Ebola nurse Kaci Hickox prepares for showdown with Maine officials over quarantine

With state troopers monitoring her home, a nurse in the eye of a growing storm over state-ordered quarantines for health workers who have treated Ebola patients met the media late Wednesday after vowing that she would leave her home if Maine officials did not lift their restrictions on her by the following day. 
State officials are seeking a court order to detain Kaci Hickox for the remainder of the 21-day incubation period for Ebola that ends on Nov. 10. While the request is pending, state police say they plan to monitor Hickox's movements and interactions, but cannot take her into custody without a judge's permission. 
Hickox, accompanied by her boyfriend, Ted Wilbur, met with the media in the driveway of her home in Fort Kent Wednesday night. The nurse, who returned from Sierra Leone last week after working with Doctors Without Borders, said that she had made no progress in her attempts to negotiate an end to her quarantine with state officials.
If a judge grants the state request, then Hickox will appeal the decision on constitutional grounds, necessitating a hearing, Hickox attorney Norman Siegel said.
"I'm not willing to stand here and let my civil rights be violated when it's not science-based," Hickox said. She contends there's no need for her to be quarantined because she's showing no symptoms of Ebola.
The Portland Press Herald reported that Hickox appeared healthy and spoke calmly. At one point, she shook the hand of a British reporter who offered to do so after she stated that she did not have the virus and denied being contagious.
"You could hug me. You could shake my hand. I would not give you Ebola," Hickox told the man.
The Press Herald reported that Wilbur had checked with state police before Hickox emerged from the house to ensure that she would not be arrested before she spoke.
Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who instituted the 21-day quarantine order Monday, has canceled campaign events to keep tabs on the situation. He maintains that the state must be "vigilant" to protect others.
Maine law allows a judge to grant temporary custody of someone if health officials demonstrate "a clear and immediate public health threat." Generally, states have broad authority when it comes to such matters. But Maine health officials could have a tough time convincing a judge that Hickox poses a threat.
"If somebody isn't showing signs of the infection, then it's kind of hard to say someone should be under mandatory quarantine," attorney Jackie L. Caynon III, who specializes in health law in Worcester, Massachusetts, told the Associated Press. 
Earlier Wednesday, Hickox told NBC's "Today" that she doesn't "plan on sticking to the guidelines" and is "appalled" by the home quarantine policies "forced" on her.
Ebola, which is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, has killed thousands of people in Africa, but only four people have been diagnosed with it in the United States. People can't be infected just by being near someone who's sick, and people aren't contagious unless they're sick, health officials say.
Guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend daily monitoring for health care workers like Hickox who have come into contact with Ebola patients. But some states like Maine are going above and beyond those guidelines.
The defense department is going even further. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered military men and women helping fight Ebola to undergo 21-day quarantines that start upon their return — instead of their last exposure to an Ebola patient.
President Barack Obama warned that overly restrictive measures imposed upon returning health care workers could discourage them from volunteering in Africa.

