OPEKA, Kansas (AP) -- The Kansas Board of Education on Tuesday repealed sex education policies enacted last year, the latest move by the moderate majority to undo efforts by conservatives when they dominated the board.
One rescinded policy recommended that schools stress abstinence until marriage, while the other urged school districts to get parental permission before students could attend human sexuality classes.
On a 6-3 vote, the board replaced the policies with one that recommends "abstinence plus" sex education programs and leaves it up to the state's 296 school districts to decide whether to get parental permission.
The "abstinence plus" program stresses abstinence before marriage, while also urging schools to give students information about birth control and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
"It's a matter of emphasis," said chairman Bill Wagnon.
Wagnon said the goal was "to describe the curriculum standards in terms of 'it's more than just simply an encouragement of abstinence,' but we want a balance and comprehensive educational program about sex."
But conservative member Kathy Martin said most parents want the standards enacted last year.
"Abstinence until marriage is the best message we can give our children," Martin said.
She said the old standards "emphasized self-control over birth control," and the new standards "fail to give a true picture."
It was the second major change for the 6-4 moderate bloc since taking control in January. Wagnon said the final major change could come Wednesday if the board hires a new education commissioner to replace Bob Corkins, hired by conservatives in 2005. His hiring touched off criticism because he had no experience as a school administrator, and he resigned in November after the new board was elected.
In February, the board repealed science standards backed by social conservatives and switched to ones that treat evolution as well-supported by research. The standards, which take effect next school year, are used to develop tests to measure how well students learn science.
The old standards, endorsed by supporters of "intelligent design," questioned the theory of evolution.
source: http://www.cnn.com
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Marine says urinated on dead Iraqi at Haditha
CAMP PENDLETON, California (Reuters) - Angered that a beloved member of his squad had been killed in an explosion, a U.S. Marine urinated on one of the 24 dead Iraqi civilians killed by his unit in Haditha, the Marine testified on Wednesday.
Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, who has immunity from prosecution after murder charges against him were dismissed, also said he watched his squad leader shoot down five Iraqi civilians who were trying to surrender.
In dramatic testimony in a pretrial hearing for one of the seven Marines charged in the November 2005 killings and reported cover-up at Haditha, Dela Cruz described his bitterness after a roadside bomb ripped Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, known as T.J., into two bloody pieces.
source: http://www.reuters.com
Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, who has immunity from prosecution after murder charges against him were dismissed, also said he watched his squad leader shoot down five Iraqi civilians who were trying to surrender.
In dramatic testimony in a pretrial hearing for one of the seven Marines charged in the November 2005 killings and reported cover-up at Haditha, Dela Cruz described his bitterness after a roadside bomb ripped Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, known as T.J., into two bloody pieces.
source: http://www.reuters.com
Cheney presses Iraq, bomb in Arbil kills 14
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney pressed Iraq's leaders on Wednesday to move without delay to reach power-sharing accords that Washington says are vital to ending sectarian violence.
Cheney's unannounced visit to Iraq, part of a Middle East tour, signaled growing U.S. impatience at Iraq's slowness in passing laws on oil distribution and other key measures as U.S. military commanders build up troops to secure Baghdad.
Cheney said talks also centered on the crackdown in the capital, involving the deployment of 30,000 extra U.S. troops in what is seen as a last-ditch effort to stave off civil war between majority Shi'ites and once-dominant Sunni Arabs.
Underscoring Iraq's huge security challenges, a suicide truck bomber killed 14 people and wounded 87 in Arbil, capital of the relatively peaceful Kurdish region in the north.
The self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, an al Qaeda-led militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack which it said was in retaliation for the participation of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Maliki's Baghdad security plan.
Near the city of Kirkuk, three Iraqi journalists and their driver were dragged from their car, tortured and shot dead
source: http://www.reuters.com
Cheney's unannounced visit to Iraq, part of a Middle East tour, signaled growing U.S. impatience at Iraq's slowness in passing laws on oil distribution and other key measures as U.S. military commanders build up troops to secure Baghdad.
Cheney said talks also centered on the crackdown in the capital, involving the deployment of 30,000 extra U.S. troops in what is seen as a last-ditch effort to stave off civil war between majority Shi'ites and once-dominant Sunni Arabs.
Underscoring Iraq's huge security challenges, a suicide truck bomber killed 14 people and wounded 87 in Arbil, capital of the relatively peaceful Kurdish region in the north.
