Florida Gov. Rick Scott speaks during the Governor’s Hurricane Conference at the Broward County Convention Center on May 16 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He asked local residents to be careful and to help warn holiday tourists of storm dangers. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The first named tropical storm of the hurricane season made landfall at 12:10 a.m. near Jacksonville on Florida’s Atlantic coast on Monday, May 28, according to the National Hurricane Center. It caused power outages and travel troubles for thousands in Georgia and Florida, but no deaths or injuries have been reported.

At landfall it was close to hurricane strength, with winds near 70 mph. Tropical Storm Beryl immediately weakened to a tropical depression, meaning its sustained winds stayed under 38 mph. Tropical storm-force winds range from 39 to 73 mph.

Georgia’s Cumberland Island National Seashore was closed. Memorial Day concerts, parades, and fireworks displays in southeast Georgia and northeast Florida were canceled. Riptides and rough surf led to beach closures. St. Augustine, Fla., canceled its planned Memorial Day jazz concert.

The good news is that Beryl is bringing rain to a parched area. South Georgia has been in an “extreme to exceptional drought, the two highest categories,” said Brian Edwards, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.com.

About two-thirds of Georgia is suffering from drought right now, and Beryl’s anticipated four to six inches of rain are badly needed.

Unfortunately, when rain falls very quickly much of it runs off, rather than soaking into the ground, and according to Edwards, “runoff is causing some creeks to rise in Florida and Georgia,” and there may be more flooding. The storm will not be a drought buster, because more than a few days of rain are needed to end the six to eight month-long drought, he said.

Savannah is not used to being hit by storms, according to Georgia Power spokesperson Lynn Wallace. “Of course everybody down here is a little perplexed.”

The Georgia coast bends inward in a way that shelters it from ocean storms, she said. The worst storms often hit land in the Carolinas or Florida.

The weather left 7,100 people without power, but Georgia Power crews from around the region worked all night and all day, and restored power to all but 560 households by 5:30 p.m. on May 28, said Wallace. “They work fast.”

Florida Gov. Rick Scott asked local residents to be careful and to help warn holiday tourists of storm dangers. He said in a statement that holiday travelers might not be paying attention to media, but “it is vital to continue to monitor local news reports and listen to the advice of local emergency management officials.”

“Hurricane hazards come in many forms, including storm surge, heavy rainfall, inland flooding, high winds, tornadoes, and rip currents,” according to the National Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service (NWS).

NWS predicts that Beryl will move north and northeast through Georgia and the Carolinas before heading to sea by Thursday.

May 27–June 2 is Hurricane Preparedness Week, marking the start of hurricane season. The Atlantic hurricane season is June 1 through the end of November, according to NWS. The greatest threat to the United States from hurricanes happens from late August through October.

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Tropical Storm Beryl strengthened slightly on Sunday, and is still moving west toward the Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina coasts, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm, which had wind speeds of 65 miles per hour, is expected to make landfall late Sunday night, according to the Center. Beryl is also expected to bring with it 3 to 6 inches of rain.

Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, in a statement, said he signed a declaration of emergency on Sunday, closing down several parks and warned of potential bridge closures.

“We urge everyone to halt recreational water activity and strongly encourage business owners to close early today to allow their employees to prepare for the storm and get home safely,” Brown said.

The 175-year-old New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper will scale back publishing to only three days per week.

New Orleans’ only daily paper announced on Thursday that it will become part of a new company, the NOLA Media Group, which will oversee the newspaper and the affiliated website, NOLA.com.

The publication “will significantly increase its online news-gathering efforts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while offering enhanced printed newspapers,” it said.

The New York Times reported late on Wednesday that cuts to the Times-Picayune’s staff will be scheduled, but did not elaborate further.

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The three finalists (left to right): MarKaye Hassan, 3rd place, Kristen Dupard, national champion, and Claude Mumbere, 2nd place. (James Kegley/National Endowment for the Arts)

Kristen Dupard, a high-school senior from Ridgeland, Miss., won the 2012 Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest, reported the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Dupard was chosen from 365,000 students.

Fifty-three state finalists competed in the Poetry Out Loud national finals held in Washington. The awards were announced May 15.

Dupard will receive $20,000 and her high school will receive $500 to purchase poetry books. More than 2,000 high schools participate in Poetry Out Loud, which is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

She read “What Work Is,” by Philip Levine, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American who often wrote about working-class Detroit.

“It is especially relevant since so many people have worked hard to get here to the national finals. I love this program and all the people involved; this is such a blessing,” said Dupard, quoted in an NEA press release.

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A prison riot at a Mississippi prison, which left one prison guard dead and involved hundreds of inmates, has ended. Inmates were corralled back into their cells on Monday, it was reported.

Privately run by Corrections Corp. of America, the Adams County Correctional Facility kept prisoners on lockdown on Monday, according to The Associated Press. The prison houses more than 2,500 illegal immigrants, mainly who re-entered the United States after they were deported.

“CCA will support full prosecution under the law for all inmates identified as having committed criminal acts during the disturbance,” reads a statement from the company.

Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield told CNN that a fight broke out on Sunday between members of a rival gang in a prison yard; the fight spiraled out of control, leading to the riot.

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Police officials in Tate County, Miss., have warned that a man impersonating an officer could be behind a string of recent killings.

Two drivers were killed along roads in northern Mississippi within several days of one another, with officials suspecting the deaths are linked to the same killer.

Officials suspect that the killer may have dressed as a police officer and used lights to pull the cars over, then shot the drivers dead.

“We are not eliminating anything as a possibility on how they got on the side of the road,” said John Champion, a district attorney, according to WMC-TV.

Officials are urging drivers to use their best judgment.

“We urge everyone to be cautious while driving, especially at night,” the Tate County Sheriff’s Office said on its Facebook page. “If someone attempts to pull you over with flashing lights and you feel unsure of stopping, DON’T PULL OVER.”

The office added, “Our deputies have been told not to overreact if someone does not immediately pull over.”

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Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole announces a $1.5 billion resolution with Abbott Laboratories Inc. for off-label promotion of the drug, Depakote. (Lonnie Teague/Department of Justice)

Abbott Laboratories Inc. pleaded guilty this week and will pay $1.5 billion to resolve its criminal and civil liability issues involving off-label promotion of the company’s drug, Depakote.

The drug, a neurological medicine labeled to treat mania, epilepsy, and migraines, carries serious warnings and side effects, such as life-threatening and deadly pancreatitis in children and adults who receive valproate. Depakote is a made of sodium valproate and valproic acid.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) says the company promoted the drug for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Today’s settlement shows further evidence of our deep commitment to public health and our determination to hold accountable those who commit fraud,” said James M. Cole, deputy attorney general with the Justice Department, in a May 7 press release. “We are resolute in stopping this type of activity and today’s settlement sends a strong message to other companies.”

According to DOJ, Abbott Labs maintained a specialized sales force to market the drug for such purposes, targeting elderly dementia patients in nursing homes.

“Under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), a company in its application to the FDA must specify each intended use of a drug. A company’s promotional activities must be limited to only the intended uses that FDA approved. In fact, promotion by the manufacturer for other uses—known as ‘off-label’ uses—renders the product misbranded,” states the press release.

The settlement is the second-largest payment ever made by a drug company. It includes a criminal fine and forfeiture totaling $700 million, as well as civil settlements with the federal government and 49 states, including the District of Columbia, totaling $800 million.

California gets $52 million plus 2.5 percent annual interest, which will go to the U.S. Department of Health Care Services, the whistle-blowers, the California Department of Health Care Services, and the California False Claims Act Trust, according to California’s DOJ website.

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President Barack Obama (C) applauds during a ceremony to honor the 2012 National Teacher of the Year, Rebecca Mieliwocki (R), a seventh-grade English teacher in California’s Luther Burbank High School, and other State Teachers of the Year. The ceremony was held in the East Room at the White House on April 24. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

Teachers are tasked with imparting practical knowledge to children during their formative years, teaching the essential skills necessary in life. For some educators, the occupation is not only a job but also a responsibility that brings joy to their lives as they form personal connections with students.

North Carolina educator Regina Johnston is one of them. As a child, Johnston and her parents were involved in a devastating car accident that caused her to miss school and risk falling behind in her studies. Her parents did all they could for Johnston during that difficult time. “My parents are wonderful,” she said.

But it was teachers who gave Johnston a steady hand and encouragement during her family’s hard time, a time when she witnessed what she calls “the power of a teacher.”

She grew up to become a fourth-grade science and math teacher and North Carolina’s 2012 Charter School Teacher of the Year. “In teaching, there is nothing in the world like the feeling of a child when the light goes on,” said Johnston, adding that there may be no other profession like it on the planet.

This year, Johnston had a student struggling with long division. They worked one-on-one every day for weeks until the student could master it. “When he was finally doing long division, he was like ‘I can do this,’” said Johnston, recalling her student’s smile and sense of accomplishment.

A popular part of Johnston’s teaching style is adding music. She’ll sing a song with math-fact lyrics, and her students remember the catchy tunes.

“Once they catch the joy of learning, it can become a lifelong pursuit,” she said.

But Johnston, who has taught for over a decade, knows there are challenges. “Society has changed so much,” she said. “Teachers do not necessarily feel the support that they used to feel at one time. That doesn’t mean it’s not there, but you may not see it the same way.”

She said that on the news one often sees stories criticizing teachers, which gives a feeling that society may lack respect for teachers. Moreover, fewer students today than in the past feel obliged to follow authority.

Additionally, students’ motor and learning skills need refinement after excessive use of technology. “Movies that have 3-D effects and video games that train the brain to think in an entirely different way” add challenges in the classroom, according to Johnston.

In conducting a hands-on science experiment, students accustomed to playing fast-paced video games might need extra time to understand how to use their hands in making a careful scientific investigation, she said.

Johnston said she once struggled with focus in school and wants to make sure her students are fully prepared and able to focus.

Charter schools do not require federal nutrition programs, such as school breakfasts and reduced-cost or free meals for low-income students. “Teachers find themselves feeding kids or bringing clothes to children who may not have a new set of clothes,” Johnston said.

