The Daily Signal - TOP NEWS | America’s Failing Report Card, AG Merrick Garland Warning on China, UK Picks New Prime Minister| Oct. 24

Episode Date: October 24, 2022

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: The numbers are in and America’s math and reading scores are down.  Attorney General Merrick Garland addressed the nation earlier today to discuss matters of American national security regarding China.  A new study finds that men and women have cardiovascular differences.  Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas temporarily blocks a lower court order requiring Sen. Lindsey Graham to testify before a special grand jury in Georgia. Rishi Sunak will be the U.K.’s next prime minister.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm Virginia Allen and I'm Mary Margaret O'Lohan. And this is The Daily Signal's top news for Monday, October 24th. Here's today's headlines. The numbers are in. America's math and reading scores are down. The National Assessment of Educational Progress is often called the nation's report card. And this year's assessment is the first one to be completed since before the pandemic in 2019. This is not a report card that a child would be proud to show their parent.

The National Report card shows that the average math score for an eighth grader fell by eight points from 2019 to 2022. This is the greatest decline in the math score in three decades. Reading scores for fourth graders fell to the lowest level they have been since 1990. Experts say closed schools and remote learning during COVID-19 are to blame for the drastic decline in math and reading scores. Lindsay Burke is the director of the Heritage Foundation's Center for Education Policy. She says the decline in test scores are likely the result of multiple factors, including school closures during COVID-19 and special interest groups preoccupation with radical gender ideology and critical race theory during the pandemic. Burke says that while public schools saw sharp decline in math and reading scores, data from Catholic schools shows their students have maintained stable educational scores. According to Burke's report on the matter, Catholic schools sought no decline.

and fourth grade math, while public school students lost five points. Although public school students lost three points in eighth grade reading, Catholic school students actually gained a point. Attorney General Merrick Garland addressed the nation earlier today to discuss matters of American national security regarding China. The Department of Justice has charged 13 individuals for trying to break the law to exert influence in the United States on behalf of China. Garland laid out for the public why the DOJ has charged them, warning that China has acted to undermine Americans' freedoms. One case involves Chinese nationals trying to forcefully repatriate a Chinese national living in America. The second case involves China trying to get individuals in America

to act on China's behalf. And the final case involves two men interfering with the U.S. criminal prosecution of a global telecommunications company. Garland said America will not tolerate such behavior per WUSA-9. The government of China sought to interfere with the rights and freedoms of individuals in the United States and to undermine our judicial system that protects those rights. They did not succeed. The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by any foreign power to undermine the rule of law upon which our democracy is based.

Garland says the individuals charged are innocent until proven guilty. Men and women have cardiovascular differences. That's according to a new study completed by the University of Calgary and the University of Hong Kong and published in the Journal of Science Translational Medicine. The study found that women who have more muscle mass and less fat tend to have better functioning hearts. The study did not find the same type of correlation in men. The study concluded that women with more muscle in their arms and legs also tend to have hearts with larger inside diameter. which gives their hearts an advantage in the amount of oxygenated blood that can pump out of their bodies. Even though men tend to have significantly more lean body mass than women, the study found no correlation

between men's lean body mass and these heart characteristics. South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was set to testify before a special grand jury in Georgia. The jury is investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others used illegal means to influence the 2020-elect. in Georgia. But on Monday, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas temporarily blocked a lower court order requiring Graham to testify. Now, Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fannie Willis has until Thursday to explain to the Supreme Court why Graham should have to answer to the grand jury's questions. To be continued. Richie Sunak will be the UK's next prime minister. He's the nation's former finance minister.

Sunak won the competition after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson dropped out of the fight Sunday, and British politician Penny Mordaunt failed to secure the support she needed from her fellow lawmakers. Sunak addressed the British people Monday, promising to bring unity to the nation, per ABC News. We now need stability and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together. Now Gardner, director of the Heritage Foundation's

Margaret Thatcher's Center for Freedom, wrote on Twitter after the speech that Richie Sunnack's first address as the next PM did not inspire. He must lead as a conservative based on conservative principles and deliver conservative policies. He must deliver a compelling vision for Britain

based on principles of liberty, freedom, sovereignty, and border security. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thanks so much for listening to this edition of the Daily Signal's top news. If you haven't gotten a chance, be sure to check out our morning show right here in this podcast feed, where we interview lawmakers, experts, and leading conservative voices. Join us tomorrow morning for the Daily Signal interview edition. Samantha Sherris will be sitting down with Michael Cunningham as they discussed

Xi Jinping's third term in power and what to expect from the Chinese Communist Party in the coming months and years. Also, make sure you subscribe to The Daily Signal wherever you get your podcast and help us reach more listeners by leaving a five-star rating and review. We read all of your feedback. Thanks again for listening. Have a wonderful night and we'll be right back here with you tomorrow morning. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. Executive producers are Rob Blewey and Kate Trinko. Producers are Virginia Allen, Samantha Acheris, and Jillian Richards.

Sound design by Lauren Evans, Mark Geine, and John Pop. To learn more, please visit DailySignal.com.