The rise of democracy has been one of the greatest collective human achievements of the last century, allowing large shares of the world’s population to live in relative freedom and have the ability to participate meaningfully in the politics and society of their country.
September 15 marked International Day of Democracy – a day dedicated to promoting the principles of democracy and celebrating civic participation.
It also provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world at a time when “democracy and the rule of law are under assault from disinformation, division, and shrinking civic space,” as UN Secretary-General António Guterres put it.
Our infographic, based on classifications from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project analyzed by Our World in Data highlights just how fragile democracy can be.
The share of the world population living in either an electoral or liberal democracy was at its highest in 2001, when the figure was at 53.5 percent.
Over the past decade, there has been a sharp decline though, driven partly by a downgrade of India, which is now considered an electoral autocracy.
Even excluding this effect, the population-weighted level of democracy would be back to 1990, V-Dem notes in its 2025 Democracy Report.
By 2024, just 28 percent of the world’s population, or 2.3 billion people, lived in electoral or liberal democracies, down from almost 4 billion people in 2016.
Private discussions between Israeli officials before launching the war against Iran in June indicate that Tehran’s development of nuclear weapons was not an immediate concern. At the time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran’s nuclear program was an immediate threat.
“We are at a historic moment with a crucial decision. If we don’t stop [them], within a few years, they will get tens of thousands of kilograms of [nuclear] explosives,” the Prime Minister said at a top-secret meeting the day before launching the war. “Iran has already enriched fissile material at a level that is enough for eight to nine bombs, and they are working on the weaponization.”
According to The Times of Israel, one unnamed senior military official said the attack would prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon in “the long term” and the war would “improve Israel’s strategic balance.”
Publicly, Netanyahu gave far more alarming warnings about Tehran’s breakout time to build a nuclear weapon. He said, “Iran’s nuclear teams were racing to build nuclear warheads.” The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad claimed Iran could assemble a nuclear weapon within 15 days.
Another rationale was simply the Islamic Republic’s expanding ballistic missile arsenal:
“They are getting close to being the second-biggest powerhouse on ballistic missiles. After we destroy some of their sites and scientists, negotiations for a deal will be held in a different reality. We have held marathon discussions over many months,” Netanyahu said.
The private discussions also reveal that Israeli officials believed that they would not be able to destroy Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and were depending on Trump entering the conflict. “The basic assumption is that at the end of the operation, Iran will still possess enriched material,” one official said.
Tel Aviv needed the US to destroy the Fordo nuclear facility. One senior official admitted, “Fordo will be destroyed only if the US attacks it.”
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was confident that Trump would decide to bomb Fordo and provide Israel with assistance in shooting down Iranian missiles.
The conversations additionally reveal that Tel Aviv was trying to overthrow the Iranian government, not just destroy its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Trump’s New $100,000 Visa Fee Could Be Devastating For India’s Economy
Many Americans are simply not aware of how much of the global economy survives by siphoning cash and jobs from the US through immigration (legal and illegal). If they knew, they would probably have demanded that the door on H-1B visas be slammed shut much sooner.
Indian officials on Saturday said they are examining the implications of the United States’ decision to impose a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, but stressed that the measure could have “humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families”.
“The government has seen reports related to the proposed restrictions on the US H1B visa program. The full implications of the measure are being studied by all concerned, including by Indian industry, which has already put out an initial analysis clarifying some perceptions related to the H1B program,” a statement issued by the ministry of external affairs said.
To understand why India’s government is so rattled by Trump’s decision we have to look at the bigger picture, which includes remittances and the demand for US dollars overseas.
First, the $100,000 fee imposed on H-1B visas will kill the program. It is, effectively, an H-1B travel ban without going through the long process of officially rescinding the Immigration Act of 1990. The fee is paid by the company hiring the foreign workers and a $100,000 markup would mean only the most valuable employees would be worth the cost. Many critics of open border policies argue that this is a good thing. The narrative has long been that American companies need foreign workers because:
1) Americans won’t work in jobs that foreigners are willing to do.
2) There aren’t enough American workers with the skills required to fill certain job sets.
