Cheat Sheet - The Wingnut War on Public Schooling

Today: 40% of 12th Graders Read Proficiently , A Putin Climb-Down on Ukraine? , Most Obamacare Enrollees Pay Premiums May 07, 2014 CRAZY TO THE CORE 1. Wingnut War on Common Core Is a Plot to Destroy Public Schools Radicals have transformed a legitimate debate around the Common Core Initiative into an attack on all of public schooling, according to a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Caitlin Dickson reports that "pro-family" and Tea Party groups have painted the Common Core as a liberal conspiracy to indoctrinate children and turn them into slaves. But the issue is just a convenient boogeyman for attacking all public education. Read it at The Daily Beast F- 2. Only 40% of 12th Graders Read Proficiently The results are in for the first National Assessment of Education Progress exam since 2009 and they are abysmal. Only one-quarter of U.S. high-school seniors performed adequately in math, and only 40 percent are "proficient" in reading. Scores remain exactly where they were 20 years ago in reading. In surveys from the students, those who discussed reading interpretations in class did better than those who didn't, and math scores were higher for those who reached calculus than those who never made it beyond Algebra I.  Read it at AP NOT QUITE YET 3. A Putin Climb-Down on Ukraine? Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday he has pulled Russian troops from the border of Ukraine before calling for an autonomy referendum in southeastern Ukraine to be postponed. Igor Kossov reports pro-Russian separatists are worried Putin is abandoning them, but it may just be a feint from Moscow. Read it at The Daily Beast TRUTH 4. Most Obamacare Enrollees Pay Premiums Contrary to Republican crowing last week that only about two-thirds of customers on federal exchanges had actually paid their premiums, health-insurance companies say that number is more like 80 percent. The breakdown for some of the biggest health insurers: 90 percent for WellPoint, low-to-mid-80 percent for Aetna, and at least 83 percent for Health Care Service Corp. The two-thirds number the GOP was using was leftover from April 15, which was before 3 million additional people signed up for coverage that began on May 1 with a premium due-date of April 30. Read it at Bloomberg News TAKE A SHOT 5. Hillary Picks a Fight With the NRA Hillary Clinton just made it clear she is not afraid to go toe-to-toe with the National Rifle Association, which helped usher in a Republican takeover of Congress in 1994 against her husband. Ben Jacobs reports that Clinton in a speech Tuesday strongly denounced the wave of state laws allowing people to carry firearms in public. Clinton was never likely to win the endorsement of the gun lobby anyway, but it shows she is willing to go to battle. Read it at The Daily Beast IT'S ALIVE Scientists Make Artificial Gene Code For the first time. OVER THE LINE 800+ Complaints Against Border Agents Physical abuse, excessive force. END GAME? Home of Syria Rebellion Falls Rebels withdraw from Homs. SPY GAMES Ex-NSA Chief: Russia Controls Snowden "Manipulated by Russian intelligence." UH OH Hash Oil Explosions in Colorado Rise At least 31 since legalization. The Cut Jon Hamm Did Not Enjoy His Career in Porn Esquire The Mob's Most Stylish Men Rolling Stone Neil Patrick Harris: Up Close and… Nekkid GET The Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors. GET Culture Beast Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast. Viral Video of the Day: Bad British MLB Commentary What happens when a British guy who knows nothing about baseball tries to commentate a baseball game? More Videos The Banks' War on Porn Stars by Richard Abowitz , Marlow Stern Getting Busy With Robots by Charlotte Lytton Anti-Vaxxers Will Fuel the Next Pandemic by Russell Saunders

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