ParentDish http://www.parentdish.com ParentDish http://www.parentdish.com/media/feedlogo.gif ParentDish http://www.parentdish.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Police: Fla. Teen Had Party After Slaying Parentshttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/19/police-fla-teen-had-party-after-slaying-parents/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/19/police-fla-teen-had-party-after-slaying-parents/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/19/police-fla-teen-had-party-after-slaying-parents/#commentsFiled under:

tyler hadley

This photo provided by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's office on Monday, July 18, 2011, shows Tyler Hadley, 17, of Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: AP/St. Lucie County Sheriff's office

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A Florida teen is accused of posting a Facebook invite for a house party, killing his parents with a hammer and then hosting dozens of people while the adults' bludgeoned bodies were locked in the master bedroom.

The bodies were discovered by police early Sunday, and 17-year-old Tyler Hadley of Port St. Lucie is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Police believe the adults were struck on their heads and torsos the previous day sometime after their son posted on Facebook to tell friends about the party.

Investigators believe Blake and Mary-Jo Hadley were attacked outside their master bedroom and the bodies were moved into the bedroom and the door locked.

The teen was being held without bond at a juvenile detention center in Fort Pierce and wasn't clear whether he has an attorney.

As many as 60 people attended the party Saturday in the community about 50 miles north of West Palm Beach, according to Port St. Lucie Police spokesman Tom Nichols. They were loud enough to prompt a noise complaint and a visit by police officers. When they arrived at 1:30 a.m. Sunday to warn about the noise, the party was already breaking up, Nichols said.

Then, police said, they received a tip that a slaying may have taken place. They returned to the home at 4:20 a.m., finding the bodies covered with towels, files, books and other household items, and the hammer between them.

The mother, 47, was an elementary school teacher. The father, 54, worked for Florida Power and Light.

Autopsies were underway, but police said they believed they died of blunt-force trauma.

Hadley had attended St. Lucie West Centennial High School, according to police, but had not graduated. They said they did not know what the motive was.

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]]>kids kills parentsTyler HadleyAssociated PressTue, 19 Jul 2011 09:30:00 EST'Harry Potter' Works New Charms With $43M Overseashttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/15/harry-potter-overseas/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/15/harry-potter-overseas/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/15/harry-potter-overseas/#commentsFiled under: , ,

harry potter

Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe. Credit: AP

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Harry Potter has conjured up a tidy sum from the first overseas debuts of his final film on its way to a potentially record-shattering opening weekend.

Distributor Warner Bros. says "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" took in $43.6 million in 26 countries outside the United States on its first day Wednesday.

Studio executives said Thursday the franchise finale had the biggest opening day ever in several countries, including Australia with $7.5 million, Italy with $4.6 million and Sweden with $2.1 million. In France, the studio said "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" had the biggest Wednesday opening ever at $7.1 million.

In the countries where the film opened Wednesday, total revenues were 82 percent higher than they were on the first day for "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" last November, according to Warner Bros.

The finale got a boost from the franchise's first 3-D installment. Admissions for 3-D screenings, which cost a few dollars more than 2-D showings, accounted for 65 percent of revenues, the studio said.

"Deathly Hallows" continues opening worldwide Thursday and Friday.

In the United States, the film is expected to put up franchise-record numbers as it debuts just after midnight Friday. "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" had the franchise's biggest opening weekend domestically with $125 million.

"The franchise record, you can consider that history. That we're going to do. It's not a question," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros., which also holds Hollywood's all-time record for domestic debuts with a $158.4 million weekend on 2008's "The Dark Knight."

"The only question is 'Dark Knight,' whether we can put that together. My feeling at this time is that it's very, very do-able."

The 3-D price advantage for the "Harry Potter" finale will help, given that "The Dark Knight" and other top domestic debuts, including "Spider-Man 3" at $151.1 million and "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" at $142.8 million, played only in 2-D.

If fan frenzy is strong enough, "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" could become the first of the eight "Harry Potter" films to top $1 billion at the box office worldwide.

The record-holder remains the franchise's first film, 2001's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," with $974.8 million globally.

By splitting the film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's seventh "Harry Potter" adventure into two parts, Warner Bros. essentially is doubling its box-office revenue. The first installment of "Deathly Hallows" pulled in $955.4 million worldwide.

"Deathly Hallows: Part 2" picks up where the first film left off, as young wizards Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) return to Hogwarts school for a final showdown against dark Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).

The finale generally has earned glowing reviews from critics.

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]]>Deathly Hallows Part 2harry potterharry potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2harry potter overseasAssociated PressFri, 15 Jul 2011 13:00:00 ESTCompanies Propose Curbing Junk Food Ads for Kidshttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/15/companies-propose-curbing-junk-food-ads-for-kids/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/15/companies-propose-curbing-junk-food-ads-for-kids/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/15/companies-propose-curbing-junk-food-ads-for-kids/#commentsFiled under:

cheerios

Credit: Paul Sakuma, AP

WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's largest food companies say they will cut back on marketing unhealthy foods to children, proposing their own set of advertising standards after rejecting similar guidelines proposed by the federal government.

A coalition of food companies - including General Mills, ConAgra Foods and Kellogg - announced the guidelines Thursday. The companies said the effort will vastly change what is advertised, forcing them to curb advertising on one out of three products currently marketed to children.

The new standards, which will allow companies to advertise food and beverage products to children if they meet certain nutritional criteria, could force some brands to change recipes to include less sodium, fat, sugars and calories. While many companies have trumpeted their own efforts to market healthier foods to kids, the agreement would apply the same standards to all of the participating companies.

"Now foods from different companies, such as cereals or canned pastas, will meet the same nutrition criteria, rather than similar but slightly different company-specific criteria," said Elaine Kolish of the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, a group formed by the industry to address marketing issues.

The group's proposal was pushed along by a government effort to do the same thing. The Federal Trade Commission and several other government agencies were directed by Congress to come up with voluntary guidelines for marketing junk food to children, and those were issued earlier this year. The industry balked at that proposal, saying the voluntary standards were too broad and would limit marketing of almost all of the nation's favorite foods, including some yogurts and many children's cereals.

Not surprisingly, the proposal issued by the government is stricter than the standards the companies are pushing for themselves. Still, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz praised the industry guidelines Thursday. He said the government would consider the food companies' initiative as the government develops its own standards.

"The industry's uniform standards are a significant advance, and are exactly the type of initiative the commission had in mind when we started pushing for self-regulation more than five years ago ... we applaud industry for making healthy progress," he said.

While the government proposal put broad limits on fats, sugars and sodium that would apply to marketing of all foods, the industry has suggested different guidelines for different foods, saying that is a more practical approach.

The industry guidelines for children's cereals, for example, would allow them to be advertised if they have around 10 grams of sugar a serving, while the formula used by the government would discourage advertising for cereals that have 8 grams of sugars in an equivalent serving. That would mean General Mills would still be able to advertise Honey Nut Cheerios cereal under the industry guidelines but would be discouraged under the voluntary government guidelines. Other sugary cereals such as Trix, Lucky Charms and Count Chocula would also make the cut under the industry numbers.

Another difference between the proposals is where companies are allowed to advertise. While the government guidelines are broad, discouraging advertising of unhealthy foods on packaging and in stores, along with in the media, the industry guidelines would apply to media - television, radio, print, video games and the Internet - but not packaging. That means the little bee on the front of the Honey Nut Cheerios box and the rabbit on the Trix box would stay under the industry proposal and go under the government draft.

Even if the industry standards are not as strict as the government guidelines, they still represent progress on the part of the companies. Many companies now advertise any children's cereals that have less than 12 grams of sugar, down from 15 or 16 grams of sugars a decade ago.

Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest, praised the industry for pushing for uniform standards for all of the companies, though she said they do not go far enough. She said she hopes the industry standards are a jumping-off point for negotiations with health advocates and the government.

"The government agencies have developed standards that are best for kids and the companies have developed standards that are best for industry, now we need to work out a reasonable compromise," she said.

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, the Democrat who wrote the language directing the government to develop the standards, said he believes the industry proposal falls short.

"With childhood obesity rates rising, now is the time for all parties to rally around those guidelines and begin implementing them, rather than coming up with competing proposals," he said.

That may be a while off. House Republicans have included a provision in next year's Federal Trade Commission budget that would delay the government standards by asking the government to study the potential cost and impact of the guidelines before implementing them.

If they are not delayed by Congress, a final draft of the standards could come by the end of the year.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>junk foodjunk food adsAssociated PressFri, 15 Jul 2011 11:00:00 ESTNYC Boy's Gruesome Killing Shocks Communityhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/14/nyc-boy-killing/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/14/nyc-boy-killing/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/14/nyc-boy-killing/#commentsFiled under:

Leiby Kletzky

Walking home alone from day camp for the first time, 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky disappeared. Credit: AP

NEW YORK (AP) - Walking home alone from day camp for the first time, 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky disappeared.

