Joe Biden plans to intervene in Nippon Steel’s proposed purchase of US Steel‚ a move that could threaten the deal and anger Japan‚ one of Washington’s closest allies. Biden will issue a statement expressing serious concern about the Japanese group’s proposed $14.9bn acquisition of the Pennsylvania-headquartered steelmaker before Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrives for a state visit in Washington on April 10‚ according to six people familiar with the decision. US officials and lawyers...

The portion of U.S. adults who identify as other than heterosexual has more than doubled since 2012‚ a Gallup poll has found‚ with young people leading the way – from Generation Z through the Silent Generation‚ each younger group is about twice as likely as the one before it to identify as LGBTQ+. About 7.6% of U.S. adults now identify as lesbian‚ gay‚ bisexual‚ transgender‚ queer‚ or as something other than heterosexual‚ the poll found. That’s compared to 5.6% four years...

The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics' most recent report put the U.S. maternal mortality rate at a whopping 32.9 deaths per 100‚000 births. That number garnered a great deal of attention‚ including being covered by NPR and other news outlets. A new study suggests the national U.S. maternal mortality rate is actually much lower than that: 10.4 deaths per 100‚000 births. The widely reported issue of racial disparities in U.S. maternal mortality persists‚ even...

"It's the essence of everything that pop music should be.” The post Russell Mael on the Elvis Presley song that inspired Sparks: “Everything pop music should be” first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

Everyone needs to laugh. The post ‘Four Horseman’: The song The Clash used to make fun of themselves first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

It came out on March 13‚ 1969.

