Abuse of Fulton students with special needs continues to shock | Get ...

An administrative court decision represents quite a victory for a Fulton family and quite a condemnation of Fulton County schools.? The details of this saga continue to shock ?? a middle school teacher mistreated and abused a student with cerebral palsy.

But witnesses? also say Hopewell Middle School special education teacher Melanie Pickens also punished students, including Alex Williams, by restraining them in a chair and leaving them in the dark.

Investigators hired by Fulton schools and from the state?s Professional Standards Commission confirmed the abuse, saying that Pickens screamed at students, hit, kicked and cursed at them, sprayed them with disinfectant and passed gas in their faces.

?Her inappropriate behavior and treatment ran the gamut from being too rough with special education students to sheer meanness,? an investigator wrote in his report to Fulton Schools.

Chris Vance, a lawyer for the families, said the school system failed to protect Pickens? students. Vance said teachers and their assistants, principals, a custodian, special-education officials and bus drivers knew that Pickens harmed her students during four years she worked in the system.

In an earlier AJC story, Vance asked, ?How could so many people know and not care??

The Williams had asked the courts to order Fulton to pay for schooling for their son.

According to the AJC:

Judge Kimberly Schroer said Alex Williams, now 19, is entitled to a private education at the district?s expense for the next five years. That education will include training, therapy and a plan with goals so he can learn to become more independent.

Schroer said that Fulton Schools ?violated? the student?s educational rights, and Williams? parents ?do not want him to be placed in any other traditional school setting that might remind him of the past abuse.? The ruling also compels the district to reimburse Doug and Lisa Williams for private services they used to help their son after he left school.

?This is awesome,? Lisa Williams said late Wednesday. ?I had no sense of how she was going to rule. Everything that we have dealt with, I didn?t know if anybody was ever going to do the right thing.?

Fulton Schools officials did not respond to a request for comment.

The family and their lawyer have said Alex Williams was hit, kicked and humiliated by Hopewell Middle special education teacher Melanie Pickens.? The principal at the time, Frances Boyd, now retired, failed to investigate the reports of abuse.

Chris Vance, attorney for the Williamses, said the family will seek $10 million in a federal lawsuit.

?From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog

Source: http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2012/02/01/abuse-of-fulton-students-with-special-needs-continues-to-shock/?cxntfid=blogs_get_schooled_blog

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Romney: Not focused on poor, they have safety net (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he's "not concerned about the very poor" because they have an "ample safety net" and he's focused instead on relieving the suffering of middle-class people hit hard by the bad economy.

In comments that quickly became fodder for his critics, Romney emphasized, "You can focus on the very poor, that's not my focus."

He raised the subject of the poor in a CNN interview marking his big win in Florida's GOP primary Tuesday night, a major step toward becoming the party's challenger to President Barack Obama in the fall. A multimillionaire former venture capitalist, Romney has been criticized by Democrats and his Republican rivals alike for earlier remarks they considered insensitive. He once said "I like being able to fire people" and declared that he knew what it was like to worry about being "pink-slipped" out of a job.

Obama's re-election campaign was quick to pick up on Romney's reference to the poor. "So much for `we're all in this together,'" tweeted Obama campaign manager Jim Messina.

Answering questions from reporters on his campaign plane headed to Minnesota, the former Massachusetts governor offered a clarification, saying his comments were consistent with his theme throughout the race. "My energy is going to be devoted to helping middle-income people," he said.

Speaking earlier to CNN, Romney said: "I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it. I'm not concerned about the very rich. They're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling."

Asked whether his comment about the poor might come across as odd to them, Romney reiterated.

"We will hear from the Democrat party the plight of the poor and there's no question, it's not good being poor, and we have a safety net to help those that are very poor," Romney said, adding that he's more worried about the unemployed, people living on Social Security and those struggling to send their kids to college.

"We have a very ample safety net and we can talk about whether it needs to be strengthened or whether there are holes in it. But we have food stamps, we have Medicaid, we have housing vouchers, we have programs to help the poor," Romney said. "But the middle-income Americans, they're the folks that are really struggling right now."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120201/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney

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Top senators agree on tough penalties on Iran (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Determined to weaken Iran economically, a top Senate Democrat and Republican on Monday unveiled a bill to impose sweeping new penalties on Tehran and thwart its nuclear ambitions.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the panel's top Republican, said they had agreed on the measure that would target Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, require companies that trade on the U.S. stock exchange to disclose any Iran-related business to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and expand penalties for energy and uranium mining joint ventures with Tehran.

The bill also would deny visas and freeze assets on individuals and companies that supply Iran with technology that could be used to crack down on its citizens, such as tear gas, rubber bullets and surveillance equipment.

Johnson and Shelby said their committee would consider the legislation on Thursday.

"A nuclear-armed Iran would represent a grave threat to regional peace and international security," Johnson said in a joint statement with Shelby. "Iran's continuing defiance of its international legal obligations and refusal to come clean on its nuclear program underscore the need to further isolate Iran and its leaders."

Shelby said the bill "sends a clear signal through strong measures that Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons program and its designs for the spread of international terror."

A report in November suggested that some of the Islamic Republic's alleged experiments could have no other purpose than developing nuclear weapons. Iran contends that its program is designed to generate electricity, not build weapons. A U.N. inspection team currently is in the country.

Both the Obama administration and the international community have imposed tough sanctions on Iran. Johnson and Shelby said those penalties have been insufficient in deterring Tehran from pursuing a nuclear weapon.

