THATHA PIRA, Pakistan (AP) — After six years of abuse, Allah Rakhi was walking out of her marriage when her husband struck again. Snatching a knife, he sliced off her nose. “You're no longer beautiful!” he shouted.

He then slashed at her foot — brutal punishment for leaving the house without his permission.

“A woman is only a woman inside the home, outside she's a whore!” he yelled at Rakhi as she lay bleeding on the dusty street just outside her home.

That was 32 years ago.

All that time, Rakhi hid her disfigured face under a veil. Then in March, a surgeon took up her case. He cut flesh from her ribs and fashioned it into a new nose, transforming her life.

While the details of every case of violence against Pakistani woman differ, many are based on a concept of “family honor.” Women can be targeted for suspicion of an affair, wishing to divorce or dressing inappropriately. Hundreds women are murdered each year because of mere suspicions.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/2/32-years-after-attack-pakistani-woman-gets-nose/?page=all#pagebreak

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From Google News

Ohio outlaws texting while driving

Minors face fine, 60-day loss of driver's license

The new law, which takes effect in 90 days, also bans drivers younger than 18 from using any hand-held electronic device, whether to text, make a call or do anything else.

“This is why we are doing this,” Kasich said, sitting behind the desk in his ceremonial office, holding a photo of 23-year-old Keith Homstad Jr. in his right hand and a photo of 16-year-old Dalton Ludwig in his left.

“These families are finding some relief by doing something constructive to help others,” he added. “It's a hard road back, folks, when you don't have a dad, when you lose your only son, when your soldier son is killed on leave. This helps them to heal.”

Homstad, of Johnstown, was killed while on leave from the Air Force in August 2010. He was a passenger in a car driven by a 19-year-old woman who prosecutors argued was texting — though a judge said that was not proved.Keith Homstad Sr. called the law a good first step, but he would have rather seen texting made a primary driving offense for adults, instead of a secondary offense. A secondary offense means an officer must first pull over a driver for something else, such as speeding.

“If anything, maybe it will create a mindset. If 50 percent of the folks adhere to it, there is a 50 percent greater chance of a life being saved,” Homstad said.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/06/02/ohio-outlaws-texting-while-driving.html

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Scammers hope you'll bite on 'zombie' news

The past few weeks have given us a rash of unbelievably gruesome news stories. There's the 21-year-old college student who allegedly killed, dismembered and ate his victim's brain and heart; the Swedish man arrested for reportedly eating his wife's lips; and the "zombie" that started it all, Rudy Eugene, who was shot and killed by Miami police while in the process of eating another man's face.

Each story is horrific, disgusting and compelling in its own way — in other words, perfect fodder for online scammers.

Right now, there is surveillance footage of Eugene's May 26 attack, but the 18-minute video, embedded in articles from local Miami news sources including the Miami Herald, is partially obscured by a bridge. There is no other video, no "exclusive" footage or "never-before-seen" angle. This is important to remember, as online scammers, in a plea to get you to click on possibly harmful links, often promise to show you the "real" videos or photos you haven't seen.

Scammers used these tactics after the Japan earthquake and tsunami last year and after the deaths of Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. SecurityNewsDaily hasn't yet seen any rigged emails or Facebook posts about these horrific "zombie" incidents, but they will almost certainly pop up in the next few days. They could come from anywhere, but with some common sense, you can keep your computer out of trouble.

The advice is simple: Use your brain. If you need to satisfy your curiosity and thirst for gore, read stories about these crimes from legitimate news sources. No matter how enticing or convenient, don't simply click on a link you see on Facebook or Twitter or in an unsolicited email.

Scammers know how captivating these horrifying stories are, and they're sure to cast their bait far and wide in the hopes of getting you to bite. As a matter of course, make sure you are running up-to-date anti-virus software on your computer to protect you in the event you fall for one of the scammers' tricks.

Richmond police say that residents should arm themselves with communication and old-fashioned neighborly cooperation and concern to combat the rise in violent crime in the city.

"Richmond is not a dangerous community," said Diane Whitehead, who coordinates community policing for Richmond police. "People have called me and asked, 'Should we buy a gun?' But that's not the answer. It's not arming yourself against one another. It's just a case of being observant and stay in contact with one another."

