Mississippi 'Miracle' Catapults 4th-grade Reading Scores from Bottom into top 10 by getting back to Phonics

Joseph MacKinnon November 29, 2025

In 2013, Mississippi ranked 49th out of the 50 US States in grade four reading on the National Assessment of Education Progress -- the largest continuing national assessment of American students' knowledge and capability in math, reading, science, and writing.

In what has repeatedly been dubbed a "miracle," the sate made its way up the list-- to 29th in 2019 and then 10 spots higher to ninth place nationally for reading scores last year.

According to the NAEP, black students in Mississippi ranked third nationally last year among their cohort for reading and math scores.  Hispanic students in the state ranked first in the nation for reading and second for math scores.  An poor students in the Magnolia State ranked first for reading and second for math scores nationally. ....

Wyoming Shoshone Dancers Showcase Culture In Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

Six-year-old Shoshone tribal member Ethanial Austin Brown  of the Wind River Indian Reservation performed at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year as a fancy feather dancer with his grandfather George Abeyta.  [both pictured here]

His performance made the highlight reel for the parade, and his grandfather could not be more proud of “Baby E,” as Brown is known as on the powwow circuit.

He danced hard on the on the asphalt for 2-and-a-half miles,” Abeyta said. “He just stopped and danced his little heart out up to 30 times along the route.” 

The pair had been invited this year by Native Pride Productions to perform in New York City over the Thanksgiving holiday.

‘Rental Family’ Spotlights Real-Life Japanese Businesses that offer Fill-in Relatives and Friends

Rental Family, a moving drama from Searchlight Pictures starring Brendan Fraser, is sure to  spark interest in Japan’s real-life industry. The film centers on Phillip, an American actor who is recruited by a Tokyo “rental family” agency in need of a “token white guy.” His recurring jobs range from playing video games with a loner to portraying a little girl’s long absentee father. It isn’t long before Phillip starts to become emotionally invested in what were supposed to be superficial relationships. 

The film’s Japanese supporting cast also bring to life the intense highs and lows of assuming a role in a stranger’s life.  In reality, these niche businesses highlight how deeply people in Japan experience loneliness or worry about keeping up appearances. Outsiders may cringe at the idea of paying amateur actors to be fake family members or friends. But users say they find these services comforting and even healing. 

Grab & Dash

Fourteen men have been arrested in connection with a large-scale “porch pirate” operation in Long Island, New York, in which authorities say the group targeted 31 communities over the course of nearly two years. The ring allegedly focused on areas including Brentwood, Central Islip, Shirley, and Deer Park. Investigators tracked the thefts from October 2023 through February 2025 until the operation was dismantled.

Most of the suspects are reportedly from the Bronx. Authorities say they hacked into computer systems to track when phones and electronics were scheduled for delivery to AT&T and Verizon customers. The group then dispatched runners to steal the packages from doorsteps. More than 200 cellphones and tablets were allegedly stolen during the operation.

"They were gaining access to the tracking numbers as well as the deliveries, and through that they could tell which would be an electronic device from AT&T and Verizon," Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said, according to CBS News.

Referendum Rejects Contested Assisted Dying Law

Bojan KAVCIC AFP, 
Nov 23, 2025 

Slovenians on Sunday voted to suspend a new law to legalize assisted dying in a referendum held after critics mounted a campaign against the legislation.

Around 53 percent of voters had rejected the law, while 47 percent voted in favour, meaning its implementation will be suspended for at least one year.

Slovenia's parliament had approved a law in July allowing assisted dying after a 2024 referendum supported it.

Where Have All the Tomboys Gone?

Haley Shane

Remember seeing tomboys? Girls that played in the mud, played sports with the boys teams, and would rather wear cleats than be caught in heels?

I remember. I was one.