These excuses are generally a distraction from the real reason – Third world immigrants are willing to work for up to 30% less than their American counterparts. Why? Because the US dollar’s buying power in a third world economy more than makes up for the 30% loss in wages. For example, an income of $2000 US per month equates to an “upper class lifestyle” in India.
In other words, it’s a win-win-lose scenario: The corporations win on lower labor costs, the third world migrants win by wiring their wages back home where they will buy far more, and the average American worker loses out on job opportunities.
India accounts for 71% of H-1B visa holders and is expected to be hit hardest by the new fees. Currently, around 300,000 “high-skilled” Indian workers, mostly in the technology industry, are on H-1B visas in the US. The term “high skilled” is up for interpretation, many migrant workers lie about their skill sets before coming to the US and offer little in comparison to the average US worker in the same field.
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Another indirect winner in this game is India’s economy.
India is the largest recipient of remittances from the US in the world (cash wired by migrants from the US back home). Without feeding on remittances from America, India loses out on over $140 billion (around 30% of their annual tax revenues). Without this cash, India’s economy would implode.
Furthermore, India’s rupee has hit record lows against the dollar this month. The country is highly dependent on oil imports and oil is primarily purchased with dollars. The flow of dollars from migrants in the US into India’s economy is more important than ever. The loss of dollars flowing from 300,000+ Indian workers living in the US could be devastating.
That said, it is not the responsibility of the US to sacrifice American jobs just to keep India’s economy afloat. If companies actually attempted to train or hire American workers first at a fair wage and could not find enough people to fill necessary positions, then the story on foreign visas might be different. However, until now, there has been no incentive for corporations to try.
Leftist Boomer Arrested For Shooting Into Sacramento ABC TV Station
The Sacramento Police Department announced on X early Saturday that 64-year-old Anibal Hernandez-Santana was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, shooting into an occupied building, and negligent discharge of a firearm. The incident targeted an ABC affiliate television station in Sacramento. It came just days after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show over misinformation and disinformation about the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
🚨 BREAKING: Anibal Hernandez-Santana, ex-CA Teachers Union legislative director, arrested for firing 3 shots into ABC affiliate after Kimmel decision.
His X feed is full of left-wing mental illness and violence.
What should be done about left-wing radicalization?
To recap, during Kimmel’s opening monologue on Monday, he suggested that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old, furry-obsessed, in a relationship with a transgender, charged in the fatal shooting of Kirk at Utah University, was aligned with “MAGA Gang.”
“The MAGA gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel stated in the opening monologue.
By Wednesday, Kimmel was fired, sparking outrage among leftists who accused the Trump administration of influencing the decision, shouting “fascists” in protest. Yet according to an insider report by the Wall Street Journal, the real driver had nothing to do with the White House. Instead, Kimmel’s ouster was driven by an immediate revolt from viewers, affiliate networks including Nexstar, and concerned advertisers.
NYC: “This is a hallmark of fascist regemes around the world” Jimmy Kimmel protesters gather outside ABC Studios in NYC After Kimmel show was canceled. pic.twitter.com/pJnI8S3OFD
Which leaves us with Hernandez-Santana and what motivates, if political, drove the radicalized Baby Boomer to fire shots at the ABC10 television station, owned by KXTV, located in Sacramento.
So I guess we’re just gonna start shooting people anytime we disagree with something huh? And this affiliate has zero to do with anything.
The same people who celebrated Luigi Mangione will probably start a GoFundMe page for this shooter too. https://t.co/LJW9lGvCSk
Hernandez-Santana is a former health policy analyst for the California Rural Indian Health Board. In 2019, he sued the non-profit group for discrimination and retaliation, alleging that he was terminated after being denied time off to care for his disabled son.
According to the complaint, Hernandez-Santana’s job involved tracking state legislation and assisting with Affordable Care Act implementation. When Hernandez-Santana was fired in 2018, he got into a verbal confrontation with his supervisors, who ultimately called the police, according to the complaint. The suit was withdrawn in 2020.
