USA Today

USA Today: Let Alma Maters Decide Schools Should Determine Whether Children of Alumni Get an Edge

A fair number of freshmen arriving at their colleges this week are legacies, a term that sounds faintly disreputable. Aren't these the students who get into top-tier colleges because their parents went there and donate heavily?

That's what the critics of admission preferences for children of alumni say, and those critics got a boost from research released earlier this month.

A paper by a Duke University sociology professor and… more

(USA Today)--To a teenager, "When I was your age" usually signals that an adult is about to hold forth on just how different — and awful — the world is these days. But the latest version of an annual study, out today, suggests that since the mid-1970s a few key features of teens' lives have remained essentially the same.

Among the most vivid similarities: Today's teens read about as well (or as poorly) as their parents did a generation ago and… more

...In the current market, insurers selling individual policies try to pick the healthiest applicants to lower their risks. In most states, insurers can consider an applicant's health history in deciding whether to offer coverage and how much to charge.

Insurers "will not cover the sick if they can avoid them," says Len Nichols, an economist with the New America Foundation, a centrist think tank.

Nichols and other experts say limits on who can get coverage is one of at least three major problems with the individual… more

..."The wellspring of patriotism is very deep across party, across region, across demographics," says Eric Liu, a former White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and co-author of The True Patriot, which explores the meaning of patriotism... LINK

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. . . Bush's Mideast policy, the 2003 invasion of Iraq and his willingness to stand tough against unfriendly Arab regimes and Islamists have left Israel in a strategically weaker position today than it was eight years ago, says Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator who is now a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank on global and domestic issues. . . .

"At a mass level, people can go doe-eyed when… more

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. . . Budget experts outside Congress were even more incensed. David Walker, the former U.S. comptroller general who has said the nation faces $53 trillion in unfunded federal liabilities over the coming century, called it "morally reprehensible." Criticism also came from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Concord Coalition deficit watchdog group. . .

Candidates Diverge on Health Care

Republican presidential candidate John McCain says the United States is approaching a "perfect storm" of problems that "will cause our health care system to implode" if the next president doesn't act.

Democratic rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton would agree. But that's about where agreement over health care ends.

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Len Nichols, an economist at the New America Foundation, a centrist think tank in Washington, says without a mandate for everyone to get insurance, some people would… more

U.S. Cuba policy could get new look (USA Today)

...Retired colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, co-chair of the U.S.-Cuba Policy Initiative [New America Foundation] and chief of staff to former secretary of State Colin Powell, said it was clear to most Americans that "our Cuba policy is a failure." more

Report: Black, Hispanic Children Making Gains (USA Today)

Black and Hispanic children have made significant gains in health, safety and income over the past two decades, narrowing gaps between them and white children, according to a pioneering report on child development to be released Tuesday.*

They still fare worse overall than whites, but they're catching up in several areas and are less likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, abuse drugs or commit suicide, according to the… more

Amid so much uncertainty, the U.S. government may have no other choice but to more closely embrace Musharraf, said Steven Clemons, director of foreign policy programs for the New America Foundation.

Musharraf has received billions of dollars in U.S. aid to fight terrorism and is regarded by Bush as a key ally, despite the continued strength of al-Qaeda and other militant groups in Pakistan. The Bush administration had hoped Bhutto could share power with Musharraf, pairing her democratic credentials with his… more