France’s European Union commissioner Thierry Breton abruptly resigned on Monday amid an ongoing dispute with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. He was slated to serve a second term after being re-appointed by French President Emmanuel Macron, The Guardian reports.

Breton stated in a resignation letter that von der Leyen had asked for his name to be withdrawn “for personal reasons that in no instance you [von der Leyen] have discussed directly with me,” adding “In light of these recent developments – further testimony to questionable governance – I have to conclude that I can no longer exercise my duties.”

In addition, Breton quipped about his resignation on X by posting a picture of an empty frame hanging on a wall and writing “Breaking news: my official portrait for the next European Commission term.”

Later in the day, France chose Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne to be the new candidate for EU commissioner, per Reuters.

Von der Leyen is expected to announce her finalized team of commissioners for the executive branch of the EU this week but has been criticized for taking too long. Her goal of having a “gender-balanced” lineup has caused political rows in other member countries such as Slovenia after she pressured its government to withdraw a male candidate.

In August, Breton wrote a strongly worded letter to Elon Musk, threatening “to make full use of our toolbox” if his platform X would not comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) “to protect EU citizens from serious harm.” He posted the letter to X and tagged Musk, writing “with great audience comes greater responsibility #DSA As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in [the EU] in connection with events with major audience around the world, I sent this letter to
@elonmusk.”

This Story originally came from humanevents.com

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Seven killings in just one day. There were 12 more in just four days. That’s life – and death – in the cartel-controlled state of Sinaloa, Mexico. It is just the latest gangland violence there that has transformed this locale into a shooting gallery.

The Sinaloa prosecutor’s office can barely keep up with the murders but on Friday said the latest group of bodies were all found in different locations. Two people were found dead in the capital of Culiacan, and five in the municipality of Concordia – both sites are known as places “where violent events have occurred between criminal groups,” according to Reuters.

Sinaloa, on the Pacific Coast, is the headquarters of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, an organized crime unit that deals in murder and every kind of trafficking. It was once headed by the infamous Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is now living rent-free in a US prison. When police arrested another noted cartel figure, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, in July, anticipation grew over the inevitable turf war.

Soon the kidnappings, assassinations and counter-assassinations began. In Culiacan, the town looks deserted because businesses have all shut their doors and public transport runs very infrequently. Even Mexico’s Independence day has been canceled.

The Sinaloa cartel has been using drones to drop bombs near the Arizona border to attack a rival gang while a drug kingpin connected to the Sinaloa cartel was recently arrested in Oregon. Mexican drug cartels, long identified for their iron grip on the drug trade and human trafficking, have invaded every sector of the Mexican economy.This Story originally came from humanevents.com

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Iranian-backed Houthis would pay a “heavy price” for hitting central Israel with an advanced missile. It is the deepest the military group has penetrated inside Israel, Reuters reported. Israel previously struck Houthi positions in July.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said they had used a new hypersonic ballistic missile that traveled 2,040 km (1270 miles) in just under 12 minutes. An Israeli military official claimed that the missile had been intercepted but had only been broken in-flight and not destroyed. As air raid sirens wailed, the missile hit land at 6:35 a.m. Israeli time.

Missile fragments could be found in local farms and by a railway station. No one was seriously injured in the explosion, although nine people sustained very minor injuries. Retuters reported seeing smoke arising from “an open field.”

At a weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the Houthis must have assumed that Israel would retaliate and force the Houthis into paying a “heavy price” for their attack on Israel. A Ukrainian cargo ship destroyed a Houthi drone over the Red Sea.

“Whoever needs a reminder of that is invited to visit the Hodeida port,” Netanyahu said, in reference to Israel’s airstrike that killed six and injured 80 in July after a Houthi drone reached as far as Tel Aviv and killed one man. The Houthis continue to fire missiles at Israel because they say they are fighting for the Palestinians who have been killed in the Gaza war that began with a Hamas attack on Israel almost a year ago.

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sarea said that Israel should not think this last missile strike was a one shot effort but that more drones and missiles will be coming “as we approach the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 operation, including responding to its aggression on the city of Hodeidah.”

The deputy head of the Houthis’ media office, Nasruddin Amer, said in a post on X on Sunday that the missile hit its target in Israel after “20 missiles failed to intercept” it, saying it is only the “beginning.”

