It's countdown time in Philadelphia's public schools. Just 21 days remain before the state reading and math tests in March, and the kids and faculty at James G. Blaine Elementary, an all-black, inner-city school that spans pre-K to eighth grade, have been drilling for much of the day. At 2:45 in the afternoon, Rasheed Abdullah, the kinetic lead math teacher, stages what could be called a prep rally with 11 third-graders. The kids, who are at neither the top nor ...

On the streets of cities throughout the U.S., a heroin panic is about to hit. The bad news for strung-out junkies is the result of an extraordinary strike by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Last week, after ten days of intricately coordinated arrests in 35 cities, federal narcs had bagged 309 men and women described by DEA Chief Peter Bensinger as "distributors and kingpins in the heroin market involving Mexican Brown." It was the biggest —and perhaps most important—federal drug ...

Can 35 million Americans be wrong about pot? Penalties against the possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself." So said Jimmy Carter in urging Congress last week to reduce federal penalties for possession of up to 1 oz. of marijuana, enough for about four dozen joints. For a first offense, the maximum penalty now is a year in jail and a $5,000 fine for possession of any amount ...

In May 2010, Barack Obama invited a small group of presidential historians to the White House for a working supper in the Family Dining Room. It was the second time he'd had the group in since taking office, and as he sat down across the table from his wife Michelle, the President pressed his guests for lessons from his predecessors. But as the conversation progressed, it became clear to several in the room that Obama seemed less ...

John Boehner, who often meets the press flanked by a team of deputies, took the podium alone on Thursday. With a week left before the government shuts down April 8, the House Speaker took pains to dispel rumors of a deal. "There is no agreement" on a pact that would cut $33 billion from the federal budget, Boehner insisted, despite Vice President Joe Biden's assertion to the contrary Wednesday night. "Here's the bottom line," the House Speaker ...

Was the Army psychiatrist who is the main suspect in last week's Fort Hood shooting massacre a disaffected loner who simply snapped on the eve of a deployment to Afghanistan? Or was Major Nidal Malik Hasan a Muslim extremist whose rampage was inspired by terrorist groups overseas? As authorities continue to investigate the deadly episode, they are struggling to understand just what led Hasan to allegedly mow down so many at the Texas military base. And while there is ...

Are you furious? If not, you should be. The giant financial institutions that make up Wall Street have been bailed out, thanks to trillions of dollars of our money, and are on track to hand out record-breaking multibillion-dollar bonuses while millions of regular folks are hurting. Even outside the gilded halls of Wall Street, there's no shortage of good cheer: many economists say the Great Recession has ended, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke keeps seeing "green shoots" in ...

President Obama on Wednesday signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.He cited the work of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and others "to make this day possible." Later Wednesday, Obama stood with Shepard's parents and relatives of Byrd at a separate White House event honoring passage of the expanded hate crimes law. Noting reports of 12,000 crimes based on sexual orientation over ...

The leader of a group of African-American converts to Islam was fatally shot Wednesday, federal authorities said.

Federal authorities have arrested two Chicago men on charges of plotting to commit terrorism abroad, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.The 67-year-old Scot was again in the headlines this weekend for his criticism of a referee. In the aftermath of his side's 2-0 defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool, Ferguson highlighted the lack of experience of Andre Marriner. The United manager was furious that Marriner did not send off Jamie Carragher as he pulled back Michael Owen near the end of the match ...