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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

School district rebuilds after fraudulent testing

School district rebuilds after fraudulent testing

School district rebuilds after fraudulent testing

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 01:02 PM PDT

In a Monday, Sept. 10, 2012 photo, former El Paso Independent School District student Roger Avalos hugs his mother Grisel Avalos outside their house, in El Paso, Texas. A cheating scandal in which schools would get rid of underperforming students to artificially inflate their high stakes test scores has rocked the El Paso ISD, landed a former superintendent in jail and prompted the Texas Education Agency to put the district on probation. During his sophomore year, Jose Avalos was urged by a principal to drop out of high school. The next year, his brother was told to do the same after entering the 10th grade. A third Avalos brother shared the same fate in 2009. Administrators at Bowie High School cited excessive tardiness in their efforts to remove the siblings. But now the brothers suspect they were targeted for an entirely different reason: The district was trying to push out hundreds of low-performing sophomores to prevent them from taking accountability tests. (AP Photo/Juan Carlos Llorca)During his sophomore year, Jose Avalos was urged by a principal to drop out of high school. The next year, his brother was told to do the same after entering the 10th grade. A third Avalos brother shared the same fate in 2009.

Holiday sales seen rising 4.1 percent in 2012

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT

FILE-In this Friday, Nov. 25, 2011, file photo, Sergio Lira, of Phoenix, holds Christmas bulbs as he shops at the Home Depot in Phoenix. Americans are expected to spend more during what's traditionally the busiest shopping season of 2012, but they're not exactly ready to shop 'til they drop like they have been in the past two years. The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, said Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012, that it expects sales during the winter holiday shopping period in November and December to rise 4.1 percent this year. (AP Photo/Arizona Republic, Tom Tingle) MARICOPA COUNTY, NO SALESAmericans are expected to spend more during what's traditionally the busiest shopping season of the year, but they're not exactly ready to shop 'til they drop like they have been in the past two years.

THE RACE: That other president's race gaining fans

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:58 PM PDT

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan waves to the crowd with some of his children in tow, at the Clinton County courthouse in Clinton, Iowa, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012. (AP Photo/The Quad City Times, Kevin E. Schmidt)While President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney bone up in Nevada and Colorado for Wednesday's opening debate, back in the nation's capital attention is split between the hard-fought presidential race and baseball playoffs.

Oil falls amid concerns about global economy

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:57 PM PDT

The price of oil fell Tuesday as investors weighed positive U.S. economic news against ongoing concerns about Europe.

US allows visa-free travel for Taiwanese

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:57 PM PDT

The U.S. announced Tuesday visa-free travel for Taiwanese visiting America.

Free coffins: political swag for Honduran poor

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:55 PM PDT

In this Aug. 17, 2012 photo, charity employees wait for customers at the offices of the Funeraria del Pueblo, or People's Mortuary, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The charities that provide the coffins, and sometimes free transportation and soft drinks to the bereaved, are run using public funds by three elected officials, two of whom are seeking the presidency and a third who is running for mayor of Tegucigalpa. The charities say the coffins are not a pitch for votes, but an important service to constituents who cannot afford a coffin. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)In some countries political campaigns give out bumper stickers and yard signs. In others, they offer free lunches and supermarket debit cards. In Honduras, one of Latin America's poorest countries and also its most dangerous, candidates dole out another kind of political swag: coffins for the destitute.

"Fiscal cliff" fears seen impeding faster job growth

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:53 PM PDT

A man holds his briefcase while waiting in line during a job fair in Melville, New YorkWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job growth likely improved only slightly in September as businesses remained cautious out of fear a sharp tightening of the government's budget could deliver a big blow to the economic recovery early next year. Employers are expected to have added 113,000 jobs to their payrolls, an increase from 96,000 in August, with the unemployment rate edging up by a tenth of a percentage point to 8.2 percent, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The data, to be released by the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. (12.30 p.m. ...

Judge tosses BP fuel dealers' brand-name claims

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:52 PM PDT

A federal judge has dismissed claims by BP fuel dealers that the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico diminished the value of the oil giant's brand and cost them business.

Tests come back negative in Mich. search for Hoffa

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:49 PM PDT

Police investigating a claim that former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa is buried in a suburban Detroit backyard say testing on soil samples shows no traces of human decomposition.

