The Bible and the belt: Inside a camp for gay youth

Deaf children losing out as English councils cut support, charity warns More than a third of councils in England are cutting educational support totalling £4m for deaf children, according to figures obtained by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS). The figures, gained through freedom of information requests, show that councils in these areas are cutting 10% on average from deaf children’s services, which the charity warns are already near breaking point. In the last four years, one in 10 specialist teachers of the deaf have been cut, the charity claims. Meanwhile, deaf children are falling behind at every stage of school, and at GCSE two-thirds of deaf children fail to achieve a grade 5 in both English and maths – a key government target.

DeVos reinstated for-profit college accreditor despite staff objections, report shows Education Secretary Betsy DeVos earlier this year reinstated an accreditor of for-profit colleges despite findings by her agency’s career staff that the organization failed to meet federal standards, an internal document shows. The report, released by the Education Department on Friday in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, shows that career department analysts had serious concerns about restoring the federal recognition of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools just a month before DeVos issued an order reinstating the accreditor’s federal status. Story Continued Below

White House, EPA headed off chemical pollution study Scott Pruitt’s EPA and the White House sought to block publication of a federal health study on a nationwide water-contamination crisis, after one Trump administration aide warned it would cause a "public relations nightmare," newly disclosed emails reveal. The intervention early this year — not previously disclosed — came as HHS' Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry was preparing to publish its assessment of a class of toxic chemicals that has contaminated water supplies near military bases, chemical plants and other sites from New York to Michigan to West Virginia. Story Continued Below The study would show that the chemicals endanger human health at a far lower level than EPA has previously called safe, according to the emails. “The public, media, and Congressional reaction to these numbers is going to be huge,” one unidentified White House aide said in an email forwarded on Jan. 30 by James Herz, a political appointee who oversees environmental issues at the OMB. Sen.

World's richest 1% grabbed 82% of all wealth created in 2017, Oxfam study finds - Jan. 21, 2018 That's according to a new report from Oxfam International, which estimates that the bottom 50% of the world's population saw no increase in wealth. Oxfam says the trend shows that the global economy is skewed in favor of the rich, rewarding wealth instead of work. "The billionaire boom is not a sign of a thriving economy but a symptom of a failing economic system," said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International.

Two Koch Insiders Are Creating a New Office Inside the FCC - TYT Network Federal Communication Commission Chairman Ajit Pai at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), February, 2018. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images. By Alex Kotch Scott Pruitt: EPA Chief Faces Mounting Scrutiny For Ethics Violations Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is facing investigations into his use of taxpayer funds for security and travel along with scrutiny of his ties to industry lobbyists. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption toggle caption

Saudi Arabia accused of torturing female activists by electrocution and flogging leaving them unable to walk Campaigners have accused Saudi Arabia of subjecting several activists, including female human rights defenders, imprisoned since May to torture and sexual harassment. More than a dozen women’s rights activists have been detained for months, most of whom had campaigned for the right to drive and an end to the Kingdom’s male guardianship system, but some have since been freed. A group of UN experts last month called for the immediate release of six female human rights defenders they said were still being held incommunicado in Saudi Arabia. The arrests in May followed an earlier crackdown on clerics, intellectuals and activists in September 2017, in an apparent attempt to silence potential opponents of the country’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Nearly half of tenants who make complaint face 'revenge eviction' Nearly half of all tenants who make a formal complaint about their housing suffer a “revenge eviction” by private landlords, according to research by Citizens Advice. It estimated that 141,000 tenants have been subject to “complain and you’re out” evictions since 2015. The evictions are possible because section 21 notices under the 1988 Housing Act allow landlords to force out tenants on a no-fault basis.

New CIA Deputy Director's Past Intertwined With CIA's History Of Waterboarding The CIA's new second-in-command, Gina Haspel, is a decorated officer, serving more than three decades undercover. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images The CIA's new second-in-command, Gina Haspel, is a decorated officer, serving more than three decades undercover. Trump's Budget Wouldn't Erase Deficits, CBO Said Under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018, there would have been hundreds of billions of dollars in deficits each year from 2018 to 2027, according to projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. That contradicts Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney’s claim that the U.S. “would actually be on a glide path to balancing the budget” had Congress enacted Trump’s desired plan. CBO did say that deficits and debt would be lower under Trump’s plan than they would have otherwise been under law at the time. But, while the Office of Management and Budget projected that Trump’s budget would add $3.2 trillion to the deficit over that 10-year period, CBO estimated deficits would increase by $6.8 trillion. And, in 2027, when OMB projected there would actually be a $16 billion surplus, CBO estimated a $720 billion deficit.

Billionaires v teachers: the Koch brothers' plan to starve public education Arizona has become the hotbed for an experiment rightwing activists hope will redefine America’s schools – an experiment that has pitched the conservative billionaires the Koch brothers and Donald Trump’s controversial education secretary, Betsy DeVos, against teachers’ unions, teachers and parents. Neither side is giving up without a fight. With groups funded by the Koch brothers and DeVos nudging things along, Arizona lawmakers enacted the nation’s broadest school vouchers law, state-funded vouchers that are supposed to give parents more school choice and can be spent on private or religiously affiliated schools. For opponents, the system is not about choice but about further weakening the public school system.

Kimberly Guilfoyle was once half of a liberal power couple. Now she’s basically a Trump. Kimberly Guilfoyle was first lady of San Francisco. Now she is dating Donald Trump Jr. and vice chair of a pro-Trump super PAC. (Washington Post Staff Illustration; Getty Images) In the summer of 2004, the new mayor and first lady of San Francisco were photographed for an eight-page spread in Harper’s Bazaar. Gavin Newsom wore a thousand-dollar tuxedo, and Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom had on a black dress that was twice the price.