A LinkedIn account matching that name indicates he previously was a legislative director for the California Federation of Teachers, and is now retired and engaged in “full time parenting.”
Sacramento Police wrote on X that the suspect fired shots at the ABC building from a vehicle.
“The suspect, 64-year-old Anibal Hernandez-Santana of Sacramento, was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, shooting into an occupied building, and negligent discharge of a firearm,” the police department stated, adding, “He will be booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail. The motive remains under investigation, and we would like to thank the FBI for providing resources in support of this investigation.”
Thanks to the prompt and diligent work of our responding officers and investigators, the suspect vehicle was identified, leading officers to a residence in the 5400 block of Carlson Drive. The suspect, 64-year-old Anibal Hernandezsantana of Sacramento, was arrested on charges of… https://t.co/49OSEEM95k
The problem with Kimmel is that he is part of the globalist/leftist informational war against Trump.
The problem with Jimmy Kimmel is that he very obviously hates the millions of Americans who don’t think like him.
He joked about them dying of COVID. He called them fascists and neo-nazis for attending CPAC. That’s not the kind of person who should be gifted a national TV show. pic.twitter.com/dGw6FplXCZ
And the other problem, Democrats normalized assassination culture by labeling their political enemies as “fascist” and “Nazis” and all of the above … Did we forget “Racists”?
Where did Charlie Kirk’s murderer learn to call conservatives “fascists”?
And now, armed Marxist-aligned groups – or at least one in particular – that sympathize with Democrats have been “planning war against fascists.”
Yes. People are focusing a lot on the Socialist Rifle Association. Still, they should also know that the John Brown Gun Club, which is an even more extreme far-left militia, has been linked to several domestic terrorist attacks. That group is part of the Antifa network.
Last week, the Trump administration requested tens of millions of dollars to bolster security for the federal government: it’s that the White House has finally figured out that radical leftists have declared war. And the White House fired back with their plan – likely a task force – that will “dismantle and destroy” the Marxist NGO complex subverting the nation to accelerate into a collapse.
The combination of radicalized Democrats, their dark-money-funded NGOs, and leftist MSM labeling anyone who disagrees with them as “fascists” and “Nazis” has turned anyone with a different opinion into targets of the party’s armed wing (read the report). The Kirk assassination has become an urgent wake-up call, but even before that, we warned about this troubling path toward igniting nihilistic accelerationism.
Adopting a permanent standard time in the United States rather than changing times biannually is a healthier option for Americans, according to a Sept. 15 peer-reviewed study published in the PNAS journal.
“Seasonal changes in time policy, such as switching between Standard Time (SDT) and Daylight Saving Time (DST), have been adopted by many countries, including the United States,” the study’s authors from Stanford University said. “While transitioning between SDT and DST has notable acute negative population health impacts, the chronic impact of these time policies on health has not been well evaluated.”
Researchers looked at how SDT, DST, and biannual shifting between these two time setups affect people’s circadian rhythms and health. Circadian rhythm is a person’s innate 24-hour clock that regulates several physiological processes in their body.
The study found that continuing with biannual shifting “produces a greater burden on the circadian system” compared to adopting permanent times.
If the country were to adopt SDT as the permanent time, the prevalence of obesity would fall by 0.78 percent and stroke by 0.09 percent compared to the current biannual shifting policy, it said.
“These seemingly small percentage changes in common conditions would amount to 2.6 million fewer people with obesity and 300,000 fewer cases of stroke” per year, science writer Nina Bai from Stanford’s Office of Communications wrote in a Sept. 15 article on the study.
If DST were to be made permanent, gains would still be made, but smaller compared to permanent SDT. In such a situation, obesity dips by 0.51 percent or 1.7 million individuals, while incidents of stroke decline by 0.04 percent or 220,000 cases, said the statement.
“Our data, reflecting the impact of time policy on circadian burden and subsequent health benefits, support the cessation of [biannual shifting],” researchers wrote in the study.
Making SDT time permanent would result in more light in the mornings, while a permanent DST time gives more light in the evenings.
