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ALLENDALE - The Northern Highlands Regional High School Board of Education is expected to vote tonight on a revised policy governing student publications. The changes to the policy come in response to an incident in the spring in which a story written for the student newspaper, The Highland Fling, was censored by administrators. "I think we saw there were concerns last year," Board of Education President Barbara Garand said, adding that the policy has previously been revised a "couple of times." Among those concerns, she said, were the use of anonymous sources, which students would need to divulge to their adviser under the new policy. The school board approved a revised version of the censored story, written by Adelina Colaku, that was published in June after a three-month fight. The story detailed an ongoing dispute between former Superintendent John Keenan and nine tenured administrators and supervisors. The original version raised concerns over the use of anonymous sources. Michael Rightmire, whose job as director of technology had been eliminated in May and was a source in the article, agreed to go on the record for the revised version of Colaku's story. John Woodnick, the newspaper's faculty adviser for 10 years, stepped down from the Fling, but continues to teach English. Colaku said she is particularly concerned with the change in policy regarding anonymous sources. "The law says if an adviser knows who anonymous sources are and the administration wants to know, they can ask and the adviser is obligated to tell them," she said. "That would have been a great impediment on the procession of my story," Colaku said. Gina Palermo, editor in chief of the Fling in 2012-13, said she is concerned with the regulation that says school-sponsored publications should "foster a wholesome school spirit and support the best traditions of the school." Instead, she said student newspapers should be held to the same standards as professional media. "In a professiona

The Student Press Law Center voiced concern Monday that the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling denying the First Amendment claims of a high school blogger is a setback for the rights of student journalists everywhere. The New York appeals court ruled 3-0 that school administrators did not violate "clearly established" First Amendment precedent, either when they disciplined Avery Doninger for her off-campus blog or when they punished her and her classmates for wearing "Team Avery" T-shirts at a school "The ruling is worrisome in several respects. What Avery Doninger was doing was not terribly different from what an editorial commentator might do - trying to arouse the public to call and email the school to express an opinion about a disputed policy decision. It's troubling that the Second Circuit is willing to entertain the possibility that inciting citizens to contact their public officials is unprotected by the First Amendment if the issue is so controversial that people feel strongly about it, which is the takeaway from this decision," LoMonte said. "The circuit has indicated, in essence, that it's safe for students to engage in discussion about issues that nobody cares about, but if the issues raise strong emotions, then the students' involvement might be considered 'disruptive.'"  "It's clear that the federal courts have abdicated their responsibility to protect the basic human rights of vulnerable young people, and so young people are going to have to organize and mobilize like never before to petition their legislators and members of Congress for better statutory protection," LoMonte said. "This ruling is a wake-up call to every student in America that their rights are in peril and that they cannot depend on the federal courts to police even the clearest disciplinary overreactions."

"Last fall, the editors of Neshaminy High School's student newspaper, The Playwickian, said they would no longer use the word 'redskin' in their publication. Redskin is Neshaminy's longtime nickname and the name of its mascot. The school administration's overturning of the ban on the word has raised concerns about the rights of student newspapers and censorship. The students recently announced that the ban of the word will resume and litigation in the case is pending. Joining us to discuss this case and others like it are GILLIAN MCGOLDRICK, Editor-in-Chief of The Playwickian, Neshaminy High School's student paper, and FRANK LOMONTE, the Executive Director of the Student Press Law Center. Then we'll check in with GREG LUKIANOFF, the president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), on free speech on college campuses."

The city sheds its skin every day; Mom & Pop are always getting the boot. Manhattan now has 186 Starbucks, which is eight per square mile. There are more Starbuckses than subway stations. You might think that 186 stores on one small island is the functional equivalent of everywhere, but it turns out not to be, in Starbuckian terms, enough: outlet No. 187 is opening Friday in Times Square, and sometime early next year, No. 188 - or so - will be hanging its shingle on Third Street, right down the block from the world headquarters of the Hell's Angels. But sing no sad songs for the Bean. By the time Starbucks has rebuilt the corner of Third Street and First Avenue to meet its quality standards for hospitable monotony, the Bean will be flying its flag about 100 yards south.

The best place to get arrested in the city is the Bronx. Hands down. That's because the Bronx district attorney's office declines to prosecute an alarming number of cases, a Daily News probe found. Prosecutors toss cases at twice the rate of the citywide average - and more than three times the rate of their counterparts in Manhattan and Brooklyn, stats show.

By force of this year's Arab revolts and revolutions, activists marching under the banner of Islam are on the verge of a reckoning decades in the making: the prospect of achieving decisive power across the region has unleashed an unprecedented debate over the character of the emerging political orders they are helping to build.

