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Americans sound off on 'best time' to put up Christmas tree, igniting debate
As it begins to look a lot like Christmas, many Americans are already discussing the appropriate time to trim their tree.
Balsam Hill, the California-based artificial tree company, has released its own guidance about the "best time" to put up Christmas trees.
"It's still a matter of preference, but many people prefer putting up their tree right after Thanksgiving, signaling the transition to the Christmas season," the company says.
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Its report adds, "The most common period is any time [from] late November to the first week of December."
Balsam Hill notes that some people may enjoy putting up their trees in mid-November to begin the festive season.
"You can try incorporating your Christmas tree into your Thanksgiving decorations," it says. "For live trees, though, wait until the first week of December."
Alison Cheperdak, founder of Elevate Etiquette in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital it's best not to rush into Christmas, but to savor "each celebration as it comes."
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"The appropriate timing depends on whether you are hosting Thanksgiving," she said.
"If so, you’ll want to wait to decorate for Christmas in order to let the Thanksgiving holiday have its moment."
She added, "If you’re not hosting or traveling, or are eager to check decking the halls off your list, it’s perfectly fine to put your decor up earlier. Just wait to turn on any lights and save exterior home decorations until after Thanksgiving."
People have been taking to social media to share thoughts on the appropriate time to deck the halls.
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"Wife is forcing me to put up the Christmas tree. It’s Nov. 1," wrote one man on X recently.
Another person wrote on X, "Got my Christmas tree up … Just kidding, I never took it down. My son built it for us last year, and I loved it so much that I just left it."
"It’s too early for Christmas," said yet another person on X.
A different person wrote, "Pro tip: No one can judge you for when you put up your Christmas tree if you never take it down."
"Is it acceptable to put my Christmas tree up now?" asked one man on X.
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A user responded, "It's acceptable the moment it turns November 1st."
Chicago public schools blow millions on travel expenses while students can't read at grade level
A scathing report from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) revealed that the school system spent a staggering $14.5 million in "excessive" travel expenses in FY 2023 and FY 2024 combined.
The report comes as data shows that just 30.5% of students in grades 3–8 were proficient in reading, and just 18.3% of students were proficient in math in the spring of 2024.
"It is a sad commentary on just how far our city has fallen and how bad the leadership is," Chicago pastor Corey Brooks told Fox News Digital. "These individuals believe that spending money on themselves benefits our educational system more so than spending it on the children who so rightfully deserve it."
"In our neighborhood, there's a 6% reading proficiency," Brooks added. "And now you're talking about the overall for Chicago being 30%, that is something that needs to be spoken by everyone who is in power."
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The CPS OIG report showed that the school system spent $7.7 million in FY 2024 alone, a 2,467% increase in travel expenses from FY 2021’s $300,000 spending. Pre-pandemic spending from CPS was still dramatically lower, showing $3.6 million in travel expenses for FY 2019.
CPS OIG's report also reveals school system officials took lavish trips to Las Vegas, Egypt, Finland and South Africa.
In addition to the proficiency levels for grades 3–8, data also shows that in spring 2024, just 22.4% of CPS 11th graders were proficient in reading based on SAT scores, a test which is required by the state of Illinois. Similarly, 11th graders showed just 18.6% proficiency in math.
"The Chicago Public School system is a complete dumpster fire," Educational Freedom Institute Executive Director Corey DeAngelis told Fox News Digital. "These government-run institutions are sentencing children to a future without opportunities."
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"Chicago Public Schools spend about $30,000 per student and most of the kids still can't read on grade level," DeAngelis added. "The government school system is a bottomless pit, lighting taxpayer money on fire, while constantly asking for more."
In addition to the poor proficiency levels, school attendance has also been a major issue in the Windy City. If a student misses 10% or more of school days during the year, CPS labels the student a chronic absentee.
In 2024, 40.8% of students in CPS suffered from chronic absenteeism.
"These young children aren't even going to school now, and you never hear [about] it," Brooks explained. "No one ever talks about it."