‘Teachers Persevere’

Teachers nationwide share a passion for teaching, a welcoming heart, and a bottomless well of belief in students and their potential, says California seventh-grade English teacher Rebecca Mieliwocki, the 2012 National Teacher of the Year.

Mieliwocki spoke at a White House ceremony for teachers, hosted by President Barack Obama. She said challenges are enormous and complex, and there are barriers to student success beyond a teacher’s control. “Despite these burdens teachers persevere.”

At the ceremony, Obama said, “I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for teachers like these who challenged me, and pushed me, and put up with me, and inspired me—and set me straight when they had to.”

In a February 2012 letter to teachers, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wrote, “The United States must do more to ensure that teaching is highly respected and supported as a profession and that accomplished, effective teachers are guiding students’ learning in every classroom.”

The Department of Education (DOE) is asking public school teachers to get involved with changes to their profession. The administration has allocated $5 billion in the 2013 fiscal year budget to changing the teaching profession.

Duncan invited educators to the National Conversation on the Teaching Profession, an online discussion board where teachers can get involved in changing the profession.

The projects are funded by federal grants.

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Lasherry Codner, 20, is now in the Orange County jail, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, in a statement on Sunday. She joins 10 other people who reported to Florida jails in connection with the death of 26-year-old Robert Champion.

Champion was beaten to death on Nov. 19 in a hazing ritual after the Florida Classic football game at the Florida Citrus Bowl.

Pam Champion, Robert’s mother, told Fox Tampa Bay on Friday that “FAMU cannot go on with business as usual.”

“They need to clean house. If you don’t clean the filth out, it just stays there,” she said.

Codner faces a felony hazing charge and could spend as many as six years in prison, if convicted.

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Texas may lose federal matching funds over its Legislature’s decision to withhold Medicaid reimbursements from Planned Parenthood. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on May 1 lifted a lower court’s stay blocking the state from excluding Planned Parenthood from a federal program to deliver subsidized care to poor women. If the state excludes Planned Parenthood from the program, it also loses federal matching funds.

Gov. Rick Perry has said that the state will cover the lost federal money in order to continue the program. Late on April 30, the state filed an emergency request to block the stay.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wrote, “Absent a stay pending appeal, the State of Texas—and the women of Texas who depend on the [WHP]—will be irreparably harmed because state law prohibits Texas from continuing to operate the Texas Women’s Program [sic] if taxpayer money must be provided to entities that affiliate with abortion-promoting entities.” Planned Parenthood had until 5 p.m. on May 1 to respond in court.

Senate Bill 7 was intended to prevent any state funds from going to abortion providers or entities affiliated with abortion providers. Perry signed it into law last July. The Hyde Amendment of 1976 blocked federal funding for abortions.

The issue is providing for preventive health services for low-income Texas women.

—Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)

The matching funds paid for cancer screenings, diabetes screenings, prenatal care, contraception, and other health care for poor women. According to a statement from Planned Parenthood, “Texas has the highest rate of uninsured women in the United States. Texas women also have the third-highest rate of cervical cancer and one of the highest rates of unintended pregnancy.”

Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the state. It claims that SB 7 violates the 1st and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.

Austin attorney Pete Schenkkan filed the suit. He said, “Even if Texas does a 100 percent state-funded program, they don’t get to say ‘Everyone can be in this program as long as they give up their rights to free speech and freedom of association.’ They can’t say that,” quoted in a Kaiser Health News article.

Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison urged the two sides to settle their dispute in an open letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. She wrote that it was wrong for “political posturing” to make Texans pay double for a successful program.

She said $34 million is at stake. “The Texas Medicaid Women’s Health Program provides basic and preventive health care services for more than 100,000 low-income Texas women each year. Last year, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission reported that the program is saving taxpayers tens of millions annually through the prevention of thousands of unintended pregnancies and assuring needed breast and cervical cancer screenings,” wrote Hutchison.

She said some media reports wrongly portray the dispute as being about abortion, which she has never supported. “The issue is providing for preventive health services for low-income Texas women,” according to Hutchison.

Planned Parenthood launched a petition that said in part, “Without this essential program, 130,000 Texas women-in-need will lose access to basic, lifesaving care, including breast and cervical cancer screenings, screenings for diabetes and hypertension, and STD testing and birth control.”

An advocacy group described the bill and its effects in different terms. “This will defund Planned Parenthood, stop taxpayer funding of elective abortions, and regulate adult stem cell research in Texas,” said the Texas Alliance for Life in a statement.

Miami U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro said random drug testing for the more than 85,000 state workers violated the Fourth Amendment on unreasonable searches and seizures, reported The Palm Beach Post.

Gov. Scott said he would appeal the decision.

“As I have repeatedly explained, I believe that drug testing state employees is a common sense means of ensuring a safe, efficient, and productive workforce,” he said in a statement obtained the Post reads. “That is why so many private employers drug test.”

Several civil liberties groups sued the state last June, saying the order was unconstitutional.

Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and founding chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, leaves after introducing President Barack Obama at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, April 23 in Washington, D.C. The president announced there are new sanctions against the Syrian government and Iran. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama announced new sanctions against Iran and Syria, after lighting a candle to remember those who died in the Holocaust. He signed an executive order April 23 “blocking the property and suspending the entry into the United States of certain persons with respect to grave human rights abuses by the governments of Iran and Syria via information technology.”

Speaking at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, the president said the new sanctions are “against the Syrian government and Iran and those that abet them for using technologies to monitor and track and target citizens for violence.”

The sanctions allow for freezing the assets of individuals and entities that use technology in a way that furthers the surveillance of and persecution of dissidents. “These technologies should be in place to empower citizens, not to repress them,” said Obama, speaking of cell phones, social media, and Internet networks. While social media played a part in the Arab spring, repressive governments have also used them to identify opponents.

According to the executive order, the president has determined that “serious human rights abuses against the people of Iran and Syria by their governments, facilitated by computer and network disruption, monitoring, and tracking by those governments, and abetted by entities in Iran and Syria that are complicit in their governments’ malign use of technology for those purposes, threaten the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”

Nazi hunter, author, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel stood with the president at the museum. Obama described their visit to Buchenwald, the concentration camp in Germany where Wiesel’s father died. “I grew up hearing stories about my great uncle—a soldier in the 89th Infantry Division who was stunned and shaken by what he saw when he helped to liberate Ohrdruf, part of Buchenwald. And I’ll never forget what I saw at Buchenwald.”

Wiesel introduced Obama before his speech, and said, “If so, how is it that Assad is still in power? How is it that the Holocaust’s Number 1 denier, [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, is still a president, he who threatens to use nuclear weapons—to use nuclear weapons—to destroy the Jewish state? Have we not learned? We must. We must know that when evil has power, it is almost too late.”

Obama said in his speech that it is not possible or desirable to intervene militarily in every situation in which innocent lives are threatened, but “preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States of America.” He considers the executive order against Iran and Syria to be part of the way of fulfilling that responsibility.

He said the United States has many tools to prevent atrocities, “diplomatic and political, and economic and financial, and intelligence and law enforcement, and our moral suasion—and using these tools over the past 3 years, I believe—I know—that we have saved countless lives.”

Obama said he started an “Atrocities Prevention Board, to bring together senior officials from across our government to focus on this critical mission.” It met for the first time in the White House on April 23. Preventing genocide will be a core American mission, according to his speech.

A group of Tibetans asked to see the Falun Gong exercises after the Free China screening at the Global Humanitarian Summit. (Mary Silver/The Epoch Times)

ATLANTA—The documentary Free China: The Courage to Believe made its Atlanta debut at the Global Humanitarian Summit at Emory University on April 15. The screening was met with applause, and followed by a discussion that lasted well over an hour.

The film examines human rights inside China through the remarkable true stories of Jennifer Zeng and Dr. Charles Lee, a Chinese-American businessman.

You have access to information you cannot see in China. Do some research, and then decide for yourself.  Dr. Frank Xie, University of South Carolina-Aiken

In addition to both being members of the Chinese Communist Party, Lee and Zeng are also Falun Gong practitioners who survived detention and torture. In the film, they each describe the abusive treatment they endured, designed to force them to renounce their spiritual beliefs. Both of them also spoke about the government propaganda campaign that serves to justify the violent suppression of a peaceful, traditional spiritual practice guided by the principles of truth, compassion and forbearance.

Bringing the issue closer to home, the documentary named U.S. corporations that import products made by prisoners in China’s labor camps. The film offered a window into China that Americans haven’t seen, and prompted several questions.

One audience member wanted to know how companies could be held accountable for this unlawful behavior. Another asked for specifics about the Communist nation’s one child policy and its resulting forced abortions. A third person commented on the gruesome practice of the Chinese government using organs harvested from unwilling prisoners of conscience.

Dr. Frank Xie, assistant professor of marketing at the University of South Carolina-Aiken, moderated the discussion. He said that, since the persecution began, more than 114 million people have resigned from the Communist Party and its affiliated organizations. Xie said that when he met Zeng and Lee, he was deeply moved by their compelling stories. He also described how and when the first witness to forced organ harvesting in China recalled what he had seen in a military hospital.

In the last row, a group of young Chinese people sat together. A man from this group introduced himself and his wife as Chinese doctors affiliated with Emory. He did not believe the facts presented in the film, and offered criticism of Falun Gong that was remarkably similar to government propaganda.

The man argued that there are two sides to every story, and complained that the film did not address what he called the bad side of Falun Gong.

“You are here in this free country. You have access to information you cannot see in China. Do some research, and then decide for yourself,” replied Xie with a smile.

Xie said that Falun Gong books are available for free download, and encouraged the doctor to read it to get a fair and true picture of the practice.

One audience member remarked that the idea that there are two sides to every story reminded her of Holocaust denial. She said that when people claim the historic German genocide against Jews did not happen, it shows that factual truth can sometimes meet with an evil lie.

Free China premiered at the 2012 Palm Beach International Film Festival April 14–16. According to director Michael Perlman, festival organizers told him that the Chinese consulate in Houston repeatedly asked them not to show the film.