Whitehead said she has received an ever-increasing number of calls from residents wanting information about forming crime watch groups.

"People are asking what they can do and what they can do is form neighborhood watches," she said. "And if you have a neighborhood association get active in it. Get to know your neighbors. Observe and report anything out of the ordinary."

Becky Dingle is coordinator of the Hidden Valley Neighborhood Watch Association on the city's west side. That group was formed in 2007 because of problems with minor crimes. Interest has ebbed and flowed, but now Dingle said she has 63 contacts who share information about abandoned houses, weeds, needed street repairs, car break-ins and burglaries.

http://www.pal-item.com/article/20120602/NEWS01/206020312/-No-heading-?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs

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June 2, 2012

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From the L.A. Daily News

Spam scammers take new route to your inbox

WASHINGTON -- Remember all those phony emails that purport to be from your bank, asking you to click on a link and turn over your account information?

Cyber experts say criminals have moved on and are using new methods.

A cybersecurity banking official told a House Financial Services panel Friday that criminals are now sending emails claiming to be from someone other than your bank. Newer scams use The National Automatic Clearing House Association, the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, the U.S. Postal Service, private delivery firms, telecommunications companies and social media providers.

One thing hasn't changed. Once an unsuspecting user clicks on a link, he or she is redirected to a server that downloads malicious software onto the victim's computer. The software captures the user's online banking credentials as they are typed

Called "phishing," this tactic involves sending an email that falsely claims to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to trick the user into turning over information.

Michele Cantley, testifying on behalf of the Financial Services Information Sharing & Analysis Center, said that phishing "remains the most popular attack method that criminals use to infect victims' machines."

http://www.dailynews.com/business/ci_20761750/spam-scammers-take-new-route-your-inbox

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Zimmerman's bond revoked in Trayvon Martin case

SANFORD, Fla. - A judge on Friday revoked the bond of the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and ordered him returned to jail within 48 hours.

Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester said that George Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie, misled the court about how much money they had available when his bond was set for $150,000 in April. Prosecutors claim Zimmerman had $135,000 available that had been raised by a website he set up.

Zimmerman's wife testified at the bond hearing that they had limited funds available since she was a nursing student and Zimmerman wasn't working.

"He can't sit back and obtain the benefit of a lower bond based upon those material falsehoods," Lester said.

Defense attorney Mark O'Mara said the fact that Zimmerman and his wife never used the money for anything indicated "there was no deceit."

Prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda described the Zimmermans' testimony as "misleading."

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_20761681/zimmermans-bond-revoked-trayvon-martin-case

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From Google News

Ohio is fifth in Internet crime; new law to take effect

The state's top law-enforcement officer will soon have more authority to battle Internet-related crimes — acts that cost Ohioans a reported $10.6 million last year.

Starting Thursday, Ohio's new cyberfraud law will give the Ohio attorney general's office the same criminal-subpoena power local prosecutors have in suspected cases of identity theft, website scams and other online fraud.

“Criminally prosecuting these people is important because for many of them a civil penalty or fine is just the cost of doing business,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine . Criminal prosecutions for online scams will have a “deterrent effect,” he said.

Currently, state authorities can subpoena information only to build civil cases. They can seek fines and restitution but no criminal punishment, such as prison time.

The new cyberfraud law will give the attorney general the authority to subpoena the phone records, Internet protocol (IP) addresses and payment information in suspected cyberfraud cases and prepare them for criminal prosecution by a county or special prosecutor.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/06/02/ohio-is-fifth-in-internet-crime-new-law-to-take-effect.html

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June 1, 2012

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From the L.A. Daily News

Audit: Los Angeles still needs to work on emergency preparation

Four years after an audit exposed the city of Los Angeles' outdated emergency plans, a report released Thursday said L.A. still has more work to do to prepare for a major disaster.

The new audit of emergency preparation planning by Controller Wendy Greuel found the city has not enacted nearly half of the recommendations in the 2008 report.

In particular, there is still poor cooperation between agencies that would be involved in disaster response, including the Emergency Management Department, and the Airport, Port, Transportation, Recreation and Parks, and Convention Center departments, Greuel said.