My mom and dad tell a very colorful story of me throwing a dress on the floor after my grandmother practically forced it on me. I was 4. I had no idea what a gender was. Or sex. Or a sexual orientation. I just knew I didn't like dresses. I liked football. And playing in the mud. And working on cars with my dad. (I use the term "working" loosely)

Now? I'd be labeled a boy trapped in a girl body. I'd be recommended puberty blockers, hormones (DRUGS — call them what they are), and maybe even Gender Reassignment Surgery. That's horrifying to think of as an adult.

Peoria County Coroner Raises Concern Over Medical Aid in Dying Bill

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A potential law, giving terminally ill patients the option to end their lives through the use of medication, needs more safeguards according to the Peoria County Coroner.

Jamie Harwood said he believes that such a decision needs more oversight than is currently in the law. He said when it comes to hospice care, he investigates every single death. However, that isn’t the case if someone was to choose a medically assisted death.

“The unfortunate thing is the way this bill is written, we wouldn’t even be notified or called into that at all, which is the unfortunate thing,” he said.

The proposal, which passed out of the General Assembly earlier this month, is now on the desk of Gov. JB Pritzker, waiting his signature to make it a law. He has not indicated publicly whether he will sign the measure or not.

Tessa Mahoney, the executive director of the Central Illinois Agency of Aging, said she understands both sides, but it can be difficult to determine if someone truly has only six months or less to live.

“So if somebody goes past six months what happens then… what does the process look like now?” she said.

Supreme Court Takes Up Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order in Historic Showdown

The battle over who qualifies as an American at birth has officially reached the highest court in the land.

On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the historic challenge to President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order restricting birthright citizenship, setting the stage for what could be the most consequential interpretation of the 14th Amendment in more than a century.

Trump’s order—one of the signature actions of his America First immigration agenda—asserts that children born to illegal aliens on U.S. soil do not automatically receive citizenship, countering decades of bureaucratic interpretation and closing what critics call one of the most abused loopholes in American law.

Seattle Mayor Concedes to Progressive Katie Wilson

By Newsmax,

For the second time this month, Americans have elected an openly socialist candidate to public office. After a tight battle in Washington state, Democrat Katie Wilson overtook incumbent Bruce Harrell in Seattle’s 2025 mayoral race, winning by roughly 2,000 votes.

First-term Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell conceded his reelection fight to progressive activist Katie Wilson on Thursday, handing another victory to leftist Democrats around the country frustrated with unaffordability, homelessness, public safety, and the actions of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Harrell, a Democrat who previously served three terms on the City Council, led in early results. But Washington conducts all-mail elections, with ballots postmarked by Election Day. Later-arriving votes, which historically trend more liberal, broke heavily in Wilson’s favor, adding to a progressive shift to the left nationally.

Chile Swerves Right in Sunday’s Election: Wins Historic Majority in Parliament

Allen West, November 18, 2025

Just for the record, my parents were registered Democrats, and John Lewis was my Congressional representative growing up. However, my parents raised me with principles and values that are antithetical to the collection of delusional, deranged leftists who now own the political party once known as Democratic. This party has not just fully lurched to the Marxist left, but it is a party of mean girls and petulant, weak boys. It is a political party that is disintegrating into a toxic gas, which seemingly distorts one’s once functional brain and turns it into some jelly-like substance. It is a political gang more than anything else that seeks to punish and harm anyone who stands in its way..  

Shutdown Tantrums 

Let’s take, for example, the almost 45 days of leftists shutting down the federal government, and for what purpose? The insidious narrative was as far-ranging as the Alaskan frontier and as dry as the Sahara. First, it was about restoring Medicaid benefits. But to whom? It turns out that it was for illegal immigrants. Secondly, it became about restoring the $1.7T of government spending that was cut by the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Act, signed into law by President Trump. Yes, the party of mean girls and weak boys wanted to refund NPR and were willing to not pay our military troops. Lastly, and most incompetent, the reason became the furthering of Covid-era Obamacare subsidies, ya know, the Affordable Care Act, which is certainly not affordable. Even the epitome of a weak, petulant leftist boy, Hakeem Jeffries, tried to make the case that this was about solving the Republican healthcare crisis. You do know that Sir Winston Churchill asserted that socialism is the “creed of ignorance.”  

