U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will be in the Twin Cities Tuesday for several events, including a town hall forum with Gov. Mark Dayton on early learning.
The governor's office says Duncan's visit is scheduled to focus on the need for investment in early-childhood education.
And, notes the governor's office, the state's new budget provides an additional $600 million in E-12 education, including $40 million for early-learning scholarships?that will help more than 8,000 Minnesota kids attend high-quality child care and preschool. The budget also provides $134 million to help provide?free all-day kindergarten, and there is $40 million in new funding for special education.
Duncan's Tuesday events are:
9 a.m., classroom visit to Pond Early Childhood Family Center, Bloomington
9:30 a.m., Early-learning town hall forum at Kennedy High School, Bloomington. Scheduled to be on the panel with Duncan are:
Gov. Dayton
Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius
Maj. General Richard C. Nash, adjutant general, Minnesota National Guard
The Rev. Peg Chemberlin, executive director, Minnesota Council of Churches
Laysha Ward, president, Target Community Relations and Target Foundation
Art Rolnick, co-director for the Human Capital Research Collaborative, University of Minnesota
Noon, Duncan speaks at the National Network of State Teachers of the Year National Conference,? Millennium Hotel, downtown Minneapolis.
If there's one thing we know, it's that the mobile payment space is exploding. European players in this space include Monitise, Paddle, ValidSoft and left-of-field startups like Droplet. However despite operating in the UK since July last year it wasn't known how one of the newer arrivals, Judo Payments, was backed. Founder/CEO Dennis Jones says that it launched with an initial $5M seed round. Terms were undisclosed but it's understood the round was led by a New York based private investor which previously backed Euroffice and PaymentSense, both UK startups. The startup has now come out of a year long beta with some 2,500 merchants on its platform who pay on a subscription basis.
Former Bills OL Joe?Joe DeLamielleure has reached Ohio on his walk from Buffalo to Canton.
Dolphins DE Cameron Wake has been a bargain since signing a long-term deal.
The Patriots have three open roster spots.
Jets coach Rex Ryan was a big fan of Strat-O-Matic baseball when he was growing up.
Seeing teammates enjoying their Super Bowl rings is motivating Ravens S Matt Elam.
Bengals CB Dre Kirkpatrick has started the 21 Kids Foundation.
Craig Robinson has a chance to earn a starting linebacker job with the Browns.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wants his football camp to be about more than football.
What should the Texans regret about this offseason?
Tony Siragusa gets a mention as a candidate for a defensive tackle spot on the Indianapolis Star?s all-time Indianapolis Colts squad.
Said Jaguars K Josh Scobee, ?There?s a lot of new changes, a lot of new faces in the building. It?s tough to say what?s going to happen, but there?s a lot of optimism right now.?There?s a lot of positive energy running around right now, and hopefully that can translate into some wins.?
DE Derrick Morgan?s progress last year has the Titans expecting more from him in 2013.
Catching up with Broncos WR Wes Welker about his first few months with the team.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt is helping manage the sports legacy his father created.
The Raiders are looking for their second straight win over the Jaguars this season.
RB Danny Woodhead isn?t looking for differences between the Chargers and the Patriots.
Stealing Cowboys jerseys landed a pair of thieves in jail last week.
Giants S Stevie Brown is hoping to put together a big season.
Three questions about the Eagles defensive tackles.
Will a member of the Redskins? 2011 draft class break out this season?
John Mullin of CSNChicago.com believes the Bears have already made up their mind about how to proceed with QB Jay Cutler on the contract front.
The third spot on the quarterback depth chart is the only one up for grabs at Lions camp.
Who will get the safety spot next to Morgan Burnett with the Packers?
Setting the stage at quarterback for the Vikings.
The kick return jobs should spur a lot of competition for the Falcons this summer.
Panthers CB Drayton Florence donated computers to a hometown community center.
It was back to college stomping grounds for Saints RB Mark Ingram last weekend.
Buccaneers CB Darrelle Revis is advising Virginia Tech CB Antoine Exum to take his time in rehab from a torn ACL.
With Bruce Arians at coach, we could see more two tight end sets from the Cardinals this year.
A look at the Rams stadium issue and the Missouri Governor?s role in it.
Said 49ers RB Marcus Lattimore of his health, ?I?ve been on pace and haven?t had any setbacks. I haven?t had any problems with the knee. I?m moving forward in everything that I do, and I?m excited about training camp coming up. I?m just going to train and get a shot sometime around mid-season to practice.?
Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch held a football camp in Oakland.
