Obama targets diploma mills that market to vets

President Barack Obama reaches to shake hands with troops after speaking at the Third Infantry Division Headquarters, Friday, April 27, 2012, at Fort Stewart, Ga. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama reaches to shake hands with troops after speaking at the Third Infantry Division Headquarters, Friday, April 27, 2012, at Fort Stewart, Ga. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama place a flag and a coin on a marker as they visit Warriors Walk at Fort Stewart, Ga., Friday, April 27, 2012, before speaking to troops, veterans and military families at the Third Infantry Division Headquarters. Warriors Walk pays tribute to the 441 fallen service members who have died in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn while assigned or attached to the 3rd Infantry Division or Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. Each fallen service member is honored with a plaque and an Eastern Redbud tree. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama visit Warriors Walk at Fort Stewart, Ga., Friday, April 27, 2012, before speaking to troops, veterans and military families at the Third Infantry Division Headquarters. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama visit Warriors Walk at Fort Stewart, Ga., Friday, April 27, 2012, before speaking to troops, veterans and military families at the Third Infantry Division Headquarters. Warriors Walk pays tribute to the 441 fallen service members who have died in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn while assigned or attached to the 3rd Infantry Division or Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. Each fallen service member is honored with a plaque and an Eastern Redbud tree. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are greeted by Col. Dale S. Holland, Vice Commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, and his wife Michelle Holland, before boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Friday, April 27, 2012, prior to traveling to Fort Stewart in Ga. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) ? President Barack Obama reached out to a generation of young soldiers Friday as he added new protections for veterans and military families misled or bilked by career colleges and technical programs that target their federal education benefits. "They don't care about you," he declared, "they care about your cash."

Obama signed a broad order that partially addresses growing complaints about fraudulent marketing and recruiting practices aimed at military families eligible for federal education aid under the GI Bill.

Sounding outraged, Obama said some of these schools go after military men and women "just for the money." And citing what he called "one of the worst examples," Obama said a college recruiter enrolled Marines with brain injuries who couldn't even remember what courses they had signed up for.

"That's appalling, that's disgraceful," Obama said. "They're trying to swindle and hoodwink you."

In remarks that echoed some of his election-year rhetoric, Obama said he made troops and veterans a promise that America would fight for them just as they fought for their country. He addressed what he called the "9/11 generation," both in the military and out, as he listed accomplishments of his first term.

First, the president and first lady Michelle Obama paid tribute to fallen soldiers, walking slowly hand in hand along the Fort Stewart Warriors Walk, a wide path lined with 441 memorial trees. At the base of each tree sits a granite marker with a soldier's name.

Though there is little the federal government can do to shut down diploma mills, the new protections would make it harder for postsecondary and technical schools to misrepresent themselves to military students.

The main target of the White House action is for-profit colleges and universities that market heavily to military families because of the easy availability of federal money under the GI Bill.

Some postsecondary schools try to attract current and former military service members using deceptive military-themed websites that appear to be government-run or connected to the GI Bill benefit system, administration officials said.

Commercial sites like GIbill.com, for instance, give the appearance of being generalized information sites about the benefit but in fact direct users to a narrow list of mostly for-profit institutions.

Colleges ? not all of them for-profits ? advertise on such sites and pay outside companies for recruiting leads, hoping for a piece of the estimated $9 billion the new G.I. Bill is expected to pay out this year to educate nearly 600,000 veterans.

Much of the advertising is tied closely to online searches for terms like "GI Bill." As a result, the Obama administration wants to trademark the term "GI Bill" so it can't be used as an enticement.

Quality at for-profit colleges varies widely, and many are a good fit for students, particularly adult learners looking for flexible scheduling and specialized career training that often requires a certificate but not a degree.

The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, which represents for-profits, said in a statement it was disappointed that Obama "decided to bypass the Congress" with an executive order.

"Career-oriented institutions proudly serve military and veteran populations and work with congressional leaders in a bipartisan manner to address concerns about veteran education across all sectors of higher education," the lobbying group said.

Obama was introduced by Sgt. Johnnie Marshall, one of several soldiers who met with the president privately before his remarks. Marshall enrolled in two online courses at a for-profit school only to learn the school had accreditation problems. He has since transferred to Central Texas College.

