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UN Says Kids Summarily Executed in Syria Massacre
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This image made from amateur video released by Shaam News Network and accessed Saturday, May 26, 2012 purports to show an injured child in Houla, Syria.AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video
GENEVA â€"  The U.N. human rights office says the global body's investigators have concluded that children were among almost 90 people summarily executed in the Syrian area of Houla on Friday.
A spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says U.N. monitors found that less than 20 of the 108 people killed died from artillery fire.
Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva that most of the other victims were summarily executed in two separate incidents.
Colville says the conclusions of the U.N. monitors are corroborated by other sources.
He says witnesses blamed pro-government militias for the attacks.
The killings in the west-central area of Houla brought widespread international criticism of the regime of President Bashar Assad
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Plugging Kids Into Reality
Between laptops, smart phones and iPods, America's youth is more connected today than any other generation. Â However, experts worry they lack the ability to really connect.
According to Maribeth Kuzmeski, author of The Engaging Child, today's teens can barely carry on the most basic conversation, and they often have trouble articulating what they want or need.
“So the only way we learn  our communication skills is by doing it, and we're not doing it,†Kuzmeski said. “[Teenagers are] communicating; they're more social than they've ever been before. But they're not necessarily having that face to face conversation. And the only way we learn it is by practicing.â€
In order to get today's youth to start talking and become more personable, Kuzmeski said that parents should force their kids to engage with others. Â In her book, Kuzmeski listed some strategies for getting kids off the computer and into conversation.
- Have them place a restaurant order.
- Help them return an item to a store, especially at a busy time.
- Ask them to set up an appointment.
- Help them to decline invitations.
Kuzmeski also recommended stressing “technology etiquette†â€" for both children and adults.
“We always say that the human in the room is more important than the technology,†Kuzmeski said.  “So if there's another human in the room, put the phone down â€" especially if you're eating or if it's a meal.  The parent has to do it first, so that the child knows that they're supposed to do it second. The parent can't do it and tell the child to put it away.â€
While the blackberry/iPhone generation may not seem in desperate need of help, Kuzmeski said if parents don't act now, the children and teenagers that are being raised today will have a rough future ahead.
“They've got to be able to communicate,†Kuzmeski said.  “And if they can't, we're raising a generation of kids that are not going to be able to fit in into the business world…This is absolutely critical.â€
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Deaths Feared, Buildings Crumble After Italy Quake
Historic buildings crumble after 6.0-magnitude earthquake hits Italy
One of the strongest earthquakes to shake northern Italy rattled the region around Bologna early Sunday, a magnitude-6.0 temblor that killed at least three people, toppled some buildings and sent residents running into the streets, emergency services and news reports said.
BOLOGNA, Italy â€"  A magnitude 5.8 earthquake shook northern Italy on Tuesday and authorities were investigating reports of possible victims.
The United States Geological Survey said the quake, which struck at 9:00 a.m. local time, was centered 25 miles northwest of Bologna.
It hit the same region where a stronger temblor earlier this month killed seven people and caused some buildings to collapse.
The mayor of San Felice told Sky News 24 that there were fatalities in his town. Mayor Alberto Silvestri provided no details, saying he was heading from the industrial zone to the center for further information.
Television footage on Sky News 24 showed evacuees from the previous quake peering out of shaking tents in disbelief.
Schools and stores throughout the area were briefly evacuated as a precaution.
The quake was felt from Piedmont in northwestern Italy to Venice in the northeast. Train lines connecting Bologna with other northern cities were stopped while authorities checked for any damage.
Seven people were killed when a magnitude 6.0 quake struck the same region in the early morning of May 20. Four of the victims were working overnight shifts in factories that collapsed; the other three died of heart conditions or other illnesses brought on by fear.
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Iranian General Seems to Confirm Troops are in Syria
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April 17, 2012: Iranian troops march during a military parade commemorating National Army Day in front of the mausoleum of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, outside Tehran, Iran.AP
TEHRAN â€"  In an apparent slip-up, an Iranian general has admitted that special forces have been deployed from Tehran to Syria to assist the Assad regime's crackdown against the anti-government uprising.
The Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) published an interview with General Ismail Qa'ani, deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, on Sunday night, in which he praised his troops for crushing opposition forces in Syria -- saying the Quds' presence helped prevent civilian massacres.
"Before we were not in Syria, the slaughter of the people by the opposition was much higher. But with the presence of the Islamic Republic in a physical and non-physical manner, many great massacres in Syria were stopped." Gha'ani said in the interview, according to The (London) Times.
The quote was removed by the ISNA within hours and without explanation, but not before other media outlets discovered it. Gha'ani was said to have been speaking at a student event on Sunday evening. Â
Tehran is allied to Damascus, and rumors that Iran is providing military support to President Bashar al Assad have circulated since the uprising began 15 months ago. Anti-government fighters have reportedly told of how they encountered Iranians in battle.
But this is considered to be the first time a senior Iranian officer has admitted the Quds force is operating in Syria.
Gha'ani's comments follow the deaths of 108 people on Friday, mostly women and children, in the Syrian town of Houla -- a bloody event that has drawn international condemnation, even as the killing continued in other parts of the nation.
Regime loyalists have blamed rebels for the Houla massacre, while opposition forces said it was the result of an army assault. While tanks and artillery were used in the horror, some of the dead were stabbed or shot at point-blank range.
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Philippine Senate finds top judge guilty of not declaring $2.4 million, orders him fired.
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Afghan Al Qaeda leader killed in NATO airstrike
KABUL, Afghanistan â€"  NATO says its forces have killed Al Qaeda's second-highest ranking leader in Afghanistan in an airstrike.
The U.S.-led coalition says the attack that killed Sakhr al-Taifi and another Al Qaeda militant took place Sunday in eastern Kunar province.
NATO said Tuesday that al-Taifi, also known as Musthaq and Nasim, frequently traveled between Afghanistan and Pakistan, carrying out commands from senior Al Qaeda leadership.
The coalition said al-Taifi was responsible for commanding foreign insurgents in Afghanistan and directing attacks against coalition and Afghan forces. He also supplied weapons and equipment to eastern insurgents and transported fighters into Afghanistan.
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Afghan Al Qaeda leader killed in NATO airstrike
KABUL, Afghanistan â€"  NATO says its forces have killed Al Qaeda's second-highest ranking leader in Afghanistan in an airstrike.
The U.S.-led coalition says the attack that killed Sakhr al-Taifi and another Al Qaeda militant took place Sunday in eastern Kunar province.
NATO said Tuesday that al-Taifi, also known as Musthaq and Nasim, frequently traveled between Afghanistan and Pakistan, carrying out commands from senior Al Qaeda leadership.
The coalition said al-Taifi was responsible for commanding foreign insurgents in Afghanistan and directing attacks against coalition and Afghan forces. He also supplied weapons and equipment to eastern insurgents and transported fighters into Afghanistan.
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Mom says kangaroo stalked her for days, attacked
PORT MACQUARIE, Australia â€"  An Australian mom has told of being "stalked" by a rogue kangaroo for two days before it savaged her, leaving her with a 12-inch scar.
Kirrily McWilliams was first confronted by the growling female eastern gray kangaroo in the backyard of her property south of Port Macquarie, in New South Wales -- and the next day it got through her fence and attacked her dog, a 143-pound mastiff.
Despite worried calls to National Parks and Wildlife Services for help, McWilliams was told to ignore the animal and it would go away, The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph reported.
That afternoon she was walking down the driveway to pick her daughter up from the school bus when she saw the mad marsupial heading towards her at high speed. With nowhere to hide she dropped to the ground and curled up in a ball.
"If you stand and confront them they can easily tear you apart because that's what they do to each other," McWilliams said.
It pounded at her a number of times, clawing at her back with its powerful hind legs before bounding away. She sustained a large gash and other scratches on her back.
"It was lucky it was cool weather and I had two layers of clothing, otherwise it could have been worse," she said.
While she was at the hospital, her husband was attacked by the kangaroo in the backyard, but he kept it at bay with a shovel.
A day later, NPWS officials issued a permit to hire a shooter and kill the kangaroo -- but by that time it had moved on and attacked someone else.
