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For too long, merit has taken a back seat in American higher education. Under the banner of DEI, admissions policies at many institutions have prioritized demographic balancing over academic excellence. But the pendulum is swinging back. A growing number of selective universities—including Princeton, Dartmouth, and Yale—have recently announced they will once again require standardized test scores for admission. These decisions reflect a broader reappraisal of merit-based criteria, driven not just by partisan pressure but by internal reviews of academic outcomes and fairness. The message is clear: Excellence matters, and the most promising students deserve a fair shot. Increasingly, qualified students...

A federal appeals court on Thursday ordered a lower court to reconsider a decision to keep President Donald Trump's ongoing case to erase his hush money conviction in state court. The three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a federal judge failed to consider "important issues relevant" to Trump's request to move the New York case to federal court, where he can seek to have it thrown out on presidential immunity grounds. Judges Susan L. Carney, Raymond J. Lohier Jr. and Myrna Pérez made their ruling after hearing arguments about the case in June. Trump's legal...

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum just said fighting a war against drug cartels is unlawful because it would violate the rights of drug traffickers and it would be "fascist." "Returning to the war against the narco is not an option. First, because it is outside the framework of the law." "I said or have said on several occasions, it is permission to kill without any trial." She must be drinking from the same cup as Kamala Harris because what the heck is she saying?

Speaking in English, and reaching a US audience directly, he reiterated the Catholic belief that every Christian will ultimately be judged on how they welcomed "the foreigner". In some of his strongest criticism to date of President Donald Trump's administration, the first ever US-born pope also warned that the US bombing of Venezuelan ships, suspected of carrying drugs, risked increasing tensions in the region.

For months, Americans were told that the U.S. was embroiled in a losing “trade war” with China, preventing the two world powers from striking any sort of deal. However, in the face of this supposed adversity, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump inked a trade and economic deal, which included key Chinese concessions: agreeing to buy more U.S. soybeans, ease export controls on rare earth minerals, and crack down on fentanyl production chemicals.

Fighters laugh as they ride on the back of a pick-up truck, speeding past a row of nine dead bodies and driving towards the setting Sudanese sun. "Look at all this work. Look at this genocide," one cheers. He smiles as he turns the camera on himself and his fellow fighters, their Rapid Support Forces (RSF) badges on display: "They will all die like this." The men are celebrating a massacre that humanitarian officials fear killed more than 2,000 people in the Sudanese city of el-Fasher last month. On Monday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said it was investigating whether...

A Michigan woman chucked a cup of freshly–made, scalding hot coffee at a hapless McDonald's manager during an argument over a refund, sparking a police investigation. The shocking incident, which was captured on camera, took place in Saginaw, Michigan, at the McDonald's on 3700 Dixie Highway. Footage from Tuesday morning showed the enraged woman confronting the fast food establishment's manager and apparently demanding a refund.

It’s called the “gender gap” (should be “sex gap,” really) in voting, and, boy, did it ever manifest itself Tuesday night. In fact, November 4 was a great day for the GOP. That is, in an alternate universe in which only men vote. Let’s go down the list. In Virginia there were three major races, and men broke Republican in all of them. They went for Winsome Earle-Sears for governor (all figures represent percentages), 53-47; John Reid for lieutenant governor, 55-44; and Jason Miyares for attorney general, 57-42. Meanwhile, in the upside-down, women broke Democrat in all three races by...

Democratic support for a potential deal to reopen the government has crumbled because of deep mistrust among Senate Democrats over whether they can trust President Trump to act in good faith to extend health insurance subsidies or to stop firing federal workers. Senate Democrats on Thursday rejected an emerging proposal to reopen the government that would have linked a stopgap funding bill known as a continuing resolution to three full-year appropriations bills funding military construction, veterans’ affairs, the Department of Agriculture and the legislative branch. Democratic senators discussed the proposal at lunch and concluded that it did not include strong...