John Kelly, a Great Friend to Many, has Died. Memorial Service to be Held in January

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of NDY’s singularly dear colleague and incomparable disability rights champion, John Bryan Kelly, (pictured here) who passed away peacefully in Boston, this past Friday, November 14, 2025, at the age of 67.  

In spite of battling an unrelenting infection in hospital since the latter part of September, John’s legendary spirit remained on display throughout, communicating in winks and smiles until his peaceful passing.

As Communications Director and previously as Regional Director for Not Dead Yet, as Executive Director for Second Thoughts Massachusetts, and as the Chair of Boston Disability Advisory Commission, John’s expert knowledge and unwavering  dedication to his work for disability rights motivated all who worked with or alongside him to do the same, and to keep going when the going got tough, which it often has. 

With the Kelly family’s permission, a brief excerpt from the forthcoming obituary sheds more light on John’s life and legacy:

New Jerseyans Deserve to Know Whether their Voter Rolls are Accurate

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The Republican National Committee is suing New Jersey for failing to provide public records on the state’s voter roll maintenance practices, according to Chairman Joe Gruters [pictured right].

“New Jerseyans deserve to know whether their voter rolls are accurate,” Gruters told The Daily Signal. “Clean and transparent voter lists are essential for trust in our elections. The RNC is suing to obtain these records and ensure the state follows the law.”

The RNC is filing an election integrity lawsuit against New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way.*

Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires states to remove ineligible voters—such as those who have died or moved out of the jurisdiction—from the voter rolls. Under the act, states must permit the public to inspect records showing how voter rolls are maintained.

The RNC has sent 18 separate records requests to New Jersey asking for information about the Garden State’s list-maintenance efforts, including information about voters who asked to be removed from the rolls.

Way has repeatedly denied these requests, which the RNC says violates federal law and prevents New Jerseyans from knowing whether their voter rolls are accurate and being regularly cleaned.

Quebec has the Highest Euthanasia Death Rate in the World, Will Great Britain Be Next?

According to the 2024-25 report of the Commission on end-of-life care, medics directly killed 6,268 people in Quebec, accounting for almost one in every twelve deaths.

Politicians at Westminster and Holyrood are currently scrutinizing legislation that would allow state-sponsored suicide across Great Britain.

Self-coercion

The Commission noted that the number of “MAID (Medical Aid in Dying) procedures administered and the proportion of deaths resulting from MAID” have been on the rise in the province since euthanasia was legalised in 2015.

During the study period, 7.9 per cent of all deaths were attributed to MAID, an increase of nine per cent on the previous year.

More than half cited feeling a burden on family, friends or caregivers as a reason they chose euthanasia, while 24 per cent said they wished to die because they felt lonely or isolated.

Canadians Opting for Assisted Suicide due to Lack of Access to Care

By Jonathon Van Maren, LifeSiteNews (pictured at right).

The family of an elderly man is speaking out about the terrible hospital conditions that led their father to request euthanasia before he died of natural causes.

The family of Cleo Gratton, an 84-year-old retired diamond driller who died earlier this month in Chelmsford, Ontario, of natural causes after being approved for assisted suicide, is speaking publicly about their appalling experience in the Canadian healthcare system.

According to the CBC, the elderly man “told his family he would rather die than go back to Health Sciences North in Sudbury,” and that a recent stay there found Gratton, who was suffering from heart disease and kidney failure, spending one night in the emergency room and then being transferred to a bed sitting in the hallway on the seventh floor.

My Personal Experience With Assisted Suicide

By Margaret Dore

In another life, most likely in 1980 when I was 23 years old, I talked three young men down from suicide.

What I think happened is that a final exit network person had given them my phone number by mistake.  This was before the age of caller ID.

I was contacted by each of the three young men over a period of time, each one wanting assistance to kill himself.