Jamie Zeitzer, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and senior author of the study, said that people generally require more light in the morning and less during the evening to keep their circadian rhythm well synchronized to a 24-hour day.
“When you get light in the morning, it speeds up the circadian cycle. When you get light in the evening, it slows things down,” he said.
“The more light exposure you get at the wrong times, the weaker the circadian clock. All of these things that are downstream—for example, your immune system, your energy—don’t match up quite as well.”
Despite the findings of the study, Zeitzer warned against taking these results as the final word on the issue.
Researchers did not take into account several factors, such as weather, human behavior, and geography, which could influence light exposure in real-world conditions, according to the Stanford article.
The study assumed people followed circadian-friendly light exposure habits, such as sleeping between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. and getting sunlight exposure before and after work as well as weekends, it said. However, people’s actual schedules tend to be erratic.
“People’s light habits are probably much worse than what we assume in the models,” Zeitzer said. “Even in California, where the weather is great, people spend less than 5 percent of their day outside.”
The study received a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Both authors declared no competing interests that affected the study.
Changing Times
In January, a bipartisan group of senators, led by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act, which seeks to end the biannual time change in the United States, the lawmaker’s office said in a Jan. 8 statement.
The bill aims to make Daylight Saving Time the permanent year-round time, it added.
“I hear from Americans constantly that they are sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year—it’s an unnecessary, decades-old practice that’s more of an annoyance to families than benefit to them,” Scott said.
“I’m excited to have President Trump back in the White House and fully on board to LOCK THE CLOCK so we can get this good bill passed and make this common-sense change that will simplify and benefit the lives of American families.”
During an April 10 Senate hearing, Karin Johnson, a neurologist at the University of Massachusetts Chan School of Medicine-Baystate, said that making daylight saving time permanent year-round could pose health risks.
“Our body rhythms never adjust to the later sunrises and sunsets of Daylight Saving Time. These are associated with many long-term risks, including higher rates of cancer, obesity, heart attacks, depression, suicide, and fatal car crashes,” she said.
“The negative impact of Daylight Saving Time on sleep harms the economy. Workers, especially those with early start times before 8:30 a.m., are less likely to be productive and efficient during periods of circadian misalignment.”
Johnson said that teens, adolescents, and young adults suffer the most circadian disruption from daylight saving time because “their body rhythms already run late.”
“Before sleep onset, teenagers have the strongest drive for alertness,” she said. “With more evening light during Daylight Saving Time pushing rhythms even later, most teenagers are biologically unable to get enough sleep before their morning alarms ring.”
This would result in more teenagers trying to catch up on sleep during the weekends, which is often linked to “numerous adverse health and performance outcomes,” Johnson added.
In an April 11 post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump supported making daylight saving time permanent.
“The House and Senate should push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day. Very popular and, most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!” he wrote.
Daylight Saving Time in the United States ends on Nov. 2, when clocks will shift to Standard Time.
NATO Country’s Defense Chief Urges Shooting Down Russian Warplanes
A top government official from a NATO country is calling for shooting down Russian aircraft the next time they breach an alliance member’s airspace, following several drone and border incidents this month.
“NATO’s border in the North East is being tested for a reason. We need to mean business,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė wrote on X Friday, the same day that three Russian warplanes reportedly breached neighboring Estonia’s airspace over the Gulf of Finland.
“Three Russian fighter jets over Tallinn is one more hard proof that Eastern Sentry is long due,” she stated.
The Lithuanian defense chief concluded her message by invoking an incident which makes clear she’s in favor of shooting down Russian jets.
“Türkiye set an example 10 years ago. Some food for thought,” the minister wrote.
This was in reference to the unprecedented incident in which Turkish Air Force F-16s downed a Russian Su-24 over the Turkey-Syria border area in November 2015.
Lithuania has joined Poland’s call for urgent consultations with members of the NATO alliance under its Article 4. Article 4 consultations can lead to the alliance taking action if the consensus is reached.
Regional observer Notes from Polandsays “It has previously been invoked seven times, including by Poland and seven other countries when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.”
Upon Friday’s incident the Estonian foreign ministry described that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets “entered Estonian airspace without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes.”