Economy remains key for candidates, voters despite foreign crises

WASHINGTON –  On any given Election Day for the past two decades, the old Bill Clinton campaign mantra of, "It's the economy, stupid," would have held up as THE defining issue. Jobs, housing, taxes -- pick one, all or more, and it was sure to hit home with voters.
But with Ebola, terror threats and scandals dominating the news -- and Wall Street continuing its record climb -- it might be somewhat surprising that as House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates head into the final weekend of campaigning before next Tuesday's elections, pocketbook issues still resonate most with voters.
The latest Fox News poll shows 43 percent of voters believing the economy is the most important issue facing the country, far outpacing health care and foreign policy. And while Americans view the economy more positively than they used to, just one-in-five would give it good marks.
"The economy is important and it's always a main driver," Lara Brown, associate professor at the Graduate School of Political management at George Washington University, said. And despite upticks in financial data, "Americans just don't feel like the economy is getting better and until there are many evidences of it in their own lives, they don't see it," she said.
Elizabeth Sanders, election expert and government professor at Cornell University, said Democrats have suffered as President Obama has turned his attention away from the economy and toward other pressing issues.
"A president, I think, simply can't manage multiple wars and pay attention to the economy and the complex domestic institutions he's responsible for," she said in a recent Cornell paper. "So it's no wonder that in year six, all the chickens have come home to roost and the president's party seems doomed to pay the price of the endless, costly, cycle of wars that demand precious attention stolen from domestic policy implementation."
The economy is a tricky topic for both parties. While Democrats can point to a steady drop in the unemployment rate -- the percentage of Americans reported to be out of work -- Republicans point to the number of Americans who have stopped looking for work or are under-employed, and other less-rosy news, like modest economic growth.
So while the economy remains top-of-mind for many voters, a crisp economic message in the muddy recovery is difficult to craft.
And without a clear message, Democrats in particular face a hard sell convincing voters that better times are here. For instance, despite a surge of new data showing the U.S. economy has moved to solid ground following years of uncertainty, "seven in 10 Americans rate the nation's economy negatively and just 28 percent say it's getting better," according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll.
But data shows the "fundamentals of the economy are stronger now," Gus Faucher, a senior economist at PNC Financial Services, told MarketWatch. "We don't have the same drag from government-spending cuts. Corporate balance sheets are pretty good. Households have less debt. The economy is adding 200,000 jobs a month."
With Obama's job approval and discontent with Congress hitting new lows -- and Democratic candidates shunning the president during their campaigns -- convincing voters that the economic tide has turned seems a near impossible task.
Still, Obama persists, telling a recent crowd at an event at Northwestern University that the midterms should be a referendum on "two starkly different visions" for the economy, arguing that it's "stronger today than it was when I took office," and that progress "has been hard, but it has been steady and it is real."
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told the New York Times that "whether it's addressing his constituency on things they most care about or whether it's helping us in the midterm elections, the economy is the right thing to talk about," adding: "I know the president has had a lot of other things on his plate, but to keep the economy front and center is where America is at."
In fact, the roadmap to long-term economic health still needs a lot of work.
For example, even though the country's unemployment rate is down -- 5.9 percent in September, down from 7.2 percent a year earlier -- the figure fails to tell the whole story. The number does not reveal how many Americans have stopped looking for work or address people who are working but earning less.
Here's one window into a less-active job market: The labor participation rate, which measures the percentage of adults who are employed or actively looking for work, is 62.7 percent -- the lowest it's been in 36 years.
The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, has kept interest rates near zero, signaling inflation may be too low and worker wages too stagnant.
Retail sales ahead of the holiday season also are showing signs of stress. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., recently cut its annual sales forecast and predicted slower profit growth over the next three years.
Some polling shows voters generally trust Republicans more to execute a full economic recovery. 
In a recent George Washington University Battleground Poll, voters by 49-42 percent said Republicans likely would do a better job addressing economic concerns over their Democratic counterparts.
Democrats still are hoping to get voters to give them some credit for the economic bright spots. It remains a key issue in next Tuesday's midterms, where 36 out of 50 state governors and more than one-third of the Senate as well as all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs.
In Virginia, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner spent much of his second debate with GOP challenger Ed Gillespie promoting his economic policies.
"Everything in my career has been about creating jobs," Warner said, adding that, if elected, he would promote economic development and job growth in the state. 
Gillespie wasn't buying it.
"Sen. Warner voted for the failed stimulus: $1 trillion, wasted money. He voted for the excessive regulations in the Dodd-Frank bill that are making it hard for small businesses to get capital and get loans," he argued.
In Georgia's tight Senate race, GOP candidate David Perdue told Fox News that the "number one thing that we need to be talking about is who's going to go to the Senate and add value to the debate of how to get the economy going to get people back to work again right here in Georgia."
Perdue's general message has been echoed nationally by Republicans looking to unseat Democrats. 
In New Mexico, new polls show that GOP challenger Allen Weh has narrowed a double-digit gap against Democratic incumbent Sen. Tom Udall. A Vox Populi poll, which puts Udall up only 4 points over Weh, also shows voters in the state are motivated by the economy and jobs.
Public-sector economic forecasters, including the Congressional Budget Office and the Federal Reserve, meanwhile, have revised down their projections for U.S. economic growth. In June, the Fed amended its projection for annual GDP growth to 2.3 percent, down from 3 percent, after disappointing first-quarter growth, lending concern to why the U.S. economy still hasn't made up lost economic ground from the recent recession.
Brown said that if Ebola and ISIS fears hadn't flared, candidates would be focusing on these economic issues more.
"Americans want to feel safe about asking for a raise and not fearing they'll be fired," Brown said. "They want their neighbors to have jobs, they want to feel safe about buying a house, not losing equity, not losing their job."

