3 charged in Ill. dogfighting ring at day care

A home day care was the site of a dogfighting ring, authorities said Wednesday, and investigators who raided the house found a blood-spattered garage floor and battered and malnourished dogs not far from where the children played.

Three men were charged Wednesday, including the day care operator's husband, and authorities were seeking two others. Authorities had initially said four people had been arrested.

Nine battered dogs — four of which were puppies — were rescued, police said.  More

President Obama Announces "The American Graduation Initiative Program" For The Nation's  Community Colleges

WARREN, MI – Tuesday, July 14,2009, at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan, President Barack Obama outlined his plan to reform our nation’s community colleges, calling for an additional 5 million community college graduates by 2020 and new initiatives to teach Americans the skills they will need to compete with workers from other nations. He outlined new initiatives to increase the effectiveness and impact of community colleges, raise graduation rates, modernize facilities, and create new online learning opportunities. These steps -- an unprecedented increase in the support for community colleges -- will help rebuild the capacity and competitiveness of America’s workforce.

Tuesday was President Obama’s first visit to Michigan since becoming president; he arrived to an enthusiastic crowd that was energized by the President’s message to enlist community colleges nationwide to prepare people to complete in the 21st century.  More

Teachers should be judged on student performance



WASHINGTON (AP) -- Teachers should be judged on student performance, though not solely on test scores, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday.

Duncan supports merit pay for teachers, an often controversial practice linking raises or bonuses to student achievement. It is opposed by many teachers' union members, who make up a powerful segment of the Democratic Party.

He said test scores alone should not decide a teacher's salary.

"But to somehow suggest we should not link student achievement to teacher effectiveness is like suggesting we judge sports teams without looking at the box score," said Duncan, a former professional basketball player.  More

Real Estate Involves Real Risk

By Traci D. Ellis, Estate Attorney
Tell Us USA News Network

One of the main ways that wealthy families accumulate and keep wealth is through real estate. Despite the year-to-year ups and downs of the real estate market, the value of real property continues to grow over the long term.

Real estate is often considered a comparatively easy way to maintain and grow wealth because it doesn’t require the kind of daily attention—or stress!—that a business demands. Depending on the type of property, real estate typically requires duties that are annual or month-to-month, such as maintaining the physical structures, paying property taxes, making insurance payments, getting updates from property managers, and the like.  More

Exercising As a Couple
By Amber O’Neal, Certified Personal Trainer
Tell Us USA News Network
Exercise is known for causing the brain to produce chemicals that reduce stress, evoke feelings of happiness and increase libido. Studies show that couples who exercise regularly report better, and more frequent, sex with their partners. This is a huge motivator!

Couples recognize that working out together is an effective way to demonstrate a commitment to their wedding vows before they even take them. By taking care of their bodies, they show that they care about being their best for each other and that they’ll do what it takes to stay healthy and strong.  More

HEALING PLACES - A SERIOUS LOOK AT ALCOHOL

By Claudia M. Johnson MD/Tell Us USA News Network

Walk with me as I make medical rounds in alcohols’ death zone. A scene unfolds that exists in any hospital anywhere and exhibits yet another example of disparity. Arrive at 8a.m. where three trapped lives were all once able to sing in hip-hop tune with phrases like “blame it on the alcohol” or snap their fingers to “pass the Courvoisier” and swing their hips to the familiar vibes of “pop champagne”. But one day they crossed the line between responsible drinking and alcoholism. Now they are referred to as Bed 1, Bed 2 and Bed 3 --- all having hands too weakened to reach for help, voices muffled by the mechanical sighs of respirators and hearts unable to keep their own beat.  More

Staying on the job - for (a healthy) life


CHICAGO – Adelaide Yanow, 89, jokes that she wants to leave her job as a judicial assistant only on a gurney. Herb Minds still works three days a week at 87, then goes home and logs into Facebook.  More

Nearly 10 percent of health spending for obesity



Obesity's not just dangerous, it's expensive. New research shows medical spending averages $1,400 more a year for an obese person than for someone who's normal weight. Overall obesity-related health spending reaches $147 billion, double what it was nearly a decade ago, says the study published Monday, July 27, 2009 by the journal Health Affairs.

The higher expense reflects the costs of treating diabetes, heart disease and other ailments far more common for the overweight, concluded the study by government scientists and the nonprofit research group RTI International.

RTI health economist Eric Finkelstein offers a blunt message for lawmakers trying to revamp the health care system: "Unless you address obesity, you're never going to address rising health care costs."  More

Midwest, Calif. front runners for $8B in rail cash


CHICAGO (AP) — High-speed rail plans in the Midwest and California appear to be front runners in the race for $8 billion in stimulus cash based on federal criteria released Wednesday that favor projects with established revenue sources and multistate cooperation.

California voters last November approved nearly $10 billion in state bonds that could be combined with federal money to build 800 miles of high-speed track. Eight Midwest states have cooperated closely to promote a network, with Chicago as its hub, that would join 12 metropolitan areas within 400 miles.

Karen Rae, deputy administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, stopped short of naming favorites during an interview with The Associated Press in Chicago, but she praised Midwestern states for their cooperation and pointed to California's bond issue.   More

Institute Addresses Young Black Male Literacy Crisis


Research says there is an adolescent literacy crisis in the United States, particularly among African-American males in urban communities.

Alfred Tatum, associate professor of literacy, language and culture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has made a serious commitment to provide a solution through his summer institute.
    More