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October 13, 2009 - The United States spends markedly more money compared to other developed countries on education. Yet by high school, Americans fall behind many students overseas, in math and science.
In one standardized test taken by approximately a quarter million high school students all over the world, the U.S. lags behind 31 countries in math and 22 countries in science.
Kavitha Cardoza visited with some foreign-born high school students in the Washington area to talk about the differences in school systems...
The United States spends markedly more money compared to other developed countries on education. Yet by high school, Americans fall behind many students overseas, in math and science.
Courtesy of: www.flickr.com/Martinlu
October 13, 2009 - With just three weeks left until election day in Virginia, gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds is keeping up his attacks on Bob McDonnell. The two candidates met last night in the campaign's first debate televised in prime time.
Deeds, a Democrat, has been trailing in polls. Last night he came out swinging against Republican opponent Bob McDonnell, saying he's no friend of working women. He also accused McDonnell of lying.
Deeds continued to hammer McDonnell on a socially conservative graduate school thesis he wrote 20 years ago that says when women work it's detrimental to the family. McDonnell tried to move past the thesis, focusing his criticism of Deeds on taxes and trying to link him to controversial national issues like health care and energy. McDonnell claimed Deeds supports $1 billion in new taxes during a recession, but Deeds disputed that statement.
Both candidates said they would keep in place an executive order mandating equal pay for male and female government employees. However, Deeds noted that in 2001 McDonnell opposed a similar resolution.
Natalie Neumann reports...
With just three weeks left until election day in Virginia, gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds is keeping up his attacks on Bob McDonnell.
Courtesy of: www.flickr.com/deedsforvirginia
October 13, 2009 - The NAACP in Maryland is raising questions about how a new mayor of Baltimore would be selected if the sitting mayor was convicted of a crime.
It's the first time a prominent organization has raised questions about succession should current mayor Sheila Dixon be convicted of any of the nine charges she faces. Dixon, a Democrat, has been indicted and accused of misconduct and stealing gift cards meant for the poor. If convicted she could be booted out of office. Should that happen, the NAACP is asking state lawmakers to make sure Maryland's governor would not be able to appoint a new mayor.
The current governor, Martin O'Malley, is also a Democrat, but the group is worried that if a white or Republican leader were to be appointed it wouldn't fully represent the majority black and Democratic city.
A counsel to the General Assembly however, says the governor does not have the authority to appoint a successor.
Natalie Neumann reports...
October 13, 2009 - A five-year-old boy from Alexandria was mistakenly put on a bus at his school last week and dropped off at an unfamiliar stop nearly a mile from home and left alone.
Gavin Salinas is a kindergartner at Mount Vernon Community School in Alexandria. He was supposed to attend an after-school program and then be picked up by his mother. Instead, he was found wandering the streets and crying by two older boys who took him to the manager of their apartment complex. The manager called Gavin's school, and the school gave him a number for Gavin's mother. The manager then watched over the boy until his mother came for him.
School officials have apologized and say they have overhauled the dismissal system so similar mistakes don't happen again.
Meymo Lyons reports...
A five-year-old boy from Alexandria was mistakenly put on a bus at his school last week and dropped off at an unfamiliar stop nearly a mile from home and left alone.
Courtesy of: www.flickr.com/sean dreilinger
October 13, 2009 - Events kicking off the 20th Annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race gets underway. Concerts will be held on the docks in Baltimore's historic Fells Point neighborhood today; on Wednesday the bay will play host to a parade of sails. Fifty schooners take to the waves in Baltimore Thursday, for a one-day race to Portsmouth, Virginia. The event is designed to bring awareness to the Chesapeake's maritime heritage and encourage preservation and improvement of its natural resources. Festivities continue in Portsmouth this weekend.
Stephanie Kaye reports...
October 13, 2009 - Montgomery County council will take up a bill later this morning on money the county seizes from drug dealers.
The bill would add to the areas where the county can spend the money. Council president Phil Andrews says there's over $2 million in the fund, and he would like to see some of it spent on rehab for drug users.
Matt Bush reports...
October 13, 2009 - The bribery scandal involving the D.C. taxicab industry heads to court this week.
Thirty-seven suspects are scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday. The suspects are charged with trying to bribe the taxi cab commissioner for fraudulent licenses.
On Friday, Ted Loza, chief of staff to D.C. Council Member Jim Graham, is due in court. Loza is charged with accepting cash and other gifts to help steer taxicab legislation through his boss's office.
Federal prosecutors say the sweeping investigation was launched more than two years ago, when someone offered a bribe to D.C. Taxicab Commissioner Leon Swain. Instead of pocketing the cash, the former D.C. police officer alerted the FBI and started wearing a wire for them.
Patrick Madden reports...