“I am grateful that the festival has stood strong, citing the First Amendment rights of all Americans and has refused to cave in to Chinese Communist government’s demands,” said Perlman, quoted on the film’s website.

Job seekers line up to attend a job fair in New York City on April 18. The federal government is accepting applications from states for enrollment into a pilot program that will provide short-term employment and training for those receiving unemployment benefits. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The U.S. Labor Department (DOL) on Thursday invited states to apply for the “Bridge to Work” pilot projects, aimed at providing temporary jobs and training for those receiving unemployment benefits.

“This administration is committed to finding new and innovative ways to turn the unemployment system into a re-employment system, and state programs can play a crucial role in doing so,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, in a statement. “These projects will help improve services, lower costs, and provide crucial worker protection measures to ensure that employers who follow the rules are able to compete on a level playing field.”

A total of 10 states will be chosen for the pilot program.

The application requires states to promise to follow the Fair Labor Standards Act. Trainees must not be used to avoid hiring or replace full-time workers. Hours are limited, and the stipend cannot be less than minimum wage, $7.25 an hour. Trainees may not be hired while a strike is in progress.

The “Georgia Works” program inspired “Bridge to Work.” Georgia has a higher unemployment rate—9 percent—than the national average of 8.2 percent, according to the DOL.

Georgia’s program allows workers to receive a stipend of up to $240 per week for up to 24 hours of work per week, for a maximum of eight weeks. There is no charge to employers, and both for-profit and not-for-profit workplaces may participate. Employers have no obligation to hire participants. According to an unnamed federal official quoted by The Associated Press, “About a third of the time, those workers wind up getting hired full-time.”

The federal program is part of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, officially named the Extended Benefits, Reemployment, and Program Integrity Improvement Act. President Barack Obama signed it into law in February.

Some lawmakers have criticized unemployment benefits, saying they discourage people from looking for work. House Speaker John Boehner has been one of them.

Boehner and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) have supported the “Bridge to Work” idea as an innovation that could help the unemployed re-enter the workforce, as well as an initiative that both Democrats and Republicans could support.

“With millions of Americans still asking, ‘Where are the jobs?’ I hope the president and Senate Democrats will relent and work with Republicans to find common ground, so we can help the private sector put people back to work,” said Boehner in a statement on Thursday.

“The president has proposed a number of reforms to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system, including ‘Bridge to Work’ programs that allow the unemployed to pursue work-based training and enhanced reemployment assistance programs to target those most likely to be unemployed for an extended period of time,” said Cantor in a statement.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday said the state will take a look into the controversial “stand your ground” law that is at the center of the Trayvon Martin murder case, a news report said.

Scott named 15 people to be part of a task force to evaluate possible changes to the law, reported The Orlando Sentinel. Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman, the murder suspect in the Martin case, has used the law as his self-defense.

“We are a nation of laws, and I am committed to letting our legal system work to ensure the people of in our state are safe and protected,” Scott stated, adding that one of the members is Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll.

A small airplane bound for Florida crashed into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday after the pilot went unresponsive, according to media reports.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane crashed a few hours after they lost contact with the pilot, Tampa Bay-based WTSP-10 reported.

Air Force planes spotted the airplane and reported that its windows were fogged over or iced over, so they were not able to see the pilot, the station said. They could not make contact with the pilot.

The Cessna 421 took off from Sidell, La., and was circling over the Gulf at an altitude of more than 28,000 feet, CNN reported. NORAD told the network that the pilots were watching the plane in the air before it hit the water.

Petty Officer Elizabeth Boderland told The Associated Press that “the situation is pretty dynamic right now” after the plane landed right-side up, afloat in the Gulf’s waters.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott greets students during a 2011 visit to the Florida International Academy charter school in Opa Locka, Fla. Charter schools are gaining traction as part of education reform initiatives in Southern states. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

As part of a growing education reform movement, Southern states have recently seen a surge in legislative proposals and ballot initiatives aimed at clearing the path for charter schools.

Georgia’s legislature recently voted to add the Georgia Charter Schools Amendment on the voting ballot in November. If passed, the referendum would create a state constitutional amendment that would clear the way for the outlawed Georgia Charter Schools Commission, giving it the power to create charter schools—even those rejected by local school boards.

Support and opposition voices are gearing up for the fight, and Georgians can expect a barrage of billboards, opinion pieces, and political newspaper and television ads framing the issue.

The main opposition is fronted by district public school boards, which have expressed concerns over the amendment granting the ability to the state commission to establish charter schools outside of school district approval.

“Voters need to decide who they want running school systems,” said Angela Palm of the Georgia School Boards Association, in an April 9 Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) news report. “Do voters really want to give up part of local control, and part of what has always been the local system of schools, to allow a state-appointed body to say, ‘Yes, we’re going to put a school in your district?’”

Supporters of pro-charter “school choice,” like Georgia’s Mark Peezy, say that charter school boards are composed of parents, “the ultimate in local control,” according to the GPB news report.

“Part of the challenge in Georgia as a whole is to help the Greater Georgia area—so certainly outside the Atlanta metro area—to understand school choice options can provide much-needed innovation in their local districts,” Peezy said.

Other states in the South have opened the door for charter schools through legislation and education reform initiatives. Last June, N.C. Gov. Perdue along with the general assembly passed a bill removing the cap on the number of charter schools allowed in the state. They added a ‘fast track’ so that previously interviewed applicants could bypass the 12-month application process.

Since repealing charter school limits in the state, North Carolina’s Office of Charter Schools has seen a record number of 61 charter school applications, according to an April 18 Education News report.

Joel Medley, director of the Office of Charter Schools, said there are 100 charter schools in North Carolina, with nine new charter schools expected to open in the fall of 2012.

Medley says there are still major challenges for charter schools across the country, including facility funding. According to Medley, though charter schools receive government funding per student, schools do not receive government money for facilities.

This challenge has often led charter school operators to look for quarters outside the traditional schoolhouse. Empty spaces in strip malls and historic mills have been transformed into charter schools, according to Medley, with operators often saving and investing their own funds for facilities.

In Washington, D.C., a surplus army medical center was recommended for charter schools in February, according to the National Charter School Resource website.

In New York City, the NYC Department of Education developed what is called “colocation.” Colocation is when the charter school solves its facility challenge by moving into district school buildings and sharing space with other schools.

Quality and Specialty

Quality of education is another challenge, according to Medley. “Some charters do well, some are in the middle, and some are struggling,” he said, adding that charters should use experience and data obtained over time to push forward and improve.

One appeal of charters is that they can cater to student’s particular needs or talents. Medley said he once worked in a school where they addressed the needs of kids with severe behavior problems, helping them get on the right track with schooling.

One North Carolina school is a dual-language Montessori where students learn in English and Spanish. Another is an Outward Bound expedition charter where students spend school time outdoors. It is a “green” school as well.

Yet, with such flexibility comes risk—and concern. One charter school in South Carolina has support from the controversial Hanban, also known as the Confucius Institute, which Epoch Times reports revealed has strong ties with the China’s communist regime and doctrine.

Despite this, North Carolina has seen a surge in charter school student enrollment, with a further rise projected for 2013.

In mid-March, neighboring South Carolina passed a Senate bill to foster charter school growth in the state by a 39–2 vote. The bill allows for charter school sponsorship from a university, college, or community college, currently not allowed in the state.

Jay Ragley, deputy superintendent for legislative and public affairs, and spokesperson for Mick Zais, state superintendent of education, said in a phone interview that a charter high school in Greenville, S.C., is housed in a community college, but sponsorship by the college is prohibited under current policies.

According to Ragley, there are maybe 12 states that allow a college or university to sponsor a public charter school.

The bill also allows for charters to establish gender schools. “We have single-gender programs and classes, but what the bill would say is girl-only and boy-only schools,” Ragley said.

Mary Carmichael, executive director of the Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina, said in a phone interview there is only one school in the state that, although coed, the boys and girls stay among their genders the entire school day. “It has worked very well,” said Carmichael.

Students at charter schools would also be able to join traditional public schools sports and other programs not offered at their charter school, according to the S.C. bill.

Carmichael stated that she has seen charter schools “empower the teacher in the classroom. They have the ability to go to the principals and see results, whereas in a district school, results take years because they have to go through the district level.”

For Carmichael, the difference lies in charter school management. She recalled conversations she had with charter school teachers. “The teachers are very happy,” she said, because they are able “to do what they were trained in college to do.”

The defense team for Zimmerman, the defendant accused of fatally shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, requested that Seminole County Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler be replaced because she is married to a CNN legal analyst.

“The cumulative effect of the events and the totality of the circumstances provide a legally sufficient basis for this court to grant the motion to disqualify,” reads a Wednesday statement from Recksiedler, obtained by CNN.

The new judge in the case is Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester, who has been a judge for 15 years and presided over death penalty cases, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

He has pleaded not guilty, claiming he acted in self-defense.

Brewer, a Republican, said the measure would need wider support from police, the public, and individual cities before she could sign it.

The bill would have let firearms into police stations, courts, libraries, swimming pools, the state Capitol building, and city halls.

Brewer vetoed a similar piece of legislation last year and said there are good reasons why there are bans on guns in sensitive public places.

“The decisions to permit or prohibit guns in these extremely sensitive locations—whether a city council chamber or branch office staffed with state workers—should be cooperatively reached and supported by a broad coalition of stakeholders, including citizens, law-enforcement officials, and local government leaders,” she wrote in a letter Tuesday regarding the veto.

Brewer also cited the “fiscal impact” of the legislation due to the potential improved security measures that would need to be implemented.

The police report obtained by WMAZ-13 TV said Salecia Johnson of Milledgeville is accused of ripping items from walls and tossing furniture. The report also said she knocked over a shelf, injuring the school principal.

The officer attempted to calm Johnson down, but she resisted and he then put handcuffs on her.

“Our policy is that any detainee transported to our station in a patrol vehicle is to be handcuffed in the back. There is no age discrimination on that rule,” Milledgeville police Chief Dray Swicord told the station.

Her father, Earnest Johnson, told the station that the school had “no business calling the police and handcuffing my child.”

