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Katie Couric's Notebook: Violent Crime

Last Friday, actress Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were found dead, fatally shot in their Chicago home. Hudson's seven-year-old nephew was missing.

Today, a boy's body was discovered inside a vehicle taken from their home.

While authorities suspect this violent crime was domestic, the story has cast a national spotlight on a very serious problem confronting Chicago.

Chicago's homicide rate has outpaced New York and Los Angeles with 426 murders so far this year. More than half of them were committed by gangs. Chicago's police superintendent estimates 75,000 gang members walk the city's streets.

Crime hasn't been a central focus of this presidential campaign, or much of a focus at all. But when people can't feel safe in their own homes, or when walking down their streets, little else seems to matter.

And when too many children are murdered, it deserves our attention - and a spot on the national agenda.

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