The bribery scandal involving the D.C. taxicab industry heads to court this week.
Courtesy of: www.flickr.com/thomashawk
October 13, 2009 - (October 13-19) LABORS OF LOVE
Staff at the AFI Theater have been working hard, assembling the movies of the 2009 D.C. Labor FilmFest for screening in Silver Spring, opening tonight and running through October 19th. The festival features new films and beloved classics about work and workers, from farm to cubicle.
(October 14) ADDING MACHINE: A MUSICAL Studio Theatre opens Adding Machine: A Musical near Dupont Circle tomorrow night; the show runs through November 1st. An arid bookkeeper, Mr. Zero, loses his monotonous job to a machine and finds his staid life swirling into chaos. This musical is based on the expressionist play written by Elmer Rice in 1923, and has eerie echoes in our current economic climate.
(October 17) HONFLEUR CONCERTS Honfleur Gallery in Anacostia presents the latest installment of its concert series, bringing Yeveto to perform among the artwork this Saturday night at 8 p.m. The dramatic, brooding melodies of this Baltimore-based band are flawlessly executed by cello, drums, keyboard and guitar in this free show.
October 13, 2009 - A long standing federal immigration policy is about to undergo some changes. The revision could open some old wounds in Prince William County.
The new directives from the Department of Homeland Security will change how local law enforcement handles undocumented immigrants convicted of a crime.
Until now the so-called 287G directive gave local police departments like Prince Williams County full authority to enforce immigration laws. The new agreement revokes that authority, and requires local police to get approval from immigration and Customs enforcement for any arrest on an immigration violation where no state or local charges are made.
Some critics say this will cripple the process of automatic deportation for illegal immigrants convicted of a crime. Not so according to Nancy Lyle organizer for the group mexicans without boarders.
"Everybody makes mistakes, if those mistakes are not significant mistakes and no one was hurt violently, then they should be allowed to pay a fine, or do their punishment and go about their business," said Lyle.
The Prince William Board of Supervisors will meet this afternoon discuss the revision.
Elliott Francis reports...
October 13, 2009 - Hundreds of people gathered in Purcellville, Virginia, for the memorial service for Stephan Mace, a soldier killed in Afghanistan earlier this month.
Mourners filled every one of the 750 seats in the Purcellville Baptist Church.
Susan Holden is a neighbor of the family. Before the service, she said she wasn't surprised one bit by the vast amount of support shown to Stephan's parents in her hometown.
"Our town -- it's like a large extended family," she said.
During the Monday afternoon ceremony friends described Mace as a fun-loving and fearless young man he counted hunting big game in Africa among his favorite hobbies.
Jeff Brown, who coached Stephan's little league football team said the qualities that made Stephan such a good soldier were on display years ago.
"He wasn't afraid of anybody," Brown said. "He was just the ultimate team player -- great kid."
Austin Boddicker counted Mace as one of his very best friends and he too said Stephan's toughness was a defining quality.
"He was a really good guy," Boddicker said. "He was a bad ass, man. He'd tell me to shut up and stop crying if he saw me doing this right now."
Army Specialist Stephan Mace was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a NATO medal and a medal for good conduct. His body will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on October 19. He was 21 years old.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
Hundreds of people gathered in Purcellville, Virginia, for the memorial service for Stephan Mace, a soldier killed in Afghanistan earlier this month.
Courtesy of: Jonathan Wilson
October 13, 2009 - The hue and cry over whether lawmakers get enough time to read the bills is one of those trusty, perennial rants that the Congressional minority always invokes against the majority, regardless of who's in power. Recently Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) co-sponsored legislation in the House to mandate that bills be available online for 72 hours before a vote.
Today the Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote on its health care bill-having had its 72 hours.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports...
October 13, 2009 - Police in Queen Anne's County, Maryland say thieves using a device called an ATM card skimmer accessed the accounts of 88 people.
Card skimmers attach directly to the card slot of ATM machines. The skimmers read account information, and are often accompanied by hidden cameras that watch bank users enter PIN numbers.
The device in Queen Anne's County hasn't been found, but investigators believe it was attached to the ATM between September 26th and October 9th. Margot Mohsberg, a spokesperson for the American Bankers Association, says ATM users everywhere need to be especially careful on the weekends. "Lots of times they'll put it up on a Friday, when the bank closes, and then take it off on a Sunday, before the bank opens again," says Mohsberg.
Mohsberg says skimmers are on the rise because the technology is more easy to get ahold of through the internet, but she says banks are hard at work putting card skimmers out of business. "We are creating devices that will jam that information and prevent it from working," says Mohsberg.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
Card skimmers attach directly to the card slot of ATM machines. The skimmers read account information, and are often accompanied by hidden cameras that watch bank users enter PIN numbers.
