Free Republic

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Graduation rates at high schools have improved to their highest level in nearly 40 years, driven by a surge in the percentage of Hispanic students earning diplomas, a government study released on Tuesday showed. ... Education Secretary Arne Duncan said .. he was especially encouraged by the improvement among Hispanic students, whose graduation rates surged 10 percent to 71.4 percent between 2006 and 2010, .. ... Across the United States, four-year graduation rates were highest for students of Asian and Pacific-Islander heritage at 93.5 percent, .. white students at 83 percent, and Hispanic students at 71.4 percent,...

Chicago tops nation in tax burden for travelers For an average visit to downtown Chicago, a traveler will pay about $40.31 in combined taxes per day, a study finds. Three Florida cities tied for lowest cost. By Hugo Martín, Los Angeles Times September 10, 2012 Chicago, the city that brought us deep-dish pizza, Oprah and "da Bears," is also home to the nation's highest tax burden for travelers. The lowest taxes imposed on travelers can be found in the Florida cities of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and West Palm Beach. Those are among the findings of new research by the...

The average price of a gallon of regular is now $3.87, the highest recorded price in March. The average price is up nearly 4 cents from a week ago, and over 30 cents from a year ago, according to the Department of Energy, as more drivers face gas prices of $4 a gallon or more across the country. Last week, the average gas price was $3.83 a gallon, the previous record according to data going back to 1990. The West Coast was once again the most expensive region with an average gas price of $4.23, up almost 2 cents from...

Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000 and the nation’s greatest concentration of lawyers helped Washington edge out San Jose as the wealthiest U.S. metropolitan area, government data show. The U.S. capital has swapped top spots with Silicon Valley, according to recent Census Bureau figures, with the typical household in the Washington metro area earning $84,523 last year. The national median income for 2010 was $50,046. The figures demonstrate how the nation’s political and financial classes are prospering as the economy struggles with unemployment above 9 percent and thousands of Americans protest in the streets against income disparity, said...

Remember when Democrats opposed to the war in Iraq became furious when it was pointed out that they were encouraging the enemy? Remember when Harry Reid said "This war is lost"? "How dare you challenge my patriotism?" was the cry of outrage heard throughout the land. "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism" went the axiom. With Barack Obama in the Oval Office, suddenly things are different. In today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and former editorial page editor Cynthia Ticker blatant calls Republican opponents of the START Treaty unpatriotic:

The controversial comedian Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, also known as "Clown Tiririca”, was elected Sunday to Congress in Brazil with over 1.3 million votes. Detractors complain that the funnyman is illiterate. According to the latest data from the Brazilian Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), "Tiririca" was elected as Federal Deputy (Member of the Brazilian Parliament) with the first national majority obtaining 6.35% of the votes in the State of Sao Paulo with more than 1.35 million preferences. Second largest majority at the national level was achieved by the former governor of Rio de Janeiro Anthony Garotinho, who received more than 690,000...

Cost of insuring Illinois debt now highest in U.S. Posted by Greg H. a t 6/17/2010 5:54 PM CDT on Chicago Business Capping a miserable financial week for the Land of Lincoln, the cost of insuring Illinois' debt late Thursday reached the highest level of any state in the union. It's also now higher than troubled European countries like Portugal, but better than for bankrupt Greece -- at least so far.

For the first time in 10 years the number of immigrants to Israel has risen this year, according to Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky and Immigration and Absorption Minister Sofa Landver. In 2009, 16,244 people immigrated - a 17 percent jump over last year's 13,859. The number of immigrants from English-speaking countries has also increased by 17 percent this year, from 4,511 to 5,294, said Eli Cohen, the director-general of the agency's aliyah department.

Massachusetts has the most expensive family health insurance premiums in the country, according to a new analysis that highlights the state’s challenge in trying to rein in medical costs after passage of a landmark 2006 law that mandated coverage for nearly everyone. The report by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit health care foundation, showed that the average family premium for plans offered by employers in Massachusetts was $13,788 in 2008, 40 percent higher than in 2003. Over the same period, premiums nationwide rose an average of 33 percent.

WASHINGTON, June 1, 2009 – Today marks the start of a monumental challenge for four wounded veterans, their two mentors and one guide, as they move from the base of North America’s highest peak in Alaska’s Denali National Park to the mountain’s base camp at an elevation of 6,850 feet. Denali, formerly known as Mount McKinley, challenges anyone so bold as to try to conquer its peak, some 20,320 feet into the Alaskan sky. Bob Haines, a firefighter and retired Army sergeant first class, said that regardless of training, Denali demands a lot of anyone. The team has been...

