Sixteen children as young as 13, and some of whom had been reported missing by their families, were rescued from the sex trade in a law enforcement sting operation that targeted alleged pimps who brought the victims to New Jersey for Super Bowl weekend, FBI officials said.

More than 45 pimps and their associates were arrested in the operation conducted by law enforcement, the FBI announced Tuesday. Some admitted traveling to New Jersey from other states for the purpose of forcing women and children to have sex with Super Bowl tourists for money, according to federal investigators.

“High-profile special events . . . have become lucrative opportunities for child prostitution criminal enterprises.”

– Ron Hosko, FBI

“High-profile special events, which draw large crowds, have become lucrative opportunities for child prostitution criminal enterprises,” Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, said in a statement. “The FBI and our partners remain committed to stopping this cycle of victimization and putting those who try to profit from this type of criminal activity behind bars.”

The victims rescued during the sting operation range in age from 13 to 17 years old, the FBI said. Some of the minors include children previously reported missing by their families; others are foreign nationals. 

The FBI worked with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies over a six-month period leading up the Super Bowl. The operation is part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative, established in 2003 by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, in partnership with the Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, to combat child prostitution. 

Authorities had made contact with more than 20 hotels in the New York City area on how to identify victims of sex trafficking, Special Agent in Charge James T. Hayes of Homeland Security in New York told FoxNews.com last week. 

Hayes described human trafficking as an ongoing problem that law enforcement continually strives to eradicate and said many of the victims are foreign nationals, who are often from countries “where law enforcement isn’t trusted.”

via Missing children rescued from Super Bowl sex trade in FBI sting | Fox News.

A gunman who opened fire at a New Jersey mall Monday night later holed up in a back room and shot himself in the head, authorities say.

No one else was injured in the mall shooting.

Richard Shoop’s body was found at 3:20 a.m. Tuesday in an obscure part of Westfield Garden State Plaza mall, hours after he fired at least six bullets without striking anyone in the massive shopping center.

He acted alone, authorities say.

Mall shooter found dead Gunfire at New Jersey mall, shooter dead Witness: Really didn’t know what to do

“We know that his intent was either suicide or to do something that would cause police to shoot him, which we call ‘suicide by cop,'” Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli told CNN’s “New Day.”

“He had more than enough opportunity to be able to shoot other people,” including a group adjacent to him, but he didn’t, Molinelli said. “Instead, he shot randomly at different locations.”

Shots hit the ceiling, an escalator, an elevator and a storefront, the prosecutor said.

The reasons for the shooting remain unclear. Shoop used narcotic drugs and sold drugs as well, Molinelli said.

The world knows Valeria Lukyanova as the girl who turned herself into a real-life Barbie doll. Controversy has surrounded her every move since her computer-perfect visage went viral last year.

However, what most of the world doesn’t know is that Valeria is not a real girl at all, but a time-traveling spiritual guru whose purpose is to save the world from the clutches of superficiality and negative energy.

Valeria, a.k.a. Space Barbie, gives us exclusive access to her world to show us how physical perfection truly is the best medium through which to deliver life-changing philosophy to the human race.

via Space Barbie | VICE Australia / NZ.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A cargo plane carrying the bodies of four fallen U.S. soldiers landed at Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday, greeted by loved ones whose grief is laced with outrage that even they have not been spared from the government shutdown.

The solemn transfer ceremony is expected to take place in an atmosphere of tearful silence about 100 miles from the political bickering in the nation’s capital, where a death benefit for the families of service members killed in the line of duty has fallen victim to the budget impasse.

The chaplain of the Senate, Barry Black, directly invoked the denial of the benefit in his daily opening prayer before the chamber.

“Lord, when our federal shutdown delays payments of death benefits to the families of children dying on far-away battlefields, it’s time for our lawmakers to say enough is enough,” he said. “Cover our shame with the robe of your righteousness.”

via Families of fallen soldiers to receive bodies, no benefits – U.S. News.

Switzerland will hold a vote on whether to introduce a basic income for all adults, in a further sign of growing public activism over pay inequality since the financial crisis. 

