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Moore: Our public schools are a national disaster

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:59 GMT

Perhaps what’s most distressing about the latest collapse in high school test scores is that no one seems to be very distressed.You’ve probably heard the news that ACT scores have fallen for the sixth straight year. Our high school kids are less equipped for a job or college than at any time in three decades.Why isn’t anyone in Washington or anyone in our $800 billion education bureaucracy sounding the alarm and declaring this a national emergency? It certainly puts our national security, our technological superiority and our economic prosperity in grave danger.Instead of outrage, it is almost as if Americans have become anesthetized to bad news about our kids.One theory is that Americans feel about their local schools as they do toward Congress: They love their own representative but think the rest of the members are corrupt and incompetent.Exactly 40 years ago, the National Commission on Excellence in Education issued its findings on the state of the schools in i...

Editorial: Civilian casualties part of Hamas’ terror plan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:59 GMT

Early news reports are the first draft of history, and Hamas’ effort to blame Israel for an explosion at a Gaza hospital are collapsing under scrutiny. It’s also vital to understand that there’s a vast gulf between trying to minimize civilian casualties and encouraging them as a propaganda tool.Hundreds were killed last Tuesday in Gaza City at a hospital crowded with people seeking safe haven. U.S. intelligence officials say the explosion came from a rocket launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group that went off prematurely.“Among the evidence that’s been gathered is a blast analysis that suggests it was a ground explosion rather than an airstrike that hit the hospital,” a source told CNN. “There was no singular crater suggesting there was a bomb, but there was extensive fire damage and scattered debris that is consistent with an explosion starting from the ground level, according to the source.”Israel also released an audio recording that it said caught Hamas operatives discu...

Week 7 recap: Chicago Bears dominate the Las Vegas Raiders 30-12 in rookie QB Tyson Bagent’s 1st NFL start

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:59 GMT

Rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent led three touchdown drives in his first career start to lift the Chicago Bears to a 30-12 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at Soldier Field.It was the Bears’ first home victory since Sept. 25, 2022, snapping a franchise-record 10-game streak.The Bears relied heavily on their running game, with D’Onta Foreman totaling 89 yards on the ground and Darrynton Evans adding 48. Foreman scored two rushing touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass.Meanwhile, Bagent, an undrafted rookie who last started a regular-season game for Division II Shepherd, completed 21 of 29 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t commit a turnover against a Raiders defense that entered the game with just five takeaways this season and was sacked once.Bagent was starting in place of Justin Fields, who injured his right thumb in Week 6.The Bears defense got three interceptions — one from Tremaine Edmunds and two from Jaylon Johnson — again...

‘Anatomy of a Fall’ weaves mystery, courtroom drama

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:59 GMT

A smash hit in France after winning the Palme d’Or, Cannes’ top prize, “Anatomy of a Fall” soars with its fresh approach to the classic courtroom drama.Like the great 1959 “Anatomy of a Murder,” whose aura this “Anatomy” invokes, what co-writer and director Justine Triet aims to emphasize with her “Anatomy” is ambiguity.  In Otto Preminger’s masterpiece the question is not if a jealous husband killed the man accused of raping his wife, it’s “was it really non-consensual?”“That movie is very important for me.  I saw that movie 10 years ago,” Triet, 45, said in a post-screening Q&A at the New York Film Festival. “It’s so modern the way they are playing in the courtroom.”In “Anatomy of a Fall” the question is whether Sandra (Germany’s Sandra Hüller), a writer, pushed her husband, also a writer, out the window of their Grenoble chalet. Or did he jump?His dead body is discovered in the snow by his partially blind 9-year-old son who had been out walking their dog.This “Ana...

Dear Abby: Cross-dressing man eager for Halloween

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:59 GMT

Dear Abby: I’m a cross-dresser who is able to enjoy wearing women’s clothes in private at home. With Halloween around the corner, I want nothing more than to be fully dressed as a woman and go outside to experience how it feels. I want to wear a nice dress, high heels, pantyhose, wig, makeup, etc.My wife knows I enjoy dressing up and tolerates it. But she’s unwilling to let me express myself out of the house or help me with the process. How can I get her to help me get dolled up and experience being a woman for one night? I feel so deprived not being able to be who I want to be. — Dressed and ReadyDear Dressed: Halloween is the one night of the year when many people, yourself included, can decide to dress up and become who they really are (or would like to be). Because your wife won’t assist you, consider visiting a makeup counter and asking one of the salespeople to help with your makeup that night. And, if nothing in your closet suits the real you, re...

