America’s birthday is just around the corner.

And what better way to celebrate than by honoring everyday Americans who volunteer to risk their lives, for no pay, to protect their communities?

My latest article, available this weekend in PARADE magazine, focuses on something uniquely American — volunteer firefighters.

Almost every week I’ve talked about my recent experience with United Airlines, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t give you an update.

I reach out to anybody who either works at United or who might know this answer.

When a United Airlines plane has a problem and they ask you to fill out a form to send you a certificate, can somebody please tell me what that is?

Let’s start this week with the continuing investigation into the crash of Air France Flight 447.

More than 50 bodies and more than 400 pieces of wreckage have been recovered, but don’t get too confident about that—some of those pieces are smaller than a paper clip with the exception of the tail section.

But the investigators are saying they are getting closer to figuring out what was it that caused the crash.

The investigation continues on the Air France crash north of Brazil. More than 40 bodies have been recovered, but there is very little in the way of evidence that will link us to answers anytime soon.

They did discover a majority of the tail intact, which suggests that the plane broke up in the air, not in the water.

And that’s basically the sum total of what we know.

As Washington D.C. and the rest of the country was trying to make sense of the horrible shooting at the National Holocaust Museum, I was thousands of miles away, walking through an abandoned French school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

It now houses the “Toul Sleng Genocide Museum.”

From 1975 to 1979, it was the center for torture and death in the capital city.

In the land of the fee and the home of the brave, airlines are adding even more charges and fees.

Would you believe that since last year, American Airlines has earned an additional $60 million in revenue just for charging for checked bags?

And you wonder why I FedEx my bags …