In the News, June 13th, 2008

Nabbed...the Brothel Tour Bus....
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photo Local10.com.
It may appear to be a regular black limousine bus but, officials say that this one parked just a block from Miami Beach Police Department headquarters was being used as a "brothel on wheels". This bus was used as a place where clients could come to solicit sex from prostitutes, police said.

Miami Beach undercover detectives busted the bus after paying the $40 entry fee. While onboard they found women offering oral sex and lap dances for money, authorities said.

Police have charged the operators with charges including offering to commit or engage in prostitution, conducting business without a license, directing another to a place of prostitution and deriving support from prostitution.
The bust was part of a nationwide undercover sweep called "Operation Cross Country" that was aimed at finding child prostitutes and headed by the FBI. Operations in 16 cities led to the recovery of 21 children, the FBI said.
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No longer in the "Axis of Evil"

Good news for the 'war on terrorism'. The Bush administration is lifting trade sanctions against North Korea in a move to take it off the U.S. terrorism blacklist. Seems to be a remarkable turnaround in policy toward the communist regime, which President Bush once branded as part of an "axis of evil."


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Do ya think?
A government survey of teens from 2002 to 2006 says slightly more than half had engaged in underage drinking and they are turning to their parents or other adults for free alcohol.
An estimated 40 percent of the 10.8 million underage drinkers say they got it from an adult for free over the past month. The study says that one in 16 got it from a parent or guardian and one in 12 got it from another adult family member. And this is all new to us......

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Teachers don't know math?
The study by a nonpartisan research and advocacy group says that it's the teachers who don't know their math. This study comes just a few months after a federal panel reported that U.S. students have widespread difficulty with fractions, a problem that arises in elementary school and prevents kids from mastering more complicated topics like algebra later on.

The problem- teacher's preparation. The study found the teaching programs, within colleges and universities, spend too little time on elementary math topics. Teacher candidates know their multiplication tables, but "they don't come to us knowing why multiplication works the way it does," said Denise Mewborn, who heads the University of Georgia department of math and science education.

The report also criticized the tests education students take when they complete their coursework, which are generally relied on by states in granting teacher licenses. In many cases, the prospective teachers are judged on an overall score only, meaning they could do badly on the math portion but still pass if they do well in the other areas.