Hillary Cartoon

Fox News Poll: Race for Congress tightens, confidence in Obama low

Enthusiasm in the midterm elections remains in the Republicans’ favor -- but the spread has significantly narrowed, according to a new Fox News national poll. 
Among likely voters, 45 percent of Republicans are “extremely” interested compared to 41 percent of Democrats. Two weeks ago, the GOP was up 15 points on that question.
Party loyalty is slightly in the Democrats’ favor, as more Democrats (89 percent) than Republicans (87 percent) plan to vote for their party’s candidate.  This makes more of a difference than one might expect, because more voters identify as Democrat than Republican. 
Click here for the poll results.
What’s the net result? For one thing, a further tightening of the generic congressional ballot that was already within the margin of error: 45 percent of likely voters favor the Democratic candidate in their House district and 44 percent back the Republican. This represents a four-point shift from two weeks ago, when the Republican candidate was up by three among likely voters (45-42 percent). 
It’s difficult to make a direct connection between generic vote results and individual races. 
There was a smaller shift on which party voters prefer control the U.S. Senate: likely voters want Republicans to win control by 47-45 percent. Two weeks ago it was 47-43 percent. 
Meanwhile, 62 percent of American voters lack confidence in President Obama’s leadership.  That includes 28 percent who say they are losing confidence, and 34 percent who never had confidence. 
The new Fox News national poll released Tuesday also finds that one week before Election Day, voters:
- Would vote against the president’s policies if they were on the ballot.
- Think it would be good if every member of Congress got the boot.
- Feel the economy is still in bad shape, but not quite as bad as before the 2010 midterm.
- Think Republican control of the U.S. Senate would be a net positive.
Thirty percent of Democrats don’t have confidence in their president:  six percent never had confidence, while another one in four -- 24 percent -- are losing confidence.
Among independents, 19 percent have confidence in Obama, while 75 percent either never had (34 percent) or are losing confidence (41 percent). 
Overall, 36 percent are confident in Obama’s leadership.
In addition, the president’s job rating has been in negative territory for 18 months straight -- and remains there today:  41 percent of voters approve, while 54 percent disapprove. 
A 59-percent majority says the Obama administration has not been “competent and effective” in managing the government (39 percent say it has).
And by a 58-36 percent margin, a majority would vote against Obama and his policies if they were on the ballot this year.  That includes 21 percent of Democrats and 74 percent of independents.
Frustration with the federal government remains high.  Just three percent of voters feel enthusiastic about the way the government is working.  Nearly eight times that many -- 23 percent -- are angry.  Twenty-five percent were angry before the 2010 midterms. 
Another 25 percent feel satisfied with how the government is working, up from 22 percent in 2010.  Forty-six percent are dissatisfied, down from a 51-percent majority four years ago. 
Congressional Voting
Drilling deeper into the congressional election numbers, women are more likely to back the Democratic candidate in their district by an 11 percentage-point margin, while men are more likely to back the Republican by 10 points. 
Among likely voters, independents back the Republican on the ballot question by a 40-25 percent margin.
Seventy-seven percent of likely voters who support the Tea Party movement are backing the Republican candidate.  That’s down from 91 percent in the final Fox News poll before the 2010 midterm election. 
While it’s tough to make a direct connection between the generic vote results and individual congressional races, such a small advantage by one party or the other means little change should be expected to the makeup of Congress. 
For comparison, in the final Fox News poll before the 2010 midterm -- when the GOP gained 63 seats and the majority in the U.S. House -- Republicans were up by 50-37 percent on the generic ballot among likely voters. 
