Leesa K. Donner

The strains of “School's Out” by Alice Cooper have died down as millions of US students head back to school this week. The day after Labor Day has long been the traditional first day of classes, though more districts are pushing start dates to August – a communist plot, no doubt. All joking aside, some strange things are happening in American schools; we'll cover three of them.

by asserting, “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there." Now that the 9/11 attacks on the United States are just a couple days away from being 25 years old, a growing number of Americans have not experienced what can be considered the most defining day of the last half-century. To these people, 9/11 is not a reality but becomes the “foreign country” that Hartley spoke of in the opening lines of his book. And it's vital to recognize that more and more of those who lived through that horrible day will be dying off, and only memories of 9/11 will remain.

I know. I know, he's a Democrat – but is he really? Just the other evening, at the Republican Midterm Convention, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman was introduced to the GOP faithful.

The Gray Lady turns 175. It's Sunday, which means crossword lovers are racing to their front doors to get their hands on The New York Times crossword puzzle.

On Thursday, Sept. 24, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took aim at pro-Palestinian protesters in his address to the United Nations. Referring to the civil unrest that was going on outside the UN, Netanyahu called those who were assembled "phony human rights protesters." Then, in what seemed like a non sequitur, he dropped in a little something about Christianity, asserting: “On Christians, you know that their numbers are plummeting everywhere in the Middle East where they're being persecuted and hounded, except one place: my country, Israel, where the Christian community is growing, thriving, succeeding.”

It's nothing short of an unholy mess. Now what? Tennessee officials are suffering a well-earned beating after their inability to carry out an execution this week.

Authorities in dozens of French cities valiantly tried to calm the unrest of students protesting in the capital and around the country yesterday (Oct. 6). The unrest began two weeks ago as students blockaded schools at a lycée in the Paris suburbs and grew from there, while other protests erupted, shutting down hundreds of schools across the nation. Their grievances include crowded classes, so-called inequalities in education, and a shortage of available teachers. The civil unrest grew exponentially yesterday as French labor unions joined in the chaos.

Stanford University is known for many things, but churning out converts to Catholicism isn't one of them. Wealthy railroad titan Amasa Leland Stanford founded the school in 1885 as a memorial to his son, Leland Stanford Jr., who died of typhoid at age 15. In 1891, Stanford officially opened its doors as a non-denominational institution and ultimately made its name as a top-notch research school. It is not known for a religious studies program, nor does it attract students who feel called to go into ministry. In a nutshell, Stanford carries a level of prestige but has no particular religious bent. That's what makes the current Catholic revival so shocking.

Goodbye Katie, we hardly knew ye. Katie Zacharia had an abbreviated ride on the train to fame this week.

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar is in a whole heap of trouble. That may be stating the obvious, but sometimes it's best to state the facts, and that's certainly fact number one. The Somali-born, then naturalized US citizen is under investigation for allegedly committing immigration fraud, making false statements, and conspiracy. Last week a warrant was issued, and Homeland Security agents searched her DC residence, taking 17 items including phones and a camera.