A bipartisan commission delivered more than 200 pages of recommendations on improving the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act on Tuesday–the most detailed set of recommendations Congress has received yet on the 2002 law, which comes up for renewal this year. Early debate between congressional Democrats and the White House had made many observers wonder whether a bipartisan reauthorization would happen this year. But the emphasis yesterday was on urgency, and–one important dissent from the teacher's unions aside–the NCLB Commission received early praise from both Republican and Democratic congressional leaders and the Department of Education.
It seemed like a bit of a time warp the last time I tried a high-definition DVD player. That first-generation player was like something from the former Soviet Union–big, slow, and prone to unexplained stoppages. A second-gen player from Toshiba is a vast improvement.
AP - Challenged on the accuracy of U.S. intelligence, President Bush said Wednesday there is no doubt the Iranian government is providing armor-piercing weapons to kill American soldiers in Iraq. But he backed away from claims the top echelon of Iran's government was responsible.
AP - Blowing snow and sleet glazed windshields and roads across the Northeast and the Midwest on Wednesday, messing up Valentine's Day flower deliveries and wrecking couples' plans for romantic dinners.
AP - Thousands of U.S. troops swept house-to-house through mostly Shiite areas virtually unopposed Wednesday in the opening phase of the long-awaited Baghdad security crackdown. But four U.S. soldiers were killed outside of the capital in an area not covered by the operation.
About 7,000 Iraqi refugees will get the chance to start a new life in the United States this year. "We have a responsibility to respond to the immediate needs of Iraqis who have fled violence and persecution," said the State Department's Paula Dobriansky. Since the war began, the United States has taken in 466 Iraqi refugees.
Expecting the resurgent Taliban to stage a spring offensive, the U.S. military is moving a brigade of troops into Afghanistan, instead of Iraq, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.