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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the discovery of millions of extra ballots proves that president robert mugabe intends to rig next week 's elections in his favor , zimbabwe 's main opposition party said sunday . president robert mugabe gestures during a pre-election rally in harare on saturday . tendai biti , secretary general of the movement for democratic change , said that leaked correspondence from the election commission showed it had asked the company that is printing paper ballots to make 9 million . however , the african country has an electorate of 5.7 million registered voters , he said . also , 600,000 postal paper ballots were requested for soldiers and police officers , biti said . postal ballots are usually requested for civil servants serving abroad , and the total number of soldiers and police in zimbabwe add up to no more than 50,000 , he said . `` remember , when they stole this election away from us the last time , they stole it with 350,000 votes , '' biti said . `` six hundred thousand is double insurance . they can not win a free and fair election in this country . '' the elections are slated for saturday .<doc-sep>mugabe survived a hotly contested presidential challenge from mdc leader morgan tsvangirai in 2002 amid widespread accusations of vote rigging . the president 's other challenger this time is former finance minister simba makoni , who recently announced his bid to unseat mugabe and was promptly booted out of the ruling party . last week , new york-based human rights watch raised doubts about the elections , saying it was likely to be `` deeply flawed . '' `` as the elections near , all indications are that once again the people of zimbabwe will not be able to freely exercise their civil and political rights and vote for the candidates of their choice , '' the nongovernmental organization said in a 48-page report . the elections are expected to provide mugabe with the toughest challenge yet in his nearly 28 years of rule . the report said the zimbabwe electoral commission was partisan toward the ruling zimbabwe african national union-patriotic front and had neither the expertise nor the resources to run the elections properly . watch mugabe threaten to expel companies under british rule . '' that report brought derision from a zimbabwean official . `` what qualifies them to do what they 're doing -- policing the world and africa in particular ? '' asked wilbert gwashavanhu , political consul at zimbabwe 's embassy in washington .<doc-sep>`` why do n't they go to america and oversee how america holds its own elections ? '' he said . `` come on , give me a break ! you ca n't judge the elections before they are held . '' no matter the final outcome of the election , the international community may never find out whether the vote proved to be free and fair . independent news organizations are banned from zimbabwe , and there are no credible monitors in place . since 1980 , the 84-year-old mugabe has been the country 's only ruler . but his odds of winning this time may be handicapped by zimbabwe 's dire economic situation . the rate of inflation reported in january was 100,000 percent , and food and fuel are in short supply , the human rights watch document said . with more than three in four zimbabweans unemployed , few could afford such food and fuel anyway . the country 's downward economic spiral began in 2000 , when mugabe sanctioned the violent seizure of commercial farms , turning some of the land over to insiders and cronies . for his part , mugabe remains defiant , blaming his country 's economic woes on the west . e-mail to a friend . cnn 's saeed ahmed contributed to this report .<doc-sep>zimbabwe is hosting a worldwide united nations tourism summit in . mid-august , suggesting that nationwide polls would take place in . september after what is expected to be the world 's largest tourism . exposition . president robert mugabe has vowed that clean and fair elections will be held after allegations of vote rigging in the previous elections in 2008 when he beat rival morgan tsvangirai , right . however , many obstacles remain , . including finding the estimated $ 130million needed to pay for the . election and reaching agreement on outside monitors . harare has turned down offers of united nations or donor assistance . mugabe said : ` this is a happening of joy , great joy indeed , ' according to sky news . he said today that the new . constitution shows that zimbabweans are united , regardless of political . affiliation and without outside interference . mugabe accused some in the 15-nation . southern african development community -lrb- sadc -rrb- , which has been mediating . in the crisis , of trying to impose their will on harare . ` we rejected this , ' he told reporters after the signing ceremony , adding that any vote would be fair and peaceful . ` we will ensure that there wo n't be any violence , that there wo n't be any rigging . '<doc-sep>by . matt blake and daily mail reporters . published : . 04:50 est , 1 august 2013 . | . updated : . 10:33 est , 1 august 2013 . robert mugabe 's party claimed a resounding victory in zimbabwe 's general election today moments before his main rival accused him of ` monumental fraud ' . the election had been hailed as a potential turning point in the nation 's troubled history as mugabe 's long-time nemesis morgan tsvangirai again vowed to dethrone the 89-year-old tyrant after 33 years in power . wednesday 's voting had been peaceful across the southern african nation , but the early claims from the competing parties heralded an acrimonious dispute over the outcome and raised fears of a repeat of violence that marred a 2008 election . releasing unofficial results early in zimbabwe is illegal , and police had said on wednesday they would arrest anybody who made premature claims about the result . but a senior source in mugabe 's zanu-pf party , who asked not to be named , crowed : ` we 've taken this election . we 've buried . the mdc . we never had any doubt that we were going to win . ' scroll down for video . vote : robert mugabe casting a a ballot in the election that will decide his fate , watched by his wife and daughter . responding to the zanu-pf claim , a downbeat tsvangirai said the vote should be considered invalid because of polling day irregularities and vote-rigging by 89-year-old mugabe 's zanu-pf party . ` this has been a huge farce , ' tsvangirai said . ` in our view , that election is null and void . ' he did not take questions , leaving it unclear whether he or his party will mount any kind of legal challenge . his comments came after a high-ranking source in tsvangirai 's mdc party described the election as ' a monumental fraud ' , adding : ` zimbabweans have been taken for a . ride by zanu-pf and mugabe . we do not accept it . ' voting concluded in zimbabwe 's . polling stations in elections in which robert mugabe faced one of the . biggest challenges to his 33-year grip on power . a few polling stations were prepared to stay open into the night to accommodate all voters who were in line by 7pm . vote counting is expected to begin tonight and final results are expected by monday . zimbabweans .<doc-sep>harare , zimbabwe -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- president robert mugabe was sworn in sunday after the zimbabwe electoral commission declared he overwhelmingly won the country 's disputed runoff election . `` i , robert gabriel mugabe , do swear that i will well and truly serve zimbabwe in the office of president , so help me god , '' mugabe said at the state house complex in harare , standing before a red-robed judge wearing a white wig . his words were met with loud applause . the international community has roundly called the election -- allegedly marred by violence and vote rigging -- a `` sham . '' many voters expressed fear of government retaliation if they did not take part in the vote to extend mugabe 's rule . some said they were required to report the serial numbers on their ballots to mugabe 's zimbabwe african national union -- patriotic front . watch as mugabe gets sworn in '' zimbabwe 's electoral commission released the final results of friday 's runoff vote , showing that mugabe won by an almost 9-to-1 margin , with voter turnout about 42 percent . the final tally , according to the electoral commission , showed mugabe snaring 2.2 million votes , or about 86 percent of the ballots , to opposition candidate morgan tsvangirai 's 233,000 . the commission 's quick turnaround was a contrast to the five weeks it took the zec to release results from the march 29 election . tsvangirai 's movement for democratic change quickly denounced the results , calling the election `` a one-man race , a one-man circus . ''<doc-sep>tsvangirai 's movement for democratic change last week challenged the election results , accusing the electoral commission of rigging the polls for mugabe 's zanu-pf . `` we will never go back on our victory . we do not know what is retreating , '' mugabe said . to the west `` we are delivering democracy on a platter . will you take ? '' asked africa 's oldest leader . `` we say take it or leave it . we will never go back on our victory . ''
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<t> zimbabwe 's main opposition party says millions of extra ballot papers printed . </t> <t> movement for democratic change secretary suspects elections will be rigged . </t> <t> president robert mugabe expected to face toughest challenge yet saturday . </t> <t> mugabe , 84 , has ruled the african country for nearly 28 years . </t>
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mugabe accused of election-rigging plan<T>
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london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- there are few things in the world shrouded with as much secrecy as the super-yacht industry . maritime mysteries : the design and building processes for super-yachts are tightly guarded secrets . the boats are built and kept in exclusive locations , they 're owned by the notoriously inaccessible super-wealthy , and for most of us the closest we 'll get to them is in the pages of glossy magazines . in a bid to gain a stronger insight into the super-yacht world i 've organised an interview with dr william collier , the owner of liverpool 's g.l. watson & co - the oldest yacht design company in the world . the company formed in 1873 and in its time has produced four america 's cup yachts and more presidential and royal yachts than any other yacht designer . it seems the logical business to profile . but , there 's a catch . in this industry ` loose lips ' really do ` sink ships ' ... or at least destroy business , anyway . collier ca n't tell me anything about the projects the company is working on , the people he 's working for , or how much these ocean-going beasts cost to produce . `` we enter into very strict confidentiality agreements with our clients . we find it frustrating at times because we would like to approach people about doing a project because we have done a similar project - but we ca n't mention it . `` these guys can get into the press whenever they want . unfortunately in the united kingdom due to the nature of the press they have nothing to gain from having their personal property displayed for all to see , '' collier told cnn .<doc-sep>and when most of g.l. watson & co 's business comes from client referrals , the company is wise not to jeopardize confidentiality agreements . collier confirmed the company would have less than 100 clients on its books and it tries to manage several projects on differing scales at the one time . he said a usual workload was to have one 200-feet plus project , one around 100-150 feet and a few smaller projects on the go simultaneously . the ` smaller ' vessels collier refers to are often in the range of 60-80 feet long . just tiny . though collier declines to comment on the net worth of his clients , i infer from the discussion that most of them are multi-millionaires , if not billionaires . this is certainly not a place for someone with shallow pockets . he said the current ` credit crunch ' hitting many consumers was unlikely to have too much impact on his business . `` they would be generally insulated from that . budget is always an issue for people but that is more because people do n't like change . a lot of what we do is to protect the client 's interests - to make sure they do n't pay too much , '' he said . collier said the company had two major strands : design and owner representation . while the first aspect is self-explanatory , the second involves the full management of entire building or restoration projects from the owner 's point of view . the full process of building or restoring a boat usually took between three to five years and became quite an intimate affair , he said .<doc-sep>`` we have a very close relationship with the clients . inevitably because we are designing someone 's ideal home we are finding out a lot about them and what they like and do n't like . you get to know them very well . '' however , it 's not all fairytales . the privileged position his job places him in also has its downfalls . `` anyone who says these things go smoothly is lying , '' he laughed . collier said although he had not experienced any disappointed clients , he had heard of cases where multi-million dollar vessels had not been to the satisfaction of the buyer . after buying the company in 2001 at a time when he had been personally working towards restoring a g.l. watson & co original , collier -- a passionate sailor himself , said the market was changing . the company worked on both sailing and motor-powered yachts , and he said it was going back to the future in some respects . `` the company originally came very much out of a racing sailing design . from the 1880s it became more involved in cruise yacht design . what we are doing now is getting back into that big yacht market . '' he said there was a trend towards creating replicas or restorations with as many of the original materials as possible .<doc-sep>`` people for many years have been restoring sailing yachts and in many instances they tend not to use original materials . but , people are becoming more educated in this market . `` now , if people are going to do something in this market they want to do something special , something worthwhile , '' he said . one of the projects which collier does detail is the nahlin , a 296-foot 1930s g.l. watson & co original , which is set for restoration . after being returned to british waters only in 1999 , collier said the vessel would have a complete overhaul based on the company 's archives of the original design , and it would become the `` biggest restoration project ever '' . collier said the company also planned to expand the range of services it provides to clients . although there 's plenty to look forward to at g.l. watson & co and business is flourishing -- collier drops in a strong reminder that the job of pleasing wealthy clients does not open the door to excessive levels of wealth for himself . `` we are not yacht owners - we do n't own these . we are here to produce them for orders . '' in fact , for one of the most glamorous industries in the world , collier said there was plenty of hard graft done behind-the-scenes , and for him , a lot of travel to and from his liverpool base . `` we do n't always need to be in the mediterranean ! the lifestyle is n't always attractive . ''<doc-sep>products . ' nancy announced her first foray into the beauty business as she mingled with guests including actor sid owen and made in chelsea stars spencer matthews and lucy watson at the party . she wore a split black skirt with a leather jacket and polka dot blouse . however , she did not maximise the opportunity to promote the false eyelashes - that she designed and manufactured herself - when she pulled on her sunglasses on the # 20m super yacht - even though it was raining . fab at 50 : nancy look younger than her years in a black leather jacket and polka dot blouse . nancy , who is a self-confessed fan of . botox and has admitted to having the treatment twice a year , has said . before she is keen to share her beauty secrets with the many women who . she believes ` want to be like ' her .<doc-sep>much of the success in attracting super-yachts has been credited to the san diego super-yacht association -lrb- sdsa -rrb- -- a collective of local super-yacht designers , builders , brokers and other interested parties that was formed in 2006 . super-yacht director of marine group boat works and founding member of the sdsa , fred larsson , told cnn that the key to san diego 's recent profile boost was realizing the economic needs of the industry . `` san diego had the basic requirements of super-yachts covered already with the natural deep water harbor , year round superb weather , geographic location as the gateway to the pacific and a wonderful youthful city . then when you add the super-yacht facility upgrades it 's a no brainer . san diego has it all , '' he said . larsson said the sdsa had been instrumental in developments as the combination of shipyards , marinas and suppliers working together means they have a good all-round knowledge of what super-yacht owners want when they come to port .<doc-sep>london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- as many of the world 's industries struggle in the face of global economic hardship , the inaugural abu dhabi yacht show went ahead earlier this month . on show : the recent abu dhabi yacht show attracted some of the world 's biggest super-yachts . showcasing some of the top super-yachts in existence , the show symbolizes a luxury industry which is still thriving in the area . at the show , sheikh mohammed bin zayed al nahyan , crown prince of abu dhabi , said the united arab emirates is becoming one of the world 's greatest super-yacht hubs . `` this show demonstrates abu dhabi 's commitment to be recognized as a global super-yacht player at the same level as leading centers in the mediterranean and the caribbean , '' he said . abu dhabi tourism authority chairman , sheikh sultan bin tahnoon al nahyan , hailed the event as proof that the region was still growing and performing well economically . `` it is a clear indication of continuing international confidence in this emirate 's robust and resilient economy . '' evidence of positive developments in the region 's luxury yacht industry is written all over the emirate .<doc-sep>in 2005 , forbes rated san diego as the fifth wealthiest city in the u.s. and in the years since , for the super-yacht industry particularly , the region has continued to develop rapidly . today , the city is buzzing with super-yacht designers , builders , and brokers , and it now has plenty of facilities to accommodate the industry . there 's also the annual `` yachtfest '' show , which will be going ahead in september this year and is expected to attract interest from super-yacht makers and owners around the world . numerous marinas have sprung up amid the increasing interest in the city , with kona kai marina , shelter island marina , and the wharf , among some of the most notable developments . outside of the private super-yacht industry , san diego is also home to the largest shipyard on the west coast of the u.s. -- general dynamics ' national steel and shipbuilding company . many cruise lines pass through the port and there are plans for a new cruise ship terminal to open in 2010 .
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<t> g.l. watson & co. is the oldest yacht design company in the world . </t> <t> the company is bound to tight confidentiality agreements about its projects . </t> <t> the restoration of 1930s vessel ` nahlin ' will be the biggest of its kind . </t> <t> most yachts take three-to-five years to complete . </t>
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super-yacht secrets : the production process<T>
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galveston , texas -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- rescuers in galveston , texas , were going door-to-door saturday to check on the estimated 20,000 people who failed to flee hurricane ike , which has slowed to tropical storm status . park benches are strewn about in downtown houston saturday during hurricane ike . as of saturday afternoon , the galveston fire department had taken 27 people to a shelter in a high school on the coastal island , which was without electricity or water pressure . no casualties had been discovered so far in the search and rescue efforts , which have been hampered by heavy flooding and scattered debris . galveston had ordered evacuation of the island , but galveston city manager steve leblanc said about 40 percent of the city 's 57,523 residents chose to stay . leblanc said the island would be closed while authorities assess damages , including to the causeway , which was in `` bad shape '' because of debris and road damage . `` the road buckled in a number of places , '' leblanc said . `` even if we opened it up you could n't get through . '' leblanc said 17 buildings on the island had been destroyed by fires , potent winds and a strong storm surge . `` we are in a recovery mode , '' galveston mayor lyda ann thomas said in a press conference saturday afternoon . `` this eye came right over us , stayed a while and went on , but it brought a lot of damage to our city . '' ike was downgraded saturday to a tropical storm 11 hours after it crashed ashore as a texas-sized hurricane that walloped southeast texas and southwest louisiana . in its wake , ike -- which smashed into the coast as a category 2 hurricane -- left four people dead , millions without power and destroyed homes and businesses along the gulf coast with powerful winds , rain and floodwaters . president bush declared 29 texas counties and parts of louisianans major disaster areas , making federal funds available for recovery from the storm . view images of places hit by ike '' many people , like d.j. knight of pearlman , texas , decided to ride out the storm at home , despite voluntary and mandatory orders issued across the region . `` the windows looked like they would explode , '' said knight , a mother of two . `` it just would n't stop . '' now , without electricity and surrounded by flooded roads and wreckage , knight wonders whether it was worth enduring a sleepless night as the storm shook her home , located about halfway between galveston and houston . `` i did n't think it would be as bad as it was , '' she said . `` it was horrible . '' knight is one of thousands waiting for assistance as the state rolls out the largest search and rescue operation in texas history . see pictures of the storm 's destruction '' gov. rick perry dispatched a 1,000-strong search and rescue team , including state troopers , pilots and members of the national guard . lines of national guard trucks and ambulances were deployed from san antonio even as officials are trying to grasp the extent of damage and the number of texans stranded by the storm . however , flooding and debris have impeded rescue efforts in some areas , adding to the uncertainty about how many texans actually survived the storm . `` we 're obviously concerned that there may be people we find who did n't get out and who are going to be in the rubble of what we uncover , '' said secretary of homeland security michael chertoff . `` we hope for the best , but i do want to prepare people for the fact they we may have some fatalities . '' chertoff said 40,000 texans were in 250 shelters , and that food and water would be distributed in about 20 coastal locations as rescue efforts continue . in galveston , which bore the brunt of the storm , floods filled the historic district with 7 feet of water at the storm 's peak , said galveston county official margaret bunch . watch how a spunky little girl braved the storm '' a foot of water flooded the city 's main courthouse , where many people rode out the storm , she said . wanda collins ' garage filled with 5 feet of water , ruining everything inside , including a 2002 pickup truck , two harley-davidson motorcycles , a freezer and a washer and dryer . `` i have never in my life seen water like this , '' the 30-year galveston resident said . burle and jamie holmes also refused to leave their galveston home despite a grim warning from the national weather service . ike forced the couple and their dog , trouble , into the attic , tossing their furniture like toys across the house .<doc-sep>`` we lost everything , '' jamie holmes . curfews are in place in galveston until dawn monday and in houston 's harris county until 6 a.m. sunday . houston mayor bill white said his city appears to have avoided loss of life , but streets blocked by floodwaters , downed trees and power lines hampered efforts to determine the full extent of the damage . authorities shut down downtown houston , where the streets were littered with traffic lights and glass , for cleanup and damage assessment . the city 's tallest skyscraper , the 75-story jp morgan chase tower , was missing many of its windows . see ireporter 's images of destruction '' white advised residents to drink bottled or boiled tap water as a precaution after a power outage reduced water pressure , but he said nothing indicated that the water supply was contaminated . brennan 's , a popular restaurant in downtown houston for almost four decades , burned down friday night as ike battered the city . north of houston , a 10 - year-old boy died when a falling tree limb hit him in the head , the montgomery county sheriff 's office said . the boy 's father was cutting down a dead tree in the family 's yard in preparation for ike 's heavy winds early saturday . nearly 2.6 million customers in texas and louisiana lack power because of ike , the u.s. energy department said on saturday . in brazoria county , emergency management officials said the main power line for the texas/new mexico grid was down . centerpoint energy said 90 percent of its customers were without electricity and it could take a month or more to get power restored to all of them . ireporter jackie hensler of houston said her apartment building 's power was restored quickly on saturday morning after a stormy night . `` there are lots of trees down ; they 've been uprooted or snapped , '' she said after venturing outside . `` there 's lots of debris in the streets , like boards and plywood from homes . '' watch how the roof peeled off a building '' hurricane ike proved to be a huge storm system , 900 miles across at its largest . it remained a hurricane hours after crashing ashore over galveston at 2:10 a.m. its maximum sustained winds were near 80 mph , with higher gusts . it was expected to continue to weaken and move into western arkansas by saturday night . track the storm '' the storm surge , however , was smaller than forecast . the greatest surge , of 15 feet , happened at sabine pass , near the texas-louisiana line . authorities had predicted surges of 20 to 25 feet . authorities in orange county , texas , on the louisiana line , were using large dump trucks saturday to rescue residents trapped on their roofs by massive flooding , a county judge told cnn . the city of orange and the town of bridge city were flooded , beaumont emergency official brad peneffon said . watch the storm surge in beaumont '' rescuers fanned out in boats saturday in cameron parish , louisiana , after the storm surge flooded 1,800 homes . gas prices soared across the country amid fears the storm would disrupt fuel supplies . ike hit a region that is home to about 25 percent of the united states ' oil refining capacity , and the storm 's progress across the gulf of mexico shut down crude oil collection from gulf oil fields . the u.s. department of energy said 14 refineries were closed by the storm , along with two texas strategic petroleum reserve sites . in knoxville , tennessee , sean kennedy expressed dismay at the difference a day made to gas prices . ireport.com : evacuees , san antonio mayor talk about ike . `` i filled up my tank yesterday morning on the way to work for $ 3.59 a gallon , '' he said . `` this morning , gas prices at the same station were $ 5 a gallon for regular and $ 5.25 for premium . '' the coast guard said early saturday that 22 people aboard a freighter that was adrift in the gulf of mexico were safe after the storm . some good news came out of the region saturday . about 175 miles west of houston , a storm evacuee delivered a baby in the ladies ' bathroom at a shelter in new braunfels . `` the credit goes to the mother , '' said dr. mark burns , who helped deliver the baby . `` she did a beautiful job with her delivery . '' cnn 's jeanne meserve , rusty dornin , sean callebs , rob marciano , gary tuchman , arthur brice , deb krajnak and elise miller contributed to this report .<doc-sep>arguments broke out at gas stations and tensions were high everywhere . thousands of people remained in shelters , wondering what homes they had to return to . others waited in line to get water , ice and food at 60 distribution sites the federal emergency management agency had established across texas . perhaps the most dire area of the state was bolivar peninsula , a resort on galveston bay where entire neighborhoods were destroyed . a rescue team on monday saved 60 people who were stranded there among homes leveled to their foundations . on sunday , a galveston county sheriff 's official said three bodies were pulled from storm wreckage in port bolivar . galveston residents had been warned as ike approached the texas coast to leave or face `` certain death '' from its 12 - to 15-foot storm surge . ireport.com : facing the deadly storm . `` sometimes the aftermath of the storm is worse than the storm itself , '' galveston mayor lyda ann thomas said . `` there 's nothing to come here for right now . ... please leave . '' ike and its remnants left at least 27 people dead from the u.s. gulf coast to the great lakes . the remnants moved into canada early monday . hurricane-force winds from the storm were felt as far north as kentucky , and heavy rains flooded streets in chicago , illinois . see chicago 's swamped streets . deaths related to the storm were reported in louisiana , arkansas , indiana , missouri and ohio as well as texas . the toll could go higher . chambers county , texas , judge jimmy sylvia said late sunday that there is nothing left of oak island , a city on the coast in galveston bay . smith point , to the south , has `` mounds and mounds of debris , '' the judge said , and he fears they may find bodies in the rubble . watch how ike wiped out neighborhoods '' louisiana chief medical officer louis cataldie confirmed four deaths as a result of the hurricane -- two in terrebonne parish and two in jefferson davis parish . watch how ike flooded one louisiana parish '' two people drowned in indiana and another in missouri . two others died in the st. louis , missouri , area , but the cause of their deaths was unclear , said missouri state emergency operations center spokeswoman susie stonner . wind gusts as high as 74 mph ripped the roof off a delta airlines hangar at cincinnati/northern kentucky international airport , according to an associated press report . the airport 's control tower had to be evacuated during the worst of the storm , the ap said . in kentucky , more than 340,000 louisville gas and electric co. customers were without power monday morning , cnn affiliate wlky-tv reported . across the region , more than 1.3 million people were without power , the ap reported . `` over 90 percent of our customers are without service , '' kathy meinke of duke energy , which serves southwest ohio and northern kentucky , told the ap . ireport.com : ike soaks , smashes texas home . copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>houston , texas -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- even with hurricane ike more than 100 miles away , authorities began rescue efforts friday , picking up more than 120 people stranded by rising seas along the southeast texas coast . the u.s. coast guard rescues a person trapped in a car on friday as hurricane ike hits texas . most of the rescues occurred in galveston county , where rising water and other effects of the storm began hours before expected landfall early saturday . stranded residents have been airlifted from crystal beach , bolivar peninsula and other communities in the galveston area . many of those rescued were motorists stranded on flooded roads . in surfside beach , police waded through chest-high rushing water to rescue five people trapped in their homes . one man refused to leave , said surfside beach police chief randy smith . watch rescuers save a motorist from floods '' `` some of them took convincing , some of them did n't , '' he said . police also rescued another five people who waded out to meet the officers . about half of those rescues were done by helicopters out of several bases along the coast , said coast guard petty officer david schulein . three hh-65c helicopters from coast guard air station houston rescued more than 20 people and were continuing to fly round-the-clock rescue missions until weather grounds them , said petty officer renee aiello , a station spokeswoman . the coast guard helicopters from air station houston could make their last flights friday afternoon as rain starts to move in , aiello said . watch ike begin to spill water into texas '' `` we 'll be out as long as the weather permits us , '' she said . `` we 're still working . '' some 37,000 people may need to be rescued after hurricane ike strikes , a u.s. military official said friday .<doc-sep>ike 's forecast track was through galveston and the houston metro area as a category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph . currently a category 2 storm about 700 miles across , ike could make landfall near galveston island as early as saturday morning . watch cnn meteorologists track hurricane ike '' at 11 p.m. et , the national hurricane center said hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 115 miles from ike 's center , and tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 275 miles . the storm was centered 445 miles east-southeast of corpus christi , texas , and about 340 miles east-southeast of galveston , and was moving west-northwest at near 10 mph . watch : national hurricane center predicts ike 's path '' roughly 3.5 million people live in the hurricane 's potential impact zone , fema administrator david paulison said thursday . in galveston , mayor lyda ann thomas told the island 's 60,000 people that they should leave . by 7:30 et , the city had finished evacuating to austin thousands of residents who needed assistance leaving because of age , disability or lack of reliable transportation . mandatory evacuations remained in effect for low-lying coastal areas northeast and southwest of galveston , in chambers , matagorda and brazoria counties . some brazoria county residents said they did n't want to leave but realized it was in their best interest to do so . `` you do n't have a choice when you have kids , '' deborah davis of freeport told cnn affiliate kprc-tv in houston . farther inland , about 100,000 residents in low-lying areas surrounding houston began evacuating thursday afternoon as ike headed for the texas coast , officials said . watch gov. rick perry warn residents of ike 's potential '' but the remaining 4 million residents were told they could stay home , even as government offices and schools prepared to close friday in houston in anticipation of the hurricane . `` we are only evacuating areas subject to a storm surge , '' said harris county judge ed emmett , the county 's chief executive officer . `` yes , we know you will lose electricity . but you 're not in danger of losing your life , so stay put . '' ships in port were told to leave , said port of houston spokeswoman linda whitlock . the area 's two major airports , george bush intercontinental and william p. hobby , also halted all commercial flights . more than 1,300 inmates from the texas correctional institutions division 's stevenson unit in cuero were being evacuated to facilities in beeville and kenedy , perry 's office said , and 597 were transferred from the substance abuse glossbrenner unit in san diego , in south texas , to dilley . cnn 's mike mount contributed to this report .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- it 's been five days since hurricane ike smashed into the texas coast , but people are still struggling mightily with its effects . flags of the united states and texas fly where homes stood in gilchrist , texas , before ike 's wrath came ashore . from the destroyed coastline , to far inland where evacuees are seeking shelter , to communities in the midwest where the storm dumped flooding rains , cnn 's affiliates are reporting on the rebuilding of lives . galveston , texas wrecked homes and possessions strewn around the ubiquitous sludge were the sights awaiting residents of galveston , some of whom were allowed to check their property on wednesday , khou reported . paula munoz said although the damage to the family 's el rey restaurant was worse than she could have imagined , they still planned to rebuild . `` we spent 10 years paying off this place , '' she told khou . `` we 'll rebuild , and we 'll do it here . where else would we go ? this is our life . '' but there was some relief for maria patina , who was worried she had lost everything . when she saw her house was standing , she rushed inside , grabbed a statue of jesus and said : `` thank you , god . '' read khou 's report on going back to galveston . crystal beach , texas frank and dee ann sherman huddled in the attic of their beachfront home in crystal beach as hurricane ike ripped the house apart -- washing walls out to sea and lifting up what remained only to smash it down , khou said . watch the shermans tell their amazing survival story '' somehow the roof stayed on and they survived , but they are not being allowed back into the ruins , not even to retrieve the ashes of their dead daughter . the couple said they were frustrated with complaints by people better off than them . `` we see all of these people that are crying and moaning because they got some mud on their floor or their lights are out in houston , '' frank sherman told khou . `` we do n't see anything about our friends that died in crystal beach and about the fact that our world is totally devastated . i 'm 60 years old and i have to start my life all over again . '' read how the shermans contacted khou when they found they could n't escape .
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<t> new : wreckage impedes rescue efforts , adding to uncertainty about survivors . </t> <t> texas woman wonders whether it was worth it to ride out storm in home . </t> <t> four deaths in texas attributed to ike , now a tropical storm with 45 mph winds . </t> <t> 2.6 million affected by power outages , u.s. energy department says . </t>
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ike wears itself out beating up on texas<T>
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mexico city , mexico -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- eight people were killed and 101 were wounded in two explosions during a celebration of mexico 's independence day monday night , a mexican official said tuesday . wounded people get help after blasts monday night during an independence day event in morelia , mexico . two people remained in grave condition , said roman armando luna escalante , secretary of health in michoacan state . eleven of the wounded were children , luna escalante said . none of them are gravely injured . the explosions occurred around 11 p.m. near the governor 's residence in morelia , the capital of michoacan . the second blast happened shortly afterward a few blocks away . officials would not say if they have any suspects or if any group has claimed responsibility . some experts pointed to drug cartels or insurgents . `` it could be a warning to the federal government , which has put a lot of money and manpower to deal with drugs , which are very powerful there , '' said peter hakim , president of the inter-american dialogue , a washington-based think tank on western hemisphere affairs . `` it could be leftist guerrilla groups that occasionally throw a bomb . `` the problem is that this is part of a real wave of violence that is consuming mexico . ''<doc-sep>last week the bodies of 24 people , bound and shot execution-style , were found in atlapulco , a town just south of mexico city . those killings friday came roughly two weeks after tens of thousands of mexicans marched on the nation 's capital , calling for greater government action against the wave of violent crime . non-governmental groups estimate there have been more than 1,500 killings in mexico this year linked to organized crime . in late august , mexican president felipe calderon met with the country 's 32 governors to develop a plan to battle the rise in violent crime . calderon , who was born in morelia , condemned the attacks and said federal officials will redouble efforts to help state authorities investigate . more than 1,500 soldiers and federal police were maintaining order tuesday , which marks the 198th anniversary of what mexicans regard as their independence day . festivities typically start the night before because on september 16 , 1810 , shortly before dawn , a priest in a village in the state of guanajuato rang a church bell and called on mexicans to fight for independence from spain . the celebration in morelia on monday night was one of hundreds nationwide to celebrate that call for independence , which mexico formally achieved in 1821 .<doc-sep>mexico city , mexico -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- eight people were killed and 101 were wounded in two explosions during a celebration of mexico 's independence day monday night , a mexican official said tuesday . wounded people get help after blasts monday night during an independence day event in morelia , mexico . two people remained in grave condition , said roman armando luna escalante , secretary of health in michoacan state . eleven of the wounded were children , luna escalante said . none of them are gravely injured . the explosions occurred around 11 p.m. near the governor 's residence in morelia , the capital of michoacan . the second blast happened shortly afterward a few blocks away .<doc-sep>by . steph cockroft . with the media storm that 's surrounded vanessa stiviano lately , you ca n't blame her for wanting to cut loose with a few margaritas . so with the row continuing over reviled clippers owner donald sterling , v. stiviano forgot all about her troubles and stepped out to celebrate cinco de mayo - in another now-trademark visor . the 31-year-old - who taped the nba millionaire berating . her for hanging around with black players - was seen outside her $ 1.8 million los angeles home in patriotic attire . vanessa stiviano , whose mother is mexican , wore her now-trademark visor and a sombrero to celebrate cinco de mayo , a festival of mexico 's independence . the 31-year-old was seen outside her los angeles home sipping on margaritas to mark the annual celebration . v. stiviano hit the headlines after a tape she recorded , which allegedly includes racist rants from 80-year-old clippers owner donald sterling , was leaked to the press . despite the controversy , v. stiviano still took time to wave at photographers outside her home . the model dressed in denim overalls , a traditional sombrero and a mexican bandana , which she hung around her neck , to mark mexico 's festival of independence . cinco de mayo - ` fifth of may ' - is a celebration of mexico 's independence and . culture , marking the country 's victory over the french army in the battle of puebla in 1862 . v. stiviano , whose mother is mexican , used the day as an excuse to wear yet another full-faced visor - an accessory she has n't been seen without since the start of the sterling storm .<doc-sep>calderon , who was born in morelia , condemned the attacks and said federal officials will redouble efforts to help state authorities investigate . more than 1,500 soldiers and federal police were maintaining order tuesday , which marks the 198th anniversary of what mexicans regard as their independence day . festivities typically start the night before because on september 16 , 1810 , shortly before dawn , a priest in a village in the state of guanajuato rang a church bell and called on mexicans to fight for independence from spain . the celebration in morelia on monday night was one of hundreds nationwide to celebrate that call for independence , which mexico formally achieved in 1821 .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- mexico celebrates its bicentennial wednesday , an event known as `` el grito , '' the shout for independence first credited to a catholic priest who demanded freedom from spain . for many mexicans today , though , it 's a quiet shout of despair . the country is mired in a bloody drug war that has seen more than 28,000 people killed in less than four years . the economy has barely begun to rebound from the global downturn , which hit mexico harder than most latin american countries . tourism , a major lifeblood for the nation , is drastically down because of the violence and a flu pandemic last year that began in mexico . and oil revenues , long a rich sustenance for the nation 's economy , also have suffered a major collapse . despite government efforts to hold a vast celebration that one leading newspaper called part disney and part infomercial , many mexicans are just not feeling it . `` the climate in which we 're living in this country does not lend itself to a real celebration , '' said adrian jesus garrido gomez , who owns a car rental company and chauffeur service in villahermosa , the capital of southeastern mexico 's tabasco state . garrido sounds leery of the nearly $ 232 million -lrb- about 2.97 billion pesos -rrb- the government says it has spent on celebrations in mexico city . the lavish events wednesday night will feature a parade , fireworks and a show that has merited visits by five latin american presidents and dignitaries from 50 nations . `` they are grabbing it as an effort to make us forget everything that is happening in the country , '' garrido said . `` it 's more of a distraction . '' that distraction does not seem to be working .
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<t> new : death toll rises to eight in two blasts , official says ; more than 100 wounded . </t> <t> new : mexican president says federal officials will help investigate . </t> <t> explosions occurred during independence day celebration in morelia . </t>
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violence mars mexico 's independence day celebration<T>
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-lrb- instyle.com -rrb- -- the co-star of `` 27 dresses '' discusses his personal style . `` i just feel dirty , '' says james marsden . not to be alarmed : there 's nothing indecent going on here . james marsden talks about his favorite kind of clothes and how his style has changed over the years . the 34-year-old is explaining what it feels like to be sporting facial hair for a film he 's working on with cameron diaz . yet even the newly grown whiskers ca n't hide the finely chiseled features of an actor who seems to have cornered the hollywood market on hottie-who-loses-the-girl roles -lrb- `` enchanted , '' `` superman returns '' and , of course , `` the notebook . '' -rrb- . but the oklahoma-bred star does n't mind his wholesome image . `` that 's really me , '' he says . `` i 'm a little dorky -- awkward . '' however , his onscreen luck could be changing with his latest film , `` 27 dresses , '' a romantic comedy co-starring katherine heigl . scruffy or not , we 'll be watching . you 've played a prince in `` enchanted '' and the superhero cyclops in the `` x-men '' movies . is that a big deal to your kids and their friends ? my daughter , mary , is only 2 , and my son , jack , is 7 . he has a cyclops action figure , but he 's really into spider-man and pixar movies -- buzz lightyear is his guy . no `` superman , '' no `` x-men . '' i think he just assumes that everyone at his school has a dad who 's a big superhero . you also played corny collins , the tv dance-show host in `` hairspray . '' what were you like in high school ? that 's when i came out of my shell and became more social -- people thought i was funny . i got into a whole preppy thing -- duck head shorts and dockers . how would you describe your style now ? functional comfort . for a guy , it should n't ever look like you thought about it too much , like the clothes are wearing you . whose clothes do you like ? paul smith off the rack -- it 's a slim cut , and i do n't need to have it tailored . i always feel like an 8-year-old when i dress up in a suit , like , when can i take this thing off ? but i wore a black dolce & gabbana suit to the première of `` hairspray '' that was like , ok , now i know what a great suit is . classic , clean lines -- sharp , sharp , sharp . do you change your style from coast to coast ? in l.a. it 's too easy to throw on a pair of american apparel sweats , a t-shirt and running shoes and just wear those for days . in new york , i actually like looking nice . maybe i 'm just getting older , but young guys need to pull their pants up . do you ever shop for your wife ? i love shopping for dresses , and i actually do a pretty good job . when i was in new york , i went into j. crew in soho and got her a cool fifties type dress with tiny polka dots . style-wise i 'm good , but figuring out sizing is a different story . what do you find sexy on a woman ? i like spaghetti straps for my wife -- she has great shoulders and a great neck . i love when she puts her hair up , because i can see the back of her neck , so delicate and vulnerable . it 's the vampire in me . or my obsession with cheerleaders -- their hair up in a ponytail . when i was young , i could never have that . never got the cheerleader ? eventually -- my wife was a cheerleader . what does your wife find sexy on you ? a button-front shirt with -lsb- baby -rsb- spit-up on the shoulder . that means a guy is taking care of the kids and is a good father -- that 's sexy to a woman . the adult version of rose petals and champagne is if i let my wife sleep in and i get up to change the baby 's diaper , feed the kids , and do the dishes . who inspires you ? paul newman . my middle name is paul , and my grandfather once said i was going to look like paul newman . that stuck with me . beyond being a good-looking guy , newman is a great actor with a long career , and he 's got a life . he 's married with kids and lives in connecticut , sells popcorn and marinara sauce , and gives the money to charity . anyone else ? george clooney dresses like gary cooper might have . cary grant . `` a streetcar named desire '' - era marlon brando . they all made it look effortless . their clothes framed their personalities really well -- comfortable , classic , but sharp . these guys could pull off a great suit , or jeans and a t-shirt . do n't you agree that guys have it easy -- they are considered `` distinguished '' as they grow older ? i do n't think it 's guy-specific . as women get older , they become more comfortable with themselves . susan sarandon is the poster woman for that . a lot of guys fantasize about being with women who are in their forties or fifties . so your advice is ... ? act your age . dress your age . look your age . that does n't mean you ca n't have fun . and is n't it time you got the girl in one of your movies ? there are a couple of things i need to do -lsb- onscreen -rsb- : one , get the girl ; two , pack a gun . do n't you love my career philosophy ? e-mail to a friend . get a free trial issue of instyle - click here ! copyright © 2008 time inc. . all rights reserved .<doc-sep>by . leslie larson . published : . 13:01 est , 17 september 2012 . | . updated : . 16:24 est , 17 september 2012 . a nine-year-old brooklynite is fed up with street fashion and wants people to start covering their assets . amor ` lilman ' arteaga and his father , juan , penned a catchy rap titled ` pull ya pants up ' to vent their frustration at the sagging back-sides they are subjected to seeing on the streets of their neighborhood in flatbush , brooklyn . the father-son duo even got brooklyn borough president marty markowitz to add his voice to their pleas , with the local politician appearing in their youtube video and declaring every day ` pull ya pants up ' day in the new york city borough . scroll down for video . up , up , up : flatbush resident amor lilman -lrb- left -rrb- joins brooklyn borough president marty markowitz -lrb- right -rrb- to encourage constituents to pull their pants up . in a nearly four minute youtube music video , reminiscent of willow smith 's ` whip your hair ' single , the rising star jumps around brooklyn pointing out fashion offenders displaying their derrieres and voicing his annoyance at seeing pants improperly secured . ` i 'm tired of seeing all these dirty underwears when i am walking down the street . pull 'em up ! ' he shouts . ` think that you swaggin ' cause your pants saggin ' - pull ya pants up . pull ya pants up , ' he adds , as he shows his disgust as men with lowered shorts stroll by . arteaga , who is a fourth grade student . at ps 92 school in brooklyn , told the new york daily . news he thinks ` it 's disrespectful showing your butt off . '<doc-sep>that 's when i came out of my shell and became more social -- people thought i was funny . i got into a whole preppy thing -- duck head shorts and dockers . how would you describe your style now ? functional comfort . for a guy , it should n't ever look like you thought about it too much , like the clothes are wearing you . whose clothes do you like ? paul smith off the rack -- it 's a slim cut , and i do n't need to have it tailored . i always feel like an 8-year-old when i dress up in a suit , like , when can i take this thing off ? but i wore a black dolce & gabbana suit to the première of `` hairspray '' that was like , ok , now i know what a great suit is . classic , clean lines -- sharp , sharp , sharp . do you change your style from coast to coast ? in l.a. it 's too easy to throw on a pair of american apparel sweats , a t-shirt and running shoes and just wear those for days . in new york , i actually like looking nice . maybe i 'm just getting older , but young guys need to pull their pants up . do you ever shop for your wife ? i love shopping for dresses , and i actually do a pretty good job . when i was in new york , i went into j. crew in soho and got her a cool fifties type dress with tiny polka dots . style-wise i 'm good , but figuring out sizing is a different story .<doc-sep>by . emma innes . published : . 11:14 est , 17 june 2013 . | . updated : . 14:31 est , 17 june 2013 . samuel l jackson has urged men to be more open about their health problems in an attempt to tackle cancer . the pulp fiction star , who is fronting a new charity called one for the boys , believes men should talk more about the disease and other illnesses . jackson , 64 , said : ` guys do n't talk about their health issues , unless they 've got a sprained ankle . scroll down for video . samuel l jackson is fronting a campaign to encourage men to be more open about their health . he says he believes men need to be more aware of cancer and of their own bodies . for more videos , please go to itv . ` we 'll talk about our injuries but we wo n't talk about our illnesses , so i think it 's time we do that . ' the actor said he was motivated to put his weight behind the charity after he learnt that friends had secretly coped with cancer without telling anybody . he said : ` when they started talking about it , i realised most guys do n't talk to other guys about what their medical conditions are - especially cancer conditions . ` and most guys think the only cancer guys get is prostate cancer , or they look at tv and see it as basically a woman 's problem , but it 's not . ` so i realised that we do really need to make men aware of the fact that cancer is a very serious thing for guys . ' one for the boys was founded by event organiser sofia davis to challenge men 's understanding of cancers and their tendency to have a more laissez-faire approach to their health . in recent weeks , angelia jolie -lrb- left -rrb- has revealed that she had a double mastectomy to reduce her chance of developing breast cancer and michael douglas -lrb- right -rrb- spoke out about his battle with throat cancer . all money raised will go towards the royal marsden hospital in london to buy new mri scanners which will help with cancer diagnosis . in recent weeks , angelina jolie has revealed she had a double mastectomy because she has a higher chance of developing breast cancer , and michael douglas has spoken about his throat cancer . asked what effect celebrities can have on people 's perception of the disease , jackson said : ` we 're just people who have interesting jobs , so people tend to look at us , or that fact that you guys -lsb- media -rsb- do shows , or you film us talking , allows people to hear our opinions about things , or sometimes , we 'll just expose stuff about ourselves , and that makes people go , `` oh , that 's sort of like us '' . samuel l jackson says that he tries to keep fit and to eat healthily . he also says he uses alternative medicines and visits acupuncturists . ` i do n't know that what we say has more weight than anything else , but angelina 's declaration and allowing people to understand that she did that will maybe get some other women or some other person to look at their bodies and go in and go , `` ok , well maybe i do need to do this too , or i need to get checked '' . ` hopefully we have enough credence , or our earnestness about the things we 're talking about will make sense to people , or it reaches a greater number of people because we 're the ones saying it . ` i just want people to be aware and get out there and do something . to understand their bodies and understand the quality of life for them and their families if they understand what 's going on , on the inside and the outside , because cancer is not just internal , it 's external too . ' jackson said he has an exercise and diet regime to make sure he keeps healthy . ` i try and eat a certain way , and i try and exercise , ' he said . ` i do use alternative medicines , i go to acupuncturists , get massages , but i 'm old , so i need to have those things . ` but the sooner you recognise how to take care of your body , the longer you 'll have that engine driving you , and the more you 'll be able to do for yourself and for other people because you are healthy and you 'll be a healthy example . ' he added : ` i stretch . i ride a bike . i do n't necessarily get out and run . i ride a stationary bike for an hour , an hour and a half , two or three times a week . ` i get on the big swiss ball , i 've got my trx straps to use my own body weight to pull myself around . ` push-ups , pull-ups and stuff like that , so i try to find a way to maintain a specific weight and a specific level of fitness that allows me to have a comfortable lifestyle , and not be achy , and , i guess , kind of old . '<doc-sep>by . helen pow . published : . 17:37 est , 24 march 2013 . | . updated : . 17:39 est , 24 march 2013 . accused : indiana teenager cody burns , pictured , is accused of stabbing his father in the chest because he told him to pull up his pants . an indiana teenager is accused of stabbing his father in the chest because he told him to pull up his pants . cody burns , from new albany , faces a charge of battery by means of a deadly weapon after the tuesday incident . according to a probably cause affidavit , burns became enraged after his father , who has n't been named , suggested he pull up his pants , which he was presumably wearing low in a fashion that revealed his underpants .
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<t> in high school marsden showed off his preppy side . </t> <t> while it 's easy for him to throw on sweats , marsden likes to dress up . </t> <t> actor says he is inspired by paul newman . </t> <t> marsden : i can shop style for women , but size is a different issue . </t>
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marsden : ` guys need to pull their pants up '<T>
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mexico city , mexico -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- eight people were killed and 101 were wounded in two explosions during a celebration of mexico 's independence day monday night , a mexican official said tuesday . wounded people get help after blasts monday night during an independence day event in morelia , mexico . two people remained in grave condition , said roman armando luna escalante , secretary of health in michoacan state . eleven of the wounded were children , luna escalante said . none of them are gravely injured . the explosions occurred around 11 p.m. near the governor 's residence in morelia , the capital of michoacan . the second blast happened shortly afterward a few blocks away .<doc-sep>officials would not say if they have any suspects or if any group has claimed responsibility . some experts pointed to drug cartels or insurgents . `` it could be a warning to the federal government , which has put a lot of money and manpower to deal with drugs , which are very powerful there , '' said peter hakim , president of the inter-american dialogue , a washington-based think tank on western hemisphere affairs . `` it could be leftist guerrilla groups that occasionally throw a bomb . `` the problem is that this is part of a real wave of violence that is consuming mexico . ''<doc-sep>last week the bodies of 24 people , bound and shot execution-style , were found in atlapulco , a town just south of mexico city . those killings friday came roughly two weeks after tens of thousands of mexicans marched on the nation 's capital , calling for greater government action against the wave of violent crime . non-governmental groups estimate there have been more than 1,500 killings in mexico this year linked to organized crime . in late august , mexican president felipe calderon met with the country 's 32 governors to develop a plan to battle the rise in violent crime .<doc-sep>calderon , who was born in morelia , condemned the attacks and said federal officials will redouble efforts to help state authorities investigate . more than 1,500 soldiers and federal police were maintaining order tuesday , which marks the 198th anniversary of what mexicans regard as their independence day . festivities typically start the night before because on september 16 , 1810 , shortly before dawn , a priest in a village in the state of guanajuato rang a church bell and called on mexicans to fight for independence from spain . the celebration in morelia on monday night was one of hundreds nationwide to celebrate that call for independence , which mexico formally achieved in 1821 .<doc-sep>mexico city , mexico -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- eight people were killed and 101 were wounded in two explosions during a celebration of mexico 's independence day monday night , a mexican official said tuesday . wounded people get help after blasts monday night during an independence day event in morelia , mexico . two people remained in grave condition , said roman armando luna escalante , secretary of health in michoacan state . eleven of the wounded were children , luna escalante said . none of them are gravely injured . the explosions occurred around 11 p.m. near the governor 's residence in morelia , the capital of michoacan . the second blast happened shortly afterward a few blocks away . officials would not say if they have any suspects or if any group has claimed responsibility . some experts pointed to drug cartels or insurgents . `` it could be a warning to the federal government , which has put a lot of money and manpower to deal with drugs , which are very powerful there , '' said peter hakim , president of the inter-american dialogue , a washington-based think tank on western hemisphere affairs . `` it could be leftist guerrilla groups that occasionally throw a bomb . `` the problem is that this is part of a real wave of violence that is consuming mexico . ''<doc-sep>by . steph cockroft . with the media storm that 's surrounded vanessa stiviano lately , you ca n't blame her for wanting to cut loose with a few margaritas . so with the row continuing over reviled clippers owner donald sterling , v. stiviano forgot all about her troubles and stepped out to celebrate cinco de mayo - in another now-trademark visor . the 31-year-old - who taped the nba millionaire berating . her for hanging around with black players - was seen outside her $ 1.8 million los angeles home in patriotic attire . vanessa stiviano , whose mother is mexican , wore her now-trademark visor and a sombrero to celebrate cinco de mayo , a festival of mexico 's independence . the 31-year-old was seen outside her los angeles home sipping on margaritas to mark the annual celebration . v. stiviano hit the headlines after a tape she recorded , which allegedly includes racist rants from 80-year-old clippers owner donald sterling , was leaked to the press . despite the controversy , v. stiviano still took time to wave at photographers outside her home . the model dressed in denim overalls , a traditional sombrero and a mexican bandana , which she hung around her neck , to mark mexico 's festival of independence . cinco de mayo - ` fifth of may ' - is a celebration of mexico 's independence and . culture , marking the country 's victory over the french army in the battle of puebla in 1862 . v. stiviano , whose mother is mexican , used the day as an excuse to wear yet another full-faced visor - an accessory she has n't been seen without since the start of the sterling storm .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- mexico celebrates its bicentennial wednesday , an event known as `` el grito , '' the shout for independence first credited to a catholic priest who demanded freedom from spain . for many mexicans today , though , it 's a quiet shout of despair . the country is mired in a bloody drug war that has seen more than 28,000 people killed in less than four years . the economy has barely begun to rebound from the global downturn , which hit mexico harder than most latin american countries . tourism , a major lifeblood for the nation , is drastically down because of the violence and a flu pandemic last year that began in mexico . and oil revenues , long a rich sustenance for the nation 's economy , also have suffered a major collapse . despite government efforts to hold a vast celebration that one leading newspaper called part disney and part infomercial , many mexicans are just not feeling it . `` the climate in which we 're living in this country does not lend itself to a real celebration , '' said adrian jesus garrido gomez , who owns a car rental company and chauffeur service in villahermosa , the capital of southeastern mexico 's tabasco state . garrido sounds leery of the nearly $ 232 million -lrb- about 2.97 billion pesos -rrb- the government says it has spent on celebrations in mexico city . the lavish events wednesday night will feature a parade , fireworks and a show that has merited visits by five latin american presidents and dignitaries from 50 nations . `` they are grabbing it as an effort to make us forget everything that is happening in the country , '' garrido said . `` it 's more of a distraction . '' that distraction does not seem to be working .<doc-sep>mexico formally recognizes its independence day each september 16 -- thursday -- but the major celebration traditionally begins the night before . close to midnight , president felipe calderon will make the symbolic shout `` viva mexico '' in the city 's plaza de la constitucion , better known as the zocalo . it is one of the largest plazas in the world . the shout pays tribute to a priest who called for sparked mexico 's struggle for independence from spain on sept. 16 , 1810 . other cities have canceled celebrations . juarez , the most violent city in the country , is one of them . celebrations also were canceled in tabasco state . that 's probably a good thing , garrido said . `` you ca n't openly go out and celebrate , '' he said . besides the security concerns , there 's another reason garrido does not feel like celebrating -- the economy . rain and recent storms have washed over much of villahermosa , damaging the tourist trade upon which the father of two young boys relies for his chauffeur and car rental business . `` the little that i make goes to pay bills , '' he said .
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<t> new : death toll rises to eight in two blasts , official says ; more than 100 wounded . </t> <t> new : mexican president says federal officials will help investigate . </t> <t> explosions occurred during independence day celebration in morelia . </t>
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violence mars mexico 's independence day celebration<T>
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atlanta , georgia -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- eric hahn thought his financial situation was set after he was approved for a private student loan with an 8 percent interest rate to supplement his federal education loans . eric hahn , 21 , estimates he will be in debt for the next five to seven years for his undergraduate tuition . just a few weeks later , hahn , 21 , was forced to cash in his savings and investments so he could make his rent and tuition after finding out that the lender , myrichuncle.com , had suspended its private student loan program . `` due to continued disruptions in the capital markets , combined with the continued demand we have experienced this year , we are reaching funding capacity limits , '' a message on his cell phone said , mimicking a statement on the company 's web site . the sudden news left hahn , a senior-year finance major , scrambling to find additional funding after maxing out his borrowing options from the federal government . eventually , the country 's leading student loan provider , sallie mae , approved him for a private loan at 12 percent . after he graduates , hahn estimates it will take him anywhere from five to seven years to repay about $ 30,000 he will have borrowed by then .<doc-sep>`` money is n't cheap , '' said hahn , who transferred to georgia state university in atlanta from the university of connecticut last year because the tuition was less expensive . `` the process is time-consuming , and there 's also the stress of having to liquidate my investments and wonder where i 'm going to find money . '' about 8 percent of student borrowers rely on private loans , which tend to be costlier and stricter than federal loans , said robert shierman , executive director of the institute for college access and success . in doing so , hahn and others like him are getting a crash course in market volatility and its effects on the consumer 's ability to find money . watch how the current economic troubles affect consumers '' myrichuncle.com is the most recent lender to suspend its private student loan program , joining the ranks of major financial institutions like wachovia and bank of america and companies specializing in student loans such as college loan corporation and campus door , which was backed by lehman brothers . myrichuncle 's president and co-founder , raza khan , told cnn : `` we are currently working with a number of investors so we can resume loan origination as soon as possible . `` meanwhile , students and parents should not lose sight of the value of education . funds do remain available -- we encourage families to do all the homework and research , and to make prudent decisions on borrowing , '' he added in a written statement . since august 2007 , 33 lenders have suspended private loans programs , according to the web site finaid.org , which tracks activity in the student loan market . unlike federal lending programs , private loans rely on liquidity from investors . even though private loans are considered strong by industry standards , they are feeling the effects of a turbulent capital market .<doc-sep>`` the only reason lenders had to stop making the loans was that they ran out of liquidity , '' said financial aid expert mark kantrowitz , who created finaid.org . `` it 's a contagion effect of the sub-prime crisis , '' said kantrowitz . `` it 's an overreaction that has affected the student loan market . '' with their strong resemblance to consumer loans , where lenders set the terms based on your credit score , financial advisers often recommended private loans as a means of last resort . but with rising tuition and increased enrollment putting a squeeze on the student aid market -- which disbursed about $ 60 billion in federal funds and $ 17 billion in private loans last year -- students are turning to private loans after they 've exhausted all other avenues , or for expenses that federal aid wo n't cover . in response , congress passed legislation this year to increase the maximum amount of federal loans that students can obtain . `` with federal student loan limits increasing , you can borrow now more than last year , regardless of income , assets , collateral or income , '' said martha holler , vice president of corporate communications of sallie mae .<doc-sep>despite the uncertainty in the capital market , many lenders , including sallie mae , are still able to offer private student loans by securing lines of credit and raising liquidity on their own . holler says other options also exist , from scholarships for skills as random as skateboarding , to tuition payment plans -- an interest-free option that allows borrowers to make payments in monthly installments . but students like hahn remain on the fringe . even after being awarded an out-of-state tuition waiver , which lets him pay the same tuition as a resident from georgia , he says he has borrowed all he can in federal loans . his parents , who are facing their own financial struggles , ca n't co-sign for a loan with a lower interest rate or better terms . nevertheless , hahn has accepted his fate . as school begins , he is returning his focus to his studies . `` it 's a pain in the neck , but it is what it is , '' he said in a telephone interview in between classes wednesday . `` the reason this all happened is due to the credit crisis and the housing crisis . so i guess the lesson is do n't hop on what everyone else is doing . '' cnn 's taylor gandossy contributed to this report .<doc-sep>the administration said it was the president 's pledge to reduce private education in half that was taken out of context by protesters . however , the government said it understands the importance of education and is coordinating with related ministries to help find a solution . whatever the promise , students say the cost of tuition and living is too high . taking classes , doing assignments , and taking on part-time jobs in their free time , they say , leaves no room for self-development . the average tuition fee at a private university can cost up to $ 7,000 u.s. , while the average income hovers above the $ 20,000 mark . south korea has the third highest tuition among oecd countries but falls behind the average of those in state scholarships and student loans , according to the ministry of education . lee hye-su , a 22-year-old journalism major , believes student loans are better than nothing . she is in her sophomore year and is roughly $ 16,000 in debt . having been fired from a campus restaurant with only a day 's warning , she is now living on what little savings she has and needs to find another part-time job .<doc-sep>some 3.9 million british families do not have enough savings to cover their rent or mortgage for more than a month , while thousands of people are being made homeless every year because they are unable to meet their payments , the study found . more than 26,000 uk households were accepted by councils as homeless in the last five years because of rent and mortgage arrears , including more than 5,000 last year , the think-tank said . there are now fears the number of . households being made homeless will increase in the coming years should . interest rates rise , the csj warned . the csj 's report , maxed out , said poor people were bearing the brunt of a ` perfect storm ' of rising living costs , falling real wages , low savings and expensive credit that has seen unsecured consumer debt almost triple in the last 20 years , reaching nearly # 160 billion . the bank of england has said it will only consider raising rates when unemployment falls from its current 7.6 % rate to 7 % . households in the poorest 10 per cent of the country have average debts more than four times their annual income , the study found , with their average debt repayments amounting to nearly half their gross monthly income . the bank of england has said it will only consider raising rates when unemployment falls from its current 7.6 per cent rate to 7 per cent . the report concludes : ` rising personal debt levels represent a significant problem for people in britain . ` while most personal debt is healthy and manageable , such as an affordable mortgage , student loan or low-interest credit card used to bridge income gaps , for many people their debt has become unhealthy and unmanageable . ` while people of all income levels can end up seeking debt advice or declaring bankruptcy , the problem of debt seems to be more of an issue for low-income and vulnerable households . ' a perfect storm of rising living costs , decreasing real wages , low savings and expensive credit seems to have pushed many to the edge and over a financial cliff edge . ' csj director christian guy said : ` years of increased borrowing , rising living costs and struggling to save has forced many families into a debt trap that is proving very difficult to escape .<doc-sep>by . lydia warren . strangers from across the country have raised more than $ 48,000 to keep a student at vanderbilt university after her mother committed suicide and her father lost his job . cassie wessely , 19 , from grayslake , illinois , was left $ 24,000 short for the upcoming school year - despite a summer job , savings , a scholarship , a student loan and financial aid from the school . so last week , out of desperation , she created a . gofundme page to try to raise $ 25,000 to . ensure she could return to the college for her second year .<doc-sep>practices : the office of fair trading has told the biggest payday loan firms to improve how they inform customers and chase debts . payday loan giant wonga has increased the interest rate it uses to illustrate the cost of borrowing to 5,853 per cent -- a rise of 1,600 per cent . the move has triggered more calls for tighter regulation of an industry that cashes in on hard-up borrowers . most customers of payday loan firms only take out small amounts over a short period to tide them over until they get their salary . but lenders are required by law to give a representative annual percentage rate of interest -lrb- apr -rrb- , setting out what the loan would cost over a year , so customers can make comparisons with other firms easily to find the cheapest deal . wonga used to give the example of a # 207 loan over 20 days , with interest and charges of # 47.42 and an apr of 4,214 per cent . but it now uses a new example of someone borrowing a smaller sum of # 150 for 18 days , with interest and charges of # 33.49 and an apr of 5,853 per cent .
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<t> lender my rich uncle suspended its private student loan program on friday . </t> <t> the move left eric hahn , 21 , scrambling to find alternative funding sources . </t> <t> the company says it is working to resume loaning money as soon as possible . </t> <t> financial advisers say investors are pulling out even though loans considered strong . </t>
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student cashes in savings after private loan falls through<T>
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washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- negative attacks are as american as apple pie . since the early days of the republic , candidates attacked with a vigor that contemporary strategists would admire . in the 1800 presidential election , for example , thomas jefferson and john adams criticized one another with a stunning ferocity on everything from foreign and domestic policy to private character and personal behavior . later campaigns were n't much better . critics of andrew jackson in 1836 accused him of murdering indians . in 1884 , grover cleveland was ridiculed for fathering an illegitimate child . william jennings bryan was characterized as a dangerous radical in 1896 who would ruin the economy . despite these historical precedents , the 2008 campaign has reached all-time lows in the use of misleading and inaccurate political appeals . even karl rove , the architect of negative ads in previous campaigns , has complained about the tenor of this year 's campaign . john mccain broadcast an ad taking barack obama 's words out of context and suggesting democrats were trying to compare gop vice presidential nominee sarah palin to a pig . the mccain campaign ran another spot erroneously claiming obama favored comprehensive sex education for kindergarteners . democrats have not been above reproach either . after mccain secured the gop nomination this spring , outside groups falsely claimed the republican supported a 1,000-year war in iraq and therefore was not worthy of the presidency . these misleading appeals suggest voters must remain vigilant about candidate , party , and group claims . generally , the most misleading commercials have come from independent groups uncoordinated with the candidates . these organizations feel free to run emotional and inaccurate content designed to play on voter 's fears and anxieties . some of the worst ads in recent memory , such as the willie horton ad in 1988 , have been broadcast by these kinds of groups . in past years , the only upside of attack ads was that they generally contained more issue content than other types of ads . since reporters police campaign appeals , the ads generally stick to the issues and rely on factually-accurate information . ad sponsors and candidates realize they will be held accountable for unfair ad content . however , commercials run this year represent a break with this general pattern . attack ads broadcast in recent months have twisted the truth , lied about personal background , taken statements out of context , and clearly sought to manipulate voter sentiments .<doc-sep>most worrisome from a factual standpoint is mccain 's claim that obama will raise taxes on the middle class . although obama has pledged to increase income taxes on those earning more than $ 250,000 , he has been careful not to make proposals that would raise taxes on the middle class for fear of being labeled a tax-and-spend liberal . mccain 's tax claims have been condemned by leading editorial boards and surely will attract considerable attention in upcoming debates . with all the factual inaccuracies that have taken place , voters need to protect themselves from efforts at political manipulation . non-partisan web sites such as www.factcheck.org represent one source of unbiased information . they analyze ads and compile factual information in support of or in opposition to ad claims . other trustworthy fact-checkers include ad watches and reality checks run by leading news organizations . these features dissect candidate claims in regard to accuracy , strategy , and impact . but the best thing for voters to do is to watch the candidate debates and judge for themselves . study the statements and the factual bases of policy claims . pay attention to how the candidates speak and what they say . find out what non-partisan groups think and see what they have to say regarding the major issues . by the time the campaign is over , the presidential candidates are expected to have spent 55 percent of their overall budget on ads . strategists put together spots very carefully and pre-test major messages on small groups of voters . most of this money will be devoted to television spots . but increasingly amounts are being targeted on radio , direct mail , and internet appeals . in the end , voters are going to have to decipher competing charges and counter-charges amid considerable noise from all sides . the 2008 election is unusual in having so many big issues on the agenda : the economy , the iraq and afghanistan wars , health care , taxes , immigration , education and climate change . it is an election that truly matters because of the stark differences between the parties and the closeness of the campaign . voters need to pay serious attention to the facts in order to make a wise choice . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- how things change . in 2008 , after a bruising primary battle with hillary clinton , then-sen . barack obama was on the outs with former president bill clinton . this election cycle , clinton is one of obama 's most visible surrogates . obama and clinton were to appear together monday night at three new york city fundraisers , which are expected to bring in millions of dollars . in april , the two appeared side by side at the home of longtime clinton supporter and former democratic national committee chairman terry mcauliffe , raising $ 2.1 million for the obama campaign and the dnc . clinton and obama hit up the big apple . the obama campaign is relying heavily on clinton , tapping into his network of wealthy donors and featuring him in campaign ads . clinton is also expected to hit the trail to rally voters leading up to the november election . `` clinton just wants to help , '' a source close to the former president said . `` his message is ' i know what it takes on the economy , and obama is doing the right thing . ' they 're not going to make the mistake of the gore campaign . they 're not going to put -lsb- clinton -rsb- on ice . '' obama 's relationship with the clintons has had its ups and downs . in 2007 , the former president took aim at the then-junior senator from illinois as inexperienced . `` you know , i 'm old-fashioned . i think it really -- i think a president ought to have done something for other people and for his country when you pick a president , '' clinton said . `` i mean when is the last time we elected a president based on one year of service in the senate before he started running ? '' in early 2008 , when obama won the first-in-the-nation iowa caucuses and emerged as a real contender , he entered into an all-out feud with the former first couple . the tussle was on full display during a january 2008 debate . `` i 'm here , not my husband , '' hillary clinton said to obama . `` i ca n't tell who i 'm running against sometimes , '' obama retorted .<doc-sep>the investment in attack ads , rather than pro-weilland ads suggests democrats are confident either a weiland or pressler victory will help them keep control of the senate . bloomberg politics reported that democrats are confident pressler , who endorsed obama in 2008 and 2012 , would caucus with democrats if elected to the senate , though pressler has not said who he would side with . it would n't be the first time this year democrats have pinned their hopes on an independent candidate polling better than his democratic counterpart . in kansas , democrats pulled their nominee out of the race to bolster businessman greg orman 's bid to unseat republican sen. pat roberts . orman also has not said who he would caucus with , though republicans have tried to paint him as `` obama 's candidate for the senate . '' pressler also wo n't get a chance to reproduce his style of advertising , one of which played up a popular hollywood movie . pressler 's campaign even bought air time during the oscars to play up the fact that he turned down a bribe in the abscam scandal depicted in the movie `` american hustle . '' as for weiland , he 's going to keep on campaigning on the ground , and keep on singing . he revealed he has one more campaign music video to release before the nov. 4 election . it 's going to be a modified johnny cash classic , but instead of `` i walk the line '' it 'll be called `` i draw the line '' and will go after one of weiland 's campaign staples , getting big money out of politics . also , here is the old crow medicine show 's version of `` wagon wheel . '' . cnn 's jeremy diamond contributed to this report .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- as republican candidates attack one another on the campaign trail , republican outside spending groups are taking aim at president barack obama over failed energy company solyndra . given such easy targets as the poor state of the economy and mortgage foreclosures , why take aim at obama on solyndra ? both parties view obama 's ethical standards and his personal likability among his greatest strengths with voters , and deep-pocketed gop groups want to change that image . they see solyndra as a way to erode the president 's brand as ethical and honest . since the fall , two republican outside spending groups have collectively spent $ 9.4 million on four ads attacking obama for his administration 's $ 535 million loan to solyndra . the ads accuse the president of being part of `` typical washington '' and engaged in `` politics as usual . '' the latest assault , a 30-second spot by karl rove-advised crossroads gps , says the obama `` gave his political backers billions . '' at first look , the ads seem to challenge the president over spending and the role that government should play in the economy . but they also make a more emotional appeal , attempting to imprint in voters ' minds that the obama of 2012 is not the same candidate who ran in 2008 on the promise to `` drain the swamp '' in washington . put simply , the ads seek to undermine the perception that obama is an ethical politician . tim phillips , president of americans for prosperity , which spent $ 8.4 million airing solyndra-themed ads , said , `` we have a president who proclaimed he was going to be different , and it turns out he is not . he is just the same old , same old we 've seen from politicians in both parties over the years . '' phillips said the administration `` has not lived up to its own lofty rhetoric '' and believes the president `` is using tax dollars by the bushel-full to promote his ideology , an ideology that leads to cronyism . '' former massachusetts gov. mitt romney has picked up on theme , telling a jacksonville , florida , crowd monday : `` he practices something i call crony capitalism , and instead of it being driven by the market and consumers , it 's driven by politicians . '' this strategy is what you 'd call attacking a perceived strength . a november abc news/washington post poll suggested that 57 % of americans believe the president is honest and ethical . and operatives on both sides of the aisle acknowledge that obama remains well-liked personally even when his job performance numbers are low . some operatives say that could count for a point or two in a close race and could be meaningful in november .<doc-sep>by . francesca chambers . barack obama 's campaign wanted hillary clinton to make a sexist attack on sarah palin during the 2008 presidential election , she revealed today . clinton revealed in an interview with nbc that , ` the day -lsb- palin -rsb- was nominated , the obama campaign did contact me and asked me if i would attack her . ' ' i said , `` attack her for what -- for being a woman ? attack her for being on a ticket that 's trying to draw attention ? there 'll be plenty of time to do what i think you should do in politics , which is draw distinctions , '' ' clinton recalled . former secretary of state hillary clinton , center , greets fans at a barnes & noble bookseller store in new york city during the first stop on her hard choices book tour . clinton also described the run-in over palin in her just released memoir hard choices . the 2008 presidential candidate writes in the book that , ` the obama campaign suspected that her nomination was a blatant attempt to scuttle their hope of welcoming the women who had vigorously supported me . they immediately issued a dismissive statement and reached out to me in hopes i would follow suit . ' ` but i would n't . i was not going to attack palin just for being a woman appealing for support from other women . i did n't think it made political sense , and it did n't feel right . so i said no ... '' sarah palin posted a picture of the passage on her twitter account last night , with the caption , ` look who fired the 1st shot in the real `` war on women '' . hint : it was n't the gop . see this excerpt from hillary 's book . ' in an interview with abc news ' diane sawyer that aired last night , clinton confessed that she was did n't do a very good job during the 2008 presidential campaign of pointing out that ` there is a double standard ' for women in the public eye . ` and i think part of what i did not do was to be more clear in saying , `` look , this is a problem in our country . and people oughtta think about . their own daughters , their own sisters , their own mothers when they make . comments about women in public life , whether they 're in politics or the . media or anywhere else , '' ' clinton said . hillary rodham clinton arriving at her hard choices book singing at barnes & noble in union square in new york city this morning . the afternoon before clinton 's book officially hit the shelves , sarah palin , who had somehow gotten a copy early , sent a tweet ridiculing the obama administration for claiming it 's her political party who has a ` war or women ' clinton is making the rounds on the major news networks this week to promote hard choices , which was released today . the book provides a glimpse into the last six years of at her life and the problems she and her colleagues were confronted with while she was serving as secretary of state . her full interview with nbc will air tonight during the network 's nightly news program at 7pm est. . nbc news ' cynthia mcfadden said on the today show this morning that the former secretary of state told her during their sit-down interview that she allowed the white house to review her book before it went to print because it included accounts from the time she served in the president 's cabinet . clinton reportedly told mcfadden that obama 's team did not ask her to take anything out . based . on early reviews of the book , there was n't much for the white house to . complain about outside of clinton 's unflattering charge of sexism within . the president 's 2008 presidential campaign . hard choices is ' a newsless snore ' that was ` written so . carefully not to offend that it will fuel the notion that politics . infuses every part of her life , ' politico 's mike allen charged in his morning newsletter on monday . one of the only other hard-hitting events that clinton discusses in the book is the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi , libya , and she spends the bulk of that chapter defending herself and critics of u.s. ambassador to the u.n. susan rice . otherwise , the book is a laudatory pamphlet supporting the obama administration 's foreign policy decisions , regardless of whether clinton agreed with them at the time or not , reviewers are saying . ` clinton 's account is the low-salt , . low-fat , low-calorie offering with vanilla pudding as the dessert , ' slate 's john dickerson said .
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<t> darrell west : negative attacks have long history in u.s. politics . </t> <t> this year 's ads have hit new lows for distorting the truth , west says . </t> <t> ads against mccain and obama have twisted their words , he says . </t> <t> west : voters should use fact-checking resources in media and on the web . </t>
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commentary : 2008 campaign attack ads hit an all-time low<T>
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editor 's note : join roland s. martin for his weekly sound-off segment on cnn.com live at 10:30 a.m. wednesday . if you 're passionate about politics , he wants to hear from you . a supporter of sen. barack obama , martin is a nationally syndicated columnist and chicago , illinois-based radio host . he is the author of `` listening to the spirit within : 50 perspectives on faith '' and `` speak , brother ! a black man 's view of america . '' please visit his web site . roland s. martin urges the candidates to stop with the lofty talk and simplistic solutions and be specific . -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- if you are a member of america 's middle class in this presidential year , you are sort of like a blue-chip football recruit , lavished with praise , attention and adoration from fawning coaches and alumni who would love nothing better than to land the prized player to win the national championship . for `` coach '' john mccain and `` coach '' barack obama , the title to win is president of the united states , and like the big-time football coaches , they will say and do anything to make it happen . tax cuts ? oh , absolutely , we do n't want you to feel any more pain . let the rich -- and the poor -- deal with carrying the burden . you want more jobs ? sure , we 're going to force companies that send jobs overseas to make them stay at home because we know you need those long disappearing and high-paying manufacturing jobs that helped build this nation . ca n't afford to send your kids to college ? do n't sweat it . we 've got tax credits , pell grants , super-duper loans and all kinds of other options to make this a reality . are they cutting back on health care at your job ? no big deal . coach mccain says he 's got some nifty tax credits lined up to tickle your fancy and ignite your soul . coach obama ? he 's going to go for the whole enchilada by pushing for virtual universal health care . oh , these guys are wonderful with their sales pitches . they have the ability to make every single one of you feel so special and loved ; no one else is more important to them -- at that moment .<doc-sep>i must admit , the pathetic pining and pandering for middle-class votes has turned so moronic that at times it drives me nuts . first , who in the world are we even talking about ? if you listen to the candidates and their campaigns , those in the middle class could make upward of $ 200,000 a year , while some suggest middle class means earning as little as $ 20,000 . i moderated a panel tuesday for the national black mba association and heard descriptions of the lower middle class , the middle class and the upper middle class . someone even suggested that it 's really about a `` state of mind . '' that 's right . it boils down to how we feel and think . if that 's the case , then you can have $ 5 million in the bank , but if you love your family , go to church and share the same values as others around you , you 're middle class . please , can we just stop with lofty talk and plain-spoken and simplistic solutions and be as specific as possible ? there are really four fundamental issues affecting middle-class voters . jobs . we 've seen a loss of 600,000 jobs under president bush , so how exactly will mccain and obama create jobs ? is there anything in their past that shows they have the ability to do just that ? i 've heard `` drill , drill , drill ! '' from mccain , and obama says we 're going to turn the old textile and steel mills into a green machine by targeting wind and other sources of energy . housing .<doc-sep>congress is providing a backstop for wall street -- making billions available if cash is needed . what will mccain and obama actually do to keep folks from losing their homes ? oh , i know a lot of people suggest that these middle-class folks should have read the fine print and not gotten in over their heads , but if something is good for wall street , why not main street ? health care . this is no joke , and a primary reason why americans file for bankruptcy . i know . my appendix ruptured in 2000 while covering the democratic national convention , forcing me to spend five days in a los angeles hospital and accruing more than $ 70,000 in hospital bills . yep , i did n't have health insurance . i was just a 29-year-old never-been-sick freelancer stuck out in the cold . the pressure of that led to falling behind on my mortgage , and the start of foreclosure proceedings . bankruptcy was the only thing that saved me , and by the grace of god , my finances turned around , and this month , i 'm making my final payment . mccain says a $ 5,000 tax credit for health care will help , but the problem with that is you have to pay the dough upfront , and then claim it on your taxes . but what happens when they want the money now ? obama says the answer is his health care plan , but that switch wo n't be flipped immediately . so what happens while the laborious debate takes place ? i just wait for my mri until washington finishes debating and the special interests pick the plan to death ? education . for many americans , education is a ticket to the middle class and beyond .<doc-sep>much of the time the candidates talk about vouchers . look , that 's not going to solve the education problem . what we should be hearing them talk about is the inequity of the school systems . children living in wealthy school districts get tons of money and the best qualified teachers , while poorer districts are forced to make do with less qualified teachers and without computers or even basic amenities . the bottom line . remember those blue-chip players ? today , they are telling a coach : if you want me to sign , promise that i 'll start . no play , no sign . that 's what middle-class americans must tell the candidates . if you are unwilling to put your personal credibility and integrity behind your campaign pledges , then you do n't get my vote . and if you give away your vote just because someone is a democrat or republican , or a man or a woman , or black or white , and you end up getting screwed in the end , you have no one to blame but yourself . so use the most powerful thing you have to demand real answers to your real problems from mccain , obama , joe biden and sarah palin : your vote . the power is literally in your hands . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer .<doc-sep>most worrisome from a factual standpoint is mccain 's claim that obama will raise taxes on the middle class . although obama has pledged to increase income taxes on those earning more than $ 250,000 , he has been careful not to make proposals that would raise taxes on the middle class for fear of being labeled a tax-and-spend liberal . mccain 's tax claims have been condemned by leading editorial boards and surely will attract considerable attention in upcoming debates . with all the factual inaccuracies that have taken place , voters need to protect themselves from efforts at political manipulation . non-partisan web sites such as www.factcheck.org represent one source of unbiased information . they analyze ads and compile factual information in support of or in opposition to ad claims . other trustworthy fact-checkers include ad watches and reality checks run by leading news organizations . these features dissect candidate claims in regard to accuracy , strategy , and impact . but the best thing for voters to do is to watch the candidate debates and judge for themselves . study the statements and the factual bases of policy claims . pay attention to how the candidates speak and what they say . find out what non-partisan groups think and see what they have to say regarding the major issues . by the time the campaign is over , the presidential candidates are expected to have spent 55 percent of their overall budget on ads . strategists put together spots very carefully and pre-test major messages on small groups of voters . most of this money will be devoted to television spots . but increasingly amounts are being targeted on radio , direct mail , and internet appeals . in the end , voters are going to have to decipher competing charges and counter-charges amid considerable noise from all sides . the 2008 election is unusual in having so many big issues on the agenda : the economy , the iraq and afghanistan wars , health care , taxes , immigration , education and climate change . it is an election that truly matters because of the stark differences between the parties and the closeness of the campaign . voters need to pay serious attention to the facts in order to make a wise choice . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sen. barack obama on sunday tried to paint sen. john mccain as a candidate who is out of touch with the middle class . sen. barack obama speaks about the economy at a campaign event in detroit , michigan , on sunday . speaking about friday 's presidential debate , obama accused mccain of not addressing working families . `` we talked about the economy for 40 minutes , and not once did sen. mccain talk about the struggles that middle class families are facing every day , '' obama said at a campaign event in detroit , michigan . the economy took the lead in friday night 's presidential debate , as both candidates highlighted their plans to bring the united states out of what some are describing as the worst financial crisis since the great depression . mccain on sunday brushed off obama 's latest line of attack , saying he has `` bigger things to worry about . '' `` who does he think i was talking about when i said ` people on main street ' ? who did he think i was talking about , about the necessity of helping the american taxpayers and income -- and americans who are out there working and trying to keep their jobs ? '' he said on abc 's `` this week . '' `` i 've got bigger things to worry about than that . '' the republican presidential candidate did address `` main street '' in the debate friday night , saying that `` we 've got to fix the system '' because `` main street is paying a penalty for the excesses and greed in washington , d.c. , and on wall street . '' still , obama 's campaign pointed out that mccain did n't specifically say `` middle class , '' during the debate . mccain 's campaign said sunday that during the michigan event , obama `` ignored his -lsb- obama 's -rsb- record of opposing middle class tax relief , opposing a competitive tax rate , and opposing a plan to incentivize new battery technology . '' the campaign said obama 's `` talk about the middle class is much different than his record . '' during the debate , mccain repeatedly said obama `` does n't understand '' key issues the country is facing , but at campaign events this weekend , obama blasted mccain as the candidate who `` does n't get it . '' watch the candidates ' plans for the upcoming week '' `` the truth is , through 90 minutes of debating , john mccain had a lot to say about me , but he had nothing to say about you . not once did he say the words ` middle class . ' not once did he talk about working families . i think sen. mccain just does n't get it , '' obama said sunday . the obama-biden campaign continues that argument in a new ad that will begin airing nationally on monday . the ad says when it comes to the economy , mccain `` does n't get it . '' `` number of minutes in debate : 90 , '' the announcer says as the words are typed across a blank screen . `` number of times john mccain mentioned the middle class : zero . '' the 30-second spot , `` zero , '' includes portions of friday night 's debate where obama suggested mccain has followed president bush on economic policy . watch the ad '' a recent cnn/opinion research corporation poll found when it comes to the economy , 47 percent of voters questioned said republicans are more responsible for the current economic problems , while 24 percent said democrats are more responsible . in response to the latest ad , the mccain campaign blasted obama 's tax policy . `` john mccain repeatedly pointed to sen. obama 's vote in favor of higher taxes on families making just $ 42,000 a year , and his proposal for $ 860 billion in lavish new government spending which is a crushing burden on middle class families and the main street economy , '' spokesman tucker bounds said in a statement saturday . `` if he was honest , barack obama knows he was unable to debate the merits of supporting higher taxes on the middle class , and bloated government spending during a looming economic crisis -- it 's simply indefensible . '' the mccain campaign is referring to a june 5 , 2008 , vote on a resolution -lrb- senate concurrent resolution 70 -rrb- meant to outline the senate 's budget priorities through 2013 , but the measure had no practical effect . according to a cnn review of the resolution , it assumes that most of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts pushed by president bush will expire in that time , which mccain says amounts to a tax increase . obama and running mate sen. joe biden voted `` yes '' on the resolution . mccain did not vote . however , the democrats offered their own cuts in the 48-page resolution , which called for several tax cuts and breaks , including rolling back the alternative-minimum tax and the so-called `` marriage penalty . '' according to an analysis by the independent tax policy center , the tax plan obama has proposed during the campaign would increase taxes in 2009 on the wealthiest 20 percent of households , while offering tax cuts for the other 80 percent . cnn 's kristi keck and emily sherman contributed to this report .<doc-sep>taken after biden 's selection , the poll showed that the number of clinton democrats who said they would vote for mccain increased 11 points since june , enough to account for most of the support mccain gained . clinton fared better than obama among working-class voters in many states during the primaries . obama on sunday suggested the convention would help give those voters `` a sense of who i am . '' obama said he hopes voters will conclude that he is `` sort of like us . he -lsb- obama -rsb- comes from a middle-class background . he went to school on scholarships , he had to pay off student loans . he and his wife had to worry about child care . '' `` you 'll find out : ` he 's pretty much like us , ' '' obama told supporters about himself , while campaigning in wisconsin on his way to denver . obama hammered at mccain on the economy and on mccain 's perceived strong suit , national security . obama told supporters at a barbecue in eau claire , wisconsin , `` the republican track record on national security has not been particularly good . '' `` my job in this campaign is to explain that talking tough and acting dumb is not a way to keep you safe and secure , '' he said . `` we need somebody who talks tough , who 's going to act smart and be tough . that 's how we 're going to look after the safety of the american people . '' minnesota gov. tim pawlenty , viewed as a potential mccain running mate , said obama 's decision to pick biden -- the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee -- was an acknowledgment that obama lacked to national security chops to be president . `` i do n't think he 's ready to be president . and when you 're commander-in-chief , you should n't be having to select a mentor to help you with that role , '' pawlenty told cnn 's `` late edition with wolf blitzer . '' cnn 's jessica yellin and rebecca sinderbrand contributed to this report .<doc-sep>that last section is particularly important as both sides are aware that it is america 's relatively small number of swing voters who are likely to decide the election . attack : john mccain has criticised mr powell for giving his support to the obama campaign . the survey provided additional good . news for mr romney , seeing him pull ahead of mr obama overall by 50 . percent of the national vote to 47 percent . despite the exodus of white voters from the democrats , the tracking poll showed that they still distrust mr romney . forty eight percent of white voters said . a romney presidency would do more to help the rich while most of them . believe mr obama will do more to assist the middle class . mr sununu 's comments followed an attack on mr powell by former presidential candidate john mccain who said he has . ` harmed his legacy ' by turning away from the republican party . worry : mr obama 's support among white voters is flagging , according to a new poll . change : mr powell has criticised mitt romney 's shifting position on many foreign policy issues . a poll by time magazine also showed .
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<t> roland s. martin : candidates offer anything and everything to snag middle class . </t> <t> martin : `` pathetic pining and pandering for middle-class votes ... moronic '' </t> <t> martin : jobs , housing , health care , education are the big middle-class issues . </t>
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commentary : mccain , obama fighting for middle-class voters<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- an animal rescue group on sunday picked up a u.s. soldier 's adopted dog from iraq , ending the soldier 's weeks-long struggle to send the animal to her minnesota home . sgt. gwen beberg adopted ratchet after soldiers rescued him from a burning pile of trash in may . operation baghdad pups , which said the u.s. military prevented its first attempt to take ratchet the dog on october 1 , picked up the animal in baghdad with military clearance and flew it to kuwait on sunday . the dog is expected to be flown to washington on monday , and if a veterinarian determines it is healthy , sent to sgt. gwen beberg 's home state on wednesday , baghdad pups publicist larry garrison said . beberg , who adopted the dog after soldiers rescued it from a burning trash pile in may , tried to have the group fly ratchet to the united states on october 1 as her deployment neared an end .<doc-sep>but the military , which prohibits soldiers from adopting pets abroad and bringing them to the united states , confiscated the animal after beberg put it on a convoy bound for baghdad airport , according to the society for the prevention of cruelty to animals , which runs obp . ratchet and beberg , 28 , drew the attention of thousands of people who signed two online petitions -- linked through the spca 's web site -- urging the military to let ratchet go to the united states . the military cleared obp to take ratchet on wednesday , but not in time for the group 's flight from baghdad that day , the spca said . on sunday , private security contractors took ratchet from a base to the airport , where obp -- which works with soldiers to help them bring adopted animals home -- put ratchet on the charter flight to kuwait , garrison said . northwest airlines will donate the flights from kuwait to minnesota , garrison said .<doc-sep>the spca said ratchet helped beberg deal with her iraq deployment , which started in september 2007 and is scheduled to end in november . `` she was absolutely miserable in the war and was really struggling to keep going every day . ratchet turned it around for her , '' spca spokeswoman stephanie scroggs said last week . beberg 's mother , patricia beberg , in a statement released by the spca , said ratchet `` was the savior of her -lsb- daughter 's -rsb- sanity '' in iraq . spca representatives said the military euthanizes some animals that it confiscates , and that gwen beberg worried that ratchet would be killed . beberg was thrilled to hear last week that the military would let obp take ratchet , the spca said .<doc-sep>`` your persistence and amazing work has astonished me throughout this whole thing , '' gwen beberg said in an e-mail to the spca , according to the society . scroggs said one of beberg 's friends helped spread the news about ratchet through blogs . one of the petitions , which had more than 65,000 signatures as of sunday night , was started by a blogger , scroggs said . the spca says although active-duty soldiers are n't allowed to adopt animals in the middle east , many soldiers befriend animals in the course of their service there . garrison said the program relies on donations , saying it generally costs $ 3,000 to $ 4,000 to bring a servicemember 's animal to the united states . `` this is n't a one-time story this is a program making a difference for our soldiers , '' garrison said .<doc-sep>kabul : private stuart briggs , a british international security assistance force -lrb- isaf -rrb- reserve soldier , pets a sleepy dog while on patrol in afghanistan in 2002 . through the ages : u.s. marines are seen with pet dog fluffy on the bank of the han river in south korea in september 1950 . heart warming : a u.s. soldier from alfa company 1-18 infantry pats a dog while on duty at a guard shack in balad , iraq , in july 2003 . the real dogs of war : general george patton plays with his bull terrier willie in 1944 . there in a crisis : soldiers accompanied by a pet dog carry an injured woman following an earthquake in beichuan county in china 's sichuan province in may 2008 . part of the picture : a black and white dog is visible in the corner of this photograph of russian soldiers .<doc-sep>as well as providing soldiers with affection and companionship while far from home , dogs have also been trained to act as scouts , sentries and trackers to aid their masters in battle . faithful companion : a u.s. soldier is seen cradling his platoon 's pet dog rocky inside an armored vehicle on patrol in mosul , iraq , in 2005 . afghanistan : sgt john barton of the 4th brigade of the u.s. army 's 82nd airborne division pets the platoon 's dog ray-ray in bala murghab in june 2010 . standing guard : a dog appears to keep watch as an exhausted u.s. marine sleeps in a sandy hollow on peleliu in the palau islands in october 1944 . patriotic : two soldiers from the 3rd battalion the mercian regiment pose with a bulldog during a march through dudley in 2009 . first world war : a captain and his pet dog lead members of the royal berkshire regiment in france in 1914 .<doc-sep>`` he 's been a soldier his whole life , '' richard hutchison , of mesa , arizona , told cnn affiliate knxv-tv . watch a report on hutchison 's life '' `` he was a great guy , '' he said . `` we hung around together ; we went to the movies together , went out to dinner together . he loved to shoot pool ; we used to shoot pool all the time , either at my house or at his house . he was just a great friend and a great brother . '' the soldier-psychology professor , who is also survived by two daughters and two half-siblings , had a mischievous side , too . `` he liked to tease me about him being younger than me , even though he was five years older than me , '' richard hutchison said with a soft chuckle . `` he would tell everyone he was the youngest one . and they would believe him . made me feel real good . '' richard hutchison plans to fly to dover air force base in delaware over the weekend to claim his brother 's body and return it to scottsdale for burial . the last communication the brothers had was a routine e-mail steven hutchison sent from iraq about two weeks ago . he rarely wrote about his experiences in iraq , richard hutchison said . however , there was one matter on the ground that the soldier involved his brother in . `` when he was in iraq , they found a dog and were taking care of it . he sent me an e-mail asking me to send some dog food and dog supplies , '' hutchison said . the army made hutchison 's team give up the dog , but they left it in good hands , his brother said . `` he had a big heart . '' cnn 's adam levine , larry shaughnessy , barbara starr and joe sterling contributed to this report .<doc-sep>the father-of-two , of foolow , derbyshire , said : ` it all started 18 months ago when i took a picture of my labrador falling asleep in her chair and it went viral . ` it has gained so much interest across the world but it gained notoriety in the u.s. particularly because of an incorrect internet rumour the dog in the picture actually previously belonged to a soldier who had been killed in iraq . ` somebody put the photograph on a story to do with a soldier being killed in iraq . ` the story was complete rubbish , but it the picture went massive - i tried to correct the mistake , but you ca n't control something like that . ' but the response to the picture encouraged him to develop his interest in photography . he sold prints of the labrador picture to local pubs and it has been so successful that his primary business of running holiday accommodation in the . peak district is now being overtaken by the interest in his images of animals and nature scenes .
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<t> u.s. soldier adopted dog in iraq ; military prohibits such adoption . </t> <t> military took dog during soldier 's first attempt to send it home , group says . </t> <t> dog helped soldier cope with her deployment , group says . </t> <t> animal could be in minnesota by wednesday . </t>
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soldier 's adopted dog finally leaves iraq for u.s.<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- `` at this time , we need a leader . '' `` i would try to stop the war in iraq because i think they should have a talk with them , not a big war . '' trevor dougherty is too young to vote , but is doing everything he can to make sure others do . `` i 'd probably go for the drilling in alaska . nuclear power , i 'd keep that in mind . '' these americans sounding off on the issues and the 2008 presidential election have a lot to say , but they wo n't be saying it at the ballot box -- they 're all too young to vote . in fact , most wo n't be voting for quite a few years . but that does n't mean that they have no interest in the race for the white house between sens. barack obama and john mccain . as evidenced in videos posted at ireport.com , they care a great deal . several of these videos were put together by school classes , like matt macfarlane 's 7th and 8th graders at templeton middle school in templeton , california , who made a short video on the importance of voting . the students called for a `` person with integrity who knows right from wrong '' , `` a person of vision who not only knows what is but also what can be , '' `` a person with a moral compass to help -lsb- set -rsb- a course for our nation , '' and `` a person who has the ability to unite and inspire us as we face challenging times . '' macfarlane 's students urged voters to consider their decisions carefully on november 4 . `` what 's at stake in this election ? '' asked one student . `` everything . we 're counting on you . '' ireport.com : watch the full video from mr. macfarlane 's class . some children took to portraying the candidates , complete with clothes and wigs , like the students of cabot middle school in cabot , arkansas . all of the presidential and vice presidential `` candidates '' gave speeches , with secret service , prospective first ladies and family members in tow . most members of gov. sarah palin 's family were present , including a baby doll portraying trig . this video was just a part of their learning experience about presidential elections . library media specialist jill weir , who submitted the video to ireport.com , said that the students also participated in mock-campaigning , voter registrations , precincts and exit polling . ireport.com : the ` candidates ' speak . a church youth group in winter haven , florida , took a more humorous approach , putting together campaign ads from `` john mchinkle '' and `` barack yo mama , '' featuring cameos from `` sarah mailin ' '' and `` joe hidin ' '' . it was still a learning experience , though , said pastor james blewett , who posted two videos to ireport.com in which the pretend candidates teach lessons about dating and parental conflicts . ireport.com : watch the campaign ad spoofs . some ireporters decided to ask children directly what they thought about the election . `` i have a 6-year-old and he watches the debates with me , '' vijay sureshkumar of seattle , washington , said . `` he 's interested in what 's going on and that 's what triggered me . why do n't i go around the neighborhood and ask the kids ? '' the responses he got were both funny and thought-provoking . some children saw the war as a major issue , one wanted more funding for education , and another said he was in favor of drilling for oil in alaska . some children seemed to be in favor of obama , some for mccain , at least one liked both , and two of them started yelling at each other over which candidate was better . when asked about the candidates ' families , one boy could easily name obama 's wife and daughters ' names . when asked about mccain , he was a little fuzzier . `` he 's been around for a long time . like he 's been around , -lsb- since -rsb- like 1966 . '' ireport.com : kids sound off on the election . tony stampalia of utica , new york , had a similar idea , asking students in an elementary school class whom they would vote for , based purely on the pictures of the candidates . stampalia said that it was a tie between mccain and obama , with one child for ralph nader . obama `` voters '' in the class voted for their candidate because `` he has a cool suit , '' `` because he has the hair , '' `` because he has a nice smile . '' one obama voter mistook him for president bush , while another wore an obama button but said she was supporting sen. hillary clinton . mccain `` voters '' in the class liked his blue shirt and tie , and thought he was `` cute . '' one liked his `` white hair . '' another one found that mccain `` made people do good stuff , '' but admitted that obama did the same . all the children seemed to agree that `` your vote counts . '' ireport.com : children pick their favorite candidate . of course , this is not quite the first election in which children were asked about their choice for president . the scholastic election poll has been doing that for at least 68 years . poll takers said their poll has reflected the outcome of the actual election all but twice since 1940 . a quarter of a million students participated in the poll . this year , obama won with 57 percent to mccain 's 39 percent . in many videos on ireport.com , children and teenagers speak out for their candidate of choice . in one case , a 4th grader named liam coakley of long beach , california went the extra mile by setting up a lemonade stand for obama . ireport.com : lemonade stand for obama . trisha prabhu , 8 , of naperville , illinois , was so excited about obama 's candidacy that she told her mother bhanu to make a video of her giving reasons to vote for him . ireport.com : watch prabhu 's video . trevor dougherty of ithaca , new york , said in a video : `` i 'm 16 years old and in this presidential election , i can not vote . that 's why i 'm begging you this november , if you can , to get out this november and vote . '' trevor has been following the election very closely , and first submitted an ireport while en route to the democratic national convention . as part of the `` voter vlog tag '' movement , dougherty went out and registered voters in his hometown , then submitted the video evidence to ireport.com . `` getting other people registered is a way to express myself and allow other people to be heard . ireport has helped me do all of this . '' ireport.com : watch dougherty register people to vote . dougherty has ireported about many aspects of this campaign : the conventions , the debates and everything in between . he also rallied together a dozen members of the ireport community to speak about the importance of voting . ireport.com : dougherty , ireporters urge others to vote . although these young people are n't able to vote , the decisions made by the next president could certainly affect them .<doc-sep>some children seemed to be in favor of obama , some for mccain , at least one liked both , and two of them started yelling at each other over which candidate was better . when asked about the candidates ' families , one boy could easily name obama 's wife and daughters ' names . when asked about mccain , he was a little fuzzier . `` he 's been around for a long time . like he 's been around , -lsb- since -rsb- like 1966 . '' ireport.com : kids sound off on the election . tony stampalia of utica , new york , had a similar idea , asking students in an elementary school class whom they would vote for , based purely on the pictures of the candidates . stampalia said that it was a tie between mccain and obama , with one child for ralph nader . obama `` voters '' in the class voted for their candidate because `` he has a cool suit , '' `` because he has the hair , '' `` because he has a nice smile . '' one obama voter mistook him for president bush , while another wore an obama button but said she was supporting sen. hillary clinton . mccain `` voters '' in the class liked his blue shirt and tie , and thought he was `` cute . '' one liked his `` white hair . '' another one found that mccain `` made people do good stuff , '' but admitted that obama did the same . all the children seemed to agree that `` your vote counts . '' ireport.com : children pick their favorite candidate . of course , this is not quite the first election in which children were asked about their choice for president . the scholastic election poll has been doing that for at least 68 years . poll takers said their poll has reflected the outcome of the actual election all but twice since 1940 . a quarter of a million students participated in the poll . this year , obama won with 57 percent to mccain 's 39 percent . in many videos on ireport.com , children and teenagers speak out for their candidate of choice . in one case , a 4th grader named liam coakley of long beach , california went the extra mile by setting up a lemonade stand for obama . ireport.com : lemonade stand for obama . trisha prabhu , 8 , of naperville , illinois , was so excited about obama 's candidacy that she told her mother bhanu to make a video of her giving reasons to vote for him . ireport.com : watch prabhu 's video . trevor dougherty of ithaca , new york , said in a video : `` i 'm 16 years old and in this presidential election , i can not vote . that 's why i 'm begging you this november , if you can , to get out this november and vote . '' trevor has been following the election very closely , and first submitted an ireport while en route to the democratic national convention . as part of the `` voter vlog tag '' movement , dougherty went out and registered voters in his hometown , then submitted the video evidence to ireport.com . `` getting other people registered is a way to express myself and allow other people to be heard . ireport has helped me do all of this . '' ireport.com : watch dougherty register people to vote . dougherty has ireported about many aspects of this campaign : the conventions , the debates and everything in between . he also rallied together a dozen members of the ireport community to speak about the importance of voting . ireport.com : dougherty , ireporters urge others to vote . although these young people are n't able to vote , the decisions made by the next president could certainly affect them .<doc-sep>if you have difficulty viewing this page , please click here . what do you think of these photos ? do you have an image of your own ? share your story in the comments section below or post your photo on cnn ireport . if you have photos or videos about the voting process itself , or of the sights and sounds of an election day event , please visit this link .<doc-sep>on `` cnn newsroom '' throughout the week , we will also drill down , so to speak , on aspects of the problem that you rarely see explained on television : how oil refineries work , how the availability of `` surplus gas '' from independent oil companies can play havoc with pump prices , and what effect the squeeze on oil will have on the market for alternative energy . on cnn.com and cnnmoney.com , you 'll be able to compare gas prices on a state-by-state map . cnnmoney : will oil prices kill the stock market rally ? through ireport , you can send us your own videos documenting the pain at your local pump and tell us how your own driving habits have changed . writers on our opinion page will debate the causes and the fallout , and in our latest of our explain it to me video tutorials , velshi offers a 101 primer on why gas prices go up and down . and because this is another big week in election 2012 , our political reporters and analysts will weigh in on the implications for the presidential race . just as president barack obama is nurturing a narrative of a slowly healing economy , the gop is looking at the price of gas as exhibit a that his administration remains a failure . but before they get to make that case in the fall , the republicans will have to settle on a candidate , a ride that so far has been much wilder than anyone predicted . will they be any closer after the michigan and arizona primaries ? tune into cnn 's special coverage all through the evening on tuesday to find out .<doc-sep>for even more fun , check out these recent viral videos of proposals : . cnn center proposal , accompanied by the band , train . tweeted old spice proposal . madison square park musical number proposal . `` luck '' -- romantic rooftop proposal . university of michigan musical proposal . * and if you videotaped your proposal , share it on cnn 's ireport .
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<t> ireports show how interested young americans are in the campaign . </t> <t> ireports range from serious issues to silly spoofs . </t> <t> does your kid have something to say about the election ? tell us at ireport.com . </t>
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kids speak out on election in ireport videos<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- republican presidential candidate john mccain is just holding on like a boxer before he gets knocked out , comedian chris rock says . comedian chris rock told larry king he 's proud of barack obama 's character . rock , an avid supporter of democratic presidential nominee barack obama , spoke with cnn 's larry king on thursday . he said obama is more grounded with your average american -- not somebody like mccain with `` 12 houses . '' `` the other guy -lsb- mccain -rsb- can lose five houses , '' rock said . `` i 'll go with the guy with one house . the guy with one house is scared about losing his house . '' watch chris rock describe a beaten up mccain '' king began the interview by asking rock about thursday 's economic bailout talks when obama and mccain went to the white house for discussions with the nation 's top leaders . king : obama and mccain at opposite ends of the table . what do you make of it ? rock : what do i make of it ? if this was a boxing match , mccain would be holding . king : holding on ? rock : yes . it 's like he got hit really hard in the stomach like , ` ok . i ca n't let him go . he 's going to knock me out . ' so that 's what appears to be going on right now . just a hold . king : has the financial crisis affected you ? rock : larry , i drove a cab over here tonight . when it 's over , i 'm going to try to pick up some more fares . i 'm losing everything , larry . king : really downtrodden ? rock : yes , it 's real bad . king : have hbo paid you already ? rock : they have paid me , but the money is worthless now . have n't you heard ? your money 's worth nothing .<doc-sep>king : you must be ... proud that at this stage in our history a black man is running for president on a major ticket . rock : um , you know what ? i 'm proud barack obama 's running for president . you know ? if it was flavor flav , would i be proud ? no . i do n't support barack obama because he 's black . king : i said just as a proud feeling . that 's normal . rock : there 's a proud feeling because of the character of the man . you know , i was -- i supported john kerry and , you know -- and what 's my man ? al gore . king : al gore . rock : but this guy seems to be a little bit more . he seems to have watched other peoples ' mistakes and , you know , seems to have a little bit more going on . king : from a comedic stand point , who is funnier , mccain or obama ? seriously . is obama not -- it 's hard to be funny about obama ? rock : no , no . it 's weird . people ask me that all the time . ... mccain jokes are just easy jokes , like i do n't want a president with a bucket list . that 's like a mccain joke . those jokes are easy . it 's like you basically , you know , you know , take the dust off your reagan jokes and tell them again . you know ? but obama , oh , this is a whole new set of jokes . i got to find a whole new move to the basket here . so i kind of hope he wins . king : did n't you introduce obama at a rally ? rock : i introduced obama at the apollo theater not too long ago . i think obama would be great . i mean , just look the big thing right now is the economy . and people are going broke . and here : the choice is n't republican or democrat . the choice is you got a guy that 's worth $ 150 million with 12 houses against a guy who 's worth a million dollars with one house . king : well -- . rock : the guy with one house really cares about losing a house , because he is homeless . the other guy can lose five houses and still got a bunch of houses . does this make any sense ? am i the only one that sees this ? king : it 's unique way of ... rock : i 'm just saying , john mccain could lose half his houses . king : you got a point .<doc-sep>rock : and sleep well . king : you and bill clinton were on letterman on tuesday . you had some problems with the tone of his endorsement of barack obama . ... do you think bill is hesitant about barack obama ? rock : you know what ? you know , he did a great speech in denver . and hillary 's been on the campaign trail . just at that moment , if you watched what happened on david letterman , it appeared he was holding back . and when you tell a joke and everybody laughs , it is not because they disagree with what you 're saying . so -- . king : they get it ? rock : yes , they get it . the whole audience was in on it . but , you know , hey , the guy 's in a weird position there . his wife ran for the thing and she did n't win . king : the next night , on `` the daily show , '' jon stewart asked clinton about the letterman appearance and clinton suggested that obama supporters who questioned commitment are missing the point . rock : it was great . it was great . and you 're right , -lsb- obama -rsb- does need to get some of the votes that went to hillary and all that . i do n't understand any democrat that voted for hillary that does n't support obama . because their views are pretty similar . you know what i mean ? ... i understand people supporting mr. mccain . but a democrat that 's going to just be mad is -- there 's something kind of really messed up about that . king : have you always done political humor ? rock : you know -- . king : when you started , did you do politics ? rock : i 'm interested in the world . jon stewart does political humor . bill maher does political humor . i talk about stuff the way guys would talk about it at the barber shop . i do n't belong on any panel on this show . you know what i mean ? i do n't deserve to be near roland martin and anderson cooper and all these guys . i try to talk about politics in a way a guy that works at ups would understand . king : you did a lot of brooklyn stuff . rock : i do all sorts of stuff , larry . all sorts of stuff . you know , i hope obama wins just because , you know , the country needs it . the country needs a change . we kind of seen what this whole mccain thing is . and i 'll go with the guy with one house . the guy with one house is scared about losing his house . king : i never thought of it that way . rock : it is that simple .<doc-sep>kid rock also shared the story of hosting a dinner party with fellow detroit native eminem . `` he came by the house , we had dinner , i cooked , just having a sophisticated kind of dinner , '' said rock . he added of the rapper , `` he 's a great family guy . '' though he 's a vocal conservative , rock also said that he 's not into right-wing social politics . `` i 'm into less government , '' he said , adding , `` if gay people want to get married , i do n't give a f**k . '' for rock , disagreement in beliefs is fine , but failing to vote is n't . `` it 's ok to stand for something ... i 've got friends who did n't vote . i want to smack them upside the head , '' he said . kid rock also hinted today on his facebook page about an upcoming tour to support his forthcoming album rebel soul , out november 19th . `` ca n't wait to hit the road in a few months and celebrate with everyone , '' he wrote .<doc-sep>-lrb- oprah.com -rrb- -- chris rock is an emmy-winning comedian , devoted husband and loving father -- but it 's time to get to know a new side of this funnyman . meet chris rock , hair expert . it 's a detour he took after an innocent carpool ride left rock with an idea he just could n't shake . `` i was with my daughter one day , and we 're in the car and she 's with one of her friends in the back seat , a little white friend , '' he says . `` she was just kind of raving about her friend 's hair a little too much for my comfort -lsb- saying -rsb- : ` you 've got great hair . oh , your hair 's so good . ' '' not wanting to make her comments a big deal , rock says he tried to play his them off . '' -lsb- i said -rsb- : `` oh , baby , your hair 's beautiful . come on , ' '' he says . `` if i would have really reacted , then she would have a complex about her hair . '' still , rock could n't let it go . `` it sparked something in me , '' he says . oprah.com : oprah 's hair throughout the years ! what rock discovered is a $ 9 billion industry that affects the daily activities , wallets , self-esteem -- and even the sex lives -- of black women . because women spend so much time and money on their hair , rock says men are forced to adopt a hands-off policy . `` you can not touch a black woman 's hair . you are conditioned not to even go there , '' he says . `` when i was a dating guy , i dated women from different races . anytime i was with an asian or a puerto rican girl or a white girl , my hands would constantly be in their hair . like my hands were thirsty . '' one of the first lessons rock learned on this journey was that women do their hair for one another . `` they say it 's for the men , but it 's really for the women . because guys do n't care , '' he says . `` there 's no point in the history of the world where men were not sleeping with the women in front of them . we take what we can get . '' actress nia long , who rock interviews in the film , agrees . `` there 's always this sort of pressure within the black community like , if you have good hair , you 're prettier or better than the brown-skinned girl that wears the afro or the dreads or the natural hairstyle , '' she says . oprah.com : oprah 's stylist reveals his hair secrets . rock found the biggest moneymaker in the hair business to be weaves . black women can spend six to eight hours getting their hair braided into tiny sections . stylists then delicately attach tracks of hair -- which can be simple extensions or full wigs -- to the braids . `` if you 've got a weave , your scalp 's like a beat up highway , '' rock jokes .<doc-sep>kate , 33 , the oscar-nominated star of films including almost famous and how to lose a guy in 10 days , is set to move into the grade ii listed property in one of the capital 's most sought-after areas with matt bellamy , lead singer with rock band muse . luxury : the indoor swimming pool at kate hudson and matt bellamy 's new home , in one of london 's most sought-after areas . setting up home : the actress -lrb- left -rrb- with her rock star fiance and mother goldie hawn . the couple , who have a ten-month-old son , bingham , paid cash for the georgian home in an area where former residents include sir paul mccartney and sienna miller . the six-bedroom property is set over six floors and boasts a home cinema , seven bathrooms , an indoor pool and an adjacent mews house worth # 2.3 million . it had been on the market for # 13 million . scaffolding has been erected from the basement up to the roof to begin extensive renovation.a neighbour said : ` the scaffolding has gone up in the past two or three days . i do n't know who has bought it , but whoever it is must be very , very rich . ' bellamy met kate at the coachella music festival in california in 2010 . she also has an eight-year-old son , ryder , by black crowes frontman chris robinson . last night a spokesman for bellamy declined to comment on the house .<doc-sep>by . associated press . and zoe szathmary . ` family guy ' is taking on a new jersey political scandal . a flier sent to emmy voters asks them to name the show ` best animated program . ' it warns , ` vote for us , or it 's time for some traffic problems in brentwood , ' a los angeles neighborhood where many emmy voters live . the warning is a reference to lane closures last year at the heart of the scandal and a now-infamous email about them . bridget anne kelly , a since-fired aide to gov. chris christie , wrote before the closures , ` it 's time for some traffic problems in fort lee , ' referencing the new jersey town that saw days of traffic jams . federal prosecutors are investigating . ` vote for us , or it 's time for some traffic problems in brentwood ' : family guy 's emmy flier pokes fun at the bridgegate scandal . on the flier , character peter griffin wears a tie and looks almost governor-like . the traffic cones griffin holds seem to be a reference to comments christie made in december 2013 and reported by nj.com when he joked in a conference ' i worked the cones . unbeknownst to anyone , i was working the cones , ' when asked about his role in bridgegate . as noted by deadline , the campaign is similar to the show 's provocative 2010 mailer , which depicted griffin as the main character from ` precious , ' with the slogan ` vote for us or you 're racist . ' twins ? family guy character peter griffin 's outfit is awfully similar to one worn by gov. chris christie in this may 24 , 2013 photo .
