Ryan stresses national town halls

GREENFIELD, Wis. — In the last of the four events at Rep. Paul Ryan's "listening tour" of his district Thursday, he sued a man in the front row of a high school auditorium, then instantly recognized him. By Darren Hauck, for USA TODAY

President of the Commission of Parliament's budget, Paul Ryan speaks at Franklin High School, as he in his district on the Easter recess tours, sometimes five stops to make in a day.

By Darren Hauck, for USA TODAY

President of the Commission of Parliament's budget, Paul Ryan speaks at Franklin High School, as he in his district on the Easter recess tours, sometimes five stops to make in a day.

"You changed clothes!" Ryan told Steve Jozefczyk. The 54-year-old seller of Franklin, Wis., had asked Ryan several critical questions from the front row of an event six hours earlier in Waterford, where he wore a shirt and tie. It was in Greenfield, a black "Faux News" parody t-shirt. Josefczyk admitted trying to seduce him that Ryan called again. Yet listened to Ryan. "You should look at the revenue and cost side. And you're afraid to get rid of income, "he told the House Budget Committee Chairman. it is a common question, and Ryan has a common response:" the broadening of the base, "he says. By eliminating tax deductions and shelters for top earners, you can "you reduce or flat tax rates for everyone."With Congress wrapping up a two-week Easter break, legislators across the country have been back home meeting with voters.The budget and especially Medicare is the hot topic everywhere, nowhere more so than in Ryan of southern Wisconsin district. Ryan is the architect of a GOP budget plan that would essentially remake the health care program for seniors.In the neighborhood that the 41-year-old Congressman has chosen seven times, mainly older voters were largely positive. The first comment on the first of four stops Thursday a usually friendly room in the basement of Waterford Village Hall came from Ken Thiede, 68-year-old pensioner from Rochester, Wis. "your opponents use scare-Care," said Thiede. "I'll give you an ' A ' for have cojones."Ryan made on the word, but the audience laughed. "It's a German term," said Thiede.Orphan questionsSome of the most targeted questions were along the lines of those set by Amy Kinosian, a 58-year-old fifth-grade teacher from Eagle, Wis. "Have you voted for both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Have you voted for a compensatory cuts in the budget? "She asked. "You voted for Medicare Part d again with no funding."Ryan said he voted for the wars and for Medicare Part d prescription drug program by a Republican Congress passed in 2003. In fact, he said, it should be a model for what he wants to do to Medicare as a whole.Subsidises with Medicare Part D, some competitive prescription drug plans, which are older Americans can choose. The Congressional Budget Office has said that the cost of that plan is 41% lower than expected.Enlargement of that competition on all Medicare of health care costs will, said he especially if health insurers plans across state lines like other types of insurers can sell. "You cannot watch TV for an hour without a gecko lizard thingy is trying to sell your car insurance," he says in an often repeated laugh line.Start in 2022, request Ryan's plan new pensioners to selecting a health insurance plan from a list approved by the Government, which for a grant should provide to the provider. But guaranteed benefits would be lifted.At each stop asks Ryan to a show of hands of those 55 and older. (At least four-fifths were.) She would not be affected, he said. "But what about me! "heckled a prematurely balding young man in the back of the room in Greenfield, Wis. He refused to give his name.Democrats have at times like this as evidence that there is a backlash developing against Ryan budget confiscated. After Ryan was booed at a previous City Hall, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi gave a statement: "President Ryan, the people, including your voters, his talk. Are you listening? "Ryan he said. And while he couldn't any input which lead to him to think about his plan would identify, he said, "I never watch these budgets as a fait accompli." Budget resolution of the not yet gotten to the Senate, and many of the details in follow-up accounts would get worked out.The crowd are reminiscent of the congressional town hall meetings in the summer of 2009, as Democrats health insurance law known as the affordable Care Act. "The size is so high, and the passion is so high," Ryan told United States today.Ryan had 19 public events scheduled for Congress of Easter break much in capacity-filled rooms in his district. They began last week in libraries and senior centers, but by Thursday had to be moved to different high school gymnasiums for larger crowds. In Waterford, were dozens who arrived 20 minutes early rejected. In Oak Creek, 30 people stood in the lobby after a 220-seat courtroom filled. At the last stop, were none of the 800 seats in the Auditorium of a high school are left blank. "Gosh, Waterford, we're lucky if we 12 people here for town hall meetings you can get, "he told a room of 250 people. So many tv stations and networks wanted him to wear wireless microphones that "I look like Batman wearing this," joked Ryan.Even critics more playfulRyan asked crowd to show the national media covering the events that Wisconsinites can discuss issues civilly and they are usually taken into account. He even had to admit that some of the questions were softballs. In Franklin, a man asked how did the GOP budget in comparison with the budget for last year, Pelosi, D-Calif., speaker then. "They do not have a budget last year, "said Ryan. "But I suppose a set-up question was."Even some of his critics were more playful than criticism of him. Kinosian, the fifth-grade teacher, said she supports an alternative budget proposed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, who said they "just so gutsy" is like the Ryan plan. "Of course, they are not as boyishly handsome as you," she said.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ 's. Report corrections and clarifications, contact standards Editor Brent Jones. For consideration of publication in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and State for authentication. Our corrections, go to corrections. usatoday.com. We've updated the guidelines for the conversation. Changes include a brief overview of the monitoring process and an explanation about how to use the "report abuse" button. Read more.

