Teens & terrorist charges

It's becoming widely known that teens act out in social-networking sites. As I reported last week, police in Dallas know there's a difference between gang members and gangsta wannabees in MySpace. Still, in this post-9/11 era, charges are escalating. "Schools cracking down on students who plot violent attacks against classmates and educators are increasingly turning to a new form of prosecution: charging the suspects as terrorists," USATODAY reports. "Typically, students involved in such crimes are charged with offenses such as conspiracy, attempted assault or making bomb threats. But prosecutors say state legislatures now allow them to get tough — with charges that permit longer sentences — to prevent attacks such as the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., which left 15 people dead, including the two teenage gunmen.