Report: Shanahan, Redskins Reach Deal

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WUSA) -- The Denver Post is reporting the Redskins have reached an agreement in principal for Mike Shanahan to become the next head coach of the Washington Redskins.

The newspaper cites "sources familiar with the negotiations" with the information of the deal.

The 9 News Now Sports Department contacted the Redskins regarding the report, but the team did not have a response at the time.

According the Denver Post, Shanahan will receive a five-year contract with the Redskins, paying approximately $7 million a year - the same he was making with the Denver Broncos.

The newspaper also reports that the Redskins are making plans for Shanahan to sign the contract and are planning to announce his hiring Wednesday.

Shanahan has a career record of 154-103 as an NFL head coach with both the Broncos and Oakland Raiders. He led the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1997-98.

Source:wusa9.com/

Senator John McCain endorses Scott Brown for Senate seat

State Senator Scott Brown, running for the US Senate seat formerly held by the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, was endorsed today by US Senator John McCain, the Republican from Arizona who ran and lost the race for president.

The Wrentham Republican is running against Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Democrat, and independent Joseph L. Kennedy. The special election is Jan. 19.

"Scott Brown has a long record of public service fighting wasteful spending and higher taxes," said McCain, in a statement. "As an officer on the Army National Guard, he understands the importance of a strong military and the necessity of protecting our interests around the world."


Source:boston.com/

Teacher reaches for the stars

Lincoln-Way North High School physics, astronomy and metrology teacher Margaret Piper is heading to Washington, D.C., this weekend to participate in a NASA program.

The Frankfort school teacher was one of 10 teachers chosen to participate in the NASA Infrared Processing and Analysis Center's Teacher Archive Research Program.

The Orland Park resident said her love of learning landed her this opportunity.

The eighth child in a family of 11 children, Piper said she always had an appreciation for the sciences.

"When I was a just a child we were always involved in science. My dad was a landscaper, and he invented a lot of his own parts."

Now a mother of four children, Piper, 49, will analyze archived data from the Spitzer Space Telescope, along with other NASA archive findings. Piper said she is the only teacher from the Southland taking part in the program.

The former research engineer, who at one time worked on Boeing 767 airplanes, said what she will be doing is similar to taking pictures that have been uploaded to the computer and looking at them.

"Scientists have collected data with the Spitzer (Space Telescope), but haven't had time to go through and sort through all of it," she said.

The Spitzer Space Telescope began in 2003 to help see light coming from space in the infrared region, Piper said.

The telescope will help researchers see things in space they couldn't see before, including a group of young stars similar to the sun hiding behind a cloud of dust, Piper said.

The other goal of the program is to get teachers to infuse their research experiences into the classroom, Piper said.

"The whole idea of the program is to get teachers involved to do this research, get the work done, and get students interested in science," Piper said. "The more I know about science, the better I can tell the students. It's kind of like a pathway."

Luisa Rebull, a Spitzer teacher research program manager, told Piper to submit an application for the program after watching her Hands on Universe presentation at Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin.

About once a month, Piper said she travels to the observatory to participate in an education program with other teachers who teach hearing impaired and blind children about outer space.

When Piper learned she was accepted, she said her family was excited for her, but not surprised.

"They think it's pretty cool, but they're use to me doing stuff like this."

While in Washington, D.C., meeting with other teachers and astronomers, Piper will learn more about the program. She will continue her research throughout the school year and communicate with other teachers using phone conferences and e-mail.

Piper said the program will pay for her and two students to attend a three-day conference this summer in California to work on more data. Although she hasn't chosen who she'll take, she said she does have some students in mind.

"This is really cool stuff if you think this is cool stuff," she said. "The students won't get any college credit, but if you put it on an application, it's pretty cool."

Source:southtownstar.com/southtownstar.com/

Second Half Spurt Keys GW Win Over Howard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Dadrian Collins scored a career- and team-high 17 points and Kandi Mukole came off the bench to add a season-high 14 but it was not enough to offset a second half surge that enabled George Washington University to pull away to an 81-63 win over Howard in a non-conference men's basketball game at the Smith Center.