70 Belgian sex abuse victims to sue Vatican

Brussels (AP)-brings a group of 70 people claim to be victims of sexual abuse of clergy Vatican and Belgian church officials to Court, claiming that they offered them inadequate protection of pedophile priests.Lawyer Walter Van Steenbrugge said Friday that he will be the complaint in about two weeks. He said religious officials, including the Pope, had failed to take appropriate measures to prevent such abuse.The Belgian Church is in a big abuse scandal last year when Bishop Roger Vangheluwe of Bruges was forced to resign after he admitted that he abused for 13 years his young nephew. Later, hundreds of victims came forward with stories of abuse by clergy go back decades.

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Study: First stars were massive, fast-spinning

LOS ANGELES — the first stars that littered the universe were not only immense but probably also fast-spinning, according to a new study that light on the nature of stellar evolution raises.These early stars died out long ago, but astronomers can have a glimpse of what they were by later generations of stars to watch.A team of scientists, led by Cristina Chiappini of the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam in Germany were reanalyzed data from the Very Large Telescope of a 12-billion-year-old star of hope. They found high levels of metal in the stars a chemical signature that earlier generations, maybe even suggests the first stars, were massive and rotated much faster than their current counterparts.This is important because a star that rotates faster can live longer and suffer from different fate than slow-spinning.Findings appear in Thursday's Edition of the magazine NatureCurrent theory States that the universe arose from an explosion called the Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago. During the next 200 million years, the universe cooled, where the dark and starless.The first stars that formed during the universe of children's shoes were different from stars like our Sun, which is usually hydrogen, but also contains oxygen and carbon. The earliest stars were mainly hydrogen and helium. They also quickly lived and died young.When she died, she as a brilliant Supernova exploded and seeded the universe with fundamental elements of future stars, including our Sun were created.As the first stars were indeed spin machines, some of them probably died as gamma-ray bursts, which means that scientists today would have a better chance of detecting them.Telescopes such as NASA's swift satellite have the ability to spy gamma-ray bursts, but have a much harder time observing supernovas.This "increases the chances we'll see immediately the death of massive stars during that era," said Jason Tumlinson of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Maryland, who had no role in the study. Online: Nature: http://nature.com/nature

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Boston hospital conducts 2nd full-face transplant

BOSTON (APOnline)-doctors in a Hospital Boston have performed the nation second full-face transplant, less than a month after the first.A team of more than 30 doctors, nurses and other employees of Brigham and women's Hospital worked for more than 14 hours last week to replace the full face area of 30-year-old Mitch Hunter, of Speedway, Ind. The procedure replaced Hunter's nose, eyelids, lips, face animation muscles and the nerves that power them and sensation. Hunter his injuries of a high-voltage electric wire a 2001 car accident.The donor family requested anonymity.The lead surgeon, Dr Bohdan Pomahac, said the procedure easy and they expect Hunter a successful recovery and new life.A construction worker Texas received a new face in the hospital last month. About a dozen face transplants are worldwide, done in the USA, France, Spain and China. The's world's first face transplant, a partial face transplant, was done in France in 2005 on a woman by her dog mauled. The nation first, even a partial, was at the Cleveland Clinic in 2008. The Hospital Boston has placed on a waiting list for a face and hands transplantation Charla Nash, the wife of the Connecticut chimpanzee mauled by a friend two years ago.