“Call the police? Is that the first step? Or is there any other kind of intervention that can be taken to help that child?” her aunt, Candace Ruff, was quoted as saying.

Firefighters conduct a controlled burn to battle wildfires in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. (Courtesy of USFS)

Spring wildfires in Virginia and Florida that began earlier this month have so far burned over 53,643 acres in the south, as of April 15.

The southern states have seen little rain and unseasonably warm temperatures. “Extremely dry fuels, warm temperature, low relative humidity, and windy conditions” are conducive to wildfires, according to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS)’s Incident Information System website, InciWeb.

In western Virginia, six wildfires in the rough terrain of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests have been burning since April 6. Areas where the wildfires are located, like the Shipwreck Fire and Allegheny Fire, have poor access, challenging firefighter efforts.

The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests have issued immediate closure of the areas and roads surrounding the fires. As of Sunday, April 15, the Shipwreck Fire, which threatened a handful of homes and affected 4,000 acres, is now 100 percent contained, meaning a control line has been completed around the fire to suppress and control it.

Wolf Gap, Porter Mills, and Allegheny Fires are at least 80 percent contained. The Barbours Creek Fire, at nearly 4,000 acres, and the Rich Hole Fire are only 30 percent contained, as of Sunday.

Forest Service Public Information Officer (PIO) Marq Webb, commenting on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests fires, said firefighters are using helicopters to drop water on the burning forests and working hard fighting the fire on the ground.

InciWeb reported good temperatures and low wind speed in the area, which may help the fires to burnout; reports also said smoke may continue to cover the Barbours Creek area.

In Florida, the Osceola National Forest wildfire is 65 percent contained as of April 15. Due to smoke, flight restrictions are within a 7-mile radius from the fire’s center, up to 3,000 feet. Smoke is expected to remain light in the daytime but heavy in the evening as the smoke settles northwest of the County Line wildfire.

“Drivers should be cautious in areas where smoke is encountered on roadways. If smoke combines with fog in low-lying areas, then visibility can be reduced to hazardous levels. Drivers should slow down, turn on low beams, and obey any advisories,” warns the InciWeb report.

The Osceola National Forest wildfire reportedly began April 5 as a result of a lightning strike. The land has seen little rain, preventing controlled burns this spring, which helps prevent larger forest fires. With such conditions the focus is on reducing fire-prone vegetation in the forest.

Fire-extinguishing efforts have been focused on reducing smoke particularly where there are “stump holes (old tree stumps that burned underground creating dangerous, hot ember-filled holes) and under-burned trees (trees with their roots burned off and ready to fall),” states InciWeb.

So far no one has been reported harmed by the forest fires.

Prosecutors filed murder and hate crime charges against Jake England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 33, for killing three black residents. They were also charged with shooting with the intent to kill two other black residents, a local NewsOn6 station reported.

“Filing charges is the first step to obtain justice for the victims and their families,” Doug Drummond, Tulsa County first assistant district attorney, said in a statement obtained by the station. “This is a tragic and senseless crime. Our office is committed to holding those responsible accountable for their actions.”

The men could, if convicted, face the death penalty in the shooting spree.

England made statements that were published on Saturday that he is not a racist.

“I always got along with everybody,” he said in the recording on Friday morning, according to CNN. “It didn’t matter what color he was.”

Advocate for arts in education, Doug Israel. (Courtesy of Doug Israel)

Those who study the arts in elementary and secondary school do better academically and in other ways, according to a study from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Yet arts instruction is shrinking, according to another study from the Department of Education (DOE).

Doug Israel, Director of Research and Policy for the Center for Arts Education, a non-profit group that supports the arts in New York City’s public schools, said school administrators and teachers across the country understand the value of arts in education. Both budget cuts and emphasis on testing and measuring basic academic skills have diminished arts instruction in public schools, he said.

“The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies,” published on March 30 by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), said young people with an arts education have better academic outcomes, higher career goals and higher levels of civic engagement, according to a press release from the NEA.

“Kids that are struggling in other academic subjects or do not do well sitting behind the desk the entire school day actually respond and perform when given an opportunity to engage in arts learning, whether it be dance, theater, music, or the visual arts,” said Israel.

According to Israel, arts education has a power to reach all students and provide opportunities for creative learning and innovative thinking skills.

Israel said students in high poverty schools have a particular need for arts education. “Those kids that are struggling in public schools that are at risk of dropping out, these kids are actually getting less arts education than the kids in the low poverty schools,” said Israel.

Kids that are struggling in other academic subjects or do not do well sitting behind the desk the entire school day actually respond and perform when given an opportunity to engage in arts learning, whether it be dance, theater, music, or the visual arts.

“It is important that education decision leaders, principals, and school districts really look at this issue and commit to tackling it, making sure that all of our students are afforded opportunities to participate in arts education and creative learning,” said Israel.

In 2000, 20 percent of elementary schools offered dance classes but in 2009, dance was nearly untaught. Only three percent of elementary schools offered a class especially for dance, according to the DOE report.

One reason for the decline of arts education could be budget cuts. “We had a series of school years where there have been cuts to school budgets, and that has impacted arts instruction in many schools across the country,” said Israel.

The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act set in motion an emphasis on testing scores in English, language arts, and math, according to Israel. In the past decade, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects have been at the forefront in education.

Israel said those subjects are critical for students, but in his opinion, over-testing “comes at the expense of some of the other subjects, including the arts, foreign language and physical education,” he said.

“This is a loss of opportunity to engage in arts education and creative learning,” according to Israel.

Schools may be facing these challenges by offering arts activities outside of regular school hours or by partnering with outside artists. After class hours, more than half of schools offered dance or music lessons and held choir or band practice. Even more offered art related field trips or school performances and presentations, according to the DOE study.

The Department of Education (DOE) stated “Student access to arts education and the quality of such instruction in the nation’s public schools continue to be of concern to policymakers, educators, and families.”

“Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999-2000 and 2009-2010” was conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Eventually companies realized the power of mom bloggers and began working with them individually to sell and advertise their products.

ATLANTA—A misfortune led Sojourner Marable Grimmett to a new income stream. Her purse was stolen at her oldest son’s daycare center. She submitted an article about the incident to a local parenting magazine. It led to her creating a blog, Married with Two Boys.

She said she is making money from the blog, because companies calculate that potential customers find parent bloggers credible. The term is “mom blogger,” according to Grimmett.

Mom blogs attract advertising and other corporate support, she said. “I believe mom bloggers may have started as a way for other moms to connect with each other online, sort of like an online scrapbook. Eventually companies realized the power of mom bloggers and began working with them individually to sell and advertise their products.”

Bloggers post corporate giveaways on their blogs, conduct product reviews and help generate interest in products, events and movies. The writers are compensated for those posts and also receive free products or free entry to events.

“Mom bloggers write and post product reviews for a living, sell advertising space on their blog sites and generate income. Some mom bloggers are able to work from home and blog full-time,” said Grimmett.

Joyce Brewer is a former TV news anchor who said she became a mom blogger in 2010 after having a son. She said she not only posts reviews and giveaways but takes her show on the road to businesses in Atlanta and actively promotes businesses to other parents on social media.

She has a day job as well. Grimmett works for the Southern Regional Education Board. She administers a program called the Academic Common Market that helps students find discounted tuition rates for certain degrees at out of state colleges.

Family of Trayvon Martin, mother Sybrina Fulton (R) and brother Jahvaris Fulton (L), listen on April 11 to a statement about Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey's announcement that George Zimmerman was charged with second degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

George Zimmerman appeared in court on April 12, after turning himself in for the Feb. 26 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Florida State Attorney Angela Corey announced April 11 that George Zimmerman would face second-degree murder charges.

Zimmerman’s new attorney, Mark O’Mara, asked for bond and asked the court to seal records containing personal information about witnesses, CNN reported. His lawyers had previously announced that they were resigning from the case over lack of contact with him.

Zimmerman is expected to plead not guilty at his arraignment in May.

Corey spoke of her duty to uphold the Constitution, both for crime victims and defendants. She said the prosecutorial team did not decide to file charges because of the public outcry. “Let me emphasize that we do not prosecute by pressure or petition,” she said.

She added that she did not intend to answer many questions about the case, to make sure that it is tried properly.

“I want to stress we also took an oath to protect the due process rights of any person whom we charge with a crime. Our oath will be upheld for our victim, Trayvon Martin, and for the man responsible for his death, George Zimmerman,” Corey said in a speech later published on her official website.

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous said he thought the local police department should be investigated for their handing of the matter. He said in a statement, “For the NAACP, this case has always been about the rule of law. We are encouraged by today’s charges, but we know that this is just the beginning. We anticipate and expect a thorough federal investigation of the Sanford Police Department and its role in exacerbating this tragedy.”

“We are still devastated by the loss of our son Trayvon Martin, and nothing can bring him back. But today, we are heartened to tell you that justice may finally be served for Trayvon,” said Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, in a joint statement published on Change.org, which carried a petition asking that Zimmerman be charged. “We are so much closer to justice with the decision to bring charges against our son’s killer.”

Corey said she called Martin’s parents before she announced the charges. Her team had promised “those sweet parents we would get answers to all of their questions, no matter where our quest for the truth led us. … It is the search for justice for Trayvon that has brought us to this night.”

In the lead-up to Zimmerman’s arrest, rallies, petitions, and media coverage around the country had expressed outrage that Zimmerman, who told police he shot the unarmed Martin in self-defense during a struggle, was not charged the night of the shooting. A 911 call he made saying that Martin appeared to be acting suspiciously included the operator telling Zimmerman not to follow Martin.

On March 22, Sanford Chief of Police Bill Lee stepped down in response to public anger over how police handled the case. Congressman Bobby Rush, (D-Ill.) was thrown off the House floor when he donned a hoodie to honor Martin.

Lawyer David Deganian shows the pollution hot spots he and his colleagues identified in the Atlanta area. (Mary Silver/The Epoch Times)

ATLANTA—In and near Atlanta, a person who does not speak English well, has a low income, or lives in a majority-minority area, is more likely to live with pollution, according to a new report. GreenLaw, a nonprofit organization, studied patterns of pollution and demographics in the 14-county Atlanta metropolitan area. The authors identified 52 areas they called environmental justice hot spots, where the worst pollution and the highest proportion of minority people and/or linguistically isolated households existed together.