Among the provisions of the legislation is an expansion of U.S. sanctions to include companies involved in joint energy ventures anywhere in the world in which Tehran is a significant partner or investor. The penalties also would apply if Iran receives energy technology or information that wasn't previously available to the government.

Penalties also would be imposed on companies involved in a joint venture with Iran in the mining, production or transportation of uranium. Individuals who agree to abandon such projects within six months would be exempt from the penalties.

The legislation would require the president to identify and designate officials, affiliates and agents of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. These individuals would be subject to sanctions and barred from the United States. Individuals or companies that engage in transactions with the Revolutionary Guard Corps, even through bartering, also would be subject to sanctions.

Penalties also would be mandatory for shippers or insurers who knowingly aid the shipment of materials that contribute to Iran's weapons of mass destruction or terrorism-related activities.

The bill is likely to garner strong bipartisan support. Last year, the Senate voted 100-0 for a measure sponsored by Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., to the annual defense bill that targeted financial institutions that do business with Iran's Central Bank. President Barack Obama signed the wide-ranging defense bill on Dec. 31.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_iran_sanctions

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After Florida primary, it's Nevada ? and a rough month for Newt Gingrich

The candidates head into a very different month of election contests after Tuesday's Florida primary. Newt Gingrich is already playing down his chances.

For three weeks now, all the attention in the GOP presidential campaign has been focused on the South ? Newt Gingrich's most comfortable territory.

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After the results come in from Tuesday's Florida primary, however ? and, if the polls are to be believed, Mitt Romney takes the state's delegates ? the candidates head into a very different month of election contests.

February is a month of caucuses, smaller states, and geographic diversity. It's also a month that plays largely to Mr. Romney's advantage.

Next up is the Nevada caucuses on Saturday ? an event that has been all but ignored by the media this year, because of Florida jumping ahead in the primary calendar. The last poll there was taken more than a month ago, showing Romney with a slight lead.

Nevada is a natural state for Romney. He won it by a large margin in 2008, when he took 51 percent of the vote in a field of seven candidates. It's one of the few states with a sizable Mormon population (Romney is Mormon), and it's close enough to Utah that residents remember Romney's role in the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

The only other candidate looking forward to Nevada ? and to the other caucus states ? is Ron Paul, who has been campaigning heavily there. Representative Paul, whose backers are particularly loyal, tends to do well in caucus states, and his libertarian message is also likely to resonate more with Western voters than with those in the South.

Mr. Gingrich is already playing down his chances. At a campaign event Monday in Florida, Gingrich told a crowd, "Nevada's tricky because of the Mormon influence, but we have a shot at it."

Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond acknowledges that February holds some challenges for the former House speaker ? particularly the contests in Nevada and Michigan. Romney grew up in the latter state and has a distinct advantage there.

"The toughest one is Nevada," Mr. Hammond told CNN. Of the February states, he says, the Gingrich campaign is looking to Arizona, Minnesota, Maine, and Colorado.

Of those, all but Arizona are caucuses, and none of them have any recent polling data. (A poll in Colorado gives Gingrich an edge, but it was taken nearly two months ago, when Gingrich was at his peak nationally.)

Still, Romney seems to have an edge because of the calendar ? along with the geography, which is heavy on the West, with a bit of the Northeast and Midwest thrown in. The lack of debates (only one is scheduled in February so far) doesn't help Gingrich, either.

In many ways, given the small numbers of delegates in play, February is a dead month before the real Super Tuesday showdown on March 6. That means it's unlikely to put an end to Gingrich's (or perhaps another candidate's) campaign. Nevertheless, look for Romney-friendly headlines and momentum in the coming weeks, and a tougher road for Gingrich.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/qSuHaqoDqeM/After-Florida-primary-it-s-Nevada-and-a-rough-month-for-Newt-Gingrich

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Gingrich wants panel to look at in vitro clinics (The Arizona Republic)

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Jagger says UK's Cameron can't get what he wants (omg!)

LONDON (Reuters) - Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger has decided British Prime Minister David Cameron can't get what he wants after all.

Britain's Sun tabloid reported Tuesday that Jagger would be the star attraction at an event organized by Cameron's office to promote Britain at a gathering of the world's rich and powerful in Davos this week.

But after news of his appearance leaked out, Jagger, who received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth in 2003, revealed he had had second thoughts.

"During my career I have always eschewed party politics and came to Davos as a guest, as I thought it would be stimulating...I have always been interested in economics and world events," he said in a statement.

"I now find myself being used as a political football and there has been a lot of comment about my political allegiances which are inaccurate. I think it's best I decline the invitation to the key event and curtail my visit."

Some Rolling Stones fans might have been surprised to see the singer, the former rock'n'roll rebel with a drugs conviction in 1967, appearing alongside a prime minister from the Conservative Party - a bastion of traditionalists.

Others might have thought it suited the leader of a band that for the past few decades has been a slick, multi-million dollar enterprise run along corporate lines.

Downing Street had earlier confirmed that Sir Mick, as he has been known since he was knighted, would be appearing at the Great British Tea Party event and Cameron's office was said by the Sun to be "tickled pink" with the publicity coup.

His appearance with Cameron would also have been a blow to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, a life-long Jagger fan who led the Labor Party to three electoral victories over the Conservatives.

The guitar-playing Blair, who dreamed of being a rock star before turning to politics, told Jagger at a dinner in the 1990s that "I just want to say how much you've always meant to me."

It was Blair who recommended the singer for his knighthood.

(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon and Michael Holden; editing by Paul Casciato and Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_jagger_says_uks_cameron_cant_wants210438701/44290373/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/jagger-says-uks-cameron-cant-wants-210438701.html

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