PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) A former gym teacher pleaded guilty to taking $1-a-day bribes from middle school students who didn’t want to change their clothes for class. Under his plea deal, Terence Braxton, 28, was sentenced to three years probation for felony bribery, ordered to pay back the students at Ernest Ward Middle School, and ordered…

RUSSELL SPRINGS, Ky. (AP) A federal judge on Friday blocked a southern Kentucky high school from including prayers in its graduation ceremony, prompting students to begin reciting the Lord’s Prayer during the opening remarks. About 200 students interrupted the principal’s comments with the prayer, drawing thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the crowd. Earlier…

Jim Mullen Usually, I’m the only person that uses my car. If Sue uses it, it takes me three days to get the thing back to normal. Well, normal for me. She’s jiggled the rearview mirror, she’s moved the side mirrors, she’s tuned the radio to the “Best Hits of 1754,” and thrown away some…

Joan Ryan There’s a girl I know who is a straight-A student in high school. She is poised, bright and organized, the kind who answers the extra-credit questions and keeps color-coded files for every class. But she reads as slowly as a grade-schooler. Her writing is barely legible. She can’t spell. Like 2.5 million other…

Thomas Vaughn President Bush is taking the high road to immigration reform.?The U.S. House of Representatives is taking the low road.?So far, the U.S. Senate seems to leaning more toward the president?s approach to resolving this thorny issue. Last Monday night, President Bush outlined what he called a comprehensive strategy to overhaul the nation?s long-embattled?immigration…