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• California bill requiring warning labels on sugary drinks advances
• Islam critic: Brandeis turned honor into a shaming
• Republican Rubio offers bill on new education financing vehicles
• Survey finds US families spending less on prom
• U.S. university drops plan to honor critic of Islam
• Under fire, Brandeis cancels plan to honor anti-Islam feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali
• Saudi mulls end to sports ban in girls' state schools
• Brandeis U. decides against honor for Islam critic
• College Students to Spark Zero-Gravity Fires for Science This Week

California bill requiring warning labels on sugary drinks advances Posted: 09 Apr 2014 04:23 PM PDT By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - A California bill to require sugary soft drinks to carry labels warning of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay passed its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday, the latest move by lawmakers nationwide aimed at persuading people to drink less soda pop. If enacted, the legislation would put California, which banned sodas and junk food from public schools in 2005, in the vanguard of a growing national movement to curb the consumption of high-caloric beverages that medical experts say are largely to blame for an epidemic of childhood obesity. "By doing nothing, we are putting Californians at risk," the bill's author, Democratic state senator Bill Monning, said at a hearing on Wednesday. "The minimal burden on industry to comply with this bill is far outweighed by the benefits." In 2012, then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spearheaded a citywide ban on sales of oversized sugary soft drinks, but the move was declared illegal by a state judge after a legal challenge by makers of soft drinks and a restaurant group.

Islam critic: Brandeis turned honor into a shaming Posted: 09 Apr 2014 03:18 PM PDT BOSTON (AP) — Brandeis University has transformed an accolade into "a moment of shaming" by withdrawing a plan to give an honorary degree to a Muslim women's advocate who has made comments critical of Islam, she said Wednesday.

Republican Rubio offers bill on new education financing vehicles Posted: 09 Apr 2014 02:38 PM PDT By Caren Bohan and Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a possible 2016 White House contender, unveiled legislation on Wednesday to broaden the use of financial vehicles known as "income share agreements" that students can use to fund their higher education costs. Under the agreements, which are marketed as an alternative to traditional student loans, private investors or organizations provide students with financing for their education costs in exchange for a percentage of their future earnings. "The same way that private investors invest in a business idea, they could invest in a person who basically says: 'This is who I am. This is what my career goals are.

Survey finds US families spending less on prom Posted: 09 Apr 2014 01:40 PM PDT Americans are spending less on one of their most beloved springtime rituals, the high school prom, according to a national survey released Wednesday. "Despite the drop this year, prom spending still remains disproportionately high and represents a major expense for American families with high school students," said Visa, the credit card company that commissioned the survey.

U.S. university drops plan to honor critic of Islam Posted: 09 Apr 2014 01:32 PM PDT By Scott Malone and Daniel Lovering BOSTON (Reuters) - Brandeis University has decided not to award an honorary degree to a Somali-born women's rights activist who has branded Islam as violent and "a nihilistic cult of death." The private university outside Boston said it had decided not to bestow the honor on Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former Dutch parliamentarian who has been a staunch critic of Islam and its treatment of women. Hirsi Ali said in a 2003 interview with a Dutch newspaper that, by modern standards, the Muslim prophet Mohammad could be considered a pedophile. In a 2007 interview with the London Evening Standard, she called Islam "a destructive, nihilistic cult of death." "We cannot overlook certain of her past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University's core values," the university said in a statement late Tuesday. "We regret that we were not aware of these statements earlier." The move followed an open letter from the Council on American-Islamic Relations to the university's president, Frederick Lawrence, saying that to do so was "unworthy of the American tradition of civil liberty and religious freedom." Nihad Awad, the group's national executive director, said that "offering such an award to a promoter of religious prejudice such as Ali is equivalent to promoting the work of white supremacists and anti-Semites." Hirsi Ali said in a statement on Wednesday that she was "completely shocked" by Brandeis' decision.

Under fire, Brandeis cancels plan to honor anti-Islam feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali Posted: 09 Apr 2014 11:29 AM PDT Under fire from students and Muslim activists, Brandeis University has canceled plans to present Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the feminist and prominent critic of Islam, with an honorary degree at its commencement ceremonies in May, saying some of her statements were at odds with the school's "core values." Ms. Ali, a native of Somalia and a former member of the Dutch Parliament, is known for her feminist work but also for her anti-Islam views, including such comments as calling the religion a "destructive, nihilistic cult of death." "She is a compelling public figure and advocate for women's rights, and we respect and appreciate her work to protect and defend the rights of women and girls throughout the world," Brandeis said in a statement Tuesday. "That said, we cannot overlook certain of her past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University's core values."

Saudi mulls end to sports ban in girls' state schools Posted: 09 Apr 2014 06:38 AM PDT Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) - Saudi Arabia is considering ending its controversial ban on sports in girls' state schools, after its consultative council recommended the ban be lifted over vociferous opposition from traditionalists. Following a heated debate on Tuesday, the Shura Council recommended that the longstanding ban, already relaxed in private schools in May last year, be ended altogether, state media reported. All education in Saudi Arabia is strictly single-sex, but sports in girls schools remains a sensitive issue in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom where women have to cover from head to toe when in public. Opponents argued that girls' state schools lacked sports facilities and rejected supporters' claims that sports provision would help combat rising childhood obesity, an aide to the Shura Council chairman said.

Brandeis U. decides against honor for Islam critic Posted: 09 Apr 2014 04:42 AM PDT BOSTON (AP) — After taking heat from some of its own over a decision to grant an honorary degree to an advocate for Muslim women who has made comments critical of Islam, Brandeis University withdrew the honor Tuesday night.

College Students to Spark Zero-Gravity Fires for Science This Week Posted: 09 Apr 2014 04:12 AM PDT "We're trying to create some new knowledge," said Sam Avery, an aerospace engineering undergraduate at the University of California, San Diego, who is leading a team of flyers to NASA's Johnson Space Center. "[On Earth] the convective flow basically speeds up the combustion process and makes it so that you can't get an actual burning rate for your fuel," Avery told Space.com. In two separate flights as part of NASA's competitive Microgravity University Program, Avery's team is going to be measuring the burn rate of four different biofuels: butanol, ethanol, E85 and kerosene. Avery's supply was donated by a local gas station in California.)

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