There have been a number of cases of kangaroos lashing out.
NPWS said the powerful eastern grays, which can weigh up to 145 pounds and stand almost six feet, were considered dangerous and its policy was to educate people on avoiding conflict.
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US women falls 60 floors at five-star Singapore hotel
SINGAPORE â€" Â
An American woman staying at a five-star Singapore hotel plunged 60 floors to her death, landing on a parapet above a Starbucks coffee outlet.
The fall happened in the early hours of Sunday at Swissotel The Stamford -- but it was not until Tuesday that The Straits Times reported the victim was a 40-year-old guest from the US.
Her name was not revealed and it was not clear how or why she fell. She suffered multiple blunt force trauma injuries, according to the newspaper.
It is believed she plunged from a private balcony, landing on the inaccessible metal parapet three floors above ground, where emergency services were at first unable to reach her.
The Swissotel -- which, with more than 70 levels, is one of South-East Asia's tallest hotels -- is part of Raffles City convention and shopping complex and is located above City Hall train station.
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Could disappearances of 2 students be linked?
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FILE: This photo shows Lauren Spierer, left, and Mickey Shunick.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind â€"  Police in Indiana have reached out to authorities in Louisiana investigating the disappearance of a college student whose case has similarities to the disappearance of an Indiana college student last year, Fox 44 reports.
Bloomington police investigating the 2011 disappearance of Indiana University student Lauren Spierer have contacted Lafayette authorities who are searching for University of Louisiana student Michaela "Mickey" Shunick, who has been missing since May 19.
On the surface, the two cases have some similarities. Both women are blonde, petite college students who disappeared after a night out with friends. Shunick is described as white, with long, wavy blonde hair. She is 5-foot-1 and 115 pounds. Spierer is described as white, with shoulder length blonde hair. She is 4-foot-11 and 95 lbs.
Shunick, who vanished just a few days before her 22nd birthday, was last seen shortly before 2 a.m., when she left a friend's house in an area popular with college students in Lafayette to go home. 20-year-old Spierer was last seen walking home June 3, 2011 after a night out partying with friends.
In both cases, authorities have looked into a white pickup truck as part of the investigation. In Indiana, a white pickup truck that had driven by the area Spierer was last reportedly seen was probed after being caught on video.Â
Investigators initially thought the truck circled the block suspiciously, but later determined a time discrepancy between video cameras was the reason the truck appeared to go by twice. After releasing photographs and receiving more than 500 tips, police tracked down the owner of the truck and determined he had driven by the area about 4:15 a.m. to pick up an employee. Investigators said the truck wasn't linked to Spierer's disappearance.
Investigators in Louisiana are also searching for information about a white pickup truck seen in a security video that also shows a bicyclist believed to be Shunick about the time she disappeared.
Cpl. Paul Mouton of the Lafayette Police Department tells Fox 44 though the cases do appear to have similarities, Lafayette police don't believe there is a connection between the two.
“They contacted us and we did share information pertaining the two cases,†Cpl. Mouton, told Fox 44. “We currently do not think the two are related, but we are looking at the information they provided us to see if there are any similarities.â€
Investigators in the Shunick case are focusing on searching an area under a highway bridge where the woman's bike was found over the weekend.
“We're going to be out here as long as it takes for us to find something,†Cpl. Mouton told Fox 44.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related Slideshow
Where Is Lauren Spierer?
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US Reportedly to Arm Italy\'s Drones
Predators, Demons and More: The Wide World of Drones
Unmanned drones get more sophisticated with each generation -- faster, stronger, smarter. Here's the current crew of killer and recon drones, and a few from the future.
WASHINGTON â€"  The Obama administration plans to arm Italy's fleet of Reaper drone aircraft, a move that could open the door for sales of advanced hunter-killer drone technology to other allies, according to lawmakers and others familiar with the matter.
The sale would make Italy the first foreign country besides Britain to fly U.S. drones armed with missiles and laser-guided bombs. U.S. officials said Italy intends initially to deploy the armed drones in Afghanistan.
Lawmakers who question the planned deal say the decision to "weaponize" Italy's unarmed surveillance drones could make it harder for the U.S. to deny similar capabilities to other North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, and set back efforts to urge sales limitations on other nations that make sophisticated drones such as Israel.