For years‚ liberals have scoffed at the idea that standardized testing is the best predictor of academic success. The National Education Association‚ for instance‚ claims standardized tests are “both inequitable and ineffective at gauging what students know.” Activists’ campaign against standardized testing — and their assertions that such tests discriminate against “underrepresented minority students” — culminated in the decisions by more than 1‚000 colleges to drop their standardized testing requirements. RELATED from Ellie Gardey: Is the ‘Test-Optional’ Racist Scheme Under Threat? This week‚ cold‚ hard data showed just how foolish those decisions were. The University of Texas at Austin released the academic performance data for students who submitted standardized scores versus those who did not submit such scores. The result is unambiguous: Students who did not submit standardized tests performed drastically worse than students who did submit their scores. The students who did not submit ACT or SAT scores finished the fall 2023 semester with a grade point average 0.86 grade points lower than students who did. This demonstrates an average difference of almost an entire letter grade. Had the University of Texas utilized all applicants’ standardized scores‚ it very well might have decided against admitting many of those who did not provide their scores. Students who did not provide scores had a median SAT of 1160‚ markedly lower than that of the students who did provide their scores: 1420. The University of Texas would have been correct in deciding against admitting those students with lower scores given how much better students with a higher average SAT performed academically. Additionally‚ students who submitted standardized test scores were 55 percent less likely to have completed the first semester of college with a GPA lower than 2.0. That cutoff represents academic failure‚ as students must have a GPA of at least 2.0 in order to graduate the University of Texas. This additional datapoint demonstrates that standardized test scores are key to determining who has the capacity to be successful at a certain college. These findings confirm a large body of research that has repeatedly shown that standardized test scores are the best predictor of success in college. Much of this is due to the fact that grade inflation and drastically different academic standards at high schools make it difficult to ascertain students’ abilities and potential from their grade point averages. Standardized testing‚ on the other hand‚ is better able to provide a regularized metric to judge performance and ability. For example‚ a 2023 study by researchers at Harvard University and Brown University looked at the factors that are predictive of students’ success in college and beyond. The researchers found that students with higher SAT or ACT scores “have substantially better post-college outcomes” and better college grades. At the same time‚ they found that high school GPAs are “essentially unrelated to outcomes.” A faculty committee at the University of California likewise found in 2020 that test scores were the best predictor of academic success for the university system’s students. (Yet the university system decided to ignore that clear finding and throw out standardized testing altogether in the name of equity.) When the University of Texas at Austin released the poorer results among students who did not submit standardized test scores‚ it also announced that it will require standardized test scores going forward. “Our experience during the test-optional period reinforced that standardized testing is a valuable tool for deciding who is admitted and making sure those students are placed in majors that are the best fit‚” said the university’s president‚ Jay Hartzell. The university additionally argued that knowledge of students’ standardized test scores contributes to higher graduation rates‚ in part because such scores are predictive of graduation but also because knowing a student’s academic ability allows the university to provide greater resources to those who need them. (READ MORE from Ellie Gardey: Virginia College Announces Students Can Major in ‘Cannabis Studies’) The University of Texas at Austin follows several other universities that have announced the reinstatement of standardized testing requirements in recent months. Just last week‚ Brown University announced a renewed testing requirement‚ explaining that test scores are “key indicators that help predict a student’s ability to succeed.” Yale University‚ Dartmouth University‚ and Georgetown University have also reinstated testing requirements. Given the large body of evidence that demonstrates standardized testing’s ability to determine which students can be successful at a particular university‚ all universities that are aiming to teach at a high level should be reinstating their testing requirements. If they do not‚ they are simply bowing to a disproven tenet of DEI — and making their schools worse off in the process. The post Eliminating Standardized Testing Had Shockingly Bad Results appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Lady Gaga caused an uproar on social media after partnering with transgender-identifying activist Dylan Mulvaney in honor of International Women’s Day. Mulvaney‚ who became an extremely controversial figure after last year’s Bud Light scandal‚ posted a video on TikTok featuring Lady Gaga and copying her beauty company‚ Haus Labs‚ with the caption: “Happy international womens day.” @dylanmulvaney Happy international womens day @ladygaga @HausLabs #hopecore ♬ original sound – ROTQUOTES The video‚ which currently has over 340‚000 likes‚ features a voiceover of Lady Gaga‚ saying‚ “I promise you‚ if you put your mind to it‚ and you work hard‚ and you never give up‚ and you do not listen to the rejection‚ you can achieve anything that life throws your way.” Social Media’s Response The pop star responded on Instagram to the “vitriol and hatred” she claimed Mulvaney’s post immediately received. “I feel very protective in this moment‚ not only of Dylan‚ but of the trans community who continues to lead the way with their endless grace and inspiration in the face of constant degradation‚ intolerance‚ and physical‚ verbal‚ and mental violence‚” Lady Gaga wrote. “I hope all women will come together to honor us ALL for International Women’s Day‚ and may we do that always until THE DAY that all women are celebrated equally. That all people are celebrated equally‚” she continued. “A day where people of all gender identities are celebrated on whichever holiday speaks to them. Because people of all gender identities and races deserve peace and dignity.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) Readers were quick to point out the issues with Gaga’s position. “Dylan mocks women. By posting photos with him on women’s day you would have known it would spark backlash and offend women but you did it anyway for publicity‚” posted Oli London‚ a British activist who speaks out against gender ideology. The issue also trended on X‚ formerly Twitter‚ where users were disgusted with Gaga’s take. “Disappointed in Lady Gaga…. Posting an image with Dylan Mulvaney is not it‚” wrote LGB‚ a youth group that aims to “separate” the transgender movement from the lesbian‚ gay‚ and bisexual movement. “On International Women’s Day‚ Gaga could have done a lot of things for struggling women around the world‚ but she chose to validate a male pretending to be a woman. Misogyny. #LGBWithoutTheT.” Lady Gaga and the Transgender Movement This is not the first time Lady Gaga’s beauty company has partnered with popular transgender-identifying influencers. On March 2‚ the company posted a collaboration video with Daus Mendoza‚ a transgender-identifying TikTok star. After it received backlash‚ one user commented on the video: “Bigots‚ burn! And oh‚ stop using Haus Labs if you can’t wrap your head around your ignorance and lack of inclusion. Makeup has no gender and so does a lot of things.” The so-called transgender women’s movement is quickly replacing women in every area from sports to makeup — and it seems as though women’s month is up next. The post Dylan Mulvaney’s Latest Conquest: Celebrated by Lady Gaga for International Women’s Day appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The elite want a total collapse of society Alex Jones breaks down the latest developments surrounding the collapse of civilization in Haiti and how it will impact America. Also:

from ZeroHedge: China‚ the world’s top agricultural importer‚ has canceled half a million tons of wheat from the US over the past week‚ adding to the record number of cancellations that have weighed on Chicago futures‚ according to Bloomberg. On Monday‚ private exporters exited purchases of 264‚000 metric tons of US soft red winter wheat to […]