A day-and-a-half search led police to the Brooklyn home of a man seen on a surveillance video with the young Orthodox Jewish child. They asked: Where is the boy?

The man nodded toward the kitchen, authorities said, where blood stained the freezer door. Inside was the stuff of horror films - severed feet, wrapped in plastic. In the refrigerator, a cutting board and three bloody carving knives. A plastic garbage bag with bloody towels was nearby.

"It is every parent's worst nightmare," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday, following the arrest of 35-year-old Levi Aron on a charge of second-degree murder.

Leiby disappeared Monday afternoon while on his way to meet his mother on a street corner seven blocks from his day camp, the first time the young Hasidic child was allowed to walk the route alone. Authorities said he had evidently gotten lost after missing a turn, and had reached out to Aron, a stranger, for help.

The gruesome killing shocked the tight-knit Hasidic community in Borough Park, in part because it is one of the safest sections of the city and because Aron is himself an Orthodox Jew, although not Hasidic. The Hasidim are ultra-Orthodox Jews.

"This is a no-crime area," said state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, whose district includes the area. "Everybody is absolutely horrified," he said. "Everyone is in total shock, beyond belief, beyond comprehension ... to suddenly disappear and then the details ... and the fact someone in the extended community ... it's awful."

While the medical examiner's office said it was still investigating how the boy was killed, the body was released so that the boy could be buried Wednesday evening according to Jewish custom.

Thousands gathered around a Borough Park synagogue for the funeral service. Speakers broadcast over a loudspeaker, chanting and speaking in Yiddish and Hebrew. They stressed the community's resilience and unity after what one called an unnatural death.

"This is not human," said Moses Klein, 73, a retired caterer who lives near the corner where the boy was last seen.

The break in the case came when investigators watched a grainy video that showed the boy, wearing his backpack, getting into a car with a man outside a dentist's office. Detectives tracked the dentist down at his home in New Jersey, and he remembered someone coming to pay a bill. Police identified Aron using records from the office, and 40 minutes later he was arrested, shortly before 3 a.m. Wednesday.

Aron told police where to find the rest of the body; it was in pieces, wrapped in plastic bags, inside a red suitcase that had been tossed into a trash bin in another Brooklyn neighborhood, Kelly said.

Police said there was no evidence the boy was sexually assaulted, but they would not otherwise shed any light on a motive except to say Aron told them he "panicked" when he saw photos of the missing boy on fliers that were distributed in the neighborhood. Police were looking into whether Aron had a history of mental illness.

Police said Aron, who is divorced, lives alone in an attic in a building shared with his father and uncle.

Kelly said it was "totally random" that Aron grabbed the boy, and aside from a summons for urinating in public, he had no criminal record. A neighbor told authorities her son had said Aron had once tried to lure him into his car, but nothing happened and she didn't think much of it until the news of the killing, police said.

He lived most of his life in New York and worked as a clerk at a hardware supply store around the corner from his home, authorities said. Co-workers said Aron was at work on Tuesday.

"He seemed a little troubled," said employee Chamin Kramer, who added Aron usually came and went quietly.

Aron lived briefly in Memphis, Tenn., and his ex-wife, Deborah Aron, still lives in the area. She said he never showed signs of violence toward her two children from a previous relationship.

"It's utter disbelief," she said from the toy-littered backyard of her home in the Memphis suburb of Germantown. "This ain't the Levi I know."

Deborah Aron said the couple divorced about four years ago after a year of marriage. She described Levi Aron as a person who was shy until he got to know you and said he enjoyed music, karaoke and "American Idol." She said he attended Orthodox Jewish services in Memphis.

He was "more of a mother's boy than a father's boy," who lived at home until he met her, she said.

She said Levi injured his head when he was hit by a car while riding his bike at the age of 9 and suffered problems stemming from that accident.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>Leiby KletzkyLevi Aronny boy killedAssociated PressThu, 14 Jul 2011 10:30:00 ESTGov't Agency Vote Means Lower Lead in Toyshttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/14/lower-lead-in-toys/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/14/lower-lead-in-toys/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/14/lower-lead-in-toys/#commentsFiled under:

lead in kids toys

Credit: Getty Images

WASHINGTON (AP) - The amount of lead allowed in toys and other children's products sold in the U.S. will soon be reduced to one of the lowest limits in the world. The move was praised by consumer advocates but denounced by critics worried about job losses and shuttered businesses.

In a 3-2 vote split along party lines, the Consumer Product Safety Commission cleared the way Wednesday for the limit to be lowered next month so that most products intended for children 12 and under will move from being about 99.97 percent lead free to 99.99 percent lead free.

Proponents say there's no known safe level of lead, which can cause irreversible brain damage, learning disabilities and other problems such as aggressive behavior.

Congress had asked the commission to decide whether there was some technological reason the limit couldn't be lowered. Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum, a Democrat, said there was "abundant evidence that it is technologically feasible." The other two Democrats voted with her.

After the vote, Tenenbaum said, "Consumers can rest assured that lead should be virtually nonexistent in toys and other children's products."

The Republicans on the commission, Nancy Nord and Anne Northup, criticized the decision - saying the amount of allowable lead is already very low, essentially trace levels. They said the commission failed to undertake a solid review of whether all manufacturers, especially smaller domestic businesses, can make their products with the lower-lead level plastics, steel and other materials required as part of the new standard. Those materials are often more expensive, and the Republicans argued they may not be commercially available to all manufacturers.

"Just because a material is out there for a jet plane, doesn't mean that it's appropriate for a toy plane," Nord said during the two-hour debate.

Once the new standard takes effect Aug. 14, the total lead content allowed by weight in any part of a children's product will be no more than 100 parts per million, down from 300 parts per million.

Bigger manufacturers, such as Hasbro, have already been testing to the lower 100 ppm limit. And some retailers like Walmart began requiring suppliers to comply with the 100 ppm limit last year.

But smaller businesses have said it could mean job cuts or failed companies because of increased testing costs, more expensive materials and products that may have to be cleared from store shelves and thrown away on Aug. 14. The way the law was written by Congress, the lowered limit is retroactive. Legislation under consideration in the House may reverse that retroactivity.

Rick Woldenberg, chairman of Learning Resources, says smaller companies like his face obstacles.

"The standard is completely unyielding, unforgiving and detached from any concept of health," said Woldenberg, whose Illinois-based company makes educational materials and learning toys.

More than 98 percent of his product tests are below 100 ppm, he said. But one product may test just 1 part per million higher - and then an entire line of product suddenly can't be sold and may not necessarily be any less healthy than a legal toy, he said.

Consumer advocates counter that there are plenty of studies that document the dangers of lead, especially in children.

"What this really comes down to is if it's possible to get the lead out, then the lead should be taken out," said Rachel Weintraub, director of product safety and senior counsel at the Consumer Federation of America. "When a consumer purchases a toy or a bouncy seat for their baby, they don't want their baby to be exposed to a potential neurotoxin."

A sweeping safety law passed in 2008 ushered in the strict limits on the amounts of lead and chemicals allowed in products intended for children. Congress passed it after a slew of recalls of millions of lead-tainted toys during the holiday season the previous year.

Canada has a lower lead content limit - 90 parts per million - for many products meant for very young children.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>kids toysLEAD IN TOYStoysAssociated PressThu, 14 Jul 2011 09:30:00 ESTBurger King, Chili's, IHOP Will Make Kids Menus Healthierhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/13/burger-king-chilis-ihopkids-menus/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/13/burger-king-chilis-ihopkids-menus/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/13/burger-king-chilis-ihopkids-menus/#commentsFiled under:

burger king kids menu

Credit: Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty Images

WASHINGTON (AP) - Parents seeking healthier restaurant meals for their kids can start to look beyond chicken nuggets and macaroni-and-cheese.

At least 19 large restaurant chains - including Burger King, Chili's, IHOP and Friendly's - plan to announce Wednesday that they will include healthier options on their children's menus. At least 15,000 restaurant locations will focus on increasing servings of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy. The items will have less fats, sugars and sodium.

Less healthy foods like burgers and fries will still be on the menu, but the restaurants say they will do more to promote healthier options. Chili's, for example, will highlight a chicken sandwich with a side of pineapple or mandarin oranges on their kids' menu. Burger King has recently reformulated children's chicken nuggets so they include less sodium, and employees taking orders will ask if customers want healthier apple fries instead of the standard "fries with that?"

The effort is part of a new National Restaurant Association initiative to give kids more healthy options at restaurants and to make it easier for parents to find those options. Some of the items are already on menus, but restaurants will advertise them more prominently and flag the healthier menu items to make ordering easier.

