The Extreme Reality Makeover Show

The biggest house that ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" ever made over -- a sprawling, four-bedroom starter castle, a three-car garage mahal with a turret and all -- has gone into foreclosure.

It took 1,800 volunteers a week to demolish the house with the overflowing septic tank that belonged to Milton and Patricia Harper of Lake City, Ga., and then entirely rebuild a new, larger house, while the Harpers and their three children went away to Disneyland.

When they returned, they had the biggest house on Ahyoka Drive, with all the appliances and furnishings, plus enough money to pay taxes on it for decades, plus a fund to send their children to college.

The house will be auctioned off, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, next Tuesday on the steps of the Clayton County Courthouse.

The Harpers had used their home as collateral on a $450,000 loan from JPMorgan Chase and fell into arrears.

Student loan nightmare

Walt Minnick, a financial aid counselor at Salem State College, was swamped with calls yesterday after one major lending authority announced it would make no student loans this year.

With tuition bills looming, thousands of Massachusetts students and parents are scrambling to secure college loans amid deep turbulence in the nation's credit markets, but college and university officials are reassuring families they should be able to borrow the money they need.

I'm really glad I got out of college and consolidated my loans several years ago. This must be a nightmare for students whose parents can't afford to pay tuition without assistance.

Is it the end of the line for Wonderland?

Revere city officials have begun foreclosure proceedings on Wonderland Greyhound Park for failure to pay $789,293 in taxes over the last two years.

Wonderland Park, the city's eighth biggest taxpayer and now the city's largest tax delinquent, also owes $16,673.70 in water and sewer bills, said George M. Anzuoni, Revere's director of finance.

The figures were calculated through Aug. 1 and include interest and fees.

The track has been delinquent since 2006, city officials said.
But city councilors were surprised to learn last week that the track was able to obtain annual liquor and restaurant licenses, as well as a special permit for parking at a track-owned parking lot while delinquent on taxes.

Get your antiques, on the cheap

Americans' taste in furniture has shifted, and that's producing big bargains in one category: antiques.

Some antique furniture is going for a quarter of what it fetched a year ago as people gravitate toward contemporary styles.

On top of that, struggling consumers have been liquidating their collections of vintage pieces, flooding the market.

Even high-end auctioneers such as Sotheby's have seen some disappointing sales of all but the rarest pieces.

AIDS deaths down 10% in 2007

The number of AIDS deaths worldwide dropped 10% in 2007 because of increasing access to treatment, as did the number of new infections in children, the United Nations reported Tuesday.

Condom use and prevention efforts increased in many countries and adolescent sexual intercourse declined in some of the most heavily affected regions, the report says.

But, the New York Times had this to say:

If black America were a country, it would rank 16th in the world in the number of people living with the AIDS virus, the Black AIDS Institute, an advocacy group, reported Tuesday. Nearly 600,000 African-Americans are living with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, and up to 30,000 are becoming infected each year. When adjusted for age, their death rate is two and a half times that of infected whites, the report said. Partly as a result, the hypothetical nation of black America would rank below 104 other countries in life expectancy.

China plunges into controversy with Internet backflip

The Beijing Olympics were plunged into another controversy on Wednesday as China announced a backflip on Internet freedoms for the thousands of foreign reporters covering the Games.

China's decision to reverse a pledge on allowing unfettered web access proved an embarrassment for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had repeatedly said foreign press would not face any Internet curbs in Beijing.

It was also the latest in a long line of issues to have tarnished the run-up to the Olympics, which start on August 8, following controversies over pollution, human rights and terrorism threats.

Beijing Olympic organising committee spokesman Sun Weide triggered the latest public relations flare-up when he confirmed foreign reporters would not have access to some sites deemed sensitive by China's communist rulers.

"During the Olympic Games we will provide sufficient access to the Internet for reporters," Sun said.

However "sufficient access" falls short of the complete Internet freedoms for foreign reporters that China had promised in the run-up to the Games.

Finally: Dunkin Donuts offers healthy fare

Looking to entice those hungry for a healthier option, Dunkin' Donuts will begin offering a new slate of better-for-you offerings in August.

The menu, which will debut in stores Aug. 6, will feature two new flatbread sandwiches made with egg whites. Customers will be able to choose either a turkey sausage egg-white sandwich or a vegetable one.

Both will be under 300 calories with 9 grams of fat or less, the company said.

