The nation’s largest union of registered nurses, National Nurses United, issued an urgent appeal for volunteer RNs  to go to Haiti, and more than 4,500 U.S. nurses answered the call within 24 hours.

Rose Ann De Moro, executive director of NNU in Oakland, Calif., said she’s asked for military protection for the volunteer nurses.

A first wave of 40 California nurses will fly out this weekend, while NNU said it is setting up a command center in Miami to prepare the first team for deployment.

(Read more in NBC L.A.)

The 192-member United Nations General Assembly observed a minute of silence yesterday as they stood in solidarity with the countless earthquake victims in Haiti.

The UN flag flies at half mast, mourning the disaster victims, especially the 16 UN peacekeepers known to have died when the UN headquarters building collapsed. Some 150 staff members – including the Secretary-General’s Special Representative – are still unaccounted for.

Some 3,000 of the troops and police of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, there since the mid-1990s to enhance stability in the country, are in and around Port-au-Prince, and are helping to maintain order and assist in relief efforts. They also have started to clear some of the capital’s main roads to allow aid and rescuers to reach those in need.

The UN General-Secretary ordered $10 million to be released from the Central Emergency Response Fund to kick-start humanitarian relief efforts.

This morning, President Obama updated the world on the first phase of US rescue and relief efforts:  “At this very moment one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history is moving towards Haiti.”
 
The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, the president acknowledged that few in the world have endured the hardships of Haiti, but offered hope for our neighbors to the South:  “To the people of Haiti, we say clearly, and with conviction, you will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten. In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you. The world stands with you.”

Yesterday the U.S. military began a massive relief effort in Port-au-Prince, Haiti after a devastating 7.0-magnitute earthquake struck Tuesday.

Two C-130 transport planes flew in with military engineers and communications specialists. Restoring communications is vitally important for aid groups to coordinate relief efforts.

A Coast Guard cutter arrived, while an aircraft carrier – the USS Carl Vinson – is expected to arrive by Friday. As many as 5,500 U.S. troops are expected within days.

A Coast Guard helicopter had already MedEvaced four badly injured Americans to Guantanamo, Cuba, CBS News correspondent David Martin reported yesterday.

(Continue reading at CBS News)

From New York to Los Angeles, murders and other violent crimes are at a 50-year low. In Los Angeles, that’s partly because police and ex-gang members are working together to make the streets safer.

Today, it’s a different story, says Lorna Hawkins, who lost two sons to gang violence in 1988 and 1992. “They say the streets haven’t been this safe for 50 years.”

Read the good news, or listen to the story, at NPR.org – Thanks to Priscilla in France for submitting the link!