Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts had released dozens of policy plans before tackling K-12 education, making her the last leading Democratic primary contender to do so.
But on Monday, the candidate who speaks frequently about her time as a public-school teacher offered her long-awaited proposal: a characteristically dense white paper that promises to quadruple federal funding for schools that serve low-income students, and to pump tens of billions of new dollars per year into desegregation, special education, bilingual programs and mental health support, while increasing federal oversight of racial and gender discrimination in schools.
The plan would be paid for by Warren’s signature wealth tax on net worth over $50 million. To encourage states to spend more on low-income students, those that fund poor and rich schools more equally would be awarded new federal dollars. And it proposes a mix of housing and educational strategies to racially integrate schools, such as inclusive zoning to make it easier to build affordable housing in areas with quality schools, and magnet schools to draw students outside their neighborhoods.
Many of these policies enjoy wide support among Democrats. But the Warren campaign also chose a clear side in the party’s long-running education war by vowing to end “high-stakes testing” and federal funding for opening new charter schools, and to ban for-profit charters, which make up about 15 percent of the sector.
“Public education is for everyone, and I believe in it,” she said on Monday, speaking to students at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines. She added, “Let’s make every school in America a great school.”
A West Point cadet is missing along with an M4 rifle, military academy says
A West Point cadet is missing along with an M4 rifle, the military academy said after military, federal, state and local agencies conducted extensive searches to locate the man.
Authorities don't believe the cadet has any magazines or ammunition or poses a threat to the public. He may be a danger to himself, the military academy said in a statement.
The academy will be operating normally with "an increased force protection status," the statement said, including more police presence at sporting events and across the academy.
The cadet, a member of the class of 2021, was last seen on Friday around 5:30 p.m. on West Point grounds. When he didn't show up for a military skills competition, his teammates began looking for him immediately, the academy said.
After an initial search was unsuccessful, military police began their search around 1 a.m. Saturday.
Officials notified the New York State Police, Orange County Sheriff's Department, and also reached out to the Keller Army Community Hospital and other local hospitals to make sure the missing cadet hadn't received medical treatment, the academy said.
State police offered helicopter, K-9 and drone support for the search. The Coast Guard was also notified and searched the shoreline, the academy's statement said.
More parents plead guilty in college admissions scandal
BOSTON — One father conspired to pay bribes to get two children admitted to the University of Southern California — one as a recruit in soccer, the other in football. A couple plotted to cheat on college entrance exams for their two daughters. A mother worried that her daughter might figure out she was trying to get her a fake ACT score, saying, on a call that turned out to be recorded by the authorities, “She already thinks I’m up to, like, no good.”
Four parents, including the former head of one of the world’s biggest asset managers and an heir to a fortune created by microwaveable snacks, pleaded guilty on Monday in the nation’s largest college admissions prosecution. With trials drawing closer and prosecutors warning of new charges, the four were part of a new wave of parents pleading guilty to using lies and bribery to secure their children’s admission to elite colleges.
Among them was Douglas Hodge, a former chief executive of Pimco and one of the most prominent business executives caught up in the scandal. He admitted that he conspired to pay more than $500,000 in bribes to get two of his children admitted to U.S.C. as athletic recruits.
“I accept full and complete responsibility for my conduct,” Hodge said in a statement. “I have always prided myself on leading by example, and I am ashamed of the decisions I made. I acted out of love for my children, but I know that this explanation for my actions is not an excuse.”
The other parents who pleaded guilty on Monday were Manuel Henriquez, the founder and former chief executive of Hercules Capital, a financial firm in Palo Alto, Calif., and his wife, Elizabeth, and Michelle Janavs, of Newport Coast, Calif., whose father and uncle invented Hot Pockets. More than a dozen parents caught up in the scandal, including the actress Felicity Huffman, pleaded guilty months ago in connection with the far-reaching cheating scheme that prosecutors revealed in March. But others among nearly three dozen parents charged, including Hodge, had entered not guilty pleas and, until now, appeared headed for trial.
Personnel office says top contenders to lead DHS aren’t eligible
WASHINGTON — Nearly a year before the 2020 election, President Donald Trump is running out of options in his search for a leader for the Department of Homeland Security who could win Senate confirmation or even serve in an acting capacity — and still carry out the president’s immigration crackdown.
The White House’s top personnel official advised Trump on Monday that two potential choices to lead the department, Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of the agency overseeing legal immigration, and Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, are both ineligible for the position of acting homeland security secretary under the federal law that dictates who can fill secretary positions without Senate confirmation. Politico first reported the development.
Kevin McAleenan announced more than a week ago that he would leave as the fourth head of the department in Trump’s nearly three years in office.
A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While Trump has never said publicly that he would tap Cuccinelli or Morgan, they were widely thought to be top contenders for the job. In a matter of months, both went from defending the administration’s most aggressive immigration policies on television as pundits to implementing them as top Homeland Security Department officials.
U.S. takes step to require DNA samples from asylum-seekers
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is planning to collect DNA samples from asylum-seekers and other migrants detained by immigration officials and will add the information to a massive FBI database used by law enforcement hunting for criminals, a Justice Department official said.
The Justice Department on Monday issued amended regulations that would mandate DNA collection for almost all migrants who cross between official entry points and are held even temporarily.
The official said the rules would not apply to legal permanent residents or anyone entering the U.S. legally, and children under 14 are exempt, but it’s unclear whether asylum-seekers who come through official crossings will be exempt.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity before the regulations were published.
Homeland Security officials gave a broad outline of the plan to expand DNA collection at the border two weeks ago, but it was unclear then whether asylum-seekers would be included or when it would begin.
The new policy would allow the government to amass a trove of biometric data on hundreds of thousands of migrants, raising major privacy concerns and questions about whether such data should be compelled even when a person is not suspected of a crime other than crossing the border illegally. Civil rights groups already have expressed concerns that data could be misused, and the new policy is likely to lead to legal action.
Also in the nation …
With windy, dry weather in the forecast again, Pacific Gas & Electric says it’s considering shutting off power this week to about a half million people in Northern California to try and prevent wildfires ignited by electrical equipment. …
First Published: October 22, 2019, 5:28 a.m.