Of course, being in the majority can have its drawbacks when voters are in a mood for change.  Overall, 59 percent say it would be “good for the country” if all the current members of Congress were ousted (including their own House member) and all new people were elected.  That’s up from 47 percent who liked the idea of a fresh start in 2010. 
That 12-point jump is driven by more Democrats (+16 points) and independents (+22 points) now saying all congressional lawmakers should be sent packing than said so in 2010.  Among Republicans, views held mostly steady at about six in 10. 
Despite a majority saying it would be good if all current members were removed from office, nearly half of voters -- 46 percent -- approve of the job their representative is doing.  That’s more than three times as many as the 13 percent that approve of Congress overall.
A bit of a bright spot for incumbents this year is that fewer people are concerned about the future of the country. In 2010, 91 percent were “extremely” (43 percent) or “very” (48 percent) concerned.  Today, 83 percent are concerned (42 percent “extremely” and 41 percent “very”).
If Republicans win control of the U.S. Senate, how would that change things?  Thirty-seven percent of voters think it would be a change for the better, while 28 percent say things would change for the worse.  Another 32 percent don’t expect things to change if the GOP takes the senate, including 23 percent of Republicans. 
In 2010, 37 percent said Republicans winning control of Congress would lead to change for the better, 21 percent said for the worse and 38 percent didn’t expect any real change. 
On the Issues
Views on the economy are ugly, but have improved since 2010. Only 18 percent of voters rate economic conditions positively (1 percent “excellent and 17 percent “good”). However, the number saying the economy is in “poor” condition now stands at just 33 percent. That’s down from 55 percent who felt that way before the 2010 midterm election, and is at its lowest point since October 2007.
Still, voters say the economy is the most important issue facing the country (43 percent).  Less than one in five say the top issue is illegal immigration (17 percent), health care (16 percent) or foreign policy (15 percent). 
And majorities disapprove of Obama’s performance on each of these issues:  56 percent disapprove on the economy, 60 percent on immigration, 57 percent on health care and 57 percent disapprove of how he’s handling foreign policy. 
When asked which party would do a better job handling top issues, the poll finds Democrats have an advantage on “who has your back” (+10 points) and health care (+1 points).  Republicans come out on top on terrorism (+21 points), taxes (+12 percent), foreign policy (+9 points), the economy (+5 points) and illegal immigration (+3 points).
Independents give the edge to Republicans over Democrats on all of the issues tested.
The GOP is seen as better at protecting the country from terrorism by a 52-31 percent margin.  That’s important this election season as three-quarters of voters think ISIS will try to launch an attack on U.S. soil soon (75 percent), and nearly half of voters -- 45 percent -- don’t think the federal government is doing everything it can to prevent it. 
Furthermore, 56 percent disapprove of Obama’s handling of ISIS, and 71 percent say he hasn’t been tough enough on radical Muslim extremists.
Pollpourri
By a 46-26 percent margin, more voters think Obamacare “went too far” than “didn’t go far enough.”  For another 23 percent it’s Goldilocks (“about right”).
Why are unemployment numbers down?  Over half -- 53 percent -- say it’s because people have stopped looking for a job.  Nearly four in 10 believe it’s because the economy is creating new jobs and more jobs are available these days (37 percent).
Most Democrats think the economy is creating new jobs (57 percent), while most Republicans (69 percent) and independents (65 percent) say people have given up. 
The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,005 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from October 25-27, 2014. The full poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. For the subgroup of 734 likely voters, the margin of sampling error is also plus or minus 3.5 points.

