I was planning to write another post related to the election, and then this news crossed my inbox: The lead detective assigned to investigate journalist Chauncey Bailey's killing ignored evidence linking Yusuf Bey IV, former leader of Your Black Muslim Bakery, to a role in the killing and interfered in two other unrelated felony cases involving Bey IV, according to an investigation by the Chauncey Bailey Project.

It's is pre-dawn and the light in my bedroom is dim and placid. The house is quiet and my computer hums warm on my lap. In this moment, this space, even in my messy room, feels sacred, holy, set apart from the buzz of the everyday. Don't you just love it when that happens?

It's not easy to be an American Jewish expat in Austria and if, like me, the gods that determine your fate put you in a small town, an additional layer of complication descends on your life abroad. Understanding Austrian politics is difficult if you happen to share color, religion, or basic values with your neighbors, but if you don't, Austria becomes even more frustrating and inscrutable.

Thomas Dörflein died this week leaving behind one very confused bear. Dörflein, a keeper with the Berlin Zoo, was known to the world as the surrogate father of Knut, a polar bear rejected by his mother, Tosca, at birth. Born in December 2006, Dörflein actually moved into the animal's enclosure to provide round-the-clock care.

A former student of Luther College High School, a private Christian high school in Regina, Sask., was arrested after holding students hostage today. The individual reportedly entered the school during morning prayer and held a pastor at gunpoint in front of a chapel service. The student was allegedly expelled last year. No shots were fired and there were no injuries.

I don't understand enough about the conflict in Georgia to have an opinion on it, but I do know that the former Soviet Republics are still a sort of promised land for travelers - still a bargain, not yet jaded by the influx of tourist hordes, still offering the possibility of connecting with the locals.

Can just three ingredients send us into supper rhapsody? A Slice of Cherry Pie from Kent, England shares a recipe that is soooooo simple, it needs noooooo words. Just click this post's title. Learn more about BlogHer's From the 'hood.

Among the heartfelt Mother's Day tributes published all over the web this weekend, you might have come across this touching entry from BlogHer community member Rosemarie Pena:

One of my many limitations is that I am fluent only in English. I can sort of read Spanish, and I can ask how much something costs in German (Wieviel kostet das?), as well as complement the chef at a restaurant (Die kuche ist ausgezeichnet!), but that's pretty much it. Whenever I go abroad I feel like your typical American idiot, except that I at least know enough to be embarrassed by my lack of language skills. However, what I am most sorry about right now is that I cannot fully read most of the wonderful blog posts written by Belgian women for Wijvenweek

Imagine if a major US City – say, New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles – decided to hold a free citywide conference for women to address issues that affect their lives. How many people would come? How many protests would there be to using taxpayer money for a women's conference? Even if the conference were not city-sponsored, can you imagine the number of complaints in the conservative media about a city providing a forum for women to work on their issues?

Once upon a time there was a little girl whose parents were killed by the Nazis in World War II. Abandoned, the girl takes to the woods, wandering the forests of Europe for four years. Along the way she was adopted by a pack of wolves who help protect from the Nazis. Does it sound a little fantastic? Well, it is. Author Misha Defonseca admitted that her Holocaust memoir is a hoax. Oh yes, she's not Jewish either. Of course all of this is after earning millions of dollars, having the book translated into eighteen languages and selling the film rights to it.

Twelve days ago, my family and I moved from Seattle, Washington to Copenhagen, Denmark. As we scrambled for dinner the first night—and ended up eating pizza topped with breakfast bacon—we quickly realized that Danes don’t have much of a take-out culture. In Copenhagen people shop within walking distance of their apartments, usually from small grocery stores that have a very limited amount of pre-made foods. So, that means – yes—cooking from scratch.