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An online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump’s political coalitionMultiple Reports Indicate Red Sox, Yankees Could Ignite Bidding War For Cy Young WinnerGISD officials hoping for success, have plan in case of failure

School report cards released this month by the state provide only a “snapshot” of academic performance, Muskogee School Superintendent Jarod Mendenhall said. The Oklahoma State Department of Education uses the A-F public school report cards to provide information on different aspects of school performance, according to a department media release. Schools receive letter grades on overall performance, academic achievement, improvement from previous year, chronic absenteeism and English language proficiency progress. In Muskogee Public Schools, Sadler Arts Academy received an A overall grade and the 8th and 9th Grade Academy received a C overall grade. The other schools — Muskogee High, 6th and 7th Grade Academy and Cherokee, Creek, Irving, Pershing and Tony Goetz elementaries — received D overall grades. Mendenhall and other superintendents say the report cards do not provide a full picture of school performance. “These scores provide only a single snapshot of how a particular school is performing,” he said. “Our schools are providing much more for our students such as culture, climate, activities, etc.” Mendenhall said Muskogee uses some of the state data, along with internal assessments, to guide instruction. “We provide our students with pre-, mid-, and post-year assessments where teachers can review how our students are doing throughout the school year,” he said. “Our teachers do a fantastic job of utilizing this data, but the state scores are from last spring making it difficult to use.” He said this year’s report cards were modified this year, making it hard to use the data. “Since the system is based on a bell curve, the majority of schools throughout the state of Oklahoma must score average — C grade — for the system to work,” he said. “This is why it’s difficult to utilize this particular measurement year after year.” Mendenhall said the district does pay attention to state components indicating growth in different areas. He said the state needs to put more emphasis on measuring growth over time. “We did not see the improvement we were hoping for,” he said. “However, we saw improvement at many school sites which is encouraging. Our focus is meeting our students where they are every school year and then helping them meet the standards. I am pleased with our progress as a district and I look forward to seeing our district consistently improve year after year.” Muskogee Public Schools academic growth was within three points from state average, according to the state report card. Hilldale Schools got straight C overall grades, which is not much different from last year’s report, said Hilldale Superintendent Erik Puckett said. “We had a little growth in some academic areas at all three of our sites, and that’s encouraging,” he said. “We still work on it every day. We’ve got to get better. I think our teachers try to work hard in trying to teach the child, not just the academic part, but the social part.” Puckett said he doesn’t use the school report card to show how successful a school is. “But we do try to use the individual growth of individual students — how did one child improve from the third to the fourth grade, or from eighth to high school, “ he said. “We look at the growth we hope to see at different age levels and base instruction on the weak areas a child will have within those individual results.” He said people should not compare one school with another because demographics are different, “even within a city.” Each Fort Gibson school received a B overall grade. Superintendent Scott Farmer could not be reached. In 2023, Farmer said the district uses its own goals and measurements on academic performance. “There is no way in a large school system to boil down the performance to one letter grade,” he said in 2023. According to a Department of Education media release, the state report card compiles data for 700,000 students in Oklahoma public and public charter schools. The Oklahoma legislature established the report card system to measure school performance on different indicators.Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: Dec. 23 The Washington Post on President Biden's commutation of death sentences President Joe Biden’s Monday announcement that he would should not be seen as an act of mercy for people convicted of awful crimes. It was a substantial move to align the United States with the rest of the democratic world, which has largely abandoned the practice of killing people as an instrument of justice. In other words, Mr. Biden’s use of his commutation power was extraordinary — and insufficient. Three men will remain on federal death row, and more people could be put there in future years. Meanwhile, many states continue to execute people. We say this while acknowledging the horrors these people committed; the three men Mr. Biden left on death row were convicted of mass shootings or terrorist attacks. We also acknowledge that a majority of Americans still favors the death penalty, despite a downward trend in recent years. Mr. Biden’s attempt to split the difference, leaving what he considered the worst of the worst on death row, is therefore understandable. Yet the death penalty is expensive, impractical and too often unjustly applied. And, even if the death penalty posed none of these problems, the government should not purposely take lives outside of war or similar conflict. The state should be better — far better — than those who unnecessarily and premeditatedly extinguish human life. Our view has seen substantial wins in recent years. Executions have plummeted as public support for the practice has moderated. But 2024 offered multiple signs that the momentum may be ebbing. President-elect promised . And the Death Penalty Information Center, in its annual end-of-year report, shows that the number of executions nationwide, though still far below their heights at the turn of the century, have been ticking upward in recent years. Twenty-five people were executed in the United States in 2024, slightly up from the previous year and more than twice the reached in 2021. That’s largely the result of efforts by officials in Republican-run states to reactivate the death penalty. Three states this year — Utah, South Carolina and Indiana — carried out their first executions in more than a decade. Alabama also : asphyxiating them with nitrogen gas. The first person subjected to this method, Kenneth Smith, convulsed and gasped for air for four minutes. Following the execution, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall to adopt the method. “Alabama has done it, and now so can you,” he said. Increasingly, states are carrying out these executions behind a veil of secrecy. Just last week, Indiana, citing state law, executed Joseph Corcoran with . This year also saw an increase in the number of people sentenced to death, from 21 in 2023 to 26. of those sentences were imposed by nonunanimous juries, thanks to laws in Florida and Alabama that allow jurors to recommend the death sentence even if they don’t reach consensus. In fact, Florida in 2023 allowing death sentences to be imposed if just 8 out of 12 jurors vote in favor. Of course, as Mr. Biden acknowledged in his Monday announcement, most people with death sentences in the United States committed heinous crimes and deserve little sympathy. But one can condemn such acts while also maintaining that executing criminals cannot bring back victims of those crimes or make whole those who lost loved ones. Also, mistakes happen, even in an advanced criminal justice system such as that of the United States. In July, Larry Roberts sentenced to death to be exonerated of his alleged crime since the DPIC starting tracking wrongful convictions in 1973. No one should be comfortable with that number. Since 1976, when the Supreme Court ended its four-year moratorium on the death penalty, more than 1,600 people have been executed in the United States. How many of them were likewise innocent? ONLINE: Dec. 24 The New York Times on the teen mental health crisis Rates of anxiety and depression in adolescents have been . Millions of Americans with mental health problems are not getting the treatment they need for myriad reasons. Many families can’t afford it. And many young people also don’t know where to turn for help. The UJA-Federation of New York, an organization created in 1917 to provide Jewish New Yorkers with economic and social support, is trying to fill the coverage gap for young adults of all backgrounds. The organization helps them get care from its network of mental health professionals through educational outreach at schools, community centers and even coffee shops. This kind of because it has been shown to reach people who might not otherwise seek treatment or support. “Since UJA was founded — and that’s now well over 100 years ago — we have focused on critical issues facing New Yorkers in need,” said Alex Roth-Kahn, a managing director at the organization. That mission has led to decades of supporting people with mental health challenges. Just this year, Marcellus Williams in Missouri for a 1998 murder, even though the prosecuting attorney in St. Louis County filed a motion to vacate his death sentence because DNA testing of the murder weapon ruled him out. And in Texas, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is of Robert Robertson, convicted in the death of his 2-year-old, who prosecutors said died of shaken baby syndrome — though Robertson’s lawyers have cited medical and forensic experts she likely died from undiagnosed pneumonia. Mr. Biden’s intervention this week is a nod to the flaws of the death penalty, but also a need for a system that claims human dignity and equal application of the