To be part of the program, restaurants must include at least one kids' menu item that is 600 calories or less and meets other nutritional requirements. A side dish worth less than 200 calories must also be included.

"This could provide a great push toward healthier offerings at restaurants," said Robert Post, the Agriculture Department official in charge of developing the department's dietary guidelines, which came out earlier this year. Those urged Americans to eat less salt.

"We hope this is a trend toward new items and voluntary reformulations," Post said.

The companies signing up for the initiative are Au Bon Pain, Bonefish Grill, Burger King, Burgerville, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Chevys, Chili's, Corner Bakery Cafe, Cracker Barrel, Denny's, El Pollo Loco, Friendly's, IHOP, Joe's Crab Shack, Outback Steakhouse, Silver Diner, Sizzler, T-Bones Great American Eatery and zpizza.

Joe Taylor of Chili's said the company has responded to consumer demands for healthier foods. While diners looking for a healthier meal used to have to ask for substitutions, they now have more options.

"We've seen our guests customize their meals to a greater degree when they are looking to hold the mayo or add the broccoli," Taylor said.

Patrick Lenow of IHOP said the restaurant will add two new children's menu items because of the effort, including pancakes with fruit and scrambled eggs with fruit. The company had already limited everything on their children's menu to under 600 calories and made fruit a default side, instead of fries - a change that has dramatically increased fruit consumption at the restaurants, Lenow said.

Several restaurant chains haven't committed yet to joining the effort. Maggiano's, owned with Chili's by Brinker International, is not part of the program. Neither is McDonald's, the world's largest burger chain.

Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, said the group is hoping to add additional restaurants to the effort in coming months.

First lady Michelle Obama last year attended a National Restaurant Association meeting in Washington and pleaded with them to take a little butter or cream out of their dishes, use low-fat milk and provide apple slices or carrots as a default side dish on the kids' menu. She said Americans eat a third of their meals in restaurants, which have long been seen by many as the worst offenders in terms of nutrition.

Many restaurant companies are starting to reformulate menu items and add new healthier sections to their menus, however, as consumers have shown a heightened interest in nutrition.

The federal government will also soon require restaurants to post calories on their menus. FDA guidelines will require chain restaurants with 20 or more locations, along with bakeries, grocery stores, convenience stores and coffee chains, to clearly post the calories.

John Dillon of Denny's said the company recently took photos of French fries off their menus.

"Where before we may have been concerned about not having French fries pictured on our menu, we're now finding that has actually helped our business," he said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>healthy foodhealthy kid foodskid menusrestaurant kid menusAssociated PressWed, 13 Jul 2011 10:30:00 ESTGay Marriage Raises Prospect of NY Adoption Boomhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/12/gay-marriage-adoption/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/12/gay-marriage-adoption/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/12/gay-marriage-adoption/#commentsFiled under:

gay marriage adoption

Jonathan Truong, right, his partner Ed Cowen, left, and their son Franklin Cowen Truong, 2, pose for a portrait at their home in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Credit: AP

NEW YORK (AP) - First comes love, then comes marriage. Now adoption lawyers and agencies in New York say they're getting ready for a baby boom as same-sex couples emboldened by the state's new gay marriage law take the next step and try to adopt children.

New York will allow same-sex marriages beginning July 24, becoming the most populous state to legalize such weddings. Thousands of couples are expected to tie the knot.

The state already permits unmarried couples, both gay and straight, to adopt children. But a wedding ring is an important milestone in a relationship - and can also bolster a couple's case as they try to impress social workers, adoption agencies and birth mothers during the often competitive adoption process, couples and adoption experts say.

"It's sort of the next natural progression," said Jonathan Truong of Brooklyn, who decided to adopt a boy after marrying his longtime partner, Ed Cowen, in Canada. "You have that feeling of wanting to be in a family."

Experts won't know for sure whether adoptions have increased in the five other states, plus Washington, D.C., that have legalized gay marriage until the results of the 2010 census are released this year, said Gary Gates, a demographer at the Williams Institute, a think tank at the University of California-Los Angeles.

But nationwide, about 19,000 gay couples had adopted children as of 2009, he said. That's up from 10,700 couples in 2000 - the same year Vermont began offering civil unions and four years before Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage.

"I think they will feel more entitled to be a family under the new law," said Susan Watson, director of U.S. adoptions at the Spence-Chapin adoption agency in Manhattan.

The prospect has alarmed conservative religious groups that consider same-sex relationships and parenting immoral.

"Sanctioning such unions as 'marriages' only makes the violation worse; and adding children to the mix, worse still," said Avi Shafran, a spokesman for the Agudath Israel of America, an Orthodox Jewish group.

Rumaan Alam, 33, and David Land, 37, of Brooklyn, adopted their son, Simon, soon after getting married in California in 2008. The state banned such marriages just five months after they were legalized.

Alam said they plan to get married again in New York for the benefit of their nearly 2-year-old son.

"He's going to go to school and know that he doesn't have a mommy and a daddy like other kids," Alam said. "We think it's something important for him being able to say, 'Well, at least my Dad and my Papa are married the way that everyone else's parents are.'"

For lesbian couples, the road to parenthood is relatively easy. All that's needed is a sperm donor or a cooperative male friend who will agree to terminate parental rights when the baby is born. The other partner then adopts her partner's child through a "second-parent" adoption.

The new marriage statute will make the second-parent adoption unnecessary under New York law. But most adoption lawyers are recommending that parents do it anyway to protect themselves if they travel or move to a state that doesn't recognize gay marriage.

"The state where you're vacationing may not see things the same way," said Nina Rumbold, an adoption lawyer.

For men or for women who can't conceive, the process is more complicated.

Cowen and Truong said the urge to start a family began after they got married in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2005. They looked into hiring a surrogate mother, but that route was expensive and fraught with legal hurdles. New York prohibits surrogacy-for-hire, so they must be done in another state.

Adopting from another country was a difficult option because most countries bar same-sex couples from adopting.

The couple decided to try for an American baby and began the months-long process of applying to be parents. There were forms to fill out documenting both men's background and finances. Then a social worker came to their Brooklyn apartment and did a long interview.

Next came the hunt for a pregnant woman looking to give up her baby. To get around the long waiting lists at many New York adoption agencies, many couples advertise themselves directly to mothers through classified ads and websites.

Cowen and Truong bought newspaper ads and rented a toll-free number. Worried about spooking young mothers, they hired an answering service to explain to callers that they were a gay couple.

They were surprised to find that many didn't care.

"A lot of them were brought up without a father in the home, and so they really miss their father and they think the idea of two fathers is amazing," Cowen said.

Other mothers felt that two working men made the household more financially secure, he said. Truong manages the laboratory at a hospital, and Cowen owns an advertising firm.

Less than a year later after starting the application process, the two men were the proud fathers of Franklin, now a bubbly 2-year-old. Truong is "Daddy" and Cowen is "Dada."

"What color is that?" Truong asked as Franklin scribbled on an envelope with a pen one recent afternoon.

"Blue!" Franklin shouted.

"He's so smart," Cowen said, beaming.

They're now trying to adopt another child.

New York's new marriage law comes as several other states are wrestling with the issue of adoptions by gay couples. In April, an Arkansas court struck down a ban on such adoptions. Arizona, meanwhile, passed a law giving heterosexual married couples preference.

In Illinois, a Catholic organization that licenses foster and adoptive parents is suing the state over a law barring discrimination against gay or unmarried couples. Three Catholic dioceses have suspended their adoption placement services, following the lead of Catholic charities in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.

"Children do best when raised by a married mother and father," said Peter Sprigg, a policy adviser for the Washington-based Family Research Council, which has fought gay marriage. "Mothers and fathers contribute to the parenting task in unique ways."

In New York, the new marriage law contains a clause allowing religious groups to deny "accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges" to same-sex couples. That should allow church-affiliated adoption agencies to deal only with heterosexual couples, avoiding the legal controversies that have flared in other states, Rumbold said.

Same-sex adoptions in New York date to 1995, when a state court decision cleared the way for all unmarried couples to adopt. But not all cases went smoothly.

College professor Peri Rainbow and her wife, Tamela Sloan, went through the process of adopting a daughter, Cecelia, from foster care nine years ago, when the girl was 6.

"We were asked if we would kiss in front of Cecelia, if we expected her to be gay," Peri Rainbow said. "Would we have enough men in her life? I can't recall the exact questions at this point, but they were quite offensive."

The couple was informed before the adoption was finalized that it would not go through. The stated reason: They had altered legal forms by crossing out the phrases "adoptive mother" and "adoptive father" with "adoptive parents," she said.

"They said we had desecrated legal documentation," Rainbow said.

On the advice of a lawyer, the couple resisted the urge to sue. Instead, Rainbow filed papers to adopt Cecelia. Sloan filed separate adoption papers. They were accepted.

