Month: August 2026

By Nakell Williams

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement selected Georgia Tech to participate in a partnership designed to address a shortage of skilled technicians in the aerospace industry.

Elaine Ho, NASA’s associate administrator for STEM engagement, said there is an urgent need for workers in roles including welding and machining. The initiative includes six other institutions and aims to reach students who may not pursue traditional four-year degrees.

“The whole idea behind these state hubs is to bring everyone together so that we can have more students going into these skilled technician roles faster,” Ho said.

Georgia Tech was selected partly because of its relationships with technical colleges, high school programs and aerospace employers.

“When anyone thinks of NASA, you think of our exciting missions, and you often think about who does them and say, well, astronauts and rocket scientists. In reality, we really need people to build the hardware that we are using to go to the moon and to Mars and to explore the universe, and so we need welders, electricians, machinists and fabricators, and not enough students are going into those careers,” Ho said.

NASA funded the program with $10.5 million to be distributed over three years. Ho said officials expect to see results after the first year.

The partnership is expected to establish a faster path for training students for high-demand, well-paying jobs in the aerospace industry.

“The goal is to reach students across the state of Georgia through these collaborations,” Ho said.

The program will also help pay for students’ courses if needed.

Georgia Tech officials said the program will offer courses leading to short-term certificates and associate degrees through partnerships involving Georgia Tech, the Technical College System of Georgia, Georgia Southern University and industry partners.

Stephen Ruffin, interim chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Aerospace Engineering, said the program will offer courses that are typically shorter than those required to earn a degree.

“Many will be online and some in-person,” Ruffin said.

“Georgia Tech has a manufacturing pilot facility. That facility right now does hands-on education for high school students that may go into the skill trades. Some of those students may choose to go into degrees too,” he said.

The program will also provide internships in space-related industries and hands-on learning for people pursuing associate degrees. It will also serve industry workers who want to be reskilled in new technologies, including advanced manufacturing and AI-enabled manufacturing.

“We have a Space Research Institute that brings faculty that are experts in aerospace fields, and they will be directing their energy to this effort,” Ruffin said.

NASA also funds the Georgia Space Grant Consortium, which Ruffin leads.

“We have been focused on kindergarten through Ph.D., but not really targeted at the skilled workforce training,” he said.

Ruffin said he is excited to help get the program started and develop curricula aimed at strengthening the country’s competitiveness in the aerospace industry.

“One of the reasons I am excited to operate this program in Georgia is because Georgia is a leader in aerospace. The number one export of Georgia is aerospace products, and that is an $57B industry in Georgia that supports over 800 companies in Georgia and 200,000 residents that are working in the aviation space, manufacturing, repair and operations,” he explained. “So when we think about what is getting supported in this program, some of it will go to NASA’s missions going to the moon and to space, but it is also going to be building and supporting the workforce in Georgia that is critical,” Ruffin said.

The Georgia Aerospace and Defense Alliance is also a partner in the program.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Andie Bernhardt

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    MILWAUKEE (WDJT) — For several years, a blind Milwaukee man has been leaving his mark on the community through his passion for music.

Now, the community is repaying the favor as he continues to bring messages of hope at a time when people say they need it most.

“You’ve got to treat everybody right,” Danva Johnson sang. “You’ve got to love one another.”

The corner of 68th and Villard may look like just another gas station from afar. However, when you come closer and listen, you can see it’s become a stage for Danva Johnson.

“I don’t sing songs, I sing messages,” said Johnson.

The gas station has become his favorite spot to share messages of positivity through gospel music, a melody that changed Quierra Imani’s life.

“It’s just like a crazy feeling when someone can actually talk to you through music, and that’s exactly what he did,” said Imani.

Quierra says she was having a rough day, and as she heard his tune outside last week, she felt compelled to join in and sing.

“He started off with saying like, God put it in you for a reason, and then we just went from there and he was like basically talking to me, empowering me, telling me I could do it,” said Imani.

It’s a moment that changed her perspective. After she shared a clip of him singing, it gained millions of views.

“He sings so amazing,” said Quierra. “He touches so many people in our community, and now it’s across the world.”

Quierra says people kept reaching out asking to help him, so she started a GoFundMe, raising more than $8,000 to help him with living expenses and new equipment.

“These people effortlessly, thoughtlessly came to me, and they embrace me and what I’m doing,” said Johnson. “That means something to me.”

Johnson says if he can help change one person’s life with his song, it’s all worth it.