Traffic stopped on northbound I-5 after pedestrian hit by vehicle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Traffic along all lanes the northbound Interstate 5 through downtown has been stopped after a person stepped out of their car and was struck by another vehicle, according to California Highway Patrol.Around 8:29 p.m., officers were alerted to a sedan that had apparently stalled while in the No. 3 lane of the freeway just south of State Route 94 off-ramp, according to CHP logs. The driver placed the hazard lights on while stuck in the lane.A person then exited the sedan and began running towards the shoulder when they were struck by another vehicle, CHP said.Medics were dispatched to the scene and attempted CPR on the pedestrian. They were transported to Scripps Mercy Hospital around 9:07 p.m. Their current condition or the extent of their injuries remains unknown.A SigAlert for a "hard closure" has been issued by CHP for the next two hours on northbound I-5 lanes south of the SR-94 connector. The F Street on-ramp to westbound SR-94 has also been closed.As of 9:45 p.m.,...

Hundreds gather in downtown San Diego for rally supporting Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Hundreds of people gathered at the San Diego County Administration Center Sunday afternoon for a rally in support of Israel as the war in Gaza enters its third week.Dozens waved Israeli flags and banners that read "We stand with Israel" during the protest, organized by a coalition of several organizations. Others held flyers with the names of people who were reported missing or held hostage by Hamas after the initial Oct. 7 attack."We're here to show our support for the hostages that Hamas took in their attack" said Bruce Levine, who attended the rally. "As time goes on, people's memories get a little bit fuzzy and there's been so much focus on Israel's response that a lot of people have forgotten." Vigil for Israel, peace held in Chula Vista In the wake of Hamas' invasion, Israel imposed a complete siege on Gaza and launched thousands of retaliatory airstrikes on the densely-packed enclave. By Oct. 22, Israeli attacks had widened to include targets Syria and the occu...

Sen. Menendez returns to New York court to enter plea to new conspiracy charge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez returns to court Monday to enter an expected not guilty plea to a conspiracy charge alleging that he acted as an agent of the Egyptian government even as he chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Menendez, 69, was scheduled to appear in the afternoon before Judge Sidney H. Stein at federal court in Manhattan.The Democrat stepped down from his powerful post leading the Senate committee after he was charged last month. Prosecutors said the senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, accepted bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car over the past five years from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for a variety of corrupt acts.The other defendants entered not guilty charges to a superseding indictment last week. The senator was permitted to delay his arraignment so he could tend to Senate duties. He has said that throughout his whole life he has been loyal to the United States and that he will show his innocence.Menendez has resisted cal...

Argentine economy minister has surprise win over populist, and they head toward presidential runoff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:59 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Economy Minister Sergio Massa produced a big surprise by finishing first in the opening round of Argentina’s presidential election, reflecting voters’ wariness about handing the presidency to his chief rival, a right-wing populist who upended national politics and pledged to drastically diminish the state.Massa’s victory over Javier Milei, a chainsaw-wielding economist and freshman lawmaker, came despite the fact that on his watch inflation has surged into triple digits, eating away at purchasing power of salaries and boosting poverty. Still, he wasn’t punished in Sunday’s voting. With nearly all balots counted early Monday, Massa had 36.7% of the vote and Milei had 30%, meaning the two will go to a Nov. 19 runoff. Most pre-election polls, which have been notoriously unreliable, had given Milei a slight lead over Massa. Former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, of the main center-right opposition coalition, got 23.8% to finish third in the fiel...

Japan’s Kishida plans an income tax cut for households and corporate tax breaks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:59 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday he is preparing to take bold economic measures, including an income tax cut for households hit by inflation and tax breaks for companies to promote investment, in what’s seen as a move to lift his dwindling public support.In his speech to start a new Parliamentary session, Kishida said it was time to shift from an economy of low cost, low wages and cost-cutting to one backed by growth led by sustainable wage hikes and active investment.“I’m determined to take unprecedentedly bold measures,” Kishida said, pledging an intensive effort to achieve stronger supply capability in about three years. He said he is determined to help people ride out the impact of soaring prices for food, utilities and other costs that have exceeded their salary increases, by implementing income tax cuts. He also pledged to introduce corporate tax incentives to promote wage increases, investment and optimization.Previously, Kishida...