"You have third, fourth, fifth, sixth graders who can’t read, and they're going to eventually become frustrated to the point of what we're seeing, just saying, I quit, I'm not going to go," he added. "You add to that the lack of parenting. Where parents are allowing these children to just do what they want to do… they're just disinterested, and they're falling by the wayside every single day."
CPS responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by saying they have formed a committee to review travel expenses. CPS said the committee was effective Oct. 29 and that a letter was sent to all CPS staff on that date.
CPS also noted that they are restricting "nearly all employee travel."
"Travel controls, transparency, and auditability will improve with the implementation of the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) financial system that is currently underway, a spokesperson for CPS told Fox News Digital. "ERP will improve automation for improved reconciliation between travel requests and travel spend as well as automate restrictions on types of travel, amounts, and accounts."
"We take seriously the findings and recommendations from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and will continue to ensure our District policies and procedures support the highest ethical standards and that our employees act in the best interest of our students, the District, and our city," the spokesperson added.
Brooks also told Fox that educational, city and state leaders often ignore the needs of the widely damaged public school system, saying officials get to put their kids in the "best schools" while public school students suffer.
"[They] are looking at the interest of themselves, not looking at the interest of their children, but even more so, they get to send their children to private schools and the best schools while children in our neighborhoods continue to fail," he explained. "That's not right."
Trump kicks off Thanksgiving week with turkey pardon and Christmas tree arrival
President Donald Trump is kicking off Thanksgiving week with some classic White House holiday traditions.
On Tuesday afternoon, Trump and first lady Melania Trump are expected to take part in one of Washington’s quirkiest traditions, the annual turkey pardon. The lighthearted ceremony takes place in the Rose Garden, where the president spares two lucky birds ahead of Thanksgiving.
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The White House often lets the public get involved in naming the turkeys, usually selecting from fan submissions.
This year, the first lady asked people to vote on X, sharing a shortlist of possible names.
Last year’s pardoned turkeys, "Peach" and "Blossom" and the ones before them, "Liberty" and "Bell," all came from Minnesota.
North Carolina, Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota, Ohio, California, Virginia and Missouri have all sent turkeys to the White House.
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Also this week, the first lady will welcome the official White House Christmas tree, marking the start of the season at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
This year’s tree comes from Korson’s Tree Farms in Sidney Township, Michigan, which is about an hour northeast of Grand Rapids.
The Fraser fir, which will stand in the Blue Room of the White House, will be presented by farm owners Rex and Jessica Korson. The two will also supply a smaller tree for the Oval Office.
The family earned the honor by winning the National Christmas Tree Association’s National Tree Contest in July, the competition that selects the farm supplying the White House Christmas tree each year.
Kate Middleton extends olive branch to Andrew's daughters amid Jeffrey Epstein disaster: expert
Kate Middleton is reportedly extending quiet invitations to Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie for her annual Christmas celebration — a move that speaks volumes about her desire to keep the royal family close and connected this holiday season.
The claim comes from royal commentator and broadcaster Neil Sean, who says the Princess of Wales is making a deliberate effort to present a united front amid lingering controversies surrounding ex-Prince Andrew.
"Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie received personal invitations for this year’s ‘Together at Christmas’ from Princess Catherine’s office," Sean claimed to Fox News Digital.
"This is Catherine’s project, and she has the final say — very similar to the way Prince William operates Earthshot," said Sean. "Above all, yes, the royal family wants to be seen as united amid what has been a very difficult year."
"This puts the sisters in a very difficult dilemma," Sean pointed out. "If they don’t attend, it looks like they’re snubbing a prestigious invite. If they do attend, they know there could be a media circus with them at the center of attention."
Fox News Digital reached out to Kensington Palace for comment. It’s understood there’s no official confirmation from any royal offices regarding attendance at this year’s festivities.
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On Nov. 13, Kensington Palace announced that Kate, 43, will host her fifth annual "Together at Christmas" carol service on Dec. 5 at Westminster Abbey in London. This year’s theme is "love in all its forms."
Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet will attend following her appointment as an ambassador for The King’s Foundation, one of King Charles’ personal charities.
