Photo taken on Day 47 of Occupy Wall Street protesters camped out at New York City's Zuccotti Park.

The Occupy Wall Street protesters that have been camped out at New York City’s Zuccotti Park were forcibly evicted early Tuesday morning by the New York City police force, resulting in the arrest of 70 people. A notice from the park’s owner, Brookfield Office Properties, was dispersed at 1 a.m. to the occupants of the park, explaining that the area needed to be cleaned because of sanitary concerns and that they may return after the cleaning, but without tents, sleeping bags, or tarps.

However, per a report in the Huffington Post, a court order obtained by the National Lawyers Guild, says that the protesters may return to the park with their camping gear in tow, because the injunction will prevent the city from enforcing park rules on Occupy Wall Street protesters. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg responded by saying the city plans to take the issue to court immediately. Continue reading »

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Baby Lisa

While the case against missing baby Lisa Irwin’s parents seemed to be growing, from mother Deborah Bradley admitting that she had been drinking the night that Lisa disappeared to a cadaver dog getting a “positive hit” at the foot of the parents bedroom, new evidence is pointing to a mystery man who may have abducted the infant.

On Sunday new surveillance footage was aired on ABC News that showed a man leaving a wooded area and carrying what looks like a baby. And that’s not all… Continue reading »

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Little Tikes

One thing as parents — we all want to keep our kids safe. In keeping them safe, there is a lot of trust involved. We trust their doctors, we trust their teachers, and we trust the people who make their toys. But as with all things in life, there are disappointments. The doctors may misdiagnose, the teachers may leave that child behind and the toy company? Their seemingly harmless toy may actually be dangerous. The newest toys to be reported as being hazardous?

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Photo Credit: Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

If you live in the Los Angeles Area – “Carmageddon” is likely a phrase you wish you had never heard. It is being used to describe the semi-controlled chaos expected to accompany the shut-down of a portion of the 405 Freeway beginning tonight and lasting Monday morning.  In many cities, this might not be a big deal, but in a city known for its traffic congestion, people are actually being encouraged to STAY HOME. In fact, the city has enlisted the help of the likes of Lady Gaga and Erik Estrada (you remember Ponch from Chips??) to encourage people to stay away.  So now, “Carmageddon” deals (want to visit Las Vegas?) are popping up all over the place.

You tell us…  serious business or media hype?

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Mosque visit raises questions about prayer in school

A field trip taken by students at a public middle school in Wellesley, Mass., to the Islamic Society of Boston Community Center has touched off a heated controversy after a mother who was chaperoning the trip released video footage of some of the six-graders participating in midday prayers at the center’s mosque. (The footage was released via the group Americans for Peace and Tolerance, which, according to the Boston Globe, has been critical of the Islamic center and mosque, New England’s largest, in the past.)

Several organizations have decried the trip for blurring the line between church and state, prompting Wellesley’s school superintendent, Bella Wong, to apologize to parents, saying, “It was not the intent for students to be able to participate in any of the religious practices. The fact that any students were allowed to do so in this case was an error.”

The center insists that the students were not coerced into participating in the prayers, but rather did so of their own volition. And several of the students’ parents have voiced support for the trip as a worthy educational experience. The students had visited the mosque as part of a social studies course, “Enduring Beliefs in the World Today,’’ in which they study not just Islam, but also Judaism, Hinduism and Christianity; they had already visited a synagogue, went to a gospel-music performance and met with representatives of the Hindu faith.

Setting aside the obvious issues about the Islamaphobia currently raging through our nation, the controversy does raise interesting questions about whether children should learn about religion in public school and how to do so while maintaining the separation between church and state. Continue reading »

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Three-year-old Alessaundra Tafoya has made her parents very proud. In fact, the preschooler is winning praise from her community and the news media, too, for being such a brave little girl this past weekend.

The tiny tyke was home alone with her dad when he collapsed. Instead of panicking, she walked two blocks to the local fire station, and brought firefighters home to help him. Doctors said he would have died without immediate medical care.

Wow. And I’m impressed when my three-year-old can carry her plate from the dining table to the kitchen without breaking it. This girl deserves all the gold stars.

What’s most amazing to me about this story, though, isn’t that a three-year-old had the presence of mind to help her dad, or the ability to walk two blocks to a fire station. It’s that the adults around her prepared her to do it, and let her.

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The kids are in the backseat are all rocking out to Beyonce’s oft-covered hit when Dad jokingly tells his son he’s not a single lady. Like you do. But the poor little guy took it personally, and started bawling. Kind of adorably bawling, actually. Thus a viral YouTube sensation was born.

Even better, CBS invited the whole family onto national TV, where their adorable boy got to sing a a bit of Single Ladies solo.

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