Latest Coverage

"Under the program, the van would offer voluntary treatments to second- and seventh-graders at schools with the highest percentage of students on free or reduced-price lunches. The age groups reflect when permanent molars have erupted. The health department, which says 47,600 low-income Pinellas kids have dental needs, would operate the vehicle with a hygienist, assistant and clerk."

"A program that stuffs thousands of backpacks full of peanut butter, crackers and cereal every Friday so Jefferson County elementary students from low-income homes have something to eat each weekend is about get much bigger."

"With an estimated count at 12,929, homeless children in Mississippi outnumber the populations of 9 out of 10 of the state's towns and cities.Still, the number has dropped from a peak in 2008 of nearly 20,000."

"The extra hundreds of thousands of dollars have allowed the cash-strapped schools to hire tutors, librarians, counselors and other staff who work to improve the academic success of not only low-income kids, but others at risk of failing."

"The issue is whether federal education efforts will compromise opportunities for our highest-achieving students. One might assume that a president determined to "win the future" would make a priority of ensuring that our ablest kids have the chance to excel."

"Officials recognize that a ban can be a burden for tenants, particularly because many are elderly or disabled. At Franklin Towers, where the elevators lumber slowly up 16 floors, Mark Adelson, the executive director of the Portland Housing Authority, half-joked that by the time smokers go outside and get back in, they need to go out again for another cigarette."

"Most suffer from diabetes, congestive heart failure or other long-term illness. They're like the millions of chronically ill Americans who visit doctors half a dozen times a year or more and, by some measures, account for 80 percent or more of all spending by the Medicare program for senior citizens."

"Many of the schools with lower graduation rates, such as Palm Beach Lakes High, Boynton Beach High, Glades Central and Royal Palm High, also are Title I schools, meaning they have a large portion of low-income students and receive federal assistance. Klinek said graduation rates are typically lower at Title I schools because many students come into those schools without the same skills as other students in the same grade level."

"He made it big and has lots of rich friends and plenty of money. When today's elderly people started to work, and the baby boomers started to work, the pay was very low, so even though we worked hard all of our lives our Social Security checks are not high enough to meet today's prices."

"Urban Institute analysts believe there are enormous potential savings from aggressively managing and coordinating the care provided to elderly people who are poor enough to receive services from both Medicare and Medicaid, and from better managing the treatment of Medicare patients who have multiple chronic conditions."

"New Jersey applied for $60 million through the U.S. Education Department's Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge. The state planned to use Consumer Reports-style ratings of early-childhood centers to increase family access to information, enhance teaching and strengthen programs for 75,000 low-income children."

"Manning ruled in July that the changes violated the state constitution's guarantee of a sound and equal education for all children. He told the state to cover any low-income 4-year-old who wants to enroll."