"This year, the service will bring people together to celebrate love in all its forms — whether it’s love within families, through friendships, across communities or through powerful moments of connection with strangers," read a palace statement quoted by People magazine.
"In a world that can often feel fragmented and disconnected, love is the force that reconnects us all – spanning generations, communities, cultures and faiths."
"As we approach the Christmas season, we are reminded of the power of togetherness," the palace added. "The evening will highlight the transformative power of investing in one another with compassion, presence and joy."
Beatrice, 37, attended the concert last year.
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The sisters remain in the midst of personal turmoil following their parents’ exile from royal life.
On Oct. 30, the king stripped Andrew of his royal titles. He also evicted him from Royal Lodge after weeks of pressure to act over the former Duke of York’s friendship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The former prince shared the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. She is no longer styled as the Duchess of York and must now find a new home.
Beatrice and Eugenie retain their royal titles under King George V’s 1917 Letters Patent. As the daughters of a son of a sovereign, they remain princesses and are styled Her Royal Highness.
"Prince William is certainly in no mood to forgive and forget the scandal that Andrew and Sarah have brought forward," Sean said. "However, Catherine believes in not assigning blame. The idea is that the sisters would make a low-key entrance and show support."
Royal commentator Amanda Matta told Fox News Digital there appears to be a "concerted effort" to include the sisters in royal functions after their father’s fall from grace.
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"It’s almost a demonstration of acceptance toward them — a gesture meant to show there’s no ill will for anyone, with Andrew viewed as the ‘bad apple’ in this framing," Matta explained.
"Since the sisters have attended Kate’s carol service in past years and reportedly enjoy an easygoing relationship with their cousin William, it makes sense that the carol service would be easily slotted in to provide another venue to showcase that acceptance," said Matta.
British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that Kate’s reported invite reflects a profound sense of duty — a deliberate effort to "preserve the institution."
"This demonstrates emotional support from the ever-caring and compassionate Princess Catherine," Fordwich said. "This recent gesture is more about a desire to keep the peace. Beatrice and Eugenie know they should remain on cordial terms with Princess Catherine, leaning into the ‘family brand’ to preserve their royal standing."
"It’s not so much a peace offering as a sign of respect for two women who continued royal duties while Kate and King Charles dealt with cancer last year," royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital. "These two women have done nothing wrong and have remained loyal to the royal family. Kate recognizes that."
"It’s time now for the women in the royal family to be strong, make their voices heard and pull the family back together," Turner added.
Kate launched the "Together at Christmas" carol service in 2021 to honor those who went "above and beyond for others" during the coronavirus pandemic, People reported.
The event has since focused on individuals serving their communities across the U.K. This year, the princess aims to thank those who are "acting with love in their communities, contributing to a more cohesive, connected society."
"Despite the devastating allegations involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the sisters are standing tall and carrying on with a united royal front," British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital.
"Whether they will attend Princess Catherine’s Christmas carol service remains to be seen," Chard said. "I’m sure they will receive an invitation. My hunch is that Beatrice will attend, as she recently received a new patronage and has spoken publicly about the loneliness experienced during premature births. Out of the two sisters, Beatrice is more in the public eye."
Ongoing pressure has loomed over the palace to punish Andrew, 65, over new revelations about his friendship with Epstein and renewed attention on sexual abuse allegations by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Her posthumous memoir was published last month.
Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually abusing her on three separate occasions in 2001 when she was a teenager after Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her. While Andrew has consistently denied Giuffre's allegations and claimed he has no memory of meeting her, unearthed emails obtained by The Telegraph and Sky News appeared to cast doubt on his denials.
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Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell weeks after his 2019 arrest. He was awaiting trial on U.S. federal sex-trafficking charges involving dozens of underage girls and young women. Investigators ruled his death a suicide. That year, Andrew stepped back as a senior royal following a disastrous televised interview about his friendship with Epstein.
Maxwell, a British socialite, was convicted in 2021 for helping lure teenage girls to be sexually abused by him. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Giuffre died in April at age 41.
