As Jews around the globe try to rid their homes of bread crumbs, pasta and cereal before Passover, non-Jews  — including a prominent Muslim mayor — and technology are helping out by symbolically taking those leavened products off their hands.

In Calgary, Canada, the city’s first Muslim mayor has agreed to buy the “chametz,” as it’s called in Hebrew, from a Jewish community – setting an unprecedented legal exchange there. Many are also giving the ancient tradition a 21st Century spin by using apps.

Some Jews say there is a swelling resurgence in the selling of chametz, or leavened products, during Passover, which begins Friday at sundown. And there's nothing wrong with whipping out your iPhone to help ease the process. Jews don't consume leavened products on Passover, eating matzo instead, because as the story goes, the Jewish people left Egypt in such a hurry, they had no time to wait for the bread they were baking to rise.

“The Rebbe taught that technology, like all of G-d’s creations, should be utilized for the sake of spreading goodness and holiness,” said Brooklyn-based Chabad.org Executive Director Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin. “The chametz sale form is one of the many handy tools we offer there." Some Jews do not spell out God's name, and use the hyphen as a show of respect.

Here's how the tradition has worked in the past: a non-Jew signs a contract with a synagogue’s rabbi, making that person the legal owner of all the chametz for the week-long holiday. But the Gentile doesn’t really eat everyone’s chametz, and the bread products are returned after Passover. For all intents and purposes, the leavened products never leave the Jewish family's home. The cereal, pasta and bread usually goes in the garage or the basement, untouched, during the holiday. Some Jews also follow a tradition before the holiday of burning 10 crumbs of bread to show that they’ve tried to rid their homes of any remaining leavened products.

Calgary’s mayor,  Naheed Nenshi, signed his contract to buy the bread in his office on Wednesday, according to his spokesman Daorcey Le Bray. Nenshi agreed to participate after Beth Tzedec Congregation’s Rabbi Shaul Osadchey passed him a note at an interfaith event, asking him to be an honorary chametz purchaser, according to a story first reported by the Calgary Herald. In a Facebook post of the transaction, the mayor said he was honored to participate even though he doesn’t get to “collect truckloads of pasta.”

In a phone interview Thursday, Osadchey said that the ritual also raised "several thousands" of dollars for food banks in Calgary, as Jews sent in a payment to make the transaction kosher.

While the mayor in Canada made history with the interfaith connection, technology has facilitated new ways to keep the Chametz selling tradition alive. Rustybrick.com in Rockland, New York has developed the “No Chametz” iPhone app. Rabbi Shuel Herzfeld of Ohev Shaom, The National Synagogue in Washington, D.C. worked with Quickode Ltd. to come up with the “i$ellChametz”  app. And last year, Chabad came up with its “Passover Assistant” app.

Brooklyn-based Chabad Rabbi Chaim Landa said Chabad’s website administrators expected 80,000 online applications to sell chametz this year, up from 62,000 last year. Plus, he said, the Orthodox Jewish organization has 1,500 affiliate sites selling the chametz of about 550,000 people, he said.

While the online selling began in 1994, Landa said this is really just an extension of making the ritual and accessible to more Jews. Chabad first asked Jews to sell their chametz through postcards in the 1950s. In the 1980s, the transfer of products was advertised through listservs and emails, he said.

"Through creating this service online we have found that we've been able to help countless individuals and families across the globe observe the Passover commandments," Shmotkin said.

A Kentucky woman gave birth on the highway while stuck in traffic caused by President Obama’s motorcade.

Officials received a call at 5:25 p.m. Thursday saying there was a woman who was in labor in the backseat of her car on Interstate 65, outside Louisville.

A nurse, who happened to be stuck in traffic nearby, delivered the baby boy with the help of an emergency worker, according to NBC affiliate WAVE 3 News.

Courtney Maloney, the Louisville Metro EMS worker, said she transported the mother and newborn to the University of Louisville Hospital.

“I pretty much had to ride the emergency lane all the way down,” Maloney told WAVE 3.

The presidential motorcade had arrived during rush hour, blocking traffic both on the highway and downtown. Obama was in town to highlight a jobs training program at a Louisville-based technology company.

EMS reported that the mother and her baby were doing well.

"She did say it was a story she would never forget," Maloney told WAVE 3.