A smoky house fire was reported at about 2 p.m. today on Sunset Terrace, a cul de sac on the eastern edge of the borough. Flames were coming out of an upstairs window and jumping around the eaves. The fire was quickly brought under control, but was not fully extinguished at 3 p.m.

A smoky house fire was reported at about 2 p.m. today on Sunset Terrace, a cul de sac on the eastern edge of the borough. Flames were coming out of an upstairs window and jumping around the eaves. The fire was quickly brought under control, but was not fully extinguished at 3 p.m.

A smoky house fire was reported at about 2 p.m. today on Sunset Terrace, a cul de sac on the eastern edge of the borough. Flames were coming out of an upstairs window and jumping around the eaves. The fire was quickly brought under control, but was not fully extinguished at 3 p.m. The Hampton Fire Department led the assault, with numerous other fire companies and rescue squads either helping or waiting nearby.

"VATICAN CITY - With a puff of white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and to the cheers of thousands of rain-soaked faithful, a gathering of Catholic cardinals picked a new pope from among their midst on Wednesday - choosing the cardinal from Argentina, the first South American to lead the church. The new pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio (pronounced Ber-GOAL-io), will be called Francis, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. He is also the first non-European pope in more than 1,200 years and the first member of the Jesuit order to lead the church"

"Even with what are known as "mercy rules" - regulations designed to limit a dominant team's ability to run up scores - the touchdowns kept coming, and so did the concussions. When the game ended, the final score was 52-0, and five preadolescent boys had head injuries, the last hurt on the final play of the game." Late last week, league officials suspended the coaches for both teams for the rest of the season. The referees who oversaw the game were barred from officiating any more contests in the Central Massachusetts Pop Warner league, and the presidents of both programs were put on probation. But the debate the game has further fueled is not likely to calm any time soon. 

One of the four presidents of Invisible Children, senior Aurora James-Palmer, felt strongly that this art show was able to bring their club back to the Invisible Children Organization's main idea. "The main organization of Invisible Children is about using different mediums of art," she said. "We wanted to bring it back to the arts to bring awareness on the topic." Having this tricky tray art show was a great way of spreading awareness the way that this organization initially was initially designed. In 2003, Invisible Children was founded by three college filmmakers making a documentary in Africa. They became so moved by what was going on in not only to the child soldiers in Darfur but all of Uganda so they used their movies to bring awareness to the cause. According to the Invisible Children website, "We are storytellers. We are visionaries, humanitarians, artists, and entrepreneurs. We are individuals apart of a generation eager for change and willing to pursue it." James-Palmer and the entire Invisible Children Club wanted this event to touch the entire Central community and spread their message. "[People gained] knowledge of the situation, understood the cause, was inspired to take action and used their talent to get the message out," she said.

Sending a message through the arts. This is exactly what Hunterdon Central's Invisible Children Club did on Wednesday May 4 in the Commons. Combining forces with the National Art Honor Society, Invisible Children created the Children of Uganda Art Show, an event that consisted of a bake sale, live music, and a tricky tray art show where students could actually get art pieces for NAHS members. The artwork was the center of the show, with people being able to look at all of the amazing pieces inspired by the Invisible Children and Ugandan culture.

The Texas Rangers, despite some knee-jerk reactions following their Game 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, were able to stave off the Rays in convincing fashion in Game 4 by winning their second consecutive game by the score of 4-3. To be honest, I feel that no matter whom they take on in the American League Championship Series this weekend, they should be able to defeat them. But anytime there is more than one option, it's human nature to speculate as to which provides the best perk. The New York Yankees are the team I'd rather face if I'm the Texas Rangers. This decision will certainly be seen as obtuse by some. Seriously, man? The Texas Rangers are hitting .238 against the Yankees, and .231 at Yankees Stadium with only two home runs. Yeah, and the Yankees' new-ish home is a launching pad for many other teams. And the Texas Rangers hit much better against the Detroit Tigers (.269 to be exact.)

A missile fired from an American drone aircraft in Yemen on Friday killed Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical American-born cleric who was a leading figure in Al Qaeda's affiliate there, according to an official in Washington.

SANA, Yemen - A missile fired from an American drone aircraft in Yemen on Friday killed Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical American-born cleric who was a leading figure in Al Qaeda's affiliate in this country, according to an official in Washington. Many details of the strike were unclear, but the official said that the drone fired a Hellfire missile and killed Mr. Awlaki, whom the United States had been hunting in Yemen for more than two years. Yemen's Defense Ministry confirmed Mr. Awlaki's death.

A missile fired from an American drone aircraft in Yemen on Friday killed Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical American-born cleric who was a leading figure in Al Qaeda's affiliate in this country, according to an official in Washington.