Chard noted that the royal women are now more determined than ever to follow the late Queen Elizabeth II’s mantra — keep calm and carry on.
"Princess Catherine, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie share a complex but supportive friendship," Chard said.
"They’ve bonded over their shared experiences as royal moms, often laughing and swapping stories about parenting in the public eye. The Princess of Wales has reportedly found solidarity with her cousins-in-law, particularly after becoming a mom herself. Beatrice and Eugenie have been supportive of Princess Catherine, especially during her cancer treatment, attending royal events and offering companionship."
"But like any family, they’ve had their ups and downs," Chard continued. "Despite that, they’ve presented a united front on several occasions and supported each other through family health challenges. The sisters were sympathetic to Princess Catherine’s cancer journey, having also witnessed their mother’s health struggles."
"Overall, their relationship seems built on mutual respect, trust and a deep understanding of their unique roles within the royal family," Chard added.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene slaps down notion that she's eyeing a presidential run
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican who recently announced that she will resign from Congress early next year, repudiated the notion that she is eyeing a White House bid.
"I’m not running for President and never said I wanted to and have only laughed about it when anyone would mention it," the congresswoman declared Sunday in a post on X.
"Running for President requires traveling all over the country, begging for donations all day everyday to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, arguing political talking points everyday to the point of exhaustion, destroying your health and having no personal life in order to attempt to get enough votes to become President all to go to work into a system that refuses to fix any of America’s problems. The fact that I’d have to go through all that but would be totally blocked from truly fixing anything is exactly why I would never do it," she explained.
Greene suggested that securing the presidency requires striking "deals."
"And most importantly, I’m not the kind of person who is willing to make the deals that must be made in order to be allowed to have the title. Again, I’m not motivated by power and titles. The Political Industrial Complex has destroyed our country and will never allow someone like me or you to rise to power and actually solve the crises that plague all of us. That would go against its business model," she wrote.
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Time Magazine claimed in a report that Greene privately told people she has contemplated a 2028 presidential bid, citing two individuals who spoke with Greene about the possibility and three other people familiar with the lawmaker's thinking, but Greene pushed back against the magazine in her post on X.
"TIME claims ‘sources’ told them I’m running for President in 2028, which means this is a complete lie and they made it up because they can’t even quote the names of the people who they claim said it. That’s not journalism, it’s called lying," she asserted.
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Greene's resignation announcement came after President Donald Trump had been trashing her on social media.
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The lawmaker, who has served in the House of Representatives since early 2021, said her last day in office will be Jan. 5, 2026.
SEN TOM COTTON: America's farmers are going bankrupt and we need to help them before it's too late
Growing up on a cattle farm in Yell County, Arkansas, alongside many other generational farmers, I learned early on how price swings and economic uncertainty could affect a family business.
Unfortunately, thanks to former President Joe Biden’s disastrous economic policies, farmers across America are faced with rising input costs, low commodity prices and high borrowing costs. There’s no doubt that it’s been a tough time for America’s farmers and ranchers, which is why I’m working to get them the assistance they need.
Earlier this year, I was proud to support the major farm bill reforms led by my fellow Arkansan and chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Republican Sen. John Boozman; this legislation was part of our Working Families Tax Cut. Unlike previous farm bills, which didn’t have nearly enough "farm" in them, the Working Families Tax Cut contained provisions to directly assist farmers and free up additional funding by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.
Yet, these measures won’t kick in until 2026. Furthermore, many farmers have already booked this year’s crop, meaning they won’t benefit from any recent increases in commodity pricing.
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Here’s the bottom line: America’s farmers need help — now.
In my home state of Arkansas, for instance, our farmers are set to lose hundreds of dollars per acre on their soybean, corn, cotton and long-grain rice crops this year alone. The situation has gotten so bad that Arkansas cash crop receipts are now projected to fall by $617 million in 2025.
