The ESL Free Press

Summer Break

We will not publish next week, or in July or August. See you in September.

Bombs Found Near Schools in Afghanistan

Afghan police and coalition soldiers found six bombs near a school in a village in Paktika province on Wednesday. They destroyed the bombs in a controlled explosion.

This is the fifth time in a week that rebels have put bombs near schools or other education buildings in eastern Afghanistan. In three places, the bombs went off and damaged the buildings. No one was hurt.

Soldiers also found a load of heroin while searching a house in the village of Marjeh, Helmand province.

Read more.

U.S. and Venezuela: Speaking Again

Last September, the U.S. and Venezuela expelled (threw out) each other's ambassadors. Now, they are going back to their posts. The two countries have agreed to this.

The U.S. State Department says this will help communications, and also "our outreach to the Venezuelan people". There has been much tension between the two governments.

Read  more.

Chess Players at Boulevard de Sabana Grande, Caracas, Distrito Federal, Venezuela Photographic Print
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Under Warranty

A Pennsylvania man is charged with illegally getting free computer devices so he could sell them on eBay.

A grand jury indicted (accused) Thomas Kline on Wednesday. He is accused of defrauding the SonicWALL company.  This company makes computer firewall devices. Buyers register the serial number of their devices with the company. If a device has a problem that can't be fixed, the company sends the buyer a new one.

The indictment says the man, Thomas Kline, registered the serial numbers of devices he hadn't really bought. Then he reported problems with them. In this way, it says, he got hundreds of new devices from SonicWALL. He tried to sell them on eBay.

Kline is charged with mail fraud.

Read more from the FBI.

Michael Jackson Dies

Michael Jackson, the world-famous singer, died in Los Angeles on Thursday. He was 50.

Jackson had a heart attack, news reports say.

The photo shows him with President and Mrs. Reagan in 1984.

Jackson had been a professional singer and dancer since age five. He was married twice and had three children. In recent years, he had many legal and money problems.

Read more here.

Violence Expected in Iraqi Cities as U.S. Troops Leave

The U.S. military is scheduled to leave Iraqi cities by June 30th. And it expects to see more violence in the cities as that day comes closer.

In the past, there have been more terrorist attacks in the days before elections and other events, says Geoff Morell, Pentagon Press Secretary.

U.S. soldiers will switch to helping Iraqi soldiers outside the cities. A few will stay to help with security in the cities.

Morell says Iraqi forces are able to take care of the cities now.

Read more.

(Photo: Sgt. Ferdinand Thomas, U.S. Army)

Scamming Troops' Families

The FBI is warning U.S. soldiers' families about a new scam (stealing by telling lies).

Criminals go to sites like Facebook and learn about soldiers in Iraq and their families. Some people put lots of personal information on these sites, so it can be very easy.

Then the criminals contact a relative of a soldier -- often a grandparent. They pretend to be the soldier and say they are coming home on leave. But they ask the grandparent not to tell the soldier's parents, so it will be a surprise.

Later, the criminal calls the grandparent, says their car has broken down, and asks them to wire money.

The FBI says, before sending money to anyone, you should ask questions that only that person could answer. Or you and your relatives can choose a code word for times like this.

Read more.

Family Visits Grandmother's House Photographic Print
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Underground Ocean on Moon of Saturn?

There may be an ocean under the surface of Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons. The Cassini orbiter has found evidence of this.

Ice and water vapor shoot out of Enceladus. Sometimes they escape the moon's gravity and become part of the rings of Saturn. Cassini has found salt in the ice.

Scientists say the only way this could happen is for Enceladus to have a large body of water -- enough to dissolve minerals that would explain the salt.

Read more.

Saturn with 6 Moons Art Print
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Obama Says He was Mistranslated

President Obama says his words are being mistranslated in Iran. At his press conference on Tuesday, he told reporters: "I mean, you guys must have seen the reports. They've got some of the comments that I've made being mistranslated in Iran, suggesting that I'm telling rioters to go out and riot some more. There are reports suggesting that the CIA is behind all this -- all of which are patently false."

