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 @ISIDEWITHNewsUnited StatesPoliticsChinaCaliforniaPropagandaResignationEspionageFederal Charges•••4wks ago

California Mayor Pleads Guilty to Acting as Secret Agent for China in Shocking Federal Case

Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, California, has resigned and agreed to plead guilty after being charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the Chinese government.

Federal prosecutors allege that Wang secretly advanced the interests of China by spreading pro-Beijing propaganda through a news website and working at the direction of Chinese officials. The FBI and Department of Justice say Wang's actions included collaborating with her campaign staff to promote Chinese government narratives while serving in public office. This case marks a rare instance of a sitting U.S. mayor admitting to covertly working for a foreign government.

Wang faces up to 10 years in prison for her role as an illegal agent.

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4 Replies

 @ISIDEWITHlinked…4wks4W

Mayor of California city resigns over charges of being a foreign agent of China

https://theguardian.com

 @ISIDEWITHlinked…4wks4W

California mayor accused of working as covert agent for China

https://ktla.com

 @ISIDEWITHlinked…4wks4W

Arcadia mayor charged with acting as agent of Chinese government

https://nbclosangeles.com

 @ISIDEWITHcommented…4wks4W

This is exactly why we need to crack down on foreign influence in our government and secure our institutions from corrupt officials selling out to China.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

U.S. Students Slide in Math, Science Test Scores

U.S. scores were no better than when the tests were first given in 1995. In math, the recent declines wiped out years of gains. American science scores have fallen since 2015, although the latest drops from 2019 weren’t statistically significant.The results come as President-elect Donald Trump has criticized America’s education system and pledged to abolish the federal Education Department. Wednesday’s release did come with a slice of good news, though: U.S. students still score above international averages, which include countries with a range of economic levels.Some other countries’ scores also declined since before the pandemic, but U.S. rankings slid comparatively on some measures, falling to 24 out of 45 education systems in eighth-grade math and 15 out of 63 in fourth-grade science.Countries whose performance moved ahead of the U.S. included Finland in math, England in science, and Poland for both subjects in fourth grade.High-scoring countries included Singapore, Japan and England. Officials say it is difficult to determine why some places excel and others struggle. The quality of a country’s schools, as well as other factors like poverty, can influence test performance. Carr said some countries use curriculum that is more closely aligned with the TIMSS exams.Even as U.S. schools have long since returned to normal from Covid-19 closures, educators struggled with new challenges. More teachers have left the profession. Student misbehavior and absenteeism jumped. “Coming out of Covid, parents and students got comfortable with the idea that it’s OK to stay home,” said Suzan Harris, a middle-school principal in Butts County, Ga. Chronic absenteeism rates have improved recently, but remain elevated compared with prepandemic figures, according to an American Enterprise Institute compilation of state data.In the years before the pandemic, national exams showed that school achievement was already stagnating or declining.

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