Adding to these challenges for Arkansas farmers, the contrast between the steep cost of inputs (such as seed, fertilizer and diesel) and the commodity prices that farmers receive for their crops is at its highest level in 25 years. Put differently, input costs are too high and revenues are too low for many farmers to turn a profit, or at the very least, keep their businesses afloat. Unfortunately, the costs have caught up with too many Arkansas farmers; in the last year, among all southern region Chapter 12 bankruptcies (a classification specific to family farms and fishermen), one in four were filed in Arkansas.
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America’s farmers also play a critical role in our consumer economy, which is essential to the security of our homeland. After all, food security is national security. Our adversaries would love nothing more than to see generations of farmers wiped out by economic hardship.
In recent months, soybean farmers have been unfairly targeted by communist China. This is particularly difficult for Arkansans, given that soybeans are grown in 41 of Arkansas’ 75 counties on thousands of farms across some 3.3 million acres in our state. While I welcome the announcement that communist China intends to purchase 12 million metric tons of soybeans this year — and 25 million metric tons every year for the next three years — we ought to keep in mind President Ronald Reagan’s old Cold War approach: trust, but verify.
I have spoken with President Donald Trump directly about the difficulties and hardships that farmers and ranchers in Arkansas and across America are facing. Without a doubt, Trump keeps them at the top of his mind and close to his heart. Now that the Schumer Shutdown has finally come to an end, we can get back to work providing relief to our farmers that will bridge the gap between now and when the Working Families Tax Cut provisions kick in next year.
Our farmers and ranchers must have the necessary assistance and support to get through to the next season. But just as importantly, they must be able to continue growing, harvesting and operating for generations to come.
GORDON CHANG: China's rising markets mask a fragile economy, social discontent
China’s Communists are back in style, at least in international financial centers.
Foreign investors, who once called China "uninvestable," are now pouring into the country’s equity markets. According to the Institute of International Finance, offshore inflows into Chinese equities in the January-October period were up 443.9% compared to the same period last year.
Observers, however, are not sure that’s a good idea. "Many investors have bought whole hog" into the narrative that "nothing will hinder the global ascendency of China," writes Rana Foroohar of the Financial Times. Investors, she notes, believe Beijing has already won the trade war with President Donald Trump and is poised to dominate chips and AI. China, the thinking goes, is sure to be the new global hegemon.
Even Foroohar, once a China bull, does not now share the optimistic line. The fundamental nature of the regime, she argues, makes China ill-prepared to lead the world.
Foroohar’s right. Look closer, and the bullish narrative appears faulty.
For one thing, the Chinese economy is flatlining. Underlying indicators suggest official gross domestic product figures are exaggerated.
More fundamentally, Xi Jinping is pushing an exhausted economic model to the breaking point. For instance, decades of crazy over-investment in property produced a bubble. According to He Keng, a former senior statistics official, China has enough vacant housing for the entire population of 1.4 billion. That extreme oversupply cannot be deflated without either a crash or, worse, a decade or more of Japanese-style stagnation.
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Xi also presided over the massive overbuilding of infrastructure, especially the high-speed rail network. Chinese rail technology is magnificent, but the system loses buckets of money, something that would be evident if China State Railway Group Co. properly accounted for capital costs and debt-servicing.
Xi, however, is not changing course. At the Communist Party’s Fourth Plenum last month, he revealed the 15th Five-Year Plan, which covers the half-decade beginning next year. The blueprint contemplates "high-quality development" through advanced technology.
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China, as a result, is developing the world’s most efficient manufacturing — the country’s "dark factories" are so automated that there are no lights on assembly lines because no humans are needed— and is flooding the world with its products.
"What makes China unique is not the technology but the political environment accelerating its deployment," writes Desmond Shum, author of "Red Roulette," on X. "In democracies, automation is slowed by elections, unions, NGOs, and courts. China has none of these shock absorbers. When the state pushes, the system moves."
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China’s Communist Party has created an "engineering state." Its leaders, says Dan Wang, author of "Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future," "treat society as a big engineering project, where people are yet another building material that the leadership just want to tweak and destroy if necessary."
China’s "building material"—its people—are now extremely unhappy. This decade, gloom has descended over Chinese society, something evident during the strict COVID-lockdowns and especially after the failure of the economy to snap back after the pandemic.