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<t> chris rock tells larry king that mccain is on the verge of getting knocked out . </t> <t> `` i hope obama wins just because ... the country needs it '' </t> <t> rock says he ca n't support a guy like mccain with `` 12 houses '' </t> <t> says vote for the guy with one house , cause he 's scared of losing it . </t>
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chris rock : it 's simple , vote for the guy with one house<T>
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london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- john darwin 's wife said her husband faked his own death to avoid mounting debts and holed up in the family home for years , hiding from his own sons , according to uk media reports . anne darwin said her husband , believed by police and his sons to have been lost at sea five years ago , recently returned to the uk , faking amnesia , because he missed his now-adult children , according to the daily mirror . `` i did n't think he would get away with it but he had had enough of being dead , '' she is quoted as saying . john darwin , 57 , is being questioned by police in northeastern england following his arrest on suspicion of fraud , a spokesman for cleveland , england , police said . darwin walked into a police station in london last weekend -- five years after he was thought to have died after the remains of a canoe he paddled into the north sea , off northeastern england , washed up on shore . darwin was declared dead by a coroner in 2003 , 13 months after his disappearance in march 2002 .<doc-sep>his wife , the paper reported , described how the prison officer and former teacher discussed faking his death just before he disappeared because of mounting debts . when john darwin vanished she said she thought he was dead -- until , she is reported to have said , he turned up on the doorstep of the family home at seaton carew , northeastern england , one year later . `` i did n't even recognize him at first , '' anne darwin told the newspaper , adding that her husband looked thin , dirty and smelled dreadful . `` i was relieved he was alive , of course . but i was also very angry with him . '' she said that her husband stayed at the home on and off before he got a one-room apartment in another part of the large house so he could vanish if friends or family arrived , also disguising himself with a hat or limp when he went outside . but hiding away began to take its toll , anne darwin reportedly said , and the pair decided to leave britain .<doc-sep>her husband traveled on a false passport to look at property in cyprus and inquire about buying a catamaran in gibraltar , she said , before they finally settled in panama . she went to live there six weeks ago . she is believed to be in the united states after leaving panama on a flight late thursday , a panamanian immigration representative has told cnn . anne darwin , the newspaper said , stated that it was always her plan to repay two insurance policies in her husband 's name : one , a life insurance policy , for # 25,000 -lrb- $ 50,000 -rrb- ; and another for # 130,000 -lrb- $ 265,000 -rrb- , which was paid to their home loan company to pay off the mortgage in the event of her husband 's death . the newspaper said she was not paid for her story and accepts she is likely to be arrested upon her return to britain . following his reappearance last weekend , john darwin was initially reunited with his two sons , who released a joint statement saying their father claimed to have amnesia dating back to june 2000 .<doc-sep>but in a statement released by cleveland police thursday , the sons , mark , 31 , and anthony , 29 , said they were in an `` angry and confused state of mind '' and they wanted no further contact with their parents . after media reports thursday that anne darwin had confessed to knowing her husband was alive , the sons said : `` if the papers ' allegations of a confession from our mam are true , then we very much feel that we have been the victims in a large scam . '' `` in the short space of time following our dad 's appearance in london on saturday , we have gone through a rollercoaster of emotion , '' the statement said . `` from the height of elation at finding him to be alive to the depths of despair at the recent stories of fraud and these latest pictures , '' it added . `` how could our mam continue to let us believe our dad had died when he was very much alive ? we have not spoken to either of our parents since our dad 's arrest and at this present time we want no further contact with them , '' the statement said . e-mail to a friend .<doc-sep>the last time he moved to panama he was exposed as a fraudster , disowned by his children and jailed . but back-from-the-dead canoeist john darwin has now told friends he plans to return to the central american country . under his parole conditions the conman is banned from travelling abroad , but says he will leave britain when the authorities return his passport to him in march . new life : john darwin is said to want to return to panama , where he went with his wife anne 11 years ago after he faked his death in a north sea canoe accident . scam : john darwin 's canoe was found floating on the water off this beach in seaton carew , cleveland , but he was n't dead at all . darwin , 62 , fled to panama after he faked his own death in 2002 , in a . bid to claim almost # 1million in life insurance and pension payouts . he and wife anne , 61 , were only exposed when a photograph emerged of them together in panama city . they were sentenced to six years in jail and stripped of their assets . now , his eagerness to return to the country has raised suspicions that darwin may have a secret stash of money there . assets when john and anne darwin were convicted in 2008 : . panama bank accounts : $ 539,000 held in cash . panama city apartment : $ 56,000 value . land for business venture : $ 389,711 . plus more than # 3,000 in bank accounts in britain and jersey . before john darwin faked his death in 2002 : . # 64,000 debt on 13 credit cards , costing # 1,700 a month . mortgage and bills : # 5,639 per month . mortgages of 14 different properties : # 2,500 . total outgoings : # 6,700 . total income : # 2,047 . meanwhile , the mail can reveal that his son , mark darwin , is promoting a high-risk investment scheme in panama . mark , 37 , and his brother anthony , 34 , were convinced their father was . dead and cut contact with their parents after their devastating lie was . exposed in 2007 .<doc-sep>in december 2007 , darwin walked into a london police station , claiming he had amnesia , and was reunited with his sons who were stunned to hear he was alive . his wife , who had fled with him to panama , pretended to be shocked until a photograph emerged of them posing together after his supposed death . she was later jailed for six-and-a-half-years for fraud and money-laundering . john darwin was reported missing in a canoe in the north sea in march 2002 . his wife collected more than # 500,000 in life insurance payouts , while he hid in their home , leaving their two sons to believe he was dead . darwin 's wife anne , left , collected more than # 500,000 in life insurance payouts , while he , right , hid in their home after faking his own death in a ` canoeing accident ' the crown prosecution service has now applied for darwin to repay more of the money he cheated out of insurance companies , as one of his pensions has matured .<doc-sep>anthony mcerlean not only faked his own death but had also been claiming pensions relating to his late father-in-law from a previous marriage . fraudster anthony mcerlean had everything in place to pocket a hefty # 520,000 life insurance pay-out . after faking his own death the pensioner impersonated his wife and claimed he had been knocked down and killed by a cabbage lorry in honduras . but , unlike canoe man john darwin , who fooled insurers into making a payout , mcerlean did n't get a penny . his suspicious insurance company contacted the police -- who found the conman 's fingerprints on his own bogus death certificate . the twice-married former insurance salesman was jailed for six years yesterday after admitting fraud and stealing # 68,000 by claiming two pensions in the name of his late father-in-law . sentencing mcerlean , 66 , who has convictions dating back to 1963 , judge adele williams told him the ` deliberate and calculated fraud ' had been carried out ` to gratify your overweening greed ' . his case at canterbury crown court bears striking similarities to that of john darwin who faked his demise with wife anne in a # 680,000 insurance swindle before fleeing to panama . he and his wife were jailed in 2008 after he reappeared claiming to have lost his memory . mcerlean 's bogus claim was made to glasgow-based ace european insurance in the name of father-of-two mcerlean 's honduran wife sonya . the fake witness statement , from a man named ronald lodge , recounted the tragic account of how mcerlean was killed in december 2009 . he was , apparently , knocked over as he tried to change a tyre on his vehicle during a wildlife photography trip in honduras . the fake death certificate on which , in a complete giveaway , insurers found mcerlean 's own fingerprints . the ` witness ' described how farm workers transported mcerlean to a small village where local people ` took care of the body ' .<doc-sep>lies : the ` witness statement ' for anthony mcerlean 's scam . mcerlean , of petham , kent , also . admitted claiming pensions relating to his late father-in-law from his . previous marriage , who died in 2007 . the conman 's grown-up son and daughter from his previous marriage only learnt of his scam when he was arrested . mcerlean had previously lived in the village of dunkirk , near faversham . neighbours there said his first wife christine died of cancer and he married sonya regalado , who was ten years younger than him . in 2009 they moved to honduras , where she is still believed to be living . she was not treated as a suspect in the case . echoes : the case bears similarities to that of back-from-the-dead john . darwin , right , who faked his own death in a canoe accident off teesside . in 2002 to help him and his wife anne , left , claim insurance and pension . cash .
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<t> reports : wife says he faked his death to avoid debts , hid in their home for years . </t> <t> john darwin , 57 , thought to have drowned at sea off northeastern england in 2002 . </t> <t> reappeared last week ; being questioned on suspicion of fraud . </t> <t> sons of the couple say they are in an `` angry and confused state of mind '' </t>
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wife says canoe man faked death , hid in home<T>
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washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the united states agency for international development , usaid , on monday urged the cuban government to think again about its refusal of direct u.s. assistance for hurricane victims . `` we call on the cuban government to reconsider their decision on the united states offer , which we made with no preconditions and whose only objective was to get relief to people in dire need . '' usaid administrator henrietta fore said in a monday afternoon conference call with reporters . fore said the united states over the weekend had offered to begin relief flights as soon as tuesday to cuba , on civilian aircraft , delivering plastic sheeting , blankets and hygiene kits . the first flight would have brought aid worth $ 349,000 . `` and while we wait for the cuban government 's reconsideration of the united states offer we will continue to implement other components of our $ 5 million assistance package , '' fore added . the united state will immediately obligate approximately $ 1.5 million in emergency humanitarian assistance to reputable international relief organizations and nongovernmental organizations . fore said she will be in honduras on tuesday to inspect hurricane damage and review aid needs there .<doc-sep>earlier in the day , state department spokesman sean mccormack gave the first information that united states had made a weekend offer -- and the cuban government had refused -- of $ 5 million in hurricane relief . the united states on saturday `` informed the cuban government that the u.s. government is committed to providing up to $ 5 million in relief assistance to cuban hurricane victims and that we could fly emergency relief supplies to cuba as soon as the cuban government authorized such assistance , '' mccormack said at his daily briefing . `` on the 14th of september , just yesterday , the cuban government informed us they would not accept a donation from the united states , '' he said . the united states has temporarily suspended some restrictions on private aid groups , sending assistance and money to cuba . and mccormack said monday he united states had in recent days licensed agricultural exports to cuba worth $ 250 million , including lumber for reconstruction .<doc-sep>a fierce hurricane which has left two people dead in the caribbean and is expected to pass through guantanamo bay could hit the florida coastline this evening . hurricane sandy hit land today just west of santiago de cuba in southern cuba after roaring across the caribbean , leaving two dead in jamaica and haiti . the u.s. national hurricane center said the storm hit cuba with sustained winds of 114 mph . scroll down for video . fierce : a hurricane which has left two people dead in the caribbean and is expected to pass through guantanamo bay could hit the florida coastline this evening . waves crash against this house in jamaica . life-threatening : hurricane sandy hit land today just west of santiago de cuba in southern cuba . it has already roared across jamaica and left two dead in the caribbean . this picture was taken in jamaica . nasty : this satellite image shows hurricane sandy passing over jamaica in the caribbean . the storm is forecast to head north and possibly affect the u.s , particularly florida . the miami centre said that sandy - which had strengthened to a category 2 hurricane - was located just inland over southeastern cuba and moving north , northeast . it is expected to remain a hurricane as it moves through the bahamas . the 18th named storm of the atlantic hurricane season was expected to pass to the west of the u.s. naval base at cuba 's guantanamo bay , where pretrial hearings were being held for a suspect in the deadly 2000 attack on the destroyer uss cole off yemen . the military warned the 5,500 people living on the u.s. base to be ready for the storm . officials said there was no threat to the 166 prisoners - many of which are suspected terrorists . despite no evacuation planned , sirens have been wailing across the base warning of the dangerous winds approaching . some prisoners have also been moved from wood huts to steel and cement buildings . strong : the u.s. national hurricane center said the storm hit cuba with sustained winds of 114 mph . this woman wades through water in jamaica . worrying : after cuba , sandy is expected to pass over the bahamas . it might bring tropical storm conditions along the southeastern florida coast , the upper keys and florida bay . rain-soaked commuters are pictured waiting for a bus in kingston , jamaica . precautions : a man places plywood on the windows of this health centre in kingston . after cuba , sandy is expected to pass over the bahamas . it might bring tropical storm conditions along the southeastern florida coast , the upper keys and florida bay . according to the miami herald , forecasters say the worst of the . weather for south florida will come this evening and tomorrow with gusts of wind up to 50mph , and heavy seas - possibly . including 15-foot waves - which could cause strong erosion and thunderstorms . cuba 's communist government , known for . its quick response to natural disasters , announced the evacuation of . about 450 tourists from beach resorts near santiago , according to cuban . state media . civil defense col. miguel angel puig said sandy ` is a complex of strong rains , very intense , ' said adding that the rains could affect 200,000 people in cuba . the . u.s. hurricane center had said sandy is expected to produce total . rainfall of 6 to 12 inches across jamaica , haiti , dominican republic and . eastern cuba .<doc-sep>in a similar gesture in 2005 , cuba offered to send a team of doctors to aid in the aftermath of hurricane katrina . the u.s. government ignored the request . possibly signaling that it recognized the boost cuba gains from medical diplomacy , the u.s. government in 2006 announced a program to entice cuban doctors to defect . the cuban medical professional parole program allows cuban health professional working in a third country at the behest of the cuban government to defect to the united states . while so far not accepting the cuban offer to cooperate in the fight against ebola , us officials have also praised the communist government 's efforts to stop the epidemic . `` already we are seeing nations large and small stepping up in impressive ways to make a contribution on the frontlines . cuba , a country of just 11 million people , has sent 165 health professionals and it plans to send nearly 300 more , '' u.s. secretary of state john kerry said on friday . the united states has pledged some 4,000 military personnel to assist with the fight against the disease in africa , although the troops are not expected to treat people suffering from ebola . while help continues to pour in from around the world to west african countries reeling from the epidemic , the most basic need is doctors and nurses who can treat ebola patients without falling ill themselves , health officials said . `` there is a lack of human resources , so it has been a major contribution , '' said dr. jose luis di fabio , the who 's representative in havana , who is coordinating the training of the cuban health workers . `` you have to identify patients , diagnose patients and treat patients . if you do n't have the human resources to do that , you do n't have anything , '' he said . `` human resources in africa is the major thing that 's lacking . '' nurse carlos garcia hernandez is one of the cuban health workers training to fight ebola . he volunteered , he said , because if ebola is n't stopped in west africa , it will continue to spread to other countries . `` if it could show up it in developed countries like the u.s. and spain , it can show up in undeveloped countries , too . our families are at risk as well , '' he said .<doc-sep>one such narrative could evolve from tying american resource coordination and financial support in a regional multilateral effort with other latin american nations -- particularly cuba 's deep bench of natural disaster-experienced medical corps . after hurricane katrina pounded new orleans and southern mississippi , castro offered relief support from a 1,600-person medical team called the henry reeves brigade , named after an american doctor who fought in cuba 's war of independence . the u.s. predictably turned down the offer in september 2005 . shortly after , in october 2005 , the reeves brigade was dispatched to help provide much-needed medical relief after the devastating kashmir earthquake that tore through the himalayan mountain region along pakistan and kashmir . the united states and europe each sent teams of doctors to pakistan , each with one base camp deployed for a month . the cubans deployed seven major base camps and 30 field hospitals in the fundamentalist islamic region of pakistan , a nation with which cuba did not have diplomatic relations at the time . today , the cubans and pakistanis have embassies in each other 's capitals . bruno rodriguez , the new foreign minister of cuba , who was then the deputy , headed the mission and lived in pakistan 's rugged mountains for that full year . the cuban medical teams reportedly worked constructively and positively with personnel from the u.s. and europe -- and this kind of collaboration , even if informal , could be the kind of confidence-building narrative to move u.s.-cuba relations out of the gridlock they have been in for decades .<doc-sep>nyad started the marathon on tuesday to raise money for hurricane sandy relief . when the swim for relief fundraiser wrapped up thursday morning , she had raised more than $ 103,000 . finish line : long-distance swimmer diana nyad finished a 48-hour marathon swim thursday morning for hurricane sandy relief . for a good cause : nyad , a native new yorker , raised more than $ 103,000 in aid for hurricane sandy . ` it honestly was tougher that i ever imagined it to be , ' said the 64-year-old nyad as she came out of the pool shortly before 9am . after emerging from the pool , nyad was fed fluids intravenously while she bundled up in blankets . nyad recently became the first person to swim non-stop from cuba to florida without a shark cage , finishing the 110-mile feat in 53 hours . pioneer : nyad recently became the first person to swim the 110 miles from cuba to florida without a shark cage . the waters of the 40-yard pool in herald square were much safer .
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<t> u.s. state department says cuba rejects $ 5 million in aid . </t> <t> island nation reeling from storms , including hurricanes ike and gustav . </t> <t> u.s. temporarily suspends some restrictions on groups sending aid to cuba . </t>
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cuba refuses hurricane aid offer , u.s. says<T>
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london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- getting `` out of this world '' with civilian space travel is not quite as simple as you may think . ready for launch : video game programmer richard garriott shown in training for his space flight in october . aside from the obvious financial limitations which restrict space tourism to the rich and the ridiculously rich , there are also significant training programs and testing to be completed before proceeding to lift-off . to gain a better insight into this training , well-known video game programmer and designer richard garriott , who is preparing for his own space adventure in october , is detailing in a blog what he and others have to go through in order to make it into orbit as a space traveler . garriott has been in training since the beginning of the year and told cnn the first major thing to surprise him was the intensity of preparations . `` when i first came here in january , i thought nine months to get trained for this is going to be plenty of time . of course , very quickly , i realized that i had signed up for a very complex task , something much more difficult that i had anticipated . i immediately knew that nine months was going to be a lot of work to get everything prepared for the flight . `` and now that i am so close to the flight , i am still feeling the pressure , i definitively have been working very long days and most nights , '' garriott said . the training regime has three major strands : physical training , which includes preparation to acclimatize to the space environment ; practical training for day-to-day living in space ; and like any flight , be it 10 minutes or 10 days , training in safety procedures for emergency situations . trainees generally spend nine months or more on and off-site to complete the requirements , which include everything from flight simulations to learning how to use the toilet . eric anderson , president and ceo of space adventures , the company sending garriott into space , told cnn the training program is extensive , but does not exclude people from making the flight . `` their total training program is a few months , but we tend to spread it out so they can fit it around their normal lives . they are not training to the same degree as the professionals . '' as long as space hopefuls are in reasonable health , they can usually go ahead with their adventure , he said . `` there 's some fitness involved . there are certainly -lsb- medical -rsb- things that are not allowable in space , but they are generally more serious conditions . '' he said the major fitness issue with space travel was preparing for the change in `` gs . ''<doc-sep>`` the body is designed to live on one ` g , ' so when you expose it to higher ` gs ' it has an effect . with the training and given the -lsb- short -rsb- length of the visits there 's a minimal effect on the body . '' in his blog on the training process , garriott said one part of the training was indisputably the worst . `` hardest of all was the ` spinning chair of ultimate sickness . ' i ca n't imagine that i will ever again voluntarily sit in a device designed to make you sick , or ride it as long as i can . ugh , this is definitely my least favorite part of training ! '' despite such disturbing preparations , anderson said much of the training , which takes place at space adventures ' base in star city , russia , is centered upon general living in space . `` there 's a few requirements about what you need to know to live in the space station ... how to eat , how to drink , and how to use the restroom , for example , '' he said . `` there 's also a lot of simulation you go through ... there 's preparation to acclimatize you to the space environment . '' garriott said many of the procedures for living in space , or for emergencies , are very complex . `` there are a lot of technical details behind all the different systems we need to understand ... fire detection and alarms , plus procedures and equipment for dealing with fire emergencies ; protective breathing apparatus in case of chamber decompression or malfunction ; the toilet -lrb- everybody 's favorite piece of space trivia ! -rrb- , including powering up the can for suction and waste removal ; and lastly , onboard water sources . '' he admits the learning requirements had him preparing for exams by `` cramming like any good college kid . '' and the most fascinating part of the training ? in garriott 's opinion , it was running in a hypobaric chamber , where the altitude was set at 10,000 meters -lrb- about 2,000 meters higher than mount everest -rrb- . `` i felt no physical or mental problems , but i did notice an odd physiological issue that is quite hard to describe . basically , it was possible to make a tennis ball-sized pocket in my mouth , but one which had no air in it as it was just a vacuum ! `` by that i mean try to imagine creating a cavity inside your mouth without any air bubbles and by letting in no air through your lips or throat -- it 's basically impossible at sea level because the air pressure outside your mouth pushes the air pocket closed , '' he said . `` however , at 10,000 meters the air is so much thinner that you can pull off this oral stunt without a hitch ! weird . '' it truly is .<doc-sep>editor 's note : the staff at cnn.com has been intrigued by the journalism of vice , an independent media company and web site based in brooklyn , new york . motherboard.tv is vice 's site devoted to the overlap between culture and technology . the reports , which are being produced solely by vice , reflect a very transparent approach to journalism , where viewers are taken along on every step of the reporting process . we believe this unique approach is worthy of sharing with our cnn.com readers . brooklyn , new york -lrb- motherboard.tv -rrb- -- video game pioneer richard garriott resides in a castle-like mansion outside of austin , texas , that would be the fantasy dwelling for any grown-up kid . but his favorite place to live is a five-bedroom fixer-upper some 250 miles up . in 2008 , garriott parlayed his success in the video game industry into a lifelong dream : to fly to the international space station . `` literally , throughout my entire professional career , i 've been investing in the privatization of space , `` says garriott . `` helping to unlock the gates of private space travel . ''<doc-sep>he was n't the first -- the burst of the dot-com bubble led garriott to sell his spot to dennis tito . garriott would become the sixth private citizen to reach space , a distinction held only by a handful of people , including engineer and first self-funded woman and iranian citizen in space , anousheh ansari and entrepreneur/philanthropist/poker player guy lalibert . but do n't call them space tourists -- they 're `` spaceflight participants '' who 've paid millions and spent years in training -lrb- and learning russian -rrb- in preparation for orbit . see the rest of `` richard garriott a.k.a. lord british '' garriott 's salad days were spent nearby texas ' johnson space center , where his father , scientist and early space shuttle astronaut owen garriott was stationed . he grew up in a community of astronauts and rocket scientists , nurturing his belief that space would become a common destination for everyone -- sooner rather than later .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- richard garriott had more reason than most to dream the apollo moon landings would rapidly expand space travel . his father was a nasa astronaut , as were many of his neighbors near texas ' johnson space center . this is a rendering of xcor aerospace 's lynx , which would be used to send people on suborbital spaceflights . with nearly all of humanity still on earth nearly four decades later , the computer game developer paid $ 35 million for a ride aboard a russian soyuz spacecraft to the international space station . `` flight to space is an entire series of pinnacle life experiences , '' said garriott , a 48-year-old board member of space adventures , the company that arranged his 12-day trip last year . `` the view of the earth is life changing . '' garriott believes the united states has n't fulfilled the promise of the apollo program yet . `` it was an assumed future that we 'd all go to space -lsb- by now -rsb- , '' he said . `` that has n't come to pass , and it 's created this interesting evolution of spaceflight right now . '' that evolution involves the privatization of space , and although the prospect of a spacecraft in every garage is n't near , a few private firms are getting close to manned , commercial spaceflight . some companies , such as virgin galactic , aim to sell suborbital flights -- high enough to reach the edges of space and weightlessness -- within the next few years . the flights have varied purposes , including tourism and science experiments . a nevada company hopes to sell habitable space stations where paying clients would conduct scientific research . two relatively new u.s. aerospace companies were hired last year by nasa to send unmanned cargo to the international space station . nasa plans to retire the space shuttle at the end of 2010 and would n't be able to send crews to the space station for at least several years after that . `` i really view us and the private sector as the spiritual inheritors of apollo , '' said mike gold , director of the washington office of bigelow aerospace , the company developing the commercial space stations .<doc-sep>by . jonathan o'callaghan . an astronaut spending time alone on the iss gazes out into the cosmos when , suddenly , they feel themselves being hugged . no , this is n't the plot for a space romance movie , rather , it 's a scenario envisaged by unlimited theatre in west yorkshire . as part of a nasa contest they 've designed a spacesuit that can not only simulate the feeling of being hugged , but also give an astronaut live information about their home town . a team from west yorkshire has won one of the categories in nasa 's international space apps challenge by designing a prototype spacesuit for future astronauts -lrb- pictured with founder jon spooner inside -rrb- . the design includes inflatable shoulders that can be used to give the astronaut a ` wearable hug ' the contest is an annual nasa-run event called the international space apps challenge . taking place over two days in cities around the world , the contest sees teams attempt to solve problems related to both life on earth and space with open-source solutions . tim peake , currently training with esa , will be the first british astronaut to visit the iss when he launches in november 2015 . the first briton in space was helen sharman in november 1989 , who also became the first woman to visit the soviet union 's mir space station . no other solely british people have been to space , although there have been some with dual citizenship . of these four were british-american : michael foale -lrb- nine missions -rrb- , piers sellers -lrb- three missions -rrb- , nicholas patrick -lrb- two missions -rrb- and richard garriott -lrb- one paid mission -rrb- . and one other , michael shuttleworth , is a south african-brit who also paid to go to space . these take place within five themes : earth watch , technology in space , human spaceflight , robotics and asteroids . the team from the unlimited theatre , calling themselves the unlimited space agency , were taking part in a project to create wearable technologies for future astronauts at the met office 's site in exeter . to do so they consulted with british astronaut tim peake , who is set to travel to the iss on a 6-month mission in november 2015 . their final design , the team says , was to create a suit that was both uniquely useful for astronauts on the iss but also with applications on earth . the most interesting innovation was the ` wearable hug ' feature . a family member on earth could activate inflatable material in the shoulders of the suit to give the astronaut a simulated hug and let them know they 're being thought of .
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<t> richard garriott will fly with space adventures into space in october . </t> <t> training involves physical , practical and safety preparation . </t> <t> garriott says the toughest part is a spinning chair designed to make you vomit . </t> <t> learning to go to the toilet in space is part of the training . </t>
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training for civilian space travel is no picnic , garriott says<T>
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washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- some experts are skeptical that anything could have stopped robert hawkins from going on a murderous rampage at an omaha , nebraska , shopping mall on wednesday . a police car sits outside the westroads mall in omaha , nebraska , on thursday . `` this is not something that anybody can reasonably anticipate , '' said don greene , a former fbi agent who has written a book on mall security . `` if the people closest to him did n't see any indicators or signs that he was going to go off so drastically ... how is some public safety officer supposed to recognize this person ? '' greene asked . in fact , security at omaha 's westroads mall did find hawkins ' behavior suspicious before the shooting , omaha police chief thomas warren said thursday . mall surveillance initially flagged hawkins `` based on his actions '' when he entered the mall through the von maur store 's main entrance on the second floor , warren said . he said hawkins exited quickly after entering , then re-entered within six minutes and appeared to be concealing something in a balled-up sweatshirt . he then went up the elevator to the third floor , and when he got there , he immediately began firing , warren said . `` it does n't appear as though there was an opportunity for intervention , '' he said . shopping malls around the country were expected to review their emergency plans and consider additional security measures in light of wednesday 's shooting , which killed eight . watch what experts say about keeping malls safe '' `` there is always a fear of copycats when something like this happens , '' said malachy kavanaugh , spokesman for the international council of shopping centers . he said malls would be considering whether to close some entrances , bring in additional officers , and make security more visible . there are 1,200 enclosed malls in the united states and about 50,000 shopping centers . although some include police substations , most are patrolled by unarmed private mall and store security guards . should these private security guards be armed ? `` absolutely not , '' said greene . greene said if a security officer were to pull a gun on an armed individual in a mall , it could result in `` the gunfight at the ` ok corral , ' and then we might have 23 people killed instead of eight . '' `` these random events are very challenging to prevent and difficult to deal with when they occur . law enforcement and security prevention measures , no matter how good , can not forestall a tragedy such as this from happening , '' said a statement issued wednesday night by the simon property group , which operates regional and outlet malls across the united states . `` we do not disclose or discuss our enhanced security measures and/or procedures that we have in place or may institute at any given time , some of which are visible to the public , with others intentionally less noticeable , '' the statement said . `` disclosure of such information could potentially compromise our efforts to provide a safe and secure environment . '' security expert lou palumbo told cnn one useful strategy was having trained law enforcement personnel watching people as they enter the mall . `` you start to observe the people coming into the mall area , '' he said . `` to let them in your door and then try to figure out what they 're doing , you know , it 's not as effective as catching them as they 're coming in the door . '' the international council of shopping centers has conducted focus groups with shoppers to test how they would react to even tighter `` airport style '' security measures , including bag checks and magnetometers . according to kavanaugh , the results have shown that shoppers would accept the measures only if the national threat advisory system was raised to its highest level , red . such extreme measures are `` in the mall industry playbook ... but it is something no one wants to do , '' said kavanaugh . while some mall owners have increased training of security personnel and have upgraded their emergency systems , many security experts believe more should and can be done . those experts suggest it 's a matter of money . they say until shoppers start staying away , mall owners will not make significant changes . there are no national standards for security guards , and according to a 2006 study by the police foundation , only a few states require background checks , minimum hiring standards , or training . the study also notes that drills to test security staffs ' knowledge of what to do in an emergency , when done at all , `` are seldom rigorous , seldom done with first responders , and are usually done without clear standards to measure their success . '' the report goes on to say that `` many malls do not even have plans to limit access to sensitive areas in times of heightened alert . '' since that report was written , the international council of shopping centers , in conjunction with george washington university , has developed a dvd to train mall security guards . according to kavanaugh , about 6,000 of the nation 's estimated 20,000 mall security guards have participated in the course , including 10 at westroads mall , where wednesday 's shootings took place . the fbi and other federal agencies have reached out to private security firms to share information on best practices . the fbi also sends out alerts regarding possible threats to the private sector -- but warnings of possible terrorist plans are clearly of no help in anticipating an attacker like hawkins . e-mail to a friend . cnn 's jeanne meserve , eliott mclaughlin and kelli arena contributed to this report .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- in the wake of the westgate shopping mall horror in kenya , your local mall wants you to know it is doing everything possible to protect you . that 's bunk -- at least if you listen to one very knowledgeable former beat cop . malls boast of spending millions on security , but that security largely protects merchandise , not people , says dan murphy , a retired bloomington , minnesota , police officer . shopping malls can do a better job of protecting shoppers from shooters , and it does n't take metal detectors , full-body searches , bomb dogs , legions of security officers or a lot of money , he says -- it just takes the will . questions linger after kenya mall attack . murphy helped implement a security plan at bloomington 's mall of america , one of the nation 's largest shopping malls . the framework for the plan grew out of a disaster averted nearly a decade ago . in 2004 , murphy , then a patrol officer on the town 's east side , said he was sent to investigate a man who was giving polished stones and coins to children on a school playground . when murphy located the man a block away , he found the man 's van stocked with rifles and `` bags of ammunition . '' the man said he had been `` sent to earth by osama bin laden , '' murphy said . no one was harmed , but that was n't because of a quick , coordinated response by school and police officials . in fact , the response was a `` calamity of errors , '' murphy recalls .<doc-sep>but help is on the way -- in the form of a navigation system designed specially for shoppers . the ` shopnav ' system turns smartphones into miniature guides , leading users to the outlet they need via the quickest route . the system downloads three dimensional plans from the internet - and ` guides ' shoppers to their destinations inside shopping malls . there are several competing systems designed to prevent people being ` lost ' indoors - google and nokia champion versions where wi-fi networks and mobile phone networks offer rough ` positioning ' , whereas rosenberg 's system relies on a sensor that works out how far a person has walked . but the development raises privacy . concerns . armed with information about shoppers ' movements thanks to the . ips - indoor positioning systems - stores could bombard them with offers tailored to them . engineers funded by the german government , have designed an interior gps-style system that can be operated from an everyday smartphone .<doc-sep>opinion : nra 's video game smacks of hypocrisy . rare though they are , mass shootings often strike at schools , malls , churches , theaters -- places we all go in places we all live . one of the questions asked repeatedly after the newtown shooting is why lanza did what he did . to say that he was an evil young man who cruelly inflicted suffering on others simply because , in his mind , life had given him the shaft is not satisfying . we want to control the uncontrollable , predict the unpredictable . we want to understand why an impossible to understand event happened and give ourselves some illusion of control . if violent video games were some small but critical component of lanza 's motivation , why we could just get rid of such games and make this whole problem go away . it 's a tempting belief but absolutely wrong . tech : after newtown , shoppers think twice about violent video games . if we could make it legal to regulate violence in games , would that have stopped lanza or any of the other mass homicides through history ? no , not a one . we should not be distracted from looking for the real contributing factors to societal violence .<doc-sep>by . sean poulter . published : . 20:44 est , 2 february 2014 . | . updated : . 03:52 est , 3 february 2014 . supermarket workers have been given electronic listening devices so conversations with customers can be recorded . the system has been adopted by sainsbury 's at 600 of its ` local ' convenience stores as a safety measure to protect staff from violence and abuse . however , campaigners fear it is yet further evidence of a surveillance state that is invading the privacy of shoppers and could be abused . the system has been adopted by sainsbury 's at 600 of its ` local ' convenience stores as a safety measure to protect staff from violence and abuse . shoppers are already familiar with the cctv cameras that monitor their every move , plus the collection of information on buying habits through loyalty cards and the security tagging of everything from razor blades to premium steaks . now supermarkets are going even further and using the fob type listening devices , which are attached to uniforms or sit on a lanyard around the neck . sainsbury 's insists the monitoring system , which it calls a personal safety device , is entirely legal , above board and necessary to protect staff .
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<t> malls expected to assess security arrangements in wake of wednesday shooting . </t> <t> gunman at omaha , nebraska , mall killed 8 people and himself . </t> <t> some security experts say such incidents are impossible to anticipate . </t> <t> study by police foundation says training drills for mall guards are inadequate . </t>
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malls debate how to protect shoppers from violence<T>
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founded in 1805 in geneva , pictet & cie is today one of switzerland 's largest private banks , and one of the premier independent asset management specialists in europe . moreover , it is considered one of the leading independent asset management banks in europe . pictet & cie is a partnership owned and managed by eight general partners with unlimited liability for the bank 's commitments . `` banque de candolle mallet & cie '' was founded on 23 july 1805 . it was run by two partner-managers , jacob-michel françois de candolle and jacques-henry mallet , and three limited partners , jean-louis mallet , paul martin and jean-louis falquet .<doc-sep>following a period of relative stagnation , marked by two world wars and the economic depression of the 1930s , pictet & cie began to develop extensively from the 1950s on . despite the negative outlook in the aftermath of war , the western world experienced a period of prosperity and economic growth . geneva became one of the world 's leading diplomatic and financial centres . since the turn of the millennium , the pictet group has experienced some significant changes and events , such as its continued strong growth , the bank 's bicentennial in 2005 and , the following year , the inauguration of its new headquarters in acacias , geneva .<doc-sep>the company boasts more than chf 430 billion -lrb- $ 390 billion -rrb- in assets under management and custody as at end-september 2007 . the group employs over 2,800 people in the following locations : geneva , lausanne , zurich , barcelona , florence , frankfurt , madrid , milan , paris , london , luxembourg , rome , turin , montreal , nassau , dubai , singapore , hong kong and tokyo . e-mail to a friend .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- they 've been in the banking business for more than 200 years , pictet and company came to prominence when europe was booming , specializing in personalized , discrete banking services . senior managing partner of swiss bank pictet & cie , ivan pictet talks to cnn 's andrew stevens . since 1980 , the company has grown five-fold to be one of the biggest banks in switzerland . but growth has n't changed tradition says ivan pictet .<doc-sep>by . mark bryans , press association . formula one will return to mexico for the first time in 23 years after it was announced the autodromo hermanos rodriguez will be included on the 2015 calendar . there have been long-standing reports that f1 supremo bernie ecclestone has been negotiating with those who could put the wheels in motion for a comeback to the mexico city location and now events company corporacion interamericana de entretenimiento -lrb- cie -rrb- have confirmed a five-year deal has been struck . ` it is a fact , ' cie president alejandro soberon told a press conference at the banamex centre .<doc-sep>all the nominees ' pictures showcase the power of the camera when in the hands of master craftsmen . click here to view some of the short-listed images '' the winner will be announced by prix pictet honorary president , kofi annan , on october 22 at the passage de retz gallery in paris . all the short-listed photos can be seen at the same gallery for one month after the award . further exhibitions are planned in greece and dubai and the netherlands . if you ca n't attend the exhibitions , there is a book entitled `` earth , '' published by teneues which showcases the work of all prix pictet nominees .<doc-sep>darren almond 's ethereal images of china 's yellow mountain range are made all the more magical through the knowledge that they were shot using only the light of the moon . all the nominees ' pictures showcase the power of the camera when in the hands of master craftsmen . click here to view some of the short-listed images '' the winner will be announced by prix pictet honorary president , kofi annan , on october 22 at the passage de retz gallery in paris . all the short-listed photos can be seen at the same gallery for one month after the award . further exhibitions are planned in greece and dubai and the netherlands . if you ca n't attend the exhibitions , there is a book entitled `` earth , '' published by teneues which showcases the work of all prix pictet nominees .
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<t> pictet & cie is one of switzerland 's largest private banks , founded in 1805 . </t> <t> managed by eight general partners with unlimited liability for its commitments . </t> <t> in 2007 , pictet boasts more than $ 390 billion in assets under management , custody . </t>
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pictet ⁇ cie facts<T>
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editor 's note : reese witherspoon , the academy award-winning actress , is honorary chairman of the avon foundation and is employed by avon products as its global ambassador . reese witherspoon says she wants to banish the myth that young women are not at risk for breast cancer . -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- every three minutes in the united states , a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer . as a woman , a mother , and a daughter , i find that statistic terrifying . i was never naïve about breast cancer , but hearing this statistic put it all into perspective . women close to me have battled the disease and are now soldiers in the greater fight against it . but the moment i heard `` every three minutes , '' i felt vulnerable and scared as i realized that anyone is susceptible .<doc-sep>the only way for me to ease my fears was to take action . i needed to educate myself and others on this disease . as the honorary chair for the avon foundation , i had resources at my fingertips . i had access to an entire organization that is dedicated to giving back to women and educating people . so i started asking , `` what do i need to know ? '' it was through that curiosity that i found out the most important fact in breast cancer : early detection saves lives . according to the avon foundation breast cancer crusade , there is a 97 percent five-year survival rate when breast cancer is caught before it spreads to other parts of the body . when breast cancer first develops , there are usually no symptoms , which is why women need to perform self-exams regularly and contact their doctor upon noticing even the smallest change . of course talking about breast cancer and breast health is a personal thing . i too am a private person but encourage all women to break through their reservations and talk to their doctors and physicians .<doc-sep>we must also banish the myth that young women are not at risk for breast cancer . at the avon walk in washington , i met young survivors who were diagnosed in their 20s , an age when most women are graduating from college and just starting their lives as full adults . watch reese and larry at the avon walk '' women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam by a health professional at least once every three years and women 40 and older should have an exam every year . i am passionate about fighting this devastating disease . i fight for my mother , myself , my children and future generations of women , so one day we will not have to be afraid of breast cancer . i began my fight by learning important first steps in breast cancer detection , and will not end my fight until every woman can stand together saying we are breast cancer free . more than anything else , i have faith -- faith we will find a cure . i saw this commitment in the faces of the women in washington -- in the faces of the women walking and the women and men who stood on the sidelines encouraging the 3,500 participants to the finish line . i was cheering right along with them , screaming for action to find a cure . avon 's next walk will take place in new york city on october 4 and 5 .<doc-sep>editor 's note : reese witherspoon , the academy award-winning actress , is honorary chairman of the avon foundation and is employed by avon products as its global ambassador . reese witherspoon says she wants to banish the myth that young women are not at risk for breast cancer . -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- every three minutes in the united states , a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer . as a woman , a mother , and a daughter , i find that statistic terrifying . i was never naïve about breast cancer , but hearing this statistic put it all into perspective . women close to me have battled the disease and are now soldiers in the greater fight against it . but the moment i heard `` every three minutes , '' i felt vulnerable and scared as i realized that anyone is susceptible .<doc-sep>taylor `` attempted to crash the march 2011 wedding of reese witherspoon , but was denied entrance because she was not on the guest list , '' the petition said . `` i have since learned from friends and investigators that tricianne taylor has attempted to borrow money as ms. john witherspoon , '' her affidavit said . `` also , she is living in the condominium owned by my daughter reese . and she is driving our vehicles . i have also learned through an investigator that she has gotten my husband to sign a new will . '' reese witherspoon 's representative said `` no comment '' when cnn asked about the case . cnn has been unable to contact john witherspoon or taylor for comment . court filings do not identify their legal counsel .<doc-sep>anyone who has read cheryl strayed 's best-selling book wild knows that her hiking boots are a central part of the story . and now , following the release of the film interpretation starring reese witherspoon , rei has released the danner mountain light cascade boot , a replica of the author 's original footwear , for $ 299 . the shoes , which famously appears on the cover of the 2012 book , come in ` the exact box used in 1995 when cheryl strayed set off to hike 1,100 miles of the pacific crest trail . ' to be in her shoes : rei is selling the retro danner mountain light cascade boots worn by reese witherspoon 's character in wild -lrb- pictured -rrb- for $ 299 . vintage pair : the footwear comes in ` the exact box used in 1995 when cheryl strayed set off to hike 1,100 miles of the pacific crest trail ' the new shoes , a tribute to the iconic style originally introduced in the 1970s , were custom-made for reese to wear in the movie . in the memoir , cheryl suffers through several weeks and hundreds of miles of trekking while wearing a pair of boots that are a size too small .<doc-sep>reese witherspoon was arrested for disorderly conduct after allegedly resisting the orders of a police officer in atlanta , georgia , early on friday morning . the actress was jailed along with husband james toth after he failed to pass a sobriety test . the city 's department of corrections confirmed that the couple were arrested after toth was stopped by a patrol car under suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol . not her best angle : mugshots of reese witherspoon and her husband jim toth were both released on sunday after the pair were arrested on friday night . according to a police report released on sunday , reese was handcuffed and briefly jailed for refusing to obey orders given to her by an officer of the law . her husband was also put under arrest for a blood alcohol level reported to be .139 , well above the legal limit of 0.08 . reese , 37 , and toth , 42 , were released on bail at 3:30 in the morning on friday . jailed : reese and husband jim , pictured here in december , were arrested by atlanta police , on friday . before their release , the couple both posed for mugshots . reese , who is currently brunette , is pictured looking down with what appears to be a slight smirk across her face . meanwhile , her beau looks up to the camera in his picture , appearing somewhat glassy-eyed . their initial legal hearing for their arrests is set for monday morning in the atlanta municipal court . it was initially thought reese and jim would be in court on monday morning in atlanta . however tmz reports the couple 's cases have been postponed , with reese 's set for may 22 and jim 's for may 23 . arrest report : an arrest report listing both reese and jim 's offenses was also released on sunday . detailed : the documents detail how the oscar winning actress and her beau had a run in with a georgia state patrol officer in the early hours of friday april 19 . play-by-play : it goes on to explain reese 's play-by-play reaction to her husband 's arrest . the family is currently residing in atlanta to shoot reese 's new movie the good lie . toth was apprehended after midnight on friday for recklessly weaving across peachtree street in the city of atlanta . the police report alleges that the hollywood agent smelled of alcohol and appeared ` disheveled ' . after pulling the dui suspect over , a sobriety test was conducted in a walgreens parking lot . reese is said to have been warned to remain inside her vehicle , while her husband was subjected to the dui test . moving on : reese and jim were seen attending a screening of her new film mud in new york on sunday night just hours after their arrests . the officer on the scene claims that the actress became clearly agitated and eventually disobeyed his verbal commands . the officer reported : ` mrs. witherspoon began to hang out the window and say that she did not . believe that i was a real police officer . ' the law enforcer explained in the report : ` i told mrs. witherspoon to sit on her butt and be quiet . ' but . once toth was handcuffed , the mother-of-three disembarked from her . seat , telling the officer that she was a ` us citizen ' and that she had . the right to ` stand on american ground ' . disorderly conduct : reese was arrested for allegedly disregarding an officer 's orders while her husband was handcuffed for failing a sobriety test , the family pictured in tennessee with their son , in march . the report then described how reese resisted him as he grabbed her arms to arrest her . toth is said to have made a verbal attempt to calm his hysterical wife . the . officer 's report further details : ` mrs. witherspoon asked , `` do you know . my name ? '' i answered , `` no , i do n't need to know your name . '' i then . added , `` right now . '' mrs. witherspoon stated , `` you 're about to find out . who i am . ''' tight couple : the famous pair were released on bail early friday morning , pictured at cannes film festival , in may last year . according to the arresting officer : . ` mrs. witherspoon also stated , `` you are going to be on national news . '' i . advised mrs. witherspoon that was fine . ' toth is said to be facing charges for driving under the influence and failure to stay within his lane while on the road . while reese 's alleged violation is ` disorderly conduct -lrb- obstruction -rrb- ' , which falls under municipal ordinance . on location : reese on set , in early april , shooting the good lie in atlanta , georgia .
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<t> `` every three minutes '' statistic made witherspoon feel `` vulnerable '' and `` scared '' </t> <t> oscar-winning actress : young women are not exempt from the disease . </t> <t> witherspoon emphasizes importance of early detection and regular screenings . </t>
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reese witherspoon : ` anyone is susceptible ' to breast cancer<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- ireporters have a message for richard wright : shine on , you crazy diamond . jessica schuette 's tattoo reminds her of her late friend , who was a big fan of pink floyd . wright , a founding member of epic rock group pink floyd , died monday . the keyboardist had been battling cancer and succumbed at his home in britain . wright is credited with writing some of the band 's most well-known hits , such as `` the great gig in the sky '' and `` us and them . '' pink floyd has thousands of devoted fans across the world , and the news of wright 's death inspired many of them to write into ireport to share how richard wright and the rest of the group touched and changed their lives . jessica schuette shared a photo of her pink floyd-inspired tattoo : a shimmering diamond above the words `` shine on . '' she got the tattoo in 2005 in memory of her best friend , who died in a car accident . `` this was her favorite song . i got this tattoo to remember her , '' schuette said . `` if that does n't say something about the impact that this band has had on people , i do n't know what will . ''<doc-sep>pink floyd touched the lives of schuette and her friend even though they were never able to see one of the band 's legendary live shows . schuette , who is a dedicated pink floyd fan herself , pointed out that she 's only 21 -- born 13 years after they released the epic album `` dark side of the moon , '' and too young to have seen the band live when they were touring . ireport.com : read more of schuette 's thoughts . omar pelea of miami , florida , hopes the tragedy of wright 's death will give schuette and other fans their long-awaited chance to see the group live . he hopes the death will inspire the other members of pink floyd to begin touring again . pink floyd has not toured with lead singer and songwriter roger waters since 1981 , although rogers reunited with the band in 2005 for a concert at live 8 in london . `` now would be a good time for the remaining members to contemplate the fact that a reunion is running short on time , '' he said . `` there are bigger things in life than their differences . perhaps they should put those differences aside and play for the world one last time . '' `` to me , pink floyd is the greatest band ever to play on this earth , '' he added . ireport.com : pelea compares wright to the late george harrison . long-time pink floyd fan pamela keenan had the chance to perform some of the group 's greatest works herself . she is a member of endicott performing arts center , a theatre company in endicott , new york , that has performed its own adaptations of `` the wall '' and `` dark side of the moon . '' `` we had a band on the stage with us . we had images and films projected on the back of the stage and we had full choreography and vocals for all the songs from each album , '' she said . `` i listened to all of the music over and over again as a teen , but to be able to perform it in my 30s brought a new respect for the lyrics and the sheer musical genius . '' ireport.com : see a pink floyd-themed bike ride .<doc-sep>keenan described pink floyd as `` one of the greatest bands that 's ever been in existence , '' but thinks the group is underrated by mainstream society today . `` children are n't exposed to it anymore , '' she said . `` my kids are exposed to it because we did the shows -- and they love it . '' ireport.com : keen recalls pink floyd stage show . `` i credit pink floyd for being a big part of my imagination , '' said dean spiegal , who creates psychedelic videos inspired by the group 's music . `` floyd was not a band , it was an experience . they did not make music for the people , they made music for their minds . '' ireport.com : watch spiegel 's video tribute . and eric beck put it simply : . `` it changed my life . it changed my life , '' he said of `` dark side of the moon . '' `` rick wright made a major contribution to my life . and i will forever be so grateful to him and the rest of the band . '' ireport.com : beck shares his memories via webcam .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- ireporters have a message for richard wright : shine on , you crazy diamond . jessica schuette 's tattoo reminds her of her late friend , who was a big fan of pink floyd . wright , a founding member of epic rock group pink floyd , died monday . the keyboardist had been battling cancer and succumbed at his home in britain . wright is credited with writing some of the band 's most well-known hits , such as `` the great gig in the sky '' and `` us and them . '' pink floyd has thousands of devoted fans across the world , and the news of wright 's death inspired many of them to write into ireport to share how richard wright and the rest of the group touched and changed their lives . jessica schuette shared a photo of her pink floyd-inspired tattoo : a shimmering diamond above the words `` shine on . '' she got the tattoo in 2005 in memory of her best friend , who died in a car accident .<doc-sep>obama 's afghanistan plan -- ireporters certainly were n't at a loss for words when it came to president obama 's recent decision to send 30,000 more troops into afghanistan . some believed that he was right in listening to his generals and doing exactly that . others said that it was time for the troops to come home . no matter how ireporters felt about the issue , it was certainly a spirited debate . chemical disaster -- we looked at powerful international stories this week . one video commemorated the 25th anniversary of a chemical gas disaster in bhopal , india . on december 3 , 1984 , 40 tons of poisonous chemicals escaped a union carbide chemical plant . ireporter joel gershon told us people are still suffering health problems from the tragedy , and he interviewed people who remember the accident and are feeling its effects .<doc-sep>they were innocent times compared to the rock excesses of later years . drink and drugs were for the really louche . ` we 'd spend our days in coffee bars , which were great meeting places . there were very few clubs to go to at night , and they were places to hear new groups rather than get off your head . we 'd go to parties , but they did n't really do anything for us . ` there was very little outrageous behaviour , although i can remember us checking out of hotels in the morning and seeing the lounge piano balanced on the end of the diving board over the pool . did we do that ? who knows ... but we never got into the really wild stuff like throwing tvs out of the window . ' tony and drummer bobby elliott are the only remaining original members of the group 's classic line-up , and even they had replaced previous members as the group began to take off . bass guitarist eric haydock left in 1966 , followed two years later by graham nash , to become part of the supergroup crosby , stills & nash , while singer allan clarke has retired . there have been many stand-out moments in the last 50 years , says tony , not least an ivor novello award in 1993 for their outstanding contribution to british music , and their induction into the american rock 'n' roll hall of fame in 2010 . for a group as clean-cut as the hollies , some of the rock wildness that was played out before them was an eye-opener . jetset : the hollies - -lrb- from left -rrb- bobby elliot , graham nash , bernie calvert , allan clarke and tony hicks - at heathrow , departing for an american tour . on stage , at the albert hall : -lrb- from left -rrb- graham nash , allan clark , eric haydock , tony hicks and bobby elliot . ` in new york we were appearing with little richard . he was a crazy guy . one night backstage i found a cop holding a gun to richard 's head , telling him to calm down . big trouble all round , but i never found out what that was all about . ` richard had a fantastic backing guitarist who was obviously destined for greater things . his name ? jimi hendrix . he got a reputation for smashing his guitar on stage and setting fire to everything . i ca n't see health and safety allowing that now .<doc-sep>by . joshua gardner . a man who spent his vacation giving away $ 50 and $ 100 to dozens of need canadians last week has been tossed into a mental institution . after certain recipients of richard wright 's rare generosity decided the prince edward island man could be mentally ill , they called authorities thursday and wright was hauled away for evaluation . now his daughter has started an online campaign to get her father out of the institution and claims he 's perfectly sane and just wanted to share ` some extra money . ' unfair ? prince edward island man richard wright was tossed into a psych ward on thursday not long after dozens of reports emerged that he was giving away hundreds of dollars to dozens of strangers last week . wants her dad back : wright 's daughter has taken to facebook to raise awareness of her dad 's detainment , which she says is unfair and unnecessary . ` he did nothing illegal , he was simply helping some people out . since when did being a nice person make you end up in the hospital , ' wrote chelsey wright on the facebook page she created , #opfreerichardwright . ' richard 's troubles began while he was vacationing with family in halifax . dozens of people started taking to social media to report a mystery man who gave them $ 50 , $ 100 and in some cases valuable silver bullion coins simply because he wanted to help them out . chelsey told metro news that he saved up for a long time for his charity spree . but that did n't seem to matter after reports came that the modern day robin hood spreading the wealth around town may have been mentally ill . ` they think he is sick and has mental . issues , ' chelsey wrote on sunday . ' i know he does not . he plans to . hopefully attain legal help tomorrow . ` we . are keeping our fingers crossed . my dad is honestly a great guy . he has . always been good to people , and he simply just wanted to help people . out . ' since she created #opfreerichardwright , over 3,000 people have joined the group and more are joining all the time . among his supporters are the people wright helped along the way , including . jennifer . corbett , who received $ 150 and a promise that ` things will get better ' from wright . she even called him at the psych ward in charlottetown to . wish him well . ' i do n't . think it 's fair that this happened , ' corbett told metro . ' i mean do you . think that people are going to want to do good after this ? ' authorities wo n't comment on wright 's case for privacy reasons , but health officials said in a release : . ' a patient is always admitted at the clinical recommendation of a physician who has met with and assessed the patient . ' among the grateful recipients of wright 's kindness were bill mcnamara and june bond , who received two $ 50 bills and two valuable silver bullion coins -lrb- held by abigail , 3 -rrb- . recipients like them have become strong supporters of wright 's .
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<t> pink floyd fans shared their memories of late keyboardist richard wright . </t> <t> ireporters include theater company member who paid tribute to the band . </t> <t> jimi lee remembers the first time he heard `` dark side of the moon '' </t> <t> share your memories of pink floyd and wright at ireport.com . </t>
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ireporters remember rock great richard wright<T>
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washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the united kingdom has mi-5 , which roots out spies and terrorists in the british isles . the rand corporation said one option would be for domestic intelligence to operate under the fbi . canada has csis -- the canadian security intelligence service . now congress is asking : should the u.s. have its own domestic intelligence agency ? on monday , at the request of congress , the rand corporation outlined the pros and cons of establishing a domestic intelligence agency . it also discussed different ways to organize a new entity , either as part of an existing department or as a new agency . but there 's one thing you wo n't find in the report -- a recommendation on what to do . `` we were not asked to make a recommendation , and this assessment does not do so , '' the report says . instead , says rand 's gregory treverton , the report provides a `` framework '' for policymakers to use when deciding whether and how to reorganize counter-intelligence efforts at home .<doc-sep>rand is a nonprofit think tank seeking to help improve policy and decision making through objective research and analysis . collecting intelligence domestically always has been a sensitive issue , at least partially because of episodic abuses by the government , notably against civil rights leaders , unions , antiwar organizations or even communists and hate groups . but the september 11 , 2001 , terrorist attacks renewed calls for increased domestic intelligence to prevent future attacks . critics said that in the lead-up to the attacks , the fbi devalued counterterrorism agents and failed to heed signs that an attack was imminent . `` if you did n't carry a gun , you did n't count so much , '' treverton said . after the attacks , the fbi moved to transform its primary mission from law enforcement to counterterrorism intelligence and prevention . it now focuses on terrorism through its national security branch and the national counterterrorism center . the rand report focuses on two options to the current system . in one , a new agency would be created using intelligence agencies from the fbi , department of homeland security and intelligence community . a second option is to create an `` agency within an agency '' in the fbi or dhs .<doc-sep>the first option would result in an organization with a clear , unambiguous mission , and might be able to draw on a more diverse recruitment pool , such as linguists and historians who are not normally attracted to law enforcement . on the flip side , such massive reorganizations typically involve political compromises that could affect its performance . the second option -- an `` agency within an agency '' -- could involve less short-term disruption , but could be hindered by a `` lack of clarity of a single mission , '' the report says . rand also suggests a range of actions short of reorganization that could improve domestic intelligence gathering , such as increasing resources , improving leadership and changing bureaucratic cultures . the report does not assess the fbi 's performance since 9/11 , treverton said , but he believes congress should seek an independent assessment . a panel of experts that rand convened guessed that the probability of a terrorist attack had decreased about one-third since the september 11 , 2001 . but `` they were not enthusiastic about alternatives '' to current counterterrorism organizations . in a cautionary note , the report says that while public acceptance of domestic intelligence activities is imperative , public attitudes about what is considered acceptable `` can both be fragile and shift significantly over time . '' `` public demand for domestic intelligence is driven by the perceived threat , and those perceptions can change much more rapidly than the threat itself , '' the report says . for instance , immediately after the 9/11 attacks , 49 percent of people surveyed were worried `` a great deal '' about more attacks . two years later , that had dropped to 25 percent .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the united states -- in partnership with its ally canada -- spied during a pair of major 2010 summits of world leaders in toronto , cbc reported , citing top secret documents obtained from whistleblower edward snowden . both the g8 and g20 summits were held in june 2010 in canada 's most populated city . and both times , america 's national security agency conducted widespread surveillance that was `` closely coordinated with the canadian partner , '' according to cbc 's account of a briefing note from the u.s. spy agency . the multi-day spying operation focused at making sure meeting sites were safe , protecting against terrorist threats and `` providing support to policymakers , '' a nsa briefing document states , according to the canadian news outlet . the national security agency and the office of director of national intelligence , president barack obama 's top intelligence adviser , did not respond thursday to cnn requests for comment on the cbc report . ottawa 's communications security establishment canada , or csec , did not comment to the cbc , according to that news outlet .<doc-sep>he observed recommended a survey of communications intelligence activities after observing ` control over , and coordination of , the collection . and processing of communications intelligence had proved ineffective . ' then-president president harry s. truman authorized the agency 's creation in june 1952 - he understood the importance of a central spy body as america had become a . dominant power on a global stage , facing global responsibilities and . threats . u.s. efforts had led to breaking german and japanese codes in the second world war , success against the german u-boat threat in the north atlantic , and . victory in the battle of midway in the pacific . as war raged in korea , the creation of nsa allowed the defense . department to consolidate cryptologic support to military operations , . and to meet challenges that the nation would face in the cold war . the agency ran the the venona project - a long-running secret collaboration betwqeen the u.s and the u.k involving cryptanalysis of messages sent by intelligence agencies of the soviet union . technology evolving : staffers chat as they stand next to the nsa supercomputers in the 1970s . america 's sensitive secrets : an nsa staffer at work in 1971 using a console at the agency . demonstration : vadm inman and ms. ann caracristi listen to hall of honor cryptologist frank b. rowlett describe the enigma machine . growing agency : the nsa continued to expand into the 1980s , as seen in this aerial headquarters of its headquarters . in 1953 , the venona project exposed a massive soviet espionage effort that threatened national security . the nsa moved to ft. meade in 1957 - one reason the site was . selected was because it was deemed far enough away from the capital in . case of a nuclear strike . in 1960 the agency was rocked after two employees william hamilton martin and bernon f. mitchell , defected to the soviet union . the alarming revelation prompted tighter personnel security measures . the agency 's signals intelligence .<doc-sep>by . reuters reporter . a classified u.s. senate report found that the cia 's legal justification for the use of harsh interrogation techniques that critics say amount to torture was based on faulty legal reasoning , mcclatchy news service reported on thursday . the central intelligence agency also issued erroneous claims about how many people it subjected to techniques such as simulated drowning , or ` water boarding , ' according to the news service , citing conclusions from the senate select committee on intelligence report obtained by mcclatchy . the report also concluded that the cia used interrogation methods that were not approved by its own headquarters or the u.s. justice department , impeded white house oversight and actively evaded oversight both by congress and its own inspector general . the cia also provided false information to the u.s. justice department , which used that information to conclude that the methods would not break the law because those applying them did not specifically intend to inflict severe pain or suffering , the report added . military police at camp x-ray on the naval base at guantanamo bay , cuba , bring a detainee to an interrogation room on february 6 , 2002 . a new report about how the cia handled terror suspects after september 11 has been leaked , however it is not clear what location it pertains to . the report says the cia 's were brutal and far worse than the agency communicated to policymakers '<doc-sep>the . journal said the agency keeps the content of some emails sent between . u.s. citizens and also filters domestic phone calls made over the . internet in the hunt for foreign intelligence . the nsa 's filtering , carried out with telecom companies , looks for communications that either originate or end abroad , or are entirely foreign but happen to be passing through the united states , the paper said . but officials told the journal the system 's broad reach makes it more likely that purely domestic communications will be incidentally intercepted and collected in the hunt for foreign ones . interception : a general view of the former nsa monitoring base in bad aibling , germany . much of the agency 's monitoring is aimed at foreign intelligence . in response to a request for comment , . nsa said its intelligence mission ` is centered on defeating foreign .
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<t> nonprofit think tank rand outlines pros and cons at request of congress . </t> <t> group says government could create new agency specifically for domestic intel . </t> <t> other option includes agency operating under homeland security or fbi . </t> <t> september 11 attacks renewed calls for domestic intel to help prevent future ones . </t>
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u.s. policymakers mull creation of domestic intelligence agency<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- republican vice presidential nominee gov. sarah palin vowed on tuesday to use her executive experience to tackle government reform and energy independence if she and sen. john mccain win this year 's presidential election . alaska gov. sarah palin speaks with cnn 's drew griffin tuesday . `` it 's going to be government reform because that , that is what i 've been able to do as a mayor and as a governor , you , you take on the special interests and the self-dealings . yep , you ruffle feathers and you have the scars to prove it , '' palin said tuesday in an interview with cnn 's drew griffin . `` you have to take that on to give the american people that faith back in their own government . this is their government and we 've got to put it back on their side , '' she said . palin said she and mccain , the republican presidential nominee , discussed the possibility of her working on the issue of energy independence if she becomes vice president . watch palin talk about potential plans for the vice-presidency '' `` that 's been my forte as the governor of an energy producing state and as a former chair of the , of the energy regulator -- entity up there in alaska , '' she said . '' -lsb- i -rsb- look forward to that and that 's a matter of national security and , and our economic prosperity opportunities . '' palin also said helping families with special needs children and cleaning up wall street were among the other `` missions '' she and mccain had discussed . palin emphasized her executive credentials as mayor of wasilla , alaska , and governor of alaska , contrasting them with what she said was sen. barack obama 's lack of leadership experience . `` we do n't like to toot our own horn so we do n't , '' palin said . `` but , i have , i do have more experience than barack obama does . you know , he had served for his 300 days before he became a presidential candidate and that was n't in , in executive office . '' watch palin say she has more experience than obama ''<doc-sep>palin also apologized tuesday for any misunderstanding caused when she referred last week to the patriotic values of `` the real america '' and `` pro-america areas of this great nation . '' democrats and others criticized palin for seeming to imply that some parts of the country are more patriotic than others . palin denied that was her intention in an interview with cnn on tuesday . `` i do n't want that misunderstood , '' palin said . `` if that 's the way it came across , i apologize . '' the alaska governor made the remarks at a fundraising event in north carolina last week . `` we believe that the best of america is in these small towns that we get to visit , and in these wonderful little pockets of what i call the real america , being here with all of you hard-working , very patriotic , very pro-america areas of this great nation , '' she told the crowd . on tuesday , palin also addressed democratic vice presidential nominee sen. joe biden 's comment that sen. barack obama would be tested from the very beginning of his time in office . at a fundraiser sunday night , biden said that after taking office , `` it will not be six months before the world tests barack obama like they did john kennedy . ... we 're going to have an international crisis , a generated crisis , to test the mettle of this guy . '' palin told griffin that the comment points to the dangers of electing a relatively inexperienced person . `` we need to thank joe -lsb- biden -rsb- for the warning , '' palin said . watch palin say the media gave biden a pass ''<doc-sep>biden 's point , according to a statement issued later , was that `` we need steady leadership in tumultuous times , not ... the stubborn ideology of john mccain . '' palin stopped short of labeling obama a socialist tuesday , although she and others have previously called his tax policies socialist . `` i 'm not going to call him a socialist , but as ` joe the plumber ' has said , it looks like socialism to him , '' she said of joe `` the plumber '' wurzelbacher . the gop ticket and their supporters have invoked joe the plumber numerous times ever since the ohio man confronted obama about his tax policy in an impromptu campaign moment . palin said wurzelbacher is representative of `` jane the engineer and molly the dental hygienist and chuck the teacher . '' obama defended his decision to raise taxes on couples earning more than $ 250,000 a year while cutting taxes for people with lower incomes , telling wurzelbacher that `` when you spread the wealth around , it 's good for everybody . '' palin said the policy was `` not good for the entrepreneurial spirit that has built this great country , '' the economy or small businesses . watch the entire interview with gov. sarah palin '' obama brushed off mccain and palin 's characterization on sunday in fayetteville , north carolina . `` john mccain thinks that giving these americans a break is socialism , '' obama said . `` well , i call it opportunity , and there is nothing more american than that . ''<doc-sep>palin plans to unleash a furious criticism of `` crony capitalism '' and attack the `` permanent political class '' in both parties : thinly veiled criticisms of texas gov. rick perry , who has surged to the top of most polls for the republican presidential nomination . political opponents have long accused perry , who has held some form of elected office since 1985 , of rewarding his allies and campaign donors with plum government posts and contracts . though she has no plans to mention perry or any other republican presidential hopeful by name , palin will implicitly contrast herself against the current crop of gop candidates and further define her brand in case she does decide to run . palin , who has said she plans to make a decision about the race by late september , will not announce a presidential bid saturday . the speech almost did n't happen . palin had initially accepted an invitation to speak at the restoring america event in indianola , which generated national buzz when it was announced last month . palin supporters from across the country are traveling to the state by plane and bus for the speech , and the governor is likely to speak to them in des moines on friday evening at a meet-up organized by the online hub conservatives4palin .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- politicians are in plentiful supply this memorial day as the ramp-up to the 2012 presidential election begins in earnest . former alaska gov. sarah palin , who began a nationwide bus tour sunday , generated plenty of buzz , visiting fort mchenry in baltimore and mount vernon in virginia on monday . she told cnn on monday that she plans to take her `` one nation '' bus tour to iowa , the state that votes first in the race for the republican presidential nomination . `` i 'm sure at some point i will be going to iowa , '' palin said . the 2008 republican vice presidential nominee told reporters earlier on monday she is `` still kind of contemplating '' a white house run . `` i think any republican candidate is very , very electable , '' she said . `` i think americans are ready for true change . '' palin 's memorial day schedule was also expected to take her to the battlefield at gettysburg , pennsylvania . as of 5 p.m. et she had n't arrived yet , but more than 100 people were waiting , some for hours . over the next few days , palin 's `` one nation '' bus tour is also scheduled to make stops at historic sites in massachusetts and new hampshire , the latter home to the nation 's first primary . `` this is n't a campaign bus , '' she said . `` this is a bus to be able to express to america how much we appreciate our foundation , and to invite more people to be interested in all that is good about america . '' `` we do n't need to fundamentally transform america , '' she added . `` we need to restore what 's good about america . '' rep. michele bachmann of minnesota , who would compete with palin for tea party support should she run , was attending memorial day events in new hampshire . she has already hired staff in iowa , new hampshire and south carolina -- all key states that hold early caucuses or primaries . bachmann has promised to make a presidential announcement during june in waterloo , iowa , the town where she was born . former minnesota gov. and republican presidential candidate tim pawlenty , who announced his candidacy last week , was spending the day in iowa , including a stop at a pancake breakfast in waukee . former massachusetts gov. mitt romney , who is expected to announce his presidential bid on thursday in new hampshire , did not share his memorial day plans . he did release a statement , however , praising both veterans and current military service members . `` as we observe memorial day , we owe thanks to the many americans who have fought and died to defend our country , '' romney said . `` those patriots who are on the battlefields today or have gone to battlefields in the past , some never to return , have left us a stronger country , a great nation that , whatever its divisions , shines as a beacon of liberty before the peoples of the world . ''<doc-sep>it was on a politico blog with the . headline ` sarah palin team reaching out to iowa activists for meetings ' that former iowa gop executive director and prominent conservative chuck . laudner told politico that a ` palin backer ' contacted him about . attending a mingling session after the film . several other prominent gop activists also told real clear politics that they had not been contacted regarding potential sit-downs with palin while she is visiting the important early nominating state . the majority of the documentary details palin 's early political career using old news archives and interviews with conservatives and palin allies such as thomas van flein , now a capitol hill staffer . the movie opens with a photo montage and home videos showing palin as a young girl and in her early teens . the million-dollar project is set for national release in july . palin is said to have already seen a rough cut of the movie . in a statement released by the movie 's distributor , the 47-year-old said she looks ` forward to seeing the finished film for the first time with fellow americans from the heartland ' . the undefeated is not the only documentary about the possible presidential candidate . british filmmaker nick broomfield is shopping a documentary that examines palin 's life and rise to prominence through interviews with her parents , friends , and colleagues . it is thought that the filmmaker has painted a scathing portrait of palin . american filmmaker stephen bannon has put together a flattering portrait of palin which is said to present her as a joan of arc-like figure . he relies on interviews with her allies in alaska and sympathetic conservative commentators in an unapologetic defence of palin . it charts her rise from wasilla mayor to alaska governor in what is described as a ` zero-warts ' version of her rise through the political ranks and borrows heavily from her autobiography going rogue . palin is portrayed as a national heroine , beset by vicious left-wing enemies seeking to thwart her heroic attempts to revive reagan 's conservative legacy . it incorporates previously unseen footage from her childhood and early years as an elected official with the end focusing on her as a tea party hero who is ` the type of leader this country needs ' . the undefeated shows her as a republican operating outside the party 's traditional men 's club power structure and questions the manhood of gop leaders for not defending her after the 2008 election . it will be premiered in iowa tonight and open nationwide on july 15 . english filmmaker nick broomfield has vowed to unveil the ` real ' sarah palin in his as-yet-untitled film about her . it is said to examine her life and rise to prominence through interviews with her parents , friends and colleagues . in a preview from the clip ex-legislative director john bitney and ex-senate president lyda green complain about her habit of using her blackberry during meetings . bitney said that it was ` frustrating ' to set up a meeting with her saying she was ` just very unengaged in the conversation ' and often ` just was n't listening ' . green also reiterates this saying : ' i never felt that sarah was ever connected to the business in the building . she generally had her two blackberries and was texting most of the time . ' the influential u.s. independent film producer cassian elwes last week tweeted : ` just saw nick broomfield 's film on sarah palin . wow . its going to change the presidential race . ' it is due to be screened in los angeles next week for potential buyers . palin has yet to give any definitive indication as to whether or not she intends to enter the 2012 presidential race but appearing in iowa will undoubtedly excite her supporters . michelle bachmann launched her campaign in the state yesterday and president obama is also speaking to voters in the first in the nation caucus state . last week , in response to rumours that she shut down her one nation bus tour and ditched plans of a presidential bid , palin took to facebook to assert that she plans to get back on the road this summer . she revealed that her plans had been delayed by her being called for jury duty . according to her website , after iowa she is helping her daughter bristol sign copies of her memoir not afriad of life : my journey so far , before going back to alaska for duty .<doc-sep>the onetime republican vice presidential candidate who quit her job as alaska 's governor wrote on tuesday that president barack obama should be forced out of his white house gig . ` enough is enough of the years of abuse . from this president , ' she wrote . ` his unsecured border crisis is the last straw that . makes the battered wife say , `` no mas '' . ' ` the many impeachable offenses of barack obama can no longer be ignored . if after all this he 's not impeachable , then no one is . ' her demand rocketed around the political world , attracting thousands of tweets and keeping the tea party darling in the public eye -- which may be what she wants . scroll down for video . former alaska governor sarah palin has riled up the tea party troops by demanding the impeachment of president barack obama . not fazed : obama met with nato secretary general anders fogh rasmussen in the oval office on tuesday , and the white house has n't commented on palin 's red-meat essay . mocking obama is nothing new for palin -- in march she compared the bear-wrestling russian president vladimir putin to obama ` who wears mom jeans ' -- but she is the highest-profile republican yet to call for his ouster . palin hosts a sportsman channel reality tv show called ` amazing america , ' a program that was renewed on monday for a second season . she also planted a seed in hollywood last week , throwing her hat into the ring as a potential future hire to replace one of the fired co-hosts on the talk show ` the view . ' rosie o'donnell , the outspoken liberal former comedian , was signed on tuesday to take one slot alongside actress whoopi goldberg , according to tmz . but the show 's producers are reportedly still looking to add a hispanic woman and a conservative . palin told the hollywood reporter on monday that the show would benefit from her ` real-life groundedness -lsb- sic -rsb- , candor and commonsense . ' ' i hear everyone recently got canned from the view , ' she said . ' -lsb- m -rsb- aybe a show like that needs a punch of reality and a voice of reason from america 's heartland to knock some humble sense into their scripts . ' but a day later it 's palin 's verbal punch in the nose to the commander-in-chief that has washington , d.c. tongues wagging . ` without borders , there is no nation . obama knows this , ' palin wrote in her essay at breitbart.com .
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<t> new : if elected , palin says she will address energy issues , government reform . </t> <t> new : palin says she has more executive experience than sen. barack obama . </t> <t> palin says she did not intend to imply that parts of america more patriotic than others . </t> <t> palin made the controversial remarks at a rally in north carolina last week . </t>
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palin discusses potential plans for america<T>
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new delhi , india -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- more than a dozen trucks loaded with fruits , spices and other goods tuesday crossed the line dividing kashmir as india and pakistan opened a symbolic trade route in the disputed region for the first time in more than 60 years . kashmiris watch as indian trucks cross into the border town of chakothi in pakistani-administered kashmir . to cheers and band music , the first trucks rumbled from the pakistani side across a white bridge to a brightly decorated trade center festooned . apple-laden indian trucks heading the other way were also warmly welcomed . it is hoped the move will ease tensions in the troubled himalayan region , which has been a conflict flashpoint between nuclear-armed neighbors india and pakistan who both lay claims to the territory . `` today , we have regained our lost market , '' said ghulam rasool bhat , president of the kashmir fruit growers ' association . watch more about the historic day ''<doc-sep>`` we are sending the sweet kashmir apple as the first consignment . this is sure to sweeten the relation between the two neighbors . the beginning of the trade between the two kashmirs will further improve the relations and lead to a peaceful resolution of the bitter problem , '' he said . the trucks were subjected to thorough security checks before they crossed the bridge , one of the few crossing points in the heavily militarized 742-kilometer -lrb- 460-mile -rrb- line of control , the de facto frontier that divides the region . kashmir has been a major source of dispute between india , and pakistan since the two countries were partitioned at the end of british rule in 1947 . muslim kashmiris sided with pakistan to the north , while the hindu south joined india . for the past 18 years , kashmir has been wracked by a bloody separatist campaign . authorities say up to 43,000 people have died , but rights groups and non-governmental organizations put the death toll at twice that . violence had dropped off since the countries began a peace process in 2004 , but it surged after the state government in indian-controlled kashmir announced plans in june to donate land for a hindu shrine .<doc-sep>muslim protests following the decision prompted a government u-turn that triggered hindu demonstrations calling for it to be restored . subsequent violence left 40 dead and hundreds wounded . it is hoped tuesday 's route opening will bolster the peace agreement and combat lingering mistrust between india and pakistan . a bilateral cease-fire has been holding in the region for more than four years . a bus service connecting the divided kashmir began amid much fanfare in 2005 but struggled under the weight of elaborate security checks and stifling bureaucracy . `` this is a great emotional moment , as it brings to mind my grandfather , who used to drive lorries on this road , '' said muzhar hussain naqvi , who drove the leading pakistani truck . cnn 's sara sidner and mukhtar ahmad contributed to this report .<doc-sep>new delhi , india -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- more than a dozen trucks loaded with fruits , spices and other goods tuesday crossed the line dividing kashmir as india and pakistan opened a symbolic trade route in the disputed region for the first time in more than 60 years . kashmiris watch as indian trucks cross into the border town of chakothi in pakistani-administered kashmir . to cheers and band music , the first trucks rumbled from the pakistani side across a white bridge to a brightly decorated trade center festooned . apple-laden indian trucks heading the other way were also warmly welcomed . it is hoped the move will ease tensions in the troubled himalayan region , which has been a conflict flashpoint between nuclear-armed neighbors india and pakistan who both lay claims to the territory . `` today , we have regained our lost market , '' said ghulam rasool bhat , president of the kashmir fruit growers ' association . watch more about the historic day '' `` we are sending the sweet kashmir apple as the first consignment . this is sure to sweeten the relation between the two neighbors . the beginning of the trade between the two kashmirs will further improve the relations and lead to a peaceful resolution of the bitter problem , '' he said . the trucks were subjected to thorough security checks before they crossed the bridge , one of the few crossing points in the heavily militarized 742-kilometer -lrb- 460-mile -rrb- line of control , the de facto frontier that divides the region . kashmir has been a major source of dispute between india , and pakistan since the two countries were partitioned at the end of british rule in 1947 . muslim kashmiris sided with pakistan to the north , while the hindu south joined india .<doc-sep>a senior indian official , in a background briefing , said some announcements on boosting trade across kashimir 's military line of control were expected as a part of confidence-building measures between the two countries . the nuclear-capable neighbors have fought three wars since the partition of the asian subcontinent in 1947 , two of them over kashmir , which both nations claim . earlier this year , new delhi and islamabad agreed to resume peace talks frozen by the 2008 mumbai terror attacks , which have been blamed on pakistan-based militant groups . under u.s. pressure , indian and pakistani leaders held meetings last year in a bid to put the fragile peace process back on track , but no dramatic headway has been made in settling outstanding issues . in 2004 , the nations agreed to negotiations that cover eight issues , including kashmir , terrorism and pakistan 's concerns over river dams on the indian side of the border , which it sees as a threat to its water supplies . analysts , however , do not foresee immediate resolution of these thorny issues .<doc-sep>`` we have some distance to travel , but with an open mind and a constructive approach , which has been demonstrated in this round of dialogue , i am sure we can reach our desired destination of having a friendly and cooperative relationship between the two countries , '' krishna added . as part of their confidence-building measures , both sides agreed to double the frequency of trade across kashmir -- the disputed region divided between the countries -- to four days a week . the current three-year agreement involves 21 locally made items , which a joint statement issued after the talks said would be reviewed for possible additions . india and pakistan have have fought three wars since the partition of the asian subcontinent in 1947 , two of them over kashmir , which both nations claim . `` the ministers held discussions on the issue of jammu and kashmir and agreed to the need for continued discussions , in a purposeful and forward looking manner , with a view to finding a peaceful solution by narrowing divergences and building convergences , '' the joint statement noted . earlier this year , new delhi and islamabad agreed to resume peace talks frozen by the 2008 mumbai strikes , which have been blamed on pakistan-based militant groups .<doc-sep>for the past 18 years , kashmir has been wracked by a bloody separatist campaign . authorities say up to 43,000 people have died , but rights groups and non-governmental organizations put the death toll at twice that . violence had dropped off since the countries began a peace process in 2004 , but it surged after the state government in indian-controlled kashmir announced plans in june to donate land for a hindu shrine . muslim protests following the decision prompted a government u-turn that triggered hindu demonstrations calling for it to be restored . subsequent violence left 40 dead and hundreds wounded . it is hoped tuesday 's route opening will bolster the peace agreement and combat lingering mistrust between india and pakistan . a bilateral cease-fire has been holding in the region for more than four years . a bus service connecting the divided kashmir began amid much fanfare in 2005 but struggled under the weight of elaborate security checks and stifling bureaucracy . `` this is a great emotional moment , as it brings to mind my grandfather , who used to drive lorries on this road , '' said muzhar hussain naqvi , who drove the leading pakistani truck . cnn 's sara sidner and mukhtar ahmad contributed to this report .
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<t> trade route between the two sides the first in six decades . </t> <t> a heavy military presence occupies strip of land known as the line of control . </t> <t> kashmir a source of bitter dispute between india and pakistan since 1947 . </t> <t> trade meant to bolster a 2004 peace accord between the south asian rivals . </t>
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new peace hopes as kashmir trade route opens<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sen. barack obama will take a break from campaigning thursday so he can visit his ailing grandmother in hawaii , an obama spokesman said monday . sen. barack obama will take a break from campaigning so he can visit his ailing grandmother . `` sen. obama 's grandmother madelyn dunham has always been one of the most important people in his life , '' spokesman robert gibbs told reporters . `` in the last few weeks , her health has deteriorated to the point where her situation is very serious . it is for that reason that sen. obama has decided to change his schedule on thursday and friday so that he can see her and spend some time with her , '' gibbs said . the interruption will cause obama to cancel thursday events in madison , wisconsin and des moines , iowa . he will do an event in indianapolis , indiana , thursday morning before leaving and will return to the campaign saturday , gibbs said . michelle obama will fill in for her husband on friday at previously scheduled events in columbus and akron , ohio , his campaign said . obama speaks about his grandmother often on the stump , describing her as an integral figure in his youth who struggled against the glass ceiling in to make a better life for him . `` she 's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that i could have a better life , '' he said in his acceptance speech at the democratic national convention in august . `` she poured everything she had into me . and although she can no longer travel , i know that she 's watching tonight , and that tonight is her night as well . '' he and his family traveled to hawaii in august to visit her . the obama team made the announcement after a busy day of trading attacks with sen. john mccain on the democratic presidential hopeful 's readiness for office . monday also marked the first time that obama appeared with sen. hillary clinton during the general election season . clinton went to florida , a state she won in the primary but whose delegates she could not claim , to urge her supporters to turn out for obama on election day . clinton called orlando and central florida `` the battleground of the battleground '' and practically begged the crowd to vote early . `` we are 15 days from the finish line and we can not falter , we can not stop , we can not take a single vote for granted , '' clinton said monday . `` i am asking you to work as hard for barack as you worked for me . if you made phone calls for me , make them for barack . if you walked streets for me , make them for barack . if you talked to your friends and neighbors for me , do it again for barack . we can not risk four more years of the same failed republican policies . '' earlier in the day , mccain told a crowd in belton , missouri , that the next president `` wo n't have time to get used to the office . '' he was addressing comments made sunday by obama 's running mate , sen. joe biden , in which he said obama would be tested within the first six months of his presidency . `` we do n't want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis and americans are already fighting in two wars , '' mccain said . `` what is more troubling is that sen. biden told their campaign donors that when that crisis hits , they would have to stand with them because it would n't be apparent sen. obama would have the right response . the obama-biden campaign released a pre-emptive response after reading mccain 's scheduled remarks . `` with our nation facing two wars and 21st century threats abroad , sen. biden referenced the simple fact that history shows presidents face challenges from day one , '' obama spokesman david wade said . `` after eight years of a failed foreign policy , we need barack obama 's good judgment and steady leadership , not the erratic and ideological bush-mccain approach that has set back our security and standing in the world . ''<doc-sep>earlier monday , obama denounced the `` say-anything , do-anything politics '' of mccain 's camp , but said `` careless , outrageous comments '' wo n't distract him from addressing the nation 's ills . obama added that alaska gov. sarah palin , mccain 's running mate , rejected some of the tactics when she spoke out against a flood of automated phone calls tying obama to former radical william ayers . the calls were reported in several battleground states . `` it 's getting so bad that even sen. mccain 's running mate denounced his tactics last night , '' obama said at a campaign event in tampa , florida . `` as you know , you really have to work hard to violate gov. palin 's standards on negative campaigning . '' sunday night , palin told reporters traveling with her that if she had her way , the mccain campaign and the republican national committee would not be flooding battleground states with the automated phone calls , which she said the obama campaign was using too . over the next 15 days , obama said monday , he will continue his quest for the oval office while disregarding the divisive politics that he said mccain is endorsing `` to keep us from working together . '' the mccain campaign , meanwhile , continued its weekend assault on obama 's tax plan , which it called an attempt to `` spread the wealth . '' ireport.com : send your questions for sen. john mccain . speaking at a campaign event in st. charles , missouri , a chorus of boos rang out as the arizona senator described his take on the plan . `` he believes in redistributing wealth -- not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs and opportunities for all americans . sen. obama is more interested in controlling who gets your piece of the pie than in growing the pie . '' in colorado springs , colorado , palin also continued her line of attack from the weekend , but softened her tone in that she did n't call obama 's plan socialism . watch palin say obama sounds like a socialist '' over the weekend , palin and sen. mel martinez , a cuban-american gop senator from florida , called obama 's plan socialism . martinez compared the plan to the tax structure in communist cuba . mccain has taken a softer tone . on sunday , he dodged a question from fox news ' chris wallace about whether obama was a socialist , but said his rival 's tax plan was an effort `` to spread the wealth . '' `` that 's one of the tenets of socialism , '' mccain said . watch obama defend his plan '' obama 's tax plan calls for tax relief for 95 percent of workers and their families . though nonpartisan tax policy organizations agree that 40 percent of americans do n't pay income tax , many of those are lower-income earners who file payroll taxes through their employers . see the fact check . after receiving an endorsement from colin powell , a former republican secretary of state and retired army general , obama asked if powell and billionaire warren buffett -- no. 2 on forbes magazine 's 2008 list of richest americans -- would have extended their backing if he was a socialist . watch obama explain powell 's influence '' obama said he simply wants to give the middle class a tax cut . powell came to obama 's defense after endorsing the senator from illinois . powell said he had grown tired of mccain 's negative campaigning and that the american people would prefer to focus on issues like education , infrastructure and the economy . he specifically slammed palin 's allegation that obama 's tax plan is socialist , calling it misleading . ireport.com : what do you think about powell 's endorsement ? `` for us to say that makes you a socialist , i think , is an unfortunate characterization that is n't accurate . ''<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sen. barack obama will take a break from campaigning thursday so he can visit his ailing grandmother in hawaii , an obama spokesman said monday . sen. barack obama will take a break from campaigning so he can visit his ailing grandmother . `` sen. obama 's grandmother madelyn dunham has always been one of the most important people in his life , '' spokesman robert gibbs told reporters . `` in the last few weeks , her health has deteriorated to the point where her situation is very serious . it is for that reason that sen. obama has decided to change his schedule on thursday and friday so that he can see her and spend some time with her , '' gibbs said . the interruption will cause obama to cancel thursday events in madison , wisconsin and des moines , iowa . he will do an event in indianapolis , indiana , thursday morning before leaving and will return to the campaign saturday , gibbs said . michelle obama will fill in for her husband on friday at previously scheduled events in columbus and akron , ohio , his campaign said . obama speaks about his grandmother often on the stump , describing her as an integral figure in his youth who struggled against the glass ceiling in to make a better life for him . `` she 's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that i could have a better life , '' he said in his acceptance speech at the democratic national convention in august . `` she poured everything she had into me . and although she can no longer travel , i know that she 's watching tonight , and that tonight is her night as well . '' he and his family traveled to hawaii in august to visit her . the obama team made the announcement after a busy day of trading attacks with sen. john mccain on the democratic presidential hopeful 's readiness for office . monday also marked the first time that obama appeared with sen. hillary clinton during the general election season . clinton went to florida , a state she won in the primary but whose delegates she could not claim , to urge her supporters to turn out for obama on election day . clinton called orlando and central florida `` the battleground of the battleground '' and practically begged the crowd to vote early . `` we are 15 days from the finish line and we can not falter , we can not stop , we can not take a single vote for granted , '' clinton said monday . `` i am asking you to work as hard for barack as you worked for me . if you made phone calls for me , make them for barack . if you walked streets for me , make them for barack . if you talked to your friends and neighbors for me , do it again for barack . we can not risk four more years of the same failed republican policies . '' earlier in the day , mccain told a crowd in belton , missouri , that the next president `` wo n't have time to get used to the office . '' he was addressing comments made sunday by obama 's running mate , sen. joe biden , in which he said obama would be tested within the first six months of his presidency . `` we do n't want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis and americans are already fighting in two wars , '' mccain said . `` what is more troubling is that sen. biden told their campaign donors that when that crisis hits , they would have to stand with them because it would n't be apparent sen. obama would have the right response . the obama-biden campaign released a pre-emptive response after reading mccain 's scheduled remarks . `` with our nation facing two wars and 21st century threats abroad , sen. biden referenced the simple fact that history shows presidents face challenges from day one , '' obama spokesman david wade said . `` after eight years of a failed foreign policy , we need barack obama 's good judgment and steady leadership , not the erratic and ideological bush-mccain approach that has set back our security and standing in the world . ''<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sen. barack obama 's grandmother , madelyn dunham , has died following a bout with cancer , obama and his sister , maya soetoro-ng , said monday . she was 86 . at a rally in charlotte , north carolina , monday night , the illinois senator said `` she has gone home and she died peacefully in her sleep with my sister at her side . '' `` i 'm not going to talk about it long because it 's hard to talk about , '' he added . obama remembered her as `` one of those quiet heroes we have across america , who are n't famous ... but each and every day they work hard . they look after their families . they look after their children and their grandchildren . '' in a statement released monday afternoon , obama and his sister said that dunham was `` the cornerstone of our family , and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment , strength , and humility . '' watch cnn contributors discuss obama 's grandmother '' `` she was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances . she was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring . our debt to her is beyond measure . '' obama and soetoro-ng asked that donations be made for the search for a cure for cancer in lieu of flowers . a small private ceremony will be held `` at a later date . '' dunham passed away peacefully at her home shortly before midnight sunday night -lrb- 5 a.m. et -rrb- , campaign spokeswoman jen psaki told cnn . she said obama learned of her death around 8 a.m. obama 's republican rival , sen. john mccain , issued a statement monday afternoon : . `` we offer our deepest condolences to barack obama and his family as they grieve the loss of their beloved grandmother . our thoughts and prayers go out to them as they remember and celebrate the life of someone who had such a profound impact in their lives . '' the democratic presidential candidate left the campaign trail on october 23 and flew to honolulu , hawaii , to spend the day with dunham , whose health deteriorated after she suffered a broken hip . his wife , michelle obama , filled in for him at events in columbus and akron , ohio , on october 24 . obama said in an interview taped for that day 's `` good morning america '' that dunham had been `` inundated '' with flowers and messages from strangers who read about her in obama 's 1995 book , `` dreams from my father . '' `` maybe she is getting a sense of long-deserved recognition toward the end of her life , '' he said . watch obama tell supporters that his grandmother was `` one of those quiet heroes '' '' the candidate resumed his campaign on october 25 . obama has spoken often about his grandmother -- who helped raise him -- as an integral figure in his youth and how she struggled against the glass ceiling in her career . he and his family traveled to hawaii in august to visit her . `` she 's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that i could have a better life , '' he said in his acceptance speech at the democratic national convention . `` she poured everything she had into me . and although she can no longer travel , i know that she 's watching tonight , and that tonight is her night as well . '' cnn political producer ed hornick contributed to this report .<doc-sep>the mistaken charisma rankings : according to obama , his wife michelle , right , his daughters sasha and malia , bo the dog and then mother-in-law marian robinson , left . ` i love my mother-in-law , too - that 's where michelle got her looks from . ' mrs robinson lives with the family in the white house after obama became the first american president to appoint a ` first grandmother ' in 2008 to look after his daughters . but perhaps bo , who is never far from the political limelight , is obama 's favoured companion in the white house . the first dog was a gift from senator edward kennedy and his wife to obama 's daughters sasha , 11 , and malia , 14 , who had been promised a dog by their father when he was on the presidential campaign trail . family fixture : bo has won many hearts across america but none more than obama 's daughters malia and sasha , far right . happy families ? all under the white house roof , obama was the first president to allow his children 's grandmother to live with them .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- president obama told congressional leaders thursday he 's planning to pull all combat troops out of iraq by august 2010 , according to three congressional officials . president obama says he plans to keep up to 50,000 support troops in iraq after combat troops leave in 2010 . under this scenario , all combat troops will be withdrawn within 19 months of obama 's january inauguration , three months longer than his promise on the campaign trail . in a meeting at the white house thursday evening , obama also told lawmakers that he plans to keep a range of 35,000 to 50,000 support troops on the ground in iraq after combat troops are out , the officials said . all u.s. troops have to be out of iraq by december 31 , 2011 , under an agreement the bush administration signed with the iraqi government last year . white house officials confirmed the president will deliver a speech about iraq to troops at camp lejeune in north carolina on friday , his first visit to a military base since being sworn into office .
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<t> new : sen. hillary clinton urges floridians to back obama in appearance with him . </t> <t> obama will leave campaign trail thursday after indiana stop and return saturday . </t> <t> rest of thursday events canceled ; michelle obama will stand in on friday . </t> <t> mccain references biden comment that obama will be tested with early crisis . </t>
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obama to leave campaign trail to visit ailing grandmother<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the parents of a tennessee preacher shot to death by his wife convinced a judge to keep the convicted killer at home , but they could n't keep her off the air . mary winkler describes her troubled marriage during a taped segrment of `` the oprah winfrey show . '' seven months in custody was n't a long enough sentence for what she did , mary winkler said wednesday in an exclusive , pre-recorded interview with oprah winfrey . `` there 's no amount of time i think you can put on something like this . i was just ready for them to lock the door and throw away the key , '' she told winfrey . winkler had sought permission to travel to chicago , illinois , to appear live on `` the oprah winfrey show , '' but the judge who presided over her trial would not give her permission to travel . her in-laws , who are suing winkler for wrongful death and are seeking to revoke her parental rights , also fought the television appearance . watch winkler 's interview with oprah '' winkler was convicted earlier this year of the shotgun slaying of her husband , matthew , at the time the minister of the fourth street church of christ in selmer , tennessee . she told winfrey that she killed her husband following years of abuse , including physical violence and being forced to dress `` slutty '' for undesirable sex acts . all she remembers , she said , is the `` boom '' as the shotgun went off . winkler 's account on the show was virtually identical to her testimony during her trial earlier this year . a jury of 10 women and one man found her guilty of voluntary manslaughter . prosecutors had been pushing for a first-degree murder conviction . she was released last month from a tennessee mental heath facility . winfrey said on the show that matthew winkler 's parents did not respond to requests for an interview . dan and diane winkler , who have filed a $ 2 million wrongful-death suit against mary winkler , are pitched in a bitter custody battle over the couple 's three daughters . the grandparents are trying to terminate her parental rights and adopt the three girls . mary winkler 's attorney , steve farese , said a hearing in the case is scheduled for next week . during the trial , diane winkler chastised mary for never apologizing to them or his children . mary winkler told winfrey she is sorry she killed her husband and she would like a chance to sit down with her in-laws , whom she loves , misses and prays for every day . asked by winfrey what she would say to them , winkler said she could n't hone it down to two or three sentences . `` just when that time comes , my heart will tell me what to say , '' she said . in her interview with winfrey -- for a show titled `` the wife who killed her minister husband '' -- winkler said tensions began when her husband tried to put their crying 1-year-old daughter , brianna , back to sleep by `` covering her mouth and nose . '' `` i do n't think he had intentions of killing ; he just tried to get her to pass out , '' winkler said , recounting the events just prior to her husband 's march 2006 death at the church parsonage in selmer , tennessee . winkler , then 31 and a mother of three , said she was used to his temper , saying , he often `` would just get irate with the baby monitor and brianna crying . ''<doc-sep>`` that 's just something that would set him off , '' she told winfrey . after putting brianna to bed , she returned to the bedroom where matthew was `` and i just wanted to talk to matthew . and there 's just that awful -- awful sound , '' she said , referring to the shotgun blast . asked what she wanted to say to her husband when she went back to the bedroom , winkler said , `` just to stop . be happy . he had to be miserable the way he acted and to just stop being so mean and just relax and enjoy life . '' she said she does n't remember retrieving the shotgun from the closet , but she remembers thinking the gun was not loaded and that she `` never in a million years would 've dreamed that there would 've been something in that . '' `` i was so afraid , '' she said , adding that she feared for her life and it was `` not realistic '' to try reasoning with her husband . she does n't know if she was using the gun to intimidate him or to get his attention , she said . `` when i heard the boom , i just thought that it would 've hit the ceiling , the window . and i just thought , ` oh my goodness , he 's going to think i meant to do that on purpose ' and so i took out of there and took off running , '' she said . `` at some point , i just realized he was n't chasing me and i just had to go back in and face the realization . '' the realization was that the shotgun blast had sent 77 pellets into her husband 's back . an autopsy report indicated he survived for a few minutes , said winfrey , who grilled winkler on what she did next . `` he was bleeding and it was just instinct to wipe his mouth , but it just kept coming . i did n't know how he was hurt . i could n't see anything wrong with him , '' she said . `` when you actually see somebody that 's just died , they just change appearance in a matter of seconds . it was just terrible . '' winkler told winfrey she had never fired a shotgun before she killed her husband , but he had turned the weapon on her in the past . he also had threatened more egregious violence , she said . `` did he say he would chop you up ? '' winfrey asked . `` yeah , he would do it himself , '' winkler replied . `` he would do what ? '' `` chop me into a million pieces '' winkler never stood up for herself , nor did she tell anyone about her husband 's allegedly abusive behavior , she said , because she wanted to maintain the image of a perfect couple . she used makeup to cover up bruises . her father , clark freeman , recalled to winfrey a time he confronted her about her injuries . she just hung her head and said , `` everything 's all right . everything 's all right . '' freeman said . her husband also sexually abused her , winkler said . he made her wear platform shoes and wigs and made her perform `` sexual acts that i did n't want to do . '' she said she regrets never standing up for herself , she said . `` that 's where i will always grieve the fact that i failed matthew in not bringing it to his attention how bad it was , '' she said . e-mail to a friend .<doc-sep>a preacher in florida who shares the same name as the man who shot an unarmed teenager dead last year says he is being plagued by abusive phone calls . george zimmermann , 78 , who has two 'n' s in his surname unlike the man who shot trayvon martin , says he has received death threats and angry calls since his namesake , who is 29 , was acquitted of second-degree murder earlier this month . now the elderly preacher from deland , volusia county , has called police for help in dealing with the calls , in which he has been told to ` watch your back ' and ` you 're a dead man ' . scroll down for video . preacher george zimmermann , 78 , says he is plagued by abusive calls and death threats from people who think he is george zimmerman -lrb- with one 'n' -rrb- , who shot trayvon martin dead . mr zimmermann says in one call he was told : ` hey -lsb- expletive -rsb- you 're the one who killed trayvon martin , when your -lsb- expletive -rsb- get out , you 're dead . ` wherever you go , you 're dead ... you better get ready to dig a six-foot hole , ' the huffington post reported . the preacher says he is not frightened by the calls and understands that people just want to take their frustration out after a trial verdict that angered many in the u.s. .<doc-sep>he told wesh.com that most of the calls involved swearing and name-calling and said : ' i know it 's ridiculous but this is people . ' he added : ` the type of people that would do this , they 're just venting their emotions , and being what i am , and who i am , ok , you vented , you 've done it . i listened to you . ' the preacher says while he understands why people are calling him , the calls are so frequent they are becoming a nuisance . george zimmerman , 29 , left , fatally shot trayvon martin , 17 , right , in a housing complex in sanford last february . he has now changed his telephone number and is hoping the issue will be solved . trayvon martin was shot dead on february 26 last year by neighborhood watch rep george zimmerman , 29 , as he walked through a gated housing complex in sanford , fl . zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in april last year and acquitted following a jury trial on july 13 this year . video : preacher george zimmermann describes harassment .<doc-sep>by . daily mail reporter , ryan gorman and ap . published : . 16:09 est , 30 september 2013 . | . updated : . 07:52 est , 1 october 2013 . lousiana sheriffs revealed monday that the pastor shot dead while singing to a service was accused of rape by his confessed shooter 's wife . just two days before pastor ronald j. harris sr. , 53 , was killed while singing to a revival crowd of more than 65 , former deacon woodrow karey 's wife filed sexual assault charges against the pastor . calcasieu parish sheriff tony mancuso said the charges were still being investigated friday when the ` karey walked into the tabernacle of praise worship center , and shot harris at close range ' before turning himself in minutes later . bizarre shooting death : ex-deacon woodrow karey -lrb- left -rrb- shot pastor ronald harris sr -lrb- right -rrb- to death friday night while the preacher was singing in front of about 65 church members at a revival . it was revealed monday that karey 's wife filed charges against harris two days before the murder . mancuso says the woman and preacher had exchanged text messages , and it 's not yet clear whether a sexual assault took place . harris was preaching at about 8:20 pm on friday when he was shot . twice by the former deacon and fell to the floor . harris was pronounced dead at the scene . sixty-five people were inside at the time , including the victim 's wife , said chief deputy stitch guillory . 53-year-old karey left the church four years ago , according to mr harris ' daughter talisha harris , who added that her family is ` puzzled ' by his motives . he was booked on a second-degree murder charge and remained jailed sunday , his bond set at $ 1 million . the preaching had not yet begun friday night when the gunman burst into the sanctuary . the congregation of 65 people or more was waiting for some out-of-town visitors , harris said .<doc-sep>by . stephanie linning . and martin jay in beirut . the lebanese wife of extremist preacher omar bakri , who once praised the 7/7 bombers as the ` fantastic four ' , is applying for uk asylum for herself , her husband and their two children . the radical islamic cleric , who was once the subject of uk terror investigations , faces the death sentence for running a terror cell in lebanon and claims he has been tortured , according to reports . ruba bakri , 30 , said that she is in the . process of applying at the british embassy in beirut on behalf of her family , despite the fact that bakri was permanently barred from the uk . the lebanese wife of radical islamic cleric omar bakri , pictured speaking at a 2002 rally , is applying for asylum for herself , her husband and their children - despite the fact that bakri was permanently barred from the uk .