Among those in the crowd was Pfc. Benjamin Root, 25, of Dubuque, Iowa, who said his home mailbox gets clogged with flyers and brochures from vocational and technical colleges. "Colleges can be very aggressive trying to recruit active-duty soldiers and veterans because we have government benefits," Root said. "If they can do anything to safeguard those benefits, that would be great."

But Sgt. 1st Class Brian Cain said his chain of command already keeps a lookout for college scams and questioned the need for the president to step in to address the issue.

"To me the president needs to be taking care of world-sized problems," he said. "This is kind of like trying to kill a fly with an M-1 Abrams tank."

Bills pending in Congress, largely backed by Democrats and unlikely to become law soon, would do many of the same things Obama was ordering Friday.

Obama's order will also set a new gauge that potential students can use to calculate how much a school will really cost in tuition and fees. Schools are asked to voluntarily participate in the "Know Before You Owe" system this school year and would be required to do so next year.

A recent Senate report on 15 large, publicly traded, for-profit education companies said they got 86 percent of their revenue from taxpayers and have spent a combined $3.7 billion annually on marketing and recruiting.

Student Veterans of America, a leading campus veterans group, applauded the White House announcement, saying the executive order would help stop "deceptive and misleading" practices at educational institutions.

The Obamas were to be joined in Georgia by Holly Petraeus, the assistant director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau focused on economic security for military families. She's the wife of David Petraeus, the retired four-star general and current CIA director.

_____

Associated Press writer Russ Bynum in Fort Stewart, Ga., and AP Education Writer Justin Pope contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Origin PC joins the 11-inch, rebadged gaming laptop party, outs the EON 11-S

Last week may have drawn to a close, but the march of Clevo news continues. On the heels of Maingear announcing an 11-inch gaming notebook, Origin PC is throwing its own ultraportable into the ring: the EON 11-S. Though this is a new model for Origin PC (the smallest laptop it's ever sold, in fact), it's not quite fresh to us: this is the same exact Clevo-made notebook Maingear unveiled two days ago, only re-badged under Origin PC's brand and available in a wider range of colors. As far as performance goes, then, that means you can expect Ivy Bridge processors, a 2GB NVIDIA GT 650M GPU, Optimus graphics-switching technology and a battery rated for 6.5 hours of runtime. In Origin PC's case, the laptop starts at $999 (compared with $1,099 for Maingear), though you'll have to head over to Origin's site for a breakdown of what specs you'll be getting at that lower price.

Gallery: Origin PC EON 11-S

Continue reading Origin PC joins the 11-inch, rebadged gaming laptop party, outs the EON 11-S

Origin PC joins the 11-inch, rebadged gaming laptop party, outs the EON 11-S originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Generally speaking, pests are pests - Is Rodent Control Even ...

Generally speaking, pests are pests, but some pests, such as mice and rats, are often far more destructive and unhealthy to humans than, say, ants or roaches. When homes or businesses have a rodent control problem, it is time to call in a professional rodent exterminator. This is especially important for those who live in Southern California where rodent control issues can turn into a nightmares if left unchecked.

Southern California, including Los Angeles and Orange County, are not the only areas in the US that can suffer from rodent control problems. Any area that has mild, mostly dry weather for extended periods of time can see an increase in rodent numbers in any given year. Rats and mice are happy to remain active year round as long as they have food and shelter. And while they are active, they are also breeding. This is how a single property, be it a residence or a commercial building, can become overrun with rodents in a very short period of time.

Many property owners feel that they can be their own rodent exterminator. This is often true if the rodent problem is small and limited to a small area. However, many property owners simply will not know the true extent of the infestation. Rats and mice love to build their nests inside walls, attics, and cellars, making it difficult for the average property owner to know for sure just how many pests are in the structure. Just because the property owner sees only one mouse or rat does not mean that there are not a dozen more hiding somewhere within the building.

It should be noted that effective rodent control is the only way to protect the property and its contents from damage. Mice and rats are known to be some of the most dangerous pests that live within structures. They can gnaw into electrical wiring, causing fires which can destroy a property in time at all. Some studies have estimated that as many as 50,000 fires per year are started because rodents gnawed into electrical wiring. Add to this the possible injury to people who might be in the building at the time of fire and you can see why hiring a rodent exterminator is so important in terms of property security and human safety.