The pervasive pessimism has resulted in people "lying flat" or "retiring," various ways of opting out of society. And people are either delaying or refusing to have children. This trend, in combination with other factors, will result in China losing three-quarters or more of its population this century.
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No wonder, China’s intellectuals and social media users refer to this moment as their country’s "garbage time of history."
In the meantime, Xi Jinping is not responding to the unhappiness in society other than by initiating a censorship campaign against "excessively pessimistic sentiment." Most significantly, he is not willing to implement structural changes to put more money in the hands of the laobaixing, the common folk.
Consumption now contributes about 38% of the country’s GDP, one of the lowest rates in the world. Given Xi’s pro-industrial policies, that rate will fall even further.
Xi is confident of his grip, although few economists, analysts or observers think his export-dependent plans are sustainable. The world’s markets are not big enough to absorb China’s factory production.
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Talk about short-term thinking. "We have been evangelized for decades to think that China is a culture of strategy, that it always adopts the long, patient view," Blaine Holt, a retired U.S. Air Force general and now China watcher, told me. "The Communist Party today is hanging on by a thread and wondering how it will navigate the rest of November rather than the rest of this century. Long-term now means months not decades."
"It’s a powerful manufacturing machine sitting on top of a brittle socioeconomic structure," writes Shum, referring to China. "A combustible combination—and not an environment foreign capital is eager to underwrite."
For the moment, foreign capital is eager, but China has punished investors before.
Foreigners will almost certainly lose money again, given the unstable nature of the economy and society.
Newsom's war on energy is crippling California and undermining our military
As California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled to Brazil touting his failed energy agenda in mid-November, the reality back home is unavoidable: because of his policies, Californians are paying some of the highest gas and electricity prices in the nation. We are being crushed by the Newsom energy affordability crisis — and it’s crippling our national security.
Since 2018, more than 360 energy companies have left California due to the state’s debilitating regulations and new oil drilling permits have fallen by 95% since Newsom assumed office in 2019.
As a result, California has produced nearly 128 million fewer barrels of oil per day over the past five years — despite holding the fifth-largest petroleum reserves in the country. The undeniable consequence of Newsom’s refusal to support domestic production is a greater reliance on foreign oil.
In 1982, less than 6% of California’s crude oil came from outside the United States. Today, according to Newsom’s own California Energy Commission, that number has skyrocketed to over 60%. Brazil now accounts for 20% of our imported supply and 21% comes from Iraq.
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Meanwhile, California’s refining capacity continues to collapse.
By early 2026, the state is projected to lose nearly 20% of its remaining refining capacity, and without urgent action, blackouts, price spikes and fuel shortages will become the new normal – not only for Californians, but for millions across the West Coast who depend on our energy supply.
This drastically impacts the viability of California’s pipelines, most of which require 90,000 barrels a day in production to remain financially solvent and operational. However, due to shortages, they are barely operating at 50,000 barrels a day, causing $2 million in losses a month for operators.
Currently, Crimson Midstream, the operator of California’s largest crude oil pipeline network, cannot sustain its operations because of Sacramento’s ineptness. California Democrats’ war on domestic energy production has created so much uncertainty that the San Pablo Bay Pipeline is now at risk of shutting down in the new year – further destabilizing California’s fragile energy supply chain and jeopardizing refinery capacity already hanging by a thread.
These disastrous policies have created a manmade shortage of fuel, increasing prices at the pump exponentially for working families and leading to more gasoline imports. This will likely force California to purchase refined gasoline from oil reserves off its coast, making the state pay a higher price to buy back its own supplies.
But unaffordable prices aren’t the only consequence of Newsom’s war on oil. His created crisis is also undermining our military readiness.
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California is home to dozens of U.S. military installations in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. The brave men and women who serve at our bases are capable of deploying anywhere in the world within a handful of hours, but only if they have the fuel they need to accomplish their mission.
Military aviation fuels are highly specialized and of the highest grades, which California’s refineries are equipped to process. In 2024, California’s military installations consumed approximately 10 million gallons of gasoline. With the two most recent refinery closures, jet fuel production is estimated to decrease by at least 600,000 gallons a day.
