Washington (CNN) — Ten states are being granted waivers to free them from some requirements of the No Child Left Behind education reform law, with President Barack Obama explaining Thursday that the move aims to “combine greater freedom with greater accountability.”

Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee will no longer have to meet 2014 targets set by the law.

In exchange for that flexibility, the states “have agreed to raise standards, improve accountability, and undertake essential reforms to improve teacher effectiveness,” the White House said in a statement Thursday morning.

Updated at 12:54 a.m. ET: The Los Angeles Unified School District is replacing the entire staff of Miramonte Elementary following the arrest of two teachers on lewd conduct charges last week, Superintendent John Deasy told parents at a meeting Monday night, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Positions will be filled by qualified teachers and other workers already on a placement or rehiring list, the Times report stated. But the displacement of the current staff could be temporary, according to the report.

Teacher Mark Berndt was charged last week with committing lewd acts on 23 children. Another teacher, Martin Springer, was arrested Friday on suspicion of fondling two girls in his classroom.

Deasy said staffers are being replaced because a full investigation of allegations is disruptive, and staffers require support to get through the scandal.

(CNN) — Authorities in South Carolina searched intently Thursday for a missing toddler who was last seen nearly two months ago, and whose pregnant mother has been charged with cruelty toward a child.

Columbia police Chief Randy Scott told Vinnie Politan, of CNN’s sister network HLN, that law enforcement launched their search for Amir Jennings after receiving what they considered “a credible tip.”

Officers from multiple agencies — including the FBI, Richland County Sheriff’s Department, Columbia-Richland Fire Department and Columbia police — scoured an 8-square-mile area near a small rural church, said Jennifer Timmons, a spokeswoman for Columbia police.

Millions of schoolchildren in the United States will see more fruit and vegetables and less fat on their lunch plates under new U.S. Department of Agriculture standards unveiled Wednesday aimed at improving child nutrition and reducing childhood obesity.

“Improving the quality of the school meals is a critical step in building a healthy future for our kids,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “When it comes to our children, we must do everything possible to provide them the nutrition they need to be healthy, active and ready to face the future – today we take an important step towards that goal.”

A man accused of punishing his 12-year-old daughter by binding her hands and feet with duct tape and sticking her in a dog cage, then threatening to electrify the crate, was just engaging in “some horseplay” that “got out of control,” his lawyer says.

Here’s what happened, according to a report from NBC station WLWT of Cincinnati:

The Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Office said James Tapke restrained his 12-year-old daughter’s hands and feet using duct tape before placing her in a dog cage on Jan. 10. Then, while his daughter was in the cage, investigators said, Tapke dropped small amounts of water on her face.

According to court papers, the victim was in the cage for about 20 minutes before her 13-year-old brother let her out. When she got out, authorities said, the victim poured water on her father’s head and in his ear.

Grizzlies are high profile this year.

A lingering winter and late berry crop kept bears in proximity to humans longer than normal, perhaps contributing to a stream of headlines about grizzlies killing people and people killing grizzlies.

Meanwhile, a young lady on a big horse charged out of the pack of grizzly stories near Glacier National Park. In a cloud of dust, the 25-year-old wrangler likely saved a boy’s life while demonstrating that skill, quick-thinking and guts sometimes are the best weapons against a head-on charging grizzly.

FORT WAYNE, INDIANA – A frustrated mom has given her wayward teenage son the ultimate punishment: public humiliation.

The 14-year-old was forced to stand on a busy street for two hours with a massive sign hanging around his neck, which read, “I lie, I steal, I sell drugs, I don’t follow the law.”

Dynesha Lax, of Fort Wayne, said the punishments handed out to her unruly son weren’t strong enough to get him to stop so she had no choice but to take this drastic action.

“I decided he broke the law and they only gave him a few hours community service so I decided that we were going to wear a sign that says you looking for attention, we’re going to get you attention,” Lax told KLTV.

KODIAK, Alaska — As the holiday season comes to a close, Aaron Cooper has many things to be thankful for, most importantly his life.

Four years ago in Fairbanks, Alaska, Cooper, a 2007 Kodiak High School graduate, was involved in a life-threatening snowmachine accident.

The veteran rider was practicing freestyle tricks when things turned for the worse. While doing a jump, Cooper lost control of his sled and had to abort.

He jumped, and when he came back down to earth he broke his back, causing bone fragments to tear through his nerve sac and shatter his nerve system.

A 15-year-old who a witness says jumped in front of a Staten Island bus was carrying a suicide note when she was struck, distraught because she was the target of bullying at her school, according to a relative.

Amanda Diane Cummings, a sophomore at Staten Island’s New Dorp High School, was hit by a city bus on Dec. 27 and died Monday from her injuries. A police spokesman told The Staten Island Advance that Amanda had a suicide note with her when a witness saw her jump in front of the bus at about 7:30 p.m., but authorities did not disclose the contents of the note.

LEOGANE, Haiti – If there really is something called “helper’s high” – that feel-good sensation that comes from extending a helping hand to others – Rachel Wheeler is soaring.

The 12-year-old Florida resident has done more to aid others than many grown-ups do in a lifetime.

Three years ago, when she was only nine, Rachel tagged along with her mother to a very adult meeting about charity work in Haiti. She listened as Robin Mahfood, from the aid agency Food For The Poor, describe children so hungry that they eat cookies made of mud, so poor that they sleep in houses made of cardboard.

At the time, Julie Wheeler wasn’t even sure her young daughter understood much of what was being discussed— “until Rachel stood on a chair in front of all those adults and pledged to help Food For The Poor,” Wheeler said.

Then a fourth grader, Rachel promised to raise money to build a dozen homes in Haiti.