NJ Topics Education

National Journal Coverage
Gina McCarthy

Senate Committee Approves Gina McCarthy EPA Nomination Along Party Lines

Senate Republicans on Thursday eased their opposition to the nomination of Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency—but her confirmation by the full Senate is not yet assured.
Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli

Poll: McAuliffe Holds Slight Lead in Va. Gov. Race

Former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe has taken a slight lead over Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in Virginia's gubernatorial race, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday morning. McAuliffe leads Cuccinelli, 43 percent to 38 percent, with 17 perce...
Former Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., announces his resignation from Congress, amid the intense controversy surrounding sexually explicit messages he sent online to several women.

Weiner's Spending Dwindled in Past Two Months

Anthony Weiner is still mulling whether to mount a run for mayor of New York this fall, and the former Democratic congressman's latest campaign filings do not indicate any concrete movement in that direction that haven't previously been disclosed. The filings, which cover from March 12 through this...
Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren's Playbook to Win Over Young Voters

Massachusetts senator's focus on student loans is popular with college students.
Business Education

House to Tackle Student-Loan Rates

House Republicans are preparing to pass legislation that would remedy, once and for all, the looming problem of student-loan interest rates.
Judith Rodin

The Hottest Trend for Wealthy Do-Gooders

The Rockefeller Foundation's Judith Rodin explains impact investing. But she warns: "This is not the solution to less government funding."
Reconcile Restaurant

The Cajun Comeback

Eight years after Katrina, New Orleans is finding new ways to address old problems. Scenes from a turnaround. 
North Carolina 12

Prepare for a Special Election in the Craziest-Shaped Congressional District in the Country

If Rep. Melvin Watt winds up going to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, he'll be leaving behind an incredibly gerrymandered district in North Carolina.
change.org

You (Yes, You!) Can Now Pay to Promote Your Change.org Petitions

"Crowd-promoted" petitions will give ordinary users even more of a voice -- so long as they've got the cash.
Chris Christie

N.J.'s Christie Poised to Launch First T.V. Ad

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will launch the first television ad of his reelection campaign on Wednesday, initially backed by nearly $1.5 million, according to a Republican source tracking ad buys. The ad is a 60-second spot; the initial buy runs from Wednesday through May 12. The ad will air on...
Anthony Weiner

3 Stories That Will Make You Mad As Hell (But Will You Act?)

Actions of Obama, Weiner and McDonnell reflect why Americans are losing faith in leadership.
Barbara and Harry Sheinfelds

When Retirement Keeps Getting Further Away

The Sheinfelds had raised their children and were finally poised to retire. They were (understandably) naive to think it would be that easy. 
the Aguilar Family

Now Middle-Class Parents, Not Just Their Kids, Can Get a Degree

Two San Antonio newlyweds think they’ll need higher education to assure their success. Their new status gives them a chance to afford it. 
Youth unemployment

Millennials Are the Unluckiest Generation

Entering the workforce during a recession puts young people behind from the start. 
MOOC

How Online Education Saves Everyone Money

Online learning isn’t just another path into the middle class. It’s also a way for the government to spend more wisely. 
Levittown, PA

Why We’re Still in Love With the American Dream

Even if middle-class ambitions are illusory, it sure helps to believe in them.
Alan S. Blinder, left, and Glenn Hubbard.

Two Completely Different Ways to Deal With the Upward-Mobility Crisis

Top economists from the Clinton and Bush administrations debate how to revive the economy to keep people from getting stuck. 
Wilmington, Ohio

Reversing the Brain Drain to Save a Home Town

After the largest employer in southwest Ohio laid off thousands, two young friends got to work.
Michele Bachmann

Affidavit: Bachmann Approved Indirect Payments to Iowa Politician

The problems for Rep. Michele Bachmann are piling up.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino

What You Need to Know About Boston Mayor Thomas Menino

A popular five-term mayor, he faces the biggest crisis of his 20-year tenure.
Senator Tom Coburn

Time Running Short for Congress to Keep Student-Loan Rates From Doubling

Student-loan reform has emerged as one of the few bipartisan bridges in a budget battle marked by stark divides. But there is little agreement on solutions.
Gary Peters

Peters Raises $371K As He Considers Senate Bid

Rep. Gary Peters, D-Mich., started his 2013 fundraising by taking in $371,000 during the first quarter, a respectable sum for the potential Senate candidate but less than the $434,000 he raised in the first quarter of 2011. As Peters jostles for Democratic support with party power player Debbie Din...
Gina Raimondo

In Rhode Island, A Battle for the Democratic Party's Future

A budget-balancing Democrat could be the state's first female governor. But she's drawing opposition from unions, who prefer the Hispanic mayor of Providence.

