Honolulu Star-Bulletin from Honolulu, Hawaii • 41

ou Star. 2 IN TROUBLE OVER FAKE SNOW DAY Two teenage girls posted a fake announcement on their school district's Web site that said school was closed for the day due to winter weather, police said. The notice, posted Monday, confused many parents snow was not in the forecast and persuaded some students to stay home. The two students at Edgewood High School in Trenton, Ohio, whose names were not released, were charged in juvenile court Friday and face expulsion. COMING UP The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing Thursday 011 the readiness of the Army hih! M.iriit Corps.

NEWS EDITOR Stephanie Kendrick skendrickstarbulletin.com 5294764 1 It Sunday, February ii, 1007 Page Ci 3 A NaIon "Each and every time, a new generation has risen up and done what's needed to be done. Today we are called once more, and it is time for our generation to answer that call." barackobama OBAMA FOIRMA DENT BID HM PRESJ 4 -W- ji i 1 1 itt m2t Sf mini rm. i $150,000 to study impact of canneries PAGO PAGO, American So-moa The U.S. Department of Interior has awarded American Samoa a $150,000 grant to study the possible impact of local canneries shutting down and moving elsewhere. The study is aimed at measuring the economic and demographic impact of any reductions in the cannery industry and to identify programs or development opportunities to help mitigate those impacts, said Nikolao Pula, director of the Interior Department's Office of Insular Affairs, in an e-mail.

Canneries are the territory's largest private employer. StarKist Samoa, owned by San Francisco-based Del Monte Food and COS Samoa Packing, a subsidiary of Chicken of the Sea International, employ more than 5,000 workers. Gov. Togiola Tulafono said the analysis will address possible economic problems that could result from a serious reduction in cannery employment. Snorkeler doing well after being shot EUGENE, Ore.

A snorkeler who was shot in the head after he was apparently mistaken for a swimming rodent was in good condition after surgery, a hospital said yesterday. John William Cheesman, 44, of Springfield, underwent eight hours of surgery Thursday to remove shrapnel and bone fragments from his face, said his wife, Shelley Cheesman. William Roderick, 60, of Reedsport, has been charged with assault, being a in possession of a fini and possession of me and mari-jua He was being held in the county jail. Roderick told deputies he thought Cheesman was a nutria swimming in the Smith River near Reedsport, about 90 miles southwest of Eugene, and him with a ride, police said. Princeton's ESP lab closes after 28 years PRINCETON, NJ.

The extrasensory perception lab at Princeton University will be shuttered at the end of the month. Maybe you already knew that. The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research laboratory will close after 28 years of studying ESP and telekinesis, research that embarrassed university officials and outraged the scientific community. PEAR'S founder, Robert Jahn, said the lab, with its aging equipment and dwindling finances, has done what it needed to do. Marine dies after truck overturns SAN DIEGO A truck overturned during a training drill at the Miramar air base early yesterday, killing one Marine and injuring 19 others, authorities said.

The truck was part of a six-vehicle convoy on regu-; larly scheduled training when it went off a dirt road and overturned sometime after 3 a.m. at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, a base spokesman said. Collision leaves gash in cruise ship NEW ORLEANS A barge struck a cruise ship yesterday on the Mississippi River, leaving a 30-foot gash on the ship and forcing the cancellation of a five-day cruise to the Caribbean. No injuries were reported on Carnival Cruise Lines' Fantasy ship or the Star-Bulletin news services Questions about experience in national politics are likely as the Punahou graduate and isle native opens his campaign ASSOCIATED PRESS U.S. Sen.

Barack Obama, greeted a crowd yeste day before announcing his candidacy for president In Springfield, 111. Obama, 45, is the youngest candidate In the Democrats' 2008 primary field dominated by the front-runner, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and filled with more experienced lawmakers. By Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny New York Times PRINGFIELD, III. Sen.

Barack Obama, standing before the Old State Capitol, a symbol of Abraham Lincoln's early political Locals see promise, and promise to back one of their own career, announced his candidacy for the White House yester By Gene Park 1 i A -r I Mi 1 1 11 1 I day by presenting himself as an agent of generational change who could transform a government hobbled by cynicism, petty corruption and "a small-ness of our politics." "The time for that politics is over," the Hawaii native said. "It is through. It's time to turn the page." Wearing an overcoat but gloveless on a frigid morning, Obama invoked a speech Lincoln gave at this same spot in 1858 condemning slavery "a house divided against itself cannot stand" as he started his campaign to become the nation's first black president. Speaking smoothly and com "Most faculty believe they're teaching the future leaders. The fact that one of their former students could grow up to be a significant and prominent candidate for president that really is special." James Scott Punahou president More comments on Obama's time at Punahou School.

gparkstarbulletin.com After U.S. Sen. Barack Obama officially tossed his hat into the presidential race, one thing's for certain: The Hawaii Draft Obama Steering Committee will need a new name. That's on the way, said committee member and former state Rep. Brian Schatz, as well as fundraising and campaign activities still in planning stages to help elect the man who could be the first U.S.

president bom in Hawaii. "We think we can be a source of some financial support from Hawaii," Schatz said. "1 think he's still building his name recognition, and that's gonna be one of his challenges in the next several months." One possible source of support for Obama is his Punahou School classmates and teachers, who said they believe he has the right stuff to lead the nation. NEW YORK TIMES Obama shook hands with spectators yesterday before announcing his intentions for the 2008 race. fortably, Obama offered a generational call to arms, portraying his campaign less as a candidacy and more as a movement.

"Each and every time, a new generation has risen up and done what's needed to be done," he said. "Today we are called once more, and it is time for our generation to answer that call." Please see Obama, C6 Please see Reaction, C6 Critics say profit motive frays University of Phoenix Complaints mount as the private school, a top recipient of federal student aid, is sued for fraud By Sam Dillon views, current and former students in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington who studied at University of Phoenix campuses there or in its online division complained of instructional shortcuts, unqualified professors and recruiting abuses. Many of their comments echoed similar Please see Phoenix, C6 eral standard, is 16 percent, which is among the nation's lowest, according to Department of Education data But the university has dozens of campuses, including one in downtown Honolulu, and at many the rate is even lower. Many students say they have had infuriating experiences at the university before dropping out, contributing to the poor graduation rate. In recent Inter aid than any other li.is eroded academic quality.

According to federal statistics and government audits, the university relies more on part-time instructors than all but a few other postsecondary institutions, and its accelerated academic schedule races students through course work in about half the time as traditional universities. The school says its graduation rate, using the fed midcareer workers seeking college degrees. But Its reputation Is fraying as prominent educators, students and some of its own former administrators say the relentless pressure for higher profits at a university that gets more federal student financial New York Times PHOENIX The University of Phoenix became the nation's largest private university by delivering high profits to Investors and a solid albeit low-overhead education to.