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Cal State prof warns scrapping SAT in name of ‘inclusivity’ is leaving students unprepared

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A California economics professor is sounding the alarm on the «deficits in learning» she is seeing in the classroom, arguing that the decision to scrap standardized testing in the name of «inclusivity» is actually a disservice to the students it claims to help.
Cal State Long Beach professor Andrea Mays told Fox News Digital that the current cohort of college students, many of whom spent their formative middle school years in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, are arriving on campus unprepared for basic coursework.
Mays spoke to Fox News Digital about the state’s university system’s decision to scrap the SAT as a requirement for college admission as playing a large role in that and that it has led to students coming to college unprepared and dropping out at higher rates.
Mays says the drop rate is up «phenomenally» and that chairs of other departments tell her it’s widespread, with 25% of students dropping classes, with math being a key area where students are coming in underprepared.
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A teacher at Cal State Long Beach is warning of the ramifications of the state system removing the SAT requirement. (Canart7/iStock)
«I teach a class that is offered for non-economics majors,» Mays explained. «I could put on an index card exactly what math is required for my class, it’s not calculus, and they are struggling with it, they’re embarrassed, they’re demoralized, they come into my classroom, and they say, or into my office hours, and they say, I never learned this stuff, I don’t know how to calculate a percentage change.»
«I can show them, but those are the students who are actually coming to me and asking me for help. There are lots of other students who are just too embarrassed even to do that, and who just end up dropping the class.»
Mays, who recently penned an opinion piece in the Orange County Register with the headline «Bring back the SAT at CSU — or admit we are failing our own students,» says that the explanation she has gotten for the CSU system dropping the SAT is that «we want to be inclusive.»
«I am definitely for inclusivity on our campus,» Mays said. «We have a very diverse campus here. But I think it’s fraud to tell people that what we’re doing is so that we can be inclusive when really what we’re doing is we’re allowing people to enter that we know are really going to have a difficult time of it. They have no idea.»
‘NATION’S REPORT CARD’ SHOWS ALARMING DECLINE IN SCIENCE, MATH AND READING SCORES

Graduates take part in the commencement ceremony for the College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, California State University of Long Beach at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Monday, May 15, 2023. (Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)
In recent years, several activist groups have railed against the SAT and standardized testing in general, including the nation’s largest teachers union, and Fox News Digital asked Mays if that narrative is behind the CSU decision not to require the SAT.
«That might be a little bit of the implication there without saying so, I’m not an expert in the recent changes in the SAT, others have done that work looking at whether you can change questions so that groups that don’t do well on certain questions, can do better on other types of questions,» Mays said.
«There’s definitely room for discussion about what kind of a standard, is it the ACT? Is it the SAT or something? The problem is that high schools are heterogeneous,» Mays said.
«Not all high schools are excellent even if they say they are. And so you’ll get students who get As in algebra two, and then they come into my class and they can’t calculate a percentage change. They can’t find the intersection between two straight lines, both of which are seventh and eighth grade math requirements. So that students are getting passed on from high school into a four-year university is a disservice to them. They get here thinking they’re wonderful and finding out that they are at the bottom of the ability distribution for math and English.»
Acting Chancellor Steve Relyea stated in 2022 that when the decision to remove the SAT and ACT was made, the goal was to «level the playing field» and provide «greater access.» The decision followed a year-long study by the Admission Advisory Council, which found that the tests provided «negligible additional value» in predicting student success compared to high school GPA.
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The system officially moved to «multi-factored admission criteria,» focusing on GPA in specific high school courses, extracurriculars, and socio-economic factors.
«Access without readiness is not opportunity,» Mays wrote in her article. «It is a disservice. If CSU is serious about student success, affordability, and equity, it must be willing to measure preparedness — and act on what it finds.»
Mays added, «Pretending preparation gaps do not exist is not equity.»
Mays told Fox News Digital that California’s robust and effective community college system is a tool ready to be utilized as an «alternative» for students who are coming out of high school, many who lost years of learning during COVID, and not prepared for college.
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«Go into the community system and take the lowest level English class you can so that you can write a sentence, you can write a paragraph, you could make an argument,» Mays said. «Take a basic math class that will transfer onto a four-year university and learn how to do the basic math that perhaps you didn’t learn when you were in middle school online.»
The California State University System did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
«There’s no reason not to use an SAT as a filter to let students know whether they’re prepared for college-level work or not,» Mays told Fox News Digital.
