Gov. Kasich signs anti-bullying bill

The Associated Press

COLUMBUS — Ohio Gov. John Kasich has signed an anti-bullying bill that requires schools to update policies to include harassment and intimidation sent electronically, such as over the Internet or mobile phones.

Kasich’s office said he signed the bill into law on Thursday.

Referred to as the Jessica Logan Act, the bill was named for a Cincinnati teenager who hanged herself in 2008 after weeks of bullying at her school.

Among other provisions, it also says policies must be extended to school buses, that training must be available for staff and that parents are to receive an annual bullying policy statement....

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The year’s top children’s books named

HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer

NEW YORK — This year’s winners of the top prizes in children’s literature were honored for stories of resilience over the most everyday troubles: a boy grounded by his parents, a dog that loses its favorite toy.

Jack Gantos’ “Dead End in Norvelt” won the John Newbery Medal for the best children’s book of 2011, and Chris Raschka’s “A Ball for Daisy” won the Randolph Caldecott award for best illustration. The prizes were announced Monday by the American Library Association during its midwinter meeting in Dallas.

No cash prizes are given, but the awards are watched closely by booksellers and librarians and often lead to increased sales and a lasting place on a school or...

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14-year-old dead after shooting himself with toy cannon

The Associated Press

TREMONTON, Utah — A 14-year-old Utah boy is dead after police say he accidentally shot himself with a miniature toy cannon.

Authorities say the boy was playing with the toy at about 7:30 a.m. Monday in his living room in Tremonton, about 75 miles north of Salt Lake City. Tremonton Police Chief David Nance says the boy was struck in the face after the cannon somehow went off.

The boy’s older brother was in the room at the time, and the boy’s father also was in the house. The boy, who hasn’t been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators are still trying to determine how a propellant got into the cannon, which is described as an 18th century replica with a six-inch metal barrel and a wooden...

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Study finds no better odds using 3 embryos in IVF

By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer

LONDON — A new study of fertility treatment found that women who get three or more embryos have no better odds of having a baby than those who get just two embryos.

They also have a greater chance of risky multiple births.

“Women who have gone through infertility treatment want the best chance of having a baby, but we need to explain that the data shows transferring more embryos doesn’t actually do that,” said Dr. Scott Nelson, head of reproductive and maternal medicine at the University of Glasgow, who co-authored the study published in Thursday’s issue of Lancet.

In Western Europe, where some countries pay for in-vitro fertilization, or IVF, many authorities recommend a single embryo transfer...

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Federal data shows child abuse is on the decline

By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer

NEW YORK — Fears that persisting economic woes would increase child abuse in the U.S. have proved unfounded, according to the latest federal data.

A comprehensive new report, to be formally unveiled Wednesday, shows overall abuse and neglect figures declining slightly between 2008 and 2010, and child fatalities dropping by 8.5 percent during that span.

“The recession hasn’t had the draconian effect that some feared,” said Richard Gelles, dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice and an expert on child welfare. “The doom and gloom predictions haven’t come true.”

The annual report from the Department of Health and Human Services said the estimated...

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Safety violations found at Head Start centers around the country

By KIMBERLY HEFLING, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON — It’s the kind of stuff that gives moms nightmares: a machete near a play area, household chemicals accessible to preschoolers, and instructors teaching without a criminal background check.

These violations and others were found at Head Start centers across the country, according to a report released Tuesday by the inspector general of the Health and Human Services Department.

Head Start, the federal program with roots in President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, provides early education services to nearly 1 million low-income kids nationwide. The federal government gives grant dollars to public, nonprofit and for-profit programs to provide the services.

Among the violations found: a...

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Survey: Sexual harassment pervasive in grades 7-12

By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer

NEW YORK — It can be a malicious rumor whispered in the hallway, a lewd photo arriving by cell phone, hands groping where they shouldn’t. Added up, it’s an epidemic — student-on-student sexual harassment that is pervasive in America’s middle schools and high schools.

During the 2010-11 school year, 48 percent of students in grades 7-12 experienced some form of sexual harassment in person or electronically via texting, email and social media, according to a major national survey being released Monday by the American Association of University Women.

The harassers often thought they were being funny, but the consequences for their targets can be wrenching, according to the survey. Nearly a third of the...

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Wal-Mart to shift focus from trendy to basics

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart will shutter its fashion office in Manhattan less than three years after arriving as the retailer shifts its focus back to basic items like socks and jeans, and away from trendier lines of clothing seen at its stores in recent years.

There are 275 people working at the office, set to close on Feb. 1, and spokesman Dave Tovar said Wal-Mart will relocate as many of them as possible to the company headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. The company began speaking with employees in New York early Wednesday, he said.

The senior vice president of Wal-Mart’s U.S. apparel merchandising division, Lisa Rhodes, will stay on through the transition and leave in July. The company promoted executives...

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Arizona mom banned from McDonald’s

By the Associated Press

CHANDLER, Ariz. — An Arizona mother of four has received a hand-delivered letter from a lawyer prohibiting her from setting foot in eight Phoenix-area McDonald’s and threatening her with criminal trespassing charges if she did.

Chandler resident Erin Carr-Jordan has been on a national crusade to clean up fast-food play areas, claiming the pathogens she found in them threaten children’s health. She is also an Arizona State University Instructor.

Carr-Jordan tells The Arizona Republic the incident she believes led to the lawyer’s letter happened during one of her repeated visits to a Gilbert McDonald’s. Carr-Jordan alleges she discovered antibiotic-resistant Staph or MRSA, known to cause potentially...

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Students OK after confusing rat poison for candy

By the Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Authorities say seven San Francisco middle school students have been taken to hospitals after apparently mistaking rat poison for candy.

San Francisco Fire Department Lt. Mindy Talmadge says students from the Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Middle School were taken to three hospitals Thursday afternoon after ingesting a blue cube they found atop a filing cabinet.

Talmadge said crews were called to the school after one of the students told a parent about the incident. A teacher later called poison control.

Talmadge said while the children showed no symptoms, and that they were taken to hospitals as a precaution.

School officials say the incident is under investigation....

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