Rainbow and Sloan have already been married in Canada but plan to renew their vows in New York. And they are still raising Cecelia, now 16.

"She's doing very well," Rainbow said. "She's thriving."

The full impact of gay-marriage laws on adoption will probably become clearer over coming decades, as society becomes more gay-friendly and younger couples adopt the familiar patterns of dating, engagement, marriage and child-rearing, said Gates, the demographer.

"Their lives are going to start to look like those of their different-sex counterparts, but that's going to take a while," Gates said.

A 2009 Census Bureau survey showed no evidence of an increase in the percentage of same-sex couples adopting in Massachusetts after that state legalized gay marriage in 2004. But the sample was so small - only about 100 couples - that estimates are very imprecise, Gates said. Figures from the 2010 Census should offer a more accurate look.

The Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange, a group that educates families about adopting foster children, said it has seen a rise in the number of same-sex couples seeking information since 2004. They now account for 381 of the 3,360 couples in the group's database, or about 11 percent.

Vincent Russo, a spokesman for Connecticut's probate court system, said judges in that state have noted an increase in same-sex couples adopting since gay marriage was legalized there in 2008.

"Once people were able to marry, they had a bit more security," Russo said. "Once that they have this feeling that, 'OK, now that we are a family unit and in this marriage' they feel a little more comfortable, a little more security about adopting children."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>adoptiongay marriagegay marriage and adoptiongay marriage nyAssociated PressTue, 12 Jul 2011 10:30:00 EST'Magnet Boy' Attracts Much Attention: Must See Video!http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/11/magnet-boy/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/11/magnet-boy/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/11/magnet-boy/#commentsFiled under:



SAO PAULO (AP) - An 11-year-old boy in Brazil's northeastern city of Mossoro is drawing attention with his purportedly magnet-like qualities.

The Globo TV network has broadcast images of Paulo David Amorim demonstrating how forks, knives, scissors, cooking pans, cameras and other metal objects seem drawn to his body and remain stuck on his chest, stomach and back.

The boy's father tells Globo that he decided to test his son after learning of a boy in Croatia with a similar ability. Junior Amorim says he was surprised to find "a fork and knife stuck to his body."

The youth says classmates call him "magnet boy."

Dr. Dix-Sept Rosado Sobrinho tells Globo it is the first time in his 30-year career that he has seen a case like this.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>boy who is magneticmagnet boymagnetic boyAssociated PressMon, 11 Jul 2011 12:00:00 ESTKids Among 101 Missing After Boat Sinks in Russiahttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/11/kids-among-101-missing-after-boat-sinks-in-russia/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/11/kids-among-101-missing-after-boat-sinks-in-russia/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/11/kids-among-101-missing-after-boat-sinks-in-russia/#commentsFiled under:

russia boat sinks

Credit: Roman Kruchinin, AP

MOSCOW (AP) - A half-century-old tourist boat with 188 people on board listed and sank quickly in one of the world's largest reservoirs amid wind and rain Sunday, authorities and survivors said, and dozens of children were believed to be among the 101 people missing. Two bodies were recovered.

About 30 children gathered in a cockpit in the double-decker Bulgaria moments before it sank into the reservoir on the Volga River, a survivor told the Interfax news agency. Russia's Vesti 24 television quoted another survivor as saying that the boat "tilted to the right and sank within minutes."

Crew members had time to open only two lifeboats, and could release only one from the ship, survivors told the Itar Tass news agency.

By early Monday, only two bodies had been recovered from the 20-meter-deep (66-foot-deep) waters of the giant Kuibyshev reservoir, 3 kilometers (2 miles) from shore.

The regional emergency ministry of Tatarstan said two men managed to swim to shore, while a passing riverboat picked up another 83 people and the lifeless body of a woman. The body of another woman was found later, authorities said without giving details. All aboard were believed to be Russian.

One survivor told Vesti 24 that other ships refused to come to their aid.

"Two ships did not stop, although we waved our hands," said the man in his 40s, who stood on the riverboat amid weeping passengers, some of them wrapped in towels and blankets. He held another man, who was weeping desperately.

Emergency teams and divers from neighboring regions rushed to the site of the tragedy, 450 miles (750 kilometers) east of Moscow.

Throughout the day, officials gave different counts of those on board and the number of missing, but by early Monday officials in Moscow and Tatarstan agreed that the boat had held 150 passengers and 38 crew members when it got into trouble.

The Volga, Europe's longest river, is up to 30 kilometers (19 miles) wide. The river is a popular tourist destination, especially in summer months. Most of Russia's largest cities are located in the Volga River basin.

The Bulgaria was built in 1955 in Czechoslovakia and belongs to a local tourism company. It was traveling from the town of Bulgar to the regional capital, Kazan.

A tourism expert said the lack of partitions inside the Bulgaria made it vulnerable to breaches.

"In case of an accident these ships sink within minutes," Dmitri Voropayev, head of the Samara Travel company, told the Ria Novosti news agency.

Russia's Union of Tourism Industry said the ship had not been inspected and retrofitted for years, according to the Interfax news agency.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by Mansur Mirovalev, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>boat sinks in russiaboat that sank in russiasinking boatAssociated PressMon, 11 Jul 2011 10:00:00 ESTTo Fight Obesity, Even Babies Should Exercisehttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/11/fight-obesity-even-babies-should-exercise/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/11/fight-obesity-even-babies-should-exercise/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/11/fight-obesity-even-babies-should-exercise/#commentsFiled under:

childhood obesity

Credit: Keith Brofsky, AP

LONDON (AP) - In a new campaign against obesity, the British government issued guidelines on Monday saying that children under the age of five - including those who can't even walk yet - should exercise every day.

In its first such guidelines for children that young, the health department said kids under five who can walk should be physically active for at least three hours a day. Officials also said parents should reduce the amount of time such kids spend being sedentary while watching television or being strapped in a stroller.

The three hours of activity should be spread throughout the day. Officials said the children's daily dose of exercise is likely to be met simply through playing but could also include activities such as walking to school.

For babies who can't walk yet, the government said physical activity should be encouraged from birth, including infants playing on their stomachs or having swimming sessions with their parents. The government said children's individual physical and mental abilities should be considered when interpreting the advice.

"It's vital that parents introduce children to fun and physically active pastimes to help prevent them becoming obese children, who are likely to become obese adults at risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers," Maura Gillespie, head of policy and advocacy at the British Heart Foundation, said in a statement.

Nearly a quarter of British adults are obese, and experts estimate that by 2050 about 90 percent of adults will be heavy.

According to a 2008 health survey that used devices to measure how much people actually exercised, officials found only about five percent of Britons meet the government's minimum physical activity advice - about 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise every week, including some every day.

For children aged five to 18, Britain recommends at least one hour of exercise, but that should include intensive activities to strengthen muscles and bones.

In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises children and teenagers to get about one hour or more of physical activity every day.

According to the Institute of Medicine, an independent organization in Washington, D.C., toddlers should get at least 15 minutes of exercise for every hour they spend in child care.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by Maria Cheng, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>childhood obesityfighting obesityfighting obesity in kidsobesityAssociated PressMon, 11 Jul 2011 09:00:00 ESTAtlanta Schools Announce Changes After Scandalhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/08/atlanta-schools/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/08/atlanta-schools/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/08/atlanta-schools/#commentsFiled under:

atlanta schools cheating

Gov. Nathan Deal speaks at a news conference in the Capitol to discuss the findings of the special investigation of alleged cheating on test scores in the Atlanta Public School System. Credit: Bob Andres, AP

ATLANTA (AP) - As the Atlanta school district grapples with a cheating scandal that has drawn national attention, the interim school superintendent said Thursday that the district will automatically investigate suspicious test scores and require ethics training for all employees.

The changes announced by interim Superintendent Erroll Davis Jr. come two days after state investigators said 178 educators had cheated on standardized tests used to meet federal benchmarks dating back to 2001. Davis reiterated Thursday that none of those educators will work in an Atlanta classroom again.

The educators face possible criminal charges and could lose their teaching licenses for changing answers on students' tests and helping students answer questions. Some may face charges of lying to investigators or tampering with state documents.

"This is just a start," said Davis, who has been on the job less than a week.

The educators in the probe represent just a fraction of the 6,000 employees in the 50,000-student district.

Davis said the office that receives ethics complaints will now report directly to the school board rather than to the district's human resources division. State investigators found that the ethics office didn't adequately look into complaints and tried to cover up the extent of cheating allegations in the district.

Any classroom where test scores increased by unusual or unreasonable amounts will automatically be investigated by district officials, he said. And he said he will require annual ethics training - likely online - for all 6,000 of the district's employees.

Children affected by the cheating will be given as much tutoring and remedial help as needed, Davis said. Before the state investigation, the district had begun giving extra help last year to 5,400 students identified in a district-based probe of the cheating.

