By Kerry Trueman

No, grizzly cub twins Scout and Montana haven’t committed any crimes. It’s their mother, a furry freegan, who’s the delinquent. Idaho authorities had to capture the whole family after mama bear repeatedly trespassed in search of trash.

Mama’s been shipped off to Washington State University’s veterinary school to be studied. But the school couldn’t accommodate her babies, too, because they’re going to be ten feet long and a thousand pounds when they grow up.

Returning the cubs to the wild was not an option because of all the bad habits they’ve learned from their mother. Idaho officials placed the cubs temporarily in the Montana Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Helena, but warned that if no permanent home could be found, the grizzlies might have to be euthanized.

Luckily for Scout and Montana, though, the San Diego Zoo happened to have “a spare grotto in Bear Canyon,” as the Los Angeles Times reports, thanks to the recent death of an Alaskan brown bear named Spanky. So Scout and Montana have taken up residence in a swanky 4,500-square-foot grotto complete with moat, waterfalls, grass and trees. Not bad for a pair of bears who were on the road to becoming juvenile delinquents. Now they’re well on their way to becoming cub scouts.

By Kerry Trueman

Kansas gave the coal industry a black eye last month when it became the first state to reject a proposed coal-fired power plant “solely because of health risks associated with carbon dioxide emissions,” according to Reuters.

Environmentalists were thrilled by the decision, hoping it would set a precedent and inspire more states to scuttle plans for new coal-fired power plants, which are some of the world’s most prodigious producers of greenhouse gases.

But a pro-coal coalition of business, political and industrial leaders are seeking to have the decision reversed, via lawsuits and a newly formed “Astroturf” (i.e., fake grassroots) group called Kansans For Affordable Energy. The head of the group, Bob Kreutzer, told Reuters, “Everybody agrees that motherhood, apple pie and caring about the environment are fantastic…but we’ve got to make sure we always have electricity and that is why we need big power plants.”

And if that argument doesn’t sway you, perhaps an ad suggesting that Roderick L. Bremby, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary who rejected the coal plants, is somehow in cahoots with Vladmir Putin, Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will do the trick. As Dave Roberts noted over at Grist, “Nothing like a little overt xenophobia to liven up the energy debate.”

By Giulia Rozzi

A woman in Saudi Arabia accused seven men of rape and she is the one who is punished!?

The woman, known there only as “the Qatif girl, ” was initially subjected to 90 lashes for being alone with a man to whom she was not married.
Outraged,her human rights lawyer appealed the sentence which only doubled the woman’s sentence and stripped her lawyer of his license to practice.

Wait, a minute are we living in 2007? What? How? Why?! Not only has this woman been violated by these alleged rapists but she is being violated by her own country!

Now the case is being appealed to the Kingdom’s highest court and activists are demanding that the judiciary system be examined.

For more on human rights campaigns around the world visit www.hrw.org

Roger B. Smith, former CEO of General Motors and silent star of the acclaimed documentary Roger and Me is dead. He died after a brief bout with an unspecified illness in Detroit.Smith was notorious for changing the automotive industry when it was just on the brink of becoming global and also for giving and then taking back lots of jobs from hard working Michigan residents. This isn’t an uncommon problem for companies these days as trying to stay alive in the global climate while still staying true to local roots is more complicated than one might think. Just ask the folks at the Lego Corporation.Economics and politics aside, it seems despite all his efforts Michael Moore won’t get to have a chat with Smith. Check out the trailer for his award winning documentary and then Netflix it (or whatever you do) to get the whole story.

By Giulia Rozzi

The number of American teens with HIV has increased in recent years.

According to the report there are a number of factors may be at play, including the fact that many HIV-infected patients are now being kept healthy with powerful drugs — making AIDS seem like less of a threat to young people than it did in the past.

Also “the ’scare factor’ isn’t there anymore,” said Rowena Johnston, vice president of research at the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) in New York City.