"As the second largest city in the United States, Los Angeles is vulnerable to a multitude of disasters, from earthquakes, mudslides and fires to terrorist and other man-made threats," Greuel said in a letter to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other city officials.

"Los Angeles needs a world-class response to fulfill our most important obligations of ensuring the safety of all Angelenos."

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_20754130/audit-los-angeles-still-needs-work-emergency-preparation

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From the Washington Times

House orders solid base line on border

Seeks new measurement for illegal immigration control

When the Obama administration scrapped the old definition for measuring border security two years ago, it left the government without any way of measuring how much of the U.S.- Mexico border is under operational control.

On Wednesday, the House pushed back, approving a bill demanding that the Homeland Security Department come up with a good yardstick for measuring border security and produce a concrete plan to get the country closer to that goal.

The bill passed by voice vote and had the support of both Republican and Democratic leaders on homeland security issues, signaling a bipartisan desire for real data on whether the border is secure — a precondition both sides say is necessary before they can talk about legalizing illegal immigrants already in the U.S.

“We just can't change the rules if we don't like the results,” said Rep. Candice S. Miller, the Michigan Republican who sponsored Wednesday's legislation prodding the administration.

Her bill orders Homeland Security to submit a plan within 180 days that would detail how to achieve control of the borders within five years.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/30/house-orders-solid-base-line-on-border/

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From Google News

Toledo girl takes a shine to helping families in need

Angelica Dowiak had an idea.

The 9-year-old's fund-raising plan -- sketched on a sheet of paper with a red marker and complete with an illustration of a penny-filled jar -- was simple: "Look for pennies all around. Help raise money … by asking for pennies. After you fill [the jar] up, take it to the office."

Her target for the money was children in need at Beach House Family Shelter on Erie Street.

For five days, the precocious, blond-haired, blue-eyed child solicited pennies from those around her: neighbors, friends, family members, someone walking by on the sidewalk. People pulled pennies from their pockets, from the depths of their couch cushions, and from the crevices of their car consoles.

"People don't really give up their other money, so if they just give up one cent, pretty soon you come up with a dollar," the little girl explained.

A dollar, yes. But when she was done, young Angelica had not the $30 or $40 her family and teachers expected, but just short of $388. That's almost 38,800 copper coins.

http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2012/06/01/Toledo-girl-takes-a-shine-to-helping-families-in-need.html

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Robbery suspect arrested thanks to "community policing"

ICE launches inaugural citizens' academy

ICE's Office of Public Affairs began the ICE Citizens' Academy to provide members of the general public with an inside look at ICE and how the agency enforces immigration and customs laws. Over the course of nine weeks, a total of 19 individuals met once a week in one of two locations – Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.

For Blaine Young, president of Frederick County Commissioners in Frederick, Md., attending the Baltimore-based academy was an enlightening experience. Since Frederick County participates in the 287(g) program, Young is personally vested in learning about the agency and how its laws affect his community.

"I wanted to see if I could learn anything about ICE's immigration and enforcement program," said Young. "I learned that ICE has a budget to deport 400,000 people per year, and they try to deport the ones that are the biggest threat to us, the citizens, and national security."

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1205/120531washingtondc.htm

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May 31, 2012

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From the L.A. Times

Op-Ed

After the riots: The day L.A. changed

Historic reforms passed on June 2, 1992, altered the accountability and behavior of the LAPD.

Twenty years ago in April, widespread rioting revealed the limitations of the Los Angeles political system. But that year also brought something to celebrate: voter passage of historic police reform on June 2, 1992.

The beating of Rodney King on March 3, 1991, changed the way the city felt about the Los Angeles Police Department — and about its controversial chief, Daryl F. Gates. More fundamentally, the beating pointed out serious structural problems in the governance of the department.

The biggest issue was the fact that police chiefs enjoyed Civil Service status. This job protection dated back to 1937, when Los Angeles was in the middle of a corruption crisis that eventually led to the recall of Mayor Frank Shaw. City voters decided then that police chiefs should be given Civil Service protection to insulate them from politics.