law as its driving values. State and federal lawmakers should finish the job by abolishing the practice. ONLINE: Dec. 23 The Wall Street Journal on rising life expectancy in the United States Some good news as 2024 nears the end: Life expectancy in the U.S. last year made an unusually sharp increase as deaths from most major causes declined, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Americans can expect more longevity gains in the future—as long as Washington doesn’t introduce harmful policies. Life expectancy in 2023 rose 0.9 years to 78.4 while the overall mortality rate adjusted for age declined 6%. Death rates among all age groups fell, and more sharply for middle-aged Americans and seniors. A typical 65-year-old can expect to live another 19.5 years, up from 18.9 years in 2022. The large rebound in a single year owes largely to a decline in Covid deaths as the pandemic receded into the past. Covid deaths last year were roughly the same as those from the flu during a bad flu season. Death rates from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and unintentional injuries (e.g., drug overdoses) also declined. It’s true that U.S. life expectancy is still lower, and deaths from most causes somewhat higher, than before the pandemic when it reached an overall average of 78.8 years. But that’s because of an increase in chronic illnesses, which may have been exacerbated by the pandemic lockdowns. Forced to stay home, many Americans ate and drank more and used more drugs. The Biden Administration claimed credit for the lifespan increase because drug overdoses declined slightly in 2023. Perhaps political attention to the fentanyl scourge is making a difference. But overdoses were still 50% higher last year than in 2019. The truth is that the Administration’s “harm reduction” policies—e.g., distributing sterile needles and opioid-overdose medicine naloxone to addicts—have failed to reduce addiction. A common lament on the political left and right is that the U.S. has a lower life expectancy despite spending more on healthcare than most developed countries. But America also has more chronic disease and drug addiction, which aren’t from failings in private healthcare. Americans have access to more treatments than any country in the world. This is why U.S. cancer survival rates are higher than in most developed countries and continue to improve. Personalized cancer vaccines and CAR T-cell therapies have shown potential to treat deadly cancers like pancreatic and glioblastoma. GLP-1 medicines like Ozempic could help extend lifespans by reducing obesity, diabetes and even drug addictions. The policy risk is that government drug price controls will discourage innovation. Expanding government control over healthcare isn’t the way to make Americans healthier. ONLINE: Dec. 24 The Boston Globe says Republicans taking directions from Elon Musk might want to reconsider Until last week’s budget debacle, Elon Musk was a warm-up act for President-elect Donald Trump. Like the many adulatory openers at Trump rallies and Republican gatherings, he amped up the crowd — but strictly in preparation for the main act. While Democrats like to flash star power at events — A-listers, movie stars, and pop icons — in today’s Republican Party, Trump is the star power. But the rise of Musk as a political figure means that another successful, powerful businessman is potentially poised to eclipse Trump’s voice in the Republican Party, whether he intends to or not. That’s a problem for Trump, who isn’t exactly used to sharing the limelight. The MAGA movement, as Trump allies describe it, is built around the idea that politicians of all stripes are too blinded by corruption, political complications, and self-interest to serve the needs of the American people. Such a movement necessitates an audacious leader who isn’t afraid to break with the pack and stand out — someone exactly like Trump. His no-holds-barred style of leadership has allowed him to quickly overhaul the Republican Party, elevating loyalists and his favored policies with little regard for pushback from liberals or traditional Republicans. Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, owner of X (formerly Twitter), and the world’s richest man, has been one of Trump’s most important allies in spreading that message. His endorsement, his campaigning efforts, his dollar America PAC, his energizing rally appearances, and even his transformation of X into a “town square” have been vital to spreading Republican messaging. Musk has been a dutiful “First Buddy.” But he could become more than that, as he revealed last week. Starting early Wednesday morning, a mere series of X posts from Musk helped to derail a bipartisan congressional deal to fund the government and avert a shutdown. That Musk had concerns about a 1,500-page budget bill isn’t the issue here; it’s safe to assume that any impenetrable packet of government spending contains eyebrow-raising allocations. What is of concern is how Musk