Five Staffers to Watch in the DCCC and NRCC

The battle for the House majority will rage across the country next year. And few groups will wield more influence on those races than the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee. Here are five staffers from each who will play a critical role in those campaigns.
Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader’s Newest Crusade: Raising the Minimum Wage

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader has a new crusade for 2013—raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour, where it has stagnated since President Obama took office in 2009.
Moneyball

Can a 'Moneyball' Approach Turn Around New Orleans Schools?

Scores are rising as teachers track data and look for patterns to improve classroom learning.
Rand Paul

Rand Paul's Play to Win Over Black Voters at Howard University

How the libertarian-minded senator is received will indicate how well GOP is making inroads with minorities.
Mark Zuckerberg with Cory Booker and Chris Christie

Curious Friends: How Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Can Help Republicans

By zeroing in on issues where bipartisanship is possible, Zuckerberg’s political efforts can soften the GOP’s edges.
payday lenders

The Online Lenders That Could Break the Payday Loan Racket

Payday loans provide quick cash to many Americans--but with crippling fees. New online lenders may provide a path to good credit.
Jane Campbell

Five Small Business Committee Staffers to Know

Here are the people you need to know on the Small Business Committee staffs on both sides of the Capitol.
John Boehner, Eric Cantor

A Republican Divide in Sharp Relief

There's a growing split between the party's elites, based in D.C. and New York, and the increasingly vocal grassroots.
pre-school

What San Antonio Has to Teach Washington

The city is trying a small-scale version of Obama's pre-K plan. If politicians want to send more 4-year-olds to school, they should pay attention.
President Barack Obama greeting Michaele and Tareq Salahi,

Closing in on Signature Threshold, Salahi Talks Politics, Policy And Journey

Though Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe are the far-and-away frontrunners in this year's Virginia gubernatorial race, the other candidate in the race discussed his own campaign with Hotline On Call late last week: former Whi...
Justice Department Announces Lawsuit Against Arpaio

What You Need to Know About Obama's Labor Secretary Pick, Thomas Perez

President Obama will nominate Thomas Perez, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, as the next Labor secretary, according to a White House official. Here is what you need to know about Perez.
Thomas Perez

What You Need to Know About Obama's Labor Secretary Pick, Thomas Perez

Obama has chosen Thomas Perez as the next Labor secretary. Here's what you need to know about him.
Philadelphia Charter School Lunch

Downturn Leads More Kids to Charters, Fewer to Private Schools

Private school enrollments in the US are falling, while charter schools are experiencing a surge in enrollment.
wh

The Weird Time Warp of the George W. Bush White House Website

Step back in time to a era where the Affordable Care Act was a laughable dream, when No Child Left behind was touted by the White House, when Barack Obama was not president of the United States.
college graduates

The Path to a Debt-Free College Degree?

Traditional universities could soon be forced to accept credits from online courses. 
Scott DesJarlais

Congressman Hosts Fundraiser for Scandal-Plagued Colleague, But Won't Show Up

Even though he's hosting a fundraiser next week for the campaign of scandal-plagued Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, Rep. John Kline of Minnesota is distancing himself from the event, with a spokesman claiming he never planned to attend in the first place. 
Cory Booker

Poll: Booker Crushes Dems in Potential N.J. Senate Primary

Newark Mayor Cory Booker has said he won't officially announce whether he'll run for Senate in 2014 until after this year's gubernatorial race, but a new poll released Wednesday shows the mayor would begin the contest with a commanding lead over two potential Democratic primary opponents. Asked whi...
Paul and McConnell

McConnell Camp Goes After 'Far-Left Special Interests' in First 2014 Ad

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., released the first television ad of his reelection campaign on Wednesday, 20 months before Election Day, responding to attacks by "far-left special interests."
Paul Ryan budget

House Republican Budget Offers More of the Same

By unveiling a budget blueprint that would erase the deficit in just 10 years, House Republicans sought on Tuesday to make that goal the gold standard and bare minimum for all future budget battles between the two parties.
Sheryl Sandberg