The testing problems first came to light after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that some scores were statistically improbable. The state launched audits of test results after the newspaper published its analysis of the test scores.

The state investigation was launched last August by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue who was upset over what he called a "woefully inadequate" probe by the district.

Educators told the state investigators they were pressured by administrators to improve test scores. The investigative report said former Superintendent Beverly Hall either knew or should have known that cheating was widespread. Hall's attorney has denied all allegations against her.

Meanwhile, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Thursday called the Atlanta schools cheating scandal "unfortunate," saying it highlights the need for transparency in education. Educators told investigators they were under immense stress to raise student achievement and test scores.

Duncan said schools across the country are facing the same pressures but are making "genuine" progress without cheating.

Parent Cynthia Briscoe Brown, whose son is a rising sophomore in Atlanta, said she is pleased with the district's response to the cheating probe.

"I think it's very appropriate," said Brown, whose son is not at one of the 44 schools where the state found cheating. "(Davis) is clearly moving swiftly to make sure teachers who made bad choices suffer the consequences."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by Dorie Turner, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>atlanta schoolsatlanta schools cheatingschool cheatingschool cheating scandalAssociated PressFri, 08 Jul 2011 10:00:00 ESTTeachers in Middle of Debate Over Immigrant Kidshttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/07/teachers-in-middle-of-debate-over-immigrant-kids/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/07/teachers-in-middle-of-debate-over-immigrant-kids/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/07/teachers-in-middle-of-debate-over-immigrant-kids/#commentsFiled under:

illegal immigrants educators

In a June 30, 2011 photo, Rich Fisher, retired school administrator and a former mentor to Jose Antonio Vargas, is seen at his home. Credit: Rich Pedroncelli, AP

WASHINGTON (AP) - When an award-winning journalist recently revealed he's an illegal immigrant, two of the key players in his tale turned out to be educators who helped keep his secret. It's the kind of story teachers and principals scattered across the country know well.

With some 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., educators increasingly find themselves caught between their obligation to educate each child and conflicting guidance, or simply no direction at all, about whether to help such students beyond the classroom.

Law officers and lawmakers in some states want schools to help spot illegal immigrants. Federal authorities remind school officials that every child is entitled to an education. National education groups echo that but recommend that schools avoid getting involved when it comes to students' citizenship issues.

Ultimately, the adults in each classroom have to decide for themselves how far they will go.

Rich Fischer and Pat Hyland were school administrators in affluent Mountain View, Calif., home of Google and other tech companies, in 2000 as a young Filipino student named Jose Antonio Vargas was nearing graduation. He excelled in school but wasn't going to college because of his residency status and the high cost.

"We're educators. We don't work for the I.N.S.," Fischer, now retired as school superintendent, told The Associated Press, adding that teachers across the country face the same issues more and more.

"Actually, I think if you put a number to it, I think it would look epidemic and tragic."

Fischer and Hyland considered adopting Vargas, and eventually found him a scholarship to San Francisco State University. Vargas was a college standout, eventually landing an internship and then a full-time job at The Washington Post, getting the internship after Fischer, Hyland and others helped him get a driver's license.

"I'm not really sure if I could have made it without them," Vargas, part of a team of Post journalists who won a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the Virginia Tech massacre, told the AP.

Hyland, who was the principal at Mountain View High School when Vargas was there, said the help she provided was "sort of humanitarian, in my mind."

She has helped other illegal immigrants find a way to college. Many stop short, though, out of fear, she said.

"It's a conundrum. ... What are we doing to help this child survive and help this child reach his or her potential?" she said. "Educators are stuck in that position. We are sort of an underground support network for a lot of kids who come to us."

Hyland and Fischer said they're not overly concerned about legal consequences from helping Vargas.

"When you kind of put the human factor into it and say 'Well, my gosh, I'm not helping somebody rob a bank here. I'm actually helping somebody become a productive citizen,' it feels different," Fischer said.

Teachers in Georgia, where a new law cracking down on illegal immigrants is being challenged in court, have been supporting students for years in many of the same ways.

Sean McKenzie, a high school social studies teacher in Calhoun, Ga., said he learned one former student came to the United States alone from Mexico at 14. The boy, whom McKenzie declined to name because it could make him a target for state authorities, worked hard to pass the state's graduation test.

A fellow teacher tried to adopt the teen, and housed him for at least five years. But it didn't open any path to citizenship. The student has since earned a nursing degree but can't get a job. He is thinking of leaving Georgia to find a job washing dishes or anything he can find.

"I just want a life," the student recently told McKenzie.

Michael Simpson, a National Education Association attorney, said the teacher's union doesn't view the issue as something it needs to educate teachers about.

The group issued a legal guide in 2009 with the National School Boards Association related to teaching "undocumented children" as more school attorneys inquired on the topic. The guide is mostly limited to explaining the Supreme Court's ruling that such students have a right to a public education. It advised schools not to ask about students' immigration status because it might discourage enrollment.

"We're all kind of left to fend on our own and make our own interpretations for what is right for ourselves and for our students," Hyland said. "I would far prefer that repairs to the system happen so that we're not put in this position and that the Joses of the world have more options that are legally available."

Elementary and middle school teachers may never know their students' immigration status because young students often don't know themselves. Still, some students reveal personal details.

Last year, a Montgomery County, Md., second-grader stood up during a conversation about immigration and told first lady Michelle Obama, "My mom doesn't have papers."

School officials in the Washington suburb worked to protect the girl's identity. The principal said they don't ask questions about immigration status but if families want to share, that's fine.

Alabama's Legislature recently passed a law requiring schools to report the immigration status of students. Anticipating such policies, the U.S. Education Department and Justice Department issued a joint letter to school districts in May reminding them they are required to provide all children equal access to public education.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently said the department is closely monitoring policies in Alabama and elsewhere.

"What we don't want to do is have a chilling effect. ... To have more students leave school or more students drop out ... would not be good for children, communities or the country," he said.

For McKenzie, the Georgia teacher, "it's a no-brainer: You've got a kid in front of you, you're supposed to help them."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by Brett Zongker, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>immigrant kidsimmigrant studentsAssociated PressThu, 07 Jul 2011 12:00:00 ESTAtlanta Superintendent Knew About Cheatinghttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/06/atlanta-schools-cheating/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/06/atlanta-schools-cheating/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/06/atlanta-schools-cheating/#commentsFiled under:

atlanta schools cheating

Gov. Nathan Deal concludes his news conference in the Capitol to discuss the findings of the special investigation of alleged cheating on test scores in the Atlanta Public School System. Credit: Bob Andres, AP

ATLANTA (AP) - Former Atlanta schools Superintendent Beverly Hall knew about cheating allegations on standardized tests but either ignored them or tried to hide them, according to a state investigation.

An 800-page report released Tuesday to The Associated Press by Gov. Nathan Deal's office through an open records request shows several educators reported cheating in their schools. But the report says Hall, who won the national Superintendent of the Year award in 2009, and other administrators ignored those reports and sometimes retaliated against the whistleblowers.

The yearlong investigation shows educators at nearly four dozen Atlanta elementary and middle schools cheated on standardized tests by helping students or changing the answers once exams were handed in.

The investigators also found a "culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation" in the school district over the cheating allegations, which led to educators lying about the cheating or destroying documents to cover it up, according to the report. School officials had "warnings" as early as 2005 that there was cheating on standardized tests, but those signals were ignored, according to the report.

At one elementary school, four educators gathered at a colleague's home in Douglas County one weekend to have a "changing party" using answer sheets provided by a school official, the report states.

Teachers who admitted to investigators they cheated said they were under immense pressure to raise test scores, the investigators wrote. One elementary school principal forced a teacher to crawl under a table during a faculty meeting because that teacher's test scores were low, according to the report.

"Dr. Hall and her administration emphasized test results and public praise to the exclusion of integrity and ethics," the report states. "Dr. Hall either knew or should have known cheating and other misconduct was occurring in the APS system."

Hall's attorney, Richard Deane, denied the report's allegations.

"Dr. Hall steadfastly denies that she, her staff, or the vast majority of APS teaching and administrative professionals knew or should have known of any allegedly widespread cheating," Deane wrote in a statement. "She further denies any other allegations of knowing and deliberate wrongdoing on her part or on the part of her senior staff, whether during the course of the investigation or before the investigation began."

The results of the investigation are being forwarded to prosecutors, and many of the cases could lead to criminal charges, Gov. Deal said.

"Nothing is more important to the future of our state than ensuring that today's students receive a first class education and integrity in testing is a necessary piece of that equation," Deal said. "When educators have failed to uphold the public trust and students are harmed in the process, there will be consequences."