seemingly single-handedly hijacked the process — and how Republicans let him. On X, Musk and his sidekick Vivek Ramaswamy praised Republicans who bowed to his opposition of the bill and put on notice those who didn’t. “Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk early Wednesday afternoon, generating more than 47 million views. He beat Trump to the punch — or, maybe, pushed the president-elect into action. Twelve hours after Musk’s first post opposing the bill, JD Vance and Trump a statement condemning the bill. And that evening, Trump on Truth Social that “Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be primaried.” So Republican leaders dutifully withdrew the bill and replaced it with a slimmed-down alternative that met Musk and Trump’s demands. That bill failed on Thursday. So on Friday, rather than allow the government to shut down, the House voted on and passed a third bill — which looked suspiciously like the initial version with some face-saving changes to placate Musk and Trump — with Democratic votes. That Musk is using his platform to share his views isn’t an issue. As he often points out, he has made X a public square for many different viewpoints — including many of his own detractors. The problem is that Republicans have allowed Musk to disproportionately sway their leadership. That’s not necessarily a problem when Musk is advocating for budget cuts and bureaucratic overhaul in his self-conceived Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE will be an extragovernmental advisory board that might have the potential to help trim some federal fat. In this advisory role, an innovator like Musk, along with his cochair Ramaswamy, have the potential to make helpful recommendations unburdened by the political pressures of being in the federal government. But advisers advise, they don’t direct. Will it be a problem when the new ascendant voice on the right wants to, say, protect his business interests with American adversaries ? He has many potential conflicts of interest in dictating how the American government should spend and not spend its money. His companies Tesla and SpaceX, for example, in government contracts over the past decade. Musk is doing more than swaying policy. He’s also creating a new line of attack for Democrats who are more than pleased to point out that Republicans’ reimagined “working people’s party” is being led by a billionaire puppeteered by a far richer billionaire. On X, Democrats lined up to highlight “President Musk’s” pull, with Senator Chris Murphy about the Trump administration’s “Billionaire First” agenda. Trump is no stranger to criticisms from the left, nor is he particularly stringent about consistency in his policy positions. Like any good populist, Trump has shown himself willing to adapt to his supporters’ whims. He might bristle, however, at the prospect of being relegated to an opening act, a mere figurehead for a party driven by someone younger, richer, and more influential. The bristling may have already started. Trump’s transition spokesperson immediately went on the defense: “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop,” Karoline Leavitt . And maybe some resistance from Team Trump is for the best. Even if Trump agrees with Musk, an unelected billionaire with a long list of conflicts of interest should not have such a direct line of influence over our government. Trump was elected, he should be making the decisions — not waiting for his rich friend to endorse them before Trump himself has even weighed in. Republicans are going to have to answer plenty of tough questions about Musk’s influence on their party over the next four years. None might be as difficult as this: Is Trump willing to let Musk steal his show? ONLINE: Dec. 24 The Philadelphia Inquirer says RFK Jr. cannot be taken seriously as HHS Secretary America’s public health could be at risk if the incoming administration doesn’t correct some of the campaign rhetoric that may have helped Donald Trump win an election but has no merit now that voting is over. For example, inaccurate comments about water fluoridation that prospective U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has not taken back. “ , bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease,” Kennedy said in a November social media post in which he also claimed the president-elect would advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. As is typical with Trump, he has neither embraced nor denied Kennedy’s assertions, preferring to instead suggest support of ideas that he may later reject by nebulously saying of Kennedy: “I’m going to let him go wild on health. I’m going to let him go wild on the food. I’m going to let him go wild on medicines.” Please, don’t. America doesn’t need anyone “wild” in charge of public health. Kennedy can’t be taken seriously when he makes misleading comments about water fluoridation that may have a veneer of truth but don’t hold up when someone takes the time to review the facts. Fluoride