Additionally, EU diplomat Kaja Kallas, who hails from the Baltic country and was the first female prime minister, blasted the incursion as “an extremely dangerous provocation”.
European leaders are using these increasing instances to push for an ‘eastern flank’ aerial defense shield protecting NATO. Just last week the two largest eastern members of NATO said that Russian drones breached their airspace.
⚡ US Prepares a Blow to Baltic and NATO Security
Reuters reports that the Pentagon has informed European diplomats it will halt part of its military assistance to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and all NATO members bordering Russia.
The Polish instance was the most serious, given Warsaw accused Russia of intentionally sending a ‘wave’ of drones – up to 19 – which resulted in its military urgently scrambling jets to track them. Trump later seemed to downplay the incident.
The U.S. Treasury Department and IRS on Sept. 19 released details about a provision backed by the Trump administration and Republicans, passed by Congress earlier this year, that would provide a tax break for many employees who receive cash tips.
In a document released on the Federal Register’s website, the agencies outlined what type of jobs and what type of tips are eligible under the new regulations, which were passed as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July.
It stipulates that people earning a tipped income can deduct as much as $25,000 per year under the measure, instructing the IRS and Treasury Department to find what jobs could qualify. Nearly 70 jobs were eligible for the tax break under guidance that was released earlier this month, while the tax deduction will apply for the tax year 2025, up to Dec. 31 of this year, according to the proposed rules.
“For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024, and before January 1, 2029, employees and self-employed individuals may deduct qualified tips from their gross income when calculating their Federal income tax liability,” the proposal stated, adding that qualified tips refer to cash tips that were received by a person in the covered occupations “on or before December 31, 2024, as provided by the Secretary.”
On Sept. 3, the Treasury Department floated a list of jobs that will likely be eligible under the new rules.
The draft uploaded on Friday is open for comment through the Federal Register’s website. The IRS and Treasury will finalize the rules in early October, the document said, which includes the official proposed list of jobs eligible under the measure. The agencies did not specify a timeline.
The proposal noted that the official list of jobs would be roughly the same as the Treasury list that was released on Sept. 3.
Occupations include taxi drivers, rideshare drivers, valets, servers, bartenders, hosts and hostesses, chefs, cooks, dishwashers, bellhops, porters, concierges, housekeepers, hotel desk clerks, tour guides, golf caddies, movers, delivery drivers, barbers, digital content creators, casino employees, card dealers, musicians, ushers, locksmiths, repair workers, cleaners, singers, DJs, massage therapists, tattoo artists, bussers, hairstylists and others.
“The Treasury Department and the IRS consulted data from surveys conducted in years 2017, 2019, and 2023” that had inquired about tips received in recent years, the recent proposal states.
“The occupations identified as having customarily and regularly received tips based on this survey data were largely consistent with those identified by the confidential tax return data,” the agencies added.
During the 2024 campaign, President Donald Trump and some Republicans campaigned, in part, on eliminating taxes on tips. Last year, Trump told supporters in Nevada that if he were elected, he would remove taxes on tips, while his opponent from the Democratic Party, Kamala Harris, later said she would support the measure.
Under the current tax code, tips of $20 or more received by an employee in any month from one job are treated as wages subject to withholding.
Cash tips include those received directly from customers, via credit and debit card charges that are distributed to an employee, or via a tip-sharing arrangement. Employees must keep a daily record of tips received and report these to their employer.
White House Pushes Congress To Approve $6BN Weapons Sale To Israel
Despite growing international pressure on the Netanyahu government, which has of late admitted it is coming under increasing global isolation due to the Gaza war, the Trump administration plans to keep the arms flows going stronger than ever.
The White House has requested congressional approval for a nearly $6 billion arms deal with Israel, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing US government sources.
The proposed package includes 30 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters valued at $3.8 billion, which would nearly double Israel’s current fleet, as well as 3,250 infantry fighting vehicles – at $1.9 billion.
But delivery of the weapons is expected to take two to three years, and at the current rate of destruction the Gaza Strip could likely be complete rubble by then, amid the Israeli military’s push to expel Palestinian inhabitants while fighting Hamas.