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<t> new : wife says sentence for shooting preacher was too short . </t> <t> judge would n't allow woman to travel for show ; taped segment airs . </t> <t> mary winkler convicted of manslaughter in shotgun slaying . </t> <t> she is battling her in-laws for custody of her three daughters . </t>
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wife who shot preacher calls sentence too short<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the rev. rick warren , often called america 's most influential pastor , will be hosting sens. barack obama and john mccain for what 's being called the civil forum on the presidency . rick warren will be hosting the civil forum on the presidency . warren , who heads up the country 's fourth largest church , is also an author whose books have sold more than 30 million copies . the candidates will appear together at warren 's 20,000-member saddleback mega-church in southern california where they each will be interviewed for an hour . warren spoke with john roberts on cnn 's american morning about what he hopes to accomplish at the forum . john roberts : what do you want to hear from candidates saturday night ? rick warren : you know , john , we 're going to look at four different segments . one is a segment on leadership . what is the personal character , competence , and experience of each of these guys .<doc-sep>one section will be on what i call stewardship -- the role and responsibility of presidency , what they believe about the constitution , the role of america . we 're going to look at a section on world view -- all of the minefield questions that no matter how you answer them , somebody 's not going to like it . then we 're going to look at america 's role internationally . how we 've been a blessed nation and how should we bless others . roberts : are you going to ask them about issues like abortion and same-sex marriage ? pro-life advocates are hoping you do . there has been some criticism in some corners you have been soft-pedaling political issues that are central to evangelicals . warren : i think everybody will be surprised . i 'm going to ask all of the tough questions . i just intend to ask them in a civil way . this is called a civil forum , which means you can disagree without demonizing the opposition . i think everybody wants to hear questions not just about those `` moral issues , '' but also about a lot of other things , too . i 'm trying to stake out a common ground for the common good . roberts : when you take a look at the evangelical vote in 2004 , george bush captured more than 75 percent of people who identify themselves as either born again or evangelical . our recent polling , cnn opinion research corporation polls , found when it comes to john mccain , only 67 percent of evangelicals say they 'll support him . are you surprised at the shift ? warren : it 's interesting to me . both of these men have been around for some time . obama 's written two books . still a lot of people say , i 'd like to know the real person . what are they really like ? i 'm hoping that 'll happen in this forum .<doc-sep>evangelicals have never been a monolithic voting base . never . and the people who try to predict which way they 're going to go in this election i think may be surprised after election day . you do n't really know . i do n't know , and i do n't think anybody knows . roberts : as you know , john mccain in 2000 during the primaries ran afoul of evangelicals when he criticized pat robinson . he 's tried to repair the relationship . has he gone far enough ? warren : the religious right , fundamentalists and evangelic evangelicals are n't synonyms for each other . i think john may have been talking about certain groups that he was worried about at that time . but he certainly rebuilt bridges among them today . it 's just a question of whether they 're going to vote on his issues or if they 're going to vote on obama 's , and we 'll see . roberts : as for you yourself in the most recent edition of time magazine on which you 're the cover , they 've suggested you 're evolving into the `` superpolitical . '' others have suggested you 're becoming a spiritual entrepreneur . what do you make of the titles people are ascribing to you ? warren : when you try to line out a middle ground -- common ground for the common good of america -- you get pot shots from both sides . if i were just the left , i 'd only get it from the right . if i were just the right , i 'd only get it from the left . because i believe in the monogood and do n't happen to think either party gets it right all the time . i do n't think anybody bats 1,000 . i get it from both sides . that 's to be expected .<doc-sep>it was revealed shortly after his death that matthew warren killed himself with an unregistered gun purchased over the internet . tragedy : the youngest son of rick warren , the evangelical pastor pictured delivering the invocation at obama 's 2009 inauguration , has committed suicide at the age of 27 . pastor warren said he forgives whoever sold the weapon . orange county sheriff 's spokesman jim amormino said that the gun 's serial number was scratched off . it 's illegal in california to buy a gun without a background check and purchasers are supposed to register their firearms . defacing a gun 's serial number is a federal offense . ` someone on the internet sold matthew an unregistered gun . i pray he seeks god 's forgiveness . i forgive him . #matthew 6:15 , ' the pastor tweeted , referencing a biblical passage about the forgiveness of sins . ` if you forgive men when they sin against you , your heavenly father will forgive you . but if you do n't ... , ' warren then tweeted , quoting the verse . the christian community was shaken after matthew died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on april 5 in mission viejo , calif. , after a long battle with mental illness . politics : rick warren hosted the civil forum on the presidency , attended by both sen. john mccain -lrb- r-ariz . -rrb- and then sen. barack obama -lrb- d-ill . -rrb- at saddleback church in august 2008 during the 2008 presidential election . christian right : president george w. bush , with his wife laura in 2008 , receives the international medal of peace from warren at the saddleback civil forum on global health at the newseum in washington , dc .<doc-sep>` we pray ` thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ' since in heaven god 's will is done #always . on earth , it 's done rarely , ' seemingly in response to the family 's tragic loss . the church said in a statement that they were ` deeply grieved for the loss of pastor rick and kay warren upon hearing of the death of their youngest son , matthew . ' ` our church family has had the privilege of ministering together with the warrens and their family , all of whom have been lifelong members of saddleback , over the last 33 years . ' politics : rick warren hosted the civil forum on the presidency , attended by both sen. john mccain -lrb- r-ariz . -rrb- and then sen. barack obama -lrb- d-ill . -rrb- at saddleback church in august 2008 during the 2008 presidential election . christian right : president george w. bush , with his wife laura in 2008 , receives the international medal of peace from warren at the saddleback civil forum on global health at the newseum in washington , dc . scores of tributes poured in on social media , with supporters posting words of encouragement and prayers to the saddleback facebook page . ` our hearts ache for you . we love you and are holding you close in our prayers . god bless you and give you strength , ' one mourner wrote , with another adding , ` matthew is home , free of all the pain he felt . ' ` all i can think is that he wants his parents to have a happy last memory . he 's with god and he is whole again . ' megachurch pastor greg laurie lost his 33-year-old son in a car crash in 2008 and offered his condolences to the warren family . ` at times like these , there really are no words , but there is the word . there is no manual , but there is emmanuel , ' he said in a statement on the gospel coalition website . grieving : pastor warren posted this message to his more than 900,000 twitter followers on saturday . warren , 59 , is one of the leading voices in the evangelical movement in america . his .<doc-sep>by . associated press reporter and reuters reporter . published : . 00:53 est , 9 april 2013 . | . updated : . 04:28 est , 9 april 2013 . cause of death : matthew warren , the son of popular american evangelical pastor rick warren , died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound , his autopsy showed . an autopsy has determined that the son of popular u.s. evangelical pastor rick warren , found dead in california on friday , died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound , an orange county sheriff 's spokesman said on monday . rick warren said in a letter to staff of his orange county-based saddleback valley community church over the weekend that matthew warren , 27 , committed suicide after a lifelong struggle with depression and mental illness . orange county sheriff 's spokesman jim amormino said an autopsy conducted on monday found that the matthew warren had died at around 10 a.m. gmt on friday at his home in mission viejo . he said the cause of death was determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound . along with leading the saddleback church based in lake forest , california , rick warren is author of the best-selling book ` the purpose driven life ' and delivered an invocation at president barack obama 's first inauguration in january 2009 . in his letter to staff at the church , warren said his son took his own life in ' a momentary wave of despair at his home ' after a ` fun evening ' with his parents . the pastor described his son as an ` incredibly kind , gentle , and compassionate man . he had a brilliant intellect and a gift for sensing who was most in pain or most uncomfortable in a room . ' he said his son struggled with mental illness , depression and suicidal thoughts all of his life . ` in spite of america 's best doctors , meds , counselors , and prayers for healing , the torture of mental illness never subsided , ' he said . saddleback , one of the largest evangelical churches in the united states , is affiliated with the southern baptist convention . about 20,000 people attend weekly services at the main campus in lake forest and at seven other churches throughout southern california . family : kay and rick warren have two other adult children , amy and joshua . kay warren is active in her husband 's ministry . tragedy : the youngest son of rick warren , the evangelical pastor pictured delivering the invocation at obama 's 2009 inauguration , has committed suicide at the age of 27 . the elder warren founded saddleback . church in 1980 , according to his biography on the church website , and . watched it grow to 20,000 members and several campuses beyond its home . base of lake forest . already well-known among evangelical . christians , he became a national celebrity in 2002 with the publication . of the multimillion-selling book `` the purpose driven life , '' whose . popularity reached far beyond the usual religious readers . scores of tributes poured in on social media , with supporters posting words of encouragement and prayers to the saddleback facebook page . ` our hearts ache for you . we love you and are holding you close in our prayers . god bless you and give you strength , ' one mourner wrote , with another adding , ` matthew is home , free of all the pain he felt . ' ` all i can think is that he wants his parents to have a happy last memory . he 's with god and he is whole again . ' megachurch pastor greg laurie lost his 33-year-old son in a car crash in 2008 and offered his condolences to the warren family . ` at times like these , there really are no words , but there is the word . there is no manual , but there is emmanuel , ' he said in a statement on the gospel coalition website . warren , 59 , is one of the leading voices in the evangelical movement in america . his . church , located in orange county , is ranked the seventh largest . congregation in the u.s. with an average weekly attendance of 20,000 . the southern baptist pastor authored the purpose driven life , a devotional study book , that was published in 2002 and became a new york times bestseller , selling over 32 million copies as it exploded as a popular trend among conservative christians . politics : rick warren hosted the civil forum on the presidency , attended by both sen. john mccain -lrb- r-ariz . -rrb- and then sen. barack obama -lrb- d-ill . -rrb- at saddleback church in august 2008 during the 2008 presidential election . christian right : president george w. bush , with his wife laura in 2008 , receives the international medal of peace from warren at the saddleback civil forum on global health at the newseum in washington , dc . he has taken an active role in promoting social justice and even hosted the civil forum on the presidency , attended by both sen. john mccain -lrb- r-ariz . -rrb- and then sen. barack obama -lrb- d-ill . -rrb- during the 2008 presidential election . pastor warren was also selected to deliver the invocation at president obama 's 2009 inauguration . kay warren helped her husband establish the evangelical church in 1980 . she has openly discussed her personal struggle with depression and overcoming sexual abuse in her childhood . though . the spiritual leaders never publicly detailed their youngest son 's . struggle , kay did tell christianity today in an interview last april . that ' a loved one was struggling . with a mental illness ' on the same day that rick warren delivered his . prayer at obama 's inauguration in 2009 . she . authored a book about overcoming adversity , choose joy : because . happiness is n't enough , about finding victory over despair through faith . in christ . ` suffering does give one an appreciation for joy , ' she told the christian magazine in 2012 . ` those . who have suffered have been given the opportunity to recognize the . limitations of ourselves and to know god in our darkest days . ' congregation : kay and rick warren founded the church in 1980 and it has grown into a megachurch , with an average weekly attendance of 20,000 .<doc-sep>church , located in orange county , is ranked the seventh largest . congregation in the u.s. with an average weekly attendance of 20,000 . the southern baptist pastor authored the purpose driven life , a devotional study book , that was published in 2002 and became a new york times bestseller , selling over 32 million copies as it exploded as a popular trend among conservative christians . he has taken an active role in promoting social justice and even hosted the civil forum on the presidency , attended by both sen. john mccain -lrb- r-ariz . -rrb- and then sen. barack obama -lrb- d-ill . -rrb- during the 2008 presidential election . pastor warren was also selected to deliver the invocation at president obama 's 2009 inauguration . kay warren helped her husband establish the evangelical church in 1980 . congregation : kay and rick warren founded the church in 1980 and it has grown into a megachurch , with an average weekly attendance of 20,000 . she has openly discussed her personal struggle with depression and overcoming sexual abuse in her childhood . though the spiritual leaders never publicly detailed their youngest son 's struggle , kay did tell christianity today in an interview last april that ' a loved one was struggling with a mental illness ' on the same day that rick warren delivered his prayer at obama 's inauguration in 2009 . she authored a book about overcoming adversity , choose joy : because happiness is n't enough , about finding victory over despair through faith in christ . ` suffering does give one an appreciation for joy , ' she told the christian magazine in 2012 . ` those who have suffered have been given the opportunity to recognize the limitations of ourselves and to know god in our darkest days . '
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<t> those who think they can predict the evangelical vote may be surprised , rick warren says . </t> <t> pastor plans to ask candidates about america 's role internationally . </t> <t> warren : forum wo n't just focus on `` moral issues , '' but try to find a middle ground . </t> <t> tough questions will be asked , but in a civil way , pastor says . </t>
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pastor hosts ` civil ' presidential forum<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- democratic presidential candidate sen. barack obama on friday called for an economic plan for working families , saying , `` we can not only have a plan for wall street . sen. barak obama speaks at a campaign rally in coral gables , florida , friday . `` we must also help main street , '' he said . while `` tough new regulations on financial institutions '' are needed , the illinois senator called for an emergency economic plan for working families . obama spoke after meeting with his economic advisers in coral gables , florida . watch obama call for help for main street '' obama on friday also backed administration and congressional leaders ' efforts to develop a `` a more stable and permanent solution '' to the u.s. financial crisis . watch obama talk about how working americans need help in this economy . obama 's statement came after treasury secretary henry paulson , federal reserve chairman ben bernanke and securities and exchange commission chairman christopher cox met with congressional leaders to discuss a plan that would allow banks to get rid of bad mortgage-related assets that have been a drag on their balance sheets . `` what we 're looking at right now is to provide the treasury and the federal reserve with as broad authority as necessary to stabilize markets and maintain credit , '' obama said . `` we need a more institutional response to create a system that can manage some of the underlying problems with bad mortgages , help homeowners stay in their homes , protect the retirement and savings of working americans . '' after meeting with his economic advisors , obama said his team would not present a detailed economic plan at this time , `` given the gravity of this situation , and based on conversations i have had with both secretary paulson and chairman bernanke . '' obama said he would not present his plan until the treasury and federal reserve have presented theirs .<doc-sep>`` it is critical at this point that the markets and the public have confidence that their work will be unimpeded by partisan wrangling , and that leaders in both parties work in concert to solve the problem at hand , '' obama said . later , obama held a rally , at the university of miami , which was disrupted by protesters who held up signs saying `` blacks against obama '' and `` obama endorsed by the kkk . '' obama said the protesters could stay and hold up their signs if they stopped shouting , but they were later escorted out after they continued to disrupt the rally . obama spoke after republican presidential candidate sen. john mccain said friday morning that he would establish a new agency to deal with the u.s. financial crisis that many experts say is the worst since the great depression . watch mccain blast washington corruption '' that agency , a mortgage and financial institutions trust , would work with the private sector and regulators to identify institutions that are weak and fix them before they go broke . `` the underlying principle of the mfi or any approach considered by congress should be to keep people in their homes and safeguard the life savings of all americans by protecting our financial system and capital markets , '' mccain told the green bay chamber of commerce in wisconsin . mccain said the agency would be an early intervention program to help financial institutions avoid bankruptcy , expensive bailouts and damage to their customers . obama , at the rally in florida , lashed out at mccain 's plan . `` this morning sen. mccain gave a speech in which his big solution to this worldwide economic crisis was to blame me for it . `` this is a guy who spent nearly three decades in washington and after spending the entire campaign saying i have n't been in washington long enough ... he apparently now is willing to assign me responsibility for all of washington 's failure , '' he said .<doc-sep>wall street witnessed the federal government take unprecedented steps this week to stabilize the economy , including the takeover of the insurance giant american international group inc. in exchange for an $ 85 billion loan from the federal reserve . in his speech , mccain blamed the crisis on `` the corruption and manipulation of our home mortgage system '' and blasted congress and the administration for not addressing the problems at the two mortgage giants fannie mae and freddie mac , which he said `` led our housing system down a path where quick profit was placed before sound finance . '' mccain also blasted his democratic rival , sen. barack obama , for not working to clean up the `` corruption '' at fannie mae and freddie mac . fact check : did obama ` profit ' from fannie and freddie ? `` we 've heard a lot of words from sen. obama over the course of this campaign . but maybe just this once he could spare us the lectures and admit to his own poor judgment in contributing to these problems . the crisis on wall street started in the washington culture of lobbying and influence peddling , and he was square in the middle of it . '' although action must be taken to avoid future panics , the arizona republican said that ultimately , the economy would have to grow to get through `` this tough time for america . '' mccain touted his economic plan , which includes tax cuts , and again said obama would increase taxes on americans who make as little as $ 42,000 . mccain 's charge that his opponent would raise taxes on those making $ 42,000 is misleading , however . the mccain campaign cites obama 's vote for a nonbinding 2008 budget resolution that outlines budget priorities through 2013 and assumed that president bush 's tax cuts would expire in 2011 . fact check : does obama want to raise taxes ? the obama campaign says its economic plan would raise taxes only on those making over $ 250,000 . the economic crisis has given obama and his running mate , sen. joe biden , the opportunity to go on the offensive . most americans see obama as more capable than mccain when it comes to the economy , polls indicate . the two campaigns have traded shots all week , most recently over the government takeover of aig . as the economy has dominated the headlines , obama has widened his lead over mccain , according to cnn 's latest `` poll of polls . '' obama gains in national polls .<doc-sep>`` they need to have some integrity and some honor and do the right thing , '' pettine told cnn . protester elizabeth soto , who came with her brother to the rally , was concerned about the lack of job creation . `` we are here to say wall street 's got to help main street , '' she said . `` we supported the stimulus bill , which bailed out wall street , but we expected the jobs to come back to main street . '' the new york police department estimated that 6,000 people participated in the rally . earlier thursday , as part of a larger `` day of action '' against wall street , protesters descended upon the headquarters of two new york city banks -- jp morgan chase and wells fargo -- leaving letters for the banks ' chief executive officers .<doc-sep>former allies : west pictured with president obama in 2007 , when they were friends . he told salon : ` it was like `` we finally got somebody who can help us turn the corner '' . he posed as if he was a kind of lincoln ... a progressive . he turned out to be counterfeit . ` we ended up with a wall street presidency , a drone presidency , a national security presidency . the torturers go free . the wall street executives go free . the war crimes in the middle east , especially now in gaza , the war criminals go free . ' during mr west 's savage attack he dismisses mr obama as a ` neoliberal centrist with a smile and nice rhetorical flair ... a brown-faced clinton ' . disgust : west described obama as a ` neoliberal centrist with a smile and with a nice rhetorical flair ... a brown-faced clinton '<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- pressure is mounting on republicans to address spreading public protests against wall street . how they answer could shape the political landscape from here to the november elections . republicans have n't had to pay much attention to occupy wall street till now -- they could afford to sniff that the crowds in zuccotti park looked more like woodstock than wall street . but as demonstrations have sprung up across the u.s. and europe , reverberating through social media and gaining more serious attention from mainstream media , politicians must pay more attention . president obama and fellow democrats have already leapt to the support of protesters . the cries of frustration and anger from the streets dovetail perfectly with the president 's own shift leftward , populist stance , efforts to blame the rich for america 's economic woes , and demands that they pay higher taxes . so perfect is the fit that some conservatives suspect that democratic partisans are quietly fueling the protests . there are legitimate questions as to whether the president is ill serving the national interest by whipping up antagonism toward the wealthy , especially the financial services industry . until recently , many influential democrats -lrb- such as sen. chuck schumer -rrb- joined republicans in believing that wall street , serving as the financial capital of the world , was one of the nation 's top assets . yes , it became too greedy and reckless and needed tougher government scrutiny , but its vitality should be preserved . soon after taking office , obama summoned bankers and told them he was all that was standing between them and people with pitchforks . today , many in new york believe the president has now taken up a pitchfork himself . what impact this alienation will have on voting behavior remains uncertain , but clearly , the president and his team believe it will help them in 2012 . what better way to change the storyline for the elections ? wall street demonstrations start second month . that raises the question : how will republicans rise to the challenge ? how will they frame the argument about the protesters and their underlying issues ? some in the gop hope the protesters will disappear with the first frost , taking the controversy with them . perhaps that will happen : they are not as well-organized nor do they have as clear an agenda as the tea partiers , so they may not be able to sustain themselves .<doc-sep>the bottom line : there appears to be little political space for house speaker john boehner and senate gop leader mitch mcconnell , who could well be majority leader in january , to negotiate any deal that would be acceptable to obama . and , when the president takes executive actions , as he promises to do after the election unless there is some legislative breakthrough , it is clear the conservative grass roots will demand confrontation -- leaving the issue front and center as we head into the 2016 presidential cycle . 2 . hillary clinton 's delicate wall street balancing act . hillary clinton is closing the 2014 campaign with appearances designed to both help democratic candidates this cycle and also help her test themes for her likely white house run in 2016 . last week it was kentucky . this week it 's massachusetts and rhode island , to help two democratic women in close gubernatorial contests . the rhode island stop , in particular , has an interesting twist , as detailed by politico 's maggie haberman : . `` that 's the one to watch , because gina raimondo has been criticized as being too close to wall street herself . this has been a commentary applied to hillary clinton , '' said haberman . `` watch and see what hillary clinton 's words are as she is helping her up there . '' 3 . bill clinton to court african-american voters in louisiana .
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<t> new : sen. obama says any recover plan must help workers and homeowners . </t> <t> mccain repeats misleading charge against obama on taxes . </t> <t> john mccain calls for agency to help weak financial institutions . </t> <t> mccain blasts barack obama for not working to fix freddie mae , freddie mac . </t>
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obama : ` help main street ' as well as wall street<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a tugboat on saturday reached a disabled freighter carrying 22 people , hours after the ship rode out hurricane ike without power , coast guard spokesman mike o'berry said . o'berry said the tugboat rotterdam arrived shortly before 2 p.m. -lrb- 3 p.m. et -rrb- . repairs will be made aboard the antalina , which has a broken fuel pump , while at sea , o'berry said . the tugboat will then tow the ship to port arthur , texas , where it will undergo additional repairs and eventually offload more of its cargo -- petroleum coke , a petroleum byproduct -- o'berry said . the crew members aboard the antalina , a cypriot-flagged freighter , are all in good health , said coast guard cmdr. ron labrec . the freighter suffered no major damage from the storm , said darrell wilson , a spokesman for the company that manages the ship . aircraft from the coast guard and air force were sent friday afternoon to try to rescue the crew of the freighter , which is loaded with petroleum coke , a petroleum byproduct . but high winds forced the military to abort the rescue , o'berry said . the coast guard then instructed the freighter to contact it each hour . it also told told the crew to turn on the ship 's emergency radio beacon so its position could be monitored , o'berry said . watch the coast guard conduct a rescue operation '' onshore as well , rescuers found it too dangerous to respond to calls for help . in liverpool , texas , south of houston , a family called for help around 1 a.m. saturday when a tree crashed into their house , but authorities concluded that strong winds made it too dangerous to respond , said doc adams , brazoria county 's emergency management coordinator . `` you want to take care of people , and when you ca n't , it 's tough , '' adams said . `` unfortunately , someone has to make the decision about whether the risk is worth the benefit . are you willing to risk three or four lives to save one ? it 's not easy . '' adams said he did n't know if anyone in the house was hurt . `` as far as i know , they 're still there in the house with a tree over it , '' he said at about 3:40 a.m. . the stranded freighter had been headed south through the gulf of mexico from port arthur , texas , but `` lost main propulsion 90 miles southeast of galveston '' and was unable to steer , the coast guard said . the coast guard received a distress call from the vessel at 4 a.m. friday . the antalina was `` basically adrift , at the mercy of the wind and sea currents , '' coast guard petty officer tom atkeson said at the time . `` we are in hell , '' one of the men aboard the freighter told cnn on friday before the rescue was called off . the man said the winds around the ship were strong but that the freighter still had power . on friday before the storm hit , authorities picked up more than 120 people stranded by rising seas along the southeast texas coast . most of the rescues occurred in galveston county , where rising water and other effects of the storm began hours before landfall early saturday . stranded residents were airlifted from crystal beach , bolivar peninsula and other communities in the galveston area . many of those rescued were motorists stranded on flooded roads . in surfside beach , police waded through chest-high rushing water to rescue five people trapped in their homes . one man refused to leave , said surfside beach police chief randy smith . `` some of them took convincing , some of them did n't , '' smith said . police also rescued five other people who waded out to meet the officers . about half of those rescues were done by helicopters out of bases along the coast , said coast guard petty officer david schulein . three hh-65c helicopters from coast guard air station houston rescued more than 20 people and continued to fly rescue missions until weather grounded them friday evening , said petty officer renee aiello , a station spokeswoman . some 37,000 people may need to be rescued in the aftermath of the hurricane , a u.s. military official estimated friday . texas already has asked for help , and the active-duty military has 42 search-and-rescue helicopters on standby , the official said .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a tugboat on saturday reached a disabled freighter carrying 22 people , hours after the ship rode out hurricane ike without power , coast guard spokesman mike o'berry said . o'berry said the tugboat rotterdam arrived shortly before 2 p.m. -lrb- 3 p.m. et -rrb- . repairs will be made aboard the antalina , which has a broken fuel pump , while at sea , o'berry said . the tugboat will then tow the ship to port arthur , texas , where it will undergo additional repairs and eventually offload more of its cargo -- petroleum coke , a petroleum byproduct -- o'berry said . the crew members aboard the antalina , a cypriot-flagged freighter , are all in good health , said coast guard cmdr. ron labrec . the freighter suffered no major damage from the storm , said darrell wilson , a spokesman for the company that manages the ship . aircraft from the coast guard and air force were sent friday afternoon to try to rescue the crew of the freighter , which is loaded with petroleum coke , a petroleum byproduct . but high winds forced the military to abort the rescue , o'berry said . the coast guard then instructed the freighter to contact it each hour . it also told told the crew to turn on the ship 's emergency radio beacon so its position could be monitored , o'berry said . watch the coast guard conduct a rescue operation '' onshore as well , rescuers found it too dangerous to respond to calls for help . in liverpool , texas , south of houston , a family called for help around 1 a.m. saturday when a tree crashed into their house , but authorities concluded that strong winds made it too dangerous to respond , said doc adams , brazoria county 's emergency management coordinator . `` you want to take care of people , and when you ca n't , it 's tough , '' adams said . `` unfortunately , someone has to make the decision about whether the risk is worth the benefit . are you willing to risk three or four lives to save one ? it 's not easy . '' adams said he did n't know if anyone in the house was hurt .<doc-sep>`` we lost everything , '' jamie holmes . curfews are in place in galveston until dawn monday and in houston 's harris county until 6 a.m. sunday . houston mayor bill white said his city appears to have avoided loss of life , but streets blocked by floodwaters , downed trees and power lines hampered efforts to determine the full extent of the damage . authorities shut down downtown houston , where the streets were littered with traffic lights and glass , for cleanup and damage assessment . the city 's tallest skyscraper , the 75-story jp morgan chase tower , was missing many of its windows . see ireporter 's images of destruction '' white advised residents to drink bottled or boiled tap water as a precaution after a power outage reduced water pressure , but he said nothing indicated that the water supply was contaminated . brennan 's , a popular restaurant in downtown houston for almost four decades , burned down friday night as ike battered the city . north of houston , a 10 - year-old boy died when a falling tree limb hit him in the head , the montgomery county sheriff 's office said . the boy 's father was cutting down a dead tree in the family 's yard in preparation for ike 's heavy winds early saturday . nearly 2.6 million customers in texas and louisiana lack power because of ike , the u.s. energy department said on saturday . in brazoria county , emergency management officials said the main power line for the texas/new mexico grid was down . centerpoint energy said 90 percent of its customers were without electricity and it could take a month or more to get power restored to all of them . ireporter jackie hensler of houston said her apartment building 's power was restored quickly on saturday morning after a stormy night . `` there are lots of trees down ; they 've been uprooted or snapped , '' she said after venturing outside . `` there 's lots of debris in the streets , like boards and plywood from homes . '' watch how the roof peeled off a building '' hurricane ike proved to be a huge storm system , 900 miles across at its largest . it remained a hurricane hours after crashing ashore over galveston at 2:10 a.m. its maximum sustained winds were near 80 mph , with higher gusts . it was expected to continue to weaken and move into western arkansas by saturday night . track the storm '' the storm surge , however , was smaller than forecast . the greatest surge , of 15 feet , happened at sabine pass , near the texas-louisiana line . authorities had predicted surges of 20 to 25 feet . authorities in orange county , texas , on the louisiana line , were using large dump trucks saturday to rescue residents trapped on their roofs by massive flooding , a county judge told cnn . the city of orange and the town of bridge city were flooded , beaumont emergency official brad peneffon said . watch the storm surge in beaumont '' rescuers fanned out in boats saturday in cameron parish , louisiana , after the storm surge flooded 1,800 homes . gas prices soared across the country amid fears the storm would disrupt fuel supplies . ike hit a region that is home to about 25 percent of the united states ' oil refining capacity , and the storm 's progress across the gulf of mexico shut down crude oil collection from gulf oil fields . the u.s. department of energy said 14 refineries were closed by the storm , along with two texas strategic petroleum reserve sites . in knoxville , tennessee , sean kennedy expressed dismay at the difference a day made to gas prices . ireport.com : evacuees , san antonio mayor talk about ike . `` i filled up my tank yesterday morning on the way to work for $ 3.59 a gallon , '' he said . `` this morning , gas prices at the same station were $ 5 a gallon for regular and $ 5.25 for premium . '' the coast guard said early saturday that 22 people aboard a freighter that was adrift in the gulf of mexico were safe after the storm . some good news came out of the region saturday . about 175 miles west of houston , a storm evacuee delivered a baby in the ladies ' bathroom at a shelter in new braunfels . `` the credit goes to the mother , '' said dr. mark burns , who helped deliver the baby . `` she did a beautiful job with her delivery . '' cnn 's jeanne meserve , rusty dornin , sean callebs , rob marciano , gary tuchman , arthur brice , deb krajnak and elise miller contributed to this report .<doc-sep>the category levels that are more widely cited to quantify the power of hurricanes purely measure wind speed . katrina was measured as a category 3 hurricane at landfall and later rose to a category 5 . the estimated cost of hurricane sandy is $ 20 billion . residents walk past burned houses in breezy point , a neighborhood located in the new york city borough of queens , after it was devastated by hurricane sandy . sandy , meanwhile , was measured as a category 1 hurricane at landfall . but sandy may end up being the second costliest hurricane in history after katrina because of its high ike , mcnoldy noted . ` sandy had category 1 winds at landfall yet was able to create very significant storm surge over hundreds of miles of highly populated coastline , ' he wrote . general view of downtown new orleans , louisiana after katrina hit in 2005 . ` katrina 's ike was more concentrated , sandy 's ike was more spread out . this metric -- more than wind speed -- encapsulates the respective storms ' horrific effects . ' sandy has been estimated to cost at least $ 20 billion in damage , whereas katrina cost roughly $ 106 billion .<doc-sep>miami , florida -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- hurricane ike grew from a category 1 into a menacing category 4 storm in about six hours wednesday as it fed on the warm waters of atlantic , the national hurricane center said . an infrared image from a noaa satellite shows ike swirling in the atlantic on wednesday night . `` ike is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane '' with 135-mph sustained winds , the center said in its 11 p.m. et advisory . although it is likely to lose some strength during the next few days , ike is forecast to regain category 4 status by monday , the center said . `` it is too early to determine what , if any , land areas might be affected by ike , '' the hurricane center said . but the center 's potential four - to five-day track for ike puts it anywhere from north of jamaica to the coast of south florida on monday . ireport.com : are you in ike 's path ? at 11 p.m. et monday , ike was moving west-northwest through the atlantic ocean . the storm will be over open water for two days , forecasters said . earlier wednesday , ike intensified into the fifth hurricane of the 2008 atlantic season when its winds reached 80 mph .
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<t> new : tugboat reaches stranded freighter . </t> <t> ship 's crew of 22 endures night without power in gulf of mexico . </t> <t> coast guard , air force had to abandon rescue because of poor conditions . </t> <t> authorities onshore find it too dangerous to respond to calls for help . </t>
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freighter crew safe after riding out hurricane ike<T>
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beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- graphic footage of death and destruction has been shown on china 's state-run news networks in the days following the massive earthquake that hit southwest sichuan province earlier this week . such telling video has rarely been shown by domestic media so extensively and so quickly after a national disaster . cctv , china 's state-run television network , as well as some local tv stations , have interrupted their regular programming to provide 24-hour coverage of the disaster . field reporters give live reports of search-and rescue operations . news about china 's deadly earthquake is being updated around the clock -- tallying death tolls , the horrendous damage and the government 's swift response . footage shows premier wen jiabao surrounded by grieving villagers , his arms tightly holding two young girls .<doc-sep>`` your sorrow is our sorrow , '' he assures them . `` as long as people are still alive , we can start all over again . '' premier wen traveled to the disaster areas within hours of the massive earthquake . chinese television covered his movements while leading rescue operations and comforting people in distress . wearing a hard hat , he was shown standing on rubble and consoling trapped survivors through a loud speaker . the message is compelling : this disaster is terrible but the government is doing everything it can . such swift reaction and extensive news coverage has not been seen in previous disasters . when the great tangshan earthquake struck 32 years ago , the chinese media kept the information secret for a long time , even though over 240,000 people were killed . in the early stages of the 2003 sars outbreak , domestic media downplayed reports on the deadly epidemic , even as it spiraled out of control and spread globally . more recently , severe snowstorms hit southern china during spring festival , the nation 's most important holiday . local media initially downplayed the crisis , following the government 's cue ; premier wen jiabao was later forced to apologize for the government 's slow response . with the beijing olympics just three months away , china is in the spotlight .<doc-sep>wenran jiang , acting director of the chinese institute at the university of alberta , believes the nation has drawn lessons from its past experiences with disaster . `` china made mistakes before . they seemed to have learned their lessons from the earlier episodes and this one -- they probably want to manage it as well as they can . '' watch latest report on rescue efforts '' why china 's new approach ? jiang notes that `` the media follow-up is quite transparent , '' in part because it `` is politically less sensitive covering such a natural disaster . '' besides , chinese officials see tangible benefits in allowing media transparency . by showing the leaders helping people and coordinating search and rescue efforts , he explains , `` the result is that the whole -lsb- of -rsb- china is being mobilized . the disaster has now become a rallying point of the country . '' experts in the region note the stark contrast between china 's open response in the aftermath of the earthquake and myanmar 's defensive , clumsy response in the aftermath of a deadly cyclone earlier this month . unlike its southern neighbor , china appears open to accepting international help and providing accurate information . chinese officials say they welcome offers of sympathy and international assistance . aid groups have been on standby , ready to help as soon as the chinese government gives the green light . officials say that will come `` when the time is ripe . '' today 's more open , quick and aggressive reporting is a stark departure from china 's poor performance in recent years .<doc-sep>armies to better communicate and also set up an asia-pacific security . dialogue between the assistant defense secretary for the asia pacific . and china 's director of the ministry of national defense foreign affairs . office so they also can more easily exchange views . the . united states ' campaign to encourage china to be more open about its . military growth and intentions got a symbolic boost monday as hagel got a . rare tour of the country 's first aircraft carrier , but efforts to get . the asian giant to be more transparent about cyberattacks and other . defense operations has been less successful . in . a speech planned for later tuesday , hagel will point to cybersecurity . as an area where the u.s. wants the chinese to be more transparent , said . a senior u.s. official , who was not authorized to talk publicly by name . about the speech so spoke on condition of anonymity . hagel . arrived in beijing after a stop in japan , where he told reporters that . china must be more open about its military buildup and better respect . its neighbors - a pointed allusion to the territorial disputes . during . unusually forceful remarks during his stop in japan , hagel drew a . direct line between russia 's annexation of ukraine 's crimea region and . the ongoing territorial disputes between china , japan and others over . remote islands in the east china sea . calling . china a great power , he added that ` with this power comes new and wider . responsibilities as to how you use that power , how you employ that . military power . '<doc-sep>the emotional public reaction , analysts said , has added pressure on the chinese government . president xi jinping has dispatched a special envoy to kuala lumpur , who promptly met with the malaysian prime minister and other top officials to discuss the crisis . a day earlier , chinese government spokesman hong lei used calibrated but strong language in a statement , saying china `` demanded '' that malaysia disclose information . `` the chinese government has closely cooperated with the malaysian government from the very beginning , '' victor zhikai gao , a leading china commentator , told cnn . `` however , it is clear that the chinese government is increasingly asking the malaysian government to come up with all the relevant data and information . '' gao said it 's `` understandable '' this tragic incident `` may have caught the malaysian government unprepared , and the magnitude of the incident may have overwhelmed them . '' full disclosure . but he cautioned against anything but full disclosure when it comes to disseminating information about the investigation . `` it is an increasing concern ... that the malaysian side may not have been most upfront and transparent from the very beginning , '' gao said . `` the contradictions in the information they have disclosed bit by bit , piece by piece , may have the result of intentional withholding of information , or even lack of transparency and complete disclosure . '' such a perception , he said , may be changing the attitude of many people towards the way the malaysian government has handled this incident . yet china is caught between a rock and a hard place . mystery of missing airliner surfaces pain of 1977 tragedy . chinese officials need to show the chinese families and public at large that they 're doing their best , and using everything at china 's disposal to help the loved ones of passengers . it can not afford to publicly look callous , inept or weak . at the same time , and for geopolitical reasons , china needs to carefully manage relations with malaysia , an important partner in the asean bloc . beijing 's relations with malaysia have generally been more cordial than with other neighbors in the region , even though they have conflicting territorial claims over a group islands in south china sea . `` china can not afford to alienate malaysia , '' said another chinese source who asked not to be named . `` it needs malaysia as a counter-weight to countries like the philippines and singapore in its diplomatic strategy in the region , especially in southeast asia . '' time will tell if the malaysian side could have done much better in handling this tragic incident , said gao . `` for the moment , let 's urge the malaysian side to fully disclose all data and information in their possession . ''<doc-sep>u.s. companies having to manage with small , expensive supply , while chinese companies have greater access . by . rachel rickard straus . published : . 11:04 est , 13 march 2012 . | . updated : . 13:51 est , 13 march 2012 . the united states , european union and japan all filed complaints today with the world trade organization , claiming that china is stockpiling rare earth metals vital to the production of technology components . china has a stranglehold on the global supply of 17 rare earth materials essential for making high-end goods such as hybrid cars , camera lenses , mobile phones and weapons . however , it has cut its export quotas in recent years , which critics say gives chinese companies an unfair competitive advantage . stranglehold : chinese companies have access to a large supply of the rare earth materials essential for making mobile phones -lrb- pictured -rrb- and other high-end goods . u.s. companies are having to manage with a small , expensive supply , while chinese companies have access to more of these essential materials at a cheaper price , according to senior u.s. administration officials . it is thought china has cut its export quotas to cope with growing demand at home , although the chinese government also says environmental concerns are behind the restrictions . u.s. industry officials claim the restriction is an unfair trade practice and forbidden by wto rules , a group that includes china as a member . president barack obama planned to announce that the u.s. was filing a complaint from the white house today . the fresh action is part of president obama 's broader effort to crack down on what his administration sees as unfair trading practices by china . the u.s. , european union and japan filed separate but coordinated complaints , which will trigger a dispute settlement consultation . dispute : the u.s. , european union and japan have all complained to the wto -lrb- headquarters in geneva , switzerland pictured -rrb- . if no resolution can be found within 60 days , the dispute may be put to a wto panel for a ruling . depending on the outcome , sanctions against china are possible at the end of the process . the complaints also cover tungsten , a very hard metal , and molybdenum , a metallic element used to make different types of steel . anticipating the complaints , china defended its curbs on rare earths production earlier today , calling it an environmental measure . china needs to limit environmental damage and conserve scarce resources , said a chinese foreign ministry spokesman , liu weimin . ` we think the policy is in line with wto rules , ' liu said at a briefing . global manufacturers that depend on chinese supplies were alarmed by beijing 's decision in 2009 to limit exports while it built up an industry to produce lightweight magnets and other goods that use them . china has about 30 per cent of rare earths deposits but accounts for 97 per cent of the world 's production . the complaints filed today follow an earlier eu challenge to china at the wto on restrictions on other raw materials . earlier this year , the wto ruled that export restrictions on those other materials were incompatible with the rules of the global trade organization . but eu officials said china has made no move to comply with the earlier ruling . eu trade commissioner karel de gucht said china 's export quotas and export duties give chinese companies an unfair competitive advantage , and must be removed . ` these measures hurt our producers and consumers in the eu and across the world , ' de gucht said .<doc-sep>hu pledged the chinese government would safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of foreign news media and continue to facilitate foreign media coverage of china in accordance with the law , xinhua reported . it is not clear that he made a similar promise regarding chinese media . obama criticized censorship in his november visit to china , responding to questions from the chinese public about restrictions on the internet . `` because in the united states information is free , and i have a lot of critics in the united states who can say all kinds of things about me , i actually think that that makes our democracy stronger and it makes me a better leader because it forces me to hear opinions that i do n't want to hear , '' he said . earlier this month , secretary of state hillary clinton called on china to investigate alleged hacking of google in the country -- prompting the internet search giant to threaten to pull out of china . `` we look to the chinese authorities to conduct a thorough review of the cyber intrusions that led google to make its announcement . and we also look for that investigation and its results to be transparent , '' clinton said . five years ago , google agreed to allow some censorship by china , in exchange for the right to operate in that country 's massive emerging technology market . the company now says censorship and the hacking of chinese dissidents ' google e-mail accounts have prompted it to reconsider . the ifj calls itself `` a non-governmental , non-profit organization that promotes coordinated international action to defend press freedom and social justice through the development of strong , free and independent trade unions of journalists . ''
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<t> graphic footage of death , destruction has been shown on state-run networks . </t> <t> tv stations have interrupted regular shows to provide 24-hour coverage . </t> <t> swift reaction , extensive news coverage not seen in previous disasters . </t> <t> when earthquake struck 32 years ago , chinese media kept information secret . </t>
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china 's government gives rare transparent look at disaster<T>
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washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a mother suspected of killing her four children , whose decomposing bodies were found in her home , told police they were possessed by demons , according to court records . banita jacks , 33 , is charged with three counts of felony murder and one count of first-degree murder while armed . the victims , who range in age from 5 to 17 years , are thought to be her daughters . their bodies were found when u.s. marshals served an eviction notice at jacks ' apartment in southeast washington , d.c. court documents say jacks identified the victims as her daughters brittany jacks , 17 ; tatianna jacks , 11 ; n'kiah fogle , 6 ; and aja fogle , 5 . earlier thursday , mayor adrian fenty said the bodies ' decomposition has hindered their identification , although they were believed to be jacks ' children . marie pierre-louis , washington 's chief medical examiner , said all four of the girls had been dead for at least 15 days . jacks is being held without bail . her next court appearance is scheduled for february 11 . if convicted , she could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison .<doc-sep>jacks told police that her daughters were possessed by demons and that each died in her sleep during a seven - to 10-day period , court documents said . aja died first , she told police , then n'kiah , tatianna and brittany . `` she said that as the first three younger children died , she placed them side by side in the room in which they died , '' according to court documents . she reported that all the deaths occurred sometime before the electricity in her house was disconnected , which records show was september 5 , 2007 , documents said . jacks said she never tried to call authorities to remove the bodies `` because she did n't trust either agency and because she thought if she notified emergency personnel , that would cause her more problems , '' the documents said . she also said she had not fed her daughters food `` for a substantial period of time prior to their deaths . '' no one besides herself or the children had been in the home since may 2007 , jacks said . pierre-louis ruled the deaths homicides , according to a court document . watch pierre-louis describe the condition of the bodies ''<doc-sep>preliminary findings are that brittany was stabbed to death and that aja died from blunt-force impact to the back of her head and possible ligature strangulation . both tatianna and n'kiah also had `` apparent ligature evidence '' on their necks that was `` somewhat more defined than that noted on aja fogle 's neck , '' court documents said . however , the documents said , further tests are needed to confirm the causes of the deaths . all four children were wearing white t-shirts and were discovered in unfurnished bedrooms -- three in one and a fourth in another , the documents said . `` what appeared to be a metal steak knife '' was found next to the fourth . also , the fourth body was found in a bedroom with hardwood floors , and a t-shirt with duct tape was found at the bottom of the bedroom door , filling the gap between the floor and the bottom of the door when it was closed . a witness told police they saw jacks treat brittany differently from her other children , sometimes withholding food from her while feeding the others , court documents said .<doc-sep>in addition , the witness said jacks once drove brittany to jacks ' mother 's home in waldorf , maryland , and left her there . jacks ' mother was not home , the witness said , and brittany was left on the porch unattended for more than 10 hours . city officials are trying to determine how the children could have been dead for at least two weeks without anyone noticing their absence . fenty said the city had determined that jacks ' children were `` in and out of the public school system '' and that the child welfare caseworkers and the metropolitan police had each had at least `` one contact '' with the family . watch fenty explain how a `` routine '' eviction became a death investigation '' `` there may be other contacts with the government ... in the case of the jacks family , '' he said . he did not divulge further details . `` somebody should have known that these young people were not in school or someplace , '' councilman marion barry said wednesday . the former washington mayor represents the ward in which the bodies were found . e-mail to a friend . cnn 's larry lazo contributed to this report .<doc-sep>by . daily mail reporters . published : . 14:53 est , 28 october 2013 . | . updated : . 16:22 est , 28 october 2013 . a man who told police he stabbed his cousin 's wife and their four young children to death because he was jealous of their lifestyle today appeared in court to hear the charges against him . mingdong chen , 25 , appeared briefly in brooklyn criminal court on monday wearing over-sized blue sweats with his hair disheveled . he did not speak and did not enter a plea . he was charged with one count of . first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of qiao zhen li , 37 , and william zhuo , 1 , amy . zhuo , 7 , kevin zhuo , 5 , and linda zhuo , 9 . he was also charged with assaulting a police officer while being questioned at a precinct after the grisly killings on saturday evening . scroll down for video . in court : mingdong chen , 25 , is arraigned in brooklyn criminal court on monday after allegedly butchering his cousin 's wife and her four children , aged one to nine , in brooklyn on saturday night . quiet : chen , whose lawyer said suffered two bruises to his forehead with in police custody , stayed silent . his attorney , danielle eaddy , said her client had been injured while in police custody and appeared to have two bruises on his forehead . she did not immediately request a psychiatric hearing . chen was held without bail and his next court date was set for friday , where a grand jury was expected to determine whether to indict him in the gruesome deaths . police said chen stabbed and slashed the victims in their necks and torsos . the one-year-old boy was so badly butchered that he was decapitated , according to reports . the family was found in various rooms in their apartment on the first floor of a two-story brick house . some were hospitalized and pronounced dead ; others died at the scene . ` it 's a scene you 'll never forget , ' said chief of department philip banks iii . the children 's father and chen 's . cousin , yi lin zhuo , was working . at a long island restaurant when the grisly murders unfolded in his home . victims : chen is accused of murdering 1-year-old william zhuo , 7-year-old amy zhuo , 9-year-old linda zhuo , 5-year-old kevin zhuo and their mother qiao zhen li . two of the children are pictured . in custody : chen , who did not enter a plea , has been held without bail and will appear in court next on friday . the . mother tried to call him because she was alarmed about chen 's behavior . earlier in the evening , police said - but she was unable to get through . to him . she . then called her mother-in-law in . china who reached out to her daughter in the same brooklyn neighborhood . of sunset park , asking her and her husband to drop by the .<doc-sep>filth : crime scene photos show piles of filth strewn about samantha harper 's home . harper has since been been charged with two counts each of murder and aggravated child abuse in the august , 2012 deaths of her two children . she awaits a five-day trial expected to take place in february . the tennessee department of child services recently released thousands of pages of child death records , including 44 pages about the deaths of the marise children . the names of children were redacted from the reports , but the tennessean was able to independently confirm the pages related to the deaths of the marise children . the records paint a grisly picture of life for the children in their mother 's home , which was later condemned due to its dreadful condition . ` the children did not have beds and the walls in the room had food and . feces smeared and splattered on them , ' records state . ` when the children . were found deceased they were found to have cuts on their hands and . they were filthy . ' gross : authorities say harper 's home was without a working toilet . neglect : amongst the mounds of filth , authorities found piles of soiled diapers inside the home . records and photographs of the home taken after the deaths of the two children show mounds of garbage , rotting food , fast food bags , piles of soda cans , used diapers and cigarette burns on the walls and floors . additionally , investigators discovered that the home had no working toilet .<doc-sep>denial : yoselyn ortega , who is accused of . killing 2 children in her care last year , is pictured in court in july . she has claimed she had nothing to do with it and acted . surprised when she saw images of their bodies . she said that after showing ortega the images , ` she turns to me and says , `` oh , my god , who did that to . them ? '' she has no mind , no memory of the . incident ' , the new york daily news reported . ortega has claimed she had nothing to do with the grisly deaths of lucia and leo in their parents ' upper west side apartment in october 2012 . their mother , marina , returned home with her other daughter , then three , to find their tiny bodies in the bathtub with ortega allegedly slitting her own throat next to them in an attempt to take her life . ortega , a 50-year-old dominican immigrant , has been charged with murder but maintains she is innocent . a judge has declared her mentally fit to stand trial .<doc-sep>by . daily mail reporters . published : . 01:05 est , 29 october 2013 . | . updated : . 06:57 est , 29 october 2013 . the man accused of butchering his cousin 's wife and four children on saturday night was a family outcast who spent his unemployed days gambling and smoking marijuana , a friend of the suspect has revealed . according to tony chen , 37 , who has known mingdong chen for several years , the 25-year-old was often agitated and when he played the electronic gambling machines at illegal parlors he 'd pound his hand against it angrily if he lost . his wayward behavior had caused something of a rift between the young man and his family who disproved of his tendency to ` gamble and smoke marijuana , ' tony chen said . scroll down for video . in court : mingdong chen , 25 , is arraigned in brooklyn criminal court on monday after allegedly butchering his cousin 's wife and her four children , aged one to nine , in brooklyn on saturday night . quiet : chen , whose lawyer said suffered two bruises to his forehead with in police custody , stayed silent . tony chen last saw his friend on . friday afternoon when they ran into each other on 57th street and . chatted , the man told the new york times . ` he seemed agitated , ' he said . ` in recent days , he did n't have so much money . ' the . new details about the alleged killer 's character comes as it 's revealed . his first words when he opened the door to his cousin 's sister and her . husband after the attack were , ' i know i am done . ' chen , . who has flitted between chicago and new york since arriving in the u.s. in 2004 , was arraigned on monday for the grim killings . he . said nothing as he was charged with five counts of murder for the . deaths of the four children -- linda zhuo , 9 ; amy zhuo , 7 ; kevin zhuo , 5 ; . and william zhuo , 1 -- and their mother , qiao zhen li , 37 , who died from . cuts to the neck . he . was also charged with assaulting a police officer while being questioned . at a precinct after the grisly killings on saturday evening . in custody : chen , who did not enter a plea , has been held without bail and will appear in court next on friday . judge jane tully ordered him held without bail . meanwhile on monday , . public school 105 , where three of the zhou children had been students , . mourned the weekend 's shocking events that took place only blocks away .
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<t> new : one child appeared to be stabbed to death , another strangled . </t> <t> mother banita jacks , 33 , told police her children died in their sleep . </t> <t> jacks faces 3 counts of felony murder , 1 count of first-degree murder while armed . </t> <t> officials trying to determine how kids ' deaths , absences went unnoticed . </t>
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mother charged in grisly deaths of her four children<T>
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editor 's note : republican strategist alex castellanos was a former campaign consultant for mitt romney 's presidential campaign and has worked on more than half a dozen presidential campaigns . castellanos is a partner in national media inc. , a political and public affairs consulting firm that specializes in advertising . he has produced many republican political ads and has clients such as the u.s. chamber of commerce . alex castellanos says barack obama 's change theme has buckled to `` top-down liberalism . '' -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- in theater , they say the second act is the hardest to write . it requires relentless focus and discipline . the writer must give himself fearlessly to one central idea and never waver , though temptation is the opposite : there are many paths a story can take . so it is in politics , as barack obama 's campaign is learning . the clear campaign of change ran into trouble in act ii when it was tasked with explaining what change actually meant . obama , as they say in show business , `` ran out of script . '' the wind in his sails stalled in the hot calm of august and he has yet to recover . after john mccain 's improbable resuscitation to seize the gop nomination , the arizona senator 's top aides briefed him about his exacting challenge : he would go into the conventions trailing obama by at least 8 percentage points and then battle back through the fall to parity .<doc-sep>yet , as cooler days and hotter rhetoric mark the start of the fall finale , it is obama who finds himself clawing back , forced to attack , launching uncharacteristic partisan and personal attacks against a mccain who has `` lost track '' of and is `` confused '' about how many houses he owns . how did the soaring campaign of change become grinding politics-as-usual and crash so thunderously to earth ? the obama campaign 's clear message in the primaries was a bottom-up , organic populism that cast voters themselves as the agents of change . `` we are the change we have been waiting for , '' obama told his supporters during the primaries . in return , they sang , `` yes we can . '' this heady mix of populism and change swelled his campaign into a cause . in marketing terms , it is called `` voter as hero . '' obama empowered his supporters , telling them they , not the old political establishment , could achieve anything . bottom-up politics is one thing , however . bottom-up government , another . when barack obama became the nominee of the national democratic establishment , the candidate of hope ran into political reality : his party 's canons of governing are the opposite of change .<doc-sep>barack obama may believe `` change does n't come from the top down , it comes from the bottom up , '' but the leadership of his party does n't . the national democratic establishment , from the daily kos and moveon.org to pelosi and reid in congress , still believe in top-down big-government from washington , especially if they get to run the factory . politically , they are industrial-age dinosaurs . they believe the era of big government is back , not over . they would keep money and power in their hands , not devolve it to the average american . that was not something the denver democrats were eager to confess . instead , they advocated a sly european-style socialism that would not speak its intent . `` decent , quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege , '' the democrats offered during the first night of their convention . a big-government health-care factory run by washington ? that 's change ? why not the same for food , clothing and shelter ? but relax , joe lunchbucket , an even bigger public-sector industrial plant will impose no cost on your family . obama 's party promises not to tax you , just business -- the people who sell you your groceries and gasoline and sign your paychecks . as fred thompson noted in his gop convention speech , `` they wo n't take any water out of your side of the bucket . just the other side . '' this is not `` voter as hero '' but , instead , `` voter as victim . '' a heroic washington has all the money , the power , and the answers . same old , same old . so the candidate of change fell silent . and he sang change never again . barack obama could have spoken truth to power . he could have pledged to confront the democratic party establishment . he could have brought a more natural , organic era of bottom-up government , not just bottom-up politics , to a dated party clinging to a decaying philosophy of authority .<doc-sep>but when the irresistible force of obama 's bottom-up politics met the immovable object of democratic party power , it was the dream , not the power , that conceded . `` yes we can '' turned out to mean not `` yes the people can '' , just `` yes washington can . '' too bad . it would have refreshed the democratic party and the country . this movie is not new : the candidate who runs to change the establishment does n't . instead , we see it change him . the hope for real change in washington has been suffocated by an older generation 's embrace . now , barack obama finds himself trapped without a post-partisan message . instead of challenging politics-as-usual , he sells the usual partisan politics : `` bush-mccain '' , he shouts from rooftops , sounding like every other democrat in the chorus , pretending partisanship is fresh . the story ? bottom-up change ran into top-down liberalism . old-fashioned liberalism won . that 's act ii . stand by for the play 's end . this opinions in this commentary are solely those of the writer .<doc-sep>would that mean dreamers get deported , diaz - balart asked , to which romney replied : `` well , they 're -- they 're -- they 're not deported immediately today . and -- and that 's not , that has not been the practice . my practice is to make sure these people have a permanent understanding and a solution to this issue . '' weak standing among hispanic voters . to cnn contributor ana navarro , a latina republican , such equivocation contributes to romney 's weak standing among hispanic american voters . the impremedia/latino decisions weekly tracking poll reported monday that obama held a 68 % -26 % advantage over romney among hispanic americans . `` romney needs to move beyond his positions during the primary , '' navarro wrote in an online commentary . `` he promised to veto the dream act . he should then tell us if and how he plans to confront the predicament these young people face . '' in particular , navarro asked if a president romney would revoke or let stand obama 's administrative order providing dreamers with a two-year reprieve from possible deportation , adding : `` a simple yes or no will suffice . '' clarissa martinez , the director of civic engagement for the national council of la raza , agreed that romney needs to clarify his position to have any chance of making headway with latino voters . `` the question is what would a romney administration do ? '' martinez told cnn , adding that obama can strengthen his position by hammering romney on the dreamer deportation issue `` because romney has not come up with a specific position . '' according to the impremedia-latino decisions poll , immigration is the second-most important issue to latino voters , behind the economy . with the november vote likely to be decided in nine battleground states considered toss-ups at this point , the latino demographic could be crucial in some tightly contested races . for example , north carolina 's 15 electoral votes are up for grabs in a state obama won by 14,177 votes four years ago . with more than 182,000 eligible latino voters in the state , according to the latino decisions website , the presidential breakdown could play a major role in determining who wins . gaining traction with latino voters requires the same kind of campaigning as any other demographic , martinez said . `` the prescription is not much different , '' she said , advocating outreach and building relationships . `` the question is the substance . what are the issues and what are you saying about them ? ''<doc-sep>but the reality is also that we have spent billions of dollars in two wars over the last 12 years , and president obama has kept his promise to bring those wars to an end and to focus his effort on keeping america safe . cnn/google campaign explorer : ads , money and travel . so how does mitt romney get an edge over the president in a foreign policy debate ? my view is that he must simply look like a commander in chief for the future . in an effort to distinguish himself from obama , romney has made some big mistakes with regard to foreign policy . romney 's biggest mistake may simply be in his attitude . in short , he acts like a leader from the 1950s who is still trying to prove to the world that america is not just the best country , but the boss of the world . and in 2012 , that just does n't fly . are we the leader of the free world ? yes . are we a nation that should continue to share our democratic values with the world ? yes . can we control everything that happens in the world ? no -- and we should n't try . simply put , we ca n't afford it and we do n't need to . so when romney blusters on about how much tougher he would be than obama , in an effort to distinguish a foreign policy that is n't very distinguishable , he should pay careful attention to the fact that were he to be president , acting so aggressively would carry expectations that he follow through . and the american people do not want a president who picks fights around the world . my advice to romney is to `` chill '' a little in the debate . do n't act like you will be the world 's bully . act thoughtful and well , presidential -- like our actual president . how foreign policy hits close to home . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writers .<doc-sep>`` yes , that 's not a problem i ever had , '' isaacson quotes jobs as saying . now that 's some real talk . i 'll guarantee you this : weak and lazy corporate bosses allow weak and lazy employees to stick around . and weak and lazy employees tend to turn out a weak and sorry product that nobody wants . and weak and lazy people accept mediocrity with ease . america , it 's time to suck it up . if we love the harsh and in-your-face american idol/x factor judging of simon cowell , then we should accept it in the real world . this nation needs a swift kick in the butt , and there is nothing wrong when president obama says it . if house speaker john boehner said the same , i would be hollering , `` amen ! '' if america wants to maintain it 's position as a great nation , then we are going to have to roll up our sleeves and out-think , out-learn , out-hustle and out-work everyone . so gov. perry , instead of spending time taking president obama out of context in an ad , you need to work harder in debates . herman cain , you do n't like the president using the word lazy ? then bone up on foreign affairs . republicans and democrats unhappy with president obama challenging our corporate leaders , stop kicking the can down the road on the tough budget stuff and make a principled , not partisan , call . we have been better and can be better . so let 's do better . today . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of roland martin .<doc-sep>in these tough economic times , who will deny that there is much reason for foreboding ? yet conservatives sell our own accomplishments and principles short when they represent them as so fragile . the fact is : our win-loss ratio is actually pretty good . free-market ideas have rescued states in much worse trouble than post-obama america : mao 's china to name one outstanding example . i can see why an anticapitalist radical would want to insist that capitalism is fragile and ready to collapse . but why would an american conservative concede such a preposterous claim ? `` the facts of life , '' as margaret thatcher so powerfully said , `` are conservative . '' and as ronald reagan said , paraphrasing john adams , `` facts are stubborn things . '' those facts will reassert themselves . and so will the strength , dynamism , and creativity of the american economy . yes , americans have some urgent decisions to make . yes , the bad decisions of the obama administration will be hard and painful to correct . but they are correctable . no good decision was ever made in panic . so do n't panic . do n't despair . take a deep breath . have confidence . assess the challenge without complacency , but also without exaggeration . think , organize and act . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of david frum .
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<t> alex castellanos : obama 's message was populism and bottom-up change . </t> <t> obama campaign taken over by democratic establishment , he says . </t> <t> castellanos : democratic party champions big government and opposes change . </t> <t> `` yes we can '' turned into `` yes washington can , '' castellanos says . </t>
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commentary : obama 's ` yes we can ' theme needs second act<T>
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islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- more than 1,300 pounds of explosives were packed into a construction truck that detonated outside an islamabad hotel , killing 57 people , including two americans and a diplomat , officials said sunday . a truck burns at the gate to the marriott hotel in islamabad before a larger , deadly explosion saturday . pakistani interior minister rehman malik said the saturday attack at the marriott hotel `` is the biggest attack , volume-wise '' in pakistan in seven years . two american military personnel who worked for the u.s. embassy in islamabad were among those killed , the u.s. military said . a lithuanian and the czech republic 's ambassador to pakistan , ivo zdarek , also were among the fatalities , police superintendent sheikh zubair said . the suicide truck blast injured 266 people , including 11 foreigners , according to malik . watch guards scatter after an explosion '' british airways temporarily suspended its flights to islamabad as a result of the security situation , according to an airline spokeswoman who did not want to be named . a sunday night flight has been canceled , and the airline is reviewing its operations for later in the week . british airways operates at least three flights a week to the pakistani capital out of london 's heathrow airport . at a news conference in islamabad on sunday , pakistani authorities released security video of the blast , showing a small explosion inside the truck before the larger , deadly explosion . watch the truck bomb caught on tape . in the video , a large truck crashes into the security gate , sending one security officer scurrying for safety . then , as security guards approach the truck , the top of the vehicle explodes and the security guards flee . a small cloud of smoke appears above the truck , which is engulfed in flames minutes later . one of the security guards tries to put out the fire with a hand-held extinguisher , to no avail . the guards then walk away , and the camera freezes on the burning truck . pakistani officials said the blast apparently disrupted electricity to the area , causing the closed-circuit television camera to malfunction . no arrests have been made in connection with the attack , malik said sunday , adding that militants in pakistan 's tribal regions are suspected of orchestrating the attack . `` i am not in a position to tell you who has done it , but -lsb- in -rsb- all the previous investigations , all the roads have gone to south waziristan , '' he said . south waziristan is one of pakistan 's seven tribal areas where taliban and al qaeda militants are active . at the bombing site , video showed a deep crater in the pavement where the bomb detonated . more than a dozen cars were reduced to twisted steel .<doc-sep>the crater was 24 feet deep and nearly 60 feet wide , malik said . the blast also caused a natural gas leak that set the top floor of the five-story , 258-room hotel on fire , police said . the blaze quickly engulfed the entire structure . watch a witness describe walking over bodies '' most of the fatalities appeared to be drivers , who were waiting with their cars outside the marriott , and hotel security guards , geo tv 's hamid mir said . the hotel , where a standard room costs more than $ 300 per night , is near the compound that contains the parliament building , the prime minister 's house , the supreme court and the presidency . the blast occurred about 7:50 p.m. , after the breaking of the fast during the holy month of ramadan , malik said . trees were felled by the explosion , which occurred hours after newly elected president asif ali zardari addressed a joint session of parliament and promised to root out terrorism . watch the scene the morning after the blast '' a few hours after the attack , zardari addressed the nation on television , saying he knows the pain of terrorism after his wife , former prime minister benazir bhutto , was killed in december on the campaign trail . `` my heart cries tears of blood . i can understand your pain . i want to ask you to turn this pain into your strength , '' he said , describing extremism as `` a cancer , which we will finish . '' `` in the holy month of ramadan , no muslim can act in this way . these people are not muslims , '' he said . `` i appeal to all democratic nations to help us get rid of this menace . '' the marriott , a western brand-name hotel , has been the site of attacks in the past . see where the attack occurred '' malik said authorities had received a threat against parliament two days ago . `` we had taken all security measures , '' he said . `` there was heavy security in the city . '' located near the diplomatic section of the city and heavily guarded by police and the military , the hotel is popular among tourists and had been packed saturday night . any vehicle entering the facility is searched , its underside checked for bombs , before it is allowed to pass through heavy steel gates . watch bombing victims rushed into hospital '' the british high commission in islamabad said six british nationals -- five adults and one minor -- were injured in the attack , including three commission members . a pakistani staff member of the commission was also injured , it said . a spokeswoman for the german foreign ministry said six germans in the hotel were slightly hurt in the attack , and that all embassy personnel were accounted for . cnn 's zein basravi and reza sayah , and journalist tomas etzler contributed to this report .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- more than 1,300 pounds of explosives were packed into a construction truck that detonated outside an islamabad hotel , killing 57 people , including two americans and a diplomat , officials said sunday . a truck burns at the gate to the marriott hotel in islamabad before a larger , deadly explosion saturday . pakistani interior minister rehman malik said the saturday attack at the marriott hotel `` is the biggest attack , volume-wise '' in pakistan in seven years . two american military personnel who worked for the u.s. embassy in islamabad were among those killed , the u.s. military said . a lithuanian and the czech republic 's ambassador to pakistan , ivo zdarek , also were among the fatalities , police superintendent sheikh zubair said . the suicide truck blast injured 266 people , including 11 foreigners , according to malik . watch guards scatter after an explosion '' british airways temporarily suspended its flights to islamabad as a result of the security situation , according to an airline spokeswoman who did not want to be named . a sunday night flight has been canceled , and the airline is reviewing its operations for later in the week . british airways operates at least three flights a week to the pakistani capital out of london 's heathrow airport . at a news conference in islamabad on sunday , pakistani authorities released security video of the blast , showing a small explosion inside the truck before the larger , deadly explosion . watch the truck bomb caught on tape . in the video , a large truck crashes into the security gate , sending one security officer scurrying for safety . then , as security guards approach the truck , the top of the vehicle explodes and the security guards flee . a small cloud of smoke appears above the truck , which is engulfed in flames minutes later . one of the security guards tries to put out the fire with a hand-held extinguisher , to no avail . the guards then walk away , and the camera freezes on the burning truck . pakistani officials said the blast apparently disrupted electricity to the area , causing the closed-circuit television camera to malfunction . no arrests have been made in connection with the attack , malik said sunday , adding that militants in pakistan 's tribal regions are suspected of orchestrating the attack . `` i am not in a position to tell you who has done it , but -lsb- in -rsb- all the previous investigations , all the roads have gone to south waziristan , '' he said . south waziristan is one of pakistan 's seven tribal areas where taliban and al qaeda militants are active . at the bombing site , video showed a deep crater in the pavement where the bomb detonated . more than a dozen cars were reduced to twisted steel . the crater was 24 feet deep and nearly 60 feet wide , malik said . the blast also caused a natural gas leak that set the top floor of the five-story , 258-room hotel on fire , police said . the blaze quickly engulfed the entire structure . watch a witness describe walking over bodies '' most of the fatalities appeared to be drivers , who were waiting with their cars outside the marriott , and hotel security guards , geo tv 's hamid mir said . the hotel , where a standard room costs more than $ 300 per night , is near the compound that contains the parliament building , the prime minister 's house , the supreme court and the presidency . the blast occurred about 7:50 p.m. , after the breaking of the fast during the holy month of ramadan , malik said . trees were felled by the explosion , which occurred hours after newly elected president asif ali zardari addressed a joint session of parliament and promised to root out terrorism . watch the scene the morning after the blast '' a few hours after the attack , zardari addressed the nation on television , saying he knows the pain of terrorism after his wife , former prime minister benazir bhutto , was killed in december on the campaign trail . `` my heart cries tears of blood . i can understand your pain . i want to ask you to turn this pain into your strength , '' he said , describing extremism as `` a cancer , which we will finish . '' `` in the holy month of ramadan , no muslim can act in this way . these people are not muslims , '' he said . `` i appeal to all democratic nations to help us get rid of this menace . '' the marriott , a western brand-name hotel , has been the site of attacks in the past . see where the attack occurred '' malik said authorities had received a threat against parliament two days ago . `` we had taken all security measures , '' he said . `` there was heavy security in the city . '' located near the diplomatic section of the city and heavily guarded by police and the military , the hotel is popular among tourists and had been packed saturday night . any vehicle entering the facility is searched , its underside checked for bombs , before it is allowed to pass through heavy steel gates . watch bombing victims rushed into hospital '' the british high commission in islamabad said six british nationals -- five adults and one minor -- were injured in the attack , including three commission members . a pakistani staff member of the commission was also injured , it said . a spokeswoman for the german foreign ministry said six germans in the hotel were slightly hurt in the attack , and that all embassy personnel were accounted for . cnn 's zein basravi and reza sayah , and journalist tomas etzler contributed to this report .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a bomb flattened a hotel sunday in southwest pakistan , killing at least 12 people , police said . the attack came hours after five rockets fired at a paramilitary training camp in the country 's tribal region killed three people , a paramilitary spokesman said . the incidents took place as pakistan celebrate its independence day . the bomb was planted inside a hotel in dera allah yar , a town in balochistan province , said police official israr umrani . dozens of people were inside the hotel when the blast took place , umrani said . in addition to those killed , another 14 were wounded . there was no immediate claim of responsibility . balochistan is pakistan 's largest province but also its poorest and most sparsely populated . in recent years , the province has been plagued by sectarian violence and separatist baluch militant groups who demand political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the province 's natural resources . the earlier attack sunday took place at the tochi scouts camp at miranshah in north waziristan . the rockets struck while the paramilitary group was preparing for an independence day parade , said maj. niaz khan . in addition to those killed , 25 people were wounded , khan said . the tochi scouts are a federally-controlled paramilitary force that has been primarily recruited from pakistan 's tribal areas bordering afghanistan . pakistan celebrates its independence every year on august 14 , the day it was made an independent country based on borders created by the british as they ended their colonial rule in india . cnn 's reza sayah and aliza kassim contributed to this report .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a suicide attack at the offices of the world food program in islamabad killed five employees and wounded several others monday , an agency official said . pakistani police commandos stand in front of a u.n. office after a suicide blast in islamabad on monday . four pakistanis and an iraqi national died at the u.n. humanitarian agency , according to authorities . the suicide bomber , who also died in the attack , was in his 20s and wore a vest containing about 15 pounds -lrb- 7 kg -rrb- of explosives , said ben yamin , a senior pakistani police official .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- three suicide attackers shot their way onto the grounds of a five-star hotel in the northwest pakistani city of peshawar and set off a car bomb , killing at least seven people and wounding dozens , officials said . pakistani police gather at the five-star hotel destroyed by a car bomb . peshawar police chief safwat ghyour said about 40 people were wounded in the attack on the pearl continental hotel , which is often frequented by foreigners and diplomats . the blast inflicted severe damage on the building , which is surrounded by a security wall , and destroyed dozens of cars in the parking lot , police and witnesses said . the information minister for pakistan 's north west frontier province , mian iftikhar hussain , put the death toll at 11 , with at least 50 wounded . a local official , sahib zada muhammad anis khan , said one of the dead was a nigerian national who worked for the united nations . qhazi jamil , senior superintendent of peshawar police , told cnn three gunmen in a pickup fired on security guards at the hotel 's entrance gate and forced their way inside before setting off the bomb .
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<t> new : truck loaded with more than a half-ton of explosives , official says . </t> <t> u.s. military says two americans assigned to embassy among dead . </t> <t> pakistani president says of perpetrators : `` these people are not muslims '' </t> <t> police : ivo zdarek , czech republic 's ambassador to pakistan , died in hotel bombing . </t>
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official : hotel blast ` biggest attack ' in 7 years for pakistan<T>
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beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- officials on monday announced the death of a second child who consumed contaminated milk powder . more than 1,200 others have been sickened , according to china 's health ministry . of that number , 340 infants are hospitalized and 53 are considered to be in serious condition . government inspectors are testing baby formula around china and plan to release their results on tuesday , said li changjiang , head of the state administration of quality supervision , inspection and quarantine , according to the xinhua news agency . the manufacturer , sanlu group , has recalled more than 8,200 tons of the tainted formula following reports of babies developing kidney stones , xinhua said . watch what sanlu has done '' sanlu , one of china 's leading dairy producers , has also sealed off more than 2,100 tons of contaminated product , and another 700 tons still need to be recalled , the news agency said . it is not the first time sanlu has been connected to a scandal involving tainted milk powder , according to china daily . in 2004 , at least 13 infants in the eastern anhui province died of malnutrition after drinking milk powder that had little to no nutrition . the illegally manufactured milk was falsely labeled with the sanlu brand , according to the paper . more than 170 other babies were hospitalized as a result of drinking the cheap milk powder . chinese police have questioned 78 people -- including dairy farmers and milk dealers -- about the most recent contamination , a chinese official told xinhua saturday . sanlu would not say whether its employees are being investigated , xinhua said . testing by sanlu found tripolycyanamide , also known as melamine , in 700 tons of its product , said zhao xinchao , the vice mayor of shijiazhuang , the news agency reported . zhao told the news agency that the suspects added water to the milk they sold to sanlu to make more money , then added the chemical so the diluted milk could still meet standards . inspectors found the chemical in sanlu infant formula produced by one of the company 's partner producers in northwest gansu province , an official said sunday . two of 12 samples randomly selected from the sanlu milk powder produced by the haoniu dairy company in jiuquan city tested positive for melamine , said xian hui , the vice-governor of gansu . health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones , urinary tract ulcers , and eye and skin irritation . the chemical is commonly used in coatings and laminates , wood adhesives , fabric coatings , ceiling tiles and flame retardants . hundreds of wal-mart and carrefour stores in china are pulling the sanlu milk powder from their shelves , xinhua said . this episode marks the latest in a string of tainted products produced in china . the u.s. food and drug administration recalled more than 150 brands of cat and dog food last year after finding that some pets became ill or died after eating food tainted with melamine , the same chemical found in the powdered milk .<doc-sep>two chinese businesses , a u.s. company and top executives of each were indicted by a federal grand jury in february in connection with tainted pet food , which resulted in deaths and serious illnesses in up to thousands of u.s. pets , federal prosecutors said . in october 2007 , regulators and retailers in the united states recalled at least 69,000 chinese-made toys over concerns of excessive amounts of lead paint , which can cause hazardous lead poisoning . in november , shipments of the popular toy aqua dots were found to have been contaminated with a toxic chemical that turned into a powerful `` date rape '' drug if swallowed , causing some children who ate the craft toys to vomit and lose consciousness . and in february , a maryland candy distributor pulled pokemon-brand valentine lollipops from store shelves after bits of metal were found in the sealed treats , authorities said . officials on monday announced the death of a second child who consumed contaminated milk powder . of the more than 1,200 others who have been sickened , 340 infants were hospitalized , and 53 considered to be in serious condition , according to china 's health ministry . government inspectors were testing baby formula around china and plan to release their results on tuesday , said li changjiang , head of the state administration of quality supervision , inspection and quarantine , according to the xinhua news agency . the manufacturer , sanlu group , has recalled more than 8,200 tons of the tainted formula following reports of babies developing kidney stones , xinhua said . sanlu , one of china 's leading dairy producers , also has sealed off more than 2,100 tons of contaminated product , and another 700 tons still need to be recalled , the news agency said . chinese police have questioned 78 people , including dairy farmers and milk dealers , about the contamination , a chinese official told xinhua saturday . sanlu would not say whether its employees were being investigated , xinhua said . testing by sanlu found tripolycyanamide , also known as melamine , in 700 tons of its product , said zhao xinchao , the vice mayor of shijiazhuang , the news agency reported . zhao told the news agency that the suspects added water to the milk they sold to sanlu to make more money , then added the chemical so that the diluted milk could still meet standards . inspectors found the chemical in sanlu infant formula produced by one of the company 's partner producers in northwest gansu province , an official said sunday . two of 12 samples randomly selected from the sanlu milk powder produced by the haoniu dairy company in jiuquan city tested positive for melamine , said xian hui , the vice-governor of gansu . ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones , urinary tract ulcers , and eye and skin irritation , health experts said . the chemical is commonly used in coatings and laminates , wood adhesives , fabric coatings , ceiling tiles and flame retardants . the chemical was also involved in the massive pet food recall last year . hundreds of wal-mart and carrefour stores in were pulling the sanlu milk powder from their shelves , xinhua said .<doc-sep>in bangladesh , three chinese powdered milk brands -- sanlu , suncare and yashili -- have been taken off shelves and all milk powder imports at bangladeshi ports will be inspected . bangladeshi tv showed the country 's rapid action battalion climbing over a fence to raid a storage facility believed to contain tainted milk . in malaysia , health minister datuk liow tiong lai announced that import of chinese milk products had been stopped . in addition to banning imports , thousands of tons of tainted milk powder have been recalled . in the philippines monday , the country 's bureau of food and drugs banned the distribution and selling of two brands of imported chinese milk that could possibly be tainted , the philippines news agency reported . the milk brands were yili and china mengniu diary company , the agency reported . one of the implicated chinese plants is operated by a subsidiary of the marudai food co. in japan . marudai said it was recalling five types of products from the plant , would halt operations there for one month , and will send employees to the subsidiary to examine quality controls . the factory will be shut down through october 19 . even some countries that do n't import chinese dairy products , such as malaysia and brunei , have banned milk products from china . in hong kong , concerned parents have swamped hospitals . a 3-year-old hong kong girl was reported this weekend as the first case outside of mainland china . the girl was treated for kidney stones at princess margaret hospital and released , hong kong 's government web site reported . her condition is being monitored . watch the public outcry faced by the chinese government '' a second child , a 4-year-old boy , had similar renal symptoms , the government reported monday . the boy , a hong kong native , had consumed milk products contaminated with melamine and was diagnosed with a kidney stone in mainland china , the department of health said . he was treated at princess margaret on monday and was in stable condition . the hospital said monday it has provided medical consultation to 63 people who might have consumed contaminated milk products . the patients , 34 males and 29 females , ranged in age from 2 months to 17 years old . a hong kong government hotline has received nearly 1,000 calls . melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates , wood adhesives , fabric coatings , ceiling tiles and flame retardants . some chinese dairy plants have added it to milk products to make it seem to have a higher protein level . learn more about the chemical melamine '' melamine is the same industrial contaminant from china that poisoned and killed thousands of u.s. dogs and cats last year . health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones , urinary tract ulcers , and eye and skin irritation . it also robs infants of much-needed nutrition .<doc-sep>in asia , singapore announced a recall of all chinese milk products on tuesday . the head of indonesia 's food safety watch said she was instituting a temporary ban of all milk imports from china , although contaminated milk has not been found in the country . in issuing its recall of milk products , singapore had already suspended the import and sale of milk and dairy products from china on friday , after it said it has found traces of melamine in three chinese-made dairy products . the agri-food and veterinary authority said `` white rabbit creamy candy '' was ordered off of shelves after tests showed it was contaminated . white rabbit is among the best-known candy brands in china and one of the few exported widely . the united states is among 40 nations that import the candy , a man in the administrative office of the shanghai-based company told cnn monday . earlier , singapore 's agri-food agency said it found melamine in two other milk-based chinese imports : the yili brand `` choice dairy fruit bar yoghurt flavored ice confection '' and the dutch lady brand of strawberry-flavored milk . in bangladesh , three chinese powdered milk brands -- sanlu , suncare and yashili -- have been taken off shelves and all milk powder imports at bangladeshi ports will be inspected . bangladeshi tv showed the country 's rapid action battalion climbing over a fence to raid a storage facility believed to contain tainted milk . in malaysia , health minister datuk liow tiong lai announced that import of chinese milk products had been stopped . in addition to banning imports , thousands of tons of tainted milk powder have been recalled . in the philippines monday , the country 's bureau of food and drugs banned the distribution and selling of two brands of imported chinese milk that could possibly be tainted , the philippines news agency reported . the milk brands were yili and china mengniu diary company , the agency reported .<doc-sep>beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the number of children sickened by suspected melamine-tainted milk products in china has more than doubled and apparently spread beyond mainland china -- raising fears that the impact of the tainted products could be more widespread that initially thought . china 's health ministry announced sunday that 12,892 infants and young children have been sickened by tainted milk powder -- more than double the number previously reported -- according to state-run xinhua news agency . of these , 104 have serious symptoms , and 1,579 have been cured and discharged , the agency said . previously , chinese officials said more than 6,200 children had been sickened by melamine found in baby formula . at least four children have died . xinhua reported the first death from from the toxin on september 12 . in addition , nearly 40,000 other infants and young children have received outpatient medical treatment and consultation as a result of the tainted milk , xinhua reported on sunday . watch cnn visit the company at the center of the scandal '' the latest statistics from mainland china come after hong kong reported late saturday that a 3-year-old girl has been sickened by a suspected melamine-tainted milk product -- the first known illness outside of mainland china . the child in hong kong was diagnosed with a kidney stone at princess margaret hospital , the government reported , citing a hospital statement . although tests are still ongoing , her illness is suspected to be linked to consuming milk products containing melamine , the hospital statement said . the child has been released , and her condition will be monitored , it said . meanwhile , hong kong 's center for food safety announced sunday that a sample of nestle dairy farm pure milk , sold in one-liter packs for catering use only , had tested positive for melamine . but the swiss company said in a news release it is `` confident '' none of its milk products made in china contains the chemical . the officials asked that retail sales of the milk for catering be halted , and that nestle recall the product . `` the level of melamine detected in the nestle sample was 1.4 ppm -lrb- parts per million -rrb- , which the center believed is low . however , small children should not consume the product , '' the center said . learn more about the chemical melamine '' the other 64 samples were free from the toxic substance , according to the hong kong government web site .<doc-sep>the country 's agri-food and veterinary authority said tests on `` white rabbit creamy candy '' showed that it was contaminated with melamine and it ordered stores to remove the product from shelves . taiwan announced monday it was banning the importation of all dairy products from china because of melamine contamination in milk supplies on the mainland , taiwan 's health ministry said monday . and a second child in hong kong has been diagnosed with a kidney stones after drinking the tainted milk as worried parents continued to take their children for health checkups , the government said monday , ap reported . the 4-year-old boy was in hospital in a stable condition , the hong kong government said in a statement . a three-year-old girl was sickened by a suspected melamine-tainted milk over the weekend -- the first known illness outside of mainland china . the chinese premier visited beijing hospitals and a supermarket sunday to show his concern for the crisis . `` what we need to do now is to ensure that nothing like this happens in the future , not only in dairy products , but in all foods , '' he said . `` manufacturers and owners of dairy companies should show more morality and social responsibility in these cases . they are heartless , so we have to create strict law and legislation . i 'm sorry . '' investigators arrested two brothers who sold milk used to produce the contaminated baby milk powder last week . they could face death if convicted , according to china daily , a state-run newspaper . the raw milk had been watered down and the chemical added to fool quality checks , the newspaper said . melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates , wood adhesives , fabric coatings , ceiling tiles and flame retardants . watch cnn visit the company at the center of the scandal '' but anger has been directed not just at the producers accused of adulterating their milk to increase profits , but also at government regulators , time magazine reported .
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<t> government inspectors plan to release test results tuesday ; 2nd death announced . </t> <t> sanlu is one of china 's leading dairy producers . </t> <t> melamine found in 700 tons of sanlu 's product , xinhua cites mayor as saying . </t> <t> ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones , eye and skin irritation . </t>
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tainted chinese milk kills second child<T>
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new delhi , india -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- india launched its first lunar mission on wednesday , with hopes of achieving high-resolution images of the moon 's topography and diving into the international space race . the spacecraft carrying india 's first lunar probe , chandrayaan-1 , lifts off in sriharikota on wednesday . the unmanned lunar orbiter chandrayaan-1 , or `` moon craft '' in ancient sanskrit , came at 6:20 a.m. wednesday -lrb- 8:50 p.m. et -rrb- from the sriharikota space center in southern india . the two-year mission seeks high-resolution imaging of the moon 's surface , especially the permanently shadowed polar regions , according to the indian space research organization . it will also search for evidence of water or ice and attempt to identify the chemical breakdown of certain lunar rocks , the group said . despite the numerous missions to the moon over the past 50 years , `` we really do n't have a good map of the moon , '' said miles o'brien , cnn chief technology and environment correspondent . `` the goal is to come up with a very intricate , three-dimensional map of the moon . ''<doc-sep>the chandrayaan-1 is carrying payloads from the united states , european union countries germany , britain , sweden and bulgaria , and india plans to share the data from the mission with other programs , including nasa . watch the launch of india 's first lunar mission '' isro said on its web site that the mission would lay the groundwork for future lunar missions and `` probe the physical characteristics of the lunar surface in greater depth than previous missions by other nations . '' `` it will also give us a deeper understanding about the planet earth itself or its origins , '' a statement on the web site said . `` earlier missions did not come out with a full understanding of the moon and that is the reason scientists are still interested . this will lay the foundation for bigger missions and also open up new possibilities of international networking and support for planetary programs . '' until now , india 's space launches have been more practical , with weather warning satellites and communiations systems , the associated press cited former nasa associated administrator scott pace as saying . to date , only the u.s. russia , the european space agency , japan and china have sent missions to the moon , according to ap .<doc-sep>critics of the mission have questioned its $ 80 million price tag , saying the money should have been spent by the government to improve education and fight poverty . but , `` there are scientists that would argue that there are plenty of things we do n't know about the moon ... and india might have the know-how '' to find answers , said cnn 's sara sidner in new delhi . the united states and the soviet union dominated the field of lunar exploration from the late 1950s . the united states is preparing for its own mission slated for next spring -- the first u.s. lunar mission in more than a decade , according to nasa . soviet spacecraft were the first to fly by , land on and orbit the moon . luna 1 , launched on january 2 , 1959 , and sped by the moon two days later . luna 2 was launched on an impact mission on september 12 , 1959 , striking the surface two days later . luna 9 launched on january 31 , 1966 , becoming the first craft to successfully land on the moon and send back data , touching down on the surface on january 31 , 1966 , and transmitting until february 3 , 1967 , when its batteries ran out .<doc-sep>luna 10 was launched march 31 , 1966 , entered lunar orbit on april 3 , and operated for 56 days . but the united states ' apollo missions were the first manned missions to reach the moon , culminating with six missions that set down on the surface . the first , apollo 11 , left earth on july 16 , 1969 , and landed astronauts neil armstrong and edwin aldrin on the lunar surface on july 20 while command module pilot michael collins orbited above . the astronauts returned safely to earth on july 24 . most recently india 's fellow asian nations , china and japan , put lunar orbiters in place . japan launched the kaguya orbiter in october 2007 , followed by china 's launch of the chang ' e mission a few weeks later . watch what is shaping up to be a new space race '' `` each nation is doing its own thing to drive its research technology for the well-being of that nation , '' ap quoted charles vick , a space analyst for the washington think tank globalsecurity.org , as saying . copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>nike-apache , a two-stage sounding rocket imported from the united states , took off that day from thumba , a site that eventually became a favorite location for similar experiments by international scientists . so far , there have been some 2,200 sounding-rocket launches from that facility , according to the vikram sarabhai space center . but the south asian nation 's space program has been far more expansive -- the indian space research organization -lrb- isro -rrb- has more than 60 events that it lists as `` milestones '' since 1962-63 , which includes the successful use of polar and geosynchronous satellite launch vehicles . see india 's space odyssey in photos '' fast forward to 2008 : the country launches its first unmanned mission to the moon in what is being seen as the 21st-century , asian version of the space race between the united states and the ussr -- but this time the two nations involved are india and china . in september of that same year , a chinese astronaut took a spacewalk , his country 's first . a month later , india sent chandrayaan-1 -- chandrayaan means `` moon craft '' in sanskrit -- on a two-year mission to take high-resolution , three-dimensional images of the lunar surface , especially the permanently-shadowed polar regions .<doc-sep>new delhi , india -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- india blasted into the international space race wednesday with the successful launch of an ambitious two-year mission to study the moon 's landscape . the spacecraft carrying india 's first lunar probe , chandrayaan-1 , lifts off in sriharikota on wednesday . the unmanned lunar orbiter chandrayaan-1 , or `` moon craft '' in ancient sanskrit , launched at 6:20 a.m. -lrb- 8:50 p.m. et -rrb- from the sriharikota space center in southern india . the mission seeks high-resolution imaging of the moon 's surface , especially the permanently shadowed polar regions , according to the indian space research organization . it will also search for evidence of water or ice and attempt to identify the chemical breakdown of certain lunar rocks , the group said . despite the numerous missions to the moon over the past 50 years , `` we really do n't have a good map , '' said miles o'brien , cnn chief technology and environment correspondent . `` the goal is to come up with a very intricate , three-dimensional map of the moon . '' the chandrayaan-1 is carrying payloads from the united states , european union countries germany , britain , sweden and bulgaria , and india plans to share the data from the mission with other programs , including nasa . watch the launch of india 's first lunar mission '' isro said on its web site that the mission would lay the groundwork for future lunar missions and `` probe the physical characteristics of the lunar surface in greater depth than previous missions by other nations . '' `` it will also give us a deeper understanding about the planet earth itself or its origins , '' a statement on the web site said . `` earlier missions did not come out with a full understanding of the moon and that is the reason scientists are still interested . this will lay the foundation for bigger missions and also open up new possibilities of international networking and support for planetary programs . '' until now , india 's space launches have been more practical , with weather warning satellites and communiations systems , the associated press cited former nasa associated administrator scott pace as saying . to date , only the u.s. russia , the european space agency , japan and china have sent missions to the moon , according to ap .<doc-sep>new delhi , india -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- flashback to 1984 : as a child , i am glued to my family 's black-and-white television set for our daily dose of evening entertainment and news on india 's national broadcaster . india holds its first rocket launch from a fishing village in southern india on november 21 , 1963 . but this is no ordinary newscast : prime minister indira gandhi is speaking via videolink with astronaut rakesh sharma , who is aboard a space station . indian pride soared as squadron leader sharma , an indian air force pilot , became the first in the nation to explore the celestial realm , part of a joint mission with what was then the soviet union . i do n't remember what show it was , but it etched india 's `` astronomical feat '' in the minds of those who watched it , including a 10-year-old like me . but the indian connection to space was much older than that milestone . in the country 's space calendar , november 21 , 1963 , is a key date : it marks the first rocket launch from a fishing village in southern india . nike-apache , a two-stage sounding rocket imported from the united states , took off that day from thumba , a site that eventually became a favorite location for similar experiments by international scientists . so far , there have been some 2,200 sounding-rocket launches from that facility , according to the vikram sarabhai space center . but the south asian nation 's space program has been far more expansive -- the indian space research organization -lrb- isro -rrb- has more than 60 events that it lists as `` milestones '' since 1962-63 , which includes the successful use of polar and geosynchronous satellite launch vehicles . see india 's space odyssey in photos '' fast forward to 2008 : the country launches its first unmanned mission to the moon in what is being seen as the 21st-century , asian version of the space race between the united states and the ussr -- but this time the two nations involved are india and china . in september of that same year , a chinese astronaut took a spacewalk , his country 's first . a month later , india sent chandrayaan-1 -- chandrayaan means `` moon craft '' in sanskrit -- on a two-year mission to take high-resolution , three-dimensional images of the lunar surface , especially the permanently-shadowed polar regions .<doc-sep>london -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- india has launched a rocket it hopes will allow it to join an elite group of space explorers to mars . the country 's space research organization -lrb- isro -rrb- launched its orbiter to the red planet on tuesday -- only nasa , the former soviet union and the europeans have previously been successful in operating probes from mars . japan made an attempt with the nozomi orbiter in 1998 but it failed to reach the planet and a chinese probe was lost along with the russian phobos-grunt mission in january 2012 . the uk 's beagle 2 probe separated from the european space agency 's mars express orbiter in 2003 but nothing was ever heard from the lander . it will take 10 months for india 's mars orbiter mission to reach the red planet after lifting off from the satish dhawan space centre near chennai . the probe will explore the planet 's surface features , minerals and atmosphere . isro is hoping to discover more about the loss of water from mars , map the sources of methane gas , as well as collecting data about the two moons phobos and deimos . but isro chairman k radhakrishnan told cnn that one of the biggest technological challenges was just getting there . many missions have failed to reach the planet while others have crashed on the surface or contact has been lost before the probes could send back data . india 's space program launched its first earth satellite in 1975 and put an unmanned probe into orbit around the moon in 2008 . it plans to launch its own manned spaceflight in 2016 , though an indian cosmonaut , rakesh sharma , flew aboard a soviet space mission in 1984 . the u.s. is aiming to build on the success of a series of robots that have roamed the surface of the red planet when it launches its own orbiter mission called maven -- mars atmosphere and volatile evolution spacecraft -- scheduled to launch on november 18 .
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<t> new : chandrayaan-1 is carrying payloads from the u.s. , eu and bulgaria . </t> <t> two-year mission seeks high-resolution , 3-d imaging of the moon 's surface . </t> <t> chandrayaan-1 follows japan and china 's missions to the moon . </t> <t> chandrayaan means `` moon craft '' in ancient sanskrit . </t>
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india launches first moon mission<T>
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washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the u.s. navy is having hundreds of its older f/a -18 fighter jets inspected , including some flying operations over afghanistan , for cracks in part of a wing assembly , officials said friday . inspectors looking at f/a -18 fighter jets have found 15 with stress crack problems on the wings . some 636 f/a -18 a through d model hornets in both the navy and the marine corps are being inspected for stress cracks on a hinge connecting the aileron to the flaps on the back side of the wings , according to navy spokesmen .<doc-sep>inspectors started looking at the planes thursday and have found 15 aircrafts with the problem . a panel on the wing can be swapped out with a new one to get rid of the problem . the navy is still looking at the hinge in question to see whether the problem is severe enough to ground the hornets and come up for a permanent fix for the hinge . navy officials said there are no immediate plans to ground the 636 planes .<doc-sep>this month , a post-flight inspection of one f/a -18 found a crack , and it was determined to be systemic enough to warrant an inspection of the older f/a -18 s , according to navy officials . the navy also flies the super hornet , a newer version of the f/a -18 . that plane is not part of this inspection . navy flight operations around the world will not be interrupted because of the inspections , officials said .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the u.s. navy is having hundreds of its older f/a -18 fighter jets inspected , including some flying operations over afghanistan , for cracks in part of a wing assembly , officials said friday . inspectors looking at f/a -18 fighter jets have found 15 with stress crack problems on the wings . some 636 f/a -18 a through d model hornets in both the navy and the marine corps are being inspected for stress cracks on a hinge connecting the aileron to the flaps on the back side of the wings , according to navy spokesmen .<doc-sep>the planes are now primarily used in iraq and afghanistan to protect ground troops in close combat situations , flying low and slow and with the ability to target individuals hidden on mountainsides or rooftops . last year , the air force grounded hundreds of f-15 fighter jets after one fell apart during a training mission . the culprit was a fatigued longeron , a part that holds the fuselage together . numerous f-15s flying in iraq and afghanistan also were grounded until they were inspected , forcing the service to fly other aircraft in their place . the navy was also asked to help cover the f-15 missions during the weeks they were grounded .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the u.s. air force is grounding more than 100 planes used to support ground troops in iraq and afghanistan because of fatigue cracks in the wings , air force officials said friday . aircraft like this a-10 warthog provide close support to ground troops in iraq and afghanistan . the officials said 127 a-10 thunderbolt iis , including some used in the united states , will be grounded until they are each inspected for the cracks .<doc-sep>london -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- all airbus a380 airplanes must be checked for cracks in the wings , the european aviation safety agency ordered wednesday . the order covering all a380s does not mean the planes must be grounded , said dominique fouda , a spokesman for the aviation agency . `` they can fly , they just have to be checked within the time frame , '' he said . it expands an existing order that the 20 oldest a380s be checked for cracks , fouda said , adding , `` now , with the second directive , we are including the whole fleet . '' planes that have completed more than 1,384 takeoffs and landings must be inspected within three weeks of february 13 , the agency said . those that have completed 1,216 to 1,383 flight cycles have six weeks , and planes that have performed fewer than 1,216 cycles must be examined before they reach 1,300 cycles . if cracks are found , the airline must contact airbus for instructions , the agency said . the 68 a380 planes in operation are being flown by air france , china southern , emirates , korean air , lufthansa , qantas and singapore airlines , according to the company website . another 185 planes have been ordered , airbus says . south korea 's ministry of land , transport and maritime affairs said that it will issue an order to korean air on thursday to conduct a safety check on its five a380 aircraft . there are no immediate safety issues , the ministry said . none of the aircraft will need to be inspected before next spring . any inspection carried out beforehand would not be beneficial in terms of determining safety of the aircraft , the ministry said . wednesday 's order was not prompted by any new cracks , but is a normal follow-up to the original directive , which was issued three weeks ago , fouda said . he called the directives an interim measure , saying a long-term fix is `` now being worked on with airbus . '' that , he said , should be in place by the summer . cnn 's ayesha durgahee and ric ward contributed to this report .
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<t> 636 f/a -18 a through d model hornets being inspected for stress crack . </t> <t> inspectors started looking at planes thursday and have found 15 with problem . </t> <t> navy officials said there are no immediate plans to ground the planes . </t>
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hundreds of navy fighter aircraft to be inspected for cracks<T>
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-lrb- the frisky -rrb- -- do n't you just hate the type of person who smugly informs you , `` i do n't watch tv , '' like that 's something to be proud of ? they think they 're so great with all their fancy book learning . what they do n't realize is that tv is n't for dummies -- there 's tons of educational programming available -- you just need to know what to watch . i mean , you can learn your abcs with `` sesame street 's '' grover , how to make gnocchi with mario batali , and the ins and outs of prettying up your home with any number of programs on hgtv . television is also a great romance resource . think of all the great tv twosomes we 've seen over the years -- lucy & ricky ricardo , judy & george jetson , spencer pratt and heidi montag ... but not all tv personalities set such a sincerely loving example . it 's also a good place to learn which type of guy you should avoid . here are a few examples : . chuck bass -lrb- `` gossip girl '' -rrb- : few men can pull off lavender argyle , but chuck bass is definitely one of them . moody and sinister , when chuck bass types -lrb- cbts -rrb- like you , it 's as though you 've been inducted into a secret society of two . it 's you against the world and the cbt will bring out a dark side you might not have even realized you possessed . whip smart with a caustic wit , he 'll charm you all the while tucking away your secrets for use at a later date . and use them he will . because when a cbt tires of you , he wo n't just say `` see ya , '' he 'll decimate you . hank moody -lrb- `` californication '' -rrb- : some boys take longer than usual to grow out of their charles bukowski-wannabe phase . exhibit a is hank moody . actor david duchovny , playing what the tabloids would have you believe is an autobiographical role , has managed to hang onto his bukowski-phase well into his forties . drinking , partying , and resisting monogamy , hank still manages to attract more ladies than hotter men half his age . of course the only women drawn to hank are either damaged girls with daddy issues or the type of dame who does n't feel complete unless she has some mess to clean up after . if you see yourself dating a hank moody type , do not walk -- run -- to your nearest mental health professional . vince chase -lrb- `` entourage '' -rrb- : those big blue eyes and that floppy mop o ' hair ... you can forgive him for making a stinker like `` medellin , '' ca n't you ? sure , but do you really want to deal with someone who lives in a dude cocoon ? not only does he live with his brother and two best friends , he ca n't make any decisions without polling the group . on the upside , he 's rich ! on the downside , he 's famous , which means other women are throwing themselves at him constantly . vince might be fun for a fling , but forget about bringing him home to mama . don draper -lrb- `` mad men '' -rrb- : why is it when unattractive people are quiet we just assume they 're stupid and/or boring , but verbally challenged hot people get pegged as mysterious and smoldering ? mad men 's smokin ' hot don draper actually is mysterious -lrb- and smoldering ! -rrb- , so i do n't know what point i was trying to make -lrb- because i 'm all distracted from the photos on his imdb page -rrb- ... oh , wait ! the point i 'm trying to make is that while draper is indeed mysterious , he 's also a liar , a cheat and a cad . so if a ddt tries to slip you his number , just say no and send it to me . what ? strictly for research purposes . tm & © 2008 tmv , inc. | all rights reserved .<doc-sep>-lrb- the frisky -rrb- -- everybody has a `` type . '' personally , i like a man with a big schnozz -- bonus points if he 's got a collection of acne scars a lá tommy lee jones . the `` overeater '' is one of the nine types of men that women should avoid . my pal annie likes preppy men -- but only after they 've gone to seed and become a little bloated in the process . suzanne has a weakness for thin japanese guys who like indie rock music , while maddy adores bike messengers of all shapes and sizes . but there are certain types of guys who should be nobody 's type . these guys are distinguished by one thing -- an overabundance of one or more very bad qualities . here 's your guide to boys to avoid : . 1 . the oversharer : the current overshare poster boy is phillip nobel , who wrote a highly hide-chapping account of his extramarital affair for elle . the oversharer will broadcast intimate episodes from your relationship to his mother , your mother , his blog readers and anyone else he can rope into paying attention . 2 . the overthinker : one of the great things about dating men is that you are n't subjected to long , excruciating interrogations over what you really meant when you reassured him that no , he did n't look fat in those pants . however , though they 're rare birds , there are guys who will want to spend hours dissecting even the most innocuous comment , examining it for tone , content and what you might 've been implying . 3 . the overtalker : your friends say they 've never known you to be so quiet . that 's because this man does enough talking for both of you -lrb- and then some -rrb- . when you do finally eke out a sentence or two he interrupts and talks over you anyway . you have two choices -- accept the fact that you will never speak again or tell him goodbye . your call . 4 . the overdresser : this dandy makes gossip girl 's chuck bass look sloppy and mismatched . that he takes longer than you to get ready is strike one against him , but the fact that he matches his socks to his underwear and to his ascot drives him out of the park . 5 . the overeater : it 's an irritating fact that men can eat more than women . the overeater does n't care . food is his first love and he 'll push cannolis and baked ziti on you like a crazed italian granny . unless you do n't mind a future spent in stretch-pants , you might want to give this dude a pass . 6 . the overreactor : remember when russell crowe threw a phone at that hotel clerk who somehow displeased him ? that 's this guy . from the old lady who accidentally bumped into him at the grocery store , to the suv that cut him off on the highway -- everyone in his path will hear his wrath . you , most of all . do not walk away -- run . 7 . the over-the-topper : he 's the life of the party and thinks nothing of driving his motorcycle through the bar if he thinks it 'll get a laugh . he 's certainly cute , but he just never stops . he 's always on . and that , will quickly turn into a turn-off . 8 . overachiever : picture the male version of tracy flick in the movie `` election '' in perfectly fitted jeans , a crisp white oxford shirt and a copy of his -lrb- perfect , naturally -rrb- sat scores in his wallet . now imagine making love to him . you ca n't , can you ? 9 . the overcompensator : maybe he was the homeliest kid in his eighth-grade class , but that does n't mean you need to sit through a monologue about how much money he makes , how jealous his friends are over his new bmw , and how he totally could date supermodels if he wanted to . next ! tm & © 2008 tmv , inc. | all rights reserved .<doc-sep>the duo describe high-speed cameras as ` microscopes for time ' the slo mo guys fired two different types of handguns - a 9mm pistol and a revolver . they recorded the effects with a specialist phantom v1610 high-speed camera , which can make the action 1,000 times slower than real life . the mesmerising footage was shot at 27,450 frames per second . gavin and dan , who are known on youtube as the slo mo guys , made a video to show the differing effects that two guns created in a freezing swimming pool . the bullets whiz through the water , leaving behind only trails of air pockets and gun powder . the men said : ` it sounded awesome underwater - like a metallic sound . ' the revolver had more gas coming out when it was fired to produce more bubbles than the short-barreled pistol that can be seen in the video . the bullet fired from the revolver -lrb- pictured -rrb- whizzes through the water , leaving behind only trails of air pockets . the slo mo guys said : the noise from the revolver sounded ` awesome underwater - like a metallic sound ' the duo said : ` watching the bubbles appear and slowly dissipate is enough to bring you some much-needed midday zen . ' the pair spent approximately one hour in the swimming pool , which was just four degrees celsius in temperature . more than 3.5 million people have viewed the video on youtube .<doc-sep>professor miguel martinez-gonzalez , chair of the department of public health at the university of navarra in pamplona , who led the study , said ` television viewing is a major sedentary behaviour and there is an increasing trend toward all types of sedentary behaviours . ` our findings are consistent with a range of previous studies where time spent watching television was linked to mortality . ' researchers assessed 13,284 young and healthy spanish university graduates , average age 37 , to investigate possible links between three types of sedentary behaviour and risk of death : television viewing time , computer time and driving time . the participants were followed for around eight years , when there were 97 deaths , including 19 deaths from cardiovascular causes , 46 from cancer and 32 from other causes . the risk of premature death was twofold higher for those watching three or more hours of tv a day compared to those watching one hour or less . telly addicts : britons spend an average of four hours a day watching tv . previous research has claimed that six hours can cut lifespans by five years and can lead to lower sperm count in men .<doc-sep>networks avoid the c-word when making these announcements , but the show 's production is being halted after the eighth episode wraps this week -lrb- five have aired , three to go -rrb- . last night 's `` animal practice '' fell 9 percent to 3.8 million viewers and a 1.0 in the adult demo , ranking as the lowest-rated broadcast show in the hour -lrb- including the cw -rrb- . lead-out `` guys with kids , '' by comparison , at least had 4.3 million and a 1.4 rating . fall tv death watch : which shows are most -lrb- and least -rrb- likely to survive . this marks the second cancellation of a new fall show . previously , cbs pulled freshman legal drama `` made in jersey '' from friday nights . see the original article at ew.com . click here to try 2 risk free issues of entertainment weekly . © 2011 entertainment weekly and time inc. . all rights reserved .
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<t> learn about men not to date by studying male characters on tv shows . </t> <t> `` gossip girls '' chuck bass is charming type who decimates women . </t> <t> `` mad men '' don draper is a smoldering liar and cheat aging party boy hank moody of `` californication '' attracts damaged women . </t>
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four types of tv guys to avoid<T>
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shanghai , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- natalie williams , a 21-year-old special olympics basketball player from kentucky , says she 's never really been treated like a true athletic star . but that was before she came to the games in china , which has undergone a major change in its treatment of the mentally disabled . hong kong 's special olympics team marches into the stadium during last week 's opening ceremony . `` they are able to accept special needs people in a way that maybe some other countries do not , '' williams says . last week , organizers rolled out the red carpet for athletes arriving at the special olympics in shanghai , china . never before in the 39-year history of the special olympics has there been such an extravagant , star-studded opening ceremony . and everywhere in this city , there are billboards with the smiling faces of the mentally disabled promoting the games . china spent millions ensuring the 7,500 competitors are cared for -- and more importantly accepted . watch ` this is a highlight to their lives ' '' that 's quite a turnaround for a country whose leadership , less than 20 years ago , refused to even acknowledge any of their citizens were intellectually disabled . at the time , former prime minister li peng was quoted as saying , `` mentally retarded people give birth to idiots . '' `` there 's a long way to go -- there 's a long way . but the good news is we 're moving , '' says tim shriver , chairman of the special olympics . china 's transformation is so far mostly from the top down , beginning with no less than president hu jintao whose presence at the opening ceremony was particularly notable . see photos of the opening ceremony '' also notable was the president 's visit to one of shanghai 's `` sunshine homes '' this month . the shelters are a direct result of this city winning the rights five years ago to host the special olympics . back then , officials quickly realized their treatment of the city 's 70,000 mentally disabled was woefully inadequate . now there are 240 sunshine homes spread across this sprawling city , caring for about 15,000 of those most in need , like 25-year-old chen xiaohan . she still struggles to speak with strangers , but her parents boast of her many achievements since enrolling a year ago .<doc-sep>xiaohan can make her own bed , walk to school and is learning piano . but more notable , says her father , chen zhixiang , is the change in recent years in the way his daughter is treated by neighbors . `` if in the past you looked down on them and now you still look down , it only proves your thinking is bad . now when our neighbors see her , they 're very nice . they ask , ` chen xiaohan , how are you today ? ' there is n't any more discrimination . '' the special olympics may have been a watershed moment for china 's mentally disabled , but perhaps a breakthrough came a few years earlier , when special olympian judy yang appeared in a splashy spread on the front cover of a mainstream teen-age magazine . photogenic and well-spoken , yang has been an unofficial ambassador of sorts and , after her magazine debut , she noticed a real shift in how the chinese related to the disabled . `` a lot of people are accepting now . they 're willing to be friends , to let their children play with one another , and they can learn from each other as well . '' that may be true in china 's biggest , richest and most western city , shanghai , but in the countryside not much appears to have changed . intellectually disabled children that are hard to manage are often locked in caged rooms . humanitarian officials say stories of doctors recommending disabled children be killed at birth are common . in addition , programs like sunshine homes are almost unheard of outside of shanghai and caring for the almost 13 million intellectually disabled in china remains a major challenge . earlier this year , authorities exposed a human trafficking ring selling young men , many of them intellectually disabled , to work in brick kilns . `` neglect and discrimination is still quite prevalent . people tend to be ashamed of children with disabilities . they tend to hide them away . they tend not to let them have access to schooling or education , '' says yin yin nwe , the head of unicef in china . but nwe is optimistic . as china 's economy grows , she said she thinks the government will continue to devote more resources to the country 's weakest and most vulnerable . e-mail to a friend .<doc-sep>such scattering is more pronounced among blue molecules as they have shorter wavelengths than longer red ones . by putting aerosol particles in the atmosphere however the red ones would be scattered the most , washing out the blue and making the sky whiter . kravitz said that a whiter sky might have a daily effect on people 's attitudes toward climate change . visitors to beijing for the 2008 olympics for example were disturbing by the never ending fogginess caused by rampant pollution .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- when katy wilson was born with down syndrome , doctors told her mother that the infant likely would never walk or talk . katy wilson says she wants her athletic successes to surprise people and give them hope . she sure showed them . wilson , now 29 , has won two international gold medals in the special olympics for her gymnastic abilities . she turns cartwheels for her floor routine and does acrobatics on the balance beam . she also goes on public speaking tours . `` most of all , i love doing speeches because i want them -lsb- the audience -rsb- to be surprised just how good my speeches are , '' she said by phone . wilson 's story -- and countless other stereotype-bending stories like it -- is possible in part because of the dogged vision of eunice kennedy shriver and the special olympics organization she founded more than four decades ago . shriver , who died tuesday , started the organization as a sports camp for special-needs kids and adults in her backyard in maryland in 1962 . the camp , in part , was inspired by the life of shriver 's sister , rosemary kennedy , who had an intellectual disability . the special olympics has grown from that small camp into a global organization that helps 3 million athletes with down syndrome , autism and other intellectual disabilities compete for medals in an array of sports . her legacy will live in the stories of hope and against-the-odds success she made possible through the special olympics . see photos of eunice kennedy shriver '' `` she helped forever alter how people with intellectual disabilities are viewed and treated and respected , '' said amie dugan , a spokeswoman for the special olympics . `` this is a population that 40 years ago they were beyond marginalized . they were disenfranchised from society . `` it was considered the status quo ... to put them in an institution and never think about that again . and she changed all of that . she brought them out into the light . '' an estimated 200 million people in the world live with intellectual disabilities . that population was largely unseen and voiceless in 1968 when shriver stepped to the microphone to announce the start of the first special olympic games at chicago 's soldier field . `` in ancient rome , the gladiators went into the arena with these words on their lips , '' she told the 1,000 athletes in the stadium . '' ` let me win , but if i can not win , let me be brave in the attempt . ' '' in 2007 , the most recent special olympics world summer games were held in shanghai , china . more than 7,000 athletes competed . the sports competitions are held in the winter and summer on four-year intervals , just like the olympic games ; people from countries as far-flung as tunisia , rwanda and sri lanka participate in events that include skiing , volleyball and track and field . before the program , people with intellectual disabilities were only told what they could not accomplish , said david tolleson , executive director of the national down syndrome congress . `` special olympics emphasizes what folks can do , and it does it in a manner that 's fun and exciting and it offers a sense of community both within the family of those with developmental disabilities as well as with the greater community at large -- the volunteers who come in and have some of their misconceptions or preconceptions cast aside when they realize how much people with developmental disabilities truly are capable of , '' he said . the program continues to expand its global reach , but in many places , people with intellectual disabilities lack basic human rights , said dugan .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- when katy wilson was born with down syndrome , doctors told her mother that the infant likely would never walk or talk . katy wilson says she wants her athletic successes to surprise people and give them hope . she sure showed them . wilson , now 29 , has won two international gold medals in the special olympics for her gymnastic abilities . she turns cartwheels for her floor routine and does acrobatics on the balance beam . she also goes on public speaking tours . `` most of all , i love doing speeches because i want them -lsb- the audience -rsb- to be surprised just how good my speeches are , '' she said by phone . wilson 's story -- and countless other stereotype-bending stories like it -- is possible in part because of the dogged vision of eunice kennedy shriver and the special olympics organization she founded more than four decades ago . shriver , who died tuesday , started the organization as a sports camp for special-needs kids and adults in her backyard in maryland in 1962 . the camp , in part , was inspired by the life of shriver 's sister , rosemary kennedy , who had an intellectual disability . the special olympics has grown from that small camp into a global organization that helps 3 million athletes with down syndrome , autism and other intellectual disabilities compete for medals in an array of sports . her legacy will live in the stories of hope and against-the-odds success she made possible through the special olympics . see photos of eunice kennedy shriver '' `` she helped forever alter how people with intellectual disabilities are viewed and treated and respected , '' said amie dugan , a spokeswoman for the special olympics . `` this is a population that 40 years ago they were beyond marginalized . they were disenfranchised from society . `` it was considered the status quo ... to put them in an institution and never think about that again . and she changed all of that . she brought them out into the light . '' an estimated 200 million people in the world live with intellectual disabilities . that population was largely unseen and voiceless in 1968 when shriver stepped to the microphone to announce the start of the first special olympic games at chicago 's soldier field . `` in ancient rome , the gladiators went into the arena with these words on their lips , '' she told the 1,000 athletes in the stadium . '' ` let me win , but if i can not win , let me be brave in the attempt . ' '' in 2007 , the most recent special olympics world summer games were held in shanghai , china . more than 7,000 athletes competed . the sports competitions are held in the winter and summer on four-year intervals , just like the olympic games ; people from countries as far-flung as tunisia , rwanda and sri lanka participate in events that include skiing , volleyball and track and field . before the program , people with intellectual disabilities were only told what they could not accomplish , said david tolleson , executive director of the national down syndrome congress . `` special olympics emphasizes what folks can do , and it does it in a manner that 's fun and exciting and it offers a sense of community both within the family of those with developmental disabilities as well as with the greater community at large -- the volunteers who come in and have some of their misconceptions or preconceptions cast aside when they realize how much people with developmental disabilities truly are capable of , '' he said . the program continues to expand its global reach , but in many places , people with intellectual disabilities lack basic human rights , said dugan .<doc-sep>`` i said , ' i wo n't be surprised in 10 or 15 years to see maybe half of the players in the world , come from this part of the world . ' because i do believe that they will . i think you 're going to have a tremendous amount of players come from over here . '' nicklaus also believes golf 's becoming an olympic event at the rio de janeiro olympic games in 2016 will give the game a boost , especially in countries like china and brazil that are relatively new to the sport . `` will the gold medal ever compete with the masters , the u.s. open , the british open ? well , if you look at it , the rest of the world has never ever really worried too much about those . now these emerging golf countries , you know what 's big in these countries ? gold medals . the gold medal for the olympics golf will be a major , major event . `` the olympics are going to change the game from being an elitist sport to being an everyday , everyman 's sport . ''
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<t> china has undergone major change in attitude toward intellectually disabled . </t> <t> shanghai is hosting the special olympics to great fanfare . </t> <t> city has opened special homes to help care for some of city 's mentally disabled . </t> <t> helping china 's remaining 13 million intellectually disabled remains challenge . </t>
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attitudes change as special olympics come to china<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a diamond unearthed in the southern african nation of lesotho could yield one of the largest and highest quality round polished diamonds , according to a statement monday from company that found it . a mining company unearthed this 478-carat diamond in the southern african nation of lesotho .<doc-sep>experts in antwerp , belgium who analyzed the 478-carat stone determined it to be of the highest color grading available for a white diamond , said a statement from gem diamonds ltd. , the company that found the stone . `` what makes it more remarkable is the color and quality of this stone , '' said diamond consultant neil buxton .<doc-sep>`` it 's a d color , which is the highest possible graded color you can get , and we believe there is a chance -- a very good chance -- of getting a 100-carat plus '' round stone with the highest color and clarity rankings . the company said such a stone would `` to the best of our knowledge '' be `` the first one in history . '' watch more on the diamond ''<doc-sep>the diamond , which was found in september , ranks as the 20th largest rough diamond ever found , but is not the biggest ever taken from the letseng mine , which is co-owned by gem diamonds ltd. and the kingdom of lesotho , a country of 2.1 million that is surrounded by south africa . two bigger stones -- 603 and 493 carats -- were found in the mine in 2006 and 2007 , respectively , the company said . a 601-carat diamond was mined there in 1960 , it said .<doc-sep>record-breaker : the fancy vivid blue diamond , belonging to rachel ` bunny ' mellon , pictured above , has sold for $ 32.6 million at auction . former owner : rachel ` bunny ' mellon died aged 103 this march . above is the last known photograph of her , from january 2000 when she was 90 years old . it far exceeded the previous blue diamond record , held by the wittelsbach diamond , which sold in 2008 for $ 24.3 million . the price was exceeded despite the wittlesbach being much heavier at more than 30 carats . mellon , nicknamed bunny , died in march at 103 . she was the widow of philanthropist paul mellon , heir to the fortune of the then-mellon bank , and one of the richest men in the united states .<doc-sep>by . sean gallagher . german record-breaker miroslav klose has hailed ronaldo as ` the most complete player ever ' after surpassing the brazilian 's world cup scoring record . klose 's strike in germany 's 7-1 drubbing over host nation brazil on tuesday was his 16th across four tournaments and it moved him ahead of ronaldo , who witnessed first hand the annihilation at the estadio mineirao . the 36-year-old centre forward was in reflective . mood when asked by reporters about the feat at germany 's training base , .<doc-sep>sharp elbows may be required when this handbag goes under the hammer - because it 's the most desirable one in the world . kim kardashian , jennifer lopez and victoria beckham are all proud owners of iconic hermès ` birkin ' bags , and the emergence of this unique version is sure to create a bidding war . the plush accessory is made from crocodile skin with white gold clasps and studded with diamonds , and experts say it could smash the # 125,000 world record for a handbag paid in 2011 . the bag , which only measures 30cm across , is set to be a record breaker , expected to reach over # 125,000 . but ironically the only person who wo n't be interested in buying it is jane birkin herself - because she does n't like them . the british actress after which the much sought-after foot-long bags are named famously denounced them as ` bloody heavy ' - and said the one she owns hurts her arm . this bag - a 30cm diamond , matte himalayan nilo crocodile birkin bag - is encrusted with a whopping 245 diamonds and all the fittings are in 18-carat white gold . experts say the bag , which is in pristine condition , is the most spectacular one ever made by the parisian fashion house . victoria beckham is famously fond of the hermes design , reportedly owning a collection worth over # 1.2 million , while kim kardashian has so many that she uses one as a gym bag . the diamond , matte himalayan nilo crocodile birkin bag is encrusted with a whopping 245 diamonds and all the fittings are in 18-carat white gold . it is estimated to fetch $ 200,000 - around # 125,000 - when it goes under the hammer at heritage auctions . in 2011 heritage sold a red hermes birkin for just under # 125,000 , setting a world record at the time . kathleen guzman , managing director at heritage auctions , which is selling the bag , said : ' a 30cm diamond himalayan birkin is possibly the rarest and most desirable handbag in the world .<doc-sep>plans to build the first electric cars ever to be manufactured in britian will create 2,000 new uk jobs , prime minster david cameron announced today . production of the new nissan leaf at the japanese car-giant 's record-breaking sunderland factory was hailed as a huge boost to the uk economy . nissan and downing street said the # 420million investment in the pollution-free car will support more than 2,000 jobs in the uk automotive industry - including more than 500 employed directly at nissan which currently employs 6,100 . turning over a new leaf : nissan 's latest electric car will be built at its sunderland factory , creating 2,000 jobs . production of the new nissan leaf at the japanese car-giant 's record-breaking sunderland factory was hailed as a huge boost to the uk economy . until now the car has only been built in japan and the usa .