The new menu will be called DDSmart and will include all current and new items that either have 25 percent fewer calories, sugar, fat or sodium than comparable products or contain ingredients that are "nutritionally beneficial," the company said.

Current products that will join the new sandwiches on the menu include a multigrain bagel and a reduced-fat blueberry muffin.

Just thinking positively.....

Virtual Street Corners

Dudley Square in Roxbury and Coolidge Corner in Brookline are close geographically, but demographically they seem disparate.

For about a week in June, artist John Ewing tried to change that.

In his “Virtual Street Corners” exhibit, Ewing, a New York State native now living in Mission Hill, sought to link Dudley Square and Coolidge Corner through videoconferencing technology.

Passers-by in both neighborhoods could communicate with each other through microphones and video screens.
Underlying the project were subtexts of race, income, and ethnic tensions in Boston history.

Can't afford new shoes?

Like, ahem, me? Then Erica Weiner's shoe clips are a lifesaver.

Shoe clips were first manufactured in the ornament-obsessed Victorian era, when instead of buying multiple pairs of shoes, women dressed up their plain footwear with an endless variety of detachable bows, buckles, and jewels.
Flappers played croquet in rhinestone pairs, fast-talking female reporters clipped them onto their oxfords and Audrey Hepburn used all kinds to embellish her black ballet flats.

Hopefully they'll make you feel like you're strolling down the Champs-Elysees, even if you're just schlepping across East Houston Street.

Lobster load goes to pot

Thousands of pounds of lobster and seafood that had been ordered destroyed instead were unloaded from a truck involved in an accident Sunday on Interstate 395 in Webster, and some of the load was illegally distributed, according to the state Environmental Police.

The culprits, police say, were a local tow company operator and a local restaurateur.

And the Worcester district attorney’s office is warning residents not to eat any seafood they may have purchased from the back of a truck Sunday night or yesterday morning.

The remaining lobsters that were not distributed, sold or spoiled were freed yesterday in Boston Harbor, on orders of the Environmental Police.

Want to get depressed?

Then check these out.

Sure, single-family home sales are off, so if you're trying to sell with a $200,000 profit you probably won't get away with it anymore. But mostly this left me astonished: in a world where almost no town had a median home price under $300,000 -- unless you want to live in Fitchburg, Lawrence, Fall River, or towns I've never even heard of, like Bernardston or Clarksburg -- is there any hope for the 20-something generation to own a home? Their own, standalone home, with its own yard, no condo fee, a driveway and more than one bedroom?

• Massachusetts Home Sales and Median Prices
• Massachusetts Condo Sales and Median Prices

Looks yummy, courtesy of Whole Foods

Chicken, Kalamata Olive and Roasted Red Pepper Tart

If you keep a few sheets of puff pastry in the freezer, assembling a tart like this is a snap. Sweet red peppers and salty olives complement the richness of the pastry. Feel free to use leftover grilled, poached or rotisserie chicken in this recipe. Serve with a simple green salad.

Serves 6

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 cups shredded chicken, white or dark meat
• 1 cup sliced roasted red peppers
• 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 2 teaspoons dried tarragon
• 1 cup shredded Asiago or Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Thaw puff pastry completely and unfold. Slice in half lengthwise to make two long rectangles. Place on a large parchment-covered baking sheet, leaving at least an inch of space between rectangles. Use two baking sheets if needed to avoid overcrowding. With a paring knife, score a 1/2- inch border around each rectangle. This will allow the edge of the pastry to rise, creating a border. Brush both rectangles with beaten egg.

Arrange chicken, peppers, olives and tarragon on the pastry, keeping toppings inside the border. Sprinkle with cheese and black pepper. Place in hot oven and bake for 15 minutes until edges of pastry are golden brown and cheese is melted. Cut each rectangle into 3 pieces and serve hot.

Nutrition Info

Per serving (1/6 tart/88g-wt.): 210 calories (90 from fat), 10g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 21g protein, 5g total carbohydrate (0g dietary fiber, 0g sugar), 85mg cholesterol, 450mg sodium

Journalist Novak has brain tumor

Washington journalist Bob Novak, 77, has a brain tumor, he announced Monday.

“I will be suspending my journalistic work for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period,” Novak, a long-time Washington insider, said in a written statement.

He does not yet know whether the tumor is malignant or benign, and is waiting for a biopsy in the next few days, said his assistant, Kathleen Connolly.

He is alert and talking, and personally wrote the statement, which was posted on the Web site Human Events, she said.