This Story originally came from humanevents.com

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“We knew that here you can have savings, live well. Here you can have normal services such as water and electricity,” legal immigrant Luciana Bracho, who moved from Venezuela to Miami, told the outlet. “I like Miami and the opportunities that I have had.”

The data revealed that migrants accounted for more than two-thirds of US population growth in 2023 and nearly three-quarters of the country’s total growth over the past decade. The largest proportion of foreign-born residents in 2023 came from Latin America, rising from 50.3 percent in 2022 to 51.2 percent in 2023. Latin America was the only region with an increase in representation among US foreign-born residents.

In terms of ethnic demographics, US residents identifying as Hispanic increased from 19.1 percent to 19.4 percent, while the share of those identifying as white dropped significantly from 57.7 percent to 57.1 percent. The percentage of those identifying as black also saw a slight decrease, from 12.2 percent to 12.1 percent.

The data further revealed that states experiencing the increases in foreign-born residents included Delaware, Georgia, and New Mexico, while states such as Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, and North Dakota saw slight decreases.

This piece first appeared at TPUSA.

This Story originally came from humanevents.com

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The policy in question states that school personnel “should not disclose information that may reveal a student’s transgender status or gender non-confirming presentation to others unless legally required to do so or unless the student has authorized such disclosure.” In 2022, a mother in the district filed a lawsuit, arguing that the policy infringes on her parental rights by preventing her from being informed about her child’s so-called gender identity.

However, in a 3-1 decision, the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld the previous ruling from a lower court that dismissed the lawsuit. Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald, writing for the majority, stated, “By its terms, the policy does not directly implicate a parent’s ability to raise and care for his or her child,” Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald wrote in the decision.

“We cannot conclude that any interference with parental rights which may result from non-disclosure is of constitutional dimension,” the decision stated.

The mother who filed the lawsuit discovered that her child had requested school officials to use a name associated with the opposite sex. When she learned of this, she asked the school’s faculty to refer to her child by their birth name and pronouns corresponding to their biological sex. However, the school principal informed her that the staff was “held by the district policy” and could not “disclose a student’s choice to parents if asked not to.”

In her dissenting opinion, Justice Melissa Beth Conway argued that “accurate information in response to parents’ inquiries about a child’s expressed gender identity is imperative to the parents’ ability to assist and guide their child.”

Following the decision, the Manchester School District praised the ruling. According to a press release obtained by the Daily Caller, the district stated that the superintendent and district leadership are pleased with the court’s decision to uphold the policy.

This piece first appeared at TPUSA.

This Story originally came from humanevents.com

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The Netherlands, under the leadership of Geert Wilders’ right-wing party, announced on Friday that it would be declaring a national state of emergency in an effort to reduce the influx of asylum seekers.

The government plans to end its policy of granting open-ended asylum permits and limit the circumstances under which those granted asylum can bring family members into the country. Currently, around 40,000 asylum seekers enter the Netherlands each year, according to DW.

The emergency law will also allow the Dutch government to suspend decisions on new asylum applications for the next two years and limit the facilities available to asylum seekers.

“We are taking measures to make the Netherlands as unattractive as possible for asylum seekers,” explained Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber in a statement.

To implement these emergency powers to combat its ongoing migrant crisis, the Dutch government will issue a royal decree, allowing it to bypass parliamentary approval, similar to actions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it will need to prove that these policies are legally justified.

The move comes after Geert Wilders’ election victory last year, which was driven by his promise to implement the strictest migration laws in the European Union (EU). In response to the Dutch government’s aims, the EU will likely push back on such policies as members have previously agreed to the EU’s migration pact, and opt-outs are typically discussed during the negotiating phase.

However, the Dutch government has reaffirmed its intention to seek an exemption from the pact.

In response to the Dutch government’s announcement, EU spokesperson Eric Mamer stated, “We have adopted legislation, you don’t opt out of adopted legislation in the EU, that is a general principle.”

This Story originally came from humanevents.com

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A 31-year-old man in the UK who was recently released from prison has been charged with sexually assaulting a female prison worker within an hour of his release. According to the Daily Mail, which did not publish his name, the offender allegedly assaulted the worker as he was being driven to a train station following his release from HMP Swaleside, a medium-security prison.

The offender in question was one of several inmates being driven to Sittingbourne station as a “gesture of goodwill” by the prison staff. A log of the incident, first reported by the Daily Mail, stated, “at approx 10.30hrs [the released prisoner] was being escorted by an OSG [operational support grade] in a pool car to Sittingbourne station following his release under SDS40.”