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<t> diamond could yield one of the largest and highest quality round polished stones . </t> <t> 478-carat stone determined it to be of the highest color grading available . </t> <t> diamond found in letseng mine , in lesotho . </t>
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huge diamond hailed as record breaker<T>
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tehran , iran -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- bolivian president evo morales arrived monday in iran on his first official visit to the country , the iranian press tv reported . iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad , right , greets bolivia 's leader , evo morales , on monday in tehran . morales is expected to meet with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad to `` review issues of mutual interest '' between the islamic republic and the leftist south american nation , according to the national news agency irna .<doc-sep>the bolivian leader arrived in tehran from libya , where he met with libyan leader moammar gadhafi . morales has described iran and bolivia as `` two friendly and revolutionary countries , '' press tv said . `` the two countries are both energy producers and are staunchly opposed to u.s. hegemony . ''<doc-sep>morales , a former labor organizer and the country 's first indigenous president , was elected in 2005 . like venezuelan president hugo chavez , with whom he maintains strong ties , morales has sought to improve his relationship with tehran .<doc-sep>bolivia 's socialist president romped home to a third term in elections yesterday , dedicating his win to hugo chavez , fidel castro and all ` anti-capitalist leaders ' . thousands of people poured onto the streets of la paz in celebration after evo morales declared victory , flocking to the presidential palace to catch a glimpse of bolivia 's first indigenous president . exit polls showed the former coca farmer re-elected on more than 60 per cent of the vote , some 40 points ahead of his nearest rival , giving him a strong mandate to expand his left-wing policies . scroll down for video . ` triumph of the anti-colonialists ' : bolivian president evo morales , centre , with his vice president alvaro garcia linera , left , and foreign minister david choquehuanca , right , celebrate at the government palace in la paz . joy : hundreds of supporters wave flags , including ones bearing the image of communist revolutionary che guevara , and cheer as they celebrate morales 's win in the plaza murillo , across from the presidential palace . landslide : exit polls showed morales , a former coca farmer , re-elected on more than 60 per cent of the vote , some 40 points ahead of his nearest rival , giving him a strong mandate to expand his left-wing policies . their man : an aymara indigenous woman burns incense in celebration as supporters wait for president morales outside the presidential palace in la paz , after news broke that he had likely won a third term . morales 's movement toward socialism -lrb- mas -rrb- was meanwhile on track to win 111 out of 130 seats in the chamber of deputies and 25 of the 36 seats up for grabs in the senate , according to the exit polls . ` this is the triumph of the anti-colonialists and anti-imperialists , ' boomed morales , 54 , who has aligned himself with cuba , venezuela and iran and has an antagonistic relationship with the u.s. and other rich countries . ` we are going to keep growing and we are going to continue the process of economic liberation . ' to roars of approval , he dedicated victory to cuban leader fidel castro , late venezuelan president hugo chavez and all ` anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist ' leaders . official results were delayed but pollsters ipsos and equipos mori said morales had triumphed a whopping 40 points ahead of wealthy cement magnate samuel doria medina , his nearest rival . the win will extend his time in office to 14 years , until january 2020 , after bolivia 's supreme court ruled last year his first term was exempt re-election limits imposed as part of a new constitution in 2009 . that will make him bolivia 's longest-serving leader consecutively in office , eclipsing 19th century marshal andres de santa cruz , a founder of the republic in power from 1829-1839 . party : bolivian national and indigenous flags fly from the government palace as team evo celebrate their win . first indigenous president : morales speaks to supporters last night . the 55-year-old coca growers ' union leader is popular at home for widely redistributing bolivia 's natural gas and mineral wealth among the masses . indigenous bolivians in traditional dress celebrate morales 's victory outside the government palace last night . victory : aymara men perform a traditional celebration dance at the doors of the presidential palace . boom : fireworks explode over the heads of morales 's supporters during the victory celebrations in la paz . socialist : a man holds up an icon of legendary latin american communist revolutionary che guevara . ritual : an aymara woman waves a hand-held brazier burning incense during the celebrations . aymara indigenous and other supporters cheer president morales as he speaks from the palace balcony . supporters of morales in cochabamba , central bolivia , take to the streets to celebrate his victory . known abroad for his anti-imperialist and socialist rhetoric , the 55-year-old coca growers ' union leader is popular at home for widely redistributing bolivia 's natural gas and mineral wealth among the masses . a boom in commodities prices increased export revenues nine-fold and under morales ' watch bolivia accumulated record international reserves and sold bonds abroad for the first time in nearly a century .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- bolivian president evo morales said saturday that he was suspending the work of the u.s. drug enforcement administration in bolivia and that the government will take control of its activities in the war on drugs . bolivian president evo morales , seen last month , says his government will control its anti-drug activities . morales made the remarks in a speech in a remote part of bolivia , carried on national television and radio stations . the announcement comes more than a month after morales kicked dea agents out of the country 's coca-producing chapare region , saying the government could no longer protect them amid a growing revolt . at least 30 people died in the violence , and morales accused washington of fomenting the unrest . bolivia and the united states each expelled the other 's ambassadors in september as well , and morales launched a verbal assault against the u.s. government at the united nations general assembly . for its part , the united states accused bolivia of not doing enough to stop the flow of drugs out of the country . last month , president bush said he had proposed cutting off special trade deals with bolivia `` until it fulfills its obligations . '' as he left bolivia after his expulsion , u.s. ambassador philip goldberg warned the bolivian government that reducing ties with washington was `` a grave mistake . '' morales ' accusations that the united states had helped foment the violence in his country are `` false and baseless , '' goldberg said in september , and morales `` insulted us . ''<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- bolivian president evo morales said saturday that he was suspending the work of the u.s. drug enforcement administration in bolivia and that the government will take control of its activities in the war on drugs . bolivian president evo morales , seen last month , says his government will control its anti-drug activities . morales made the remarks in a speech in a remote part of bolivia , carried on national television and radio stations . the announcement comes more than a month after morales kicked dea agents out of the country 's coca-producing chapare region , saying the government could no longer protect them amid a growing revolt . at least 30 people died in the violence , and morales accused washington of fomenting the unrest . bolivia and the united states each expelled the other 's ambassadors in september as well , and morales launched a verbal assault against the u.s. government at the united nations general assembly . for its part , the united states accused bolivia of not doing enough to stop the flow of drugs out of the country . last month , president bush said he had proposed cutting off special trade deals with bolivia `` until it fulfills its obligations . '' as he left bolivia after his expulsion , u.s. ambassador philip goldberg warned the bolivian government that reducing ties with washington was `` a grave mistake . '' morales ' accusations that the united states had helped foment the violence in his country are `` false and baseless , '' goldberg said in september , and morales `` insulted us . '' the dea has not been officially notified of any suspension or expulsion , spokesman garrison courtney said saturday . he would not say how many agents are in bolivia for security reasons but said it was not a significant presence . `` if this is true , it is an unfortunate situation , '' courtney said . `` we 've been working with our counterparts for over 30 years and have a tremendous working relationship with our bolivian counterparts . '' the violence broke out in september as morales , the nation 's first indian president , battled an autonomy movement in the natural gas-rich eastern departments of santa cruz , pando , beni and tarija . the movement was triggered by morales ' pledge to redistribute wealth from the eastern departments to the country 's poorer highlands . some of latin america 's leaders have supported morales . venezuelan president hugo chavez , long a critic of bush and the united states , expelled the u.s. ambassador from caracas in solidarity with bolivia and recalled his own ambassador from washington . in late october , bolivia 's congress approved an agreement between the government and opposition leaders to hold a referendum on a constitution that would grant more power to the nation 's indian majority , according to the bolivian information agency , or abi , the state news agency . to spur the negotiations , abi reported , morales agreed to seek only one more term as president . the agreement followed weeks of negotiations between the government and political opponents , including the governors of the eastern provinces . cnn en espanol 's felipe barral and cnn 's kevin bohn contributed to this report .<doc-sep>economic growth has averaged 5 percent annually , well above the regional average , helping the government lift half a million bolivians out of poverty since morales took office in 2006 . political analyst reymi ferreira of gabriel rene moreno university in santa cruz called morales 's landslide ' a recognition of the government 's management and of the fact the opposition never presented a vision for the country . ' but critics claimed he spent tens of millions in government money on his campaign , giving him an unfair advantage , while others accusing him of silencing critical media by letting government allies buy them out . posters bearing the slogan ` with evo , we 're doing well ' blanketed la paz on election day , far out-shining the opposition 's propaganda , which was conspicuously absent . popular support : women sell flowers next to a pro-evo morales mural in la paz , the bolivian capital . big country : a sign in support of morales stands next to an empty road in the high planes near lake titikaka . democracy : voters line up to vote at a polling station in the village of laja , 36 km west of la paz , high in the andean plateau , over 4,000 meters above sea level . voting is compulsory in bolivia . aymara indigenous people cast their vote at a polling station in patamanta , bolivia . morales has capitalised on his everyman image while consolidating state control over bolivia 's institutions , nationalising key utilities and renegotiating natural gas contracts to secure more profit for the government . but his success has proved double-edged . morales has alienated environmentalists and many former indigenous allies by promoting mining - a cornerstone of bolivia 's economic boom - and planning jungle highway that will slice through an indigenous reserve . and despite bolivia 's economic advancements , it is still south america 's poorest country . nearly one in four bolivians live on $ 2 a day , according to the world bank . the associated press cites analysts as saying bolivia depends too much on natural resources and is especially susceptible to the current easing in commodities demand from china . nevertheless , ` el evo ' , as he 's affectionately known , is here to stay for at least six more years . in a sign of his broad base of support morales won eight of bolivia 's nine states , including the former opposition stronghold of santa cruz , an agribusiness center in the eastern lowlands where he polled 51 percent , according to ipsos . santa cruz student sonia tika summed up the president 's popularity . ' i voted for evo because he 's done good things - built roads , given us computers , food stamps . everything the people asks for , he gives , ' she said . people sit at the coca leaf market in villa 14 de septiembre , in the chapare region , bolivia . election delegates count votes at a polling station in la paz . some six million people were registered to cast ballots in the presidential and congressional polls in bolivia , where voting is compulsory . the economic and political stability morales has presided over are welcome in bolivia , which has suffered numerous coups since independence in 1825 and still struggles with deep poverty despite the recent boom . morales , a member of the aymara ethnic group , has also used nationalist , anti-capitalist rhetoric to fire up popular support . he has argued vociferously against the u.s.-led campaign targeting coca farming , which washington brands a drug-trafficking activity because of the leaf 's use in cocaine . peru 's former drug czar , ricardo soberon , estimates the annual revenues of bolivia 's coca farming industry at $ 2.3 billion , equal to about 7 per cent of gross domestic product . many bolivians chew coca leaves or brew them as a tea , and morales has argued it is part of the country 's cultural heritage . but the u.s. considers bolivia uncooperative in its war on drugs . in 2008 , morales kicked the us drug enforcement agency out of the country , along with the american ambassador , accusing them of conspiring against his government . last year he threw out the u.s. agency for international development .
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<t> bolivian leader to `` review issues of mutual interest '' with iran 's president . </t> <t> bolivian president evo morales has sought to improve ties with iran . </t> <t> bolivia , iran `` staunchly opposed to u.s. hegemony , '' morales says . </t> <t> morales met with libyan leader moammar gadhafi before iran trip . </t>
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bolivia 's morales visits iran<T>
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london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the family of a british soldier serving in afghanistan has been forced from their home after a poisonous spider hitched a ride back with him and apparently killed their pet dog . the camel spider 's bite is not deadly to humans but can kill small animals . lorraine griffiths and her three children , aged 18 , 16 , and 4 , moved out of their house in colchester , southeast england , and are refusing to return until the spider is apprehended , the uk press association reported . griffiths told the east anglian daily times that the spider appeared after her husband , rodney , returned from a four-month tour of duty in helmand province , the arid southern afghan frontline in the fight against taliban extremists .<doc-sep>`` my son ricky was in my bedroom looking for his underwear , and he went into the drawer under my bed , and something crawled across his hand , '' she told the paper . she said their pet dog cassie confronted the creature , which they identified on the internet as a camel spider , but ran out whimpering when it hissed at her . watch the family that has been terrorized by the spider '' `` it seems too much of a coincidence that she died at the same time that we saw the spider , '' she said . the desert-dwelling camel spider , actually an insect rather than an arachnid , can run up to 25 kilometers -lrb- 15 miles -rrb- an hour and reach 15 centimeters -lrb- 6 inches -rrb- in length . its bite is not deadly to humans but can kill small animals .<doc-sep>london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the family of a british soldier serving in afghanistan has been forced from their home after a poisonous spider hitched a ride back with him and apparently killed their pet dog . the camel spider 's bite is not deadly to humans but can kill small animals . lorraine griffiths and her three children , aged 18 , 16 , and 4 , moved out of their house in colchester , southeast england , and are refusing to return until the spider is apprehended , the uk press association reported . griffiths told the east anglian daily times that the spider appeared after her husband , rodney , returned from a four-month tour of duty in helmand province , the arid southern afghan frontline in the fight against taliban extremists .<doc-sep>questioned : stephen mclaughlin , 34 , was quizzed for at least four days over the death of an afghan sikh found crammed inside a container that had come from belgium to tilbury docks . the trucker being questioned by police over the death of an afghan stowaway was held as he drove home to his family . detectives stopped stephen mclaughlin 's blue volvo lorry on tuesday near the bungalow in northern ireland he shares with partner ann-marie harkin , 32 , and their four young children , it was revealed last night . yesterday mr mclaughlin , 34 , was still being questioned on suspicion of manslaughter and people trafficking after a man suffocated to death in a container at tilbury docks in essex on saturday . meet singh kapoor , 40 , was one of 35 afghan sikhs -- including 13 children -- found crammed inside the container , which had just arrived from belgium . mr mclaughlin , from limavady , near londonderry was flown to essex for questioning on wednesday night . a second man , aged 33 and from londonderry , was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and people smuggling after he went to a police station in essex on wednesday afternoon . last night both men remained in custody . detectives from the police service of northern ireland have searched mr mclaughlin 's home .<doc-sep>`` my son ricky was in my bedroom looking for his underwear , and he went into the drawer under my bed , and something crawled across his hand , '' she told the paper . she said their pet dog cassie confronted the creature , which they identified on the internet as a camel spider , but ran out whimpering when it hissed at her . watch the family that has been terrorized by the spider '' `` it seems too much of a coincidence that she died at the same time that we saw the spider , '' she said . the desert-dwelling camel spider , actually an insect rather than an arachnid , can run up to 25 kilometers -lrb- 15 miles -rrb- an hour and reach 15 centimeters -lrb- 6 inches -rrb- in length . its bite is not deadly to humans but can kill small animals .<doc-sep>in nature , it is very rare to find a david versus goliath situation where the former emerges victorious . but that 's exactly what happened when a solitary tiny spider from the negev desert in israel took down an ant four times its size . and this was n't just a one-time event - the fearless zodarian cyrenaicum regularly hunts down and kills creatures bigger than itself , proving it 's not just size that matters in the natural world . this first image in an incredible sequence shows the moment a juvenile zodarian cyrenaicum spider attacked and killed a worker ant up to six times its own size . here the juvenile approaches its prey and gets ready to unleash its paralysing venom . the spider . measures a measly three millimetres -lrb- 0.12 inches -rrb- on average , but it routinely attacks ants up to 17 millimetres -lrb- 0.7 inches -rrb- in size - and it actually prefers . to fight the ` goliaths ' as opposed to picking on creatures its own size . juvenile spiders of the species zodarion cyrenaicum climb on the dorsal side of an ant . here they deliver an immobilising venomous bite to the abdomen , thus avoiding . retaliation by the immediately helpless prey . the venom glands of adult ant-eating spiders are more than 50 times larger than those of the juveniles . however , it only takes about twice as long for the venom of the younger spiders to take effect . this suggests that this spider species possesses very potent venom already at the juvenile stage . details about how it attacks and kills its prey with a venomous bite were published in the journal the science of nature .
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<t> uk family forced from home as poisonous insect hitches in from afghanistan . </t> <t> camel spider believed to have stowed away in soldier 's luggage . </t> <t> family blames creature for death of pet dog cassie . </t>
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stowaway afghan spider kills family dog<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- russia announced monday it might hold joint military maneuvers with venezuela in the caribbean , and the united states said it is scrapping a once ballyhooed deal with moscow on nuclear technology . the declarations come in the wake of increased tension between russia and the united states over russia 's invasion last month of the former soviet republic of georgia , a u.s. ally that aspires to join nato . russian ships will make a port of call in venezuela later this year and the two nations could hold joint naval exercises for the first time , both sides said . russia denied there was any link between monday 's announcement and the conflict in the caucasus , although russia has criticized u.s. support for georgia , and venezuelan president hugo chavez has long antagonized washington . `` this is a planned event unrelated to the current political situation and caucasian developments , '' russian foreign ministry spokesman andrei nesterenko said monday . `` the exercises will not be targeted against any third party . '' the agreement on the russian visit to venezuelan ports was reached long before the conflict in the caucasus broke out , he said . but he appeared to suggest monday that russia had proposed the joint naval maneuvers . `` if the venezuelan side finds the proposal interesting and an agreement is reached , russia and venezuela may hold joint naval exercises in line with international practice , '' he said . several hours later , u.s. state department spokesman sean mccormack said washington is canceling the proposed `` 123 agreement '' with moscow , which would have cleared the way for more trade of nuclear technology , services and goods between the two countries . he denied the pullout was directly linked to moscow 's actions in the caucasus . `` over a period of time , we 've had some deep concerns about russian behavior . and quite clearly the president has taken this action looking at the facts , '' he said . both countries had accepted the agreement and it was awaiting congressional approval . russian foreign minister sergey lavrov warned in an exclusive interview with cnn last week that russia would not be pleased at the collapse of the 123 agreement , which is named after a section of the u.s. atomic energy act of 1954 . `` this would effectively kill any possibility for our cooperation to promote the bush-putin initiative on nuclear nonproliferation -- which is important for the entire world , '' he said . `` as i said , it would n't be our choice , but if the united states does not want to cooperate with us on one or another issue , we can not impose ourselves on washington . '' but experts say congress was unlikely to have given the deal a green light , and that the white house was making the best of a bad situation . `` i think -lsb- the administration is -rsb- making a virtue out of a necessity '' by pulling out , said russia analyst jon wolfsthal of the center for strategic and international studies in washington , last week . on the possibility of russian-venezuelan naval exercises , latin america expert wayne s. smith warned against reading too much into the proposal . `` the russians have complained about u.s. warships operating in the black sea , which is an area of intense interest to them . it would not be surprising if they returned the favor by having joint exercises in the caribbean , '' said smith , a 25-year foreign service veteran who ended his state department career as chief of the u.s. interest section in havana . `` it 's a way of saying : ` two can play at this game . if you think you can send ships into the black sea without response , you are mistaken . ' ''<doc-sep>but he said the mere fact of russian ships operating in the western hemisphere would not necessarily be dangerous . `` the act itself is not . having naval exercises ? fine , as long as both sides take it for what it is . it 's not a threatening gesture , it 's a message . '' frank mora , a latin america expert at the national defense university in washington , said the announcement could be part of a complicated bargaining process , depending on whether relations improve between moscow and washington . `` something tells me that soon enough something will happen to tone this down , and possibly this exercise with the venezuelans could be used to pull back on this issue , '' mora said . `` if things improve -lsb- the russians -rsb- could pull back as a sign of commitment to improving the relationship . if tensions remain i see the possibility that this kind of exercise would occur . '' he said the venezuelans have little to contribute to a military alliance with russia . `` they have a couple of destroyers , a couple of old submarines , and frigates that can launch surface-to-air missiles -- not anything sophisticated or robust . this would not be a robust exercise . it would be more about indicating strategic cooperation . '' but he suggested that if the exercise does go ahead , it would be a sign of increased russian confidence vis-a-vis the united states . `` they feel they are strong enough and bold enough to do something in our sphere of influence , '' he said . pentagon spokesman bryan whitman appeared to shrug off the announcement . `` we exercise all around the globe and have joint exercises with countries all over the world ; so do many other nations , '' he said . chavez said sunday that caracas was prepared to receive the russians in late november or december , according venezuela 's ministry of communications . but he indicated venezuela might not be prepared for military exercises by then . `` we 're only in the planning phase . we 're not ready yet for the visit and the probable maneuvers to happen in september or october , or even november . so it could happen , if not at the end of november , then at the beginning of december , '' he said . nesterenko said the russian flotilla will include `` the heavy nuclear-propelled missile cruiser pyotr veliki and the large anti-submarine ship admiral chabanenko . '' the announcement comes only days after a u.s. navy command ship , the uss whitney , arrived in the georgian port town of poti in what the united states called a humanitarian mission . the ship reached poti on friday . russia said the fact that a military vessel is being used in a relief mission raises concerns . russia has become a major supplier of arms to venezuela since 2001 . the two countries signed a series of deals worth $ 3 billion in 2006 , including fighter aircraft , transport and attack helicopters , and assault rifles , according to jane 's , the defense intelligence publication . chavez visited moscow in july for his first meeting with new russian president dmitry medvedev . cnn 's maxim tkachenko and matthew chance in moscow and cnn state department producer charley keyes in washington contributed to this report .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- russia is displaying its military power in america 's back yard , sending a convoy of warships to venezuela for joint naval exercises , the first such deployment since the cold war . the kremlin is becoming increasingly cozy with venezuela , cuba and other latin american countries unhappy with the united states , in apparent response to thorny issues such as u.s. missile defense plans in eastern europe , nato 's eastern expansion , and u.s. warships dispatched to georgia . `` some of this is the russians wanting to get even . they see american warships close to their shore ; they 're going to put russian warships close to us , '' said russian military expert john pike of globalsecurity.org . the fleet of ships headed toward the caribbean includes some of russia 's finest , like the nuclear-powered peter the great cruiser and the anti-submarine warship admiral chebanenko . pike said that while these vessels are impressive , they are no match for the american navy and pose little threat to the united states . `` they have obsolete technology . they would simply be no match for american warships in a one-to-one combat , '' he said . nonetheless , this deployment adds to the tension created earlier this month when two russian tu-160 nuclear long-range bombers arrived in venezuela , also for military exercises .<doc-sep>pictured painting for charity , receiving cuddly tiger cubs for his . birthday , and denouncing the slaughter of baby seals . the oleg , a warship which sank in 1869 after colliding with another vessel , currently rests at a depth of 60 metres -lrb- 200 feet -rrb- in between the islands of gogland and sommers . it was reportedly discovered by russian divers in 2003 and is now being examined by a team of researchers . busy man : russian president vladimir putin , left , shakes hands with chief of russia 's military 's general staff valery gerasimov , right , at an airport in yuzhno-sakhalinsk on sakhalin island today . in action : russian president vladimir putin watches military exercises with defence minister sergei shoigu , left , during his visit to russia 's far eastern sakhalin region . in the spotlight : tanks with the eastern military district perform military exercises in front of russian president vladimir putin this morning . overview : putin pictured in a helicopter watching a naval exercise of the pacific fleet as part of the military exercises in the eastern military district , sakhalin region , russia . russian pacific fleet ships take part in military exercises in the eastern military district with russian president vladimir putin overseeing the maneuvers from a helicopter in the sakhalin region .<doc-sep>it said the russian flights were carried out in strict accordance with international rules governing airspace above neutral waters , and that the aircraft did not violate the borders of other states . pentagon spokesman bryan whitman said such joint exercises between nations are not unusual . `` we exercise all around the globe and have joint exercises with countries all over the world . so do many other nations . '' the u.s. will monitor the russian-venezuelan training , said pentagon officials who asked not to be identified as they are not authorized to speak on the information . on monday , russia announced it might hold joint naval maneuvers with venezuela in the caribbean .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- two russian bombers have landed at a venezuelan airfield where they will carry out training flights for several days , the russian defense ministry said wednesday . russia 's tupolev tu-160 , pictured here in 2003 , is a long-range strategic bomber . the tupolev tu-160 strategic bombers landed at venezuela 's libertador military airfield and `` will spend several days carrying out training flights over neutral waters , after which they will return to the base , '' the ministry added . nato fighters followed the bombers on their 13-hour flight over the arctic ocean and the atlantic , the defense ministry said . it said the russian flights were carried out in strict accordance with international rules governing airspace above neutral waters , and that the aircraft did not violate the borders of other states . pentagon spokesman bryan whitman said such joint exercises between nations are not unusual . `` we exercise all around the globe and have joint exercises with countries all over the world . so do many other nations . '' the u.s. will monitor the russian-venezuelan training , said pentagon officials who asked not to be identified as they are not authorized to speak on the information . on monday , russia announced it might hold joint naval maneuvers with venezuela in the caribbean . the declaration came amid increased tension between russia and the united states over russia 's invasion last month of the former soviet republic of georgia , a u.s. ally that aspires to join nato . on monday russia denied any link between that announcement and the conflict in georgia , although russia has criticized u.s. support for georgia . russia has also objected to the missile defense system agreement , signed between the united states and poland and the czech republic in august , that places a ground-based ballistic defense facility in the two eastern european nations . russia has said the deal threatens its security , while the united states has said that the system is to guard against rogue states such as iran . earlier this month , venezuelan president hugo chavez , whose comments have frequently antagonized washington , said it would welcome the russian air force , according to russian news agency novosti . `` if russian long-range bombers should need to land in venezuela , we would not object to that either . we will also welcome them , '' chavez said on september 1 , according to novosti . cnn 's mike mount contributed to this story .
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<t> new : pentagon downplays development , says cooperation happens across globe . </t> <t> move comes amid u.s.-russian tensions over ex-soviet republic of georgia . </t> <t> russian official denies link to `` political situation and caucasian developments '' </t> <t> russia and venezuela may hold joint naval exercises , both countries say . </t>
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russian ships to visit venezuela ⁇ naval exercises possible<T>
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-lrb- the frisky -rrb- -- everybody has a `` type . '' personally , i like a man with a big schnozz -- bonus points if he 's got a collection of acne scars a lá tommy lee jones . the `` overeater '' is one of the nine types of men that women should avoid . my pal annie likes preppy men -- but only after they 've gone to seed and become a little bloated in the process . suzanne has a weakness for thin japanese guys who like indie rock music , while maddy adores bike messengers of all shapes and sizes . but there are certain types of guys who should be nobody 's type . these guys are distinguished by one thing -- an overabundance of one or more very bad qualities . here 's your guide to boys to avoid : . 1 . the oversharer : the current overshare poster boy is phillip nobel , who wrote a highly hide-chapping account of his extramarital affair for elle . the oversharer will broadcast intimate episodes from your relationship to his mother , your mother , his blog readers and anyone else he can rope into paying attention . 2 . the overthinker : one of the great things about dating men is that you are n't subjected to long , excruciating interrogations over what you really meant when you reassured him that no , he did n't look fat in those pants . however , though they 're rare birds , there are guys who will want to spend hours dissecting even the most innocuous comment , examining it for tone , content and what you might 've been implying . 3 . the overtalker : your friends say they 've never known you to be so quiet . that 's because this man does enough talking for both of you -lrb- and then some -rrb- . when you do finally eke out a sentence or two he interrupts and talks over you anyway . you have two choices -- accept the fact that you will never speak again or tell him goodbye . your call . 4 . the overdresser : this dandy makes gossip girl 's chuck bass look sloppy and mismatched . that he takes longer than you to get ready is strike one against him , but the fact that he matches his socks to his underwear and to his ascot drives him out of the park . 5 . the overeater : it 's an irritating fact that men can eat more than women . the overeater does n't care . food is his first love and he 'll push cannolis and baked ziti on you like a crazed italian granny . unless you do n't mind a future spent in stretch-pants , you might want to give this dude a pass . 6 . the overreactor : remember when russell crowe threw a phone at that hotel clerk who somehow displeased him ? that 's this guy . from the old lady who accidentally bumped into him at the grocery store , to the suv that cut him off on the highway -- everyone in his path will hear his wrath . you , most of all . do not walk away -- run . 7 . the over-the-topper : he 's the life of the party and thinks nothing of driving his motorcycle through the bar if he thinks it 'll get a laugh . he 's certainly cute , but he just never stops . he 's always on . and that , will quickly turn into a turn-off . 8 . overachiever : picture the male version of tracy flick in the movie `` election '' in perfectly fitted jeans , a crisp white oxford shirt and a copy of his -lrb- perfect , naturally -rrb- sat scores in his wallet . now imagine making love to him . you ca n't , can you ? 9 . the overcompensator : maybe he was the homeliest kid in his eighth-grade class , but that does n't mean you need to sit through a monologue about how much money he makes , how jealous his friends are over his new bmw , and how he totally could date supermodels if he wanted to . next ! tm & © 2008 tmv , inc. | all rights reserved .<doc-sep>by . victoria woollaston . nowhere else in your life are you forced to spend time with such a variety of people as you are when at work . yet a psychologist claims that each colleague can be put into one of five personality types , including the ball breaker , who would ` sell their own mothers to get ahead ' and the mother hen who is the office gossip . each type was compiled using psychological profiling based on various research carried out by the chemistry group , but which one are you ? alasdair scott , psychologist at berkshire-based the chemistry group , has created a guide that reveals what the five types of office workers , including the ball breaker who shout at colleagues and will ` stop at nothing to become successful ' alasdair scott , occupational psychologist and business analysts at the berkshire-based firm has created a guide that reveals the signs to look out for , how to stay in the good books of the different types , and highlighted some key psychological traits . the first type is the ball breaker , according to scott they ` are the ones who will stop at nothing to become successful ; they 'll sell their own mothers if it means they 'll get ahead . ' the best way to work well with ball breakers is to show them respect , but not to reveal any weakness , and above all scott claims it 's important to make yourself ` invaluable ' to them . psychologically speaking , these types are low on the agreeableness scale and very high on emotional stability . they 're low on empathy and mildly extraverted . the ball breaker . how . you can recognise them : ` these guys are the ones who will stop at . nothing to become successful ; they 'll sell their own mothers if it means . they 'll get ahead , ' said scott . how to work . with them : ` the softly , softly approach would seem like a good antidote . to these guys , but do n't be fooled . ` try not to show too much weakness , . be thorough and resolute and ready to hold your corner . plan your . approach to work , keep up your pace of work and make yourself invaluable . through your own insight . what not to do : show them up in big meetings , win at their expense - they might catch you out later . personality . make up : these guys are low on the agreeableness scale and very high on emotional stability . they 're low on empathy and mildly extraverted , . meaning that they 're out for solo success and not really a team player . the mother hen . how .<doc-sep>` although we are nearly 6,000 miles away from the bay of tokyo i am excited about welcoming guests to the araki and sharing the true edomae experience . ' the move to europe has meant a change in suppliers and mr araki has overseen the sourcing of the fish , choosing tuna from ireland and spain . but sushi rice will be shipped from a farm in saitama , north of tokyo run by his father-in-law . for drinks guests can opt for a wine pairing by master sommelier gearoid devaney or choose from three types of sake selected personally by mr araki and served in antique ceramics . master chef : the incredibly exclusive eaterie has only nine seats and charges diners # 250 for a fixed menu of appetisers and different types of sushi . the international move has meant a change in fish suppliers . tuna is now sourced from spain and ireland . as well as the nine-seat counter , the araki also has one six seat private room which will be opening soon . ` it has only been open a week and demand is ramping up extremely quickly , ' a spokesperson for the araki told mailonline food . ` it is very gratifying that more than a third of the guests who have visited the araki so far have re-booked immediately , ' he continued .<doc-sep>` they are weekend bbqs in the sun . they are that perfect day on the beach . ' bonobos is . another mens retailer that has hopped on the short shorts bandwagon . at . the e-commerce company 's ` guideshops ' , they sell chino shorts in four . different inseam lengths : 11 , nine , seven and five inches . higher and higher : bonobos sells chino shorts in four different inseam lengths : 11 , nine , seven -lrb- left -rrb- and five inches -lrb- right -rrb- , the last of which is most popular with twenty-something men . thigh-skimming : at ralph lauren , shorts that fall above the knee are more the norm than the exception , with inseams ranging between a conservative nine-and-a-half inches -lrb- left -rrb- to a more daring six -lrb- right -rrb- . the modern fit is more tailored and less tight than the short shorts of the seventies and eighties - like the bright gym shorts favored by richard simmons and slater 's denim cut-offs in saved by the bell . ' i just do n't like the longer lengths - they cut off your body in a strange place ' today , according to dwight fenton , the vice president of design at bonobos , different types of men tend to gravitate towards different lengths . those who opt for five inches are ` the same young guys wearing the slim-cut suits , ' who are often in their twenties , he said .<doc-sep>` you guys did us all proud not just by how hard you played and how well you did ; you guys just carried yourselves with a lot of class . it makes people really respect the sport and you guys are really great models for a lot of sportsman here in the states . ' i know it is disappointing but what you guys accomplished is really , really significant and it will make a difference to the country so congratulate coach . i know maybe you have got another couple of guys there . recognise ! pentagon chief hagel called everton 's howard on . wednesday to offer his congratulations . head held high : howard was cheered on by today . show host natalie morales the day after . ` fantastic job everybody and i hope i get to see you guys again at the whitehouse sometime soon . i 've still got my jacket that you guys gave me . i appreciate you guys . safe travels back . bye bye . ' howard , meanwhile , was randomly drug-tested immediately after tuesday 's match during which he set a world cup record by making an amazing 16 saves . howard was n't able to join his teammates in the locker room immediately after the defeat because fifa selected him to take the test . ` i got dragged into drug testing , again , randomly , ' howard told espn radio when asked about the sombre mood after the match . ` so i did n't hear all of -lsb- the reactions -rsb- . '
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<t> there are certain types of men who should be nobody 's type . </t> <t> run from the `` overreactor '' -- you and everyone in his path will hear his wrath . </t> <t> the `` overcompensator '' brags about how much money he makes . </t> <t> the `` overtalker '' does enough talking for both of you . </t>
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nine types of guys to get over immediately<T>
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london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- they first met in the autumn of 1979 ; she playing the role of the lovelorn terrorist , he dressed as a rather sloppy ayatollah khomeini . pamela stephenson first met billy connolly on the set of a comedy show in 1979 . they married in fiji in 1990 . it may not have been love at first sight on the set of british comedy show `` not the nine o'clock news , '' but love , marriage and children eventually followed . australian comedienne , now psychotherapist , pamela stephenson , describes being captivated by billy connolly 's wildman looks , his mane of grey hair and devil-may-care demeanor . she tells cnn 's revealed about her first impressions of her husband , his unique ability to keep audiences entertained and what she learnt about his addictions and childhood abuse while writing his best-selling biography , `` billy . '' cnn : take us back to the beginning . how did you meet billy connolly ? pamela stephenson : i 'm not quite sure what billy 's version of how we met is like because he was very drunk . i met him when i was a performer on `` not the nine o'clock news '' and he was a guest . he was just shaggy and some kind of terrible beastie . but i was attracted to him immediately , maybe because he was so unusual . i think what i picked up on was his dichotomy -- that beastiness and the underlying sensitivity that he has . i think that 's something that audiences relate to , you 're aware of all the toughness , but underneath you just know that there 's philosophy and this poetic , celtic nature that speaks to people . also his pain , his underlying sadness and the pain of his childhood ... when i first met him i think i connected with that . he played the ayatollah khomeini in a scene on `` not the nine o'clock news '' and i played a demented fan singing a love song to him , it was in days when you could do stuff like that , i suppose . and then we did an interview , i pretending to be british tv personality janet street-porter , with giant fake teeth which kept falling out . of course , he could never keep a straight face ; i thought he was dreadfully unprofessional because he just kept laughing , especially when my teeth fell out -- my fake teeth -- fell out . cnn : what 's it like being married to him ? ps : people always think that being married to billy means that i get non-stop billy connolly concerts . it 's not nearly as exciting as that , although he 's adorable . but it 's boring sometimes and he would say the same . there are moments when i wish he would go and make me a cup of tea , which he does very often . actually , billy is quite a quiet person . he 's a little reclusive and i do n't think it 's necessarily his personality . with the highs he experiences on stage he needs to be very quiet when he 's not . billy connolly takes cnn 's revealed on a tour of his home '' cnn : what made you write a biography of his life ? was it the first time he opened up about his childhood ?<doc-sep>ps : when i wrote `` billy , '' it was the first time that billy really looked at his childhood in a chronological order and with depth . it was a painful process , but cathartic . the book gave me the opportunity to understand a lot more about him . just putting some of this together , the sexual abuse , for example , that he received from his father , the physical abuse he received from his aunts , helped me understand why there 's a part of him that 's very closed off . watch billy recall his troubled childhood '' his learning disability was never understood . now we 'd call it an attention disorder . in those days , he had difficulty concentrating , for which he was beaten and taunted at school . people told him he was stupid and to this day there 's a part of him that thinks that 's he 's not as clever as other people and yet he is absolutely brilliant . he 's incredibly well-read and very erudite . cnn : can you tell us about billy 's problems with alcohol and drugs and how you helped him ? ps : billy was extremely famous in scotland , and you know what happens , especially with people who do n't think they are very worthy . as with billy , they do n't handle fame because they do n't feel they deserve it and they 'll turn to alcohol and drugs . it became very serious and by the time i met him he was on a very self-destructive path . at first , that was appealing to me , but later i realized i ca n't be with somebody like that because i do n't want to watch him destroy himself . i did n't tell him , `` you 've got ta clean up your act , '' i just said i ca n't deal with this . i discovered you ca n't make anyone stop drinking or stop taking drugs , you have to just protect yourself and if they want to jump on the good train , they will . fortunately it worked . cnn : how would you describe billy 's style of comedy ? ps : billy does n't have a style , because to have a style it would mean that there have to be other people with a similar way of working . he goes on stage and it 's like he 's got these comedy angels whispering in his ear . he makes this extraordinary connection with the audience , and of course he 's very astute and funny about politics . he sees the funny side of all kinds of things -- human nature , human behavior , world events , politicians . he 'll talk about that with such passion . it 's what many of us think but do n't want to say . billy will see something on television or notice something on the street or he 'll just think something and it 'll go into his computer of a brain and it 'll stumble out when he 's on stage . see billy connolly perform on a recent tour of ireland '' cnn : is he the same person on and off stage ? ps : he 's honest and real . he 's a man of the people , a working class hero . it 's a cliché , but people know that he has struggled ; they know he 's come from the tough part of glasgow . billy just loves an audience , he loves speaking to people if they 're nice to him , and they usually are . when he 's finished his show , he does n't go home . he stays in his dressing room and people will come and see him and he 'll talk to them for another hour . cnn : he says he 's getting more and more nervous when he goes on stage -- have you noticed a change ? ps : i do n't think he 's getting more nervous . at his age , maybe he thinks that it should have become easier -- well , it 's not going to become easier . it 's incredibly tough to go on stage in front of four or five thousand people and sustain -lsb- their interest -rsb- by yourself . and one thing that really impresses me , again as a psychologist , is that i think he is really healing . i think that people really have the opportunity to just laugh like that and it 's so good for you . i feel fantastic when i go to one of his shows and come out and i 'm just sick with laughter .<doc-sep>cnn : how does he feel when he comes off stage ? he says it can be tough and envies the audience . they can go home and forget about it . ps : most performers struggle with the letdown after a show , and billy 's no exception . it 's tough because it takes time for adrenalin to leave the system . that 's actually one reason why a lot of comedians turn to alcohol , because it 's a depressant and takes you down . now that billy does n't drink he 's found another way -- he goes back to his hotel and stays quiet . sometimes he likes to eat after the show but not very often . he will just want to veg out , watch tv . playing his banjo is a great way for him to relax . watch a rare performance of billy on banjo '' he does n't like me being around when he 's touring because he just likes to do his thing . i want to have some food or go and do something . he becomes a bit of a hermit , and that 's appropriate for someone who expends that amount of energy and brainpower on stage . cnn : billy says he finds the routine of touring increasingly tough -- do you think he will stop soon ? ps : when billy 's touring , he 'll say , `` oh i do n't want to tour anymore , i 've had enough it 's too hard on the road . '' but the truth is , when he 's not touring , he wants to go back . it 's probably his happiest time . i have been a comedian so i know a little bit about what it 's like to be on stage and know that when things are working fantastically , and you 're getting that appreciation from the audience . it is an incredible high . it 's pretty hard for me as a wife or us as a family or any of his fans or friends to match up to that kind of adulation and so , you know , he deserves it and i have to remind him that it is a lot of fun for him . cnn : how would you describe his dress sense ? ps : billy is a fashion maven . he spends most of his time in new york now so , you know , the new york `` black is the new black '' is ... that 's got to him a bit . he 's influenced by rock 'n' roll and vivienne westwood and edgy stuff . but he just puts it together in his own unique way . he also takes great pride in his body . his closet is still extremely fun . it 's far more colorful than mine . i have grey and black suits and things for work -- he loves colorful shirts . it will be a shame if he tones himself down , but i do n't think that will happen . he borrows my clothes sometimes , if he sees something particularly mad . we used to say , `` first up , best dressed , '' which is the glasgow expression for a particularly fun brooch or hat .<doc-sep>by . simon cable . and mia de graaf . billy connolly blew a raspberry down the phone as his doctor delivered the devastating news that he had both cancer and parkinson 's disease . the comedian was standing in his living room when the surgery called - and his instinct was to laugh . ' i remember i went through to the . bedroom to answer the phone , and pamela was behind me - i thought she . was going to catch me , ' he said . defiant : billy connolly blew a defiant raspberry when he heard he had both cancer and parkinson 's disease . ` she sort of held me , and i went , `` oh , jesus ... '' ' ` but when we went into the living room i went : `` phrrhrht '' -lsb- blowing a raspberry -rsb- . ' i think they 're very closely related , deep despair and laughing . ' ever .<doc-sep>pamela stephenson has told how she rushed husband billy connolly to hospital with a potentially deadly blood clot -- while he cracked jokes about her . bundling the veteran comedian into a taxi , she then became the butt of his gags as poor roads made the mercy dash bumpy . ignoring the pain he was suffering , the scottish funnyman turned to her and said : ` uh-oh , he drives just like you , pamsy ! ' even though he was going through so much pain , he never stopped being his hilarious , curmudgeonly , adorable self , pamela stephenson revealed about her husband billy connolly . former strictly finalist miss stephenson , 64 , was speaking for the first time about connolly 's brush with death -- which followed surgery to remove his prostate after he was diagnosed with cancer . she told the mail 's weekend magazine : ` i said , `` billy , i 'm saving your life here , stop going on about my driving ! '' ` even though he was going through so much pain , he never stopped being his hilarious , curmudgeonly , adorable self . fortunately i do n't take it personally ; i just think it 's funny that he 'd choose that moment to run down my driving . ' quick-thinking by the actress turned psychologist may have saved the life of her 71-year-old husband . unable to get doctors to listen to her initially , miss stephenson eventually got through to an intern who told her to get the father of five to a hospital immediately . the medical problem resurfaced when he was filming this itv documentary about how we deal with death called billy connolly 's big send-off . doctors dealt with the clot , but the problem resurfaced later when he was filming his itv documentary about how we deal with death , billy connolly 's big send-off .<doc-sep>london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- for a man once accustomed to wearing banana boots , tights and a leotard -- together -- today 's choice of attire is remarkably sedate . comedian billy connolly takes cnn 's revealed on a tour of his home town , his beloved glasgow , scotland . scottish actor and comedian billy connolly is wearing black jeans , a black t-shirt and a brown jacket to give cnn 's `` revealed '' a tour of his beloved hometown of glasgow . he 'd almost blend into the background if it was n't for his wild mop of grey hair , distinctive round glasses and compulsion to chat with every passer by . `` you know he just loves an audience , '' says his long-suffering but immensely proud and supportive wife , pamela stephenson , an australian comedienne-turned-psychotherapist . `` i mean it 's frustrating for me because we 'll be in a restaurant or we 'll be on the street or something and i 'm trying to get somewhere , and someone will stop him and he 'll say ` ah yes ! ' and he 'll start telling a story , and all of a sudden they 're best friends . '' billy connolly has a lot of best friends in glasgow . men cross the street to shake his hand and elderly ladies stop to enquire about his health . on spying the camera , one dressed in a neat blue suit and sensible flats asks , `` you doing a wee program , son ? '' `` you want to be famous ? '' replies connolly , engulfing her tiny frame in a six-foot bear hug from which she emits a muffled whoop . `` your first screen kiss , '' he adds , planting a smacker square on her lips . she giggles as they part . `` thanks billy , '' she says , giving him the thumbs-up . the streets of glasgow were n't nearly as friendly 65 years ago when the young billy connolly arrived with a plop on the cold linoleum floor of his parents ' tenement house . he was the second of two children born to a young family that was soon to fracture . not long after billy 's birth , his father , william connolly , left to join the war effort in burma . his mother , mamie connolly , soon tired of looking after two children on her own and walked out on both of them when billy was barely four years old . watch connolly discuss how his childhood drove him into comedy '' the children were taken in by two aunts who abused them even after their father 's return from the war in march 1946 . far from protecting them , he too mentally and physically abused his young son . `` the most overwhelming thing that happens to you is n't the abuse itself , the physical side , '' connolly tells cnn . `` it 's the loss of love , there 's a loss of respect happens and it 's irredeemable , it ca n't be gotten back . '' as a boy , connolly had difficulty retaining information . he did poorly at school and left to work as an apprentice welder at the local shipyards . `` it helped me greatly . you go in as a spotty boy at 16 and you come out at 21 , with an adam 's apple and your voice has broken , you are a guy , a man . '' by then , he 'd also discovered the banjo . `` when i saw pete seeger playing the banjo it completely changed my life , '' connolly tells cnn . he discovered his comedic talents while playing a folk music gig in paisley with his friend jimmy steel . halfway through a song , connolly forgot the lyrics so he told the audience the storyline instead . to his great surprise , they laughed and a comedian was born . `` it gave me the confidence to be funny , '' connolly recalls . `` i 'd always enjoyed being funny but it gave me the confidence to stand up on stage and do it . '' `` though i must say , i really wanted to be a banjo hero , a folkie with a beard and an instrument and music , and people go ` did you hear him play ? ' it 's purely mine now -- it is n't for the public anymore , it 's just for me and my other pals who play . '' watch a rare performance of billy on banjo '' . in the early 1970s , billy connolly 's anecdote-heavy , expletive-strewn stand-up shows were selling out venues in scotland . in 1975 , he hit the big time after shocking audiences with a bawdy joke on popular english talk show `` parkinson . '' `` i told a joke about a guy parking a bicycle in a woman 's bum , and it got the most phenomenal reception . parkinson just collapsed , '' connolly recalls . watch billy 's bum joke '' `` he literally told one joke on that show and that made him as a comedian , '' presenter michael parkinson tells cnn . `` whenever he came on the show after that , he used to put two to three million on the viewing figures . the only two people who ever did that were mohammad ali and billy connolly . '' while billy connolly 's career was on an upward trajectory , though , his personal life was spiraling out of control in a toxic blur of drink and drugs . `` i was quite suicidal at the time , '' he tells cnn . `` the fame was getting on my nerves . i was really fed up of being famous . i found it tiresome ; the drinking was a way out of it , but then it became its own problem . '' his first marriage was crumbling when he met wife pamela stephenson . `` it was like a door opening and daylight streaming in , '' he says . `` billy will sometimes say things like i saved him . it 's just not true , he saved himself , '' stephenson tells cnn . pamela stephenson talks about life with billy . `` he 's very , very smart , '' she continues . `` he saw that there was a chance for personal happiness and a chance to survive and to take care of his enormous talent and move into a far greater happiness and he made a choice to do that . '' more than thirty years after his sell-out scottish shows , he 's still packing them in . his recent tour of northern ireland sold out in record time -- 20,000 seats in six minutes . `` it 's just a case of putting the name up and they come , '' promoter pat egan tells cnn . connolly 's manager of some 24 years , steven brown , still struggles to comprehend his client 's enduring appeal . `` we have n't been to ireland for seven years , and the demand is probably twice what it was before , which is probably twice what it was the tour before that , '' brown tells cnn . `` after forty years it should n't do that . it should level off to a plateau , or start dipping . `` the only thing i can put it down to is he does n't do a lot of press , he does n't do radio . i wish i could take credit for it and say it was a clever management decision that made it happen but it 's not , it 's just that what he does he does brilliantly and people love it and they just want to come and see more of it . '' the banana boots connolly used to wear on stage to `` sex up '' his image now sit in a glass cabinet at the local museum , `` the people 's palace , '' in glasgow . he no longer wears outlandish costumes on stage . he does n't need to . if the reception he receives on the streets of his hometown is anything to go by , he 'll have them rolling in the aisles for some time to come .<doc-sep>actor michael j. fox and muhammad ali -lrb- right -rrb- are among the most famous people with it . the main symptoms are slowness of movement , stiffness of muscles and shaking . these tend to slowly worsen with time although the rate varies from patient to patient . there is currently no cure . about 5 in 1,000 people in their 60s , and about 40 in 1,000 people in their 80s have the condition . there is no cure for parkinson 's and scientists have been unable to work out why people get it . symptoms can be controlled using a combination of drugs , therapies and occasionally surgery , but often more care and support may be needed as they progress . sir michael parkinson , also battling . prostate cancer , helped launch connolly 's career , inviting him to a . record nine appearances on his chat show . he said yesterday : ` i spoke to . billy before his surgery to wish my old friend well , and i 'm pleased it . has all gone well . ` i 'm looking forward to seeing billy back doing what he does best -- making us all laugh . ' singer . bob geldof said his ` great friend ' -- married to psychologist and . actress pamela stephenson -- would not be deterred by his illness , . saying : ` he 's helped me lots in my endeavours . ` pam and bill are great mates . he 's as strong as an ox mentally from everything he 's been through as a kid . ` so i do n't think this will deter him from being that individual that we know . ' former . television presenter michael barrymore added : ` thinking of you at this . time billy , and the times you made me laugh and will again . you were so . kind to me . ' steve .
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<t> pamela stephenson talks about marriage to scottish comedian billy connelly . </t> <t> they met on the set of british comedy show `` not the nine o'clock news '' </t> <t> she says writing his biography , `` billy , '' helped her understand him better . </t> <t> stephenson : `` it 's like he 's got these comedy angels whispering in his ear '' </t>
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a laugh a minute ? life with billy connolly<T>
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beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the head of china 's quality watchdog is reported to have resigned over the tainted baby milk scandal that has killed four children and sickened nearly 53,000 others . the official xinhua news agency said li changjiang had quit with the approval of china 's state council . li 's agency is responsible for ensuring that china 's food supply chain is safe . monday 's resignation came hours after the world health organization said the scandal had highlighted flaws in the country 's entire food supply chain . the chemical melamine blamed for causing kidney stones and kidney failure has been detected in formula milk powder from 22 dairies across china . the crisis was initially thought to have been confined to baby milk powder , but tests have found melamine in samples of liquid milk taken from china 's two largest dairy producers , mengniu dairy group and yili industrial group , as well as shanghai-based bright dairy . who china representative hans troedsson said on monday quality issues could occur anywhere from the farm to the retail outlet . he said `` it 's clearly something that is not acceptable and needs to be rectified and corrected , '' according to the associated press . troedsson said the who was discussing with officials how to strengthen china 's food quality system . chinese premier wen jiabao has called milk manufacturers `` heartless '' and promised stricter laws to protect the public . china 's health ministry said sunday that about 13,000 children were hospitalized , while another 40,000 had undergone outpatient treatment for illnesses related to suspected melamine-tainted milk products . the scandal has spread beyond the mainland with melamine being found in three chinese-made dairy products in singapore .<doc-sep>the country 's agri-food and veterinary authority said tests on `` white rabbit creamy candy '' showed that it was contaminated with melamine and it ordered stores to remove the product from shelves . taiwan announced monday it was banning the importation of all dairy products from china because of melamine contamination in milk supplies on the mainland , taiwan 's health ministry said monday . and a second child in hong kong has been diagnosed with a kidney stones after drinking the tainted milk as worried parents continued to take their children for health checkups , the government said monday , ap reported . the 4-year-old boy was in hospital in a stable condition , the hong kong government said in a statement . a three-year-old girl was sickened by a suspected melamine-tainted milk over the weekend -- the first known illness outside of mainland china . the chinese premier visited beijing hospitals and a supermarket sunday to show his concern for the crisis . `` what we need to do now is to ensure that nothing like this happens in the future , not only in dairy products , but in all foods , '' he said . `` manufacturers and owners of dairy companies should show more morality and social responsibility in these cases . they are heartless , so we have to create strict law and legislation . i 'm sorry . '' investigators arrested two brothers who sold milk used to produce the contaminated baby milk powder last week . they could face death if convicted , according to china daily , a state-run newspaper . the raw milk had been watered down and the chemical added to fool quality checks , the newspaper said . melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates , wood adhesives , fabric coatings , ceiling tiles and flame retardants . watch cnn visit the company at the center of the scandal '' but anger has been directed not just at the producers accused of adulterating their milk to increase profits , but also at government regulators , time magazine reported .<doc-sep>`` xinhua was quick to blame the dairy industry for their skewed rules , but what it did n't say was that the government also played a part in that ugly game , '' the magazine quoted a blogger , identified as sadmoon109 , as saying . health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones , urinary tract ulcers , and eye and skin irritation . it also robs infants of much-needed nutrition . thousands of tons of the tainted milk powder have been recalled . melamine is the same industrial contaminant from china that poisoned and killed thousands of u.s. dogs and cats last year . the chemical , a byproduct of plastic manufacturing , can be used to mimic high-protein additives . learn more about the chemical melamine '' a senior dairy analyst said chinese farmers were cutting corners to cope with rising costs for feed and labor . `` before the melamine incident , i know they could have been adding organic stuff , say animal urine or skin , '' chen lianfang of beijing orient agribusiness consultant told time . `` basically , anything that can boost the protein reading . '' copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the head of china 's quality watchdog is reported to have resigned over the tainted baby milk scandal that has killed four children and sickened nearly 53,000 others . the official xinhua news agency said li changjiang had quit with the approval of china 's state council . li 's agency is responsible for ensuring that china 's food supply chain is safe . monday 's resignation came hours after the world health organization said the scandal had highlighted flaws in the country 's entire food supply chain . the chemical melamine blamed for causing kidney stones and kidney failure has been detected in formula milk powder from 22 dairies across china . the crisis was initially thought to have been confined to baby milk powder , but tests have found melamine in samples of liquid milk taken from china 's two largest dairy producers , mengniu dairy group and yili industrial group , as well as shanghai-based bright dairy . who china representative hans troedsson said on monday quality issues could occur anywhere from the farm to the retail outlet . he said `` it 's clearly something that is not acceptable and needs to be rectified and corrected , '' according to the associated press . troedsson said the who was discussing with officials how to strengthen china 's food quality system . chinese premier wen jiabao has called milk manufacturers `` heartless '' and promised stricter laws to protect the public . china 's health ministry said sunday that about 13,000 children were hospitalized , while another 40,000 had undergone outpatient treatment for illnesses related to suspected melamine-tainted milk products . the scandal has spread beyond the mainland with melamine being found in three chinese-made dairy products in singapore .<doc-sep>sanlu could be taken over by beijing sanyuan food company or wandashan dairy , xinhua reported . chinese investigators found melamine in nearly 70 milk products from more than 20 companies , according to then-quality control official li changjiang , who was forced to resign . thousands of tons of tainted milk powder were recalled , including pullbacks by mengniu dairy group , china 's largest milk producer , and sanlu . in addition to li 's ouster , the fallout from the scandal led to arrest of at least 18 people in september and new government safety measures .<doc-sep>hong kong , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- unilever is recalling four batches of lipton milk tea sold in hong kong and macau after finding traces of the chemical melamine in the product , the company said tuesday . unilever hong kong limited described it as a precautionary measure and said no other lipton milk tea powder products were affected . the announcement came a day after british confectioner cadbury said it has recalled all of its chinese-made candy products after preliminary tests showed they contained trace amounts of melamine . some of the products were exported to taiwan , hong kong , australia , nauru and christmas island , according to the company . they are the latest companies to get caught up in china 's tainted milk scandal , which began earlier this month when authorities discovered melamine in powdered infant formula . watch how scare affects companies outside china '' contaminated milk has sickened nearly 53,000 children in china , killing four . countries around the world have since banned the import of chinese products containing milk , or have withdrawn products that contain milk from china -- such as chocolates -- amid worries they contain melamine . authorities have arrested 40 people in connection with the milk scandal , including two brothers who could face the death penalty if convicted . investigators suspect people watered down milk in an attempt to sell more of it , and added melamine in order to fool quality checks , chinese authorities have said . the toxic chemical is used to bolster apparent protein levels in diluted or poor-quality milk . others arrested include 19 managers of pastures , breeding farms and milk-purchasing stations . chinese authorities have said those arrested were involved in a network that made and sold melamine . authorities have implicated 22 chinese dairy companies in the scandal . melamine is the same industrial contaminant from china that poisoned and killed thousands of u.s. dogs and cats last year . health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones , urinary tract ulcers , and eye and skin irritation . it also robs infants of much-needed nutrition . the u.s. food and drug administration has said a company in taiwan , the king car food industrial company , had recalled seven instant coffee and milk tea products that were sold in the united states under the mr. brown brand name . they contain a non-dairy creamer found to be contaminated with melamine . the fda also recommends that u.s. consumers not eat white rabbit creamy candy , which in china has been found to contain unacceptable levels of melamine . the candy 's maker , guanshengyuan , has recalled its exports of white rabbit cream candy .<doc-sep>hong kong 's center for food safety said it will continue to test dairy products and other products with dairy ingredients . test results on other products -- including milk powder , soya drinks , yogurt , butter , baby food and frozen confections -- would be released on monday , it said . chinese authorities have implicated 22 chinese dairy companies in the tainted milk scandal . investigators suspect people watered down milk in an attempt to sell more of it , and added melamine in order to fool quality checks , chinese authorities have said . the toxic chemical is used to bolster apparent protein levels in diluted or poor-quality milk . on saturday china announced that a test of 607 batches of liquid milk from 27 cities found the samples to be melamine-free , state-run media said . the tests were the sixth chinese officials have carried out since melamine was discovered in powdered infant formula last month . chinese authorities have promised to subsidize farmers hit by the shrinking demand for milk , the news agency xinhua said . among them is the northern hebei province , which has earmarked 316 million yuan -lrb- $ 46.1 million -rrb- for subsidies . that translates to giving a farmer 200 yuan -lrb- $ 29 -rrb- per cow , xinhua said . melamine is used to bolster apparent protein levels in diluted or poor-quality milk . chinese authorities have arrested 40 people in connection with the scandal , including two brothers who could face the death penalty if convicted . authorities have implicated 22 chinese dairy companies in the scandal .
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<t> head of china 's quality watchdog resigns over tainted baby formula scandal . </t> <t> who representative said scandal shows up flaws in china 's food supply chain . </t> <t> four infants in china dead , 53,000 reported ill from tainted milk powder . </t>
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china quality chief quits over milk scandal<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- people along the texas coast were leaving home or planning to evacuate thursday as hurricane ike churned toward them , slowly intensifying on its march west . forecasters say the storm could slam into the texas coast -- south of galveston -- as a powerful category 3 storm late friday or early saturday . mandatory and voluntary evacuations were planned or underway in at least seven coastal counties . aransas county , on the eastern coast of texas , has ordered a mandatory evacuation of all nonessential government employees , becoming the latest county in the state to urge residents to flee . in galveston , city officials ordered mandatory evacuations for part of the island town beginning at 7 a.m. thursday . the rest of the town will be under a voluntary evacuation order . only residents will be required to evacuate on the western end of the island . mayor lyda ann thomas defended that , saying current models call for galveston to be hit with winds and rain only equivalent to a category 1 hurricane . `` we do not intend to evacuate galveston island , '' she said . `` it 's the last thing we want to do . our job is to protect lives and property , -lsb- and -rsb- right now we feel that sheltering in place is the best action for our citizens to take . '' farther up the gulf coast and closer to where the national hurricane center predicts a direct hit , brazoria county ordered a mandatory evacuation to begin at 8 a.m. thursday . some other texas localities have ordered mandatory evacuations , while others have left the decision to depart up to residents . as of 5 a.m. et thursday , the category 2 storm -- with top sustained winds near 100 mph -- was about 620 miles east of brownsville , texas , and about 285 miles southeast of the mississippi river , the hurricane center said . track the storm ''<doc-sep>hurricane-force winds extended out up to 115 miles from the storm 's center , and tropical storm-force winds extended out up to 255 miles forecasters reported . about 15,000 residents were leaving galveston 's brazoria county wednesday after a mandatory evacuation order was issued at 10 a.m. ct -lrb- 11 a.m. et -rrb- governing one zip code -- 77541 -- and residents throughout the county with special needs . galveston city manager steve leblanc issued a warning to residents of the city 's west end , citing forecasters ' estimates that the area could get tides of 6 feet above normal if the storm arrives there . the west end is the area of galveston most susceptible to flooding , leblanc said . other brazoria residents were being allowed to remain as of 6 p.m. et . in matagorda county , southwest of galveston , officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for all areas except the cities of bay city and van vleck . the evacuation must be completed by at 6 p.m. -lrb- 7 p.m. et -rrb- thursday . galveston is likely to experience a high tidal surge , officials said , urging people living in low-lying areas or mobile homes to get out soon . `` one of the things that the public has to understand if they decide to stay , there will be a period of time during this storm when they will absolutely be on their own , '' brazoria county sheriff charles wagner said . `` there will be no medical services ; there will be no fire department ; there will be no law enforcement , groceries , gasoline , drugs , electricity . '' the center issued a tropical storm warning from the mississippi river 's mouth to cameron , louisiana , and a hurricane watch from cameron to port mansfield , texas , about 60 miles south of brownsville . tropical storm warnings mean winds of 39 to 73 mph -lrb- 63 to 118 kmh -rrb- are expected within a day , and a hurricane watch means winds of 74 and higher are expected within 36 hours .<doc-sep>`` hurricane ike is now in the gulf of mexico and making its approach toward our coast , '' gov. rick perry said in a statement . `` the next few days will be crucial for residents to follow the direction of local leaders and to take the necessary steps to protect themselves and their families . '' perry put 7,500 national guard members on standby this week , his office said , and issued a disaster declaration for 88 counties . about 1,350 buses , several ambulances and paramedic buses were available to support evacuations . the vehicles were positioned near houston , matagorda county , nueces county and victoria county , the governor 's office said . president bush declared an emergency in the state , making federal funds available for the state to prepare for the storm . corpus christi officials also began the evacuation process for residents with special needs , supplying buses to transport them out of town . voluntary evacuations were issued in san patricio and victoria counties and parts of jackson county , according to the governor 's office . more than 1,300 inmates from the texas correctional institutions division 's stevenson unit in cuero were being evacuated to facilities in beeville and kenedy , perry 's office said , and 597 were transferred from the substance abuse glossbrenner unit in san diego , in south texas , to dilley . naval air stations in texas also began to prepare for hurricane ike 's expected arrival . naval air station kingsville was to begin moving about 50 aircraft to el paso , san antonio and fort worth on wednesday afternoon , the public affairs office there said . naval air station corpus christi will also move about 75 aircraft to other texas locations , its public affairs office said . evacuations appeared to have saved lives in cuba when ike slammed into the island . four deaths were reported from the storm , according to the cuban government . the cuban civil defense brought buses or trucks to take people to shelters . see the damage from the storm ''<doc-sep>cuban state television reported that two people were killed when they tried to remove an antenna , the associated press said . one man died when a tree crashed into his home , and a woman died when her home 's roof collapsed , according to the ap . the storm shredded hundreds of homes and caused some dilapidated buildings in havana 's older areas to collapse , the ap reported . watch as winds and waves pound cuba '' the united states , which provided $ 100,000 in emergency aid to communist-run cuba through private aid agencies after hurricane gustav hit the island august 30 , said tuesday that it was considering additional emergency aid for cuba because of ike . also , the united states said it will lift restrictions on cash and humanitarian assistance sent to cuba for the next 90 days . the move will allow nongovernmental organizations to provide assistance and cash donations . the storm pounded grand turk island in the turks and caicos chain , putting a strain on the british territory 's tourism industry . watch houses lie in heaps on grand turk '' flooding and rains from ike 's outer bands have been blamed for 70 deaths in haiti . watch the devastating aftermath '' cnn 's mike mount contributed to this report . copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- residents living in single-family homes in some parts of coastal texas face `` certain death '' if they do not heed orders to evacuate ahead of hurricane ike 's arrival , the national weather service said thursday night . texans sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic thursday on a highway from galveston county into houston . the unusually strong wording came in a weather advisory regarding storm surge along the shoreline of galveston bay , which could see maximum water levels of 15 to 22 feet , the agency said . `` all neighborhoods ... and possibly entire coastal communities ... will be inundated during the period of peak storm tide , '' the advisory said . `` persons not heeding evacuation orders in single-family one - or two-story homes will face certain death . '' the maximum water level forecasts in nearby areas , including the shoreline of matagorda bay and the gulf-facing coastline from sargent to high island , ranged from 5 to 8 feet . but authorities warned that tide levels could begin rising friday morning along the upper texas coast and along the shorelines of the bays . the advisory summoned memories of the language used to describe 2005 's hurricane katrina , which devastated parts of the u.s. gulf coast . `` most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks ... if not longer , '' an advisory issued at the time said . `` the vast majority of native trees will be snapped or uprooted . only the heartiest will remain standing . '' the ike advisory follows comes on the heels of similarly urgent messages earlier thursday from federal authorities , who warned of a `` massive storm '' that could affect roughly 40 percent of the u.s. gulf coast . `` do not take this storm lightly , '' michael chertoff , secretary of the u.s. department of homeland security , said thursday afternoon . `` this is not a storm to gamble with . it is large ; it is powerful ; it carries a lot of water . '' chertoff and representatives from the federal emergency management agency said their efforts were focused on evacuations as ike moved northwest at 12 mph across the central gulf of mexico with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph . track the storm '' chertoff also urged people not to succumb to `` hurricane fatigue , '' referring to concerns that authorities were overestimating ike 's potential impact . `` unless you 're fatigued with living , i suggest you want to take seriously a storm of this size and scale , '' he said thursday . houston mayor bill white said he 's heard that people who live in areas under a mandatory evacuation order say they plan to stay in their homes . he strongly urged against it . `` if you think you want to ride something out , and people are talking about a 20-foot wall of water coming at you , then you better think again , '' white said . at 5 p.m. thursday , the national hurricane center said a hurricane warning was in effect between morgan city , louisiana , and baffin bay , texas . a warning means hurricane conditions are likely within 24 hours .<doc-sep>galveston , texas -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- rescuers in galveston , texas , were going door-to-door saturday to check on the estimated 20,000 people who failed to flee hurricane ike , which has slowed to tropical storm status . park benches are strewn about in downtown houston saturday during hurricane ike . as of saturday afternoon , the galveston fire department had taken 27 people to a shelter in a high school on the coastal island , which was without electricity or water pressure . no casualties had been discovered so far in the search and rescue efforts , which have been hampered by heavy flooding and scattered debris . galveston had ordered evacuation of the island , but galveston city manager steve leblanc said about 40 percent of the city 's 57,523 residents chose to stay . leblanc said the island would be closed while authorities assess damages , including to the causeway , which was in `` bad shape '' because of debris and road damage . `` the road buckled in a number of places , '' leblanc said . `` even if we opened it up you could n't get through . '' leblanc said 17 buildings on the island had been destroyed by fires , potent winds and a strong storm surge . `` we are in a recovery mode , '' galveston mayor lyda ann thomas said in a press conference saturday afternoon . `` this eye came right over us , stayed a while and went on , but it brought a lot of damage to our city . '' ike was downgraded saturday to a tropical storm 11 hours after it crashed ashore as a texas-sized hurricane that walloped southeast texas and southwest louisiana . in its wake , ike -- which smashed into the coast as a category 2 hurricane -- left four people dead , millions without power and destroyed homes and businesses along the gulf coast with powerful winds , rain and floodwaters . president bush declared 29 texas counties and parts of louisianans major disaster areas , making federal funds available for recovery from the storm . view images of places hit by ike '' many people , like d.j. knight of pearlman , texas , decided to ride out the storm at home , despite voluntary and mandatory orders issued across the region . `` the windows looked like they would explode , '' said knight , a mother of two . `` it just would n't stop . '' now , without electricity and surrounded by flooded roads and wreckage , knight wonders whether it was worth enduring a sleepless night as the storm shook her home , located about halfway between galveston and houston . `` i did n't think it would be as bad as it was , '' she said . `` it was horrible . '' knight is one of thousands waiting for assistance as the state rolls out the largest search and rescue operation in texas history . see pictures of the storm 's destruction '' gov. rick perry dispatched a 1,000-strong search and rescue team , including state troopers , pilots and members of the national guard . lines of national guard trucks and ambulances were deployed from san antonio even as officials are trying to grasp the extent of damage and the number of texans stranded by the storm . however , flooding and debris have impeded rescue efforts in some areas , adding to the uncertainty about how many texans actually survived the storm . `` we 're obviously concerned that there may be people we find who did n't get out and who are going to be in the rubble of what we uncover , '' said secretary of homeland security michael chertoff . `` we hope for the best , but i do want to prepare people for the fact they we may have some fatalities . '' chertoff said 40,000 texans were in 250 shelters , and that food and water would be distributed in about 20 coastal locations as rescue efforts continue . in galveston , which bore the brunt of the storm , floods filled the historic district with 7 feet of water at the storm 's peak , said galveston county official margaret bunch . watch how a spunky little girl braved the storm '' a foot of water flooded the city 's main courthouse , where many people rode out the storm , she said . wanda collins ' garage filled with 5 feet of water , ruining everything inside , including a 2002 pickup truck , two harley-davidson motorcycles , a freezer and a washer and dryer . `` i have never in my life seen water like this , '' the 30-year galveston resident said . burle and jamie holmes also refused to leave their galveston home despite a grim warning from the national weather service . ike forced the couple and their dog , trouble , into the attic , tossing their furniture like toys across the house .<doc-sep>on sunday , president bush declared a state of emergency in florida . the hurricane 's outer bands could start affecting the florida keys by monday afternoon . watch floridians react to the threat of ike '' evacuations began in the lower florida keys and key west at 8 a.m. residents of the upper keys and mainland monroe county began evacuating at 4 p.m. keys residents can evacuate their pets to a shelter at florida international university as long as the pet is properly caged , monroe county emergency management director irene toner said in a statement . watch residents prepare to evacuate '' about 15,000 tourists left the area saturday as a hurricane watch was issued for the florida keys from ocean reef southward , key west mayor morgan mcpherson said . ireport.com : fleeing the keys as ike nears . `` we understand the inconvenience to the residents , to the tourists , to the businesses , '' monroe county administrator roman gastesi said . `` but this one is just too close , folks . it 's just too close to say , ` bunker down and we 'll be ok . ' '' at 11 p.m. et , ike had sustained winds near 120 mph -lrb- 195 kph -rrb- , with higher gusts . it was located about 135 miles -lrb- 100 km -rrb- west of cabo lucrecia , cuba . the storm was moving westward at about 13 mph -lrb- 20 kph -rrb- , and forecasters expect it continue on that track and turn west-northwest monday . ike has raised fears about flooding , as rain from tropical storm hanna saturated the ground when it struck last week , he said . the hurricane 's eye never touched haiti . but the storm system did bring heavy rains and winds .<doc-sep>miami , florida -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- hurricane ike grew from a category 1 into a menacing category 4 storm in about six hours wednesday as it fed on the warm waters of atlantic , the national hurricane center said . an infrared image from a noaa satellite shows ike swirling in the atlantic on wednesday night . `` ike is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane '' with 135-mph sustained winds , the center said in its 11 p.m. et advisory . although it is likely to lose some strength during the next few days , ike is forecast to regain category 4 status by monday , the center said . `` it is too early to determine what , if any , land areas might be affected by ike , '' the hurricane center said . but the center 's potential four - to five-day track for ike puts it anywhere from north of jamaica to the coast of south florida on monday . ireport.com : are you in ike 's path ?
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<t> new : ike could swell to category 3 when it hits texas coast saturday . </t> <t> mandatory evacuations ordered for residents with special needs in one county . </t> <t> hurricane-spawned tornado causes damage in key largo , florida . </t> <t> texans in low-lying areas and mobiles homes urged to get out . </t>
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texans evacuate coast ahead of ike<T>
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himachal pradesh , india -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- amar and kundan singh pundir are brothers . younger brother amar breaks rocks in a mine for a living . kundan farms their small piece of inherited land . they live in a beautiful but remote hillside village in the clouds of himachal pradesh , india . kundar singh pundir , left , and his brother amar , right , share indira devi , centre , as their wife . both aged in their forties , the two brothers have lived together nearly their whole lives . they are poor and share just about everything : their home , their work and a wife . `` see we have a tradition from the beginning to have a family of five to 10 people . two brothers and one wife . '' kundan says . they practice what is known as fraternal polyandry -- where the brothers of one family marry the same woman . why ? tradition and economics . life is hard here . the village is precariously perched on the side of a very steep hill about 6,000 ft up . most of the villagers survive off tiny plots of cropland . in this difficult terrain there is n't enough land to go around . so , instead of finding separate wives and splitting up their inherited property , the brothers marry the same woman and keep their land together . wife indira devi says life with two husbands is n't easy . `` we fight a lot . ''<doc-sep>but like any married couple they fight mostly over mundane stuff , except there are three spouses instead of two . `` usually it 's about chores , why did n't you do this ? why did n't you do that ? '' she says . watch sara sidner 's interview with the brothers '' one thing they agreed on was the need to have children ; they have three . so how does a married trio deal with sex ? `` we make shifts , change shifts and sleep on alternate days . we have to make shifts otherwise it wo n't work , '' kundan says . `` to run our families we have to do this , overcome the hurdles as well and then we have to control our hearts from feeling too much , '' amar adds . to outsiders their arrangement may seem odd , but in the village of about 200 it is the norm . typically the marriages are arranged and women have two husbands . but some wives have three or four depending on how many brothers there are in a family . polyandry is illegal in india but socially acceptable here . no one from the government seems to bother the villagers about the law . `` it 's been going on for ages . my sister in law has two husbands , my mother in law also has two husbands , '' indira says .<doc-sep>and as to the question of which husband is the biological father of the children -- the pundir 's do n't know and do n't care . `` for me everyone is the same , my mother and my fathers are the same . my mother and my fathers are like god to me , '' 17-year old daughter sunita singh pundir says . even as modern society arrives in this ancient village through satellite dishes and mobile phones , the pundirs say they want their age-old tradition to continue with their children . `` absolutely , '' eldest son sohna says . he and his younger brother have already discussed it and will marry the same woman . daughter sunita is n't so sure . `` i would like one husband , '' she says . but when asked if she will marry for love or tradition , sunita 's answer makes it clear the tradition of marrying more than one man will continue with the next generation . `` i will never leave our tradition even if i have to forgo love . i will never spoil my parents ' reputation and my brothers . ' ''<doc-sep>the sale will be divided up among them , based on the size of the blocks each investor owns . the property has ten investors , five of them brothers who are now set to make a small fortune . the ten blocks of land are expected to be rezoned and developed into 2000 properties to create a new suburb , south sunbury . they include tradesmen , aged in their sixties and seventies , who say the property sale will help them enjoy their well-earned retirement . ` for me and my wife ... we did n't have much holidays , because working hard , now we try to enjoy a little bit more than we did before , ' one co-owner told nine news . the croatian immigrants hope to share their earnings with their family and also take trips to their home land .<doc-sep>polyandry has been outlawed in most countries where it has been practised , though it is still socially acceptable . watch interview with men who share a wife '' it is normally seen as a way to protect small family land holdings and assets from being divided .<doc-sep>detectives began investigating the case after hospital officials started inquiring about the girl 's family history . kerstin and two of her brothers , aged 18 and 5 , had spent their entire lives trapped in the cellar with their mother , never seeing daylight , a television their only contact with the outside world . another three children fritzl fathered with elisabeth were taken to live above ground with fritzl and his wife , who says she had no idea that her daughter was being held captive . a seventh child died shortly after birth . elisabeth and her children have been treated at a secure medical unit since their release . officials at hospital in amstetten , austria , did not release any more information about kerstin fritzl 's condition . a news conference on the case is scheduled for wednesday .<doc-sep>by . associated press . published : . 17:42 est , 17 december 2012 . | . updated : . 17:42 est , 17 december 2012 . two billionaire texas brothers have quietly collected more than 177,000 acres of montana ranch land in the last two years close to the little snowy mountains . but that 's only a portion of the property that farris , 60 , and dan wilks , 56 , have accumulated in montana . in all , they own more than 276,000 acres . in seven counties in the eastern half of the state . that 's 431 square . miles , more than half the size of silver bow county . owning such large amounts of land puts them in the big league of montana landowners . turner enterprises , owned by former media mogul ted turner , has 149,000 acres in montana holdings . big spenders : billionaire texans farris wilks and his brother dan -lrb- right -rrb- are buying up great tracks of montana ranch land . it was announced last week that stanley . kroenke , a billionaire who is married to a wal-mart heir , bought the . 124,000-acre broken o ranch near augusta that had been listed for $ 132 . million . according to forbes magazine , kroenke also owns the cedar creek ranch near ennis and the pv ranch near hysham . the wilkses ' presence has n't gone unnoticed , especially in fergus county where they 've purchased 79,000 acres from ten landowners in the last two years . the brothers ' biggest acquisition was the fabled 62,000-acre n bar ranch , for $ 45 million . that deal made national news last year , partly because the property was then owned by software billionaire tom siebel . another landowner the wilks brothers have bought out is theodore roosevelt iv , who had a log lodge , timber and grazing land between the south and north forks of flatwillow creek . they also bought property from the sunlight ranch co. , owned by earl holding of sinclair oil . forbes magazine quoted staci wilks , of . wilks brothers llc , as saying the brothers like to spend their spare . time hunting and fly fishing with friends , family and corporate guests , . and that their ranch properties are used for farming , ranching and . wildlife management . buying up big county : the n bar ranch in central montana for $ 45million . this summer , the brothers hosted a barbecue at the n bar ranch headquarters , inviting the locals to eat , drink and chat . ` they seem to be really nice folks to . me , down-home and friendly , ' said tom lowry , who owns ranch land at the . east and west edges of the n bar on flatwillow creek . he went to the barbecue and talked to the brothers . ` both of them were very cordial , ' he said . dan and farris wilks did not respond to a request for an interview with the gazette . dan . and farris wilks were raised in a working-class family . they started . out in a masonry business that their father founded and where they still . sit on the board of directors . in . 2002 they branched out into the oil business , starting a company called . frac tech . their fortune came from selling their interest in frac tech . in 2011 , a deal that was reportedly worth $ 3.2 billion . that sale landed . them on the forbes magazine list of little-known billionaires , ranking . 312 out of 400 on the list . their background in fracking - a way . to recover oil by injecting fluids underground under high pressure - has . made some montanans suspicious that the brothers are looking for their . next oil play in central montana . another . possibility is that they - like other wealthy individuals - are parking . their money in a safe investment during a volatile time in the stock . market . epic : despite their million-dollar land purchases , the brother 's own less than 1 per cent of montana 's vast land . montana is 147,200 sq miles in size - meaning despite the wilks brothers ' significant land purchase , it is still less than 1 per cent of the state . if their acquisitions were simply for ranching and outdoor recreation , the wilks brothers have a wide choice of where to go . they also are reported to have purchased land in wyoming , kansas , texas and idaho . in colorado , farris wilks is said to have paid $ 16 million in june for the most expensive ski-accessible home in snowmass village - a seven-bedroom home on five acres in the ski town . getting to their properties scattered across the united states is no problem . when the brothers visit montana , their 18-passenger bombardier global express corporate jet lands at the lewistown airport , where they hop into a helicopter to fly to the n bar . pretty soon , though , the stop in lewistown wo n't be necessary . the brothers this summer began building a 6,000-foot asphalt airstrip on a bluff across flatwillow creek from the n bar ranch headquarters . besides a possible energy play , another rumor floating around fergus county is that the wilks brothers are looking to get rid of isolated bureau of land management inholdings through land exchanges . stan benes , field manager for the blm 's lewistown field office , said the agency is open to any proposals , but is quick to add that any propositions would have to go through public scrutiny . ` we have to make absolutely certain it 's in the public 's best interest , ' benes said . the blm owns about 2,500 acres in the durfee hills that are landlocked within the n bar with no road access . ` if we could trade that for another place we could gain some access , ' benes said . ` that would be worth consideration . ' benes said some pilots fly to the inholding to hunt . when one pilot wrecked his plane , he had to hire a helicopter to remove the damaged aircraft because there was no road access . here 's how the wilks brothers land purchases stack up , according to the state natural resource information system . the majority of their land buys have been in fergus county , some of them adjacent to the n bar . in fergus county they have bought 79,000 acres . to the south in musselshell county , they bought the pronghorn ranch from holding 's sunlight ranch co. , which added another 64,000 acres . in golden valley county , to the west of musselshell county , 34,800 acres of property has been purchased by the wilks . most of the land deals in those three counties were located fairly close together , but the wilkses have also purchased land farther away . in meagher county , they bought 15,200 acres between the big belt and little belt mountain ranges near the popular smith river and adjoining the helena and lewis and clark national forests on two sides . up north , they bought 22,800 acres near the bears paw mountains in blaine county . southeast of jordan , they bought 48,300 acres in garfield county , and in bighorn county east of hardin they purchased 12,000 acres near the bighorn river . all of the land deals have been recorded within the last two years . dan tiegen , whose 44,500-acre family ranch north of grass range is for sale for $ 21.6 million , said his family has talked to the wilks brothers about their property . but the family had initially sought a conservation easement from the state that would have preserved public hunting access and prevented development of the ranch . that deal fell through recently as the state moved to purchase land along the milk river . the ranch was founded by dan tiegen 's great-grandparents in 1884 . ` the family is officially wanting to start a new chapter , ' tiegen said . ` beyond that , how that chapter comes about remains to be seen . ' tiegen said he has some fears about the acquisition of smaller family farms by a large conglomerate , ` especially when your lifestyle is based on so much history and tradition ' . but lowry , the wilkses ' neighbor at the n bar , has no problem with the many land acquisitions by his new neighbors and sees the brothers as more friendly and open than the previous owner . ' i figured that was their business , ' he said of the land buys and rumors of fracking plans . ` if they 're buying up land , they can do what they want with it . '
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<t> amar and kundan singh pundir are brothers who share a wife . </t> <t> the brothers have married the same woman to ensure their land is n't divided . </t> <t> practice is illegal in india but common in their mountain village . </t>
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brothers share wife to secure family land<T>
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london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- formula one is about putting on a 90-minute show every other weekend at locations the world over . mclaren 's huge ` brand center ' motorhome dominates the f1 paddock at all european grands prix . but getting that show on the road -- and in the air and on the sea -- is a remarkable feat of well-oiled logistics and organization . with an f1 team clocking up around 100,000 miles -lrb- 160,000 km -rrb- between tests and grands prix , the need to have moving and packing down to a fine art is imperative . `` once the calendar is released , we sit down with all the different departments , '' explained toyota team manager richard cregan . `` we look at the dates for the freight , the dates for the trucks leaving , when we want to have the people there and when we want to have all the equipment there . then we go away and arrange it . '' as f1 moves further away from its european heartland , more races -- such as next week 's title shootout in sao paulo , brazil -- are what are known as ` flyaways . ' they are the responsibility of formula one management . freight company dhl has specialized units in england and italy to coordinate the transport of cars , equipment and fuel to all f1 tracks around the world by air , sea and land . around 300 tonnes or 20,000 individual items of f1 material -- from race cars , replacement parts , pit equipment , tv equipment and the furnishings of the vip paddock club -- are moved for each grand prix . each team is allowed 22-24 tonnes of freight , plus their cars , which is packed in specially designed pods at a uk-based team 's hq and transferred to stansted airport by road . three chartered boeing 747 freighters then fly to the destination and the next time the team sees its freight is at their allocated garage at the circuit . at the end of the race the process starts again in reverse , with a team packed up by around 10pm . read more about f1 at the circuit . if there are two weeks between races , as is the norm , the cars will return to the uk to be painted , re-built and polished . ` double-headers , ' races that take place only a week apart , rule this movement out -- then getting the cars from one circuit to the next is the sole focus . while last-minute deliveries can be made in under 24 hours , it takes seven weeks for equipment to travel by sea from europe to melbourne , australia for the traditional season curtain-raiser . cheaper sea freight has become more popular to move bulkier items such as heavy electrical cables . bridgestone , the grid 's tire supplier , are among those who have increased their shipping in recent years . `` we send about five-and-a-half tonnes by sea and we send this three months in advance of each race , '' said williams race team coordinator paul singlehurst . `` it costs around $ 9,000 to send it by sea -- that 's a fraction of the air freight cost . we 've made some huge savings by doing this . '' the european races are a little more straightforward . up to four $ 2m team-liveried articulated lorries are driven to continental grands prix , carrying up to 37 tonnes of equipment each for around 18,600 miles -lrb- 30,000 km -rrb- per year . three trucks will also go to a two-car test session . they carry all the kit the team needs for the weekend , including the cars , engines , parts , tools , computers and radios . it takes two days to fully load the trucks after cleaning and maintenance checks , using an 80-page checklist . nothing is left to chance . they leave a week before the next race , get to the circuit late on a monday and by thursday , the team 's working area is ready for the drivers . it takes eight hours just to fit out the team 's pit area at the circuit . motorhomes , the standard of which is set by mclaren 's gargantuan ` brand center ' , also travel to european races . they provide a place for drivers to debrief with their engineers , team members to refuel and corporate guests to be entertained . renault 's race team includes 15 engineers , 35 mechanics/technicians , 15 ` truckies ' , 11 motorhome/catering personnel , two logistics personnel , 10 marketing and pr staff , three drivers , two managers and two physios . this is why motorhomes supply around 1,250 meals for the team and its guests during a race weekend . `` obviously our sponsors ' backing is crucial . it 's not just a matter of having their name and logo on the car -- we have a marketing team that helps to service their needs , '' added singlehurst . occasionally , at places like turkey , where the traffic between the circuit and downtown istanbul is horrific , drivers can also spend their nights in the motorhomes . but normally , a fleet of about 20 vehicles is required to ferry team personnel between their hotel -- block-booked months in advance -- and racetrack all weekend . as far as cregan is concerned , how a team performs during a race weekend can be influenced by its logistical set-up . `` quite often you have very long days , you have people working late into the evening and it 's an important part of our responsibility to create the atmosphere for people to be able do their job , '' he added . it takes a herculean effort and millions of dollars to make sure 20 cars circulate for 90 minutes every two weeks . but you would never know it .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the big winners of this formula one season could be road drivers rather than f1 racers , according to one former world champion . jody scheckter , who took the drivers ' title in 1979 , hopes a raft of technological changes -- notably smaller , hybrid engines that promise greater fuel efficiency -- will help improve road cars ' performance . `` it 's very positive for the sport , this is the first time you 've seen the sport bring in regulations that really push the envelope of technology for every type of car , '' the south african told cnn . `` they are trying to take efficiency from everywhere they can on a car . '' this year 's race cars will boast an enhanced energy recovery system -lrb- ers -rrb- and 1.6-liter v6 engines , compared to the 2.4-liter v8s on show last year . the ers uses heat generated when braking and thermal energy from exhaust gases to create extra power . the kinetic energy recovery system -lrb- kers -rrb- has been used in f1 since 2009 , but scheckter says these latest advancements in the sport will only benefit everyday drivers . `` wherever there is heat , they turn that into energy , '' added the former ferrari driver . `` from that point of view , that 's what road cars are becoming more and more .<doc-sep>silverstone , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- formula one prides itself as the pinnacle of technical innovation and sports cars of the imagination -- but sometimes the sport needs bringing back down to earth . so on wednesday pirelli showed f1 a possible back to basics vision of the future as it debuted a new 18-inch tire -- a size fitted to many everyday road cars -- on the final day of the silverstone in-season test . the concept tire is five inches taller than the sport 's current 13 '' wheel and has a lower profile -- which means it 's comprised of a larger wheel rim and less rubber . lotus test driver charles pic trialled the new rubber at the high speed silverstone circuit , the stage for lewis hamilton 's british grand prix victory on sunday . a former marussia and caterham racer , pic set a lap time of one minute , 44.728 seconds on the new tire -- nearly 10 seconds off the fastest lap set on 2014 rubber . `` we were n't looking for performance , '' pirelli motorsport director paul hembery told reporters . `` the priority today was to show people what a formula 1 car would look like with a change in rim . `` from what i 've seen and heard people seem to quite like the idea . most people said it looked quite modern -- it did n't look strange . '' pirelli could roll out the new tires as early as 2016 . producing f1 tires , which are the same specification as road car tires , would make it easier to share technology , as well as to reap the commercial benefits of being able to sell its customers replica f1 rubber . `` we do n't actually make any 13 '' tires apart from for f1 and the gp2 and gp3 series , '' explained hembery . `` the tire today looks more like the product we sell on a regular basis . `` our business is focused on large wheel diameters and 18 '' is almost standard for us , it 's the sort of thing you get on a sporty road car . `` others might say there 's less advertising space so there is a strange conundrum .<doc-sep>by . sarah griffiths . published : . 08:03 est , 2 september 2013 . | . updated : . 06:22 est , 6 september 2013 . mclaren , one of the uk 's automotive success stories , celebrates its 50th birthday today . the f1 company started life in a small suburban office but now employs some 2,000 workers based in its futuristic , multimillion pound factory , where f1 cars are built and tested , as well as mclaren 's road cars . engineers are currently finishing the first batch of the firm 's # 866,000 p1 supercars that are due to be delivered to lucky customers next year . the f1 company started life in a small suburban office but now employs some 2,000 workers based in its futuristic factory where road cars including the 12c -lrb- pictured -rrb- are built . mclaren 's technology centre houses some cutting-edge facilities including a wind tunnel -lrb- pictured -rrb- and formula one driving simulators . mclaren 's headquarters , which includes the f1 factory , was designed by architect sir norman foster and opened by the queen in 2004 . it houses some cutting-edge manufacturing facilities including its factory , wind tunnel , simulators , r&d centres for the f1 team as well as the top secret centre where the mclaren road cars are developed . in 1993 mclaren . automotive , launched the f1roadcar , which 20 years on , . it is still regarded by many as the greatest supercar of all time . more .<doc-sep>the super-lightweight but powerful supercar is being built at mclaren 's state of the art factory in woking , surrey and has the ambition of being the best road and track car in the world for drivers . it is about the same size as a porsche 911 but is being seen as the spiritual successor of the legendary three-seater mclaren f1 supercar of the 1990s -- one of which ` mr bean ' star rowan atkinson famously pranged . state-of-the-art : the super-lightweight but powerful supercar -lrb- pictured -rrb- is being built at mclaren 's factory in woking , surrey . ` one simple goal ' : manufacturers have described the vehicle as the best driver 's car on the road . a mclaren spokesman said : ` mclaren automotive will use its first ever international motor show appearance to preview its next generation ultimate supercar -- the mclaren p1 -- which takes much of its technological and spiritual inspiration from the company 's racing division . ` the mclaren p1 has one simple goal : to be the best driver 's car in the world on road and track . ' a prototype of the p1 car is to go on show in paris next thursday with a production version to follow and go on sale in september next year . weight is kept down thanks to its super-strong but very light carbon-fibre structure . mclaren automotive executive chairman ron dennis said : ` the mclaren p1 will be the result of 50 years of racing and road car heritage .
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<t> f1 uses air , sea and land to transport huge amounts of freight to each race . </t> <t> teams must meticulously coordinate their shipping plans each season . </t> <t> team trucks carrying cars and equipment cover almost 19,000 miles per year . </t>
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getting the f1 show on the road<T>
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madrid , spain -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- barack obama sometimes gets ribbed for his outsized ideas , like the massive stage built in denver , colorado , to accept the democratic presidential nomination . but an artist in barcelona , spain , may be about to outdo the candidate himself . large-format sketches have long been a focus of artist jorge rodriguez-gerada 's work . the artist plans to create a gigantic face of obama sculpted from gravel and sand , which will cover nearly 2.5 acres -lrb- 1 hectare -rrb- of barcelona beachfront before the u.s. elections . `` the size of the piece is intrinsic to its value , '' the artist , jorge rodriguez-gerada , said saturday . he hopes it will be big enough to be seen on google earth . `` obama 's personality -- his youth , personal history and message of a new politics -- has fused with the historical moment to create someone larger than life , '' says the artist 's dossier about the work , titled `` expectation . '' the huge size also alludes `` to the global impact of this election , '' the dossier adds . ireport.com : what do you want to ask sen. obama ? rodriguez-gerada , 42 , is a cuban-born american who grew up in north plainfield , new jersey , near new york , and now lives in barcelona . the artist , who has long focused on large-format sketches and other designs , said he had been planning to put an anonymous face on barcelona 's mediterranean beachfront but shelved the idea . then , six weeks ago , he decided it should be obama 's face .<doc-sep>`` everybody 's doing work about obama , '' he said . `` i was talking to my wife about the importance of this election internationally . it all came together . '' the idea , that is . the execution of the project is still a work in progress , but with a lot of help pouring in . the artist has created what he calls a `` vectored image '' from different photos of obama , showing the candidate 's face looking left over his shoulder . he will use 500 tons of material -- mainly gravel but also sand and possibly some soil in black , brown and white tones -- to create the image on a flat piece of land slightly raised and overlooking the mediterranean , near downtown barcelona . the artist and a barcelona newspaper say the city has temporarily ceded use of the land for the project . the portrait of obama 's face will be 445 feet long by 264 feet wide -lrb- 139.28 by 82.67 meters -rrb- and the artist hopes to have it done by late next week or no later than november 3 , the day before the u.s. elections . the materials have been donated , along with bulldozers and their drivers . the crews will initially spread the materials along white lines , and other markers that will be laid out according to the sketch . then , the artist 's technical team will direct volunteers with garden rakes to put the final touches on the materials , making sure the various colors are spread properly on the ground in order to depict obama 's eyes , hair , cheeks and collar , according to the plans .<doc-sep>rodriguez-gerada said he 'll need to raise about $ 18,700 -lrb- 15,000 euros -rrb- for other costs , such as rakes and gloves for volunteers , documentation , even portable toilets for the crew . he said it 's his `` biggest work ever , in scale and complexity . '' he 's a self-described political independent until recently , when he joined democrats abroad in spain . but he added that the art project is his alone , without help from any political organization or campaign , and he wo n't be paid for it . rodriguez-gerada said this project also aims to address the issue of `` trying to find heroes with empathy for the problems of the world . we really need empathy from barack obama . there 's a need to do positive things for the future . '' obama 's giant face would be environmentally friendly , with all natural colors , so the materials could be recycled , the artist said . rodriguez-gerada 's not sure how long the face would remain in place in barcelona , because the site is slated to be used for a new municipal building . but even if the face is n't permanent , it might be the start of outsized artistic images of obama . barcelona journalist matt elmore contributed to this report .<doc-sep>madrid , spain -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- barack obama sometimes gets ribbed for his outsized ideas , like the massive stage built in denver , colorado , to accept the democratic presidential nomination . but an artist in barcelona , spain , may be about to outdo the candidate himself . large-format sketches have long been a focus of artist jorge rodriguez-gerada 's work . the artist plans to create a gigantic face of obama sculpted from gravel and sand , which will cover nearly 2.5 acres -lrb- 1 hectare -rrb- of barcelona beachfront before the u.s. elections . `` the size of the piece is intrinsic to its value , '' the artist , jorge rodriguez-gerada , said saturday . he hopes it will be big enough to be seen on google earth . `` obama 's personality -- his youth , personal history and message of a new politics -- has fused with the historical moment to create someone larger than life , '' says the artist 's dossier about the work , titled `` expectation . '' the huge size also alludes `` to the global impact of this election , '' the dossier adds . ireport.com : what do you want to ask sen. obama ? rodriguez-gerada , 42 , is a cuban-born american who grew up in north plainfield , new jersey , near new york , and now lives in barcelona . the artist , who has long focused on large-format sketches and other designs , said he had been planning to put an anonymous face on barcelona 's mediterranean beachfront but shelved the idea . then , six weeks ago , he decided it should be obama 's face .<doc-sep>`` everybody 's doing work about obama , '' he said . `` i was talking to my wife about the importance of this election internationally . it all came together . '' the idea , that is . the execution of the project is still a work in progress , but with a lot of help pouring in . the artist has created what he calls a `` vectored image '' from different photos of obama , showing the candidate 's face looking left over his shoulder . he will use 500 tons of material -- mainly gravel but also sand and possibly some soil in black , brown and white tones -- to create the image on a flat piece of land slightly raised and overlooking the mediterranean , near downtown barcelona . the artist and a barcelona newspaper say the city has temporarily ceded use of the land for the project . the portrait of obama 's face will be 445 feet long by 264 feet wide -lrb- 139.28 by 82.67 meters -rrb- and the artist hopes to have it done by late next week or no later than november 3 , the day before the u.s. elections . the materials have been donated , along with bulldozers and their drivers . the crews will initially spread the materials along white lines , and other markers that will be laid out according to the sketch . then , the artist 's technical team will direct volunteers with garden rakes to put the final touches on the materials , making sure the various colors are spread properly on the ground in order to depict obama 's eyes , hair , cheeks and collar , according to the plans .<doc-sep>the artist used gps technology to mark 10,000 points with tiny pegs on an empty field and then linked them with twine to create precise lines for the portrait made of dirt . rodriguez-gerada has created similar pieces in the past in amsterdam , belfast and barcelona , including an image of president barack obama . the soil and sand - all of which was donated - will eventually be reused to improve the national mall 's turf , park officials said . by november , the portrait will start to disappear . ' a lot of my work is ephemeral , ' rodriguez-gerada said , ` because i want to talk about living in the moment . ' the piece is entitled ` out of many , one , ' the translation of e pluribus unum from the us seal . it is the first such artwork commissioned by the national portrait gallery .<doc-sep>` i move the tulle around , pressing , pleating and bunching it to form the basic tones and textures . ` this initial placement sets up the . entire process before i focus on the detail . then the tulle is bonded to . the canvas using a hot iron , ' reveals the artist . ` i always envisaged building a diverse . body of work with this medium but subsequently became inundated with . portrait commissions ! ' he says . the finished ` hands of time ' piece commissioned for london design week . ` the final piece remains three-dimensional , set back behind glass , ' benjamin adds . ` initially the portraits were simply a . test-bed for the technique -- i felt if i could create an accurate . likeness , then anything else could be possible . ' benjmamin shine 's portrait of obama -lrb- left -rrb- woven using an american flag -lrb- up-close right -rrb- . and last year , givenchy 's creative director riccardo tisci also came knocking . ` initially i thought he wanted me to create something as a backdrop to a show or for their stores but when i learned he wanted me to create the pieces as clothing , it really pushed the limit , ' he admits . the artist crafted this portrait of andy warhol , called ` fame ' , from 15 metres of fabric . ` i had to create the detailed faces at a much smaller scale than anything i had done before , but in doing so it opened up a whole new realm of possibility , ' says the artist .