This is 100% true

Just try calling a derm in the metro Boston area for a real problem and see how long they tell you the wait is for non-cosmetic procedures. I've been told to call back in SIX months!
Hence, I've chosen my dermatologists based strictly on how fast they can usually see me. This has not always meant I've gone to the best dermatologist.

The New York Times says:

Like airlines that offer first-class and coach sections, dermatology is fast becoming a two-tier business in which higher-paying customers often receive greater pampering.

In some dermatologists’ offices, freer-spending cosmetic patients are given appointments more quickly than medical patients for whom health insurance pays fixed reimbursement fees.

In other offices, cosmetic patients spend more time with a doctor. And in still others, doctors employ a special receptionist, called a cosmetic concierge, for their beauty patients.

Wasting No Time Making Friends

Though Nina Garcia serves as editor at large at Elle through season five of “Project Runway,” it seems she’s already getting a head start on her fashion director duties at Marie Claire.

Her new gig officially begins Sept. 2, but sources close to the magazine say Garcia has already moved into her office, the former digs of Tracy Taylor, who was dismissed in May to make way for Garcia.

The “Project Runway” judge also is said to be conducting “run-throughs” for fashion shoots for the January issue.

Sources said Garcia’s requests for high-end designer wares to be featured in fashion spreads can at times be at odds with Marie Claire’s more mass-market sensibilities.

A 540-Calorie Big Mac? NY Chains Post Calorie Info

Customers at big fast-food chains in New York City are finally facing the facts about their meal choices.

And for some, the truth may be hard to swallow. Like 1,130 calories for a Big Mac, medium fries and a medium soda.

After months of resistance, the city's chain restaurants have begun obeying a first-of-its-kind rule requiring them to post calorie counts right on the menu.

McDonald's and Burger King were among the chains that unveiled new menu boards Friday at scores of locations throughout the city, taking calorie information that had long been available on Web sites and tray liners and putting it front-and-center above the cash register.

China Presses Hush Money on Grieving Parents

The official came for Yu Tingyun in his village one evening last week.
He asked Mr. Yu to get into his car.
He was clutching the contract and a pen.

Mr. Yu’s daughter had died in a cascade of concrete and bricks, one of at least 240 students at a high school here who lost their lives in the May 12 earthquake.

Mr. Yu became a leader of grieving parents demanding to know if the school, like so many others, had crumbled because of poor construction.

The contract had been thrust in Mr. Yu’s face during a long police interrogation the day before.

In exchange for his silence and for affirming that the ruling Communist Party “mobilized society to help us,” he would get a cash payment and a pension.

Mr. Yu had resisted then. This time, he took the pen.

Tragic and horrible

Facing foreclosure, Taunton woman commits suicide

The housing crunch has caused anguish and anxiety for million of Americans.
For Carlene Balderrama, a 53-year-old wife and mother, the pressure was apparently too much to bear.

Police say that Balderrama shot herself Tuesday afternoon 90 minutes before her foreclosed home on Duffy Drive was scheduled to be sold at auction.

Chief Raymond O'Berg said that Balderrama faxed a letter to her mortgage company at 2:30 p.m., telling them that "by the time they foreclosed on the house today she'd be dead."

The mortgage company notified police, who found her body at 3:30 p.m.

A server turned writer reveals much about restaurants and their patrons

He is known simply as The Waiter, the anonymous server/writer behind the popular blog Waiter Rant.
He worked at an Italian restaurant he called "The Bistro," it was located somewhere in New York, and he did not always love his job.

Now The Waiter has a new book out based on the blog. "Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip - Confessions of a Cynical Waiter" is on sale Tuesday.



The kind of things he says:

"Twenty percent of diners are psychopaths. The rest just want to go out to eat. But people walk in on a Saturday night, the place is packed, they have no reservations, and they say, "I want the best table in the house. I'm friends with the owner. Make it happen." I'd have people slam the door, make a scene. You are a servant when you're a waiter, but you're not a slave."

Summer feta salad -- courtesy New York Times

Summer Salad with Feta

5 medium or large ripe tomatoes cut into wedges (if large, the wedges should be cut crosswise in half), or 1 pint of cherry tomatoes cut in half

1/2 European cucumber, or 1 Persian or Japanese cucumber, cut in half lengthwise, seeded if desired, then sliced into half circles about 1/3-inch thick.