U.s. report puts Egypt with the worst offenders of religion

WASHINGTON (AP)-a government agency annual report on the violations of the religious rights of Egypt on Thursday added to the list of 14 worst offenders of the world. By STR, AP

In a demonstration March, Egyptian Copt run a cross, a depiction of Saints put together a banner in Arabic which reads: "God is our refuge and strength, he will help us in difficult times," Egypt is included as one of the 14 countries where religious freedoms at risk.

By STR, AP

In a demonstration March, Egyptian Copt run a cross, a depiction of Saints put together a banner in Arabic which reads: "God is our refuge and strength, he will help us in difficult times," Egypt is included as one of the 14 countries where religious freedoms at risk.

The situation there deteriorated for religious minorities, especially Coptic Christians, significantly, also because the former President Hosni Mubarak resigned in February, says the report.China is also on the list of the worst offenders, compiled by the Commission on international religious freedom, and in his introductory remarks as he released the report, Committee Chairman Leonard Leo accused China of trying to hack into emails from the Commission. "They try very hard to read our private emails, "said Leo. "So let me, if I can, take a brief moment to this esteemed public authorities: you can for your pleasure reading, go to our website and see all our reports on your Government."It has http://www.uscirf.gov ... and I'm sure you will find what you need. "The others on the list of" countries of particular interest "are repeats of last year: Myanmar, also known as Burma, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam. The Egypt report said the Commission was" acutely aware that the success of the current political transition Egypt depends on full respect for the rechtsstaatwaaronder respect of fundamental human rights, religious freedom that is critical. "The report said the Government" engaged and tolerated violations of freedom of religion "before and after the Mubarak departure."In its waning months, religious freedom conditions were rapidly deteriorating, and since his departure, we have seen nothing to indicate that these conditions have improved, "the report said.Because featured the new designation, the report that the US aid to Egypt's money earmarked for military use and use it "to the physical protection of Coptic Christians and other religious minorities.The report also includes an annual list of countries that the Commission is of the opinion that requires close monitoring because of violations committed or tolerated by their Governments. List of this year was the same as last year with the exception of the movement of Egypt on the list of "countries of particular concern". Still on the watch list are Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Venezuela. Congress created to compile the reports for use by the president, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the House and Senate. As in previous years, the Commission adopted in 1998, the Commission complained that the Obama administration, if the Government ignores Bush, her advice.State Department spokeswoman Heidi Bronke Fulton denied that. "Sure we the USCIRF recommendations into account when we make our own list of countries of particular importance to violations of religious freedom. "

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Buddhists remember the Japan tsunami dead

SOMA, Japan — Buddhist priests burned incense and chanted Thursday for victims of the tsunami of Japan, marking the 49th day since the disaster and the period when the dead were believed to be wandering in limbo via destroyed hometown close.5th Ld-WritethruEds: edits first subparagraph. Pictures added. This story is part of AP's General news andfinancial services. By Junji Kurokawa, AP

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama offers a Buddhist prayer during a special prayer for the victims of the 11 March earthquake and tsunami Gokokuji Temple in Tokyo,

By Junji Kurokawa, AP

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama offers a Buddhist prayer during a special prayer for the victims of the 11 March earthquake and tsunami Gokokuji Temple in Tokyo,