A writer who led the charge against a fellow author over claims her award-winning memoir was racist has posted a tearful video begging people not to drag up the 'past'. Monisha Rajesh, who is now an author in her own right, was one of the earliest critics of Kate Clanchy's 2020 book Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me, which won the prestigious Orwell Prize for political writing. The memoir, based on Clanchy's 30 years teaching in state schools, came under fire a year after its release when readers accused her of using 'racist' and 'dehumanising' descriptions of...

Aussies are one step closer to direct London and New York flights, with Qantas unveiling the first pictures of its new long-haul aircraft on Friday morning. Known as 'Project Sunrise', the service is named for the phenomenon where passengers on the London route see two sunrises during their flight. The first aircraft is now on the Airbus assembly line in France. Qantas will operate 12 specially configured aircraft, enabling the world's longest commercial flights and connecting Australia's east coast - both Melbourne and Sydney - non-stop to London and New York for the very first time.

A Penn Yan woman is facing multiple charges after police say she refused to leave an apartment during a landlord-tenant dispute and then resisted arrest. Carol Briggs, 63, was arrested by Penn Yan Police for obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest, and trespass following an incident at an apartment where she had no legal right to be. Officers responded to a call involving a dispute between a tenant and Briggs, who is a family member of the landlord. Police say Briggs entered the apartment without permission, became upset with the tenant, and demanded they leave the property. Police informed Briggs that...

A 100-year-old veteran shocked the hosts of Good Morning Britain today by declaring that winning World War II 'wasn't worth it' due to the state of the UK. Alec Penstone told Adil Ray and Kate Garraway how he quit his factory job to sign up for the Royal Navy and fight for his country as soon as he came of age. The war hero recalled serving alongside close friends, many of whom lost their lives, and called himself 'just a lucky one' for having survived.

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Stop me if you’ve heard this before: This was an awesome weekend of college football. Week 10’s slate saw now-No. 13 Texas fend off a 21-point fourth quarter from Vanderbilt to get to 7–2 on the season and keep their playoff hopes alive, Hugh Freeze get fired by Auburn after going just 15–19 over his first two-plus seasons, Julian Sayin become the Heisman Trophy favorite after bringing No. 1 Ohio State to 8–0 to begin the year, and Shedeur Sanders visit his father, Deion, at Colorado during the Browns’ bye-week.

Democrats in the party continue to radicalize, and the position of the socialists in supporting Marxist ideology increases its hold. Many people are wringing their hands over the election of self-identified democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City mayor. Unfortunately, they have reason to be worried, because his election reflects a trend that can be called conservatively, concerning, and liberally, alarming. To understand this assessment better, it helps to understand the nature of democratic socialism. What is the history of the movement in this country? Although he wasn’t an admitted socialist, Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced sweeping socialism to America:...

Republicans insist Gov. Gavin Newsom of California isn’t a threat to the Trump presidency. White House allies argue privately that he’s too liberal, too manicured and just too California to win a national election. And yet: They also acknowledge this week that Newsom looks more politically formidable than at any other point in his career. One Republican strategist said Newsom’s winning redistricting campaign in California transformed him into a top rival of Donald Trump,” while another conceded it had cemented him as a “Tier 1 Democrat.”

Milo Sedarat, a privileged teen from affluent Montclair, New Jersey, was arrested at the $1.2 million home of his parents Tuesday morning after espousing grotesque fantasies about murdering Jews, including calling for “mass executions” and boasting… Via direct messages and social media, Sedarat, 19, and another unidentified man traded sickening antisemitic chats, according to the complaint. “I can’t wait for the day I get to execute like 10 yahood,” he said, using what investigators say is an Arabic term for Jewish people.

Ukraine now about where Japan was in July 1945...

Donald Trump has accused Zohran Mamdani of delivering a “very dangerous” speech after he was elected as the next mayor of New York City. The 34-year-old, who stormed to victory in the election on Tuesday, directly addressed Mr Trump in his acceptance speech, telling the president to “turn the volume up” and that “to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us”.