Two Cheers for Sheryl Sandberg, Who Helped Give Us the Financial Crisis

She made a billion; wrote Lean In, a good book on feminism; and helped deregulate the financial sector.
Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing

College Costs Further Stratify Class Privilege

The accountability revolution that reshaped K-12 is reaching critical mass for the cap-and-gown set. From president to governors to leading foundations and educators, more voices are insisting that postsecondary schools confront the intertwined problems of rising tuition, exploding student debt, and disappointing completion rates.
Anna Galland of MoveOn.org

Anna Galland, 33, Leads MoveOn.org From Michigan

Anna Galland, the new executive director of MoveOn.org, likes to keep her feet firmly planted outside the Beltway.
Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing

How Colleges Are Making Income Inequality Worse

Higher education is supposed to reduce class division, but it turns out it doesn't.
Supreme Court

Here Come the Culture Wars: Court Hears Cases on Affirmative Action and Gay Marriage

Democrats concerned that rulings could mobilize conservative base ahead of 2014 midterms.
George Miller

Job Training Takes on Partisan Flavor

The fight over how to update long-ignored job training programs lays bare the question of whether the law is worth the trouble at all.
Jeb

The Mighty Jeb Bush Comes Down to Earth

Jeb Bush's waffling and word-mincing on immigration has stunned reformers, frustrated his friends, and left Democrats relishing the public-relations disaster.
Doctoral student in research

M.D. Hopes? Male Black Applicants Still in Decline

The number of male black medical school applicants is continuing to fall, despite a growing pool of diverse applicants overall.
Alamo Academy Students in San Antonio

How Did These Kids Score Good Jobs Right Out of High School?

A public-private partnership in San Antonio lets students earn college credits--and a job in the aerospace industry.
Lena Dunham on HBO's

How Do 20-Somethings Who Aren't Characters on 'Girls' Get Work Experience?

Working-class Americans don't have the luxury of taking unpaid internships to acquire skills and experience. That's where Year Up comes in. 

Arne Duncan's Distracting Gaffe

Education Secretary Arne Duncan had a rough week. I can't recap his shenanigans leading up to the sequestration any better than Education Week's Alyson Klein. Check out her post on the topic here.
Alamo Academy Students in San Antonio

How Did These Kids Score Good Jobs Right Out of High School?

Frank Pena doesn’t have much time to chat, because he’s repairing a jet engine. The 24-year-old technician at Lockheed Martin is a big guy, but even he looks tiny compared with some of the engines—from the Air Force’s C-5 to the commercial 727—arrayed in the factory. Pena is here, and not flipping burgers at McDonalds, because of a decision he made when he was a sophomore in high school. He enrolled in the Alamo Area Aerospace Academy.
Preschool children

The Overhyped, Overblown, & Overly Politicized Sequester Fears

It turns out that the next big fiscal crisis will seem more like a whimper when it hits on March 1.
dvanced Placement government class

Which Minority Passes More AP Math Tests?

The number of minority high school students taking Advanced Placement classes has risen fourfold in a decade, but college aspirants of color, especially from low-income families, continue to significantly lag white students.
Hispanic grad rates

Fewer Dropouts, but Blacks, Hispanics Still Lag: Report

​The U.S. high school graduation rate of 78.2 percent climbed 6.5 percentage points between 2006 and 2010, but the rates for Hispanics and blacks stands at 71.4 and 66.1 percent respectively.
LaHood sequester

Coming to A State Near You: Big Spending Cuts

The White House is trying to raise pressure on Congress to cancel automatic spending cuts by releasing the most detailed accounting to date of how the reductions would hit in the 50 states. The cuts, known as the sequester, are scheduled to take effect on Friday.
Job seekers

America's Most Pessimistic Demographic About Quality Jobs Is Surprising

About 73 percent of respondents say now is a bad time to be seeking a quality job, but one demographic is really pessimistic, a Gallup study shows.
Mitt Romney

What Would President Romney Do?

For those convinced that President Obama doesn’t deserve any blame for the fiscal gridlock, let’s do a thought experiment. Let’s imagine that Mitt Romney was elected president and was dealing with the same Congress that Obama has faced so much trouble with in getting legislation to avert sequestration and myriad fiscal emergencies. Would a President Romney be confronting the same crisis?
Barack Obama SOTU

Can This Congress Be Saved?

National Journal’s annual vote ratings show a Congress as paralyzed and polarized as ever. But better days may lie ahead.