Sea salt or fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup crumbled feta

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, or 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Toss together the tomatoes, cucumber, salt, pepper, vinegar, and olive oil. Add the feta and herbs, and toss again. Taste, adjust the seasonings, and serve.

Variations:

Add any or all of the ingredients below:

1/2 small red onion, sliced and rinsed with cold water

12 to 18 imported Greek black olives, such as kalamatas or amphisas

1 small green, yellow, or red bell pepper

1 heart of romaine lettuce, cut in 2-inch pieces

A handful of cubed stale bread or croutons

Advance preparation:

You can assemble the salad hours before adding the seasonings, vinegar, and olive oil. Be warned: If you salt the salad too long before serving, it will become watery, as the salt draws out juices from the vegetables.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

NBC sets Leno's departure date

Conan O’Brien, seated, with Jimmy Fallon, his designated successor to take over as host of “Late Night” in the spring.


Jay Leno’s last night on the “Tonight” show will be in May 2009, with Conan O’Brien taking over the show a few days later, the New York Times reports.

Why the oil crunch may grow worse

The fear is that all the easy-to-reach crude has been found. These may be 'the good old days,' one expert says.

"As much as you're uncomfortable with today's oil prices, these are going to be the good old days," oil expert Robert L. Hirsch told a recent Santa Barbara gathering of policymakers and environmentalists. "We're talking about pain here that is unimaginable."

In five years, demand for oil may exceed 94 million barrels a day and continue rising, spurred by growth in China and India, the International Energy Agency estimates.

Experts put daily global production at between 82 million and 86 million barrels, and even the most optimistic oil authorities can't see production keeping up with demand without a big boost from unconventional sources such as Canada's vast oil sands or U.S. oil shale.

Just Manny being a jaywalker

This is hilarious!

And, I might add, a reminder that in other parts of the country -- everywhere but Boston and probably New York, I'm guessing -- the cops WILL actually pull over a pedestrian for walking against the signal or out of the crosswalk.
I witnessed this happen to my brother and husband (then-boyfriend) in Washington, D.C. Imagine, for a moment, how nice it would be if Boston did that, too.

Seems that Boston slugger Manny Ramirez was leaving the ballpark, with headphones on trying to look inconspicuous and quickly get away from the crowds still leaving the stadium. He started to cross South Royal Brougham Way, against the signals of a traffic cop who was directing pedestrians. The police officer demanded that Ramirez open his wallet and show identification. He warned him that he could face a $500 fine and possible arrest for disobeying a police officer.

In Tijuana, a Market for Death in a Bottle

One product from this border town trumps all others in terms of shock value: death in a bottle, a liquid more potent than even the strongest tequila.

The drug, pentobarbital, literally takes a person’s breath away. It can kill by putting people to sleep, and it is tightly regulated in most countries.

But aging and ailing people seeking a quick and painless way to end their lives say there is no easier place on earth than Mexico to obtain pentobarbital, a barbiturate commonly known as Nembutal.

Once widely available as a sleep aid, it is now used mostly to anesthetize animals during surgery and to euthanize them.

Small bottles of its concentrated liquid form, enough to kill, can be found not on the shelves of the many discount pharmacies in Tijuana but in its pet shops, which sell a wide variety of animals, as well as medications and other supplies for them.

Rentals planned near Lanes n' Games

The dilapidated sign bearing the name of the long-deceased disco Faces has stood at the northern gateway to Cambridge for decades.

Now, two local developers want to knock down the shuttered disco on Route 2 to make way for a 240-unit apartment complex.

Can you really do this?

When a former Wall Street analyst from Greenwich, Conn., set his sights on a lush parcel of 150 acres here, he knew he wanted to live atop its highest peak, surrounded by panoramic views and rippling meadows studded with red clover, Vermont's state flower.

There was only this hitch: A short distance from the site where J. Michel Guite envisioned building a house was a white picket-fenced burial ground with the graves of a War of 1812 veteran, Noah Aldrich, his two granddaughters, and several stones presumed to be grave markers of other family members. Guite was concerned that the cemetery would trouble his children when they played in the tall-grass fields.

The cemetery, he decided, had to go. He gave notice that he intended to move three of the marked grave sites.

The move has inflamed this rural town, prompting a lawsuit, criticism in a local paper, a resolution at Town Meeting denouncing Guite's plans, and a protest banner in the July Fourth parade that said, "Let Noah Aldrich continue to lie in peace."

