# USA

Homeless in Miami Find New Outlet Working on Organic Farm

Homeless people have allowed an innovative program to lift them off the streets and place them in a community coop farm growing organic fruits and vegetables.

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How Invasive Plants at LAX Feed Giraffes and Elephants at L.A. Zoo

The bad news: Exotic acacia trees pose a pesky problem for native coastal dunes at Los Angeles International Airport. The good news: Giraffes like them -- a lot. Now a long-term partnership that began last fall between the airport and the L.A. Zoo keeps invasive species out of L.A.'s landfills and gives zoo animals a leafy treat.

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Finding "Lost Lots" to Make More Parks in LA

Over the last few years, Los Angeles and other cities have been moving to convert vacant lots, underused city streets, utility corridors, traffic medians and alleys into small parks, plazas, bikeways and pedestrian corridors so urban residents have green havens within a 10-minute walk.

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Los Angeles Violent Crime Rate Lowest in 40 Years

The number of homicides in the United States' biggest cities continue to hit record lows again in 2013 with murder rates dropping to levels not seen in nearly a half century. Los Angeles, the second-biggest U.S. city, reported this week that murders and other serious crimes dipped to more than 40-year lows in 2013. Total […]

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U2's Bono Salutes Military Heroes in D.C.

Tina Brown, editor in chief of Newsweek, kicked off her first annual Hero Summit last week in Washington to bring together military heroes and exceptional civilians for meaningful dialogues and information-sharing.

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D.C. Restaurants Offer Freebies to Furloughed Federal Workers

To ease the strain on federal employees going unpaid during the government shutdown, numerous restaurants in the Washington, D.C., area began offering free sandwiches or discounted food to furloughed workers last week.

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Teens Trained as 'Young Doctors' Help Tackle D.C.'s Poverty Problem

"Washington, D.C. has one of the highest concentrations of graduate degrees in the country. It's a place full of smart, wealthy and educated people. It also has the highest poverty rate of any U.S. city, and the youth feel it especially badly," says CNN. Some D.C. startups and local organizations like Young Doctors DC have stepped forward to fill the void.

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Chicago Anti-gang Efforts Tame Street Violence

Chicago's overall crime rate fell last year to a level not seen since 1972, and the number of shooting incidents involving victims 16 and younger dropped 40 percent in 12 months, city officials say.