Trump is said to be deeply frustrated with Prime Minister Netanyahu over the Doha operation earlier this month, but certainly this public stance doesn’t square with promise of $6 billion more in weapons. It’s yet another example of watch what Trump does and not what he says.
“The arms would be paid for by U.S.-provided foreign military financing, according to the documents,” WSJ details. “Israel buys most of its American-made weapons using U.S. taxpayer money that comes via billions of dollars in annual military aid.”
And it’s of course arms-makers and the major defense contractors who will remain the big winners, as the tragic war approaches the two-year mark.
“At this stage, the State Department is seeking the approval of the four top Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the people familiar with the request said,” WSJ continues.
“The leaders of the two panels usually must sign off on major foreign weapons deals before the administration sends wider notification to Congress and the public,” the report adds.
The White House has presented that it is seeking a truce deal and return of the hostages, but President Trump has several times made clear that Netanyahu is the final-decision maker. Like with Ukraine, it doesn’t seem like real pressure has ever been brought to bear on this close US ally.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intends to propose a rule change that would shift corporate earnings reporting from a quarterly schedule to a semiannual basis.
Paul Atkins, head of the Wall Street regulatory watchdog, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Sept. 10 that he welcomed President Donald Trump’s suggestion for the adjustment.
“In principle, I think to propose change in what our rules are now, I think would be a good way forward, and then we’ll consider that and move forward after that,” Atkins said.
Last week, in a Truth Social post, Trump stated that companies “should no longer be forced to ’report’” every three months, recommending a six-month disclosure requirement instead.
“This will save money and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies,” Trump said on his social media platform.
The current law was enacted in 1970, following the traditional semiannual practice.
If the proposal is approved, it will be left to the market to decide whether to maintain quarterly earnings reporting or transition to a six-month reporting period, Atkins noted.
“For the sake of shareholders and public companies, the market can decide what the proper cadence is,” he said.
When asked whether the change would adversely impact retail investors, Atkins noted that there is a diverse array of tools that disseminate information about businesses, stocks, and the economy. He added that investors—professional and retail—obtain information primarily from earnings calls with CEOs and CFOs.
“I think it’s a good time to look at the whole panoply of ways that people get information and how it’s disseminated and what’s fit for purpose,” the SEC chief said.
“I think that’s what we’re intending to do.”
According to Atkins, there has been a discussion on this issue for the past few years, with experts stating that quarterly reporting “emphasizes a short-term type of thinking.”
During his first term, Trump wrote on X (then Twitter) that global business leaders told him that a semiannual regimen “would make business (jobs) even better in the U.S.”
“’Stop quarterly reporting & go to a six month system’ said one,” Trump wrote in 2018.
“That would allow greater flexibility & save money. I have asked the SEC to study!”
While then-SEC Chairman Jay Clayton initiated a review shortly after the president’s comments, a report determined that quarterly requirements lead to “greater transparency of information and a lower cost of capital for companies seeking to raise funds.”
The study did note, however, that issuing guidance does tie executives to “short-term thinking.”
Anupam Satyasheel, founder and CEO of Occams Advisory, a global financial advisory firm, says it is a “welcome move” as quarterly reporting places “massive pressure” on companies.
“It doesn’t allow them time to adjust to economic cycles, and then the relentless pressure of analysts adds to business decisions and business forecasts,” Satyasheel told The Epoch Times.
The New York Stock Exchange in New York City on April 4, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times
Switching to semiannual reporting, he says, will reduce “the short-term focus.”
“Overall, I feel that semiannual reporting is a step in the right direction and will be welcomed by public companies,” Satyasheel added.
At the same time, there could be downside risks, such as the potential decrease in transparency, according to Marc Fandetti, portfolio strategist at Armstrong Advisory Group.
“As regulators consider reducing reporting frequency, they should weigh not just the savings but also the potential losses—losses to investors resulting from less transparency and to the economy resulting from impaired market efficiency,” Fandetti wrote for the CFA Institute.