In many ways, the bitterness and anger vented on Guite are about more than one man and reflects a mounting wave of resentment against outsiders seen as snapping up valuable Vermont land with little respect for its heritage.

Yikes

Family planning groups and at least one member of Congress objected on Tuesday to a Bush administration memo that defines several widely used contraception methods as abortion and protects the right of medical providers to refuse to offer them.

This bothers me because I've seen firsthand what happens when you tell a group of sheltered teenagers (in my case they were religious kids, but it doesn't really matter) that BC is a form of abortion. What happens? They are horrified, wondering why no one told them this before, and guess what -- THEY DON'T USE BIRTH CONTROL BUT END UP HAVING SEX ANYWAY.
Information is power, people! Even for kids who have been homeschooled/not allowed to watch TV or listen to pop music/whatever. They still deserve to be able to make informed decisions, not misled and then left confused when they wind up pregnant.

Don't laugh at me

But when I read this, I actually sat down and made up a few long division and multiplication problems for myself to do, because I actually wondered whether I would remember how to DO long division.
I can't say I've used long division, per se, since school -- but I am a tad flabbergasted to learn that kids don't even learn how to do it anymore.
Then again, maybe this "concept math" described here would have been MORE helpful to me.
This is the kind of mental reasoning Mark always does when I ask him to divide or multiply huge numbers in his head.

Tonight, Yankee Stadium's last hurrah

A rundown of sports history made at Yankee Stadium.


Personally I think the new stadium looks a tad excessive -- isn't the old one nice still? -- but you can't argue with history, at least not if you're a real fan of the game.
Even if you're a Boston fan.

California traffic laws just got weirder

A plan that charges motorists based on miles driven could cut fuel use, pollution and traffic as well as lower premiums, say backers. Opponents worry about privacy issues.

Called pay as you drive, the option is available from a few insurers in 34 states -- but not California -- as well as Canada, Japan and Europe.

The concept, if applied nationwide, would do a lot more than cut insurance bills, says a study by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. Pay as you drive could create $52 billion in annual benefits from fewer accidents, reduced traffic and pollution, and less reliance on foreign oil, the study concludes.
So far, the measure is sailing through the California legislature with little opposition.

Thoughts?

Italy grapples with polygamy

A boom in the illegal marriages is a byproduct of voluminous immigration by Muslims. Authorities largely ignore the unions, leaving the women in a murky world with no recourse when things go wrong.

Despite the obvious culture clash, Italian authorities largely turn a blind eye, leaving women with few rights and no recourse when things go especially badly.

Italian law sanctions marriage between a single man and a single woman only. Estimates say there are 14,000 polygamous families in Italy.

Just the other day, I was wondering...

Why something like this doesn't already exist in Harvard Square. I was in the square for a doctor's appointment, and I thought to myself, "really? There's no good deli or sushi place for lunch around here?" Everything is so fancy, but now it looks like there will be a 24-hour, healthy option in Market in the Square. Located at 60 Church St....not too far from my doctor's office. Convenient, eh?
617-441-2000.

Looks comfortable AND work appropriate

Ugg.

Baby Cries at 2 A.M.? No Need to Get Up

Slogging through endless nights with a newborn baby has long been a parenting rite of passage. But for some dual-income parents, the arrival of the night nanny is making those 2 a.m. interruptions a thing of the past.

Demand for overnight nannies — also known as newborn specialists — has been growing, especially in the last five years and largely in major metropolitan areas, said Wendy Sachs, the co-president of the International Nanny Association and the founder of the Philadelphia Nanny Network.

“People have moved away from the places they grew up, and they don’t have family down the street to help them out,” she said.

It's like freerice.com, but for furry types

Flutie's 'Smoothie' move

First came Flutie Flakes. Now, Natick's native son has added sorbet to his menu.

Ben & Jerry's and the retired quarterback are paying homage to Boston College history with the "Doug Flutie Hail Mary Berry Fat Free Smoothie.''

The concoction combines raspberry and blueberry sorbet with raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. The smoothie will be offered at the Natick Ben & Jerry's on Rte. 9, as well as Newbury Street, Prudential Center, Park Plaza Hotel and Harvard Square stores.

Many Retirees Face Prospect of Outliving Savings, Study Says

Nearly three out of five middle-class retirees will probably run out of money if they maintain their pre-retirement lifestyles, a new study from Ernst & Young has concluded.

The study, set to be released tomorrow, finds that Americans will have to drastically reduce their standard of living before retirement to live comfortably, or even avoid destitution, later in life.

