Extremist organization that spreads misleading and harmful narrative about police receives University of Minnesota award.

Minnesota’s largest police organization blasted the U of M for the "shocking and inappropriate" decision and urged the school to sever ties with the organization.

Led by Michelle Gross, co-founder and president, the group has a long history of “undermining the efforts of police and public safety,” according to Brian Peters, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association. MPPOA represents more than 10,000 rank-and-file police officers across the state.

In a Dec. 7 University of Minnesota video accompanying the award, Gross appears to refer to the prosecutions of former St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez and former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin as “progress.”

https://alphanews.org/exclusive-extremist-org-that-spreads-misleading-and-harmful-narrative-about-police-receives-u-of-m-award/

New school's out-of-the-box approach could transform education in the United States.

A new type of high school opened in Forney, Texas, outside of Dallas, where students not only learn in the classroom but also on the job. The school, Opportunity Central (OC), which serves Forney and North Forney high school students, is housed in a building specially designed to support its out-of-the-box education. The upper two floors are classrooms while the first floor is a mall open to the public. Students go to the mall after classes and work in the stores and businesses, gaining business experience in a variety of different career paths. Shopkeepers receive a discount on their rent in exchange for mentoring students. Some businesses are even run by the students themselves.

https://www.thegoldreport.com/news/new-schools-out-of-the-box-approach-could-transform-education-in-the-united-states

A Florida school district that banned student cell phone use this school year is reporting fewer problems and better grades.

Broward County Public Schools banned any phone use, including at lunchtime, according to WTVJ-TV.

“I’ve noticed a lot more creativity with students, I think their attention spans are a little longer, they have excellent conversations in their groups, those conversations are lasting longer, our class discussions are definitely a lot longer and they’re a lot deeper because no one’s really focused on checking their phone,” Dan Katz, who teaches drama and law at Fort Lauderdale High School, said.

School board member Allen Zeman said fights are down 17 percent from the same point a year ago.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/florida-school-district-banned-cell-phones-results-wild/

CNN forced to dish out another $5 million in defamation lawsuit.

A Florida jury on Friday determined that CNN defamed security contractor Zachary Young, who argued that his reputation and business were destroyed after he was featured in a November 2021 segment on the network about the high costs of evacuating Afghans from the country after the Taliban took power.

After 8½ hours of deliberations over two days, the jury awarded Young $5 million for lost business opportunities as well as pain and suffering. The jury also elected to award Young punitive damages, typically a much larger amount that is intended to punish CNN and to put other media companies on notice. That amount will be determined later on Friday after additional testimony is presented about CNN’s financial value.

In finding CNN guilty of per se defamation, the jurors concluded that the network’s report was materially false, was done with at least negligence and caused Young actual damages.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cnn-found-liable-for-defaming-security-contractor-in-afghanistan-story/ar-AA1xohLB

Biden Admin Cuts Failing EV Company A Fat Check On Its Way Out The Door.

The Biden administration cut a multi-billion dollar check for struggling electric vehicle (EV) maker Rivian Thursday, just days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The carmaker hemorrhaged cash in 2024 amid a widespread slackening in demand for EVs, losing roughly $4 billion in the first three quarters of 2024 alone. Now, lame duck President Joe Biden’s Department of Energy (DOE) has tossed the struggling company a $6.57 billion loan to finance the construction of a manufacturing plant in Stanton Springs North, Georgia, according to a DOE press release.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/biden-admin-cuts-failing-ev-company-a-fat-check-on-its-way-out-the-door/ar-AA1xow53

Report Reveals How Feds Left US’ Shipbuilding Industry For Dead, Opened Door To Chinese Domination.

As the U.S. shipbuilding industry was left to decay, China quickly filled the gap and has come to outpace the U.S. in its ability to churn out commercial vessels, a Thursday report from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) revealed.

Beijing’s dominance over the commercial shipbuilding sector, as well as other areas, “increases economic security risks” and harms American businesses and taxpayers, the USTR report says. China has massively increased its maritime output over the last decade, increasing its share of global ship tonnage from just 5% in 1999 to over 50% in 2023.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/new-report-reveals-how-feds-left-us-shipbuilding-industry-for-dead-opened-door-to-chinese-domination/ar-AA1xoFzh

Georgia appeals court sides with Trump in affirming dismissal of 6 state charges.

A Georgia appeals court on Friday affirmed the dismissal of six counts in the state’s 2020 election interference against President-elect Trump and his allies, upholding a trial judge’s decision that the charges must be thrown out due to a lack of detail.

“We find that the indictment fails to include enough detail to sufficiently apprise the defendants of what they must be prepared to meet so that they can intelligently prepare their defenses,” Judge E. Trenton Brown III wrote for the three-judge panel, which ruled unanimously.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/georgia-appeals-court-sides-with-trump-in-affirming-dismissal-of-6-state-charges/ar-AA1xohj6

Navy fires commanding officer of Naval Information Warfare Training Group Norfolk.

Navy Cmdr. Sarah M. Quemada has been fired as the commanding officer of Naval Information Warfare Training Group Norfolk in Virginia “due to a loss of confidence in her ability to command,” the service announced on Thursday.

Rear Adm. Brian A. Harding, commander of Naval Information Warfighting Development Center, relieved Quemada on Thursday, a Navy news release says. No information was immediately available about the specific reason for her firing.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/navy-fires-commanding-officer-of-naval-information-warfare-training-group-norfolk/ar-AA1xl3EW

Trump Selects Agent Who Shielded Him From Bullets To Lead Secret Service.

President-elect Donald Trump has selected one of the Secret Service agents who protected him after a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania to lead the agency.

Sean Curran, the special agent in charge of Trump's personal security detail, will take the helm as director at a time when the agency faces mounting scrutiny after two failed attempts on the president-elect's life.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-selects-agent-who-shielded-him-from-bullets-to-lead-secret-service/ar-AA1xoytA

Trump Selects Agent Who Shielded Him From Bullets To Lead Secret Service.

President-elect Donald Trump has selected one of the Secret Service agents who protected him after a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania to lead the agency.

Sean Curran, the special agent in charge of Trump's personal security detail, will take the helm as director at a time when the agency faces mounting scrutiny after two failed attempts on the president-elect's life.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-selects-agent-who-shielded-him-from-bullets-to-lead-secret-service/ar-AA1xoytA

US will hit debt limit on Tuesday, Yellen says in letter.

How convenient for the incoming Trump admin.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the government would reach its statutory borrowing limit on Tuesday and would begin employing "extraordinary measures" to keep from breaching the cap and triggering a potential catastrophic default.

Yellen, in a letter on Friday to congressional leaders just three days before the Biden administration turns over U.S. government control to President-elect Donald Trump and his team, said the Treasury would begin using extraordinary measures on Jan. 21.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/us-will-hit-debt-limit-on-tuesday-yellen-says-in-letter/ar-AA1xouCM