Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Laura Loomer accuse each other of racism in social media war

NEW YORK — Feuding MAGA conspiracy theorists Laura Loomer and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene accused each other of racism in a social media war of words that began on Wednesday, which Loomer spent with Donald Trump.

Days earlier, Loomer posted a message on X stating that “if Kamala Harris wins, the White House will smell like curry,” along with other anti-Indian tropes.

“This is appalling and extremely racist,” Greene shot back Wednesday night. “It does not represent who we are as Republicans or MAGA. This does not represent President Trump.” Greene, who has a running rivalry with the far-right political activist, demanded her former friend take down her racist post.

Loomer responded with a long string of angry replies, starting with one referring to the congresswoman from Georgia as “a raging antisemite” who once claimed space lasers operated by prominent Jewish bankers were used to ignite wildfires in California. She also called Greene “the most miserable lying b—h in Congress.”

—New York Daily News

10 LA schools to stop standardized tests amid debate: 'Endless boredom' or essential tool?

LOS ANGELES — A new effort in Los Angeles public schools will deemphasize standardized testing and look for new ways to measure student progress, a small but ambitious rejection of a decades-old nationwide approach to student evaluation.

Under a Board of Education resolution, adopted Tuesday by a 4-3 vote, up to 10 schools could, as early as next fall, opt out of all standardized tests and test prep — other than what is required by the state and federal governments.

The split vote represented the philosophical divide on the issue: Supporters said the action is an antidote to an omnipresent focus on anxiety-provoking standardized tests that are detrimental to deep and engaging learning. Critics worried about a loss of rigor and consistent evaluation that would hamper attempts to make teaching more effective.

The move could also conflict with the strategic plan of L.A. Unified Supt. Alberto Carvalho, whose staff relies heavily on standardized data in evaluating and guiding the work of schools. Analysis of data from standardized tests has been a hallmark of his administration.

—Los Angeles Times

Illinois court rules Trump Tower endangered Chicago River, killed fish for nearly 20 years

While there’s no evidence that migrants in Ohio are eating domesticated cats and dogs, Trump Tower may have been illegally killing fish in the Chicago River for nearly 20 years.

A Cook County judge issued a summary judgment against downtown Chicago’s Trump International Hotel & Tower for violating federal environment laws that protect aquatic life, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office said in a statement Wednesday.

“For years, Trump Tower failed to follow state and federal regulations that protect the health of the Chicago River and the balance of critical aquatic ecosystems therein,” according to Attorney General Kwame Raoul. “All entities — no matter who they are — must be held accountable when they willfully disregard our laws.”

Prosecutors said the violations date back to 2005, when construction began on the centrally located Trump Tower without the required permit to discharge heated water into the Chicago River.

—New York Daily News

Russia, Iran and China seen ‘ramping up’ effort to divide US voters

Russia, Iran and China are “ramping up” attempts to stoke divisions within the U.S. ahead of November’s presidential election, according to a top Department of Justice official.

The trio is seeking to “warp the views” of U.S. voters, Matthew Olsen, assistant attorney general for national security, said at an event at Columbia Law School in New York on Thursday.

The U.S. has already taken action this month to disrupt what it says are Kremlin-backed influence campaigns intended to meddle in the U.S. elections. But, Olsen warned that it’s unlikely the U.S. can completely eliminate foreign influence campaigns given the disparate and fragmented social media environment.

Federal and state officials are bracing for a flood of efforts to influence the run-up and outcome of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, from influence campaigns to cyberattacks. The U.S. has identified Russia as its top concern, warning that it’s capable of undertaking widespread and advanced campaigns.

—Bloomberg News