Friday Roundup

Here is a listing of articles published in the last 7-10 days that may be of interest:

Health
1. "Supercommittee" decision may lead to cuts funding for public health initiatives; Washington Post, October 16,2011
Brief Introduction: Federal funding for medical research, disease prevention and a host of public health initiatives could be sharply reduced if the congressional “supercommittee” fails to agree on a deficit-reduction package, triggering automatic cuts. Public attention has largely focused on possible cuts to entitlement programs for seniors and the poor, Medicare and Medicaid, but health advocates are raising an alarm about many other smaller programs they say need to be protected.

2. Health insurance set up for the masses; Philly.com, October 16,2011
Brief Introduction: The federal government is taking on a crucial new role in the nation's health care, designing a basic-benefits package for millions of privately insured Americans. A framework for the Obama administration was released Thursday.

Education
1. Education funds sought to uncover cheating; Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2011
Brief Introduction: New York state education officials, in an attempt to boost confidence in test scores as they become part of teacher evaluations across the state, want to spend $2.1 million to hunt among millions of students' tests for evidence of cheating.

2. Education bill draws fire from rights groups; Washington Post, October 11,2011
Brief Introduction: A top Senate Democrat rolled out his plan Tuesday to revamp the main federal education law, but it immediately drew fire from civil rights groups that argued it would ease pressure on schools to provide quality education to all children, regardless of race or income. Under Harkin’s bill, the federal government would no longer require all students to meet achievement goals — a cornerstone of the current law. Instead, Harkin proposes to require that schools show that students are making academic progress.

Race
1. 5 diseases more common in minorities; ABC News, October 13,2011
Brief Introduction: Although more and more people are living longer with colorectal cancer, new research has found that black people with the disease aren't living as long as whites.

2. LAUSD agrees to revise how English learners, blacks are taught; Los Angeles Times, October 11,2011
Brief Introduction: The Los Angeles Unified School District has agreed to sweeping revisions in the way it teaches students learning English, as well as black youngsters, settling a federal civil rights investigation that examined whether the district was denying the students a quality education. The settlement closes what was the Obama administration's first civil rights investigation launched by the Department of Education, and officials said Tuesday that it would serve as a model for other school districts around the country.