It is also known that effective rodent control measures can eliminate food contamination caused by rats and mice. These animals feed on whatever they can gain entry to and that includes many of the food stuffs that are found in the average home or business lunch room. They are well equipped to gnaw into packages, boxes and cartons and will eagerly devour whatever they find there. In return, they leave their droppings and urine which no one wants to be exposed to much less consume by accident. When proper rodent control measures are taken, these issues become a thing of the past.

If you would like to learn more on how to select a professional rodent exterminator or wish to learn more about rodent control in general, visit the site. In-depth information is available and access to the site is free.

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Keywords: Generally speaking, pests are pests, but some pests, such as mice and rats, are often far more destructive and unhealthy to humans than, say

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Tear gas used as 25,000 rally for Malaysia reforms

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) ? Malaysian police fired tear gas and chemical-laced water Saturday at thousands of demonstrators demanding an overhaul in electoral policies they call biased ahead of national polls expected soon.

At least 25,000 demonstrators had swamped Malaysia's largest city in one of the Southeast Asian nation's biggest street rallies in the past decade.

The demonstration reflected concerns that Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition ? which has held power for more than 50 years ? will have an unfair upper hand in elections that could be called as early as June.

Activists have alleged that the Election Commission is biased and claimed that voter registration lists are tainted with fraudulent voters.

Demonstrators wearing yellow T-shirts poured into downtown Kuala Lumpur, massing near a public square that police had sealed off with barbed wire and barricades.

"I'm here because I'm a Malaysian and I love my country," said information technology manager Burrd Lim. "There's no election that's perfect, but I want one that's fair enough."

Authorities said an opposition-backed pressure group that organized the rally has no right to use Independence Square, a symbolically important venue that hosts parades and high-profile celebrations.

The demonstration remained peaceful for several hours but turned chaotic when some people apparently breached the barriers, prompting police to fire tear gas and water laced with stinging chemicals at portions of the crowd. Witnesses saw police detaining several people.

Federal police spokesman Rasdi Ramli estimated there were about 25,000 demonstrators, but many witnesses and some Malaysian news organizations said there were far more. Independent news website Malaysiakini said there was 100,000, while The Sun newspaper estimated 80,000.

The rally's organizers also want longer election campaigning periods and changes to ensure citizens living abroad can cast ballots, as well as international observers for the polls and fairer access for all political parties to the government-linked media.

Government officials and electoral authorities insist the activists' concerns are overblown.

"We accept that there are issues," Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said late Friday. "We have worked very hard to address them, introducing a raft of reforms to ensure that our country's next election is the freest and fairest ever."

After an estimated 20,000 demonstrators staged a similar rally in Kuala Lumpur last July, authorities established a panel to study electoral regulations and agreed for voters to have their fingers stained with indelible ink while casting ballots to curb fraud and multiple voting.

Authorities used tear gas and water cannons to break up July's rally and briefly arrested about 1,600 demonstrators.

"Today is a major test case for basic freedoms in Malaysia, starting with the right to peacefully march and assemble," said Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch's deputy director for Asia.

Thousands of Malaysians living abroad and rights activists in dozens of major cities in Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States are expected to also stage demonstrations Saturday in solidarity with those in Kuala Lumpur.

Speculation has intensified that Najib might dissolve Parliament next month and seek a new mandate in June, even though polls do not need to be held until mid-2013.

The National Front, which has governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957, suffered its worst performance in 2008 elections, when it lost more than a third of Parliament's seats amid public discontent over problems such as corruption and racial discrimination.

___

Associated Press writer Sean Yoong contributed to this report.

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Chinese Activist Chen Guangcheng May Be In US Embassy: Report

Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng made his way to the U.S. embassy in Beijing from his home in Linyi village in Shandong province after his escape from house arrest on Sunday, fellow dissident Hu Jia told BBC News.

Hu said Chen, a blind attorney known as the Barefoot Lawyer, first scaled a high wall and then was driven hundreds of kilometers to Beijing, BBC News reported.

