First Lady Starts Mentoring Program
Yesterday, First Lady Michelle Obama launched an all-girls mentoring program at the White House. Calling it one of her top priorities, Obama has 18 female White House staffers mentoring 13 high school girls. Mentors include Valerie Jarrett and Melody Barnes. [Washington Post]


Bodies Identified as Black Women
The bodies of six women found decomposing at the home of convicted rapist Anthony Sowell have now been identified as black. The Cuyahoga County coroner is now beginning "the arduous task" of compiling materials from dentists and possible relatives of eight or nine missing women to begin further identification. [AP]

Tainted Beef Thought to Cause Death
Over the weekend, Fairbank Farms, of Asheville N.Y., recalled 545,699 pounds of beef, which had been tainted with E. coli. The beef sickened 28 people, caused 16 hospitalizations and resulted in one death. All of the cases, except for three, have occurred in the Northeast. [Reuters]

African Nations Boycott Climate Change Meeting
Several African nations are boycotting a UN meeting on climate change, contending that they are the least responsible for the world's carbon emissions but, according to a well-known study, will be the most affected by it. They want wealthier nations to make more of a commitment to protect the environment. [New York Times]

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