Recycling and compost bins around Los Angeles were sitting unemptied Friday, in the third day of a city sanitation worker sickout.

Just under 90 percent of sanitaiton workers turned up for work Friday, a sanitation spokeswoman said. While all of the city's black solid waste bins were collected by Thursday afernoon, some green and blue bins remained full Friday.

"We will completely catch up" by Saturday, said the spokeswoman, Tonya Durrell.

Around 100 of the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation's 500 employees called in sick Thursday, while on Wednesday about 250 failed to show up for work. Diminished crews have been working to pick up trash, with only some of the usual bins being emptied.

A statement of the Bureau of Sanitation's website said: 'Our mission remains to protect public health and the environment. As such, our customers are our top priority, and we have contingencies in place to continue our operations with minimal inconvenience. We appreciate your continued patience."

City management was negotiating with unions including SEIU Local 721, which represents the trash truck drivers. Spokeswoman Coral Itzcalli said the union "is not condoning any action."

Mayor Eric Garcetti criticized the action at a news conference Thursday, saying, "The table is the best place to resolve any grievances that people have, not the streets of Los Angeles."

A spokesman with Garcetti's office said he had no update on labor negotiations at around noon Friday.

Residents were being asked to leave out their trash bins until they can be collected. All black bins were supposed to be collected, while the aim is to collect blue, green and brown bin contents by Saturday evening. 

Frustration was mounting about the progress being made in talks between city officials and the Coalition of L.A. City Unions. 

"It would be at least nice to know what was going on," said Studio City resident Ben Bardens, who felt that recycling bins being left out did impact him and others like him.

On Thursday employees authorized the next steps needed to vote for a possible strike.

Tree trimmers and transit officers were also among the workers calling in sick.

Even as some look to the ocean as the ultimate solution to California's drought, cost and coastal environmental issues have held back all but a handful of ocean desalination projects.

But now a small water district in Ventura County has leapfrogged ahead and is producing drinking water via desalination technology--even though the ocean is not even within sight.

The source instead is so-called "brackish" groundwater, contaminated with mineral salts to the point that as it came from the well, it could no longer be used for irrigation, much less be drinkable.

It is being pumped into a plant near Camarillo, and purified into drinking water for customers of the Camrosa Water District.

"We needed to be more self-reliant," said Tony Stafford, the district's general manager.

At full capacity, the Round Mountain Water Treatment Plant is designed to produce one million gallons a day -- not enough to go far in a city the size of Los Angeles, but 10 percent of the water needs of a district serving 27,000 people.

The desalinated water will reduce the need for imported water--but not eliminate it, Stafford acknowledged. The district historically has imported 40 percent of its drinkable water from Northern California via the California Aqueduct. The major source of that water is snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada snowpack.  Wednesday's end of season survey found the snowpack at only 5 percent of normal.

The new Round Mountain plant uses reverse osmosis filtration, same as can be used for ocean water desalination. Apart from the initial construction cost, such plants require a considerable amount of electricity to push the water through the filters. But it's less costly with brackish water because it's less salty than seawater.

"We can produce it for about the same cost as imported water," said Stafford, putting the price at about $1,200 an acre-foot, compared to up to $2,000 or more for desalinated ocean water.

The new reverse osmosis plant was built on the same property as the Camrosa district's reclamation plant, which purifies sewage water for delivery through purple pipes to irrigation applications -- but not for use as drinking water.

As a Camrosa customer, the nearby Cal State University Channel Islands campus has been receiving the recycled water for landscaping, and now is receiving the desalinated water for its tap water system.

"Sweet," said student Austin Finley of San Diego.

"We've come a long ways in saving water," said Raudel Banujelos, campus director of facilities support.

Camrosa is considering building a second groundwater desalination plant in the Santa Rosa Valley. Similar plants are under consideration by other local districts served by the Calleguas Water District, a wholesaler. Calleguas built the salinity pipeline that carries the concentrated brine waste product to the ocean.

Along the Ventura County coast, there is another concern:  intrusion by ocean water into groundwater aquifers that have been drawn down by pumping, and are now being salinated. A plant to purify that brackish water has been proposed by the United Water Conservation District.

