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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – President Barack Obama on Monday addressed an audience of more than 300 in Washington, DC, on the virtues of fatherhood and the limits of government promoting it.

Obama spoke at THEARC, the Town Hall Education Arts & Recreation Campus, declaring the time ripe for “a new conversation around fatherhood in this country.”

Obama most of the time uses his own life and this time was no different as the president borrowed heavily from his own experiences with his father and his children.

Obama shared on the meaning of having a child, saying that “to have a child is to have your heart walking around outside your body.”

On the subject of his father’s absence in his life, Obama said: “While I was lucky to have a wonderful mother and loving grandparents … I still felt the weight of that absence. It is something that leaves a hole in a child’s life that no government can fill.”


Obama reiterated his pledge to be a good father, sharing an experience of driving home from the hospital after the birth of a child: “It is unadulterated joy and sheer terror. I made a pledge that day to give my child everything I could that I didn’t have. If I could be anything in life I would be a good father.”


With the pressures of presidency, Obama noted, “I have made plenty of mistakes as a parent. I have lost count all the times when the demands of work have taken me away from the responsibility of fatherhood … (there are) moments I will never get back. And that’s a hard feeling to accept.” 


He unveiled a new nationwide fatherhood and mentoring initiative that would promote responsible parenting on a host of fronts, specifically bettering job training services and domestic violence prevention, helping fathers fulfill child support payments and re-engaging out-of-touch parents in their children’s lives.

The president outlined a new program being overseen by the Attorney General’s office that would create “fatherhood reentry courts for ex-offender dads” that would help fathers leaving the criminal justice system reenter society.



Secretaries Timothy Geithner and Gary Locke were in attendance as well as Attorney General Eric Holder. In addition, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty were also on the stage. 



THEARC is part of a revitalization project in Anacostia officially opened in October 2005 and was the winner of the Urban Land Institute’s Award for Excellence in May 2007.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – According to a report released Wednesday, minority children spend an average of 13 hours a day using mobile devices, computers, TVs and other media. The figures cataloging how long they are plugged in mark about 4½ hours more than white kids.

The findings compiled by Northwestern University researchers and based on an analysis of two separate Kaiser Family Foundation surveys were presented to childhood and telecommunications experts in Washington, D.C.

Researchers analyzed that data to find out how black, Hispanic, Asian American and white youth use media for homework and for fun, and how long they’re plugged in on any given day.

Among 8- to 18-year-olds, Asian Americans logged the most media use with 13 hours, 13 minutes a day. Next came Hispanics with 13 hours, African Americans logged 12 hours, 59 minutes and whites garnered 8 hours, 36 minutes.

It remains unclear exactly why the racial disparity exists, however some experts believe children may turn to media if they feel their neighborhoods lack safe places to play or if their parents have especially demanding jobs that prevent engagement.

Based on the findings compared with white children, minority youth:

• Watch TV and videos one to two hours more a day;
• Listen to music about an hour more a day;
• Use computers about 1½ hours more a day;
• Play video games 30 to 40 minutes longer a day.

Black (84 percent) and Hispanic kids (77 percent) also are more likely to have TVs in their bedrooms and to eat meals in front of the TV, the study reported.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Schools were set to open normally on Friday in the nation’s capital, where letters containing a white powdery substance forced students to evacuate on Thursday.

District of Columbia Public Schools assured that all its buildings had been cleared and declared safe for classes to resume on time.

Firefighters and haz-mat teams responded to at least 29 reports of “suspicious” packages left at elementary and middle schools throughout the district.

The parcels contained white powder that was found to be not hazardous. The Fire Department said there were no illnesses or injuries from the substance or from the evacuations. Local officials are working with the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service to investigate.

“At no time were students exposed to the substance and there was minimal impact to the school day,” the school system said in a statement.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Initial jobless claims remained above the 400,000 mark for the second week in a row with 403,000 Americans filing for benefits during the week ending April 16, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.

That number was down 13,000 from the previous week’s filings of 416,000 first time claims for unemployment compensation insurance benefits.