David Deganian is one of two principal authors of “The Patterns of Pollution: A Report on Demographics and Pollution in Metro Atlanta.” He said, “As pollution points rise, percent non-white rises. Areas where a lot of people don’t speak English well also have a lot of pollution.”

The researchers used census data and public information about points of pollution, such as documented chemical releases, Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act violations, Superfund sites, landfills, and hazardous waste storage sites. They divided the area into equal blocks and compared census data with pollution sources.

Many states have a policy to study whether placing a potential source of pollution in a neighborhood will disproportionately affect certain types of people—not Georgia. “This state has no policy on environmental justice,” said Deganian. Only Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta, has such a policy. Deganian presented his report to a group of community leaders on March 29 at an event organized by Helen Ho, executive director of the Asian American Legal Advocacy Center Inc. (AALAC).

Lawyer Helen Ho says she considers environmental issues to be civil rights issues. (Mary Silver/The Epoch Times)

“This is a civic engagement issue,” said Ho. She said she remembered a controversial crematory that would have been near 1,300 homes in a mostly Asian neighborhood. Residents spoke out against it, and it was not allowed. But in her opinion, Atlanta’s Asian people have usually been passive, except when a problem was very close to home. As a result, they are more likely to be silent when pollution sources proliferate in their neighborhoods.

“Minorities and linguistically isolated communities should not be affected by pollution more than others,” said Deganian.

He recommends four steps to change the situation: First, environmental justice advocates in Atlanta should form a coalition. Second, leaders in business and government should form a working group to address how to include environmental justice in decisions. Third, the EPA should direct funding to Georgia’s state and local governments and tell them to implement environmental justice effort.

The report criticized state and local government for doing little. “Georgia now lingers in a shrinking minority of only five states that have not adopted a policy, program, or initiative to directly address environmental disparities. There is a pressing need, as evidenced by this report’s results, for it to do so.”

Finally. the State Environmental Protection Division should “adopt an environmental justice policy that promotes the health of all of Georgia’s citizens,” said the report.

At least nine people, who are believed to be illegal immigrants, died in a van accident in southern Texas on Tuesday night, it was reported.

The van rolled over several times at around 10:30 p.m. along Expressway 83, The Monitor reported. Six other people were hospitalized in the accident.

“This is early, and it’s an ongoing investigation,” Border Patrol spokesperson Enrique Mendiola told the newspaper, adding that from his perspective, the van likely was involved in smuggling illegal immigrants.

“It’s too early to determine that, but it’s what’s suspected,” Mendiola added.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency told the publication that it is working to determine the origins of those who died and investigating the circumstances of the wreck.

Palmview Police Cmdr. Lenny Sanchez told KWTV that there were 19 people inside the van, adding that two people fled the scene of the crash and are still on the loose.

Five former cops were sentenced on Wednesday for shooting six unarmed civilians, killing two on a bridge after the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans, according to reports.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt sentenced four of the cops to at least 38 years in prison, while the lead investigator in the case was sentenced to six years, reported the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Robert Fauclon Jr., 48, received a sentence of 65 years for shooting a mentally disabled man in the back with a shotgun, killing him, according to the newspaper. His penalty was the harshest handed down by the judge.

Engelhardt called the incident “a sad day for New Orleans” and said he was “astonished and deeply troubled” by some of the plea bargains that were offered by the prosecution.

Arlington police officer Rick Stewart (L) and Tarrant County constable Clint C. Burgess (C) rescue a dog that belongs to David Lowe's (R) daughter after a tornado destroyed her home on April 3 in Arlington, Texas. Multiple tornadoes touched down across the Dallas/Fort Worth area causing extensive damage. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Several tornadoes ripped through a Dallas suburb on Tuesday, ripping up homes and lifting tractor trailers in the air, it was reported.

“The second trailer is ripped to pieces and thrown 50 to 100 feet into the air,” truck driver Michael Glennon told Reuters.

The National Weather Service issued a warning as the tornadoes were spotted on the ground, telling people to be alert.

The Dallas-Fort Worth International airport announced that all flights were cancelled for the rest of the day due to the tornadoes. Restaurants inside terminals were to stay open to meet the needs of stranded passengers, according to the airport.

“A slow-moving storm system centered over northern New Mexico is the culprit behind the severe storms,” said meteorologist Justin Roberti of Accuweather in an email.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, but there was damage throughout the area, CNN reported.

A spokesperson with outlying Tarrant County, Mark Flake, confirmed with the network that damage was done to portions of Arlington and Kennedale.

ATLANTA—Americans Joining in Action! (AJA!) is an all-female, multicultural, multigenerational drumming troupe that performs Korean percussion while incorporating song and dance elements. The troupe formed a little over a year ago, and is based in the The Center for Pan Asian Community Services (CPACS) in Atlanta.

AJA! enters the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (WHIAAPI) Southeastern Regional Summit in Atlanta. (Mary Silver/The Epoch Times)

The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) in Chicago is a mentor organization for the group. NAKASEC helped the members of AJA! learn the skills of Korean drumming, also known as poongmul.

Director Judy Yi spoke about the vision of AJA! “Our name is a Korean saying that reflects togetherness, hopefulness, and taking action. When someone says “Aja!” they are spurring one another and energizing each other and themselves to complete the mission successfully. It is to mobilize, show commitment, and build from one another. AJA!’s mission is Americans Joining in Action to mobilize our collective voice for social change.”

They have performed at different community events, most recently at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (WHIAAPI) Southeastern Regional Summit at Emory University on March 16, and the Selma to Montgomery March in Alabama from March 4 to March 9.

Yi said, “We were there [at the Selma to Montgomery March] to support voting and immigrant rights, echoing the same spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s efforts during the civil rights movements.”

The annual event commemorates one of the most famous turning points in the American civil rights movement. On “Bloody Sunday,” March 7, 1965, a group of about 600 marchers, including future congressman John Lewis, were attacked by state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. A larger group returned two days later, and an even larger group of 25,000 people completed the 54 mile march to the state capital of Montgomery, according to the National Park Service.

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act five months later.

In addition to showing support at important community events, the ladies of AJA! started a mentoring program for high school girls who are refugees from Nepal. Yi said, “Drumming teaches and builds leadership [for the girls], and is good for the mind, body, and soul.” Yi said because the girls are mentored by the ladies of AJA!, they are at the heart of the community, and are aware of the challenges that the community may face.

Gary May, the former superintendent at the Massey Energy-owned Upper Big Branch mine, pleaded guilty on conspiracy charges in front of a federal court. He is the most senior official with the mine charged in the incident.

The Justice Department said that May warned workers of inspections and said he concealed safety and health violations at the mine before the branch exploded on April 5, 2010.

May, 43, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Officials said on Tuesday that two suspects were arrested in connection with a fatal shooting on the Mississippi State University campus earlier this week.

Two 21-year-old males were arrested on Monday and were both charged with capital murder. One of the suspects was transferred to a nearby correctional facility, the college said in a statement.

Campus officials said they are still looking for a third suspect in the shooting of 21-year-old John Sanderson in his dorm room on Saturday night.

“This second arrest is a credit to the hard work of our officers and the cooperation we have had throughout the investigation from assisting law enforcement agencies,” MSU Police Chief Georgia Lindley said in a statement, adding that the school received help from state and federal law enforcement agencies.

A 21-year-old student was shot and killed at Mississippi State University, officials said on Sunday.

Mark Keenum, the president of the college, released a statement, which said the killing was an isolated incident and that other students are not in danger.

The statement identified John Sanderson as the student who was killed on Saturday night in his dorm and was the first to be shot on the campus. Keenum, however, did not say who the shooter was or if they even found the shooter.

“This is the first time in our school’s history that such a tragic incident has occurred involving a student being shot on campus,” Keenum said. “ Our campus is known as a safe place, and I want to assure students, parents, faculty, and staff that it continues to be safe.”

The police chief who is investigating the case of the Florida teenager who was shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer stepped down on Thursday, according to reports.

Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee said he would temporarily step down from his job because he said his role has become a distraction, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

“My role as the leader of this agency has become a distraction from the investigation,” Lee said in a statement obtained by the newspaper. “It is apparent that my involvement in this matter is overshadowing the process.

Lee said he made the decision “in the hopes of restoring some semblance of calm to a city, which has been in turmoil for several weeks,” his statement added.

ATLANTA—For the first time, the White House sponsored a regional Community Summit on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., March 16. People came from as far away as Miami, Fla., Mississippi and Louisiana; some in chartered buses.

They told stories about immigration problems, health care needs, caring for elders, language barriers, predatory lending, problems getting government contracts, bullying, and the value of education.

A Korean drummer closes the first White House Regional Summit on Asian Americans as Tricia Sung looks on. (Mary Silver/The Epoch Times)

Retired NFL receiver and philanthropist Hines Ward, a member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, drew a standing-room-only crowd. He spoke of being proud of his Korean and African-American heritage, and his determination to fight prejudice against biracial people. Ward started a foundation for that purpose in Korea, where he was born.

A smaller group attended a panel on immigration and civil rights. Andrew Strait said he has one month on the job in his new position as public advocate for the U.S. Deparment of Homeland Security.

He sat in front of hand lettered cloth panels that said the Obama administration has carried out a record number of deportations of illegal immigrants, and its deportations caused American-born children of deported parents to be put into foster care. One panel bore the words “Undocumented Afraid” in letters two feet tall.

Song Park of Snellville, Ga., spoke through a translator. “I want to talk about a woman who came to America a long time ago. She suffered in her life, but was very happy when Obama was elected with the promise of comprehensive immigration reform. Now I am disappointed. When will his promise be fulfilled?”

“I know it will take time to build trust,” said Strait, in response to questions about the Secure Communities Program.

Members of the audience asked questions about cases they said indicated innocent, otherwise law-abiding people being targeted for deportation in a way that contradicts the administration’s policy on removing people who are dangerous.