Opinion: How the Next America Will Get the Biggest Bang for Its Buck

The White House’s College Scorecard will provide a pathway for minority students to make wiser decisions about their education investments.

Holy Preschool, Batman

President Obama got religion on early childhood education last week, proposing for the first time in his State of the Union address that all four-year-olds have access to high quality preschool. His start point is slightly less ambitious than universal pre-K, making sure that "low- and moderate-income" kids have access to it first. Not a bad start.
Gina McCarthy

Who's In and Who's Out in Obama's Cabinet

President Obama has chosen many of the candidates for his second-term Cabinet, but he still has eight positions left to fill. Here's a look at which positions are open, the leading contenders to fill them, and the Cabinet choices he has already made.
preschool

Can Universal Preschool Solve All Our Problems?

During the State of the Union, President Obama said "study after study" proves preschool gives kids a lifelong advantage. So what are these studies?
Cody Wilson

Yes, Obama Did Mention '3-D Printing' at the State of the Union

President Obama touted the potential for 3-D printing "to revolutionize the way we make almost everything” in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. Here's how it could affect counter-terrorism, military strategy, gun control, and the global balance of trade.
First Lady State of the Union

A Look at Who's Sitting With the First Lady Tonight

Here's Michelle Obama’s guest list for the State of the Union, broken down by the issues the attendees represent.
State Union

Expect to Hear an Absolutely Forgettable State of the Union Speech

When President Obama takes to the speaker’s rostrum on the floor of the House of Representatives Tuesday evening, you can expect him to speak for more than an hour. But don’t bet on him saying anything you’ll remember a month later.
Ted Nugent

In Ted Nugent's Words: It's Him Against Obama at the State of the Union

The pro-gun, anti-Obama rocker will be the guest of Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas.

Why Skills Matter, Politically

Since when did the conversation about education in the United States morph from leaving no child behind to finding and keeping science and engineering college majors? Answer: Since President Obama figured out that linking education to a skill-based economy was the best way to call attention to an issue normally relegated to the third tier of politics.
Diverse classrooms

The Demographic Power Behind Effective Charter Schools

Student demographics and baseline scores play a role in achievement — schools work best for minority students and students with low baseline scores — but non-urban charters appear to be ineffective for most subgroups, research shows.
Illinois classroom

How a Lingering Deadline Pushes Schools to Face Their Shortcomings

Ed Trust report finds many state-implemented school-accountability systems are still overlooking the struggles of minority and low-income students.
Q&A: Socioeconomically Mixed Schools Provide Value to Poor and Middle-Class Kids

Q&A: The Value of Socioeconomically Mixed Schools

"When low-income students ... go to school with middle-class culture, they learn how to navigate middle-class America," says Michael Petrilli of the Fordham Institute.
Eric Cantor at AEI

Grading 13 Ideas From Eric Cantor's Big Speech

Cantor's grades range from A+ (consumer information on college) to D (Medicaid). He also has incompletes that give his party room to maneuver.
Cantor With Kids

Using People as Props: Cantor Channels Clinton and Reagan

As Washington becomes increasingly staged-managed, 'real people' land roles in political scripts.
Eric Cantor

How Eric Cantor Is Trying to Soften the Republican Party

The House majority leader's charm offensive is part of a broader effort by GOP leaders to revive their battered brand.

Tension on School Closings

Give credit to Education Secretary Arne Duncan for showing up at a hearing last week where hundreds of irate students and parents complained that the department's position on closing schools has resulted in harm for low-income students of color.

Bruce Braley

William Frey

Demographer William Frey: 3 Must-Knows Regarding Immigration

Demographer William Frey spoke with The Next America on what pending immigration policies might mean to the nation’s future. 
Minority Students Are Saddled by School Loan Debt

Minority Students Are Saddled by School Loan Debt

By the time Krystina Martinez transferred to her third college, she knew all the questions to ask about financial aid, student loans, grants, and scholarships to help pay for her undergraduate degree in communications. An experience five years earlier had left her burdened by debt and no degree to show for it.
Michelle Obama High School Graduates

Interactive: Mapping High School Graduation, Dropout Rates Across the U.S.

A National Center for Education Statistics releases a report on public-school graduation and dropout rates, and the news overall isn’t bad.
 max kampelman

The Right and Wrong Ways to Change Your Politics

Max Kampelman's passing this week at the age of 92 offers a timely lesson that there are right and wrong ways to change your politics.

