Today’s Big Story

Nation’s Report Card

U.S. students’ reading and math scores hit historic lows

It’s being called “sobering” and a “devastating trend” … and it’s giving me flashbacks to bringing home report cards growing up—even if the grades were okay, they always informed my parents that I “talked too much” during class.

What am I talking about now? The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—commonly referred to as the Nation’s Report Card—was just released. And it showed just 35% of high school seniors were proficient in reading, the lowest score since the assessment began in 1992. It also showed eighth-graders’ science scores have fallen four points since 2019. And we need literate, competent and critical thinkers now more than ever.

The center evaluated approximately 23,000 eighth graders in science, 19,300 12th graders in mathematics and 24,300 12th graders in reading from January to March 2024. This is the first NAEP score release since the Trump administration began making cuts to the U.S. Education Department. Those cuts, included laying off more than half the workers at the Institute of Education Sciences, IES, the arm of the department charged with measuring student achievement and overseeing and processing the data that comes from the tests students take.

Declines were seen across multiple student groups in each assessment. Each of the assessments also showed the widest gaps between the lowest- and highest-performing students compared to any previous evaluations. The 2024 results are the first post-pandemic scores for each assessment, but are indicative of a longer trend, National Center for Education Statistics acting commissioner Matthew Soldner told CBS News. “The drop in overall scores coincides with significant declines in achievement among our lowest-performing students, continuing a downward trend that began even before the pandemic.”

Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the report's findings “devastating” in a statement Tuesday. “Today's NAEP results confirm American students are testing at historic lows across all of K-12,” McMahon said, adding, “Despite spending billions annually on numerous K-12 programs, the achievement gap is widening, and more high school seniors are performing below the basic benchmark in math and reading than ever before.”

Israeli Strike in Qatar

The attack deals another blow to Trump’s tarnished international credibility

Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Qatar on Tuesday as the group’s top figures gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The strike on the territory of an American ally marked a stunning escalation and risked upending talks aimed at winding down the war and freeing hostages.

The attack angered Qatar, an energy-rich Gulf nation hosting thousands of American troops that has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas throughout the 23-month-old war and even before. It condemned what it referred to as a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms” as smoke rose over its capital, Doha. Trump hurriedly made clear that the raid, which killed five Hamas members but not the top team negotiating a new U.S. ceasefire plan for Gaza, was not his decision and that he’d rushed to inform Qatar when he learned of it. Other key U.S. allies in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, promised their support to Qatar.

Trump said he found out about the airstrike from the U.S. military, rather than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he often describes as both a friend and his strongest ally in the Middle East. The White House is now caught between supporting Israel’s war against Hamas and patching up relations with a key ally. The Guardian points out that it’s similar to Israel’s strikes in June against Iranian military and nuclear program targets that upended American efforts to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Tehran.

Forbes 2025 List of Wealthiest Americans

It highlights an unequivocal fact: the rich are getting richer

If we were to update Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote for 2025, it would be something like, “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and the ultra-rich will only get richer.” Forbes just released its annual ranking of the richest billionaires in the United States and kicked it off by saying, “another year, another set of broken records for the 400 richest Americans.”

Inflation? Slowing employment? None of it has hit the fortunes of America’s billionaires. Currently, they’re worth a record $6.6 trillion after getting $1.2 trillion richer over the past year amid surging stock markets and AI mania. The magazine points out that a decade ago, when it took $1.7 billion to make The Forbes 400, a net worth of $3.8 billion was comfortably within the top half of the ranking—now that lofty sum is the minimum required (which is why even Oprah didn’t make the list this year). Still, 14 newcomers, including four worth $10 billion or more, have muscled their way into America’s most elite club.

For the fourth year in a row, the richest person in the United States is the South African-born businessman and political figurehead Elon Musk. More than $150 billion behind Musk is second-place holder Larry Ellison, a co-founder of the tech company Oracle. Then we’ve got Mark Zuckerberg ($253 billion) and Jeff Bezos ($241 billion). And while the nation’s richest people are richer than ever, their charitable giving has not kept pace. Forbes once again investigated the lifetime donations of every member of the ranking and found that three-quarters of them have given away less than 5% of their fortunes, including 40% who have donated less than 1%.

Apple’s New Lineup

A super thin iPhone Air, new Watches, AirPods Pro 3 and more unveiled

Another Apple announcement and still, I’m waiting for that damn folding iPhone. But, we did get the long-rumored iPhone 17 Air. It’s way thinner and lighter than Apple’s other devices, and it’s based on a new “spacecraft titanium” body. It starts at $999. Tim Cook called it the “biggest leap ever for iPhone,” but it’s only got one camera.

All the new iPhone models have gotten more damage-resistant, with new “ceramic shield” displays rather than glass screens. The iPhone 17 Pro has been completely rebuilt for increased durability, a bigger battery and more memory. They feature always-on displays and the new design should also enable it to better dissipate heat resulting from gains in performance. (And in teasing the devices’ new camera capabilities, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak said Tuesday’s launch event was filmed on an iPhone 17 Pro.)

But it wasn’t just about the phone. Engadget says the AirPods were due for an update. The new buds not only have improved sound and noise-cancellation but come with integrated sustained heart rate tracking and live translation. (I’m personally very excited about that feature.) And speaking of useful features, WIRED says that if you’ve been waiting for an Apple Watch update, now’s the time to buy. “Blood oxygen sensor controversies aside, improved battery life, new hypertension notifications, and the addition of satellite messaging are all good reasons to get a new Apple Watch this year.”

Keep Your Brain Sharp

I know you’re thinking about those report card stats

Be prepared.