According to a statement from the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency “ focuses its limited resources on those who have been arrested for breaking criminal laws. ICE prioritizes the removal of criminal aliens, those who pose a threat to public safety, and repeat immigration violators.”

Strait, an attorney who has been advising ICE since 2008, said the federal government and law enforcement in general has always applied the principle of prosecutorial discretion. The Secure Communities Program is not an unprecedented policy, he said.

Tricia Sung, chair of the Organization of Chinese Americans, (OCA) Georgia’s Voting Initiative, said that with prosecutorial discretion, “we want to move beyond people being picked up on a traffic stop,” and detained or deported.

“This president wants comprehensive immigration reform,” said Chris Lu, Assistant to the President and White House Cabinet Secretary, Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Lu said the benefits of immigration reform will be economic. “We can’t afford the world’s best students coming here, then going back. They should come back here and start businesses.”

According to Lu, Asian Americans own 1.5 million small businesses, and two thirds of new jobs come from small businesses. Though often called “model immigrants,” AAPIs face economic, educational and cultural challenges, he said.

“For every doctor or lawyer there are hundreds of small business owners; for every engineer, hundreds of maids and taxi drivers,” concluded Lu.

News Analysis

On Feb. 29, an immigration committee hearing of the North Carolina House of Representatives got an unusual surprise.

The hearing was interrupted by three undocumented (illegal) immigrants who declared: “I am undocumented and I am unafraid.”

Asked to stop their verbal disruption, the group refused, and were then arrested. While two of the young undocumented immigrants were released, the third, 24-year-old Uriel Alberto, continued to be held.

Alberto’s situation is complicated, and among the country’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, it may be increasingly common. After illegally entering the country with his Mexican family when he was just 7, Alberto grew up like many Americans do.

Alberto told local television station WGHP: “I probably live a better life here undocumented than I ever could have there. I’m grateful for being in this country. I love this country. This is my country. I consider myself a Southern boy.”

In high school, Alberto even excelled at track. “Earning an athletic scholarship to run track could’ve turned the tables for him. His coaches saw his potential. Yet, when he did earn one, he had to turn it down because of his status,” reads the bio for Alberto listed by the group that organized the hearing disruption, NC DREAM Team. “But Uriel did not give up. He persevered until he was able to enroll in college. He attended Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk.

“He even made it to the Dean’s list. Yes, the Dean’s list,” the bio stated.

If the story ended there, Alberto probably wouldn’t have to worry about deportation. Unfortunately for him, he also has a criminal record. He has a DUI (driving under the influence) on his record and several traffic violations, according to NC DREAM Team. He was also charged with assault, though it was dismissed by the person who made the charge.

President Obama has directed the federal immigration authorities to ease up on deporting undocumented immigrants, but has also had them go after deporting undocumented immigrants who have criminal records.

Even though Alberto was released last Thursday, he continues to be in deportation proceedings and will have to go before a judge who will decide his case.

Alberto said he has no regrets. “At some point, you have to stand up for what’s right. I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” he told WGHP.

Not Impressed

Some are not impressed by Alberto’s quest for immigrant rights.

Ron Woodard of the immigration reform group NC Listen was at the immigration committee hearing when the disruption occurred.

“It was not only being disrespectful, but to be illegally in our country and stand up in public and jeer legislators—if he is not deported, he is going to make a mockery of our rule of law,” said Woodard.

Woodard pointed out that the hearing actually had people speaking at it who were sympathetic to undocumented immigrants and that there was a time set aside for public comment on another day.

Woodard said that the United States is already very generous with its legal immigration and that he is pro-immigration, but anti-illegal immigration.

“What do you tell those people who are waiting in line to come to America legally? What do say them? Do you call them a chump?” Woodard said.

DREAM Act

The case of Uriel Alberto highlights a broader national debate about undocumented immigrants and how they should be dealt with: One side says bring them out of the shadows and into a society they are already benefiting; the other says stop them from taking American jobs and benefits, and get them to self deport.

Legislation like the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act—which President Obama favors but was voted down by the Democrat-controlled Senate in 2010—seeks to strike a balance by giving young immigrants like Alberto the chance to earn citizenship through going to college or serving the uniformed services for at least two years.

A similar pathway to citizenship already exists for undocumented immigrants serving in the U.S. military.

A problem with the DREAM Act, critics have said, is that it would only attract more immigrants to illegally flock to the United States. After a young undocumented immigrant earns citizenship, he or she could then begin getting citizenship for undocumented family members, undermining the legal immigration process already in place.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)—whose parents are Cuban immigrants and who is considered a likely vice presidential pick for Republicans—has proposed an approach that would give legalization, but not citizenship, to undocumented immigrants.

Such an approach would potentially keep someone like Uriel Alberto in the country and help him integrate into society without giving him citizenship rights like voting or the ability to make his family members legal.

Sen. Rubio said legislation will be forthcoming from his colleagues in the Senate.

“I do think there are changes that can be made to the concept of the DREAM Act that will make it acceptable and get it passed, and that’s what I hope to be a part of,” Rubio said.

Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis said on Tuesday night that a “homemade explosive device” was set off outside of her office, reported the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The next day, police arrested Cedric Steele, 40, and found lighter fluid and wicks that they believed he used to make the explosive devices, according to WFAA television.

Davis’s staffers said that Steele showed up at her office and asked to see the senator, police told the station. They denied his request as she was not in the office and police said he told them, “You’ll be hearing about me in the news soon.”

Police said they do not believe Steele’s alleged attack was political in nature, but said he is mentally unstable, according to WFAA.

A Florida grand jury will examine the deadly shooting of an unarmed teenager by a neighborhood watch volunteer, according to a statement on Tuesday from Brevard and Seminole counties’ state attorney’s office.

Local authorities will attempt “to accurately collect and evaluate all the facts surrounding the tragic death of” 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in an Orlando suburb, the statement reads.

Martin was shot dead by 28-year-old George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, last month. Zimmerman has told the media that he was acting in self-defense.

The announcement comes as the Martin family’s attorney released details about how the teenager was on a cellphone with his girlfriend just a few moments before he was killed, reported the Orlando Sentinel.

A storm in Texas forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights into Dallas Fort-Worth (DFW) Airport and others on Tuesday, according to media reports.

At least 300 flights were canceled due to a thunderstorm affecting the northern part of the state, reported USA Today. American Airlines and United Airlines issued the majority of the cancellations.

“The weather is moving on now and we’re looking to get back on track,” United spokesperson Mary Ryan told Bloomberg News.

David Magaña with DFW Airport said, “The presence of lightning over DFW has forced some of the airline ramps to close for a time this morning, which is a main cause for the delays,” according to a statement posted by KDAF-TV.

There were also more than 100 cancellations at the Houston airport, according to Bloomberg.

Local Scouts at the Launch of ToGetHerThere>> at Capitol Hill Cannon House Office Bldg, Caucus Room on Feb. 1. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Girl Scouts of America)

According to the Girls Scouts of the USA, 2012 is the year of the girl. The organization intends to help girls develop their gifts and become leaders in their communities.

The 100-year-old group started “ToGetHerThere,” which it described as ” the largest, boldest advocacy and fund raising cause dedicated to girls’ leadership in the nation’s history,” according to its press release. Its goal is equal representation for women in leadership positions in all sectors of society within one generation.

The group did a survey with GFK Roper called “ToGetHerThere: Girls’ Insights on Leadership,” which found that girls were not optimistic about society welcoming their leadership. A statement from the Girl Scouts said, “The study, based on a telephone survey of 1,000 girls aged 8-17, found that close to three in five girls think that a woman can rise up in a company but will only rarely be put in a senior leadership role.”

Andrea Bastiani Archibald, a developmental psychologist for the Girl Scouts of the USA, said being in a Girl Scout troop helps girls become leaders. Past scouts have achieved higher levels of education and have greater confidence than their non-scout peers, she said. “We do surveys on over 4000 living alumnae (of the Girl Scouts) and compare them to the same age group and we see more success in them and their willingness to contribute more to the community.”

According to Archibald, of Girl Scout alumnae, 63 percent consider themselves competent and capable, compared to 55 percent of non-alumnae, and in education, 38 percent have attained college degrees compared to 28 percent of women who did not participate in scouting.

“We want to show the world that we’re not just about nice but necessary,” said Michelle Tompkins, media contact for Girl Scouts of the USA.

According to Tompkins, “Many people have misconceptions about Girl Scouts, they think that girls were just put in military uniforms and went from door to door to sell cookies. Some parents perceived that these girls are put out into the wilderness to fend on their own, it is not like that.”

Another misconception is the idea that families need to have money to put girls into Girl Scouts. “There are programs available like Girls Scouts Beyond Bars in detention centers for girls and there are also grant support across every social and economic barrier across the country. It could cost as little as $12 per year to join,” said Tompkins.

Archibald added, “What’s important is for people to join us in the ToGetHerThere campaign as girls can succeed in society when they know that it’s possible!”

According to a statement from Anna Maria Chavez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA, “Girls Scouts represents an incredible resource for our country and it has always been a platform that offers opportunities for success and our 100th anniversary will grant our nation an opportunity to make a difference in these girls’ lives.”

In honor of the week, SPJ in February surveyed reporters who cover federal government agencies, and found that information is so constrained by public affairs officers that “most reporters consider the control to be a form of censorship and an impediment to providing information to the public.”

Carolyn Carlson, David Cuillier and Lindsey Tulkoff of SPJ wrote in their summary of the survey that “about 85 percent of the journalists agreed with the statement ‘The public is not getting the information it needs because of barriers agencies are imposing on journalists’ reporting practices.’”

The reporters complained that agencies imposed barriers on interviewing staff members, by “requiring pre-approval before granting interviews, outright prohibiting reporters from talking to some staff members, monitoring interviews, and selectively routing requests for interviews.

A majority, seven out of ten, also agreed with the statement “I consider government agency controls over who I interview a form of censorship.”

