NEW YORK (AP) — Apple CEO Tim Cook says he’s proud to be gay.

In an essay written for Bloomberg Businessweek, Cook says that while he never denied his sexuality, he never publicly acknowledged it, either. Cook says that for years he’s been open with many people about his sexual orientation and that plenty of his Apple colleagues know he is gay.

Cook wrote in the column published Thursday that it wasn’t an easy choice to publicly disclose that he is gay but felt that his declaration could potentially help others.

The executive said he will continue to focus on being the best CEO he can be and will personally continue to advocate for equality for all people.

 

KIMBERLY HEFLING, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — For-profit colleges that don’t produce graduates capable of paying off their student loans could soon face the wrath of the federal government.

Schools with career-oriented programs that fail to comply with the new rule being announced Thursday by the Obama administration stand to lose access to federal student-aid programs.

To meet these “gainful employment” standards, a program will have to show that the estimated annual loan payment of a typical graduate doesn’t exceed 20 percent of discretionary income or 8 percent of total earnings.

The Education Department estimates that about 1,400 programs serving 840,000 students won’t pass. Nearly all of these programs are offered by for-profit schools.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the department wants to make sure that programs that prey on students don’t continue abusive practices.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The former secretary-treasurer of a railroad union has admitted embezzling more than $12,000 from the union, depleting the local’s bank account.

Federal prosecutors say Jeremy Bolte of Kansas City pleaded guilty Wednesday to 10 counts of embezzlement by a union officer.
He admitted that while he was with the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Lodge 800, he wrote 18 unauthorized checks from the lodge’s bank account and made unauthorized charges on its credit card.

Prosecutors say Bolte’s theft left the lodge with only $33 in its checking account and had an unpaid credit card balance of $401.
He could be sentenced to up to five years in federal prison on each of the 10 counts, plus a fine of up to $10,000 and restitution.

ROLLA (AP) – A zombie apocalypse is helping Missouri University of Science and Technology students prepare for careers in engineering and management.

Associate professor Ivan Guardiola says shows like “The Walking Dead” were really popular when he developed a zombie doomsday scenario for a fall 2012 course called Operations Research. Missouri S&T says Guardiola described the results in the September 2014 issue of Quality Approaches in Higher Education.

Through the exercise, Guardiola’s students were asked to envision a zombie invasion that killed everyone but the 21 students enrolled in the course.

They take refuge in the campus’s student center, while some 450 living dead approach their enclave. A manual guides students through a series of situations and options that require them to determine the best choices for their own and their classmates’ survival.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Authorities in Overland Park have arrested two men who they say robbed a Bank of America.

Overland Park police say a pair of gunman demanded cash and other valuables at the bank on Wednesday before escaping. Both fled on foot and were arrested near the bank. Their identities haven’t been released.

It’s unclear how much money was stolen.

Two people inside the bank suffered unspecified minor injuries and were taken to the hospital.

No charges have been reported.

 

WARSAW, Mo. (AP) — A southwest Missouri teenager who was 15 when he was accused of killing his younger stepsister has been convicted of second-degree murder.

KYTV reports (http://bit.ly/103MrmW ) a jury returned the verdict against 17-year-old Levi Elliott on Wednesday afternoon following a trial that began Monday. He was also convicted of armed criminal action and tampering with a vehicle.

Investigators said Elliott shot 12-year-old Sierra Elliott at their Polk County home west of Bolivar in March 2012 while his father and stepmother were away. He then drove to Clinton and got a ride to Kansas City, where his mother took him to a police station.

Elliott was tried as an adult in Benton County, where the trial was moved because of publicity about the case in Polk County. Sentencing is set for Dec. 19.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas State Board of Education has identified four candidates for state education commissioner.

The Kansas State Department of Education announced Wednesday that the candidates include Georgia Schools Superintendent John Barge, who unsuccessfully challenged Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal in the spring primary. Also on the list is associate Shawnee Mission school district superintendent Gillian Chapman, interim Kansas education commissioner Bradley Neuenswander and McPherson school district superintendent Randall Watson.

The candidates will be interviewed Nov. 5 and 6. The education department says the board expects to make an announcement at its board meeting the following week.

The state is seeking a replacement for Diane DeBacker, who left her position in May to become an adviser to the director general of the Abu Dhabi Education Council in the United Arab Emirates.

 

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri runner who knitted his way into the record books is preparing for the New York City Marathon.

David Babcock secured the Guinness Word Record last year for knitting a scarf that measured just more than 12 feet long during the 5 hours and 48 minutes it took him to run the Kansas City Marathon. The University of Central Missouri associate professor of art and design will face an extra challenge Sunday during the New York race.

The university says that because of tight security in New York, Babcock can’t use tradition knitting needles and will have to use a finger-knitting technique. He got a chance to practice the technique during a recent half marathon in Kansas City.

Babcock uses his unusual skill to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease.