Archive for July 2008
Georgia schools balk at state law mandating retentions
Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Heather Vogell and computer-assisted reporting specialist John Perry found that Georgia schools routinely promote students who state law says should stay back because they’re falling behind. The law, aimed at stopping so-called “social promotion,” requires schools to retain students in grades 3, 5 and 8 who can’t pass certain standardized tests.But the…
Read MoreObama got discount on home loan
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama got a discount on the $1.32 million loan for his Chicago mansion, obtaining an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago. Washington Post investigative reporter Joe Stephens found that, compared with the average terms offered…
Read MoreU.S. attorney to reopen inquiry into ’88 blast that killed 6 firefighters
The U.S. attorney in Kansas City, Mo., has asked the Justice Department to appoint a special attorney to review convictions in the firefighters explosion case. The move was prompted by an investigation published in The Kansas City Star on Sunday in which witnesses said a federal investigator pressured them to lie and a new witness…
Read MorePreparing the battlefield
New Yorker’s Seymour Hersh reports that Congress agreed late last year to President Bush’s request to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran. Quoting current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources, Hersh said the funding is designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. He also quotes fired Admiral William Fallon, former head…
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