A new study from UCLA reports California has saved about $800 million over the last five years by sentencing non-violent drug offenders to community-based drug treatment programs rather than prison.
Canada's crime rate fell to its lowest in almost 40 years, Statistics Canada reported on Thursday, extending a positive two-decade trend.
For a blissful 36 hours beginning on Sunday night, there was no gun or knife violence reported in New York City. Officials couldn't remember the last time that happened. But it may not be as rare in the future. Homicide rates in the Big Apple have fallen continuously since the 1990's.
President Obama and a former astronaut have both invited a teen to science events after his electronics project frightened teachers at his school.
After serving a 14-year sentence for murder, no one would have expected Sarah Jane Coffman to go anywhere near the Hiland Mountain Correctional Center once she was released. But every Saturday she makes the 10-mile drive with a viola in tow for orchestra practice at the prison just north of Anchorage. Coffman is a founding member of the women's string orchestra at the prison, playing since 2003.
Ten of the nation's major banks, such as Bank of America and Citibank, have agreed to pay $8.5 billion after an investigation into the abuse of homeowners during foreclosures on mortgages during the recent housing crisis. According to the Fed, $3.3 billion of the settlement will be direct payments to eligible borrowers and $5.2 billion will go toward other assistance, such as loan modifications and forgiveness of deficiency judgments.
After 7 years, Canadian lottery officials say they've finally awarded to the correct people a multimillion-dollar jackpot that authorities say was fraudulently claimed by someone else.
Handing down a 5-3 decision today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Trade Commission can challenge closed-door deals that the big pharmaceutical companies make with smaller generic rivals to keep cheaper products off the market and out of drug stores.
Thousands attended the formal dedication Sunday of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall – an emotional day for those, including President Obama, who came to honor the slain civil rights leader, calling him a man who stirred our conscience and thereby helped make our union more perfect.
A member of the Hopi tribe has become the first Native American woman confirmed as a federal judge, and, significantly, she will serve in Arizona.
For the first time since 1991, the United States is officially recognizing the government of Somalia, a country in chaos since the 1990's overrun by warlords. President Hassan Sheikh was welcomed at the State Department in Washington, DC for an official ceremony with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who had made securing Somalia a personal priority of her four years in office.
The Houston based Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) believes that helping inmates prepare to start their own businesses when they leave prison will reduce the likelihood that they will end up behind bars again. And the program's statistics show it is working extremely well.
Seven years after Bernie Madoff defrauded his investors out of billions, the majority of his scam victims are going to get the rest of their money back, according to officials.
In New York's maximum-security prison in Auburn, inmates from the prison chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America spent their free time making Christmas gifts for needy children.
I recommended to a self-help group of inmates at a Louisiana prison in DeQuincy that they start a Toastmasters club in the prison. Out of 60 inmate Toastmasters who had been released from prison from 1986-1991, not one had been re-arrested.
Members of the Voices of Distinction Toastmasters club of Lafayette Parish Correctional Center in Louisiana wanted to give back to their community by showing youngsters the way to stay out of prison so they've spoken to 25,000 schools kids.
A former gang member who was arrested 13 times has become Atlanta's hottest lawyer, proving that youth are not the lost cause some think.
Nigerian army troops have freed more than 800 hostages held by Boko Haram, the terrorist militant group.
A 23-year-old bank robber who stood before a federal judge 13 years ago asking for leniency and vowing to change did change - after a long sentence in federal prison. Now the two are conversing in public, on equal footing, about how long the sentence should have been.
Since the November election, 240 California prisoners facing potential life sentences have been set free. That's because voters changed California's tough three strikes sentencing law, which sent thousands of people to prison for terms of 25 years to life for minor, nonviolent crimes. The campaign's success is due in no small part to Sue Reams. Her son was one of those released, after 17 years in prison.
Recent Stories
A Heartfelt Reminder to Appreciate the Ones We Love
Cherish the Woman Who Stands by You
Breaking Generational Cycles of Pain
Living by Your Own Values, Not Others' Approval
When Life Brings Rain, It’s Okay to Rest
Before You Judge Someone's Life, Take a Moment to Walk in Their Shoes.
A Friend Who Spreads Gossip is Not a True Friend at All
The Value of Human Connection Over Digital Convenience
The Quiet Kind of Love
One Day, Your Mom Won’t Call You Anymore
I’ve reached a point in my life...
Happiness is a mindset, a conscious choice we make every day