iowa national guard killed in afghanstan

A second Iowa Army National Guard soldier has died in Afghanistan this week, family members said Thursday.

The family of Don Nichols confirmed his death Thursday. Nichols is a 2009 graduate of Waverly-Shell Rock High School in Waverly in northeast Iowa.

Nichols' step-grandmother, Susie Poock, told The Des Moines Register the family was notified Wednesday night. Poock said Nichols was a member of the 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Battalion. The military has not confirmed Nichols' death.

KCNZ radio in Cedar Falls said flags are flying at half staff at Waverly-Shell Rock High School after school officials announced Nichols' death. KCNZ reported that Principal Ken Winter told them that an announcement was made at school Thursday.

The Iowa National Guard said Thursday morning that it plans a news conference Thursday night, but didn't provide more details about what was to be discussed.

The briefing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Officials said it is "regarding recent events in the Afghanistan theater of operations."

Officials said the news conference will be of special interest those in northeast Iowa. The briefing will be held at the Camp Dodge Freedom Center at 7105 NW 70th Ave. in Johnston.

The Guard announced a similar news conference on Monday night where it announced the death of Brent Maher, of Council Bluffs

japans ed.

Students in many districts across Japan brushed off their uniforms and shouldered their bookbags for the first day of the new school year on Wednesday.

But while most were worried about meeting their new teachers or what their class schedules might be, some were facing the threat of nuclear contamination or the loss of former classmates.

In Tokyo, a group of students evacuated from the Fukushima area began the school year in a new city and a new classroom.

Keisuke Takahashi, 7, is one of several children staying at a youth center in Japan's capital as their parents in the north work or take care of worse-off family members.

"I just got a letter from my mom," he said. "It says that she is hurting because we're separated. But she says don't worry, we will go home together after the nuclear power plant settles down."

"I haven't got used to the life yet, because I have to live separately from my mom," he said walking into the Minamisuna Primary School. "I miss her."

Up in northern Japan, where the worst devastation from last month's tsunami occurred, the new school year has been delayed several weeks. Dozens of schools were wiped out or too badly damaged to reopen in Miyagi prefecture.

Obama latino students

President Barack Obama took to the Spanish-language network airwaves Monday to discuss challenges in educating Hispanics students.

In a Univision-sponsored town hall meeting with Hispanic students and educators at Bell Multicultural High School in Washington, the president said to out-educate and out-innovate the global competition, the Latino community must play a key role in the future.

"Our workforce is going to be more diverse; it is going to be, to a large percentage, Latino. And if our young people are not getting the kind of education they need, we won't succeed as a nation," Obama said.

With several students and parents asking questions about immigration and deportations, Obama said the answer wouldn't be overnight. He hoped the DREAM Act, which would give kids who have grown up in the United States an opportunity to earn citizenship despite their family's immigration status, would be passed in the future.

"We didn't get it passed this time, but I don't want young people to be giving up because if people in the past had given up, we probably wouldn't have women's rights, we wouldn't have civil rights. So many changes that we've made had to do with young people being willing to struggle and fight to make sure that their voices are heard," said Obama.

Carrie Cofer, an English teacher at Lincoln-West High School in Cleveland, says one challenge she faces with her Hispanic students is that they haven't been in the United States long enough to become proficient in English.

Obama leads education plan

First lady Michelle Obama invited more than 20 accomplished women to the White House on Wednesday, asking them to serve as mentors for area high school students.

The women, along with the first lady, fanned out across the District of Columbia and surrounding suburbs in the afternoon visiting six local high schools encouraging the teenagers to follow their dreams and work hard to get there.

"There is no magic to being here. You know, Barack and I were not born with silver spoons in our mouths and connections and money and resources. A lot of why we're where we are today is because we worked hard. We felt a deep passion for getting our education," the first lady told students at Ballou High school in Washington.

She recalled having to get up as a child at 6:30 a.m. to ride a bus for an hour and a half to attend a better high school across town, for better preparation for college.

"I know what it feels like to struggle to get the education that you need. In so many ways, I see myself in you all," Mrs. Obama shared. "And I want you to see yourselves in me, so that you're not looking at me just as the first lady of the United States."

Mrs. Obama's events on Wednesday were scheduled as part of the end of National Women's History month.

At Washington's Woodson High school, the four mentors included an Air Force general, a TV network executive, an actress and a gymnastics champion who all answered questions for more than 20 female students.

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Chris Brown apologizes for 'GMA' outburst

Chris Brown is apologizing for his outburst at the "Good Morning America" studios on Tuesday, when he stormed off the set following questions about his 2009 assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna and stared down the producer responsible for the segment.

According to an ABC report, the hair and make-up staff  called security when Brown retreated to his dressing room because of the loud noises coming from the space. It was later discovered that the thick glass of the dressing room window had been smashed.

"First of all, I want to apologize to anybody who was startled in the office, or anybody who was offended or really looked, and [was] disappointed at my actions," Brown said during a recent appearance on BET's "106 & Park." "Because I'm disappointed in the way I acted."

Brown admitted that he got emotional, but explained that he was angry that "GMA" anchor Robin Roberts went beyond the "talking points" that his camp had submitted to the news show.

Charlie sheen troubles

Warner Bros. Television has fired actor Charlie Sheen from its comedy "Two and a Half Men" after a two-week public meltdown by the star that has included attacks on the show's creator.

"After careful consideration, Warner Bros. Television has terminated Charlie Sheen's services on 'Two and a Half Men,' effective immediately," the company said in a statement issued Monday.

"This is very good news," Sheen said in a statement to TMZ. "They continue to be in breach, like so many whales.

"It is a big day of gladness at the Sober Valley Lodge because now I can take all of their bazillions ... and I never have to put on those silly shirts for as long as this warlock exists in the terrestrial dimension."

Sheen, 45, has been known for his highly publicized marital, legal and substance abuse problems as much as his acting. The show was put on hiatus after he entered a rehabilitation program in January, and production was halted after Sheen blasted show co-creator Chuck Lorre and Alcoholics Anonymous in a February 24 radio interview.