Israeli electric car company CEO steps down

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:42 PM PDT

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 23, 2011 file photo, Israeli-American entrepreneur Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of "Better Place", a project developing electric vehicles and a network of charging points, stands at an electric charging station in Kiryat Ekron, central Israel. Israeli electric car company Better Place is replacing its founder and chief executive, Shai Agassi. The circumstances surrounding his departure were not immediately clear. In a statement Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012, the company said it had achieved its goals under Agassi and had reached a "natural point in the company's evolution to realign."(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, File)He has been the poster boy for Israel's powerhouse technology industry and a leading proponent of a great dream — to end the world's addiction to oil.

White House widening covert war in North Africa

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:42 PM PDT

FILE - This Sept. 21, 2012 file photo shows Libyan civilians celebrate the raiding of Ansar al-Shariah Brigades compound, after hundreds of Libyans, Libyan Military, and Police raided the Brigades base, in Benghazi, Libya. Small teams of U.S. special operations forces arrived at American embassies throughout North Africa to set up a new counterterrorist network months before militants killed the U.S. ambassador in Libya. But officials say the network was too new to stop the Benghazi attack. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File )Small teams of special operations forces arrived at American embassies throughout North Africa in the months before militants launched the fiery attack that killed the U.S. ambassador in Libya. The soldiers' mission: Set up a network that could quickly strike a terrorist target or rescue a hostage.

NHL defines preseason losses as lockout continues

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:41 PM PDT

The financial losses are starting to pile up as a result of the NHL lockout.

September auto sales beat forecasts as Toyota gains

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:40 PM PDT

Fiat 500's are shown at the Criswell Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Fiat-Ram truck dealership in Gaithersburg, MarylandDETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales for September looked set to jump about 13 percent from a year ago, beating analyst estimates because of cheap financing, stronger consumer sentiment and rebounding sales from foreign automakers including Toyota Motor Corp . The annual auto sales pace for September is on track to reach 14.8 million vehicles, Morgan Stanley analysts said, higher than the 14.5 million rate estimated by analysts. Toyota sales chief Bob Carter said September's auto sales rate would hit 14.9 million, the industry's best level since March 2008. ...

Border Patrol agent shot, killed on patrol in Ariz

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:38 PM PDT

Det. Bill Silva, left, with the Bisbee Police Department, and an unnamed agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration patrol a fence line east of Naco, Ariz., after a Border Patrol agent was killed early Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012. The shooting occurred after an alarm was triggered on one of the thousands of sensors placed by the U.S. government along the border, and the agents went to investigate, said Cochise County Sheriff's spokeswoman Carol Capas. (AP Photo/Arizona Daily Star, Mike Christy) NO MAGS NO SALES, MANDATORY CREDITA Border Patrol agent was shot to death Tuesday in Arizona near the U.S.-Mexico line, the first fatal shooting of an agent since a deadly 2010 firefight with Mexican bandits that spawned congressional probes of a botched government gun-smuggling investigation.

Hurley still gets dressed in pink each October

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:35 PM PDT

Spokesperson and model Elizabeth Hurley speaks before lighting the Empire State Building pink in honor of the 20th Anniversary of the Estee Lauder Companies' Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)After nearly two decades, Elizabeth Hurley still finds herself dressed in pink in October to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

House committee: security requests denied in Libya

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:34 PM PDT

FILE - This Sept. 12, 2012 file photo shows a man walking through a room in the gutted U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Leaders of a House committee said Tuesday that U.S. diplomats in Libya made repeated requests for increased security for the consulate in Benghazi and were turned down by officials in Washington. In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chairman Darrell Issa and Rep. Jason Chaffetz said their information came from "individuals with direct knowledge of events in Libya." (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri, File)Leaders of a House committee said Tuesday that U.S. diplomats in Libya made repeated requests for increased security for the consulate in Benghazi and were turned down by officials in Washington.

Biden blasts Romney tax plans during stop in NC

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:34 PM PDT

Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday criticized Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for proposing policies that Biden says would cut taxes for millionaires and raise them for middle-class families.

US begins flying home deported Mexicans

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:31 PM PDT

The U.S. government began flying Mexican deportees home on Tuesday in a two-month experiment aimed at relieving Mexican border cities overwhelmed with people ordered to leave the United States.