“If I can build somebody up when they’re torn down and strengthen them where they’re weak, then my living is not in vain,” said Johnson.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jeff Wagner

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    MINNESOTA (WCCO) — The Minnesota State Fair is just days away, affectionately known as summer’s last hurrah. That’s bittersweet for some people given the seasonal shift ahead, an impending change than can sour summer’s last full month.

“Even though summer hasn’t ended, we start experiencing that ending,” said Dr. Audra Nuru, the endowed chair of social sciences and a family studies and communications professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. “It’s still warm outside. We’re still going to the pool and taking vacations, but the school emails start coming in and the school supplies displays start showing up in the stores and our calendars start filling up.”

Maybe you’ve experienced the “Sunday scaries,” which is when you worry about the looming work week or wish you could have accomplished more over the weekend. The “August blues” create similar feelings, one being regret.

“At the beginning of summer there’s all this possibility, right? And then August arrives and we start asking ourselves, did we take that trip? Did we spend enough time together? Did the kids have enough to have fun?” Nuru said.

Another feeling can be anxiety. The thought of the school year beginning, schedules changing and colder days ahead can create anxiousness — all while summer is still there to be enjoyed in August.

“That affects how we feel about the time that we have left,” Nuru said.

For those struggling with the “August blues,” what can they do to manage it? Nuru says the first step is to simply savor the present moment. The weather’s still warm, and while we’re losing daylight, there’s still plenty of it compared to fall and winter.

“One thing that we can do is just change the way we talk about the time that’s left. Instead of, ‘We only have two weekends left,’ Maybe it’s, ‘We still have these two weekends!’ Nothing about the calendar has changed, but we’re paying attention to what’s here rather than rushing past it,” she said.

Her next idea is to relieve yourself of the pressure to do more before August ends, like forcing one last vacation.

“A good summer doesn’t have to be filled with these extraordinary things. Kids can get bored sometimes. That’s OK. We can spend a Saturday at home. That’s OK,” she said. “Those ordinary days count, too.”

Lastly, plan something to look forward to in the fall. That could include the vacation you didn’t try to force in August or a seasonal activity like leaf peeping. That way you have a reason to be excited about what’s to come rather than thinking about the summer we’ll soon leave behind.

For 2026, fall begins on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Itay Hod

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — For most people, a five-star meal is reserved for birthdays, anniversaries, the kind of night you remember for the rest of your life.

For 87-year-old Donna Barker, it’s just dinner.

Every evening, before she heads out, she makes herself a martini — shaken, not stirred — touches up her lipstick, and heads to her favorite spot in town. But Barker doesn’t hop in a rideshare. She just catches an elevator.

“Initially, I didn’t come here for the food, but you can’t drag me away from here now,” she said.

That’s because her favorite restaurant is smack dab in the middle of her retirement community, Villa Marin, and the menu is created by executive chef Ensan Wong, whose resume includes The French Laundry, one of the most exclusive kitchens in America.

“Here I found the satisfaction, the reward that you put a smile to them, meal after meal,” Wong said.

It’s called resort-style senior living: a new category of retirement communities built less like nursing homes and more like luxury cruise ships. A recent report shows the senior living market is expected to soar from $76 billion in 2026 to $102 billion by 2031.

“People are planning for this years in advance. The average courtship is three years,” Villa Marin CEO Nicole Mashburn said.

Mashburn said baby boomers are redefining retirement, right down to who runs the place. Villa Marin is self-governed by its residents who own their apartments and pay an average of $6,000 a month in HOA fees. That includes housekeeping, paddle courts, a library, a salon, and a fully equipped health center with on-site medical staff.

“It was a place to come and die, and now it’s a place to come and live,” Mashburn said.

Retirees want more than a nice apartment, too. They’re asking for more adventurous cuisine, pickleball courts, and classes taught by local universities. Some want more ways to volunteer and give back. Others, especially those who are widowed or divorced, are hoping for a second shot at love.

Ken Dychtwald, a psychologist who’s written extensively about the golden years, says with more than 80 million Americans now over the age of 65, expect to see a lot more of these luxury senior communities. But he cautions not everyone can afford them.

“It’s fine if you’re wealthy, but for the average person, they’re just out of touch, out of range right now, but that’s going to change in the coming years,” he said.

As for Barker, her retirement has never tasted better.

“I got the pot roast and the vegetables and the grilled Brussels sprout, which is my favorite,” she said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.