Child abuse hot line The Indiana Chapter of the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse offers the CARE Line, a toll-free information and referral line concerning child abuse and neglect. It's (800) 962-2798. Warning signs consistent and visible in behaviors of abused according to local social workers and sociologists. It's 7 a.m. You awake to a bleeping alarm and instinctively sh

There is a legend that goes something like this: A long time ago, sailors who were away from home for a long time would see manatees and think they were mermaids. They must have been really homesick to mistake the homely manatee for a woman. Perhaps at the time there were plenty of manatees, but today that's not the case. Manatees _ marine mammals that have the face of an elephant, a tail lik

Would you like to see a new sport added to the Summer Olympics? "Soccer." Jorge Perez Verdin, 13 Le Mans Academy Rolling Prairie, Ind. "Football." Chris Sopke, 15 Southport High School Indianapolis "Golf." Jason Sherwood, 14 Barrington Middle School Barrington, Ill. "Bungee jumping." Jennifer Devries, 14 Illiana Christian School Demotte, Ind.

For more information about classes and locations, call (317) 355-4888 or write to 1500 North Ritter Avenue, Indianapolis, Ind. 46219. The Safe Sitter program, founded after a needless death, provides training in first aid, rescue breathing and children's behavior at various ages. A child needlessly dies because an adult baby sitter didn't recognize that the child was choking. The baby sitter

Stan Lee has spent 50 years working in the comic publishing field. Comic books are more violent today than they've ever been, Stan Lee says. "But I think that you'll find that in everything today," said Lee, publisher of Marvel Comics. "I think you'll find that movies are more violent, television is more violent. . . . I think that the comics in a sense probably reflect the world around us." T

Hugh Haynes lives in Indianapolis and is a penciler for Marvel Comics. "George Bush is trying to make a kinder, gentler nation in his campaign speeches," said Hugh Haynes, penciler of Marvel Comic's Punisher. "But that's about the only place there's a kinder, gentler nation going on anywhere. The actions (of society) do not reflect that, and the people do not reflect that." Haynes feels that

Larry and John were spinning downward until Jesus came into their lives. At first sight, you wouldn't guess that Larry Mitchell and John D. Baker are evangelists. With their long hair and leather vests, they don't fit the description of a stereotypical preacher in a three-piece suit. Mitchell and Baker, a two-man team called Frontline Ministries, give presentations on Satanism, drugs and rock

Symbol of civil rights movement stood up for her rights by sitting down. Rosa Parks glided into the noisy room and eased into a folding chair. Her silver hair was piled in a loose braid that wrapped around her head. A pair of glasses, which seemed too big for her face, slid slowly down her nose. This wasn't the Rosa Parks we had pictured. We envisioned a short-tempered ox of a woman _ not a m

How would you change the world? More than 1.5 million TV viewers are discovering 13-year-old Chris Mullen's solutions to the world's problems. Chris won a contest sponsored by WFYI-TV (Channel 20) for youths to design a public-service announcement. The problems Chris addressed in his project ranged from drug abuse to radioactive waste to forest depletion. "How the contest worked was, we had (s

Group advocates building kids' self-esteem, teaching about gun safety, enforcing existing laws and bolstering police agencies. The increase in teen violence has caused the National Rifle Association to set its sights on a new target. Guns do not cause kids to kill, according to Mary Sue Faulkner, media liaison for the National Rifle Association based in Washington, D.C. Rather, violence erupt

Children's Express recognizes the fact that kids, although they cannot vote, need to have a say and understand the issues in this election, both at the national and state levels. That is why we brought 10 central Indiana students from seven schools together to discuss three issues with the Republican nominee for governor, Attorney General Linley Pearson. Children's Express staff members also

How to subscribe Individual subscriptions to Zillions are $16 per year. Write to Zillions, P.O. Box 54861, Boulder, Colo., 80322-4861. School subscriptions are $4.95 per year, with a minimum of 10 orders to one address. Write to Zillions, P.O. Box 3760, Jefferson City, Mo. 65102. The magazine is also available on newsstands. Zillions tells young consumers how to avoid rip-offs and choose prod

Hospitals struggle to maintain adequate blood supplies at times when many people are too busy to give. It's the day before Thanksgiving. The leaves have fallen, the skies are filled with clouds. Your dad is rushing home from work, your mom is getting the turkey ready for tomorrow. All of a sudden, you hear the screech of tires, then a horrible crunch. Two cars have just slammed into each other