But that protection also brought an unintended consequence: A succession of chiefs, starting with William Parker in 1950, used their status as civil servants to thumb their noses at elected officials. As journalist and author Lou Cannon wrote, Parker "wanted a department that answered to no one but its chief. He achieved this goal and in the process became a chief who answered to no one."

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-sonenshein-police-reform-anniversary-20120531,0,5402279.story

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From the Washington Times

Inside the Ring: FBI on social-network risks

The FBI recently published a report warning of the dangers posed by social-network sites that it says are being exploited by digital “con artists, criminals and other dishonest actors.”

The FBI report, made public earlier this month, states that social-networking criminals are “exploiting this capability for nefarious purposes,” using two main tactics.

They include computer hackers who specialize in writing and manipulating computer code to gain access or install software on computers and phones. The second method involves hackers who specialize in exploiting personal connections through social networks.

“Social hackers, sometimes referred to as ‘social engineers,' manipulate people through social interactions (in person, over the phone, or in writing),” the report said.

“Humans are a weak link in cybersecurity, and hackers and social manipulators know this. They try to trick people into getting past security walls. They design their actions to appear harmless and legitimate.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/30/inside-the-ring-fbi-on-social-network-risks/?page=all#pagebreak

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May 30, 2012

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From the L.A. Daily News

New cyberweapon attacks Iranian computers

LONDON - A massive, data-slurping cyberweapon is circulating in the Middle East, and computers in Iran appear to have been particularly affected, according to a Russian Internet security firm.

Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab ZAO said the "Flame" virus was unprecedented both in terms of its size and complexity, possessing the ability to turn infected computers into all-purpose spying machines that can even suck information out of nearby cell phones.

"This is on a completely different level," Kaspersky researcher Roel Schouwenberg said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "It can be used to spy on everything that a user is doing."

The announcement sent a ripple of excitement across the computer security sector. Flame is the third major cyberweapon discovered in the past two years, and Kaspersky's conclusion that it was crafted at the behest of a national government fueled speculation that the virus could be part of an Israeli-backed campaign of electronic sabotage aimed at archrival Iran.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_20733817/new-cyberweapon-attacks-iranian-computers

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From the Washington Times

War crimes judges sentence Charles Taylor to 50 years

LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Judges at an international war crimes court have sentenced former Liberian President Charles Taylor to 50 years in prison following his landmark conviction for supporting rebels in Sierra Leone who murdered and mutilated thousands during their country's brutal civil war in return for blood diamonds.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone found Taylor guilty last month on 11 charges of aiding and abetting the rebels who went on a bloody rampage during the decade-long war that ended in 2002 with more than 50,000 dead.

Presiding Judge Richard Lussick says the crimes Taylor was convicted of were of the “utmost gravity in terms of scale and brutality.”

The 64-year-old warlord-turned-president is the first former head of state convicted by an international war crimes court since World War II.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/30/judges-sentence-charles-taylor-50-years/

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Supreme Court won't review police use of stun guns

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has decided that it will not review the appropriateness of stun guns used by police on suspects.

The high court on Tuesday refused to hear appeals from police in Hawaii and Washington state or from people who got stun-gunned by officers.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said officers could not be sued in federal court, but judges also said officers used excessive force by using stun guns.

Malaika Brooks was driving her son to school in 2004 when she was stopped for speeding. Officers used a Taser three times when the woman, who was seven months pregnant, refused to get out of her car.

Jayzel Mattos was stun-gunned in 2006 in her house by police who said she had interfered with the arrest of her husband, Troy.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/29/supreme-court-wont-review-police-use-stun-guns/

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Sticks, stones and dangerous words

Opinion

The scholars and wordsmiths at the Department of Homeland Security leave everyone who aspires to good citizenship speechless.

Some of the wordsmiths put together a manual for agents who track the Internet, looking for evildoers and those who aspire to evildoing. Those agents are assigned to pick up suspicious words for further investigation. Some of the worst of the evildoers have been caught after their schemes, plots and intrigues were detected in emails intercepted by Homeland Security agents.

Long lists of words the innocent should never use were acquired by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy watchdog group that obtained the lists through a request for documents under the Freedom of Information Act. It's clear that federal agents who conduct Internet searches for offending words can succeed only if they have a lot of time on their hands.

