STAFFORD SPRINGS, Conn. — Sandra Miller was at work in January when her daughter called from their home here on Oakridge Drive with alarming news. The house was making loud noises, as if someone had jumped off the counter and landed with a bang. For seconds afterward, the house shook.

A while later, it happened again, and again. Over the next several hours, terrifying bangs rattled the house. The next morning, Ms. Miller called Bill Neal, a structural engineer, who delivered the same stunning news to her that he has now told hundreds of homeowners: The concrete foundation was crumbling and, as a result, her house was gradually collapsing.(nytimes.com)…[+]

BRASÍLIA — The first time the lights went out in her presidential palace, Dilma Rousseff grimaced. The next time, she rolled her eyes. The third time, she jumped out of her chair, demanding that subordinates find out what was going on.

“This was my area,” she fumed during an interview, pointing out that she had made Brazil’s electricity grid a top priority before she was suspended last month as president. “I don’t know why this is happening.”

With Ms. Rousseff stripped of her authority, a sense of powerlessness and indignation pervades the Palácio da Alvorada, the cavernous residence where she is allowed to stay while the fight to oust her once and for all grinds on in the Senate.(nytimes.com)…[+]

JAPAN   –  All U.S. Navy sailors in Japan are banned from drinking alcohol and restricted to base except for essential trips after several recent alcohol-related incidents which the Navy’s 7th Fleet said are harming U.S.-Japan relations.

“Effective immediately, sailors are prohibited from drinking alcohol, on and off base. Additionally, all off-base liberty will be curtailed,” a statement from the 7th Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Japan said yesterday. “These measures are not taken lightly,” said Rear Adm. Matthew Carter, commander of Naval Forces Japan, said in the statement. “For decades, we have enjoyed a strong relationship with the people of Japan. It is imperative that each sailor understand how our actions affect that relationship, and the U.S.-Japan alliance as a whole.” About 19,000 personnel are assigned to U.S. Navy bases in Japan and Navy ships and planes operating from those bases, according to U.S. Forces Japan.(CNN.COM/photo: i2.cdn.turner.com)…[+]

Millions of Muslims around the world will mark the start of the holy month of Ramadan on Monday, a time marked by intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts.

The faithful spend the month of Ramadan in mosques for evening prayers known as “taraweeh,” while free time during the day is often spent reading the Koran and listening to religious lectures. Each day for the month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset. Even a sip of water, coffee or a cigarette are forbidden.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

SOUTH-KOREA   –   Young, rash and impulsive. A frank assessment of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by South Korean Defense Minister Han Minkoo.

Speaking exclusively to CNN on the sidelines of a defense forum in Singapore, Han says it’s a combination that concerns him greatly. “Kim Jong Un was just 28 when he came to power with very little time to prepare. Add to that, he is very young, he lacks experience.” Kim certainly seems to be in a rush to perfect his nuclear and missile capabilities, the intensity of testing this year alone is unusual even for North Korea. “If you look at his father, Kim Jong Il, during his 18 year reign, there were about 18 missile tests. During Kim Jong Un’s four year reign there (have been) 25 missile tests,” says Han.(CNN.COM/photo: Reurters)…[+]

Born in Guyana, but based in Barbados, 27 year old Toneika Thompson has returned to her place of birth with a determination to promote her country. She will be aiming to do just that while embarking on a tour of the United States from June 17.

Thompson, who is a Communications major from the University of West Indies, will be making stops in Washington, District of Columbia (DC); Virginia; Delaware; Madison Square and Merlin. Recalling how the tour was arranged, she stated that influential persons heard the song she wrote and recorded for Guyana’s 50th Anniversary, ‘50TH Jubilee’. “That’s when the invitation was sent out for me to come on down to Washington DC to perform at the Embassy and it ended up being a jubilee tour as well to commemorate Guyana’s 50th Independence and also to celebrate Caribbean American heritage month.” One aspect of her tour will encompass a performance at a private event at Guyana’s Embassy in Washington. Kaieteur News understands that it is an event to highlight the achievements of Caribbean nationals and Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary.(Kaieteurnews.com/photo: kaieteurnews.com)…[+]

There are supposed to be 27 children in Harold Boyd IV’s second-grade classroom, but how many of them will be there on a given day is anyone’s guess.

Since school began in September, five new students have arrived and eight children have left. Two transferred out in November. One who started in January was gone in April. A boy showed up for a single day in March, and then never came back. Even now, in the twilight of the school year, new students are still arriving, one as recently as mid-May. At Public School 188, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, students churn relentlessly in and out. Administrators estimate that nearly half the students enrolled at the school do not last the full year. And how could it be otherwise?(nypost.com)…[+]

Over the years, William R. Ponsoldt had earned tens of millions of dollars building a string of successful companies. He had renovated apartment buildings in the New York City area. Bred Arabian horses. Run a yacht club in the Bahamas, a rock quarry in Michigan, an auto-parts company in Canada, even a multibillion-dollar hedge fund.

Now, as he neared retirement, Mr. Ponsoldt, of Jensen Beach, Fla., had a special request for Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm well placed in the world of offshore finance: How could he confidentially shift his money into overseas bank accounts and use them to buy real estate and move funds to his children?…[+]

INDIA  –  Police in New Delhi have made a number of arrests in connection with a suspected organ harvesting scheme operating out of one of the city’s most prestigious private hospitals.

Five people remain in police custody after being arrested for illegally trading human kidneys, Mandeep Randhawa, Deputy Commissioner of Police of Southeast Delhi, told CNN. The scam allegedly involved falsified documents given to poor patients by a gang at the city’s Indraprastha Apollo Hospital Delhi, CNN affiliate CNN News 18 reports. (CNN.COM/Photo: i2.cdn.turner.com)…[+]

USA  –  A Memphis Police Department officer is dead following a string of shootings near the city’s famed Beale Street, authorities said.

Officer Verdell Smith, 46, was struck by a suspect’s vehicle while trying to clear a crime scene last weekend, Memphis Police Department Director Mike Rallings told reporters. Smith was killed after two separate shootings Saturday night.  “I am angry this morning angry at the senseless loss of a dedicated public servant, and angry at the absolutely unacceptable level of violence in our city,” Mayor Jim Strickland said in a statement. “We must not accept this as our norm. I most certainly will not, and I will continue to act to make our city safer.”(CNN.COM/Photo: wgntv.com)…[+]