New record: more than one in 100 adults are now behind bars in the U.S.


New York - February 29 2008. When they reach the gates of the Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana, the inmates who are about to serve their time there know that only a few of them will be released one days. In the U.S., the inmate population keeps growing as defendants are sentenced to long prison spells. For the first time in U.S. history, more than one of every 100 American adults are incarcerated, according to a new report released on February 28 by the Pew Center on the States.

A drought threatens Atlanta and water wars loom in the U.S.

New York. Atlanta needs drinking water. Nearly two years into one of the worst droughts ever recorder in North Georgia, the large city faces a water crisis. As the 2008 Georgia legislative session opened on Monday January 14 in Atlanta, city officials are looking for ways to face the looming water shortages and preserve resources in the drought-stricken area.

Three boys, 8 and 9, charged with rape near Atlanta

New York. They are 8 and 9 years old. On Monday November 19 2007, they appeared shackled and jumpsuit in front of a Juvenile Court judge in Acworth (Georgia). They are accused of raping a 11-year old girl on Thursday November 15 in a wooded area near apartment houses in Acworth, a town of 19,500 north-west of Atlanta. The young defendants are under 13 and cannot be tried as adults. If convicted, they and could be sentenced to up to five years in a juvenile detention center.