and saddened. new attacks in the middle east. israeli air strikes and palestinian rocket attacks just as a fragile cease-fire takes hold. in the west tonight, another gruesome discovery. a fourth body found as lake mead dries up in the relentless drought. plus, more than 70 million under heat alerts from oklahoma to the northeast. rob marciano times it all out. new hope for brittney griner. what we re learning about a possible prisoner exchange that could free the wnba star and paul whelan from russian jails. deadly crash. four killed in texas including two children when a suspected drunk driver plowed into their golf cart. growing concern over the nationwide teacher shortage. why so many are deciding to quit. what some districts are now doing to keep them in the classroom, one offering a $50,000 boost in benefits. and the play of the week, the heartwarming moment a young football fan s dream comes true. good evening, everyone. thanks so much for joining us on thi
Photo: KristinHiggins Mount Daniel Students Ignite Excitement for Science with Colorful Chemical Experiments At a FCEPTA-sponsored assembly, Mount Daniel st .
starts, districts like neenah, wisconsin as of today, we have 16 teaching openings for the upcoming year. reporter: and oseola county, florida, with 200 jobs recently still unfilled. it s across the board in every position. reporter: across the u.s., thousands of unfilled classroom jobs, the result of so many teachers this year deciding to quit. i was definitely very emotional about leaving the kids, but i just started to realize that i needed to do it for myself. reporter: a 2022 study by a texas teachers union reported 66% of members considered quitting recently for reasons including increasing workload, concerns for safety, and low pay. would you stay in your job if you re not paid enough based on your education and your experience? a lot of good teachers have left, and they are leaving. the exodus is still happening. reporter: districts responding in multiple ways from increasing class sizes to reducing the school week, neither ideal for students, and so
staffing shortages are plaguing every part of the country. some workers are leaving their jobs because of covid restrictions. others are searching for safer opportunities. the job openings and labor turnover survey noted 4.5 million americans quit their job in november. that was a record. the labor shortages are having huge impacts on daily life. we saw how the lack of airline staff and tsa workers disrupted holiday travel. it s still disrupting travel. today the northeast is facing a snow day with fewer snowplows available as driver shortages persist. one of the hardist hit areas and one of the most pressing for families across the country is education. teachers leave their in-person classroom jobs and surging covid cases further exacerbate the problem leaving staff in a tougher spot as teachers and staff test positive. i m joined by the superintendent