I called a suicide prevention person to ask what I should do, i.e., with regard to the first one.  The person told me to ask the suicidal person why?  To engage him.

So that’s what I did.  I met each young man at a local park [Seattle's Green Lake, pictured above], which I thought would be safe for me.  I asked each young man why, and then I tried to expand to other topics.  

The last one I got him laughing.  He told me that he no longer felt like killing himself.

“Election Day” Means What it says under Federal Law.

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted review 

of our landmark election integrity case on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Mississippi. We are seeking to uphold a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which struck down a Mississippi law unconstitutionally allowing election officials to count mail-in ballots received up to five days after Election Day.

The Supreme Court now has an opportunity to reaffirm that “Election Day” means what it says under federal law. Counting ballots received after Election Day not only violates federal law but encourages voter fraud and undermines voter confidence. The Supreme Court should uphold the historic decision by the Fifth Circuit that sensibly concluded that counting ballots received after Election Day is unlawful.

The October 2024, Fifth Circuit appellate opinion found:

NYPD Officer Leaps Into Freezing River to Save Teenage Girl from Drowning

By Emma Bussey Fox News,

In a statement, the NYPD said: "When it came to saving a life, our officers had no hesitation. 32nd Precinct officers saw a woman in the East River and jumped into the frigid water to pull her to safety."

Reflecting on the rescue, Officer Gupta told the Post:

"I’m just glad that we were all there as a group. It was a team effort that gave her a second chance."  "It’s great when you save somebody. That’s what we signed up for in this job, right?" added Officer Amine.

Fox News Digital reached out to the NYPD for further comment.

Keith P. Brown: "Overall, There Simply Are not enough Safeguards in this Legislation to Protect the Public."

A Column from Assemblyman Keith P. Brown (R,C-Northport) on New York State Assembly passing the ‘Medical Aid in Dying Act’ on April 29, 2025...

The “Medical Aid in Dying Act,” otherwise known as physician-assisted suicide, [assisted suicide, and  euthanasia,] is a proposal that should not be taken lightly. I believe this proposal is not in New Yorkers’ best interest as it currently does not address significant risk factors associated with its passage that could carry unintended and potentially dangerous consequences.

The Medical Aid in Dying Act stipulates two things:

A mentally competent, terminally ill adult with a prognosis of six months or less to live may request life-ending medication from their treating physician they can self-administer to cause their death; and

Certain protections and immunities are provided to health care providers and other persons, including a physician who prescribes medication to the terminally ill patient to be self-administered in compliance with the provisions of the proposal.

Wyoming: Trump Pardons Runner Who Trespassed On Grand Teton Trail Closed For ‘Regrowth'

President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned a record-setting mountain runner prosecuted by the National Park Service and convicted by a federal judge for trespassing on a trail that was “closed for regrowth” last September in Grand Teton National Park.

The pardon of Michelino Sunseri comes after Wyoming Republican U.S. House Rep. Harriet Hageman said she was investigating the case as a possible instance of overzealous prosecution.

"We are thrilled that Michelino's nightmare is over, but we're not done fighting against unconstitutional regulations that give low-level park officials the power to criminalize harmless conduct," said Michael Poon, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation, which defended Sunseri. "We are ready to help other Americans who face criminal prosecution for breaking park rules that were illegally created."

Mississippi Declares Public Health Emergency

The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) today [08/21/25] declared a public health emergency in response to rising infant mortality rates across the state.  Mississippi's 2024 data shows the overall infant mortality rate has increased to 9.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, which is the highest in more than a decade.  In Mississippi, 3,527 babies died before the age of 1 since 2014.

“Too many Mississippi families are losing their babies before their first birthday,” said State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney. “This is deeply personal to me — not just as a physician, but as a father and grandfather. Every single infant loss represents a family devastated, a community impacted and a future cut short. We cannot and will not accept these numbers as our reality. Declaring this a public health emergency is more than a policy decision; it is an urgent commitment to save lives. Mississippi has the knowledge, the resources and the resilience to change this story. It will take all of us — policymakers, healthcare providers, communities and families — working together to give every child the chance to live, thrive and celebrate their first birthday.”