No amount of Newsom’s strategic, political headlines can hide the threat his policies pose to our national security.
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One of the most pressing issues in Congress right now is countering the rising threat of China, which requires us to bolster our readiness in the Indo-Pacific region. But instead of working across the aisle to address this threat and strengthen California’s role in our national security, Newsom has continued to intentionally reduce California’s refinery capacity and in-state oil production, weakening our defense posture in order to appease his far-left base.
If California’s fuel network continues to be suffocated by a patchwork of underutilized pipelines and overburdened refineries without enough energy supply to operate, the military fuel supply chain supporting the West Coast’s military operational capabilities will be harmed.
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Newsom’s progressive agenda and his presidential ambitions have led him to ignore these stark facts. This is not only incompetent, but irresponsible and dangerous.
To revitalize California’s energy future and deter our nation’s adversaries, our state needs to increase permitting tenfold, expand our drilling capacity and reinstate enhanced oil recovery methods. This is necessary to keep our pipelines operational as we work to expand our refining capabilities.
Sacramento should be working with us in Congress and President Donald Trump to expand domestic energy production — a necessity for meeting California’s growing energy demands and strengthening America’s national security. Instead, Newsom seems more interested in obstructing these efforts than partnering with us to deliver affordable, reliable energy for Californians.
Newsom’s poor energy policies are the cause of California’s affordability crisis. The choice for Newsom is clear: continue down a path of scarcity and dependence, or reverse course with California’s energy producers to restore true energy independence for our state and our nation. The future of California’s economy — and America’s national security — depends on it.
FAA scrambles to hire 8,900 air traffic controllers by 2028 as shortage reaches crisis levels
A nationwide air traffic controller shortage has put new attention on a growing training option the FAA now approves for certain colleges.
The recent federal government shutdown highlighted how thin staffing has become, especially as delays and reroutes stacked up across the country.
The FAA says it wants to hire at least 8,900 new controllers by 2028. According to FAA workforce data analyzed by USAFacts, about 3,000 controller positions were vacant nationwide as of late 2024 — though not every facility is equally understaffed.
That shortage is driving interest in a newer FAA-approved college pathway designed to streamline controller training at a small group of universities — including Middle Georgia State.
The Enhanced AT-CTI program allows students to train to the same standard as the FAA Academy, and if hired and meeting FAA requirements such as passing the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA), medical and security clearances, they can go directly to a facility instead of completing the full academy in Oklahoma City, which can involve long waitlists and multi-month courses.
Graduates still undergo facility-specific training and must be certified on-the-job before becoming full controllers.
Only about nine schools nationwide have been approved to offer the new Enhanced AT-CTI program as of 2025, according to Kemarie Jeffers, the department chair of aviation science and management at Middle Georgia State.
Inside Middle Georgia State’s tower simulator, air traffic control student Brooke Graffagnino says the job’s intensity is what drew her in. "It kind of gets your chest beating, because with how much traffic there is, sometimes it is intense," she said.
HOUSE DEMOCRAT SIDES WITH TRUMP OFFICIALS ON AIR TRAFFIC CUTS AMID SHUTDOWN CHAOS
She says students quickly find out whether they’re suited for the job. "You can kind of tell who does not [love it]. There have been quite a few, and they are no longer here. It takes a lot to get through it," she said.
Graffagnino says the importance of the work became clearer as she learned how controllers keep busy airspace organized. "Once you get in the airspace that is super crowded or approaching the larger airports like Atlanta, you need someone to help coordinate and keep everything separate and safe," she said.
Middle Georgia State was approved as an Enhanced AT-CTI school in mid-2024. Jeffers says the impact was immediate.
"Before our program had maybe about 17 to 20 students. Right now we have 54. So we have already, in that short amount of time, almost tripled in size the amount of students that we have," he said.
To earn the enhanced designation, Jeffers said the school had to update its curriculum, overhaul parts of its simulator setup, and install new audio and video systems.
"We’ve upgraded a lot of our equipment… we had to install audio and video equipment upstairs in our tower sim," he said.
