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How were students in admissions scandal able to cheat on the SAT so easily? Published on March 13, 2019 at 01:02AM by Michelle Robertson After the Federal Bureau of Investigation released documents incriminating more than 30 people in a college admissions scandal on Tuesday, many wondered how applicants were able to cheat on standardized tests without raising eyebrows. Thirty-two people, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, were named in the indictment, which alleged the defendants — principally parents of high school-aged children — conspired to use bribery and other forms of fraud to facilitate their children's admission to elite universities, including Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of California - Los Angeles and others. Particularly glaring in the 204-page indictment is that the majority of the children, whose parents were charged Tuesday, had seamlessly secured disability accommodations on their standardized t

SFGATE: What we know about the Bay Area residents implicated in the college cheating scandal

What we know about the Bay Area residents implicated in the college cheating scandal Published on March 13, 2019 at 12:03AM by Katie Dowd, Michael Rosen, Alix Martichoux This scheme worked in two different ways. In the first version of the scheme, Cooperating Witness 1 — a founder of The Key and KWF, the institutions charged with facilitating the aforementioned wire fraud — worked to "bribe college entrance exam administrators to facilitate cheating on college entrance exams." In the second version of the scheme, CW-1 bribed "varsity coaches and administrators at elite universities to designate certain applicants as recruited athletes or as other favored candidates." The parents of applicants and CW-1 worked together to create fake profiles for their kids, either embellishing their athletic accomplishments or, in many cases, outright inventing them.

SFGATE: The craziest stories in the college scheme affidavit

The craziest stories in the college scheme affidavit Published on March 13, 2019 at 03:09AM by Michael Rosen By this point, you've probably read everything there is to know about the charges filed against William Singer, the man at the center of the college cheating scandal. In case you've missed today's stories, however, here is a round-up of a few of the wildest parts of FBI agent Laura Smith's affidavit filing wire fraud charges against a whole slew of parents. Candid discussion Gordon Caplan, an attorney based in Greenwich, Conn., and CW-1 (widely considered to be William Singer) are having a conversation in June 2018 that was intercepted "pursuant to a Court-authorized wiretap." In a transcript, the two discuss the nature of the scheme. CW-1: It's the homerun of homeruns. CAPLAN: And it works? CW-1: Every time. (laughing) CAPLAN: (laughing) Footnotes A married couple, the Henriquezes, are accused of participating in the test cheating scheme

SFGATE: How Stanford is wrapped up in the college cheating scandal

How Stanford is wrapped up in the college cheating scandal Published on March 12, 2019 at 10:02PM by Michael Rosen Dozens of schools, coaches, and a handful of celebrities found themselves enmeshed in a major college admissions scandal after federal prosecutors unveiled a litany of charges Tuesday morning. In the brief, prosecutors alleged that in a handful of cases, parents paid college coaches at universities large sums of money to pretend like their children were elite athletes, when in fact they possessed no such qualifications. MORE: Actresses Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin among dozens charged in college admissions scheme John Vandemoer, the sailing coach at Stanford University, will plead guilty to charges relating to the case, DOJ officials told The Chronicle on Tuesday. According to the complaint, Vandemoer worked with William Rick Singer, the owner of Edge College & Career Network, to create "a student-athlete 'profile'" that "falsely sugge

U.S. will not suspend Boeing 737 MAX planes; discussion on black box analysis

The U.S. aviation regulator said on Tuesday it would not ground Boeing Co 737 MAX planes after a crash in Ethiopia that killed 157 people, bucking a trend of countries around the world that have suspended the aircraft's operations. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2F8fWMu

India bans Boeing 737 MAX planes from its airspace

India will not allow U.S. planemaker Boeing Co's 737 MAX aircraft to enter or transit its airspace after 1030 GMT, the ministry of civil aviation said on Wednesday, following the fatal crash of a plane of the same type in Ethiopia on Sunday. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2VSi948

Cardinal Pell: From Vatican apartment to Australian prison cell

For two decades, George Pell was the dominant figure in the Catholic Church in Australia - a boy from a gold mining town whose ambition, intellect and knack for befriending influential people propelled him to become the third-most senior official in the Vatican. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2u73JBw

Wife, son of suspected Indonesian militant blow themselves up: police

The wife and son of a suspected militant Islamist blew themselves up in their home on the Indonesian island of Sumatra early on Wednesday after hours of tense negotiations with counter-terrorism officers, authorities said. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2Hrmk30

Iran warns of firm response if Israel acts against its oil shipments

Iran will respond firmly to any Israeli naval action against its oil shipments, Iran's defense minister said on Wednesday, in comments that came a week after Israel's prime minister said its navy could act against Iranian oil "smuggling" to evade U.S. sanctions. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2CheqGa

New Zealand PM Ardern backs students striking for climate action

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave her support on Wednesday to a youth movement urging government action to tackle climate change ahead of protests by students across the world later this week. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2He6OrO

Japan not to submit U.N. resolution condemning North Korean rights abuses

Japan has decided for the first time in years not to submit to the United Nations a joint resolution condemning North Korea's human rights abuses, given U.S. efforts to end North Korea's weapons program and other factors, Japan said on Wednesday. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2HhVwD4

Kazakhstan suspends Boeing 737 Max flights

Kazakhstan's civil aviation committee suspended Boeing 737 Max flights starting from Wednesday, it said in a statement, following two fatal crashes involving the aircraft in Indonesia and Ethiopia. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2HvRBle

Long recovery ahead in former Syria rebel enclave eastern Ghouta

Hunkered near one of Syria's hottest front lines for seven years, the eastern Ghouta district of Ein Terma sustained more damage than most areas in the conflict. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2u15sbs

U.S., Taliban talks end for now with no Afghan peace deal

U.S. and Taliban negotiators wrapped up their longest round of peace talks on Tuesday with progress made but no agreement on when foreign troops might withdraw, officials from both sides said. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2TEQI0n

Former Vatican treasurer Pell jailed for six years for 'brazen' sexual attack on choir boys

Former Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell was sentenced to six years in jail on Wednesday for sexually abusing two choir boys in Melbourne in the 1990s, and will be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2u5ftEk