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Venezuela apuesta al gas mar adentro y negocia con Trinidad y Tobago para destrabar millonarios proyectos

Las reservas de petróleo de Venezuela pueden ser enormes, pero algunas de las mejores oportunidades para desarrollar los recursos del país con rapidez están mar adentro, en los depósitos de gas natural en las profundidades del lecho marino.
Muchos de estos yacimientos de gas se descubrieron hace décadas frente a la costa oriental del país, a lo largo de la frontera con Trinidad y Tobago, un país formado por dos islas principales. Pero permanecieron prácticamente intactos mientras Venezuela se centraba en extraer y vender petróleo.
Leé también: Familiares de presos políticos en Venezuela iniciaron una huelga de hambre frente a una cárcel de Caracas
Empresas como Shell, con sede en Londres, han querido producir este gas durante muchos años, mucho antes de que las fuerzas estadounidenses capturaran al presidente de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, en enero. Esto contrasta con el interés por explotar los yacimientos petrolíferos venezolanos, algo que muchas de las mayores petroleras del mundo se muestran reacias a hacer. En parte, esto se debe a que Venezuela, que guarda celosamente sus activos petrolíferos, se ha mostrado más dispuesta a permitir a las empresas extranjeras el acceso a su gas natural.
“Esto es como un viejo juguete nuevo”, dijo Antero Alvarado, consultor energético con sede en Caracas, la capital de Venezuela. “Nunca han abierto la caja”.
Las sanciones que el gobierno de Estados Unidos ha impuesto al gobierno de Venezuela y a su empresa petrolera estatal, Petróleos de Venezuela, aún son uno de los mayores obstáculos para aumentar la producción de gas. Producir y vender mucho más gas natural venezolano requeriría también la cooperación con Trinidad y Tobago.
Leé también: Estados Unidos bombardeó otra presunta lancha del narcotráfico en el Caribe: murieron sus tres tripulantes
Muchos de los yacimientos de gas de Venezuela se encuentran a lo largo de la frontera marítima con el país insular, que, a diferencia de su vecino, dispone de la infraestructura necesaria para llevar el combustible a tierra y exportarlo. Pero la relación entre ambos países, separados por el idioma y por tan solo 11 kilómetros de mar, se deterioró el año pasado. (Trinidad, antigua colonia británica, habla inglés).
A los dirigentes venezolanos les ha molestado la decisión de Trinidad de alinearse con Estados Unidos frente al gobierno de Maduro. Bajo el gobierno de Maduro, Venezuela mantenía relaciones aún más hostiles con otro vecino con vastas reservas energéticas, Guyana. No está claro si Delcy Rodríguez, vicepresidenta y sucesora de Maduro, planea reparar esas relaciones. La presidenta venezolana Delcy Rodríguez recibió al secretario de Energía de Estados Unidos, Chris Wright, el pasado 11 de febrero. (Foto: Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/REUTERS)
Dragón, un gigantesco yacimiento de gas que debe su nombre a las agitadas aguas que dividen Venezuela de Trinidad, se encuentra entre los más próximos a ser explotados. Hace muchos años, Venezuela intentó recuperar el gas enterrado allí antes de quedarse sin dinero, un esfuerzo desafortunado que se vio interrumpido por el hundimiento de una plataforma de exploración en 2010.
Finalmente, Venezuela accedió en 2023 a permitir que Shell explotara Dragón. La idea era que sería mucho más barato construir un gasoducto corto que conectara Dragón con la infraestructura existente en Trinidad en lugar de empezar de cero en Venezuela, que no tiene una terminal para exportar gas.
El hecho de que Venezuela necesite a su vecino para llevar su gas al mercado es una razón importante para que el proyecto tenga buenas posibilidades de avanzar, dijo Francisco Monaldi, quien dirige el programa de energía para América Latina en la Universidad Rice, en Houston.
“Venezuela no puede incumplir el acuerdo y monetizarlo en otro lugar como ha hecho con el petróleo, por lo que Shell puede estar relativamente segura al creer que Venezuela no cambiará las reglas”, dijo Monaldi. Dragón y otro proyecto de gas a lo largo de la frontera marítima con Trinidad se encuentran entre los pocos yacimientos venezolanos nuevos que tienen buenas posibilidades de desarrollarse en los próximos cinco años, dijo.
BP, otra empresa energética londinense, declaró esta semana a Reuters que estaba solicitando permiso a Estados Unidos para llevar a cabo ese segundo proyecto, denominado Cocuina.
Los nuevos permisos que el Departamento del Tesoro de Estados Unidos emitió el viernes parecen dar a las empresas petroleras y gasísticas más margen para negociar con Venezuela y operar en el país.