“During the journey it was alleged that [he] sexually assaulted the OSG,” it continued. “[He] vacated the vehicle and his whereabouts are unknown at this time. The victim is understood to have had their thigh allegedly groped by the criminal.”

The offender had been serving time at HMP Swaleside, a facility housing approximately 1,100 male inmates. Following the assault, the offender was immediately recalled to prison and has since been charged with sexual assault, according to a spokesman for the British Transport Police.

The incident comes amid criticism of the UK government’s policy of early prisoner release, particularly a program known as SDS40, introduced by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. The program allows inmates to be released after serving just 40 percent of their sentence due to overcrowding in the prison system.

National Chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association, Mark Fairhurst, condemned the incident, saying, “I’m appalled that out of sheer goodwill a member of staff gave a released prisoner a lift and was allegedly sexually assaulted as a result.”

“Clearly our members are at risk and this should never be allowed to happen again,” Fairhurst stated.

This Story originally came from humanevents.com

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Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has found that nearly one-third of students in public schools across the United States are behind their current grade level. This finding highlights the ongoing educational challenges in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data comes from the School Pulse Panel, a study designed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns on education. This study collects information from elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide, with a focus on grade proficiency in subjects like English, social studies, math, and science.

The results indicate that an average of 32 percent of students are currently behind their grade level. Regional differences are stark: in the Northeast, the percentage of students behind grade level rose from 26 percent to 31 percent over the past two years. The Midwest saw a slight increase from 30 percent to 31 percent. The West, which has the highest number of students lagging, reported an increase from 37 percent to 39 percent. The South was the only region to show improvement, with a decrease from 34 percent to 29 percent.

School choice advocate Corey DeAngelis responded to the report’s findings, stating to Fox News that “The government school system has become more of a jobs program for adults than an education initiative for kids.”

“The government school system is failing too many students while spending nearly $20,000 per student per year. No child should be trapped in a one-size-fits-all failure factory any longer. The money should follow the child to the school that best meets their needs. That would give the assigned government-run schools a real incentive to do a better job,” he explained.

One significant factor contributing to the educational delays following COVID-19 may be the increase in chronic absenteeism exacerbated by the pandemic. DeAngelis pointed to teachers’ unions as part of the problem, arguing, “The kids learned from the power-hungry teachers unions who did everything they could to avoid going back to school starting in 2020. The teachers unions told everyone that school wasn’t important and we’re still seeing the consequences.”

This piece first appeared at TPUSA.

This Story originally came from humanevents.com

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In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 37 people, including three US citizens, were sentenced to death by a military tribunal on Friday for their involvement in a failed coup attempt earlier this summer.

The verdict follows a three-month trial related to the events of May 19, when a group of armed individuals, led by US resident Christian Malanga—a Congolese political exile—attempted to overthrow the government of President Felix Tshisekedi.

According to NPR, Malanga and dozens of men attacked the residence of Vital Kamerhe, a key ally of President Tshisekedi. After the attack, the group stormed a presidential complex, waving flags and chanting anti-government slogans. Congolese security forces swiftly responded, killing six people during the confrontation, including Malanga himself.

Among those captured were three Americans: 22-year-old Marcel Malanga, Christian Malanga’s son; 21-year-old Tyler Thompson from Utah, whose family believed he was on vacation; and 36-year-old Maryland resident Benjamin Zalman-Polun.

Following the coup attempt, 51 people were tried in Kinshasa on charges that included murder, terrorism, and criminal conspiracy. The trial took place after the Congolese government lifted its moratorium on capital punishment in March, reinstating the death penalty to counter what it described as “treachery.”

Several of the defendants, including the three Americans, claimed they were tortured during their detention. Marcel Malanga testified in August that he and others were beaten and coerced into making statements under duress. He also noted the lack of an interpreter during his interrogation.

“At the first underground place we were at, we were getting beaten and tortured,” Marcel Malanga claimed. The Americans further claimed they were forced at gunpoint to participate in the coup, acting out of fear for their lives.

Meanwhile, most Congolese nationals involved argued they had been recruited by Christian Malanga under the pretext of working for his NGO. However, the court dismissed this defense and rejected arguments that testimony obtained through coercion should be considered illegitimate.

This Story originally came from humanevents.com

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