Despite the criticism about lack of openness, many of the reporters surveyed said they had good relationships with public information officers. In the open-ended part of the survey, one respondent, writing about PIOs monitoring interviews, said “They will sit in the interviews, often recording them to check against whatever I write (which is not a bad idea on their part).” Another wrote “Most PIOs are great. But what can you do about the duds or jerks?”

For the survey, SPJ identified a sample of journalists who covered politics, justice, education, courts, science, education and environment. Most were general assignment, full time reporters at wire services or newspapers.

Vouchers and parent petitions are part of education reform proposals being forwarded by state legislatures, with a spotlight recently on bills supporting an initiative by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal up for debate in the state House and Senate.

“There is nothing more important to our state’s future than education reform,” Jindal said in a press release announcing the landmark education reform bills.

Key elements of governor’s reform package include: school vouchers enabling parents to pull children from under-performing schools; parent petitions for converting such schools to charter schools; and tightening rules for teacher tenure, including superintendent and teacher effectiveness measures.

Sen. Conrad Appel, chairman of the Education Committee and author of the Senate proposal, said in a telephone interview, “Generations have suffered in Louisiana because of poor outcomes in its public education system.”

According to Appel, for more than 20 years there has been a series of efforts to reform education to make it better and more effective, and break the cycle of poverty. But efforts were “either halfhearted, not enough, or undone by the forces of what the governor likes to call ‘the status quo,’” said Appel.

Appel describes the status quo as teacher unions and school boards. Appel said legislators have “put together a very large packet of bills or ideas into four bills.”

Similar education reforms are in play in states across the United States but in Louisiana they’re all together in one big and bold legislative package, according to Appel.

Florida introduced a measure to allow parents to petition for charter school conversion (parent petition) called the Parent Empowerment in Education Act. The bill passed the House, but failed in the Senate March 9 in a 20-20-tie vote.

Parent petition—also called parent trigger—developed with the idea that “if a group of parents at a school agree on something, the school would have to listen,” said Linda Serrato, deputy communications director advocates Parent Revolution, formed on the day President Obama took office.

According to Serrato, the school districts were not listening to the parents. “They ended up saying, ‘Thank you, we are so glad parents are involved,’ but would not do anything about it,” said Serrato.

“We started to discover that there are two kinds of powerhouses that govern what happens in education–school district officials and teachers unions,” said Serrato.

If 50 percent or more of the parents organize in their schools and sign a petition, they are able to utilize one of Obama’s Race to the Top initiatives: closing the school, replacing the principle, cutting staff, or converting to a charter school. “That is where it came from,” said Serrato.

Mississippi, Texas, and California have a parent petition law, while other states have considered it. Not everyone likes it.

Rita Solnet, co-founder of Parents Across America—a grass-roots organization for public education—said parents should cooperate and fix the school, working with the school district, principal, and teachers. “The knee jerk reaction is always close the school,” said Solnet, in a telephone interview.

The parent petition has “everyone jump into one camp or the other,” says Solnet, adding that “this is not the environment to learn … and it is very stressful to not know if your school is going to be open,” said Solnet.

“There is only so much money that can be spent on public education in each state. That money is being siphoned from public schools and handed over to private entrepreneurs,” said Solnet.

Charter schools can be run by people with a background outside of education. Philanthropic efforts, corporations, businesses, and individuals play a sizable role in charter school investment.

Private Support

Debbie Veney Robinson, senior communications officer at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said that while public schools have community support “there are other private corporations that are willing to invest in these schools, [and] the more people you have invested to help these children become successful, I think that is a good thing.”

South Carolina is also considering a school choice bill, providing vouchers to fund students attending private school, home school, or a public school outside the assigned district. “Depending on the outcome of several senate races, a school choice bill may become law by June of 2013,” wrote S.C. Sen. Larry Grooms in an email.

Sen. Eric LaFleur, vice chairman of the education committee and the only committee member to vote “no” on Jindal’s education package, said, “The funding mechanism comes from a fund that is dedicated for public education. They’re going to use that same fund to support the learning instruction in the private sector.”

LaFleur said the bills are OK, but he has a problem with the funding, noting also that the rules for evaluating teachers as effective won’t be finalized until after the voting.

“Teachers are obviously apprehensive about going into a system where the rules are unknown. They would like us to have a check on what those rules are before we impose on them new rules for tenure,” said LaFleur.

According to Appel, the bottom line is simple. “We live in a real open and international society. The children of Louisiana are not competing among themselves or even the other states that are competing on a worldwide basis,” said Appel.

Sailors cover Dr. Lanier Phillips's casket with a flag in his home town of Lithonia, Ga., on March 19. (Mary Silver/The Epoch Times)

LITHONIA, Ga.—Dr. Lanier Phillips visited the Canadian village that changed his life one last time, a month before he died on March 12, at age 88. Though frail, he insisted on climbing the steep cliff where he survived the wreck of the USS Truxton, according to Wayde Rowsell, mayor of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland and Labrador.

“He was strong-willed, you know,” said Rowsell.

Phillips joined the Navy to escape the South, though even in the military African-Americans were then only allowed to be messmen—cooking and serving food. Growing up in segregated Georgia, he had  known the cruelty of racism and bigotry. The Ku Klux Klan burned down his school. A man once slashed his mother’s and aunt’s tires, pushing their car off the road with a truck, when the two ran out of gas, according to his uncle, Louis Woodall.

 “He never said anything bad about people. He was a crusader for justice, and that’s what I loved about him so much,” said Woodall. He described their childhood as a world of mules, penny candy, home fruit orchards, fishing holes, and men who would slash tires, “Just to do damage. … The Ku Klux Klan was on the rage in that time.”

When the USS Truxton and the USS Pollux went aground in a snowstorm off Newfoundland in February 1942, the people of Lawn and St. Lawrence rescued Phillips and others. Violet Pike took him into her home and spoon-fed him. The kindness he experienced in Canada was a revelation, he said.

“Being rescued that day changed my life. And it wasn’t just being alive. … It was the treatment I got from the people of that town. They treated me, for the first time in my life, just like they treated every other person rescued. … They knew nothing about racism and segregation. They treated me like a person, a worthy human being, and for me, it was life-altering,” said Phillips, quoted on the official blog of the U.S. Navy.

From then on, the strong willed Phillips began his fight to be treated as a worthy human being. He desegregated the Navy, becoming the first African-American sonar technician.

From there, Phillips and Woodall marched and worked for civil rights and racial equality alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King.

After his naval career, he continued to work as a respected oceanographer, according to his son, Terry Phillips, who said his father was a model for lifelong learning.

“I remember watching him and his grandson do their homework together when he was in his 70s,” said Phillips. He took classes at MIT after he left the Navy and later studied real estate law in order to help his family handle problems with land titles.

Phillips, who is an attorney, said, “My father loved education. He always worked to improve his understanding of the world.”

The Navy man worked to improve other people’s understanding, too, traveling to tell his historic story, “even when he wasn’t up to it,” Phillips said.

Phillips traveled all over North America to tell his story, said Rowsell. Selflessly, he gave recognition and honor to others, including those who saved his life, said Lt. Jack Barrett, chaplain in the Canadian Navy.

Dekalb County CEO Burrell Ellis said the legacy of “homeboy” Lanier Phillips lives on. “We’re proud to own him because of the way he served.”

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and Associate Justice Elena Kagan at the State of the Union speech on Jan. 24 in Washington. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The Supreme Court will consider whether it is constitutional to sentence juveniles to life in prison without the possibility of parole (known as JLWOP). The death penalty for people who commit crimes under the age of 18 was ended in 2005.

On March 20, the justices will hear arguments about two cases, Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs, which happened in Arkansas. Both offenders were 14 at the time of the murders. The question is whether their sentences violate the ban on cruel and unusual punishment in the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

In Jackson v. Hobbs, the offender did not commit the murder, according to his testimony. Kuntrell Jackson said he was not physically present, but was acting as a lookout while two other boys entered a video store and one shot the clerk.

In Miller v. Alabama, Evan James Miller was convicted of attacking his next-door neighbor, Cole Cannon, and setting his trailer on fire. Cannon died from smoke inhalation. Yet both convicted murderers have the same sentence—the greatest punishment short of the death penalty.

Brian Gallini, law professor at the University of Arkansas, said it is vitally important that the judges consider the two cases together.

Gallini is a national expert on juvenile sentencing. He said state legislators over time have added mandatory sentencing guidelines for certain categories of crimes, which leave judges with little discretion. “It’s like a bad storm.”

He said lawmakers, when trying to create mandatory sentencing guidelines, could not have looked forward and considered that the guidelines might have led to nonparticipants getting the same sentence as actual murderers. An accessory to felony murder, like Jackson, can be legally treated the same as the person who committed the crime, according to Gallini.

According to a report from the Sentencing Project, an advocacy group opposed to JLWOP, 33 states allow JLWOP.

According to the National District Attorney’s Association, the current sentencing guidelines for juveniles allow flexibility, and the LWOP sentence is rarely and wisely applied. In a brief to the Supreme Court, they wrote that it is not unconstitutional to apply JLWOP. “The question presented here is whether this court should jettison that holistic approach in favor of the bright-line rule that a 14-year-old may never, under any circumstances, be sentenced to life without parole. Amicus respectfully submits that the Eighth Amendment provides no warrant for any such categorical rule.”

To Gallini, an important issue is overly harsh sentences applied despite the facts of individual cases. “Courts continue to impose identical sentences on juvenile offenders who have drastically different roles in the crimes for which they were convicted,” said Gallini in a press release from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. “This is because current Eighth Amendment standards, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, do not provide sentencing courts with the analytical tools necessary to account for stark differences in fact scenarios.”

He predicted that the judges might focus narrowly on the age of the offenders, and address the constitutionality of LWOP for someone who was 14 when a crime was committed. Or it may, as he recommends, tackle the problem of treating accessories to murder the same as murderers.

People watch as one of two loggerhead sea turtles are released back into the wild at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park after they underwent rehabilitation at Miami Seaquarium on March 13 in Key Biscayne, Fla. The two loggerhead sea turtles weighing in at 90 pounds and 125 pounds were both found weak in the wild, covered in parasites, and facing buoyancy issues. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

At least one person was killed and several were injured after a gunman opened fire at a courthouse in the southern Texas city of Beaumont, according to reports.