“Están creando un entorno que permite a los actores existentes operar”, dijo Rachel Ziemba, investigadora adjunta sénior del Center for a New American Security.
Shell declaró que estaba analizando lo que esas nuevas autorizaciones significaban para su proyecto de gas. BP no respondió a una solicitud de comentarios.
Si Dragón se pone en marcha, podría generar unos 500 millones de dólares al año en ingresos, estimó Luisa Palacios, expresidenta de la empresa refinadora estadounidense Citgo Petroleum, basándose en los recientes precios del gas natural. Los documentos del gobierno indican que al menos el 45 por ciento de esa cantidad iría a Venezuela en forma de impuestos y regalías, añadió.
Pero el proyecto ha avanzado de forma intermitente, atrapado entre ambos países y las políticas estadounidenses, que aún limitan las actividades de Shell.
“Se trata de oportunidades que podrían activarse en cuestión de meses, con unos cuantos miles de millones de dólares de inversión y producción en los próximos dos años”, declaró Wael Sawan, director ejecutivo de Shell, a la CNBC la semana pasada.
Sus comentarios, pronunciados después de que Shell informara de sus beneficios, fueron un recordatorio de que los plazos del petróleo y el gas son largos, e incluso es posible que los proyectos avanzados no empiecen a producir antes de que el presidente Donald Trump haya dejado el cargo.
Taylor Rogers, vocera de la Casa Blanca, dijo que el gobierno de Trump estaba “trabajando con las autoridades interinas para que Venezuela vuelva a ser próspera” y “garantizar que las empresas petroleras y de gas puedan realizar inversiones sin precedentes” en el país.
El secretario de Energía, Chris Wright, expresó posteriormente su apoyo al desarrollo del gas de Venezuela.
“Se trata de un verdadero beneficio potencial para Trinidad y Tobago, un beneficio para el mercado mundial de gas natural licuado y un beneficio para Venezuela”, declaró Wright a la prensa en Caracas, en referencia al mercado del gas que es enfriado para la exportación.
Más allá de las sanciones estadounidenses, aún habría que concretar detalles con Venezuela, como la forma exacta en que Shell procedería a extraer el gas.
Eso pondría a prueba la relación entre Venezuela y Trinidad, que alcanzó su punto más bajo el año pasado. En octubre, la Asamblea Nacional de Venezuela declaró “persona non grata” a la primera ministra de Trinidad y Tobago, después de que elogiara la actividad militar estadounidense en la región. Rodríguez declaró posteriormente que el gobierno de Venezuela interrumpía las negociaciones con Trinidad y Tobago y cancelaba los contratos de gas.
“Todas nuestras esperanzas y aspiraciones de obtener gas venezolano, gas de Dragón, parecían esfumarse”, dijo Anthony Paul, quien anteriormente trabajaba en el ministerio de Energía de Trinidad.
La oficina de la primera ministra de Trinidad y Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, no respondió a las preguntas escritas. El ministro de Energía, Roodal Moonilal, declaró a la prensa el mes pasado que el gobierno de Trinidad no había recibido ninguna notificación de cancelación por parte de Venezuela. “Somos optimistas”, dijo Moonilal.
El país insular ha estado muy interesado en obtener acceso a los yacimientos de gas de Venezuela porque su propia producción de gas ha ido disminuyendo, un duro golpe para una economía que depende en gran medida de la exportación de combustible y productos relacionados.
Por otra parte, Venezuela desperdicia gran parte del gas que produce y contribuye al cambio climático al dejarlo escapar o arder en un proceso conocido como quema en antorcha. En 2024, Venezuela quemó casi tanto gas como Estados Unidos, el mayor productor mundial de petróleo y gas, a pesar de producir mucha menos energía, según el Banco Mundial.
“Es de interés de todos que cooperemos para desarrollar conjuntamente esos recursos de gas natural”, dijo Kevin Ramnarine, exministro de Energía de Trinidad y Tobago.
Más al oeste, cerca de Colombia, Eni y Repsol, de Italia y España, ya producen gas natural que Venezuela utiliza para generar electricidad. Venezuela solía pagar este gas con petróleo, que luego las empresas podían vender. Pero Estados Unidos endureció las sanciones tras la llegada de Trump al poder, y bloqueó tales pagos.
No quedó claro de inmediato si las exenciones concedidas el viernes permitirían a las empresas volver a aceptar pagos de Venezuela. Eni dijo que las estaba revisando; Repsol se negó a hacer comentarios.
Eni, que también tiene intereses en yacimientos petrolíferos venezolanos, estaría abierta a producir más siempre que pudiera volver a cobrar, dijo el portavoz, Roberto Carlo Albini.