Poll: Corbett Vulnerable in Reelection Campaign

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett enters his reelection campaign in a precarious position, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday. A majority of Pennsylvania voters don't think the Republican has earned another term, the poll shows. Fifty-one percent of respondents said Corbett does...
A Consortium for Increasing Homegrown STEM Scholars

Q and A: Consortium Tackles Family, Class Issues in Steering Minorities to STEM Majors

The United States is not producing enough college graduates to fill jobs in the science, technology, engineering, and math. It’s no secret that Latinos and blacks, the nation’s largest minority groups, are entering these fields in even lower numbers.

Boring Old Certainty Spurs Innovation

Attention state legislators: Your universities need your help. (And for that matter, your K-12 public school districts could stand some attention.) Here's the deal. They can do all sorts of good things for you--produce graduates, keep tuition rates stable, provide the bridges from high school to college to jobs--but it's awfully hard for them to focus on any of that when they're wondering what their funding will be next month. We know you're struggling to balance your budgets, and it's not a simple task to feed all the hungry chicks in your nest. But trust me, all you need to do is provide the tiniest bit of certainty and your university presidents can do amazing things. They're very smart. Here's how it can work:
Students on Campus

The Economic Implications of Not Cultivating Our Top Low-Income Students

Our brightest low-income high schoolers are overwhelmingly unlikely to apply to our best colleges, and it's bad news for economic growth and for income equality.
Bobby Jindal

One Tough-Talking Nerd: Bobby Jindal Brands Himself as Republican Reformer

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is hoping that a fast-talking, brainy policy wonk can be elected president.
College graduates

Recession Pushes States to Make Deep Cuts to Higher-Ed Budgets

Since the recession, 38 states have made steep cuts to funding for higher education. How will graduating high school students make do?

Graphs: American Colleges Don't Reflect American Diversity

In the last 30 years, the country has become steadily more racially diverse -- and so have many American colleges. In 1980, more than 80% of the country was white, and whites accounted for about eight in ten students at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Today, less than 65% of the country is white, and it's non-whites who now account for a majority at all three of those institutions.
Mary Landrieu and Harry Reid

Red-State Democrats' Reelection Playbook

President Obama won't have to go before voters again, but a handful of Democratic senators from conservative states will, and the president's agenda, newly stamped with a liberal imprimatur at the inauguration, could prove tricky for them to navigate.
Arne Duncan

High School Graduation Rates Improve, but Most Dropouts Are Minorities

The good news is American kids are graduating from high school at a rate better than any time since 1976; the bad news is about 20 percent still drop out, most of whom are minorities.
College costs

How California's Budget Crisis Colors Minorities' College Hopes

Changes to California's public universities will affect a large number of students of color.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., left, and Sen. Charles Schumer

Leahy to Obama: Write Immigration Bill

To legislate or not to legislate, that is the question.
Chinese students

What the U.S. Might Learn from China's Push to Get Kids to College

Two stories about education reform elsewhere - namely a lengthy piece by theNew York Times about China and an Associated Press report from Mexico (with gallery) are worth considering in light of similar efforts in the U.S.

For 9/11 Relatives, Newtown Brings Grim Sense of Deja Vu

Three relatives of people killed on 9/11 describe their reactions to the Sandy Hook shootings. 
Ken Salazar

Mass Exodus Leaves Obama Administration with Dearth of Diversity

The Obama administration is sorely in need of binders full of Latinos.
Jerry Brown

Iconoclastic Jerry Brown Goes Back to Square One

The California governor is responding to demands for more government by preaching an “era of limits.”
Racial Trends: Federal Aid for Needy Families

Racial Trends: Federal Aid for Needy Families

In the months leading to the so-called fiscal cliff, politicians on both sides of the aisle made the case on the costs of slashing benefits, including those for lower-income individuals. In a way, the conversation highlighted the looming growing clash of two demographics: minorities and a graying generation.
Disparity Among First- and Second-Gen Immigrants in STEM Degrees

Disparity Among First- and Second-Generation Immigrants in STEM Degrees

Latino and Asian immigrants and their U.S.-born offspring are studying in areas deemed critical—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—at different rates.

