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Thanksgiving came early for some students and their parents. Turkey and all the trimmings were on the menu at Indian Hills Elementary. For years, the school has a tradition of inviting families in to celebrate Thanksgiving.  

Students barricaded themselves inside buildings on University of California campuses at Berkeley and Santa Cruz Friday to protest a 32 percent increase in student fees and budget cuts that have led to slashed programs and lost jobs. UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof told CBS 5 on Friday evening that more than 40 people occupying Wheeler Hall, at least some of them students, had been arrested and the protest appeared to be coming to a "safe end." Those demonstrators were being cited in the building for misdemeanor trespassing, and then would be released, he said.

We are all concerned about fee increases and the impacts of $50 million in state budget cuts to our campus. Unfortunately, occupying buildings ... does little more than divert precious resources while denying others their rightful access to campus facilities and services   -David Kliger

 

The Justice Department intends to drop manslaughter and weapons charges against one of the Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, prosecutors said in court documents Friday. The shooting in busy Nisoor Square left 17 Iraqis dead and inflamed anti-American sentiment abroad. It touched off a string of investigations that ultimately led the State Department to cancel the company's lucrative contract to guard diplomats in Iraq. Iraqis have said they're ...  

David Karp says the charges relate to posting the Facebook threats, uttering threats against a peer and possession of a non-registered firearm. He said the Vancouver-area student chose to plead out because those charges could be proven, but had he gone to trial he might have faced stiffer penalties. Karp says if the judge accepts the deal at a sentencing hearing in January, the teen won't spend any time in jail.  

A bus carrying 35 elementary school children on an outing has caught fire on a New York City bridge, but the children and their escorts have been rescued. The bus was transporting students from Brooklyn's P.S. 5 on Friday morning when it burst into flames near the Staten Island-bound toll plaza of the double-decked Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. A Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokeswoman says bridge workers used fire extinguishers to douse the flames and removed the 4- and 5-year-old students, their escorts and the driver.  

Two congressional Republicans say federal prosecutors rushed into a settlement with a nonprofit operated by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson that had been accused of misspending government grants. Rep. Darrell Issa of California and Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa released a report Friday concluding that a settlement in which Johnson and his foundation agreed to repay $424,000 whitewashed a government investigation into the matter. Issa is the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Grassley is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance.

There is nothing new in today's report, which ignores the multiple bases for Mr. Walpin's removal and doesn't provide a shred of evidence that suggests he was removed for any reason other than performance issues   -Ben LaBolt

 

The S.C. Department of Natural Resources and the Bass Federation of South Carolina have teamed up to bring Youth Fishing Clubs to your school. The South Carolina High School League can make bass fishing a high school sport in all areas of public schools if 16 or more schools are involved with a desire for a state championship. To learn more on how to become involved in the Bass Federation Youth Clubs and how to form a team, contact Lorianne Riggin at (803) 737-8483 or e-mail at RigginL@dnr.sc.gov ...  

OK - went to my 30th class reunion in August in Hamilton Montana. I had the BEST possible High School experience that I think anyone could. It was a small school.  

(Memphis 11/20/2009) Freedom From Unnecessary Negatives, a local anti-violence group, held a community meeting Friday night in response to so many recent shootings. Isaac Brown wishes more than anything he could turn back the clock. "I would've sat him down and talked to him more and let him know, if you have any problems come to me, I'm your big brother if you need any help come to me," said Brown.

I would've sat him down and talked to him more and let him know, if you have any problems come to me, I'm your big brother if you need any help come to me   -Isaac Brown

 

A Four Corners school district answers questions about recent expenditures. The state randomly recently audited several school districts. The audit of the Bloomfield School District found that former superintendent Randy Allison charged nearly $16,000 on the district's credit card, including charges at J.C. Penney.

We had a number of people retiring, and the board and the superintendent at that time felt that we wanted to send a message that we appreciated their work and he gave them a set of luggage so they could spend their retirement traveling   -Joe Rasor