Medicare agency is focus of insider trading investigations

Employees of the federal agency that oversees Medicare and the federal health exchange website are the focus of three Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations to determine whether they leaked news about pending health policy decisions that would up in the hands of Wall Street traders.
According to The Wall Street Journal, nearly a dozen officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have spoken to investigators, with some receiving immunity in exchange for their information. 
The Jounal reported that one of the probes is centered on a CMS decision in June 2010 to set coverage limits on a prostate cancer drug made by Dendreon Corp. Official documents and people close to the investigation say that the official in charge of making the decision emailed three colleagues telling them to keep the news secret until a formal announcement could be made. However, investigators say Dendreon shares had dropped 10 percent by the end of the day when the decision was made. By the end of that June, Dendreon's stock price had dropped 26 percent from the start of the month. 
The investigation is also focusing on at least three policy and research firms that may have acted as middlemen for the inside information. The Journal reports that a second investigation, which involves the FBI in addition to the SEC, is focused on whether a firm called Height Securities LLC was informed ahead of schedule about a pending increase in funding for health insurance firms in April 2013. 
One of the firms in question, and the focus of the third investigation, is run by a former CMS employee, David Blaszczak, who has denied using any inside information in preparing reports about what medical products will be paid for under Medicare. 
Late Tuesday, CMS released a statement saying, "[E]mployees undergo regular training on how to appropriately handle this type of sensitive information. We have and will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement."
The Journal reports that to prove insider trading, prosecutors will have to show that CMS officials relayed non-public, market-moving information to a Wall Street representative in violation of a duty to confidentiality. 
CMS officials have gone on the record to defend the importance of keeping the public informed about medical decisions, which may make it difficult to pursue a federal case. The Journal cites a letter written by current CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, defending a meeting between agency officials and Wall Street-based clients to discuss reimbursement for a company that makes medical devices.
"We believe that CMS has an obligation to provide information to the public about the programs that the agency administers and to answer questions about our policies and the impact of our policies on beneficiaries, providers and stakeholders," Tavenner wrote, according to the Journal.

Internal memo pushes bringing non-citizens to US for Ebola treatment; State denies plan

A memo obtained by Fox News indicates the Obama administration has been considering allowing non-American Ebola patients into the U.S. for treatment – though a State Department official on Tuesday denied any such plans.
The document was obtained by Fox News from a Capitol Hill source, who said it is a memo prepared by the State Department. The top of the document is marked “sensitive but unclassified – predesicional (sic).”
CLICK TO READ THE MEMO
The “purpose” of the memo states: “Come to an agreed State Department position on the extent to which non-U.S. citizens will be admitted to the United States for treatment of Ebola Virus Disease.”
The document goes on to discuss – and advocate for -- devising such a plan. The memo recommends that “State and DHS devise a system for expeditious parole of Ebola-infected non-citizens into the United States as long as they are otherwise eligible for medical evacuation from the Ebola affected countries and for entry into the United States.”
Explaining that recommendation, the memo says the U.S., for instance, has an “obligation” to help non-citizen employees of U.S. agencies and U.S.-based private firms. It says the U.S. “needs to show leadership and act as we are asking others to act by admitting certain non-citizens into the country for medical treatment for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) during the Ebola crisis.”
The memo was obtained after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson a week ago asking if either department was formulating a plan to allow non-U.S. citizens with Ebola to come to the U.S. for medical treatment.
Goodlatte also told Fox News Monday night that his office had received "information from within the administration" that such plans were being developed. So far, only American Ebola patients have been brought back to the U.S. for treatment from the disease epicenter in West Africa. 
Goodlatte warned that expanding that policy could put the country at more risk. 
"Members of the media, my office have received confidential communications saying that those plans are being developed," Goodlatte said Monday night. "This is simply a matter of common sense that if you are concerned about this problem spreading … we certainly shouldn't be bringing in the patients." 
The administration, though, has denied planning to do so.
A State Department official said Tuesday that they're only talking about letting other countries use U.S. planes to transport Ebola patients to their own home countries. 
"There are absolutely no plans to MEDEVAC non-Americans who become ill from West Africa to the United States," the official told FoxNews.com. "We have discussed allowing other countries to use our MEDEVAC capabilities to evacuate their own citizens to their home countries or third-countries, subject to reimbursement and availability. But we are not contemplating bringing them back to the U.S. for treatment. 
"Allegations to the contrary are completely false." 
And on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest was asked about the matter and said “that certainly hasn't happened so far -- I don't know of any plans to do that.”
A Goodlatte aide told FoxNews.com that "someone in one of the agencies" initially contacted their office with the tip. 
In his letter last week, Goodlatte asked whether the administration is crafting such a plan, seeking details and communications among their employees. 
The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch also reported, shortly before Goodlatte sent the letter, that the administration was "actively formulating" plans to bring Ebola patients into the U.S., with the specific goal of treating them "within the first days of diagnosis."