Deal declined to answer questions about Hall or her role in the cheating scandal. He said the investigation is being forwarded to Fulton, DeKalb and Douglas county prosecutors for possible criminal charges.

All educators in the report also will be referred to the state Professional Standards Commission, which licenses teachers in Georgia, to determine whether they should have their licenses suspended or revoked, Deal said. The district has 6,000 employees, half of them teachers.

Interim Atlanta schools superintendent Erroll Davis said in a news conference later Tuesday that those responsible for the cheating will "not be put in front of children again." Davis took over the 50,000-student district Friday after Hall retired June 30.

He said he had not yet seen a full copy of the investigators' report.

"It's clear this is to involve the removal in a very short period of time of those who have created or helped created or participated in or should have halted this scandal," Davis said.

Atlanta school board chairwoman Brenda Muhammad said she was "devastated" by the results of the probe.

"I am very upset, very angry," she said. "Many of our children have been cheated, and that, I think, is the most sinful thing that we can do to our children because they look to us as adults. This board is committed to making sure that this never, ever, ever happens again."

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed called the report "a dark day" for the city's schools, where more than three-fourths of the children are poor.

"There is no question that a complete failure of leadership in the Atlanta Public School system hurt thousands of children who were promoted to the next grade without meeting basic academic standards," Reed said in a statement.

The investigation was done by former state attorney general Michael Bowers, former DeKalb County district attorney Robert Wilson and former Atlanta police detective Richard Hyde. They conducted 2,100 interviews and reviewed more than 800,000 documents.

A number of other urban school districts and states have been caught up in cheating scandals in the last several years, including Baltimore and Houston, and Texas, Michigan and Florida.

Problems have mounted, some experts say, as teachers and school administrators - particularly those in low-income districts - bow to the pressure of the federal No Child Left Behind requirements and see cheating as the only way to avoid sanctions. Under the law, failing schools must offer extra tutoring, allow parents to transfer their children to higher performing schools and fire teachers and administrators who don't pass muster.

For parents like Shawnna Hayes-Tavares, who has three children in Atlanta schools, the results of the state investigation are disheartening. She said her son attended one of the suspect schools, and his test scores dropped dramatically when he transferred to another school, suggesting his earlier scores had been inflated.

"We are appalled," Hayes-Tavares said about the state report. "It's criminal."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by Dorie Turner, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>atlanta schoolsatlanta schools cheatingatlanta superintendentAssociated PressWed, 06 Jul 2011 09:35:00 ESTCasey Anthony Found Not Guilty For Killing Daughterhttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/05/casey-anthony-found-not-guilty/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/05/casey-anthony-found-not-guilty/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/05/casey-anthony-found-not-guilty/#commentsFiled under:

casey anthony

Casey Anthony awaits verdict. Credit: Joe Burbank, AP

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Casey Anthony was found not guilty Tuesday of killing her 2-year-old daughter in a case that captivated the nation as it played out on national television from the moment the toddler was reported missing three years ago.

Anthony, 25, wept after the clerk read the verdict, which jurors reached after less than 11 hours of deliberation over two days. She was charged with first-degree murder, which could have brought the death penalty if she had been convicted.

Instead, she was convicted of only four counts of lying to investigators looking into the June 2008 disappearance of her daughter Caylee. Her body was found in the woods six months later and a medical examiner was never able to determine how she died.

She will be sentenced by the judge on Thursday and could receive up to a year in jail for each lying count.

After the verdict was read, Casey Anthony hugged her attorney Jose Baez and later mouthed the words "thank you" to him. Prosecutor Jeff Ashton, meanwhile, shook his head in disbelief.

Anthony's parents left the courtroom without speaking to her as the judge thanked the jury.

"While we're happy for Casey, there are no winners in this case," Baez said at a news conference after the hearing. "Caylee has passed on far, far too soon and what my driving force has been for the last three years has been always to make sure that there has been justice for Caylee and Casey because Casey did not murder Caylee. It's that simple. And today our system of justice has not dishonored her memory by a false conviction."

Anthony's attorneys claimed that the toddler drowned accidentally in the family swimming pool, and that her seemingly carefree mother in fact was hiding emotional distress caused by sexual abuse from her father.

Prosecutors contended that Caylee was suffocated with duct tape by a mother who loved to party, tattooed herself with the Italian words for "beautiful life" in the month her daughter was missing and crafted elaborate lies to mislead everyone from investigators to her own parents.

Captivated observers camped outside the courthouse to jockey for coveted seats in the courtroom gallery, which occasionally led to fights among those desperate to watch the drama unfold.

Anthony did not take the stand during the trial, which started in mid-May. Because the case got so much media attention in Orlando, jurors were brought in from the Tampa Bay area and sequestered for the entire trial.

Baez conceded that his client had told elaborate lies and invented imaginary friends and even a fake father for Caylee, but he said that doesn't mean she killed her daughter.

"They throw enough against the wall and see what sticks," Baez said of prosecutors during closing arugments. "That is what they're doing ... right down to the cause of death."

He tried to convince jurors that the toddler accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool and that when Anthony panicked, her father, a former police officer, decided to make the death look like a murder by putting duct tape on the girl's mouth and dumping the body in woods about a quarter-mile away.

Her father firmly denied both the cover-up and abuse claims. The prosecution called those claims "absurd," saying that no one makes an accident look like a murder.

Lead prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick concluded the state's case by showing the jury two side-by-side images. One showed Casey Anthony smiling and partying in a nightclub during the month Caylee was missing. The other was the tattoo she got a day before her family and law enforcement first learned of the child's disappearance.

"At the end of this case, all you have to ask yourself is whose life was better without Caylee?" Burdick asked. "This is your answer."

Prosecutors hammered on the lies Anthony, then 22, told from June 16, 2008, when her daughter was last seen, and a month later when sheriff's investigators were notified. Those include the single mother telling her parents she couldn't produce Caylee because the girl was with a nanny named Zanny - a woman who doesn't exist; that she and her daughter were spending time in Jacksonville, Fla., with a rich boyfriend who doesn't exist; and that Zanny had been hospitalized after an out-of-town traffic crash and that they were spending time with her.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by Kyle Hightower, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>casey anthonycasey anthony not guiltycaylee anthonyAssociated PressTue, 05 Jul 2011 14:55:00 ESTCA College Students Brace For State Budget Cutshttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/05/college-state-budget-cuts/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/05/college-state-budget-cuts/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/05/college-state-budget-cuts/#commentsFiled under:

california state budget cuts

University of California Berkeley student Dior Sweeney poses for a photograph on the campus. California college students could see bigger tuition bills but fewer courses and services after lawmakers passed a state budget that slashes spending on higher education. Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - California college students are bracing for higher tuition bills and fewer courses and campus services under a new state budget that once again slashes spending on higher education.

The budget signed Thursday by Gov. Jerry Brown inflicts the latest blow to California's renowned higher education system, which has helped make the state an economic powerhouse and served as a model for other states and countries.

Over the past three years, California's public colleges and universities have seen deep cuts in state funding that have dramatically raised the cost of attendance, forced campuses to turn away qualified students and eroded the quality of classroom instruction.

Under the newly approved state budget, the 10-campus University of California and 23-campus California State University will each lose at least $650 million in state funding, a cut of more than 20 percent. The two systems could each face another $100 million cut if the state takes in less revenue than expected.

The 112-campus community college system will lose $400 million in state funding and fees will increase from $26 to $36 per unit. The system could lose another $72 million and raise fees to $46 per unit if revenue projections fall short.

UC officials said Friday they will recommend that the Board of Regents consider raising undergraduate tuition by an additional 9.6 percent to offset the deeper-than-expected funding cut. Tuition is already set to rise 8 percent this fall to about $12,000, about three times what students paid a decade ago.

In an interview with The Associated Press, UC President Mark Yudof said higher tuition will cause hardship for many students, but he sees little choice when the university faces a $1 billion budget shortfall driven by rising costs and shrinking public support.

His biggest worry is losing the academic talent that has made UC one of the world's top research universities, Yudof said. UC San Diego recently lost three star scientists to Rice University, a deep-pocketed private institution in Houston.

"You can't starve this university for many years without there being consequences," Yudof said. "There's going to be a lot of pain. I don't deny that. But on my watch we're not going to see a dilution of the quality of the University of California."

The prospect of rising tuition is weighing heavily on students like Dior Sweeney, a UC Berkeley senior who works two jobs while going to school but still expects to graduate with more than $20,000 in student loans to repay.

"I'm really worried about how I'm going to pay for rent, transportation and food," said Sweeney, a liberal arts major. "It's definitely stressful, especially with the economy the way it is. So many people I know can't even get jobs with a B.A. What kind of job am I going to get to pay off all these loans?"

California State University students are also bracing for another tuition hike - on top of a previously approved 10 percent increase that will bring in-state tuition to $4,884, more than three times what CSU charged 10 years ago.

