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TopFinds: Child Poverty in U.S., Creating Toothpick Cities

Investigating U.S. child poverty rates. A British TV station hires facially disfigured anchors to read the news. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 becomes the hottest video game of the year. These are the top stories making headlines around the world.

Kay Matthews discusses the child poverty issue raising hackles in the U.S. “Low-paying jobs contribute to rising poverty levels,” Kay writes, and then goes on to interview experts in the fields of political science and children advocacy. Her conclusions are stunning, so bookmark this article because its facts and quotes will be relevant for years to come.

What happens when politicians use Twitter? Sometimes they get flack from colleagues, KJ Mullins tells us in a Special Report. She writes about a Canadian MP who thinks tweeting politicians should stop their micro-blogging ways, saying they look “like idiots.” KJ interviews several key politicians, including Olivia Chow, who reveals she tweets around 10 times a day. Hmm, what about Prime Minister Harper?

Tall Ships

The ‘Tall Ships’ arrive in the harbor of Toothpick City II: Temples and Towers.
www.toothpickcity.com

Tackling a light-hearted story, Bob Gordon interviewed a talented architect…but he doesn’t use bricks, but instead creates miniature cities with toothpicks. Stan Munro’s replicated towers and buildings are on display at the Museum of Science and Technology (MOST) in Syracuse, NY but you can learn why he does what he does in this illuminating Q&A. The photos are also top-notch.

In Digital Journal news, we just launched our new enhanced mobile website, allowing citizen journalists to post images, news and blogs. “Think of this as a comprehensive iPhone app that doesn’t require an iPhone, because the site will work on any smart hone. All you need is an Internet connection on your mobile device,” the press release states. Let us know what you think of the mobile site, feedback is always welcome.

A selection of other notable stories include:

Two die in China after H1N1 Swine Flu vaccination by Andrew Moran: H1N1 news continues to win favour with readers, and this headline is no exception. The “two Chinese citizens died after receiving a domestically manufactured H1N1 vaccine,” Andrew reports. But realize it’s very rare to hear about swine flu vaccination deaths, so take this news with a hefty grain of salt.

Kumi Naidoo  Greenpeace

Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace
World Economic Forum

New Greenpeace head says human existence ‘under threat’ by Kevin Jess: Not only does Kumi Naidoo criticize Obama in this illuminating article, but he also underscores the importance of taking environmental action. Immediately. He mentions 300,000 more people are dying “from what can be described as climate-related impacts.” Do you think the new Greenpeace head is on the money or employing some hyperbole?

• Detroit man kills naked son with ‘execution style’ gunshot
by Stephanie Dearing: In this horrific crime story, a boy’s father is alleged to have shot his son in the head after marching him outside the home. The father was arraigned on charges, Stephanie told us. No word yet on what prompted this disgusting act.

Channel Five in the UK to have facially disfigured news presenter by Gemma Fox: In this story, we learn how a “British television channel is to try to help break down prejudice against people with facial disfigurement by having one of its news bulletins presented for one week by a facially disfigured man.” Gemma explains this ground-breaking idea in an article you have to read to believe. skeptikool comments: “I hope this helps break down prejudice.”

Ferrero, Hershey announce interest in takeover of Cadbury by Jane Fazackarley: Everyone wants a taste of Cadbury — first, Kraft announced interest in buying the food giant, and now Hershey is expressing interest, too. Kraft bid for $16 billion, which Cadbury said undervalued the company, so let’s wait to see what Hershey will offer to the maker of those yummy chocolates.

St. Louis Editor Outs Commentator Who Then Loses Job by Bob Gordon: Here’s an odd duck of a story: a website editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch revealed the identity of an anonymous commenter when the user wrote a dirty word on the site. Then that user, a teacher at a high school, was fired for his anonymous comment. Well, formerly anonymous. This story has given rise to the debate on how anonymous commenters can be, and the responsibility of website administrators. What do you think?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Screenshot courtesy Infinity Ward, Inc.

Modern Warfare 2 Smashes Video Game Sales Records by Tylor Sweeney: Consider this Call of Duty successor the Halo of 2009. Tylor illustrates how positive the reviews have been for Modern Warfare 2, and how it’s easily smashing sales records. It is us, or do first-person shooters continue to be hot video games every year?

• Hulk Hogan ‘brawl’ at Australian press conference a hoax
by Paul Wallis: Oh retired wrestlers, what won’t you do for publicity? Hulk Hogan faked a brawl with Ric Flair, complete with blood on the face, in order to stir up buzz for his tour in Australia. The brawl was reported as real, at first, but intrepid journalists later discovered it to be a PR stunt. Read the comments for some light-hearted jabs at pro wrestlers.

The Biggest Fight of the Year Ends With A Pacquiao 12th Round TKO by Jay Hova: If you follow boxing, then you checked out the Pacquiao-Cotto match recently. Jay Hova attended this much-ballyhooed Super Bowl of boxing, and gave Digital Journal a play-by-play analysis of each round, right down to the TKO in the 12th. Great job, Jay!

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