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U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

No entity in America provides more money to colleges than the U.S. Department of Education. More than $120 billion in loans and grants annually flowto students, who then pass that money on to colleges to pay for things like tuition, housing, and books.

What you may not know is that colleges generally keep the money regardless of whether astudentgraduates, or even if they claim the school misled them.

Last year, the Obama administration tried to change that. Federal officials drafted new rules that would give the government greater authority to demand that financially troubled colleges put up collateral in case the government had to forgo repayment of a loan because a college defrauded a student or unexpectedly shut down. U.S. officials also sought to bancollegesmany of them for-profitsfrom mandating that aggrieved students use secretive arbitrationinstead of going to court, on the theory that itd be easier for regulators to spot wrongdoing and students would be at less of a disadvantage. That rule, put in place by the Obama administration, was set to take effect this year during the Trump administration.

A group of California-based for-profit colleges suedto prevent the measurefrom going into effect July 1, arguing it would be disastrous given the future litigation costs. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos agreed, and last month blocked what she called a muddled rulefrom taking effect. Instead, she said, shed rewrite it.

Meanwhile, former students who wish to sue their schools remain bound by the arbitration agreements they signed. On Thursday, a group of 19 state attorneys general, all Democrats, and two former for-profit college students sued DeVos to reverse her decision. The students said in court filings that they had been planning to file a lawsuit against their school, given the rule change.

Since day one, Secretary DeVos has sided with for-profit school executives against students and families drowning in unaffordable student loans, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said. DeVoss decision was a betrayal of her offices responsibility.

Elizabeth Hill, aDeVos spokeswoman, called the lawsuit by 19 top state law enforcement officersideologically driven and said that the California schools lawsuit, whichDeVos cited inhalting Obamas reforms, made serious and credibleallegations that the previous administration exceeded its authority.

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The lawsuit by the attorneys general represents the latest effort by states to police an Education Department they view as beholden to colleges and lenders. During her few months in office, DeVos has rolled back Obama-era efforts to require loan firmstohelpstudent debtors manage or discharge their loans rather than maximize the amount they pay; reversed another provision that limited loan companies from charging certain fees; and delayed rules meant to deter college misconduct and cut off federal money to colleges that bury students under unaffordable debt.

The DeVos-led Education Department says Obamas efforts were misguided and ultimately wouldnt be effective. Her decision to reverse the moves by the previous Democratic administration also reflect her view that households and markets, rather than government agencies, are better positioned to police the higher education sector.

Government really sucks, DeVos said in a 2015 speech.

Prosecutors from states such as Illinois, North Carolina, and New York have criticized DeVos at every turn by arguing shes putting students and taxpayers at risk. Thursdays lawsuit may signalthat Democratic attorneys general are likely to intensify theirchallenges toDeVos, especially if they think public opinion is on their side.

Were going to keep a close eye on this industry, Healey said.

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States Line Up Against DeVos to Save Obama's College Rules - Bloomberg

Media Matters for America

Lou Dobbs: Obama is "shadowing" President Trump around the world to "undercut" him Media Matters for America LOU DOBBS (HOST): Mr. Obama has even embarked on a world tour that appears to be clearly organized to mirror, to shadow President Trump's meetings with foreign leaders. Obama has met with the former prime ministers of both Italy and Britain. He talked ... and more »

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Lou Dobbs: Obama is "shadowing" President Trump around the world to "undercut" him - Media Matters for America

Cirque du Soleil has acquired Blue Man Group, combining two of North America's more popular live entertainment brands. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which results in Blue Man's founders retaining some equity.

Sponsor swap: Cirque du Soleil has been majority-owned by private equity firm TPG Capital since July 2015, while Blue Man sold a minority stake to GF Capital in 2010.

What's the plan? TPG's investment thesis on Cirque is around the concept of programming real estate, whether that be at a casino, on a cruise ship or at a mall (yes, you'll eventually see live Cirque programming between Banana Republic and Orange Julius). Blue Man gets folded into that, even though the two brands will remain separate from a creative perspective. Also expect Cirque to help Blue Man expand more internationally, particularly in China.