US Supreme Court to Hear Ballot Deadline Case

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton announced today that the Supreme Court of the United States has granted review in a landmark election integrity case brought on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Mississippi. The case seeks to uphold a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which struck down a Mississippi law unconstitutionally allowing election officials to count mail-in ballots received up to five days after Election Day. Fitton stated:

US Supreme Court Accepts Challenge to Mail-In Ballot Counting Law

Big League Politics

The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear a major election-integrity case challenging state laws that allow mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day — a move conservatives say could restore long-lost trust in America’s elections.

At issue is whether states such as Mississippi and Illinois can continue counting mail ballots that arrive in the days following Election Day, so long as they were postmarked by Election Day. Roughly 18 states and the District of Columbia currently allow this practice.

The Mississippi case, which the Court accepted Monday, questions whether federal law — which sets a single, nationwide Election Day for choosing members of Congress and the presidency — preempts state laws that effectively extend that period by several days.

Mississippi’s attorney general has argued that such extensions undermine the “uniform Election Day” standard and threaten to sow confusion and doubt about late-arriving ballots.

Canadian Advocacy Groups Push Euthanasia Program for Children

Blaze TV Staff, 11/09/25 

On Nov. 6, Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) [pictured here] joined The Epoch Times Senior Editor Jan Jekielek on his show American Thought Leaders to discuss what he considers one of the gravest crimes of our time: the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting.

“I’m one of the few members of Congress who’ve ever actually done transplant surgery,” Dunn said. “I understand a lot of it is coming near and dear to my heart, and the idea of actually murdering someone—to take their organs and give them to somebody else—that is as appalling as anything that anybody’s ever done in the history of the world. That’s right up there with the Nazis and the Holocaust.”

A surgeon by training and a member of the House Select Committee on the CCP, Dunn has made combating China’s forced organ harvesting one of his top priorities. In the interview, he explained his sponsorship of the Block Organ Transplant Purchases from China Act of 2025, also known as the Block Act, a bill designed to ensure that no American citizen or institution participates in or profits from the Chinese regime’s organ transplant industry.

A Crime Hidden in Plain Sight

For over two decades, mounting evidence has indicated that prisoners of conscience in China, particularly adherents of Falun Gong—a spiritual practice persecuted in China since 1999—have been killed on demand for their organs. Independent tribunals, human rights investigators, and medical experts have documented thousands of cases, estimating that tens of thousands of transplants occur each year without identifiable voluntary donors.

The Bodies Were Left to Rot

By JGM 

On Friday, “professional marksmen” in Canada gunned down almost 400 ostriches. Birds that were clearly disease free; just more victims of the Canadian government’s totalitarian overreach. Deja vu- “the truckers rally.” ...

There are only five groups of ratites left in the world (ostriches, emus, kiwis, cassowaries, and rheas). They have a special place in the animal kingdom. Ratites may be the closest living relatives to the dinosaurs and truly are fascinating....

Driver Screams ‘Allahu Akbar’ After Ramming Into Crowd in France

At least two people have been seriously injured after a man drove into a crowd of pedestrians and cyclists on an island off the west coast of France, according to prosecutors.

Local officials said a 35-year-old man deliberately drove into people between the towns of Saint Pierre d'Oléron and Dolus d'Oléron on Île d’Oléron on Wednesday, injuring 10 people.

Arnaud Laraize, the public prosecutor for the nearby city of La Rochelle, said the suspect had yelled "allahu akbar," or "God is greatest" in Arabic, as he was arrested, according to the newspaper Sud Ouest. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez separately confirmed that the suspect was in custody and an investigation was underway. Nuñez said two people had been critically injured.  

Minneapolis POLST Event

By Julie Grimstad  

On September 11, at a HALO event in Minneapolis, I addressed concerns about Hospice. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to answer all the questions attendees asked. People who ask questions deserve answers. Furthermore, when one person asks a question, it is likely that others are interested in the answer as well.

