"Imagine being 13, 14, 15 years old and putting the microphone in front of senators or presidential candidates and asking them about juvenile justice, immigration or education?" says Miss Ralls, who adds that 12 youths from Washington, New York and New Orleans have been selected to attend the Republican and Democratic national conventions in St. Paul, Minn., and Denver respectively.
"They will produce print, audio, broadcast their work that will be published for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Metro USA, and PBS' 'The Online NewsHour,'" she says.
CHILD DIPLOMACY
Number of skateboards being sent to Iraq for the Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience, now under construction: 2,000.
— Harper's Index, August 2008
NOT FORGOTTEN
Congress recalled that it was 10 years ago this week, on July 24, 1998, that U.S. Capitol Police Detective John Michael Gibson and Pfc. Jacob Joseph Chestnut were gunned down in the line of duty.
Indeed, for their sacrifices they became the first police officers to lie in honor in the rotunda of the Capitol. In fact, Pfc. Chestnut was the first African-American to lie in the rotunda.
It was noted in a resolution passed this week that the Capitol Police "are on the front lines of the war on terrorism and remain on constant alert against unauthorized access to Capitol buildings, terrorism, and other threats to the Capitol Complex."
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