The self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, an al Qaeda-led militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack which it said was in retaliation for the participation of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Maliki's Baghdad security plan.
Near the city of Kirkuk, three Iraqi journalists and their driver were dragged from their car, tortured and shot dead
source: http://www.reuters.com
White House: New war funding bill unacceptable
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush would veto any bill drafted by House Democratic leaders that would fund the Iraq war only into the summer months, his spokesman said Wednesday.
And Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a Senate committee that such short-term funding would be very disruptive and "have a huge impact" on contracts to repair and replace equipment. The Defense Department, he said, just doesn't "have the agility to manage a two month appropriation."
Gates also told the Senate Defense Appropriations panel that if the military begins to see progress in Iraq later this fall, including political reconciliation within the Iraqi government, the U.S. could begin withdrawing troops.
The Pentagon, he said, is "looking for the direction of events -- we don't have to have it all locked in place and everything complete ... If (we) see some very positive progress and it looks like things are heading in the right direction, then that's the point at which I think we can begin to consider reducing some of those forces."
He added that "getting the level of violence in Iraq to a point where the political process can go forward and seeing some progress in reconciliation sets the stage for us to begin withdrawing our units ... and allowing those security responsibilities to be assumed by the Iraqis."
source: http://www.cnn.com
And Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a Senate committee that such short-term funding would be very disruptive and "have a huge impact" on contracts to repair and replace equipment. The Defense Department, he said, just doesn't "have the agility to manage a two month appropriation."
Gates also told the Senate Defense Appropriations panel that if the military begins to see progress in Iraq later this fall, including political reconciliation within the Iraqi government, the U.S. could begin withdrawing troops.
The Pentagon, he said, is "looking for the direction of events -- we don't have to have it all locked in place and everything complete ... If (we) see some very positive progress and it looks like things are heading in the right direction, then that's the point at which I think we can begin to consider reducing some of those forces."
He added that "getting the level of violence in Iraq to a point where the political process can go forward and seeing some progress in reconciliation sets the stage for us to begin withdrawing our units ... and allowing those security responsibilities to be assumed by the Iraqis."
source: http://www.cnn.com
Bush's mission to boost morale in flattened town
Standing in a muddy lot, President Bush today tried to bring comfort to the residents of tornado-ravaged Greensburg, Kansas,. "My mission today is to lift people's spirits as best as I possibly can," Bush said. "I bring the prayers and concerns of the people of this country to this town." The town of 1,600 will rely heavily on FEMA aid, whose officials vowed not to repeat the mistakes of Hurricane Katrina.
Source : http://www.cnn.com
Source : http://www.cnn.com
Fed leaves rates alone again
Bernanke & company hold at 5.25 percent, say economic growth 'moderate'; investors see no rate hikes ahead.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Federal Reserve held a key interest rate steady Wednesday and indicated again that it was concerned about slower growth as well as inflation - an encouraging signal to investors that the central bank will not raise rates any time soon.
The Fed, as widely expected, kept its target for the federal funds rate, an overnight bank lending rate that affects credit card, home equity and other loan rates, at 5.25 percent.
It was the seventh straight time that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his fellow policy-makers held steady after raising rates 17 straight times, through June 2006, in a bid to fight inflation.
In its statement, the Fed noted that economic growth slowed early this year but indicated it's also still worried about inflation, saying "the predominant policy concern remains the risk that inflation will fail to moderate as expected."
Source: http://www.cnn.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Federal Reserve held a key interest rate steady Wednesday and indicated again that it was concerned about slower growth as well as inflation - an encouraging signal to investors that the central bank will not raise rates any time soon.
The Fed, as widely expected, kept its target for the federal funds rate, an overnight bank lending rate that affects credit card, home equity and other loan rates, at 5.25 percent.
It was the seventh straight time that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his fellow policy-makers held steady after raising rates 17 straight times, through June 2006, in a bid to fight inflation.
In its statement, the Fed noted that economic growth slowed early this year but indicated it's also still worried about inflation, saying "the predominant policy concern remains the risk that inflation will fail to moderate as expected."
Source: http://www.cnn.com
National Amusement brings live gaming to theater
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. movie theater chain National Amusements Inc. is bringing a live video gaming tournament sponsored by Rupert Murdoch-controlled companies to a Los Angeles theater this weekend in a first for an industry seeking new ways to fill empty seats.
National Amusements would be the first U.S. theater chain to tap into the $30 billion global video game market by staging a type of gaming that is enormously popular in Asia.