A grassroots committee is calling for all adults in Switzerland to receive an unconditional income of 2,500 Swiss francs ($2,800) per month from the state, with the aim of providing a financial safety net for the population. 

Organizers submitted more than the 100,000 signatures needed to call a referendum on Friday and tipped a truckload of 8 million five-rappen coins outside the parliament building in Berne, one for each person living in Switzerland. 

Under Swiss law, citizens can organize popular initiatives that allow the channeling of public anger into direct political action. The country usually holds several referenda a year. 

In March, Swiss voters backed some of the world’s strictest controls on executive pay, forcing public companies to give shareholders a binding vote on compensation. 

A separate proposal to limit monthly executive pay to no more than what the company’s lowest-paid staff earn in a year, the so-called 1:12 initiative, faces a popular vote on November 24. 

The initiative’s organizing committee said the basic income could partly be financed through money from social insurance systems in Switzerland. 

The timing of the vote has yet to be announced, pending official guidance from the government. 

via $2,800 per month for every adult? It could happen in Switzerland – NBC News.com.

A gunman fired multiple rounds into the federal building in Wheeling, W.Va., on Wednesday afternoon and was shot dead by police, according to news reports.

A security guard suffered minor injuries when the unidentified suspect fired an estimated 20 rounds into the building at 2:30 p.m., The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register reported.

Authorities identified the gunman as Thomas Picard, who died at a local hospital, WV MetroNews reported. U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld said he was a former Wheeling police officer.

City resident Carla Webb Daniels said she saw the man reload his assault rifle and then fire at a nearby YWCA. She said he fired between 25 and 30 rounds.

An unidentified store manager said it sounded like the shooter used two different weapons.

Police reportedly shot the gunman, whose motive remains unknown.

The building houses the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, along with regional offices of the Social Security Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the General Services Administration.

via Gunman killed after firing at W. Va. federal building.

The motorcyclists came together gradually last Sunday morning, their ranks growing into the hundreds as they moved through Brooklyn and Queens, alerted by friends, social media posts and text messages to join an annual ride.

Raw video shows a throng of motorcyclists chasing an SUV up New York City’s West Side highway. The SUV later pulled onto a side street, and motorcyclists attacked the driver of the vehicle. Video: YouTube

About the same time, financial district resident Alexian Lien, a 33-year-old vice president at Credit Suisse, and his wife, Rosalyn Ng, placed their young daughter into her car seat in a black Range Rover. They headed north on a trip to celebrate their two-year wedding anniversary.

The bikers and the family clashed on the Henry Hudson Parkway on Manhattan’s west side, in a confrontation seen around the world in a video taken by one of the bikers wearing a helmet camera. Mr. Lien’s wife said her family feared for their lives. Some bikers present said they converged on Mr. Lien’s SUV as a defensive maneuver because they say he was weaving from side to side.

via Behind the Biker Chase on the West Side Highway – WSJ.com.

The Gere Foundation and The Tibet Center are honored to host His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s return to New York City. His Holiness will bestow teachings on The Heart Sutra, The Sutra of Truly Remembering the Sublime Three Jewels, and the Wisdom Chapter from A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life at the Beacon Theatre.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama will give a public talk on The Virtue of Nonviolence. He will discuss ways in which individuals can cultivate virtuous qualities within themselves to bring about inner peace, create harmony in their communities and promote tolerance throughout the world. The Virtue of Nonviolence will be followed by a Q&A during which His Holiness will respond to questions from a live audience.

via His Holiness the Dalai Lama NYC 2013.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a controversial bill into law Monday afternoon allowing the state’s transgender public school students to choose which bathrooms they use and whether they participate in boy or girl sports.

via California Gov. Brown signs transgender-student bill | Fox News.

Barack Obama is reportedly going to sign the treaty this month while Congress is on vacation.

Ammoland reported:

You heard it straight from the horse’s mouth. Jay Carney said Obama will sign the UN Arms Trade Treaty “before the end of August…We believe it’s in the interest of the United States.”

This is very strategic timing considering Congress is on a 5 week vacation lasting thru the month of August!

via Obama to Sign UN Gun Treaty This Month – Will Lead to National Registry | The Gateway Pundit.