There are reports that his brother Chen Guangfu and nephew Chen Kegui are now being held by police, BBC News said.

Victoria Nuland, a representative of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, neither confirmed nor denied that Chen Guangcheng was at the U.S. embassy in Beijing during the State Department's daily press briefing on Friday, saying, "I don't have anything for you on that subject."

Guangchen had been under house arrest for 19 months, Reuters reported, citing as its source ChinaAid, a Texas-based, international non-profit human rights organization.

The Chinese government has made no comment on Chen's alleged escape and U.S. embassy protection.

The incident could cause tension between the Chinese and American governments, and it precedes by less than a week a high-profile, two-day visit by U.S. President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to Beijing on Thursday, Reuters reported.

"Because of Chen's wide popularity, the Obama Administration must stand firmly with him or risk losing credibility as a defender of freedom and the rule of law," Bob Fu, president of ChinaAid, a religious and political rights advocacy group that has long campaigned for Chen's freedom, said in an email.

According to Reuters, Chen is a self-schooled legal advocate who campaigned against forced abortions who has been held under extra-legal confinement in his village home in Linyi in eastern Shandong province since September 2010 when he was released from jail. His confinement under relentless surveillance with his family fanned protests by Chinese sympathizers and criticism from foreign governments and groups.

Reuters added that Chen's escape and the furor it has unleashed could add to the headaches of China's ruling Communist Party, which is striving to ensure stability and authority before a leadership transition later this year.

The incident and its surrounding controversy could overshadow Obama's Thursday visit to attend the Unites States' and China's annual "strategic and economic dialogue."

To contact the editor, e-mail:

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Collision suspected in yacht mishap that killed 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A yacht racing off the coasts of California and Mexico apparently collided at night with a much larger vessel, leaving three crew members dead and one missing, a sailing organization said early Sunday. It was the state's second ocean racing tragedy this month.

The Newport Ocean Sailing Association ? organizer of the 125-mile Newport, Calif. to Ensenada, Mexico yacht race ? said the apparent collision involving the 37-foot Aegean occurred late Friday or early Saturday several miles off the coast near the ocean border of the two countries.

"It appeared the damage was not inflicted by an explosion but by a collision with a ship much larger than the 37-foot vessel," association spokesman Rich Roberts said in a news release early Sunday.

Race officials believe there are few other possibilities for what caused the accident, Roberts later told The Associated Press, speaking by phone from Ensenada, Mexico.

He said details were still scarce but it was possible that if the smaller boat was bobbing around in light wind, the crew might not have been able to get out of the way of a larger ship, perhaps a freighter.

The race goes through shipping lanes and it's possible for a large ship to hit a sailboat and not even know it, especially at night, he said.

Roberts said a race tracking system indicated that the boat disappeared about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

A Coast Guard search turned up the boat's wreckage, including the rear transom with the boat's name on it, the association release said.

Three crew members of the sailboat were found dead and a search was under way early Sunday for a fourth. Coast Guard boats and two aircraft as well as Mexican navy and civilian vessels were involved.

It wasn't immediately clear how many people were aboard the Aegean, but the Newport Beach Patch website posted a photo that shows the crew at the start of the race Friday. Four men in royal blue T-shits are on the deck as the boat cuts through calm waters. One man is waving and another appears to be smiling.

Other yachts near the Coronado Islands in Mexico reported seeing debris Saturday morning. Searchers in the afternoon found the bodies and debris from the Aegean, whose home port is Redondo Beach, Coast Guard Petty Officer Henry Dunphy said

Two of the dead were recovered by a civilian boat, while the third was found by a Coast Guard helicopter.

The Coast Guard said earlier that it hadn't determined what happened to the sailboat.

Dunphy said conditions were fine for sailing, with good visibility and moderate ocean swells of 6-to-8 feet.

A total of 210 boats were registered in the 65th annual yacht race, according to the Newport Ocean Sailing Association's website. The race started off Newport Beach Friday and many boats finished in Ensenada Saturday, with the last ones due in Sunday.

The association's commodore, reached by phone in Ensenada, told the AP that he didn't know the members of the Aegean or how many people were aboard.

