Education salaries grow

AP - Salary costs have jumped in Louisiana's education department, even as the number of full-time employees dropped, and the number of people drawing six-figure paychecks has more than doubled in the two years since Paul Pastorek took charge of the agency.

Teachers begin using cell phones for class lessons (AP)

AP - Ariana Leonard's high school students shuffled in their seats, eagerly awaiting a cue from their Spanish teacher that the assignment would begin.

Nev. teen accused in son

AP - A judge in Nevada has ruled that the case of a Las Vegas-area teen accused of smothering her newborn son can go to trial.

Ore. train operator fired; ignored calls for help (AP)

AP - Portland's mass transit agency has fired a light-rail train operator who ignored a father's calls for help after his 3-year-old son was left behind at a station last week.

Mumbai commemorates anniversary of attacks (AP)

 
AP - Black-clad commandos rappelled down a building and Mumbai's police showed off their new gear Thursday in what was intended as a reassuring display of force a year after a terror attack across the city killed 166 people.

Ore. train operator fired; ignored calls for help (AP)

AP - Portland's mass transit agency has fired a light-rail train operator who ignored a father's calls for help after his 3-year-old son was left behind at a station last week.

Missouri competes for

AP - Missouri must be willing to overhaul its education system and develop new teaching methods to compete for more than $4 billion in federal funds, the state's top education and political leaders said.

Southern Baptist president has prostate cancer (AP)

AP - Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt says that he has prostate cancer and expects to have surgery in January.

Fort Hood soldiers prepare for battle with scars from rampage (AFP)

 
AFP - Countless commanders in the US Army have prepared battalions for war since the terrorist attacks of September 11, but none of them had do it after losing soldiers in a shooting spree on a home base.

Number of hate crimes up slightly in US: FBI (AFP)

 
AFP - The number of US hate crime victims rose slightly last year to nearly 9,700 from 9,500 in 2007, with most people targeted because of their skin color, the FBI said Monday.

Atheist student groups flower on college campuses (AP)

 
AP - The sign sits propped on a wooden chair, inviting all comers: "Ask an Atheist."

Taliban suffocate Pakistan Buddhist heritage (AFP)

 
AFP - Archaeologists warn that the Taliban are destroying Pakistan's ancient Gandhara heritage and rich Buddhist legacy as pilgrimage and foreign research dries up in the country's northwest.