is not an industrial waste product. It is a leaches naturally into streams and other water supplies. Its effectiveness in preventing tooth decay was discovered in the 1920s when it was observed that Colorado Springs, Colo., residents whose teeth were stained by excessive fluoride in their water sources had fewer than normal cavities. Kennedy is wrong to suggest the subsequent fluoridation of community water supplies across America occurred hastily and without due investigation of potential dangers. The National Institutes of Health began investigating how fluoride affects the human body in the 1930s, but the first major trial of fluoridation of a community’s water supply didn’t occur until 1945 in Grand Rapids, Mich. President Harry S. Truman signed an act creating the National Institute of Dental Research in 1948 in large part because 20% of young men being drafted for military service were rejected because their teeth were so bad. Meanwhile, 10 years after the Michigan study began, the cavity rate among Grand Rapids children was reduced by more than 60%. Subsequent research shows drinking fluoridated water not only reduces cavities and associated dental pain but correspondingly cuts missed school and work days. Such results prompted cities and towns across America — including Philadelphia — to begin fluoridating their water, so much so that by 2010 the tap water of more than 200 million Americans was flowing from fluoridated systems. There have been virtually zero instances in which putting fluoride in a water system has been blamed for a public health issue since the fluoridation of most of America’s water supplies began. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has ranked water achievements of the 20th century. Kennedy is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t seem to exist. The National Institutes of Health did complete a study that concluded there might be a after long-term exposure to more than twice the federal government’s recommended level of fluoride in drinking water. But why would any town knowingly exceed the government’s fluoridation guidelines by such a large margin? There’s no incentive for local officials to risk their children’s or adults’ health. Kennedy also says fluoridating water systems is no longer necessary. “ when they put it in, but now we have fluoride in toothpaste,” he said. That’s true, fluoride today is in toothpaste, mouthwashes, and other oral hygiene products, but that’s why the recommended level of fluoride in water supplies was reduced from 1.0 parts per million to 0.7 parts per million in 2011. Future research may lead to more reductions in recommended fluoride levels, but there’s no basis for Kennedy’s call for a ban now. Trump’s choice to plot the course of public health agencies that make life-and-death decisions based on scientific evidence is a bad one. Kennedy comes across as someone who loves basking in the limelight too often afforded contrarians who pay little attention to facts. In that same vein, Kennedy has criticized vaccines that have long protected millions of Americans from crippling and deadly diseases. Surely the president-elect can do better with his nominations. ONLINE:

NEW YORK — Victor Wembanyama had 19 points, seven rebounds and six blocks, Jeremy Sochan had 12 points and 14 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-87 on Friday night. Julian Champagnie scored 18 points, and Keldon Johnson had 15 points and six rebounds to help the Spurs end a two-game skid. Keon Johnson scored a game-high 25 points and Shake Milton chipped in with 16 points and 12 assists for Brooklyn, which fell for the ninth time in its past 12 games. Takeaways San Antonio: After an abysmal shooting first half, where they shot just 27.5% from the field, the Spurs lit it up in the second half by making 21 of 37 field goals (56.7%). Brooklyn: Playing the second of a back-to-back, and without leading scorer Cam Johnson (hip contusion) and assist leader Ben Simmons (lower back management), the Nets struggled to generate offense, shooting just 38.9% from the field and scoring a season low for points. Key moment After a quiet four-point first half, Wembanyama came alive in the third quarter by scoring 11 points and knocking down three 3-pointers during the Spurs’ 22-9 run that turned a two-point deficit in to a 69-58 lead. The Spurs survived a brief third-quarter scare when Wembanyama went to the locker room after catching Jalen Wilson’s accidental head butt with 4:43 left. San Antonio outscored Brooklyn 12-8 with Wembanyama out of the game and 33-21 overall in the third quarter. San Antonio Spurs' Devin Vassell, left, shoots the ball against Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in New York. Credit: AP/Pamela Smith Key stat Wembanyama had at least four blocks in his fifth straight game. He also recorded at least one 3-pointer and at least one block for the 22nd straight game. Up next San Antonio: at Minnesota on Sunday. Brooklyn: at Orlando on Sunday.