Not far up the 101 Freeway in Santa Barbara, the city council is preparing to award a contract to update and reopen the city's long idled desalination plant, said Joshua Haggmark, the coastal city's water resources manager.

The once-trailblazing plant had been built in response to the drought of the early 1990s, and completed only months before the rains returned. The cost of the power to desalinate water made it so much more expensive than other sources that the plant was mothballed.

The renovation work is expected to take as long as a year, with desalination resuming next year.

Also expected to go online next year is the even larger desalination plant being built in northern San Diego county in Carlsbad. It is being developed by the Boston-based Poseidon Water.

A sister plant has been proposed for Huntington Beach, but has yet to surmount coastal permitting and financial issues.

Ocean desalination projects are so expensive that developers require longterm commitments for the purchase of the drinking water they will produce.  Poseidon has been in negotiations with the Orange County Water District.

A police hunt was launched Thursday for a woman who was duped by an IRS scam.

Sierra Madre resident Enayet Bargen's husband reported her missing after she turned off her cell phone at the behest of the conmen. 

By the time the 69-year-old was found she had handed over $4,000 to the thieves, who had told her they worked for the Internal Revenue Service. She was told she would be arrested within the hour if she did not get the cash.

"She is an outstanding citizen in the community who just wanted to do what the government was telling her to do," Chief Larry Giannone of Sierra Madre Police Department said, "They told her turn your phone off, you just call us back… so we were not able to track her by her phone (and) her husband and family were not able to get a hold of her."

The scammers told her to use the money to buy Green Dot prepaid debit cards. Confusingly, labels on a store display show them as being compatible with tax refunds.

Chief Giannone said 50 people in his area had been contacted Thursday, which makes investigators believe the swindlers were calling everyone in the area they could. He warned others not to fall for the scam.

"(The) IRS will never call you and tell you they're coming to arrest you in an hour," Chief Giannone said.

Dorothy Raymond was one of those who were contacted by the con artists.

"It's very convincing. It started off, 'This is the second time we called you and if you don't respond right away we won't be able to help you get out of whatever serious trouble it was.'"

So far, only two people are known to have fallen for the ruse, with another victim handing over $2,000, though police are sure there were other victims taken in by the swindle. 

The NYPD detective seen on video apparently verbally abusing an Uber driver in a roadside tirade earlier this week apologized Friday for his actions, telling NBC 4 New York in an exclusive interview that his emotions got the better of him when he stopped to find out why the Uber driver honked.

"I apologize. I sincerely apologize," said a contrite detective Patrick Cherry, whose tirade against the Uber driver was captured by one of the driver’s passengers and posted on YouTube, where it has been viewed more than 3 million times.

"People shouldn’t be treated that way. I let my emotions get the better of me and I was angry," Cherry said. "My intention was to be courteous and then we got into an argument. There was no intention to berate or hurt deeply the driver."

When asked what he would like to tell the driver, Cherry said he would "offer to buy him dinner."

"I'm willing to do whatever he needs to help," the officer said. ""I would like him to accept it because it's sincere."

Cherry said that the video, which shows him cursing at the driver and screaming, “How long have you been in this country?” misses what prompted the confrontation. He tells NBC 4 New York the Uber driver pulled up fast behind him as he was trying to park his unmarked patrol car on a West Village street Monday and gestured wildly in his direction, yelling. Cherry says he pulled the Uber driver over to "clarify the problem;” the driver “got smart” when Cherry asked for the man’s license and registration and refused to give it to him, the detective said. That's when he says he lost his temper.

"When I walked up, I was uptight. I wanted to know what the problem was. What did I do that was so wrong that I had to get chastised?" Cherry said. "I felt his driving actions were discourteous and impolite and when he stopped he said, 'I'm not going to give you anything."'

“I was upset that he refused to give me his license and registration and I yelled inappropriately," Cherry added. "That's not who I am, that's not who I've been and that's not how I conducted myself as an officer in New York City," he added.

Sanjay Seth, the Uber driver, responded to Cherry's account of the altercation in the NBC 4 New York interview, tweeting: "I question part of Detective Cherry's interpretation of the incident in his recent apology.

