In this image taken July 16 and provided by Edlib News Network, a Syrian girl holds a poster that reads, "Greetings from Kfarnebel's children to the Free Syrian Army soldiers in Damascus," during a demonstration in Kfarnebel, Syria. Rebels hold large swaths of territory in rural Syria. Fighters in the village of Atima recently launched their first operation against the regime.
It's sunset in the village of Atima. The old police station clearly was part of the government at one point. The police basically left and now the police station itself is a headquarters for the rebels.
The flag on top of the police station is no longer the Syrian flag, but the flag of the revolution. It's a bit in tatters, but it's still there.
If there is a founding ethos in the world of high-tech startups, it's this: The idea is everything. Facebook's initial public offering might have seemed like the perfect illustration. A simple concept, conceived by a college student, became a $100 billion empire in just 8 years.
Child life specialist Kelly Schraf helps to put at ease Yoselyn Gaitan, 8, who had surgery on her cleft palate, at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Yoselyn Gaitan, an 8-year-old with a shy smile, sits quietly in an exam room at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., wearing a tiny hospital gown. She looks a little uneasy as she waits to be brought back to the operating room for the final surgery on her cleft palate.
Kelly Schraf spots her through the curtain and tiptoes into her room.
Every morning, Shannon Orley parks as far away as possible from her office in Anchorage, Alaska. And on the sprawling Providence Alaska Medical Center campus that is really far away.
"Right around 1,000 steps each way. Definitely worth it," Orley says.
Ted Engelmann, left, helps Yamilet Ortega, 3, second from left, and Kimberly Hernandez, 7, light candles, Saturday at a memorial near the movie theater in Aurora, Colo., where a gunman killed 12 people and wounded dozens of others Friday.
President Obama is in Aurora, Colo., on Sunday, meeting with the families of the victims of the deadly theater shootings that killed 12 people and injured 58 more. He'll also attend a memorial service and meet briefly with local officials.
Outside the movie theater where Friday's rampage occurred, there's a makeshift memorial at the edge of a hot and dusty lot. There are hundreds of candles and flowers, American flags and signs memorializing the victims.
"It's a sad time, very sad time," said William Cloud, a local professor, who came by to pay his respects.
We are all used to judicial nomination fights, but what has been remarkable in the Obama administration has been the molasses-like confirmation process for noncontroversial nominees, especially federal district court nominees.
More bad news for Penn State: The NCAA says it will issue sanctions Monday against the school over the child sex abuse scandal involving Jerry Sandusky.
The announcement came the same day the school removed the famed statue of legendary football coach Joe Paterno from outside the Penn State football stadium. Our colleague Eyder Peralta has written more about that move.
Ted Engelmann, left, helps Yamilet Ortega, 3, second from left, and Kimberly Hernandez, 7, light candles, Saturday, July 21, 2012, at a memorial near the movie theater in Aurora, Colo. where a gunman killed at least 12 people in one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent U.S. history.
Originally published on Sun July 22, 2012 11:12 am
The latest:
-- President Obama is headed to Aurora today to meet with the families of the victims. Obama, reports USA Today, is also scheduled to meet with state and local officials.
-- By evening, Aurora Police said that "all hazards" had been removed from the suspect's apartment. Residents in surrounding buildings were allowed to return home after law enforcement conducted a controlled detonation.
A Pennsylvania Girl Scout Troop poses with the statue of former Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno outside Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa., on Saturday.
The statue's sculptor, Angelo Di Maria, said it was upsetting to hear that it had been taken down. "It's like a whole part of me is coming down. It's just an incredibly emotional process."
Some newspaper columnists have said the statue should be taken down, while a small plane pulled a banner over State College reading, "Take the statue down or we will."
The famed statue of Joe Paterno was taken down from outside the Penn State football stadium Sunday after top officials were accused in a scathing report of burying child sex-abuse allegations against a now-convicted retired assistant.
Penn State President Rod Erickson said he decided to have the statue removed and put into storage because it "has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing."
"I hope they don't remove it permanently or destroy it," Di Maria said. "His legacy should not be completely obliterated and thrown out. ... He was a good man. It wasn't that he was an evil person. He made a mistake."
After much controversy, Penn State President Rodney Erickson announced this morning that he had decided to remove the statue honoring the school's former football coach Joe Paterno.
