* Loughlin, Giannulli get prison time in college bribery plot
Apologizing publicly for the first time for crimes their lawyers insisted for months they didn’t commit, “Full House” star Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were sentenced to prison Friday for using their wealth and privilege to cheat their daughters’ way into the college of their choice. The two-month prison sentence for Loughlin and five-month term for Giannulli bring to a close the legal saga for the highest-profile parents ensnared in the college admissions bribery scheme — a scandal that rocked the U.S. educational system and laid bare the lengths some wealthy parents will go to get their kids into elite universities. Fighting back tears, Loughlin told the judge her actions “helped exacerbate existing inequalities in society” and pledged to do everything in her power to use her experience as a “catalyst to do good.” Her lawyer said she began volunteering with special needs students at an elementary school.
* As more colleges stay online, students demand tuition cuts
As more universities abandon plans to reopen and decide instead to keep classes online this fall, it’s leading to conflict between students who say they deserve tuition discounts and college leaders who insist remote learning is worth the full cost. Disputes are flaring both at colleges that announced weeks ago they would stick with virtual instruction and at those that only recently lost hope of reopening their campuses. Among the latest schools facing pressure to lower tuition are Michigan State University and Ithaca College, which scrapped plans to reopen after seeing other colleges struggle to contain coronavirus outbreaks. The scourge has killed more than 175,000 people in the United States. Worldwide, the confirmed death toll crossed 800,000 on Saturday, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, and cases passed 23 million. In petitions started at dozens of universities, students arguing for reduced tuition say online classes fail to deliver the same experience they get on campus. Video lectures are stilted and awkward, they say, and there’s little personal connection with professors or classmates.
* Typhoon Bavi barreling toward S. Korea, expected to make landfall next week
Typhoon Bavi, formed off the east coast of Taiwan, is expected to hit the Korean Peninsula on Thursday, the national weather agency said Saturday. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the season's 8th tropical storm is moving northwest towards the peninsula at a speed of 28 kilometers per hour and forecast to make landfall on Thursday after passing through the southern island of Jeju. The typhoon is likely to become stronger while moving over warm waters off Jeju island, the agency said, forecasting that the country is expected to come under its direct influence from Wednesday. Although the typhoon's course and size can change, it will come with strong winds and heavy rains, the agency said, advising safety measures be put in place before it arrives.
* Couples in dilemma again over wedding ceremony amid virus resurgence
Couples wanting to get married are again facing a dilemma over wedding ceremonies after the government reintroduced strict social distancing measure amid a recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections. With the heightened guidelines imposed in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province last week ― which will continue to next week ― large gatherings such as local festivals, trade fares and wedding ceremonies, with estimated attendees of more than 50 people indoors and 100 outdoors have either been banned or postponed. Although in placed for only two weeks, the stricter social distancing guidelines for the Seoul metropolitan area will be extended for another two weeks unless there are signs of a fall in the number of infections. In response to the complaints from many consumers, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Friday that the Korea Wedding Business Association (WBA) has accepted a request to minimize the damage suffered by soon-to-be married couples ahead of the ceremony. The FTC earlier requested the association to allow couples to postpone weddings without paying cancelation charges or reducing the number of guaranteed guests, or lose their non-refundable deposit, because fewer people are expected to attend the ceremony than initially predicted. The WBA accepted the request of the FTC. If a customer requests a postponement of their ceremony date, the date can be rescheduled without cancellation charges for up to six months from the original one. Also, if the wedding ceremony proceeds as scheduled, the minimum number of guaranteed guests will be reduced and adjusted according to the circumstances of the individual wedding venue.
* Scientists say Hong Kong man got coronavirus a second time
University of Hong Kong scientists claim to have the first evidence of someone being reinfected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Genetic tests revealed that a 33-year-old man returning to Hong Kong from a trip to Spain in mid-August had a different strain of the coronavirus than the one he’d previously been infected with in March, said Dr. Kelvin Kai-Wang To, the microbiologist who led the work. The man had mild symptoms the first time and none the second time; his more recent infection was detected through screening and testing at the Hong Kong airport. “It shows that some people do not have lifelong immunity” to the virus if they’ve already had it, To said. “We don’t know how many people can get reinfected. There are probably more out there.”
* Garbage alert: 11 Seoul districts expected to exceed dumping cap
Despite the central government's efforts to reduce the ever-increasing amount of garbage from Seoul and surrounding regions, the reality betrays the goal, with 11 Seoul districts expected to spew out more garbage than legally allowed. Thirty-seven local jurisdictions from Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province are expected to produce more garbage this year than the caps assigned to them. The evaluation released Tuesday was jointly examined by the Ministry of Environment, the governments of the three regions and Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corp. The landfill in Incheon's western Seo-gu District is where garbage from the regions is buried. The caps, which vary for the jurisdictions, were introduced in January. They came after a sharp rise in the amount of rubbish produced ― from 460,000 tons in 2015 to 780,000 tons in 2019. The mounting problem is alarming because the landfill is due to end operation in 2025. It was established in 1992 and previously planned to close in 2016. But because there was no replacement site, its use was extended for 10 years, with a third burial ground prepared inside the landfill. The cap regulation was passed in July 2019 by a special committee comprising the Sudokwon landfill president, representatives from the ministry and the three governments, experts and civilians. The regulation set a maximum of 275,000 tons for Seoul, or 90 percent of its total in 2018, for direct dumping at the Sudokwon landfill. Incheon was assigned 96,000 tons and Gyeonggi 262,000 tons.