Advocates say such sales would enable trusted allies to conduct military missions on their own as well as help open markets for U.S. drone manufacturers.
The administration sent a confidential "pre-notification" to congressional panels in April detailing its plan to sell kits to Italy to arm up to six Reaper drones, which are larger, more-powerful versions of Predators.
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URGENT: Danish police arrest 2 Somalis in terror plot
COPENHAGEN, Denmark â€"  Denmark's security service says it has arrested two brothers of Somali origin suspected of plotting a terror attack.
The Danish Security and Intelligence Service, or PET, says the two men, ages 18 and 23, were arrested late Monday. One of them was arrested in the western city of Aarhus and the other as he arrived by plane at Copenhagen's international airport.
The agency says the arrests "have prevented a concrete act of terror" but didn't give any details.
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Family seeks help finding suburban NYC teen- Louisiana cops find missing college student\'s bike
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Pierce Crowley, seen in this missing-person flyer, was last seen Friday.
The family of a teenager missing since Friday in a suburb of New York City is calling on the public's help to find the boy.
Pierce Crowley, 15, a freshman at Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, N.Y., was last seen wearing dark jeans, a Florida Gators T-shirt and black shoes with green tirm, LoHud.com reports, adding that he may have been at the Metro-North train station in White Plains.
The teen, who lives in northern New York City suburb Rye, has light brown hair and blue eyes, wears braces and is 5 feet 10 inches and 150 pounds.
“As some of you may already know, our dear Pierce is missing,†his parents, Peter and Gretchen Crowley, wrote in an email to friends Sunday, LoHud.com reports. “He was not feeling well before he disappeared and is in a fragile state. It is URGENT that we locate him ASAP.â€
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 914-422-6111 or e-mail findpiercecrowley@gmail.com.
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Body of helicopter pilot recovered in Gulf of Mexico
NEW ORLEANS â€"  Authorities say the body of a pilot whose helicopter crashed in the Gulf of Mexico has been recovered.
The Coast Guard said in a news release that divers from the vessel Ocean Inspector found the pilot inside the aircraft's cockpit.
The agency says the helicopter, owned by PHI Inc., crashed Monday afternoon and was used to take people to oil rigs.
The Times-Picayune reported that a spokesman for PHI, Dave Stepanek, only would confirm that one of the company's helicopters was in the water and said more information would be released Tuesday.
In 2009, a helicopter operated by PHI crashed en route to a Gulf of Mexico oil platform, killing two pilots and six of seven passengers aboard. Investigators suspected that a bird struck the aircraft.
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Attacker was chewing man\'s face, witness says
MIAMI â€"  A witness says a naked man chewing on the face of another naked man on a downtown highway ramp kept eating and growled at a police officer who fatally shot him to make him stop.
Larry Vega told WSVN-TV in Miami that he was riding his bicycle Saturday afternoon off the MacArthur Causeway that connects downtown Miami with Miami Beach when he saw the savage attack on the bridge's off-ramp.
"The guy was, like, tearing him to pieces with his mouth, so I told him, `Get off!"' Vega said. "The guy just kept eating the other guy away, like, ripping his skin."
The slain man was identified by the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's office as Rudy Eugene, 31, Miami television station WFOR reported.
Vega flagged down a Miami police officer, who he said repeatedly ordered the attacker to get off the victim. The attacker just picked his head up and growled at the officer, Vega said.
As the attack continued, Vega said the officer shot the attacker, who continued chewing the victim's face. The officer fired again, killing the attacker.
Miami police have released few details about the attack, other than confirming that there was a fatal officer-involved shooting. The name of the victim, who was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, had not been immediately determined by authorities, said Detective William Moreno. Messages left Monday for a police spokesman were not immediately returned.
A spokeswoman said Monday that the hospital would not be releasing any information about him.
A surveillance video camera from The Miami Herald building nearby captured images of the men's naked legs lying side by side after the shooting.
Vega said the victim appeared gravely injured.
"It was just a blob of blood," Vega said. "You couldn't really see, it was just blood all over the place."
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