Russian President Vladimir Putin has “not achieved his goals,” a defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week in a televised address marking the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The February 2022 invasion was meant to be a “short and successful military operation” that would “force Kyiv back into Moscow’s orbit” and “overturn the entire post-Cold War security architecture in Europe,” said Steve Rosenberg at the BBC. But it “didn’t go to plan.” 

What did the commentators say?
As the conflict enters its fifth year, Russian victory seems as far off as ever, and Putin has little to show for his country’s estimated 1.2 million casualties, according to Seth G. Jones and Riley McCabe at Washington, D.C.’s Center for Strategic and International Studies. The average pace of Russia’s progress has sometimes been as little as 50 feet per day, “slower than almost any major offensive campaign in any war in the last century.” 

Russia’s economy is starting to teeter. It faces a huge shortfall in oil revenues and has been forced to sell gold reserves to cover its budget deficit. And the West has always believed that domestic discontent as a result of the ongoing sanctions would “persuade Putin to abandon the war,” said Peter Rutland and Elizaveta Gaufman at The Conversation. But this approach “tends to downplay the role of ideology,” which has been successfully exploited by the Kremlin to spin the war as an existential threat and maintain support for the president. 

The Kremlin’s version of events has also been fed to Russia’s opponents. Claims that Ukraine’s frontline faces “imminent collapse” are an “effort to coerce the West and Ukraine into capitulating to Russian demands that Russia cannot secure itself militarily,” said D.C.’s Institute for the Study of War. This is a “false narrative.”

What next?
“Standard economic theory suggests that deteriorating conditions should push the Kremlin towards negotiations on ending the war,” said The Economist. “A rational actor facing mounting costs seeks an exit.” But Putin is watching the West grappling with its own problems and wavering in its support for Ukraine. “If your competitors are also weakening, and if you believe you can tolerate the pain longer than they can, the calculus flips.”

Recent developments in generative artificial intelligence have educators from elementary to university seemingly fighting an uphill battle as they struggle to manage students’ dependence on the technology. Meanwhile, one company has decided to fully embrace the new tools. But critics question whether replacing teachers with AI is worth the risk.

How does Alpha School work?
The AI-powered private school was founded in 2014 by MacKenzie Price, an educational podcaster and the founder of the AI tutor 2 Hour Learning, and software billionaire Joe Liemandt and has several branches across the country, with plans to expand. The school’s recent rise has “coincided with technological leaps in what artificial intelligence can do,” said CNN. 

Students typically start the day with a group activity that introduces a life skill before sitting down in front of “laptops, plug-in headsets or even virtual reality sets to learn academics” through an AI tutor, said CNN. The program’s two-hour curriculum includes “four 30-minute sessions in math, science, social studies and language,” as well as “20 minutes of additional learning concepts, like test-taking skills.” Instead of traditional teachers, the schools employ “human guides” who do not “manage grades or curriculum” but can offer “specialized teaching, like handwriting.”

“Harnessing AI thoughtfully will be critical to expanding opportunity and preparing students for tomorrow’s workforce,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon during a visit to an Alpha campus in September. The school is an “exemplary” case of what tech can do for American education.

Is the program effective?
Despite McMahon’s stamp of approval, the AI-driven program has attracted growing criticism. For more than a dozen former employees, students and parents, “what they expected from Alpha School wasn’t what it delivered,” said Wired.

Former guides, “many of whom requested anonymity because they fear negative consequences,” say Alpha’s educational philosophy was “driven by software metrics and, sometimes, Liemandt’s whims,” said the outlet. Alpha wanted to “prepare students for a hypercompetitive ‘late-capitalism, dog-eat-dog’ environment,” said one guide to Wired.

Experts say there’s “little outside scrutiny” of Alpha’s model and “how successful it really is at teaching children,” said CNN. A major concern is that Alpha refuses to “allow any independent research to evaluate the claims or to really scrutinize what’s going on,” said Victor Lee, an associate professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, to CNN. That “sort of implies there’s something to hide.”

Thai marines line up on the beach after taking part in an amphibious drill during the 46th Cobra Gold multinational military exercises in Sattahip, Thailand. The event brought together U.S., Thai, South Korean and Singaporean armed forces for the longest-running international military exercise in the world.
Chanakarn Laosarakham / AFP / Getty Images

Travel is for everyone or rather should be. Cities, landmarks, national parks and other destinations across the U.S. are increasingly making their spaces accessible for all. All of these spots were originally designed with inclusivity top of mind or have adapted to offer equal access.

Badlands National Park, South Dakota
This park offers visitors gorgeous views of “striking” landscapes, said Travel and Leisure. It also provides plenty of accessible spaces, starting with the Ben Reifel Visitor Center. A park highlight is the Fossil Exhibit Trail, a “short, accessible” route showcasing the “unique geology and fossil history” of the Badlands, said WheelchairTraveling.com.

Boston
This is a historic center, but when it comes to accessibility, Boston is thoroughly modern. Boston’s subway and trolley system is inching closer to becoming fully accessible and now has low-floor buses in its fleet and additional elevators being installed in stations. Even the Freedom Trail, featuring American Revolution sites, is accessible. It’s recommended that visitors use a power wheelchair to go over the cobbled streets and up hills.

Morgan’s Wonderland, San Antonio, Texas
Every aspect of Morgan’s Wonderland (pictured above), the world’s first “ultra-accessible” theme park, was thoughtfully planned to “ensure no one feels left out,” said Southern Living. The 25 attractions and shaded playgrounds can be enjoyed by guests of “all ages and abilities,” with rides like the wheelchair-accessible Joy’s Happy Swing and Rocket’s Sky Flight Adventure, a four-seater zip line over the park’s lake.