Some of the words, such as “attack” or “terrorism” or “dirty bomb,” are so obvious that a caveman could detect them. Others, such as the words cops, police, riot, emergency landing, powder (white), swine, pork and flu, do not seem so obviously dangerous. Your Aunt Evelyn in West Gondola, scribbling an affectionate note at the bottom of a birthday card, could invite federal scrutiny without intending to harm anyone.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/29/pruden-sticks-stones-and-dangerous-words/?page=all#pagebreak

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Danish police arrest 2 men in terror plot

COPENHAGEN (AP) — Two Danish brothers originally from Somalia have been arrested on suspicion of plotting a terror attack, Denmark‘s security service said Tuesday.

The men, aged 18 and 23, were suspected of “being in the process of preparing an act of terror ” after being overheard talking about methods, targets and different weapon types, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service said.

The agency, known by its Danish acronym PET, said the brothers were arrested late Monday — one in the western Danish city of Aarhus and the other as he arrived by plane at Copenhagen's international airport.

The suspects are “Danish citizens of Somali origin” who have lived in Denmark for 16 years, the agency said.

One of the men had been at a training camp in Somalia run by the Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which has links to al Qaeda, PET said.

The men were charged with receiving training with the aim of committing an act of terror , in what the agency said are the first known terror-trained suspects in Denmark.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/29/danish-police-arrest-2-men-terror-plot/

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EDITORIAL: Giving the Internet to the U.N.

The new world order invades your computer

Imagine if everything you did online was subject to monitoring and control by the United Nations. Powerful authoritarian states, including China and Russia, are spearheading an effort to place the most potent information system in the world under centralized international control. They want the Internet to work with the same efficiency, speed and reliability as the U.N.

This week, Congress will consider legislation to amend the 1988 International Telecommunication Regulations to give the U.N. extraordinary powers over the Internet. In September, the authoritarian bloc submitted a proposal titled “The International Code of Conduct for Information Security.” In theory, it seeks to systematize and standardize the Internet and establish rules for maintaining cybersecurity. In fact, it will give the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) - a U.N. agency that oversees global telecommunications - vast new powers to regulate and control access to the Internet and information flow in cyberspace.

That Beijing and Moscow are backing the idea is enough to know it's a bad one. The free flow of information has always been an enemy of thuggish regimes. To them, individual expression and the unlimited exchange of ideas - which the Internet has made possible for some oppressed people for the first time in history - must be stamped out. Such countries view the Internet as a vast intelligence operation, a means of collecting sensitive information on people and preventing freedom of expression through a sophisticated array of censorship tools.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/28/giving-the-internet-to-the-un/

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From Google News

Syria bodies pile up as U.N. consensus for action remains elusive

(CBS News) The United Nations mission in Syria reported Wednesday the discovery of 13 bodies with their hands tied behind their backs and evidence that some were shot at close range.

The latest sign of unchecked violence comes hours after U.N. and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan left Damascus after calling the massacre of 108 people in Houla last Friday a tipping point in the Syrian crisis.

"This is what the international community is asking for now - action, not words," said Annan. But the question remains what the brutal slaying of so many people - including many women and children - will be a tipping point toward.

The U.N. Security Council will meet Wednesday to discuss what - if anything - can be done to stop the bloodshed in Syria.

Reaching any kind of unified response will prove difficult. Officials from Russia and China reiterated earlier in the day that they're categorically opposed to any military intervention, and say it's too early for the U.N. to take any new measures.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57443443/syria-bodies-pile-up-as-u.n-consensus-for-action-remains-elusive/

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Etan Patz Case: Pedro Hernandez's Mental Health, Confession Questioned

Since Pedro Hernandez's confession to the killing of Etan Patz last week, questions are beginning to rise regarding the man's mental health and whether he is telling the truth about what happened in lower Manhattan 33 years ago when he allegedly murdered the 6-year-old boy.

Despite his confession and the second-degree murder charges filed against him, police have offered no possible motive for the crime Hernandez allegedly committed as a teenager, leaving some skeptics wondering if he is admitting to something he didn't do.