Rigorous Teacher Evaluations (With Videotape)

Two years ago, I sat in the 8th floor of the Watergate building at a National Journal dinner on education. The main attractions of the event were researchers from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who were about a year into a three-year intensive study on teacher evaluations. As they described their research, the diners were incredulous.
Texas Campus Diversity

Report: Half of Grads to be Nonwhite by 2020

The number of students of color who apply for college is projected to increase in the next decade, as size and pool of high school graduates becomes increasingly more diverse, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports.
Fewer Students Report Taking Remedial Courses, Minority Numbers Still Worrisome

Fewer Students Report Taking Remedial Courses; Minority Numbers Still Worrisome

Despite taxpayers shouldering the cost of remedial courses at public universities, many students required to take such prep courses often leave school without a diploma.
Q&A: How to Tackle Joblessness and Poverty Among African-Americans and other Minorities

Sociologist Q&A: Addressing Joblessness and Poverty Among Minorities

Sociologist Sandra Smith examines how urban poverty, social capital, and social networks play a role in joblessness among individuals from lower socioeconomic statuses.

Pre-K for Everyone?

It goes without saying in education circles that the earlier a child acquires language and literacy skills the better. Toddlers who grow up in vocabulary-poor environments, often economically poor and minority families, find themselves far behind their more affluent classmates in kindergarten. If they don't catch up by third grade, it's almost impossible to get them through the public education system without serious and costly intervention.
How 8 Top U.S. Universities Fare in Minority Graduation Rates

How 8 Top U.S. Universities Fare in Minority Graduation Rates

A racial and ethnic breakdown of 2011 graduation rates at eight top universities in the U.S.
Initiative Focused on Increasing Biomedical Workforce Diversity

Study: Blacks and Latinos Take Longer to Complete STEM Doctoral Degrees

African-American and Hispanic students typically take more time to earn a doctoral degree in science, technology, engineering, and math than nonminorities, delaying the time these groups enter the workforce and potentially costing them future earnings.
Sun on the capitol dome

Five Sleeper Issues Washington Could Face in 2013

The incoming Congress has big challenges ahead. But don’t be distracted by the bright shiny objects that are tax reform, entitlement reform, and maybe even gun control. There are some important issues for the U.S. economy and U.S. industries that could pop to the top of the agenda in 2013 and have widespread implications for Washington and the country.
Sandy Hook Memorial

The Truth of Gun Politics: No One Has Good Answers

I think it's fair to say we have all been crying for a week.
NRA

NRA Offers Free Advice on Arming Schools

Any hope of the NRA negotiating with President Obama or members of Congress on gun legislation were dashed with the remarks of NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.   
Cardenas-Gabbard-Takano

Surname Racial Bias? Winners and Losers in 2012 Election

In coming years, more and more ethnic-sounding surnames will appear on ballots, which is one factor that helps to define candidates beyond party and gender. See visual representations of winners and losers in November races involving minority candidates.

Ross Urged to Reconsider Gubernatorial Race

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's admission of an "inappropriate" relationship with a woman who isn't his wife could mean an opportunity for another Arkansas Democrat in the gubernatorial primary, where McDaniel has been considered the frontrunner. Retiring 4th District Rep. Mike Ross is...

Protect Our Kids

Last Friday, I was all set to put up a blog post about preparing toddlers for kindergarten, but the events at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., made kids sounding out words seem a little less relevant. (Stay tuned, pre-K conversation will be coming up in a future post.)

Common Core for Teachers

The American Federation of Teachers proposed a universal "bar exam" for teachers last week, arguing that the profession deserves to be associated with high standards and the rigorous training needed to meet them.
Rob Portman

Rob Portman Is Not a Chicken, but He Did Play One on TV

The line on Rob Portman, a leading contender in soon-to-be Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s veepstakes, is that he’s safe — the only guy boring enough to not overshadow Romney on a national ticket. Don't believe it. National Journal has discovered another side of the junior senator from Ohio.
Blacks Statistic

Blacks: U.S. Demographic Snapshot

The handy demographic snapshot on the African-American community in the United States.
Veterans stat

Veterans: U.S. Demographic Snapshot

Seven things you should know about America's war veterans.

Asians: U.S. Demographic Snapshot

The handy demographic snapshot on the Asian-American community in the United States.

Hispanics: U.S. Demographic Snapshot

The handy demographic snapshot on the Hispanic community in the United States.
Mardi Gras-Hot Ticket

Hot Ticket

Looking for a reason to celebrate Mardi Gras a week early? Bust out your party best—remember, the more glitter the better—and head over to the National Building Museum on Tuesday night to celebrate at the St. Jude Gourmet Gala: Mardi Gras for the Kids.
Follow National Journal