, and dash the promise of equal opportunity for all, a central tenant of the United States since its founding.”
Entertainment
Buy a $300 Delta gift card and get a free $20 Starbucks gift card
BUY A DELTA GIFT CARD FOR $300+ AND GET A FREE STARBUCKS GIFT CARD: Through May 11, buy a Delta gift card for $300 or more and get a free $20 Starbucks eGift card.
Credit: Delta / Starbucks
The price of flying these days is shocking. If you plan on traveling soon on a route served by Delta, it’s well worth checking out this deal to get something for free. It’ll help ease the pain of the ticket price.
Through May 11, purchase a Delta gift card worth $300 or more and get a free $20 Starbucks eGift card. It’s as simple as that. You can also qualify for the deal by buying multiple gift cards that total at least $300. The deal with apply automatically and you’ll receive a separate email containing the free Starbucks card.
Booking flights these days is not much fun. Prices are ahh…. abnormal, but Delta has eased the pain a bit thanks to this deal. The carrier is positioning this free Starbucks gift card deal as a good option for Mother’s Day, but realistically, it’s useful for anyone who plans to book with Delta soon.
Keep in mind the Delta gift card and Starbucks card will never expire. Delta mentions this offer is valid until May 11 at 11:59 p.m. ET or for the first 11,000 purchasers, whichever comes first. That means it might be smart to hop on this deal soon since there’s no way to know if it’ll last until May 11.
Mashable Deals
If you plan on flying soon or want to gift a special someone a Delta gift card worth $300 or more, snag this deal to get a free $20 Starbucks eGift card. It’s a win-win situation for those who plan to fly with Delta.
Entertainment
Snag a pair of Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones for $50 off
SAVE $50: As of May 6, get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) for $399 at Amazon, down from their usual price of $449. That’s a discount of 11%.
$399
at Amazon
$449
Save $50
If you want to experience your favorite music to the fullest, you need headphones that are up to the task. Bose can typically be counted on to provide that kind of quality, especially with its QuietComfort lineup. You can try its newest model for less right now for less thanks to this Amazon deal, which heavily discounts the cans so you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on them.
As of May 6, get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) for $399 at Amazon, down from their usual price of $449. That’s $50 off and a discount of 11%.
Though an incremental upgrade from the previous QuietComfort model, these have some new features you’ll want to try out. But mostly, these comfortable headphones are all about feeling great on your ears and sounding fantastic. They offer noise cancellation and spatialized audio so it sounds as though you’re right where the music is. The new Cinema Mode can help to spatialize and balance background and sound and sound effects when watching movies to help put you right into the film as well.
Beyond that they can be used to take calls with their built-in microphones. They’ll last a long time while you’re on the phone too, with 30 hours of play time when listening to songs, podcasts, or taking meetings.
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Mashable Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard took the headphones for a spin in her review and and called them a “well-rounded pair of headphones”, praising their blend of “comfort, noise cancellation, and sound”.
If you’re ready to pick up a new pair of headphones at a discount that’ll tick all the boxes for you, grab these before the discount disappears.
Entertainment
Score up to 64% off at EcoFlow and snag free solar panels with your purchase.
SAVE 64%: Between May 6 and May 17, you can score up to 64% off at EcoFlow and snag free solar panels with your purchase.
Get up to 64% off plus a free solar panel with purchase
I live in an apartment, so I don’t exactly have a “whole home” to back up. But if there’s one thing I hate, it’s losing power. There goes the AC, the internet, the food in the fridge — it’s a total nightmare. If you actually own a house and have been putting off buying a backup power system because it’s pricey, I have some good news.
The DJI Power 1000 Mini portable power station just launched — U.S. availability is pending
Right now, EcoFlow is running a Mother’s Day Sale through May 17 with discounts as high as 64%. They’re also throwing in free hardware to sweeten the deal: All single orders between $600 and $3,000 come with a free 45W solar panel, and orders over $3,000 come with two free 160W solar panels. If you’re looking for something more portable, their RAPID Power Banks are also up to 53% off right now.
Just keep an eye on the countdown clock — it’s for the Flash Sale items that have even better, limited-time price cuts. If you miss the flash window, the standard Mother’s Day and Home Improvement deals (including a $700 installation discount for larger systems) are still valid through mid-May.
Mashable Deals
Here are a few of the best deals I’ve spotted so far:
Buy a $300 Delta gift card and get a free $20 Starbucks gift card
Snag a pair of Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones for $50 off
