"Rep. Jamaal Bowman has been criminally charged for pulling the fire alarm during a House vote that would have avoided a government shutdown.

The New York Democrat called allegations it was deliberate 'complete BS' and claimed he thought he was opening a door.

But now the Capitol Police have referred him to prosecutors, who have hit him with one misdemeanor count and ordered him to appear in court.

The September 30 incident took place in the Cannon House Office building and sparked calls from Republicans for him to be expelled from Congress.

The charge was for 'willfully and knowingly [giving] a false alarm of fire, in violation of DC code' and the New York Democrat was ordered to appear in court for arraignment on Thursday."

Read the entire article here.

"Did you know we spend more than $800 billion annually on public K-12 education in America? On average, schools in the United States spend $19,380 per pupil, which is more per child than all but one other developed nation (Luxembourg). Adjusting for inflation, spending grew by 244% between 1970 and 2019. That's 6% of our GDP, also more than many other North American and European nations, which average 4.85% of GDP.

"What do we have to show for that? More teachers per student, more non-instructional staff and smaller class sizes than ever before (down from 22 students per teacher in 1970 to 15 in 2021). We have higher high school graduation rates and lower dropout rates. More kids have access to computers and the internet than ever before -- 97% of 3- to 18-year-olds.

"That all sounds like good news, so why are American students falling behind globally -- behind China, Japan, Canada, Poland, Slovenia and many more? Thirty-six countries outperformed the United States in mathematics at the high school level on the most recent (2018) Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). They did slightly better in science (at No.17) and reading comprehension (at No. 12), but the gap between high and low performers widened. About one-fifth of American 15-year-olds scored so low on the PISA test that it appeared they had not mastered the reading skills expected of a 10-year-old, according to one expert."

Read the entire article here.

"Several current and former congressional oversight staff have been recently informed that the U.S. Justice Department seized their phone and email records back in 2017 as part of leak investigations, belated revelations that have touched off an inquiry by DOJ's internal watchdog and raised serious concerns about the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. ...

"Officials said the seizures were related, in part, to leak investigations stemming from the FBI's now-discredited Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Russia collusion.

"The targeted staffers include people who worked for the Senate Judiciary and House Intelligence committees who have direct oversight responsibility for the FBI and Justice Department, raising concerns that the legislative branch overseers were being monitored by those they oversee in the executive branch."

Read the entire article here.

"President Joe Biden's reckless energy policies, including a relentless war on US oil, have now seriously undercut national security.

"To wit, the US Energy Information Agency just pegged the nation's supply of emergency oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at just 351 million barrels -- about half its capacity.

"Biden has been depleting it periodically in the name of 'Message: I care,' as his other policies have driven pump prices far above the level when he took office.

"That's the lowest the SPR has been in 40 years, providing enough to last only 17 days in a national emergency.

"What a time to run low!

"The Middle East may erupt any day, threatening oil exports from the region; Russian oil remains banned as its war in Ukraine rages on."

Read the entire article here.

"Campbell Brown, Facebook's top news executive, left the company this month. Twitter, now known as X, removed headlines from the platform days later. The head of Instagram's Threads app, an X competitor, reiterated that his social network would not amplify news.

"Even Google -- the strongest partner to news organizations over the past 10 years -- has become less dependable, making publishers more wary of their reliance on the search giant. The company has laid off news employees in two recent team reorganizations, and some publishers say traffic from Google has tapered off.

"If it wasn't clear before, it's clear now: The major online platforms are breaking up with news."

Read the entire article here.

"The Biden administration is facing an onslaught of opposition to its proposed fuel economy standards, which critics say would increase consumer costs and unfairly burden U.S. businesses.

"The Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received more than 62,900 public comments related to the fuel economy regulations it issued in late July during its comment period, which ended Monday. The so-called Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards received opposition letters from a wide range of stakeholders, including 26 states and the energy, agriculture and automotive industries.

"'NHTSA's proposal is yet another attempt by the Biden administration to restrict Americans' freedom to decide what vehicle fits their needs and budget,' Will Hupman, the American Petroleum Institute's (API) vice president of downstream policy, said in a statement.

"'Combined with EPA's proposed tailpipe emissions standards, these rules amount to a de facto ban on cars and trucks using liquid fuels, which can and should be a part of the solution to reduce carbon emissions,' he continued."

Read the entire article here.

"The shocking news came just over a week ago, on October 7: Iran's proxy terror force Hamas had flooded across Israel's border and within hours had slaughtered hundreds of Israelis.

"While the Biden administration was no doubt shocked too, it shouldn't have been surprised that its relentless appeasement of Iran is now exposed for the folly it is.

"Others are noticing as well, which is why Biden is being pressured to re-freeze the $6 billion hostage ransom payment made to Iran last month. A good start perhaps, but it doesn't address Biden's months-long Iran sanctions relief campaign totaling more than $50 billion that only emboldened Tehran's commitment to sponsor terrorism.

"Congress should now demand an end to all of it, not just the $6 billion."

Read the entire article here.

"The virulent anti-Israel protests across America and Europe throw a glaring light on the bizarre alliance between left-wing activists and militant Muslims. That odd combination has been the bedrock of political activism at universities and in the streets for years. It began in universities, where it now dominates political discourse, threatens Jewish students, and intimidates anyone brave enough to voice their dissent. We can now see how it has spread far beyond the campus.

"What makes the alliance so strange are the deep-seated differences between leftists and Muslim fundamentalists over core beliefs."

Read the entire article here.

"The House was thrown into even more chaos after House Republicans' speaker designate, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), withdrew from the race once it became clear he had no path to win the election, leaving the House leaderless for a 10th straight day.

"GOP lawmakers are set to meet for their fifth consecutive day of closed-door meetings on Friday as they plot a path forward and try to coalesce around a candidate who can get the 217 votes necessary to become speaker on the House floor. Members are expected to reconsider a number of rule changes that could dictate how they choose their next speaker, but it remains unclear when the chamber will vote on its next nominee.

"After a day of meeting behind closed doors with the full conference and those opposed to his speakership, Scalise announced Thursday night he would be withdrawing his name from the running."

Read the entire article here.

"This Sunday, hours after Hamas's first attack on Israel, Biden's National Security Council promised that the $6 billion ransom Biden agreed to pay in exchange for five hostages had not yet been released to Iran. The money sat in a Qatari bank where it had been transferred from South Korea where it had been held at Washington's request as part of sanctions on Iranian oil sales.

"'Not a single cent from these funds has been spent,' an NSC spokeswoman said, 'and when it is spent, it can only be spent on things like food and medicine for the Iranian people.'

"But if the Biden administration can monitor the $6 billion and make sure it is spent only on food and medicine, surely it must also have the ability to refreeze the money if the terms are violated. Otherwise, the terms were useless from the start. ...

"Obama's vision for a rebalanced Middle East built around a civilized and responsible Iranian regime was vaporous wish fulfillment. The nuclear deal was a terrible mistake. Biden's decision to relax oil sanctions to revive it was bone-headed. Biden's decision to unfreeze $6 billion compounded the litany of errors.

"All these huge blunders contributed to the war now unleashed on Israel. Biden can begin to undo the damage he and Obama did to the region by refreezing the $6 billion. It won't make everything right, but it would be a start."

Read the entire article here.