National & World

 

 

Halloween is synonymous with costumes, an abundance of bite-sized candy and adorable photos of children dressed as cartoon characters, superheroes and monstrous creatures. However, the spirit of Halloween can also influence your travels. Rather than focusing on haunted destinations, the members and editors of VirtualTourist.com have compiled a list of those places that have been abruptly abandoned by people, making them spooky and eerie. From an abandoned Greek village in Turkey to a former disaster site in the Ukraine, here are VirtualTourist’s “Top 5 Ghost Towns.”

 

By  Elena Shore

Andrea Acosta, Translated

El Pregonero

 

Despite her advanced age and limited English language skills, Salvadoran immigrant Carlota Gutiérrez passed her citizenship test and is a new U.S. citizen.

 

With the help of her kids, the 80-year-old grandmother applied to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for citizenship in January 2012 and four months later, on May 23, she got an appointment for the test and interview in her language.

By Marissa Zamudio

 

On November 1, 2013, the temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is due to expire, taking a slice out of the food budgets of families, especially, low income families with children. In Michigan, one in six people receive SNAP benefits and will be affected. Such a cut is likely to result in an increase of families with children going hungry – what policy experts call “food insecurity.” Food insecurity is identified as “the lack of consistent access to adequate food” in a May 2013 report titled “Food Insecurity in Households with Children” from the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.   

 

Football season is back! For many, this is start of what could be considered the sports fiscal year. From September to June, we immersed in football, and basketball. There is not much that we ask from people who are not as enthralled as we are during these months. However, there are a couple of requests that I would like to make on behalf of myself, and other sports fanatics. Even though you all may not be able to grant the requests, please indulge me, and see if you can work with any of them.

 

Claiming more than 500,000 lives a year heart disease reigns as the leading cause of death in the United States, yet most people are unaware that this threat exists. Heart disease affects all Americans and is the number one cause of death for Whites, African American, and Hispanics alike. Heart disease strikes with little or no warning and most people diagnosed with heart disease showed no signs until it was too late.

 

Left: Cameron “Big Perm” Doyle and Aniyah Lake.  Big Perm and Aniyah visiting her school before he passed away.