Approximately 1,200 mourners filled a Hall for flooding, with many standing outside a gate, for a ceremony organized by 170 priests in the northeastern city of Soma, where much of the coast buried in the mountains of rubble of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.Many carried framed photos of lost loved ones, and cried. Some clutched wooden tablets with Buddhist names assigned to the dead to help them find their way into their next stage of existence. "There are so many still missing. There are people who lost at the bottom of the sea which will never be found. But this is the day that they are Buddhas. We pray for all of them, and for all sentient beings, "Buddhist priest Kojin Sato said.The earthquake and tsunami is generally believed to have killed nearly 26,000 people, although only about 14,500 bodies have been found. Many probably swept from the sea and will never be found.Kiyoshi Sakurai fears that the case with his older brother, missing since the disaster will be. "It is very difficult because we couldn't have a proper funeral. But this gives us a sense of closure, "Sakurai said, clutching a blurry photo of his brother."It is comforting to have so many priests come to pray for our family. Maybe someday my brother found. Maybe not. But at least he has this, "he said.Many Japanese parts Buddhist beliefs with the native Japanese religion of Shinto, spirits in nature and dead ancestors worship. Almost all rites related death are Buddhist, and in many Japanese schools of Buddhist thought, the dead wander near their homes for 49 days before heading into their next stage of the existence on the 50th day.The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, Japan on Thursday was visiting and planned to join in another Memorial in Tokyo later this week. Spokesmen for the religious leader said that his schedule in Japan for the 49th day since the disaster had changed.Seven weeks after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck, life some 130,000 people still in about 2,500 shelters. The Government has promised to build 30,000 temporary houses for them by the end of May and after that another 70,000.The head of the American Red Cross, wrapping up a four-day visit to Japan, said the 187 million dollars in gifts and pledges for Japanese tsunami relief received essential household appliances such as rice cookers buy for people living in temporary housing.Gail McGovern said she had trouble getting the processing of the "miles and miles" of destruction she saw along the northeast coast of Japan. "The (power of the) Ocean was just furious. Everything we saw was strewn into small pieces, "she said in an interview with The Associated Press in Tokyo. "When you start to walk around, you can create a pop or a kid's bike or a teacup. It just seems that this home is so personal. "Sato said that In Soma said that local temples invited everyone to come to the ceremony and told the family not to worry about dressing in black, since many people had lost their formal dress. The priest added that instead of the usual gifts passed out after funerals, the families got pockets with bottled water, tea and SOAP — things they need in shelters or temporary housing.The ceremony is concluded with a procession before an altar. The only sound was singing and occasional crying.

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Gadhafi offers truce if NATO strikes in Tripoli

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — NATO bombs hit a Libyan Government complex before dawn Saturday, damaging two buildings, like the Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi called for a ceasefire and negotiations with NATO powers in a live speech on State TV. By Darko Bandic, AP

In this photo made on a Government-organized tour, is an official building damaged after an air attack early Saturday in Tripoli, Libya.

By Darko Bandic, AP

In this photo made on a Government-organized tour, is an official building damaged after an air attack early Saturday in Tripoli, Libya.

The targeted compound included the State television building, and an official from the Libyan claimed that the strikes were meant to kill Gadhafi. "We believe that the goal was the leader," said the spokesman of the Government Moussa Ibrahim. However, the TV building was not damaged, and Gadhafi spoke of a secret location.A visit to the scene of the strikes of told reporters that the damaged buildings housed a Commission for women and children and offices of Parliament's staff. One of at least three bombs or missiles knocked in a large part of a two-story Italianate style building. In another, doors and ceiling tiles were blown to the ground. A police officer said three people were injured, one seriously.Gadhafi, meanwhile, called for a ceasefire in a speech that is both restrained and defiant and lasted more than an hour. "The door to peace is open," said the Libyan leader, sitting behind a desk and repeatedly flipping through handwritten notes. "You are the aggressors. We will negotiate with you, "he said. "Come, France, Italy, United Kingdom, America, come, we will negotiate with you. Why you fall us? "He said Libyans have the right to choose their own political system, but not under the threat of NATO bombing. "Why are you killing our children? Why are you destroy our infrastructure, "he said, denying that his troops had slain Libyan citizens.Rebel leaders have said they would negotiate a truce only after Gadhafi has stepped aside, something the Libyan leader has refused to do. The revolt against Gadhafi, Libya the ruler of 42 years, broke out in mid-February, and has claimed hundreds of lives. Rebels controlling the East of the country, while Gadhafi has retained most of the West.A few hours before the speech, Gadhafi of forces shell the besieged rebel city of Misrata, killing 15 people, including a 9-year-old boy, hospital doctors said. The city of 300,000 is the main rebel stronghold in western Libya, and has been under siege for two months, with the port are only connection to the outside world.NATO on Friday foiled attempts by regime loyalists to close the only access route to Misrata, intercept boats that anti-ship mines in the waters around the port to were.The Gadhafi regime signaled Friday that it is trying to block access to Misrata on sea.Ibrahim, the Libyan official, said he was not aware of the attempt to lay mines. However, he said that the Government tries to prevent arms shipments from reaching the rebels by sea. Asked if support ships also blocked would be, he said any aid consignments should be coordinated with the authorities and preferably overland.Gadhafi's forces have repeatedly shelled the port area in the past. Libyan forces deployed on the edge of Misrata, after having driven out of the Centre by the rebels last week.

