Shorts (left)
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings on Wednesday criticized a congressional proposal to soften provisions of President’s Bush signature education law, saying it would severely weaken the federal effort to raise achievement among poor and minority children.
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Apple unexpectedly cut the price of its iPhone on Wednesday, claiming that it was seeking to broaden the market for the popular but pricey phone for the Christmas season.
Germany Building a Case Against Others Implicated in Terrorist Plot
German investigators were trying to build a case on Thursday against a handful of suspects beyond the three arrested in connection with a foiled terrorist attack by Islamic militants, and German officials prepared to debate whether security services should be given wider surveillance powers.
Transitions
As you transition from a summer of frolicking to a fall of problem sets or an orientation week of free food to a first week of sudden starvation, the weather seems to be the only thing somewhat constant this first week of the semester. September is considered to be the nicest month of the year, but it is not without its variety. Autumn’s chill can come barreling out of Canada and hurricanes can approach from the Atlantic, though none of that is in the cards the next few days.
Eleven NJ Officials Arrested in Corruption Investigation by FBI
Eleven local public officials, including two members of the state Assembly, were charged Thursday with taking thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for promising municipal business to undercover officers posing as insurance brokers, in the latest federal probe into New Jersey’s rampant political corruption.
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Make no mistake, Dell is in the black. But production delays, particularly problems in getting the vivid paint colors of its new line of notebook computers right, are preventing the struggling company from growing as quickly as investors have hoped.
Taliban Frees the Last Seven South Koreans After Holding Direct Talks
The Taliban freed the seven remaining South Korean hostages in central Afghanistan on Thursday evening, Afghan officials announced, ending a six-week hostage crisis that had placed enormous political pressure on the South Korean government.
Sunny Weekend
A cold front sweeping through the region may provide the necessary trigger for some showers today, but will ultimately make way for a spectacular Labor Day weekend. Sunny skies, a comfortable late summer diurnal temperature range, and low humidity will prevail from Saturday through Monday. Such conditions are not surprising for early September, which on average is the sunniest time of year in Cambridge.
Independent U.S. Panel Urges Purging Corrupt Iraq Officers
An independent commission established by Congress to assess Iraq’s security forces will recommend remaking the 26,000-member national police force to purge it of corrupt officers and Shiite militants suspected of complicity in sectarian killings, Bush administration and military officials said Thursday.
Texas Governor Commutes Disputed Murder Accomplice’s Death Sentence
Hours before his scheduled execution on Thursday as a disputed accomplice in a 1996 murder, Kenneth Foster won a rare commutation to life in prison after Gov. Rick Perry followed the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles and granted a death row reprieve.
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Two Boston firefighters were killed and 11 others were injured battling a blaze that appeared to start in a grease-caked ventilation shaft at a Chinese restaurant on Wednesday night, officials said Thursday. They were the first Boston firefighters to die in the line of duty since 1994.
Pakistani President Remains as Army Chief Despite False Claims
Pakistani government officials denied Thursday that the country’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, had agreed to resign as army chief before presidential elections, contradicting statements a day earlier by Benazir Bhutto, an exiled former prime minister.
Iran Nuclear Technology Report Reveals U.S., U.N. Policy Discord
A report released Thursday showing a slow but steady expansion of Iran’s nuclear technology has exposed a new divide between the United Nations arms inspectors and the United States and its allies over how to contain Tehran’s atomic program.
Senator Accused of Solicitation Forced From Admin. Positions
The political career of Sen. Larry E. Craig of Idaho appeared to be collapsing Wednesday as fellow Republicans called for his resignation and party leaders ousted him from his committee leadership posts amid the fallout over his arrest in a men’s room and his guilty plea in the case.
Weather Prophecy
A very interesting article by K. Pennessi in the July issue of the <i>Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society</i> discusses some of the intricacies of the communication of meteorological forecasts (in the case of the article, it was the communication of seasonal forecast to Brazilian farmers).The author wanted to know what was deemed important to farmers when facing the official forecast agency as well as the prophecies of the local rain prophets.
Market Nearly Recovers From Record Losses, Buoyed by High Energy Prices
The stock market recovered almost all of its losses from Tuesday’s sharp sell-off as investors went bargain-hunting on Wednesday at Wall Street’s equivalent of a late summer sale.
Iraqi Shiite Cleric Announces Ceasefire Following Skirmish
The radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his militia to suspend activities for six months in announcement issued a day after dozens were killed during firefights between his fighters and a rival Shiite group during a religious festival in Karbala.
Musharraf to Resign as Army Chief, Plans For Re-election Bid
The exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said Wednesday that Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, had agreed to resign as army chief as part of a nearly completed deal that would allow him to serve another term as president if he is re-elected and allow her to return to Pakistan to run for prime minister.
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White House officials said Wednesday that the search for a successor to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales would probably last at least several days. The officials said they were trying to strike a conciliatory tone with Senate Democratic leaders who will control the confirmation.
U.S. Weapons, Missing in Iraq, Are Found on Turkish Black Market
Weapons that were originally given to Iraqi security forces by the American military have been recovered over the past year by the authorities in Turkey after being used in violent crimes in that country, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.