Somalia: Kenyan army says it now controls Kismayo

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:26 PM PDT

Kenyan soldiers pose for their colleagues to take pictures of them as they sing and celebrate outside Kismayo University in Kismayo, southern Somalia Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012. Allied African troops have taken full control of Kismayo in Somalia, the last stronghold of al-Shabab Islamist rebels who have been fighting against the country's internationally backed government, a Kenyan military official said Tuesday, and Kenya Defence Forces and the Somali National Army are now patrolling the streets. (AP Photo/Josphat Kasire)Allied African troops have taken full control of Kismayo in Somalia, the last stronghold of Islamist rebels who have been fighting against the country's internationally backed government, a Kenyan military official said Tuesday.

Libya forces prepare for sweep of pro-Gadhafi town

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:25 PM PDT

Libyan militias operating alongside the defense ministry are readying their forces to advance on a city that remains a bastion of support for the ousted regime of Moammar Gadhafi.

Brad Keselowski drops Nationwide race at Kansas

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:24 PM PDT

Brad Keselowski is doing some basic math to focus on his bid for the Sprint Cup championship: He has added his older sister to his support group and scaled back his schedule.

Facebook revamps its help center

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:23 PM PDT

This image provided by facebook shows the website's redesigned help center, developed to make it easier to navigate and find what you need help with on the site or its mobile applications. Though it's only fully accessible on Facebook's website, the new help center was designed to look and feel more like a mobile app, says Terry Guo, product manager at the Menlo Park, California-based social media company. ( AP Photo/Facebook)If you've used Facebook, chances are you've needed help with reporting spam, un-tagging photos or understanding the site's ever-changing privacy settings over the years.

Girls barred from Utah dance for short dresses

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:22 PM PDT

A Utah public high school principal has apologized to dozens of teens who were turned away from their homecoming dance because their dresses were deemed too short, in what parents and students called a "homecoming spirit massacre."

U.S. praises Georgia's Saakashvili for conceding

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:21 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States praised Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday for conceding his party lost parliamentary elections and asking the victorious coalition to form a government. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said she thought that Saakashvili's concession may bode well for cooperation between the new government and the president, who is due to step down next year. "There had been a lot of charges back and forth, a lot of hot rhetoric but ... ...

Humane Society president seeks seat on Tyson board

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:19 PM PDT

FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2006, file photo a car passes in front of a Tyson Foods Inc., sign at Tyson headquarters in Springdale, Ark. The president of the Humane Society of the United States said Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012, that he's seeking a spot on Tyson Foods Inc.'s board of directors in an attempt to convince one of the world's largest meat companies to move away from cramped cages for pregnant pigs. (AP Photo/April L. Brown, File)The president of an organization leading the fight against cramped cages for pregnant pigs said Tuesday he's seeking a spot on Tyson Food Inc.'s board of directors to put more pressure on the nation's second-largest pork processor to abandon the crates.

Romney seeks extended deadline for overseas voters

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:16 PM PDT

FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney shakes hands with World War II and Korean War veterans returning on an Honor Flight from Washington, in Swanton, Ohio. Romney's campaign has sent letters to election officials in Wisconsin, Mississippi and Vermont demanding that the deadline for receiving ballots from military and overseas voters be extended. Romney's push is part of a broader effort to court the veterans vote. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)Working to broaden his popularity among military veterans, Republican Mitt Romney's campaign has sent letters to election officials in Wisconsin, Mississippi and Vermont demanding that the deadline for receiving ballots from military and overseas voters be extended.

US begins flying deported Mexicans home

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:11 PM PDT

The U.S. government has begun flying deported Mexican migrants to Mexico City.

Stocks sink on Spain report, Mosaic miss

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:11 PM PDT

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012 file photo, a pair of traders work in their booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Hopes that the U.S. is back in recovery mode has helped stocks start the new month on a relative high. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)Mixed signals on the world economy tugged major stock indexes lower on Tuesday.

Leagues say NJ sports betting law is hypocritical

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:05 PM PDT

The major professional sports leagues and the NCAA say New Jersey's proposed sports betting law is hypocritical because it prohibits gambling on New Jersey college games yet allows it on all other college and pro contests.

France drops rape inquiry into ex-IMF head Strauss-Kahn

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:04 PM PDT

Former IMF head Strauss-Kahn and Pupponi, Deputy Mayor of Sarcelles arrive at a polling station in the second round of the 2012 French presidential elections in SarcellesLILLE, France (Reuters) - French public prosecutors have shelved an investigation into allegations that disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a man once tipped to become president of France, had engaged in group rape. In a statement on Tuesday, the prosecution service said it acted after a young woman retracted an allegation against the 63-year-old, who is also fighting wider accusations of sexual misdemeanor in France and a civil case in the United States. ...

