Q: Does anyone have any idea just how many days since President Barack Obama took office he’s spent working at his desk versus days traveling around the world?
-- S. Glasgow, Acworth
A: CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller keeps detailed records of the comings and goings of presidents. He told Q&A on the News on Thursday (Obama’s 619th day in office) that the president has spent 49 days on vacation, 35 at Camp David, 54 days on foreign travel and 122 on domestic travel. That leaves 359 days at the White House. “The president has the responsibilities of his job no matter where he is: at his desk in the Oval Office or touring Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Q: Who is the money behind the flurry of AJC ads for mycareercounts.org, and what do they stand to lose by regulation change?
-- Fred Smith, Tucker
A: Corinthian Colleges launched the advertising campaign last weekend in major U.S. newspapers. The "My Career Counts!" campaign included ads in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa (Calif.) Times, The Miami Herald, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Dallas Morning News, The Seattle Times and The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., the company said in a press release. The for-profit education company said the campaign aims to spotlight the “unintended consequences” of the proposed U.S. Department of Education’s “gainful employment” regulation. The result, it said, would make instructional programs serving up to 1 million college students ineligible for federal student loans and eliminate up to 100,000 jobs. Corinthian Chief Executive Officer Peter Waller told The Chronicle of Higher Education that the company, which owns Everest College, was spending in the “high seven figures” for the newspaper and radio ads. Everest College, which has campuses across the U.S. and online degrees, offers programs in fields such as medical assistant, massage therapy, criminal justice and business administration.
Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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