Society's ChildS


Family

US: Homeless Epidemic Spreading from Cities to Suburbs, and No Longer Invisible

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Janet is one of those "invisible" Americans who live rough, and seem confused and wanting all the time; "I'm homeless, and I don't have anything any longer," says Janet with both real pain and confusion in her eyes as she stands on the street just after taking a nap in a vacant lot.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness states that "nearly 4 in 10 Americans are living on the street." The Alliance also noted that from 2008 to 2009, "the number of unemployed people in America increased by 60 percent from 8.9 to 14.3 million," and thus this contributed heavily to their homeless situations. Also, Oregon still leads the nation with the highest number of people living without homes, as evident here along the Oregon coast where many hundreds can be spotted sleeping in parks, by streams and on the beach.

Newspaper

Blimp fireball disaster in Germany, Aussie pilot killed

Airship skipper got passengers out safely
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© EPAA blimp crashes near the venue of the Hessentag festival in Oberursel, Germany, on June 12.

An advertising blimp was destroyed in a ball of fire above Germany on Sunday, killing its pilot. However aircraft captain Mike Nerandzic saved his passengers by ordering them to jump clear as the ship hovered just above the ground.

Reportedly the ship, an A-60 blimp operated by the Lightship Group on behalf of Goodyear, was coming in to land when fire broke out in both engines - possibly the result of propellers hitting the ground. The ship then found itself approximately 2 meters up.

At this point pilot Mike Nerandzic shouted to his three passengers "we're having a crash!", and ordered them to jump out. All three did so safely, after which the ship ascended rapidly - probably due to the loss of the passengers' weight. Flames swiftly engulfed the gondola, killing Nerandzic and then largely destroying the craft's envelope. Only wreckage survived to hit the ground in a nearby field.

Play

US: WW2 B-17 bomber erupts into flames

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© UnknownFlames ... Liberty Belle B-17 bomber on fire after crash-landing

Seven passengers miraculously survived after this World War 2 bomber turned into a mid-air fireball.

The B-17 Flying Fortress caught fire and crash-landed in a field near Aurora, Illinois, shortly after take-off.

The pilot of the vintage plane reported an engine fire 20 minutes after the aircraft left Aurora Airport, near Chicago.

The plane ploughed into a cornfield - but the seven people on board, including the two pilots, were able to escape without serious injury.
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© UnknownWreckage ... bomber lies in field ravaged by flames

One person suffered minor injuries while scrambling from the wreckage.

Officials said the B-17 bomber - believed to be the Liberty Belle - was en route to Indianapolis.

Bomb

US: Long Island Backyard Firepot Explosion Part Of Alarming Trend

14-Year-Old Severely Burned, Kidneys & Lungs Near Failure

Stony Brook, N.Y. - The said it was like napalm exploding in a flash.

Several fires are raising questions about the safety of firepots, meant to light up backyards and keep mosquitoes away. CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan spoke with one Long Island victim's heartbroken family on Monday.

Nancy Reyer has slept the last 16 days at her critically burned son's hospital bedside as Michael Hubbard, struggles to stay alive in Stony Brook University's pediatric intensive care unit. The 14-year-old's lungs and kidneys are near failure.

"If you want to go with the angels go with the angels and be with God, or if you want to stay, please stay and be here with mommy and we will fight 'til the end," Nancy Reyer said crying.

Heart - Black

Casey Anthony murder trial: The case of the disappearing 'heart'

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© Red Huber/Associated PressCasey Anthony stands in the courtroom with her defense attorney Jose Baez, left, as the jury enters during her trial at the Orange County Courthouse on Monday, June 13, in Orlando, Fla. Anthony, is charged with killing her 2-year old daughter in 2008.
An FBI fingerprint expert testifies at the Casey Anthony murder trial that she saw, with ultraviolet light, a heart-shaped outline on duct tape that prosecutors say was used to smother little Caylee.

An FBI fingerprint expert testified on Monday in an Orlando murder trial that she noticed a heart-shaped outline on a piece of duct tape that prosecutors say was used by a Florida mother to smother her two-year-old daughter.

Elizabeth Fontaine, a forensic examiner in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's latent print unit, told the jury that she noticed the heart-shaped object while using ultraviolet light to inspect the duct tape for possible fingerprints.

"It was approximately the size of a dime," Ms. Fontaine said. She said the shape was defined by a residue outline.

Dollar

US: Elderly Woman Uses AIDS Threat to Rob Colorado Bank

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© CBS4
Longmont police are looking for a woman who robbed a bank and used the threat of AIDS as her weapon.