Moreover, the number of jobless people covered by unemployment compensation insurance remained stable at 2.9 percent.

The less volatile 4-week moving average was 3,716,750, a drop of 17,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 3,734,250.

However, there were still 8,299,810 claiming jobless benefits in all programs for the week ending April 2.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The number of first-time applicants for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose for the week ending April 9 by 27,000 to 412,000.

Analysts had expected the number to remain in the 380,000 range.

Some analysts now say the jump in claims signals uncertainty over recovery in the labor market, while others view it as an anomaly caused by large mass layoffs at the end of the quarter.

Regardless, so far the U.S. recovery from recession has largely been confined to the economic markets with labor not sharing in the nation’s ongoing recovery.

For the week ending April 2 there were 385,000 new claims for unemployment compensation insurance payments, the U.S. Department of Labor said. Initial jobless claims had been trending downward and it was below the 400,000 mark. This marked the first time in five weeks that claims rose above that mark.

Moreover, the four-week moving average, a figure less volatile than the weekly claim numbers, is trending upward again. It increased by 5,500 to 395,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 390,250, DOL officials said.

In addition, the seasonally adjusted rate of jobless workers covered by the unemployment compensation insurance program for the week ending April 2 fell to 2.9 percent from the prior week’s rate of 3 percent.

DOL officials say that there were a total of 8,517,545 people claiming jobless benefits in all programs for the week ending March 26.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The number of jobless Americans filing first time claims for unemployment compensation benefits fell by 6,000 to 388,000 for the week ending March 26, the Labor Department said Thursday.

While the weekly number fell, the four-week moving average rose slightly by 3,250 claimants to 394,250, from the previous week’s revised average of 391,000. The jobless rate bounces around slightly from week-to-week, but it has generally been trending downward since the beginning of the year.

The percentage of unemployed Americans covered by unemployment compensation insurance remained stable at 3 percent for the week ending March 19, unchanged from the previous week.

The number of people filing ongoing claims for jobless benefits dropped by a modest 51,000 claims to 3,714,000 during the week ending March 19, the most recent week that data is available.

A total of 8,770,443 Americans claimed benefits in all jobless programs for the week ending March 12, the latest week for which such data is available.

In addition, extended benefits were available in 35 states and the District of Columbia for the week ending March 12. That number has remained stable since last year.

Those states were Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN Sports) – The NFL lockout won’t keep all players from getting paid.

Due to a fund set up by the NFL Players Association , some NFL players will receive up to a maximum of $60,000 beginning on April 15. The NFLPA created a lockout fund with player dues and right’s fees during 2009 and 2010.

The maximum payments to an individual player would total $60,000, to be paid out this offseason during the lockout. If a player was on a 53-man roster for all 34 weeks of the regular season during those two years, then he would be eligible for that maximum, $60,000 payment.

The payements will be distributed in six increments.

The $60,000 is the only payment NFL players will receive during the lockout. Base salaries aren’t paid until the regular season over 17 weeks and all bonus payments (roster, option, workout) are held up until the lockout is over.

The NFLPA started contacting players via email about the upcoming payments.

“We are e-mailing you to inform you that the NFLPA Board of Player Directors approved the payout from the Lockout Fund to begin on April 15, in six installments or until the lockout ends,” the email read. In order to start receiving your payments, please fill out the attached direct deposit enrollment form and return it to us with a voided check from your checking account or bank letter verifying the account information. We will e-mail you at the address that you provide on the form when payments are sent to your bank account.

“Please note that any other future payments that you may receive from the NFLPA or NFL PLAYERS Inc (for example player marketing deals or royalty payments) will be deposited into this account and you will be notified via email of the deposit.”

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said there was a fund established to help players in need at the recent NFLPA meeting. At that time Smith did not define any details regarding the fund or how much players would receive.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Both the number of Americans filing first time jobless claims and the number filing ongoing claims have dropped, the Department of Labor announced Thursday.

Initial unemployment claims filed during the week ending March 12 were 385,000, representing a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 401,000.