A Chinese hacking operation that tapped into the US phone network was far more extensive than first reported and could have listened into virtually any mobile phone conversation in the country, according to accounts. The Salt Typhoon hackers group, named by the Microsoft engineers who first encountered it in the summer, was initially reported to have targeted the phones of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates Donald Trump and JD Vance, as well as Kamala Harris’s campaign workers. However, it is now understood to have worked by hacking into the antiquated technology mobile phones companies use to give access to phone taps for law enforcement agencies. Salt Typhoon was able to turn this on remotely, and thus theoretically have the same ability to tap phones as the FBI, but without a warrant.ATC jails 10 in May 9 riots case Court issues non-bailable arrest warrants for six absconders and acquits one for lack of evidence ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court on Friday sentenced 10 individuals to prison after finding “cogent, trustworthy, and confidence-inspiring evidence” proving their involvement in the May 9, 2023, riots, which included attacks on military installations. The 15-page detailed verdict was issued by ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, who presided over the case concerning the May 9 protests organised by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in response to the arrest of the party’s founder, Imran Khan. A total of 17 individuals were nominated in the case, registered under First Information Report (FIR) No. 24/626. Of these, one was acquitted for lack of evidence, while six were declared absconders. The ATC also issued perpetual non-bailable warrants for the absconders, instructing law enforcement to arrest and produce them in court. The 10 convicted individuals include four Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan: Daud Khan, Younas Khan, Ehsan Ullah, and Laal Agha. The remaining six convicts — Abid Mehmood, Ahsan Ayaz, Shaukat, Naeem Ullah, Zakir Ullah, and Matti Ullah — hail from Islamabad, Bajaur, and Rawalpindi. The court sentenced the convicts under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Those who had secured bail were handed a one-month prison term and fined Rs1,000 under Section 341. Three months imprisonment and a fine of Rs1,000 under Section 186. Two years imprisonment and a fine of Rs20,000 under Section 353. Six months imprisonment and a fine of Rs3,000 under Section 188. However, the prosecution failed to establish charges under Sections 382 (theft) and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance), according to the ruling. The court said that although the accused were reported to have political affiliations, these were not explicitly mentioned in the complaints, leading to the acquittal of one accused. The verdict also declared Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur a proclaimed offender due to his repeated absence in a related case registered at the I-9 police station in Islamabad. The charges against Gandapur include vandalism and violation of Section 144.As Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht prepares to retire, he reflects on the court he helped change

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) said on Dec. 11 that he will bring the Social Security Fairness Act before the Senate for a vote. The bill removes rules that reduce Social Security benefits in certain cases, such as those receiving pensions or disability benefits. “I am here to tell you the Senate is going to take action on Social Security,” he said. “What’s happening to you is unfair, un-American, I will fight it all the way.” The announcement came during a rally hosted by leaders from labor unions across the country, held in the pouring rain outside the Senate Russell building. These rules were set in place to stop employees from collecting both full Social Security benefits and their pensions from employers who did not withhold Social Security taxes from their paychecks. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, estimated that the bill would cost around $195 billion over the next decade and speed up the Social Security program’s insolvency. Schumer said he has lined up unanimous support from the Democrats but is working to get the 15 Republican supporters needed to pass the legislation. “You’re gonna find out which senators are with ya and which are agin’ ya,” Schumer said colloquially. The bill passed the House 327–75 in November via discharge petition, an unusual move that took the bill out of the hands of the House Ways and Means Committee and directly to the floor for a vote. Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), who introduced the bill in the House, is confident that the legislation will make it through the Senate as well. “The heavy lifting is done. The path to victory could not be clearer. A WEP-GPO repeal could be in the stockings of millions of public service retirees this Christmas.” This session of Congress is set to end soon, and legislators already have their hands full as they seek to pass supplementary spending by Dec. 20 to keep the government running into the new year. Next year’s Senate will also see majority rule flipped from Democrat to Republican, and incoming Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) was not a cosponsor of the bill.

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