"CCRB needs to sort out the facts," Seth said, referring to the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

Cherry’s apology comes after the detective was stripped of his badge and gun and transferred out of the FBI's elite Joint Terrorism Task Force. Police Commissioner Bill Bratton also admonished Cherry after the video went viral online, saying “No good cop can watch that without a wince”, and the NYPD and independent Civilian Complaint Review Board have been investigating the exchange.

Taxi drivers rallied Thursday to call for Cherry to apologize; they said they didn't want him to lose his job, but hope the fall-out from the altercation would spur better treatment for cab drivers from the NYPD. Another rally was planned outside New York Penn Station Friday.

Some questioned whether Cherry was xenophobic, given the questions about where the Uber driver was from and a reference to his accent. Cherry says the driver's race had "nothing to do with it."

Cherry said that he is willing to take the department’s punishment, and is willing to do whatever is asked of him in his new role. He also says that the 3-minute video doesn’t reflect the way he or his fellow men and women in blue carry themselves on a day-to-day basis.

“You can’t judge 3 minutes of tape that that is the common practice of the New York Police Department,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s simply one individual who got angry."

The police union has defended Cherry, saying the reaction to the confrontation overstates its significance.  

If you receive a call from someone claiming to work at the Internal Revenue Service, beware: it could be a scam.

Phone scams are on top of the agency's list of "Dirty Dozen" tax scams. California is the state that suffers the most from these scams, where the caller convinces someone to fork over money for a made-up debt to the IRS.

Several phone scam cases have been reported in Southern California since last Tax Day.

Scammers called at least 50 people in Sierra Madre on Friday, April 3. A 61-year-old woman, Enayet Bargen, fell victim to the scam and gave the thieves $4,000, while a second victim lost $2,000.

In March, an Orange County resident, Lori Whalen, received a call telling her she owed $3,845.24 in back taxes. She was told her home and 401k would be taken away by the government if she didn't pay.

A Glendora couple received a call in November 2014 accusing them of fraud and threatening to call police. Joy and Carl Specht called the IRS directly, who informed the couple they were not in trouble.

The IRS lists five ways to identify a fake call, because the agency will never:

1. Call to demand immediate payment, nor will we call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
2. Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
3. Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
4. Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
5. Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

In less than two weeks, the 2014/15 Los Angeles Lakers will be no more.

Eight games remain in a season that had been anything but enjoyable, and the struggle of the season only continues as the Lakers welcome the Portland Trail Blazers to Staples Center on Friday night. Damian Lillard and the Blazers are fighting for home court in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, so they have plenty of motivation to complete their season sweep of the Lakers and rout the home team.

Lillard, in particular, loves playing against the Lakers. When these teams met in Portland on Jan. 5, Lillard scored 39 points to lead the Blazers to victory. Less than a week later, Lillard came to Staples Center and dropped 34 points to go along with seven assists and thee rebounds. While the Blazers' point guard has not scored over 30 points in nearly a month, betting against Lillard on Friday night would not be a safe bet.

Hoping to overshadow Lillard is LA's promising rookie Jordan Clarkson. For the month of March, Clarkson averaged 15.8 points, 5.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 32.4 minutes. However, the rookie has shifted into a new gear starting with his 30-point performance against Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City.

Over his past six games, Clarkson is averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds. In Wednesday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Clarkson flirted with a triple-double, which would have put him in a exclusive club of Lakers' rookies that only includes Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

With eight games to go, Clarkson's development is at the forefront of reasons to continue watching. Forty-five players heard their names called before the Lakers' second-round draft pick, but approaching the end of the 2014/15 season, fewer than 10 of those names truly offer an argument against the Lakers' rookie on an NBA court. Based entirely on play, Clarkson should rank in the top-five rookies and looks in line to qualify for the All-Rookie first team.

For those who point to the Lakers' record and disregard the rookie's performances, Clarkson is playing efficient basketball even when the score is lopsided. He shot 45.2 percent from the field for the month of March and has been shooting 54.0 percent over the last six games.

Lillard has already established his name as one of the top young point guards in the NBA, and Friday night provides Clarkson an opportunity to take a step forward on his journey to do the same.

