The Huffington Post - Read the Latest News from the U.S.

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A Washington advocacy group is claiming that Wall Street investors have conspired with the Department of Education to craft rules that would damage for-profit colleges to drive down their stock prices and allow short-sellers to profit.The as-yet unsubstantiated conspiracy theory -- advanced in a press release Wednesday -- underscores the intensity of the campaign by for-profit colleges to derail proposed federal rules that could tighten their access to federal aid dollars. The new rules come in response to a growing body of evidence that for-profit colleges such as the University of Phoenix and Kaplan University have left graduates suffering under debts they cannot repay given the meager wages they typically earn.More...

Watchdog Claims Conspiracy Driving Rules On For-Profit Colleges

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During the holiday season and at the start of this New Year I've thought a lot about the role we, as artists play in our communities.  As a member of the National Council on the Arts, the advisory Board to The National Endowment for the Arts,  I was asked to talk about the role of the artist in the community  for The NEA website.  As artists, we often spend hours thinking and creating by ourselves, and yet the connection to and with others is very important in our work -- whether it be a reading, a performance, or an exhibit.Last week the National Endowment for the Arts celebrated  and honored a new group of 2011 Jazz Masters in New York .  I was impressed at how this small group of acclaimed Jazz musicians is itself a community. They seem to somehow be interconnected, either by somewhere or sometime playing together or by a connection to another Jazz great. To me Jazz, like an orchestra, is a wonderful metaphor of community:  different parts creating a whole, everyone in the group a collaborator.More...

The Artist in the Community

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Last weekend I saw the movie The King's Speech and found it to be both provocative and moving.  It is about King George VI of England who took over the crown when his brother, Edward, abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, a divorced woman from the United States.  We Americans have romanticized this decision by King Edward VIII, but according to this film, the British have another view of it.This movie has portrayed Edward as a swinger, playboy type, unready for the responsibilities of being King.  George is more mature than his brother, but he has one main problem:  a speech defect of stuttering that becomes painfully obvious when faced with any task of public speaking.More...

"The President's Speech"

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Spencer Grammer Engaged: Kelsey's Daughter To Wed James Hesketh
22 January 2011, 12:01 am

Kelsey Grammer is trying his hardest to finalize his divorce so that he may marry Kayte Walsh as soon as next month, and now his 27-year-old daughter Spencer has confirmed her engagement to Life & Style.Spencer's mom is Kelsey's first wife, Doreen Alderman. (Kayte will be his fourth).More...

Source: Huffington Post

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Obama Picks Jeffrey Immelt, GE CEO, To Run New Jobs-Focused Panel As GE Sends Jobs Overseas, Pays Little In Taxes
22 January 2011, 3:00 am

Jeffrey R. Immelt, the chairman and chief executive of General Electric Co. tapped by President Barack Obama as his next top outside economic adviser, will be asked to guide the White House as it attempts to jump-start lackluster job creation and spur a muddled recovery.Immelt's firm stands as Exhibit A of a successful and profitable corporate America standing at the forefront of the recovery. It also represents the archetypal company that's hoarding cash, sending jobs overseas, relying on taxpayer bailouts and paying less taxes than envisioned.More...

: Huffington Post

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Modern Hollywood Hills Home For Sale
22 January 2011, 5:52 pm

Via Curbed LA: Located in the Outpost Estates section of the Hollywood Hills, this mid-century home is on a half-acre lot in a private cul-de-sac location. The sophisticated style, modern vibe and designer touches throughout--combined with 180-degree views of Los Angeles--make this home a must-see. If outdoor dining and entertaining is of interest, the house boasts a huge outdoor deck and relaxing zen garden.According to the official listing, the 1,600-square-foot modern has been featured in Sunset Magazine. The home has 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths and 2-car garage which leads directly inside. The sleek abode is also quite a deal: last sold for $1.594 million in 2007, the price has been reduced to $1.399 million.More...

Source: Huffington Post

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Norway's Opera claims 140 million worldwide users, most of whom are on smart phones using Opera Mini.   In an interview at CES, Opera's Jeremy Forrester tells Beet.TV that the popularity of the browser on iPhone has come from its speed which is "four-to-five times faster than the native" (Mobile Safari) browser on Edge and 3-G networks.More...

Source: Video: Opera Claims iPhone Browser Speed Crown, "5X Faster" Than Safari

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It is 9 pm on a very cold Philadelphia night as I sit down to write this. I've just returned from a closed casket viewing of my 19-year-old union brother Mark Keely who was blown up in a gas main explosion three nights ago. Three other union members of his work crew were burned from head to toe.Brother Mark was 19 and had been on the job just five months.More...

Source: Dying to Work

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Denver Police are deploying patrols around the home of a city councilman after he received a threatening note over his stance on the city's long-standing pitbull ban.KUSA reports that Councilman Charlie Brown received a note after he declined to be interviewed for the Animal Planet series Pit Boss, a show about rescuing and rehabilitating fighting pit bulls.  The show was producing a special about Denver's 21-year-ban on pit bulls, which Brown supports.More...

Source: Charlie Brown, Denver City Councilman, Receives Threatening Note Over Pit Bull Stance

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'Friends' is long over, but Joey and Chandler are having some new lady problems. Kind of.Both Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc, whose careers have suffered in the wake of the end of their mega hit television show, have new sitcoms on the air this winter -- and both are going after the same lady.More...

Source: Matthew Perry & Matt LeBlanc's Onscreen Love Triangle