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<t> cuban-american artist plans to finish work before u.s. elections . </t> <t> 500 tons of material will cover 2.5 acres of beachfront . </t> <t> democratic presidential candidate is `` larger than life , '' artist says . </t> <t> project also aims to address issue of `` trying to find heroes '' </t>
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artist to create massive obama portrait near barcelona beach<T>
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washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- officials in the united states are looking into the recent arrest of an iranian-american student in tehran who was working on a research project on women 's rights in iran . esha momeni was arrested october 15 in tehran , iran , officials said . esha momeni , a graduate student at california state university-northridge , was arrested october 15 in tehran for unlawfully passing another vehicle while driving , according to change for equality , an iranian women 's movement . `` we 're seeking additional information about this case , '' state department spokesman robert wood said wednesday . `` we stand with all those in iran who are working for universal human rights and justice in their countries . ''<doc-sep>momeni , who was born in los angeles , california , is a member of change for equality 's california chapter . she arrived in tehran two months ago to work on her masters thesis project on the iranian women 's movement , according to the group , which is in touch with momeni 's family in iran . momeni is being held in a section of tehran 's notorious evin prison that is managed by the intelligence ministry , the group said . evin prison houses many iranian dissidents and political prisoners , and it is where four iranian-americans were held for several months last year . all have been released . iranian officials had promised momeni 's family that she would be immediately released if the news of her arrest was not published , the organization said .<doc-sep>`` while esha 's friends and colleagues were insistent about announcing the news of her arrest immediately , based on requests from her family this news was announced with delay , '' change for equality said on its web site . momeni 's parents decided to release the information after they went to iran 's revolutionary court on sunday -- five days after her arrest -- to inquire about her case , and they were told not to return until the investigation into her case has been completed , according to change for equality . the momeni family returned to iran after the 1979 islamic revolution , but esha had gone back to the united states several years ago to study for her masters degree , according to a blog post from her journalism professor , melissa wall .<doc-sep>a separate blog calling for her release -lrb- for-esha . blogspot.com -rrb- has been established and includes an interview with wall , who describes her student as `` an exceptionally bright person , very creative and artistic . '' she calls herself `` shocked '' to hear of momeni 's arrest . `` i 'm aware that such things happen in iran , but i 'm confident that they have nothing to fear from esha 's research project , '' wall said . `` it is simply an academic exercise , not meant for publication outside of academic circles . i can not image why she should be held in detention . '' on her personal blog , wall said , `` she is a videographer who was simply interviewing iranian women . she has broken no laws , has not done anything wrong . ''<doc-sep>pro-government militias were out on tehran streets tuesday , but many drivers put their hazard lights on as a sign of support for the protests , eyewitnesses told cnn . cnn is not naming them for security reasons . u.s. president obama said tuesday that iran 's government must justify itself not in the eyes of the united states , but in the opinion of its own people . `` a sizable percentage of the iranian people themselves ... consider this election illegitimate , '' he said at a white house news conference . `` it is not too late for the iranian government to recognize that there is a peaceful path that will lead to stability and prosperity , '' he said . `` we hope they take it . '' shortly before he spoke , iranian state-run media reported ahmadinejad will be sworn in to a second term between july 26 and august 19 . the iranian parliament 's board of directors said he will be sworn in and will present his new cabinet to parliament during the three-and-a-half week period , government-funded press tv reported , citing the official islamic republic news agency -lrb- irna -rrb- . france on tuesday blasted iran 's `` brutal crackdown on the demonstrations , '' its foreign ministry announced . the ministry summoned iran 's ambassador to paris `` and called for the immediate release of those arrested , as well as respect for the freedom of the press and communication and the right to demonstrate , '' it said in a statement . it was the second time france has called the ambassador on the carpet since the election . iran and the united kingdom engaged in a round of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions as france was stating its position . iran expelled two british diplomats monday , and london responded by expelling two iranian diplomats tuesday , the foreign office in london told cnn . watch as european governments step up criticism '' additionally , iranian authorities have arrested a reporter for the washington times in tehran , iran 's semiofficial fars news agency said tuesday . greek foreign ministry spokesman grigoris delvakouras confirmed that iason athanasiadis was taken into custody by iranian authorities late last week . athens is in touch with the iranian authorities , working to get him released , the spokesman said . athanasiadis was traveling on a greek passport , he added . `` we hope the situation will be resolved very soon , '' washington times executive editor john solomon said in a statement . it was unclear why the reporter was arrested , according to fars , which cited iran 's director of foreign news media , mohsen moghadaszadeh . iran 's government has restricted international journalists from covering street rallies protesting the results of the election . on sunday , the bbc said iran had expelled jon leyne , its permanent correspondent in tehran . also on sunday , a canadian-iranian working for newsweek magazine in tehran was `` detained without charge '' by iranian authorities , according to the magazine . and the tehran bureau of the dubai-based arab satellite station al-arabiya was ordered closed , the station said . watch a student protester make a plea for help to the world '' according to reporters without borders , 36 journalists have been arrested -- 26 of them iranian -- since the presidential election while `` many others '' are missing . ahmadinejad was declared the winner of the race two hours after the deadline for voting , while some precincts were still open . iran 's interior ministry has said that 85 percent of the country 's 46 million eligible voters cast ballots . critics have argued such a large number of ballots could not have been hand-counted in such a short time . cnn 's christine theodorou contributed to this report .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- iranian authorities have released an american-born graduate student on bail after holding her in prison for nearly a month , an amnesty international spokeswoman said tuesday . graduate student esha momeni was arrested last month in iran and jailed after an alleged traffic violation . esha momeni , 28 , had been working on a project on the women 's movement in iran when she was arrested october 15 for an alleged traffic violation , according to california state university-northridge and change for equality , an iranian women 's movement . she had been held in solitary confinement in tehran 's notorious evin prison , change for equality said . `` we 're really happy she 's been released on bail , '' elise auerbach of amnesty international said tuesday . she said she learned of momeni 's release monday through amnesty 's researchers in london , england , and from momeni 's family and friends . melissa wall , a journalism professor at the university and an academic adviser to momeni , confirmed the young woman 's release in an e-mail . wall said they were waiting to see what will `` happen next in terms of charges or conditions or sentencing . '' the university will hold a rally and vigil wednesday calling for momeni 's return to california , she said . the event had been planned before momeni 's release . auerbach , the iran specialist for amnesty international usa , said she did not know the exact bail amount , only that momeni 's parents had handed over the deed to their home in iran in return for their daughter 's release . `` this is a real problem for her family because the state of their home is in doubt , '' auerbach said , adding that if the iranian government determines momeni has violated the bail conditions , it can take her family 's home . auerbach said momeni has not been charged , `` but there is some indication that they 're planning on charging her . '' tehran 's deputy general prosecutor , hasan hadad , has `` deliberately leaked '' to the state-run media his intentions to charge momeni with propaganda against the state , auerbach said . the iranian judiciary has not commented on momeni 's release . `` a lot of people have faced that charge , '' auerbach said . `` it 's kind of a vague , loosely worded charge that 's kind of convenient . they can use it against whomever they want basically . ''<doc-sep>by . tara brady . roya saberi negad nobakht was arrested as she stepped off a plane in the provincial city of shiraz and accused of being a spy . a student visiting family in iran has been locked up for five months after writing on facebook that the country ` was too islamic ' during a family trip . roya saberi negad nobakht , from stockport , was arrested as she stepped off a plane in the provincial city of shiraz and accused of being a spy , said her husband daryoush taghipoor . daryoush said his 47-year-old wife has been detained at evin , a prison in the capital tehran , on suspicion of plotting to commit crimes against security and insulting islam . he claims her arrest was over . comments she made on an internet chat forum and to friends on facebook . about the iranian government being too controlling and ` too islamic ' . part-time . chef daryoush and roya , an english student at stockport college , have . lived in heald green for six years and are naturalised british citizens . daryoush , 47 , said his wife had done nothing wrong and feared for her life . speaking from iran , he added : ` it 's a very bad situation . we do n't know what 's going on . ` roya is not well at all . she has lost three stone and is frightened . she is scared that the government will kill her . ' roya travelled to tehran to see family last october . about two weeks into the trip , she flew to shiraz to visit a friend and was arrested at the airport . it is understood she is being remanded in evin prison while she awaits a trial . family . friend nasser homayoun-fekri , from offerton , has written to his mp . andrew stunell , asking him to put pressure on our government to . intervene . roya saberi negad nobakht -lrb- left -rrb- who was arrested pictured alongside her husband daryoush taghipoor . mr fekri said : ` roya is not a political activist in any way . she is just a normal citizen . ` the . authorities do n't clarify why she has been arrested and daryoush . insists the charges are based on a confession extracted from roya under . duress . ` the government needs to do all that is feasible to get the release of this innocent british citizen . ' arrested : roya saberi negad nobakht is being held at evin , a prison in the capital tehran . the british embassy in tehran is closed but ajay sharma , head of the iran department at the foreign and commonwealth office -lrb- fco -rrb- , is acting as a diplomat between the two countries . mr stunell , hazel grove mp , said : ' i am concerned about this arbitrary arrest and am urgently asking the fco to make inquiries . ' a map showing where roya saberi negad nobakht is being detained at evin , a prison in the capital tehran .<doc-sep>tehran , iran -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- as tehran approaches the 30th anniversary of the iranian hostage crisis , in which dozens of americans where held against their will for 444 days , the islamic republic is firmly warning against reformists taking to the streets to protest the government . still reeling from the massive demonstration that followed the country 's disputed presidential election , iran on wednesday will commemorate november 4 , 1979 , when a group of islamist students seized the u.s. embassy in tehran , taking 53 hostages and effectively ending diplomatic relations with the united states . while the government will allow the `` faithful '' to celebrate the anniversary of the embassy seizure , those who `` intend to gather illegally and spread lies among people who gather to peacefully participate ... will be held responsible for their actions , '' said ahmad reza radan , head of iran 's security forces , according to the semi-official iran student correspondent association .
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<t> esha momeni was was working on her thesis on women 's rights in iran . </t> <t> she was arrested for unlawfully passing another vehicle while driving october 15 . </t> <t> momeni is being held in tehran 's notorious evin prison . </t> <t> news of arrest withheld because family was told she would be released . </t>
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u.s. student arrested in tehran while working on thesis project<T>
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kauhajoki , finland -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- police in finland have identified the 10 victims in tuesday 's college shooting as eight female students , a male student and a male teacher . the bodies of the victims were also badly burned after being set on fire . the gunman -- identified by authorities as matti juhani saari -- also died after turning the gun on himself . in addition , one woman was seriously wounded in the shooting . finnish police had interviewed and released saari a day before tuesday 's bloody rampage at a college in kauhajoki in southwestern finland , the country 's interior minister said tuesday . finnish broadcaster yle reported that police found a note at saari 's apartment saying he planned the attack since 2002 because he hated `` people and the human race , '' according to jari neulaniemi of the national bureau of investigation . neulaniemi told yle that the shooting took place in a single classroom . nine of the victims were found in the classroom and one in the corridor , the report said . authorities say they became interested in the 22-year-old student after he posted four videos on youtube . one of them showed him firing a pistol at a shooting range . saari did not directly threaten anyone in the videos , so there were no grounds for further action , national police commissioner mikko paatero told yle . however , interior minister anne holmlund suggested the government will investigate how the police handled the case . watch as the people of kauhajoki mourn the victims '' `` it 's clear that we have to carefully go through what should have been done and if we could have avoided this situation in some way , '' the associated press quoted her as saying . finnish president tarja halonen , speaking from the united nations ' annual general assembly in new york , also raised concerns about the youtube videos . `` we , parents and elderly people , have a little bit of feeling about the internet , '' she said during an impromptu tv interview . `` it 's like a strange planet for us . but it 's not so . it 's part of our world , so we have to step in . '' however she praised efforts by police , who she said `` were already on board '' by interviewing saari . authorities hoped that was enough to take care of any threat , but `` now we see that it was not , '' she said .<doc-sep>the massacre in kauhajoki , 290 kilometers -lrb- 180 miles -rrb- northwest of helsinki , was finland 's second school shooting in less than a year and renewed calls for a review of the country 's laws on gun ownership . watch pictures from the scene '' `` we must considerably tighten them , '' prime minister matti vanhanen told yle during a visit to the town early wednesday . `` we should consider whether to allow these small arms for private citizens at home . they belong on firing ranges . '' mtv-3 's foreign editor risto puolimatka told cnn that saari was issued with a temporary gun license last month . it was the gunman 's first license , puolimatka said . authorities learned about the videos friday but could not reach saari until monday , paatero told yle . police also searched his home , yle reported . four videos of a man firing a pistol at a shooting range were posted by a `` mr. saari '' from kauhajoki , where the college is based , according to his profile on video-sharing web site youtube . the profile also included a video tribute to the columbine high school shooters , eric harris and dylan klebold , at the top of the man 's favorites list . the videos were posted over a three-week period this month . none was posted in the last week . watch more about the youtube videos '' the account was suspended within hours of the shooting , which began about 11 a.m. local time -lrb- 0800 gmt . -rrb- . jukka forsberg , a maintenance worker at the school , told yle that the gunman was wearing a ski mask and walked into the building with a large bag . about 150 students were on campus kauhajoki city 's school of hospitality in southwestern finland . forsberg said , `` i heard several dozen rounds of shots . in other words , it was an automatic pistol . i saw some female students who were wailing and moaning , and one managed to escape out the back door . '' saari died tuesday afternoon from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at tampere university hospital , said medical director matti lehto . at least one other person suffered serious injuries in the shooting , he added . the incident comes almost a year after another school shooting left nine people , including the gunman , dead in the finnish town of tuusala . copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>britain was shaken by another massacre in june 2010 when a lone gunman , named as derrick byrd , killed 12 people and injured almost 30 others after a near four-hour shooting spree in rural cumbria , northern england . after a huge manhunt , the body of the 52-year-old taxi driver was found alongside two powerful rifles , one equipped with a telescopic sight . he had taken his own life . police were investigating 30 crime scenes at one point . the tragedy again raised questions about the effectiveness of britain 's gun laws after it was revealed byrd was licensed to carry firearms . the licensing application process involves being vetted by police as well as the applicant 's doctor to assess their fitness to own a weapon . finland . finland enjoys a strong tradition of hunting and has a high proportion of gun ownership , with 1.5 million firearms owned in a nation of more than five million people , according to government figures . gun control has also been more relaxed here . until recently anyone aged 15 and over was able to apply for a gun license if they offered a valid reason such as membership of a gun club . though gun crime is rare , the country has suffered two major incidents at schools in recent years . on november 7 , 2007 , a teenager opened fire with a handgun at his high school in the southern finnish town of tuusula , killing eight people before fatally turning the gun on himself . police said all of 18-year-old pekka-eric auvinen 's victims had multiple gunshot wounds , most to the upper body and head . some 69 shells and more than 320 unused bullets were found at the scene . auvinen , who had no criminal record , obtained a license for the weapon the previous month and regularly practiced sharp-shooting as a hobby at a local range , police said . the authorities said auvinen , who police later described as lonely and antisocial , had posted a series of videos on youtube featuring guns , with some hinting at the massacre at jokela high school itself .<doc-sep>on thursday , more than 400 victims of the massacre were to be reburied at a memorial center in potocari in bosnia and herzegovina , adding to the more than 5,000 victims already buried there , the country 's state-run news agency fena reported . victims of the massacre have been buried at the site periodically as officials locate and identify more victims in mass graves . `` sadness and pain , i have no words . it is so hard , '' said fadila efendic , who was set to bury her son fejzo at the site thursday , according to fena . `` this is beyond any human comprehension what they did to us and what we are experiencing . '' the 1992-95 bosnian conflict was the longest of the wars spawned by the breakup of yugoslavia . karadzic was removed from power in 1995 , when the dayton accord that ended the bosnian war barred anyone accused of war crimes from holding office .<doc-sep>he said no other family members were suspected of being involved . leinonen said police are treating the case as suspected manslaughter . he declined to give more details , saying the forensic examination is expected to take months . police declined to identify her except to say that she was a local finnish woman , married with children , who had moved into an apartment in the building in oulu , about 800 kilometres -lrb- 500 miles -rrb- north of helsinki , a few months earlier .<doc-sep>a seasoned member of the medical community who has spent 30 years performing autopsies said that the damage done to the victims of the sandy hook massacre are ` probably the worst i 've seen . ' connecticut chief state medical examiner h. wayne carver ii said in a press conference saturday afternoon in newtown that in his three decades in practice , the shooting is the ` worst i know of any of my colleagues having seen . ' dr carver said that each of the 26 victims was shot between there and 11 times , with two of the victims being shot at incredibly close range . the bullets had pierced everywhere , he said -- heads , extremities , and torsos . scroll down for video . connecticut chief medical examiner h. wayne carver ii said that this shooting was the ` worst i 've seen ' lt. j. paul vance , left , of the connecticut state police listens as dr carver speaks to reporters saturday afternoon . kathy murdy , left , and her husband rich murdy react as they look at the list of victims of the sandy hook elementary school shooting . ` this is a devastating set of injuries , ' he told reporters in the emotionally-charged news conference . dr carver 's 10 technicians and four doctors in his office worked tirelessly throughout friday night and on into saturday to identify and perform autopsies on the 26 dead . they expect to be done by tomorrow morning , the hartford courant reports . he said that 20-year-old shooter adam lanza was able to reload extremely quickly during the friday morning blitz because he taped two magazines together . the shooter mainly used a military-style assault rifle belonging to his mother , nancy , to carry out the horrific massacre .
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<t> eight females , two males killed after gunman rampaged through college . </t> <t> pm calls for tighter gun controls after shootings in southern finland . </t> <t> gunman was issued with a temporary gun license last month . </t> <t> govt . to probe the fact police interviewed gunman a day before the shootings . </t>
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finnish police identify massacre victims<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- evidence consistent with human decomposition was found in the trunk of a car belonging to a florida woman charged with killing her 3-year-old daughter , according to a forensic report released friday . caylee anthony , 3 , disappeared in mid-june but was n't reported missing until a month later . `` both odor analysis and libs results appear to be quite consistent with a decompositional event having occurred in the trunk of the vehicle , '' said the report from tennessee 's oak ridge national laboratory , noting that the results were preliminary . testing indicates that the decomposition could be human , the report adds . casey anthony , who drove the car , was arrested this month and charged with first-degree murder and other charges in the disappearance of her daughter , caylee . caylee was last seen in mid-june , but casey anthony waited about a month before telling her family the child was gone . libs is laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy , one of the techniques used in chemical analysis . testing was conducted on air and carpet samples from the vehicle . the tests indicated `` the presence of the five key major compounds associated with human decomposition , '' the report said . the tests also found `` an unusually large concentration of chloroform '' in the trunk , according to the oak ridge report . chloroform can be used to render someone unconscious . however , trace amounts of chloroform were also found on a control carpet sample , the report said . watch nancy grace report on the chloroform discovery ''<doc-sep>the report also says evidence of possible decomposition was found on a hair located among debris in the trunk . the hair is `` microscopically similar '' to one recovered from caylee 's hair brush , the report said , but `` a more meaningful conclusion can not be reached as this is not a suitable known hair sample . '' the report was released by prosecutors as part of the case 's public record . prosecutors said they would not comment further on them . todd black , a spokesman for casey anthony 's attorney , jose baez , said the evidence does not link casey anthony to any criminal behavior . `` there 's nothing in those reports that links casey anthony to any wrongdoing with her daughter , caylee , '' he said . casey anthony was arrested october 14 in a traffic stop after a grand jury indicted her on seven counts of first-degree murder , aggravated child abuse , aggravated manslaughter of a child and four counts of providing false information to police . if convicted of the capital murder charge , she could face the death penalty or a life sentence . police and prosecutors have said little about the case , but hundreds of pages of documents and investigative reports have been released . they indicate that casey anthony went to nightclubs , entered `` hot body '' contests and text-messaged her friends while her daughter was missing . copies of cell phone and text records released to the public show that she hardly ever mentioned caylee during the time just before and after the girl was reported missing . and in may , just before caylee disappeared , her mother referred to the girl as `` the little snot head . ''<doc-sep>casey 's mother , cindy anthony , called the sheriff in orange county , florida , on july 15 , saying her daughter would n't tell her where caylee was . casey 's brother , lee anthony , also pleaded with his sister to tell him where caylee was , according to police documents . she told him she had n't seen the child in `` 31 days . '' when questioned , casey anthony gave conflicting statements to police , including some that were later disproved , accounting for the charges of providing false information . she claimed that she dropped caylee off with a baby-sitter , but when police checked out her story , they learned that the address casey anthony supplied belonged to an apartment that had been vacant for weeks . the woman casey anthony named as her baby-sitter told police she did not know her . investigators have said cadaver dogs picked up the scent of death in casey anthony 's car and her parents ' backyard . a neighbor told police casey anthony had asked to borrow a shovel . preliminary air quality tests conducted by the fbi found evidence consistent with human decomposition and chloroform in the trunk of casey anthony 's car , investigators previously said . further analysis of casey anthony 's computer found that she had visited web sites discussing chloroform , as well as internet searches of missing children . cnn headline news ' natisha lance contributed to this report .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the presence of a decomposing human body is the only plausible explanation for the odor in casey anthony 's trunk and the results found in forensic testing , a scientist testified monday in her capital murder trial . testing was conducted on carpet samples from the trunk of the pontiac sunfire , along with a spare tire cover , scrapings from the wheel well , air samples and paper towels found in a trash bag that had been in the trunk , arpad vass , a senior research scientist at tennessee 's oak ridge national laboratory , testified in the orlando , florida , courtroom . vass , who spent all day monday on the stand , said he and his partners have , as part of their general research , identified some 30 compounds as significant in the human decomposition process . seven of those were confirmed in anthony 's trunk , he said . of those , vass testified under cross-examination by defense attorney jose baez , only five were considered because the other two were at trace levels . `` we were very , very conservative , '' vass said . prosecutor jeff ashton asked vass if , given the test results and his own observations regarding the odor , he believed a dead body had been in the trunk . `` i can find no other plausible explanation , other than that , to explain all the results we found , '' vass said . casey anthony , 25 , faces seven counts in the death of her 2-year-old daughter caylee , including first-degree murder , aggravated child abuse and misleading investigators . if convicted , she could face the death penalty . caylee was last reported seen by her family on june 16 , 2008 , but no one alerted police until july 15 , when the girl 's grandmother , casey anthony 's mother , tracked anthony down and demanded answers . prosecutors allege anthony used chloroform on her daughter and suffocated her by putting duct tape over the little girl 's mouth and nose . they allege anthony put her daughter 's body in her car trunk before disposing of it . caylee 's skeletal remains were found in december 2008 , less than a mile from the home of anthony 's parents . anthony has pleaded not guilty and denied having anything to do with her daughter 's death . baez has said that when all the facts are known , it will become clear his client is innocent . the orlando woman 's attorneys argue caylee drowned in the family pool on june 16 , 2008 . they say anthony and her father panicked and covered up the death . george anthony denied the claim during his testimony . earlier monday , vass testified the presence of chloroform on a carpet sample from the trunk was at a `` shockingly high '' level -- far beyond what normally would be seen in environmental samples and higher than any he has seen in his nearly two decades of forensic study . `` the chloroform was shockingly high , unusually high , '' vass said . the same testing done on a `` control sample '' of carpet from another pontiac sunfire , found in a junkyard , also showed chloroform , but the level was much lower -- `` trace amounts , '' he testified . laser-based testing of the carpet , and testing of the other items also showed the presence of elements and substances associated with decomposition , he said . found in the wheel well scrapings was acetic acid , a byproduct both of decomposition and of the manufacture of chloroform , according to vass . his testimony for the state was punctuated with objections from anthony 's defense attorneys . vass said as a control sample , scientists were able to find a blanket that a 3-year-old 's body was wrapped in and put into a car trunk for three months . `` the point of that was to confirm that compounds such as we saw in the florida trunk , that were consistent with human decomposition , could be formed in that type of environment , '' bass said . in that test , four of the five compounds were present , he said . the only one not found was chloroform . on cross-examination , baez tried to suggest vass had a financial interest in the case , which he denied , and also tried to cast doubt on the testing methods , protocols and quality control . he tried to get vass to say the fatty acids found on the paper towels could have been from meat , but vass said it would have had to be raw meat with a high fat percentage and with bacteria normally found in human bodies . vass also told baez he was aware the media had been reporting his findings before they were finalized , and was unhappy about that . baez did get vass to acknowledge he is not currently a member of any professional organizations . monday morning , vass gave jurors in the trial a crash course in the stages of human decomposition and explained his nearly 20 years of study , some of which was done at `` the body farm , '' the anthropological research facility located near the university of tennessee campus . vass said he was contacted by orange county sheriff 's detective yuri melich and asked to examine evidence in the anthony case . he then requested air samples from various points in casey anthony 's car . a crime scene investigator , the operator of a towing company and members of anthony 's family all have testified they smelled a bad odor coming from anthony 's car after it was found abandoned in a parking lot on june 27 , 2008 , and then towed four days later . the prosecution maintains the odor in the car was that of human decomposition , and says cadaver dogs also alerted to it . vass testified the odor in the air samples he received was `` overwhelmingly strong . i was surprised that little can had so much odor associated with it . '' he said he identified the odor as that of human decomposition . on saturday , fbi trace evidence examiner karen lowe testified that a single hair found in the trunk of anthony 's car was similar to that of caylee and showed evidence of decomposition . the scientific testimony , which began friday , marked a departure from the dramatic testimony and evidence offered in the first nine days of the trial , in which friends and acquaintances contradicted anthony 's claims that she was frantically searching for her daughter during the month she was missing and before authorities were notified . instead , anthony was staying with her boyfriend , spending time in orlando with numerous friends , attending parties , going shopping and hitting nightclubs , including participating in a `` hot body '' contest , according to testimony in the case . her former boyfriend , friends and acquaintances have all testified that she did not mention her daughter being missing during that time and that they noticed nothing different about her demeanor . lowe testified saturday how a 9-inch piece of hair found in anthony 's car and sent to the fbi lab in quantico , virginia , appeared similar to a piece of hair recovered from a brush belonging to caylee . but she said hair analysis is not as precise as dna analysis , so she could not say with absolute certainty that the hair belonged to caylee . she said she could not say how the hair got there . the hair had a dark band that lowe testified has only been seen in hairs remaining in the scalp of a decomposing body . she also testified under questioning from baez that while the hair is clearly not casey anthony 's , it could belong to any other light-haired relative on her mother 's side of the family . the kind of dna testing authorities were able to perform on the sample reveals dna passed down only through maternal lines . the hair in question was recovered after anthony 's car was picked up from her family 's home , after it had been abandoned in a parking lot , towed to an impound lot and then driven back to the family home two weeks later by anthony 's father . according to testimony , anthony asked her boyfriend to pick her up from the parking lot on june 27 , saying the car had run out of gas . she also told a friend that she believed an animal carcass was lodged in her car 's frame . the car was towed to an impound lot on june 30 , 2008 , where a manager said he smelled the odor of decomposition . testing of samples from the car 's interior and a bag of garbage that had been in the trunk , showed some relevant compounds , vass testified monday , but the majority were found `` in high abundance '' in the carpet sample . `` we confirmed the carpet was the point source of the odor , '' he said . before prosecutors began presenting scientific evidence in the case on friday , jurors watched recordings of jailhouse visits between anthony and her parents . in one conversation played friday , anthony scoffed at a media report her mother brought up speculating that caylee had drowned in the family swimming pool . `` surprise , surprise , '' anthony said of the rumor , which is now the primary defense theory . anthony 's defense team explains her behavior in the weeks following caylee 's death by saying she had been sexually abused by her father and had been taught to conceal her pain . george anthony has denied abusing his daughter . watch nancy grace monday through sunday starting at 8 p.m. et on hln . for the latest from nancy grace click here .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a single hair that shows evidence of decomposition was similar to that of casey anthony 's 2-year-old daughter , caylee , an fbi evidence analyst testified at the orlando , florida , woman 's trial saturday . investigators found the hair in the trunk of casey anthony 's car . prosecutors are trying to link the hair to caylee as evidence that her body was in the car . but defense attorney jose baez attacked fbi trace evidence examiner karen lowe 's findings as little more than unreliable opinion in a morning of fitful testimony that produced frequent objections and huddles among the attorneys out of earshot of the jury . a crime scene investigator , the operator of a towing company and members of anthony 's family all have testified they smelled a bad odor coming from anthony 's car after it was found abandoned in a parking lot on june 27 , 2008 , then towed four days later . caylee was last reported seen by her family on june 16 , 2008 , but no one alerted police until july 15 , 2008 -- after the girl 's grandmother tracked anthony down and demanded answers . caylee 's skeletal remains were found in december 2008 . anthony , 25 , is charged with seven counts in caylee 's death , including first-degree murder , aggravated child abuse and misleading police . if convicted , she could face the death penalty . prosecutors say she used chloroform on her daughter and then put duct tape on her nose and mouth to suffocate her . she has pleaded not guilty and has denied having anything to do with the girl 's disappearance or death . the orlando woman 's attorneys argue caylee drowned in the family pool on june 16 , 2008 . they say anthony and her father panicked and covered up the death . george anthony denied the claim during his testimony last week . testimony about the hair marks a departure from the dramatic testimony and evidence of the last nine days , in which friends and acquaintances contradicted anthony 's claims that she was frantically searching for her daughter during the month she was missing . instead , according to evidence and testimony in the case , she was spending time with her boyfriend , shopping and going to nightclubs . in dry , scientific terms , fbi trace evidence analyst karen lowe testified saturday how a 9-inch piece of hair sent to the fbi lab in quantico , virginia , appeared similar to a piece of hair recovered from a brush belonging to the girl . but she said hair analysis is not as precise as dna analysis , so she could not say with absolute certainty that the hair belonged to the girl . the hair had a dark band that lowe testified has only been seen in hairs remaining in the scalp of a decomposing body . a crime scene investigator , gerardo bloise , testified friday that he recovered a human hair from the trunk of anthony 's car , and also that the car smelled of decomposition .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- investigators have named casey anthony a suspect in the mid-june disappearance of her toddler daughter , caylee , florida authorities said wednesday . casey anthony had been called a `` person of interest '' in her daughter 's disappearance . police had previously labeled anthony -- who authorities said did n't report the 3-year-old child 's disappearance until mid-july -- a `` person of interest '' in the case . `` casey is a suspect , '' said orange county sheriff 's department capt. angelo nieves . `` she has been uncooperative , leading investigators down the wrong path and lying to them . she has not provided any credible information about the last time she saw her or where she was left . '' casey anthony of orlando , florida , was arrested july 16 on suspicion of telling detectives lies about caylee 's disappearance . she was released on bail after that arrest and subsequent arrests on unrelated theft charges . authorities said weeks ago that evidence suggests caylee is dead . investigators found evidence of human decomposition in the trunk of anthony 's car , authorities have said .<doc-sep>besides winnowing down the jury pool , perry also issued several decisions monday that were all setbacks for the defense . that included denying anthony 's lawyers motion for more time to prepare for the trial , as well as questioning whether there was enough racial and ethnic diversity in the potential jury pool gathered in clearwater . perhaps the most significant ruling came when , in a written order , perry determined the jury can consider evidence about an alleged `` decompositional '' odor coming from casey anthony 's trunk , and hear from certain expert witnesses . the defense had knocked the analysis as unreliable and too closely tied to the fbi , suggesting it could be prejudiced against their client . the judge conceded the anthony trial could be the first time the `` chemical signature of the odor of human decomposition or the identity of the volatile chemical components of human decomposition '' might be considered during a trial in florida . still , he wrote , `` the expert 's testimony will assist the jury in understanding the evidence and in determining facts in the case . '' in session 's michael christian contributed to this report .
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<t> preliminary lab tests say decomposition evidence could be human , report says . </t> <t> tests also find `` unusually large concentration of chloroform '' in trunk . </t> <t> casey anthony is charged with first-degree murder in daughter 's disappearance . </t> <t> lawyer 's spokesman says evidence does n't link casey to any wrongdoing . </t>
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decomposition evidence in casey anthony 's trunk , lab says<T>
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decatur , georgia -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- police quietly wait by the front door of the small , brick suburban atlanta home as investigators tell 48-year-old lajuana robinson , a mother of nine , `` i 'm going to have to put you in handcuffs . '' investigators take a woman from her decatur , georgia , home after her arrest in a truancy case . she 's charged with violating her parole in a truancy case because three of her younger children have missed hundreds of days of school combined . while students have always suffered the consequences of playing hooky , parents in dekalb county , georgia , are facing one of the more aggressive anti-truancy programs in the country , one where punishment can include time behind bars . dekalb 's program is one of a growing list targeting truancy in u.s. schools , said jodi heilbrunn , senior research and policy analyst at the national center for school engagement . `` ten years ago , there were n't too many anti-truancy programs , but now they are springing up like rabbits , '' heilbrunn said , and `` they come in many varieties . '' in some communities , a single school takes on its own problem . in others , like jacksonville , florida , and niagara falls , new york , the battle is system wide . and new jersey is about to institute a statewide system , targeting six cities with the worst truancy problems . the dekalb county program , started in may 2006 , was designed to get children from the age of 6 to 16 back in class .<doc-sep>if a child has 10 or more unexcused absences from school , parents are referred to an intervention program where they sign a contract agreeing to make sure their children get to class . if they fail to do that , they face the judge . according the county solicitor general 's office , around 300 families have gone to court so far . watch how a georgia mother ends up in handcuffs '' most of the parents who are cited are charged with educational neglect , said dekalb county solicitor-general robert james . most of those charged plead guilty and get probation , he said . the probation usually involves parenting classes , counseling , and follow-up visits for progress and attendance reports . parents who violate their probation run the risk of thousands of dollars in fines , and up to 30 days in jail per count . `` we are putting parents in jail , or we are bringing them in orange jumpsuits not just because their children are not in school , but because they got a subpoena or summons to come to court , or to come to a diversionary program and they refused to do so . so this is more about accountability than anything , '' james said . james said it is critical in his county to keep kids in school . the georgia department of corrections found that more than 60 percent of its inmates in 2007 did n't earn a high school diploma , and james quoted an internal survey that found 84 percent of inmates in dekalb county 's jail are high school dropouts . latara tankersley-jones and craig scott , investigators for the dekalb county solicitor-general 's office , are tasked with locating `` truant '' parents and serving court-ordered summons . jones and scott , usually with assistance from local law enforcement , also must arrest parents who have not complied with a court-ordered probation or failed to show up to court in the first place . scott said arrest is the least desirable option , but `` the bottom line is , we have a warrant and even if the children are there , you 're going to have to come with us . ''<doc-sep>robinson was no stranger to the investigators . the county had intervened on behalf of her children before , even providing thanksgiving dinner and christmas presents last year . the mother had been ordered to be sure her children went to school and to attend parenting classes herself . she had done neither , investigators said , earning herself a night in jail and a face-to-face with the judge the next day . judge r. joy walker presides over the educational neglect courtroom . on a recent friday in october , she handled each of the 80 or so cases before her in a fast , firm , and efficient manner . one by one , each parent , mostly women , has an opportunity to explain to walker why they are in her courtroom . investigators jones and scott are there as well . they say they hear the same excuses over and over again . `` they ca n't get up , or they have so many things that are going on in their life that are preventing them from making sure that their kids go to school , '' jones said . walker agrees to probation for most of the parents in her court this day , including angela harris , who pleads guilty to 24 counts , one for each of the 24 days her child missed school . `` i have never in my 48 years been in trouble , so this is all new to me , '' she tells the judge .<doc-sep>`` the state is offering you 24 months -lrb- of probation -rrb- , but if you mess up i 'm going to put you in jail , '' walker replies . walker has put 15 `` truant '' parents behind bars . lajuana robinson is released . but she 'll have to return to court another day to explain why her children are n't in school . so far , the success of the dekalb program has been limited . `` we have seen some small results , '' james said . attendance has increased by 2 to 3 percent over the past year . `` i am not satisfied by that , but in a school system of over 100,000 kids , you are talking about 2,000 to 3,000 more children attending school than what we had the year before last , '' he said . james says that he has received some interest from neighboring counties about the program and he thinks it is only a matter of time before they adopt similar ones . `` we have a lot of parents who feel we should not be intervening in family business , but it 's the law . in georgia , in dekalb county , attendance is the law , and we plan to enforce it . ''<doc-sep>`` the state is offering you 24 months -lrb- of probation -rrb- , but if you mess up i 'm going to put you in jail , '' walker replies . walker has put 15 `` truant '' parents behind bars . lajuana robinson is released . but she 'll have to return to court another day to explain why her children are n't in school . so far , the success of the dekalb program has been limited . `` we have seen some small results , '' james said . attendance has increased by 2 to 3 percent over the past year . `` i am not satisfied by that , but in a school system of over 100,000 kids , you are talking about 2,000 to 3,000 more children attending school than what we had the year before last , '' he said . james says that he has received some interest from neighboring counties about the program and he thinks it is only a matter of time before they adopt similar ones . `` we have a lot of parents who feel we should not be intervening in family business , but it 's the law . in georgia , in dekalb county , attendance is the law , and we plan to enforce it . ''<doc-sep>if a child has 10 or more unexcused absences from school , parents are referred to an intervention program where they sign a contract agreeing to make sure their children get to class . if they fail to do that , they face the judge . according the county solicitor general 's office , around 300 families have gone to court so far . watch how a georgia mother ends up in handcuffs '' most of the parents who are cited are charged with educational neglect , said dekalb county solicitor-general robert james . most of those charged plead guilty and get probation , he said . the probation usually involves parenting classes , counseling , and follow-up visits for progress and attendance reports . parents who violate their probation run the risk of thousands of dollars in fines , and up to 30 days in jail per count . `` we are putting parents in jail , or we are bringing them in orange jumpsuits not just because their children are not in school , but because they got a subpoena or summons to come to court , or to come to a diversionary program and they refused to do so . so this is more about accountability than anything , '' james said . james said it is critical in his county to keep kids in school . the georgia department of corrections found that more than 60 percent of its inmates in 2007 did n't earn a high school diploma , and james quoted an internal survey that found 84 percent of inmates in dekalb county 's jail are high school dropouts . latara tankersley-jones and craig scott , investigators for the dekalb county solicitor-general 's office , are tasked with locating `` truant '' parents and serving court-ordered summons . jones and scott , usually with assistance from local law enforcement , also must arrest parents who have not complied with a court-ordered probation or failed to show up to court in the first place . scott said arrest is the least desirable option , but `` the bottom line is , we have a warrant and even if the children are there , you 're going to have to come with us . ''<doc-sep>an eleventh grader in texas was thrown in jail - just for missing school . however , honour student diane tran , 17 , is no lazy truant . in fact , she 's quite the opposite . since her parents divorced and left her and her two siblings , she has been the sole breadwinner and works two jobs to keep the family afloat . scroll down for video . devastated : diane tran , 17 , has a criminal record and spent a night in jail after being charged with truancy . she works two jobs to support her family . abandoned : her parents divorced ` out of the blue ' and left tran and her two siblings to fend for themselves . ms tran said she works a full time job , a part-time job , and takes advancement and dual credit college level courses at willis high school . ' -lsb- i take -rsb- dual credit u.s. history , dual credit english literacy , college algebra , spanish language ap , ' she says of her impressive academic workload . however , the high-achiever can not devote as much time as she would like to her schooling as she often misses an entire day , reports khou . ms tran says that her parents divorced ` out of the blue , ' leaving her and her two siblings to fend for themselves . ' i always thought our family was happy , ' she said . now , it 's up to ms tran to support her siblings , who include an older brother at texas a&m university and a younger sister who lives with relatives . honour student : tran works a full time job , a part-time job and takes advancement and dual credit college level courses at willis high school near houston , texas . harsh : judge lanny moriarty also ordered tran to pay a $ 100 fine but others are asking that he shows leniency on the school girl .<doc-sep>by . james chapman . published : . 04:04 est , 10 march 2014 . | . updated : . 19:53 est , 10 march 2014 . child benefit could be docked from almost 20,000 parents every year whose children truant , leaked tory plans reveal . penalties of # 60 issued by schools to families whose children are persistently absent would be doubled and taken from welfare payments . education secretary michael gove is drawing up the scheme , which is designed to reinforce the legal responsibility of parents to ensure their children attend school from five to 16 . truant : parents who allow their children to play truant may be hit with heavy fines and even lose their benefits if they continue to allow their children to stay away from school -lrb- file picture -rrb- . the plan is expected to be included . in the conservatives ' election manifesto next year , having been blocked . in coalition by the liberal democrats , although a final decision has not . yet been made . the . proposal is expected to garner strong support , with surveys showing 64 . per cent of voters in favour and only 25 per cent against . among . conservative voters , 80 per cent say they back the idea . the department . for education defines persistent absence as missing at least 15 per . cent of school . some 41,224 .
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<t> georgia county operates aggressive program to keep kids in school . </t> <t> 300 families have gone to court in truancy cases . </t> <t> fifteen `` truant '' parents have faced time behind bars . </t>
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parents of truant kids can face jail time<T>
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islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- pakistani authorities have arrested four men in connection with the suicide truck bombing of a marriott hotel last month in islamabad that killed more than 50 people , officials said friday . more than 50 people died in last month 's attack on the marriott hotel in islamabad . the men appeared friday before a magistrate in an anti-terrorism court in rawalpindi , police and pakistan federal investigation agency investigators said . although they have not been charged , the magistrate is allowing police to hold them for a week while the investigation continues . the magistrate ordered them back to court on october 31 .authorities have not said how they believe these men are connected to the september 20 bombing . the men -- one of whom is a doctor -- were arrested at different times in different places , authorities said , but gave no additional details . they identified them as : dr. muhammad usman and tehseen ulla jaan , both from peshawar ; ilyas rana muhammad , from a village near faiselabad in pakistan 's punjab province ; and hameed afzal muhammad , from toba taik singh district , also in punjab province . in addition to the dozens killed , some 250 people were wounded in the suicide truck attack , which sparked a fire that left the hotel in ruins . the hotel , located near the diplomatic section of islamabad , had been popular among tourists visiting pakistan . it was crowded the night of the bombing .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- police tightened security at airports across pakistan thursday after receiving reports of a possible suicide attack at the international airport that serves islamabad . pakistan 's capital was rocked by a suicide attack on the city 's marriott hotel at the weekend . officers emptied the parking lot at the benazir bhutto international airport , on the outskirts of islamabad , said parvez george of the country 's civil aviation authority . flights were going out of the airport , but police cleared the terminal building of the large crowds that usually gather to see relatives arrive or depart , george said . muhammad asghar of islamabad police told cnn that authorities placed the airport on high alert after intelligence reports indicated it was under threat of an attack . the country 's capital city is on edge since a deadly blast saturday night at the marriott hotel . the explosion killed more than 50 people , including two u.s. military personnel and the czech ambassador to pakistan .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- more than 1,300 pounds of explosives were packed into a construction truck that detonated outside an islamabad hotel , killing 57 people , including two americans and a diplomat , officials said sunday . a truck burns at the gate to the marriott hotel in islamabad before a larger , deadly explosion saturday . pakistani interior minister rehman malik said the saturday attack at the marriott hotel `` is the biggest attack , volume-wise '' in pakistan in seven years . two american military personnel who worked for the u.s. embassy in islamabad were among those killed , the u.s. military said . a lithuanian and the czech republic 's ambassador to pakistan , ivo zdarek , also were among the fatalities , police superintendent sheikh zubair said . the suicide truck blast injured 266 people , including 11 foreigners , according to malik . watch guards scatter after an explosion '' british airways temporarily suspended its flights to islamabad as a result of the security situation , according to an airline spokeswoman who did not want to be named . a sunday night flight has been canceled , and the airline is reviewing its operations for later in the week . british airways operates at least three flights a week to the pakistani capital out of london 's heathrow airport . at a news conference in islamabad on sunday , pakistani authorities released security video of the blast , showing a small explosion inside the truck before the larger , deadly explosion . watch the truck bomb caught on tape . in the video , a large truck crashes into the security gate , sending one security officer scurrying for safety . then , as security guards approach the truck , the top of the vehicle explodes and the security guards flee . a small cloud of smoke appears above the truck , which is engulfed in flames minutes later . one of the security guards tries to put out the fire with a hand-held extinguisher , to no avail . the guards then walk away , and the camera freezes on the burning truck . pakistani officials said the blast apparently disrupted electricity to the area , causing the closed-circuit television camera to malfunction . no arrests have been made in connection with the attack , malik said sunday , adding that militants in pakistan 's tribal regions are suspected of orchestrating the attack . `` i am not in a position to tell you who has done it , but -lsb- in -rsb- all the previous investigations , all the roads have gone to south waziristan , '' he said . south waziristan is one of pakistan 's seven tribal areas where taliban and al qaeda militants are active . at the bombing site , video showed a deep crater in the pavement where the bomb detonated . more than a dozen cars were reduced to twisted steel . the crater was 24 feet deep and nearly 60 feet wide , malik said . the blast also caused a natural gas leak that set the top floor of the five-story , 258-room hotel on fire , police said . the blaze quickly engulfed the entire structure . watch a witness describe walking over bodies '' most of the fatalities appeared to be drivers , who were waiting with their cars outside the marriott , and hotel security guards , geo tv 's hamid mir said . the hotel , where a standard room costs more than $ 300 per night , is near the compound that contains the parliament building , the prime minister 's house , the supreme court and the presidency . the blast occurred about 7:50 p.m. , after the breaking of the fast during the holy month of ramadan , malik said . trees were felled by the explosion , which occurred hours after newly elected president asif ali zardari addressed a joint session of parliament and promised to root out terrorism . watch the scene the morning after the blast '' a few hours after the attack , zardari addressed the nation on television , saying he knows the pain of terrorism after his wife , former prime minister benazir bhutto , was killed in december on the campaign trail . `` my heart cries tears of blood . i can understand your pain . i want to ask you to turn this pain into your strength , '' he said , describing extremism as `` a cancer , which we will finish . '' `` in the holy month of ramadan , no muslim can act in this way . these people are not muslims , '' he said . `` i appeal to all democratic nations to help us get rid of this menace . '' the marriott , a western brand-name hotel , has been the site of attacks in the past . see where the attack occurred '' malik said authorities had received a threat against parliament two days ago . `` we had taken all security measures , '' he said . `` there was heavy security in the city . '' located near the diplomatic section of the city and heavily guarded by police and the military , the hotel is popular among tourists and had been packed saturday night . any vehicle entering the facility is searched , its underside checked for bombs , before it is allowed to pass through heavy steel gates . watch bombing victims rushed into hospital '' the british high commission in islamabad said six british nationals -- five adults and one minor -- were injured in the attack , including three commission members . a pakistani staff member of the commission was also injured , it said . a spokeswoman for the german foreign ministry said six germans in the hotel were slightly hurt in the attack , and that all embassy personnel were accounted for . cnn 's zein basravi and reza sayah , and journalist tomas etzler contributed to this report .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- more than 1,300 pounds of explosives were packed into a construction truck that detonated outside an islamabad hotel , killing 57 people , including two americans and a diplomat , officials said sunday . a truck burns at the gate to the marriott hotel in islamabad before a larger , deadly explosion saturday . pakistani interior minister rehman malik said the saturday attack at the marriott hotel `` is the biggest attack , volume-wise '' in pakistan in seven years . two american military personnel who worked for the u.s. embassy in islamabad were among those killed , the u.s. military said . a lithuanian and the czech republic 's ambassador to pakistan , ivo zdarek , also were among the fatalities , police superintendent sheikh zubair said . the suicide truck blast injured 266 people , including 11 foreigners , according to malik . watch guards scatter after an explosion '' british airways temporarily suspended its flights to islamabad as a result of the security situation , according to an airline spokeswoman who did not want to be named . a sunday night flight has been canceled , and the airline is reviewing its operations for later in the week . british airways operates at least three flights a week to the pakistani capital out of london 's heathrow airport . at a news conference in islamabad on sunday , pakistani authorities released security video of the blast , showing a small explosion inside the truck before the larger , deadly explosion . watch the truck bomb caught on tape . in the video , a large truck crashes into the security gate , sending one security officer scurrying for safety . then , as security guards approach the truck , the top of the vehicle explodes and the security guards flee . a small cloud of smoke appears above the truck , which is engulfed in flames minutes later . one of the security guards tries to put out the fire with a hand-held extinguisher , to no avail . the guards then walk away , and the camera freezes on the burning truck . pakistani officials said the blast apparently disrupted electricity to the area , causing the closed-circuit television camera to malfunction . no arrests have been made in connection with the attack , malik said sunday , adding that militants in pakistan 's tribal regions are suspected of orchestrating the attack . `` i am not in a position to tell you who has done it , but -lsb- in -rsb- all the previous investigations , all the roads have gone to south waziristan , '' he said . south waziristan is one of pakistan 's seven tribal areas where taliban and al qaeda militants are active . at the bombing site , video showed a deep crater in the pavement where the bomb detonated . more than a dozen cars were reduced to twisted steel .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- pakistani authorities have arrested four men in connection with the suicide truck bombing of a marriott hotel last month in islamabad that killed more than 50 people , officials said friday . more than 50 people died in last month 's attack on the marriott hotel in islamabad . the men appeared friday before a magistrate in an anti-terrorism court in rawalpindi , police and pakistan federal investigation agency investigators said . although they have not been charged , the magistrate is allowing police to hold them for a week while the investigation continues . the magistrate ordered them back to court on october 31 .
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<t> four arrested on suspicion of involvement '' in hotel blast in pakistani capital . </t> <t> more than people died in september 20 attack on marriott hotel , 250-plus injured . </t> <t> authorities have not said how they believe the men are related to the blast . </t>
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four held over marriott hotel blast in islamabad<T>
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islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- pakistani authorities have arrested four men in connection with the suicide truck bombing of a marriott hotel last month in islamabad that killed more than 50 people , officials said friday . more than 50 people died in last month 's attack on the marriott hotel in islamabad . the men appeared friday before a magistrate in an anti-terrorism court in rawalpindi , police and pakistan federal investigation agency investigators said . although they have not been charged , the magistrate is allowing police to hold them for a week while the investigation continues . the magistrate ordered them back to court on october 31 .authorities have not said how they believe these men are connected to the september 20 bombing . the men -- one of whom is a doctor -- were arrested at different times in different places , authorities said , but gave no additional details . they identified them as : dr. muhammad usman and tehseen ulla jaan , both from peshawar ; ilyas rana muhammad , from a village near faiselabad in pakistan 's punjab province ; and hameed afzal muhammad , from toba taik singh district , also in punjab province . in addition to the dozens killed , some 250 people were wounded in the suicide truck attack , which sparked a fire that left the hotel in ruins . the hotel , located near the diplomatic section of islamabad , had been popular among tourists visiting pakistan . it was crowded the night of the bombing .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- police tightened security at airports across pakistan thursday after receiving reports of a possible suicide attack at the international airport that serves islamabad . pakistan 's capital was rocked by a suicide attack on the city 's marriott hotel at the weekend . officers emptied the parking lot at the benazir bhutto international airport , on the outskirts of islamabad , said parvez george of the country 's civil aviation authority . flights were going out of the airport , but police cleared the terminal building of the large crowds that usually gather to see relatives arrive or depart , george said . muhammad asghar of islamabad police told cnn that authorities placed the airport on high alert after intelligence reports indicated it was under threat of an attack . the country 's capital city is on edge since a deadly blast saturday night at the marriott hotel . the explosion killed more than 50 people , including two u.s. military personnel and the czech ambassador to pakistan .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- more than 1,300 pounds of explosives were packed into a construction truck that detonated outside an islamabad hotel , killing 57 people , including two americans and a diplomat , officials said sunday . a truck burns at the gate to the marriott hotel in islamabad before a larger , deadly explosion saturday . pakistani interior minister rehman malik said the saturday attack at the marriott hotel `` is the biggest attack , volume-wise '' in pakistan in seven years . two american military personnel who worked for the u.s. embassy in islamabad were among those killed , the u.s. military said . a lithuanian and the czech republic 's ambassador to pakistan , ivo zdarek , also were among the fatalities , police superintendent sheikh zubair said . the suicide truck blast injured 266 people , including 11 foreigners , according to malik . watch guards scatter after an explosion '' british airways temporarily suspended its flights to islamabad as a result of the security situation , according to an airline spokeswoman who did not want to be named . a sunday night flight has been canceled , and the airline is reviewing its operations for later in the week . british airways operates at least three flights a week to the pakistani capital out of london 's heathrow airport . at a news conference in islamabad on sunday , pakistani authorities released security video of the blast , showing a small explosion inside the truck before the larger , deadly explosion . watch the truck bomb caught on tape . in the video , a large truck crashes into the security gate , sending one security officer scurrying for safety . then , as security guards approach the truck , the top of the vehicle explodes and the security guards flee . a small cloud of smoke appears above the truck , which is engulfed in flames minutes later . one of the security guards tries to put out the fire with a hand-held extinguisher , to no avail . the guards then walk away , and the camera freezes on the burning truck . pakistani officials said the blast apparently disrupted electricity to the area , causing the closed-circuit television camera to malfunction . no arrests have been made in connection with the attack , malik said sunday , adding that militants in pakistan 's tribal regions are suspected of orchestrating the attack . `` i am not in a position to tell you who has done it , but -lsb- in -rsb- all the previous investigations , all the roads have gone to south waziristan , '' he said . south waziristan is one of pakistan 's seven tribal areas where taliban and al qaeda militants are active . at the bombing site , video showed a deep crater in the pavement where the bomb detonated . more than a dozen cars were reduced to twisted steel . the crater was 24 feet deep and nearly 60 feet wide , malik said . the blast also caused a natural gas leak that set the top floor of the five-story , 258-room hotel on fire , police said . the blaze quickly engulfed the entire structure . watch a witness describe walking over bodies '' most of the fatalities appeared to be drivers , who were waiting with their cars outside the marriott , and hotel security guards , geo tv 's hamid mir said . the hotel , where a standard room costs more than $ 300 per night , is near the compound that contains the parliament building , the prime minister 's house , the supreme court and the presidency . the blast occurred about 7:50 p.m. , after the breaking of the fast during the holy month of ramadan , malik said . trees were felled by the explosion , which occurred hours after newly elected president asif ali zardari addressed a joint session of parliament and promised to root out terrorism . watch the scene the morning after the blast '' a few hours after the attack , zardari addressed the nation on television , saying he knows the pain of terrorism after his wife , former prime minister benazir bhutto , was killed in december on the campaign trail . `` my heart cries tears of blood . i can understand your pain . i want to ask you to turn this pain into your strength , '' he said , describing extremism as `` a cancer , which we will finish . '' `` in the holy month of ramadan , no muslim can act in this way . these people are not muslims , '' he said . `` i appeal to all democratic nations to help us get rid of this menace . '' the marriott , a western brand-name hotel , has been the site of attacks in the past . see where the attack occurred '' malik said authorities had received a threat against parliament two days ago . `` we had taken all security measures , '' he said . `` there was heavy security in the city . '' located near the diplomatic section of the city and heavily guarded by police and the military , the hotel is popular among tourists and had been packed saturday night . any vehicle entering the facility is searched , its underside checked for bombs , before it is allowed to pass through heavy steel gates . watch bombing victims rushed into hospital '' the british high commission in islamabad said six british nationals -- five adults and one minor -- were injured in the attack , including three commission members . a pakistani staff member of the commission was also injured , it said . a spokeswoman for the german foreign ministry said six germans in the hotel were slightly hurt in the attack , and that all embassy personnel were accounted for . cnn 's zein basravi and reza sayah , and journalist tomas etzler contributed to this report .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- more than 1,300 pounds of explosives were packed into a construction truck that detonated outside an islamabad hotel , killing 57 people , including two americans and a diplomat , officials said sunday . a truck burns at the gate to the marriott hotel in islamabad before a larger , deadly explosion saturday . pakistani interior minister rehman malik said the saturday attack at the marriott hotel `` is the biggest attack , volume-wise '' in pakistan in seven years . two american military personnel who worked for the u.s. embassy in islamabad were among those killed , the u.s. military said . a lithuanian and the czech republic 's ambassador to pakistan , ivo zdarek , also were among the fatalities , police superintendent sheikh zubair said . the suicide truck blast injured 266 people , including 11 foreigners , according to malik . watch guards scatter after an explosion '' british airways temporarily suspended its flights to islamabad as a result of the security situation , according to an airline spokeswoman who did not want to be named . a sunday night flight has been canceled , and the airline is reviewing its operations for later in the week . british airways operates at least three flights a week to the pakistani capital out of london 's heathrow airport . at a news conference in islamabad on sunday , pakistani authorities released security video of the blast , showing a small explosion inside the truck before the larger , deadly explosion . watch the truck bomb caught on tape . in the video , a large truck crashes into the security gate , sending one security officer scurrying for safety . then , as security guards approach the truck , the top of the vehicle explodes and the security guards flee . a small cloud of smoke appears above the truck , which is engulfed in flames minutes later . one of the security guards tries to put out the fire with a hand-held extinguisher , to no avail . the guards then walk away , and the camera freezes on the burning truck . pakistani officials said the blast apparently disrupted electricity to the area , causing the closed-circuit television camera to malfunction . no arrests have been made in connection with the attack , malik said sunday , adding that militants in pakistan 's tribal regions are suspected of orchestrating the attack . `` i am not in a position to tell you who has done it , but -lsb- in -rsb- all the previous investigations , all the roads have gone to south waziristan , '' he said . south waziristan is one of pakistan 's seven tribal areas where taliban and al qaeda militants are active . at the bombing site , video showed a deep crater in the pavement where the bomb detonated . more than a dozen cars were reduced to twisted steel .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- pakistani authorities have arrested four men in connection with the suicide truck bombing of a marriott hotel last month in islamabad that killed more than 50 people , officials said friday . more than 50 people died in last month 's attack on the marriott hotel in islamabad . the men appeared friday before a magistrate in an anti-terrorism court in rawalpindi , police and pakistan federal investigation agency investigators said . although they have not been charged , the magistrate is allowing police to hold them for a week while the investigation continues . the magistrate ordered them back to court on october 31 .
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<t> four arrested on suspicion of involvement '' in hotel blast in pakistani capital . </t> <t> more than people died in september 20 attack on marriott hotel , 250-plus injured . </t> <t> authorities have not said how they believe the men are related to the blast . </t>
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four held over marriott hotel blast in islamabad<T>
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editor 's note : sarah bliss is a writer for the tufts daily , the leading news source for tufts university . this article was brought to cnn.com by uwire , the leading provider of student-generated content . uwire aims to identify and promote the brightest young content creators and deliver their work to a larger audience via professional media partners such as cnn.com . visit uwire.com to learn more . suny at canton in new york has provided a designated `` pet wing , '' home to a variety of animals . -lrb- uwire -rrb- -- as university residence halls seek to transition into more homey environments -- with additions like full kitchens and single-stall bathrooms -- pet ownership is still forbidden for the majority of dorm residents . but several universities , including mit , have now added some pets to the `` acceptable '' list of dorm possessions . according to a recent article published by the boston globe , students at mit who reside in four of the school 's 11 undergraduate dormitories can bring cats with them to school , thanks to a policy implemented several years ago in an effort to curb students from housing forbidden animals . other schools have jumped on the four-footed bandwagon : stephen 's college , a women 's college in columbia , missouri , allows for many household pets , including dogs , provided that they are vaccinated and under forty pounds . and the suny at canton in new york has provided a designated `` pet wing , '' home to a variety of small caged animals and cats since 1996 .<doc-sep>while animal companionship is largely viewed as a welcome addition to family homes , there are many roadblocks that have deterred tufts from altering its pet policy . `` we do n't have a policy that allows for dogs or cats or ferrets or monkeys -- you name it -- and ... the main reason is so many people have allergic reactions to animal dander , '' dean of student affairs bruce reitman said . `` it 's one thing in a family , where everyone agrees that this is what they want and no one has an allergic reaction to the animal . but in a residence hall , where there is no such communication or agreement , it 's hard and people are affected . '' while tufts students are currently not permitted to have more than a small fish tank in the dorm setting -- in addition to service animals -- this has not always been the case . during a failed experiment that ended around a decade ago , faculty members , residence directors and graduate teaching assistants were allowed to own pets in an attempt to encourage residence . `` we were trying to entice -lsb- people -rsb- to come live in the halls , and ... they would n't come unless you allowed the pets , '' reitman said . `` in order to pragmatically get -lsb- them -rsb- to come in , we said ` okay , let 's do this . ' then people said , ` no , this is n't fair , i ca n't live here . ' not many students complained , but enough did . '' according to dr. margaret higham , medical director of health services , the prevalence of allergies and asthma on campus would make a more lenient pet policy problematic . in addition , dorm cleanliness would be noticeably impaired by the allowance of pets , she said . `` pets need to be taken care of ... litter boxes need to be cleaned daily , '' higham said . `` the dorm rooms were not built with the need to ventilate for that type of situation . and what about fleas ? once they are introduced , they would spread rapidly through all of the furniture . i do not see students being able to care for animals adequately in the dorm setting . ''<doc-sep>even without canines currently roaming the quad , there has been a modest history of animal neglect that calls into question a student 's ability to provide for an animal properly . `` i think some fraternities in recent years did have animals , '' reitman said . `` there were concerns or complaints when spring break came along , because there is this animal , not cared for ... the animal activists came in here and said , ` that 's no way to treat an animal , ' '' reitman said . `` a residence facility -- be it a sorority , fraternity or residence hall -- is not necessarily a good fit for the animal . '' reitman said he had reservations about allowing pets in designated residence halls , like mit does . `` if you designate certain buildings as ` pet buildings , ' you are taking that building , in essence , from people who do n't want to live in that type of environment , '' reitman said . `` you ca n't do that with very popular halls that go first in the lottery , because there would be no end to complaints about that . you just get into this equity political-pragmatics issue pretty quickly . '' `` developing pet-specific dorms would be a huge logistical struggle , '' higham said . `` once pets have been in a specific room , that room is ` contaminated ' with pet dander and will be ` allergic ' for extended periods . '' but a number of studies have been released touting the psychological benefits of owning a pet , arguing that the relationship serves as a daily de-stress mechanism and source of increased happiness .<doc-sep>while reitman viewed the calming influence of a pet-owner bond as beneficial , he associated the necessity of pet companionship with two distinct groups , neither of which includes college students . `` i 'll say the usefulness in ownership and responsibility for the aged and the young jumps off the page to me , '' reitman said . `` for older folks ... the companionship and presence of the animal is life sustaining in a lot of ways , '' reitman said . `` for young kids and teenagers , the responsibility of pet ownership is a great model for taking on a commitment . it 's clearly needed , but probably a little less so in our middle years . '' sophomore kara brown , who suffers from asthma , said it is a bad idea to allow pets in residence halls . `` i would n't love it if cats were allowed just because being anywhere near them makes me sick ... my breathing tubes start to close , '' brown said . `` i also feel like people usually have too much going on to really take care of a pet , especially now in college when you are already doing so much that takes a lot of effort . '' `` i do n't think it 's fair to other people who are living in the dorms because everybody needs to agree that they want an animal in their dorm , '' junior jenny hong said . `` it 's not only you and your roommate , but you 're sharing a huge space with everyone else . it would also cause a lot of mess and possible destruction to school property . '' still , hong admitted that she would n't rule out the possibility of owning a pet if the policy changed . `` i would consider bringing a pet , but i would only go for small pets -- maybe a hamster or gerbil , '' she said . `` never a cat , though , or a dog . ''<doc-sep>superclubs and fishbowls are being phased out by holiday company thomson as it launches a new range of holidays aimed at young travellers who want a more classy trip abroad . thomson scene is aimed at 18-35-year-olds keen something more sophisticated than boozing up and baking on the beach , and will eventually replace their current 2wenty concept . ` we are aiming at a young person who is , typically about two years into a new job , perhaps working in london and enthusiastic about trendy hotels , ' said david burling , uk and ireland managing director for thomson 's parent company tui uk . thomson has launched a new brand that offers holidays to young travellers who want more than magluf . new destinations include goa in india and santorini in greece , though regular party locales will still be offered . the portfolio will be separated into ` scene hub ' for the younger end of the spectrum with more affordable hotels in popular destinations , and ` scene style ' , for the more cashed-up travellers who want more trendy accommodation . the move is a departure from the large , uniform , all-inclusive style hotels that are often offered as part of the company 's portfolio for younger travellers . the club 18-30 concept was actually created by thomas cook , but has equivalents at various tour operators , such as the 2wenty concept from thomson , which is being phased out in favour of thomson scene . young britons ' lurid behaviour in resort havens such as spain 's magaluf was highlighted last summer with cheap dorm accommodation and even cheaper alcohol on the menu for most . thomson is aiming at the market who wants more from their holiday with their packages now set to include the greek resorts of santorini and mykonos along with croatia for short-haul trips . long-haul destinations will include thailand , goa in india and cancun in mexico . thomson scene offers more trendy hotels than those currently included in their holidays . despite the rebranding thomson continues to supply holidays for 18 to 35-year-olds to party-scene hotspots like ibiza and corfu and in total is providing breaks in 86 hotels in 34 resorts in 20 destinations . the company 's announcement came in the slovenian capital ljubljana where travel association abta is holding its annual convention . an abta survey released today showed that three per cent of uk men had been on an overseas stag-party event , with men preferring city breaks for their stag dos while women opted for beach destinations for their overseas hen parties .<doc-sep>but in the course filming , the tight-knit seattle pacific university community was shaken to the core by gun violence . in . the ` elysium ' video , haney shows the moment students learn of the . tragedy from a breaking news report on tv while attending a house party . james haney writes that at the time of the shooting , he was staying in his brother 's dorm room . initially , . the name of the slain student was not released , but as hours ticked . off , one young man from a room on the same floor as turner haney . remained unaccounted for . one . of the missing student 's dorm-mates spent the night sleeping in the . hallway outside the elevator waiting for him , and others soon joined . him . but they were all waiting in vain . in the morning , it was confirmed that turner haney 's friend and dorm-mate , 19-year-old freshman paul lee , had been shot dead .<doc-sep>by . daily mail reporter . last updated at 6:57 am on 13th august 2011 . new details have emerged in the trial of rutgers student dharun ravi , who is accused of bullying and intimidating his gay roommate to a point that he committed suicide . among the new evidence are details of the 25-year-old man what tyler clementi was videoed kissing bare chested in his dorm room . tyler is said to have mulled over bringing him to a hotel but did not want to spend $ 35 so brought him back to his dorm instead , despite fears ravi might walk in on them . charged : dharun ravi , right , did n't bully his room mate tyler clementi before his suicide , according to defence lawyers . it was also revealed that tyler 's . mother ` all but disowned him ' when he came out to his parents a short . time before he left for rutgers university . the court was also told that ravi . tried to apologise to his roommate after the alleged incident , texting . him saying : ` i 've known you were gay and i have no . problem with it . ' i do n't want your freshman year to be . ruined because of a petty misunderstanding , it 's adding to my guilt . ' but the shy violinist from ridgewood had likely already killed himself by the time they were sent . the text messages , instant messages and other documents emerged during the trial this week . regarding being caught by ravi in his . dorm with the man , tyler said in an instant message with a friend : . ` that would be so awk tho lol ... him walking in . ' although ravi , from plainsboro , new . jersey , did n't walk in , he was allegedly using a webcam to watch the . encounter from a different room and tweeting about it .<doc-sep>and unlike the others , she kept her voice audible . even during the most uncomfortable moments . she said that she invited ravi , whom . she had known since middle school , to her dorm room for a snack a few . minutes after 9pm on september 19 , 2010 . when ravi tried to go back , . she said , mr clementi told him that he wanted the cramped dorm room to . himself for a few hours . so ravi returned . family 's attendance : tyler clementi 's mother , jane clementi , attended the trial today -lrb- center -rrb- listening to a witness testify that her son had requested a room change days after his roommate set up the webcam . charges : middlesex county prosecutors are seen discussing the case that charges ravi with invasion of privacy , bias intimidation and other crimes . within a few minutes , she said , he . used her computer to view live images from his webcam . it was then , she . said , that she saw about two seconds of mr clementi and an older man . kissing . even though she said they initially . agreed not to talk about what they had seen , she asked ravi to tell a . friend about it during an online chat that began at 9.20 pm and within . minutes , word got around the dorm . she said she agreed to turn the webcam back on at the request of a woman who was among a group dropped by her room . ` it was the exact same image , except that they had taken their tops off , ' she said . ` as soon as they saw it , i turned it off . ' ms wei was expected to be back on the witness stand for more cross-examination on tuesday . also monday , jurors heard from university official william o'brien that mr clementi requested a room change about 30 hours after the alleged spying - and a day before he killed himself . mr o'brien , associate director of residence life at rutgers , told jurors that his staff did not see mr clementi 's request for a new roommate until after he was reported missing from campus . the trial : ravi is being tried at the superior courthouse of new jersey in new brunswick . watch the video here : .
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<t> some universities adding pets to `` acceptable '' list of dorm possessions . </t> <t> students at mit can bring cats , according to boston globe article . </t> <t> allergens , fleas , mess listed as reasons for concern by one school dean . </t> <t> i feel students have too much going on to take care of a pet , student says . </t>
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man 's best friend being phased into dorm life<T>
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islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- u.s. and pakistani troops exchanged fire thursday along the pakistani-afghan border minutes after the pakistani military fired shots at two american helicopters that were providing cover for the troops , a u.s. military spokesman said . pakistan says it shot at two u.s. oh-58d helicopters like this one pictured in a u.s. army photo . the u.s. army oh-58d kiowas , part of nato 's international security assistance force mission in afghanistan , were patrolling the pakistani-afghan border when the pakistani military fired on them , nato and u.s. officials said . the pakistani military said the fire was warning shots , and president asif ali zardari said it was flares . both zardari and the pakistani military said the helicopters had crossed into pakistani territory -- a charge u.s. officials denied . rear adm. greg smith of u.s. central command said the helicopters were providing cover for a small u.s. military unit accompanying an afghan border police unit on a routine patrol . after the shots were fired at the helicopters , smith told cnn , the u.s. troops fired `` suppressing rounds '' into a nearby hill to get the pakistanis to stop . that prompted the pakistani troops to stop firing at the helicopters and fire instead in the direction of the troops , he said . the u.s. troops then returned fire , smith said . no injuries were reported in the five-minute incident .<doc-sep>smith and other u.s. officials said the helicopter crews did not fire back . but the pakistanis disagreed , asserting in a written statement that the helicopters `` returned fire '' after the initial shots were fired . `` the helicopters passed over our border post and were well within pakistan territory '' at the time that `` security forces fired anticipatory warning shots , '' the pakistani statement said . after the shots were fired , `` the helicopters returned fire and flew back . '' the pakistani statement did not mention exchanging fire with ground troops and did not identify the shots as flares , as zardari did in new york in an appearance with u.s. secretary of state condoleezza rice . `` they are flares , '' he said in response to a question asking why the pakistani military was firing on nato helicopters . `` just to make sure that they know they crossed the border line . '' asked if such warnings will continue , he replied , `` sometimes the border is so mixed that they do n't realize that they crossed the border . ''<doc-sep>rice , off camera , agreed that `` the border is very unclear '' and `` inhospitable . '' pentagon spokesman bryan whitman reiterated the united states ' stance that the two helicopters were over afghan territory . `` the pakistanis need to provide the u.s. a reason to why this took place , '' he said . the isaf issued a news release saying that `` isaf helicopters received small-arms fire from a pakistan military checkpoint along the border near tanai district , khowst . '' `` at no time did isaf helicopters cross into pakistani airspace . '' the isaf did not mention ground troops or say whether the helicopters returned fire . both the isaf and pakistani military said they are working to resolve the issue . last week , zardari said pakistan would not allow foreign nations to violate its sovereignty to pursue terrorists . `` we will not tolerate the violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity by any power in the name of combating terrorism , '' he said in his first speech to parliament as president .<doc-sep>his remark followed a similar declaration from pakistan 's military chief , gen. parvez kayani , who said this month that pakistan 's territorial integrity `` will be defended at all cost , and no external force is allowed to conduct operations . '' a senior defense official in the pentagon said the pentagon is trying to determine the details of thursday 's incident . `` what we do n't know if this was just a case of trigger-happy members of the frontier corps , '' the official said , `` or whether in fact the pakistani military does have orders to fire on our helicopters . '' `` we are confident our helicopters were on the afghan side of the border , and we have no report they fired back , '' the official added . top u.s. commanders will be talking to the pakistani military about the incident to determine if there was a misunderstanding and to ensure it does n't happen again , a u.s. official familiar with details of the incident said . the official said this is the first verified incident of u.s. troops being fired upon by pakistani forces . there were at least two previous reports in recent days out of pakistan about similar incidents , but the united states has said neither of those reports was true . reza sayah in pakistan , cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr and cnn senior pentagon correspondent jamie mcintyre contributed to this story .<doc-sep>in the incident , about 100 militants attacked a frontier corps post in the mohmand agency , or district , an area where militants hold great sway . troops returned fire and killed the 16 militants , the military said . mohmand is in the country 's federally administered tribal areas that border a volatile region in war-torn afghanistan and pakistan 's north west frontier province . earlier this year , pakistan had entered into an agreement with militants , allowing them to enforce islamic law , or sharia , in parts of swat valley in exchange for ceasing violence . the swat valley is a broader area that includes several provincial districts , including chitral , swat , shangla , malakand , upper dir , and lower dir . but pakistani officials say the armed militants ' advance into buner district violated the agreement and briefly halted peace talks between the two sides in north west frontier province . representatives from pakistan 's government and the taliban restarted their negotiations on friday and were planning to have another session soon , a provincial spokesman said . the pakistani government has been criticized for not cracking down on militants along its border with afghanistan . as a result , the u.s. military has carried out airstrikes against militant targets in pakistan , which have rankled relations between the two countries .<doc-sep>the attack took place around 2 a.m. -lrb- 2100 gmt -rrb- in the baizai area of mohmand , where pakistani troops are fighting taliban militants . pakistani soldiers on patrol today close to the area near the afghan border where a nato helicopter killed up to 28 troops . a senior pakistani military officer said . efforts were under way to bring the bodies of the slain soldiers to . ghalanai , the headquarters of mohmand tribal region . ` the latest attack by nato forces on our post will have serious repercussions as they without any reasons attacked on our post and killed soldiers asleep , ' he said , requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media . about 40 pakistani army troops were stationed at the outpost , military sources said . two officers were reported among the dead . nato supply trucks and fuel tankers bound for afghanistan were stopped at jamrud town in the khyber tribal region near the city of peshawar hours after the raid , officials said . attack : nato helicopters similar to this one opened fire on the checkpoint close to the border with afghanistan killing 28 people , it was claimed . ` we have halted the supplies and some 40 tankers and trucks have been returned from the check post in jamrud , ' mutahir zeb , a senior government official , told reuters . another official said the supplies had been stopped for security reasons . ` there is possibility of attacks on nato supplies passing through the volatile khyber tribal region , therefore we sent them back towards peshawar to remain safe , ' he said . the border crossing at chaman in baluchistan was also closed , frontier corps officials said . pakistan is a vital land route for 49 percent of nato 's supplies to its troops in afghanistan , a nato spokesman said . reflecting the confusion of war in an ill-defined border area , an afghan border police official , edrees momand , said joint afghan-nato troops near the outpost saturday morning had detained several militants . ' i am not aware of the casualties on the other side of the border but those we have detained are n't afghan taliban , ' he said , implying they were pakistani taliban operating in afghanistan . the afghanistan-pakistan border is often poorly marked , and differs between maps by up to five miles in some places . the incident occurred a day after u.s. general john allen met pakistani army chief of army staff general ashfaq pervez kayani to discuss border control and enhanced cooperation . a similar incident on sept 30 , 2009 , which killed two pakistani troops , led to the closure of one of nato 's supply routes through pakistan for 10 days . angry : pakistan 's prime minister yusuf raza gilani has condemned the attack . nato apologised for that incident , which it said happened when nato gunships mistook warning shots by the pakistani forces for a militant attack . the attack is expected to further worsen u.s.-pakistan relations , already at one of their lowest points in history , following a tumultuous year that saw the bin laden raid , the jailing of a cia contractor , and u.s. accusations that pakistan backed a militant attack on the u.s. embassy in kabul . the united states has long suspected pakistan of continuing to secretly support taliban militant groups in a bid to secure influence in afghanistan after most nato troops leave in 2014 . saturday 's incident will give pakistan the argument that nato is now attacking it directly . ' i think we should go to the united nations security council against this , ' said retired brigadier mahmood shah , former chief of security in the tribal areas . ` so far , pakistan is being blamed for all that is happening in afghanistan , and pakistan 's point of view has not been shown in the international media . ' he called the attack unprovoked and said pakistan should respond by shooting down nato aircraft and keeping the supply lines closed . ` those who say that pakistan can not afford a war with the u.s. and nato , i think we should realize that u.s. and nato also can not afford a war with pakistan . ' other analysts , including rustam shah mohmand , a former ambassador to afghanistan , said pakistan would protest and close the supply lines for some time , but that ultimately ` things will get back to normal . '<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a suspected u.s. drone strike killed 17 people and wounded three sunday in pakistan 's volatile tribal region , pakistani intelligence officials said . the strike occurred in babar ziarat , which borders the pakistani provinces of north and south waziristan , near the afghan border , the officials said . those killed and injured in the strike were believed to be militants , the officials said .<doc-sep>islamabad , pakistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a u.s. drone strike targeting a militant compound in pakistan 's volatile tribal areas along the border with afghanistan has killed 16 people , pakistani security officials said wednesday . the officials said the attack early wednesday struck a compound of the haqqani network , a group that carries out attacks against nato forces in afghanistan and travels back and forth across the porous border between afghanistan and pakistan . the strike killed 16 militants and wounded five others in the dande darpakhel area near miranshah in north waziristan , the officials said , speaking on the condition of anonymity . officials had earlier given a higher death toll of 17 . it was n't immediately clear if any high-profile insurgent figures had been killed in the attack . the militants in the compound were from both pakistan and afghanistan , the officials said . the u.s. government has said strikes by the unmanned aircraft are a necessary part of the fight against militant groups . but the attacks have drawn deep opposition in pakistan because of civilian casualties and the violation of sovereignty .
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<t> new : u.s. says it returned fire after pakistanis fired shots at american copters . </t> <t> pakistani president says military fired only flares . </t> <t> attack comes after president , general warned foreign troops to stay out . </t> <t> pakistani , u.s. officials say they are working to resolve the issue . </t>
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u.s. , pakistan exchange shots at volatile border<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- billionaire hedge fund manager t. boone pickens spoke about the beleaguered u.s. economy , a prospective bailout and natural gas thursday , a day after reports that his energy-related hedge funds lost $ 1 billion this year . billionaire t. boone pickens has reportedly lost about $ 270 million this year . speaking to cnn 's john roberts , pickens said he concurred with president bush 's wednesday assessment that a `` distressing scenario would unfold '' in the u.s. economy without immediate intervention . the u.s. economy needs a quick solution , and the u.s. treasury -- while capable in its own right -- could use help from someone like warren buffett , whose berkshire hathaway inc. reportedly invested $ 5 billion this week in goldman sachs , the wall street investment bank . roberts : by some estimates , your energy fund lost $ 1 billion . personally , you may have lost almost $ 300 million . a lot of people say , `` well , t. boone pickens has got a lot of money , '' but by some accounts , that 's 10 percent of your net worth . that was a real hit . pickens : that 's a good hit . that 's right . watch pickens discuss his , america 's problems '' roberts : what happened ? pickens : i turned the wrong direction , is what it was . you know , you win some and lose some . some are rained out , you know . you wish this one had been rained out , but it was n't . roberts : i 'm sure you saw the president 's address last night , or at the very least you heard about it . the secretary of the treasury wants all the money up front . the government wants safeguards on it . they want to make sure there 's protection for taxpayers . they want to limit executive compensation . are you on board with all that ? pickens : i 'm ready to go . i 'd give -lsb- treasury secretary henry -rsb- paulson the money and tell him get it fixed . roberts : you believe that his plan will work ? pickens : i do . i think it will work , yes . but i think it needs to work quickly . i think you 've got to move on with it . i liked warren buffett 's play into goldman sachs .<doc-sep>roberts : five billion dollars the other day . pickens : that 's right . that showed good confidence and all . so that 's another leadership opportunity . roberts : in fact , you have said , boone , that you would like to see warren buffett handle a lot of these illiquid assets that the government buys up in terms of their disbursement . pickens : can you imagine anybody better ? sure , that 'd be great if he 'd do it . i do n't know whether he would or not . but you need to get somebody like warren to do it . roberts : you do n't think they have the expertise at the treasury department to do it ? pickens : oh , they do have . they may need some help . and that kind of help -- you ca n't pay for that kind of help . watch bush explain the government 's plan '' roberts : let me turn to the energy issue . ... we 've talked about your plan to wean america off of foreign oil , use natural gas , you know , get wind power going . you 're also -- correct me if i 'm wrong -- but you 're going to be launching another series of ads here encouraging the presidential candidates to come forward with a plan to wean america off its dependence on foreign energy . do n't they already have a plan ? pickens : no . neither one of them has a plan . the plan i want is to reduce imports of foreign oil . and we can do that one way . natural gas is a resource we have in america . it is cleaner , it 's cheaper , it 's abundant and it 's ours . so every gallon of natural gas you put in a tank , you will reduce foreign oil by one gallon . so it 's a one-to-one trade-off every time . we could reduce foreign oil by 30 percent . i think we could do it in five to 10 years . roberts : so what you 've heard from them so far does n't go far enough down the road ? pickens : no . roberts : but also at the same time , boone , you are heavily invested in natural gas and there are some people out there who say you 're just promoting your business here . pickens : well , actually , john , i do n't have any natural gas production to speak of . i mean , it 's small . it 's very small . now , when i was with -lsb- mesa power llp -rsb- , mesa was a big natural gas producer . but boone pickens is not a big natural gas producer . but i am in natural gas fueling on the west coast . but all of that , every time you use a domestic fuel , you reduce foreign oil . it 's that simple . and we can do it . and this is cheaper . can you imagine , cheaper , cleaner , abundant and ours ? you could n't pick a better description of what you want to use .<doc-sep>long beach , california -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- gasoline at $ 4 a gallon is no worry for t. boone pickens , the billionaire energy investor from texas . he drives from his home to his office in a car that runs on fuel costing less than $ 1 a gallon . his method : he has a device that fuels his honda civic gx with natural gas from the pipes that serve his home . and he thinks there 's a lesson there for america 's energy woes . pickens , who is speaking wednesday at the ted2012 conference in long beach , california , said america needs to make natural gas a building block of a plan for ending oil imports from the organization of petroleum exporting countries . natural gas is `` cheaper , it 's cleaner , it 's abundant and it 's ours , and we 're fools not to use it , '' pickens said in an interview with cnn . pickens , an 83-year-old trained geologist who has been working in the energy field since 1951 , said the united states could use domestic resources to replace the 5 million barrels of oil imported daily from opec , which makes up a quarter of america 's daily use of oil . the u.s. natural gas reserves amount to the equivalent of three times the oil reserves possessed by saudi arabia , he said . `` all you need now is leadership , '' he said , lamenting that america `` has no plan , we 've gone 40 years with no energy plan . we 're the largest user of oil in the world . '' pickens ' plan is encapsulated in the natural gas act , a bill with democratic and republican sponsors , that would provide tax credits to replace diesel-fuel burning truck engines with natural gas-powered engines ; users of natural gas as a transportation fuel would pay fees that would make up for the lost government revenue . his firm , bp capital , has a vested interest in energy policy since it invests in energy futures and the shares of firms in a variety of parts of the industry .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- billionaire oilman t. boone pickens is putting his clout behind renewable energy sources like wind power . t. boone pickens talks about the advantages of wind power on cnn in may . the legendary entrepreneur and philanthropist on tuesday unveiled a new energy plan he says will decrease the united states ' dependency on foreign oil by more than one-third and help shift american energy production toward renewable natural resources . `` the pickens plan '' calls for investing in domestic renewable resources such as wind , and switching from oil to natural gas as a transportation fuel . in a news conference outlining his proposal , pickens said his impetus for the plan is the country 's dangerous reliance on foreign oil . `` our dependence on imported oil is killing our economy . it is the single biggest problem facing america today , '' he said . watch pickens discuss plan for wind power '' `` wind power is ... clean , it 's renewable . it 's everything you want . and it 's a stable supply of energy , '' pickens told cnn in may . `` it 's unbelievable that we have not done more with wind . '' pickens ' company , mesa power , recently announced a $ 2 billion investment as the first step in a multibillion-dollar plan to build the world 's largest wind farm in pampa , texas . pickens said tuesday that if the united states takes advantage of the so-called `` wind corridor , '' stretching from the canadian border to west texas , energy from wind turbines built there could supply 20 percent or more of the nation 's power . he suggested the project could be funded by private investors . power from thousands of wind turbines that would line the corridor could be distributed throughout the country via electric power transmission lines and could fuel power plants in large population hubs , the oil baron said . fueling these plants with wind power would then free up the natural gas historically used to power them , and would mean that natural gas could replace foreign oil as fuel for motor vehicles , he said . using natural gas for transportation needs could replace one-third of the united states ' imported oil and would save more than $ 230 billion a year , pickens said . `` we are going to have to do something different in america , '' pickens told cnn . `` you ca n't keep paying out $ 600 billion a year for oil . '' his energy plan could be implemented within 10 years if both congress and the white house treat the current energy situation as a `` national emergency and take immediate action , '' he predicted . pickens , a lifelong republican , says he is not advising either presidential candidate , but is prepared to work with the next president . the web site for the plan urges people to sign up and help spread the word . oil analyst peter beutel of cameron hanover , an energy risk manager , said pickens ' plan could definitely reduce the country 's dependency on foreign oil . `` the best thing about it is that it 's a definite plan -- it 's not something that either party has pitted itself outrightly against . it therefore has a tremendous chance for success on capitol hill . '' analyst fadel gheit of oppenheimer & co. . inc. , an investment firm , added that such a plan `` has been on the drawing board for years . '' at least 21 states and the district of columbia have set deadlines or goals for utilities to obtain electricity from clean , renewable sources instead of fossil fuel-burning plants . see where states stand on renewable resources '' the scramble has triggered construction of large-scale wind farms throughout much of the nation , including proposals for the first u.s. offshore facilities . delaware and galveston , texas , have offshore projects in the works , although a farm proposed off new york 's long island was shelved this year because of high projected construction costs . in massachusetts , where utilities are under the gun to obtain four percent of electricity from renewables by 2009 , builders await federal approval of a hugely controversial wind farm off historic cape cod . the cape wind project envisions 130 wind turbines each rising 440 feet above nantucket sound by 2011 . state officials said the farm will eliminate pollution equal to 175,000 gas-burning cars . cnn 's emily anderson and thom patterson contributed to this report .<doc-sep>his current plan is focused on moving trucks to natural gas , but he said president barack obama could also urge consumers to commit that their next car will run on a domestically produced fuel , whether it 's natural gas or a plug-in electric vehicle . a wall street journal editorial tuesday , headlined `` boone-doggle , '' called pickens ' plan `` the hottest energy fad in washington '' and criticized it for proposing subsidies for a natural gas industry that should compete on its own . the start-up costs of relying on natural gas for transportation are n't cheap . the cost of replacing truck engines is roughly $ 35,000 apiece , pickens said . his own natural gas car costs thousands more than a gasoline-powered honda civic , and then there is the cost , which he said was $ 2,000 , to install the natural gas fueling device for the car . and u.s. consumers have only that one natural gas model from which to choose . in france , he said , there are 62 models that use natural gas . pickens said american carmakers do produce such vehicles for overseas markets but have not seen a viable market in this country . one of the concerns is that there is n't a widespread network of service stations that could refuel a natural gas-powered car . pickens said natural gas is available in pipes that go down every street and alley , so it could eventually be more accessible for refueling . `` somebody says you could n't get in that car and drive to chicago , well , you could -- you 'd have to do a little work to see where the stations are , but i 'm not going to drive that car to chicago , i 'm going to drive that car from my house to my office . '' and if he is going on a trip to chicago ? `` i 'm going to get in my wife 's car . she has a bigger car . women always have bigger cars than men do . ''<doc-sep>`` i would say that , hold your breath , because any time now , that wo n't be a problem , '' said bill graves , head of the american trucking associations . `` there 's going to be a deployment of fueling stations all across the nation and it 's going to make movement of freight by truck -- by natural gas powered truck -- a reality . '' by next spring , some 120 new lng stations will have been completed , popping up like crocuses from coast to coast , although many are being immediately mothballed until lng trucks become more plentiful . when they will open is `` anyone 's guess , '' one industry representative said . history is replete with examples of people hyping new , cheap , plentiful and clean alternative fuels . but the current interest in lng for large trucks is undeniable . when the ata early this year planned a `` natural gas in trucking '' summit , it anticipated some 200 people would attend . when the summit convened last week , its venue -- expanded to 500 seats -- was sold out . oil man turned natural gas evangelist and investor t. boone pickens said the reason is simple : money . `` i mean , you are talking about saving a dollar and a half , two dollars a gallon and that 's unheard of , '' said pickens , who , as an investor in clean energy , has a stake in the success of natural gas . `` if i 'm trucking against you and my fuel bill is $ 2 a gallon cheaper than yours , i can tell you , you 've got a problem . i will take a lot of your business away from you , '' pickens told cnn . the 11.9-liter engine is a game changer , industry officials say , because it occupies a `` sweet spot '' in the market . the bulk of long-haul trucks use 11.9-liter engines . the engine will open up the world of long-distance natural gas trucking . at today 's prices , the added cost of an lng-powered truck can be recaptured in a year or two , industry officials say .
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<t> t. boone pickens on losing a reported $ 270 million : `` i turned the wrong direction '' </t> <t> pickens : treasury secretary henry paulson 's bailout plan will work , but do it fast . </t> <t> natural gas better than oil -- it 's `` cheaper , cleaner , abundant and ours , '' he says . </t> <t> pickens says he has only a `` very small '' stake in natural gas production . </t>
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pickens : natural gas , warren buffett could ease nation 's woes<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- u.n. gunships battled rebels in eastern democratic republic of congo on monday , according to u.n. spokesman michele bonnardeaux . u.n. vehicles on monday pass between lines of civilians fleeing fighting north of goma , congo . u.n. helicopter gunships , supporting national army forces on the ground , fired on rebels from the congress for the defense of the people in an effort to halt their advance on the village of kibumba . cndp is the french acronym for national congress for the defense of the people , a congolese rebel group under renegade general laurent nkunda . the village of kibumba is the location of a u.n.-administered internally displaced peoples camp , just 12 1/2 miles -lrb- 20 kilometers -rrb- north of the provincial capital , goma , bonnardeaux said . renewed fighting erupted sunday when the cndp seized a major military camp and gorilla park , according to u.n. and park officials . the u.n. brokered peace accord in the area in january . on monday , thousands fleeing kibumba spurred violent demonstrations in front of the u.n. compound in goma . the group was angry that a 17,000-person u.n. security force has been unable to protect them from renewed bouts of violence in the country , a u.n. spokesman told cnn . a u.n. spokesman said the u.n. 's mission in congo was `` under attack '' on monday . a mission staff member inside the u.n. compound , who did not want to give his name for security reasons , said u.n. security forces had returned fire in an attempt to disperse angry crowds near the u.n. compound . gunshots could be heard as he spoke on the phone .<doc-sep>he said the attack had resulted in several deaths . u.n. officials confirmed one dead in goma as a result of monday 's demonstrations . the assault died down later in the day , a u.n. spokesman said , but people continued to pelt the building . it was unclear who was attacking , but the staff member told cnn the people were from a village that had been taken over by the cndp , a congolese renegade group led by gen. laurent nkunda that seized a major military camp and gorilla park in a renewed bout of heavy fighting sunday . thousands of civilians were reportedly fleeing the fighting . pictures from the region showed long lines of people walking along roads carrying their belongings . watch how refugees line roads to get away '' soldiers who abandoned the military camp were retreating in vehicles on a main road outside of goma on monday , angrily honking their horns at civilians who got in their way , the associated press reported . bertrand bisimwa , a spokesman for the rebels , told the ap that rebel fighters had moved to within 7 miles -lrb- 11 kilometers -rrb- of goma . the latest fighting comes after the collapse on sunday of a tenuous week-old u.n.-brokered cease-fire between rebels and government forces . according to u.n. spokesman nick birnback , thousands of displaced civilians in the city of goma were throwing rocks and molotov cocktails , angry that a 17,000-person u.n. security force has been unable to protect them from the violence . `` the situation in goma is very volatile , '' he said . `` but monuc is taking all available measures to stabilize the situation . '' watch more about the fighting ''<doc-sep>the u.n. mission -- known by its french acronym , monuc -- is in goma , which is along congo 's border with rwanda . although the civil war in congo -- once known as zaire -- officially ended in 2003 , recent fighting in eastern congo between government forces and cndp rebels under has caused tens of thousands to flee their homes , according to u.n. spokesman michele bonnardeaux . watch ranger describe the violence '' the conflict and humanitarian crisis in congo have taken the lives of 5.4 million people since 1998 , and 45,000 people die there every month , according to an international rescue committee report in january . a senior u.s. state department official said the united states is pushing hard for cooperation among rwanda , uganda and congo over the situation in eastern congo . the official said all countries , especially congo and rwanda , `` need to work together '' to rein in `` militia groups and other negative forces . '' assistant u.s. secretary of state jendayi frazer will travel to congo and rwanda to urge both governments to take action , the official said . u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon issued a statement monday calling on all parties `` to make every effort to restore calm among the affected populations . '' the attacks also coincided with the resignation of the u.n. military commander in congo , lt. gen. vicente diaz de villegas y herreria . a u.n. statement on monday indicated he stepped down for `` personal reasons . '' cnn 's carolina sanchez contributed to this report . copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>the front line , according to the rebel fighters , has moved to the west of goma , to mugunga . the u.n. special representative for dr congo , roger meece , briefed the u.n. security council on the `` extremely serious crisis '' in north kivu by video link from kinshasa on wednesday . `` the security situation in north kivu as well as in other areas in the east of congo has seriously deteriorated over recent days , and this is compounded by a vast humanitarian crisis affecting hundreds of thousands of congolese citizens , '' meece said . he also warned that violent protests against the congolese authorities , as well as u.n. facilities and its staff , might spread to other parts of the country . the m23 's occupation of goma and another nearby town , sake , had been in the face of `` significant resistance '' by the congolese army , supported by monusco , the u.n. mission in dr congo , he said . the rebels were initially held in check but were able to come back with `` sophisticated tactics , '' he said , with their capabilities apparently bolstered by `` external support . '' `` as we have seen in other areas occupied by m23 , the occupation of goma also poses a major risk of increased serious human rights violations , including killings and forced conscription of civilians , including minors , '' meece said . the united nations has already received numerous reports of targeted summary executions of those who try to stand in the rebels ' way , he said , and there is an increased threat of sexual violence . meece said he believed it was possible to roll back the rebels ' gains and restore stability , but only with a strong commitment from the international community .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- congolese rebels seized a major military camp and a spacious gorilla park in a renewed bout of heavy fighting that sent thousands fleeing , according to the united nations and park officials . young gorillas play in congo 's virunga park , which was taken over sunday by rebels fighting army forces . the fighting comes after a tenuous week-old u.n. brokered cease-fire between rebels and government forces fell apart sunday . fighting between the rebels under renegade gen. laurent nkunda and congolese army regulars in the eastern province of north kivu of the democratic republic of the congo displaced thousands of civilians , according to u.n. spokesman michele bonnardeaux . the rebels also seized the headquarters of virunga national park in eastern congo after intense fighting with the congolese army , according to a statement by park officials . the rebels have used virunga park as a base but have never seized its headquarters before .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a u.n.-backed military operation to thwart rebels in the democratic republic of congo has led to deliberate killings of more than 1,400 civilians in the country over a nine-month period , human rights watch said monday . the human rights organization 's report accuses militants and congolese soldiers of brutal attacks , and urges the united nations to end support for the military operation and find other ways to establish security . attacks include chopping civilians to death with machetes and slitting the throats of others . the attacks occurred between january and september , according to the report . human rights watch said it based its findings on interviews with more than 600 victims , witnesses and relatives . more than 7,500 women and girls were sexually abused in eastern congo during the same period , human rights watch said . `` continued killing and rape by all sides in eastern congo shows that the u.n. security council needs a new approach to protect civilians , '' said anneke van woudenberg , senior researcher at the organization . `` the security council should send a group of experts to congo to kickstart a serious civilian protection plan . '' congolese forces have been battling rwandan hutu rebels who fled to congo after participating in a rwandan genocide that left at least 800,000 people dead . a u.n. peacekeeping mission , known as monuc , backs the operation . the united nations has said that overall , the mission is working to boost stability and protect civilians . however , secretary-general ban ki-moon hinted at high death tolls last week , saying that the military operations have come at a `` high humanitarian cost . '' the congolese armed forces and the rebels have violated human rights , ban said . the peacekeeping mission has urged the government to address the problem , he added . human rights watch said the operations to oust rebels have not met expectations , and civilian casualties greatly outnumber the damage to rebels . `` government representatives said the operations would bring peace and security to the region . they have not , '' the new york-based agency said . war-torn congo is rich in natural resources , including diamonds , gold and coltan , but most of its population lives in poverty because of the conflict . the u.n. security council is scheduled to vote soon on whether to renew the peacekeeping mission in the democratic republic of the congo .<doc-sep>united nations -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the united nations security council in new york held an emergency session thursday to discuss and condemn widespread rapes in eastern congo , while the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. said she was troubled by a briefing on the attacks . `` we are horrified , and we are outraged , and that led us , in conjunction with the french , to request this detailed briefing this morning , '' said susan rice , the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. , on thursday . `` it was a disturbing briefing , both for what we learned and what we do n't know still . '' the united nations peacekeeping mission in eastern congo was aware that rwandan rebels were occupying villages in the region in late july and early august , but did not know of reports that the rebels were raping women in those villages , u.n. officials said this week . nearly 200 women were gang-raped by hundreds of rwandan and congolese rebels , humanitarian officials said . roger meece , a representative for u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon , said the united nations was alerted to rebel activity in the area but was not notified of the mass rapes . `` there was no particular question of an attack , much less the kind of events like mass rape , '' meece said wednesday . but a senior united nations official said thursday that the u.n. was to blame for the incident and that the organization should leave the congo if it could not protect civilians . `` we are guilty of a conspiracy of silence , '' said the official , who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is a current member of the peacekeeping mission in congo and is under orders not to criticize the u.n. publicly . `` if we ca n't help civilians , there is no point in being here . '' `` these things happen all the time . it may not be 180 , it may be 10 , but it happens all the time , '' the official said . `` our colleagues are part of the problem -- it 's pretty bad . '' `` they take it for granted , that people in congo just have to suffer , '' the official continued . `` some of the people in our hierarchy keep saying ` it 's not going to change ' ... they just seem apathetic . it is very rare to meet anyone who wants to make a difference . '' the united nations did not reply to requests for comment on allegations thursday evening . u.n. officials said that an e-mail warning of rebel activities was sent to u.n. and other staff working in the area . madnoje mounoubai , a spokesman for the u.n. peacekeeping mission in eastern congo -- known by the acronym monusco -- said the u.n. was first alerted to the rapes by humanitarian organizations on august 12 .
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<t> new : u.n. helicopters attack rebels north of goma to stop advancement . </t> <t> u.n. military commander in congo resigns for `` personal reasons '' </t> <t> thousands of protesters attack u.n. 's eastern congo hq with rocks , stones . </t> <t> the attack has resulted in several deaths , an official said . </t>
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u.n. gunships battle rebels in east congo<T>
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london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- this month the u.s. government has introduced major changes that will affect millions of travelers to the u.s. who do not need a visa . instead of filling in the green visa waiver form en route , short-term visitors must register their details online at least three days before they depart . the measure is designed tighten security and make it harder for terrorists who are citizens of the participating countries to easily obtain entry to the u.s. . the new system , known as the electronic system for travel authorization -lrb- esta -rrb- , does not become compulsory until january 12 , 2009 . but travelers are urged to prepare for the new rules in advance .<doc-sep>esta applies to citizens from the 27 visa waiver program -lrb- vwp -rrb- countries that includes most of western europe in addition to new zealand , japan , brunei and australia . visitors are recommended to submit applications no later than 72 hours before departure in case further inquiry is necessary . but the u.s. department of homeland security has assured travelers that the system can handle last-minute and emergency requests . applications can be made at any time , even if travelers have no specific travel plans . and if itineraries change , information can be easily updated on the esta web site .<doc-sep>once travelers are authorized , they can travel for up to two years or until their passport expires , whichever comes first . from mid-january , travelers who have not received approval may be denied boarding , delayed processing , or denied admission at a u.s. port of entry . passengers must submit the same information that is currently required in the i-94 immigration form . this includes biographical data , travel information as well as questions regarding communicable diseases , arrests and convictions .<doc-sep>registration is possible through the u.s. government esta web site . in most cases , eligibility for travel will be approved immediately . applicants who receive an `` authorization pending '' response will need to check the web site for updates . applicants whose esta applications are denied will be referred to travel.state.gov for information on how to apply for a visa . esta does not change the rules for citizens from countries that require visas . but the u.s. is due to extend the visa waiver program and has signed agreements with eight countries including the czech republic , hungary and south korea . travelers are advised that esta does not guarantee entry into the united states . the final decision rests with the immigration official at the port of entry .<doc-sep>london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- from today , travelers visiting the united states under the visa waiver program -lrb- vwp -rrb- risk being detained at airports and sent home if they do n't comply with new u.s. immigration rules . thousands of travelers risk being detained and sent home from u.s. airports and ports . the introduction of the electronic system for travel authorization -lrb- esta -rrb- means visitors from 27 vwp countries -- including most of western europe , new zealand , japan and australia -- must now register their details online at least three days before departure . esta -- which came into effect today -- replaces the written green i-94 form and allows travelers under the vwp to enter the u.s. without a visa and stay for up to 90 days . the measure is designed to tighten security and make it harder for terrorists who are citizens of the participating countries to easily obtain entry to the u.s. critics fear the new rule will be an inconvenience for business travelers and the british foreign office is concerned that travelers who have not heard about the new rules may be caught out . a british foreign office report on travel trends for 2009 predicted that 13 percent of british travelers are more likely to visit the states now barack obama has been elected . `` the consequences of not registering through esta could therefore be far reaching , '' says the foreign office . the u.s. department of homeland security has assured travelers that the system can handle last-minute and emergency requests . watch cnn 's richard quest explain the new rules . ''<doc-sep>london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- from today , travelers visiting the united states under the visa waiver program -lrb- vwp -rrb- risk being detained at airports and sent home if they do n't comply with new u.s. immigration rules . thousands of travelers risk being detained and sent home from u.s. airports and ports . the introduction of the electronic system for travel authorization -lrb- esta -rrb- means visitors from 27 vwp countries -- including most of western europe , new zealand , japan and australia -- must now register their details online at least three days before departure . esta -- which came into effect today -- replaces the written green i-94 form and allows travelers under the vwp to enter the u.s. without a visa and stay for up to 90 days . the measure is designed to tighten security and make it harder for terrorists who are citizens of the participating countries to easily obtain entry to the u.s. critics fear the new rule will be an inconvenience for business travelers and the british foreign office is concerned that travelers who have not heard about the new rules may be caught out . a british foreign office report on travel trends for 2009 predicted that 13 percent of british travelers are more likely to visit the states now barack obama has been elected . `` the consequences of not registering through esta could therefore be far reaching , '' says the foreign office . the u.s. department of homeland security has assured travelers that the system can handle last-minute and emergency requests . watch cnn 's richard quest explain the new rules . '' esta has been operating on a voluntary basis since 1 august 2008 and is compulsory from 12 january 2009 . applications can be made at any time , even if travelers have no specific travel plans . if itineraries change , information can be easily updated on the esta web site . once travelers are authorized , they can travel for up to two years or until their passport expires , whichever comes first . passengers must submit the same information that is currently required in the i-94 immigration form . this includes biographical data , travel information as well as questions regarding communicable diseases , arrests and convictions . registration is possible through the u.s. government esta web site . in most cases , eligibility for travel will be approved immediately . applicants who receive an `` authorization pending '' response will need to check the web site for updates . applicants whose esta applications are denied will be referred to travel.state.gov for information on how to apply for a visa . esta does not change the rules for citizens from countries that require visas . that no longer includes travelers from the czech republic , estonia , hungary , latvia , lithuania , the republic of korea , and the slovak republic ; they joined the vwp in november , 2008 . malta became a member the following month . travelers are advised that esta does not guarantee entry into the united states . the final decision rests with the immigration official at the port of entry .<doc-sep>russia has expelled an american journalist and author critical of president vladimir putin in one of the first such cases since the cold war . david satter , a former moscow correspondent for the financial times and author of three books on russia and the former soviet union , had been working as an adviser to the u.s. broadcasters radio free europe and radio liberty since september . `` as some of you may know , i 've been expelled from russia , '' he wrote on his twitter page monday . satter told cnn he had gone to the ukrainian capital kiev to exchange his existing visa for a correspondent 's visa when he was told his application had been rejected , on the grounds that his presence in russia was `` undesirable . '' he is now in london `` until we figure out what to do next . '' satter is a fellow at johns hopkins university and the hudson institute , a u.s.-based think tank . he has written extensively on the history of russia in the post-soviet era . in a prepared statement , the russian foreign ministry accused satter of violating entry visa regulations . it said that after entering russia on november 21 , he waited five days before converting his initial visa into a multi-entry visa -- a `` major breach of the russian migration law . '' after receiving his accreditation from the ministry , satter was supposed to immediately go to the federal migration service to get his multi-entry visa , but he showed up there on november 26 , the statement said . satter spent about five days in russia `` illegally '' in november , according to the ministry . a moscow court heard his case on november 29 , and he was fined and ordered to leave the country , the ministry said . satter left russia on december 4 . he is now barred from the country for five years , the ministry said , adding that this was not uncommon , with more than 500,000 foreign citizens banned from entering russia for three to 10 years because of breaking rules . spy cases . asked about the statement , satter told cnn : `` that 's just an attempt to confuse world opinion . ''<doc-sep>u.s. officials have deported a woman believed to be the daughter of mexico 's most wanted drug lord . alejandrina gisselle guzman salazar was deported on tuesday , her lawyer said , a day after she pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of a false visa . shortly after guzman salazar 's arrest in october , a u.s. federal official told cnn that she was the daughter of joaquin `` el chapo '' guzman , who authorities have said heads mexico 's sinaloa cartel . on wednesday , her lawyers declined to comment on whether she was related to the accused drug lord . `` i do n't know the answer to that , and it was n't part of the case . ... we never asked , because it was n't relevant , whether it was true or not , '' attorney guadalupe valencia said . read more : mexican police deny accused drug lord 's government corruption claims . another attorney for guzman salazar , jan ronis , said he watched her cross into tijuana , mexico , on tuesday , but he declined to comment on where she headed after that . in october , u.s. customs and border protection agents arrested guzman salazar at the international crossing in san ysidro , california . a spokeswoman for the agency declined to comment wednesday on whether she had been deported , citing privacy rules . u.s. district judge cathy ann bencivengo ordered her released on time served after a hearing monday , according to court documents . in a plea agreement , she admitted to possessing and attempting to use a fraudulent visa to gain entry to the united states .