As Hernandez's lawyer has said that he "has a history of hallucinations," a trio of forensic psychiatrists has spoken to ABC News about the considerations that come along with a confession from someone who has psychotic mental illness, Hernandez's mental state, and how it might impact the case against him.

"You have to rule out the possibility that he may be faking," said Dr. Harold J. Bursztajn, co-founder of the Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Harvard Medical School. "This may be a wish to get attention; it may even be an unconscious wish, a wish to feel self-important. That's something which needs to be explored in psychological examination."

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/etan-patz-case-pedro-hernandezs-mental-health-confession/story?id=16456499

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Easton Pennsylvania

Forks Police Reach Out to Elementary Schools

Forks Police talk to elementary students about safety and checking in with parents.

As the Forks Township Police Department's new community resource officer, Brooks Kranich serves as the go-to guy with businesses, citizens and now schools.

The police department recently launched a program in which Kranich visits schools to discuss various safety issues regarding children.

Over the past few months, Kranich has visited the first grades of Forks and Shawnee Elementary Schools.

There, he has promoted a Safe Kids Check First program in which Kranich tries to tell first-graders that while it is a good idea to be aware of strangers, it's best to check first with parents no matter what and about anything.

"We're trying to get kids away from the stranger/danger concept," Kranich said. "Eighty percent of crimes are made on children by people who are familiar to them."

http://palmer.patch.com/articles/police-launch-awareness-programs-in-forks-township-schools

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May 29, 2012

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From the L.A. Times

NATO says Al Qaeda's No. 2 in Afghanistan killed in air strike

Sakhr al-Taifi, a Saudi national, commanded foreign insurgent fighters and frequently moved between Afghanistan and Pakistan, often overseeing the transport of militants into Afghanistan, NATO said in a prepared statement. The air strike occurred Sunday in the Watahpur district of Kunar, a volatile Afghan province along the Pakistani border.

Al-Taifi and one other unnamed Al Qaeda militant were killed in the air strike, NATO said.

Over the last two years, the U.S. has steadily eroded Al Qaeda's leadership ranks. U.S. drone missile strikes during that time period have killed at least 18 senior Al Qaeda leaders and commanders, as well as several top Taliban commanders. The death of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a secret U.S. commando raid in the military city of Abbottabad in May 2011, was followed by a drone strike the next month that killed a top Al Qaeda planner, Ilyas Kashmiri, in Pakistan's militant-infested tribal region along the Afghan border.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/05/nato-says-al-qaedas-second-in-command-in-afghanistan-killed.html

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From the Whitehouse

Peace Corps: Helping Feed the Future

For more than 50 years, Peace Corps volunteers around the world have taken an active role in addressing critical food security issues, working with one farmer, one family, and one community at a time.

President Obama and other G8 Leaders met last week to address food security and nutrition in Africa. The President also announced a new alliance with the G-8, African leaders and private sector partners to drive investment in sustainable African agricultural development and lift 50 million people out of poverty. This landmark meeting underscored the importance of the President's Feed the Future initiative, and last summer, the Peace Corps and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) pledged to provide enhanced food security training to more than 1,000 Peace Corps volunteers.

On May 23, at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., Peace Corps reaffirmed our commitment to food security and discussed our joint efforts to make sustainable change. I was joined by USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, USAID Assistant to the Administrator of the Bureau of Food Security Paul Weisenfeld, and Peace Corps volunteers and staff to discuss our work to train volunteers and the people they work with on this important topic.

Through this partnership, Peace Corps volunteers are already making sustainable changes to the ways in which local people cultivate their food, address water shortages and feed their families.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/25/peace-corps-helping-feed-future

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From the FBI

(Pictures of missing children on site)

Looking for Our Children
‘National Missing Children's Day 2012'

Podcast: Crimes Against Children Unit

These are just a very few of the children who are far from home today. Please take a minute to look at all the faces on our Kidnapping and Missing Persons webpage and see if you can identify Asha, Daniel, Sierra, or any of the other children listed there with their stories .

Also take a look at the faces of the children who have been kidnapped by a parent — Melissa Hinako Braden and the many other kids. And we hope you'll visit our Crimes Against Children page to learn all you can about what a dangerous world it can be for our kids…and our Resources for Parents page to learn how to protect them in today's world.

