House OKs funds for charter schools Man admits killing with military college Sex-discrimination case settled at VMI U.S. soldier in Iraq Death-row inmates want sweat lodge Appeal court hears death...

House OKs funds

for charter schools

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The House on Friday passed a bill boosting support for charter schools as part of a Republican-led push to promote school choice.

The bipartisan measure would provide $300 million annually to expand charter schools and consolidate two programs. It would provide state grants to expand and replicate high-quality charter schools and help fund the acquisition of buildings for the schools.

The measure passed 360-45. Of the Republican representatives from Arkansas, Tim Griffin and Steve Womack voted in favor of the bill. Reps. Tom Cotton and Rick Crawford did not vote.

"Clearly, these institutions are a valuable part of a successful education system," said Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the chairman of the House Education Committee.

He said the federal charter-school program is "in need of key reforms to enhance access and ensure continued educational quality."

There are more than 2.5 million students attending more than 6,400 public charter schools, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., has made expanding school choices a priority, and Democrats and Republicans have found common ground on charter schools.

The bill was opposed by the National School Boards Association. It said decisions about charter schools should be made at the local and state level, not by federal lawmakers.

This week, a bipartisan group of senators filed a similar bill where the chance of passage appears more uncertain.

Man admits killing

U.S. soldier in Iraq

The Associated Press

CINCINNATI -- A man in Iraqi custody has confessed to killing a U.S. soldier whose remains were found in 2008, four years after he was kidnapped by insurgents and a video showed him surrounded by armed captors, an Army spokesman said Friday.

A hearing in the case is set for Tuesday in an Iraqi court although it's unclear whether the man who confessed to killing Sgt. Matt Maupin will attend. Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, was captured when insurgents with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms ambushed his fuel convoy near Baghdad on April 9, 2004.

Shortly after, the video of the 20-year-old soldier was released showing him sitting on the floor surrounded by masked gunmen.

Maupin's family held out hope that he was still alive, but the U.S. military found Maupin's remains in March 2008 in a shallow grave near Baghdad.

Lt. Col. Alayne Conway, an Army spokesman, said Friday that a man in custody in Iraq confessed to killing Maupin. Conway was unable to provide further details, including the man's identity or nationality.

An Iraqi judge who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly to journalists said the man who confessed is Iraqi and is jailed in Baghdad.

The judge said the man initially confessed to Maupin's killing in 2009 and was tried and sentenced to death. He is being retried because there was something wrong in the paperwork about the initial investigation, the judge said.

The judge said the defendant was an al-Qaida leader involved in the killing of Iraqi soldiers. The judge refused to name the suspect or give more information about him and said no date had been set for the new trial.

Appeal court hears

death-row request

The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Three inmates on Kentucky's death row want a sweat lodge, powwow and traditional foods to conduct American Indian religious ceremonies behind bars -- requests the prison system has at least in part declined to fulfill.

Now, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is weighing whether to reinstate a suit brought by those inmates and two others challenging restrictions on pastoral visits to condemned inmates. A three-judge panel in Cincinnati heard oral arguments Friday concerning the correct balance of religious freedom for the condemned versus the safety and security needs of the prison.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Russell ruled in March 2013 that prison officials were justified in temporarily suspending pastoral visits at the maximum security Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville for security reasons and to keep the prison in line with state prison regulations. Russell also turned away a request from three inmates -- six-time convicted killer Robert Foley; two-time convicted killer Roger Epperson; and Vincent Stopher, condemned for killing a Jefferson County sheriff's deputy -- who told prison officials that their religious preference is American Indian and sought to have the prison erect a sweat lodge.

While the court is weighing those issues, the oral arguments focused exclusively on the challenge brought by the three inmates seeking to practice American Indian rituals.

Attorney Jacob Roth, arguing on behalf of the inmates, said prison officials didn't have good reasons for turning down the construction of a sweat lodge or allowing Foley, Stopher and Epperson to spend their own money to purchase traditional foods, such as buffalo meat. Roth noted that the inmates even proposed an indoor sweat lodge to alleviate security concerns by prison staff members.

"The warden's concern is someone might ask for this at other prisons if you ask for it here," Roth said. "Courts are not supposed to be determining what parts of a religious practice are important from a theological perspective."

Bias case settled

at military college

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's administration said it has reached an agreement with Virginia Military Institute to resolve sex-discrimination matters.

The Education Department said Friday that it found that female cadets were exposed to a sexually hostile environment at the Lexington, Va., military college. It said the school failed to provide for the "prompt and equitable" resolution of complaints reporting sexual harassment and sexual assault.

The department also said it negotiated revisions to the college's marriage and parenthood policy that became effective last month. It said the college now allows cadets who become pregnant, or have a child, to continue their education. It also said the college agreed to implement a new policy on handling sexual-assault cases.

Title IX of the Civil Rights Act prohibits gender discrimination at schools that receive federal funds.

A Section on 05/10/2014

Upcoming Events