When it meets July 12, the CSU Board of Trustees will vote on raising tuition by an additional 10 to 15 percent this fall, said university spokesman Mike Uhlenkamp. Campuses may also have to reduce their teaching staffs and turn away more students to save money.

Sadaf Malik, a biology student at San Francisco State University, said she and her father are working as many hours as they can to pay for her school bills. She has been taking summer classes at a local community college because she wasn't able to get the courses she needs to graduate at SF State.

"I'm paying more for a poorer quality of education and fewer classes," said Malik, 20, who hopes to go to medical school. "It seems every year I'm getting less and less for my money."

The state budget cuts means California's community colleges, which serve 2.75 million students, will be reducing course offerings despite record demand from high school graduates, returning war veterans and unemployed workers trying to learn new skills, said Dan Troy, the system's vice chancellor for fiscal policy.

"The state has to get real about its priorities," Troy said. "If we're serious about ensuring a bright economic future, funding higher education is a huge part of that."

Democrats blamed Republicans for the deep cuts to higher education and other public services because they refused to support the governor's proposal to extend temporary increases to the sales, vehicle and income taxes the Legislature approved two years ago.

"Yes, you may have a little bit more money in your pocket, but at the same time, look at the impact on access for young people throughout California to be able to get a higher education," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.

Republicans fault Democrats for their unwillingness to go against union-controlled education spending, roll back public employee pensions and make colleges more efficient.

"The Democrats have never offered any reform on any level of the education spectrum," said Assemblyman Jeff Miller, R-Corona, a member of the Assembly higher education committee.

William Tierney, director of the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis at the University of Southern California, said the budget cuts to colleges and universities could have a lasting impact on California's economy and future.

Without a major expansion of higher education, Tierney said, "We're going to have an uneducated work force. The jobs will go elsewhere. Clearly an uneducated work force doesn't generate as much tax revenue."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by Terence Chea, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>budget cutscalifornia budget cutsschool budget cutsstate budget cutsAssociated PressTue, 05 Jul 2011 11:30:00 ESTCollege Cost Comparisons: From $2,000 to $50,000http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/30/college-cost-comparisons/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/30/college-cost-comparisons/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/30/college-cost-comparisons/#commentsFiled under: ,

Watch: How to Save for College
College Cost Comparisons

The federal agency released its College Affordability and Transparency lists on Thursday to fulfill a reporting requirement passed into law in 2008. Credit: AP

Looking for a college bargain? Try any of nine University of Puerto Rico campuses, where annual tuition hovers at or below $2,000.

Counting pennies? Avoid Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, a private school where tuition, fees and room and board exceeds $50,000, making it one of the five most expensive schools on a new U.S. Department of Education guide to college costs.

The federal agency released its College Affordability and Transparency lists on Thursday to fulfill a reporting requirement passed into law in 2008. The online lists track tuition costs among the top and bottom 5 percent of four-year and two-year schools. The measures include public, private and for-profit colleges and universities.

Separate lists show the most and least affordable schools when scholarships and other financial factors are considered. The Education Department says those "sticker prices" better reflect out-of-pocket attendance costs. Two other lists track the rate of tuition increases as well as the rate of increase in the average net price. And career college users interested in a specific track can search by their area of interest, such as cosmetology or automotive repair.

"Given the energy and commitment that families make to the process ... this information is very useful," said David Bergeron, the Education Department's deputy assistant secretary for policy, planning and innovation.

Education officials also acknowledged the data's limitations. For instance, the attendance costs that elevated Bates and four other East Coast liberal arts schools to the top of the private school heap include fees other than tuition that their peer institutions calculate separately.

And while the new lists highlight schools at the very top and bottom, they don't account for the other 90 percent of institutions - though individual costs and other details can still be found using links on the department's College Navigator website.

"This is really a tool that allows students and families to see the highs and lows," Bergeron said. "You really don't see the large middle."

Among four-year public schools, the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio ranks at the top for highest net price, with annual costs of $24,192 in 2008-09. The University of Guam is second-highest, $290 below the Texas medical school.

Sitting Bull College in North Dakota, which has campuses in Fort Yates and McLaughlin, tops the list of most affordable four-year schools, with a net price of just $938. That's compared to a national average of $10,747.

On tuition costs alone, Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., tops the list of four-year public schools, charging just $430 a year, compared to the national average of $6,397. That data comes from the 2009-10 school year, one year more current than the net price data.

But both of those schools are tribal colleges where attendance is generally limited to those of Native American ancestry - a caveat not readily found on the Department of Education site.

The new reporting standard requires schools with the highest costs or largest increases to justify the reasons behind the rising costs, and offer plans to address the increases. The specific reporting requirements are still being developed.

Some schools anticipated the data's release and offered their own explanations.

At Sewanee: The University of the South, a small private school in Sewanee, Tenn., the 2010-11 tuition costs of just below $36,000 kept the school out of the list of the top 5 percent most expensive. But Sewanee used Thursday's announcement to tout its plans to reduce tuition and fees by 10 percent next year - and to hail the effort to provide consumers with more accurate information about college costs.

"The economic climate has changed in recent years, and higher education's approach to how families pay for their children's educations must change with it," Sewanee vice chancellor John McCardell Jr. said in a written statement. "For years, private higher education has operated on a model of having high tuitions and high discounts. Over the past generation the most selective schools in the country got into the habit of listing a high sticker price and then discounting that price as needed in order to fill a class. This model is becoming financially unsustainable."

Starting Friday, new rules also require career and vocational colleges to disclose more details about their programs, including graduation rates, typical loan debts and job placement rates. Such for-profit schools must describe that information on promotional material as well as online.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by ALAN SCHER ZAGIER, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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How to Save for College

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]]>collegeCollege Cost Comparisonscost of collegeAssociated PressThu, 30 Jun 2011 09:30:00 ESTCharlie Sheen Child Support to Be Docked From Wages, Judge Ordershttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/29/sheen-child-support/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/29/sheen-child-support/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/29/sheen-child-support/#commentsFiled under: , ,

WATCH: When Charlie Sheen's kids were removed.
sheen child support

A judge has ordered Charlie Sheen's former bosses to garnish $55,000 a month for child support. Credit: AP

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A judge has ordered Charlie Sheen's former bosses to garnish $55,000 a month for child support from any payments they make to the former "Two and a Half Men" star.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Hank Goldberg on Friday approved a request by Brooke Mueller Sheen to garnish any payments Warner Bros. Television makes to her ex-husband.

The former couple was divorced on May 2, about two months after Warner Bros' fired Sheen from "Men." The actor and the studio have been fighting over payments ever since.

The hefty monthly payments are intended to support the Sheens' twin sons and were part of a divorce settlement they reached earlier this year.

The actor's spokesman Larry Solters declined to comment. Brooke Sheen's attorney did not immediately return a phone message.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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Charlie Sheen Has His Kids Removed

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]]>charlie sheensheen child supportAssociated PressWed, 29 Jun 2011 10:00:00 ESTStates Consider Banning Teens From Tanning Bedshttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/28/states-consider-banning-teens-from-tanning-beds/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/28/states-consider-banning-teens-from-tanning-beds/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/28/states-consider-banning-teens-from-tanning-beds/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Watch a PSA using humor (sort of) to convince teens not to tan. Do you think this will work?
Banning Teens From Tanning Beds

Citing skin cancer risks, legislators have debated over whether or not states should ban tanning beds used by minors. Credit: AP

LOS ANGELES (AP) - If a proposed law passes, California teens under 18 will need a fake ID to "fake and bake" themselves to a golden brown.

Citing skin cancer risks, legislators have joined lawmakers in at least 21 other states who have debated bills this year to ban or restrict tanning bed use by minors.

Teens under the age of 14 are already banned from tanning beds in California, and older teens need parental permission. But lawmakers in the Golden State are considering banning anyone under age 18 from using tanning beds, even if a parent says it's OK.

Sen. Ted Lieu, who proposed the more stringent legislation, says the parent signatures on permission forms are often forged, and tanning salons benefit financially by looking the other way. The bill has been approved by the Senate and faces review by the Assembly policy committee Tuesday.

Lieu chides vain teens who make a habit of slipping into tanning beds, saying they're short-sighted because "you will age doing this. Your skin will look more leathery later on."

According to the Food and Drug Administration, exposure to UV radiation, whether from the sun or a tanning bed, can cause skin cancer, burns, premature skin aging and eye damage. Approximately 30 million Americans visit tanning salons every year, and 2.3 million of those are teens, the FDA says.

"There is no such thing as a safe tan," according to the agency. "The increase in skin pigment, called melanin, which causes the tan color change in your skin is a sign of damage."