The four-week moving average dropped to its lowest rate since July 2008. It was 386,250, a decrease of 7,000

Ongoing jobless benefits claims dropped by 80,000 to 3,706,000 during the week ending March 5, the most recent week for which data is available. That was below the 3,750,000 continuing claims economists had expected and it was the lowest number of continuing claims since September 2008.

Although the amount of time that individuals can claim jobless benefits varies by state, the maximum benefit period in 99 weeks. In addition, not every jobless American qualifies for unemployment benefits. The percentage of Americans covered by the unemployment insurance compensation program remained unchanged at 3.0 percent for the week ending March 5.

For the week ending Feb. 26, the number of people claiming benefits in all jobless programs was 8,953,610.

Extended benefits were available for the jobless in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Those states were Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

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Washington, DC, United States (ProPublica) – by Sergio Hernandez

The term “collective bargaining” has been somewhat ubiquitous lately, as legislators in several states have moved to limit union rights. But while collective bargaining lies at the very heart of what unions do, how it works — especially in the public sector — is not always so straightforward.

What is “collective bargaining”?

Simply put, “collective bargaining” is the process through which employees band together to form a union and negotiate a contract with their boss that lays out certain employment conditions, including things like salaries, benefits, vacation time, work hours, safety conditions and grievance procedures.

Is collective bargaining a “right”?

Sort of.

The United States has officially recognized the right to unionize and bargain collectively since at least’35, when Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act, a federal law governing the formation of unions and the process of collective bargaining. (The U.N. has also long recognized collective bargaining as a fundamental right for workers.)

But the NLRA only applies to private employees. And while federal legislation has since extended certain collective bargaining rights to federal employees, state employees remain subject to their individual states’ laws.

In the cases of Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Idaho, legislators are seeking to limit the collective-bargaining rights of their state employees.

What’s the argument for limiting public employees’ right to unionize?

Well, public employees can have more leverage than private workers.

While private unions have an incentive to keep their demands reasonable (lest they drive their employers into bankruptcy and themselves into unemployment), public unions are in a different position. Paying government employees more might mean higher costs for taxpayers, but since it’s hard for most people to shop at a different government, there’s little incentive for public unions to scale back their demands.

Another concern is that public unions can politicize state agencies at the general public’s expense. The unions can use big money and get-out-the-vote muscle to back the election of politicians who will offer them cushy contracts — and leave taxpayers to foot the bills.

Supporters of public-sector unions counter that state employees still face the same workplace issues that private sector workers do, including scheduling, grievance procedures and safety conditions.

Why is this all an issue now?

Many of the states considering this kind of legislation are doing it, they say, in the hope it will help close their respective budget gaps. It’s unclear how much money limiting union rights will save and even harder to know whether legally limiting state workers’ union rights will have any practical effect. While it is within the states’ powers to limit (or even abolish altogether) their employees’ collective-bargaining rights, public employees have occasionally risked fines and jail time by holding illegal strikes.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Harvard University remains the nation’s leading medical school but was overtaken by Stanford as the number one business school in the 2012 rankings of the U.S. News & World Report. Among law schools, a new school has moved up into the top 14 for the first time.

Yale maintained its ranking as the best law school for the 20th consecutive year. Harvard Law School kept second place for another year, as did all the others in the top 5, Stanford, Columbia, and the University of Chicago Law School.

A new school entered the top 14, which has featured an elite group of the same schools in different orders since the rankings began nearly three decades ago. The University of Texas-Austin School of Law broke into the T14, as it is known in the legal community, tying with the Georgetown Law Center in 14th place.

Among medical schools, Harvard is still in first place, followed by the University of Pennsylvania, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine.

Duke University shares fifth place with three other schools: Stanford, the University of California in San Francisco, and Yale. The University of Washington and Columbia University round out the top 10 medical schools.

Harvard slipped one notch to second place in U.S. News’ list of best graduate business schools, making way for Stanford to occupy first place. The two schools tied last year for the top spot.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) and University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School both came in third, followed by Northwestern University (Kellogg), which also tied with the University of Chicago (Booth) for fifth place.

Dartmouth and the University of California Berkeley (Haas) share seventh place, followed by Columbia and New York University (Stern).

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