A police spokesperson said four people were shot, including a person outside of the courthouse, according to local station 12 News Now. An employee with the court told the station that no employees were hurt and the victims were visitors.

The victim who was killed is believed to have been an elderly woman, KFDM-TV reported. Two victims were taken to a hospital after suffering multiple gunshot wounds.

The suspect fled the scene and attempted to hide inside a building several blocks away but police were later able to capture him, according to the station.

A majority of identity theft victims do not know their legal rights, according to a report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Congress established several rights in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) as amended by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), to help people recover from identity theft, according to an announcement from the FTC.

The Department of Justice quotes Shakespeare to describe this kind of theft: “But he that filches from me my good name/Robs me of that which not enriches him/And makes me poor indeed.”—Shakespeare, Othello, Act 3, Scene 3. Examples of recent ID theft cases include taking out loans in a person’s name, then declaring bankruptcy, stealing funds from bank accounts directly, opening credit, or buying cars and even houses under another person’s name. ID theft is a federal crime, according to the DOJ.

Identity theft victims’ rights became law in 2003. If a person’s identity is stolen, he or she has the right to free credit reports from the three national credit reporting agencies or CRAs, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax, in addition to the annual free report every person can get. A person has the right to request a fraud alert be placed in his credit report after identity theft (the right to block fraudulent information from appearing in a credit report) and the right to dispute information appearing in a credit report.

According to the survey, many people begin with an Internet search on what to do after identify theft, or by contacting the business where their identity was falsely used. An anonymous FTC focus group respondent said, “It doesn’t occur to people that the credit bureaus have any responsibility for this kind of identity theft. They may be the first line of defense but I don’t think the public is aware of that.”

Despite not knowing what they were entitled to under the law, many (68 percent) of the people surveyed said they were satisfied with their experience seeking help from the CRAs. However, many said it was difficult to reach a person, and complained of feeling pressured to buy products meant to monitor their identities. A substantial portion, more than 20 percent, said it took multiple requests before CRAs removed fraudulent transactions from reports.

The report found that the CRAs should make it easier for a person to get to a live representative.

It recommended that the FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should influence the CRAs to change their practices of selling services to identity theft victims.

Cherry Blossom trees in bloom lining the Potomac river in sight of the Washington Monument. The Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. Begins March 20th and continues till April 27th. (Ron Blunt)

When Japan’s Ambassador to the United States gave a presentation at the Heritage Foundation in Washington earlier this month, he acknowledged the anniversary of the devastating tsunami that had hit his country March 11 of last year. He also noted global concern about Iran and North Korea, and then went on to confess what really worried him—the weather.

“It is too warm!” His Excellency Ichiro Fujisaki told the audience at Heritage. “I am afraid the cherry blossoms will bloom long before the opening ceremony March 25.”

It’s a worry alright. It is Cherry Blossom Festival time in Washington, D.C., and this year is particularly significant marking the 100th anniversary of an enduring gift from the Japanese government to the United States—3,000 cherry blossom trees.

“The Festival is an historic milestone,” festival spokesperson Danielle Piacente said. “One hundred of the trees are still standing today thanks to the care of the National Park Services.”

Cherry blossom trees, including the 100 originals, fringe the Tidal Basin and the river region of Potomac Park, softening the memorials to past U.S. presidents scattered throughout the area.

The cherry blossom is the bloom that marks spring’s arrival in the capital, Piacente said, and the festival presents a very different but welcome view of the nation’s capital.

“I think people do think politics when they think of Washington … the cherry blossom symbolizes rebirth, renewal, and hope, so it is a different vision,” she added.

Piacente expects over one million people to descend upon the nation’s capitol for the five-week event, which begins the first day of spring, March 20, and continues to National Arbor Day, April 27.

The free opening ceremony will be held in the convention center this year, and will be followed by a plethora of events and activities around the city, including: the Cherry Blossom Festival Family Day weekend, March 24 and 25; the Blossom Kite Festival, March 31; fireworks from Nagaoka, Japan, April 7; and the annual Cherry Blossom Festival Parade, April 14.

While 55 percent of those expected to visit D.C. during this time will be from surrounding regions, the rest will come from all over the world. “All eyes will be on Washington, D.C., this spring,” said Piacente.

Cherry Trees

All too obvious to the fretting Japanese Ambassador, it will be the cherry blossom trees that will be the center of attraction at the festival.

Cherry blossom trees given in thanks by Japan to America 100 years ago are being honored as part of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. which begins on the first day of Spring March 20 and continues till April 27. (Ron Blunt)

The trees are particularly significant to the Japanese and to the U.S.-Japan relationship. They were a gift of thanks from Japan to America for brokering the Treaty of Portsmouth which had ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, says Ann McClellan, author of the official Cherry Blossom Festival book “Cherry Blossoms,” published by National Geographic this year.

The treaty paved Japan’s way to the international community, ending 200 years of solitude for the East Asian nation.

It also solved a problem for then-President William Howard Taft and First Lady Helen, who was particularly enamored with the cherry blossom tree after visiting Japan some years before.

The Tidal Basin, a former swamp, had been drained and dredged but remained a treeless and sparse addition to Potomac Park. One of the First Lady’s first endeavors was to improve the area, says McClellan.

A number of prominent Washington citizens were also cherry blossom fans, including Eliza Scidmore, who became the first female board member of the National Geographic Society, and plant explorer Dr. David Fairchild, who imported and planted 25 varieties of the tree on his estate in Chevy Chase just north of the capital.

Between the three of them, the First Lady, Scidmore, and Dr. Fairchild, it was decided that 50 selected Japanese trees be planted to create an arbor along the Potomac Park carriageway. Japanese officials found out about the First Lady’s passion for the trees and it was agreed that 2,000 cherry trees be sent as a token of thanks to America.

Those trees, however, contained a form of root rot and other fungal diseases, and all but six had to be destroyed.

A “flurry of tactful diplomatic correspondence took place,” McClellan wrote, resulting in a replacement batch of 3,000 trees, grown in virgin soil, which was sent along with 3,000 trees destined for New York’s Riverside. Those trees arrived in Washington on March 26, 1912, and set the scene for the cherry blossom wonderland of today.

Cherry Blossom Magic

When David Fairchild first suggested that the 50 cherry blossom trees be planted along the Potomac Park carriageway, he wrote to the administration, saying: “The location lends itself peculiarly to the fairylike effects which these trees produce near watersides.”

It is true the cherry blossom has a magical quality that has inspired countless treatises, poems, paintings, and artworks over the centuries.

Photographer Ron Blunt, who provided many of the photos in the commemorative book, has spent hours among the Washington trees and says not only do they inspire him, but he sees it in others as well.

Along with photographers and painters who study the trees, “People dress up knowing they will have their photos taken,” Blunt said, adding that “they love to pose.”

“It also symbolizes the gift of friendship, which transcends boundaries and brings people together from all over the globe,” she said.

Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 29, 2011. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

The federal government on Monday blocked a new Texas law that requires voters to present government-issued identification before voting in elections.

In the law, Texas voters would have to show identification that they had never had to show in the past, which could prevent 603,892 to 795,955 people—or 4.7 percent to 6.2 percent of the state’s population—from voting in elections, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a letter sent to state officials.

“Even using the data most favorable to the state, Hispanics disproportionately lack either a driver’s license or a personal identification card,” Thomas Perez, the assistant attorney general, said in the letter, adding that such a “disparity is statistically significant.”

Furthermore, the majority of those people who do not have identification are Hispanic, are another minority, or are poor, making the law discriminatory, the letter said. The Justice Department invoked the Voting Rights Act to block the law from going into effect.

“We conclude that the state has failed to meet its burden of demonstrating that the proposed law will not have a retrogressive effect,” Perez said.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 gives rights to the federal government to regulate changes in voting procedures in states, especially in areas that have a history of discrimination toward certain segments of society.

The law also would not do much to prevent in-person voting fraud, as it would be addressed by current state and federal laws, the Justice Department said.

Proponents of the law have argued that the law prevents voter fraud from taking place in elections. 

Voters would have to present at least one of seven types of photo identification, including a passport, driver’s license, a government photo identification card, or others. For people who do not have any of these items, they would be given a temporary ballot but would have to present official documents within six days.

Texas is one of eight states to require state-issued photo identification to vote in elections. In December, the Justice Department blocked a similar law in South Carolina.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) supports blocking the law and stated on Monday that it “would have a devastating impact on the right to vote in our country’s second most populous state.” 

In a statement, Texas Governor Rick Perry, a Republican, said the move “is yet another example of the Obama Administration’s continuing and pervasive federal overreach,” adding that Texas should be responsible for its elections.

“The DOJ has no valid reason for rejecting this important law, which requires nothing more extensive than the type of photo identification necessary to receive a library card or board an airplane,” Perry said. 

The state’s attorney general, Greg Abbott, said Texas had already filed a legal action in January to preempt the Obama administration. 

He said the blocking of the law “is no surprise” but said the Supreme Court ruled that voter identification laws are not discriminatory and are in accordance with the Constitution.

A quiet meditative spot on the banks of the scenic Saluda Shoals River. This river offers many access points for fishing, relaxation, paddling, or taking to the trails. (Kelly Ni/The Epoch Times)

COLUMBIA, S.C-On a mild flowing day, the Saluda Shoals River can soothe the senses with sounds of fresh water softly rushing over rocks.

However, the soothing flow of the river “can change drastically within a couple of hours because of releases from the hydroelectric power facility at Lake Murray” according to South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) website. The change, according to SCDNR, can range from water flow of 400 to 20,000 cubic feet per second to daily river levels ranging from 2 to 10 feet.

The river water is clean and cold year round. The water comes from the bottom of Lake Murray. The river was deemed a scenic river by state legislature in 1991 and the 11-mile river stretch remains mostly undeveloped, which makes the river a prime place for leisure time.

The cold waters are favorite habitats for trout and striped bass fish, according to SCDNR’s website. Whitewater and flatwater paddling are well-enjoyed on the river. There are over a handful of river access points for leisure activities.