Daily Briefing: The Nation's Report Card
A new report shows American students are lagging in U.S. history and civics education. Also in the news: The Fed is meeting today and may announce another hike in interest rates and a four-day manhunt in Texas has closed after officials arrested and charged a suspect in the shooting deaths of five neighbors.
🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Text a friend you haven't heard from in a while — a loneliness epidemic is facing America.
Now, here we go with Wednesday's news.
US history, civics scores drop for nation's 8th graders
Nearly all of the nation's eighth graders fell behind in U.S. history and civics in 2022 compared with 2018 on the National Assessment for Education Progress, also called the Nation's Report Card, according to scores released Wednesday. Declines were expected because of the shift to remote teaching and the loss of instruction time at the onset of the pandemic. But for these subjects, experts also worry friction over what students are taught in American history classes, especially about race and slavery, are a factor. The test results follow a national plunge in reading and math performance among fourth- and eighth-grade students from the same year. Read more
The Nation's Report Card shows kids don't know US history. As a teacher, I'm not surprised.
Math teachers are biased against girls when they think gender equality has already been achieved.
Will the Fed raise interest rates?
The latest Federal Reserve meeting is happening Wednesday, and Fed officials have indicated another increase in interest rates could be coming. But the bigger question looming as Fed officials meet is whetherthey’ll hint another increase will be the central bank’s final rate bump of the year. Policymakers are waiting to see how much lending tightens following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which may also slow the economy and curb inflation. Read more
US is facing a ''perfect storm'' in a nurse staffing crisis.
Israel's military reservists have transformed a political crisis into a security one.
More news to know now
A sex offender among seven found dead in Oklahoma as families remember victims.
Ex-officer Tou Thao was convicted of aiding and abetting manslaughter in George Floyd's killing.
E. Jean Carroll's lawyers are looking to corroborate her rape claim.
Rep. Zooey Zephyr has been barred from returning to the Montana House.
On today's 5 Things podcast, USA TODAY Supreme Court Correspondent John Fritze looks at the latest high court ethics debate. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.
What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
House Dems move forward with secret plan to pay America's bills
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is moving forward with a plan to "stop right-wing extremists from triggering a dangerous default on America's debt." The move comes days after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned the government could default on its debt for the first time in U.S. history as soon as June 1.
House Democrats are using a discharge petition, a rarely used procedural move to get a bill out of committee, to force a vote on their bill to increase the debt limit − if they can get a handful of Republicans to join them.
Biden is also making moves. He invited House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to meet on May 9 to discuss the debt limit. Republicans want to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts, while the president wants to raise the government's borrowing limit without conditions.
McCarthy's position remains unchanged after the House passed their debt limit bill last week with $4.5 trillion in spending cuts.
Keep reading: White House says GOP debt ceiling plan would cause largest VA benefits cuts in US history.
Pentagon to send 1,500 active-duty troops to US-Mexico border
The Pentagon will deploy 1,500 active-duty troops to the southwest border to help deal with an expected surge in migrants seeking to enter the United States. The troops will not be involved in law enforcement activities but will fill a request by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support. The troops will be sent there for 90 days until the Department of Homeland Security can hire contractors to fill those gaps. In a tweet, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott suggested he was unimpressed by the announcement, saying "This does nothing to stop illegal immigration." Read more
Just for subscribers:
As US job market cools, starting salaries are dropping in some sectors, payroll firm says.
What happens when a narcissist finds themselves in an abusive relationship?
Florida is looking at making roadways radioactive as a waste disposal solution.
Racial, homophobic slurs from a teacher? Wisconsin district calls it a learning experience.
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Gunman who killed 5 neighbors in a Texas home is caught after manhunt
The man accused of killing five neighbors in a rural Texas home was taken into custody Tuesday after a four-day search, authorities said. Francisco Oropeza, 38, was arrested in Montgomery County, Texas, and charged with five counts of murder. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said Oropeza will be transported back to the San Jacinto County jail and held on a $5 million bond. Hundreds of law enforcement officers from local and state agencies, the FBI and U.S. Marshals were using drones and scent-tracking dogs in the search, as well as doorbell camera footage and an identity card to identify Oropeza. Read more
Police search for suspect after third stabbing in the past week around UC Davis.
Oregon secretary of state Shemia Fagan resigned amid a cannabis scandal.
Quick hits
'Yellowstone' star Kevin Costner and his wife are divorcing after nearly 19 years of marriage.
Predictable, preventable medical errors kill thousands yearly. Is it getting any better?
Here are seven genius ways to create an allergy-free home.
2023 Tony Awards nominations: ''Some Like It Hot'' leads; Jessica Chastain, Samuel L. Jackson score.
''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'' review: Chris Pratt's space misfits bow out gloriously.
Photo of the day: Writers strike 2023
At 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, the Writers Guild of America, the union representing most of Hollywood's scribes behind your favorite TV shows and films, went on strike. Now the people behind everything from network series like CBS' "NCIS" to Marvel movies to streaming series including Netflix's "Stranger Things" will hit the picket lines for the first time in 15 years. Read our explainer on the strike and what it means for your streaming.
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.
Associated Press contributed reporting.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Education, Federal Reserve, interest rates, debt ceiling, Texas manhunt, writers: Daily Briefing