The tournament, held by the newly formed Championship Gaming Series (CGS) professional league, aims to qualify gamers for its first draft of professional video gaming teams.
The league is sponsored by DirecTV Group Inc., British satellite group BSkyB and STAR in Asia and Australia. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. owns almost 40 percent of satellite broadcasters DirecTV and BSkyB and STAR is a wholly-owned unit of News Corp
National Amusements, the parent company of Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp., has been among the most experimental chains in finding uses for its more than 1,500 U.S. and overseas screens when movies aren't playing.
The chain brought live baseball games to East Coast theaters starting with the 2001 World Series, and has offered live entertainment including standup comedy, vaudeville-style shows and music at its theaters.
"One of the things I'm trying to do is really have niche demographic programming. I think we can no longer look at moviegoing as a generic experience," Redstone said.
source: http://www.reuters.com
National Amusements would be the first U.S. theater chain to tap into the $30 billion global video game market by staging a type of gaming that is enormously popular in Asia.
The tournament, held by the newly formed Championship Gaming Series (CGS) professional league, aims to qualify gamers for its first draft of professional video gaming teams.
The league is sponsored by DirecTV Group Inc., British satellite group BSkyB and STAR in Asia and Australia. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. owns almost 40 percent of satellite broadcasters DirecTV and BSkyB and STAR is a wholly-owned unit of News Corp
National Amusements, the parent company of Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp., has been among the most experimental chains in finding uses for its more than 1,500 U.S. and overseas screens when movies aren't playing.
The chain brought live baseball games to East Coast theaters starting with the 2001 World Series, and has offered live entertainment including standup comedy, vaudeville-style shows and music at its theaters.
"One of the things I'm trying to do is really have niche demographic programming. I think we can no longer look at moviegoing as a generic experience," Redstone said.
source: http://www.reuters.com
Humble opossum's genetic map sheds light on humans
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have mapped the genetic composition of a marsupial mammal, the South American gray, short-tailed opossum, gaining insight into the role of "junk DNA" in human evolution and into immune systems.
Because this opossum develops melanoma skin cancer much as people do and its newborns can regenerate a severed spinal cord, scientists hope studying its genome can boost research into treating human skin cancer and neurological ailments.
In research published on Wednesday, the furry creature -- twice as big as a mouse and with a prehensile tail -- became the first marsupial to have its DNA decoded.
Using the opossum as a comparison helped identify genetic elements present in placental mammals but absent in marsupials, helping to fill a hole in the understanding of how mammalian genomes have evolved over tens of millions of years and giving a new look at the evolutionary origins of the human genome.
A fifth of the human genome's key functional elements arose after the divergence from marsupials, the research found. Most of these innovations occurred not in protein-coding genes but in areas of the genome that do not contain genes and until recently had been derided as junk DNA, they found.
Marsupials give live birth, without the long gestation of placental mammals, to tiny babies at a very early stage of development that climb from the birth canal to the mother's nipples, where they latch on for weeks or months. Examples include the kangaroo, wallaby and koala.
The most primitive mammals are monotremes, which lay eggs rather than having live birth. They include only the duck-billed platypus and echidna, also known as the spiny anteater. Scientists are working on the first monotreme genome, for the platypus.
Katherine Belov of the University of Sydney in Australia said the research showed the complex mammalian immune system -- the body's natural defenses -- arose before the two lineages separated.
Source : http://www.reuters.com
Because this opossum develops melanoma skin cancer much as people do and its newborns can regenerate a severed spinal cord, scientists hope studying its genome can boost research into treating human skin cancer and neurological ailments.
In research published on Wednesday, the furry creature -- twice as big as a mouse and with a prehensile tail -- became the first marsupial to have its DNA decoded.
Using the opossum as a comparison helped identify genetic elements present in placental mammals but absent in marsupials, helping to fill a hole in the understanding of how mammalian genomes have evolved over tens of millions of years and giving a new look at the evolutionary origins of the human genome.
A fifth of the human genome's key functional elements arose after the divergence from marsupials, the research found. Most of these innovations occurred not in protein-coding genes but in areas of the genome that do not contain genes and until recently had been derided as junk DNA, they found.
Marsupials give live birth, without the long gestation of placental mammals, to tiny babies at a very early stage of development that climb from the birth canal to the mother's nipples, where they latch on for weeks or months. Examples include the kangaroo, wallaby and koala.