A 6-5, 190-pound freshman forward from Williamsburg, VA, Collins hit on 6 of 10 from the field, including 3 of 6 from three-point range, offsetting his previous high of 13 against American University on December 5.

The Bison (1-13) played their best half of the season but still trailed, 36-32 at intermission. Senior guard Curtis White led the way by scoring all 12 of his points in the first 20 minutes.



The Colonials (10-3) threatened to put the game away at the start of the second when they embarked on a 16-6 run that opened a 52-38 lead at the 15:03 mark. Damian Hollis, who scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, did most of the damage.

The Bison aided George Washington's cause by committing 10 turnovers that the Colonials converted into 15 second half points, 29 for the game.

"We did not do a good job of getting back on defense in the transition game," said Howard Coach Gil Jackson. "We are playing a lot of freshmen and they sometimes lose their focus. I'm sure that is something that GW saw on the tape and felt that they could exploit."

Howard was able to cut into the lead and narrow the deficit to 52-44 on a pair of three point baskets by Collins and Mukole at the 13:47 mark. The Bison had chances to cut even deeper into the deficit, but they failed to convert on three straight possessions.


George Washington ran off a 6-0 spurt and Howard was not able to recover as it dropped its fifth straight.

"I thought Dadrian played well tonight as he continues to progress," said Jackson. "I also thought that Curtis (White) had his best game this season. He is a senior and he has not played well. As a whole, our seniors just have not performed the way we expected. We have a number of freshmen who are playing significant minutes so we need our seniors to step up."

Mukole added a team-high 8 rebounds while C.J. Prince came off the bench to tally 6.

Tony Taylor contributed 13 to the George Washington cause.

NEXT UP: Howard begins a three-game home stretch on Monday when it entertains Navy at 7 pm in the Burr Gymnasium. The Bison will then resume MEAC play with games against Morgan State on Saturday, January 9 at 4 and Coppin State on Monday, January 11 at 8 pm.

Source:howard-bison.com/

US State News: Texas Governor Perry Wants States To Set Education Policy Not Washington DC

Gov. Perry, in a letter to Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott, has directed the commissioner not to commit the state to the adoption of national standards and assessments in its application for Race to the Top stimulus funding. The U.S. Department of Education has said it would give preference to states that adopt national standards and assessments in awarding funding, although no national standards have been adopted.

“Texas is already ahead of most other states in setting college and career-ready standards in our schools,” Gov. Perry said. “The citizens of Texas, not the federal government, know what is best for our children. As the federal government continues its sweeping expansion of federal authority from the financial, energy and health care systems, it is now attempting to increase their intrusion into Texas classrooms.”

Texas’ curriculum standards, which determine what students are taught in Texas classrooms, are determined by the elected State Board of Education (SBOE). The SBOE recently adopted one of the nation’s first college- and career-ready curriculum standards in core subjects after receiving widespread input from Texas education and business leaders.

Through Race to the Top funding, the U.S. Department of Education seems to be attempting to coerce states like Texas to suddenly abandon their own locally established curriculum standards in favor of adopting national standards spearheaded by organizations in Washington, D.C. Texas is eligible for up to $750 million in Race to the Top funding, however it would cost Texas taxpayers upwards of $3 billion to realign our education system to conform to the U.S. Department of Education’s vision for public education.

“The federal government works best when it supports state-led efforts to improve our schools,” Commissioner Scott said. “This is not a state-led effort. States are being misled.”

The development of Texas’ workforce is imperative to maintaining our position as a national leader in job creation and our future prosperity. Texas was recently praised in Education Week magazine for its adoption of college- and career-ready standards and for holding schools accountable for ensuring students are college-ready. Additionally, last month the governor announced a $160 million initiative to expand the number and scope of Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (T-STEM) academies, an initiative he established in 2005, as well as fund STEM scholarships. Building on successful initiatives like T-STEM academies helps ensure future generations of Texans have the educational foundation necessary to compete and win in the increasingly competitive global economy.

Sourceegovmonitor.com