Notes: Wayne Ellington will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a shoulder separation near the conclusion of Wednesday's loss to the Pelicans. Lakers coach Byron Scott hinted the team could sign another players as early as Friday night. Ellington's season-ending injury increases the season tally to six players lost for the season due to injury: Steve Nash, Julius Randle, Xavier Henry, Kobe Bryant,  Ronnie Price and Ellington. Nick Young's return remains in doubt, as Young slowly recovers from a minor fracture in his knee cap. If Young does not feature in the final eight games, the Lakers will have lost seven players to season-ending injuries during the 2014/15 season.

Cue the music, it's time to play ball at Dodger Stadium.

Below, you'll find a list of designated hits -- songs selected by Dodgers players that will play in Dodger Stadium when they're walking to the plate or headed to the pitcher's mound. The sounds of summer include the likes of Hall & Oates, PSY, Led Zeppelin and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Check out a complete list:

A.J. Ellis
Song: California Sun
Arist: The Rivieras

Adrian Gonzalez
Song 1: El Mariachi Loco
Artist: Mariachi Vargas
Song 2: El Quito Pena
Artist: Juan Luis Guerra

Andre Ethier
Song 1: Take me home tonight
Artist: Atomic Tom
Song 2: You Make My Dreams
Artist: Hall & Oates

Brandon McCarthy
Song 1: Comfortable Liar
Artist: Chevelle
Song 2: Lonely Boy
Artist: The Black Keys

Brett Anderson
Song: 1984
Artist: Adestria
Song 1: Boss Life
Artist: Slim Thug

Carl Crawford
Song 1: Move That
Artist: Future
Song 2: They Don't Know
Artist: Rich Homie Quan

Chris Heisey
Song: We Don't Play
Artist: Grits

Clayton Kershaw
Song: We Are Young
Artist: Fun.

Dustin McGowan
Song: Stricken
Artist: Disturbed

Howie Kendrick
Song 1: Lovehate Thing
Artist: Wale
Song 2: Radioactive
Artist: Imagine Dragons

Hyun-Jin Ryu
Song: Gentleman
Artist: PSY

Jimmy Rollins
Song 1: Good Kisser
Artist: Usher
Song 2: No Flex Zone
Artist: Rae Sremmurd

Joe Wieland
Song: Hey Joe
Artist: Jimi Hendrix

Joel Peralta
Song: El Que No Aguanta La Presion
Artist: Secreto El Biberon

Juan Uribe
Song: Vivir Mi Vida
Artist: Marc Anthony

Justin Turner
Song: Turn Down For What
Artist: DJ Snake & Lil Jon

Kenley Jansen
Song: California Love
Artist: 2Pac

Paco Rodriguez
Song: Armada Latina
Artist: Cypress Hill

Scott Van Slyke
Song: When the Levee Breaks
Artist: Led Zeppelin

Yasiel Puig
Song 1: Bailalo
Artist: Elvis Crespo
Song 2: Papa Dios Me Dijo
Artist: Secreto "El Famoso Biberon"

Zack Greinke
Song 1: Runnin' Outta Moonlight
Artist: Randy Houser
Song 2: Snow (Hey Oh)
Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers
 

A new ban being proposed in San Francisco may outlaw exotic animal performances in the city.

Legislation sponsored by San Francisco Board of Supervisor Katy Tang, and co-sponsored by Supervisors Scott Wiener and Norman Yee, hopes to amend existing city laws that don't fully protect wild or exotic animals from the poor treatment many of them are forced to experience in the entertainment industry.

The proposal defines “wild or exotic animals” as everything from elephants and orcas – the stars of Ringling Bros. and SeaWorld’s controversial animal performances, respectively – to kangaroos, chimpanzees, and even raccoons.

“San Franciscans are passionate about the humane treatment of animals, and we have a long history of adopting innovative policies to further that goal,”  Wiener said in a statement. “This legislation is an important step to ensure that San Francisco doesn’t participate in the mistreatment of these beautiful and majestic animals.”

Tang, Wiener, and Yee are following in the footsteps of other California jurisdictions that have already approved similar bans, such as Marin County and Los Angeles, and hope to influence many others.

“In San Francisco, we are setting an example as stewards and protectors of nature and its creatures,” said Supervisor Tang. “We want to send a strong message to other jurisdictions throughout the country and the world that abusive conduct toward animals is unacceptable and we are not welcoming of any show that involves forcing animals to behave in ways not found in nature.”