He says the Iranian government would like to blame the U.S. for protests in Iran.

Obama spoke about Iran at the beginning of the press conference. The White House gave a translation into Farsi, the language of Iran. His words have now been translated into Arabic also.

Read more.

Information for Foreign Students and Temporary Workers in U.S.

Are you going to the U.S. to study, or to work for a short time? The U.S. State Department has a pamphlet (booklet) you should read. It tells you about your rights. The pamphlet also has phone numbers you can call if someone is taking advantage of you.

You can get a copy to print here.

The pamphlet is written in easy English. It will soon be available in other languages.

Bridge Over the Rio Grande on the Border of Mexico at Nuevo Laredo and the U.S.A. at Laredo, USA Photographic Print
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Soldiers vs. Robots

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opens Wednesday. Like the first Transformers movie, it was made with the help of the U.S. military.

DefenseLink says the movie "shows an extreme example of what the military does in everyday life."

The producer, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, says, "[I]f you're going to fight these 32- to 125-foot robots, who else would you fight them with?"

Read more.

Transformers 2 Door Poster
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Tough Talk on Iran

The President of the U.S. had strong words for Iran on Tuesday, and the Prime Minister of the U.K. has expelled (thrown out) two Iranian diplomats from his country.

Many Iranians have been protesting the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. The government has been harsh to the protesters. There is a video of a woman being killed during a protest. Western countries have spoken out against the violence.

President Obama, for example, says he is "outraged". (To see a video of Obama's speech, with Farsi translation, click here.)

Read more.

Rainy Day in Philippines

Tropical Storm Nangka is expected to cause heavy rains in parts of the Philippines Tuesday and Wednesday.

Read more.

(Image: NASA)

One (Illegal) Way to Demolish a House

A builder in Maryland, USA, bought a house to tear down. He planned to build new houses on the land and sell them.

He also decided to make some money by burning down the house and collecting the fire insurance on it.

The builder, Louis Pisani, has pleaded guilty to several crimes. A friend who helped him by setting fire to the house has also been convicted.

Read more.

Insurance Papers Photographic Print
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Earth Rise from Moon Art Print
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Orbit Reached

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter went into orbit around the moon Tuesday morning. It launched from Florida five days ago.

This is an artist's concept (idea) of what it may look like in orbit.

(Image: NASA)

Read more.

Two Killed in Afghanistan

Two U.S. troops were killed in an attack on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, on Sunday morning. Six others were wounded.

This was an "indirect fire" attack -- the attackers could not see their target.

The names of the dead and wounded will not be announced until their families have been told.

The photo shows soldiers at Bagram, in April, practicing for a ceremony to honor dead comrades.

(Army photo by Sergeant Prentice C. Martin-Bowen)

Read more.

Father's Day Thoughts

Several countries celebrated Father's Day on Sunday. This always falls on the third Sunday in June.

On Friday, President Barack Obama held a "Fatherhood Town Hall" meeting at the White House. He said the U.S. government will see what it can do to help fathers.

Obama said, "Fathers are our first teachers and coaches. They’re our mentors and they're our role models. They set an example of success and they push us to succeed; encourage us when we’re struggling; and they love us even when we disappoint them, and they stand by us when nobody else will." He spoke more about the importance of fathers and also said, "And I say this as someone who grew up without a father in my own life."

Read more.

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Vehicles Take Off for Moon

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) were launched on Thursday.

The two vehicles took off on top of an Atlas rocket. They will search for signs of water on the moon, and for possible landing spots for astronauts.

NASA plans to send humans back to the moon someday.

Read more.

Back for Seconds

A man who spent 16 years in prison for robbing banks was freed -- and went back to rob one of them again.

William Ray Wooten went to prison in 1992. He had been found guilty of robbing six banks. Late in 2008, he was released. Less than a month later, he went back to one of the banks and robbed it again. He was caught and found guilty again. This time, Wooten could be sentenced to  over 50 years.

Read more.