Those upgrades allow the FAA to remotely review or spot-check training sessions and ensure they meet federal standards.
FAA TO LIFT EMERGENCY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS MONDAY MORNING AS AIR TRAFFIC STAFFING REBOUNDS
The program’s biggest distinction is what happens after graduation. "Enhanced CTI eliminates your requirement of going to the academy. You will graduate here and you can go straight to work," Jeffers said. "So it saves you time and effort — again, it gets you to work sooner and making money quicker."
The FAA requires enhanced programs to employ instructors with controller experience and maintain simulator equipment comparable to FAA standards.
As students advance, the simulations become more complex, requiring trainees to manage more aircraft at once.
"As we get more comfortable and confident, we are able to allow more aircraft into the airspace at a time," Graffagnino said.
Before finishing the program, every student must pass a final simulation that mirrors the FAA Academy’s evaluation process.
"Our instructors will then run a scenario and they will be graded… the exact same way in which they will be graded at the academy," Jeffers said.
According to the FAA’s FY 2025 Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan, the agency anticipates about 2,000 hires in FY 2025, 2,200 in FY 2026, and incremental increases through 2028, though retirements are expected to offset much of that growth.
Matthew Stafford adds 3 more touchdowns to league-leading total as Rams demolish Buccaneers
The Los Angeles Rams and MVP frontrunner Matthew Stafford just keep winning, taking down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-7 on "Sunday Night Football."
The Rams have won six straight games and continue to lead the NFC West with a 9-2 record. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers fell to 6-5, tying them with the Carolina Panthers for the NFC South lead.
This game was as lopsided as it gets for a primetime matchup between playoff hopefuls, and much of that had to do with how confident and poised Stafford has been in his 17th NFL season.
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Stafford added three more touchdown passes to his league-leading total, giving him 30 on the year with only two interceptions. And the man who has enjoyed a resurgence in his own right, Davante Adams, continued to be his go-to target in the red zone.
Adams secured two touchdowns for the Rams, including the game’s opening score that capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive with a beautifully thrown fade from Stafford.
BAKER MAYFIELD HAS ALWAYS VIEWED MATTHEW STAFFORD AS A "TOP 3 OR 5" QB
Then, after Baker Mayfield threw a pick-six on the following drive for the Buccaneers, Stafford came right back out to start the second quarter with a five-yard strike to tight end Colby Parkinson, blowing the game open at 21-0.
Needing a touchdown, Mayfield found Tez Johnson for a 14-yard score on the ensuing drive to cut into the Rams’ lead. But Stafford needed only four plays to go 65 yards and connect with Adams again, this time on a perfect 24-yard touchdown pass.
Adams finished the game with 62 yards on five catches, while Puka Nacua led Los Angeles with 97 yards on seven receptions.
During the Buccaneers’ touchdown drive, Mayfield scrambled for seven yards on third-and-6, lowering his shoulder into two Rams defenders to move the chains. It proved costly for the aggressive signal-caller, as he suffered a left shoulder injury that eventually forced him out of the game.
The injury appeared to bother Mayfield when he tried to heave a Hail Mary at the end of the first half. He went down on one knee with his left arm motionless before eventually heading to the locker room.
When Tampa Bay came out for the second half, backup Teddy Bridgewater took over for the injured Mayfield, who was ruled out and stood on the sideline in street clothes. It’s unclear what exactly Mayfield is dealing with, but given his history of playing through injuries, this is clearly something he couldn’t power through — and it could be cause for concern moving forward.
Bridgewater was unable to mount a comeback as the Buccaneers struggled against a dominant Rams defense. Bridgewater went 8-for-15 for 62 yards and took two sacks, while Mayfield was 9-of-19 for 41 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, one coming on that Hail Mary attempt.
As a team, the Buccaneers managed just 193 yards of offense to the Rams’ 333, but that’s been the story of late for this surging Los Angeles squad.
At 9-2, the Rams hold the best record in the NFC, proving they are a legitimate force heading into the final stretch of the 2025 regular season.
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