As sequestration went into effect in March, some lawmakers argued that the impact of the cuts would not be as immediate as had been claimed, as they would take place over a matter of years. But there are some areas that felt the impact immediately. One of those is schools on military bases or Native American reservations. Because schools on or near federal lands don’t collect as much in property and sales tax revenues as …

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CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. — Native American students will not be recognized with an honor song during this year’s commencement ceremony at Chamberlain High School in southeastern South Dakota, despite a renewed effort to add to the graduation tradition.

The school board voted 6-1 Monday night to reject a request to allow the song, The Daily Republic newspaper reported (http://bit.ly/12rwDHQ ). Board President Rebecca Reimer said a feathering ceremony led by the district’s Native American Club the night …

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Obama’s Justice Department is under fire following revelations revealed by the Associated Press that the government secretly obtained two months worth of private phone records from the news agency in 2012 during what appears to be a brazen attempt to discover the source of an intelligence leak.

Calling the seizure of records a “massive and unprecedented intrusion,” AP itself disclosed the events on Monday after being informed by a US attorneys office on Friday:

The records obtained …

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JERUSALEM — The Israeli government approved a two-year austerity budget early Tuesday that would cut spending and raise taxes, outraging many Israelis who voted in a new government this year after promises of economic relief.

Yair Lapid, Israel’s new finance minister, in Mr. Netanyahu’s office on Monday for discussions on spending measures intending to help close a $10.5 billion budget deficit.

Even before the new government’s first budget was approved, 12,000 Israelis took to the streets …

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With just over a week before the Chicago Board of Education votes on a proposal to close 54 schools, the Chicago Teachers Union and other activist groups said Monday they would hold marches over three days to protest the plan.

The marches will begin Saturday in the South and West side neighborhoods where many schools are slated for closing and culminate in a rally Monday afternoon outside City Hall.

The marches “will continue to unite us, make …

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In this spoof documentary, Bankwatch with Bill Oddie, the naturalist protests against HSBC’s illegal logging by entering the den of a creature closely related to humans: the banker. HSBC has made nearly £100m bankrolling some of the world’s most destructive logging companies in Sarawak Malaysia, and is at risk of violating international money laundering rules, according to NGO Global Witness

Click here to see the video. …

The boats, said to be carrying about 100 passengers, were evacuating people ahead of powerful Cyclone Mahasen.

The vessels sank off Pauktaw township in Rakhine state late on Monday. More than 40 survivors have been found and eight bodies recovered.

Thousands of Rohingya Muslims are living in temporary camps in Rakhine after violence last year.

The UN had called for an urgent evacuation ahead of the storm, warning that many areas where displaced people are now living are …

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MONSON, Calif. — Laura Garcia was halfway through the breakfast dishes when the spigot went dry. The small white tank beneath the sink that purified her undrinkable water had run out. Still, as annoying as that was, it was an improvement over the days before Ms. Garcia got her water filter, when she had to do her dishes using water from five-gallon containers she bought at a local store.

Ms. Garcia lives in Monson, Calif. …

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DETROIT — An emergency manager assigned to lead this city back from the brink of financial ruin has taken his first detailed look at Detroit’s woes, and the picture of debt and disarray he paints may be bleaker even than earlier grim portrayals.

In a report to be presented to Michigan’s treasurer on Monday, Kevyn D. Orr, the emergency manager appointed in March to take over operations here, described long-term obligations of at least $15 …

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Over the past few years, the Canadian government has been lurching into antiscience territory. For example, they’ve been muzzling scientists, essentially censoring them from talking about their research. Scientists have fought back against this, though from what I hear with limited success.

But a new development makes the situation appear to be far worse. In a stunning announcement, the National Research Council—the Canadian scientific research and development agency—has now said that they will only perform research …

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