| Student debt piles up with easy-to-get loans
As students pile up ever-increasing education loan tabs, some colleges and universities are starting to question whether they should be counseling these young borrowers - before they end up with debt that will take them decades to work off. Educational institutions have not seen financial counseling of students as their responsibility, although many students have little understanding of debt and their own personal finances. Most schools focus solely on getting students the funds needed to graduate, skirting discussions about the risks of credit even as a typical debt load soars into the tens of thousands of dollars. "There has been no discussion about whether this might be to the detriment of the student," said Mark Oleson, director of the University of Missouri's Office for Financial Success, which counsels student borrowers.
Is it time to panic?
After Northern Rock and sub-prime loans, the consequences of global financial uncertainty are about to hit Britons in the pocket. Anushka Asthana and Ned Temko report on the dramatic effect on prices in the high street: from groceries and petrol to luxury goods, and new mortgages to credit cards
Sunday November 18, 2007
The Observer
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Miami child abuse cases mishandled, state finds
A 2-year-old girl is beaten so savagely that her skull is fractured from ear to ear. A 15-year-old girl is repeatedly raped by the boyfriend of her mother, who refuses to believe her. A psychotic, suicidal 14-year-old boy bounces between a juvenile lockup and a mental hospital after his only caregiver, an aunt, abandons him. All three Miami-area children, and scores of others, had been reported as victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment earlier this year to Florida child welfare caseworkers -- who closed their cases days later without helping them, in some instances without ever laying eyes on them. A state report into the children's cases obtained by The Miami Herald concludes there was a ''widespread'' practice among Miami child-abuse caseworkers of closing investigations prematurely, sometimes without even visiting suspected victims of abuse or neglect.
Date Announced For Special Election To Replace Bob Allen
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Governor Charlie Crist announced a date late Tuesday afternoon for a special election to replace former State Representative Bob Allen. READ: Bob Allen's Letter Of Resignation (PDF)
RAW VIDEO: Guilty Verdict Read For Rep. Bob Allen Allen resigned his seat days after he was convicted of soliciting an undercover officer for a sex act. Allen's district includes parts of Brevard and Orange counties, so both must hold elections. That will cost as much as $200,000 a piece. The governor set the date of the primary election on January 29, the same day as the state-wide presidential primary. Currently, only three Republicans are contenders for the seat. A general election for the seat will be held in February.
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