Thursday a woman went to the Wells Fargo bank inside the Safeway on Ken Pratt Boulevard. Police say she gave the teller a note saying she has AIDS and she would infect the teller if she didn't hand over the money. She never showed a weapon.

The threat of getting infected with AIDS was enough to scare the teller into giving the woman money.

"I'm not sure how you could do it; there's variety of ways. You could have needle with your blood, you could spit on somebody; you know saliva is not a good transmission of that," a Longmont police officer said. "It was enough to inspire the fear and that helped her be successful in the robbery."

Arrow Down

US: Tour Bus Operator Stashes Extra Passengers In Luggage Compartment

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© Getty ImagesBus passengers near luggage storage area.
When a tour bus operator found he had more passengers than seats, he put six people in the luggage compartment with mattresses and pillows.

Now the Michigan company has been ordered to cease commercial bus operations after the discovery during a trip to Ohio.

The order against Haines Tours of Gladwin was issued Friday by the U.S. Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

An Ohio State Patrol officer found six people May 27 in the luggage compartment of a bus traveling from Michigan to Clyde, Ohio. Mattresses and pillows were in the luggage area.

It is reported that the driver told the officer there was no room on the bus for more passengers.

Laptop

Facebook Loses 1.5 Million Users in Canada

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© Adrian Wyld, The Canadian PressFacebook, known for its meteoric rise in popularity, lost 1.5 million users in Canada in May. Facebook also reported a loss of approximately 6 million users in the United States in the same month.
Is Facebook's reign as the king of social networking coming to an end?

Facebook, known for its meteoric rise in popularity, lost 1.5 million users in Canada in May. Facebook also reported a loss of approximately 6 million users in the United States in the same month.

Overall, Facebook gained 13.9 million users in April, and 11.8 million users in May - compared to a typical month in 2010 where the company gained 20 million users per month on average.

A report published Monday morning on mashable.com says that if this slowing trend continues for two consecutive months, it could be a significant indicator for Facebook's future.

Despite the slowed growth in North America, Facebook continues to dominate the social networking world, having reached 687 million active monthly users by the beginning of June 2011. The majority of new users are from countries that are late in adopting Facebook, such as India, Brazil, and Mexico.

Stormtrooper

Israeli Police, Palestinian Protesters Clash at Sensitive Jerusalem Holy Site

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© The Associated Press / Tara Todras-WhitehillIsraeli border police stand guard inside Jerusalem's Old City after Friday prayers, Friday, June 10, 2011. Israeli policemen entered a sensitive Jerusalem holy site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary on Friday and used stun grenades to disperse dozens of Palestinian protesters who were hurling stones at security personnel, police said.
Israeli policemen entered a sensitive Jerusalem holy site Friday and used stun grenades to disperse dozens of Palestinian protesters who were hurling stones at security personnel, police said.

The scene of the clash was the Old City compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

Israeli spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police entered the compound after Palestinians began lobbing stones at security forces stationed outside one of the gates. The clash began immediately after Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque.

Police used stun grenades to disperse the crowd, he said.

Officers made three arrests, no one was injured and order was quickly restored, Rosenfeld said.

The compound, holy to Jews and Muslims and captured by Israel in 1967, is one of the most combustible sites on earth. Clashes there in the past have ignited broader violence.

Wolf

US: Washington Residents Warned of 'Bloodthirsty' Dog Pack

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© The Associated Press / Stevens County Sheriff's OfficeIn this May 2011 security camera frame grab provided by the Stevens County Sheriff's Office, dogs are seen at the home of a resident near Deer Park, Wash. A pack of dogs has killed about 100 animals in the past three months while eluding law enforcement and volunteers in northeastern Washington state. The killings are happening in a wide area of mountains and valleys west of Deer Park, a small town about 40 miles north of Spokane, authorities said.
A "bloodthirsty" pack of dogs has killed about 100 animals in the past few months while eluding law enforcement and volunteers in northeastern Washington state, residents and authorities said.

The killings started in late March and have occurred in a wide area of mountains and valleys west of Deer Park, a small town about 40 miles north of Spokane.

"Trying to figure out where they are going to hit is next to impossible," Stevens County Undersheriff Lavonne Webb said Thursday. "Nobody is claiming ownership of any animals involved in the pack."

Most recently, the dogs killed a 350-pound llama Tuesday night. They've also killed goats and other farm animals.

So far, no humans have been attacked. But authorities are warning residents to take whatever steps are necessary to protect their families and animals because the dogs appear to be killing for fun rather than food.

"We have this pack that is out there killing for the sake of killing," Webb said in a telephone interview from Colville. "What is going to happen if they come across a small child?"