Animals that aren’t considered wild or exotic, such as domestic dogs, cats, and horses, are excluded from the ban, as well as therapy animals.

Animal-friendly attractions like the San Francisco Zoo and the California Academy of Sciences are exempt, too, meaning Claude the albino alligator won’t be evicted from his swamp at the Academy of Sciences any time soon.

As if college applications weren't stressful enough, students readying for college face another nerve-wracking challenge: finding financial aid.

Paying for a college education can be daunting: A four-year public university can cost $19,000 a year on average, while the priciest private nonprofit schools can cost near $70,000, according to The College Board.

But even if students and their families are disappointed by paltry financial aid packages, there are still numerous sources of financial aid that can help students pay for an education.

And with more scholarships available from an assortment of sources, “families and students need to be proactive in looking for them,” said Rachelle Feldman, the assistant vice chancellor and director of financial aid and scholarships at the University of California, Berkeley.

Here are a few ways that prospective students and their families can get a slice of the financial aid that is available:

Fill Out the FAFSA, No Matter What

Most universities required applicants to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by early or mid-March, but the federal deadline isn't until June 30. That means applicants still have a chance to claim some federal grants, even if they don't think they qualify.

“Families who aren’t the poorest of the poor sometimes think, ‘Well, I shouldn’t even bother filling this out,’” she said. “The truth is, there’s a wider range of financial aid available — from institutions, from the state, from the federal government — for people at a variety of income levels.”

It's time well spent: Justin Draeger, the president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, cited a recent analysis from financial site Nerdwallet that indicated high school seniors who graduated in 2013 missed out on $2.9 billion in federal grants simply because they didn’t complete the FAFSA.

Look Outside Universities, Too

A number of professional societies, corporations and foundations offer scholarships for students from particular backgrounds or who are planning on pursuing certain subjects in school. The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), for example, last year awarded 230 scholarships collectively worth more than $700,000 to students pursuing engineering degrees, according to Karen Horting, the society's executive director and CEO.

“We know that for women and underrepresented minorities, financial barriers are a larger hurdle,” Horting said. “For us, it’s a natural fit with our mission to offer scholarships and help more women into the engineering field."

Students can rely on scholarship search engines to sort through the options based on subject, grades, location and applicant background. Available search tools include NerdScholar, BestColleges.com's scholarship database and the College Board's Scholarship Search. Some, like College Scholarships Foundation and Niche, even offer their own scholarships.

But be careful of services that charge for scholarship searches, Draeger said. The FAFSA is free, as are almost all scholarship applications.

Search In-State

Many states offer both need-based and merit-based financial aid, although those grants are often limited to in-state universities. Florida residents, for example, can apply for the non-need-based William L. Boyd, IV, Florida Resident Access Grant or one of three scholarships in the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program; both grants can only be used at Florida universities.

One notable exception is the DC Tuition Assistance Grant (DC TAG) program, which provides up to $10,000 to cover the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition at public four-year colleges across the U.S.

There’s Help for Undocumented Students

Some states and several private universities offer financial aid to undocumented U.S. residents. California Dream Act grants, for example, help fund in-state college tuition for students who meet eligibility requirements.

Get in Touch With the Financial Aid Office

Even though the financial aid process can seem daunting, applicants shouldn’t be afraid to ask for guidance. Some private universities even negotiate — within reason — on financial aid packages, Feldman said.

“You can always call the institution you’re applying to and ask for help,” Feldman said. “Financial aid officers are often happy to help prospective students with the application process, even if they’re not full-time students yet.”

Look Around the University

Not all financial aid is offered by the financial aid office. Departments outside the financial aid office may offer money in the form of prizes, honors scholarships or special stipends — especially for students in their sophomore, junior or senior years. Prospective students and current students need to be especially proactive in seeking out these sorts of opportunities, Feldman said.

Keep Applying

Even if students don’t receive scholarships as freshmen, they can keep applying for financial aid. And universities sometimes offer grants or stipends that may help defray the cost of tuition or special studies, like research projects or foreign travel.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Information on how to send donations to the children is available at the bottom of this article.

A Spotsylvania County, Virginia, couple has admitted to locking their three small children in a room 24 hours a day and feeding them through a homemade gate.

Scott Suggs, 28, and Brandy Kangas, 36, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of felony child neglect.