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<t> new rules require visa-free visitors to the u.s. to register details before departure . </t> <t> the process could take 72 hours but last-minute applications are possible . </t> <t> the system , introduced this month , will become compulsory next january . </t> <t> once authorized , travelers can travel for up to two years or until their passport expires . </t>
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u.s. visa rules explained<T>
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madrid , spain -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a spanair md-82 airliner was not on fire as it took off from madrid 's airport but lifted off slightly into the air , fell back to the ground and caught fire only after skidding off the side of the runway , a source familiar said friday . the plane crash victims ' bodies laid out at a makeshift morgue in madrid . a total of 153 people were killed . initially , there were indications that an engine might have caught fire as the plane was taking off , but the source said airport video shows the plane lifting off , veering sharply right and then dragging or skidding down the right side of the runway . there was a cloud of dust , the source said , followed by a fireball . canary islands regional president paulino rivero said after meeting with spain 's prime minister , jose luis rodriguez zapatero , that the latter had seen the video and described it as showing the plane using up all the runway as it tried to take off but then never reaching adequate altitude , the associated press reported . eighty of the bodies recovered from the wreckage of wednesday 's fiery plane crash have been identified , spanish authorities said friday . watch as spain deals with tragedy '' many of the bodies are so badly burned that fingerprint identification is impossible , and investigators will have to rely on dna , officials said . nineteen survivors remained hospitalized friday . the plane was all but destroyed in the crash , a rescue worker said . when emergency crews arrived on the scene , `` you could n't distinguish that there was an aircraft there , apart from the remains of the tail , '' ergivio corral said . `` if you did n't know it , you would n't have been able to say there was a plane . '' watch moment of silence '' authorities have handed over the remains of 35 victims to their families , officials said . families of the victims are being housed in a hotel near the airport , and the government planned to brief them on the crash investigation friday . the cause of the accident is still unknown , but spanair spokesman javier mendoza said flight data recorders had been recovered . ireport.com : share your photos , videos from the scene .<doc-sep>`` one of them seems to be ... a little bit damaged , but -lsb- investigators -rsb- are confident they could use the information , '' mendoza said . `` but we have to wait for the downloading and the analysis '' before any conclusions can be drawn , he said . witnesses reported that the plane banked violently to the right as it attempted to take off before slamming back to the ground and coming to a rest in a gully just off the runway at madrid 's bajaras airport . watch as the wounded arrive at a hospital '' the plane 's departure had been delayed for nearly two hours due to a technical problem with the aircraft , mendoza said , but it was not clear whether that fault was related to the crash . `` the heating problem was treated and corrected by spanair maintenance personnel , '' he said . `` we have reviewed the details on this faulty situation with the inspectors of our civil aviation authority , '' he said , `` and we all come to the conclusion that was nothing abnormal in this resolution of that problem . '' madrid observed five minutes of silence thursday to honor the victims , and the country began three days of mourning . see a map of the airport '' the mcdonnell douglas md-82 carried 162 passengers , four non-working crew members and six working crew members , spanair said . the aircraft was also carrying seven passengers from lufthansa flight 2554 on a flight scheduled to take more than two hours , airline spokeswoman henriette ellekrog said . spanair , a low-cost airline that has a flight-sharing agreement with lufthansa , is owned by sas scandinavian airlines . twenty-two of the passengers were children , two of them infants , spanair said . after contacting families , the airline published the names of those aboard on its web site . it was the first fatal accident at the airport since december 1983 , when 93 people were killed as two spanish airliners collided while taxiing for takeoff . the airport , which sits eight miles -lrb- 13 km -rrb- northeast of central madrid , is spain 's busiest , handling more than 40 million passengers a year . cnn 's madrid bureau chief al goodman , claudia rebaza , cal perry and kathleen koch contributed to this report . copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>terror : officials work near wreckage at the scene on monday . investigators have said there 's no reason to suggest it was anything but an accident . inside : the pilot , james mcdowell , 51 , from delaware , and air crew member teresa ann benhoff , 48 , from maryland also perished in the crash . fiery tomb : lewis katz , the billionaire co-owner of the philadelphia inquirer , and six other people died in the crash that was headed to new jersey . skeleton : the pilots did not even have time to issue a mayday as the plane , a gulfstream iv owned by katz , hurtled 2,000 feet off the runway . the da 's office said there is ` still one autopsy and positive identification to be made ' . nearby residents recounted seeing a fireball and feeling the blast of the explosion shake their homes . authorities . have not speculated on what caused the crash but investigations by the . national transportation safety board are underway . the . plane was headed to atlantic city international airport in new jersey . when it apparently went off the runway and crashed at 9:40 pm then caught . fire , authorities said . jeff patterson told the boston globe he saw a fireball about 60 feet in the air . ' i . heard a big boom , and i thought at the time that someone was trying to . break into my house because it shook it , ' said patterson 's son , . 14-year-old jared patterson . ' i thought someone was like banging on the . door trying to get in . ' the air field has been closed for further investigation . boston.com . reports that residents who lived as far as boston could smell burning . rubber and many took to twitter to describe the incident . ` can actually see particles in air in cambridge , porter square allegedly from hanscom crash , ' tweeted aubry bracco . doomed : the skid marks are also seen in the grass running off the runway as national transportation safety board officials examine the scene . out of control : skid marks are seen on the runway at the scene on monday as a destroyed wheel lies at the end of the tarmac . debris : a national transportation safety board official walks away from a piece of the landing gear at the scene on monday . frantic : skid marks can be seen on the field , showing the plane 's path before it burst into flames . a witness said it did not even get airborne . debris : runway lights and parts of a broken fence can be seen strewn across the field in aerial photographs taken on monday . katz , 72 , and business partner h.f. ` gerry ' lenfest only recently became the controlling owners of the inquirer , the .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a passenger plane skidded off an airport runway and burst into flames in the northeastern iranian city of mashhad on friday , killing at least 17 people and injuring about 20 , according to government-backed press tv . aryan airlines flight 1625 skidded off the runway and burst into flames friday in mashhad , iran . there were 150 passengers on board aryan airlines flight 1625 , according to the islamic republic news agency , or irna . there was no immediate information on the number of crew . an iranian official said those aboard had been evacuated . ghahraman rashid , deputy governor-general of khorasan province , said the plane had flown from tehran , irna reported . `` all those killed and injured and the rest of the passengers had been evacuated from the plane and the fire on board had been brought under control , '' irna quoted the official as saying . he said the plane was a russian-made ilyushin . watch video of the plane '' this is the second deadly plane crash in iran this month . on july 15 , a caspian airlines passenger plane carrying 168 people crashed in northwestern iran , killing everyone on board , including 10 members of the country 's youth judo team : eight athletes and two coaches .<doc-sep>` there was a man who just stopped dead in the road and then he just ripped his shirt off and pulled people out of the plane . ' i just saw them getting taken out of the plane -- it did n't look pretty ... and then the plane just went ka-boom and there was fire everywhere . ' the australian transport safety bureau is investigating and police are preparing a report for the coroner . the plane began experiencing problems soon after take off , it burst into flames soon after crashing . witnesses reported hearing the plane 's engine cough and splutter before it crashed just short of the runway . ms harding who died after her family 's cessna 210 aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from inverell airport , northern nsw , has been remembered as an inspirational teacher by the inverell community . a witness said she heard the single-engine aircraft 's engine cough and splutter before it crashed into clive state forest just short of the runway .<doc-sep>scroll down for video . fatal : co-pilot sergio carranza brabata , from mexico , died when the canadair cl - 600 skidded down the right side of runway at aspen-pitkin county airport , flipped and exploded about 12.30 pm . at least one person is dead and two others seriously injured after a plane crashed on landing at the aspen-pitkin county airport in aspen , colorado , on sunday . emergency crews work near a passenger plane that crashed upon landing at the aspen-pitkin county airport in aspen , colorado , on sunday , killing one person and injuring two after exploding on impact . the wreckage of a private jet lies on the runway after it crashed and burned at aspen/pitkin county airport in colorado january 5 , 2014 . one person died and two were injured in the crash , the pitkin county sheriff office said . emergency crews hose a private plane that crashed and burst into flames on the runway at aspen airport on sunday afternoon . in a photo from twitter the aircraft appears overturned . cbs reports the aircraft was registered to the bank of utah in salt lake city . the aircraft was reportedly en route to the luxury ski resort town from toluca , mexico via tuscon , arizona . the plane is said to have attempted a few approaches before crashing in a ball of fire . emergency crews rushed to extinguish the flames and are currently investigating the cause of the crash .
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<t> video of spanair md-82 which crashed in madrid shows plane got off the ground . </t> <t> video shows plane bursting into flames after runway skid , source says . </t> <t> dna tests will be used to identify victims from madrid air crash . </t> <t> 153 people died when spanair flight crashed wednesday during takeoff . </t>
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madrid plane burst into flames after runway skid<T>
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four alleged venezuelan agents have been arrested in the u.s. and charged with trying to persuade a u.s. citizen to keep quiet about a growing international election scandal . miami businessman guido alejandro antonini wilson . the u.s. justice department said the four wanted to prevent guido alejandro antonini wilson , a businessman from miami , florida , from talking to authorities . on august 4 , antonini wilson flew in a privately chartered aircraft from caracas , venezuela , to buenos aires , argentina , where customs officers discovered $ 800,000 in cash in his possession . the u.s. justice department said wednesday the four men charged wanted to stop antonini wilson from revealing the origin of the $ 800,000 . `` the complaint filed today outlines an alleged plot by agents of the venezuelan government to manipulate an american citizen in miami in an effort to keep the lid on a burgeoning international scandal , '' kenneth wainstein , assistant attorney general for national security , said in a written statement . the agents , who worked for the government of venezuelan president hugo chavez , wanted to ensure wilson did not disclose `` the source and destination and the role of the government of venezuela in the attempted delivery of the approximately $ 800,000 , '' the statement said . the justice department statement does not say chavez personally knew of the transaction , but says the office of the vice president and members of the venezuelan intelligence directorate were aware of the matter . u.s. attorney alex acosta in miami said : `` today 's complaint alleges an effort by the agents of venezuela to travel to the u.s. for the purpose of coercing our citizens to help conceal the true nature of a growing international scandal . '' although documents did not identify which candidate was to receive the donation , federal law enforcement officials confirmed the funds were intended for the campaign of cristina fernandez de kirchner , who went on to win the election . the four men -- three venezuelans and one uruguayan -- made an initial court appearance in u.s. district court in miami on wednesday afternoon . those named in the complaint are identified as moises maionica , 36 ; antonio jose canchica gomez , 37 ; rodolfo edgardo wanseele paciello , 40 ; franklin duran , 40 ; and carlos kauffmann , 35 . officials said gomez remains at large . after argentine customs found the $ 800,000 on antonini wilson , they seized the cash and sent him to miami . later , however , an argentine judge issued an order for him to appear in court and , at the request of the argentine government , interpol issued an international wanted notice for him , u.s. state department officials said . the officials said that on august 31 , the argentine judge requested antonini wilson 's extradition . the request was delivered to the state department on september 4 , and justice and state are currently reviewing the extradition request . the u.s. officials said they do not expect to take any further action while the justice department is pursuing its investigation and prosecution of the venezuelan and uruguayan nationals arrested in miami . antonini wilson is not in custody , they added . e-mail to a friend .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- political chaos roiled oil-rich venezuela friday after intelligence agents in the socialist government of president nicolas maduro arrested the mayor of caracas . the arrest came just days after maduro accused the mayor of involvement in a plot to overthrow the government . agents arrested mayor antonio ledezma -- a well-known opposition politician -- on thursday in a raid that sparked a fierce outcry from the president 's political opponents . president nicolas maduro said the mayor will be prosecuted `` so that he answers for all of the crimes committed against the peace , security and constitution of our country . '' in a televised address , maduro said caracas mayor antonio ledezma was captured by order of the attorney general 's office . a high-level venezuelan military source with knowledge of the situation told cnn en español the mayor was taken into custody because of his alleged involvement in a plot to overthrow the government an accusation maduro leveled last week . ledezma denied it , calling it the government 's latest attempt to manufacture controversy and target political opponents . in 2009 , ledezma staged a hunger strike to protest the political tactics of former venezuelan president hugo chavez .<doc-sep>a retired venezuelan military general was released from custody in aruba sunday , days after authorities arrested him there . hugo carvajal appeared beside venezuelan president nicolas maduro at a political event in caracas after he was flown back to his home country . venezuelan foreign minister elias jaua said dutch officials had admitted that carvajal 's detention violated his diplomatic immunity . carvajal , who is wanted in the united states for alleged drug-trafficking ties , was venezuela 's head of military intelligence from 2004 to 2008 and was tapped as the country 's consul to aruba this year .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- u.s. authorities tuesday arrested a roman catholic priest in puerto rico on charges he sexually abused an altar boy . u.s. homeland security agents arrested israel berrios berrios , 58 , at his residence in the puerto rican town of naranjito . the caribbean island of puerto rico is a u.s. territory . ice press release on arrest . at a press conference after the arrest , angel melendez , a puerto rico-based special agent for homeland security investigations , part of the u.s. immigration and customs enforcement agency , alleged that berrios was able to sexually abuse the minor after gaining the trust of the boy 's mother over several years . by 2008 , berrios `` was already considered part of -lrb- the alleged victim 's -rrb- family , '' melendez said . `` he convinced the -lrb- alleged victim 's -rrb- mother to give the young man permission to go on a cruise to the bahamas , '' on which berrios shared a cabin with the boy , melendez said .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- undercover fbi agents in florida found what investigators believe is a stolen henri matisse painting that had been missing for nearly a decade , officials said wednesday . two suspects were arrested in miami beach after trying to sell `` odalisque in red pants , '' valued at $ 3 million , federal prosecutors said . the painting was stolen from a venezuelan art museum in 2002 , the statement said . pedro antonio marcuello guzman , 46 , of miami and maria martha elisa ornelas lazo , 50 , of mexico city are charged with transporting and possessing the stolen painting , the fbi said . if convicted , they face up to 10 years in prison . undercover agents made the arrest tuesday at loews miami beach hotel , cnn affiliate wplg reported .
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<t> alleged agents accused of trying to stop a u.s. citizen from talking to authorities . </t> <t> miami-based guido alejandro antonini wilson tried to enter argentina with $ 800,000 . </t> <t> cash is believed to have been for cristina fernandez de kirchner election campaign . </t>
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alleged venezuelan agents arrested in u.s.<T>
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orlando , florida -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the mother of missing florida toddler caylee anthony was arrested and charged friday with forgery , fraudulent use of personal information and petty theft , the orange county sheriff 's department said . casey anthony was taken into custody friday night at her parents ' home in orlando , florida . the charges relate to casey anthony 's use of `` some monies and checks in an account that did not belong to her and she knew that , '' orange county capt. angelo nieves said . orange county sheriff 's department officers ushered a handcuffed anthony through a crowd of protesters that had gathered outside her parents ' orlando home . the protesters cheered as anthony -- wearing a t-shirt with caylee 's picture and the words `` have you seen me ? '' -- was taken to a unmarked police car . the dramatic scene played out live on cnn headline news ' `` nancy grace . '' watch casey anthony being taken into custody '' anthony had been out on bail after being charged with child neglect , making false official statements and obstructing a criminal investigation into her daughter 's disappearance . on thursday , a bounty hunter who had posted bond for anthony said he planned to revoke the bond . watch bounty hunter leonard padilla explain why he wants to revoke bond '' the new charges carry an initial $ 3,000 bail , nieves said . anthony reported her 3-year-old daughter missing in july , a month after the last known sighting of her . law enforcement sources said dna evidence suggested that a strand of hair in the trunk of a car linked to casey anthony was caylee 's . nieves confirmed reports that tests had `` indicated human decomposition was present and located in the defendant 's vehicle . '' after holding onto `` high hopes '' that caylee could be found alive , nieves said friday , `` that hope is somewhat diminished . '' anthony told police that a babysitter kidnapped caylee , but police found inconsistencies in her story , according to police reports . police learned of the car from anthony 's mother , cindy anthony . at that time , cindy anthony told authorities that it smelled as if a dead body had been in the trunk . cindy anthony has since said she believes that her granddaughter is alive .<doc-sep>a former new york city transit cop shot and killed his wife in front of their two young children saturday morning in their home , say police . kevin canty , 43 , was taken into custody about a mile from his queens home , where earlier his 40-year-old wife , who has not been named , was shot in the upper body . the couple 's two young children , a girl aged four and a boy aged eight , were home at the time of the shooting . apprehended : kevin canty was taken into custody for shooting his wife dead in their queens home . according to cbs , a neighbor shopping at a nearby deli saw the two children run from the house , yelling , ` daddy shot mommy ! ' ` they came in screaming , crying saying their dad just shot their mom and there 's blood all over , please help , ' local heidi gamble said .<doc-sep>later , the girl sent her mother a text saying : ` mom , i 'm so sorry . i do n't know why i did it . did any of -lsb- you -rsb- get hurt ? ' according to the police report . the girl has been taken into custody and charged with one count of arson and two counts of attempted murder , reports suncoastnews . investigators say she has admitted to starting the fire by soaking a towel and bedsheet with bleach and rum then setting them alight in the garage . the girl told investigators that she then walked to a nearby park bathroom and went to sleep , after packing a bag with clothes , bottled water , cookies , knives , lighters and flashlights . the 14-year-old girl has been accused of setting fire to her home in port richie , florida , in the early hours of thursday morning while her mom and brother were sleeping inside . the slender man is a prevalent internet myth that has been a viral sensation since it emerged online in 2009 and police have revealed that the girl had written about him in her journal marked ` keep out '<doc-sep>a registered sex offender , released from jail less than a month ago , has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of an 8-year-old florida girl abducted while shopping with her mother on friday night . the body of charish perriwinkle was found in front of highlands baptist church in jacksonville , florida on saturday morning after a frantic search . donald james smith of jacksonville was taken into custody after police cornered his white van on interstate 95 . he had only been released from jail on may 31 . after serving 438 days on felony charges of child abuse and unlawful . impersonation of a public employee . the body of cherish perrywinkle was found in front of highlands baptist church in jacksonville , florida on saturday morning after a frantic search . donald smith has been arrested and charged with the abduction and murder of 8-year-old florida girl cherish perrywinkle . authorities had put out an amber alert with details of smith 's van early saturday , hours after receiving a 911 call from charish perriwinkle 's mother about the missing girl . prior to the alleged abduction friday night , smith , 56 , befriended charish and her mother at a dollar store , and ` offered to take them to wal-mart and buy her family some clothes , ' said mike williams , director of investigations at the jacksonville sheriff 's office . ` they appeared to be down on their luck and he could help them out . ' after spending a couple hours inside the wal-mart together , smith offered to buy hamburgers and walked with charish to the front of the store , williams said . charish 's mom agreed to let her go with the man she had only just met whilst she . took care of her other two children and continued browsing the shelves . instead of stopping to buy the snack , smith walked charish outside and the two of them got into his van , williams said . kidnapped then murdered : 8-year-old cherish perrywinkle was taken from a jacksonville walmart store last night by a sex offender . less than an hour after she had gone missing her body was found in a nearby church . shopping trip : cherish was with her mother and two siblings at this walmart store in jacksonville when donald smith befriended her and asked if she wanted to walk with him to mcdonalds . looking for a victim : donald smith , 56 , had only been released from jail three weeks ago . he befriended the child 's mother in a dollar store and was captured on cctv leaving walmart with the girl . the girl 's mother called 911 when she realized charish and smith were missing . less than an hour later , charish was dead . ` we located the body of charish . perriwinkle , ' officer shannon hartley said holding back tears . ` it 's a . very difficult time , obviously , for everyone involved . '<doc-sep>during a surveillance flyover of that land in april , a lake county detective spotted two greenhouses that appeared to be full of marijuana plants . meanwhile , also in april , the los angeles police department `` requested urgent assistance of the lake county sheriff 's department regarding a missing juvenile from the los angeles area , '' the complaint stated . the minor was traced from a cell phone call to a hotel in sacramento , where she was found with pearmain on april 30 , the complaint said . he was immediately taken into custody , and the girl was placed in protective custody . authorities said they also found a black notebook in pearmain 's possession with a script apparently for the girl to read from if confronted by police . balletto was taken into custody on may 1 when he was found in a trailer on the property that had been under surveillance . according to the complaint , the minor said she worked for balletto by trimming the marijuana plants on what she referred to as the `` farm . '' the girl then went on to describe an ordeal of being held in the box twice `` for a total of approximately three days , '' according to the complaint . she said both men `` engaged in multiple sex acts with her , '' and balletto `` told her she was a ` trooper ' because she did n't scream in the box , '' the complaint said .
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<t> casey anthony led out of parents ' home friday night past cheering crowd . </t> <t> she is charged with forgery , fraudulent use of personal information , petty theft . </t> <t> anthony already accused of child neglect , making false statements , obstruction . </t> <t> she had been out on bail in disappearance of 3-year-old daughter , caylee . </t>
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missing girl 's mom taken into custody<T>
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washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the united states is expelling the venezuelan ambassador to the united states in response to a similar move by venezuela , u.s. state department spokesman sean mccormack said friday . `` we have informed the venezuelan ambassador to the united states that he will be expelled and should leave the united states , '' mccormack said . separately , the u.s. treasury department accused friday two senior venezuelan intelligence officials -- hugo armando carvajal barrios and henry de jesus rangel silva -- and one former official -- ramon rodriguez chacin -- of assisting leftist rebels in the revolutionary armed forces of colombia , or farc , with narcotics trafficking . `` today 's designation exposes two senior venezuelan government officials and one former official who armed , abetted and funded the farc , even as it terrorized and kidnapped innocents , '' said adam j. szubin , director of the treasury 's office of foreign assets control , in a statement . the action freezes assets the three men may have under u.s. jurisdiction and prohibits americans from conducting business with them .<doc-sep>the u.s. decision to expel the venezuelan ambassador , bernardo alvarez herrera , is the latest move in an escalating diplomatic battle that pits the united states against two of latin america 's leftist leaders . it comes a day after venezuelan president hugo chavez announced that he was expelling the u.s. ambassador to venezuela , patrick duddy . chavez also said he was recalling the venezuelan ambassador from the united states . `` he has 72 hours , from this moment , the yankee ambassador in caracas , to leave venezuela , '' chavez told a crowd of supporters . `` when there 's a new government in the united states , we 'll send an ambassador . a government that respects latin america . '' the president said he was making the moves `` in solidarity with bolivia and the people of bolivia . '' bolivian president evo morales on thursday accused the united states of fomenting a coup d'etat by rich eastern department landowners against him , and he called for the u.s. ambassador to leave for allegedly encouraging those protesters .<doc-sep>for the past two weeks , the demonstrators in the country 's richer eastern lowlands have been protesting morales ' plans to redistribute the country 's natural gas revenues . `` without fear of anyone , without fear of the empire , today before you , before the bolivian people , i declare the ambassador of the united states persona non grata , '' morales said wednesday of ambassador philip goldberg in a nationally televised speech . the united states called the allegations baseless and kicked out the bolivian ambassador thursday . the bolivians `` made it very clear what their intention was and we took them at their word , '' mccormack said friday . `` we take president chavez at his word in this particular case , and we have reacted appropriately . ''<doc-sep>before expelling the u.s. diplomat from his country , chavez also said thursday that he had uncovered a u.s.-backed plot to remove him from power . `` it 's the empire that 's behind this , '' he told supporters in a televised address . `` they go around looking for a way to stop our revolution and , with it , to strike all the processes of change that are occurring in our americas , in the caribbean , in central america . '' chavez then played a four-minute tape of what he said were conversations among current and retired members of the venezuelan military discussing whom they could count on to support a movement against the presidential palace . he said also that the presence of two russian warplanes on venezuelan soil for a training exercise `` is a warning '' to the rest of the world that venezuela 's allies include russia .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the united states is expelling three venezuelan diplomats , including the south american country 's top envoy in washington , the state department said tuesday night . calixto ortega , venezuela 's charge d'affaires in washington , and two other diplomats have been declared personae non gratae in response to venezuela 's decision monday to expel three u.s. diplomats , a state department spokesperson said in a written statement provided to cnn . they have 48 hours to leave the united states . on monday , venezuelan president nicolas maduro announced he was expelling three u.s. diplomats and accused them of conspiring to destabilize his government . the venezuelan leader accused the group of diplomats of meeting with right-wing political opponents of his government , financing their activities and encouraging them to sabotage the country 's electrical system and its economy -- accusations that the state department has repeatedly denied . `` it is regrettable that the venezuelan government has again decided to expel u.s. diplomatic officials based on groundless allegations , which require reciprocal action . it is counterproductive to the interests of both our countries and not a serious way for a country to conduct its foreign policy , '' the state department spokesperson said tuesday . `` we completely reject the accounts of the venezuelan government about any participation of the u.s. government in any type of conspiracy to destabilize the venezuelan government . ''<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- diplomatic tensions between the united states and venezuela showed no signs of slowing monday as the state department announced that two venezuelan diplomats had been expelled . orlando jose montanez olivares and victor camacaro mata were declared personae non gratae and ordered to leave the country in response to the south american nation 's decision to kick out two u.s. officials last week , state department spokeswoman victoria nuland told reporters . `` around the world , when our people are thrown out unjustly , we 're going to take reciprocal action , '' she said . `` we need to do that to protect our own people . '' the expulsion of the venezuelan diplomats comes after venezuelan officials -- just hours before announcing president hugo chavez 's death last week -- said they were expelling two u.s. embassy officials and accused them of plotting to destabilize the country . `` in the day or days that followed there was some pretty heated rhetoric coming in our direction , '' nuland said monday . `` i think i called it at one point a page from the old ` chavista ' playbook that we were hoping was going to change . ... there is work that we would like to do together , particularly in the areas of counter-terrorism , counternarcotics , economics and energy relations , but it 's going to take a change of tone from caracas . ''<doc-sep>but longtime critics of the controversial president offered a different take . `` hugo chavez was a tyrant who forced the people of venezuela to live in fear . his death dents the alliance of anti-u.s. leftist leaders in south america . good riddance to this dictator , '' said u.s. rep. ed royce , chairman of the house committee on foreign affairs . `` venezuela once had a strong democratic tradition and was close to the united states . chavez 's death sets the stage for fresh elections . while not guaranteed , closer u.s. relations with -lrb- this -rrb- key country in our hemisphere are now possible . '' venezuela-u.s. relations surge into spotlight . just hours before the announcement of chavez 's death , relations between the two countries appeared to be souring , as venezuelan officials said they were expelling two u.s. embassy officials and accused them of plotting to destabilize the country . the u.s. officials , both air attaches at the u.s. embassy in caracas , are accused of having meetings with members of the venezuelan military and encouraging them to pursue `` destabilizing projects , '' venezuelan foreign minister elias jaua said . `` we will not allow any foreign interference in our country , '' jaua said . `` do not think that the situation of pain over the health of president chavez will translate into weakness . '' state department spokesman patrick ventrell denied the accusations . opinion : chavez used force of personality to win votes , influence leaders . `` notwithstanding the significant differences between our governments , we continue to believe it important to seek a functional and more productive relationship with venezuela based on issues of mutual interest , '' he said . `` this fallacious assertion of inappropriate u.s. action leads us to conclude that , unfortunately , the current venezuelan government is not interested an improved relationship . '' after announcing the expulsion of one attache , maduro -- addressing the media in a lengthy statement -- asserted that someday there will be `` scientific proof '' that chavez was somehow infected by outsiders . `` an assertion that the united states was somehow involved in causing president chavez 's illness is absurd , and we definitively reject it , '' ventrell said . it is n't the first time that a venezuelan government official has implied that a plot could be behind chavez 's cancer . chavez made the assertion himself in 2011 , saying at a military event in caracas that he wondered whether the united states could be infecting latin american leaders with the illness . cnn 's shasta darlington , mariano castillo , rafael romo , patrick oppmann , juan carlos lopez , ione molinares and pam benson and journalist osmary hernandez contributed to this report .<doc-sep>earlier this month an electrical blackout left more than half of venezuela without power . at the time , maduro blamed the opposition for the massive power outage . the country has also been battling inflation and goods shortages . hours before he announced former president hugo chavez 's death from cancer in march , maduro said he was expelling two u.s. embassy officials and accused them of plotting to destabilize the country . at the time , state department spokesman patrick ventrell denied the accusations . `` this fallacious assertion of inappropriate u.s. action leads us to conclude that , unfortunately , the current venezuelan government is not interested an improved relationship , '' he said .
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<t> u.s. move on venezuelan ambassador follows similar action by caracas . </t> <t> venezuelan president hugo chavez expelling the u.s. ambassador to venezuela . </t> <t> u.s. treasury department also accuses venezuelans of aiding colombian rebels . </t> <t> u.s. in escalating diplomatic battle with venezuelan , bolivian leaders . </t>
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u.s. expelling venezuelan envoy in response to chavez<T>
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new delhi , india -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- police in india have charged 63 people with murder in the beating death of a company boss who fired them . labor minister oscar fernandes was criticized for saying chaudhary 's death was warning to management . the 63 were among 137 people police had rounded up by wednesday -- two days after a mob of fired employees attacked l.k. chaudhary , the chief executive of an italian car parts manufacturing company . the others were charged with disturbing the peace in the monday incident in noida , located in the outskirts of the capital new delhi . more arrests are likely , said r. k. chaturvedi , the senior superintendent of police in noida . the former employees of graziano transmissioni had gone to meet with company management over their reinstatement , said noida police inspector manoj pathak .<doc-sep>the meeting turned violent , and the mob attacked chaudhary with iron rods , pathak said . on tuesday , india 's labor minister , oscar fernandes , drew sharp criticism after he said chaudhary 's death should serve as a warning to management , according to cnn 's sister network in india , cnn-ibn . `` the workers should be dealt -lrb- with -rrb- with compassion and should not be pushed so hard that they resort to whatever that had happened in nodia '' cnn-ibn quoted fernandes as telling reporters . the minister later apologized , telling cnn his comments had been taken out of context . he said the murder of the boss could never be justified . the italian embassy said the company had , for several months , been facing `` violent forms of protest by self-proclaimed workers ' representatives . '' `` the situation had been repeatedly brought to the attention of the competent indian authorities , both at central and local level , '' it said in a statement .<doc-sep>business groups condemned the killing with the confederation of indian industry calling it `` tragic , unwanted and gory . '' `` such instances of industrial violence can not be a solution to any problem and must not be tolerated , '' said salil singh , chairman of the group that promotes industrial growth . meanwhile , authorities sought to appease businesses that police were aggressively investigating the case . `` the legal course will be followed and all culprits brought to book , '' commerce minister kamal nath said . `` this stray tragic occurrence would not be allowed to mar india 's position as an investment-friendly destination . '' cnn 's harmeet shah singh contributed to this report .<doc-sep>new delhi , india -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- police in india have charged 63 people with murder in the beating death of a company boss who fired them . labor minister oscar fernandes was criticized for saying chaudhary 's death was warning to management . the 63 were among 137 people police had rounded up by wednesday -- two days after a mob of fired employees attacked l.k. chaudhary , the chief executive of an italian car parts manufacturing company . the others were charged with disturbing the peace in the monday incident in noida , located in the outskirts of the capital new delhi . more arrests are likely , said r. k. chaturvedi , the senior superintendent of police in noida .<doc-sep>by . daily mail reporter . published : . 13:00 est , 10 april 2013 . | . updated : . 13:05 est , 10 april 2013 . a man who has been charged with killing his wife and adult son allegedly told police he stabbed them because he had slept with prostitutes and feared he 'd given his wife aids . eugene maraventano , 63 , told police he stabbed his wife , janet , with a 14-inch kitchen knife as she slept in their home in goodyear , arizona and then killed their son , bryan maraventano , 27 . maraventano told police that his wife , 63 , had become ill and they thought she might have cancer . but when the tests came back negative , he concluded she must have aids .<doc-sep>by . alasdair glennie . jeremy paxman has been scolded by the boss of radio 1 after claiming the station 's music made travelling in bbc lifts ` hell ' . the newsnight presenter was told he should ` take the stairs ' if he did not like tunes from the youth music station piped into elevators . in a terse email fired off by radio 1 controller ben cooper , the 63-year-old was also asked to keep his outspoken views under control . newsnight presenter jeremy paxman , who has been scolded by the boss of radio 1 after claiming that listening to the station 's music while he was in the lift was ` hell '<doc-sep>a husband and wife who are both lawyers have been charged with two brutal stabbings that occurred on sunday . andrew and alecia schmuhl are accused of driving to the home of her 61-year-old boss in the wealthy suburb of mclean , virginia , and stabbing him and his wife , also 61 . this after alecia was fired from her job as a corporate attorney at a nearby arlington law firm , bean , kinney & korman , where her boss leo fisher was a managing partner . scroll down for video . charged : andrew -lrb- left -rrb- and alecia schmuhl -lrb- right -rrb- have been charged with stabbing her boss and his wife after alecia was fired from her job . alecia 's boss leo fisher -lrb- pictured -rrb- and his wife susan have been identified as the victims . it is alleged that andrew knocked on the door of the $ 1 million home and began stabbing mr fisher , when he answered . then , when mr fisher 's wife susan , a lawyer herself , heard a commotion and came over to see what was happening , he stabbed her as well . mrs fisher was able to set off an alarm luckily , which sent the couple running . emergency responders who arrived at the home on the 900 block of spencer rd found the fishers suffering from stab wounds to their upper body , and the couple was rushed to inova fairfax hospital .
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<t> police in india charge 63 people with murdering company boss who fired them . </t> <t> mob of fired employees attacked chief executive of italian car parts company . </t> <t> india 's labor minister apologizes for saying death is warning to management . </t>
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63 charged with killing boss who fired them<T>
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london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- dj and pop star boy george has been denied a visa to enter the united states , his web site said tuesday . in 2007 , george spent five days cleaning the streets of new york to fulfill a community service sentence . u.s. immigration authorities denied the visa because george , 48 , faces trial in november in london on charges of false imprisonment relating to an april 2007 incident , according to a statement from boy george 's management , posted on his site .<doc-sep>`` george is astounded at the decision and is having his lawyers here in the states look at it in the hope that someone will change their mind , '' the statement read . boy george , whose real name is george o'dowd , was charged in london last november with false imprisonment following a complaint from a 28-year-old man , police said . the incident happened in east london the previous april , police said . george is free on unconditional bail and is not barred from traveling as he awaits trial , his management said . his upcoming schedule includes a series of u.s. club dates in july and august .<doc-sep>george is best known as the singer of '80s pop group culture club , with hits including `` karma chameleon '' and `` do you really want to hurt me ? '' he quit the band in 1987 and embarked on a short solo career before reinventing himself as a club dj and launching a fashion label , b-rude . in august 2007 , george spent five days cleaning the streets of manhattan to fulfill a community service sentence for falsely reporting a break-in at his new york home . george 's management said the denial of his u.s. visa had nothing to do with that case .<doc-sep>london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- dj and pop star boy george has been denied a visa to enter the united states , his web site said tuesday . in 2007 , george spent five days cleaning the streets of new york to fulfill a community service sentence . u.s. immigration authorities denied the visa because george , 48 , faces trial in november in london on charges of false imprisonment relating to an april 2007 incident , according to a statement from boy george 's management , posted on his site . `` george is astounded at the decision and is having his lawyers here in the states look at it in the hope that someone will change their mind , '' the statement read . boy george , whose real name is george o'dowd , was charged in london last november with false imprisonment following a complaint from a 28-year-old man , police said . the incident happened in east london the previous april , police said . george is free on unconditional bail and is not barred from traveling as he awaits trial , his management said . his upcoming schedule includes a series of u.s. club dates in july and august . george is best known as the singer of '80s pop group culture club , with hits including `` karma chameleon '' and `` do you really want to hurt me ? '' he quit the band in 1987 and embarked on a short solo career before reinventing himself as a club dj and launching a fashion label , b-rude . in august 2007 , george spent five days cleaning the streets of manhattan to fulfill a community service sentence for falsely reporting a break-in at his new york home . george 's management said the denial of his u.s. visa had nothing to do with that case .<doc-sep>he suggested shiju mathai launched the . investigation because he was unhappy that his mother was sending less . money home after mathai george died . but assistant u.s. attorney belliss said mrs george was an intelligent woman with a graduate . degree in pharmacy who , even if she did n't directly know valsamma . mathai 's immigration status , was smart enough to figure it out . belliss said annie george even took valsamma to an immigration lawyer once , a charge george denied . valsamma mathai came to the united . states legally on a visa after her husband died of cancer , leaving her . the sole provider for her two sons and ailing mother . when she left the . original family she was illegal because it violated the terms of the . visa , belliss said . several friends of annie george said . when they visited it appeared valsamma mathai was a member of the family . rather than a servant , and george 's children called her grandmother .<doc-sep>mr obama , who does not live with his girlfriend , arrived at the house in a taxi and said he wanted to take the boy with him to buy a birthday present , the court heard . she said the boy could only go if her mother and sister travelled with them , but as the women got into the taxi , mr obama threw them out , his girlfriend claimed . he then drove off with the child , who has not been returned , she added . related : president barack obama , left , and george obama , right , share the same father . a world away : george obama has previously defended his slum home and said he does not mind that his brother has not supported him financially as ` he has his own family to take care of ' her lawyer , john chigiti , added that mr obama planned to take his son to the united states where his mother , jael otieno , lives in atlanta . ` the defendant informed me that he wants to take the child to america to his mother where education is free , ' the lawyer said , according to the daily nation . how easy this journey would be is unclear ; in 2010 , george obama 's request for a tourist visa into u.s. was refused . the girlfriend argued that the boy 's travelling to the u.s would not be in his best interests . it is not the first time george obama has been in trouble with the law . in 2009 , he was arrested on suspicion . of possessing marijuana - a drug the president has also admitted to . enjoying in his younger years .<doc-sep>the funeral of a five-year-old girl who died after being knocked down by a car days before christmas has been postponed because her grandparents have been denied a visa . andrea gada was hit by a car in eastbourne in east sussex as she walked home from school with her father and stepped out into the road . but despite the efforts of locals to raise # 5,000 to support her parents and pay for family members to fly over from zimbabwe for the funeral , officials have now denied to grant a visa for the child 's grandparents charity and wellington gada . the funeral of five-year-old andrea gada , who was killed in a road accident , has been postponed after her grandparents and aunt were denied a visa to travel to the uk from zimbabwe to come and pay their respects . stephen lloyd , mp for eastbourne , has accused the home office of ` callousness . ' officials have also denied a visa to andrea 's aunt who wanted to come across to england to pay her final respects to the child . andrea was struck by a ford fusion in friday street at about 3.15 pm on december 16 and was flown to st george 's hospital in tooting in south london for treatment , but died of her injuries .
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<t> 48-year-old boy george on trial in london in november . </t> <t> performer faces charges of false imprisonment relating to 2007 incident . </t> <t> george is free on unconditional bail and is not barred from traveling . </t> <t> due to play series of u.s. club dates in july and august . </t>
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boy george denied u.s. visa<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- ten people were killed tuesday when a gunman rampaged through a finnish college , police officials said . officials say matti juhani saari began firing in a classroom at the college before shooting himself . over the course of 90 minutes , saari fired a few shots at police , finnish broadcaster yle said . jukka forsberg , a maintenance worker at the school , told yle that the gunman was wearing a ski mask and walked into the building with a large bag . about 150 students were on campus kauhajoki city 's school of hospitality in southwestern finland . forsberg said , `` i heard several dozen rounds of shots . in other words , it was an automatic pistol . i saw some female students who were wailing and moaning , and one managed to escape out the back door . '' smoke billowed from a building on campus , but officials could not immediately say what caused the fire . watch pictures from the scene '' tapio varmola , who was visiting the school at the time , told cnn he was in a building about two blocks away when the shootings occurred . after the shootings , he said , he heard students shouting . police came about 10 minutes after they were called , varmola said . `` it took two hours to get this situation ended , '' he said . saari , 22 , died tuesday afternoon from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at tampere university hospital , said medical director matti lehto . at least one other person suffered serious injuries in the shooting , he added .<doc-sep>police had interviewed and released saari on monday after he posted violent videos on youtube , authorities said . as saari did not directly threaten anyone in the videos , there were no grounds for further action , national police commissioner mikko paatero told yle . authorities learned about the videos friday but could not reach saari until monday , paatero told yle . police also searched his home , yle reported . four videos of a man firing a pistol at a shooting range were posted by a `` mr. saari '' from kauhajoki , where the college is based , according to his youtube profile . the profile also included a video tribute to the columbine high school shooters , eric harris and dylan klebold , at the top of the man 's favorites list . the videos were posted over a three-week period this month . none was posted in the last week . watch more about the youtube videos '' the account was suspended within hours of the shooting , which began about 11 a.m. local time -lrb- 0800 gmt -rrb- . mtv-3 's foreign editor risto puolimatka told cnn that saari was also issued with a temporary gun license last month . it was the gunman 's first license , puolimatka said . finnish president tarja halonen expressed her condolences from the united nations , where she is attending the annual general assembly .<doc-sep>she also commented on the youtube videos . `` we , parents and elderly people , have a little bit of feeling about the internet , '' she said at an impromptu tv interview . `` it 's like a strange planet for us . but it 's not so . it 's part of our world , so we have to step in . '' she praised efforts by police , who she said `` were already on board '' by interviewing saari . authorities hoped that was enough to take care of any threat , but `` now we see that it was not , '' she said . the school taught late teens and young adults , jarkko sipila of mtv 3 told cnn . `` it 's more or less like an agricultural or professional school where people teach how to make food or how to cook in big kitchen , in industrial kitchens , '' he said . kauhajoki , with a population of about 15,000 , is about 290km -lrb- 180 miles -rrb- from the capital , helsinki . the incident comes almost a year after another school shooting left nine people , including the gunman , dead in the finnish town of tuusala . before that shooting , the gunman , 18-year-old student pekka-eric auvinen , posted a video on youtube titled `` jokela high school massacre 11/7/2007 , '' identifying the date and location of the attack . `` all these memories are being brought back and people are asking the question , ` why again ? ' '' sipila said . finland enjoys a strong tradition of hunting and has a high proportion of gun ownership , with 2 million firearms owned in a nation of 5 million people .<doc-sep>shkupolli had lived in finland `` for some time , '' police said , but would not divulge his nationality . ireport : are you there ? send your photos and videos . espoo is the headquarters for mobile phone giant nokia and the hometown of formula 1 racing driver kimi raikkonen . the sello shopping center , one of finland 's largest , was busy with shoppers when the shootings began at 10:08 a.m. -lrb- 3:08 a.m. -rrb- . `` people saw a gunman , calm , walking out of the grocery store after shooting , '' said mika pettersson , editor-in-chief of finnish news agency stt . `` people first thought it was fireworks that had been exploding , but after they realized what had happened , there was a panic . '' state-owned finnish broadcaster yle said the gunman used a 9mm handgun .<doc-sep>kauhajoki , finland -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- police in finland have identified the 10 victims in tuesday 's college shooting as eight female students , a male student and a male teacher . the bodies of the victims were also badly burned after being set on fire . the gunman -- identified by authorities as matti juhani saari -- also died after turning the gun on himself . in addition , one woman was seriously wounded in the shooting . finnish police had interviewed and released saari a day before tuesday 's bloody rampage at a college in kauhajoki in southwestern finland , the country 's interior minister said tuesday . finnish broadcaster yle reported that police found a note at saari 's apartment saying he planned the attack since 2002 because he hated `` people and the human race , '' according to jari neulaniemi of the national bureau of investigation . neulaniemi told yle that the shooting took place in a single classroom . nine of the victims were found in the classroom and one in the corridor , the report said . authorities say they became interested in the 22-year-old student after he posted four videos on youtube . one of them showed him firing a pistol at a shooting range . saari did not directly threaten anyone in the videos , so there were no grounds for further action , national police commissioner mikko paatero told yle . however , interior minister anne holmlund suggested the government will investigate how the police handled the case . watch as the people of kauhajoki mourn the victims '' `` it 's clear that we have to carefully go through what should have been done and if we could have avoided this situation in some way , '' the associated press quoted her as saying . finnish president tarja halonen , speaking from the united nations ' annual general assembly in new york , also raised concerns about the youtube videos . `` we , parents and elderly people , have a little bit of feeling about the internet , '' she said during an impromptu tv interview . `` it 's like a strange planet for us . but it 's not so . it 's part of our world , so we have to step in . '' however she praised efforts by police , who she said `` were already on board '' by interviewing saari . authorities hoped that was enough to take care of any threat , but `` now we see that it was not , '' she said .<doc-sep>the massacre in kauhajoki , 290 kilometers -lrb- 180 miles -rrb- northwest of helsinki , was finland 's second school shooting in less than a year and renewed calls for a review of the country 's laws on gun ownership . watch pictures from the scene '' `` we must considerably tighten them , '' prime minister matti vanhanen told yle during a visit to the town early wednesday . `` we should consider whether to allow these small arms for private citizens at home . they belong on firing ranges . '' mtv-3 's foreign editor risto puolimatka told cnn that saari was issued with a temporary gun license last month . it was the gunman 's first license , puolimatka said . authorities learned about the videos friday but could not reach saari until monday , paatero told yle . police also searched his home , yle reported . four videos of a man firing a pistol at a shooting range were posted by a `` mr. saari '' from kauhajoki , where the college is based , according to his profile on video-sharing web site youtube . the profile also included a video tribute to the columbine high school shooters , eric harris and dylan klebold , at the top of the man 's favorites list . the videos were posted over a three-week period this month . none was posted in the last week . watch more about the youtube videos '' the account was suspended within hours of the shooting , which began about 11 a.m. local time -lrb- 0800 gmt . -rrb- . jukka forsberg , a maintenance worker at the school , told yle that the gunman was wearing a ski mask and walked into the building with a large bag . about 150 students were on campus kauhajoki city 's school of hospitality in southwestern finland . forsberg said , `` i heard several dozen rounds of shots . in other words , it was an automatic pistol . i saw some female students who were wailing and moaning , and one managed to escape out the back door . '' saari died tuesday afternoon from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at tampere university hospital , said medical director matti lehto . at least one other person suffered serious injuries in the shooting , he added . the incident comes almost a year after another school shooting left nine people , including the gunman , dead in the finnish town of tuusala . copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a canadian man is accused of opening fire in a court building in the philippines on tuesday , killing two people and wounding himself and one other person , authorities said . the incident is likely to add to the debate over stricter controls on firearms in the country , which has been rattled by a series of recent shootings . read related : gunman kills 9 in house-to-house rampage in philippine town . the official philippines news agency -lrb- pna -rrb- reported that the gunman `` went berserk '' at the hall of justice the city of cebu . it identified the suspect in the case as john pope , a canadian . facing a criminal case in the courts , the gunman fatally shot the complainant in the case , who was believed to be a doctor , and the doctor 's lawyer , the philippine supreme court said , citing initial police reports .
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<t> ten killed as gunman rampages through college in southwestern finland . </t> <t> suspected gunman dies in hospital after turning the gun on himself , officials said . </t> <t> police say the shooter was a student , no motive established . </t> <t> police probing videos posted on youtube by alleged gunman . </t>
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finnish gunman kills 10 at college<T>
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parker , colorado -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- matt keil did n't wait for a call to serve his country . six weeks after tracy and matt keil married in 2007 , he was hit by a sniper fire while serving in iraq . he enlisted in the army after graduating from high school in 2000 , and when the iraq war started , keil volunteered to go . because he was single , he wanted to take the place of a parent , wife or husband who would otherwise be sent . `` i wanted to go over and serve my country , '' he recalled . after a year-long tour of duty in iraq , keil returned home to colorado , where he met a young woman named tracy who lived in the same apartment complex . he says he knew they were meant to be . `` i woke up one morning , and my roommate was gone . i called him up and asked him what he was doing . he said he was down by the pool hanging out , '' keil said . `` i asked him if there were any hot girls down there , and he said , ` yeah , there are . ' '' and the rest is history . matt and tracy began dating and fell in love , but he was soon told that his unit was being sent back to iraq . even though he knew redeployment was part of his job , this time things were different . he and tracy were engaged to be married . watch their story of love interrupted '' at the time , the enemy in iraq was growing stronger , and keil 's unit was headed to ramadi , the capital of anbar province and a violent insurgent stronghold . keil had been in ramadi in 2004 and knew the mission would be dangerous . `` they were definitely built up a lot more on our second tour , '' he said . `` fallujah had just ended , and a lot of fighters from fallujah had fled to nearby cities , and that 's what we were up against . '' though their wedding plans were put on hold , matt and tracy decided to marry as soon as he could get a leave of absence . `` he got one of the earliest leaves you could take and came home in january , '' tracy keil remembered . `` the main reason we got married was , even though we planned on having a bigger wedding later , what if something happened ? '' on february 24 , 2007 , six weeks after their wedding , something did happen . keil , an infantry squad leader , was part of a major offensive to reclaim a portion of the city . his squad was ambushed , leaving 11 men severely wounded . after helping evacuate his wounded men , keil and his men entered an abandoned house . he went to the roof to look out for any potential danger . `` i jumped up on the tallest part of the roof to lay a camel net on top of the stairwell to kind of hide us from sniper fire , '' keil said . `` that 's when i got shot right in the right side of the neck . hit me like a ton of bricks . '' it was n't until he was back at walter reed army medical center in washington that the couple realized the severity of his injury . tracy was abruptly informed of his condition while keil was heavily sedated . `` a doctor came in , thought i knew and made a comment about being paralyzed from the neck down , '' tracy keil recalled . `` he did n't know that nobody had sat down to tell me . ... i just collapsed . '' when keil awoke , a doctor informed him that the bullet had hit his spinal cord and explained that he had a `` christopher reeve-type injury . '' after the initial shock , matt and tracy began to understand the full implications .<doc-sep>for keil , who was independent and admits to being stubborn , that was hard to swallow . `` realizing that my wife was going to be helping me eat , cleaning me up , doing things like that , it was kind of devastating , '' he admitted . but the newlyweds stayed optimistic and started focusing on the next steps . one of the most urgent issues was figuring out where they would live once keil was out of the hospital . tracy and her mother would bring keil house-hunting . `` they would get me in a manual wheelchair and carry me up flights of stairs , '' keil explained . but they quickly became frustrated by what they found . every house they saw would have to be dramatically modified to meet keil 's needs . and that meant costs that he and tracy could not afford . then , in august 2007 , when keil was just a month away from being released from the hospital , his wife received news that would change this lives . this time the news was good . a friend of the couple 's had submitted their story to homes for our troops , an organization that builds specially adapted homes for disabled veterans . john gonsalves , founder and president of homes for our troops , and the organization had selected matt and tracy to receive a house built specifically to meet their needs . best of all , it was free . `` it 's one of the most life-changing events that 's ever happened to us , especially after being injured , '' keil said . `` we 're going to be in this house that 's fully accessible , has everything that it needs to take care of me , wide-open floor plan easy for tracy to take care of me , and it 's just an absolutely beautiful house . '' after breaking ground in april , homes for our troops utilized hundreds of volunteers , donations and community outreach to build the house so it would be ready for the dedication ceremony september 27 . gonsalves , who started his career in construction , said he realized how many men and women would be returning home from the wars in iraq and afghanistan with severe injuries and very specific needs . he wanted to volunteer with an organization that built homes designed for these disabled veterans . when he realized none existed , he started his own . he says he 's frustrated by the lack of urgency in helping america 's veterans . `` it just seems like this time around , we were n't really asked to do anything . it was kind of ` go about your lives , ' and i 'm thinking , how can everybody just put it in the back of their mind and go about their daily lives when our sons and daughters and mothers and fathers are in a faraway place putting their lives on the line ? '' gonsalves said . homes for our troops spends an average of $ 250,000 on each home , and only 7 percent of the group 's money goes to administrative overhead . the rest goes directly to helping disabled veterans . it gives people in the community an opportunity to give back through volunteering . the keils ' home is the 33rd project the organization has completed , and the group has 40 homes in the works . there are 3 million veterans receiving disability compensation , and more than 250,000 of those are 100 percent disabled , according to the u.s. department of veterans affairs . with two wars still being waged and hundreds of thousands of america 's military men and women fighting , it 's likely the need for these homes will increase . the home has given tracy and matt hope for their future together , and they look forward to giving back . `` this gives us security for our life , '' tracy keil said . `` this is where we can have our kids , and this is where we can raise our family . '' `` we 're going to live in this house for the rest of our lives , and eventually when it 's our time to pass , we 're going to find a family to donate it to that really needs it , '' matt keil said . `` our kids will be made well aware of that ! ''<doc-sep>an iraq war veteran who has lived with extensive injuries since being paralyzed during the conflict has admitted that he no longer has the will to live . for nearly a decade , veteran tomas young , has been living in chronic pain after being paralyzed by a sniper 's bullet four days into his first assignment in the middle east . now the married 33-year-old , who can no longer eat solid foods , plans to refuse nourishment as he is tired of the exhaustive struggle that his life has become . scroll down for video . sick and tired : tomas young was paralyzed his fourth day serving in iraq in 2004 ; now in hospice care , he is planning to refuse nourishment in a few weeks after a string of health complications . injured : tomas , pictured in 2007 , was hit by a sniper 's bullet in iraq in 2004 . all you need is love : claudia , pictured with tomas , says their journey together has been hard but not sad . two days after the september 11 . attacks , mr young , from kansas city , oklahoma , joined the army to . serve his country in a time of chaos . in 2004 , mr young was sent to sadr city , iraq . four days after being deployed , he was shot by a sniper . he was hit in the collarbone on april 4 while riding in an unarmored humvee and was instantly paralyzed . the . unconscious private was transferred to the walter reed army medical . center outside of washington , d.c. , by way of kuwait and germany . speaking with the kansas city star , young said that his wife , claudia cuellar understands and supports his decision to die . ` i 'm sick and tired of being sick . and tired , ' he explained to the paper , adding that his medications . frequently leave him lethargic and nauseated . ' mr young was fitted with a colostomy bag meaning that he .<doc-sep>by . becky evans and ap reporter . published : . 04:32 est , 11 november 2013 . | . updated : . 07:39 est , 11 november 2013 . when jerral hancock came home from the iraq war paralyzed and missing one arm , he was hailed a hero . but despite the good will from his mojave desert town , his care was shockingly poor and for six months he was trapped in his mobile home , ` like a prison ' , when his handicapped-accessible van broke down . after hearing of his plight , local high school students in lancaster , los angeles county , decided to do something about it and have so far raised $ 264,000 for a new home , that will be purposely built for his needs . local high school students have raised $ 264,000 for a new handicapped-accessible home for iraq war veteran jerral hancock , was lost his arm and was paralyzed while on patrol on his 21st birthday . the lancaster high school students , pictured with mr hancock -lrb- center -rrb- have dubbed the fundraising effort operation all the way home . the remarkable fundraising effort - which they dubbed operation all the way home - began when mr hancock , 27 , was asked to speak to jamie goodreau 's u.s. history classes at lancaster high school about his experiences . they heard that he was badly burned on his 21st birthday while on patrol in baghdad on may 29 , 2007 . the tank he was driving hit an improvised explosive device that blew a hole through its armor and set . it ablaze . a chunk of shrapnel lodged in his spine , paralyzing his legs . so that he could n't get out .<doc-sep>australian world champion michael gallagher won the men 's individual c5 pursuit , holding britain 's jon-allan butterworth , a military veteran who lost an arm to a rocket attack in iraq five years ago , to second place . china 's yin he set a world record in the women 's c1-2-3 500-meter time trial to take gold . there is a tense wait ahead for team usa 's 17-year-old victoria arlen , who earlier this week was ruled ineligible to swim at the games by the international paralympic committee . arlen 's appeal against the ruling was upheld thursday , meaning she could swim in saturday 's 400-meter freestyle heats -- winning hers by a convincing 19-second margin -- but her classification is still subject to review by the ipc . british medal hope ellie simmonds , also 17 , won her heat in a time a fraction faster than arlen , the world record holder . that order held up in the finals , with simmonds setting a world record in finishing a second ahead of arlen -- with the two of them both 13 seconds faster than any other competitor . arlen 's classification problems came after fellow u.s. paralympians justin zook and mallory weggeman were reclassified earlier this week . arlen , from new hampshire , was a talented able-bodied swimmer until a neurological disease left her paralyzed in both legs .<doc-sep>an iraq war veteran who was one of the first to critique the conflict has died some 10 years after he was left paralyzed from the neck down while serving in the army . tomas young , 34 , of seattle , washington died monday , the day before veteran 's day , and the cause of death has still not been revealed . the army veteran previously vowed to commit suicide in 2013 , but later changed his mind to spend more time with family . iraq war army veteran tomas young -lrb- pictured -rrb- died monday after an injury sustained in the conflict left him quadriplegic . young became a outspoken critic of the iraq war after getting severely injured just five days after arriving in the middle eastern nation in 2004 . on his return from iraq , young became the subject of 2008 documentary ` body of war ' young enlisted in the army two days after september 11 , 2001 , wanting to take vengeance against the terrorist cells in afghanistan that helped organize the attacks . but instead he was deployed to iraq in 2004 , and just five days after arriving in the middle eastern country , was shot in the chest during an insurgent attack in sadr city . that severe injury left young paralyzed from the neck down , a quadripeligic . after his return home , young became one of the first critics of the iraq war and gained notoriety in 2008 as the subject of the documentary film ` body of war ' by ellen spiro and phil donahue . on monday , donahue told billmoyers.com that young was a ` bright light ' and ` talented young man ' . ` he was a political animal and he had a political statement that he wanted to make , ' donahue said . ` tomas wanted people to know that this is the drama being played out in houses across the country occupied by thousands of young men and women who fought in the war . ' last year , to mark the 10th anniversary of the iraq war , young sent a letter to former president george w bush and vice president dick cheney , criticizing their motives motives behind the iraq war . ' i write this letter , my last letter , to you , mr. bush and mr. cheney . i write not because i think you grasp the terrible human moral consequences of your life lies , manipulation and thirst for wealth and power , ' the letter read . ' i write this letter because , before my own death , i want to make it clear that i , and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans , along with millions of my fellow citizens , along with hundreds of millions more in iraq and the middle east , know fully who you are and what you have done . the cause of young 's death was not immediately known . he previously planned to commit suicide by stopping his feeding tube , but later changed his mind to spend more time with his wife claudia cuellar -lrb- pictured together in march 2013 above -rrb- . ` you may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes , of plunder and , finally of murder , including the murder of thousands of young americans -- my fellow veterans -- who 's future you stole . ' that letter was supposed to be young 's last , as he vowed to stop taking his medication or feeding tube in an attempt to commit suicide . but young later changed his mind , telling democracy now that he wanted to spend more time with his family . ' i want to spend as much time as possible with my wife , and no decent son wants his obituary to read that he was survived by his mother , ' he said at the time . young is survived by his wife claudia cuellar . tuesday marks veteran 's day in the u.s. above , an american flag flies over war veterans tombstones at golden gate national cemetery on monday . visitors view the vietnam veterans memorial on the national mall in washington , dc on november 10 , the eve of veteran 's day .
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<t> matt and tracy keil married after he was redeployed to iraq . </t> <t> a sniper bullet hit matt 's spinal cord , paralyzing him from the neck down . </t> <t> homes for our troops builds homes for disabled veterans to meet their needs . </t> <t> the keils ' home is 33rd for the organization , which has 40 more in the works . </t>
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group gives paralyzed iraq veteran new hope<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- global activist and u2 frontman bono attended the united nations general assembly in new york to push world leaders to join his one campaign in fighting disease , poverty , and hunger . he talked to cnn 's john roberts on `` american morning '' about recent successes and what 's next . bono said politicians who love signing checks but not cashing hurt plans to help the world 's poor . roberts : all this talk has been about the economy collapsing , $ 700 billion bailout . congress is absolutely absorbed with that . did that in any way affect what you were trying to do this week ? are people more focused on this economy than in helping out developing nations ? bono : we got good news this week . i know normally i 'm on your program with bad news -- the whingeing rock star -- but it 's great . there 's a disease , malaria -- it 's 3,000 african kids die every day of mosquito bites . sounds mad , but it 's true . and people have committed and it looks like the funds are on the table so that that disease will be no more by 2015 . that makes people like me punch the air and everyone who wears a one t-shirt and all our white band campaigners on college campuses all over the country -- it was a great day for them yesterday so we 're celebrating that . i know it 's extraordinary , that while you 're having this meltdown on the markets , that people could even concentrate on this stuff , but i 'm really grateful that they did . we had both -lsb- presidential -rsb- candidates make very powerful statements about the necessity for nonmilitary tools , for instance , in foreign policy . this is an america that both candidates want to show to the rest of the world -- the greatness of america . roberts : so you 're hearing what you want to hear from these candidates ? bono : yeah . and you could n't imagine a few years ago that you would have candidates so close to an election talking about this stuff , so yeah . watch bono say how he uses his star status on politicians '' roberts : you were talking to christine romans outside the studio , who just did that piece for us a few minutes ago on what else could you do with $ 700 billion . what could you do with $ 700 billion ? bono : we would n't be asking for that kind of money . these are serious matters , people have lost their jobs . but i think the bill for the whole world -- so america would be like a third of it -- for $ 25 billion you could absolutely change the world . you could put kids in school , most kids in school . you could eradicate diseases like malaria , as we 're saying . we could change the water supplies . but what 's important is that people who want to change the world , want to see their country , they see it as a patriotic act to show the world innovation of america , technology of america , pharmacology of america . roberts : for $ 25 billion , you could put every kid who 's out of school in the world into school ? that seems like a lot of people for $ 25 billion . pretty good return on your investment . bono : it 's a great return on investment . you heard me on your program before talking about debt cancellation . strangely americans do n't know that because of debt cancellation there are already an extra 29 million african children in school . that 's incredible . because people got out on the streets on the -lrb- red -rrb- campaign and stuff like that , there 's now 2.5 million africans on aids drugs , which are expensive . so your country is turning for me in the right direction on these issues . roberts : so you 're hearing some of what you want to hear , particularly on the malaria issues . but the european union had promised to increase aid by $ 50 billion between 2005 and 2010 . it looks like they 're going to fall $ 40 billion short . bono : they are , but they 're still ahead of america . that 's the bad news . you do n't want to get me into the ring . roberts : absolutely ! come on . bono : we 've had meetings with sarkozy this week as well as talking with mccain and palin and as well as always talking with the obama campaign . we do keep up the pressure on the europeans , but the europeans are way ahead of america on aid , just to put it in context . but you 're right . they 're not coming through on all of it . we will torture them too . that 's our job .<doc-sep>roberts : you talk a lot about these united nations millennium development goals . let me go over a couple of those . it was supposed cut global poverty in half by the year 2015 . universal access to hiv/aids treatment by 2010 . begin to reverse the incidence of malaria by 2015 . how far along that road are we ? bono : the millennium development goals are in a bit of trouble . it is astonishing to me ... roberts : whose fault is that ? bono : you know , politicians . they love signing checks , but they do n't like cashing them . they love the photograph . these g-8 meetings , you 'll see myself and my partner bob geldof arm-wrestling with politicians up against the wall . roberts : you 're very effective at doing that . you get access to a lot of places . i remember i was on a trip with president bush once , and you walked on air force one . bono : it 's the absurdity of celebrity . i do n't consider myself a celebrity in this sense , i think i 'm an activist who knows what i 'm talking about . but yeah , we get access , and we use it . it 's true that there was a very ambitious plan signed up in 2005 that further committed what was decided in the year 2000 , that we could actually across eight goals completely change the face of poverty and hunger in the world . and there was a $ 25 billion bill by 2010 that would enable them to do that . they have n't come through on that . and another day i 'll tell you why , but today i 'm punching the air because malaria will be no more by 2015 . and it 's americans , people from the private sector -- peter chernin , ray chambers , all kinds of people , bill gates , your mayor of this city , -lsb- michael -rsb- bloomberg , is an amazing guy . he 's working on this stuff . i just want americans to know that side of their country because i 'm a fan of america . and , again , you would have candidates , you know , like john mccain taking time out this week to talk to us , barack obama before . this is fantastic . roberts : i was reading your blog on financialtimes.com . you 've been writing all week , doing a great job too . you mentioned in one of your pieces you 've been writing some lyrics . and i 'm wondering where the lyrics are going . bono : statistics do n't rhyme . songwriting comes from such a different part of my brain and such a different part of who i am . roberts : are you writing about all this ? bono : no , it 's strange . it 's very strange . i used to work in a garage when i was a kid pumping gas , and i used to dream when i was pumping the gas about getting to rehearsals on a saturday so i could be with my band and write songs . the work that i 'm doing now , as we say , we 're working like a dog , living like a shih tzu . we 're spoiled people . we travel well , but we work . on these issues , because you 're working for the world 's poor , we work like dogs . but i find myself at times , sometimes i just wake up in the morning , and i just want to be back with my band in a rehearsal room . roberts : you will be soon . new cd coming out next year . bono : i 'm not complaining about the work . this is the most inspiring thing i 've ever been involved in in my life , and it 's working . it really is working . and that 's why i 'm on your show this morning . i just want to thank americans . roberts : good luck on the new cd coming out next year . we 're looking forward to it .<doc-sep>she does n't mince words . in an interview with cnn , she said , `` i think race is always -- still , in this country , it 's always on the table . '' michelle obama was raised in a working-class family in chicago , illinois , but educated at some of america 's elite universities : princeton and harvard law school . she was hired by a top-flight law firm in chicago and met barack obama when she was assigned to mentor him . they married in 1992 and have two young daughters . michelle obama cuts an impressive figure -- tall , slim and dressed in jackie-kennedy-like sheath dresses . if her husband is elected , she will make history as the first african-american first lady . she has given insights into her husband 's domestic behavior : he does n't pick up his socks . cindy mccain praises her husband as a fighter who wo n't give up . will we learn more of substance ? their husbands offer starkly different views of what they would do in office and americans often look to their first ladies as a window into the thinking of the president . we 're all ears .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sen. john mccain stepped up his rhetoric against his democratic rival on taxes in his weekly radio address saturday , comparing his plan to `` socialist '' programs . the remarks were part of a theme mccain has used since the final presidential debate , but his most recent comments were the first time he used the word to describe sen. barack obama . in the radio address , mccain did n't directly call obama a socialist , but he let the now-famous joe `` the plumber '' wurzelbacher nearly do it for him . `` you see , -lsb- obama -rsb- believes in redistributing wealth , not in policies that help us all make more of it . joe , in his plainspoken way , said this sounded a lot like socialism , '' mccain said saturday . watch mccain blast obama '' in an interview with abc last week , wurzelbacher said obama 's proposal to raise taxes by 3 percent on those making $ 250,000 and over is a `` very socialist view . '' republican vice presidential candidate sarah palin has used the word in speeches the past two days as well . watch more on the state of the presidential race '' mccain also said in his radio address , `` at least in europe , the socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are up front about their objectives . they use real numbers and honest language . and we should demand equal candor from sen. obama . raising taxes on some in order to give checks to others is not a tax cut ; it 's just another government giveaway . '' on the campaign trail saturday in concord , north carolina , he added that americans have seen sharing the wealth in other countries before . but he quoted obama as saying he wants to `` spread the wealth around . '' fact check : did obama say he would `` spread the wealth around '' ? `` spread the wealth around . we have seen that movie before in other countries and attempts by the liberal left before , '' mccain said . in his speech , mccain also said , `` this explains some big problems with my opponent 's claim that he will cut income taxes for 95 percent of americans . you might ask , how do you cut income taxes for 90 percent of americans when more than 40 percent pay no income taxes right now ?<doc-sep>a national poll of debate watchers suggested that obama won the presidential debate . post-debate poll . fifty-four percent of those questioned in a cnn/opinion research corp. survey released 30 minutes after the end of the debate said that obama did the best job , while 30 percent said mccain performed better . the cnn/opinion research corp. poll was conducted by telephone with 675 adult americans who watched the debate . all interviews were taken after the end of the debate . the survey 's sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points . ireport.com : tell us who you think won round two . at the start of the debate , obama said the country is in the worst financial crisis since the great depression . he blamed president bush and mccain for the crisis , saying they had worked to `` strip away regulation . '' bush : the elephant in the room . mccain said the system in washington `` cries out for bipartisanship '' and pushed his record as a reformer . he proposed having the government buy up and renegotiate bad home loans to stabilize the property market . he admitted the plan would be expensive but said it was necessary . watch mccain talk about his plan for the economy '' the arizona senator also hammered away at his rival 's tax policies , saying that `` nailing down sen. obama 's various tax proposals is like nailing jell-o to the wall . '' watch mccain slam obama 's tax plan '' mccain charged that `` obama 's secret that you do n't know '' is that he would increase taxes on small business revenue , which he said would lead to job cuts . fact check : did obama vote 94 times for higher taxes . obama shot back , saying `` the straight talk express lost a wheel on that one . '' `` let 's be clear about my tax plan and sen. mccain 's , '' he said . `` i want to provide a tax cut for 95 percent of americans . '' watch obama talk about his plan for the middle class '' the candidates talked about their plans to revamp the health care system . obama said the country has a `` moral commitment as well as an economic imperative '' to address the health care problem .<doc-sep>earlier monday , obama denounced the `` say-anything , do-anything politics '' of mccain 's camp , but said `` careless , outrageous comments '' wo n't distract him from addressing the nation 's ills . obama added that alaska gov. sarah palin , mccain 's running mate , rejected some of the tactics when she spoke out against a flood of automated phone calls tying obama to former radical william ayers . the calls were reported in several battleground states . `` it 's getting so bad that even sen. mccain 's running mate denounced his tactics last night , '' obama said at a campaign event in tampa , florida . `` as you know , you really have to work hard to violate gov. palin 's standards on negative campaigning . '' sunday night , palin told reporters traveling with her that if she had her way , the mccain campaign and the republican national committee would not be flooding battleground states with the automated phone calls , which she said the obama campaign was using too . over the next 15 days , obama said monday , he will continue his quest for the oval office while disregarding the divisive politics that he said mccain is endorsing `` to keep us from working together . '' the mccain campaign , meanwhile , continued its weekend assault on obama 's tax plan , which it called an attempt to `` spread the wealth . '' ireport.com : send your questions for sen. john mccain . speaking at a campaign event in st. charles , missouri , a chorus of boos rang out as the arizona senator described his take on the plan . `` he believes in redistributing wealth -- not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs and opportunities for all americans . sen. obama is more interested in controlling who gets your piece of the pie than in growing the pie . '' in colorado springs , colorado , palin also continued her line of attack from the weekend , but softened her tone in that she did n't call obama 's plan socialism . watch palin say obama sounds like a socialist '' over the weekend , palin and sen. mel martinez , a cuban-american gop senator from florida , called obama 's plan socialism . martinez compared the plan to the tax structure in communist cuba . mccain has taken a softer tone . on sunday , he dodged a question from fox news ' chris wallace about whether obama was a socialist , but said his rival 's tax plan was an effort `` to spread the wealth . '' `` that 's one of the tenets of socialism , '' mccain said . watch obama defend his plan '' obama 's tax plan calls for tax relief for 95 percent of workers and their families . though nonpartisan tax policy organizations agree that 40 percent of americans do n't pay income tax , many of those are lower-income earners who file payroll taxes through their employers . see the fact check . after receiving an endorsement from colin powell , a former republican secretary of state and retired army general , obama asked if powell and billionaire warren buffett -- no. 2 on forbes magazine 's 2008 list of richest americans -- would have extended their backing if he was a socialist . watch obama explain powell 's influence '' obama said he simply wants to give the middle class a tax cut . powell came to obama 's defense after endorsing the senator from illinois . powell said he had grown tired of mccain 's negative campaigning and that the american people would prefer to focus on issues like education , infrastructure and the economy . he specifically slammed palin 's allegation that obama 's tax plan is socialist , calling it misleading . ireport.com : what do you think about powell 's endorsement ? `` for us to say that makes you a socialist , i think , is an unfortunate characterization that is n't accurate . ''
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<t> bono says he 's `` punching the air '' after plan to eradicate malaria won funding . </t> <t> global activist says you can change the world with $ 25 billion investment . </t> <t> campaigning is `` most inspiring '' work , but pop star also still loves playing with band . </t>
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bono praises mccain , obama and americans<T>
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washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the man who authorities allege carried out the 2001 anthrax mailings that killed five people sent himself an e-mail saying he knew the attacker 's identity , according to court documents released wednesday . former biodefense researcher bruce ivins killed himself in july , authorities say . bruce ivins , who authorities say killed himself in july as the justice department prepared to charge him in the anthrax case , is alleged to have sent the e-mail to himself last september . an fbi agent quotes the message in an affidavit accompanying applications for search warrants for ivins ' e-mail accounts . `` yes ! yes ! yes !!!!!!! i finally know who mailed the anthrax letters in the fall of 2001 . i 've pieced it together ! now we can finally get this over and done with , '' the e-mail reads . in it , the former biodefense researcher says he plans on turning information over to his lawyer and that his lawyer would then give it to authorities . the e-mail does not say who ivins believed was responsible . `` i 'm not looking forward to everybody getting dragged through the mud , but at least it will be over , '' the e-mail reads . `` finally ! i should have it totally nailed down within the month . i should have been a private eye !!!! '' the documents -- which the justice department says are the last ivins-related search warrants that had yet to be released to the public -- also contain new details about allegations that ivins wanted to kill his co-workers . the details are in an account of a july 9 group therapy session during which ivins allegedly said he was a suspect in the anthrax investigation . according to an fbi agent 's account , ivins was `` angry at the investigators , the government , and the system in general . '' `` he said he was not going to face the death penalty , but instead had a plan to kill co-workers and other individuals who wronged him , '' the account reads . `` he said he had a bullet-proof vest , and a list of co-workers , and added he was going to obtain a glock firearm from his son within the next day , because federal agents are watching him and he could not obtain a weapon on his own . '' the fbi agent also alleges that ivins said during the session that he had walked around the `` ghetto '' areas of frederick , maryland , near his home , late at night `` hoping that someone would try to hurt him so that he could stab them with a sharp pen . '' that description is similar to something ivins allegedly wrote on youtube referencing a winner of the television game show `` the mole . '' authorities said ivins ' youtube message read : `` the least someone could do would be to take a sharp ballpoint pin or letter opener and put her eyes out , to complete the task of making her a true mole ! '' general details of the therapy session have previously been reported . after the meeting , social worker jean duley contacted authorities and ivins was taken into custody . he was released after being evaluated at two hospitals . notes allegedly written by ivins at the time of his hospitalization were found in the trash at his home after his death . according to the fbi , he wrote about the stresses in his life and the possibility of facing prison time . ivins ' attorney , paul kemp , maintains ivins did n't carry out the attacks and says the new documents prove nothing . `` there is simply nothing new here , nothing that is proof against dr. ivins , '' kemp said wednesday . the anthrax probe continues , justice department spokesman dean boyd said . `` we are working to close the investigation soon , '' boyd said , adding that `` investigative efforts '' and `` administrative measures '' need to be finished . the anthrax attacks occurred less than a month after the september 11 , 2001 , suicide attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in new york , washington and pennsylvania . letters filled with bacterial spores were sent to senate democratic leaders and news organizations . those who died were washington postal workers , a new york hospital worker , a supermarket tabloid photo editor in florida and a 94-year-old woman in connecticut . scientists from inside and outside the fbi said they traced a strain of anthrax from the envelopes and victims to a batch of anthrax in ivins ' lab at the u.s. army medical research institute in fort detrick , maryland .<doc-sep>`` it would take a credulous person to believe the circumstantial evidence that the fbi used to draw its conclusions with such certainty , '' holt said in a press release . `` the fbi has not proiven to me that this is an open and shut case . '' the anthrax letters were mailed from new jersey , the state holt represents . iowa sen. charles grassley , the ranking republican on the judiciary committee , said the report `` shows that the science is not necessarily a slam dunk . '' grassley called for an independent review of the fbi 's investigation . at one time the fbi used ivins as one of its scientific consultants in the anthrax investigation . after clues led investigators to focus on ivins , the fbi performed surveillance on him , executed search warrants and studied lab records showing he had spent late hours alone in his lab prior to the time the anthrax letters were mailed . after his death , justice department and fbi officials released numerous documents from the investigation and said they believed ivins bore sole responsibility for the attacks . the anthrax-laced letters were mailed in fall 2001 -- shortly after the 9/11 terror attacks -- to then nbc news anchor tom brokaw , the new york post , sens. patrick leahy of vermont and tom daschle , who was the senate majority leader at the time . five people died from inhalation anthrax which officials say was caused by contaminated mail . two of those people were washington area postal workers joseph curseen jr. and thomas morris jr. . the other victims were bob stevens , a photo editor at american media , inc. in boca raton , florida ; kathy nguyen , a new york city hospital worker ; and ottilie lundgren , an oxford , connecticut , widow . seventeen other people became sick from either inhaling anthrax or skin exposure .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the fbi announced that it has concluded its investigation into the 2001 anthrax mailings , saying friday that a biodefense researcher carried out the attacks alone . the anthrax letters killed five people and sickened 17 shortly after the september 11 , 2001 , terrorist attacks . the letters , filled with bacterial spores , were sent to senate democratic leaders and news organizations . `` by 2007 , investigators conclusively determined that a single spore-batch created and maintained by dr. bruce e. ivins at the united states army medical research institute of infectious diseases -lrb- usamriid -rrb- was the parent material for the letter spores , '' said a report released friday by the fbi . `` evidence developed from that investigation established that dr. ivins , alone , mailed the anthrax letters . '' there was no immediate response from ivins ' lawyer . ivins , 62 , committed suicide in july 2008 as federal agents were closing in on him , police said . in september and october 2001 , at least five envelopes were mailed to sen. patrick leahy and then-sen . tom daschle , as well as to news organizations in new york and in boca raton , florida . each envelope contained a photocopy of a handwritten note . the five who died included two washington postal workers , a new york hospital worker , a supermarket tabloid photo editor in florida and a 94-year-old woman in connecticut .<doc-sep>the report had remained under seal until this month , and only a redacted version was revealed wednesday . censored details include information that could identify friends , co-workers and mental health professionals who encountered and counseled ivins during his career . last month , the national academy of sciences issued a report and concluded that using the available scientific evidence `` it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion '' about the source of the anthrax used in the 2001 anthrax letter attacks . the panel said the anthrax used in mailings was the ames strain bacillus anthracis , and spores from those letters shared `` a number of genetic similarities '' with spores in ivins ' flask . but the findings say the fbi did not fully explore other possible explanations for those similarities . last month , the national academy of sciences issued a report that supported the fbi 's scientific basis linking ivins to the form of anthrax used in the attacks . wednesday 's report noted `` dr. ivins acknowledged that he was the sole custodian of the `` rmr-1029 '' flask that held the anthrax '' mailed to targets in the media and congress . postal workers who handled the contaminated letters were among the 22 people infected . there were five fatalities .<doc-sep>no charges have been made public . he became a suspect after investigators found dna evidence from the 2001 anthrax mailings on a flask used in his laboratory at the u.s. army medical institute of infectious diseases , said a source who is familiar with the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly about the case . ivins had worked for decades in the biodefense lab at fort detrick , where he was trying to develop a better vaccine against the toxin . the fbi had traced the anthrax used in the attacks to the lab by using a new technology , a u.s. official familiar with the investigation said . authorities were looking at whether ivins may have released anthrax to test a vaccine he was working on , another official said . some of the anthrax-laced letters , written in crude block letters , included the words , `` take penacilin -lrb- sic -rrb- now , '' according to photographs released by the fbi . since ivins ' death , suspicions about his involvement in the anthrax attacks have surfaced alongside questions about his sanity . at the time of his death , the 62-year-old scientist was under a temporary restraining order sought by a social worker who had counseled him in private and group sessions . she accused him of having harassed , stalked and threatened her with violence . the woman told the court in her complaint that ivins had been treated at a mental health facility . steven hatfill , another government scientist who was named by the justice department as a `` person of interest '' in the attacks , was never charged . he sued the department , which settled the case in june . the skepticism in scientific circles about the strength of the case against ivins heightens the importance of the government 's unveiling of its evidence against the scientist , a former prosecutor said . `` i think the public and the survivors of the anthrax attacks are entitled to see the evidence before the grand jury , '' said andrew mcbride . `` and if there was a draft indictment and they were ready to indict mr. ivins , they ought to see that as well . '' cnn producer kevin bohn contributed to this story .
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<t> `` i finally know who mailed the anthrax letters , '' bruce ivins allegedly wrote to himself . </t> <t> court documents reveal more details about allegations he threatened co-workers . </t> <t> ivins ' attorney : documents prove nothing . </t> <t> authorities say ivins mailed anthrax letters that killed five people in 2001 . </t>
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suspect : ` i finally know who mailed the anthrax letters '<T>
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beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the international olympic committee has asked gymnastics officials to look into whether china 's women 's gymnastics team used underaged competitors , an ioc spokeswoman said friday . china 's he kexin kisses her gold medal last week after winning the olympic women 's uneven bars . the committee asked the international gymnastics federation to clarify the situation , said spokeswoman giselle davis . she said she would n't call it a formal investigation . the chinese women 's gymnastics team won a gold medal in a team competition at the summer olympics games . five members won medals in individual competitions . yet commentators , bloggers and others have raised questions about whether about half the members of china 's team were old enough to compete -- athletes must be at least 16 in the year the games take place .<doc-sep>in women 's gymnastics , younger teenage girls can have an advantage over older competitors due to their often smaller , more agile bodies and lighter frames . `` we have asked the gymnastics federation to look into what have been a number questions and apparent discrepancies on this case , '' davis said . a top chinese olympic official said questions regarding the ages of the athletes have been dealt with previously . `` the eligibility of the athletes has already been investigated and authorized by the international federation and , if they had n't been cleared , they would n't have participated in the games , '' said wang wei , executive vice president of the beijing olympic committee . chinese officials provided the olympic committee with passports , showing that team members were of legal age , but numerous challenges have been made .<doc-sep>the latest came from a blogger known as `` stryde hax . '' the blogger claims to have uncovered proof that chinese gymnast he kexin is only 14 . watch bloggers question china 's gymnasts '' in internet searches , `` stryde hax '' allegedly uncovered web pages showing lists complied by china 's general administration of sport that show a 1994 date of birth for he . that would make her 14 -- too young to compete in the olympic games . cnn has not been able to independently verify the information , but snapshots of the web pages appear to back up the claim . other bloggers have joined the search and reported similar results . the new york times conducted its own investigation , producing similar results that seem to implicate he and two other members of the team . the times uncovered a 2006 biography on he that lists her birthday as january 1 , 1994 . `` according to online sports registration lists in china , half the team - he kexin , yang yilin , jiang yuyuan - would be under age , '' the times reported in july .<doc-sep>the international gymnastics federation , however , has said that those gymnasts were eligible and that the ages on their passports were correct . chinese gymnastics coaches defended their team friday . `` our athletes participating in these games all conform to the age regulations of the olympics , '' said huang yubin , head coach of the men 's and women 's teams . `` asians have different figures than people from the west , so that 's what caused their suspicion , '' huang said , referring to media inquiries . `` they should n't be suspicious . '' cnn 's john vause contributed to this story .<doc-sep>but chinese gymnastics coaches have stridently defended their team . `` asians have different figures than people from the west , so that 's what caused their suspicion , '' said huang yubin , head coach of the men 's and women 's teams , referring to media inquiries . `` they should n't be suspicious . '' it was not all good news for the chinese gymnasts , with the fig announcing that it would step up its investigation into the 2000 team which won the bronze medal at the sydney olympics , particularly dong fangxiao and yang yun . yang , who also won a bronze medal on the uneven bars in 2000 , said in a june 2007 interview that aired on state broadcaster china central television that she was only 14 in sydney . dong , who was a technical official for the chinese team in beijing , allegedly provided documents for her credentials which indicated that she too must have been only 14 in 2000 . gueisbuhler warned that legal and statute of limitation issues might hinder further scrutiny and sanctions against the 2000 chinese team . underage gymnasts have been a problem since the 1980s , when the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to protect young athletes from serious injuries . the minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997 . north korea was barred from the 1993 world championships after fig officials discovered kim gwang suk , the 1991 gold medalist on uneven bars , was listed as 15 for three years in a row . romania admitted in 2002 that several gymnasts ' ages had been falsified , including olympic medalists gina gogean and alexandra marinescu . in women 's gymnastics , younger teenage girls can have an advantage over older competitors due to their often smaller , more agile bodies and lighter frames . copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the chinese women 's gymnastics team did not use underage competitors during this year 's summer olympic games in beijing , the international gymnastics federation said wednesday . widespread reports claimed that gold medal winner he kexin was only 14 years old . the federation said it has concluded its inquiry into the matter after it confirmed the gymnasts ' ages through official documents that the chinese gymnasts association provided . the documents included passports , identity cards and household registers . however , the organization intends to further investigate the ages of two gymnasts , dong fangxiao and yang yun , who participated in the 2000 summer games in sydney , australia . the federation said it did not consider the explanations and evidence that chinese authorities provided in regard to those athletes as satisfactory . the international olympic committee had asked gymnastics officials to clarify the situation after numerous commentators , bloggers and others questioned whether about half the members of china 's team were old enough to compete . watch tiny gymnasts work out ''<doc-sep>beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the chinese women 's gymnastics team did not use underage competitors during this year 's summer olympic games in beijing , the international gymnastics federation said wednesday . widespread reports claimed that gold medal winner he kexin was only 14 years old . the federation said it has concluded its inquiry into the matter after it confirmed the gymnasts ' ages through official documents that the chinese gymnasts association provided . the documents included passports , identity cards and household registers . however , the organization intends to further investigate the ages of two gymnasts , dong fangxiao and yang yun , who participated in the 2000 summer games in sydney , australia . the federation said it did not consider the explanations and evidence that chinese authorities provided in regard to those athletes as satisfactory . the international olympic committee had asked gymnastics officials to clarify the situation after numerous commentators , bloggers and others questioned whether about half the members of china 's team were old enough to compete . watch tiny gymnasts work out '' athletes must be at least 16 in the year the games take place . in women 's gymnastics , younger girls can have an advantage over older competitors on account of their often smaller , lighter and more agile bodies . the chinese women 's gymnastics team won a gold medal in a team competition at the beijing games , and five members won individual medals . one of the challenges came from a blogger known as `` stryde hax . '' the blogger claimed to have uncovered proof that chinese gymnast he kexin is only 14 . in internet searches , `` stryde hax '' allegedly uncovered web pages showing lists complied by china 's general administration of sport that show a 1994 date of birth for he . cnn was not been able to independently verify the information , but snapshots of the web pages appeared to back up the claim . other bloggers joined the search and reported similar results . the new york times conducted its own investigation , producing similar results that seem to implicate he and two other members of the team . the times uncovered a 2006 biography on he that lists her birthday as january 1 , 1994 . the international gymnastics federation , however , has said that those gymnasts were eligible and that the ages on their passports were correct . chinese gymnastics coaches also defended their team . `` asians have different figures than people from the west , so that 's what caused their suspicion , '' said huang yubin , head coach of the men 's and women 's teams , referring to media inquiries . `` they should n't be suspicious . ''<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- in the end , gabby douglas ' massive gamble paid off . like many young girls , she sat glued to the tv during the 2008 beijing olympics , mesmerized by the dazzling gymnasts flipping their way to glory . but instead of living vicariously through shawn johnson and nastia liukin as they won their gold medals , 12-year-old douglas hatched a drastic plan to ensure that fairy tale became her reality : . she must train with johnson 's coach , even if that meant leaving her family in virginia . `` she started saying , ' i need that coach . i need coach chow , ' '' her mother , natalie hawkins , recalled to hln . liang chow soared to international fame as a chinese gymnast before settling down in the middle of iowa to teach american gymnasts . it was there where johnson morphed from a 6-year-old novice to a world-class athlete . gabby douglas takes gold . but chow 's gym was 1,200 miles away from douglas , her siblings and her mother , who did n't think the idea would work . `` i said , well , i ca n't move the family to iowa . i 'm a single parent ; i did n't have the resources to do something like that , '' hawkins said . but douglas was n't just headstrong ; she was a rare talent who vaulted up the ranks of gymnastics at an early age . she won a virginia state championship at age 8 , just two years after starting formal training . `` she just never wanted to come out of the gym , '' hawkins said . `` she loved it . she would just practice all the time . so i saw then the hard work . ''
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<t> probe into chinese gymnasts ' age sought by international olympic committee . </t> <t> gymnasts must be at least 16 years of age to compete in olympics . </t> <t> chinese officials defend team , have shown passports proving athletes are eligible . </t> <t> speculation intensified following team gold medal won by china 's women . </t>
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age of chinese gymnasts investigated<T>
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london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- pop star george michael was cautioned by police in london after being arrested in public toilets on suspicion of possessing drugs , the uk 's press association reported . george michael has talked candidly about drug use in the past .<doc-sep>in a statement , the metropolitan police said a 45-year-old man had been arrested in the hampstead heath area of london on friday . he was later released with a caution for possession of class a and class c drugs . the statement did not name michael , but other sources confirmed his identity .<doc-sep>reports sunday said michael had been arrested following a tip-off to police from a suspicious toilet attendant , pa said . the 45-year-old , who has sold more than 100 million records worldwide , has talked openly about his use of drugs in the past .<doc-sep>in an inteview with the bbc last year he admitted : `` i 'm a happy man and i can afford my marijuana so that 's not a problem . '' last may he pleaded guilty to driving while unfit through drugs and was banned from driving for two years after being found slumped behind the wheel of his car .<doc-sep>london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- pop star george michael was cautioned by police in london after being arrested in public toilets on suspicion of possessing drugs , the uk 's press association reported . george michael has talked candidly about drug use in the past . in a statement , the metropolitan police said a 45-year-old man had been arrested in the hampstead heath area of london on friday . he was later released with a caution for possession of class a and class c drugs . the statement did not name michael , but other sources confirmed his identity . reports sunday said michael had been arrested following a tip-off to police from a suspicious toilet attendant , pa said . the 45-year-old , who has sold more than 100 million records worldwide , has talked openly about his use of drugs in the past . in an inteview with the bbc last year he admitted : `` i 'm a happy man and i can afford my marijuana so that 's not a problem . '' last may he pleaded guilty to driving while unfit through drugs and was banned from driving for two years after being found slumped behind the wheel of his car .<doc-sep>troubled singer george michael has spent several days in hospital after falling ill suddenly , it emerged today . two ambulances were sent to the 50-year-old 's north london mansion after the star fell ill and a worried friend made a 999 call last thursday . michael - whose real name is georgios kyriacos panayiotou - nearly died from pneumonia in late 2011 . scroll down for video . emergency : george michael was rushed to hospital in an ambulance last thursday after a worried friend made a call to 999 . his spokesman said today : ` in response to . newspaper reports today , we can confirm george was admitted to hospital . on may 22 . he was discharged last weekend and is well and resting . he . is very much looking forward to the release of his new single in july . given the personal nature of this matter there will be no further . comment . ' witnesses said the ambulances left four hours later with michael on board . he was taken to a london hospital for emergency treatment . big year : george michael released his sixth solo album syphonica . london ambulance service confirmed two ambulances were called at 8am on thursday . ` we . were called just before 8am on may 22 . we sent two ambulance crews and . staff treated one patient , a man , who was then taken to hospital , ' a . spokesman for the ambulance service said . george michael 's co-writer and ` best mate ' david austin earlier arrived at the star 's hampstead home and scotched rumours the singer was ill . austin , born david mortimer , was a member of george michael 's first band ` the executives ' in 1981 . he has also written and performed with his friend . he told reporters that his friend was ` perfectly fine ' and had just finished recording a new demo tape . a neighbour who did not wish to be named added : ` he 's getting better . ' fans have already taken to twitter to voice their concerns for the pop icon . one user wrote : ` what 's happened to my beloved @georgemichael ? reports coming in say he 's been rushed to hospital :--lrb- -lrb- sic -rrb- ' . another hoped ` nothing serious ' had happened to michael . fears for the careless whisper singer 's health have been raised in recent years due to a spate of illnesses , his regular cannabis use and due to a bizarre incident where he apparently fell out of a moving car on the m1 last year . the incident , which took place in may 2013 , saw michael airlifted to trauma hospital to treat a head injury . just 18 months earlier the troubled singer had been close to death after being struck down with pneumonia in vienna , but he fought back to perform again . michael , whose hits also include faith and freedom , has had health scares and run-ins with the police linked to his drug use . standstill : paramedics treat george on the m1 after he fell out of his car onto the third lane of the carriageway at around 70mph near st albans , hertfordshire . in september 2010 michael received an eight-week prison sentence following an incident the previous july in which he crashed his range rover into a shop in north london . he was also given a five-year driving ban after he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs and possessing cannabis . and he had earlier been banned from driving for two years and sentenced to 100 hours of community service in 2006 when he was convicted of driving while unfit through drugs after he was found collapsed in his mercedes . following his brush with pneumonia in late 2011 , michael made a tearful appearance outside his london home after flying back into the country and said it had been `` touch and go '' whether he lived.doctors had performed a tracheotomy to keep his airways open and he was unconscious for some of his spell in hospital . mailonline have contacted michael 's representatives for comment . history of illness : the singer had to be airlifted to a trauma hospital last year after falling out of a car on the m1 . george michael arrives at highbury magistrates court in 2010 where he was jailed . george michael 's incredible success as a musician has also come with great drama in his private life . his latest collapse is one of several health scares in recent years , including his admission he was addicted to drugs . the singer , whose real name is georgios panayiotou , hit rock bottom in 2010 , right , when he was sent to pentonville prison in north london , where former inmates have included oscar wilde and boy george , for driving while stoned and crashing into a snappy snaps shop . the judge jailed him because he was a ` danger to the public . most recently he nearly died after falling from a range rover at 70mph on the m1 . here are some of the major incidents over the past 16 years : . may 2013 : singer fell from a car travelling at around 70mph on to a fast lane of the m1 and drivers had to swerve to avoid running him over . george spent two weeks in hospital following the near-fatal incident , after suffering head injuries , cuts and bruises . december 2012 : a severe case of pneumonia left him close to death . july 2010 : singer crashes his range rover into a snappy snaps shop in north london after taking cannabis . handed eight-week prison sentence and given five-year driving ban after pleading guilty to driving under the influence of drugs and possessing cannabis . a close up of the damage caused to the snappy snaps store in hampstead , north london , after george michael crashed into it in his range rover . august 2009 : arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drink or drugs after crashing into the back of a lorry on the a34 in berkshire . breathalysed and held for almost five hours . september 2008 : held for possession of class a and class c drug after being caught by police in a public toilet on hampstead heath , a notorious meeting place for gay men.october 2006 : found slumped at the wheel of his mercedes in north london . pleaded guilty to driving while unfit . banned for two years and handed 100 hours ' community service . also cautioned for possession of cannabis.april 2006 : allegedly crashed his mercedes into three parked cars near his north london home . interviewed under caution but not charged . former wham ! star admitted he 's ' a terrible driver ' after the accident.february 2006 : arrested for possession of a class c drug after being found asleep at the wheel at hyde park corner . later said it was ` my own stupid fault as usual ' . june 2004 : smashes into a bollard near his home after falling asleep at the wheel.may 2004 : writes off bmw convertible after hitting barriers on a40 at north acton , londonapril1998 : arrested by u.s. police for ` engaging in a lewd act ' in a public toilet in california .<doc-sep>they also found a vacuum packing machine and mixing tools , similar to those used in the construction industry . investigations led detectives to associates of donnelly , 31 , and ben mullins , 33 , who were found with large quantities of drugs . michael lawrence , 25 , was discovered with three kilograms of high purity cocaine worth an estimated # 600,000 which was bought in humberside . the scene : this is the toilet of protein masters store where the stash of drugs were found . and andrew brimble , 48 , was caught with 67 kilograms of amphetamines worth about # 1.3 million as he drove through pinxton in derbyshire . the gang of 11 men , from nottinghamshire , derbyshire , liverpool , manchester and yorkshire , either admitted or were convicted of a host of drugs related crimes . and ten of them were jailed for a total of 105 years at nottingham crown court on friday . mullins , of ripley , derbyshire , admitted production and supply of amphetamines and selling cocaine and was jailed for 18 years and eight months .<doc-sep>london , england -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- singer george michael has been charged with possession of cannabis and driving while unfit through drink or drugs , london 's metropolitan police service said thursday . michael , 47 , was released on bail and told to appear at highbury corner magistrates court in north london on august 24 , police said .
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<t> george michael cautioned after being arrested for drugs in london public toilet . </t> <t> pop star was released with a caution for possession of class a , class c drugs . </t> <t> press reports claim police were tipped off by a suspicious toilet attendant . </t>
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george michael in ` toilet drugs arrest '<T>
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la paz , bolivia -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- an air of anxiety clutches bolivia this weekend amid high-stakes talks designed to end bloodshed and keep the country whole . bolivian president evo morales says opposition leaders are trying to overthrow the government . the central government of leftist president evo morales , bolivia 's first leader from an indian majority centered in the western highlands , is conducting talks with governors of largely white provinces in the east who want autonomy . tension between the two sides erupted into violence that killed at least 30 people in september . in addition , differences about the country 's future have threatened to split the country . julian torrico , a peasant leader , said he and other morales supporters will storm the eastern city of santa cruz if the talks , which started thursday , do not yield progress . `` we will go into santa cruz and respond with force because they have -lrb- marginalized -rrb- us and massacred us , so we will massacre them and we will take their land away from them , '' he said . watch protesters march in santa cruz '' `` the fight here is between poor and rich . the government of evo morales took power by a majority and now these opposition governors do n't want to let him govern , '' torrico said . anyelo cespedes , president of the santa cruz youth union , which opposes morales , said they do n't want a dictatorship or a communist regime . `` we have our way of life and we do n't want that changed , '' he said . the central government and eastern governors are discussing topics that include the distribution of natural-gas revenues , autonomy for several eastern provinces and the president 's plan for a new constitution . those negotiations may offer one of the final chances to reverse bolivia 's slide toward violent instability , according to gonzalo chavez , an analyst . `` this is probably one of the few opportunities that we 're going to have to solve the problems of the country , '' he said . four of nine provinces in bolivia have declared autonomy from the central government in referendums this year . morales , an ally of venezuelan president hugo chavez and former cuban president fidel castro , said the moves could cause bolivia to disintegrate .<doc-sep>the eastern opposition leaders have long opposed a decision of the morales government to divert some revenue from oil and gas produced in the region to pay for government programs for the elderly . they have also opposed his plans to revise the constitution to give greater rights to the indigenous majority . the differences flared into violence with opposition protesters occupying government buildings and energy installations . morales has said the opposition leaders are trying to overthrow the government . he expelled u.s. ambassador to bolivia philip goldberg on the grounds that he urged anti-government protesters to get violent , an assertion the united states has denied . `` this is a coup in the past few days by the leaders of some provinces , with the takeover of some institutions , the sacking and robbery of some government institutions and attempts to assault the national police and the armed forces , '' morales has said . opposition leaders said they merely want their demands met . secretary general jose miguel insulza of the organization of american states arrived in bolivia on friday to encourage dialogue . he expressed optimism based on the `` preliminary results '' from the talks . representatives of the organization of american states and the 12-nation union of south american countries are among a group of international observers that has come to bolivia for the negotiations . ivan canelas , a government spokesman , said the talks provide a critical opportunity to break an impasse that has split the country for months . `` we understand that making peace requires the suspension of all forms of pressure , '' he said . gov. mario cossio of the eastern tarija state said he and other opposition leaders hope to reach a final agreement . he said they hope `` to build a national agreement that bolivia needs , that the bolivians want . '' he said the goal is to `` give peace back to our country and give certainty to bolivia . '' cnn 's karl penhaul and gloria carrasco contributed to this story .<doc-sep>the north-south tensions seemed to be easing somewhat after pyongyang agreed to high-level talks with the south in june . those talks were called off at the eleventh hour after disagreements over the level of the delegates who would represent each side . on wednesday , north korea also restored the panmunjom communication hotline with the south , which had been cut off repeatedly over the past four months . `` north korea is probably feeling an unprecedented level of diplomatic isolation with pressures coming from the international community . it is also fully aware of the value of the kaesong industrial complex , which provides a considerable amount of hard foreign currency , '' said kim tae-woo , former president of the korea institute for national unification . `` but stirring tensions , then going back to dialogue , is part of north korea 's usual tactics . we do n't need to attach too much weight to this easing of tension , '' he added . north korea already had barred south korean workers from entering the complex before may . in 2008 , access was restricted after a human rights group distributed propaganda leaflets via balloon into north korea . south korean workers were blocked again in 2009 during an annual u.s.-south korean military drill . some $ 2 billion worth of goods have been produced in kaesong between initial operations in 2005 and the end of 2012 , according to the south korean unification ministry . the average wage for north korean workers in kaesong industrial complex is $ 134 per month , according to the south korean ministry . north korean authorities take about 45 % of their wages for various taxes . cnn 's diana magnay and joe sterling contributed to this report .<doc-sep>scroll down for video . offer : a statement released in pyongyang says north korea is willing to hold high-level talks with the u.s . in a statement on the country 's central news agency , kcna , the north korea national defence commission said on sunday that washington could pick a date and place for talks and the two sides can discuss a range of issues , but no preconditions should be attached . ` in order to ease tensions on the korean peninsula and to achieve regional peace and safety , we propose to hold high-level talks between the dprk and the united states , ' a spokesman said . ` if the u.s. is truly interested in securing regional peace and safety and easing tensions , it should not mention of preconditions for the talks . ' tensions in north korea were heightened earlier this year after it threatened nuclear and missile strikes against the south and u.s. . the threats came after the united nations imposed sanctions because the north had tested nuclear weapons in february . in the statement , pyongyang said it was willing to discuss disarmament , but said the rest of the world should be forced to give up their nuclear weapons . including south korea . it added that it wants the u.s. to sign a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-1953 korean war , which began after the north and south clashed five years after allies divided the country along the 38th parallel after liberating it from japanese rule . warning : north korea 's december 12 rocket launch showed it was likely the country had developed technology to fire a missile that could reach the u.s. west coast , south korean officials say .<doc-sep>nothing creates more stress than when you feel trapped by illness . negative thoughts and worries leave you burnt-out and create tension in the body , aggravating illnesses and injuries . stress dampens the immune system and shuts down the body 's self-repair mechanisms . yet while it 's impossible to prevent stress arising , mindfulness can teach you how to deal with it . after practice , you realise that stress -lrb- like pain -rrb- is a ` message ' that melts away once it 's ` delivered ' or felt with full mindful awareness . when this occurs , happiness and peace fill the void . after practice , you realise that stress -lrb- like pain -rrb- is a ` message ' that melts away once it 's ` delivered ' such contentment boosts the immune system , restarts repair mechanisms and improves quality of life . this week 's meditation is the tension release , the final of three exercises taken from my book mindfulness for health : a practical guide to relieving pain , reducing stress and restoring wellbeing -lrb- piatkus -rrb- . the aim is to move your awareness around the body , paying attention to areas of tension , and then to gently breathe ` into ' them . follow the instructions below or download an audio track at franticworld.com/mailonsunday .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- talks continued saturday in bolivia , where a police mutiny over pay has included the storming of buildings and a hunger strike by officers ' wives . bottom-rank officers across the country are demanding a substantial pay increase and a retirement pension equal to their current salaries . they have a monthly base salary of $ 115 and want a jump to $ 287 . other demands include the resignation of their commander . the hunger strike , started by 60 spouses , began this week and was being held in la paz and other cities . the tension rose thursday when mutineers entered a building used by higher-level officers . friday , protesters raided police intelligence offices , seizing computers and burning investigation documents . protesters threw rocks while others burned papers , furniture and other items in the street . government officials appealed for peaceful negotiations . `` the best way to continue working on these requirements is not by way of pressure or to seize and occupy public offices , '' said carlos romero , minister of government . `` it 's not by destroying of public property , by burning documents -- it 's not the way . '' protesting police are in charge of controlling the massive demonstrations that occur frequently in la paz . members of bolivia 's armed forces have taken over many of the tasks performed by police . ombudsman rolando villena raised concerns about citizen safety . `` we are concerned about the helplessness in which the population is in , '' he said . `` the absence of protection by the police . we call upon both parties to seek a solution within the framework of dialogue . '' journalist gloria carrasco contributed to this report .
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<t> bolivian leaders plan to hold talks designed to bring peace to country . </t> <t> four provinces in bolivia have declared autonomy from the central government . </t> <t> at least 30 people have died in september . </t>
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peace talks aim at easing bolivia tension<T>
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bogota , colombia -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a former colombian congressman who was held hostage in the jungle for more than eight years has escaped -- with the help of a former captor . oscar tulio lizcano was kidnapped on august 4 , 2000 near the colombian town of riosucio . oscar tulio lizcano , his hair disheveled , appeared too weak to stand for long when he met the news media sunday , hours after stumbling onto a military patrol -- and freedom . lizcano suffered from hunger and disease in captivity and endured isolation in the company of leftist rebels who often would not let him talk , he and colombian authorities said . `` maybe my incoherence is for a lack of speaking , '' lizcano told reporters . `` i was unable to talk with the guerillas who guarded me . '' lizcano said he had little to read in the jungle except `` the odyssey '' by homer . he suffered from malaria and other illnesses and once ate nothing but hearts of palm for six or seven days , said juan manuel santos , the colombian defense minister . `` this is big news for the whole family , '' said lizcano 's sister , amparo lizcano . `` we were waiting for the guerrillas to give our brother back alive before he died . '' the former congressman fled about three days ago with the assistance of one of his captors , a member of the revolutionary armed forces of colombia , or farc , a leftist rebel force that has been fighting the government for more than 40 years in a war that also has involved right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers . watch release of farc hostage '' president alvaro uribe appeared on television sunday with the ex-farc rebel -- known by the alias `` isaza '' -- and said the man will receive compensation and permission to resettle in france with his family . he said that 's in keeping with a colombian government policy that rewards rebels who desert and help hostages gain their freedom . police officers and soldiers pinpointed the location of the farc unit holding lizcano several months ago , santos said .<doc-sep>they monitored the location for about five months and took steps to seal off possible escape routes , he said , as they planned a rescue operation using information gleaned help from a rebel who deserted october 2 . troops started that rescue operation saturday -- only to discover that `` isaza '' and lizcano had decided on their own to escape . the two men wandered through the jungle for three days and nights before encountering a colombian army patrol sunday , said santos , the defense minister . lizcano was kidnapped on august 4 , 2000 near the colombian town of riosucio . he and his former captor stumbled sunday onto a patrol near the border of the states of risaralda and choco , in central colombia , authorities said . the farc holds an estimated 750 hostages in colombia . its members have justified hostage taking as a legitimate military tactic . the rebels have been battered this year by government raids that killed several top commanders , the death by apparent heart attack of their founder and a wave of desertions . government commandoes tricked the farc in july and freed their most prized hostage , the former presidential candidate ingrid betancourt , in an elaborate ruse that also liberated three u.s. defense contractors and 11 other hostages . on sunday , lizcano offered words of encouragement to those hundreds who remain trapped in the jungle , captives of the farc . `` hold on . hold on , '' he said . `` one day you will enjoy your freedom , too . '' -- cnn 's karl penhaul contributed to this report .<doc-sep>farc announced a week later that it was prepared to release the frenchman and called for negotiations involving the international committee of the red cross and others . colombian president juan manuel santos said his government would do whatever was necessary to guarantee langlois ' release . `` the colombian government is willing to provide all the facilities so the release occurs as quickly as possible , but if you really want to be viewed well by the world , release him now and simply tell us where he is and we will go get him , '' he said earlier this month . kidnapping government forces and civilians has been a key strategy of the rebel group . dramatic rescues , escapes and hostage handovers have revealed harsh conditions in jungle camps , including stories of prisoners chained to trees , grueling marches between hideouts , torrential rain and blistering sun . while severely weakened in recent years , the rebels have continued to carry out kidnappings and attack security forces . cnn 's marilia brocchetto contributed to this report .<doc-sep>during the raid , a sergeant , two soldiers and a national police officer were killed , the ministry of national defense said ; six others were injured . the colombian government is expected to hold a hearing on the april 28 operation . colombian defense minister juan carlos pinzon , along with the commandant of the colombian army gen. alejandro navas are expected to take part . . kidnapping government forces and civilians has been a key strategy of the rebel group . dramatic rescues , escapes and hostage handovers have revealed harsh conditions in jungle camps , including stories of prisoners chained to trees , grueling marches between hideouts , torrential rain and blistering sun . while severely weakened in recent years , the rebels have continued to carry out kidnappings and attack security forces . the 10 hostages released last month were members of the military and police that farc said were its last government hostages . in february , farc also said it would stop kidnapping civilians for money . the rebels did not address the fate of its civilian captives then , nor did it renounce kidnapping for political purposes .<doc-sep>the farc , latin america 's oldest guerrilla force , is currently engaged in peace talks with the colombian government . in july , the group said it would release sutay in a `` gesture '' to advance the talks . norway and cuba are helping to mediate the talks , which are taking place in havana . the farc , whose name in spanish means the revolutionary armed forces of colombia , began fighting colombia 's government in the 1960s . there have been sporadic peace talks between the rebels and the government since the 1980s . the last attempt failed in 2002 . kidnapping government forces and civilians has been a key strategy of the rebel group . last year , the rebels said they would release government prisoners and stop kidnapping civilians for money . the rebels did not address the fate of its civilian captives then , nor did it renounce kidnapping for political purposes . dramatic rescues , escapes and hostage handovers have revealed harsh conditions in jungle camps , including stories of prisoners chained to trees , grueling marches between hideouts , torrential rain and blistering sun .<doc-sep>kidnapping government forces and civilians has been a key strategy of the rebel group in its war against the colombian government . dramatic rescues , escapes and hostage hand-overs have revealed harsh conditions in jungle camps , including stories of prisoners chained to trees , grueling marches between hideouts , torrential rain and blistering sun . among the highest profile rescues in recent years was that of ingrid betancourt , who was kidnapped in 2002 during her campaign for the presidency . she was freed in a helicopter rescue mission in 2008 . colombian commandos posed as humanitarian aid workers to liberate the group , which included three u.s. military contractors and 11 colombian police and military members . monday 's rescue began when two brazilian helicopters arrived in villavicencio for the scheduled hand-over . hours later , delayed by heavy morning rains , one of the choppers took off toward an unspecified location provided by the rebels . the team of intermediaries onboard included red cross officials and a former colombian senator who wiped away tears and waved as the helicopter left . `` we are extremely pleased with the success of the operation , which in a single day allowed for the reunion of 10 families , '' said jordi raich , head of the international committee of the red cross delegation . he promised continued support . `` after so many years of separation , there is still a lot to do to help them overcome the trauma of this period of time that they have not been together , without news , to help them reintegrate into society , '' raich said . the leftist rebels have been at war with the colombian government since the 1960s . while severely weakened in recent years , the group has continued to carry out kidnappings and attack security forces . cnn 's catherine e. shoichet , marilia brocchetto , luisa calad and journalists fernando ramos and toby muse contributed to this report .
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<t> oscar tulio lizcano was kidnapped august 4 , 2000 by colombian leftist rebels . </t> <t> the ex-congressman fled about three days ago with help from one of his captors . </t> <t> the farc holds an estimated 750 hostages in colombia . </t>
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hostage escapes after 8 years in jungle<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sarah palin did not visit troops in iraq , a spokesperson for the republican vice presidential nominee confirmed saturday , as new details emerged about the extent of the alaska governor 's foreign travel . gov. sarah palin 's aide confirmed to cnn details of her foreign travel saturday . in july of last year , palin left north america for the first time to visit alaskan troops stationed in kuwait . palin officials originally said her itinerary included u.s. military installations or outposts in germany and kuwait , and that she had visited ireland . a palin aide in alaska had said iraq was also one of the military stops on that trip . the boston globe , however , reported saturday that in response to questions about the trip , alaska national guard officials and campaign aides said palin did not go past the kuwait-iraq border . in addition , campaign aides also confirmed reports to cnn saturday that palin 's time in ireland on that trip had actually been a refueling stop . the obama campaign -- which has increasingly accused the mccain campaign of deliberately lying in ads and on the stump -- was quick to highlight that story , along with a news report that explored whether the mccain campaign has been sending out wildly inflated crowd estimates . the mccain team has twice pointed to law enforcement as the source for those estimates -- but the same officials denied to bloomberg news that they had provided the numbers cited by the republican nominee 's campaign . `` the mccain campaign said gov. palin opposed the bridge to nowhere , but now we know she supported it , '' said obama spokesman tommy vietor in a statement . `` they said she did n't seek earmarks , but now we know she hired a lobbyist to get millions in pork for her town and her state . they said she visited iraq , but today we learned that she only stopped at the border . americans are starting to wonder , is there anything the mccain campaign is n't lying about ? '' a palin spokesperson also confirmed that the governor had visited mexico on a personal vacation . she has also visited canada . the palin revelations saturday are the latest in a series of barbs between the two presidential campaigns . mccain , appearing friday on abc 's `` the view , '' was aggressively pressed on palin 's qualifications to be vice president as well as his new campaign ads that several independent fact-check groups have called misleading . co-host barbara walters asked about palin 's reformist credentials , noting mccain has served in washington for more than two decades and asking repeatedly , `` who 's she going to reform , you ? '' mccain answered by saying democrats have controlled congress for two years , but then walters quickly interrupted : `` but tell me who she is going to reform -- we are n't talking about the economy , we 're not talking about housing ; she was chosen to reform , who is she going to reform ? '' appearing somewhat frustrated , mccain said , `` the democrat party , the republican party , even an independent . she 'll reform all of washington . '' walters , seeming somewhat exasperated , asked , `` how ? what will she do ? what is she going to reform specifically , senator ? '' mccain said palin had a strong record on vetoing earmark spending . watch more of mccain 's appearance on `` the view '' '' `` the fact is she was a reform governor , she took on an incumbent governor of her own party and defeated him . she sold the airplane and fired the chef , '' mccain said , referring to palin 's efforts to put her predecessor 's state jet up for auction on ebay and her dismissal of the governor 's personal chef . `` she sold the airplane at a loss , '' walters interrupted . -lrb- the jet failed to draw sufficient bids on ebay and later was sold at a loss through an ordinary aircraft brokerage . -rrb- . also on friday , both campaigns accused each other of engaging in lies , unfair attacks and gutter politics in a series of television ads and memos . mccain 's campaign released a television ad , titled `` disrespectful , '' that accuses mccain 's democratic rival of launching desperate attacks and smears against palin . in the mccain ad , the announcer says the obama camp had `` lashed out at sarah palin '' and dismissed palin as `` good-looking '' as the democratic nominee 's face appears on the screen . the announcer also says the democrats had said palin was doing `` what she was told '' and had `` desperately '' called her a liar . `` how disrespectful , '' the announcer says . `` and how gov. sarah palin proves them wrong , every day . '' obama never made any of the statements the mccain camp released to support the ad , and the comment that palin was `` good-looking '' was made by the democratic vice presidential nominee , sen. joe biden , in a self-deprecating joke when he was asked what the obvious differences were between the two vice presidential nominees . watch the mccain ad '' biden repeatedly has said on the campaign trail that he respected palin and that he thought she was qualified for the vice presidency . factcheck.org pointed out the quote from an obama adviser that palin was doing `` what she was told '' was taken out of context . the quote is taken from the response of obama 's chief strategist , david axelrod , in which he said palin had misrepresented obama 's legislative record . `` maybe that 's what she was told '' about his voting record , axelrod said . the obama campaign , meanwhile , launched two television ads friday . in one , the campaign paints mccain as being out of touch by showing pictures of him when he first entered the senate in 1982 as disco music plays . the ad also highlights mccain 's own admissions that he lacks computer skills and does not use e-mail . watch the obama ad attacking mccain '' in the second obama ad , the candidate himself appears . `` we 've heard a lot of talk about change this year . the question is , change to what ? '' obama asks . the ads come as obama 's campaign manager , david plouffe , issued a tough memo to reporters that accused mccain and his campaign of turning to `` smears , lies and cynical attempts to distract from the issues . '' cnn 's peter hamby , ed hornick and rebecca sinderbrand contributed to this report .<doc-sep>hillary clinton was not telling the truth when she said the obama campaign asked her to attack sarah palin for being a woman , president barack obama 's 2008 campaign manager , david plouffe , said in an interview released last weekend . ` we never tried to do that , ' plouffe said on an episode of bloomberg television 's political capital with al hunt . ` we did want her to go out there and speak , but not about sarah palin 's gender . ' scroll down for video . he said she said : president barack obama 's 2008 campaign manager , david plouffe , says hillary clinton was never asked to make a gender-based attack on sarah palin during the 2008 presidential election . plouffe is pictured here at a bloomberg conference last november . former secretary of state hillary clinton claims in her new book that barack obama 's 2008 presidential campaign wanted her to make a sexist attack on sarah palin when she was announced as the republican vice presidential candidate . clinton claimed in an interview with nbc earlier this month that , ` the day -lsb- palin -rsb- was nominated , the obama campaign did contact me and asked me if i would attack her . ' ' i . said , `` attack her for what -- for being a woman ? attack her for being on . a ticket that 's trying to draw attention ? there 'll be plenty of time to . do what i think you should do in politics , which is draw distinctions , '' ' clinton recalled .<doc-sep>mcgraw says palin 's pentecostal roots may be being downplayed for a reason : `` i think there may be issues of belief that could be misunderstood or played upon by people that do n't know . '' when asked by cnn about palin 's beliefs , campaign spokeswoman meghan stapleton would only say the republican vice presidential candidate has `` deep religious convictions . '' watch how palin 's religious roots formed '' but how might her religious beliefs impact policy in washington if the republican ticket is successful ? palin 's former pastor says he has no doubt her religious beliefs will influence her decision making when it comes to government policy . regarding her desire to build an alaskan pipeline and explore for oil in the arctic national wildlife refuge , mcgraw told cnn , `` sarah knows that in genesis , god creates the world and it 's very good and that we 're supposed to be caretakers in terms of not destroying the environment , so there 's no way that sarah is going to exploit or damage the alaska tundra in the name of getting gas if she does n't have to . '' palin 's neighbors react to her swift rise . six years ago , palin left assembly of god to join the non-denominational wasilla bible church . but the assembly of god says she still returns for special conferences and events , such as the graduation of ministry students in june . video of a speech she gave at the church just two months before joining the republican ticket is making the rounds on the internet . speaking of the troops in iraq , palin says on the video , `` pray for our military men and women who are striving do to what is right . also for this country , that our leaders , our national leaders , are sending them out on a task that is from god . that 's what we have to make sure that we 're praying for -- that there is a plan , and that plan is god 's plan . '' watch palin speak at her former church ''<doc-sep>mccain spokesman brian rogers told cnn the campaign saw a `` big difference '' between the two references : `` mccain was referring to a policy proposal . obama was referring to -lsb- alaska -rsb- gov. sarah palin . it 's obviously disrespectful and offensive . ... `` who has been talking about lipstick lately ? it was obvious . the crowd went crazy because of it . '' it was n't the first time obama used the line . in a phone interview with the washington post last september , he used it in reference to the situation in iraq . `` i think that both gen. -lsb- david -rsb- petraeus and ambassador -lsb- ryan -rsb- crocker are capable people who have been given an impossible assignment , '' obama told the post . `` george bush has given a mission to gen. petraeus , and he has done his best to try to figure out how to put lipstick on a pig . '' other politicians have also used the phrase in recent years , including vice president dick cheney , sen. maria cantwell of washington state , sen. james inhofe of oklahoma , sen. mitch mcconnell of kentucky , rep. john mica of florida and rep. tom tancredo of colorado , among others . torie clarke , a former mccain adviser , even wrote a book called , `` lipstick on a pig : winning in the no-spin era by someone who knows the game . '' still , the mccain campaign says obama 's use was intentional , and they want an apology . `` barack obama 's comments today are offensive and disgraceful . he owes gov. palin an apology , '' said maria comella , a mccain-palin spokeswoman . obama 's campaign said `` enough is enough '' and accused mccain of running a `` dishonorable campaign . '' `` the mccain campaign 's attack tonight is a pathetic attempt to play the gender card about the use of a common analogy -- the same analogy that sen. mccain himself used about sen. hillary rodham clinton 's health care plan just last year , '' said obama campaign senior adviser anita dunn . `` this phony lecture on gender sensitivity is the height of cynicism and lays bare the increasingly dishonorable campaign john mccain has chosen to run . '' mccain ally mike huckabee took obama 's side on the issue , saying he did n't think it was a swipe at palin . `` it 's an old expression , and i 'm going to have to cut obama some slack on that one . i do not think he was referring to sarah palin ; he did n't reference her . if you take the two sound bites together , it may sound like it , '' he said on fox 's `` hannity and colmes . '' `` but i 've been a guy at the podium many times , and you say something that 's maybe a part of an old joke and then somebody ties it in . so , i 'm going to have to cut him slack . '' but mccain 's campaign is not about to let the issue go . they released a web ad wednesday that plays obama 's lipstick comments , then asks , `` ready to lead ? no . ready to smear ? yes . '' cnn 's rebecca sinderbrand , sasha johnson and chris welch contributed to this report .<doc-sep>wasilla , alaska -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- for more than two decades , vice presidential nominee sarah palin was a practicing pentecostal . she belonged to the wasilla assembly of god church in her hometown of wasilla , alaska . but though she attended the church from her teenage years to 2002 , the alaska governor has n't talked much about her religion since joining the republican ticket . palin 's former pastor , tim mcgraw , says that like many pentecostal churches , some members speak in tongues , although he says he 's never seen palin do so . church member caroline spangler told cnn , `` when the spirit comes on you , you utter things that nobody else can understand ... only god can understand what is coming out of our mouths . '' some pentecostals from assembly of god also believe in `` faith healing '' and the `` end times '' -- a violent upheaval that they believe will deliver jesus christ 's second coming . `` our basic belief is that god is god and he knows where history is going and he has a purposeful plan and within the middle of that plan we live in an environment in our world where certain events would take place , '' says mcgraw . `` sarah was n't taught to look for one particular sign -- a cataclysmic sign . she knew as every christian does ... that god is sovereign and he is in control . '' the mccain campaign says the governor does n't consider herself pentecostal . watch palin 's father talk about her religious upbringing ''
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<t> new details emerge on gov. sarah palin 's foreign travels . </t> <t> campaign now says she did n't visit troops in iraq , only the border . </t> <t> questions surround the crowd size of a mccain-palin event in virginia . </t> <t> john mccain gets grilled on `` the view '' while defending palin . </t>
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palin never in iraq , campaign now says<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- comedian george carlin , known for pushing the envelope with his use of profanity and for pointing out the silliness and hypocrisy of human life , died of heart failure sunday . he was 71 . ireporter kevin eckhoff met george carlin at a show in st. louis , missouri , in 2004 . ireporter chris sargent says , `` he could play with words and phrases in ways that would put the most highly regarded english professors and linguists to shame . '' cnn.com invited readers to share tales of meeting carlin , and the impact he had on their lives . below is a selection of their responses , some of which have been edited for length and clarity . melanie phillips of salem , oregon : i met george carlin in the early '70s at a performance he gave at los angeles valley college . the large auditorium was filled to capacity so they closed the doors leaving about 40 people outside . when carlin came up on stage he asked , `` who are all those people staring in the windows ? '' the host told him the fire marshal had locked them out .<doc-sep>carlin thought for a moment then asked , `` how many people are allowed to be on stage ? '' the legal limit was 50 . the comedian turned to the audience and said , `` forty of you people in the first few rows come up on stage and give those people outside your seats . '' my friend and i ran up on stage and we all gathered in a circle around him , like at a campfire . for the next 90 minutes , carlin did his entire act by taking our requests , `` hippy dippy weatherman , '' `` seven words ... '' after the show was over , he passed through our little circle , shaking hands -lrb- including mine -rrb- as he quickly made his way off stage to avoid being swamped by fans . it was one of my most memorable experiences and a grand gesture for the 40 fans who had been locked out . alexis karlin of boston , massachusetts : when i was little my dad had this box car and one day he put a george carlin tape in it and it got stuck . so for a year until the car died we listened to this george carlin tape over and over and over again . ... i wo n't miss that car but i will miss george carlin .<doc-sep>chris sargent of laurel , maryland : last night , the world 's greatest comedian and champion of the first amendment , george carlin , died at the age of 71 from heart failure . he was one of the few things my father and i had in common , as i have fond memories of sitting in the living room with him , watching george on hbo , and laughing our a *** s off . his gift was to make us think about everything . he could play with words and phrases in ways that would put the most highly regarded english professors and linguists to shame . kevin eckhoff of jacksonville , illinois : george was in classic form as he arrived for a show in late 2004 at the touhill performing arts center in st. louis . this was my second time meeting george . he signed the photo from our first meeting , took this new photo , and then proceeded to begin signing my friend 's albums . before he started , he paused , fanned out the records , looked at each , and in his own special way said , `` you know , i go from city to city and you guys -lrb- autograph collectors -rrb- always have my records in such great shape . just where the **** do you get these records in such pristine condition ? '' we all busted out laughing . we 'll miss you george ! thanks for a great memory .<doc-sep>cnn 's larry king knew george carlin for 50 years . he spoke to cnn.com about his relationship with the comedian and will remember carlin on tonight 's larry king live , 9 et . larry king interviews george carlin on june 7 , 2001 . king knew carlin for 50 years . cnn : when did you first meet george carlin ? larry king : in 1958 , i introduced him at a big dj convention in miami . he was a straight comic then , all his bits dealt with radio , things like the hippy-dippy weatherman . from there , we became friendly , and we occasionally went to dinner in new york . cnn : when did you last see him ? larry king : a couple of months ago , i saw him at the regency hotel in new york . i was checking in , he was checking out . we talked a little bit . he had remarried -- his first wife had died -- and he was very happy . my heart doctor in los angeles had treated george in the past , and had told me that he had terrible heart problems . cnn : where does he rank as a comedian ? larry king : he was one of the brightest comedians in my lifetime . whether you agreed or disagreed with him , it was always well thought out . he wrote out all his material by hand , and then memorized it . everything he said was totally his own , and he 'd do a new act every year , which is very hard to do . watch george carlin on larry king live ''<doc-sep>the recall includes a total of 249,260 vehicles that were sold in connecticut , delaware , illinois , indiana , iowa , maine , maryland , massachusetts , michigan , minnesota , missouri , new hampshire , new jersey , new york , ohio , pennsylvania , rhode island , vermont , west virginia , wisconsin and the district of columbia . a solution to the problem is still being finalized , according to the recall . owners will be notified if their vehicle is included in the recall by the respective car makers . romney ohio ad hits obama over auto bailout . previously on cnn.com -- biden 's 2012 message : ` osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive ' previously on cnn.com : romney avoids mention of bailout in detroit suburb .<doc-sep>editor 's note : we asked readers to weigh in on cnn.com live producer jarrett bellini 's vacation destination , and you chose south africa . check back for updates on his trip . cnn.com 's jarrett bellini tours vineyards outside cape town , south africa . cape town , south africa -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- i 'm not a wine drinker .<doc-sep>fodor 's chose one hotel from each category to highlight for cnn.com readers . click through the gallery to see their picks .
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<t> cnn.com readers share their memories of carlin , his comedy . </t> <t> carlin once invited fans to sit on stage so more people could see his show . </t> <t> alexis karlin says for a year , a carlin tape was stuck in her dad 's car stereo . </t> <t> ireport.com : share your tales , memories of comedy great george carlin . </t>
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cnn.com readers recall kind , talented carlin<T>
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harare , zimbabwe -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the reserve bank of zimbabwe -lrb- rbz -rrb- has introduced a $ 1,000 note -- $ 10 trillion in the old value -- as the country battles to end cash shortages in the hyper-inflationary environment . zimbabwe 's currency is trading around z$ 350 -- $ 35 trillion in the old value -- against u.s. dollar . however , analysts said the new note -- which can only buy a loaf of bread -- will not ease pressure on cash shortages because of the ever-increasing prices .<doc-sep>`` it will not make even a small impact . what we need in zimbabwe is a clear change of policies , start production and then inflation will start easing up , '' said john robertson , an economic consultant . `` the zeros seem to be coming back no matter how often they slash them . '' in august , zimbabwe slashed ten zeroes on the currency ; two years earlier the country slashed three zeros . the zeroes keep bouncing back in the country that has an inflation rate of 11.2 million -- the highest in the world . zimbabwe 's agro-based economy has been on a free-fall for more than a decade now .<doc-sep>the situation was exacerbated by the destruction of commercial agriculture in 2000 when president robert mugabe 's government embarked on a violent land grab from white farmers and gave it to inexperienced black farmers . mugabe denies that he is to blame for the country 's economic collapse , citing economic sanctions that have been placed on zimbabwe . since 2000 , zimbabwe 's currency has been depreciating against major currency . it is trading around $ 350 zimbabwean dollars -- $ 35 trillion in the old value -- against the u.s. dollar .<doc-sep>harare , zimbabwe -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- zimbabwe 's central bank says it will soon introduce a 100 trillion dollar note as the once prosperous country battles to keep pace with hyperinflation that has caused many to abandon the country 's currency . a boy examines the new $ 50 billion dollar note issued by zimbabwe 's central bank on january 13 , 2009 . the reserve bank of zimbabwe said the new notes that includes 50 trillion , 20 trillion and 10 trillion would be released for the `` convenience of the public , '' according to statement released thursday . `` in a move meant to ensure that the public has access to their money from banks , the reserve bank of zimbabwe has introduced a new family of bank notes which will gradually come into circulation , starting with the 10 trillion zimbabwe dollar , '' the bank said in its announcement . the new 100 trillion dollar bill would be worth about $ 300 in u.s. currency . a loaf of bread in zimbabwe now costs about 300 billion zimbabwean dollars -- and like most commodities , the price increases every day . earlier this month , zimbabwe introduced a 50 billion dollar bill as the country battles to fight cash shortages stemming from the world 's highest inflation rate . the official rate was 231 million percent as of july . the currency is in free fall , forcing traders to peg their prices to international currency to hedge against losses . the zimbabwean dollar is facing extinction , with most traders now accepting other countries ' notes , claiming that they import their products . even vegetable vendors prefer the u.s. dollar , south african rand or botswanan pula , and most workers now demand their salaries in foreign currency . doctors and nurses have been on strike since last september , demanding salaries in u.s. dollars . the strike coincided with a cholera epidemic that now has claimed more than 2,000 lives . last week , the state media reported that most teachers had left their jobs . as a result , the end-of-year examinations taken in november are yet to be graded after the markers demanded their wages in foreign currency . schools are yet to re-open this year awaiting the examination results .<doc-sep>harare , zimbabwe -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the reserve bank of zimbabwe -lrb- rbz -rrb- has introduced a $ 1,000 note -- $ 10 trillion in the old value -- as the country battles to end cash shortages in the hyper-inflationary environment . zimbabwe 's currency is trading around z$ 350 -- $ 35 trillion in the old value -- against u.s. dollar . however , analysts said the new note -- which can only buy a loaf of bread -- will not ease pressure on cash shortages because of the ever-increasing prices .<doc-sep>harare , zimbabwe -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- zimbabwe slashed 12 zeros from its currency as hyperinflation continued to erode its value , the country 's central bank announced monday . patrick chinamasa , zimbabwe 's acting finance minister , arrives last week at parliament to present the '09 budget . `` even in the face of current economic and political challenges confronting the economy , the zimbabwe dollar ought to and must remain the nation 's currency , so as to safeguard our national identity and sovereignty . ... our national currency is a fundamental economic pillar of our sovereignty , '' said gideon gono , governor of the reserve bank of zimbabwe . `` accordingly , therefore , this monetary policy statement unveils yet another necessary program of revaluing our local currency , through the removal of 12 zeros with immediate effect . '' the move means that 1 trillion in zimbabwe dollars now will be equivalent to one zimbabwe dollar . the old notes -- with the highest being 100 trillion dollars -- not enough to buy a loaf of bread -- will remain valid until june 30 , after which they will cease to be legal tender . one u.s. dollar is trading above 300 trillion zimbabwe dollars . this third attempt to lop off zeros comes barely six months after the zimbabwe government last adjusted its currency as it continues to lose value .<doc-sep>the old notes -- with the highest being 100 trillion dollars -- not enough to buy a loaf of bread -- will remain valid until june 30 , after which they will cease to be legal tender . one u.s. dollar is trading above 300 trillion zimbabwe dollars . this third attempt to lop off zeros comes barely six months after the zimbabwe government last adjusted its currency as it continues to lose value . world-record inflation estimated to be in the billions of percent -- but officially at 231 million percent as of july last year -- has quickly eroded the currency 's value again and again . the highest note on the new set is 500 zimbabwe dollars . many zimbabwean traders have stopped accepting the local currency , preferring foreign currency due to the hyperinflationary environment . last week , the country 's acting finance minister , patrick chinamasa , allowed the use of foreign currency by everyone else .
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<t> z$ 1,000 note can only purchase a loaf of bread . </t> <t> zimbabwe 's agro-based economy in free-fall for more than a decade . </t> <t> robert mugabe blames country 's economic collapse on sanctions . </t>
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zimbabwe replaces $ 10 trillion banknote<T>
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johannesburg , south africa -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- ten south african ministers and the deputy president have resigned as president thabo mbeki prepares to leave office . south african president thabo mbeki announced his resignation in a televised address sunday . his replacement , african national congress deputy president kgalema motlanthe , will be sworn in as south africa 's president thursday . mbeki announced he was resigning on sunday , prompting threats from several cabinet members to follow suit -- but the outgoing president urged them to stay in office , government sources said . the resignations , which include finance minister trevor manuel and defense minister mosiuoa lekota , will take effect thursday when mbeki steps down , a government statement said . `` all the ministers have expressed their availability to assist the incoming administration in the hand-over process and any other assistance that might be sought from them , '' the statement said . the finance minister 's assistant told cnn that manuel is willing to serve in the new government , if needed .<doc-sep>three deputy ministers have also tendered their resignations , a government statement said . a spokesman for south africa 's ruling party , the african national congress , confirmed that it has named motlanthe as its choice to succeed mbeki . motlanthe will stay in office until elections in the spring of next year , which anc president jacob zuma is widely expected to win . earlier this month , the anc asked mbeki to step down after a judge threw out the corruption , fraud and racketeering case against zuma -- mbeki 's political arch rival . the judge called the case invalid and accused mbeki 's government of political interference . mbeki -- who has been south africa 's president for nearly 10 years -- spoke of some of his achievements when he formally announced his resignation on sunday during a televised address . watch the significance of mbeki `` falling on the sword '' '' `` i depart this office knowing that many men and woman in south africa have worked to achieve better lives for all , '' mbeki said . under his leadership the country has had the longest period of sustained economic growth in the south africa 's history and has reached out to indigent people in an unprecedented way , mbeki said .<doc-sep>mbeki said the country still has economic , corruption and crime challenges to face in the future . and he gave his vote of confidence to the country 's next leader without naming who that leader would be . gwede mantashe , secretary-general of the african national congress , announced saturday that the party -- which mbeki has been involved with since his teens -- had asked him to leave before his term was up . mbeki agreed to do so , he said . mantashe said the anc made the decision `` for the citizens of south africa , so there could be stability within the country '' and so the anc movement could remain `` stable and unified . '' the case against zuma -- who replaced mbeki as anc president last year -- was thrown out in september 2006 , but the national prosecuting authority recharged him . judge chris nicholson made no ruling on zuma 's guilt or innocence , and he could be recharged . political observers doubted that would happen because of zuma 's popularity , particularly with the communist party and trade unions .<doc-sep>zuma has denied the charges . he said the case was politically motivated , and harmed his chances to become the anc 's presidential nominee . he could have faced at least 15 years in jail if convicted of accepting bribes from a company that got a contract in a multibillion-dollar arms deal . he also faced charges of having a corrupt relationship with his former financial adviser , schabir shaik , who is serving a 15-year sentence for soliciting bribes for zuma and using zuma 's political influence to benefit his businesses . mbeki , 66 , succeeded nelson mandela as south africa 's president in june 1999 . critics alleged he pushed for the corruption charges against zuma . mbeki recently brokered a power-sharing deal between zimbabwe 's political rivals , who signed the agreement on monday in an effort to put aside the violent past and end the crisis that has paralyzed zimbabwe since disputed national elections in march . under it , longtime zimbabwean leader robert mugabe remains president , while his perennial rival , morgan tsvangirai , has become prime minister and the coordinator of government affairs .<doc-sep>johannesburg , south africa -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- ten south african ministers and the deputy president have resigned as president thabo mbeki prepares to leave office . south african president thabo mbeki announced his resignation in a televised address sunday . his replacement , african national congress deputy president kgalema motlanthe , will be sworn in as south africa 's president thursday . mbeki announced he was resigning on sunday , prompting threats from several cabinet members to follow suit -- but the outgoing president urged them to stay in office , government sources said . the resignations , which include finance minister trevor manuel and defense minister mosiuoa lekota , will take effect thursday when mbeki steps down , a government statement said . `` all the ministers have expressed their availability to assist the incoming administration in the hand-over process and any other assistance that might be sought from them , '' the statement said . the finance minister 's assistant told cnn that manuel is willing to serve in the new government , if needed .<doc-sep>three deputy ministers have also tendered their resignations , a government statement said . a spokesman for south africa 's ruling party , the african national congress , confirmed that it has named motlanthe as its choice to succeed mbeki . motlanthe will stay in office until elections in the spring of next year , which anc president jacob zuma is widely expected to win . earlier this month , the anc asked mbeki to step down after a judge threw out the corruption , fraud and racketeering case against zuma -- mbeki 's political arch rival . the judge called the case invalid and accused mbeki 's government of political interference . mbeki -- who has been south africa 's president for nearly 10 years -- spoke of some of his achievements when he formally announced his resignation on sunday during a televised address . watch the significance of mbeki `` falling on the sword '' '' `` i depart this office knowing that many men and woman in south africa have worked to achieve better lives for all , '' mbeki said . under his leadership the country has had the longest period of sustained economic growth in the south africa 's history and has reached out to indigent people in an unprecedented way , mbeki said .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sudan and south sudan signed an agreement friday to soon withdraw their respective military forces from a demilitarized zone between the two african countries , officials from both nations said . signed in addis ababa , ethiopia , the deal was brokered by former south african president thabo mbeki . defense ministers from both sudan and south sudan promised they will implement the agreement over the 14-mile-wide area later this month . `` we will be ... committed , definitely , to implement -lrb- the agreement -rrb- word-by-word and step-by-step , '' sudan defense minister lt. gen. abdal-rahim mohamed hussein said .<doc-sep>agliotti recently received a 10-year suspended prison sentence in a drug case after entering into a plea bargain . he is also accused of involvement in the 2005 killing of mining magnate brett kebble , according to south african media reports . a court on friday rejected an application to halt the prosecution by selebi , who has been under investigation for around two years . mbeki denied that he had been too slow in dealing with the fallout from the charges . `` i have said many times that if there was anyone who came to me with information indicating that the national commissioner had behaved improperly then i would act on such information . no one has come to me with such information , '' mbeki said . e-mail to a friend .
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<t> 10 s. african ministers , deputy president resign with president thabo mbeki . </t> <t> replacement , anc deputy president kgalema motlanthe , sworn in thursday . </t> <t> mbeki quit after court case collapsed against longtime rival jacob zuma . </t>
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10 south african ministers resign with mbeki<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- former president bill clinton said thursday he thinks that barack obama will win big in the upcoming presidential election . bill clinton and barack obama chat at clinton 's harlem office . `` i predict that sen. obama will win and win handily , '' clinton said when asked his opinion on the state of the race . obama smiled at clinton 's prediction , saying , `` there you go , you can take it from the president of the united states . he knows a little something about politics . '' the two men chatted with reporters in a photo-op at clinton 's harlem office before sitting down for a private lunch . according to cnn 's average of national polls , john mccain currently holds a 1-point lead over obama , 46-45 percent . ireport.com : still undecided ? the poll of polls , released thursday afternoon , is composed of the following five national general election surveys : fox news/opinion dynamics -lrb- september 8-9 -rrb- , nbc/wall street journal -lrb- september 6-8 -rrb- , american research group -lrb- september 6-8 -rrb- , gallup -lrb- september 8-10 -rrb- , and diageo/hotline -lrb- september 8-10 -rrb- . it does not have a sampling error . clinton is scheduled to campaign for obama in florida once he wraps up some business with his clinton global initiative . according to aides , the former president will do a mix of fundraisers and public appearances on behalf of the democratic ticket throughout the fall . `` we 're putting him to work , '' said obama . `` i 've agreed to do a substantial number of things , whatever i 'm asked to do , '' clinton said . watch clinton make his prediction '' the image of the two men meeting comes as a relief to many democrats who have been hoping to put to rest the `` clinton-obama rift '' storyline . both sides agreed a face-to-face meeting with the former president would go a long way toward putting the contentious primary season behind them .<doc-sep>hillary clinton campaigned for obama earlier in the week in florida and will campaign in ohio this weekend . obama 's running mate , joe biden , spoke thursday with first responders in parma , ohio . he opened up the event by telling everyone he did not plan to talk politics . `` let 's pull together , let 's say together . this is nothing to do with democrats , republicans -- it 's about americans , '' he said . obama and mccain also put aside politics thursday to commemorate the september 11 terrorist attacks . the two appeared together at ground zero in new york city to lay roses at the 9/11 memorial and speak with first responders and family members of victims . they were joined by cindy mccain and new york city mayor michael bloomberg . ireport.com : see photos from the scene . later thursday , obama and mccain will share the stage briefly as they appear back-to-back at the servicenation presidential candidates forum at columbia university in new york . meanwhile , republican vice presidential candidate sarah palin headed home to alaska after spending the week campaigning with mccain . the pair drew a crowd of more than 20,000 in the sturdily democratic county of fairfax , virginia , on wednesday . that was their largest crowd to date . after that event , palin returned home so she could attend her son 's deployment ceremony on thursday . track palin enlisted in the u.s. army exactly one year ago . his brigade is going to iraq . watch more on palin 's return to alaska ''<doc-sep>later thursday , palin will give her first television interview with a national media outlet since being named as mccain 's running mate . the alaska governor will spend two days with abc 's charlie gibson . the interview will be part sit-down , part walk-and-talk at various locations in alaska . so far , palin has taken no questions from reporters traveling with her on the campaign trail . an issue that could come up in the interview is the controversy that emerged this week over her per diem charges as governor . the washington post reported tuesday that palin had billed the state a per diem for 312 days she spent at home , and requested reimbursement for plane rides and hotel rooms for her husband and children , including a $ 707 room when her daughter accompanied her on a trip to new york to attend a newsweek forum . the paper noted that officials said the claims were justified under existing state regulations . the mccain campaign said that palin had reduced yearly travel expenses by roughly 80 percent of the amount spent by predecessor frank murkowski . palin 's spokeswoman maria comella said the governor 's top priority was `` creating accountability and transparency in government to root out waste and corruption . '' `` gov. palin is obviously expected to travel frequently around the state for community events and to meet with alaskans . this is part of her job , and it 's reasonable that her travel expenses , which were reduced dramatically from the previous administration , would be covered , '' comella said in a statement . palin is expected to rejoin mccain on the trail early next week . cnn 's sasha johnson , dana bash and alexander mooney contributed to this report .<doc-sep>chris dodd : stepped down ; . . . ted kennedy : dead , ' an aide once joked , the book claims . speaking of kennedy , the book claims the longtime massachusetts senator ` had slashed hillary worst of all , delivering a pivotal endorsement . speech for obama just before the super tuesday primaries -lsb- in 2008 -rsb- that . cast her as yesterday 's news and obama as the rightful heir to camelot , ' the authors wrote . ` bill clinton had pleaded with kennedy to hold off , . but to no avail . ' the book claims that the clinton 's enemies list was started in 2008 after hillary lost the primary to obama . the planning stages for a potential 2016 candidacy for hillary gained more steam in 2012 when obama struggled to beat mitt romney in the general election . according to the book , bill clinton offered letters of recommendation and political endorsements to those he feels could help his wife win the white house in 2016 . he also used it to punish those who supported obama in the past . according to the post , clinton backed democratic new jersey congressman bill pascrell in a primary against congressman steve rothman after the two representatives ' districts had been merged into one . rothman was an early obama supporter in the 2008 primary , and apparently had drawn the ire of the clinton camp - with bill 's backing , pascrell easily defeated rothman . rival : bill clinton refused to appear with senator elizabeth warren because she could be a threat to hillary winning in 2016 . the book claims that the clintons tried to get pennsylvania congressman jason altmire to support hillary 's campaign in 2008 . altmire , however , endorsed obama . in 2012 , when altmire was in a primary battle with opponent mark critz , bill clinton backed critz , who went on to win the primary . when clinton did what previously was unthinkable - campaign for obama in 2012 - the book claims he went out of this way to make sure he did nothing to hurt his wife 's chances in 2016 . according to the book , obama asked bill clinton to appear with massachusetts senator elizabeth warren . he declined , the book claims , because warren was viewed as a potential hillary opponent in a 2016 primary .<doc-sep>by . hayley peterson and daily mail reporter . published : . 12:07 est , 4 november 2012 . | . updated : . 02:50 est , 5 november 2012 . president obama 's top campaign advisers declared on sunday that republican mitt romney was in ` deep trouble ' and had no chance of winning the election on tuesday , citing president bill clinton 's help as a key factor . ` as many ups and downs as it has been in this journey - two days away from winning re-election with clinton on the plane - we 'd far rather be us than them , ' obama spokeswoman jen psaki told reporters on board air force one sunday , as the president and clinton sat huddled together in another section of the plane . the 42nd and 44th u.s. presidents are scheduled to campaign together in florida , ohio and colorado before obama 's final day of campaigning on monday in wisconsin , ohio and iowa , when clinton will hold four events in pennsylvania . the appearance came on the same day as vice president joe biden predicted a big election day win for the president . scroll down for video . confidence : president obama 's top campaign advisers declared on sunday that mitt romney has no chance of winning the election , especially with former president bill clinton on obama 's side . teamwork : obama and clinton fired up a crowd in concord , new hampshire on sunday . ' i think we 're going to win . i do n't think it will be close in the electoral college , i think we 're going to win clearly , ' he said during an interview with chris matthews . ` and i think you 're going to see , i think we 're going to win this state , ohio . i 've been in here 23 , 24 days , something like that . ' i think we 're going to win iowa , we 're going to win wisconsin , we 're going to win nevada , we 're going to win new hampshire . i think we 've got an even change of winning wirginia and florida so it could be a big win . and it also could be close . but i think the firewall here of ohio , wisconsin , iowa , i think it 's going to hold firm . ' top obama adviser david axelrod echoed his confidence , and insisted that the romney campaign is running . scared . ` they understand that they 're in deep . trouble , ' axelrod said on ` fox news sunday . ' ` they 've tried to expand . the map because they know in states like ohio ... they 're behind and . they 're not catching up at this point . ' axelrod was referring to the romney . campaign 's late push to win pennsylvania , a state that typically votes . democratic but that republicans think they can swing to their advantage . on tuesday . the state carries 20 electoral votes , two more than the . prized battleground state of ohio . bright day : many polls are suggesting that the president may win re-election by just a point or two . on the brink : the president attended rallies in the swing states of nevada and florida on sunday . reaching out : obama makes a point to shake hands with one special young supporter . feeling the love : he appears giddy at one event in cincinnati , ohio on sunday . a chicago tribune poll released . sunday provided evidence that republicans ' strategy may be working : it . showed romney and obama tied at 47 per cent support among the state 's . likely voters . with two days until the election , . national polls show obama and romney running neck and neck as they . sprint to the finish line with jam-packed campaign schedules taking them . to nearly every swing state from now until election day . but axelrod said he 's not concerned . he argued that romney 's late trips to . florida and virginia are signs that republicans have n't locked up . states where they should be performing well . ` they understand that the .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sen. hillary clinton on thursday sharpened her attacks on democratic rival sen. barack obama as she faces what even her supporters admit are must-win situations in texas and ohio in the weeks ahead . at a campaign stop at a general motors corp. plant in youngstown , ohio , the senator from new york accused obama of caving in to special interests . `` my opponent says that he 'll take on the special interests , '' she said . `` well , he told people he stood up to the nuclear industry and passed a bill against them . but he actually let the nuclear industry water down his bill -- the bill never actually passed . '' clinton was referring to a 2006 bill that obama drafted after an illinois nuclear power plant was found to have released radiation into surrounding groundwater . obama 's original bill would have required power plants to notify the public and government officials when any radiation was released , but subsequent versions had less stringent reporting requirements , the new york times reported . the bill was never voted on by the full senate . clinton also accused obama of supporting `` billions of dollars of breaks for the oil industry '' by voting for an energy bill she opposed and said he did not support the workers of a maytag corp. plant that closed in his home state of illinois . watch clinton attack obama '' reacting to clinton 's charges , obama spokesman bill burton said his candidate `` does n't need any lectures on special interests from the candidate who 's taken more money from washington lobbyists than any republican running for president . '' `` sen. clinton may have said that attacks and distortions are the ` fun ' and ` exciting ' part of the campaign , but they 're exactly what everyone else in america is tired of , '' burton said . in recent days , clinton has challenged obama 's ability to deliver on his rhetoric .<doc-sep>charlotte , north carolina -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- republicans got first serve in their convention last week . can democrats break serve , or will the presidential race go to a tiebreaker in november ? here are five things to watch for at the democratic national convention : . 1 . new man on the big stage -- most americans have never heard of the mayor of san antonio . they will after tuesday night when julian castro becomes the first latino to give the keynote address at a democratic convention . past keynote speakers such as bill clinton and barack obama made it to the white house . maybe that 's raising too many expectations for castro , but his speech will be looked upon the same way . 2 . 2016 contenders -- sen. marco rubio of florida and vice presidential nominee paul ryan gave blockbuster speeches at the republican convention in tampa , florida . new jersey gov. chris christie 's keynote address did n't go over as well . all three could make bids for the gop presidential nomination in 2016 if mitt romney does n't win in november . so which democrats are waiting in the wings ? govs. martin o'malley of maryland , brian schweitzer of montana and john hickenlooper of colorado all have an opportunity in charlotte . 3 . turncoats -- is charlie crist the artur davis of this convention ? davis , the former democratic congressman from alabama who seconded obama 's nomination four years ago , had a high-profile speech at the republican convention . now it 's crist 's turn . what will the former republican governor of florida , who could possibly run for his old office as a democrat , say when he gets in front of the podium in charlotte ? 4 . what will bill clinton say ? -- there 's probably more anticipation , and questions , around the former president 's wednesday prime-time address . once former adversaries when hillary clinton was running against obama , bill clinton has become one of obama 's strongest advocates . but the big question is what will clinton say when he nominates obama for re-election wednesday ? obama campaign officials said they have n't seen clinton 's speech yet , but they said they are `` not worried '' about what he 'll say . 5 . the ticket -- the traditional role of running mate is to be the attack dog . will vice president joe biden slam romney as much as ryan attacked obama ? and how much of what the president will say in his acceptance speech is a defense of his first term and how much is an outline of what he wants to do over the next four years ?
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<t> new : barack obama , john mccain lay roses at ground zero . </t> <t> new polls show both candidates with slim leads in key battleground states . </t> <t> biden speaks with first responders in parma , ohio . </t> <t> sarah palin back in alaska for son 's deployment ceremony . </t>
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bill clinton predicts big win for obama<T>
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las vegas , nevada -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a jury of nine women and three men -- none of them black -- was seated thursday for the trial of o.j. simpson on kidnapping and armed robbery charges . judge jackie glass decided prosecutors had a `` race-neutral '' reason for dismissing the potential juror . the judge made no official mention of the jury 's makeup , but prosecutors revealed in court that no blacks were on the jury . a black man and black woman , however , are among six alternate jurors .<doc-sep>defense attorneys had argued the prosecutors were deliberately trying to exclude blacks , but judge jackie glass denied their challenges . opening arguments are scheduled to begin monday in the case against simpson and a co-defendant , clarence stewart . prosecutors say simpson and five other men stormed into a las vegas hotel room on september 13 , 2007 to recover sports memorabilia that simpson said belonged to him . prosecutors say at least two men with simpson had guns as they robbed a pair of sports memorabilia dealers .<doc-sep>if convicted on all counts , simpson faces a possible sentence of life in prison . he has pleaded not guilty and has told cnn he was trying to get his property back . four of five simpson 's original co-defendants have struck deals with the prosecution to testify against simpson . one testified in a pre-trial hearing that `` o.j. simpson wanted me to have a weapon . '' another testified that simpson `` wanted me to help him acquire some guns . ''<doc-sep>an attorney for simpson , yale galanter , has disputed that . `` o.j. simpson did not know that there were guns in that room , '' galanter said .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- jury questionnaires released saturday revealed five of the jurors in o.j. simpson 's las vegas , nevada , robbery trial said they disagreed with the 1995 verdict where he was found not guilty of two murders . jury questionnaires released in o.j. simpson 's robbery trial reveal diverse work and life backgrounds . all 12 jurors had previously heard about simpson and all but one knew about his acquittal 13 years ago in the los angeles , california , stabbing deaths of his former wife , nicole brown simpson , and her friend , ronald goldman . one juror said he agreed that simpson was not guilty while four said they were unsure . another said she had `` no feelings . it is history . '' one juror did not answer the question . the nine women and three men on the jury said in the questionnaire they would give simpson , 61 , a fair trial on his latest charges .<doc-sep>there is little data that exists that calculates the risk of contracting hiv from giving or receiving oral sex . however , according to hiv resource the body pro , a review published in 2008 and concluded that vaginal and penile oral sex pose a ` low but non-zero transmission probability ' . the alleged relationship between jameson and simpson was outed earlier this week by the national inquirer . radar online were then able to secure an interview with her . earlier this week it was revealed that american horror story creator ryan murphy will be doing a tv mini-series based on the o.j. simpson . american crime story : the people v. o.j. simpson will be based on jeffrey toobin 's book the run of his life : the people v. o.j. simpson , according to entertainment weekly . the 10-episode series will look at the simpson trial from the viewpoint of the lawyers . tv pundits are now buzzing with who might portray simpson . back in court : simpson , now 67 , is pictured here in may 15 , 2013 in las vegas , attempting to have his armed robbery and kidnapping conviction reversed . simpson will be eligible for parole in 2017 . in 2008 he was sentenced to 33 years prison with a non-parole period of nine years . the case involved a las vegas hotel room confrontation over sports memorabilia in 2007 . simpson said the items had been stolen from him and he had been trying to recover them . however a jury found him guilty of 12 charges , including armed robbery and kidnapping . in 1995 a los angeles jury controversially acquitted him of killing the 1994 murder of his former wife , nicole brown simpson , and her friend ronald goldman . acquitted : a new television series from american horror story creator ryan murphy will cover the 1995 o.j. simpson murder trial , which acquitted him of killing his wife , nicole brown -lrb- pictured -rrb- .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- attorneys for imprisoned former football great o.j. simpson on tuesday appealed his conviction to the nevada supreme court , claiming his trial was `` fundamentally unfair . '' o.j. simpson is appealing his conviction for charges including kidnapping and armed robbery . a jury in october 2008 convicted simpson , 61 , on charges including armed robbery and kidnapping . he was sentenced in december to serve a term of up to 33 years in prison , with eligibility for parole after nine years . in the 47-page brief filed tuesday , simpson 's attorneys accuse clark county , nevada , district judge jackie glass of judicial misconduct , saying her behavior constituted `` cumulative error that was so egregious and prejudicial that the defense could not get a fair trial . ''<doc-sep>by . beth stebner and reuters reporter . published : . 08:30 est , 8 september 2012 . | . updated : . 11:37 est , 8 september 2012 . nearly seventeen years ago , former nfl star and actor o.j. simpson was shockingly acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend . but now a district attorney at the centre of the case has alleged that simpson 's lead defence lawyer tampered with a crucial piece of evidence -- one of the infamous gloves that prosecutors said linked simpson to the grisly double-murder of his ex-wife nicole brown simpson and her friend ronald goldman . after the juice struggled to fit the gloves on his hands -- in one of the defining moments of the racially charged trial that captivated the nation -- cochran famously admonished the jury : ` if it does n't fit , you must acquit . ' scroll down for video . trial run : in the sensational 1995 murder trial , o.j. simpson tries on a leather glove allegedly used in the murders of nicole brown simpson and ronald goldman . former los angeles deputy district attorney christopher darden on thursday accused simpson defence lawyer , the late johnnie cochran , of ` manipulating ' the glove , reuters reported . new allegations : prosecutor christopher darden , pictured at the 1995 trial , now alleges that simpson 's lead defence attorney tampered with the leather gloves . on thursday , during a panel discussion about the trial at pace law school in new york city , darden , a member of the prosecution team , declared : ' i think johnnie tore the lining . ` there were some additional tears in the lining so that o.j. 's fingers could n't go all the way up into the glove . '
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<t> new : prosecutors revealed in court that no blacks were on the jury . </t> <t> new : opening arguments are scheduled to begin monday . </t> <t> four of simpson 's original co-defendants have struck deals to testify against him . </t> <t> simpson faces robbery , kidnapping charges . </t>
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jury seated in o.j. simpson trial<T>
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kabul , afghanistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- ten french soldiers were killed tuesday in fighting near the afghan capital of kabul after 100 insurgents attacked a patrol , authorities said . french soldiers patrol in afghanistan in may 2008 . french and nato authorities confirmed the deaths and said 21 other soldiers were wounded in the fighting in the sarobi area in kabul province , about 30 miles northeast of the capital . the clashes began late monday afternoon and continued into tuesday , when the casualties occurred , french officials said . french president nicolas sarkozy said his `` determination is intact '' to continue `` this battle against terrorism for democracy and liberty . '' `` the cause is just . it is an honor for france and its armies to defend them , '' said sarkozy , who will travel tuesday night to afghanistan , the defense ministry said . last month , nine u.s. soldiers were killed in fighting in eastern afghanistan . u.s. , british , canadian and dutch troops have been engaged in much of the combat in afghanistan . the united states has been urging other countries in the nato-led alliance to help ease the burdens of those troops on the front lines . about 1,670 french troops serve in afghanistan under nato 's international security assistance force , according to isaf 's web site . before this incident , a total of 12 french troops had died in several incidents during the afghan war , mostly in combat . as for the latest fighting , nato said the initial patrol -- which included afghan forces -- had been `` reinforced with quick reaction forces , close air support and mobile medical teams . '' it said `` a large number of insurgents were killed . '' gen. zahir azimi , an afghan defense ministry spokesman , said tuesday that afghan army forces rushed to the battle scene soon after the attack took place . he said 27 militants were killed and 14 were wounded in the fighting , and 13 of the bodies were recovered by the afghan army . he said one of the dead militants was identified as a pakistani national . the taliban posted a web statement saying its forces attacked an `` american '' convoy , killing 20 soldiers and destroying five military tanks . it also said foreign forces later tuesday bombarded the region and killed five taliban militants and several civilians . the fighting came after authorities tightened security on monday in anticipation of militant attacks on the country 's independence day . several suicide bombers struck an american base about 12 miles from the border with pakistan in khost province on tuesday , but u.s. and afghan forces repelled the onslaught . seven insurgents were killed in the attack on forward operating base salerno , including three suicide bombers who blew themselves up after forces from the base encountered them more than 3,000 feet from the base , isaf said in a statement . u.s. and afghan troops noticed the approaching militants by their `` special behavior , '' the spokesman said . helicopters flew in to attack them , the force said . isaf said it suffered no casualties . gov. arsallah jamal of khost province said four commandos -- presumably afghans -- were wounded when the militants struck late monday . a taliban spokesman , zabiullah mujahid , said 15 suicide bombers with small arms and machine guns entered the base and inflicted heavy casualties -- claims that the nato-led force and khost governor dismissed . that attack came after a suicide car bombing outside the same base killed 10 afghan civilians and wounded 13 others monday , the u.s. military said . two other would-be bombers were killed before they could carry out attacks , jamal said . afghan forces stopped a second would-be car bomb near the base , performed a controlled detonation and detained a suspect , the nato-led force said . this comes as a source from the afghan defense ministry , who declined to be named , confirmed that pakistani army chief gen. ashfaq parvez kayani arrived in kabul on tuesday morning to meet with afghan and nato military officials . in southern afghanistan , a suicide bomber struck a canadian foot patrol on tuesday in the kandahar province district of panjwayee , local police said . the bomber and an afghan interpreter for nato forces were killed and a nato soldier and a child were wounded , police said . the attack occurred as troops chatted with villagers in the district 's main bazaar . the taliban , in a web statement , said 11 foreign soldiers were killed or wounded in the attack . cnn 's ben brumfield and journalist farhad peikar contributed to this report .<doc-sep>kabul , afghanistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- ten french soldiers were killed tuesday in fighting near the afghan capital of kabul after 100 insurgents attacked a patrol , authorities said . french soldiers patrol in afghanistan in may 2008 . french and nato authorities confirmed the deaths and said 21 other soldiers were wounded in the fighting in the sarobi area in kabul province , about 30 miles northeast of the capital . the clashes began late monday afternoon and continued into tuesday , when the casualties occurred , french officials said . french president nicolas sarkozy said his `` determination is intact '' to continue `` this battle against terrorism for democracy and liberty . '' `` the cause is just . it is an honor for france and its armies to defend them , '' said sarkozy , who will travel tuesday night to afghanistan , the defense ministry said . last month , nine u.s. soldiers were killed in fighting in eastern afghanistan . u.s. , british , canadian and dutch troops have been engaged in much of the combat in afghanistan . the united states has been urging other countries in the nato-led alliance to help ease the burdens of those troops on the front lines . about 1,670 french troops serve in afghanistan under nato 's international security assistance force , according to isaf 's web site . before this incident , a total of 12 french troops had died in several incidents during the afghan war , mostly in combat . as for the latest fighting , nato said the initial patrol -- which included afghan forces -- had been `` reinforced with quick reaction forces , close air support and mobile medical teams . '' it said `` a large number of insurgents were killed . '' gen. zahir azimi , an afghan defense ministry spokesman , said tuesday that afghan army forces rushed to the battle scene soon after the attack took place . he said 27 militants were killed and 14 were wounded in the fighting , and 13 of the bodies were recovered by the afghan army . he said one of the dead militants was identified as a pakistani national . the taliban posted a web statement saying its forces attacked an `` american '' convoy , killing 20 soldiers and destroying five military tanks . it also said foreign forces later tuesday bombarded the region and killed five taliban militants and several civilians . the fighting came after authorities tightened security on monday in anticipation of militant attacks on the country 's independence day . several suicide bombers struck an american base about 12 miles from the border with pakistan in khost province on tuesday , but u.s. and afghan forces repelled the onslaught . seven insurgents were killed in the attack on forward operating base salerno , including three suicide bombers who blew themselves up after forces from the base encountered them more than 3,000 feet from the base , isaf said in a statement . u.s. and afghan troops noticed the approaching militants by their `` special behavior , '' the spokesman said . helicopters flew in to attack them , the force said . isaf said it suffered no casualties . gov. arsallah jamal of khost province said four commandos -- presumably afghans -- were wounded when the militants struck late monday . a taliban spokesman , zabiullah mujahid , said 15 suicide bombers with small arms and machine guns entered the base and inflicted heavy casualties -- claims that the nato-led force and khost governor dismissed . that attack came after a suicide car bombing outside the same base killed 10 afghan civilians and wounded 13 others monday , the u.s. military said . two other would-be bombers were killed before they could carry out attacks , jamal said . afghan forces stopped a second would-be car bomb near the base , performed a controlled detonation and detained a suspect , the nato-led force said . this comes as a source from the afghan defense ministry , who declined to be named , confirmed that pakistani army chief gen. ashfaq parvez kayani arrived in kabul on tuesday morning to meet with afghan and nato military officials . in southern afghanistan , a suicide bomber struck a canadian foot patrol on tuesday in the kandahar province district of panjwayee , local police said . the bomber and an afghan interpreter for nato forces were killed and a nato soldier and a child were wounded , police said . the attack occurred as troops chatted with villagers in the district 's main bazaar . the taliban , in a web statement , said 11 foreign soldiers were killed or wounded in the attack . cnn 's ben brumfield and journalist farhad peikar contributed to this report .<doc-sep>kabul , afghanistan -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- allied forces suffered a day of heavy losses in afghanistan friday after a helicopter crash killed six u.s. marines and an attack killed four french soldiers , prompting paris to consider an early troop withdrawal . the marines died after their ch-53 helicopter crashed in helmand province , a u.s. military official said . the nato-led force reported no enemy activity in the area , but the taliban claimed credit for bringing down the chopper . separately , an afghan soldier killed four french soldiers and injured 15 others , one critically , in eastern afghanistan , french officials said . president nicolas sarkozy said he was suspending french training operations and combat help as a result . `` the french army is not in afghanistan to be shot at by afghan soldiers , '' he said . france could bring its troops back early from afghanistan if the necessary security is not restored , sarkozy said . france has 3,935 troops in afghanistan , according nato 's international security assistance force . sarkozy will send french defense minister gerard longuet to afghanistan , he said . `` it was during a training session inside the base that a shooter killed four of our soldiers . this is unacceptable and demands a full investigation , '' longuet said . a french official told cnn the french troops were unarmed as they were inside their base , conducting normal training operations with their afghan partners . the official , who was not authorized to speak to the media , said 15 soldiers were injured . the attack in kapisa province follows a similar shooting last month by an afghan soldier that killed two french soldiers serving in an engineers ' regiment , also in eastern afghanistan . friday 's suspected shooter , who was a member of the afghan national army , has been apprehended , according to an isaf statement . afghan president hamid karzai said he was deeply saddened by incident . `` france has been generous to provide extensive assistance to afghanistan over the past 10 years , '' karzai said . `` throughout history , the two countries have enjoyed a sincere relationship , which the afghan people will always cherish . '' taliban spokesman zabiullah mujahid called the attack `` sensible . '' `` this was the latest attack by those sensible and zealous afghans who have entered the enemy 's army and it was also the best one so far as it killed more soldiers than any other such attacks before , ' mujahid said . responding to last month 's shooting , sarkozy stressed his country 's `` determination to continue working within the international security assistance force to restore peace and stability in that country and contribute to its development . '' nato secretary general anders fogh rasmussen paid tribute to those killed and injured friday , saying it was a `` very sad day '' for isaf troops in afghanistan and for france . `` such tragic incidents are terrible and grab headlines , but they are isolated , '' he said . `` the reality is that every day , 130,000 isaf troops from 50 nations fight and train with over 300,000 afghan soldiers . that takes a lot of trust among a lot of soldiers . `` we have the same goal . an afghanistan that is responsible for its own security . that is what afghans want . and we remain committed to helping afghans . '' isaf spokesman lt. col. jimmie cummings also played down the threat , saying , `` we train and are partnered with afghan personnel every day , and we are not seeing any issues or concerns with our relationships . '' friday 's shooting was the latest in a series of attacks on nato forces by members of the afghan army . in october , a gunman wearing an afghan army uniform turned his weapon on coalition forces during training , killing three and wounding several others . the shooter was killed in the incident in southern afghanistan . meanwhile , the cause of the helicopter crash , which happened around midnight kabul time , is still under investigation , isaf said . there was no enemy activity in the area when the helicopter went down in helmand , said col. gary kolb , an isaf spokesman . the taliban claimed responsibility friday for bringing down the helicopter . qari yousuf ahmadi , a taliban spokesman , told cnn via text message : `` a chinook was shot down in zubair karez area , between musa qala and zamin dawar in southern helmand province , and a number of foreigners traveling in it were killed . '' nato is scheduled to withdraw its forces from afghanistan by the end of 2014 . many isaf members are involved in missions to train and support afghan forces as they prepare to take on greater security responsibilities . cnn 's nick paton walsh , saskya vandoorne , masoud popalzai , pierre meilhan , barbara starr , mitra mobasherat and adam levine contributed to this report .<doc-sep>the incidents represent a fraction of the total coalition deaths in the war but are are extremely damaging , fueling a mutual distrust in a critical moment in afghanistan 's transition , the experts said . the nato-led military coalition is attempting to help transition local forces to take over security in war-ravaged afghanistan as foreign troop levels fall . president barack obama has announced a u.s. withdrawal in 2014 . france suspended its operations after four french soldiers were killed by afghan counterparts in eastern kapisa province in january . that shooting followed an incident in december where another afghan soldier killed two french soldiers . `` the french army is not in afghanistan to be shot at by afghan soldiers , '' french president nicolas sarkozy said after the shootings . cnn 's masoud popalzai contributed to this report .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- french defense minister gerard longuet traveled to afghanistan to discuss security with local authorities , a spokesman said saturday , a day after allied forces suffered heavy losses in the country . a helicopter crash killed six u.s. marines and a separate attack killed four french soldiers friday , prompting paris to consider an early troop withdrawal . `` if france does not manage to find a solution with the afghan authorities to ensure better security of the french soldiers , then we will seriously question our military presence in the country . it is too early to speculate what actions would be taken . the minister will return when he feels he has the information and assurances he is looking for , '' said col. thierry burkhard , spokesman for the defense ministry . president nicolas sarkozy has said he was suspending french training operations and combat help as a result of the attack , which injured 15 others . `` the french army is not in afghanistan to be shot at by afghan soldiers , '' he said . france could bring its troops back early from afghanistan if the necessary security is not restored , sarkozy said . france has 3,935 troops in afghanistan , according nato 's international security assistance force . the attack in eastern afghanistan followed a similar shooting last month by an afghan soldier that killed two french soldiers serving in an engineers ' regiment . also saturday , the u.s. department of defense identified six marines who were killed in afghanistan when their helicopter crashed . jesse w. stites , 23 ; kevin j. reinhard , 25 ; and joseph d. logan , 22 , were all marine corporals . they hailed from north beach , maryland ; colonia , new jersey ; and willis , texas , respectively .
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<t> new : ` this cause is just , ' french president sarkozy says . </t> <t> new : sarkozy to travel to afghanistan tuesday night . </t> <t> new : officials dismiss taliban claim of 15 suicide bombers entering base . </t> <t> 10 french soldiers killed as fighting flares around holiday . </t>
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10 french soldiers killed in afghan fighting<T>
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berlin , germany -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- german federal police seized two suspected terrorists from a dutch passenger aircraft at cologne airport friday shortly before it was due to take off for amsterdam , officials told cnn . the arrests were made at cologne 's airport . a 23-year-old somali national and a 24-year-old german citizen who had been born in mogadishu were arrested on a klm plane at 6.55 am local time -lrb- 0455 gmt -rrb- , a police spokesman said . police said `` farewell '' letters had been found from the men that led them to suspect they were intending to carry out terror attacks . it was not revealed where the letters were found or how long the men had been under observation .<doc-sep>walter roemer , press spokesman at cologne-bonn airport , said that the arrests had been `` very unspectacular '' . he said federal police boarded the plane and arrested the two suspects , `` without them showing any resistance . '' the two had been among 40 passengers en route to amsterdam . all those on board were asked to disembark while the suspects ' luggage was identified . the plane took off for amsterdam after a delay of one hour and 20 minutes . she said everyone was then forced to leave the plane , and there was a `` baggage parade '' to see whose bags belonged to whom . watch more details on the incident . '' amsterdam 's schipol airport web site listed flight kl 1804 , the scheduled morning flight from cologne to amsterdam , as having arrived at 9.17 am local time , one hour and two minutes after it was due to arrive .<doc-sep>in september 2007 , german authorities arrested three suspected militants planning what were described as `` massive '' attacks on american targets in germany . german media said at the time that potential targets could have included ramstein air base , the u.s. military 's main installation in germany , or the major international hub of frankfurt airport . terrorism expert sajjan gohel told cnn the arrest showed germany faces a major threat from extremists . watch gohel explain details behind the arrests '' `` this was a long term operation , there was a couple of individuals that the german intelligence agency was monitoring , '' he said .<doc-sep>`` the feeling was that they had come back specifically with the purpose of planning and plotting a terrorist attack . '' cnn 's diana magnay in berlin contributed to this report . copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>berlin , germany -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- german federal police seized two suspected terrorists from a dutch passenger aircraft at cologne airport friday shortly before it was due to take off for amsterdam , officials told cnn . the arrests were made at cologne 's airport . a 23-year-old somali national and a 24-year-old german citizen who had been born in mogadishu were arrested on a klm plane at 6.55 am local time -lrb- 0455 gmt -rrb- , a police spokesman said . police said `` farewell '' letters had been found from the men that led them to suspect they were intending to carry out terror attacks . it was not revealed where the letters were found or how long the men had been under observation . walter roemer , press spokesman at cologne-bonn airport , said that the arrests had been `` very unspectacular '' . he said federal police boarded the plane and arrested the two suspects , `` without them showing any resistance . '' the two had been among 40 passengers en route to amsterdam . all those on board were asked to disembark while the suspects ' luggage was identified . the plane took off for amsterdam after a delay of one hour and 20 minutes . she said everyone was then forced to leave the plane , and there was a `` baggage parade '' to see whose bags belonged to whom . watch more details on the incident . '' amsterdam 's schipol airport web site listed flight kl 1804 , the scheduled morning flight from cologne to amsterdam , as having arrived at 9.17 am local time , one hour and two minutes after it was due to arrive .<doc-sep>british prime minister david cameron called monday for a new law to give police the temporary power to seize a passport in case a british citizen is suspected of trying to travel to support isis . cameron told lawmakers meeting in the house of commons on monday there were two gaps in britain 's fight against the threat of terror at home . the first pertains to suspects traveling abroad , he said . `` passports are not an automatic right , '' he said . `` we will introduce specific and targeted legislation to fill this gap by providing the police with a temporary power to seize a passport at the border , during which time they will be able to investigate the individual concerned . `` this power will include appropriate safeguards and oversight arrangements . '' work to prepare legislation to allow this will begin immediately , cameron said . as well as stopping would-be jihadists , cameron said britain also needed measures to prevent the return of foreign fighters . uk authorities estimate that 500 britons have gone to syria and iraq to fight with islamist groups . `` it 's abhorrent that people who declare their allegiance elsewhere are able to return to the united kingdom and pose a threat to our national security , '' cameron told lawmakers .<doc-sep>the power , part of the old control order regime , was widely used by security officials to split up groups of fanatics living in the uk and make them easier to monitor . to appease nick clegg , it was axed when tpims -lrb- terrorism prevention investigation measures -rrb- were introduced three years ago . since then , two terror suspects subject to tpims have absconded -- including al-shabaab extremist mohammed ahmed mohamed , who escaped from a london mosque dressed in a burka . mi5 will welcome the return of this disruption tactic , but last night it was mired in confusion with the lib dems insisting they have not yet ` signed-off ' on the idea . force returning jihadis to undergo a de-radicalisation programme . this is intended to answer critics who claim the government 's anti-extremist prevent programme is an expensive failure . however , the new law will apply only to suspects who are placed under a tpim rather than every returning fighter . currently , there is not a single person under a tpim . they have proved less popular with police and security services than control orders . at least 250 fanatics are already suspected of having returned to the uk from syria and iraq . give police new powers to confiscate the passports of terror suspects . the home secretary can already use the royal prerogative to remove the passports of people suspected of travelling overseas to engage in terrorism . the new measure extends the power to police , who will be given temporary permission to withhold a travel document at uk borders while further checks are carried out . it is intended to close a loophole where police think suspects are acting suspiciously at the borders , but do not have enough evidence to prevent them boarding a flight . significantly , mr cameron also promised to overturn any court ruling that declares the use of the royal prerogative illegal -- suggesting a damaging human rights judgment is imminent . ban airlines from landing in the uk unless they give passenger details . this addresses a problem under which six european airlines in countries with strict privacy laws refuse to give advance passenger details to the government 's controversial eborders scheme so a passenger can be checked against terror watchlists . a new piece of stand-alone legislation is expected shortly . it would allow non-uk citizens to be banned from boarding a flight and allow british nationals to be put under close surveillance when they return .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- amid a high alert over an alleged al qaeda plot to attack cities in europe , france has warned its citizens about travel to the united kingdom , saying british authorities believe a terror attack is `` highly likely . '' the move follows a united states warning that americans be careful about traveling in europe because of the risk of terror attacks . neither the uk nor france raised threat levels in response to the american warning , but each has now warned its citizens about travel elsewhere on the continent . europe remains on edge after the warnings , based at least partly on intelligence about a plot obtained from a german-afghan in u.s. custody in afghanistan . police in france seized 12 people for suspected terrorist ties tuesday , but it is not clear whether they are connected to the plot that prompted the warning . those arrests came a day after a suspected drone strike in pakistan left five german nationals dead , adding to the unease . french national police said the 12 suspects were seized in the south of france . three have links to a french man -- identified as riahd hennouni -- arrested in italy last month , authorities said . two of them were arrested in marseilles and the third was arrested in bordeaux . the nine other arrests happened throughout southern france , including some in marseilles and at least one in avignon , police said . police in marseille said the nine have links to an islamist movement and are suspected of trying to obtain arms and explosives . it is unclear whether the 12 are french citizens . none of them has been charged . under french law , police can detain and question suspects for up to six days without filing charges . meanwhile , italian police said sunday they detained a french citizen of algerian origin who is suspected of being a member of al qaeda . the man was arrested last month by italian police in naples , italy , on a european arrest warrant requested by france , the chief prosecutor in naples told cnn monday . the arrest was not announced at the time . didier allard of france 's palais de justice appeals court identified the man as hennouni and said an anti-terror judge in paris had requested his arrest and asked that he be extradited from italy . elsewhere , pakistani intelligence confirmed that five german nationals were killed in a suspected u.s. drone strike monday in the northwestern part of the country . the germans were among 11 suspected militants killed monday in the mir ali area of north waziristan , one of the seven districts of pakistan 's tribal region -- a remote and rugged area where militants hold sway .
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<t> police board klm flight in cologne early friday to arrest suspects . </t> <t> two suspects said to be somali man , 23 and german born in somalia , 24 . </t> <t> police say `` farewell '' letters found from the men . </t>
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german police seize terror suspects on flight<T>
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editor 's note : join roland s. martin for his weekly sound-off segment on cnn.com live at 10:30 a.m. et wednesday . if you 're passionate about politics , he wants to hear from you . a nationally syndicated columnist , martin has said he will vote for barack obama in november . he is the author of `` listening to the spirit within : 50 perspectives on faith '' and `` speak , brother ! a black man 's view of america . '' visit his web site for more information . roland s. martin says lifeway christian stores should be given hell for its actions against gospeltoday . -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- in the 19 years that teresa hairston has published her magazine , gospeltoday , she has never faced a major situation with christian bookstores across the country that carry the publication . she 's tackled any number of issues over the years , and has featured a number of celebrities and ministers , ranging from yolanda adams to bishop t.d. jakes to kirk franklin . but when the atlanta , georgia , entrepreneur decided to feature five female pastors on her cover this month , she says , lifeway christian stores treated her like she had converted her christian publication to something akin to the tastes of porn purveyor larry flynt . apparently , the owner of lifeway , the southern baptist convention , was n't too happy with hairston telling the story of female pastors , because the women go against their 2000 decree that only men can serve in the role of reverend or pastor . according to hairston , the christian company did n't even give her the courtesy of a heads-up .<doc-sep>`` we got an anonymous tip , '' she told me tuesday on the tom joyner morning show , and after checking it out , she discovered that the magazine had been removed from the shelves in all of lifeway 's 100-plus stores nationwide and had been placed behind the counter . `` they have never called me , '' hairston said . `` never sent an e-mail . nothing . i had to go see my distributor to verify what they had done . '' the actions of lifeway did n't stun me . i had seen this movie before . a few years ago , my wife was a longtime lifeway teacher . she had taught at the company 's teaching centers for years , but then one day , she was notified that she would have to take down her web site and comply with their rules against female pastors or be dropped as a teacher . her crime ? calling herself the rev. jacquie hood martin . it was n't that she did so for the heck of it . she graduated from southwestern baptist theological seminary ; was the first female staff pastor at houston 's brookhollow baptist church/the church without walls , a southern baptist convention church ; and has been leading folks to the lord all over the country for 20 years . she was angered by lifeway 's decision but made it clear that she did n't serve the bookstore or even the southern baptist convention . she made a commitment to serving jesus christ and was not about to back away from her call to ministry because a male-dominated organization decided that its interpretation of the bible calls for a woman not to be in the pulpit .<doc-sep>so she cut them off and kept on calling herself the rev. jacquie hood martin . religious folks will quickly say that scripture is clear that women ca n't be pastors and lead men , yet hairston says that when she featured pastor paula white on her cover two years ago , lifeway did n't take any action against the magazine . anyone who has served in a church or been a member of any faith knows that there are those who have strict interpretations of their faith 's writings , while others have a different interpretation . i 've heard brookhollow 's pastor , the rev. dr. ralph douglas west sr. , preach several sermons stating that what paul wrote in 2 timothy with regards to only men preaching was specific to that church and not a blanket ban . second , there were instances where paul wrote that his views were his own and not mandates from god . that is a doctrinal fight that any of us can have any time -lrb- and i love it how these same bible thumpers ignore the biblical story of deborah , who was a judge in the old testament -- and was over men -rrb- . but what is a greater issue is that lifeway clearly has no respect for freedom of the press . here is arguably the top christian bookstore in the country making a decision based on their teachings and applying it to a magazine . a spokesman for lifeway resources , which runs the stores , was quoted in the atlanta journal-constitution last week as saying of female pastors , `` it is contrary to what we believe . ''<doc-sep>so does lifeway and , by extension , the southern baptist convention , fight vigorously for freedom of religion , but it does n't give a hoot about the other freedoms guaranteed by the u.s. constitution ? i now wonder whether lifeway makes it its business to cull through any number of magazines and search for stories that go against its doctrine and pull them from the shelves . this is the kind of nonsense that drives more people away from religion . i suppose it 's fitting that this story would come out the same time as bill maher releases his religious documentary , `` religulous , '' which skewers all the major religions for their dogma . i 'm sure he feasted on positions of the southern baptist convention . the conduct of lifeway and the southern baptist convention is shameful , and they owe hairston an apology for their actions . yet she 's taken it in stride , saying that instead of giving the company hell , she 'll `` give them heaven . '' i say , give them a lot of hell for this , because they deserve it for actions . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer .<doc-sep>but it 's not simple christian faith qian is promoting . `` we aim to be a humanities bookstore as well as a religious store , '' says zhang xing , manager of the wutaichan shop . `` here in librairie avant-garde , reading is our religion and this place is the heaven for book lovers . '' the main hall of the bookstore serves as a forum for talks and concerts . it also houses a homey coffee shop , permanent exhibition space for beautiful book designs and a retail area for creative works by nanjingers . qian 's favorite artworks hang from the ceiling . pillars in the store are etched with famous verses and poems . book shops reflect city 's well being . the beauty of qian 's bookstore lies in its unique way of operating . qian sees his shop as a kind of public library .<doc-sep>but there 's no stopping christian grey and the book has become a hit anyway after being translated into chinese for the taiwan market and the smuggled across to the mainland . best-seller : it may have sold over 70 million copies worldwide , but one chinese e-tailer is selling knock-off copies of e.l. james 's fifty shades of grey . whilst one of e.l. james 's novels sells . for around # 13 in british bookstore , chinese e-tailer , taobao is . selling pirate copies of the whole trilogy for the same price . there are up to 400 booksellers advertising pirated copies on the site , and while they may look exactly the same as the originals these copies are actually printed in the city of guangzhou from contraband editions . speaking about the sensation , a spokesman for the foreign multi-resource bookstore told the telegraph : ` not many people know about it yet . counterfeit : whilst one of e.l. james 's novels sells for around # 13 in british bookstore , one chinese e-tailer , taobao , is selling pirate copies of the whole trilogy for the same price .<doc-sep>this action follows the draconian voter suppression law -- supporters call it voter protection -- that was passed by the florida legislature , which was so ridiculous and punitive that the nonpartisan league of women voters and rock the vote ! chose not to register voters out of fear of amassing substantial fines . a federal judge has ordered florida to stop enforcing several provisions of that law . it is shameful that republicans in florida are concerned with blocking americans from the ballots out of some ridiculous fear of noncitizens voting . and they should be embarrassed by their actions , which include questioning the citizenship of 91-year-old bill internicola , a world war ii veteran . internicola was a medic during the war and earned the bronze star in the battle of the bulge . he was also bestowed with the chevalier legion of honour by france . but because of florida 's voter purge plan , he got a letter saying he had 30 days to prove he was an american or he would be stricken from the voter rolls . internicola fought for democracy overseas , only to have partisan hacks question his legitimacy . scott should have the decency to call internicola and offer him a personal apology for the insulting letter . the department of justice should be aggressive in demanding that florida , and any other state , is n't taking action that is detrimental to americans exercising their right to vote . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of roland martin .<doc-sep>dibaj , a christian convert from islam , was jailed for a decade and released in 1994 after international appeals . soon afterward , he went missing . the authorities reported the discovery of his corpse in a wooded area west of tehran . iran 's government blamed an anti-regime group for the murder . if the iranian regime wants to tout religious freedom , it should respect its citizens ' right to decide one of life 's most personal choices : their spiritual path . a regime that claims to observe human rights and base its actions on the peaceful nature of islam should also explain how peace would be attained by executing a man whose only crime is his faith . by releasing youcef nadarkhani before christmas , tehran would take an important step toward respect for human rights and would give his wife and children an unforgettable gift . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of roxana saberi .
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<t> lifeway stores put christian magazine behind counter . </t> <t> magazine featured female pastors on its cover . </t> <t> lifeway has no respect for freedom of the press , martin says . </t> <t> lifeway , southern baptist convention should apologize , he says . </t>
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commentary : christian bookstore 's shameful actions<T>
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beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- chinese officials in the northwestern xinjiang uygur autonomous region reported the death of a fourth baby thursday in the country 's expanding contaminated infant formula case . the tainted milk powder has already sickened more than 6,200 babies . earlier in the day , authorities announced the arrest of 12 more suspects in the investigation , provincial police said . the arrests bring to 18 the number of people detained , according to the hebei public security bureau . twelve of those arrested are involved in the collection of milk and the production of milk products , authorities said . authorities accuse the other six of illegally selling the chemical added to the milk . more than 1,300 infants are hospitalized , said li changjiang , china 's director of quarantine and inspection , on wednesday . their conditions include malnutrition , kidney stones and acute renal failure . inspectors have been deployed across the country to test producers ' inventories .<doc-sep>of china 's 175 baby milk powder production companies , 66 have stopped production , li said . watch parents scramble for safe milk '' two brothers who sold fresh milk used to produce contaminated baby milk powder were arrested by chinese investigators monday . they could face death if convicted , according to china daily , a state-run newspaper . the raw milk had been watered down and a chemical added to fool quality checks , the newspaper said . investigators said the brothers confessed to watering down the raw milk and mixing in tripolycyanamide , also known as melamine . they said they did it to recover losses suffered when the factory rejected earlier milk shipments , the paper reported . learn more about the chemical melamine '' the brothers are charged with producing and selling toxic and hazardous food , which carries a possible death penalty , the paper said .<doc-sep>health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones , urinary tract ulcers , and eye and skin irritation . the chemical is commonly used in coatings and laminates , wood adhesives , fabric coatings , ceiling tiles and flame retardants . watch cnn visit the company at the center of the scandal '' thousands of tons of the tainted milk powder have been recalled , including pullbacks by mengniu dairy group , china 's largest milk producer , and the sanlu group . chinese investigators have found melamine in nearly 70 milk products from more than 20 companies , li said wednesday . products made by sanlu had the highest concentration of the chemical . it is not the first time sanlu has been connected to a scandal involving tainted milk powder , according to china daily .<doc-sep>in 2004 , at least 13 infants in the eastern anhui province died of malnutrition after drinking milk powder that had little to no nutrition . the illegally manufactured milk was falsely labeled with the sanlu brand , according to the paper . the vast majority of the tainted formula was consumed domestically , but it is known to have been exported to taiwan , bangladesh , myanmar , yemen , chad and burundi , according to li . the u.s. food and drug administration said no chinese baby formula has been allowed on the market in the united states . in a statement on its web site , the fda said it had reached out to all five companies making formula in the united states and none has used formula or source materials from china . this episode marks the latest in a string of tainted products produced in china : . cnn 's yuli yang contributed to this story .<doc-sep>the chemical is commonly used in coatings and laminates , wood adhesives , fabric coatings , ceiling tiles and flame retardants . chinese investigators have found melamine in nearly 70 milk products from more than 20 companies , li said wednesday . products made by sanlu had the highest concentration of the chemical . it is not the first time sanlu has been connected to a scandal involving tainted milk powder , according to china daily . in 2004 , at least 13 infants in the eastern anhui province died of malnutrition after drinking milk powder that had little to no nutrition . the illegally manufactured milk was falsely labeled with the sanlu brand , according to the paper . the u.s. food and drug administration said no chinese baby formula has been allowed on the market in the united states . in a statement on its web site , the fda said it had reached out to all five companies making formula in the united states and none has used formula or source materials from china . this episode marks the latest in a string of tainted products produced in china : . cnn 's john vause and yuli yang contributed to this story .<doc-sep>beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sanlu group , the company at the center of china 's tainted infant formula scandal , has filed for bankruptcy . markets withdrew sanlu milk powder in september after melamine was found as an additive . a court in shijiazhuang , china , where the company is based , told cnn wednesday it has received the bankruptcy application . baby formula produced by sanlu -- previously one of china 's leading dairy producers -- was first flagged in the scandal when it recalled about 700 tons of the powdered milk in september after discovering the product was contaminated with melamine .<doc-sep>beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a third baby has died and at least 6,200 children have fallen ill after drinking formula tainted with the same chemical involved in a massive pet food recall last year , chinese officials said wednesday . china 's largest producer of milk , mengniu dairy group , announced the recall of three batches of formula made in january after tests showed they were contaminated with melamine , said li changjiang , china 's director of quarantine and inspection . though it should not be added to food ingredients , suppliers in china sometimes put it in food to make a product appear to be protein rich . melamine has nitrogen , and standard tests for protein in bulk food ingredients measure levels of nitrogen . more than 1,300 infants are hospitalized with illnesses including malnutrition , kidney stones and acute renal failure . on monday two brothers were arrested who chinese officials say supplied three tons of milk each day to the sanlu group , which makes baby formula . watch crowds of moms get their babies tested '' they could face death if convicted , according to state-run newspaper china daily . the siblings ' raw milk had been watered down and a chemical added to fool quality checks , the newspaper said . watch who has been arrested '' sanlu group , one of china 's leading dairy producers , has recalled more than 8,200 tons of the tainted formula following reports of sickened babies , news agency xinhua reported . the manufactured also sealed off more than 2,100 tons of contaminated product , and another 700 tons still need to be recalled , according to xinhua . watch angry parents demand answers at sanlu ''<doc-sep>`` many people are still imprisoned , many for much longer -lrb- than me -rrb- because we all expressed a difference of opinion and were accused of incitement to subvert state power , '' he added . `` so i have to speak out for them . '' meanwhile , the artist addressed another pressing problem in china -- mainland chinese , spooked by a scandal over melamine-tainted baby milk formula , have snapped up tins in hong kong , leading to a public outcry over the resulting shortage and the institution of a two-can -lrb- 1.8 kg -rrb- cross-border limit in march by the city 's authorities . `` milk formula '' debuted at a hong kong exhibition friday -- a 10 meter by 8 meter map of china created with 1,815 tins of various brands of baby formula . `` although china 's economy is developing , china 's food products and the environment have already been completely sacrificed because of deteriorating ethics , '' ai said . he described the situation of people needing to seek milk formula outside their own country to feed their children as `` absurd . '' while ai professed no solutions , saying that the purpose of art is raise questions , he said the problem of milk formula should be resolved by the people rather than through harsh legal measures . `` it shows that the ` one country , two systems ' -lsb- policy -rsb- is extremely contradictory and difficult to coordinate , '' he added . `` dumbass '' is one of six songs on the topic of ai 's detention -- the rest will be released next month as part of an album based on his personal experiences .
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<t> new : 12 new arrests raises total number of people detained to 18 . </t> <t> 4 babies have died ; over 6,200 infants now known to be ill . </t> <t> china 's largest milk producer , mengniu dairy group , recalls three batches of formula . </t> <t> of china 's 175 baby milk powder production companies , 66 have stopped production . </t>
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china : fourth baby dies from tainted formula<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sens. john mccain and barack obama engaged in a pointed exchange over al qaeda in iraq on wednesday . sen. john mccain questioned sen. barack obama 's way of handling the war in iraq . mccain questioned whether obama was aware of the al qaeda base . obama 's response was : `` there was no such thing as al qaeda in iraq until george bush and john mccain decided to invade iraq . '' mccain was in tyler , texas , and obama was in columbus , ohio . `` i understand that sen. obama said that if al qaeda established a base in iraq that he would send troops back in militarily . al qaeda already has a base in iraq . it 's called al qaeda in iraq , '' mccain said . `` it 's a remarkable statement to say that you would send troops back to a place where al qaeda has established a base -- where they have already established a base . ''<doc-sep>mccain 's comments come in response to remarks obama made tuesday night in a debate with sen. hillary clinton . he was asked if the president would have the right to go back into iraq in order to suppress an insurrection after downsizing the u.s. troop presence . watch what clinton and obama said about the war '' `` i always reserve the right for the president ... to make sure that we are looking out for american interests , '' obama said . `` and if al qaeda is forming a base in iraq , then we will have to act in a way that secures the american homeland and our interests abroad . '' a statement by mccain 's press office wednesday said , `` is sen. obama unaware that al qaeda is still present in iraq , that our forces are successfully fighting them every day , and that his iraq policy of withdrawal would embolden al qaeda and weaken our security ? '' obama responded to the latest attacks from mccain , saying his comments were taken out of context . obama said the question he was asked during the debate was a `` big hypothetical . '' `` i said , ` well , i would always reserve the right to go in and strike against al qaeda if they were in iraq , ' so you know , this is how politics works , '' obama said at a rally in columbus .<doc-sep>`` mccain thought that he could make a clever point by saying , ` well let me give you some news barack , al qaeda is in iraq , ' like i was n't reading the papers , like i did n't know what was going on . '' `` i said , ` well first of all , i do know that al qaeda is in iraq . that 's why i 've said we should continue to strike al qaeda targets . but i have some news for john mccain , and that is that there was no such thing as al qaeda in iraq until george bush and john mccain decided to invade iraq . '' obama continued to blast bush and mccain , saying , `` john mccain may like to say he wants to follow osama bin laden to the gates of hell , but so far all he 's done is follow george bush into a misguided war in iraq . '' mccain in his statement said `` the democratic presidential contenders deny progress and see only gloom and doom . where is the audacity of hope when it comes to backing the success of our troops all the way to victory in iraq ? what we heard last night was the timidity of despair . '' the latest exchange comes as a new poll suggests mccain would pose a tough match for the eventual democratic nominee . obama is the front-runner for the democratic nomination . clinton trails by 97 delegates , but 370 delegates are up for grabs next tuesday . watch the shift in clinton-obama dynamics ''<doc-sep>according to a los angeles times/bloomberg poll , mccain would be in tight races with either of the remaining democratic presidential candidates . mccain is statistically tied with obama , 44 percent to 42 percent , and ahead of clinton by 6 points , 46 percent to 40 percent . the poll 's margin of error was plus-or-minus 3 percentage points . the poll also showed mccain with a 61 percent approval rating , a number higher than both clinton 's and obama 's in past polls . the arizona senator holds a clear advantage on dealing with the war in iraq , according to the poll , and holds a 9 point advantage on economic issues over obama , despite having acknowledged that area is not his expertise . e-mail to a friend . cnn 's chris welch and alex mooney contributed to this report .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- an elephant never forgets , they say , especially a veteran political one like republican sen. john mccain . the arizona conservative known for his hawkish views claimed a policy victory thursday over the man who beat him in the 2008 presidential election . he took to the senate floor to declare himself right for opposing president barack obama 's decision to pull u.s. forces out of iraq in 2011 . `` now we know what happens when we left iraq . now we know the consequences , '' mccain said . `` i hope that all those people that called me all of the names that i am not going to repeat here would render an apology because i was right ! because i said if we leave iraq completely then , we risk the great danger of it deteriorating . '' the night before , mccain tore into former white house press secretary jay carney in a live interview after obama announced escalated military steps in iraq and syria to take on isis extremists . their argument involved obama 's policies in iraq and syria during his first term , with mccain blaming the president for the current crisis and berating carney for `` bragging '' about withdrawing u.s. troops from iraq in 2011 . the exchange , with mccain repeatedly cutting carney off and calling him a liar , came on carney 's first night as a cnn analyst . here 's a look at what they said : .<doc-sep>mccain has visited both countries and accuses his rival of naivete for suggesting that iraq had distracted the united states from the growing conflict in afghanistan . watch how the candidates are battling over iraq '' `` to say that iraq is somehow disconnected from afghanistan shows , again , incredible naivete , '' mccain said this week . a video released by the mccain campaign also accused obama of `` flip-flopping '' over his plans to withdraw troops from iraq . the campaign also aired its first negative advertisement of the season , hitting obama on foreign policy issues . a diplomatic source told time magazine that king abdullah ii of jordan would urge obama , if elected , to make arab-israeli peace talks a higher priority than has been the case under president bush . obama is expected to meet israel 's top leaders : president shimon peres , prime minister ehud olmert , defense minister ehud barak , foreign minister tzipi livni and likud party leader benjamin netanyahu ; and palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas and prime minister salaam fayad .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- democrat-turned-independent sen. joe lieberman managed to keep his senate committee chairmanship in part because president-elect barack obama did n't want to punish him for supporting sen. john mccain , lieberman said tuesday . sen. joe lieberman speaks tuesday after democrats allowed him to keep his committee chairmanship . the senate democratic caucus , following a lengthy and often heated debate , voted 42-13 tuesday to let lieberman continue chairing the senate homeland security committee . the caucus did , however , strip lieberman of his spot on the environment and public works committee . a democrat in the senate for 18 years before going independent , lieberman criticized obama , the democratic nominee , during the race for the white house . `` i know that my colleagues in the senate democratic caucus were moved not only that sen. -lsb- harry -rsb- reid said about my longtime record , but by the appeal from president-elect obama himself that the nation unite now to confront our very serious problems , '' lieberman said in the capitol as those colleagues nodded in agreement behind him . watch lieberman express regrets over past statements '' democrats were angered by lieberman 's speech to the republican national convention , where he praised his longtime friend mccain and criticized obama for not reaching across the aisle to work with republicans during his time in the senate . reid , the senate majority leader , said lieberman 's criticism of the democratic nominee had angered him . `` i would defy anyone to be more angry than i was , '' he said tuesday . `` but i also believe that if you look at the problems we face as a nation , is this a time we walk out of here saying , ` boy did we get even ' ? '' obama urged reid privately to let bygones be bygones , sources said . reid dismissed vehement criticism of the decision from elements of the party 's more liberal base , which insisted lieberman be punished . sen. bernie sanders of vermont , the senate 's other independent who regularly caucuses with the democrats , told cnn 's dana bash he was one of the 13 who voted against lieberman because while millions of people worked hard for obama , lieberman actively worked for four more years of president bush 's policies . but sen. tom carper of delaware , one of four democrats who proposed the motion to allow lieberman to keep his chairmanship , said the caucus decided that it could forgive if obama could . `` if barack can move on , so can we , '' carper said . lieberman , of connecticut , and sanders consistently vote on most issues with the democrats , who hold a 51-49 majority in the senate including them . democrats picked up six more seats in the election two weeks ago . three more still are being contested in alaska , georgia and minnesota . winning those three seats and counting lieberman and sanders could give democrats a 60-seat , filibuster-proof majority , which would allow them to advance legislation at will and prevent republicans from blocking it from getting to the floor . after serving three terms as a democrat , lieberman lost connecticut 's democratic 2006 primary to ned lamont , who was helped by bloggers and others angered by lieberman 's support for the iraq war . but lieberman ran in the general election as an independent and was re-elected . lieberman was the democrats ' 2000 vice presidential nominee , running with al gore . along with mccain , lieberman co-sponsored the 2002 resolution that authorized the u.s. invasion of iraq and has resisted removing troops . on the campaign trail with mccain this year , lieberman strongly defended the republican presidential nominee 's call for staying the course in iraq . he endorsed mccain 's bid in december 2007 before the first nominating contest of this year 's election cycle . before the convention speech , lieberman angered democrats when he said obama was choosing to lose the iraq war by planning to withdraw american combat troops . `` if barack obama 's policy in iraq had been implemented , he could n't be in iraq today , '' lieberman said , referring to a trip obama was about to make to iraq . lieberman added that obama `` was prepared to accept retreat and defeat . '' cnn 's dana bash , ted barrett , evan glass , john helton and alan silverleib contributed to this report .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- in their first head-to-head debate , sen. john mccain criticized sen. barack obama as a candidate who `` does n't understand '' the key issues the country faces , and obama linked mccain to president bush on several issues . `` i 'm afraid sen. obama does n't understand the difference between a tactic and a strategy , '' mccain said friday as the two traded jabs over iraq . obama shot back , `` i absolutely understand the difference between tactics and strategy . and the strategic question that the president has to ask is not whether or not we are employing a particular approach in the country once we have made the decision to be there . '' mccain drew from his experience overseas as he tried to portray himself as the more qualified candidate . `` incredibly , incredibly sen. obama did n't go to iraq for 900 days and never asked for a meeting with gen. -lsb- david -rsb- petraeus , '' he said . watch mccain , obama talk about fighting in iraq '' mccain slammed obama for not supporting the surge , an increase of about 30,000 troops to iraq in early 2007 . bush sent the additional troops as part of a campaign to pacify baghdad and its surrounding provinces . `` john , you like to pretend like the war started in 2007 , '' obama shot back . `` you talk about the surge . the war started in 2003 , and at the time when the war started , you said it was going to be quick and easy . you said we knew where the weapons of mass destruction were . you were wrong . '' watch entire debate : part 1 '' | part 2 '' | part 3 '' obama repeatedly criticized the bush administration and charged that mccain is an endorser of his policies . see scenes from the debate '' in describing his tax plan , obama said , `` over time , that , i think , is going to be a better recipe for economic growth than the -- the policies of president bush that john mccain wants to -- wants to follow . '' obama also said the economic crisis is the `` final verdict on eight years of failed economic policies promoted by george bush , supported by sen. mccain . '' both candidates squeezed in a few cheap shots . obama brought up mccain 's jokingly singing a line about bombing iran , and mccain jabbed obama for his short-lived `` presidential seal . '' immediately after the debate , both campaigns issued statements declaring their candidate the winner . grade the candidates ' performance in the debate . `` this was a clear victory for barack obama on john mccain 's home turf . sen. mccain offered nothing but more of the same failed bush policies , and barack obama made a forceful case for change in our economy and our foreign policy , '' said obama-biden campaign manager david plouffe . `` john mccain needed a game-changer tonight , and by any measure , he did n't get it , '' he said . ireport.com : who do you think won the debate ?
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<t> mccain questions whether obama is aware of al qaeda presence in iraq . </t> <t> obama says there was no al qaeda in iraq until bush , mccain decided to invade . </t> <t> mccain statement : comments during democrats ' debate were `` timidity of despair '' </t> <t> obama : mccain has followed `` george bush into a misguided war in iraq '' </t>
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mccain , obama in heated exchange over iraq<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sen. barack obama on monday blamed lobbyists , special interests and `` an ethic of irresponsibility '' in washington for the financial crisis that has swept the country in recent weeks . sen. barack obama said monday there needs to be more oversight in washington . the senator from illinois sided with congressional democrats , who say a government bailout of the financial sector must include government oversight . `` we can not give a blank check to washington with no oversight and accountability , when no oversight and accountability is what got us into this mess in the first place , '' obama said . president bush 's top economic advisers this weekend presented a $ 700 billion plan to congress to take control of `` illiquid assets , '' including bad mortgages . bush urged congress to pass the plan as is , but democrats on the hill already are circulating a counterproposal . sen. john mccain , obama 's republican rival for the presidency , said monday that the government 's proposal puts too much power into the hands of treasury secretary henry paulson . in a conference call monday with reporters , mccain 's top campaign officials refused to say how the senator from arizona would vote on the plan because it is not yet clear what the final version will contain . at a campaign event monday in green bay , wisconsin , obama laid out the reforms he would pursue as president to avoid another economic crisis . watch obama talk about the crisis on wall street '' first , obama said that he would reform `` our special interest-driven politics . '' he said members of his administration would not be able to use their position as a steppingstone for lobbyist careers . watch what obama says about mccain 's role in the situation '' obama said he would make the government `` open and transparent '' and put any bill that ends up on his desk online for five days before he signs it .<doc-sep>secondly , obama said he would `` eliminate the waste and the fraud and abuse in our government . '' he pointed to fixing the health care system and ending the war in iraq as ways to cut costs . obama also said that he and his running mate , sen. joe biden , would crack down on excessive spending from both parties and close loopholes for big corporations . obama said he would pursue `` updated , common-sense regulations '' in the financial market . earlier monday , mccain told voters he was `` greatly concerned '' about the government 's proposed rescue plan . `` never before in the history of our nation has so much power and money been concentrated in the hands of one person , '' mccain said at a town hall meeting in scranton , pennsylvania . the republican candidate said that while he admires and respects paulson , `` this arrangement makes me deeply uncomfortable . '' mccain said a high-level oversight board should be created to shepherd the government 's proposed $ 700 billion bailout plan . mccain criticized obama for not putting up a plan to address the financial situation . `` at a time of crisis , when leadership is needed , sen. obama has simply not provided it , '' he said . watch what mccain says about obama 's leadership '' obama has said several times since the recent wall street crisis that , in meeting with top economists , he was encouraged to not roll out a specific plan for fear of overly politicizing the work of congress on a government bailout of financial firms .<doc-sep>he has , however , offered ideas for the plan -- including limiting pay for executives of businesses that are bailed out by the government and making sure the effort includes a specific plan for the money to be repaid . mccain on monday proposed creating a bipartisan oversight board that would be able to `` impose accountability and establish concrete criteria for who gets help and who does n't . '' the republican presidential candidate said the board should be made up of `` qualified citizens who have no agenda . '' he pointed to warren buffett , former massachusetts gov. mitt romney and new york mayor michael bloomberg as potential board members . buffett , chairman and ceo of berkshire hathaway , supports obama . romney backs mccain , and bloomberg is an independent . mccain also called for `` transparency and accountability '' on wall street and urged congress to act quickly . the bush administration 's proposal to bail out the financial system is the centerpiece of what would be the most sweeping economic intervention by the government since the great depression . the plan would allow the treasury to buy up mortgage-related assets from american-based companies and foreign firms with a big exposure to these illiquid assets . the aim is for the government to buy the securities at a discount , hold onto them and then sell them for a profit . the government 's rescue plan follows a week of roller-coaster activity in the financial markets . in the lead-up to bush 's proposal , the country saw the collapse of u.s. investment bank lehman brothers , a bank of america buyout of merrill lynch and a government bailout of insurer american international group inc. . cnnmoney.com staff contributed to this report .<doc-sep>opinion : gun control fight just beginning . throughout his presidency , obama has struggled as private interest groups have continued to exert enormous power over the legislative process . when obama pushed his health care law through congress , he felt the need to abandon hugely important measures that would have imposed tough cost controls . he did so to placate powerful interest groups in the medical industry who were dead set against these measures . the financial regulations imposed by the dodd-frank act , passed in response to the financial crisis of 2008 , have struggled as interest groups continually undercut their effectiveness by persuading legislators to avoid any kind of tough implementation . this time around , gun rights organizations -- from giants such as the national rifle association to smaller operations -- conducted a massive and unyielding blitz on legislators . even bipartisan support , a rarity in washington , was not enough for the bill to succeed . other issues , such as tax reform to close loopholes , have simply been abandoned because they seem so impossible given the power of lobbyists and campaign contributors who lurk on k street . the power of money makes it extremely difficult for politicians to go out on a limb . the filibuster has also remained the chronic obstacle for obama . with the constant threat of the filibuster against almost any piece of legislation , almost every bill requires a 60-vote super majority in the senate . this makes it hard to build a coalition behind legislation and in most cases allows small factions within a party to subvert presidential proposals . presidents usually need bipartisan support to get 60 votes , and bipartisanship is almost impossible nowadays .<doc-sep>` i ran because the voices of the american people - your voices - had been shut out of our democracy for way too long by lobbyists and special interests , and politicians who believe that compromise is a dirty word and who would say anything to win office , and do anything to stay in office . ' change , again : barack obama brought up memories of the previous election campaign . plans : obama said ` the future does n't have many lobbyists ' despite having included many former . lobbyists in his administration , obama said : ` the future does n't have . lobbyists . they 'll never have as many lobbyists as the vested interests . never have as many lobbyists as the past does . ' lobbyists , however , have been frequent and repeated visitors to the obama white house . according to the washington post , tim hannegan , who lists taser international as a client has been to the white house more than 30 times under obama . bill samuel , lobbyist for the afl-cio , has been by more than 50 times . michael taylor , a lobbyist for the monsanto corporation , has been 25 times . former senator . chris dodd , a lobbyists for the motion picture association of america , has been more than a dozen times . but the populist rhetoric was lapped up by the crowd as obama promised 100,000 new ` math and science teachers ' and training for two million workers . aiming high : obama pledged training for two million workers and more teachers . not the status quo : romney said he was the real agent of change . obama sought to seize back the mantle of change from romney , who has recently claimed he is the real candidate of change and obama represents the status quo in washington . ` i know what real change looks like , because i fought for it , ' obama said . ` i 've got the scars to prove it . you have , too . and after all that we 've been through together , colorado , we sure as heck ca n't give up now . ' the argument is unlikely to persuade many swing voters , who have become jaded after four years of high unemployment , soaring debt and partisan gridlock in washington . but it is a message that resonates among diehard democrats , who obama desperately needs to go to the polls . obama also looked back to the bush years , blaming his predecessor for the mess that he had spent ` four years cleaning up ' and harking back to president bill clinton 's time in the white house from 1993 to 2001 . ` we know the ideas that worked , ' obama said in green bay , wisconsin . ` we also know the ideas that do n't work . because in the eight years after bill clinton left office , his policies were reversed . ' obama speaking in boulder , colorado .<doc-sep>obama has promised to `` take power away from the corporate lobbyists '' -- a pledge that would be questioned should the president-elect rely on them to foot his inauguration bill . `` if he can pay for these parties with small donations , i think there 'd be a lot more acceptance of that , '' alexander said . watchdog groups say there are some things obama can do to take control of the tone . for example , he could make donations to charity , and michelle obama could opt for something more reasonably priced than a designer dress . when franklin d. roosevelt took office , he also faced a financial crisis . he gave voters a now famous pep talk about the failing economy , then skipped the fancy inaugural balls because they sent the wrong message . but analysts say obama 's not expected to go that far because so many people want to celebrate his historic win . `` washington , d.c. , was pro-obama and had obama-mania long before november 4 . but the moment november 4 occurred , all -- all craziness sort of broke loose , '' said anne schroeder mullini , a gossip columnist for politico . as inauguration organizers work to keep the tone in check , they are speaking out against those trying to make money by scalping tickets to the event .<doc-sep>by . jason groves and gerri peev . published : . 18:21 est , 3 june 2013 . | . updated : . 08:39 est , 4 june 2013 . more than 80 lobbyists have been suspended from the palace of westminster in a dramatic attempt to end the latest sleaze scandal . commons speaker john bercow said scores of parliamentary passes are being investigated amid fears they have been used by private firms to gain access to politicians . he promised ` urgent and effective action ' over the politicians-for-hire controversy . commons speaker john bercow has suspended 80 lobbyists from the palace of westminster . the 83 passholders are connected to .
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<t> new : sen. barack obama lays out his plan to avoid another economic crisis . </t> <t> new : obama : `` we can not give a blank check to washington with no oversight '' </t> <t> sen. john mccain expresses reservations about government 's rescue plan . </t> <t> mccain says there should be a bipartisan oversight board . </t>
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obama blames lobbyists , politicians for financial crisis<T>
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beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the head of china 's quality watchdog is reported to have resigned over the tainted baby milk scandal that has killed four children and sickened nearly 53,000 others . the official xinhua news agency said li changjiang had quit with the approval of china 's state council . li 's agency is responsible for ensuring that china 's food supply chain is safe . monday 's resignation came hours after the world health organization said the scandal had highlighted flaws in the country 's entire food supply chain . the chemical melamine blamed for causing kidney stones and kidney failure has been detected in formula milk powder from 22 dairies across china . the crisis was initially thought to have been confined to baby milk powder , but tests have found melamine in samples of liquid milk taken from china 's two largest dairy producers , mengniu dairy group and yili industrial group , as well as shanghai-based bright dairy . who china representative hans troedsson said on monday quality issues could occur anywhere from the farm to the retail outlet . he said `` it 's clearly something that is not acceptable and needs to be rectified and corrected , '' according to the associated press . troedsson said the who was discussing with officials how to strengthen china 's food quality system . chinese premier wen jiabao has called milk manufacturers `` heartless '' and promised stricter laws to protect the public . china 's health ministry said sunday that about 13,000 children were hospitalized , while another 40,000 had undergone outpatient treatment for illnesses related to suspected melamine-tainted milk products . the scandal has spread beyond the mainland with melamine being found in three chinese-made dairy products in singapore .<doc-sep>the country 's agri-food and veterinary authority said tests on `` white rabbit creamy candy '' showed that it was contaminated with melamine and it ordered stores to remove the product from shelves . taiwan announced monday it was banning the importation of all dairy products from china because of melamine contamination in milk supplies on the mainland , taiwan 's health ministry said monday . and a second child in hong kong has been diagnosed with a kidney stones after drinking the tainted milk as worried parents continued to take their children for health checkups , the government said monday , ap reported . the 4-year-old boy was in hospital in a stable condition , the hong kong government said in a statement . a three-year-old girl was sickened by a suspected melamine-tainted milk over the weekend -- the first known illness outside of mainland china . the chinese premier visited beijing hospitals and a supermarket sunday to show his concern for the crisis . `` what we need to do now is to ensure that nothing like this happens in the future , not only in dairy products , but in all foods , '' he said . `` manufacturers and owners of dairy companies should show more morality and social responsibility in these cases . they are heartless , so we have to create strict law and legislation . i 'm sorry . '' investigators arrested two brothers who sold milk used to produce the contaminated baby milk powder last week . they could face death if convicted , according to china daily , a state-run newspaper . the raw milk had been watered down and the chemical added to fool quality checks , the newspaper said . melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates , wood adhesives , fabric coatings , ceiling tiles and flame retardants . watch cnn visit the company at the center of the scandal '' but anger has been directed not just at the producers accused of adulterating their milk to increase profits , but also at government regulators , time magazine reported .<doc-sep>`` xinhua was quick to blame the dairy industry for their skewed rules , but what it did n't say was that the government also played a part in that ugly game , '' the magazine quoted a blogger , identified as sadmoon109 , as saying . health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones , urinary tract ulcers , and eye and skin irritation . it also robs infants of much-needed nutrition . thousands of tons of the tainted milk powder have been recalled . melamine is the same industrial contaminant from china that poisoned and killed thousands of u.s. dogs and cats last year . the chemical , a byproduct of plastic manufacturing , can be used to mimic high-protein additives . learn more about the chemical melamine '' a senior dairy analyst said chinese farmers were cutting corners to cope with rising costs for feed and labor . `` before the melamine incident , i know they could have been adding organic stuff , say animal urine or skin , '' chen lianfang of beijing orient agribusiness consultant told time . `` basically , anything that can boost the protein reading . '' copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the head of china 's quality watchdog is reported to have resigned over the tainted baby milk scandal that has killed four children and sickened nearly 53,000 others . the official xinhua news agency said li changjiang had quit with the approval of china 's state council . li 's agency is responsible for ensuring that china 's food supply chain is safe . monday 's resignation came hours after the world health organization said the scandal had highlighted flaws in the country 's entire food supply chain . the chemical melamine blamed for causing kidney stones and kidney failure has been detected in formula milk powder from 22 dairies across china . the crisis was initially thought to have been confined to baby milk powder , but tests have found melamine in samples of liquid milk taken from china 's two largest dairy producers , mengniu dairy group and yili industrial group , as well as shanghai-based bright dairy . who china representative hans troedsson said on monday quality issues could occur anywhere from the farm to the retail outlet . he said `` it 's clearly something that is not acceptable and needs to be rectified and corrected , '' according to the associated press . troedsson said the who was discussing with officials how to strengthen china 's food quality system . chinese premier wen jiabao has called milk manufacturers `` heartless '' and promised stricter laws to protect the public . china 's health ministry said sunday that about 13,000 children were hospitalized , while another 40,000 had undergone outpatient treatment for illnesses related to suspected melamine-tainted milk products . the scandal has spread beyond the mainland with melamine being found in three chinese-made dairy products in singapore .<doc-sep>sanlu could be taken over by beijing sanyuan food company or wandashan dairy , xinhua reported . chinese investigators found melamine in nearly 70 milk products from more than 20 companies , according to then-quality control official li changjiang , who was forced to resign . thousands of tons of tainted milk powder were recalled , including pullbacks by mengniu dairy group , china 's largest milk producer , and sanlu . in addition to li 's ouster , the fallout from the scandal led to arrest of at least 18 people in september and new government safety measures .<doc-sep>hong kong , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- unilever is recalling four batches of lipton milk tea sold in hong kong and macau after finding traces of the chemical melamine in the product , the company said tuesday . unilever hong kong limited described it as a precautionary measure and said no other lipton milk tea powder products were affected . the announcement came a day after british confectioner cadbury said it has recalled all of its chinese-made candy products after preliminary tests showed they contained trace amounts of melamine . some of the products were exported to taiwan , hong kong , australia , nauru and christmas island , according to the company . they are the latest companies to get caught up in china 's tainted milk scandal , which began earlier this month when authorities discovered melamine in powdered infant formula . watch how scare affects companies outside china '' contaminated milk has sickened nearly 53,000 children in china , killing four . countries around the world have since banned the import of chinese products containing milk , or have withdrawn products that contain milk from china -- such as chocolates -- amid worries they contain melamine . authorities have arrested 40 people in connection with the milk scandal , including two brothers who could face the death penalty if convicted . investigators suspect people watered down milk in an attempt to sell more of it , and added melamine in order to fool quality checks , chinese authorities have said . the toxic chemical is used to bolster apparent protein levels in diluted or poor-quality milk . others arrested include 19 managers of pastures , breeding farms and milk-purchasing stations . chinese authorities have said those arrested were involved in a network that made and sold melamine . authorities have implicated 22 chinese dairy companies in the scandal . melamine is the same industrial contaminant from china that poisoned and killed thousands of u.s. dogs and cats last year . health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones , urinary tract ulcers , and eye and skin irritation . it also robs infants of much-needed nutrition . the u.s. food and drug administration has said a company in taiwan , the king car food industrial company , had recalled seven instant coffee and milk tea products that were sold in the united states under the mr. brown brand name . they contain a non-dairy creamer found to be contaminated with melamine . the fda also recommends that u.s. consumers not eat white rabbit creamy candy , which in china has been found to contain unacceptable levels of melamine . the candy 's maker , guanshengyuan , has recalled its exports of white rabbit cream candy .<doc-sep>hong kong 's center for food safety said it will continue to test dairy products and other products with dairy ingredients . test results on other products -- including milk powder , soya drinks , yogurt , butter , baby food and frozen confections -- would be released on monday , it said . chinese authorities have implicated 22 chinese dairy companies in the tainted milk scandal . investigators suspect people watered down milk in an attempt to sell more of it , and added melamine in order to fool quality checks , chinese authorities have said . the toxic chemical is used to bolster apparent protein levels in diluted or poor-quality milk . on saturday china announced that a test of 607 batches of liquid milk from 27 cities found the samples to be melamine-free , state-run media said . the tests were the sixth chinese officials have carried out since melamine was discovered in powdered infant formula last month . chinese authorities have promised to subsidize farmers hit by the shrinking demand for milk , the news agency xinhua said . among them is the northern hebei province , which has earmarked 316 million yuan -lrb- $ 46.1 million -rrb- for subsidies . that translates to giving a farmer 200 yuan -lrb- $ 29 -rrb- per cow , xinhua said . melamine is used to bolster apparent protein levels in diluted or poor-quality milk . chinese authorities have arrested 40 people in connection with the scandal , including two brothers who could face the death penalty if convicted . authorities have implicated 22 chinese dairy companies in the scandal .
