Judge rules CPS board may have breached Pedro Martinez’s contract

“I will not agree to reduced instructional time for our children,” Martinez said. “We know — parents tell me, would I like more playtime? But if they’re below level in math and reading, what are you gonna do about it?” CHICAGO – Cook County Judge Joel Chupak ruled that Chicago school board members must not meddle in contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union and that their actions have kneecapped Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez’s ability to do his job on behalf of students and taxpayers. Martinez says Chicago school board members intimidated CPS staffers on Monday, saying, “We hold all the cards,” when they showed up during CTU contract talks. A judge issued a temporary restraining order against the board, saying the move caused irreparable harm to Martinez and his ability to bargain on behalf of CPS. “The winner today is the kids who hopefully will have a better agreement and school system because the law will be honored and the CEO will be able to negotiate the agreement without interference,” Martinez’s attorney, William Quinlan, said after the court hearing. FOX 32 ran into three board members outside of CTU headquarters on Monday. They said they were there to support CPS. Martinez says they hindered the process, choosing instead to caucus with CTU members and pressure CPS staffers to hurry up and come to an agreement. Read More Here At Fox 32

Editorial: Mr. Mayor, if you truly care about Chicago, you should step aside.

Mr. Mayor, When it comes to dirty politics, Chicago wrote the book. Anyone old enough to remember awful chapters of our collective history — the shameful Council Wars period of the 1980s, the abuses brought to light by the notorious Operation Silver Shovel investigation of the 1990s, or the details that recently have emerged from the trials of former Ald. Ed Burke and former House Speaker and ward boss Mike Madigan — should perhaps guard against sounding too shocked by news that a Chicago elected official has stooped to a new low.  But there’s little reason to doubt what happened tonight — the firing of Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez — will go down in Chicago history as another example of rotten government at work. Ald. Nicholas Sposato put it succinctly in his remarks during tonight’s special meeting of the Chicago Board of Education, calling your hand-picked school board members “a bunch of political hacks that are stepping in to do some dirty work.” Those who attended the meeting expressed frustration with a range of issues and challenges facing the CPS system — and that system includes the teachers and staffers who work there every day, the neighborhoods that rely on the schools as anchors of their communities, the parents who want the best possible education for their children, and the children themselves. What’s more than unfortunate is that the actions your board took tonight — and the actions they can now be relied upon to take next —…

Gordon Chang to Newsmax: ‘There Is Something to See’ With These Drones

China expert and author Gordon Chang told Newsmax on Saturday that despite claims from the Biden administration and the Pentagon that “there is nothing to see here, there is something to see” in regards to the hundreds of recent drone sightings. For the last several weeks, hundreds of reports have circulated regarding drone sightings in several states on the east coast of the U.S. The UAVs have been seen operating near critical infrastructure and military bases creating panic among local residents. Both state and federal elected officials have voiced concerns and pleaded with the federal government to inform the public as to the nature of the UAVs. Chang said that the government already knows that “a drone sighting around military bases have come from China.” “The Chinese national who was charged with flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base. And these unusual sightings over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, and a few others as well,” he said during an appearance on “America Right Now.” Host Joe Pinion asked Chang about the Chinese spy balloon that traversed much of the continental U.S. earlier in the year. The author of the “The Coming Collapse of China” said the Biden administration “clearly mishandled” that obvious test of national security. “It was a complete failure. That balloon traveled over Alaska, over Yukon and Canada, and through the continental United States, surveying U.S. Nuclear weapons facilities. And the administration said, ‘Oh, you know, this is no big deal.’ Well, it is a very big deal, because if nothing else, China saw a failure of the administration! Read More Here!

US Thwarts Terror Attack on Israeli Consulate in NYC

An Egyptian national, who is a George Mason University freshman with reported ties to ISIS, was arrested on Tuesday in Falls Church, Virginia, and charged with planning a terror attack on the Israeli Consulate General in New York. Between Nov. 22 and Dec. 4, Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan, 18, allegedly distributed “information related to explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction in furtherance of commission of a federal crime of violence” of “first-degree murder of internationally protected persons,” per a criminal complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is currently going through the process of deporting Hassan, according to a 14-page affidavit that the FBI agent, who arrested the student, filed on Dec. 16 seeking an arrest warrant. Hassan operated three social-media accounts that praised Osama bin Laden and ISIS, per the affidavit, which also alleges that the student wrote on social media that Hamas is an “armed resistance” rather than a terror group; the Israel Defense Forces “have been committing war crimes for decades”; and “it’s only time Palestine fight back.” An FBI agent contacted Hassan on Aug. 24 and posed as a fellow traveler, according to the affidavit. On Nov. 15, Hassan shared a pro-ISIS video with the undercover agent “that called for the killing of Jews,” per the affidavit. The agent pledged to follow Hassan’s lead, and in the coming days offered to act on behalf of ISIS locally. Hassan told the agent to…

