It was an unlikely display of protesters: nuns cloaked in white, a black-clad priest clutching a golden scepter and dozens of Arab schoolchildren picketing outside the hulking headquarters of Israel’s Education Ministry. Their message, raised high on large banners: “Take your hands off our schools.” Private Christian schools are among Israel’s highest ranked educational institutions, … Continue reading
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Parents say hundreds of SAT tests taken by Virginia students at a high school were lost in the mail, leaving students in a bind. WJLA-TV (http://bit.ly/1J7X1fM) reports tests are missing for 300 students who took the SAT on May 2 at Broad Run High School in Ashburn. A Loudoun County schools … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opened a public inquiry Thursday into student loan servicing practices that it says can make paying back loans “stressful or harmful.” Private and federal student loan debt totals more than $1.2 trillion. Loans often are not serviced by lenders but by a company that processes monthly payments, … Continue reading
WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) — Two-time Academy Award winner Robert Redford is encouraging college graduates to be fearless in a world of challenges and to become collaborators with others and the environment to overcome life’s daunting difficulties. Redford was the commencement speaker Sunday at Maine’s Colby College. He received an honorary degree of fine arts from … Continue reading
Robert De Niro urged new graduates at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts on Friday to keep fighting to create careers in the arts even though it probably would have been easier if they had picked something more practical. “The graduates in accounting? They all have jobs. Where does that leave you? Envious … Continue reading
LONDON (AP) — The notion that young women are traveling to Syria solely to become “jihadi brides” is simplistic and hinders efforts to prevent other girls from being radicalized, new research suggests. Young women are joining the so-called Islamic State group for many reasons, including anger over the perceived persecution of Muslims and the wish … Continue reading
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) â The semifinals of the 88th Scripps National Spelling Bee are underway, with 49 of the nation’s top young spellers competing for more than $37,000 in cash and prizes. The semifinalists include three who made the finals last year. Three siblings of past champions also made it. Thirteen-year-old Vanya Shivashankar of … Continue reading
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) — Johnessa Richard graduates from Tidewater Community College this month with an associate of science and general studies degree. And next month she’ll graduate from Norcom High School. The 17-year-old began taking classes at TCC when she was 14 and kept going while attending high school. She’s the first person to get … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration hopes to save the bees by feeding them better. A new federal plan aims to reverse America’s declining honeybee and monarch butterfly populations by making millions of acres of federal land more bee-friendly, spending millions of dollars more on research and considering the use of fewer pesticides. While putting … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — An alliance of Asian American groups on Friday filed a federal complaint against Harvard University, saying that school and other Ivy League institutions are using racial quotas to admit students other than high-scoring Asians. More than 60 Chinese, Indian, Korean and Pakistani groups came together for the complaint, which was filed with … Continue reading
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden urged graduating Yale University students on Sunday to avoid questioning the motives of others in the search for common ground. At a time when critics say Washington, D.C., is hamstrung by partisanship and an inability to compromise, Biden told the more than 1,200 students and their … Continue reading
SWEET BRIAR, Va. (AP) — A visitor to Sweet Briar College would be hard-pressed to find signs of the financial stress that is shuttering the tiny women’s school. Twenty-one buildings on the 3,250-acre campus are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Days before Saturday’s planned commencement, seniors astride horses rode through a quad … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — When Brooklyn Law School professors and alumni refer to an “institution,” they might very well be talking about Professor Joseph Crea. He’s taught generations of students over more than six decades, instilling legal precepts along with some pithy tenets of his own, such as “Never drop your briefcase and run.” He … Continue reading
WACO, Texas (AP) — Police were on alert Monday for any retaliatory attacks after a chaotic shootout between rival biker gangs left nine people dead and at least 18 more wounded outside a Texas restaurant. Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said authorities had received threats against law enforcement “throughout the night” from biker groups … Continue reading