In December, authorities found the couple's children -- a 17-month-old boy, and girls ages 3 and 4 -- locked in a messy room stained with human waste after receiving an anonymous tip about child abuse and neglect.

Authorities immediately removed the children with a key found in the home.

Suggs and Kangas were arrested at the scene.

"This was an abhorrent situation that the children were living in and it breaks my heart to see this kind of treatment of small children," Spotsylvania County Sheriff Roger L. Harris said in a release Friday. "Saving these kids from this type of neglect is why all of us are involved in public service."

The Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office says the children lacked social skills when found. They are now thriving with foster parents, but are still afraid of closed doors.

Suggs and Kangas have been sentenced to a suspended sentence of six years, 10 years of good behavior and indefinite supervised probation. They were also ordered to comply with the foster care plan, and may not have unsupervised contact with the children.

Anyone wishing to make a donation for the children may contact:

Safe Harbor Children's Advocacy Center
P.O. Box 56
Fredericksburg, VA 22404
540-891-6280

Sarah Kemp Brady, the widow of former White House Press Secretary James Brady, died Friday after battling pneumonia, her family said in a statement. She was 73.

Sarah Brady was an elementary school teacher who became a prominent gun control advocate after her husband was shot during the attempt on President Ronald Reagan's life in 1981.

"Sarah courageously stepped up after Jim was shot to prevent others from enduring what our family has gone through, and her work has saved countless lives," the family's statement read.

John Hinckley Jr. was found not guilty by reason of insanity of the attempted assassination of President Reagan and of related charges. James Brady, Reagan, police officer Thomas Delahanty and Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy were shot March 30, 1981, as they left the Washington Hilton Hotel. Shot in the head, Brady suffered the longest lasting injuries.

He had been partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair since the assassination attempt, and his speech was slurred. James Brady died in August at age 73. The medical examiner's autopsy found the cause of death to be the gunshot wound and its consequences.

In 1989, Sarah Brady became affiliated with Handgun Control, Inc., which was renamed the Brady Campaign and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in 2001. She became chair in 1991.

"Our nation has lost a great hero, and I have lost a dear friend," Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence President Dan Gross said in a statement. "I am certain that she would want nothing more than to know we are carrying on her and Jim’s legacy with the same fiery compassion and dedication that made her so remarkable."

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, known as the Brady Bill or the Brady Law, was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993. It required a five-day waiting period and background checks for handgun purchases.

"There are countless people walking around today who would not be were it not for Sarah Brady’s remarkable resilience, compassion and – what she always said she enjoyed the most – her hard work in the trenches with this organization, which she continued right up to the very end," Gross said.

Sarah Brady is survived by her son James "Scott" Brady, Jr. and her stepdaughter Melissa "Missy" Brady Camins. 

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger blasted Indiana's controversial religious freedom law, saying he was "furious" Republicans supported it and that it's “bad for the country” and bad for his Republican Party.

“As an American, I’m incredibly concerned about what happened in Indiana this week and the threat of similar laws being passed in other states," Schwarzenegger wrote in a Washington Post op-ed published Friday morning. "As a Republican, I’m furious. Divisive laws like the one Indiana passed aren't just bad for the country, they're also bad for our party."

On Thursday, lawmakers in Indiana and Arkansas approved revisions to the laws to include protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals from discrimination, after a widespread outcry from businesses and gay-rights groups.

Schwarzenegger, who served as California's governor from 2003 to 2011, said focusing on such measures “neglects” a large number of “critical” voters. As an example, he noted that since the battle over California's Proposition 8 in 2007, the percentage of registered Republican voters dropped from 35 percent to 28 percent today.

“Maybe that’s a coincidence,” the action-movie star said. “But there is no question that our party is losing touch with our voters, especially with the younger ones who are growing the registration rolls.”

Schwarzenegger said in order for the GOP to grow, the party must focus "on real solutions to problems Americans are facing," like infrastructure, cost of airport delays, the need to higher graduation rates and clean air.

Schwarzenegger cited the social media response to Indiana’s measure, saying it didn't just come from “eccentric” California but rather from across the country: "According to Zignal Labs, as of Wednesday night, #StandWithIndiana had been tweeted 5,571 times. Meanwhile, #BoycottIndiana was tweeted 430,728 times."