Insurance company denies covering medication for condition that ‘could kill’ med student, she says

Malik JacksonUpdated: Dec 13, 2024 / 10:11 AM CST KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City denied coverage of a medicine that a Missouri woman says could save her life, leaving her with a monthly bill of over $8,000. “I was at risk for spontaneous internal bleeding that could kill me,” Kaitlyn Sy said. Sy, a University of Kansas medical student, said she’s fighting back just weeks after a near-death experience. She’s been forced to pause her medical studies while waiting for this medicine to be approved, compromising her already weak immune system. Sy conducted her interview with Nexstar’s WDAF over Zoom, unable to do it in person because of her condition. Sy has dreamed of becoming a doctor since middle school, “whether that be bringing hope and healing to fellow humans, intellectual stimulating work of diagnosing and treating diseases, being involved in medical research.”Luigi Mangione was reported missing 2 weeks before CEO slain: police  But three years ago, doctors diagnosed her with an autoimmune disease that mistakenly attacks the platelets in her blood cells. When she bleeds, there’s nothing to clot those cells. Sy says that could cause life-threatening bleeding. For years, no treatment worked well for her. Just weeks ago, that scenario happened: Sy was forced to go to the ER to treat internal bleeding. Her hematologist had one more option, a pill called Promacta that could stabilize this issue. Things changed when Sy got to the pharmacy. “The pharmacy tech — her…

Congress to Vote on New Restrictions on China Investment

Congress is set to vote in the coming days on legislation restricting U.S. investments in China as part of a bill to fund government operations through mid-March, lawmakers said late on Tuesday. In October, the Treasury finalized rules effective Jan. 2 that will limit U.S. investments in artificial intelligence and other technology sectors in China that could threaten U.S. national security. The bill expands on those restrictions and also includes other provisions aimed at concerns about China, including a requirement to study national security risks posed by Chinese-made consumer routers and modems. Read More At Newsmax!

Iran’s Nuclear Program Alarms World Powers: No ‘Civilian Justification’

The United Kingdom, France, and Germany on Tuesday called on Iran to “reverse its nuclear escalation,” claiming that there is no “credible civilian justification” for the amount of highly enriched uranium it is stockpiling, AFP reported. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Tehran has already become the only non-nuclear state to have uranium enriched to 60%, just a short step from military-grade level. In a joint statement ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting, the three countries warned that “Iran’s stockpile of High Enriched Uranium has … reached unprecedented levels, again without any credible civilian justification. It gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.” The trio added: “Iran has ramped up its installation of advanced centrifuges, which is yet another damaging step in Iran’s efforts to undermine the nuclear deal that they claim to support.” London, Paris, and Berlin on Dec. 6 informed the Security Council of their willingness to reimpose “snap back” sanctions on Iran over its illicit nuclear program. “Iran must de-escalate its nuclear program to create the political environment conducive to meaningful progress and a negotiated solution,” the U.N. ambassadors of the so-called E3 countries wrote in letter to the Security Council. “We reiterate our determination to use all diplomatic tools to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, including using snap back if necessary,” they added. The threat comes after IAEA head Rafael Grossi confirmed that Tehran has in recent weeks sharply increased its uranium enrichment. “Today,…

GOP Rift Opens Over Social Security Bill!

Senate Republicans argued behind closed doors over a proposed bill that would increase Social Security benefits for people who are eligible for non-Social Security government pensions, with some party members wanting to stop the measure because of its cost. “I think most of our members were alarmed that something so big” would have come to the Senate floor, an unidentified Republican senator told The Hill, adding that the lawmakers had held an “intense discussion.” Senate conservatives led by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., are calling for Social Security reforms, including raising the retirement age, as a way to repeal policies reducing public-sector workers’ Social Security benefits. The House passed its bipartisan bill, the Social Security Fairness Act, by a vote of 327-75 earlier this month. The Senate version of the bill is expected to come up for a vote Wednesday. The Senate bill has 14 GOP co-sponsors, but Paul and other Republicans are arguing that it will speed up Social Security bankruptcy. The legislation is sponsored by Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, and if passed will repeal the 1983 Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) enacted in 1977, which allows public-sector workers to receive full Social Security benefits. WEP reduces Social Security benefits for workers getting pensions for employment not covered by Social Security and GPO reduces benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers of people who get government pensions. Read More Here at Newsmax!