JVC's been trying to get back into the HDTV game via its recent partnership with Vizio maker Amtran, and just took another big step by unveiling the flagship BlackSapphire SL series. The new models boast high-end touches like tiny bezels, ultra-thin profiles and an edge-lit LED "adaptive backlight." You'll also get built-in WiFi, SmartTV with apps like Netflix, Pandora and a Slingbox client, Xinema-Sound audio with simulated surround-sound, and passive 3D with four sets of included glasses. Interestingly, JVC decided to launch the series with rather small 42-inch and 47-inch models, though Amtran told CNET that larger sizes are also in the works. Also unusual in a flagship is three-digit pricing: $799 for the smaller SL42B-C and $899 for the SL47B-C. Considering the sticker shock we've had lately, however, we're all for keeping things small in that regard. Both models will be up for grabs later this summer.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan is the newest owner of the Fulham Football Club, having purchased the London-based soccer club on Friday. One of the benefits of being a billionaire sports owner is the ease of travel involved, and Khan has already scooted across the pond to announce the purchase.
While waiting for the official Sunday announcement, he spoke with Fulham TV about the purchase of the club and his plans for the future. As you might imagine, there was some discussion of the Jaguars. Khan called the club a "civic asset" in the same vein as Fulham.
"I've always looked at the other association I have with the Jacksonville Jaguars is really they're a civic asset," Khan said. "I am the steward of that asset. And I feel very much the same thing here. We want to listen to the fans."
But he also called the Jags "the home team for London," noting the "commonality" between the Jaguars and Fulham.
"First of all, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham operate as two entities," Khan said when asked about the similarities between American and European football. "Obviously, there would be some practices, some synergies we'd like to take advantage of. And the Jaguars will be playing one home game [here] for the next four years.
"So, we are the home team for London. So, there is some commonality there."
Personally, I think the Jags will stick in Jacksonville, but there are many folks who don't believe that. And Khan's purchase of Fulham -- a soccer club not located in Jacksonville -- has many folks believing the Jags could bounce for London.
It's certainly a possibility, though it seems less likely with Khan and Jacksonville pumping millions into Everbank Field. Calling Jacksonville a "home team" for London seems like a cause to get all up in arms about the way it's being referenced.
The reality is Jacksonville is the home team for London. They're playing overseas for several years in a row and Khan is trying to market them internationally. Building a brand relationship between Fulham and the Jaguars will only improve the international recognition of both his football teams.
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HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Penn State's former president Graham Spanier initiated a libel and defamation case Thursday against Louis Freeh, the former FBI director who a year ago produced a report for the school that was highly critical of Spanier's role in the child sex abuse scandal involving longtime assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
Paperwork filed in Centre County, where the school is located, disclosed little about the nature of his claims but checked off a box on a court system form that described the case as "slander/libel/defamation."
The filing was made one day before the one-year anniversary of Freeh's report, which concluded that Spanier, late coach Joe Paterno and other high-ranking Penn State administrators failed to protect children against Sandusky. Under Pennsylvania law, those who believe they have been libeled or defamed have a year to initiate a civil lawsuit.
Calls and emails seeking comment from Freeh and from Spanier lawyer Elizabeth Ainslie were not returned. Along with Freeh, the paperwork also names as a defendant the law firm where Freeh works.
The Freeh report said Spanier told Freeh's investigators that he never heard anyone say Sandusky was sexually abusing children. But Freeh wrote it was more reasonable to conclude that Spanier, Paterno, athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz "repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky's child abuse from the authorities, the university's board of trustees, the Penn State community and the public at large."
Curley, who was placed on leave to serve out his contract, and Schultz, now retired, were both charged in November 2011, when Sandusky was arrested, and accused of perjury and failure to properly report suspected abuse.
Spanier was forced out as president at that time, and a year later was himself charged as part of an alleged cover-up of complaints about Sandusky. A school spokesman said Thursday Spanier remains a faculty member on administrative leave.
Paterno died of complications from lung cancer in January 2012 and was not charged with any crime. The Freeh report's scathing conclusions about the former coach was followed more than a week later by the school administration's decision to remove his statue from outside the football stadium.
Additional charges were also filed against Curley and Schultz last November, but there has not been a preliminary hearing yet because of a legal dispute about the role played in the grand jury proceedings by Cynthia Baldwin, a former state Supreme Court justice who at the time was Penn State's top lawyer.
On Tuesday, a district judge in the Harrisburg suburbs announced the preliminary hearing would be held for Spanier, Schultz and Curley starting July 29 in the county courthouse. The hearing will determine if there are grounds to forward the case to county court for trial. All three men have vigorously denied the allegations against them.
Sandusky, 69, was convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse, including violent attacks on boys inside school facilities, after a three-week trial last summer in which eight victims testified against him. He is serving a 30- to 60-year prison term and maintains he was wrongfully convicted. He is pursuing appeals.
If there's one thing we know, it's that the mobile payment space is exploding. European players in this space include 