He urged the GOP to learn from NASCAR, the NBA and businesses like Wal-Mart who opposed the legislation.

"Those businesses are doing the right thing, but they have also done the math. As a party, we need to take a similarly realistic look," Schwarzenegger wrote.

"What happened in Indiana should be a teachable moment for us," he added.

The man who says he was the victim of a baseball bat attack after a crash in Miami-Dade, Florida, said he pleaded with his attackers for his life.

"Don't kill me, man," Roger Flores, 55, said he told his attackers, whom police have identified as Brian Boyd, 19, and Rovantai Payne, 20. Both men face a bond hearing Saturday.

Despite the violent assault, Flores said he is a forgives his accused attackers. "I'm a father, I have sons and I forgive," he said.

Police say Flores' truck was hit from behind by a car driven by Boyd, with Payne as his passenger, near Southwest 112th Street and U.S. 1 around 5 a.m. Thursday.

Boyd came up to Flores' truck, started pounding on the window and told Flores to drive away, according to an arrest affidavit.

When Flores refused, Boyd jumped into the bed of his truck and smashed the back window, then crawled into the truck and began choking and punching Flores, police said.

Meanwhile, Payne grabbed a baseball bat and started hitting the truck, smashing the windshield and passenger window, the affidavit said.

The men got in the truck and started hitting him with the baseball bat at one point, Flores said. He later told officers he was about to lose consciousness when he saw police lights approaching.

When the officers arrived, Payne and Boyd were in the bed of the truck. Both jumped out but Payne started hitting the truck with the bat in front of the officers, the affidavit said.

After they were arrested, Boyd struck an officer twice, kicked out the rear window of a police cruiser, and later, at the police station, threw chairs, struggled with officers and threatened to "f--- each one of y'all up," police said.

Boyd and Payne are scheduled to appear in bond court Saturday to face charges including burglary with aggravated battery and criminal mischief for their alleged attack on Flores.

Payne was also charged with resisting an officer without violence, while Boyd was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and threats to a public servant.

It was unknown if they have attorneys.

While a parched California copes with a long-term drought, water threatens to cost the state billions in a much different way if climate change continues unchecked, according to a new study.

By 2050, rising sea levels could engulf between $8 and $10 billion in coastal property, with up to $10 billion more susceptible to tidal flooding, according to the study by climate change research group Risky Business.

Climate change will likely deepen the drought, change rain- and snowfall patterns, double or triple the number of extremely hot days in inland California and more: "Extreme heat will fuel large and costly wildfires, endanger water resources, drive up energy costs, exacerbate air pollution, and threaten human health," says the study, "From Boom to Bust? Climate Risk in the Golden State."

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer chair Risky Business and commissioned the report, released Thursday.

"Every city in California should be concerned about possible impacts (of climate change) on the state's agriculture and water supply," Bloomberg said in a news release.

Rising air temperatures are expected to warm the oceans and melt ice across the world, raising sea levels, according to many climate change models. The Risky Business analysts found that, because 85 percent of Californians live in coastal counties, the state's economic output would be threatened by rising oceans.

By 2100, $19 billion in property will likely be underwater, and the new waterline could threaten coastal infrastructure. San Diego is especially vulnerable, facing a predicted sea-level rise of 1.9 to 3.4 feet, the study says.

Increasing heat is the best understood outcome of climate change, the study's analysts say, probably bringing more extremely hot days and fewer freezing days in the Golden State. That could lead to less snowfall, an important and already-diminishing source of water.

A hotter California would likely impact agriculture beyond what farmers are dealing with under the state's more than three-year drought. For example, Inland Empire cotton crops could yield $38 million less each year by the end of the century because the plant is sensitive to heat, the study says.

The higher heat could threaten outdoor laborers, whose productivity is forecasted to drop up to 2.2 percent by the end of the century in the Inland South region, which include San Bernardino, Riverside, Inyo and Imperial counties. The region would also see a higher energy demand than anywhere else in the state, leading to probable cost increases between 19 and 35 percent, according to the study.

"Every year that goes by without a comprehensive public and private sector response to climate change is a year that locks in future climate events that will have a far more devastating effect on our local, regional, and national economies," the study warns.