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

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CNN is stirring controversy with an article that calls the upcoming NBA All-Star Game "Black Thanksgiving."The article, by longtime NBA analyst David Aldridge, calls All Star Weekend a "national holiday" for African Americans, and quotes USC professor Todd Boyd as saying that "the NBA All-Star weekend has turned into a celebration of African American culture by extension."More...

Source: CNN 'Black Thanksgiving' NBA Article Stirs Controversy

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CAIRO - A Libyan doctor says 35 protesters were killed in the eastern city of Benghazi during clashes Friday with security forces amid protests demanding the ouster of the longtime leader.The doctor from al-Jalaa hospital says he counted 35 bodies received at his hospital alone, starting in the afternoon Friday.More...

Source: Middle East Protests: 35 Killed In Libya Demonstrations, Say Doctors

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by Raquel Brown, Media Consortium bloggerIt's been a tumultuous week in Madison, Wisconsin. Tens of thousands of state workers, teachers, and students have packed the state Capitol building to protest Republican Gov. Scott Walker's plan to weaken public unions.More...

Source: Showdown in Madison: A Primer for the Wisconsin Protests

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Most of the 100 advisors that contributed to the 10 Digital Learning Now (DLN) recommendations mentioned an interest in quality education and actively debated measures to ensure it as online learning continues to expand.   However, creating the ideal policy set that encourages both innovation and quality is no small feat. Neither likely state policy environment is attractive--a free-for-all or a web of bureaucratic barriers.  It will be hard to strike the right balance between encouraging innovation and ensuring quality.  "Without rigorous oversight, a thousand flowers blooming will also yield a lot of weeds," warned Erin Dillon and Bill Tucker in Education Next.Let's start by acknowledging that we currently have a system with highly variable quality and with lack accountability despite a decade of federal efforts to crank up the heat and bring up the rear.  Online learning makes it an additional challenge with innovative instructional strategies, multiple providers, and new staffing patterns.More...

Source: 10 Strategies to Improve the Quality of Online Learning

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Justin Bieber recently made headlines not for his boyish good looks, new 3D biopic or even his music, but for some controversial political remarks he made in an interview with Rolling Stone. So what are the Bieber's political beliefs? Aside from saying the U.S. health care system was "evil," he rattled off a few more interesting remarks, such as: "I'm not sure about the parties... But whatever they have in Korea, that's bad" and "I really don't believe in abortion. It's like killing a baby?"We know he's Canadian, but we just had to imagine what this newly-political Bieber would look like as a politician. We've kicked things off with a few photos of Political Bieber at work, and now we want to see what you've got! Photoshop Biebz into any funny political situation you'd like, and upload it to the slideshow below. And don't forget to vote for your favorite!More...

Source: The Justin-Bieber-As-Politician Photoshop Competition! (PHOTOS)

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MADISON, Wis. - A state Capitol thrown into chaos swelled for a fifth day with thousands of protesters, as supporters of Republican efforts to scrap the union rights of state workers added their voices to the debate for the first time and GOP leaders insisted again Saturday there was no room for compromise.Supporters of Gov. Scott Walker and his effort to ease Wisconsin's budget woes gathered on the east side of the Capitol, surrounded by a much larger group of pro-labor demonstrators who since Tuesday have filled the Capitol with chanting, drum-beats and anti-Walker slogans. Walker has proposed requiring government workers to contribute more to their health care and pension costs and largely eliminating their collective bargaining rights.More...

Source: Wisconsin Protests Continue Saturday, Huge Rally Expected

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Source: The Problem With Democracy

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MADISON, Wis. -- Sometimes they cursed each other, sometimes they shook hands, sometimes they walked away from each other in disgust.(SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE UPDATES)More...

Source: Madison Protests Hit Largest Numbers On Saturday

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If you're seeking to do business with your bank on Monday, Feb. 21, 2011, chances are it will be closed due to Presidents Day.Most banks are not open on Presidents Day 2011, just like last year and previous years, as it's a federal holiday (also known as Washington's Birthday). The next business day for closed banks will be Tuesday, Feb. 22.More...

Source: Are Banks Open On Presidents Day 2011? Status Of Banks, Post Offices, Mail On Feb. 21, 2011

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Yesterday at the UN, as many countries of the Middle East navigated a great generational change, the United States missed a perfectly timed opportunity to take a stand for peace and human rights. The U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution, sponsored by 130 nations, calling on Israel to cease settlement activity in Palestinian territory.The settlements, along with the evictions, demolitions, forced displacements that go with them, are seen as a main obstacle to any legitimate peace process. Human rights groups like Amnesty International have also argued that Israel's policy of settling its civilians on occupied land violates the Fourth Geneva Convention.More...

Source: U.S. Veto of UN Israeli Settlement Resolution: A Golden Opportunity Missed