The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped a bit last week, but stayed high. Last week’s figure for initial unemployment claims was 423,000, a decline from the previous week’s revised figure of 432,000, the Labor Department said. Still, the number is too high to offer hope that the broader unemployment rate–
Continue reading …Troy Davis was executed by lethal injection shortly after 11pm last night. In his last moments, he continued to proclaim his innocence. “I am innocent,” Davis said. “All I can ask … is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth. I ask my family and friends
Continue reading …So what are people saying about “Operation Twist,” the Federal Reserve’s just-announced plan to buy $400 billion worth of long-term government bonds? Is it likely to succeed in encouraging borrowing and jolting the economy out of its rut? So far, the reviews aren’t resoundingly positive. • Dan Gross of Yahoo! Finance is underwhelmed. “This move
Continue reading …Admissions officers say one of their main goals for the next few years is to recruit students who pay more in tuition, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education survey of 462 top admissions officials at nonprofit universities. Survey respondents said they placed a higher priority on recruiting out-of-state students–who would pay higher tuitions than
Continue reading …As expected, the Federal Reserve has announced a new program designed to prod the faltering economy into life. The central bank will buy $400 billion worth of longer-term Treasury bills by the end of June 2012, and will sell an equal amount of shorter-term Treasuries. The goal is to encourage borrowing by pushing down longer-term
Continue reading …More bad news for the economy — and particularly for the struggling housing sector: Home prices are expected to rise by just 1.1 percent per year through 2015, according to a survey released Wednesday (pdf). “Markets and government institutions are visibly struggling to respond consistently to an unprecedented rash of crises and conflicts, said Robert
Continue reading …A year after Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg announced on “Oprah” that he was giving $100 million to the troubled school system in Newark, N.J., city officials say at least some of that money will go directly to teachers. About $600,000 will be parceled out in $10,000 grants to teachers who come up with innovative classroom programs,
Continue reading …On the eve of a major Federal Reserve policy decision, Republican congressional leaders have taken the unusual step of warning the traditionally independent central bank not to take measures aimed at spurring economic growth. In a letter to Fed chair Ben Bernanke Tuesday afternoon, the Republicans argued that an earlier effort by the Fed to
Continue reading …Has our education system’s laser-like focus on lifting standardized math and reading scores made school impossibly boring? That’s the argument of Daniel Denvir at Salon, who points to recent studies that suggest the average kid in public school is receiving less instruction time in non-tested subjects such as art, music, and physical education since the
Continue reading …Districts in Arkansas and Arizona made news this week as they struggled to comply with decades-old court orders mandating they desegregate their schools. A federal judge has ruled that three school districts around Little Rock, Ark., have delayed their desegregation efforts in order to continue to receive an extra $70 million annually from the state.
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