Dicho esto, cualquier aumento en la producción de gas en el occidente del país estaría limitado por el consumo interno de Venezuela. Un gasoducto caduco conecta Venezuela con Colombia, pero habría que repararlo.
“La cuestión”, dijo Monaldi, de la Universidad Rice, “es quién va a hacer esa inversión”.
*Anatoly Kurmanaev y Simon Romero colaboraron con reportería.
Rebecca F. Elliott cubre temas de energía para el Times.
Daniel Wood es un editor de gráficos del Times enfocado en cartografía y visualización de datos.
Anatoly Kurmanaev y Simon Romero colaboraron con reportería.
The New York Times, data-cc, data-cc-nyt
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‘Fiction’: House Republican campaign chair dismisses Democrats’ expanding GOP target map

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EXCLUSIVE – Emboldened congressional Democrats are expanding their battleground map for this year’s midterm elections, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin majority in the House.
But the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chairman, Rep. Richard Hudson, isn’t buying it.
«I mean, I’ve read fiction my whole life, and I recognize it when I see it,» Hudson said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
Republicans currently control the House 218-214, with two right-tilting districts and one left-leaning seat currently vacant. Democrats need a net gain of just three seats in the midterms to win back the majority for the first time in four years.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS ON OFFENSE: EXPAND GOP TARGET LIST
An exterior view of the House side of the U.S. Capitol, on Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) this week added five more offensive opportunities in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, South Carolina and Virginia to their list of what they consider are vulnerable Republican-held House districts.
That brings the total number of districts Democrats are hoping to flip to 44. The DCCC notes that all five of the new districts they’re adding to their list of «offensive targets» were carried by President Donald Trump by 13 points or fewer in the 2024 elections.
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«Democrats are on offense, and our map reflects the fact that everyday Americans are tired of Republicans’ broken promises and ready for change in Congress,» DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene emphasized earlier this week.
And DCCC Spokesperson Viet Shelton told Fox News Digital, «In a political environment where Democrats are overperforming by more than 17 points in congressional special elections, it’s pretty clear we’re poised to re-take the majority. Momentum and the American people are on our side while Republicans are running scared.»
Asked about the DCCC’s move, Hudson scoffed.
«They’ve got to have a list they can present to their donors,» he said as he pointed to the DCCC. «But it’s not realistic. I mean, if you look at the map, there are very few seats up for grabs, and the majority of those seats are held by Democrats, but they’re seats that Donald Trump has carried or came very close….if you look at the seats that we’ll be competing for this fall. They’re all favoring Republicans.»
The House GOP campaign chair added, «If you look at the map, it’s a Republican map. We just got to go out and win those races.»
The move by the DCCC comes as Democrats are energized, despite the party’s polling woes. Democrats, thanks to their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation, scored decisive victories in the 2025 elections and have won or over performed in a slew of scheduled and special ballot box contests since Trump returned to the White House over a year ago.
GOP CALLS TRUMP ITS ‘SECRET WEAPON’ — BUT POLLS SHOW WARNING SIGNS HEADING INTO MIDTERMS
Republicans, meanwhile, are facing traditional political headwinds in which the party in power in the nation’s capital normally suffers setbacks in the midterm elections. And the GOP is also dealing with Trump’s continued underwater approval ratings.
The latest national surveys, including the most recent Fox News poll, indicate the Democrats ahead of the Republicans by mid-single digits in the so-called generic ballot question, which asks respondents whether they’d back the Democratic or GOP candidate in their congressional district without offering specific candidate names.
Asked about the polls, Hudson said, «We almost never lead in the generic ballot. But a single digit generic ballot, we do very well.»
And the House GOP campaign chair added he remains «very bullish.»
Cost of living concerns helped boost Trump and Republicans to sweeping victories in 2024, but affordability and overall economic concerns may work against them this year.
While the latest AP/NORC national poll indicated the GOP with a slight advantage over Democrats on handling the economy, a bunch of surveys, including the latest Fox News poll, indicate many Americans feel things are worse off than they were a year ago and remain pessimistic about the economy.
But on Friday the latest government numbers indicated that inflation eased during January.
And Hudson says the economy is still a winning issue for Republicans.
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Pointing to the numerous tax cuts kicking in this year in the GOP’s sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law last summer, Hudson touted «we put policies in place that are going to bring prosperity to the American people, and they’re starting to feel it.»
«And as we move into tax season…folks who work overtime, folks who work for tips, they’re going to see a lot more money in their pocket thanks to no tax on tips, no tax on overtime,» he added.