Next performance: Expect Cirque to pursue additional acquisition opportunities, both for franchises like Blue Man and possibly for long-running single-city shows.

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How Clinton, Bush and Obama handled their first Putin meetings - Axios

"Obama, Japan" redirects here. For the town in Nagasaki, see Obama, Nagasaki.

Obama (, Obama-shi) is a city in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It faces Wakasa Bay due north of Kyoto, and is about four to seven hours by train from Tokyo.

As of April 1, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 29,213 and a population density of 130 persons per km. The total area is 232.85km.

Obama gained publicity in the United States and elsewhere in 2008, as it shares its name with the then-senator Barack Obama, who was running for President of the United States.

Obama means "little beach" in Japanese.[1]

In the Ritsury period, Obama was the capital of Wakasa Province, one of entrance of continental culture. Many temples related to the Yamato Dynasty are located in Obama, and the city is called "Nara by the sea".

In the Edo period, Obama was the capital of the Obama Domain and was the starting point of the Mackerel Road to Kyoto.

As a result of its location in the Wakasa Province area, which travelers passed through when traveling between China and Kyoto, the area was influenced by Chinese culture for a long period. There are many buildings and houses in the Sancho-machi area of the city whose design was influenced by trade with the Chinese mainland.[2]

The area was established as a city on March 30, 1951 although the area has been inhabited for centuries. Otojir Uratani is currently the mayor of Obama.

Obama is one of the locations where Japanese citizens were abducted by North Korean agents on July 7, 1978.[3][4]

Fishing used to be the main industry, but now it is mostly supported by tourism.[1] Wakasa lacquered chopsticks, agate accessories, and other crafts are made in the area.[5]

Fukui Prefectural University is located in Obama and has been operating only since 1992.[6] However, in this short period, the university's Research Center for Marine Bioresources has been noted for its research of preservation and in the fields of fish embryogenesis, aquaculture stock enhancement, fish disease, and microalgeal bloom.[7] The university also has schools (faculties) of Economics, Nursing, Arts and Sciences, Biotechnology, and others.[8] Medical research is done at the Obama Community Hospital.[9][10] Obama is also home to the Wakasa branch of the Fukui Prefectural Library.

The Omizu-okuri (Water Carrying) Festival is held every March 2 on which water is drawn from the Onyu River and presented to the principal image of the temple. This annual event dates back more than 1,200 years.[5] Local tourist attractions include the Myotsu-ji Temple and the surrounding Karesansui Garden.[2]

The Wakasa Historical and Folk Museum is housed in a large, modern facility. Among other items of local interest, it houses many Jomon period artifacts, including those from the important Torihama shell mound in the area.

Obama is also home to Hosshinji, a working Zen monastery.[11]

Obama has sister and friendship relationships with the following cities.[12]

The city of Obama has received much publicity because it shares its name with former U.S. President Barack Obama. It began when Obama as a Senator gave a 2006 interview to Japanese television network TBS where he noted that, when passing through customs in Narita Airport, the official who inspected his visa said that he was from Obama.[13] The Obama City Hall heard about the interview and the mayor, Toshio Murakami, sent Senator Obama a set of the citys famous lacquer chopsticks, a DVD about the city and a letter wishing him the best. As Senator Obama's presidential campaign progressed, more local businesses began to organize primary parties and put up "Go Obama!" posters, sell "I love Obama" T-shirts, and produce manj (a type of Japanese confectionery) with Senator Obama's face on them. A hula group began in the town in honour of Senator Obama's home state of Hawaii. The troupe visited Honolulu in June to perform at the Pan Pacific Festival.[14]

Obama has since thanked the town for their gifts and support, saying "I look forward to a future marked by the continued friendship of our two great nations and a shared commitment to a better, freer world".[15]

There are a number of Japanese with the surname Obama. Though the former American President is of Kenyan Luo heritage, it is not uncommon for Japanese and East African names to sound alike.[16][17]

