Hard News Leads

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1. Findings from a survey show that reports of child abuse or neglect have increased from last year and that three to four children die every day from abuse or neglect. The Child Abuse Prevention Center in Baltimore released the survey yesterday.

2. MILWAUKEE-Police arrested nearly 150 anti-abortion protesters yesterday on disorderly conduct charges for blocking entrances to an abortion clinic. The arrests came after three days of demonstrations, with 2,500 demonstrators gathered to either protest against or support the clinic.

3. A man robbed a Chinese food delivery driver at gunpoint yesterday at an apartment complex on Western Avenue. The driver ran out of the building after giving the robber the food, police said.

4. A house fire on Main Street caused $45,000 in damages and the homeowner suffered minor burns on her hands and feet. A lighted cigarette on a sofa started the fire, fire officials said.

5. The number of murders in Colorado increased 53 percent and violent crime increased 2 percent in the first three months of this year, according to a report released by the Bureau of Investigation.

6. Ozone levels could drop 3 percent in the next decade, possibly leading to a 10 percent increase in skin cancer, according to a report by researches of the United Nations Environment Program.

7. SANTA ANA, CA.-A woman who set her husband on fire was charged with attempted murder yesterday. Her husband suffered third-degree burns and was taken to the University of California Irvine Burn Center, police said.

8. There are more broadband customers than dial-up Internet users in the U.S., with 53 percent of residential users now using broadband, according to Nielsen NetRatings. The increase comes as a result of dropping broadband prices.

9. Princeton University capped the number of A’s that can be awarded to students, in an effort to crack down on grade inflation this school year. No more than 35 percent of students in each department can receive A’s each semester.

10. Approximately 70 million people in the U.S. suffer from sleeping problems, possibly resulting in a risk of injury, health and behavior problems from lack of sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

Editing Post

Panora, La. - Mourners gathered in the United Methodist Church Friday for the funeral of Army Spc. Michael Mills, one of the 28 people killed Feb. 25 when an Iraqi suicide bomb exploded.

Mills was one of 191 Americans killed in the war. The 23-year-old had carried on a family tradition when he joined the Army.

Flags at half-staff, an altar surrounded by flower sprays tied with red, white and blue ribbons, and tears expressed the grief of the 525 funeral attendees.

The town’s 1,100 people considered Mills to be a hometown boy, and his funeral provided a somber contrast to the joyous reunions held for returning troops throughout the country.