The GOP is also dealing with a low propensity issue: MAGA voters who don’t always go to the polls when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot.
«Our voters tend to be more working-class voters, and you have to put in extra effort to get them to the polls,» Hudson said. «We know that’s our challenge. President Trump knows that’s the challenge, and he’s committed to helping us.»

President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives to deliver remarks on the economy and affordability at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9, 2025. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Pointing to the NRCC’s annual fundraising gala, which Trump will once again headline this year, Hudson said this dinner will be a great kickoff for this year. We raised a whole lot of money with President Trump last year. We plan to raise a lot of money in March with President Trump, and then he’s going to get out on the campaign trail and help us turn out those voters and make that case.»
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Asked about midterm election predictions, Hudson shied away from giving any hard numbers.
«Not going to give you a number, but we’re going to hold the majority,» he predicted. «President Trump was elected with a very specific agenda. We delivered almost his entire domestic agenda, and we’re going to go back to the voters and say promises made, promises kept, and they’re going to keep this House majority.»
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Global protests call for Iran regime change in major cities worldwide after bloody crackdown

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Anti-Iran regime protesters gathered in major cities across the globe on Saturday calling for a leadership change in the Global Day of Action Rally.
Over 250,000 protesters rallied in Munich, Germany on Saturday on the backdrop of the Munich Security Conference.
«With the number of participants recorded, this gathering is one of the largest rallies held in Munich in recent years,» the Munich Police reported in a press release. «The peaceful atmosphere is particularly noteworthy, despite the high number of participants in the meeting.»
IRAN REGIME REPORTEDLY ISSUED NATIONWIDE SHOOT-TO-KILL ORDERS AS PROTEST DEATH TOLL SURGES
Crowds reportedly chanted «change, change, regime change» and «democracy for Iran» with green-white-and-red flags with lion and sun emblems waving in the air with a few «Make Iran Great Again» red hats spotted.
Exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi was among the hundreds of thousands protesting, telling Reuters, a possible attack on Iran will either weaken the regime or accelerate its fall.
«Global Day of Action» protests were held in major cities across the globe on Saturday. (Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)
«It’s a matter of time. We are hoping that this attack will expedite the process and the people can be finally back in the streets and take it all the way to the ultimate regime’s downfall,» said Pahlavi.
He shared that he hopes President Trump will have the United States intervene and «have the people’s back.»
UPROAR AFTER IRAN NAMED VICE-CHAIR OF UN BODY PROMOTING DEMOCRACY, WOMEN’S RIGHTS
On Friday, President Trump said regime change in Iran would be the «best thing» to happen while speaking to troops at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Senator Graham said anti-regime protesters should «keep protesting.» ( James Willoughby/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
«People are hoping that at some point the decision will be made that there’s no use, there’s no point, we’re not going to get anywhere with negotiations,» said Pahlavi. «»Intervention is a way to save lives.»
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham was present in Munich for the security conference and echoed a similar sentiment in a sideline interview on Friday.
NIKKI HALEY URGES TRUMP TO MAKE IRAN ACTION A ‘LEGACY-DEFINING MOMENT’ BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE
«There’s no negotiating with these people, in my view. They’re hell-bent on enacting an agenda based on religion that teaches them to lie, teaches them to destroy in the name of God,» said Graham.

«There’s no negotiating with these people, in my view,» said Graham at a rally in Munich. (Hannes Magerstaedt/Getty Images)
He shared that the regime is the weakest they have been since 1979, adding, «it is a regime with American blood on its hand,» calling on protesters to «keep protesting.»
The senator also took the stage at the Global Day of Action speaking to the crowd and holding up a «Make Iran Great Again» black hat.
Large demonstrations were also held in Toronto, Melbourne, Athens, Tokyo, London, and Los Angeles.
An estimated 350,000 people marched on the streets of Toronto, the city’s police spokesperson, Laura Brabant, told the Associated Press (AP).

Over 250,000 protesters rallied in Munich, Germany on Saturday on the backdrop of the Munich Security Conference. (Marijan Murat/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Iranian American activist and Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Sheila Nazarian told Fox News Digital the protests across the globe represent a universal truth.
«When regimes silence their people, the people eventually find their voice. Whether in the streets of Tehran or in diaspora communities around the world,» she said.
Nazarian left Iran when she was 6 years old along with her family.
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«As someone who came to this country from Iran, I know firsthand that these protests are not about politics, they’re about basic human dignity, women’s rights, and the fundamental freedom to live without fear,» she added.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
world,iran,world protests
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