If approved, the United States would join China, the UK, Australia, Japan, and many other countries that maintain the semiannual mandate for publicly listed companies on their stock exchanges.
Educational Crisis: Baltimore High School Fails To Produce A Single Proficient Math Student In Four Straight Years
President Trump’s executive order earlier this year to dismantle the Department of Education comes as the president highlighted a disturbing and inconvenient truth about Baltimore City’s Democratic Party-run “failure factory” school system: 40% of public high schools have zero students proficient in math. This damning statistic follows eight years of Fox45 investigative reporter Chris Papst’s coverage of the crime-ridden city’s education crisis. Keep in mind, the metro area is mainly controlled by leftists at City Hall, with virtually no diversity when it comes to Republicans holding positions of power.
A new report by Papst released this past week may catch the White House’s attention, highlighting yet another inconvenient truth about the stunning failure of Baltimore City Public Schools in terms of academic outcomes, proving that simply throwing more taxpayer funds at the problem is not a viable solution.
Papst spoke with Carl Stokes, a former Baltimore City Council member and charter school operator, who was visibly frustrated when asked about the fact that for the fourth consecutive year, not a single student tested proficient in math at Achievement Academy in northeast Baltimore.
Here’s the Papst–Stokes conversation, woven into the report on yet more failures from Baltimore:
“You’re shaking your head,” Project Baltimore’s Chris Papst noted of Stokes during an interview.
“Well, of course,” replied Stokes. “How long have we been talking about this?”
Stokes, for years, has been talking about the lack of education for many students in Baltimore City Public Schools.
“They do a horrible job,” Stokes remarked.
Now, Stokes is responding to what Fox45 News discovered in the recently released results for the state known as MCAP – the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program.
“That school should be closed,” stated Stokes.
Achievement Academy at Harbor City is a high school in northeast Baltimore. According to MCAP data analyzed by Project Baltimore, Achievement Academy has not had a single student test proficient in math in four years. Over the last four school years, 134 students at the school have taken the state math exams. Not one scored proficient.
“It says that the leadership is worthless, pretty much. They are failing their mission. They are failing the students,” said Stokes.
City Schools, on its website, defines Achievement Academy as an alternative placement school for students who struggle in traditional academic settings. The school’s vision, according to its website, “is to cultivate lifelong learners and productive citizens.”
And the school gets a lot of taxpayer money to achieve that vision. According to state data, in 2021, Achievement Academy received $20,014 for each one of its 372 students. By 2024, Achievement Academy had an enrollment of 202 and received $42,618 per student. In other words, over those four school years, Achievement Academy’s per student funding more than doubled and not one student, over those years, tested proficient on the state math exams.
“When you look at a school like Achievement Academy, and you look at the amount of money it’s getting and the education the students apparently aren’t getting, who do you hold accountable?” Questioned Papst.
“You start with North Avenue headquarters. You begin with that leadership. From superintendent, CEO and her cabinet. And then the local school leadership,” responded Stokes.
One Baltimore City high school has not had a single student test proficient on the state math test in 4 years. Project Baltimore digs into the numbers and talks with a former Baltimore City Councilmember who says the school needs to be closed.@chrispapst@FOXBaltimorepic.twitter.com/DwyUOszBWl
For nearly eight years, ZeroHedge has followed Papst’s investigative work through the trenches of school to school across Baltimore City. Papst has conducted all the investigative work through Project Baltimore, in collaboration with Fox45 News. He has spent years reporting on optically displeasing headlines that merely expose how progressive elites running the school system have effectively robbed multiple generations of children of a future for short-term gain to line their pockets and possibly funnel taxpayer funds into the Democratic Party machine, which is nothing more than corrupt unions.
Maryland Taxpayers…
Over the past couple years, your hard work has helped INCREASE public school funding by $2 BILLION.
According to state data, education spending is up 16% over 3 years. Meanwhile, the graduation rate is up 1%.
Baltimore is an easy layup for the White House to convey to the American people during the Midterm election cycle just how terribly the Democratic Party has transformed once vibrant cities across America into what the president describes as “hellholes.”
