Author: Press Room

Teachers in New Jersey are no longer required to pass a basic reading, writing, and mathematics test to be eligible for jobs in public schools, under a new law that went into effect at the beginning of 2025.  Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed the law, Act 1669, in June, which was designed to address teacher shortages in the state, Fox News reported. The New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), a teachers’ union, pushed for the law, calling the eligibility tests a “barrier” to certification in 2023.  At the same time, students in New Jersey are still struggling to recover to pre-pandemic…

Out of the many mourning former President Jimmy Carter, not everyone can say he saved their life.Rocky Sickmann was a 22-year-old US Marine stationed at the American embassy in Tehran, Iran, when he and 51 other Americans were taken hostage by Iranian revolutionaries on 4 November, 1979.It defined his life – as well as much of Carter’s presidency.”For the first 30 days I’m sitting in this room handcuffed and blindfolded, thinking the Vietnam war had just ended, and nobody cared about these thousands of veterans coming home,” said the 67-year-old. “Who’s going to care about the Iran hostages?”He said that…

The new chair of the Senate committee that oversees the Department of Health and Human Services didn’t immediately endorse President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency after meeting with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) wrote in a tepid social media post following the meeting that he had a “frank” conversation with Kennedy and that the two spoke “at length” about vaccines. On Sunday, Cassidy, a doctor, told Fox News that Kennedy, who has for years contradicted health authorities by advocating against vaccination, was “wrong” about them. Kennedy has said he doesn’t want to take vaccines…

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday that his budget-cutting effort on behalf of President-elect Donald Trump would most likely not find $2 trillion in savings, backtracking on a goal he set earlier as co-head of a new advisory body, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.Musk told political strategist Mark Penn in an interview broadcast on X that the $2 trillion figure was a “best-case outcome” and that he thought there was only a “good shot” at cutting half that.Musk’s lowered estimate is a significant downgrade from his earlier view. At a rally for Trump at Madison Square Garden in…

Firefighters are battling massive wildfires in Southern California that had burned through thousands of acres by Wednesday and led to mandatory evacuation orders for tens of thousands of residents. Five people have died.The Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire and the Hurst Fire swept through the Los Angeles area beginning Tuesday. Fueled by the Santa Ana winds, the blazes grew overnight, destroying houses, commercial buildings and local landmarks. All three fires were 0% contained as of Wednesday evening.Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brent Pascua described the scene as “apocalyptic.” Abandoned cars were seen burning along the road after residents left their vehicles…

Keir Starmer refuses to investigate rape gangs because he is hiding “terrible things,” the billionaire has claimed SpaceX CEO and X owner Elon Musk has hammered British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his refusal to prosecute Pakistani gangs involved in the mass rape of underage British girls, calling the PM “evil” incarnate.”Starmer is evil,” Musk wrote on his social platform on Wednesday morning, above a meme condemning Starmer for demanding an investigation into former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s lockdown-breaching parties during the Covid-19 pandemic, but declining to prosecute “politically protected UK rape gangs.”Musk has spent much of the last two…

European bourses climb modestly into the green after opening around flat, US futures gain.DXY continues its rebound ahead of front-loaded US data, currently eyeing 109.00 to the upside.Fixed benchmarks contained into a packed US session and 30yr supply.Upside in crude, precious metals, and copper, despite a firmer Dollar.Looking ahead, Highlights include US Jobless Claims, Wholesale Inventory and EIA Nat Gas Change (brought forward on account of the US Day of Mourning), ADP National Employment, Comments from Fed’s Waller, FOMC Minutes, Supply from the US, Earnings from Jefferies.More Newsquawk in 3 steps:1. Subscribe to the free premarket movers reports2. Listen to this report…

Fire explodes in Hollywood Hills, California Eco-terrorism? A new fire erupted in the Hollywood Hills near the “Hollywood” sign Wednesday evening. There is a mandatory evacuation for Runyon Canyon and the Hollywood Hills. BREAKING: @FOXLA chopper is over what appears to be a new brushfire burning in the hills west of the Hollywood sign. Looks like it broke out moments ago. pic.twitter.com/9RRWcKfANX — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 9, 2025 The new fire dubbed “The Sunset Fire” came out of nowhere and exploded. Local news in LA describes this new Hollywood Hills fire as happening “out of nowhere.” pic.twitter.com/JBX4GJxEmH — The…

Conor McGregor (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)Getty Images The Conor McGregor vs. Logan Paul exhibition boxing match rumored to happen in April in India seems to have taken a major turn. Paul is said to be focusing on WWE, with hints that he’ll be a full-time performer for the promotion. Now, his Prime sports drink business partner and fellow influencer, KSI, is “very down” to step in and replace Paul in the boxing match against McGregor. KSI News posted a fight-poster-like image of the YouTuber-turned-rapper-boxer-promoter and McGregor. The original post calls the KSI-McGregor clash a “rumor.” However, KSI reposted…

Two leaders of Los Zetas Cartel and one of their top gunmen received a series of sentences for pending charges tied to their role in the kidnapping and murder of numerous migrants between 2010 and 2011 in San Fernando, Tamaulipas. On Monday, a Mexican federal judge based in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, handed down three separate sentences to three ranking members of Los Zetas responsible for several massacres. These include the mass killing of 72 migrants in San Fernando in 2010. The judge set a 73-year sentence for Martin “El Kilo” Estrada Luna, a sentence of 82 years for Ricardo Roman “El…