Bolivia’s Chacaltaya Glacier, once known as the world’s highest ski run at 17,388 feet, has completely melted away, serving as a vivid example of the effects of climate change on the glaciers around the globe. “Chacaltaya has disappeared. It no longer exists.” - Dr. Edson Ramirez, Institute of Hydraulics and Hydrology at the Universidad Mayor de San Andres In 1999, Ramirez, the head of a team of researchers studying the glacier since 1991, believed that the glacier would continue to exist until 2015, but the rate of melting tripled in the last ten years, and the once popular tourist destination...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Large-scale U.S. layoffs rose again in March, according to Labor Department data on Thursday, as the economy struggles with what many expect will be the country's worst post-World War II recession. Last month witnessed 2,933 more mass layoffs, defined as affecting 50 or more workers, than February. This brought the total number of people who lost their jobs in this manner to 299,388, the highest on a record that dates back to 1995. The U.S. job market has been under severe strain as a crisis first evident in housing spread to the rest of the economy,...

Haven't done this for awhile; and this one might be a toughie (except, possibly, if you've been there and recognize it). One hint: it's an easy hike to the top.

WASHINGTON – Voter turnout will be the highest in decades, dwarfing recent presidential elections, experts predict. The only question dividing experts is how huge will it be. Will it be the largest since 1968, largest since 1960 or even, as one expert predicts, the largest in a century? Soaring early voting levels hint at a big turnout, but that could just be the same voters casting ballots earlier instead of more voters hitting the polls. Weather should generally be favorable, according to forecasts. --snip-- Michael McDonald of George Mason University is so optimistic he's predicting the highest level in a...

Britain's highest birth rates among migrants By Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 1:11am GMT 09/12/2007 A baby boom among immigrant families is driving the population to a record high, government figures will show this week. The figures, from the Office for National Statistics, will reveal that Britain's highest birth rates are in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, both predominantly Muslim. The birth rate among women born in Pakistan but living in the UK is three times higher than that among British-born women, the figures will show. Separate figures due this month will reveal whether Mohammed has overtaken Jack...

BOISE, Idaho - International wildfire crews could be called to help fight blazes in the bone-dry West as U.S. officials on Wednesday boosted the nation's wildfire alert to its highest level. "It's driven by a couple of things: The number of large fires we have, and also the fires are occurring in several states and in several geographic areas," Randy Eardley, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center here, told The Associated Press. "The resources we have are being stretched thin." The wildfire preparedness level was raised to five as dry lightning blasted and sparked dozens of new blazes...

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2007 – The Pentagon honored music legend Charlie Daniels here today with the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service, the Defense Department’s top civilian award. Charlie Daniels (left,) country/southern Rock Musician, receives the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for exceptional public service in support of armed troops from Michael L. Dominguez, principal deputy under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, during a visit to the Pentagon June 25, 2007. Dominguez said Daniels has performed for the troops in more than 20 different installations in countries across the globe....

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2007 – Funding for reserve forces will hit a historic high if Congress approves the component’s full fiscal 2008 $18.1 billion request, a Defense Department official testified this week. The 2008 reserve-component baseline budget increase is 6 percent greater than the overall growth of the department’s budget since fiscal 2001, Jack Dave Patterson, principal deputy undersecretary of defense, comptroller, told the independent Commission on the National Guard and Reserves at a public hearing here May 16. Funding requests for the reserve component are 73 percent greater than fiscal 2001 totals, as opposed to 67 percent for...

Inflation 'highest in decade' By Edmund Conway, Economics Editor Last Updated: 1:34am GMT 13/12/2006 Inflation has soared to its highest level for over a decade, fuelling fears that the Bank of England will soon raise interest rates to 5.25pc. The CPI has been lifted by petrol and utility costs The Consumer Price Index jumped from 2.4pc to 2.7pc in November, the Office for National Statistics said. It is the highest annual increase in the inflation measure since November 1995, and brings it closer to the 3pc level at which the Bank of England governor, Mervyn King, would have to write...

Kidman Tops List of Highest-Paid Actress Nov 29 7:56 PM US/Eastern Nicole Kidman is the queen of Hollywood when it comes to money. The Oscar winner, who earns as much as $17 million per movie, tops the fifth annual list of highest-paid actresses released Wednesday by The Hollywood Reporter. Kidman, 39, ranked second on last year's list behind four-time top- earner Julia Roberts, who didn't make the list this year. She spent time with her 2-year-old twins. In second place, with $15 million per movie, was Reese Witherspoon, 30, who won the best-actress Oscar this year for her performance in...