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NASA abruptly cancels shuttle launch; Monday liftoff scheduled

CAPE CANAVERAL — NASA abruptly cancelled the launch of the Space shuttle Endeavour on Friday, ruining what was a historic day filled with the emotion of critically injured Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as she saw her husband command of the Shuttle program next-to-last flight into space. By John Raoux, AP

The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour leaves the operations and Checkout building aboard the orbiter before the launch was scrubbed due to technical problems.

By John Raoux, AP

The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour leaves the operations and Checkout building aboard the orbiter before the launch was scrubbed due to technical problems.

A faulty thermostat on an auxiliary power unit delayed the launch for at least 72 hours. In the most optimistic scenario, launch Director Mike Leinbach said the earliest a shuttle could launch would 2: 33 pm Monday. NASA has until Wednesday to launch. If the attempt fails to start, by that time, the mission will be delayed until May 9 or 10 so that it does not conflict with other missions, including the launch of the Atlas V, a commercial rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, and detach from the Soyuz, Mike Moses, President of the shuttle mission management team.Giffords is disappointed by the delay, but realizes mission safety is a priority, her office said in a statement. "Launch delays are not uncommon with the space shuttle, "said the statement. "We look forward to the rapid redeployment of this scientific important mission."Giffords a meeting with President Obama and the first family, who toured Kennedy Space Center and a meeting with the crew and their families on Friday. By Charles Dharapak, AP

President Obama and his family member Astronaut Janet Kavandi under the undercarriage of Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida

"Hopefully we can lure him back" for another launch, Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana said.The astronauts remain in quarantine in their crew quarters or at a Beach House crew to a rescheduled launch. They can spend time family members who are medically cleared, said Cabana. It is unclear whether Giffords resides in Florida. her Office said that her travel plans are "Undetermined".Giffords, who is from a gunshot wound to the head, is recovering since Wednesday at the launch of the shuttle, which her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly command, in Cape Canaveral. Giffords not appeared in public since the attack of 8 January, and she left her Houston rehabilitation hospital for the first time to travel to Florida. They had expected to watch the liftoff in private, like the other astronaut families were.Friday scrubbing dramatically came close to liftoff on what looked like a near-flawless launch day: the crew of the space shuttle departed with a helicopter overhead and a SWAT vehicle in chase, NASA's operations center in an airstream trailer for the 10-minute trip to the launch pad when word: Launch of Endeavour is scrubbed.The shuttle had planned to start at 3: 47 p.m.Mission Board at 12: 16 pm decided to cancel the launch. The astronauts, fully clothed in their orange flight suits and a few minutes from aboard the shuttle, had their operations center only 11 minutes earlier abandoned.Obama and his family, travel of the destruction of the storm in Alabama to Florida for the launch, landed at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, less than an hour later. Instead of watching the launch, she toured the Orbiter Processing Facility and had a close-up look at the shuttle Atlantis. The Atlantis will launch on the last mission of the space Shuttle program on June 28. The Endeavour astronauts, in an Airstream trailer called the Astrovan, were seconds of effort and less than three hours before a scheduled liftoff a 14-day mission to the International Space Station, when Friday launch was cancelled. The Astrovan abruptly turned around, making for the crew for at least 72 hours of hurry-up-and-wait. "You're bored, you're anxious, you've done all your training, and you're ready to go, "astronaut Rick Mastracchio says of the lead-up to the launch. "It is a slow time."A thermostat, one of the two used to have a fuel line to keep from freezing, is the culprit, Leinbach said. The auxiliary power units are fueled with hydrazine in orbit, which can freeze. The thermostats should feel the decrease of the temperature and stoves activate. "It was a hard failure. We couldn't get it to come to life regardless of what we did, "said Leinbach. another heater further along the line" funny behaviour was also exhibiting are, "he said."We do not want to commit to flight with only one stove, "who let the shuttle at risk for a frozen fuel line as the other thermostat failed, Leinbach said.Laying down the thermostat and ramping up again for the launch will take a minimum of three days, Leinbach said. If the problem is more extensive and includes a replacement of the switchbox that the powers of the lines, the launch would be faced additional delays, he said. Testing a replacement switch box includes two full days of tests, he said.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ 's. Report corrections and clarifications, contact standards Editor Brent Jones. For consideration of publication in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and State for authentication. Our corrections, go to corrections. usatoday.com. We've updated the guidelines for the conversation. Changes include a brief overview of the monitoring process and an explanation about how to use the "report abuse" button. Read more.

