Article here. Excerpt:

'Perugia, Italy (CNN) -- In a ruling read to a tension-filled courtroom, an Italian jury on Monday cleared Amanda Knox of murder and other charges, nearly four years after she was arrested on suspicion of having killed her roommate in this picturesque Italian university town.

There was an audible gasp in the courtroom as the verdict was read, then an eruption of emotion, prompting the judge to call for silence. Knox herself was nearly hysterical, according to CNN's Matthew Chance, and had to be assisted out of the courtroom by two people.

The jury evidently believed Knox's impassioned final statement to the court, delivered in a voice trembling with emotion.

"I am not what they say I am -- perverse, violent. ... I haven't murdered. I haven't raped. I haven't stolen," Knox said in the most important speech of her life. Her co-defendant, Raffaele Sollecito, was also cleared of involvement in the 2007 death of Meredith Kercher, a British exchange student and Knox's roommate in Perugia.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'More males may get throat cancer from having oral sex with women than from smoking as the result of a virus linked to the malignancy, a study suggests.

Researchers examined 271 throat-tumor samples collected over 20 years ending in 2004 and found that the percentage of oral cancer linked to the human papillomavirus, or HPV, surged to 72 percent from about 16 percent, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. By 2020, the virus-linked throat tumors -- which mostly affected men -- will become more common than HPV-caused cervical cancer, the report found.

HPV is known for infecting genitals. The finding that it can spread to the throat and cause cancer may increase pressure on Merck & Co., the second-largest U.S. drugmaker, to conduct large-scale trials to see if its vaccine Gardasil, which wards off cervical cancer in women, also prevents HPV throat infections, said Maura Gillison, an oncologist at Ohio State University and study senior author.'

Story here.

'Police say a singer known for his 1990 chart-topping love song was hauled off a Massachusetts stage and arrested on charges of owing $420,000 in unpaid child support.

Steven Bernard Hill of Las Vegas was arrested Friday night at the MassMutual Center, where he was performing on tour.

Hill performs as Stevie B and is best known for the song "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)." It reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts in late 1990.

Springfield police Sgt. John M. Delaney tells the Springfield Republican that Hill was surprised by the arrest and concerned that he might miss a weekend show in Providence, Rhode Island.

Hill is scheduled to be arraigned Monday. He couldn't be reached for comment Sunday. Police didn't know if he had an attorney.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'It's not a sight you see every day.

Courageous men took off their comfortable shoes and sported red high heels Saturday morning for the "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" international men's march in Central Falls.

The march kicked off at the high school on Summer Street in an effort to show solidarity and support to end violence against women and bring an end to sexual assault, rape and gender violence.
...
One in four women will experience gender violence in her lifetime.

"This violence does not just affect women. Men are hurt and angered when women they care about are raped or abused. And the same violence that targets women also targets men because rape isn't about sex, it's about power, control and violence," said Nancy Rafi, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Crisis Assistance Center.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Sethi's survey found that 58% of men feel more confidence toward their money and finances, compared to 44% of women. Females also feel more anxiety toward finances (33%) than men (18%). This may account for why 28% of the male respondents reported to always negotiating their salary, compared to only 19% of women respondents. Men also believe that the pay of women compared to men is equal, at a rate of 47% to 18% of women. More than 80% of women said they feel the pay is less.

Men also spend more of their money on technology and electronics at a rate of 54% to 23%. Female respondents spent more on travel--43% compared to 33% of men.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'(CBS/WTSP/AP) TAMPA, Fla. - A judge ruled to end middle-school teacher turned sex-offender Debra Lafave probation early during a court hearing Thursday afternoon.
...
The Tampa judge decided Thursday to end the 31-year-old former teacher's probation four years early. She had served two years of house arrest and was scheduled to remain on probation until November 2015 for having sex with a 14-year-old student.

The judge's ruling means she no longer must observe a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, and can travel anywhere outside the area.
...
Lafave reportedly got engaged earlier this year and is now the mother of twin boys, she gave birth a month ago.

The victim is now 21. His sister said he is still getting psychiatric care, reports the station.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A teacher who admitted sexually abusing a 15-year-old female pupil has been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Suzanne Harrison, 38, pleaded guilty to four sex offences which took place when she worked at a school in Colchester.

