The State of Homelessness in the U.S.

The 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Community Planning and Development 168 pages The Gist: There are few economic indicators as grim as homelessness. In its fourth annual report on the state of homelessness in the U.S., the Department of Housing and Urban Development found that some 1.6 million people stayed at homeless shelters from October 2007 to September 2008

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India’s Historic Ruling on Gay Rights

With one sweeping judgment Thursday, the Indian High Court decriminalized homosexuality, shook off a stubborn piece of colonial baggage and may have added momentum to a broader regional movement for gay rights. “This is a huge step forward,” says Anjali Gopalan, director of the Naz Foundation India Trust, an advocacy group based in New Delhi that successfully brought a public interest petition to overturn India’s anti-sodomy law, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

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South Africa fights rape crisis

Alexandra township, north of Johannesburg, is a densely populated melting pot with some of South Africa’s worst social ills. Poverty, unemployment, HIV/Aids and crime. One of the most common crimes in Alexandra Township — and throughout the country — is rape

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Metro crash victims ‘inseparable’ since high school prom

David and Ann Wherley were high school sweethearts who were king and queen of their high school prom in York, Pennsylvania. They were preparing to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary next month, but their lives were tragically cut short last week in the Metro train crash in Washington. A former commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, David Wherley was also the military man who, on September 11, 2001, deployed planes over Washington to protect the White House and take out any aircraft that threatened the Capitol

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NFL suspends Stallworth indefinitely

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth has been suspended indefinitely by the National Football League, days after he pleaded guilty to killing a pedestrian while driving under the influence of alcohol, the NFL said. Stallworth, 28, pleaded guilty in a Florida court Tuesday to DUI manslaughter charges in the March death of construction worker Mario Reyes. Under terms of a plea agreement, he will serve 30 days

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