INDIANA - A high school violated the First Amendment when it punished members of its volleyball team for posting pictures of penis-shaped lollipops on the Internet, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The decision came two years after two 10th-grade girls at Churubusco High School in Northeast Indiana were suspended from the volleyball team and other extracurricular activities. The students were punished after they posted photos of themselves with "phallic-shaped rainbow colored lollipops." The photos were taken at a slumber party and, according to court documents, showed the girls simulating sex acts. The judge's decision found that both the behavior shown in the photos and the images themselves are protected by the First Amendment. The judge also struck down part of the school's conduct code that allows students to be punished for acting "in a manner in school or out of school that brings discredit or dishonor upon yourself or your school."

Los Angeles (CNN) -- As the manhunt for the renegade ex-cop accused of killing three people in a revenge plot targeting the Los Angeles Police Department enters its second week, the big question facing authorities is: Where is Christopher Jordan Dorner? The search, considered one of the largest in the history of Southern California, has taken authorities from Orange County to the border of Mexico, from Los Angeles to the Big Bear Lake resort area of the San Bernardino Mountains. The city of Los Angeles put up $1 million in reward money Sunday for help catching Dorner, an announcement that followed news that the LAPD was reopening the case that resulted in his termination.

"BlackBerry's Thorny Problem Chokes Service in North America The Great BlackBerry Blackout of 2011 has spread to cover North America, bringing the days-long problem to even more users. RIM says the messaging and browsing problems impacting BlackBerry subscribers were due to a core switch failure within its infrastructure. Apparently, the system's designed to failover to a backup switch, but the switch didn't work as it should have, resulting in a large backlog of data. Research In Motion's (Nasdaq: RIMM) continuing BlackBerry service disruptions hit customers in North America Wednesday. This makes the disruptions, which first emerged in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on Monday, a worldwide phenomenon. RIM states that subscribers in the Americas may be experiencing intermittent service delays this morning, that it's working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible, and that it will provide a further update when it can. "I don't know why, but RIM won't say anything other than that they know what the problem is and they're working on it," Craig Mathias, a principal at the Farpoint Group and a mobile communications expert at Focus.com, told TechNewsWorld. Asked whether the outage has affected BlackBerry Enterprise Server or is limited to BlackBerry Internet Services, Mathias indicated the situation is unclear. "Nobody seems to know anything," he said."

The infamous school year stress has already begun by the first day of school. On day one of our 180 day school year, book projects are due, and tests are waiting to be taken. Let the all-nighters and the pressure to not fail begin. Is this any comparison to the serenity of being on a beach? . . . Nowhere close.

Punctually, at 8 o'clock every evening, the cellphone signals disappear in this provincial capital. Under pressure from the Taliban, the major carriers turn off their signal towers, effectively severing most of the connections to the rest of the world.

Punctually, at 8 o'clock every evening, the cellphone signals disappear in this provincial capital. Under pressure from the Taliban, the major carriers turn off their signal towers, effectively severing most of the connections to the rest of the world.

Jeffrey Kluger's new book, The Sibling Effect: What the Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us, and a whole lot of research on siblings, show that our birth orders do have more weight in our lives than, say, horoscopes. Says Kluger in an interview on NPR's Leonard Lopate show: "There's a certain amount of lock in... You can't change history, you can't change the present things like birth order patterns... those things are fairly well fixed up to a point, when people get out of the house and once you get out of the house that history stays with you, sort of like a programming... ...And it is essentially, very broadly, true that firstborns will be the most successful. They will be the ones who earn the most. They will be the ones who are most loyal to the family, most driven to achieve in traditional ways. They will also be the tallest, even if it's only by a few centimeters, and they tend to have higher IQs by about three points over the second-born."

Heavily armed insurgents wearing suicide vests struck Tuesday at two of the most prominent symbols of the American diplomatic and military presence in Kabul, the United States Embassy and the nearby NATO headquarters, demonstrating the Taliban's ability to infiltrate even the most heavily fortified districts of the capital. As the insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades, Westerners sought shelter - one rocket penetrated the embassy compound - and Afghan government workers fled their offices, emptying the city center. NATO and Afghan troops responded with barrages of bullets. At least 7 people were killed and 19 wounded by the insurgents.

Alec Baldwin, a star of the NBC comedy "30 Rock," had taped an opening skit for the show days in advance, and in it he had referenced the phone hacking scandal that has embroiled the News Corporation in Britain. When Fox decided to edit out the reference over the weekend, Mr. Baldwin asked that his appearance be cut altogether because he felt the edit might affect the flow of the entire segment. A Fox spokeswoman said the reference was removed because the company was taking the hacking allegations seriously and did not want to appear to be making jokes about them.