WASHINGTON — Two separate meetings between President Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, failed to produce so much as an official photograph as a chill settled over US-Israeli relations and secrecy shrouded any efforts to repair them. The Israeli Prime Minister was due to fly home from Washington after three days marked by Israeli defiance on the issue of settlements and an extraordinary silence maintained by both sides after his three-and-a-half-hour visit to the White House. The meeting was overshadowed by Israeli approval for 20 homes built for Jews in Arab east Jerusalem - a move denounced by one senior US official as ‘exactly what we expect Prime Minister Netanyahu to get control of. White House staff denied Mr Netanyahu the usual photo opportunities afforded to a visiting leader, issued only the vaguest summary of their talks - let alone a joint statement - and reversed a decision to release an official photo of their meetings. It was speculated that the talks may have moved beyond the quarrel over Israeli construction in east Jerusalem to final status issues such as the borders of a Palestinian state, as well as Iran and its nuclear programme. […]
California remained at the bottom of the barrel in national test scores for reading, sharing last place with Louisiana, Arizona, New Mexico and Washington, D.C., according to the Nation’s Report Card released Wednesday. The state’s reading scores have remained flat since the last assessment in 2007. Few states showed improvement over the last two years on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, standardized tests given to a sample of fourth- and eighth-grade students nationwide. A couple of states fell back. In California, 54 percent of fourth-grade students and 64 percent of eighth-grade students tested in early 2009 scored at or above the basic reading level, a measure indicating a partial mastery of grade-level content. Nationally, 66 percent of fourth-graders and 74 percent of eighth-graders scored at basic or above levels. Given California’s size and diverse student population along with the relatively low amount of money spent per child on education, the state’s scores aren’t as bad as they appear, said David Gordon, Sacramento County schools superintendent and member of the National Assessment Governing Board. ‘It’s not really helpful to compare California to most of these other states,’ he said. ‘The level of investment we’re making […]
An initiative to legalize marijuana and allow it to be sold and taxed will appear on the November ballot, state election officials announced Wednesday, triggering what will probably be a much-watched campaign that once again puts California on the forefront of the nation’s debate over whether to soften drug laws. The number of valid signatures reported by Los Angeles County, submitted minutes before Wednesday’s 5 p.m. deadline, put the measure well beyond the 433,971 it needed to be certified. Supporters turned in 694,248 signatures, collecting them in every county except Alpine. County election officials estimated that 523,531 were valid. The measure’s main advocate, Richard Lee, an Oakland marijuana entrepreneur, savored the chance to press his case with voters that the state’s decades-old ban on marijuana is a failed policy. ‘We’re one step closer to ending cannabis prohibition and the unjust laws that lock people up for cannabis while alcohol is not only sold openly but advertised on television to kids every day,’ he said. Lee, tapping $1.3 million from his businesses, has put together a highly organized campaign that he emphasized Wednesday would be led by a team of experienced political consultants, including Chris Lehane, a […]
BIG PINE KEY, Fla. — On many mornings over the past 22 years, the Rev. Tony Mullane has pulled back his bedroom curtains and watched endangered Key deer roaming the grounds of St. Peter Catholic Church. He considers the free nature show one of the bonuses of his ministry in the Florida Keys. On other days, however, there are no deer to be seen – only water from the Straits of Florida lapping perilously near to the church buildings. ‘It does come close to the church in a high tide,’ says Father Tony, as he’s known. ‘There’s a gravel pit behind us that’s supposed to be a natural buffer from the water of Coupon Bight, but it fills, and sometimes laps over into, the church grounds.’ What is happening at St. Peter is being repeated across the length of the 125-mile, low-lying island chain off Florida’s south coast. Average sea levels on the islands are already nine inches higher than a century ago, according to environmental studies. Flooding has become much more common, which has prompted local officials and others to explore remedies. But in some cases, just how the islanders should proceed is still being figured […]
Exercise guidelines for adults differ among health organizations, depending on whether they emphasize overall health, weight loss or weight maintenance. American College of Sports Medicine: Moderate activity 150 to 250 minutes a week to prevent weight gain. Institute of Medicine: 60 minutes a day to prevent becoming overweight. Department of Health and Human Services: At least 150 minutes a week for health benefits. American Heart Assn.: At least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, of moderate activity or 20 minutes a day, three days a week, of vigorous activity to maintain health. Brigham and Women’s Hospital study: 60 minutes a day for normal-weight women to maintain weight.
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