Quietly on the coasts; Central USA is in for a wet weekend

While both East and west coast a fairly quiet, mild weekend will, will the central United States under the gun again for heavy rain and some severe thunderstorms, especially on Sunday. By Aaron Hardin, AP

Mike Yates takes a break from recovery of the flood in his Office at counter solutions in Jackson, Tennessee on Friday. More heavy rains in the central United States this weekend may lead to additional flooding.

By Aaron Hardin, AP

Mike Yates takes a break from recovery of the flood in his Office at counter solutions in Jackson, Tennessee on Friday. More heavy rains in the central United States this weekend may lead to additional flooding.

Central storm: Saturday, rain and Thunder will extend from the Northern Plains and upper Midwest South Northeast Texas, Eastern Oklahoma and Western Arkansas. Some severe thunderstorms can rattle northern Texas and southern Oklahoma. Large hail is the biggest threat.The heaviest rain is expected Saturday in the Dakotas, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. What light snow is also possible in the northern Rockies and far northern North Dakota On Sunday, rain and thunderstorms will stretch from the Eastern Great Lakes southwest to Texas. Drenching rain is likely in the Ohio Valley already soaked and mid Mississippi Valley, which will aggravate flooding along the Mississippi River all the way from Illinois to Louisiana. Snow is forecast in the high elevations of the Central Rockies in Colorado and far northern New Mexico.Wildfire worries: Little will as rain about dried out sections of the South West this weekend will fall, so favourable conditions for forest fires. Today, could strong, gusty winds and low humidity help fan fires in west Texas, Southern New Mexico and southern Arizona.Mild coastlines, cool center: Temperatures will be well above average along the Gulf Coast, East Coast and West Coast Saturday and Sunday, but the showers and clouds temperatures below average in the Rockies, Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes regions.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ 's. Report corrections and clarifications, contact standards Editor Brent Jones. For consideration of publication in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and State for authentication. Our corrections, go to corrections. usatoday.com. We've updated the guidelines for the conversation. Changes include a brief overview of the monitoring process and an explanation about how to use the "report abuse" button. Read more.

College campuses add language immersion programs

Next fall, a group of 10-12 students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison together will live in a dormitory dubbed the Russian Parliament. By Fall Horvath Davidson, AP

Pauline Turpin, Lille, France, working on the decoration speaks for her dorm room at Centenary College in Shreveport, La. everyone in a wing of the dormitory exclusively French.

By Fall Horvath Davidson, AP

Pauline Turpin, Lille, France, working on the decoration speaks for her dorm room at Centenary College in Shreveport, La. everyone in a wing of the dormitory exclusively French.

During the semester, she will speak, read, watch TV and pretty much do all their communicate in Russian. "The idea is that we create a little bubble for them of Russia on the Madison campus in a supportive environment, "says Diana Murphy, associate director of the Russian flagship Center and Language Institute. Colleges and universities nationwide creating and extending existing language immersion programs, under which students live together while learning a language around the clock.Dustin Cowell, who teaches Arabic in Wisconsin-Madison and is Chairman of the Department of African languages and literature, says foreign language immersion programs are effective, because the language is a part of the students when they use it to express their feelings or to talk about gewonedagelijkse activities. "It has language outside the classroom and increase your vocabulary," Cowell says. "To try to tell your friends about something that happened that day is much more personal. " By Greg Pearson, the (Shreveport, La.) Times

Jackson Hall, at Centenary College in Shreveport, La., houses Le Quartier Fran? ais, a wing dedicated to the French language and culture.

