VOANEWS-(INAN)-By Greg Flakus
Lubbock, Texas

On February 3, 1959, a small plane crashed in a corn field in Iowa, killing three rock and roll stars - Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, known as "The Big Bopper".


Statue of Buddy Holly in Lubbock, Texas
The 50th anniversary of that tragic event is being observed by rock fans around the world, but especially in Clear Lake, Iowa - the scene of their last performance, where a large concert is planned, and in Buddy Holly's hometown of Lubbock, Texas.

Charles Hardin Holly, known to his family and friends as Buddy, was only 22 years old when he died, but he had by

(inan.info)-President George W. Bush talks with a young student during his visit with Mrs. Laura Bush to a second grade class Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009 at the General Philip Kearny School in Philadelphia. President Bush followed his class visit with an address on the

By Brian Padden
Washington-VOA News(inan.info)-

This year a group called Teach For America saw a 36 percent spike in applications. The organization recruits college graduates to help fill a teacher shortage in economically disadvantaged areas of America. The organization's leaders say some college graduates are committing to public service as during the economic downturn but also

(inan.info)-Library of Congress Organizes Eighth Annual National Book Festival hosted by Mrs. Laura Bush on the National Mall; Famed Authors To Participate
The Librarian of Congress and Mrs. Laura Bush Invite Book Lovers of All Ages to Celebrate Reading on the National Mall on Sept. 27

The 2008 National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by Mrs. Laura Bush, will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, rain or shine, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between 3rd and 7th streets. The festival is free and open to the public.

SPECIAL NOTE: The Library has created a

(inan.info)-By Alena Mikhailova
Washington

Is teen sex on the rise in the United States? In June, 17 Gloucester, Massachusetts’s high school girls under the age of 16 revealed they were pregnant. Actress Jamie Lynn Spears gave birth to a baby girl. New data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that by every measure the decade-long decline in sexual activity among high school students leveled off between 2001 and 2007, and the rise in condom use by teens flattened out in 2003. However, the survey found hints that teen sexual activity may have begun creeping up and that condom use among high school students might be edging downward. The issue of sexual activity by teens and how information about sex is conveyed to them is most controversial. More on the story by VOA's Alena Mikhailova.

"There's something profoundly wrong in a culture that preaches and funds abstinence-only 'til marriage when 95 percent of the American people have sex before marriage, says James Wagoner of

(inan.info)-The Smithsonian has collaborated with Flickr—a leading photo-sharing community—Monday, June 16, by adding more than 800 images to The Commons on Flickr from seven of its museums, research centers and archives. The images in this initial Smithsonian posting came from the collections of the National Museum of the American Indian, National Postal Museum, Anacostia Community Museum, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Images can be found at http://flickr.com/commons.

The photographs include a small but broad selection of the 13 million images in the Smithsonian collections—only a fraction of which have been digitized. The Smithsonian images now on Flickr are organized into six sets: Smithsonian’s First Photographer, American Celebrations, Portraits of Artists, Portraits of Scientists and Inventors, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and People and the Post. These sets contain photographs collected from outside sources, as well as those taken by Smithsonian staff, and represent a broad range of subjects and themes in art, history, culture and science. Links are provided from each photograph to the

(inan.info)-Peternity.com, a place that helps people to honor the memories and lives of their pets, is now featuring master artist Laura Glusha, a commercial artist, painter and teacher with many years in the fields of fashion and children's illustration. Her work for Peternity includes hand painted images on semi-precious stones that serve as pet memorials for all animals, from cats and dogs, to horses and birds. Rocks and gemstones come to life as she creates works of art, working in mediums such howlite stone, petrified wood, jade, agate and jasper. Pet memorial art matches the characteristics of a pet's photo with the characteristics of the semi-precious stones and then brings the animal to life.
A working artist today, Glusha's illustrations can be seen in the 2007 children's book 'P.T.'s Big Surprise.' In addition to designing pet memorial art for Peternity, she continues to privately teach students with extraordinary results

Brea, CA (PRWEB) June 18, 2008 -- Peternity.com, a place that helps people to honor the memories and lives of their pets, is now featuring master artist Laura Glusha, a commercial artist, painter and teacher with many years in the fields of

(inan.info)-Due to rising gas prices, online degree programs and distance learning options are skyrocketing according to a recent survey by Degree.com. Of those surveyed, 60 percent cited the high cost of gas as the reason for their interest in the internet education alternative.
Gas is costing people upwards of $1000 a month

(PRWEB) -- Degree.com, a website focusing on online degree programs and distance learning education, had 38 percent more visitors during April-May 2008 compared to February-March 2008, after adjusting for seasonal differences. In an informal survey of site visitors, the #1 reason for being interested in an online degree was

(inan.info)-U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Raymond Simon today announced the award of a $33.6 million grant to Florida to help it create more quality charter schools and increase school choices that parents have to provide to their children.

Florida is one of five states receiving the competitive grants through the Department's Charter Schools Program (CSP), which supports states' efforts to plan, design, implement and disseminate information about charter schools. The other states receiving grants are Oregon, New York, Utah, and Idaho. Florida has a strong record of support for charter schools. More than 350 charter schools serve more than 100,000 students across the state, and Florida is now poised to focus on scaling up the best models.

"As laboratories of innovation for the

(inan.info)-National Science Foundation-Can human beings rev up their intelligence quotients, or are they stuck with IQs set by their genes at birth? Until recently, nature seemed to be the clear winner over nurture.

But new research, led by Swiss postdoctoral fellows Susanne M. Jaeggi and Martin Buschkuehl, working at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, suggests that at least one aspect of a person's IQ can be improved by training a certain type of memory.

Most IQ tests attempt to measure two types of intelligence--crystallized and fluid intelligence. Crystallized intelligence draws on