President Obama announced Friday that he will grant waivers to states struggling to meet the high standardized test scores required under the No Child Left Behind education law. At least 20 states are expected to request the waivers next year. The White House says it will only grant those requests if the petitioning states agree
Continue reading …In the period leading up to last night’s Republican presidential debate, the actions of the Federal Reserve had been a hot topic among the party’s leaders. Rick Perry, the Texas governor, said it would be “almost treasonous” for Fed chairman Ben Bernanke to increase the money supply in order to kickstart the economy. His chief
Continue reading …In the period leading up to last night’s Republican presidential debate, the actions of the Federal Reserve had been a hot topic among the party’s leaders. Rick Perry, the Texas governor, said it would be “almost treasonous” for Fed chairman Ben Bernanke to increase the money supply in order to kickstart the economy. His chief
Continue reading …NASA says a giant, defunct satellite making its way toward earth will hit late Friday or early Saturday morning. The only problem is, they don’t know exactly where yet. According to the Telegraph’s Andy Bloxham, the 6.5-ton, 35-foot Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite is traveling at a pace of five miles per second. In fact, because the
Continue reading …It’s been a big week for amateur scientists, as TPM points out. About 40,000 people were recognized for helping Yale University astronomers locate two new planets beyond our solar system that may have Earth-like qualities through an online crowd-sourcing project. Meanwhile, amateur astronomer Theirry Legault captured images of the giant, earth-bound NASA satellite as it passed
Continue reading …Rick Perry has made his record of job creation as governor of Texas the centerpiece of his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. But a new study is drawing attention to a side of the Lone Star State’s recent jobs boom that Perry might not be so quick to tout. At the heart of Perry’s
Continue reading …Troy Davis had already eaten his last meal Wednesday night as 7 p.m.–his scheduled execution time–came and went. A few minutes later, Georgia prison officials announced they would delay his execution so that the U.S. Supreme Court could consider the prisoner’s last-minute request for an appeal. Over the next four hours, Davis’ supporters in Georgia
Continue reading …Unemployment among young adults is at its highest point since World War II, new data show. And it’s having a disconcerting impact on the trajectory of their careers and lives. “We have a monster jobs problem, and young people are the biggest losers,” Andrew Sum, an economist with the Center for Labor Market Studies at
Continue reading …Global markets have plunged since Wednesday afternoon, despite — or perhaps because of — the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it would step in once again to try to jolt the ailing economy. The Dow and the S&P 500 both dropped 3 percent in early trading Thursday, with the Nasdaq falling slightly less. In Europe and
Continue reading …Some conservative groups are protesting a bill championed by House Judiciary Committee Chair Lamar Smith (R-Texas) that would compel all employers to use the government-run E-verify system to ensure they are only hiring legal workers. The bill passed out of committee Wednesday. Republican lawmakers were not swayed by a letter from Tea Party Nation, GOProud
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