South Carolina‘s highest court has temporarily stopped thousands of pending foreclosure sales so homeowners can take advantage of a new federal program to refinance mortgages.

(Continue Reading AP story in Yahoo)

The government of Iraq has committed $30 million to projects this year that will assist children in rural areas of the Marshlands region, an area with some of the worst development indicators in the country. The allocation marks the first government investment focused exclusively on improving the lives of Iraqi children.

“This is a major achievement by the government as it’s the first-of-its-kind investment targeting children not only in Iraq but also globally,” stated Sikander Khan, UNICEF Iraq Representative.  “This sets the standard and will be the beginning of a series of child-friendly investments that will help realize the long-deprived rights of all Iraqi children, specifically improving their prospects for survival and to fully develop their capacities.”

President Obama last week honored a retired New York police captain, special education teacher Anthony Mullen, as the nation’s top teacher.

Teaching is not just about a paycheck — it’s a passion and it’s a calling,” Obama said. “Now, nobody, I think, exhibits that more than our honoree today.”

Watch the president celebrate all the regional Teachers of the Year in his first Rose Garden ceremony as president.

(Read more about Anthony Mullen via MSNBC)

National & State Teachers of the Year from White House.