To further help keep kids safe, we are also launching today a new version of our Child ID App for Android mobile phones. See our blog post for more information.

Note: The children pictured or identified here may have been located since the above information was posted on this website. Please check our Wanted by the FBI website for up-to-date information.

The Child ID App for Androids

Today, to help observe National Missing Children's Day, we're launching a new version of our Child ID App built specifically for Android mobile phones. The application can be downloaded for free from the Android Apps section of Google Play.

The Child ID App, first released in August 2011 for iPhones, provides parents with an easy way to electronically store pictures and vital information about their children in case they go missing—whether it's a toddler wandering away at the mall or a teen who has been snatched by a stranger.

Using the app, you can show pictures of your kids and provide physical identifiers such as height and weight to security or police officers on the spot. You can also quickly and easily e-mail the information to authorities with a few clicks. The app also includes tips on keeping children safe as well as specific guidance on what to do in those first few crucial hours after a child goes missing.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/news_blog/the-child-id-app-on-android

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May 28, 2012

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From the L.A. Daily News

Man tracks down cop who nabbed serial cat burglar in Canoga Park 48 years ago

That spring, fear swept over Faust Avenue, and all across the neighborhoods of the west San Fernando Valley.

Children were told not to be frightened, but they could sense uneasiness in their parents' eyes. Fathers checked and rechecked window locks and doors. Mothers tucked their sons and daughters into bed extra tight.

It was 1964, and Cliff Berens was 9 years old when he saw his father do something out of the ordinary.

"He put a chain lock on the back door," said Berens, now 56. "My dad said: `It's nothing. Don't worry about it."'

But all those locked doors and windows couldn't stop the stories about a cat burglar who was prowling around the working-class Canoga Park neighborhoods such as Faust Avenue where Berens lived. His was a neighborhood where children rode bikes up and down until street lights turned on, and dads played touch football on front lawns.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_20722456/man-tracks-down-cop-who-nabbed-serial-cat

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From the Washington Times

Syria denies responsibility in attacks that killed 108

DAMASCUS, Syria — The Syrian government on Sunday denied responsibility for an assault on villages that left more than 100 people dead, blaming the killings on “hundreds of heavily armed gunmen” who also attacked soldiers in the area.

Friday's assault on the central area of Houla was one of the bloodiest single events in Syria 's 15-month-old uprising, and gruesome images of dozens of children killed in the attacks prompted a wave of international outrage.

The United Nations said that dozens of children under the age of 10 were among the dead and issued a statement appearing to hold the Syrian regime responsible.

The Security Council issued a press statement Sunday that “condemned in the strongest possible terms” the killings in Houla. It blamed Syrian forces for artillery and tank shelling of residential areas. It also condemned the killings of civilians “by shooting at close range and by severe physical abuse,” but avoided saying who was responsible for these attacks.

Britain and France had proposed issuing a press statement condemning the attack on civilians and pointing the finger at the Syrian government for Friday's massacre. But Russia called for an emergency council meeting, saying it first wanted a briefing by Gen. Robert Mood , the head of the unarmed U.N. observer mission.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/27/syria-denies-its-forces-killed-32-children-others/

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From Google News

'Atrocities' could trigger military intervention in Syria, Joint Chiefs chairman warns

The escalating "atrocities" in Syria could end up triggering a military intervention, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told Fox News on Monday -- following the massacre that left more than 100 dead.

The international community has scrambled to respond to the violence over the weekend, with the recognition that an international peace plan has failed to stem the fighting. The U.N. Security Council called an emergency session Sunday, with its members unanimously supporting a statement condemning the killings and blaming the Bashar al-Assad regime. Meanwhile, U.N. envoy Kofi Annan traveled to Syria for talks.

Dempsey said Monday, as he has in the past, that military options are being crafted.

"Of course -- there is always a military option," Dempsey said.

But he added that while military leaders are "cautious" about the use of force, the situation in Syria could demand it.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/28/atrocities-could-trigger-military-intervention-in-syria-joint-chiefs-chairman/

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