The most primitive mammals are monotremes, which lay eggs rather than having live birth. They include only the duck-billed platypus and echidna, also known as the spiny anteater. Scientists are working on the first monotreme genome, for the platypus.
Katherine Belov of the University of Sydney in Australia said the research showed the complex mammalian immune system -- the body's natural defenses -- arose before the two lineages separated.
Source : http://www.reuters.com
Los Angeles controls wildfire but danger remains
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A respite in hot winds on Wednesday allowed firefighters to bring a wildfire under control after it swept through a landmark Los Angeles park and forced hundreds of residents from a wealthy neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills to abandon their homes overnight.
But with temperatures set to reach an unseasonable 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) and afternoon winds a possibility, firefighters raced to stamp out the few hot spots still burning on the steep hills of bone-dry Griffith Park.
Officials said the blaze that began on Tuesday just east of the famed Hollywood sign had consumed 817 acres in the nation's largest urban park, home to landmarks like the Griffith Observatory and the Greek Theater.
"The winds are in our favor and we hope we will have full containment in the next 24 hours," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told a news conference, noting that the fire was about 50 percent contained around midday.
Local officials and media were calling it the worst fire in the Hollywood area in 50 years, a harbinger of things to come as southern California experiences its driest spring on record.
"We are facing an incredibly difficult fire season," Villaraigosa said, urging residents of the nation's second-largest city to clear brush.
Authorities believe the blaze might have been accidental. Firefighters rescued a man who walked out of the brush with burns on his chest, saying he had fallen asleep while smoking a cigarette.
He was hospitalized and questioned by investigators, but had not been charged with starting the fire, officials said. No other injuries were reported.
Some of the 300 people evacuated from 150 houses were allowed to return early in the morning. Overnight, firefighters had entered homes with hoses to douse the brush from the balconies that look out onto the park's steep terrain.
Source: reauters.com
But with temperatures set to reach an unseasonable 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) and afternoon winds a possibility, firefighters raced to stamp out the few hot spots still burning on the steep hills of bone-dry Griffith Park.
Officials said the blaze that began on Tuesday just east of the famed Hollywood sign had consumed 817 acres in the nation's largest urban park, home to landmarks like the Griffith Observatory and the Greek Theater.
"The winds are in our favor and we hope we will have full containment in the next 24 hours," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told a news conference, noting that the fire was about 50 percent contained around midday.
Local officials and media were calling it the worst fire in the Hollywood area in 50 years, a harbinger of things to come as southern California experiences its driest spring on record.
"We are facing an incredibly difficult fire season," Villaraigosa said, urging residents of the nation's second-largest city to clear brush.
Authorities believe the blaze might have been accidental. Firefighters rescued a man who walked out of the brush with burns on his chest, saying he had fallen asleep while smoking a cigarette.
He was hospitalized and questioned by investigators, but had not been charged with starting the fire, officials said. No other injuries were reported.
Some of the 300 people evacuated from 150 houses were allowed to return early in the morning. Overnight, firefighters had entered homes with hoses to douse the brush from the balconies that look out onto the park's steep terrain.
Source: reauters.com
Cheney sees greater sense of urgency in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday that he believes there's a "greater sense of urgency" among Iraqis to make progress on all fronts in the war-wracked nation.
Cheney, in Iraq on an unannounced visit, appeared before reporters with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the top-ranking U.S. military official in Iraq.
The vice president was asked about one contentious issue: the Iraqi Parliament's plans to take a two-month recess amid a host of unresolved issues, including oil revenue legislation, de-Baathification and constitutional reform. U.S. officials have said that hiatus would be unwise.
But Cheney declined to reveal what he said to Iraqi officials on the matter. He said he referred to the issue in general terms, saying only that he couldn't predict whether Parliament would recess, and it's important to take up any matter in a "timely fashion."
Source: www.cnn.com
Cheney, in Iraq on an unannounced visit, appeared before reporters with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the top-ranking U.S. military official in Iraq.
The vice president was asked about one contentious issue: the Iraqi Parliament's plans to take a two-month recess amid a host of unresolved issues, including oil revenue legislation, de-Baathification and constitutional reform. U.S. officials have said that hiatus would be unwise.
But Cheney declined to reveal what he said to Iraqi officials on the matter. He said he referred to the issue in general terms, saying only that he couldn't predict whether Parliament would recess, and it's important to take up any matter in a "timely fashion."
Source: www.cnn.com
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