Hot Links: Homeless People, Hot Air Balloons, and Snail Mucus

​According to a recent count, more than 2,700 homeless people live on the streets of metropolitan Phoenix. The Maricopa Association of Governments says this is a 6 percent decrease from the year before. Of the 2,729 people living on Valley streets, 236  are younger than 18...Lockheed Martin's Arizona Support Center in Gilbert has received a contract with the U.S. Army worth $36.8 million. The three-year contract is to modernize night vision on Apache helicopters...A driver in a pickup truck led police on a long chase this morning, which ended with the discovery of nearly a dozen people hiding in the vehicle. The pursuit started on Interstate 10 and ended in a residential neighborhood near 105th avenue and Broadway Road. People were found in the cab and hiding under a sheet of plywood in the bed of the truck...

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African snails: Don't drink the mucus.

​Officials in the southwestern Arizona community of Somerton say the city needs a state prison to boost its economy. The Department of Corrections needs an additional 5,000 beds for inmates, and Somerton Mayor Martin Porchas says Somerton could annex the 200 acres required for a prison. The state has not commented yet...A hot-air balloon made a hard landing in the Valley yesterday, and one child was taken to the hospital as a precaution after bumping her head. The balloon, from Arizona Hot Air Balloons, was battling high winds when the pilot decided to set the balloon down. The pilot, Peggy Madison, fractured her leg and was the only person suffering a major injury...A man in Florida is under investigation after he told his religious followers to drink snail mucus. Charles L. Stewart claims his religion uses snails in ceremonies, but when his followers drank the mucus of a giant African snail, they became very sick. Stewart has not been charged in the case yet.