Related News: Parents, beware of bullying on sites you’ve never seen

One new article link has been added to our Related News page. CNN published an article titled Parents, beware of bullying on sites you’ve never seen.

“Why aren’t you dead?”

“You should die.”

“Wait a minute, why are you still alive?”

“Go kill yourself.”

It’s impossible to comprehend another human being, let alone a child, sending such hateful messages to another person, but according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd in Lakeland, Florida, these messages are all too real.

They were sent to 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick, who ultimately jumped to her death in September, he said. The messages didn’t come via the social networking sites many of us are familiar with: Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. They were sent via newer, lesser-known social applications called Ask.fm and Kik, according to Judd.

Source: CNN

Related News: Are we too quick to cry ‘bully’?

One new article link has been added to our Related News page. CNN published an article titled Are we too quick to cry ‘bully’?.

Actual bullying, many educators and social scientists say, is intentional, repetitive abuse by a powerful person toward a less powerful target.

But not everyone defines it the same way: Although most states have bullying laws on the books, according to the Education Commission of the States, it’s handled differently around the country. New Hampshire’s law specifies that an act need occur only once — not multiple times — to be bullying. Nebraska’s law calls on local districts to create bullying policies. Several states recently added provisions to cover cyberbullying — bullying or harassment through technology. Laws in Massachusetts and New Jersey detail how educators should prevent, report and investigate bullying.

Say the word in almost any school these days, and it will get a quick reaction. In many cases, advocates said, that’s helpful. But sometimes, when it’s not really bullying, kids miss out on a chance to learn to cope with minor conflicts on their own.

Source: CNN

Related News: Sheriff: Taunting post leads to arrests in Rebecca Sedwick bullying death

One new article link has been added to our Related News page. CNN published an article titled Sheriff: Taunting post leads to arrests in Rebecca Sedwick bullying death.

The attorney for a 14-year-old Florida girl charged with aggravated stalking that allegedly led to the suicide of a 12-year-old classmate told CNN that her client isn’t responsible for a controversial Facebook post that led to the suspect’s arrest.

Police on Monday arrested two girls, ages 14 and 12, in connection with the death of Rebecca Sedwick, who jumped from the top of an abandoned concrete plant last month.

Authorities said the 14-year-old girl was Rebecca’s chief tormenter, and the girl posted a taunting message Saturday on the Internet about what had happened.

Source: CNN

Related News: 4 dead in triple-murder suicide pact linked to child porn probe, police say

One new article link has been added to our Related News page. CNN published an article titled 4 dead in triple-murder suicide pact linked to child porn probe, police say.

In a mystery straddling two states, three men and a woman were found dead of shotgun blasts in north Alabama after two of them were targeted in a Tennessee child pornography investigation, police say.

It’s being called a triple murder-suicide pact, as it appears the shooter killed his sister, former brother-in-law and friend before turning the 12-gauge on himself.

It’s unclear why they were in Alabama and why two of the four chose to take part in the pact.

Source: CNN

Related News: School officials resign after allegedly sending racist, sexist texts

One new article link has been added to our Related News page. CNN published an article titled School officials resign after allegedly sending racist, sexist texts.

“The racist and sexist language expressed by the two men was sickening and obviously unacceptable,” board President J. Neil Campbell said in a written statement. “The board followed state and federal laws and moved as expeditiously as possible while simultaneously cooperating with the district attorney.”

Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said the messages came to light as part of an existing unrelated investigation. In addition to the racist and sexist elements, he said, the messages had references to possible money-skimming.

Source: CNN

Related News: California school district hires firm to monitor students’ social media

One new article link has been added to our Related News page. CNN published an article titled California school district hires firm to monitor students’ social media.

A suburban Los Angeles school district is now looking at the public postings on social media by middle and high school students, searching for possible violence, drug use, bullying, truancy and suicidal threats.

The district in Glendale, California, is paying $40,500 to a firm to monitor and report on 14,000 middle and high school students’ posts on Twitter, Facebook and other social media for one year.

Source: CNN

Related News: Massachusetts man plotted to kill and eat children, feds say

One new article link has been added to our Related News page. CNN published an article titled Massachusetts man plotted to kill and eat children, feds say.

 A Boston-area man, who was planning to kidnap children, lock them in a basement dungeon, rape and eat them, should be imprisoned for at least 27 years, federal authorities said in court documents filed this week.

Geoffrey Portway pleaded guilty in May to distribution and possession of child pornography and solicitation to commit a crime of violence, according to court documents. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 17.

Source: CNN

Related News: Drunken driving video confession: ‘I killed a man’

One new article link has been added to our Related News page. CNN published an article titled Drunken driving video confession: ‘I killed a man’.

Matt Cordle’s confession doesn’t beat around the bush: “I killed a man.”

The Ohio man claims in a video posted on the Internet this week that he killed 61-year-old Vincent Canzani in a drunken-driving crash in June.

“I take full responsibility for everything I’ve done to Vincent and his family,” Cordle says in the video.

The 22-year-old has not been charged with any crime, but Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said Cordle is a suspect in the deadly crash and a grand jury will be asked to indict him for aggravated vehicular homicide.

Source: CNN

Related News: Unannounced use of license photos in criminal probes puts Ohio AG under fire

One new article link has been added to our Related News page. CNN published an article titled Unannounced use of license photos in criminal probes puts Ohio AG under fire.

Two months after a controversial facial recognition technology program was launched in Ohio without public notice, state Attorney General Mike DeWine conceded Monday he should have let Ohioans know that their images from driver’s licenses were being used by law enforcement in criminal investigations.

“If I had to do it over again, would we have announced it when we did it? Yeah, we would have. And I’ll take responsibility for that,” DeWine said at a news conference.

Although DeWine said he should have gone public with the program sooner, he gave no indication that the state would change or stop using the program. He did announce that an advisory board will be created to review the system’s usage and to suggest policy changes to avoid misuse of the program.

Source: CNN

Related News: Facebook rolls out shared photo albums

One new article link has been added to our Related News page. CNN published an article titled Facebook rolls out shared photo albums.

Next time you host a soiree, you can collect photos of the event from your guests in one album on Facebook.

The social network has added shared photo albums so people can throw photos from an event or of a common subject into a single spot. The new shared album feature, first reported by Mashable, is rolling out to English-speaking users of the social network but will eventually be available around the world.

Source: CNN