In 2009, a World Health Organization research group classified UV-emitting tanning beds as "carcinogenic," adding that health officials should strongly consider restricting minors' access to sunbeds. WHO, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Dermatology all support legislation banning the use of sunbeds and lamps for teens younger than 18.

Tanning businesses across the country are feeling the heat.

Along with California, lawmakers in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania are considering banning tanning beds for people under age 18. Similar legislation failed this year in Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and New Mexico.

Legislators in Massachusetts are considering a ban for teens under 14 or 16 in two separate bills. Lawmakers in Florida, Kentucky, Vermont and Washington rejected such measures this year.

John Overstreet, a spokesman for the Indoor Tanning Association, said sunscreen sellers are behind the legislative push and tanning beds are not proven to cause melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer.

California's bill is sponsored by the state's dermatology association and a cancer research group called AIM at Melanoma, which lists major drug companies, including Pfizer Inc. and Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co., as its sponsors.

Overstreet said business owners in his trade group worry that the legislation would hurt small businesses already struggling in the current economy. There are now about 878 tanning businesses in California, a number that's seen a 24 percent drop since 2009 because business has cooled, he said.

In areas where teens do a lot of tanning like college towns or affluent areas, Overstreet said, the legislation could mean a 10 percent hit to tanning salons' income.

"UV tanning is by far what people want," said Overstreet, saying tanning is a personal choice that shouldn't be interfered with by government.

"Tanning lamps and beds are designed to mimic the noontime sun, and you use them a measured amount of time," he said.

But according to American Academy of Pediatrics, powerful tanning beds produce radiation levels up to "10 to 15 times higher than that of the midday sun" and frequent tanners get a level of radiation that is not found in nature.

More than a million cases of skin cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. last year, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

Cancer survivor Lisa Andrews, 41, said she shouldn't have trusted tanning salon salespeople for medical advice. As a teenager, she went in for tanning bed stints one to three times a week in the winter months.

"I've always lived in California, and I wanted to have the blond hair and the brown skin and live up to all that California girl stuff," said Andrews, who now protects her naturally pale skin with religious use of sunscreen. "I remember thinking I was so ugly when I was my own skin color."

At age 35, she was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma on her leg, and she is now vigilant about watching her skin for signs of cancer. She attributes the cancer to her time in the tanning bed, which she also came to rely on for the euphoric buzz she would feel after the experience.

Exposure to UV rays from tanning beds or the sun may be addictive because the radiation may cause release of endorphins in the skin, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

For the past five years, Long Beach resident Samantha Healey has slipped into a tanning bed up to four times a week.

"I almost get, like, re-energized," the 23-year-old said.

Healey has worked in tanning salons in California and Nevada and says rebellious teens do try to forge their parents' signatures.

Wayne LaVassar, who owns 14 tanning salons in the Los Angeles area, says he requires parents to come in to sign permission slips at his California Tanning Salons. Requiring in-person authorization would be an appropriate middle ground instead of a ban, he said.

Missouri lawmakers are considering a bill this year that would require parents to sign off on their children's tanning, but similar measures failed in Connecticut, Nevada, South Dakota and West Virginia.

In North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island, legislators are weighing whether a doctor's note should be required for teens under 18. Iowa and Washington rejected such a requirement this year.

LaVassar said he doesn't understand why legislation is moving in so many states when tanning beds are overseen by the FDA and parents should have the right to make decisions for their kids.

"I don't believe the sun is bad for you. I believe too much sun is bad for you," he said. "We should be sending a message of moderation and responsibility."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>Banning Teens From Tanning BedscaliforniacancertanningAssociated PressTue, 28 Jun 2011 09:30:00 ESTTough Safety Standards For Cribs Going Into Effecthttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/27/safety-standards-for-cribs/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/27/safety-standards-for-cribs/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/27/safety-standards-for-cribs/#commentsFiled under:

crib safety

This undated image provided by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shows a drop-side crib. Credit: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) - It's one of the biggest purchases for soon-to-be parents: a crib for baby. Beginning Tuesday, a new generation of cribs, designed to be safer, will be the only ones approved for sale - in stores, online, and even at neighborhood yard sales.

Ushering in one of the most significant changes in child safety in decades, the rule taking effect this week bans the manufacture, sale and resale of drop-side cribs. Drop-sides have a side rail that can be raised and lowered to allow parents to more easily place or lift a baby, but they have been blamed in the deaths of several dozen children.

Another significant part of the new federal standard mandates more rigorous safety tests for children's cribs before they hit the market. In the past, manufacturers were allowed to retighten screws and bolts on a crib in the middle of hardware testing meant to mimic how a child might rattle a crib - by jumping up and down or shaking a rail.

While the tests were intended to simulate a toddler in a crib, they don't mimic the reality of the parent. It's a rare parent who would know when to retighten obscure pieces of hardware on a crib during normal use by a child.

The retightening of screws and bolts during durability tests on cribs ends Tuesday, as part of the new rule approved last year by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Stronger mattress support systems and crib slats are also a major part of the new testing.

"After 30 years of having outdated standards, CPSC delivered on its promise and created the toughest crib safety standards in the world," Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum told The Associated Press. "Parents can now shop for a crib with confidence."

New cribs on the market won't really look different other than the obvious absence of a movable side that drops down. Now, all four sides will be fixed and the cribs should be sturdier because of the tougher testing requirements.

Drop-side cribs have been around for decades. But they have increasingly come under scrutiny in recent years because of malfunctioning hardware, sometimes cheaper plastics, or assembly problems that can lead to the drop-side rail partially detaching. That can create a dangerous "V''-like gap with the mattress in which a baby can get caught and suffocate.

Drop-sides are blamed in the deaths of more than 30 infants and toddlers since 2000 and suspected in about a dozen other infant fatalities. Since 2007, more than 9 million drop-sides have been recalled including cribs from Evenflo and Pottery Barn Kids.

The end of drop-side cribs marks a long-awaited day for Susan Cirigliano, who lost her 6-month-old son, Bobby, when his drop-side slid off the tracks in 2004, trapping his head and neck between the mattress and the malfunctioning side rail. He suffocated.

"It's bittersweet. It is not going to change my life as far as what has already happened to us," said Cirigliano, who lives in North Bellmore on New York's Long Island. "But hopefully, it will save many more children. I am sure it will."

While drop-side cribs will no longer be made or sold, they are still being used in homes across the nation. The industry says drop-sides that haven't been recalled can be used safely as long as they are properly assembled and maintained to the manufacturer's instructions. Manufacturers do not recommend using cribs that are more than 10 years old.

Industry officials say a healthy supply of new cribs awaits shoppers.

"Our members are currently selling cribs that meet the new federal standard and parents will continue to enjoy a large selection of cribs in a range of price points," said Michael Dwyer, executive director of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, a trade group that represents about 90 percent of the crib industry.

A new crib can cost from about $120 to more than $700, with about 2.4 million of them sold each year.

While manufacturers have been making cribs to the new standard for months, some retailers still have cribs in stock that will be banned on Tuesday. One estimate suggests more than 100,000 noncompliant cribs costing more than $30 million in lost sales.

The two Republican commissioners at the CPSC tried this month to secure an extension for dozens of retailers, many of them smaller ones, to allow them at least a few more months to sell their inventory.

"I would have liked to have seen a three-month grace period for retailers," Republican Commissioner Anne Northup said in an AP interview. "We should have staggered it so that if we allow manufacturers to deliver up until June 28th, we should have allowed retailers a certain amount of time for them to sell what was legal."

The three Democrats on the commission, however, blocked an extension.

The agency is allowing daycare centers, hotels and companies that rent cribs additional time to comply - until Dec. 28, 2012, before they need to purchase cribs that meet the new safety standards.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by Jennifer C. Kerr, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>crib recallcribsAssociated PressMon, 27 Jun 2011 16:00:00 ESTUPDATE: Calif. Can't Ban Violent Video Game Saleshttp://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/27/violent-video-game-sales-to-kids/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/27/violent-video-game-sales-to-kids/http://www.parentdish.com/2011/06/27/violent-video-game-sales-to-kids/#commentsFiled under:

violent video game

Credit: Corbis

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court says California cannot ban the rental or sale of violent video games to children.

The high court agreed Monday with a federal court's decision to throw out California's ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Sacramento said the law violated minors' rights under the First and Fourteenth amendments.

The law would have prohibited the sale or rental of violent games to anyone under 18. Retailers who violated the act would have been fined up to $1,000 for each infraction.

The court on a 7-2 vote said the law was unconstitutional.

More than 46 million American households have at least one video-game system, with the industry bringing in at least $18 billion in 2010.

Do you think there should be an age restriction on buying violent video games? Join the discussion on Facebook!

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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]]>games for kidsvideo gamesviolent video gamesAssociated PressMon, 27 Jun 2011 09:45:00 EST