Immigration debate gives life to rallies
LOS ANGELES – Demonstrators demanded an overhaul of immigration laws Wednesday in an annual, nationwide ritual that carried a special sense of urgency as Congress considers sweeping legislation that would bring many of the estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally out of the shadows.
Thousands joined May Day rallies in dozens of cities from Concord, N.H., to Bozeman, Mont. In Salem, Ore., Gov. John Kitzhaber was cheered by about 2,000 people on the Capitol steps as he signed a bill to allow people living in Oregon without proof of legal status to obtain drivers licenses.
In Vermont, more than 1,000 people assembled on the Montpelier Statehouse lawn. And in New York, thousands of demonstrators marched in downtown Manhattan waving banners and banging on drums in a scene reminiscent of Occupy Wall Street’s heyday.
Computer glitches derail school tests in 3 states
INDIANAPOLIS – School districts across several states are rescheduling high-stakes tests that judge student proficiency and even determine teachers’ pay because of technical problems involving the test administrators’ computer systems.
Thousands of students in Indiana, Oklahoma and Minnesota have been kicked offline multiple times while taking tests in recent weeks, postponing the testing schools have planned for months and raising concerns about whether the glitches will affect their scores.
CTB/McGraw-Hill is the contractor in Indiana and Oklahoma and administers statewide standardized tests in eight other states. American Institutes for Research, or AIR, is the contractor in Minnesota.
Justice Dept. to appeal morning-after case
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department is appealing a judge’s decision lifting all age limits on the Plan B morning-after birth control pill and a cheaper generic.
The federal government says the judge who issued the ruling had exceeded his authority and that his decision should be suspended while the appeal is underway.
U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York had given the Food and Drug Administration until Monday to lift all age limits on Plan B and cheaper generic. The judge mandated that emergency contraception be sold just like aspirin.
Associated Press