Ipswich Crown Court heard Harrison swapped numbers with her victim at the girl's 15th birthday party.

The judge ruled the former Ipswich sixth form college worker, of Wacker Field Road, Rendlesham, Suffolk, should be held in a psychiatric hospital.

Judge Peter Thompson said he had made the ruling after a "very thorough" assessment of her condition.

"This does not mean the court takes a less serious view of the offending - the victim has suffered very significantly, " he told the court.'

Story here.

'September 30, 2011 (MISHAWAKA, Ind) -- A former Goshen College student who falsely reported that she was abducted and raped has been sentenced to 18 months of probation and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

WSBT-TV in South Bend reports that a judge Thursday also suspended an 18-month prison sentence that Jessica De La Vega could have faced under her conviction of obstructing justice.

Prosecutors said De La Vega told her mother in January she'd been kidnapped and raped as an excuse for being late. She then told police she had been abducted and raped in a Goshen park, leading police to circulate a sketch of a suspect.'

Article here.

'A WOMAN drank more than a pint of whiskey before grabbing a male Virgin Airways steward's penis and demanding sex, a UK court heard.

Katherine Goldberg, 25, from Ealing Common in west London, was on a flight from South Africa to Heathrow last month when she drunkenly assaulted the crew member.

Ms Goldberg, a teacher, was granted bail after her lawyer applied successfully to adjourn the case to make representations in relation to the charge of sexual assault, the London Evening Standard reported.

He said, "It is a serious allegation but there are good reasons why it would be in the public interest for the Crown to deal with her by way of a caution."

Ms Goldberg is charged with one count of sexual assault and another of being drunk in an aircraft.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Based on these results one can conclude only one of three things.

Either A) the above observations are anomalies and usually the number of high achievers is typically evenly split between boys and girls, B) girls are generally more intelligent than boys and thus it is natural that they would do better at school or C) the education system is not properly structured to educate males.

The facts point to the obvious conclusion that the education system is failing to educate our boys to the same levels as our girls and has been for decades.

Why has this situation been allowed to exist for as long as it has when it is apparent that the education system is aware of it?

Why is no one talking about this obvious inequity within our society?

Even with the now published inequity in the genders in university entrance, there is still no recognition or discussion of this awful situation.

Why is it that no one cares about the boys?'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The video, two minutes and 34 seconds long, graphically describes how domestic violence affects children. The child’s voice states:

“A child who lives with domestic violence lives in darkness. …She struggles to separate her nightmares from reality because there’s very little difference. The child who lives with domestic violence isn't afraid of the dark. She’s afraid of her dad because the monster doesn't live in her closet – it’s just down the hall.”'

Article here. Excerpt:

Article here. No mention of women who abuse men. Excerpt:

'Mr Dempsey said the Scottish definition of domestic abuse as primarily about male abusers controlling female victims "dominates" publicity materials and training for medical staff, police officers, judges, housing workers and civil servants. As a consequence, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people who suffer abuse at home, as well as their children, are being marginalised, he argued.
...
The Scottish Government's definition of domestic abuse as an offence perpetrated by men against women does "serious damage" to gay and transgendered people suffering violence in the home, an academic has said.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Nelson, who worked as a part-time model and nanny in Egypt before immigrating to the US in 1986, killed her 56-year-old husband after just one month of marriage.

She then cooked his head on a stove, skinned his torso and fried his hands in oil, at their Costa Mesa unit in central California, reports the Daily Pilot news website.

Nelson then drove garbage bags filled with body parts to ex-boyfriends, asking them to help dispose of the evidence and offering a $75,000 reward for help.
...
Nelson, who was aged in her 20s at the time, told police she was under severe stress and claimed her husband often physically and sexually abused her.'

Article here.

'MEXICO CITY (WLS) - Mexico City lawmakers are proposing legislation that would allow newlyweds to apply for temporary marriage licenses, instead of making the plunge into wedded life a lifetime commitment.

The change to civil code was proposed this week and would allow couples to decide the length of the commitment, with two years as the minimum. If couples are still enjoying wedded bliss when the contract ends, then they would be able to renew the license. And if they’re unhappy, the contract expires and they are both free without going through a divorce.

The legislation has proved to be controversial in Mexico, the country with the second largest Catholic population in world, after Brazil.

A vote is expected on the proposed legislation by the end of the year.'