Cowell says that the immersion program can students to their antennae up and thinking about what they say. "The first time you might not have said it very well, but you start to think about different ways to say it, "he says. "Every time you say something, you are focusing on that speaking manner."Among the other programs nationwide: • Centenary College in Shreveport, La., a French immersion program launched in 2010 on a floor of a dormitory calls it Le Quartier Francais. • Emory University in Atlanta has a Spanish home and a smaller German program. • the University of Virginia has a French home House House Spanish, German, Russian House and the House Shea, including Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Urdu, Italian, Japanese, and Persian. • the Thatcher language House on the University of Massachusetts-Amherst provides students with an opportunity to live in a residence hall dedicated to learning ChineesFranse, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. A designated floor you will find for each language. • to Middlebury College in Vermont, the Department of language contains a School of Hebrew. "We always add languages when we feel there is a need, "says Michael Geisler, vice president for the Middlebury language schools. "We have Arabic for a while and we have a thriving and growing Middle East program. Arabic is one of the languages spoken in that region and Hebrew is the other. "Andy Wilson, Director of residence life at Emory, says that there are some native speakers in the House, as well as people who are trying to acquire fluency live or proficiency. "The programme varies from year to year as to community standards on speaking Spanish in the home, "says Wilson. "A few years, Spanish is the only language that is spoken in the House and then there are other years where English is permitted during certain hours."Among the students take part in the Centenary French program is senior Alexandria Pittman, who wants to travel to France and teach English after graduation. "It is difficult, "she says only speak French in the students home. "It's like splitting up my brain in half."Despite that, Pittman says, she loves the dormitory and both her French and her knowledge of French culture have improved. She attributes much of her roommate, Pauline Turpin. Turpin is an exchange student at the Catholic University of Lille. They logged on to come to school in Louisiana through a partnership which Centenary with her school has. "Every time I said that I was going to Louisiana, people said ' they speak French there, ' "she says with a smile."But they don ' speak French. "Wisconsin-Madison also has an Arabic, Persian and Turkish language immersion Institute. It runs an eight-week summer program from mid-June to August. Arabic was the first language of the programme in 2004. Persian was added in 2005 and Turkish in 2010. "Students are not supposed to use a language other than the language they for the period of eight weeks study, "says Cowell," on Friday nights, they are of the complex for about 12 hours released and they can use English. "At Emory, Wilson says, the more immersed students receive, the more they get from the program. "The more prepared to restrictions on their ability to speak their first language, the more likely they are to leave the program with more fluent and more knowledge about the culture, "he says.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ 's. Report corrections and clarifications, contact standards Editor Brent Jones. For consideration of publication in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and State for authentication. Our corrections, go to corrections. usatoday.com. We've updated the guidelines for the conversation. Changes include a brief overview of the monitoring process and an explanation about how to use the "report abuse" button. Read more.

Career-ending videos of professors are unfairly edited, University officials say

 Videos posted by the conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart appear to have ended the teaching career of an adjunct at the University of Missouri -- even as university officials issued a statement backing the contention of the two instructors of the labor studies course that their comments in the class had been edited to present an "inaccurate and distorted" picture of what was said.

Breitbart posted the videos (here and here) on his Big Government blog and, based on the recordings, called the course "advanced thuggery." In the video, the two instructors can be heard making numerous seemingly positive statements about the use of violence or threatened violence in labor-management relations. The course is taught by one instructor at the university's Kansas City campus, Judy Ancel, and another at the St. Louis campus, Don Giljum. With a video link, the professors and students at the two campuses interact in class -- and the recordings have been available to students through the learning management system used in the course. The videos posted by Breitbart are clearly from different class sessions, as the professors appear in different clothing.

In interviews Thursday, both Ancel and Giljum said that their statements in the videos were a mixture of different teaching techniques, including describing how labor leaders felt during certain periods of time, directly quoting specific individuals (whose views they did not necessarily share), and intentionally taking an extreme position to prompt class discussion.

They said that the full recordings would make this clear, and that they would like the complete class sessions released. The problem, they said, was that the recordings show identifiable students as well as the instructors (which is the case in the excerpts posted by Breitbart, too), so the university can't just post the recordings without violating student privacy rights.

