U.S. & WORLD NEWS DIGEST | Child reported killed in Syria

Child reported killed in Syria

CAIRO

Gunfire and shelling rattled a city in central Syria on Sunday and killed a 12-year-old boy, as President Bashar Assad’s autocratic regime expanded its military crackdown on a seven-week uprising by sending tanks and reinforcements to key areas, activists said.

Activists said authorities also arrested a 10-year-old boy, apparently to punish his parents, and filed charges against a leading opposition figure who is suffering from cancer.

The exact circumstances of the boy’s death in the city of Homs were unclear. Like several other trouble spots, the government has answered protests there by sending in tanks and soldiers to seal it off and cutting phone service to leave it even more isolated.

Study finds higher rate of autism

CHICAGO

A study in South Korea suggests about 1 in 38 children have traits of autism, higher than a previous U.S. estimate of 1 in 100.

By casting a wider net and looking closely at mainstream children, the researchers expected to find a higher rate of autism characteristics. But they were surprised at how high the rate was. They don’t think South Korea has more children with autism than the United States, but instead that autism often goes undiagnosed in many nations. U.S. estimates are based on education and medical records, not the more time-consuming survey conducted in South Korea.

Two-thirds of the children with autism traits in the study were in the mainstream school population, hadn’t been diagnosed before and weren’t getting any special services. Many of those undiagnosed children likely have mild social impairments, rather than more severe autism.

Murder trial to start for Anthony

ORLANDO, Fla.

The trial of Casey Anthony, the young mother accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, is drawing so much media attention that the judge is keeping the location of jury selection secret until the proceedings begin today.

At the center of this media maelstrom is the ponytailed, 25-year-old Anthony, who could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder. She also is charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and providing false information to law enforcement. She has pleaded not guilty and says a baby-sitter kidnapped Caylee.

Anthony waited a month before telling her mother that Caylee had disappeared in the summer of 2008. Anthony’s mother then contacted authorities.

Commuter train crashes in NJ

HOBOKEN, N.J.

A commuter train from New York pulling into a station for its final stop crashed into the bumpers at the end of the tracks Sunday morning, injuring 34 people, shutting down service and putting this morning’s commute in jeopardy.

None of the injuries in the PATH train’s 8:30 a.m. crash was considered life-threatening, though several victims were taken away on stretchers or put in neck braces as a precaution, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said.

The injured, who mostly sustained cuts and bruises, were taken to three area hospitals for treatment, and most, if not all, were expected to be released later in the day.

Associated Press