For more on AIDS education and how to get involved in the fight against AIDS visit avert.org or aids.org

By Giulia Rozzi

“A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila” is the 2nd highest rated Mtv networks show currently on air.

The reality series features the bi-sexual internet starlet, Tila Tequila searching for love with both men and women. However, Page Six reported today that Tila is actually straight and has been dating her boyfriend for over a year.

Gasp! No! You mean a reality show that isn’t really real!? I am shocked and appalled. I thought TV love was true love, and not just mindless manufactured guilty pleasure entertainment perfect to watch on a lazy hung-over Saturday afternoon. Next thing you know someone is going to say that Flava Flav’s quest on “Flavor of Love” was disingenuous. Or that Bret Michaels wasn’t really looking for life partner on “Rock of Love“!

One thing that is real, is that there are many people who struggle with sexual identity, especially teenagers. To learn more about support for gay, straight and bisexual teens visit glsen.org

Often education headlines deal with high school kids and college students and how to better education for them and improve their test scores, but some feel we need to start paying attention much earlier. On the Upper East Side of New York City, many teachers (mostly of preschool students) are spending time at a conference on a new teaching philosophy from Italy meant for 4 to 5 year olds. The method called Reggio Emilia, focuses on projects that are devised by the kids themselves and are more long term in how they created.To learn more about the ideas behind Regglio Emilia, visit the NAREA site (North American Regglio Emilia Alliance) : http://www.reggioalliance.org/Learning from other countries instead of just comparing our test scores with theirs seems like a pretty awesome idea to me. On the short list of docs up for Oscar contention is a film called Please Vote for Me, that documented at what happened when a school in China looked elsewhere for education ideas and taught kids about Democracy through an election for class monitor. Watch below for an intro to the film and a trailer…

The teddy bear tragedy in Sudan has gotten worse. Protesters demanded the execution of Gillian Gibbons, the British teacher who named a teddy bear Mohamed!During a sermon, Abdul-Jalil Nazeer al-Karouri, told worshipers “this an arrogant woman who came to our country, cashing her salary in dollars, teaching our children hatred of our Prophet Muhammad.”Hatred? Isn’t killing a woman who innocently mis-named a toy a much greater of a hateful action? Ironically protesters began their demonstration as they exited mosques after Friday sermons.At a time where there is already such a common misunderstanding of the Muslim faith, outrageous actions such as suggesting the killing of a woman who accidentally insulted a religion simply make matters worse. Is it not religion that teaches us to forgive? And if so, why can’t the people of Sudan pardon this woman’s ignorance?Wouldn’t it be better to spare her life as an example of how conflict can be rationally discussed? Why not use this situation to raise awareness about the Muslim faith and its values? I never knew naming a toy Mohamed was such a crime against Muslims, but now I know because of this very situation. Afterall , awareness is the key to avoiding conflict.To learn more about the Muslim faith visit http://www.islamicawarenesssociety.com/

By Giulia Rozzi

Looks like more hard times for low income mother’s and their kids.

According to Feministing Bush’s proposed spending on the Womens, Infants and Childrens Program (which provides food vouchers to low-income women and their children up to age 5) would leave roughly half a million people in the lurch.

Meanwhile prices for milk and cheese have increased leaving many WIC members struggling.

For more on the WIC program visit http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/

By Giulia RozziMaria Carolina, a prostitute in Chile, is donating proceeds raised from her work (yes, 27 hours of sex)  to a disabled children’s charity. The act (of charity, probably not the actual sex)  has made the sex worker a celebrity in this Catholic-country.Well, I guess it’s good to see her use her powers for good. Afterall it is the season of giving!Want to donate to a charity? Not sex per se, but goods, money or your time? Check out these sites:To find a place to volunteer in your city: volunteermatch.org To get info and ideas of where to make donations: charitynavigator.org To learn about tax-deductions, how to pick a cause, and more: soyouwanna.com/site/syws/charity/charity.html Miss Carolina, who charges $300 for a 90-minute session, estimated that she would raise more than $4000.