News Morning News
Tony Blair announces he’s going to resign within a year in response to a “growing revolt” within his party.
U.S. hands over control of the Iraqi Army and Navy to Iraqi authorities… well, at least ceremonially.
Only in California: UCLA decides to take a “holistic approach” to admissions, hoping to increase its black student population by viewing achievments “in context of life experiences.”
The link between aging and cancer: Scientists discover a gene that supresses stem cells as people age - trying to reduce the risk of cancer.
The Energy Department is building a supercomputer to guard the nuclear cache at Los Alamos — and they’re using technology created for the Playstation 3.
Pot Kills!!: No, seriously. Thirty Berkeley students eat pot brownies at a party and call the police describing a “feeling of doom.”
The Building Industry Association of Washington released campaign ads in the Gerry Alexander vs. John Groen state Supreme Court race that attribute Alexander’s rulings to his age, saying “When it’s your time, you know it. You’re tired, you get sloppy, you make mistakes.” During the Stranger’s interview with Alexander in July, the justice said he didn’t think Groen was attacking him for being old. Now, he says it’s “insulting.” Groen, being a weasel, said he couldn’t comment.
That "holistic approach" to admissions is most decidedly *not* limited to California, Sarah. Many universities have struggled with the identical issue and have come up with fairly similar plans, including the University of Washington, just this last year. The problem is, if you focus on raw grades and SAT scores, you might cut out minority students who can do college level-work, but show their readiness in less-objective ways. The new plans give the admissions officers a way to look at more than numbers.