As a result of the victory by Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, the Mayor of Obama City announced to the Japanese press that he intends to commission a statue of Barack Obama to be put in front of the city hall "as a token of the great historical moment for the name Obama".[18] On January 20, 2009, the day that Barack Obama was sworn into office, the city of Obama celebrated the inauguration with women dancing the hula at the Hagaji Temple.[19]

On November 14, 2009, President Obama specifically acknowledged his connection with Obama by mentioning it and its citizens in a speech at Suntory Hall in Tokyo.[20]

In 2013, Obama mayor Koji Matsuzaki gave a red lacquer pen to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to give to President Obama.[21]

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Obama, Fukui - Wikipedia

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Barack Obama, regarded by the alt-left as the alt-president, was back home in Indonesia for the Fourth of July holiday, and theres clearly something in the water in the Islamic world. Whatever it is, it brings out the missionary in the man that most of us regard as merely a former president.

No sooner had Michelle unpacked the family suitcases eight years ago than Mr. Obama ordered up Air Force One and hurried off to Cairo to make his famous apology to the Muslim world for all the manifold sins America has inflicted on the followers of Muhammad.

He stood in the great hall of Cairo University to tug at his imaginary forelock this after a bow to the Islamic world so deep that he just missed banging his head on the floor and told thousands of assembled Muslims that no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust.

But he proceeded to try. He used the traditional Muslim greeting, assalamu alaykum and spiced his remarks with quotations from the Koran. The holy Koran, he called it, with the pronunciation of the believer he learned as a boy in Indonesia, and assured them that I know civilizations debt to Islam.

He did not remind them that the debt has been marked paid in full with the blood of the thousands who have died in the many expressions of radical Islamic terror.

He showed understanding, in the rapturous account of one London newspaper, if not always acceptance of what one might call the Arab and Muslim narrative. The speech included ample references to dignity and justice against humiliation, words that resonate in Muslim discourse. Self-pity is for sale by the pound throughout the Arab world.

Mr. Obama poured it on in Cairo, demonstrating the hostility toward Israel and the Jews that would become a constant theme over his two terms in the White House. He overruled several aides who urged him not to use the word occupation to describe Israels takeover of territory gained in the Six-Day War in 1967.

Eight years on, Mr. Obama resurrected the spirit of Cairo in his remarks preceding the Fourth of July in Jakarta. He warned the world, and by unmistakable implication the United States and Donald Trump in particular, of the dangers of an aggressive kind of nationalism.

Its been clear for a while that the world is at a crossroads, he said. He recalled growing up in Indonesia and marveled at how the nation had prospered in the years since. But some countries, some developed and some less so, have adopted a more aggressive and isolationist stance. If we dont stand up for tolerance and moderation and respect for others, if we begin to doubt ourselves and all that we have accomplished, then much of the progress that we have made will not continue.

What we will see is more and more people arguing against democracy, we will see more and more people who are looking to restrict freedom of the press, well see more intolerance, more tribal divisions, more ethnic divisions, more religious divisions and more violence.

Well, hear! hear! Who among us would disagree with any of that? What the former president might have said, but didnt, is that the critics of democracy (his own true believers) are the red-hots who want to shut down debate on campus, who would restrict freedom of the press to those who keep control of that freedom and dispense it by the teaspoon as they see fit.

Since he was critiquing everybody, he might have acknowledged his own as the exceptional nation that practices none of the sins he enumerates, and applies by implication to the government of his successor. The challenges of our times, he said, whether economic inequality, changing climate, terrorism, mass migration these are real challenges, and were going to have to confront them together.

But its individual nations were looking at you, America, Israel, Canada, Great Britain that turn out to be the nations that secure the rights of their people. Confronting challenges to personal freedom is a task most of the nations of the world hardly recognize as something useful.

Had Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin shared Mr. Obamas aversion to aggressive nationalism, observed Ira Stoll in the New York Sun on the eve of Independence Day, they would all have been a lot less likely to pledge their own lives, fortunes and sacred honor to what was, after all, a war for the cause of starting a new country.

You can say that again. The alt-president and his followers of the alt-left surely wont. But those are words we all live by on this, and every Independence Day.

Wesley Pruden is editor in chief emeritus of The Times.

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Fourth of July speech Obama never made - Washington Times