Courtesy of: Jonathan Wilson
October 13, 2009 - The owner of the Baltimore race track where the Preakness Stakes is run has taken a step to ensure the race stays in Maryland. Magna Entertainment has asked a bankruptcy court judge for permission to auction its horse racing tracks in the state, but with the condition potential buyers would not be allowed to move the Preakness, the second race in horse racing's Triple Crown.
Maryland governor Martin O'Malley says it's good news on many levels for the state. The state threatened to use eminent domain to keep the race in Maryland if Magna sold the track to a buyer that would move the Preakness. Magna called the threat unconstitutional and threatened legal action.
If the judge agrees to Magna's request, the auction date for the tracks would be January 8th.
Matt Bush reports...
October 13, 2009 - Businesses in D.C. are helping put the metro region at the forefront of the national green movement and were honored at the Greater Washington Green Business Awards. Entrepreneurs, inventors and innovators were feted at the Omni Shoreham Hotel , at an awards ceremony hosted by the Washington Business Journal.
Doug Fruehling is the journal's editor. He says that although their "green" awards are sponsored by a gas company and a business group, going green is giving corporations a competitive edge. "Most CEOs, presidents and vice-presidents of companies get it," says Fruehling. "Everyone wants to be doing something green. So you have a lot of non-traditional companies that are trying to further the green movement."
Vandana Sinham reports on energy and the environment for the paper. She says the District leads the nation in green building, updating codes and passing the D.C. Green Building Act. "There are a lot of things that put the D.C. metro area ahead," says Sinham. "But it's a constant race and, in some ways, I think it's making metro areas trying to 'out-green' one another."
In their view, as companies improve environmental standards, "green" will eventually mean business as usual.
Stephanie Kaye reports...
October 13, 2009 - Three members of Congress from Virginia are asking lenders to help homeowners stuck with suspect drywall imported from China.
U.S. Senator Mark Warner, along with Congressmen Bobby Scott and Glenn Nye, made the appeal during a tour of affected homes in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. They were joined by the chair of the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, Inez Tenenbaum.
The commission is looking into complaints from homeowners who say the drywall is making them sick and corroding wiring in their homes. The Virginian Pilot newspaper reports at least 150,000 sheets of the Chinese-made drywall were imported by a local construction supplier. That's enough to build more than 300 homes.
Warner says some affected homes can't be lived in but the owners still have to pay the mortgages. He says lawmakers are hoping lenders will give homeowners "some forbearance" on those payments while repairs are made.
Matt McCleskey reports...
October 13, 2009 - The war continues over a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter near a Civil War battlefield in Virginia.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors is asking a judge to drop a legal challenge from preservationists and residents, who say the store threatens the Wilderness Battlefield, where 30,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were injured or killed 145 years ago.
Orange County approved the store in August, and says the opponents have no standing in the dispute.
A judge has not scheduled a hearing on the motion.
Rebecca Sheir reports...
October 13, 2009 - DUBLIN, Va. (AP) Volvo Trucks North America is laying off 50 workers at its Pulaski County factory. The company said in June it would lay off employees as work from its Dublin plant shifts to Pennsylvania.
LORTON, Va. (AP) The military is conducting a joint exercise with local emergency responders in the Washington area. The exercise, called "Capital Shield 2010," is being held at the Lorton Youth Detention Center on today and tomorrow.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) Organizers expect large turnouts at a series of hearings on a federal proposal to ban or at least suspend a streamlined permitting process for Appalachian surface coal mines. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issues the permits and is holding hearings on the idea six states, including Virginia.
BRISTOL, Va. (AP) A landmark motel has fallen in southwest Virginia. The Robert E. Lee Motel was demolished yesterday in Washington County. It had stood since the 1940s on Lee Highway, which before the advent of the interstate system was the major road connecting southern and northern Virginia.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
October 13, 2009 - WASHINGTON (AP) Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry has been released from Howard University Hospital after a week of treatment for dehydration and an infection. A Barry spokeswoman says the 73-year-old Barry -- who had a kidney transplant in February -- was released from the hospital yesterday.
WASHINGTON (AP) Amtrak says its ridership dropped by more than 1 million passengers during the past year. But it was still the second-highest year in the railroad's history. Figures released by the nation's intercity rail operator show Amtrak carried 27.2 million passengers during the 12 months that ended Sept. 30.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
October 13, 2009 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) A state panel has put new Maryland death penalty protocols submitted by Gov. O'Malley on hold for further review. A hearing has not yet been scheduled before the panel, and it's unclear whether one will take place this year.
EASTON, Md. (AP) Easton police have charged a man with burning, shaking and breaking the arm of his girlfriend's 1-year-old daughter. Authorities arrested 39-year-old Earl Luther Wilt Jr. of Easton on Thursday and charged with assault and child abuse.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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