The 10/24/25 HALO Voice Alert answered questions about Nutrition and Hydration. Today, I will tackle questions about POLST (Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment), a healthcare advance directive used extensively throughout the United States. It has various names and acronyms, but they all can be hazardous to your life.

WARNING:

+ All POLST forms reduce complicated medical decisions to a “check the box” format and are slanted toward encouraging refusal of life-saving and life-preserving treatment and care, resulting in avoidable deaths.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE #WALKAWAY CAMPAIGN

On the Election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York City

Dear Patriots,

As the dust settles from last night’s election, we recognize a hard truth: New York City has chosen Zohran Mamdani, a radical socialist whose platform rejects the values of law, order, and freedom that built this city. This outcome is deeply disappointing, but we refuse to see it as a defeat.

Over the past weeks and months, the #WalkAway Campaign and our incredible community of patriots have poured our hearts into this fight. We spoke truth in the face of hostility. We rallied in the streets. We reached voters who had never heard another perspective. And in doing so, we planted seeds of courage and awareness that will continue to grow long after this election.

Public Service Commissioner Allegations

Keila Szpaller, Friday October 31, 2025, 

Montana Public Service Commission (via PSC Twitter account).  Public Service Commissioner Annie Bukacek, also a doctor in private practice, is using state equipment to copy medical records unrelated to agency work, a complaint filed this week with the state ethics watchdog alleges.

Bukacek, elected in 2022, declined Friday to address the question and directed the Daily Montanan to the Public Service Commission director.

Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar filed the complaint, dated Wednesday, with the Commissioner of Political Practices, which monitors and enforces ethical standards for public officers.

In the complaint, Molnar, recently ousted as president, asks the Commissioner of Political Practices to estimate the money Bukacek owes ratepayers for her alleged abuse of state resources and levy penalties accordingly.  Bukacek is a licensed physician based in Kalispell, according to the Montana Board of Medical Examiners. She is on the Logan Health Medical Center receptionist directory. 

Gov. JB Pritzker Says He’s still deciding Whether ‘Right-to-Die’ Legislation Should Become Illinois law

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday said he was still deciding whether he’d sign legislation that would permit doctors to help terminally ill people end their lives, after the bill narrowly passed the General Assembly last week. 

“It was something that I didn’t expect and didn’t know it was going to be voted on, so we’re examining it even now,” Pritzker said. 

The Democratic-run state Senate, before dawn broke Friday, voted with the bare minimum 30 votes to allow mentally competent, terminally ill adults the right to access life-ending prescription medication with physician oversight. The vote sent the bill to the governor’s desk. But opponents, including disability advocates and the Catholic Church, have pushed back against the measure, saying it could lead to discrimination, coercion and abuse.

Rising Electricity Costs Emerge as Key Campaign Issue in New Jersey, Virginia Races

John Haughey

Reporter

Updated: 11/2/2025

Power bills may be among the factors that determine what party is in power in statehouses and governors’ mansions in 2026. 

The Nov. 4 New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races are being closely watched, as they spotlight issues that could determine how campaigns nationwide approach the 2026 midterm elections.

In both mid-Atlantic states’ elections, voters’ chief concerns include taxes, health care, job generation, and inflation in the context of affordability, with spiking grocery prices, rising housing costs, and skyrocketing utility bills among their sources of anxiety.

With New Jersey customers paying on average 19 percent more for electricity in August 2025 than in August 2024, and Virginia utilities—after imposing 30 percent hikes from 2020 to 2023—receiving approval for 15 percent to 21 percent rate increases in the next two years, power bills may be among the factors that determine what party is in power in statehouses and governors’ mansions in 2026.

New Jersey and Virginia voters are demanding that candidates address electricity rates, a potential harbinger of elections to come, with an Oct. 20 Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll showing that 36 percent of U.S. adults are stressed over utility costs.