T-Mobile USA in talks to buy MetroPCS

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:02 PM PDT

The parent of cellphone company T-Mobile USA on Tuesday said it's in talks to buy smaller MetroPCS Communications Inc., a deal that could shore up two struggling smaller players in the U.S. wireless industry.

Ex-Ala. prof wants to be tried in brother's death

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:01 PM PDT

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2012, file photo, Amy Bishop, accused of killing three and injuring three others in a Feb. 12, 2010 shooting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, walks into a courtroom at the Madison County Courthouse in Huntsville, Ala. Bishop, the former University of Alabama professor sentenced to life in prison last week in a shooting rampage that killed three of her colleagues, wants to go on trial in the 1986 death of her brother in Massachusetts. Attorney Larry Tipton says Bishop wants to prove at trial that she had a The former University of Alabama-Huntsville professor sentenced to life in prison for killing three of her colleagues in a shooting rampage wants to go on trial in the 1986 death of her brother in Massachusetts, her lawyer said Tuesday.

CBS claims ratings win for 1st week of TV season

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 11:57 AM PDT

CBS is off to a rosy start as the 2012-13 season logs its first week.

3rd American Airlines flight had seats come loose

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 11:56 AM PDT

American Airlines says passenger seats on a third flight came loose as the plane was airborne, and it's continuing to inspect other jets with similar seating.

Chinese-owned firm adds Obama to wind farm lawsuit

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 11:54 AM PDT

A company owned by Chinese citizens has added President Barack Obama as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging the U.S. government exceeded its authority in blocking the firm's planned wind farm projects in Oregon near a Navy base.

Pope's butler pleads innocent to theft charge

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 11:54 AM PDT

FILE -- In this photo taken Wednesday, May, 23, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI, flanked by his private secretary Georg Gaenswein, top left, and his butler Paolo Gabiele arrives at St.Peter's square at the Vatican for a general audience. Paolo Gabriele took the stand Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012, in a Vatican courtroom to defend himself against a charge of aggravated theft. He said he is innocent of charges of stealing the pope's private correspondence but acknowledged he feels guilty of betraying the trust of the pontiff, whom he said he loved like a father. In other testimony Tuesday, the pope's private secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, testified that he began having suspicions about Gabriele after he realized three documents that appeared in the journalist's book could only have come from the office he shared with Gabriele. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)Pope Benedict XVI's onetime butler declared Tuesday he was innocent of a charge of aggravated theft of the pope's private correspondence, but acknowledged he photocopied the papers and said he feels guilty that he betrayed the trust of the pontiff he loves like a father.

Court: Can gov't be sued for credit card mistakes?

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 11:54 AM PDT

The Supreme Court on Tuesday pondered whether it should allow the federal government to face millions of dollars in class-action lawsuits for violating identity theft protection laws that ban the printing of credit card numbers and expiration dates on receipts.

Smoked salmon blamed for salmonella outbreak

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 11:52 AM PDT

FILE- This Sunday, Dec. 2004 file photo, shows smoked salmon on toasted rye rounds with dilled cream cheese and sour cream. Smoked salmon tainted with salmonella bacteria has sickened hundreds of people in the Netherlands and the United States, sparking a major recall health authorities said Tuesday, Oct. 2, 201. (AP Photo/Mike Hentz, File)Smoked salmon tainted with salmonella bacteria has sickened hundreds of people in the Netherlands, sparking major recalls there and in the U.S., Dutch health authorities said Tuesday.

GOP reviews turning negative on Romney's campaign

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 11:49 AM PDT

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, center, make an unscheduled stop at a Chipotle restaurant in Denver, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)On the eve of the first presidential debate, the early autumn Republican reviews are in for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, and they are not pretty.

Iran's Ahmadinejad says Syria crisis may engulf region

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 11:46 AM PDT

Iranian President Ahmadinejad speaks during media conference on the sidelines of the 67th United Nations General Assembly in New YorkABU DHABI (Reuters) - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday warned that hostilities in Syria could engulf the region and accused some Syrians of trying to use their country's conflict to settle scores with Tehran. In comments to Al Jazeera television, Ahmadinejad said that a national dialogue and new elections - rather than war - were the only way to solve the Syrian crisis, saying the Syrian people should choose their own path. "There is another way to find a solution, it is national, mutual understanding in order for there to be elections in the future," he said. ...
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