Hot Docs: Homeless Kids, FBI's Gangster Show

One in 50 U.S. Kids Homeless
About 1.5 million American children experience homelessness each year. That number, according to a report released by the National Center on Family Homelessness, represents 1 of every 50 American children. The report, "America's Youngest Outcasts," found that 42 percent of homeless children are under the age of 6; that African-American and American Indian children are disproportionately represented; that more than 1 in 7 have moderate to severe health conditions such as asthma; and that fewer than 1 in 4 will graduate from high school. The center also analyzed data on the extent of child homelessness, child well-being, risk for child homeless, and state policy and planning efforts. In the center's resultant rankings, the states with the worst rankings were clustered in the Ssouth and Ssouthwest, with Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas, Georgia, and Texas at the bottom.

The Year of the Gangster, Part I
Seventy-five years ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation rocketed to national and international fame through its role in fighting such notorious gangsters as John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, "Pretty Boy" Floyd, and "Baby Face" Nelson. To mark that era, the FBI is launching the "Year of the Gangster," a multimedia presentation on its website of photographs, case files, and stories about how it went after the gangsters, how the FBI came to be portrayed in popular culture, and the social and political changes wrought by these criminals. The first episode is "Dillinger Crosses a Line, The Year of the Gangster, Part 1." It includes wanted posters, a photo of Dillinger's gun, and an accounting of the "last steps" the bank robber and killer took at Chicago's Biograph Theater on a sultry night in July 1934. The FBI promises Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow next month, along with a "newly released field office file."

Progress Made in Efforts to Reform Afghanistan Security Forces
U.S. agencies have succeeded in restructuring the Afghan Ministry of the Interior and the national police force, but more work needs to be done, a Government Accountability Office report concludes. The report, "Afghanistan Security: U.S. Programs to Further Reform Ministry of Interior and National Police Challenged by Lack of Military Personnel and Afghan Cooperation," says the oversize officer corps has been cut by thousands and pay increases have been instituted for all ranks. However, some 25 percent of the national police are still viewed as "not capable," and efforts to ensure that wages are being paid to verified personnel and not "ghosts" or with portions being skimmed off "face challenges that include limited (Afghan national police) cooperation and a shortage of commercial banks." The report says the United States should consider making further contributions for police wages contingent on verification of personnel.

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