Middle-income Americans entering retirement now will have to reduce their standard of living by an average of 24 percent to minimize their chances of outliving their financial assets, the study found.

Workers seven years from retirement will have to cut their spending by even more -- 37 percent.

How'd we miss this?

Check out this tanker explosion Saturday morning in Needham:

At Oaks Christian High, they've got name

It isn't every high school football team whose quarterback is the son of a Hall of Famer. What sets Oaks Christian apart is that, starting this fall, it will have two.

Nick Montana, meet Trevor Gretzky.

To say that Nick and Trevor are the sons of Hall of Famers is a little like saying that Trey Smith, a sophomore receiver on the Oaks team, is the son of an actor.
Trey is the son of Will Smith, one of the highest-grossing movie stars of his generation.

A whaling city sets about recasting its gritty image

This old whaling city has a growing community of artists, lofts carved out of old mills, cobblestone streets, a picturesque harbor, and stunning views from its coastline.

This is the image local leaders want to project of New Bedford, rather than what some may associate with the city: illegal immigration, gang violence, sensational crimes, and industrial pollution.

Now New Bedford officials are making the hard sell, trying to convince developers and investors that it is a choice location in which to start or to relocate a business.

Interesting...but necessary?

Imagine the drab fortress of the FBI building in Washington, D.C. gone, the freeways and ramps around the Kennedy Center covered by parks and boulevards, and a Metro stop near the Jefferson Memorial.

A sweeping plan unveiled today would make Washington more open, inviting and less "9-to-5," which anyone who lives there knows is problematic.

The National Capital Framework Plan is highly critical of much of the 1960s and 1970s-era construction that surrounds the Mall, at turns calling it "hostile," "unwelcoming" and "imposing."

But with D.C. already considered one of the nation's most pleasant, walkable cities, is such a plan really important in a time most consider to be a recession?

Big Medicine's blowback on home births

Why do U.S. doctors strong-arm women into our standard maternity care system?

Planning a home birth with a midwife may sound old-fashioned, but a solid body of research shows that for healthy women who seek a normal, nonsurgical birth, there are several benefits.
At home, a woman can get one-on-one care and monitoring from a midwife trained to support the normal labor process.
The mother-to-be is free to move about, eat and drink, sit in a birth tub -- Britain's national health guidelines call water the safest, most effective form of pain relief.
A woman will be helped to give birth in positions that are effective and protective: sitting, squatting, on hands and knees, even standing.
But hospital maternity care in the U.S. is typically not supportive of this process.

Babies Gain More Weight in Day Care

It's already a tough decision for any parent, but opting for child care may have just become an even weightier issue.

Researchers at the University of Illinois and the Harvard School of Public Health report that toddlers who spend time in day care tend to gain more weight than those who are cared for by their parents at home.

For your viewing enjoyment

I know this inspired me.

"Horrors" Found In Tween, Teen Dating

For realsies?

Tweens and teens in dating relationships are experiencing significant levels of various forms of abuse, many don't know the warning signs of an abusive relationship, and many parents don't know what's going on in those relationships, a new survey says.

Among the findings:

• 69 percent of all teens who had sex by age 14 said they have gone through one or more types of abuse in a relationship.

• 40 percent of the youngest tweens, those between the ages of 11 and 12, report that their friends are victims of verbal abuse in relationships, and nearly one-in-ten (9 percent) say their friends have had sex.

• Nearly three-in-four tweens (72 percent) say boyfriend/girlfriend relationships usually begin at age 14 or younger.
  
  
• More than one-in-three 11-12 year olds (37percent) say they have been in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship.

• One-in-five between the ages of 13 and 14 say their friends are victims of dating violence, such as getting struck, hit or slapped by a boyfriend or girlfriend, and nearly half of all tweens in relationships say they know friends who are verbally abused.
  
  
• One-in-five 13-14 year olds in relationships (20 percent) say they know friends and peers who've been struck in anger (kicked, hit, slapped, or punched) by a boyfriend or girlfriend.
  
  
• Only half of all tweens (51 percent) claim to know the warning signs of a bad/hurtful relationship. In addition, significant numbers of teens (15-18) are experiencing emotional and mental abuse as well as violence when dating; it's even more prevalent among teens who've had sex by 14.
  
  

  And many teens and tweens say they've been victims of technological abuse, in which cell phones, paging, IMs, social networking sites, etc. were used to carry out the abuse.