Hope and Change Cartoon

School's Nation of Islam handout paints Founding Fathers as racists

The mother of an eight-year-old wants to know why a Tennessee school teacher gave her child a handout from the Nation of Islam that portrayed the presidents on Mount Rushmore as being racists.
Sommer Bauer tells me her son was given The Nation of Islam handout at Harold McCormick Elementary School in Elizabethton. The handout asked “What does it take to be on Mount Rushmore?"
The handout then explains that George Washington hailed from Virginia, a “prime breeder of black people.” Of Theodore Roosevelt, it was alleged he called Africans “ape-like.” There were also disparaging remarks made of Thomas Jefferson (he enslaved 200 Africans) and Abraham Lincoln.

I’ve interviewed Sommer at least a half dozen times. Her story has remained consistent. The teacher gave Sommer two explanations for what happened in the classroom. The superintendent gave me a third.

She said her jaw dropped when she followed the link to a website that was listed on the handout. Imagine her surprise when up popped the Nation of Islam home page.
The Nation of Islam believes there is no God but Allah. They also aren’t all that keen on white folks or Jewish folks. 
“It raised a number of red flags,” she said. “They are basically saying our Founding Fathers are racists.”
Sommer told me she reached out to the teacher for an explanation – hoping it was an honest mistake.
“At first, she did not recall which paper it was,” she said. “Later in the day, she found the paper and told me she didn’t like what it said – and said she must have printed it by mistake.”
The teacher also told Sommer that her son was not supposed to take the Nation of Islam handout home. It was supposed to stay in the classroom. That bit of news caused her great alarm.
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“I was caught off guard,” she told me. “I reassured my son that he needed to feel safe enough to bring anything that the school gave him home to me. Ultimately, while his teachers do care for him, his mother and his father have his absolute number one best interests at heart.”
He knows he needs to bring everything home to me, she said.
Sommer then reached out to the principal to find out how Nation of Islam material ended up in her son’s third grade classroom. She said the principal was cordial – and promised to investigate. She’s still waiting for answers.
Superintendent EC Alexander sounded genuinely horrified when I read him the contents of the handout.
“My goodness, that we would promote bigoted or racist points of view – merciful heavens,” he said. “I can assure you that is not the case.”
The school’s version of events is somewhat different.
Alexander told me the handout was never meant for public distribution. He said the child took the handout from the teacher’s work station without her permission. He said the teacher had been preparing for a presentation on Mount Rushmore and had discarded the controversial handout.
“It was not an authorized handout,” Alexander said.
Julie West is the president of Parents For Truth in Education, a Tennessee-based group that is opposed to Common Core.
At this point there is no indication the Nation of Islam assignment was connected to Common Core. However, West said she is alarmed by whatever happened at Harold McCormick Elementary School.
“The fact that students were cautioned against allowing their parents to see anything is deeply troubling,” West told me. “The only reasonable explanation is they don’t want parents to know what it is their children are learning.”
I certainly don’t mean to be an apologist for the school – but what if it was just an honest-to-goodness mistake?
“Whatever the reason it came into the classroom, it’s not okay,” she said. “These are not advanced high school students. This is third grade. They should be learning the basics of our country.”
So what’s the bottom line?
“We had a teacher who apparently never looked at something, never read something, before it was distributed to a class of third graders,” West said. “In addition, she warned the students not to take it home.”
That does seem a bit odd.
I’ve interviewed Sommer at least a half dozen times. Her story has remained consistent. The teacher gave Sommer two explanations for what happened in the classroom. The superintendent gave me a third.
I find it hard to believe an 8-year-old boy would steal a handout from a teacher’s desk, bring it home and then concoct an elaborate tale to cover up the crime.
But let’s suspend reality for just a moment and say the little boy did take that handout. Regardless, there’s no disputing the fact that it was on the teacher’s desk.
And I do believe the good people of Elizabethton deserve to know how and why a handout from the Nation of Islam ended up on school property.