Source: Show-Me Institute
by Susan Pendergrass
“Recently, Show-Me Institute analysts have been sounding the alarm on Missouri’s literacy crisis. The data are sobering — 42 percent of our state’s fourth graders can barely read, representing some of the worst results we have seen in two decades. When a child reaches the end of third grade without the ability to decode text, they do not just fall behind. They are essentially locked out of the rest of the curriculum.” (03/31/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/education/why-the-science-of-reading-is-missouris-path-forward/
Source: United Press International
“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that helicopter pilots who conducted a flyby of musician Kid Rock’s Nashville estate over the weekend would not be punished, an abrupt reversal of the U.S. Army’s decision to suspend the Apache helicopter crews amid review of their conduct. … Rock published a pair of videos to social media on Saturday showing him cheering on a pair of Apache helicopters flying by and hovering near his Nashville estate, which he has called ‘The Southern White House.'” (03/31/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/03/31/Hegseth-Kid-Rock-helicopters/5201775007536/
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Can Trump Summon Congress to DC? Why the Military Community is Rosy on Iran (with Riley Blanton).” (03/31/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/can-trump-summon-congress-to-dc-why
Source: The UnPopulist
by Paul Gowder
“In the end, every single legal argument for stripping U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants of citizenship fails. The 14th Amendment is clear. Donald Trump’s push to deny them citizenship status is yet another assault on the Constitution.” (03/31/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/every-argument-against-birthright
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“The president’s predictions of the nation’s imminent demise reflect his narcissistic authoritarianism.” (03/31/26)
https://reason.com/2026/03/31/unless-people-support-me-trump-habitually-warns-we-wont-have-a-country-anymore/
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A mass robotaxi outage in the Chinese city of Wuhan caused at least a hundred self-driving cars to stop mid-traffic, sparking renewed debate around the safety of driverless vehicles. Local police said initial findings suggested a ‘system malfunction’ caused multiple vehicles to stop in the middle of the road on Tuesday. Videos on social media have documented the outage, with one appearing to show it resulting in a highway collision, although police said no injuries had been reported and passengers exited their vehicles safely. Baidu did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the police statement, posted on social media site Weibo, the cause of the incident is still under further investigation. Baidu operates its Apollo Go driverless taxi service in dozens of cities across the world, mostly in China.” (04/01/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvge91r9j80o
Source: The Bulwark
“We Don’t Kink Shame, But …” (03/31/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1vnS2-p_SY
Source: Niskanen Center
by Cassandra Zimmer
“The U.S. has every right to pressure Antigua & Barbuda and Dominica to reform programs that pose genuine national security risks. However, it does not have the credibility to do so while launching a program that contains design-level gaps that, if left unaddressed, create conditions for similar misuse.” (03/31/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/doing-as-they-say-not-as-they-do-the-trump-administrations-golden-passport-problem/
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I don’t believe you can be a good Zionist anymore than I believe someone can be a decent Nazi. The ideology itself describes a major character flaw I cannot take seriously the idea that some ethnicities or religious groups are inherently prone to nefarious behavior; it goes against everything I’ve learned about the human condition over the course of my strange adventures on this planet. I absolutely do believe, however, that there are political ideologies whose adherents are universally dogshit people. If you’ve been watching the incineration of the Gaza Strip and thinking it’s good, or thinking it’s complicated, or thinking it’s an unfortunate development that can be blamed on a few bad apples in the Israeli government but doesn’t reflect Israel’s nature as a whole, then you’re a piece of shit. You’re a horrible human being. It really is that simple.” (04/01/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/04/01/there-are-no-good-zionists-and-other-notes/
Source: Politico
“An American journalist has been kidnapped in Iraq with the apparent involvement of an Iranian-backed militia, the State Department said Tuesday. Shelly Kittleson, a freelance journalist who has contributed to various publications including POLITICO, was seized from a Baghdad street, according to the Iraqi Interior Ministry, which said efforts were underway to recover her. … In a statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on ‘Iraqi authorities to do everything in their power to locate Shelley Kittleson, ensure her immediate and safe release, and hold those responsible to account.'” (03/31/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/31/kidnapping-us-journalist-iraq-iranian-militants-00853116
