• Leiby Kletzky’s body was found today. The eight-year-old had been missing for two days, and it turns out he was kidnapped walking home from day camp. His parents were waiting outside to meet him — but he got lost on the way home. This video shows him a few blocks off course, walking near a hardware store (he walks by after about 15 seconds in this video). Apparently, a short while after this video was recorded, someone offered to take Kletzky home, but kidnapped him instead. A massive search was launched, and when the suspect learned of how extensive the search was, he reportedly killed Leiby. His dismembered body was found in the suspect’s refrigerator and in a trashcan on a street. Horrific story. (via jvbrewer) source

• Why not look at it? You know, stare it down until it can’t scare you anymore. I didn’t want there to be any more secrets…I hadn’t done anything wrong. It wasn’t something I did that caused this to happen. And I feel that by putting it all out there, it’s very freeing.
• 18-year abductee Jaycee Dugard • Taking an absolutely brave, head-on approach to dealing with her infamous plight, in which Phillip and Nancy Garrido held her against her will and she birthed two children at the hands of Philip. Dugard, 31, spent most of her life in captivity, had to learn survival techniques to keep her own sanity. “There’s a switch that I had to shut off,” she said. “I mean, I can’t imagine being beaten to death, you know? And you can’t imagine being kidnapped and raped, you know? So, it’s just, you just do what you have to do to survive.” Dugard’s ability to take strength away from this awful ordeal is nothing short of amazing. If there is one story you give your full attention to today, this is the one. Easily. source

• A brave man’s story, cut short: Sgt. James Hackemer, an amputee who lost both his legs (and reportedly died twice on the battlefield, only to be revived) after an IED blew up under his Humvee in Iraq back in 2007, lived his life to the fullest despite his injuries, only to die — tragically — in a freak roller coaster accident yesterday. He fell 208 feet out of the Ride of Steel roller coaster, at the Darien Lake Theme Park Resort in New York, to his death. To lose so much, only to fight back to regain it day by painful day, only to have this happen? Life is messed up sometimes. Above is a clip reflecting on what this guy had to work for. source

• We’re within reach of strategically defeating al Qaeda and I’m hoping to be able to focus on that, working obviously with my prior agency as well.
• Defense Secretary Leon Panetta • Claiming that we’re close to taking down al-Qaeda for good — which, let’s face it, is a pretty bold thing to say going into a job like Defense Secretary. “Now is the moment following what happened with bin Laden, to put maximum pressure on them,” he continued, “Because I do believe that if we continue this effort that we can really cripple al Qaeda as a threat to (the United States).” Do you think he’s right? Or is it simply a symbolic victory at this point? source

• A year ago, I found myself at the Gerald R. Ford presidential museum in Grand Rapids. Now, I probably didn’t agree with Ford’s politics, but something genuinely struck me about both him and his wife, Betty. They were both fairly likable figures perhaps not dealt the best hand in terms of timing (with Ford basically becoming president sort of as a best-of-bad-options situation) and result (with Ford’s presidency overshadowed by his pardon of Nixon, which ensured that he was a half-term president). But Betty Ford was a fairly progressive first lady no matter the party, and she proved it by presenting forward views on a national stage, and then following through with them after her time as president ended. Some highlights of this woman’s life:

• 1975 Boldly for the era, Betty Ford spoke openly on the topics of pre-marital sex, abortion and marijuana usage, most notably in a “60 Minutes” interview where she said she would be understanding if her daughter chose to have an affair.
• 1978 A year after leaving the White House, Ford entered the Long Beach Naval Hospital to treat addictions to painkillers and alcohol — a high-profile personal defeat. Afterwards, she became an advocate for helping others in her position.
• 1982 Ford turned her personal problems into something for the greater good of society by starting the Betty Ford Center, which has helped out nearly 50,000 patients over 30 years — and kept her name in the spotlight decades later. source

(photo of American History Museum portrait via dbking’s Flickr page)

• A couple of days ago, a man blatantly stole a Picasso drawing from a San Francisco gallery in broad daylight. Authorities didn’t expect to catch the thief, but yesterday, they got a break. Authorities spotted the suspect, Mark Lugo (shown left), with the help of surveillance cameras outside a restaurant he happened to walk by. He tried to mail the drawing, authorities say. However, before he could do so, authorities reached him first and recovered the drawing. The museum said they would tighten security as a result of the incident. (photos via ABC7News.com) source

• 35% increased likelihood Medicaid users would go to a doctor
• 15% increased likelihood they would use prescription drugs
• 30% increased likelihood they would get admitted to the hospital source

• » A new study with broad ramifications: The results of the National Bureau of Economic Research’s study may seem obvious, but the debate on whether or not to cut funding for Medicaid has long rested on whether experts thought low-income people would actually use the public form of medical insurance. The new study proves this is the case, and does it in an interesting way — rather than comparing the insured to the uninsured (a common tactic used before), the study treated Medicaid the same way researchers might treat a drug. The result? Fellow researchers are hailing the study as “historic” and say it’ll shape national health care debates for years to come.

• This shooting literally hits close to home for us. Grand Rapids, Mich. is not a town known for large spates of violent crime. The city had a relatively low nine murders in 2010, although the overall crime rate went up. But tonight, at least seven have been killed, including two children, in a rampage started by a single person who was in a domestic dispute. The suspect, 34-year-old Rodrick Shonte Dantzler, has not been captured. “This is a rare occurrence anywhere,” the city’s mayor, George Heartwell said. “A homicide like this is exceedingly rare. It’s an awful situation and he’s still at large.” As some of you might know, I’m from Michigan, and most of my family lives in Grand Rapids. So this is scary to hear. Everybody be on your P’s and Q’s tonight in Michigan. source

• She’s going to comment on missing persons cases to give people the perspective from the family. This is pretty good, because this is a unique perspective that she can do well — and it’s one that is often overlooked. What’s better is that she’s willing to do this, despite what happened to her in the past. But one has to wonder if this gives into the tabloidy nature some of these stories fall into. That said, it will certainly be interesting to see what she has to say, and hopefully adding her voice to those kinds of stories will help people see the bigger picture. source

• 21 Libyan rebels to be charged with national security crimes source

• » It’s worth noting that these rebel leaders are being tried in absentia, as they’re currently busy doing rebel stuff. Additionally, if and when Gaddafi’s government falls, the outcome of these trials will likely be inconsequential. Nevertheless, it’s an indication of the regime’s confidence in its ability to triumph that they’re proceeding with the trials anyway. Whether this portrayal of confidence is genuine or tactical remains to be seen.