Late Thursday afternoon, Gail Hackett, provost of the Kansas City campus, issued a statement that backed the instructors' description of the class, based on administrators' review so far of the 18 hours of available video (of which Breitbart's two excerpts are together under 15 minutes). "From the review completed to date, it is clear that edited videos posted on the Internet depict statements from the instructors in an inaccurate and distorted manner by taking their statements out of context and reordering the sequence in which those statements were actually made so as to change their meaning," Hackett said. "Such selective editing is disturbing and the release of students' images without their permission is a violation of their privacy rights." (University officials assume that a student either gave Breitbart a copy of the video of the class or provided access.)

Hackett's statement went on to "underscore our commitment to the importance of academic freedom, freedom of speech and the free-flowing discussion of challenging topics in our courses," as well as "the serious responsibilities this places on us to ensure a balanced perspective is offered to our students within our curriculum."

And Hackett said that "[i]n this particular case, we also affirm our belief that studying labor unions, their history, and their role in society is an important subject given the role they have played and continue to play in the United States and the world. As a result, we continue to review the appropriate place for such an offering within our curriculum."

Breitbart did not respond to a request from Inside Higher Ed for a response to the allegation that the videos he posted are distorted.

This is not the first time that he has been accused of selective editing. It was Breitbart who posted the excerpt of a talk by Shirley Sherrod, then an Agriculture Department official, purporting to show her expressing anti-white racial attitudes, setting off a furor that led to her resignation. The subsequently released video of her complete talk showed how she was referencing long-ago attitudes and in fact gave a moving call for racial reconciliation.

Breitbart may be on the lookout for other academics. Appearing on Sean Hannity's show on Fox last week, he said that "we're going to take on education next, and go after the teachers and union organizers."

The American Association of University Professors released a statement late Thursday denouncing Breitbart's tactics, and contrasting the alleged calls to violence in the videos with the damage that the association said is really taking place. "The violence that is being done ... is to the academic freedom and employment security of the instructors, and to the privacy and safe classroom environment of the students, some of whom speak on the video clip," said the AAUP statement. "When students voice their views in class, they should not have to fear that their comments will be spread all over the Internet. When faculty members rightly explore difficult topics in class, they should not have to fear for their jobs or their lives."

While the university's statement endorsed academic freedom, it also noted that during "the course of our review the past couple days, UMSL has accepted the resignation of its lecturer." The St. Louis campus declined to elaborate on that resignation, but Giljum said that he was told by a dean that she needed him to resign, and had been told by her higher-ups to get his resignation.

Noting that he is an adjunct, Giljum said that "they could care less about me. I am an at-will employee, and they are focused on preserving funding for the university."

He said that the university sent a message by asking him to resign in the wake of the videos. "Teachers here are no longer going to be able to express comments, theories or counter-positions or make statements to force students to push back and critically challenge the comments and statements of the teacher," he said.

Teaching in such an environment, he said, "I would be guarded about what I would say, and students would be guarded as well."

Ancel, the other instructor, said in an interview that she works on annual contracts and that the university has not taken any action against her. She also released a statement in which she explained the context behind some of the quotes shown in the video.

For example, she noted that one of her quotes in the Breitbart video is: "violence is a tactic and it's to be used when it's the appropriate tactic." Here is what she said really happened: "After students had watched a film on the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' strike and the assassination of Martin Luther King, they were discussing nonviolence. I said, 'One guy in the film ... said 'violence is a tactic, and it's to be used when it's the appropriate tactic.' " In this instance, she said, "Breitbart's editing has literally put words in my mouth that were not mine, and they never were mine."

Both Ancel and Giljum said that a course about the history of the labor movement would of necessity discuss violence. Ancel said in her statement: "Any examination of labor's past would be incomplete without discussion of violence (which for the most part was directed at workers), and analysis of its roots. At no time did my co-instructor, Don Giljum, nor I advocate violence."

While Ancel's statement said that complete review of the tapes would vindicate both instructors, she added that the videos had caused real pain, "ugly" threats and the loss of Giljum's job. "These videos are no idle prank. They do real harm," she said.

She also stressed that the invasion of privacy extended to her students -- some of whom want to learn about labor without telling their bosses, and who are visible in the videos. "These videos are an attack on higher education and its mission to working adults, putting labor education programs at risk. They create fear and have an enormously chilling effect on freedom of thought and expression," her statement said. "Sadly, they have already shattered the very positive atmosphere of trust and openness that we worked so hard to create in this class. One of my students told me, with some discomfort, 'My boss watches Fox News.'

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.