"This has never happened in the entire 65 years of the race that I'm aware of," Chuck Iverson said. "We're all shocked by this whole event."

The names of the dead were not released pending notification of next of kin.

The Coronado Islands are four small, largely uninhabited islands about 15 miles south of San Diego.

The deaths come two weeks after five sailors died in the waters off Northern California when their 38-foot yacht was hit by powerful waves, smashed into rocks and capsized during a race.

Three sailors survived the wreck and the body of another was quickly recovered. Four remained missing until one body was recovered last Thursday.

The deadly accident near the Farallon Islands, about 27 miles west of San Francisco, prompted the Coast Guard to temporarily stop races in ocean waters outside San Francisco Bay.

The Coast Guard said the suspension will allow it and the offshore racing community to study the accident and race procedures to determine whether changes are needed to improve safety. U.S. Sailing, the governing body of yacht racing, is leading the safety review, which is expected to be completed within the next month.

The Aegean is owned by Marina Sailing, a Southern California sailing club that rents the sailboat for $325 per day. An call to the club was not immediately returned Saturday night.

___

AP sports writer Bernie Wilson reported from San Diego.

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AP sources: Suspending Pro Bowl an option

NEW YORK (AP) ? Have NFL fans seen the last of the Pro Bowl?

The game could be suspended next year, two people familiar with discussions said Thursday.

Commissioner Roger Goodell, among others, expressed concerns about the quality of play after January's game, and the league has been holding talks with the players' union about the future of the all-star game. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were not being publicized.

Responding to an ESPN report that Goodell is "strongly considering" suspending the game in 2013, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said: "No determination has been made yet."

Goodell said before the Super Bowl in February he was unhappy with what he saw in the AFC's 59-41 win in the Pro Bowl at Honolulu ? a game that often resembled touch football. Many players chosen for the game bow out, and if the Pro Bowl is held before the Super Bowl, as it was during the past three years, players from the conference champions don't participate.

San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York questioned his followers on Twitter about their feeling toward the Pro Bowl, then concluded later that there "Doesn't seem to be much love" in the responses.

The game still draws solid TV ratings, but isn't considered a money maker. Although viewership dropped 8.1 percent in January, the Pro Bowl still was the highest-rated sports program of the weekend.

The big factor is cost, particularly when played in Hawaii. And with so many defections? there were 20 replacements for non-participating players in 2012, including Pro Bowlers from the Giants and Patriots who were occupied with the Super Bowl ? it raises the question of whether the game is still special.

Newly elected NFLPA President Domonique Foxworth tweeted Thursday: "The Pro Bowl is an important tradition we are in talks with the league to improve and preserve the game for our players and fans."

Hawaii began hosting the game in 1980 and it was held there annually until 2010, when it moved to Miami and was played the week before the Super Bowl. Before moving it, the NFL said there was a need for a more modern stadium in Hawaii, but the Pro Bowl returned there in 2011.

"We understand that the suspension of the Pro Bowl is a possibility," Mike McCartney, CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority said in a statement. "However, we are still in discussions with the NFL about the possibility of holding the event here in the Hawaiian Islands. We feel the Pro Bowl and Hawaii are a perfect fit and believe that holding the Pro Bowl in the Hawaiian Islands would be a good thing for our visitor industry and the state."

The tourism authority, which generates revenue from a tax on hotel rates, has been paying the NFL $4 million to bring the game to the islands. The authority touts the $25 million Pro Bowl visitors spend during their stay. It also values the advertising it gets when the nation sees sun-soaked players running across the field in the middle of winter.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie last year criticized the payments, questioning why Hawaii should "give 4 million bucks to a $9 billion football industry" when the state was struggling to fund education. He did an about-face several months later, saying he wanted Hawaii to host the game and "we're going to do everything we can to make sure that comes about in a fashion that will make everybody very, very happy."

NFL counsel Jeff Pash said last week there have been extensive talks with players about the Pro Bowl.

"When should it be played? Where? And certainly the quality of the game," he said. "We understand what contributes to the low quality of the game. It does not mean very much either financially or competitively. Players are reluctant to participate in a way that they could be injured. It's not going to ever look like a playoff game, but it needs to improve so fans don't say, 'I feel bad watching it.'"

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