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<t> head of china 's quality watchdog resigns over tainted baby formula scandal . </t> <t> who representative said scandal shows up flaws in china 's food supply chain . </t> <t> four infants in china dead , 53,000 reported ill from tainted milk powder . </t>
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china quality chief quits over milk scandal<T>
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baghdad , iraq -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- u.s. secretary of defense robert gates flew into iraq on monday to oversee a change of command of american forces . robert gates is greeted monday at baghdad international airport by army lt. gen. lloyd austin . gen. ray odierno will take over command tuesday from gen. david petraeus , whose 20-month term in iraq saw a significant decline in violence with the deployment of additional u.s. troops . u.s. forces are in `` mission transition , '' gates said monday , with some troops going home and others backing up iraqis . `` there is no question we will still be engaged , but the areas in which we are seriously engaged will continue to narrow , '' gates said during his flight to iraq . `` the challenge for odierno is how do we work with the iraqis to preserve the gains we 've already achieved and expand on them even as the number of u.s. forces are shrinking . '' odierno is expected to set the stage for an eventual u.s. withdrawal . petraeus will become the new chief of u.s. central command , in charge of american forces in the middle east and afghanistan . gates , who is making his eighth trip to iraq , said petraeus played a `` historic role '' during his tenure . `` i think he would be the first to acknowledge that he has had a brilliant strategy , '' he said . `` but it has been the brigade commanders and company commanders and the soldiers and marines and others on the ground who have actually made it work . `` we have lost a lot of lives , but it 's really been an extraordinary effort of translations of a great strategy into a great success in a very difficult circumstance . '' at a dinner on the eve of the change-of-command ceremony , gates presented petraeus with the defense superior service medal . he also gave ryan crocker , the u.s. ambassador to iraq , the distinguished civilian service award -- the highest award given by the secretary of defense to those not in uniform .<doc-sep>`` i have never seen a working relationship like this , '' gates told the two men . `` to find leaders to do what many considered impossible , you two are such men . '' odierno will receive his fourth star on tuesday in a separate ceremony ahead of the change-of-command ceremony . the defense secretary on monday also met with iraqi prime minister nuri al-maliki and told the iraqi leader that he has seen a notable improvement in security since his first visit to the country nearly two years ago , according to a statement released by the prime minister 's office . gates said the cooperation between iraqi security forces and coalition forces was responsible for the improvement in security , according to the statement , and al-maliki praised the successes of the iraqi armed forces . the prime minister said the gains have brought about a greater sense of normalcy in the country , allowing many internally displaced iraqis to return to their homes . they also have spurred the economy , he said . the situation in iraq is far different from that in past years , the prime minister noted . as gates arrived in iraq , three bombings -- two in baghdad and one in diyala province 's balad ruz -- provided a rude counterpoint to that message . two car bombs went off in central baghdad . the blasts killed 12 people and wounded 36 in the commercial area of the karrada district , an interior ministry official said . the u.s. blamed al qaeda in iraq , but gave a lower death toll , saying two `` possible '' car bombs killed six people and wounded 27 . in balad ruz , a female suicide bomber detonated explosives at the house of a former u.s. detainee , killing at least 22 people and wounding 33 , according to a diyala security official . the u.s. military also blamed al qaeda in iraq for a car bombing friday in dujail , north of baghdad . the interior ministry said at least 30 people were killed and 45 wounded ; the u.s. said 31 were killed and 40 were wounded . cnn 's jomana karadsheh and mohammed jamjoom contributed to this report .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a controversial and leading u.s. general is in line to oversee the wars in iraq and afghanistan , according to u.s. defense secretary robert gates . u.s. marine corps gen. james mattis -- if he wins presidential and senate approval -- will move from being the outgoing commander of u.s. joint forces command to leading the u.s. central command , which oversees u.s. military operations in the middle east and southwest asia , including afghanistan , pakistan and iraq . the command also monitors iran . he would take over the post left open by the departure of gen. david petraeus , who was asked to take over command of the war in afghanistan . mattis was an effective leader in the marine corps , in the eyes of the pentagon , while commanding troops in iraq and afghanistan . known for his straight talk and hard-core leadership of marines in the 2004 battle of falluja , iraq , mattis is considered a dark-horse pick by many in the halls of the pentagon . his blunt talk has gotten him in trouble : in 2005 he said , `` it 's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them , '' referring to afghan fighters . asked if the general would be an effective leader for the central command region with the shadow of the comments still lingering , gates said thursday , `` appropriate action was taken at the time . i think that the subsequent five years have demonstrated that the lesson was learned . '' `` obviously , in the wake of the rolling stone interview , we discussed this kind of thing . and i have every confidence that general mattis will respond to questions and speak publicly about the matters for which he is responsible in an entirely appropriate way , '' gates said .<doc-sep>the new u.s. commander in iraq said tuesday that security in the country has improved , but is still in a `` fragile state . '' `` as we 've said many times , everyone is encouraged by the progress that has been made here in iraq , but we still have a lot of work to do , '' said gen. ray odierno , who took command of u.s. forces in iraq on tuesday . watch change of command ceremony '' odierno replaced gen. david petraeus , whose tenure saw a reversal in the country 's rising violence . `` it 's a proud moment for me to be given the responsibility to take command of multi-national force-iraq and continue the mission here in iraq as we move forward , '' odierno said in tuesday 's handover ceremony in baghdad , which was attended by defense secretary robert gates . `` we are in a fragile state now . what i want to do is build it to a more stable state . and i think we 're in the process of doing it . it just takes some time , and it 's slow , '' odierno said . odierno said he is `` encouraged '' by the growth of iraqi security forces and the national police . `` we 're starting to see signs of some other of the governmental capacities begin to grow , which i think is extremely important , '' he said . cnn 's jomana karadsheh and cal perry contributed to this report .<doc-sep>sen. jim webb released a statement saying getting rid of it `` would be a step backward and could be harmful '' to the military , while sen. mark warner said : `` i can see no rational basis for dismantling '' the joint forces command . the command , which has an annual budget of $ 240 million and 2,800 military and civilian employees , is one of the department 's 10 `` combatant commands . '' unlike most of the others , it does not have a particular global region of responsibility , such as central command that is responsible for the middle east . the command is made up of soldiers , sailors , airmen and marines who are trained and equipped to work together in response to the needs of other combatant commands . it grew out of the old atlantic command and became the joint forces command in 1999 . gen. james mattis had been commander until he was recently picked to become centcom commander . gen. raymond odierno , currently head of u.s. forces in iraq , has been picked to run the joint forces command . `` i told ray that his assignment at jfcom is essentially the same as his assignment in iraq , and that is working himself out of a job . '' gates said . eliminating the joint forces command is just one of a wide-ranging series of proposals presented by gates . others include : . -- eliminating some of the 65 military boards and commissions to cut the budget for them by 25 percent in fiscal year 2011 ; .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- army gen. david petraeus , the top u.s. commander in iraq , has been chosen to become chief of u.s. central command , defense secretary robert gates said wednesday . gen. david petraeus has been the commander in iraq for more than a year . petraeus would replace adm. william fallon , who said last month that he was resigning . fallon said widespread , but false , reports that he was at odds with the bush administration over iran had made his job impossible . in addition , gates said , army lt. gen. ray odierno , commander of the multinational corps-iraq -- the no. 2 position in iraq -- is being nominated to fill petraeus ' post . odierno has been home from iraq for only a couple of months but has agreed to return , gates said . the plan is for petraeus to leave iraq in late summer or early fall , gates said , to ensure a smooth transition and plenty of time for odierno to prepare . `` we expect to move the paperwork on these nominations to the white house and to the senate very quickly , '' gates said . `` because of the complexity of this series of moves , i respectfully ask the senate to move on them expeditiously , hopefully by memorial day , so the families and we can plan appropriately . '' odierno was in line for a pentagon desk job as army vice chief just over a year after helping petraeus implement the `` surge '' in u.s. troops in iraq . the pentagon says petraeus will stay in iraq long enough to make the first recommendation on further troop cuts after the surge is over . watch the challenges ahead of petraeus '' gates said the generals ' promotions reflected an endorsement of the current course in iraq . `` the course certainly that gen. petraeus has set has been a successful course . so , frankly , i think staying that course is not a bad idea . i would say it 's a good idea , '' gates said . watch gates nominate petraeus ''
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<t> defense secretary robert gates says u.s. troops in midst of `` mission transition '' </t> <t> gen. ray odierno taking over command in iraq from gen. david petraeus . </t> <t> odierno expected to set stage for eventual u.s. withdrawal . </t>
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gates arrives in iraq to oversee command change<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- millions of poor american children have untreated tooth decay , some of them because they can not find a dentist willing to treat them , a federal report issued tuesday said . only 1 in 3 children in medicaid received any dental care over a year time span , according to a new report . `` dental disease remains a significant problem for children aged 2 through 18 in medicaid , '' the u.s. government accountability office report concluded , referring to the federal/state health program for poor people . according to the report , which used data from 1999 to 2004 , about 6.5 million children enrolled in medicaid had untreated tooth decay in 2005 and were nearly twice as likely as children with private health insurance to have untreated tooth decay . the gao report was ordered after widespread publicity of the case of deamonte driver , a 12-year-old boy boy who died last year in suburban washington when an untreated infected tooth led to a brain infection . driver `` had extensive dental disease and his family was unable to find a dentist to treat him , '' the report said . the report said 14.8 percent of medicaid recipients said their children had not gotten necessary dental care because their dentist refused to accept medicaid , which typically pays providers less than private insurers . `` clearly , the oral health care system failed this young man , '' said dr. jane s. grover , first vice president of the american dental association in testimony tuesday to the committee on house oversight and government reform subcommittee on domestic policy . `` all of us -- practitioners , payers , parents and policymakers -- need to come together and make the system work for the most vulnerable among us , '' she said .<doc-sep>the report found that , nationwide , only one in three children in medicaid had received any dental care in the year before the survey was carried out , and one in eight reportedly had never seen a dentist . in comparison , more than half of children with private health insurance had gotten dental care during the prior year . `` fundamental changes to the medicaid program are long overdue to prevent the possibility of future tragedies like deamonte and to ensure that all low-income children have the same access to oral health care services enjoyed by the majority of americans , '' grover said . efforts are under way to fix the problem . she cited plans to open eight dental schools in addition to the 57 currently in existence and said a new job -- community dental health coordinator -- has been created . the coordinators will be trained to work in clinics and schools to ensure emergency care is provided to children , she said . `` if there had been a cdhc in the school that deamonte driver attended , we believe this tragedy could have been prevented , '' she said . `` through a routine exam , a cdhc could have spotted a simple cavity , filled the cavity with a temporary filling , and made arrangements for care by a dentist , '' she said . the cdhc will also help families enroll in medicaid and get transportation to appointments , she said . but even if the numbers of dentists increase , congress must act to increase fees for those participating in medicaid to match private rates , she said .<doc-sep>by . emma innes . published : . 09:30 est , 20 september 2013 . | . updated : . 09:30 est , 20 september 2013 . more than a quarter of five-year-olds in england have tooth decay , experts have said . they also warned of a ` chasm of inequality ' between youngsters from the richer south and poorer north . a study of 133,000 children by public health england -lrb- phe -rrb- showed 27 per cent of children aged five have tooth decay , with on average between three and four teeth affected by decay . more than a quarter of five-year-olds in england have tooth decay , experts have said . affected children have an average of between three and four decayed teeth . children in the north and in poor areas have significantly worse oral health , the report found . the british dental association said the variations showed a ` chasm of inequality ' in the oral health of youngsters . however , four-year trends show overall improvements in decay and its severity in young children , phe said . overall tooth decay in five-year-olds has reduced from 30.9 per cent to 27.9 per cent and the proportion of children with untreated decay has reduced from 27.5 per cent to 24.5 per cent . some 72.1 per cent of five-year-olds are free from tooth decay , up from 69.1 per cent in 2008 . but levels of decay vary regionally , with more children in northern regions with tooth decay than in the south and eastern regions . there is a ` chasm of inequality ' between youngsters from the richer south and poorer north . levels of decay ranged from 21.2 per cent of five-year-olds in the south east to 34.8 per cent in the north west . health minister lord howe said : ` we know more work is needed to make sure good oral health is more consistent right across the country . ` every child should have the opportunity to grow up with a healthy smile . ` however , we have some of the lowest decay rates in the world and more than 70 per cent of children in england are completely free of tooth decay . ' professor kevin fenton , director of health and wellbeing at phe , said : ` this latest survey shows the numbers of five-year-olds free from tooth decay has improved but there is still much to do , dental decay is preventable . ` parents should brush their children 's teeth for at least two minutes twice a day , once just before bedtime and at least one other time during the day . ` also supervise tooth brushing until your child is seven or eight-years-old , either by brushing their teeth yourself or , if they brush their own teeth , by watching how they do it . ' dr christopher allen , the chair of the british dental association 's dental public health committee , said : ` this report highlights a welcome improvement to the overall oral health of five-year-old children across england , but it also reminds us of the deep chasm that exists between those with the best and worst oral health . ` that divide is based not just on geography , but also on deprivation . ` the fight to close this divide must continue . crucial to its success are ensuring that a full dental public health workforce is available to advise on initiatives and funding made available to implement preventive programmes that can make a difference , and that children have access to dental care in all parts of the country . '<doc-sep>by . stephen adams . published : . 17:47 est , 3 august 2013 . | . updated : . 19:22 est , 3 august 2013 . risk : nearly six million children in england have rotting teeth or are facing tooth decay . nearly half of the 12 million children in england have rotting teeth or are at serious risk of tooth decay , according to a damning official report . sugary drinks , snacks between meals and poor dental checks are all blamed for the rapid deterioration of children 's teeth before they are eight . by the time they are 17 , six in ten suffer from tooth decay or gum disease , or are at risk of the problems , according to a department of health survey .<doc-sep>in england , 14 out of 152 local authorities have water fluoridation schemes in place - covering six million people . in these areas the level of fluoride in the water is adjusted to one part per million . in the latest report , experts measured the dental health of five-year-olds with baby teeth and 12-year-olds with adult teeth from both fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas . on average , 15 % fewer five-year-olds had tooth decay that needed intervention in fluoridated areas , the authors said . and when deprivation and ethnicity - both important factors for dental health - were taken into account this figure rose to 28 % fewer cases of tooth decay . the report also revealed there were 11 % fewer 12-year-olds with tooth decay in fluoridated areas compared to non-fluoridated areas . this figure rose to 21 % when deprivation and ethnicity were taken into account , the authors said . and in areas which participate in the water adjustment scheme there were 45 % fewer hospital admissions for tooth decay among children aged one to four .<doc-sep>by . emma glanfield . people living in areas where water fluoridation schemes are in place are less likely to have tooth decay than those in other regions , according to a public health england -lrb- phe -rrb- report -lrb- file picture -rrb- . fluoride in tap water can reduce the chance of getting tooth decay and improve overall dental health , a new report has revealed . people living in areas where water fluoridation schemes are in place are less likely to have tooth decay than those in other regions , according to a public health england -lrb- phe -rrb- report . experts said there are ` significant benefits ' of the schemes after compiling the first national report on the measure . during the early 20th century lower levels of tooth decay were noted in places which had certain fluoride levels in drinking water . over the last 50 years , schemes have been put in place in various places across england to adjust the levels of the mineral in water supplies to mimic the effect .
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<t> about 6.5 million children enrolled in medicaid had untreated tooth decay in 2005 . </t> <t> last year 12-year-old deamonte driver died from complications of infected tooth . </t> <t> dentists often refuse to accept medicaid , which often pays less than private insurers . </t> <t> many medicaid recipients say it 's difficult to get dental care using medicaid . </t>
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report : millions of children have untreated tooth decay<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the credit crisis has transformed the global financial landscape , bankrupting established names and prompting unprecedented interventions by governments and central banks to save others from collapse as they buckle under the weight of `` toxic debts . '' this timeline charts the key moments in that process . 2007 feb. 7 : hsbc announces losses linked to u.s. subprime mortgages . may 17 : federal reserve chairman ben bernanke said growing number of mortgage defaults will not seriously harm the u.s. economy . a trader at the new york stock exchange reacts to the fall of global stock markets . june : two bear stearns-run hedge funds with large holdings of subprime mortgages run into large losses and are forced to dump assets . the trouble spreads to major wall street firms such as merrill lynch , jpmorgan chase , citigroup and goldman sachs which had loaned the firms money . aug. : french bank bnp paribas freezes withdrawals in three investment funds . sept. : crisis-hit uk bank northern rock admits financial difficulties as it asks bank of england for assistance . share prices fall as customers queue up to withdraw their money . oct. 1 : swiss bank ubs announces losses liked to u.s. subprime mortgages . oct. 5 : investment bank merrill lynch reports losses of $ 5.5 billion . oct. 15 : cititgroup announces $ 6.5 billion third quarter losses . oct. 24 : merrill lynch announces losses to be over $ 8 billion . 2008 jan : swiss bank ubs announces fourth quarter losses at $ 14 billion . jan. 11 : bank of america pays $ 4 billion for countryside financial . jan. 15 : citigroup reports $ 18.1 billion loss in fourth quarter . jan. 17 : merrill lynch reports $ 11.5 billion loss in fourth quarter . washington mutual posts losses . feb. 13 : uk bank northern rock is nationalized . march : uk hedge fund peloton partners and u.s. fund carlyle capital fail . march 16 : bear stearns , the u.s. 's fifth largest investment bank , collapses and is taken over by jp morgan . april 1 : german deutsche bank credit losses of $ 3.9 billion in first quarter . april 13 : u.s. bank wachovia corp. reports big loss for quarter . may 12 : hsbc writes off $ 3.2 billion in the first quarter linked to exposure to the u.s. subprime market . july 22 : wamu reports $ 3.3 billion loss for second quarter . aug. 31 : german commerzbank ag takes over dresdner kleinwort investment bank .<doc-sep>sept 7 : fannie mae and freddie mac effectively nationalized by the u.s. treasury which places them into `` conservatorship . '' sept. 9 : lehman brothers shares plummet to lowest level on wall street in more than a decade . sept 14 : lehman brothers files for bankruptcy . stock markets plummet ; central banks inject billions of dollars into money markets . bank of america agrees to buy merrill lynch . sept. 16 : aig corp , the world 's biggest insurer , bailed out by the u.s. federal reserve . morgan stanley and wachovia enter merger talks . sept. 17 : halifax bank of scotland -lrb- hbos -rrb- to merge with uk bank lloyds tsb in an emergency rescue plan . sept. 18 : federal bank and other central banks inject billions into global markets to help ease the crunch . sept. 22 : japan 's nomura holdings buys lehman 's asian operations for up to $ 525 million . sept. 25 : wamu sold to jp morgan . sept. 27 : hsbc announces 1,100 job cuts worldwide . sept. 29 : - u.s. congress rejects $ 700 billion plan to bail out the u.s. financial system . - uk 's bradford & bingley nationalized . santander to buy deposits for $ 38.2 bn - german bank hypo real estate to be bailed out by banks and government . - citigroup , the world 's largest bank , says it will buy wachovia . - belgian giant fortis is bailed out by netherlands , belgium and luxembourg . - royal bank of scotland shares lose a fifth of their value . - iceland part-nationalizes glitnir , one of its biggest banks . sept 30 : - belgian bank dexia bailed out by france , belgium and luxembourg . - swiss bank ubs announces small profit in third quarter . - irish government guarantees safety of bonds , debts and deposits . oct 1 : us senate passes amended $ 700 billion bail-out plan . oct 3 : - us congress passes $ 700 billion bail-out , president bush signs it into law . - swiss bank ubs to cut 2000 jobs . - dutch government nationalizes banking and insurance activities of fortis . oct 4-6 : - proposed hypo real estate bailout collapses . - chancellor angela merkel announces new plan for hypo bailout worth $ 69bn . - merkel also announces guarantee of deposits in german banks . - uk raises limit on guaranteed bank deposits from # 35,000 - # 50,000 . - eu leaders meet in paris for emergency summit to discuss financial crisis . - battle rages between citigroup and wells fargo over purchase of wachovia . - french bank bnp paribas takes 75 % stake in fortis . oct 6 : - danish government announces plan to guarantee bank deposits - wells fargo and citigroup agree to legal standstill in battle for wachovia . - bank of america reports 68 % profit drop , stock sale to raise $ 10bn . oct 7 : icelandic bank landsbanki nationalized ; icesave , landbanki 's internet bank , freezes uk customers ' accounts . oct 8 : - uk treasury freezes assets of landsbanki in the uk ; threatens legal action - uk treasury announces # 500 billion bank rescue package . - u.s. , uk , china , canada , sweden , switzerland and ecb cut interest rates . - imf forecasts `` major global downturn '' . oct 9 : iceland nationalizes its biggest bank kaupthing . oct 10 : black friday - g7 finance ministers meet in washington and issue a five-point plan . - nikkei falls almost 10 % , biggest drop in 20 years . - ftse falls more than 10 % , closes at 8.85 % ; worst daily fall since 1987 . - oil prices fall to $ 80 a barrel . - dow crashes nearly 700 points before regaining some lost ground . - icelandic bank kaupthing is nationalized . oct 11 - 12 : - the fed rubberstamps wachovia takeover by wells fargo . - 15 eu leaders meet in paris for emergency summit on crisis . - gordon brown urges them to adopt similar measures to uk bank rescue plan . - leaders agree to guarantee loans between banks until end of 2009 . - germany , france and italy to announce individual plans monday . - australia agrees to guarantee deposits for next 3 years . - new zealand guarantees bank deposits for 2 years . oct 13 : - eu stock markets bounce back in response to eu leaders ' bailout announcements . - uk bails out 3 banks : rbs , hbos and lloyds tsb at cost of $ 63 billion . - bank of england loans $ 174 million to icelandic bank landsbanki to help repay uk depositors . oct 14 : - iceland in talks with russia to negotiate emergency loan of $ 5.44 billion after bank collapses . - u.s. follows uk lead by part-nationalizing banks . oct 15 : - european and asian stock markets fall after initial upswing . - southeast asian nations agree to start fund to provide financial support to countries in crisis ; world bank commits $ 10 billion to the planned fund . - russian stock market posts losses as rts index falls below 800 points . oct 16 : - global markets fall on fears of global slowdown . - citigroup delays merger of its japanese brokerage units due to costs involved . - swiss government bails out ubs with $ 59.2 billion . - credit suisse posts 1.3 billion-franc third quarter loss ; raises $ 8.7 billion from investors . - hungarian central bank gets cash injection from ecb to value of $ 6.7 billion . - eu leaders at brussels summit call for complete overhaul of international financial system .<doc-sep>the two men exchanged memories about the boring meetings and ` fun ' had during the financial crisis , which saw the collapse of us banking giant lehman brothers in late 2008 . but lord king suggested that , while britain was on the road to recovery , it was not yet able to survive another economic crisis . he said : ` we have made the banking system safer , that is true , but is it really safe enough ? ` would we survive another big financial crisis which could yet come ? ` i do n't think we are yet at the point where we can be confident that the banking system would be entirely safe . ' he added : ` i do not think that the next financial crisis will come from the banking sector . ` i think it will come from somewhere else , but who knows where it will be . '<doc-sep>`` this new format allows you to go back in time to periods in your life that happened before there was a facebook , making your facebook profile into a graphically intense version of your entire life , '' he wrote . techcrunch called the timeline `` the story of your life on a single page . '' if you want it to be . bill barol at forbes wrote that facebook users should be skeptical of this concept : . `` the news is n't that facebook has figured out a new way to package your life and present it back to you , '' he wrote . `` the news is that no one blinks at the notion of a giant company being the custodian of your memories . at least that 's what facebook is banking on . timeline is your life , their way . `` that is , if you want to fill in the details . ''<doc-sep>so it 's a loan , not a bailout ? the central bank governor was very specific in his terminology . `` when you are talking about the imf , the imf talks about loans -- not bailouts . loans get repaid so there has n't been a bailout from the imf . shareholders in the imf -- which are governments -- get their return on the money that they have advanced to the imf , '' honohan said . before honohan 's statement , all talk was about the pressure the european union was putting on ireland to accept a rescue package as the euro took a battering on contagion fears . the worry was -- and still is -- that ireland 's problems could exert further pressure on other ailing countries , namely portugal and spain , which are already struggling to pay their debuts . relief in ireland would bring yields on portuguese and spanish government bonds back to normal levels would mean they pay less on interest and more , hopefully , toward reducing their own deficits . ihs global insight estimates banking-related costs will eventually mount to some 30 percent of irish gdp . `` on a banking crisis ` richter scale ' this is a ` very severe crisis ' of about seven to eight out of 12 , '' director of sovereign risk jan randolph said in a briefing note . for comparison , that is less severe than the iceland banking crisis -lrb- 10 to 12 -rrb- , but more serious than the banking tremors in the uk and the u.s. -lrb- four to five -rrb- .<doc-sep>prime minister david cameron , speaking today at 10 downing street , spelled out his determination to stop taxpayers ' money being used to bail out greece . david cameron today spelled out his determination to stop taxpayers ' money being used to bail out greece . he used forthright language to describe his attitude towards the bailed-out economy costing europe a fortune at his weekly downing street press conference . ` we were not involved in the first bailout of greece , we do n't believe the european financial mechanism should be used in any way , ' mr cameron said . he told business leaders the uk had . no obligation to help greece other than through the international . monetary fund because britain had , ` thank god ' , stayed out of the euro . the prime minister said he would make . his position clear later this week at a summit for the 27 european union . leaders -- a meeting which will be dominated by the debt crisis . his comments came as eurozone finance . ministers gave greece two weeks to approve stricter austerity measures . before they are prepared to sign off a second emergency loan of . # 11billion . world stocks and the euro rose from last week 's three-week lows today following the eurozone ultimatum . investors are awaiting a parliamentary confidence vote for greek prime minister george papandreou , a step towards the passage of more spending cuts in exchange for foreign loans . world stocks are down nearly 8 per cent from their three-year high set in may as investors grew worried disorderly restructuring of greek debt would cause ructions in the market and hit the region 's banking sector . mr cameron used forthright language to describe his attitude towards the bailed-out economy costing europe a fortune at his weekly downing street press conference . parliament will debate the confidence . vote against a backdrop of deep public anger over the pain of the . austerity measures . imf and european inspectors have arrived in athens . to discuss changes requested by greece to the reform package . unions and grassroots activists will . protest at parliament ahead of the vote , building on more than three . weeks of demonstrations that erupted into violence last week and split . the ruling pasok party . if the confidence vote is passed , the greek parliament will vote on the austerity measures by june 28 . debt crisis timeline : charts the value of the euro against the dollar , identifying the main events in the ongoing greek debt crisis .
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<t> banking crisis has transformed the world 's financial landscape . </t> <t> many established names bankrupted or bailed out as a consequence of bad debts . </t> <t> after inital upswing , world stock markets fall once more . </t> <t> eu leaders at summit call for overhaul of international financial system . </t>
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timeline : banking crisis<T>
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hong kong , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- unilever is recalling four batches of lipton milk tea sold in hong kong and macau after finding traces of the chemical melamine in the product , the company said tuesday . unilever hong kong limited described it as a precautionary measure and said no other lipton milk tea powder products were affected . the announcement came a day after british confectioner cadbury said it has recalled all of its chinese-made candy products after preliminary tests showed they contained trace amounts of melamine . some of the products were exported to taiwan , hong kong , australia , nauru and christmas island , according to the company . they are the latest companies to get caught up in china 's tainted milk scandal , which began earlier this month when authorities discovered melamine in powdered infant formula . watch how scare affects companies outside china '' contaminated milk has sickened nearly 53,000 children in china , killing four . countries around the world have since banned the import of chinese products containing milk , or have withdrawn products that contain milk from china -- such as chocolates -- amid worries they contain melamine . authorities have arrested 40 people in connection with the milk scandal , including two brothers who could face the death penalty if convicted . investigators suspect people watered down milk in an attempt to sell more of it , and added melamine in order to fool quality checks , chinese authorities have said . the toxic chemical is used to bolster apparent protein levels in diluted or poor-quality milk . others arrested include 19 managers of pastures , breeding farms and milk-purchasing stations . chinese authorities have said those arrested were involved in a network that made and sold melamine . authorities have implicated 22 chinese dairy companies in the scandal . melamine is the same industrial contaminant from china that poisoned and killed thousands of u.s. dogs and cats last year . health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones , urinary tract ulcers , and eye and skin irritation . it also robs infants of much-needed nutrition . the u.s. food and drug administration has said a company in taiwan , the king car food industrial company , had recalled seven instant coffee and milk tea products that were sold in the united states under the mr. brown brand name . they contain a non-dairy creamer found to be contaminated with melamine . the fda also recommends that u.s. consumers not eat white rabbit creamy candy , which in china has been found to contain unacceptable levels of melamine . the candy 's maker , guanshengyuan , has recalled its exports of white rabbit cream candy .<doc-sep>`` xinhua was quick to blame the dairy industry for their skewed rules , but what it did n't say was that the government also played a part in that ugly game , '' the magazine quoted a blogger , identified as sadmoon109 , as saying . health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones , urinary tract ulcers , and eye and skin irritation . it also robs infants of much-needed nutrition . thousands of tons of the tainted milk powder have been recalled . melamine is the same industrial contaminant from china that poisoned and killed thousands of u.s. dogs and cats last year . the chemical , a byproduct of plastic manufacturing , can be used to mimic high-protein additives . learn more about the chemical melamine '' a senior dairy analyst said chinese farmers were cutting corners to cope with rising costs for feed and labor . `` before the melamine incident , i know they could have been adding organic stuff , say animal urine or skin , '' chen lianfang of beijing orient agribusiness consultant told time . `` basically , anything that can boost the protein reading . '' copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>`` xinhua was quick to blame the dairy industry for their skewed rules , but what it did n't say was that the government also played a part in that ugly game , '' the magazine quoted a blogger , identified as sadmoon109 , as saying . health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones , urinary tract ulcers , and eye and skin irritation . it also robs infants of much-needed nutrition . thousands of tons of the tainted milk powder have been recalled . melamine is the same industrial contaminant from china that poisoned and killed thousands of u.s. dogs and cats last year . the chemical , a byproduct of plastic manufacturing , can be used to mimic high-protein additives . learn more about the chemical melamine '' a senior dairy analyst said chinese farmers were cutting corners to cope with rising costs for feed and labor . `` before the melamine incident , i know they could have been adding organic stuff , say animal urine or skin , '' chen lianfang of beijing orient agribusiness consultant told time . `` basically , anything that can boost the protein reading . '' copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .<doc-sep>agriculture experts speculate that eggs tainted with melamine may be the result of tainted feed given to hens . that begs the question : if melamine was in the animal feed , will it make into the meat , and into consumers ' bodies ? ingesting melamine in large doses over an extended period of time could cause kidney stones and other illnesses , agriculture and health experts say . but taking in a small amount of melamine poses no such danger . `` if it 's taken over a long period of time , maybe , but if it 's ingested only for short period of time it does not pose harm on animals , '' says he jiguo , a professor of food science and nutrition at the china agriculture university . he says the animals that end up being slaughtered do not live that long and do not actually ingest enough melamine for it to build up in their systems . the dogs and cats that were sickened in the united states were probably eating treats and meals tainted with melamine over a long period of time , he explains . until the situation is resolved , worried grocery shoppers in beijing say they 'll just have to eat fewer eggs and more bean-products , like soybeans .<doc-sep>beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- consumers in beijing 's malls and shops are shunning the milk and poultry sections -- for good reasons . poultry products , including eggs , may be contaminated with melamine through animal food . they are shocked and scared by the news headlines : some food produced in china is tainted with melamine . `` of course i 'm worried , '' says a woman shopping in nanxiaojie market . stop eating eggs ? `` that 's not possible , '' she tells cnn . `` if there 's a problem with eggs , it should be solved fundamentally . '' chinese premier wen jiabao says china will take steps to win back consumers . `` we will use our actions and high quality of our food products to win the trust and confidence of chinese people and people around the world , '' he told reporters at the end of a two-day summit of asian and european leaders in beijing last weekend . watch more about the tainted food scandal '' `` three minister-level officials have resigned and a government investigation is going on . whoever is responsible must be brought to justice . we need to protect the made in china brand , '' said chinese analyst victor gao . but the problem could be more pervasive . the state-run nanfang daily published an investigative story saying that adding melamine into animal feed has become an `` open secret . '' the report said adding melamine into feed started in the aquatic farming industry five years ago , as a way of faking higher protein levels . learn more about chemical melamine '' it then spread into other agro-industries such as poultry . even more shocking is the allegation that the melamine added is from industrial waste material . cnn contacted the ministry of agriculture about the story , but got no immediate response . two years ago , reports revealed pet food exported from china to the united states was spiked with melamine and had sickened and killed dogs . several weeks ago , the food scandal spread to milk , biscuits and candies . now , it is tainted eggs . so far , no illnesses or deaths have been linked to eggs . tests in hong kong last week showed eggs exported by a chinese company are contaminated with excessive levels of melamine . in recent days three other brands of eggs have also been found to contain the chemical . small wonder egg sales at the xinfadi , a wholesale market in beijing , dropped by 10 percent this week , according to the state-run china daily . chinese officials say the source of the problem is melamine , an industrial chemical used to produce plastics and fertilizer . melamine is high in nitrogen . unscrupulous milk suppliers would water down milk and spike it with melamine -- but in amounts that allowed it to still pass quality tests . agriculture experts speculate that eggs tainted with melamine may be the result of tainted feed given to hens . that begs the question : if melamine was in the animal feed , will it make into the meat , and into consumers ' bodies ? ingesting melamine in large doses over an extended period of time could cause kidney stones and other illnesses , agriculture and health experts say . but taking in a small amount of melamine poses no such danger . `` if it 's taken over a long period of time , maybe , but if it 's ingested only for short period of time it does not pose harm on animals , '' says he jiguo , a professor of food science and nutrition at the china agriculture university . he says the animals that end up being slaughtered do not live that long and do not actually ingest enough melamine for it to build up in their systems . the dogs and cats that were sickened in the united states were probably eating treats and meals tainted with melamine over a long period of time , he explains . until the situation is resolved , worried grocery shoppers in beijing say they 'll just have to eat fewer eggs and more bean-products , like soybeans .
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<t> unilever recalls four batches of lipton milk tea sold in hong kong . </t> <t> unilever hong kong describes it as a precautionary measure . </t> <t> chinese milk products have been contaminated with melamine . </t>
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manufacturing giant recalls melamine tainted tea<T>
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-lrb- travel + leisure -rrb- -- china can seem as impenetrable as it is imposing . consider the numbers : it 's the world 's most populous nation -lrb- 1.3 billion -rrb- , where more than 100 cities have populations over a million . fifty-six ethnic groups are spread across 22 wildly distinct provinces and five autonomous regions , in a landmass slightly larger than the u.s. . the tiananmen gate at the entrance to the forbidden city in beijing . its history seems limitless and its traditions just as deep . but here and now , change is the only real constant -- and it is accelerating at a dizzying pace . -lrb- one thousand new cars hit the streets of beijing every day . -rrb- . how do you begin to fathom a country of such extremes ? the futuristic cities glittering above timeworn villages ; the great rivers and vast empty deserts ; the radical new architecture juxtaposed with millennia-old monuments ; the ceaseless push-and-pull between confucianism , communism , and commerce . where do you even begin ? have no fear . start here with travel + leisure 's suggestions for where to go and what to see . beijing : 2 -- 3 days . china 's political , historical and cultural capital demands at least three days -- for the familiar landmarks of tiananmen square and the forbidden city , and also for beijing 's 21st-century architecture , such as the `` bird 's nest '' olympic national stadium by herzog & de meuron and the glass-and-titanium dome that is the national grand theater . china 's contemporary art scene finds its nexus in the galleries and cafés of the dashanzi art district , home to the new ullens center for contemporary art . travel + leisure.com : tips for flying to china . beijing 's atmospheric hutong , or traditional alleyways , are fast disappearing ; explore the bustling ones off nanluoguxiang , near the 13th-century drum and bell towers . then check out the legation quarter , a high-end restaurant , entertainment and cultural development set within the former american embassy compound . and save a morning to stroll the manicured , 660-acre grounds of the temple of heaven , site of the circular hall of prayer for good harvests , the 15th-century apogee of chinese ritual architecture . travel + leisure.com : chinese taxi trips . the great wall . numerous stretches of the great wall are easily accessible from beijing -lrb- ask your hotel to arrange a car or bus tour -rrb- . but avoid the tourist trap of badaling and head to the slightly less trammeled mutianyu section , a 90-minute drive northeast of the forbidden city . early morning is best ; try asia 1 on 1 for day trips . travel + leisure.com : where to stay in china . shanghai : 2 -- 3 days . first stop : the riverfront promenade known as the bund , with its art deco , neoclassical , and beaux-arts façades , bars and shops , and views of the space-age towers of pudong . in people 's park you 'll find the shanghai museum and the museum of contemporary art . weekdays are the best time to wander among the pine trees and ponds of the 16th-century yuyuan gardens . xintiandi was the birthplace of the chinese communist party ; now this restored two-block district is defined by upscale shops and restaurants . the leafy , rustic french concession is the favored destination for cutting-edge fashion and designs for the home . shanghai 's latest secret ? lane 248 , a gritty , narrow street now inhabited by artsy cafés and intimate boutiques , hidden behind taikang road . travel + leisure.com : china shopping tips and strategies . guilin : 2 days . -lrb- two hours by air from shanghai . -rrb- with its sheer limestone peaks jutting up from the li river , guilin is straight out of a traditional chinese landscape painting , and remains one of china 's most breathtaking sights . take in the view from solitary beauty peak and marvel at the formations of the reed flute cave . spring and fall are best ; avoid the heat of july and the crowds of the holiday seasons . xi'an : 2 days . -lrb- two hours by air from beijing . -rrb- china 's ancestral capital is renowned for its `` terra-cotta army , '' created during the qin dynasty -lrb- 221 -- 207 b.c. -rrb- : thousands of life-size clay warriors stand in formation as part of the funerary complex of china 's first emperor , with much more yet to be excavated . you 'll need at least two days here to take in the warriors , see the shang dynasty bronze relics at the shaanxi history museum , walk along the old city walls , and visit the da mai market . datong : 2 days . -lrb- one hour by air or six hours by scenic train ride from beijing . -rrb- majestic qing dynasty frescoes are the standout in the celebrated temple district . nearby excursions include the awesome buddhist sculptures in the yungang grottoes and the hanging temple of mount hengshan , which clings precipitously to the side of a cliff . not far away are some especially beautiful eroded mud-brick ruins of the great wall . hangzhou : 2 days . -lrb- two hours by bullet train from shanghai . -rrb- fabled west lake is the major draw here , with its elegant causeways , pavilions , gardens , and arched bridges . hangzhou is also renowned as a culinary capital : local specialties include stuffed-beggar 's chicken and fatty dongpo pork ; sample both at the great louwailou restaurant . travel + leisure.com : must-try chinese food . suzhou : 1 day . -lrb- 45 minutes by train from shanghai . -rrb- famous for its ming - and qing-dynasty gardens -lrb- do n't miss the garden of the master of the nets and the humble administrator 's garden -rrb- , suzhou was once called the venice of the east for its canals . but smart travelers know the most picturesque waterways -- fringed by whitewashed houses and 1,000-year-old humpbacked bridges -- are in the village of tongli , a 50-minute drive away . kunming : 1 day . -lrb- three hours by air from shanghai . -rrb- this city is one of china 's most pleasant , in climate-blessed yunnan province . visit the 15th-century bamboo temple and the 17th-century golden temple , stroll the pavilions and bridges of green lake , and savor the raucous energy of the kundu night market . dali : 1 day . -lrb- 45 minutes by air from kunming . -rrb- like nearby lijiang , dali has a strong ethnic-minority flavor , a walled old city with cobblestoned streets , and striking mountain scenery -- but without the same tourist mobs . explore on foot , peek at the three pagodas , or go for a boat ride on erhai lake . taiyuan : 1 day . -lrb- one hour by air from beijing . -rrb- the capital of shanxi province , taiyuan is home to the shanxi provincial museum , offering a superb survey of the region 's 5,000-year history , and the jinci temple weaves a thread between taoism , confucianism , and buddhism . and 90 minutes southwest by car is pingyao , a stunningly preserved walled city and veritable time machine that carries you back to the ming and qing dynasties . planning a beach getaway ? do n't miss travel + leisure 's guide to affordable beach resorts . copyright 2008 american express publishing corporation . all rights reserved .<doc-sep>hong kong -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- few political trials can boast the intoxicating mix of sex , murder and exotic meat . but that 's exactly what the case of former political kingpin bo xilai offered observers in china , many of whom -- more than half a million -- followed proceedings on social media courtesy of court officials in the eastern city of jinan . it 's not clear how closely the transcripts -- posted on weibo , china 's version of twitter -- matched what happened in the courtroom , but the dramatic and often surreal detail that did emerge made for fascinating reading . here are five of the highlights : . 1 . bo feared a woman scorned . bo told the court he is the target of bitter payback by his wife , gu kailai , who is angry over an affair he had and is trying to implicate him in her shady business deals so she can avoid the death penalty . `` i feel affectionate about gu . she 's a fragile woman , and she would be convicted to death if she 's found involved in economic crimes . blaming it on someone else could be an easy way out , '' he said . ouch .<doc-sep>in a similar way to how boris bikes work in london , people in need of a ride can borrow a fully-charged , electric car from an automated garage . each of the specially designed parking lots can hold up to 300 vehicles , which can be rented on the spot by members of the car share service . for less than # 2 an hour commuters can rent one of the chinese-made vehicles , using a membership card , which is then lowered down to them , fully-charged and ready to drive . each of the specially designed parking lots can hold up to 300 vehicles , which can be rented on the spot by members of the car share service . china 's love-affair with the car has caused the country to suffer some of the world 's worst air quality . around 80 million new cars expected on china 's roads by the end of the decade and these will join the 120 million already in use . as a result , the government is limiting the number of new license plates it will issue . china 's premier li keqiang recently said the government should use electric vehicles to combat pollution . once their journey is done , drivers just have to drop off their rented motor at the nearest station . the tiny cars - manufactured by volvo 's owners geely - reach a top speed of 75mph and can travel for around 50 miles per charge . ` kandi ev is beautiful , flexible , easy to operate , green and is a great choice for the vehicle sharing system , ' said hong li , director of hangzhou 's tourism commission .<doc-sep>kaiping , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- in a quiet corner of southern china 's pearl river delta , hundreds of abandoned watchtowers dot a landscape of water-logged rice paddies , lush bamboo groves and ancient villages . bristling with battlements and turrets , the ornate towers were built by families and villages in need of protection during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when much of the country was controlled by warlords and banditry was rife . now a unesco world heritage site , these days the kaiping watchtowers , or diaolou as they are known locally , face a threat of a different nature -- the incredible boom in chinese tourism . the tiny village of zili , which has the largest collection of towers , attracts dozens of tour buses on weekends . their passengers are ushered around the towers by guides sporting red flags and microphones rigged up to loud speakers . they chase the skinny chickens that roam about the dirt paths , snap photos , sample `` peasant family food '' and buy rustic bamboo souvenirs , while the village 's few remaining elderly residents sit on small plastic stools and look on bemused . it 's a scene that 's played out at other unesco sites across china , where world heritage status is increasingly being used as a economic vehicle to develop backward regions , says chris ryan , a professor of tourism at the university of waikato in new zealand . `` the idea behind having this status is that there are conservation , preservation and restoration issues , where in china it seems to be primarily geared toward promoting tourism and its economic benefit , '' says ryan , who has studied kaiping and another world heritage site in anhui province , eastern china . china plans makeover for tourism in southeast tibet . according to ryan , chinese made 2.6 billion trips last year , up from just over a billion seven years ago and numbers are expected to rise further . `` places that were previously very remote and did n't see a lot of tourists are now seeing enormous numbers arriving because they have the money to travel , '' says neville agnew , group director of the getty conservation institute , which has worked in china since 1989 . `` it 's an interesting phenomenon because it 's in complete contrast to the experience in egypt , where almost all the visitors are foreigners . '' china now has 43 world heritage sites , the most of any country in the world . dozens of other wannabe unesco sites across china are preparing bids . jing feng , the paris-based chief of unesco 's asia and pacific section , says that the prestige of world heritage inscription always means an increase in visitor numbers but acknowledges the pressures of mass tourism in china are particularly acute . `` people are getting richer and they have the right to appreciate heritage sites but we need a balance , '' he says . new parts of great wall of china to open to tourists . tackling the problem is difficult . jing singles out lijiang , an ancient town set in a dramatic mountain landscape in the southwestern province of yunnan , as a place that has struggled to accommodate a surge in tourists . designated a world heritage site in 1997 , the town , home to the matriarchal dongba culture , now receives 11 million visitors a year and conservation experts have been shocked by the level of commercialization . locals have moved out of the city 's ancient core , renting their homes out to businesses . jing was part of a unesco monitoring mission to the town in 2008 and local authorities have pledged to improve visitor management and shut the discos and karaoke bars that had sprung up .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- after being detained in the south korean port of jeju since friday , the chinese luxury cruise ship , henna , finally set sail just after 7:30 p.m. local time on monday . the ship is now headed back to china and expected to arrive at the tianjin dongjiang international cruise port near beijing at 11 a.m. on wednesday . the departure was confirmed by the ship 's operator , hna tourism cruise and yacht management corp. . according to hna , by the time of departure , 1,558 passengers had been flown back to china after their vacations were interrupted by a south korean court order and unexpected detainment . perhaps the most shocking news surrounding the departure is that 87 resolute passengers , undeterred by the international commotion and four days in jeju , were so determined to finish their trips that they chose to return to china with the ship . henna saga . the henna was impounded in jeju on friday by a local court following a seizure application filed by chinese state-owned shipping company , jiangsu shagang group , against beijing-based travel organizer hna tourism , according to china 's state news agency , xinhua . jiangsu shagang group filed the application with south korean authorities due to a legal dispute with hna tourism , related to a legal proceeding over outstanding lease payments with an hna subsidiary , grand china shipping . the henna is under the ownership of sanya artemis yacht entertainment co. , ltd , a subsidiary of hna tourism . at least seven airplanes were dispatched to fly the 1,659 passengers and approximately 650 crew members back to china , according to a statement from hna tourism . passengers will receive compensation of approximately rmb 2,000 -lrb- about $ 250 -rrb- for the stunted trip , said the company . difficult detention . china state media reported that during the ship 's weekend detention , two passengers suffered heart attacks ; according to hna , however , only one passenger suffered a heart attack . a child suffered from a fever . all were taken to a local korean hospital for treatment . an hna tourism spokesperson told cnn the company believes the timing for the seizure was `` deliberate . '' the jiangsu shagang group filed its application on friday at 4 p.m. local time , knowing many public offices would soon be closed for the weekend , according to an hna spokesperson . hna says the timing led directly to the suffering and inconvenience of its passengers.â . according to hna -lrb- link in chinese only -rrb- , the company paid an rmb 16,880,000 -lrb- $ 2.75 million -rrb- bond by 3 a.m. on saturday to release the ship , after receiving the detention notice . however , the jeju court delayed payment of the funds over the weekend . representatives from the jiangsu shagang group were unavailable for comment . described by hna as china 's first luxury cruise ship , the henna made its maiden voyage in january of this year . ` lack of respect ' toward chinese . on its official weibo page , hna says south korean authorities ignored the rights of chinese tourists and acted `` inappropriately '' in dealing with the issue.â . according to state-owned china youth daily , china accounts for 35 % of tourists in south korea , and that number is on the rise . the story of the henna has gone viral on chinese social media networks . many chinese netizens question the detention order issued by the south koreans . `` they should n't let the tourists suffer no matter what happened ! this -lrb- shows -rrb- a lack of respect to the chinese , '' posted one commenter . anger has also been directed at hna , following chinese media reports that hna 's unpaid debt was the primary reason for the legal dispute . `` someone loaned money to a villain , the villain does n't want to return . then , you ask people to shush , and not talk about it aloud , '' posted another chinese netizen . south korean officials in jeju said that while the incident was regrettable , they were n't concerned about long-term damage to south korea 's reputation as a holiday destination for chinese travelers .
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<t> explore the traditional alleyways off nanluoguxiang in beijing . </t> <t> from beijing , visit the slightly less trammeled mutianyu section of the great wall . </t> <t> take in the view from solitary beauty peak in guilin . </t>
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china made easy : tourism highlights<T>
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beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- consumers in beijing 's malls and shops are shunning the milk and poultry sections -- for good reasons . poultry products , including eggs , may be contaminated with melamine through animal food . they are shocked and scared by the news headlines : some food produced in china is tainted with melamine . `` of course i 'm worried , '' says a woman shopping in nanxiaojie market . stop eating eggs ? `` that 's not possible , '' she tells cnn . `` if there 's a problem with eggs , it should be solved fundamentally . '' chinese premier wen jiabao says china will take steps to win back consumers . `` we will use our actions and high quality of our food products to win the trust and confidence of chinese people and people around the world , '' he told reporters at the end of a two-day summit of asian and european leaders in beijing last weekend . watch more about the tainted food scandal ''<doc-sep>`` three minister-level officials have resigned and a government investigation is going on . whoever is responsible must be brought to justice . we need to protect the made in china brand , '' said chinese analyst victor gao . but the problem could be more pervasive . the state-run nanfang daily published an investigative story saying that adding melamine into animal feed has become an `` open secret . '' the report said adding melamine into feed started in the aquatic farming industry five years ago , as a way of faking higher protein levels . learn more about chemical melamine '' it then spread into other agro-industries such as poultry . even more shocking is the allegation that the melamine added is from industrial waste material . cnn contacted the ministry of agriculture about the story , but got no immediate response . two years ago , reports revealed pet food exported from china to the united states was spiked with melamine and had sickened and killed dogs .<doc-sep>several weeks ago , the food scandal spread to milk , biscuits and candies . now , it is tainted eggs . so far , no illnesses or deaths have been linked to eggs . tests in hong kong last week showed eggs exported by a chinese company are contaminated with excessive levels of melamine . in recent days three other brands of eggs have also been found to contain the chemical . small wonder egg sales at the xinfadi , a wholesale market in beijing , dropped by 10 percent this week , according to the state-run china daily . chinese officials say the source of the problem is melamine , an industrial chemical used to produce plastics and fertilizer . melamine is high in nitrogen . unscrupulous milk suppliers would water down milk and spike it with melamine -- but in amounts that allowed it to still pass quality tests .<doc-sep>agriculture experts speculate that eggs tainted with melamine may be the result of tainted feed given to hens . that begs the question : if melamine was in the animal feed , will it make into the meat , and into consumers ' bodies ? ingesting melamine in large doses over an extended period of time could cause kidney stones and other illnesses , agriculture and health experts say . but taking in a small amount of melamine poses no such danger . `` if it 's taken over a long period of time , maybe , but if it 's ingested only for short period of time it does not pose harm on animals , '' says he jiguo , a professor of food science and nutrition at the china agriculture university . he says the animals that end up being slaughtered do not live that long and do not actually ingest enough melamine for it to build up in their systems . the dogs and cats that were sickened in the united states were probably eating treats and meals tainted with melamine over a long period of time , he explains . until the situation is resolved , worried grocery shoppers in beijing say they 'll just have to eat fewer eggs and more bean-products , like soybeans .<doc-sep>beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- consumers in beijing 's malls and shops are shunning the milk and poultry sections -- for good reasons . poultry products , including eggs , may be contaminated with melamine through animal food . they are shocked and scared by the news headlines : some food produced in china is tainted with melamine . `` of course i 'm worried , '' says a woman shopping in nanxiaojie market . stop eating eggs ? `` that 's not possible , '' she tells cnn . `` if there 's a problem with eggs , it should be solved fundamentally . '' chinese premier wen jiabao says china will take steps to win back consumers . `` we will use our actions and high quality of our food products to win the trust and confidence of chinese people and people around the world , '' he told reporters at the end of a two-day summit of asian and european leaders in beijing last weekend . watch more about the tainted food scandal '' `` three minister-level officials have resigned and a government investigation is going on . whoever is responsible must be brought to justice . we need to protect the made in china brand , '' said chinese analyst victor gao . but the problem could be more pervasive . the state-run nanfang daily published an investigative story saying that adding melamine into animal feed has become an `` open secret . '' the report said adding melamine into feed started in the aquatic farming industry five years ago , as a way of faking higher protein levels . learn more about chemical melamine '' it then spread into other agro-industries such as poultry . even more shocking is the allegation that the melamine added is from industrial waste material . cnn contacted the ministry of agriculture about the story , but got no immediate response . two years ago , reports revealed pet food exported from china to the united states was spiked with melamine and had sickened and killed dogs . several weeks ago , the food scandal spread to milk , biscuits and candies . now , it is tainted eggs . so far , no illnesses or deaths have been linked to eggs . tests in hong kong last week showed eggs exported by a chinese company are contaminated with excessive levels of melamine . in recent days three other brands of eggs have also been found to contain the chemical . small wonder egg sales at the xinfadi , a wholesale market in beijing , dropped by 10 percent this week , according to the state-run china daily . chinese officials say the source of the problem is melamine , an industrial chemical used to produce plastics and fertilizer . melamine is high in nitrogen . unscrupulous milk suppliers would water down milk and spike it with melamine -- but in amounts that allowed it to still pass quality tests . agriculture experts speculate that eggs tainted with melamine may be the result of tainted feed given to hens . that begs the question : if melamine was in the animal feed , will it make into the meat , and into consumers ' bodies ? ingesting melamine in large doses over an extended period of time could cause kidney stones and other illnesses , agriculture and health experts say . but taking in a small amount of melamine poses no such danger . `` if it 's taken over a long period of time , maybe , but if it 's ingested only for short period of time it does not pose harm on animals , '' says he jiguo , a professor of food science and nutrition at the china agriculture university . he says the animals that end up being slaughtered do not live that long and do not actually ingest enough melamine for it to build up in their systems . the dogs and cats that were sickened in the united states were probably eating treats and meals tainted with melamine over a long period of time , he explains . until the situation is resolved , worried grocery shoppers in beijing say they 'll just have to eat fewer eggs and more bean-products , like soybeans .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- two people were executed tuesday in china for their part in a tainted milk scandal that killed at least six babies and sickened about 300,000 others , state-run media reported . zhang yujun was executed for endangering public safety and geng jinping was executed for producing and selling toxic food , the xinhua news agency said . the tainted formula came to light in september 2008 , after several babies fell ill from drinking formula that contained melamine . melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates , wood adhesives , fabric coatings , ceiling tiles and flame retardants . some chinese dairy plants added the chemical to milk products so they would appear to have a higher protein level . the tainted milk caused kidney stones and urinary tract problems in hundreds of thousands of children . the 22 chinese dairy producers that made the formula have offered compensation to victims ' families . in all , 21 people were tried and sentenced in january for their roles in the scandal , xinhua reported . among them , zhang and geng were sentenced to death , and most others received at least 15 years in prison .<doc-sep>hong kong 's center for food safety said it will continue to test dairy products and other products with dairy ingredients . test results on other products -- including milk powder , soya drinks , yogurt , butter , baby food and frozen confections -- would be released on monday , it said . chinese authorities have implicated 22 chinese dairy companies in the tainted milk scandal . investigators suspect people watered down milk in an attempt to sell more of it , and added melamine in order to fool quality checks , chinese authorities have said . the toxic chemical is used to bolster apparent protein levels in diluted or poor-quality milk . on saturday china announced that a test of 607 batches of liquid milk from 27 cities found the samples to be melamine-free , state-run media said . the tests were the sixth chinese officials have carried out since melamine was discovered in powdered infant formula last month . chinese authorities have promised to subsidize farmers hit by the shrinking demand for milk , the news agency xinhua said . among them is the northern hebei province , which has earmarked 316 million yuan -lrb- $ 46.1 million -rrb- for subsidies . that translates to giving a farmer 200 yuan -lrb- $ 29 -rrb- per cow , xinhua said . melamine is used to bolster apparent protein levels in diluted or poor-quality milk . chinese authorities have arrested 40 people in connection with the scandal , including two brothers who could face the death penalty if convicted . authorities have implicated 22 chinese dairy companies in the scandal .<doc-sep>`` businesses in china are destroyed by chinese businessmen themselves , '' said one user on sina weibo , the chinese equivalent of twitter . `` do n't ever blame us on buying foreign goods . '' `` if i have a baby one day , i will also buy safer milk powder produced overseas , '' the user wrote tuesday . `` let us boycott mengniu altogether , show the shameless businessmen our strength . '' said a posting by another user . food safety scandals have blighted the dairy industry in china since 2008 , when melamine-tainted milk killed at least six babies and caused kidney stones and urinary tract problems in hundreds of thousands of children . twenty-one people were tried and sentenced for their roles in the scandal , and two of them were executed . in april , the police in southwestern china seized more than 26 tons of melamine-tainted milk intended for use in ice cream , according to local officials . journalist xiaoyu luo contributed to this report .
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<t> chinese premier wen jiabao says china will try to win back consumers . </t> <t> melamine is said to have been added to animal food products . </t> <t> report : adding melamine to feed started in aquatic farming 5 years ago . </t> <t> some grocery shoppers say to eat fewer eggs and more bean-products . </t>
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chinese shoppers shocked by tainted food scandal<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- elvis presley may have left the building three decades ago , but he raked in more money last year than many living titans of the music industry . singer elvis presley tops the forbes list for the second year in a row , raking in $ 52 million last year . for the second year in a row , presley topped the forbes magazine 's list of top-earning dead celebrities , hauling in $ 52 million last year . in comparison , the very-much-alive justin timberlake earned $ 44 million while another superstar , madonna , made $ 40 million , the magazine reported tuesday . the 30th anniversary of presley 's death boosted attendance and merchandise sales last year at his memphis , tennessee , home , graceland . a long list of licensing deals , such as a presley show on satellite radio , added to the earnings . the business magazine has been compiling its annual list of departed celebrities ' earnings since 2001 . since 2003 , the feature has coincided with halloween . this year , the top 13 celebrities earned a combined $ 194 million in the last 12 months .<doc-sep>the magazine says it talked to people inside the celebrities ' estates and calculated their gross earnings from october 2007 to october 2008 . some celebrities are staples on the list , which is in its eighth year . cartoonist charles schulz , who created snoopy , charlie brown and the assorted cast of `` peanuts '' characters , is second on the list . schulz , who died in 2000 , had posthumous earnings last year of $ 33 million , the magazine reported . he owes his constant presence to a steady revenue stream from the ongoing licensing of his characters , the magazine said . schulz and presley join theodor `` dr. seuss '' geisel -lrb- this year 's no. 6 -rrb- , beatles legend john lennon -lrb- no. 7 -rrb- and actress marilyn monroe -lrb- no. 9 -rrb- as the only entertainers to make the list every year since its inception . physicist albert einstein , best known for his theory of relativity , is fourth on the list . it is his third consecutive year making the forbes rankings .<doc-sep>though he died in 1955 , a franchise bearing his name -- baby einstein -- made big bucks last year selling educational books , dvds , cds , toys and other products . it plans to expand into the young-adult market this year . australian actor heath ledger , who died of an overdose in january , made his debut on the list in third place . the magazine estimated his earnings at $ 20 million , thanks to the success of the movie , `` the dark knight , '' in which ledger played the joker . the movie grossed $ 991 million worldwide . paul newman , who died of lung cancer last month , also made his first appearance on the list , raking in $ 5 million . `` his income still largely stems from residuals from his classic pictures , as well as more recent productions , '' the magazine said . the legendary actor 's line of natural and organic food products , newman 's own , earned revenues of $ 120 million last year , but the earnings were not considered in the tally because newman donated all profits to charity while he was living , the magazine said . several entertainers from last year 's list failed to make this year 's cut , including composer , producer and beatles guitarist george harrison , rapper/actor tupac shakur , `` godfather of soul '' james brown , and reggae legend bob marley .<doc-sep>billie holiday . jack kerouac . gene krupa . robert mitchum . thelonius monk . anita o'day . charlie parker . jackson pollock . elvis presley . frank sinatra . barbara stanwyck . muddy waters . john wayne . hank williams . lester young . cool and the counterculture . muhammad ali . james brown . jim brown . johnny cash . angela davis . joan didion . faye dunaway . bob dylan . clint eastwood . walt frazier . marvin gaye . deborah harry . jimi hendrix . bruce lee . steve mcqueen . bill murray . paul newman . jack nicholson . bonnie raitt .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- robin thicke , pharrell williams and t.i. have lost the first round of their legal fight over `` blurred lines , '' their monster 2013 hit . the three artists have been in a lengthy standoff with the family of soul legend marvin gaye , which has alleged that `` blurred lines '' illegally copies gaye 's 1977 hit `` got to give it up , '' among other complaints . thicke , williams and t.i. -- whose given name is clifford harris jr. -- filed a pre-emptive lawsuit in august 2013 asking a federal judge in california to declare that `` blurred lines '' does n't infringe on the copyright of `` got to give it up . '' the gaye estate followed with a countersuit that accused thicke of not only ripping off `` got to give it up '' but infringing on the copyright of gaye 's `` after the dance '' and having a `` marvin gaye fixation . '' marvin gaye heirs sue ` blurred lines ' artists .<doc-sep>the filing also quotes what music journalist wrote about the two songs . new york times writer rob hoerburger : `` and that bass line came right from marvin gaye 's no. 1 hit from the summer of ' 77 , ` got to give it up ' . '' rolling stone magazine contributor david ritz : `` when i first heard robin thicke 's ` blurred lines , ' my reaction was the same as millions of other r&b fans : hey , that 's marvin gaye 's ` got to give it up . ' '' vice magazine music critic paul cantor : `` you probably do n't feel guilty for liking ` blurred lines . ' maybe that 's because it was originally a marvin gaye song -lrb- `` got to give it up '' -rrb- and marvin gaye is ... awesome . '' the filing by the heirs also includes a report from musicologist judith finell , who identified a `` constellation of at least eight substantially similar compositional features between the two works . '' `` the signature phrase , vocal hook , backup vocal hook , their variations , and the keyboard and bass lines '' are substantially similar and they share `` departures from convention such as the unusual cowbell instrumentation , omission of guitar and use of male falsetto , '' it said .<doc-sep>the son of singer marvin gaye is recovering at home after a successful kidney transplant and he has an appearance late last year on entertainment tonight to thank for finding a donor . marvin gaye iii appeared on et in november after he filed a lawsuit against the writers of robin thicke 's smash hit , blurred lines . in the suit , filed in october , gaye claimed that blurred lines was an illegal rip-off of his father 's 1977 funk/disco classic got to give it up . scroll down for video . marvin gaye iii appeared on entertainment tonight in november after he filed a lawsuit against the writers of robin thicke 's smash hit , blurred lines . when gaye appeared on et to discuss the lawsuit , his lawyer david rudich also put out an appeal out for a new kidney for his client . at that point gaye had been receiving dialysis for renal failure for three years as a result of hypertension and diabetes . a previous public appeal to find a donor had n't met with any success , but his appearance on et changed all that . rick greene of cincinnati came forward after being moved by gaye 's plea for help . in the lawsuit , filed in october , gaye iii claimed that blurred lines was an illegal rip-off of his father 's 1977 funk/disco classic got to give it up . a spokeswoman for gaye said he underwent surgery at ucla medical center last week . et is currently preparing a follow-up segment to air in the coming weeks . the lawsuit - which remains unresolved - also involved thicke 's co-writers pharrell williams and rapper t.i. -lrb- real name clifford harris jr. -rrb- . strangely , gaye filed the claim to counter a suit filed last august by thicke , t.i. and pharrell in which they asked a judge to declare that the song did not infringe on gaye 's copy written work . the original suit followed internet rumblings that the song bore a striking resemblance to got to give it up . getting . in first : co-writers pharrell , robin and t.i. lodged a preemptive suit last august asking a judge to rule that they had not copied their hit . attorney owen sloane explained why the plaintiffs filed first , saying , ` they wanted to do a preemptive move . there was a dispute and they could 've waited to be sued , but it looks worse if they 're on the defending side . ' according to gaye , he may not have even pursued legal action had he not been sued first . ` it did n't even get to that point , ' he said . ` they felt the need to jump the gun , so here we are . ' he said his lawsuit had one main objective , ' i want to see my father get credit for his work , ' he said . video : marvin gaye 's son talks blurred lines lawsuit and appeals for a new kidney .
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<t> presley earned more than justin timberlake -lrb- $ 44m -rrb- , madonna -lrb- $ 40m -rrb- last year . </t> <t> cartoonist charles schulz , author dr. seuss still relevant among children . </t> <t> beatles ' john lennon comes in at no. 7 , but george harrison drops off list . </t> <t> heath ledger debuts on list thanks to performance as joker in `` the dark knight '' </t>
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elvis , marvin gaye shake moneymakers in afterlife<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a plane crash in eastern guatemala on sunday killed 10 people , including eight americans , a guatemalan official told cnn . a cessna caravan 208 carrying 14 people was en route from aurora to el estor when the pilot started making distress calls about engine failure about 45 minutes after takeoff , said jose carlos , guatemala 's director of civil aeronautics .<doc-sep>the air traffic tower in guatemala city lost communication with the plane at 9:45 a.m. . the plane crashed in zacapa , an agricultural hub about 115 kilometers -lrb- 71 miles -rrb- east of guatemala city , killing the pilot monica bonilla , co-pilot luis fernando lanfiesta and the americans .<doc-sep>four other passengers were injured and taken to a local hospital . `` it seems like the pilot tried her best to make a safe landing in a open field , but was not successful , '' said ricardo lemus , a zacapa firefighter at the scene of the crash told reporters .<doc-sep>`` on impact , the aircraft was split into pieces . '' the charter flight was operated by aero ruta maya .<doc-sep>an aerobatics pilot was lucky to walk away after his plane crash landed in the sea in guatemala . captured by onlookers , this shocking footage shows the moments before the incident as the biplane attempted to complete a loop-the-loop - but failed mid-air . the accident took place close to the marina del sur area in juan gaviota on the country 's west coast . a stearman model 75 biplane , similar to the one mr keller was attempting his trick in . mr keller walked away from the accident with cuts and bruises , guatemalan news agency prensa libre reported .<doc-sep>by . daily mail reporter . updated : . 10:58 est , 29 july 2011 . russian air traffic controllers have been blamed for the plane crash which killed polish president lech kaczynski and 95 others . a polish report has stated they gave incorrect and confusing landing instructions to pilots - and has put further strain on the relationship between the two neighbours . but it also heavily criticised polish officials and procedures , and has seen the immediate resignation of defence minister bogdan klich - whose department oversaw the training of the crew of the doomed flight . fatal : the plane carrying polish president lech kaczynski crashed near the smolensk airport killing everyone on board . today 's report challenges a russian aviation commission report , published in january , that put sole blame for the disaster on polish officials . that report struck poles as an attempt to avoid any responsibility for the plane crash in heavy fog at a rudimentary airport near smolensk . since then poland has eagerly awaited its own experts ' report . they hoped it would create a more balanced picture of the crash on april 10 , 2010 , which killed dozens of senior officials along with the president and first lady , in the worst polish disaster since world war ii . as key causes of the crash it cites wrong positioning of the plane during attempted landing , due to insufficient training of the pilots to fly the plane , a tupolev-154 . poland 's president lech kaczynski , who was killed in the crash . it also said there was a lack of proper cooperation among the crew and an overly slow reaction to an automatic terrain warning system that warned pilots they were flying too low . incorrect information from the airport control tower on the plane 's position prevented the crew from realizing they were making mistakes , it added .<doc-sep>by . peter allen . published : . 10:42 est , 19 october 2013 . | . updated : . 13:11 est , 19 october 2013 . at least 10 civilian parachutists were killed alongside a pilot today when their light plane crashed into a field in belgium . four . of those on board the stricken pilatus pc-6 porter had been seen . desperately trying to get out after the aircraft caught fire and a wing . dropped off . but they . were unable to open their chutes before the plane crashed into the . ground near the town of marchovelette , in the southern namur region . crash site : a firefighter inspects the wreckage of the plane , which was carrying 11 people . mangled : the pilatus plane , which was carrying 10 parachutists and a pilot , had not long taken off when it crashed in belgium . at least 10 people are dead after a plane carrying a group of parachutists crashed into this field close to the town of marchovelette in belgium . the pilot is thought to be among the dead . crash site : the crash took place near the city of namur in souther belgium . the . horrific accident took place at around 3.45 pm after the aircraft had . taken off from temploux airfield , some 45 miles south east of brussels , . and hit the ground some ten minutes later . jean-claude nihoul , the mayor of nearby fernelmont , said there were ` at least 10 passengers on board and probably one pilot ' . mr . nihoul said most of those on board had been due to take part in a . parachute jump but ` crashed around 10 minutes after take-off . ' one . eyewitness told belgium radio station rtl he saw ` a plane lose its wing . mid-flight and crash with a massive bang . i did n't see anyone parachute . out . ' there were no survivors in the crash , which saw the plane burnt to a wreck by the time firefighters arrived . neither the names nor nationalities of those killed were immediately available . deaths : it was confirmed that the crash had no survivors . protection : firefighters install a screen around the crash site , near the village of marchovelette . investigation : firefighters were at the scene searching the wreckage this afternoon . condolences : belgian president elio di rupo tweeted about the crash . his tweet translates to : ` on the plane accident near namur : my heartfelt thoughts go first and foremost to the victims , their families and their loved ones . ' another . witness involved in the rescue effort said : ` the plane lost a wing , . which was found up to a kilometer from the scene of the accident . some . spoke of an in-flight explosion , but i think the main explosion occurred . on impact with the grown . ` pieces . came off the plane , then it nosedived . there were reports of up to four . parachutists trying to get out so as to jump to safety , but all were . unsuccessful ' . a crisis centre has been set up to assist with relatives of victims , and those who saw the accident . elio . di rupo , the belgian prime minister , said he was ` hugely moved ' by the . tragic accident , and offered ` sincere condolences ' to all those . connected to the deceased . moved : belgian prime minister elio di rupo was pictured at the crash site this evening . depute prime minister joelle milquet , said : ` all our thoughts are with the victims , their families and their friends . ' the pilatus pc-6 porter is a single-engine short take-off and landing aircraft which is often used by sports parachutists . made . and designed by swiss company pilatus aircraft , it went into production . in 1959 and has also since been built by us company fairchild hiller .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- a spanish court on tuesday approved the extradition of former guatemalan interior minister carlos vielmann to his homeland to face 10 murder charges stemming from incidents at two prisons there . vielmann , who holds dual guatemalan and spanish citizenship , has the option to appeal the ruling . the final decision on extradition lies with the spanish government . what the court found tuesday was that the guatemalan request for extradition to face murder charges was approved under an extradition treaty between the two countries . in addition to the murder charges , the guatemalan government cited charges of illicit association and extrajudicial killings as reasons for extradition , but the spanish court found that those charges were not covered by the treaty . vielmann faces charges in both spain and guatemala stemming from the same incident , a 2006 uprising at the el pavon prison in guatemala where seven inmates were killed . the interior ministry and police said at the time that the prisoners were killed during a violent confrontation with prison authorities . however , a report by the guatemalan human rights ombudsman 's office concluded the prisoners had been executed . vielmann is wanted in guatemala in connection with the seven killings . he also has been accused of ordering the killings of three inmates who escaped from el infiernito prison in 2005 . he was arrested in spain in october 2010 , and has been on provisional release since november . cnn 's al goodman contributed to this report .
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<t> cessna caravan 208 was en route from aurora to el estor . </t> <t> pilot started making distress calls about 45 minutes after takeoff . </t> <t> plane crashed in zacapa , about 115 kilometers -lrb- 71 miles -rrb- east of guatemala city . </t>
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10 killed in guatemalan plane crash<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- british police were told in march this year that missing girl madeleine mccann may have been kidnapped by a pedophile ring which followed her three days before her abduction , according to reports . madeleine mccann went missing in may 2007 after being left at a holiday apartment in the algarve region . britain 's daily telegraph and the sun newspapers both reported thursday that an email released this week as part of the documents compiled by the portuguese investigators probing madeleine 's disappearance revealed the connection to the ring . madeleine was 3 when she disappeared may 3 , 2007 , while she was on holiday with her family at the portuguese resort of praia da luz . her disappearance prompted headlines worldwide . according to the newspapers , the email was sent on march 4 by a london-based metropolitan police intelligence officer to leicestershire police -- madeleine 's home county -- who then forwarded it on to investigators in portugal more than a month later . in the email , which both newspapers printed a copy of , the officer writes that `` intelligence suggests that a pedophile ring in belgium made an order for a young girl three days before madeleine mccann was taken . `` somebody connected to this group saw maddie , took a photograph of her and sent it to belgium . the purchaser agreed the girl was suitable and maddie was taken , '' the officer wrote . the daily telegraph reported the portuguese police then asked interpol to investigate . however , nothing appears to have come of the lead . watch how madeleine mccann may have been abducted to order '' belgium has already featured in the case , with a reported sighting on the dutch/belgian border last august already discounted . the case files , released by the portuguese investigators this week after they shelved the investigation for lack of evidence last month , have provided a raft of leads for the media to report . on tuesday , the documents revealed a previously undisclosed sighting of madeleine in the netherlands shortly after her disappearance . the possible sighting of madeleine in may 2007 stemmed from a report by a dutch shopkeeper , who told authorities she encountered a little girl in amsterdam , the netherlands . she said the child identified herself as maddie and said she was taken from her mother while on holiday . `` i start to ask where her mommy was , '' anna stam said . `` she could n't tell me that . i wanted to give her a balloon , but she did n't want that . she only wants her mommy , she said . and she said that these people took her from her mommy . '' at one point , authorities had named the girl 's parents , kate and gerry mccann , as `` arguidos , '' or suspects , along with a british man living in portugal , robert murat . but a spokesman for the portuguese public prosecutor 's office said authorities found no evidence of involvement by any of the three and were no longer considering them `` arguidos . '' after closing the case , police turned their case file -- containing up to 30,000 pages -- over to attorneys and private investigators working for the mccanns . the mccanns have vowed to keep searching for their daughter . .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- british police were told in march this year that missing girl madeleine mccann may have been kidnapped by a pedophile ring which followed her three days before her abduction , according to reports . madeleine mccann went missing in may 2007 after being left at a holiday apartment in the algarve region . britain 's daily telegraph and the sun newspapers both reported thursday that an email released this week as part of the documents compiled by the portuguese investigators probing madeleine 's disappearance revealed the connection to the ring . madeleine was 3 when she disappeared may 3 , 2007 , while she was on holiday with her family at the portuguese resort of praia da luz . her disappearance prompted headlines worldwide . according to the newspapers , the email was sent on march 4 by a london-based metropolitan police intelligence officer to leicestershire police -- madeleine 's home county -- who then forwarded it on to investigators in portugal more than a month later . in the email , which both newspapers printed a copy of , the officer writes that `` intelligence suggests that a pedophile ring in belgium made an order for a young girl three days before madeleine mccann was taken . `` somebody connected to this group saw maddie , took a photograph of her and sent it to belgium . the purchaser agreed the girl was suitable and maddie was taken , '' the officer wrote . the daily telegraph reported the portuguese police then asked interpol to investigate . however , nothing appears to have come of the lead . watch how madeleine mccann may have been abducted to order '' belgium has already featured in the case , with a reported sighting on the dutch/belgian border last august already discounted . the case files , released by the portuguese investigators this week after they shelved the investigation for lack of evidence last month , have provided a raft of leads for the media to report . on tuesday , the documents revealed a previously undisclosed sighting of madeleine in the netherlands shortly after her disappearance . the possible sighting of madeleine in may 2007 stemmed from a report by a dutch shopkeeper , who told authorities she encountered a little girl in amsterdam , the netherlands . she said the child identified herself as maddie and said she was taken from her mother while on holiday . `` i start to ask where her mommy was , '' anna stam said . `` she could n't tell me that . i wanted to give her a balloon , but she did n't want that . she only wants her mommy , she said . and she said that these people took her from her mommy . '' at one point , authorities had named the girl 's parents , kate and gerry mccann , as `` arguidos , '' or suspects , along with a british man living in portugal , robert murat . but a spokesman for the portuguese public prosecutor 's office said authorities found no evidence of involvement by any of the three and were no longer considering them `` arguidos . '' after closing the case , police turned their case file -- containing up to 30,000 pages -- over to attorneys and private investigators working for the mccanns . the mccanns have vowed to keep searching for their daughter . .<doc-sep>a man has revealed his horrifying childhood as a five-year-old sex slave in florida , where he says a member of his family made thousands forcing him to indulge the pedophile desires of pillars of the local community . jerome elam said that he was taken advantage of by a relative , who kept him in servitude for seven years and made him participate in child pornography and take drugs . he said that clients of his trafficker would beat , choke and rape him - and punish him severely whenever he tried to escape his life of abuse . elam told local station wtlv how he was dragged in and out of school in jacksonville to fulfill the whims of his relatives ' clients , whom he claims were often doctors and lawyers with a ` darker side ' . sex slave : jerome elam , pictured above as a boy in the 1970s , said he was trafficked , choked and raped by members and clients of a pedophile ring operating in florida .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- sia 's new video , `` elastic heart , '' features 28-year-old actor shia labeouf and 12-year-old `` dance moms '' star maddie ziegler , both dressed in dirty , flesh-colored leotards , playfully approaching , touching and running from one another in a zoo-like cage . internet , start your outrage . `` the video definitely has got this weird pedophile vibe , '' wrote irrational action on youtube . `` this video did make me uncomfortable at parts ... maybe its because maddie is like 12 and shia is almost thirty and i watch dance moms too so i really see her for her age , '' wrote youtube commenter esther jonson . `` the new sia video is disgusting ! like the song made a bit of sense then the video was like abacajavalaoavwpabsh @maddieziegler that 's not u , '' added suza aka suz on twitter . elle magazine described it as `` creepy naked . '' though the video is probably better viewed as interpretative dance -- as other commenters observed , it may be about sia 's relationship with her father -- the singer apologized if it was misconstrued . `` i apologize to those who feel triggered by #elasticheart my intention was to create some emotional content , not to upset anybody , '' she tweeted . others got her point . `` wish people would shut up about the supposed ` peaodophilia ' in @sia new video ! it 's beautiful ! dont be scared of art , '' tweeted helen anderson . the attention has n't hurt . on youtube , `` elastic heart '' has received 4.3 million views in the one day since it was posted .<doc-sep>by . daily mail reporter . published : . 00:34 est , 20 september 2012 . | . updated : . 05:23 est , 4 october 2012 . allegations : greg bucceroni , 48 , claims to have been paid for sex with brooklyn poly prep coach phil foglietta . a man , describing himself as a former child prostitute , claimed to . have had sex with a football coach who belonged to a pedophile . ring which included jerry sandusky . greg bucceroni , now 48 , said he was paid for sex as a teenager by former brooklyn poly prep coach phil foglietta in 1979 . foglietta , who is now dead , has been accused of raping and assaulting students at . the new york prep school over a 20-year period , according to the new . york daily news . in a letter sent to authorities at poly prep this week , bucceroni said he met foglietta as a teenager through second mile charity in pennsylvania . the organization was started by sandusky and used as a cover for the years of sexual abuse he inflicted on vulnerable boys . the disgraced penn state coach was . convicted of 45 counts of child sex abuse in june and is facing life in . prison when convicted next month . bucceroni described himself as a ` child prostitute ' who was used by a pedophile ring including sandusky , foglietta , . now-deceased philadelphia businessman ed savitz and former wharton . school of business professor lawrence scott ward .
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<t> portuguese police case file reveal more leads in madeleine mccann disappearance . </t> <t> email from british police suggests madeleine taken by pedophile ring . </t> <t> ring followed three-year-old girl before snatching her , reports claim . </t>
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reports : maddie taken by pedophile ring<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the beijing olympics has lost one of its major attractions after maria sharapova pulled out of the tennis tournament with a shoulder injury . sharapova has treatment for a shoulder injury that has ruled her out of olympics . the russian world number three sustained the injury in beating marta domachowska of poland at the wta tournament in montreal and immediately underwent an mri scan to determine the extent of the problem . the result was not encouraging and sharapova told her official web site of her disappointment . `` i 'm currently packing up real quick to hop on a plane to new york for a second opinion -lrb- on the injury -rrb- but i wanted to let you all know first that there is no chance of me competing in beijing , '' she said . `` the timing is so unfortunate and this makes me more sad than anything . ''<doc-sep>it is another shattering setback for 21-year sharapova who started the year with a brilliant victory at the australian open but has since been struggling with injury and loss of form . wednesday 's match in montreal was her first since a disappointing exit from wimbledon . `` after the match i knew there was something seriously wrong with my shoulder , '' she added . sharapova 's appearance in the final grand slam of the season at the u.s. open , which takes place almost immediately after the beijing games , must also be in serious doubt . sharapova joins a growing list of beijing casualties , including athens silver medallist amelie mauresmo and fellow frenchwoman mary pierce . meanwhile , vera zvonareva will replace sharapova in the russian team for beijing , spokesman vladimir kamelzon has confirmed .<doc-sep>`` it 's a remarkable opportunity to not only compete in such a historically prestigious sporting moment , but i am looking forward to sharing this olympic experience with fellow athletes around the world . '' sharapova , who will reportedly marry basketball star sasha vujacic in november after the end of the tennis season , has been based in the united states for most of her life . she has played three times for russia 's fed cup team , all in quarterfinal ties , winning three of her four singles rubbers . sharapova did not qualify for the 2004 olympics in beijing , despite winning her first grand slam title at wimbledon as a 17-year-old . she missed out in beijing in 2008 due to injury , and compatriot elena dementieva -- who has since retired -- won the women 's gold . russia first took part at the summer olympics in 1912 , but did not appear again until 1952 as the soviet union . since then the honor of carrying the flag has usually gone to male gold medal-winners . this year , serbia and spain will also have a tennis star as flag-bearer as men 's world no. 2 novak djokovic and beijing champion rafael nadal have been given the role by their respective countries .<doc-sep>world no. 1 federer is bidding to become the third man after rafael nadal and andre agassi to complete a career golden slam of the four grand slam titles and an olympic singles title . his wimbledon triumph over murray was his 17th grand slam title but he has now claimed his first medal in singles competition in the olympics . he won doubles gold with stanislas wawrinka for switzerland in beijing in 2008 . the women 's singles final will be a mouth watering clash between serena williams of the united states and russian maria sharapova . sharapova beat compatriot maria kirilenko 6-2 6-3 , while williams thrashed women 's no. 1 victoria azarenka of belarus 6-1 6-2 in just 63 minutes . sharapova is competing in the games for the first time and is also seeking a golden grand slam , but faces in williams an opponent in ominous form after winning at wimbledon last month .<doc-sep>by . michael zennie . published : . 09:24 est , 4 november 2013 . | . updated : . 09:43 est , 4 november 2013 . the fastest man alive has revealed the secret to his success : fast food . jamaican sprinter usain bolt says he ate 100 mcdonald 's chicken mcnuggets a day at the 2008 olympics . during his ten days in beijing , he estimates he downed 1,000 mcnuggets as he set three world records , earned three gold medals and dashed onto the world stage . celebrating : jamaica 's usain bolt pulls out his signature move , ` bolting , ' after setting a world record in the men 's 4x100 meter relay at the beijing olympics games . favorite food : bolt estimates he downed 1,000 mcdonald 's chicken mcnuggets during his 10 days in beijing - eating two boxes of 20 for breakfast and dinner and one for lunch . bolt writes in his new book , faster than lightning , that he found chinese food ` odd , ' so he bounded over to the nearest mcdonald 's and ordered his favorite food , the new york post reports . ` at first i ate a box of 20 for lunch , then another for dinner . the next day i had two boxes for breakfast , one for lunch and then another couple in the evening . i even grabbed some fries and an apple pie to go with it , ' bolt says . by that estimation , bolt was consuming 4,700 calories , 295 grams of fat and 9,000 milligrams of sodium every day - and that 's not counting dipping sauces . chicken nuggets have recently been the subject of scrutiny from nutritionists and food scientists . a recent study by university of mississippi researchers analyzed the components of chicken nuggets from two national fast food chains and found that each one was less than half chicken muscle meat . researchers found that the nuggets contained large amounts of bone , cartilage , fat , nerves and organ linings . bolt says he had a ` do n't ask , do n't tell ' relationship with his longtime girlfriend mizicann evans after he rose to international fame and women began ` throwing themselves at him ' success : bolt won three gold medals and set three world records at the 2008 games . his success catapulted him to international fame . tell all : bolt 's autobiography is due out tuesday . the researchers did n't name the fast food chains from which they bought the chicken nuggets in question . in 2003 , mcdonald 's came out with all white meat mcnuggets after they were branded ' a mcfrankenstein creation ' by a federal judge . u.s. chicken mcnuggets came under scrutiny again in 2010 when it was revealed they contain butylhydroquinone , a petroleum-based preservative tertiary , and dimethylpolysiloxane , an anti-foaming agent also found in silly puddy . experts say the chemicals are used in only trace amounts and are not harmful . bolt also revealed in his book , due out tomorrow , that after becoming an international superstar women began throwing themselves at him . he says he developed a ` do n't ask , do n't tell ' policy with his then-girlfriend , fellow jamacian runner mizicann evans . he writes : ' i was able to get any lady i wanted ... i could walk into a party and take my pick . i would go into a club and think , `` hmm , a ' ight , which one ? you . . . ? you . . . ? oh , you ! let 's do this . '' ' the couple has since split up . bolt 's record-setting moves on the track might be all his own , but his signature celebration moves were actually dreamed up by a friend . his ` bolting ' dance , in which he pulls back an imaginary arrow and fires it into the heavens , was the idea of a dancer friend from jamaica . ` i 'd made a deal that if i won the 100 , i would bust some crazy dance move . it was called `` di world , '' ' the sprinter says .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- maria sharapova landed the toray pan pacific open title in tokyo on saturday as her final opponent jelena jankovic was forced to retire injured in the first set . sharapova was winning her first title of 2009 after returning from injury . unseeded russian sharapova was leading 5-2 when jankovic pulled out with a right wrist injury . it is sharapova 's first title since returning to the wta after being sidelined for 10 months after shoulder surgery . serbian jankovic claimed the opening two games , but sharapova stormed back to claim the next five before the seventh seed signaled she could not continue . `` it was a tough start today . jelena started off so strong , '' admitted tennis icon sharapova . `` it was my second final of the year and i was a bit nervous . `` but i played well enough this week to know i could give her a good match . i just wanted to keep fighting out there and unfortunately jelena had to stop , '' the 22-year-old added . sharapova has taken advantage of a series of shocks in the $ 2 million tournament which saw world number one dinara safina and venus williams exit in the first round . venus williams was back in action in her opening round match at the china open in beijing on saturday , but was made to fight hard by russia 's vera dushevina before coming through 6-2 7-6 . the seven-time grand slam winner trailed 4-0 in the second set before claiming the next five games . dushevina hit back to force a tiebreak which williams claimed comfortably to reach the second round . the tournament is being held in conjunction with an atp men 's event with rafael nadal , novak djokovic and andy roddick in action when it gets underway on monday . sunday will see top seed safina and second-ranked serena williams in action in the women 's tournament with sharapova granted a first round bye after her tokyo heroics .
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<t> maria sharapova withdraws from the bejing olympics due to a shoulder injury . </t> <t> russian star aggravated the injury in three-set win at rogers cup wednesday . </t> <t> sharapova now a serious doubt for the final grand slam at flushing meadows . </t>
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sharapova pulls out of beijing olympics<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- while sen. barack obama says he 'll visit iraq and afghanistan before the election , he 's staying consistent with his plans to start withdrawing u.s. troops almost immediately should he become president . sen. barack obama says he 'll go to iraq and afghanistan before november . obama says the need to withdraw troops is twofold : . `` one is to spur more action out of the iraqis . ... but the second reason for withdrawal is the fact that we 're spending $ 10 -lsb- billion -rsb- to $ 12 billion a month in iraq , '' obama said monday while on a two-day swing through michigan . `` the people here in flint , michigan , who i 'm going to be talking to , would like to see some of that investment made here at home . '' obama also expressed concern that the bush administration would rush to make some sort of status of forces agreement that would be binding to the next administration . the war in iraq is a key issue for voters in the united states , and obama and sen. john mccain offer vastly different solutions for how to handle it . obama supports a phased withdrawal of troops . he says he 'd remove all combat brigades from iraq within 16 months of taking office if he becomes president . mccain does not think american troops should return to the united states until iraqi forces are capable of maintaining a safe , democratic state . he has been a strong advocate of the `` surge '' -- the 2007 escalation of u.s. troops -- and says troops should stay in iraq as long as needed . mccain says obama is wrong for opposing the increased troop presence , and obama says mccain 's judgment is flawed . obama spoke monday with iraqi foreign minister hoshyar zebari and told him he looked forward to seeing him in baghdad before november . he also said he planned to visit afghanistan before the election . watch obama say he 's going to iraq '' `` i emphasized to him how encouraged i was by the reductions in violence in iraq , but also insisted that it is important for us to begin the process of withdrawing u.s. troops , making clear that we have no interest in permanent bases in iraq , '' obama said . `` i gave -lsb- zebari -rsb- an assurance that should we be elected , an obama administration will make sure that we continue with the progress that 's been made in iraq , that we wo n't act precipitously , '' he said . obama said zebari did not express concern about a withdrawal of american troops , saying , `` he did emphasize his belief that we 've made real progress and , i think , was eager to see political accommodations between the factions follow up in the wake of this progress . ''<doc-sep>about the same time obama was speaking to his traveling press corps , mccain told reporters at a press conference at his arlington , virginia , headquarters that obama `` is now is closing in on his 900th day since he visited iraq . '' the republican national committee has a counter on its web site that clocks the time since obama 's last visit to the country . `` the whole debate in this campaign should be about whether we 're going to allow that surge to continue to succeed or we 're again going to do what sen. obama wanted to do , and that is to set a date for withdrawal long ago without giving the surge a chance to succeed , '' said mccain , again criticizing obama for not meeting directly with gen. david petraeus , the top u.s. military commander in iraq . `` i do n't know how you can draw conclusions such as sen. obama has without even sitting down and talking with our commander on the ground , '' he added . mccain sat down with the visiting foreign minister one day before obama . watch mccain talk with zebari '' the senator from arizona said they had a `` very good discussion about the challenges that have been overcome and the challenges that lay ahead , '' and he said there is `` no doubt '' that the surge has succeeded . there have been recent improvements in iraq , where there are more than 150,000 u.s. troops . the number of deaths of u.s. troops there was at a five-year low last month , and zebari said saturday that the country has the lowest level of violence in the past four years . military experts and brookings analysts michael o'hanlon and kenneth pollack triggered criticism last year when they returned from iraq and argued that things were not as bad as they had seemed . watch experts weigh in on iraq '' `` i do think that there was a sense among the democratic party that the war , and the failure of the war , was going to be a major election issue for them that they could use against the republicans , '' pollack said sunday on cnn . `` and so , when you had two democrats coming back and saying , ` look , there actually is progress there . this thing is not completely lost , and we ought to give it some more time ' -- which is effectively all we were saying -- i think that this was a bombshell , because it was n't what people had heard before . '' o'hanlon said sunday that they 've seen continued progress , especially in the capabilities of the iraqi security forces . he said democrats are not rethinking their iraq policy because , for many of them , `` this is the symbol of the bush administration 's failed foreign policy . '' `` this became the symbol of bush administration arrogance and unilateralism . and then , for four years it went badly . so , given that backdrop , it 's pretty hard for democrats to come around to the idea that perhaps , by bush finally letting professionals run this war instead of ideologues , that we have begun to rescue this situation . i think that 's the simplest interpretation . '' cnn 's alexander marquardt and chris welch contributed to this report .<doc-sep>the democratic candidate says he supports a phased withdrawal of troops , promising to remove all combat brigades from iraq within 16 months of taking office if he becomes president . mccain does not think american troops should return to the united states until iraqi forces are capable of maintaining a safe , democratic state . he has been a strong advocate of the 2007 `` surge '' to escalate u.s. troop levels and says troops should stay in iraq as long as needed . mccain says obama is wrong for opposing the increased troop presence , and obama says mccain 's judgment is flawed . cnn 's julia weber and jamie crawford contributed to this report .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- democratic presidential candidates on wednesday criticized president bush 's plan to withdraw roughly 30,000 troops from iraq by next summer , with sen. hillary clinton labeling it `` too little , too late . '' sen. hillary clinton listens as gen. david petraeus testifies before the senate armed services committee . in an open letter to bush , clinton said the troop withdrawal `` is simply too little , too late , and unacceptable to this congress , and to the american people who have made clear their strong desire to bring our troops home , and end this war . '' bush on thursday is expected to endorse the recommendations of gen. david petraeus that the troop levels in iraq be lowered to 130,000 by july , down from the `` surge '' level of 160,000 . `` as commander in chief , you have the authority and ability to greatly accelerate the redeployment of u.s. forces from iraq , and to bring so many more troops home so much faster , '' the new york democrat said . `` i strongly urge you to choose this course of action . '' in an interview wednesday with cnn , one of clinton 's chief rivals for the 2008 nomination , sen. barack obama of illinois , said the president is returning to an earlier , failed policy . `` we now are still in the same position as we essentially were in june 2006 , '' he said . `` we are in the same levels of violence ; we are at the same levels of dysfunctional when it comes to the government in iraq , and the american people at some point have a right to ask from their leadership in washington and from the president : when is enough enough ? '' watch '08 dems weigh in on war in iraq '' obama presented a new plan for iraq on wednesday afternoon in clinton , iowa . it calls for an immediate drawdown of combat operations at a pace of one or two brigades every month , to be completed by the end of next year , according to excerpts released before his speech . a brigade comprises between 3,000 and 5,000 soldiers . obama recommended a new constitutional convention for iraq , a new regional diplomatic effort and steps to confront the country 's humanitarian crisis . `` let me be clear : there is no military solution in iraq , and there never was . the best way to protect our security and to pressure iraq 's leaders to resolve their civil war is to immediately begin to remove our combat troops , '' obama said in his speech . presidential candidate john edwards , who has been pressing congressional democrats to take a more confrontational stance against president bush , called for an immediate withdrawal of 40,000 to 50,000 troops . in a prepared statement , edwards , a democrat from north carolina , said obama , clinton and republican sen. john warner of virginia , who recently called for a withdrawal to begin by christmas , have `` a moral responsibility to use every tool available to them , including a filibuster , to force the president to change course . '' edwards also called obama 's plan for troop withdrawal a copy of the president 's plan . `` sen. obama would withdraw only one to two combat brigades a month between now and the end of next year , '' said edwards , `` which for the next several months could essentially mimic the president 's own plans to withdraw 30,000 troops by next summer . '' in a statement , sen. christopher dodd , d-connecticut , said wednesday that it was useless to debate tactics when `` the underlying policy is a complete failure . '' `` i call on my colleagues to do what needs to be done to end our involvement in this civil war and help restore our national security by clearly and directly declaring that they will not support any iraq measure without a firm , enforceable deadline tied to funding for the completion of redeployment of troops from iraq , '' dodd said . democrats lack the votes in congress to force the president to bring the troops home and are seeking a compromise position . congressional democratic leaders are meeting with republican lawmakers , who want a change in war policy but are unwilling to cut funding or set a timeline for withdrawal . privately , congressional democrats concede that the next president probably will inherit at least a deployment of 100,000 troops in iraq . the democratic presidential candidates , particularly the five in congress , face pressure from liberal groups such as moveon.org demanding that they directly confront the president . obama said it was unlikely he would vote for any legislation that does not include a definite withdrawal deadline . `` you know , we are going to have to evaluate what 's available , but it appears clear to me that the president is not willing to compromise , short of congress forcing him to accept a shorter timetable , and , absent that , we are essentially engaging in a bunch of symbolic action there , '' obama told cnn . `` what we need is a clear message from the congress that it is time for us to change course , and it 's time for us to do that , '' he said . e-mail to a friend . cnn 's john king , dana bash , scott anderson and xuan thai contributed to this report .<doc-sep>new york -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- president obama 's decision to follow through on plans to reduce the american troop level in iraq to 50,000 and shift away from combat missions is a sign that he believes america 's energy and resources can better be used elsewhere , says analyst fareed zakaria . obama said tuesday the u.s. is on track with the troop withdrawal and mission change to take effect at the end of this month . the president is proceeding while iraq 's key political forces remain deadlocked over the makeup of the government . `` i think he views it as fundamentally a place where we have to reduce our profile , reduce our impact , '' zakaria said , `` because ultimately this was an act of hubris that needs to be reined in . '' in zakaria 's view , the efforts the u.s. has put into overturning the saddam hussein regime and stabilizing iraq have not been worth the cost . `` in the long run , if iraq does stabilize and becomes a workable , even a flawed democracy , then i do think that perhaps that judgment will change in the long view of history . but right now , if one were being honest , one would have to say it was n't worth it . '' the author and host of cnn 's `` fareed zakaria gps '' spoke to cnn on wednesday . here is an edited transcript : . cnn : president obama says that he 's fulfilling a promise by drawing down forces from iraq to 50,000 by the end of this month . what 's the significance of that ? fareed zakaria : i think the greater significance than the troop numbers is that he said that american forces next month will stop doing combat missions . that is really a crucial change -- it 's the culmination of a process , it 's not abrupt -- but it really means the us military is out of the business of war fighting , of street fighting , the business of tackling militias and basically exists as a training force to help the iraqi military to stabilize the iraqi government . that gets the american military more into the role it has played in places like south korea and okinawa , than in the intense war-fighting , counter insurgency mold it 's been in in iraq . i do think it 's an important turning point .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- more than 3,000 u.s. troops scheduled to deploy to iraq wo n't go after all , as the military tries to draw down troop levels in the war-torn country , a pentagon spokesman said saturday . u.s. troops speak to an iraqi child in baghdad on monday . the 1st infantry brigade combat team , 10th mountain division will not replace a north carolina national guard unit already in iraq , lt. col. eric butterbaugh told cnn . the 3,500-troop combat team , based in fort drum , new york , was to leave in january , he said . '' -lsb- the cancellation -rsb- reflects a thorough assessment of the security environment in iraq and continued improvement in the ability of the iraqi security forces to safeguard iraqi citizens and institutions , '' butterbaugh said . the national guard unit is still on schedule to return home , which will speed up the drawdown of forces , he said . the troop withdrawal in iraq coincides with a debate in the obama administration on whether to send as many as 40,000 more u.s. troops to afghanistan . as of friday , 250 u.s. soldiers have been killed in afghanistan since the start of the year , according to a cnn tally based on pentagon numbers . the united states plans to withdraw all its combat troops from iraq by august , leaving 50,000 in advisory roles . those advisers are to leave by the end of 2011 .
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<t> obama says he 'll visit iraq , afghanistan before election . </t> <t> rnc web site has counter clocking days since obama 's last visit . </t> <t> mccain , obama offer vastly different strategies to deal with iraq . </t> <t> analysts see improvement on the ground in iraq . </t>
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obama to visit iraq , says he 's firm on troop withdrawal plans<T>
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-lrb- cnn student news -rrb- -- record the cnn special investigations unit classroom edition : notes from north korea when it airs commercial-free on cnn . -lrb- a short feature begins at 4:00 a.m. and precedes the program . -rrb- . program overview . cnn chief international correspondent christiane amanpour travels to north korea as the new york philharmonic orchestra makes a historic visit to one of the world 's most closed societies . she examines the tense standoff with the u.s. over nuclear weapons and provides a rare look inside a notorious , top-secret nuclear facility . grade levels : 9 -- 12 , college . subject areas : u.s. history , world history , current events , political science , government . objectives . the cnn special investigations unit classroom edition : notes from north korea and its corresponding discussion questions and suggested activities challenge students to : . curriculum connections . social studies . standard vi . power , authority , and governance : social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people create and change structures of power , authority , and governance . the curriculum standards for social studies -lrb- http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands/ -rrb- are published by the national council for social studies -lrb- http://ncss.org/ -rrb- . united states history . standard 27 . understands how the cold war and conflicts in korea and vietnam influenced domestic and international politics . level iv -lsb- grade 9-12 -rsb- . benchmark 1 . understands u.s. foreign policy from the truman administration to the johnson administration . standard 30 . understands developments in foreign policy and domestic politics between the nixon and clinton presidencies . level iv -lsb- grade 9-12 -rsb- . benchmark 5 . understands the influence of u.s. foreign policy on international events from nixon to clinton . content knowledge : a compendium of standards and benchmarks for k-12 education -lrb- copyright 2000 mcrel -rrb- is published online by mid-continent research for education and learning -lrb- mcrel -rrb- -lrb- http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks -rrb- , 2550 s. parker road , suite 500 , aurora , co 80014 ; telephone : 303/337 -0990 .<doc-sep>world history . standard 44 . understands the search for community , stability , and peace in an interdependent world . level iv -lsb- grade 9-12 -rsb- . benchmark 11 . understands common arguments of opposition groups in various countries around the world , common solutions they offer , and the position of these ideas with regard to western economic and strategic interests . content knowledge : a compendium of standards and benchmarks for k-12 education -lrb- copyright 2000 mcrel -rrb- is published online by mid-continent research for education and learning -lrb- mcrel -rrb- -lrb- http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks -rrb- , 2550 s. parker road , suite 500 , aurora , co 80014 ; telephone : 303/337 -0990 . civics . iii . how does the government established by the constitution embody the purposes , values , and principles of american democracy ? 4 . major responsibilities of the national government in domestic and foreign policy . iv . what is the relationship of the united states to other nations and to world affairs ? 1 . nation-states . 2 . interactions among nation-states . 4 . the historical context of united states foreign policy . 5 . making and implementing united states foreign policy . 6 . the ends and means of united states foreign policy . 7 . impact of the american concept of democracy and individual rights on the world . the national standards for civics and government -lrb- http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=stds -rrb- are published by the center for civic education -lrb- http://www.civiced.org/ -rrb- . discussion questions . 1 . who is the leader of north korea ? according to the report , how do north koreans regard this leader ? what aspects of his personality are revealed in the program ?<doc-sep>2 . according to the program , north korea is a `` closed society . '' what does this mean ? 3 . how does the report describe the history of u.s.-north korea relations ? according to the report : what tensions currently exist between these two nations ? what humanitarian and political concerns exist in north korea ? 4 . why do you think that north korea invited the new york philharmonic to play , and decided to open the yongbyon nuclear facility to the media at this point in time ? why are these events historically and politically significant ? 5 . who is madeline albright ? when and where did she meet with kim jong-il ? how does she describe her visit with kim jong-il ? why does albright say that she is not surprised that kim jong-il chose the new york philharmonic for this `` cultural overture '' ? 6 . according to the report , why is the division of korea an emotional issue for many koreans ? who are kim cho wun and ji hae nam ? to what countries did they defect , and why did they flee north korea ? what risks and sacrifices do you think that they assumed when they chose to defect ? 7 . according to the report : why did new york philharmonic president zarin mehta accept north korea 's invitation to play ? why was this performance controversial ? what logistical hurdles did mehta have to overcome to execute the trip ? 8 . what were some of the pieces of music that the new york philharmonic played during its concert ? which of these pieces , if any , do you think were politically significant ? explain . if you were choosing the music for this performance , what pieces would you have selected , and why ? 9 . following the concert , north korea 's nuclear negotiator , minister kim gye gwan , was quoted as saying that the concert was `` a political breakthrough ; an act of courage by both nations . '' what do you think that he means ? do you agree with the minister ? why or why not ? 10 . what is `` cultural diplomacy '' ? how do you think that cultural diplomacy differs from other forms of diplomacy ? give examples . according to u.s. ambassador christopher hill and former u.s. secretary of defense william perry , why is `` people-to-people diplomacy '' important to the future of u.s.-north korea relations ? 11 . according to amanpour , to what extent did the new york philharmonic 's concert impact u.s-north korea relations ? in your view , what actions , if any , might these two nations take to build upon the goodwill that was generated by the concert ? 12 . what did cnn 's christiane amanpour observe during her visit to the yongbyon nuclear facility ? what impact , if any , do you think that this visit will have on u.s.-north korea relations ? 13 . in your opinion , should the u.s. fulfill its commitment to remove north korea from its list of states that sponsor terrorism ? state your rationale . 14 . prior to viewing this program , what preconceived notions , if any , did you have about north korea ? to what extent did amanpour 's report challenge or reinforce these perceptions ? explain . suggested activity . point out to students that towards the end of world war ii , korea was divided by the soviet union and the united states at the 38th parallel , and that by 1948 , north and south korea had become independent nations . generate a class discussion about students ' knowledge of north korea . next , refer students to online resources to learn more about north korea . use the following questions to guide their research : . after students present their findings , ask : do you think that peace talks between north and south korea could benefit the two nations , as well as the international community ? explain . given the cultural diplomacy represented by the new york philharmonic 's trip to pyongyang , what do you think should be the next step in relations between the u.s. and north korea ? challenge each student to write a brief for a north korean , south korean or an american diplomat that outlines a strategy for addressing the existing tensions among these parties . have students present their documents to the class . keywords . north korea , pyongyang , kim jong il , secret state , new york philharmonic orchestra , yongbyon nuclear facility , defect , diplomacy , negotiations , united nations .<doc-sep>- interview with the dalai lama : on china | a moment of karma | on reincarnation . notes from north korea -lrb- 2008 -rrb- . christiane travels to north korea as the new york philharmonic orchestra makes a historic visit to one of the world 's most closed societies . she examines the tense standoff with the u.s. over nuclear weapons and provides a rare look inside a notorious , top-secret nuclear facility . - notes from north korea : part 1 | part 2 . - yongbyon tour : part 1 | part 2 | part 3 . - behind the scenes : amanpour 's notes . scream bloody murder -lrb- 2008 -rrb- . christiane reports from the world 's killing fields , where genocide has raged as the world watched -- and traces the personal accounts of those who tried to stop the slaughter .<doc-sep>if you 'd prefer , you can download cnn student news to your desktop or ipod . go to the cnn.com podcast page and look for the student news podcast . once you 've signed up for the free subscription , every episode will automatically be downloaded to itunes . in addition to cnn student news , each week , cnn offers educators a commercial-free edition of `` cnn : special investigations unit , '' `` cnn specials '' or its award-winning documentary program `` cnn presents , '' along with a corresponding free curriculum guide on cnnstudentnews.com . you can record these cnn classroom edition programs from 4:00 -5:00 a.m. eastern time on mondays on cnn . -lrb- a short feature begins at 4:00 a.m. and precedes the program . -rrb- . and if you want to be the first to know what 's coming up on cnn student news and cnn classroom edition programs , you 'll want to sign up for our cnn student news daily education alert . registration is quick and simple . just click here to subscribe .<doc-sep>hong kong -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- north korea 's sanction-hit regime has long been accused of drug trafficking as a source of hard currency , but a new report claims drug producers are finding a ready market closer to home and that as many as two-thirds of north koreans have used methamphetamines . according to a report in the spring 2013 edition of the journal north korean review , stricter china border controls have forced methamphetamine producers in the north to seek a local market for `` ice '' -lrb- known locally as `` bingdu '' -rrb- . the report 's co-author , professor kim seok hyang , of south korea 's ewha woman 's university , told the australian broadcasting corporation that interviews with north korean defectors suggested that the country is in the grip of an `` ice '' plague . `` some informants are saying almost every adult in north korea around the china-north korea border are using methamphetamine , '' she said , adding that the drug was often used as a palliative in place of hard-to-obtain prescription medicine .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn student news -rrb- -- june 7 , 2013 . download pdf maps related to today 's show : . florida . north korea ; south korea . click here to access the transcript of today 's cnn student news program . please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published . teachers : we 're looking for your feedback about cnn student news . please use this page to leave us comments about today 's program , including what you think about our stories and our resources . also , feel free to tell us how you use them in your classroom . the educators on our staff will monitor this page and may respond to your comments as well . thank you for using cnn student news !
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<t> examine the history of u.s.-north korea relations . </t> <t> learn about the new york philharmonic 's historic concert in pyongyang . </t> <t> examine north korea 's standoff with the u.s. over nuclear weapons . </t>
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cnn classroom edition : notes from north korea<T>
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washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the house of representatives on tuesday night passed an energy bill clearing the way for more oil drilling off u.s. coasts , but not nearly as much as republican leaders wanted . the bill was passed by a vote of 236-189 . many republicans opposed the bill because it would allow new oil drilling only between 50 and 100 miles offshore . republicans generally want to allow new drilling starting 3 miles from shore . republicans also objected to provisions repealing tax cuts for the oil industry and what they said was a lack of incentive for states to allow drilling on their land . house speaker nancy pelosi , a california democrat , told reporters tuesday : `` the american taxpayers have been ripped off for years on offshore drilling . this bill changes that . ''<doc-sep>before the vote , pelosi said the bill presented a choice between `` the status quo , which is preferred by big oil , '' and `` change for the future to take our country in a new direction . '' fifteen republicans voted for the largely democrat-backed bill . thirteen democrats voted against it . the senate , meanwhile , could vote on various energy proposals , including more offshore drilling , as early as this week . the house bill would require states to give their permission for drilling on their land . it also would offer incentives for renewable energy , require the government to release oil from its emergency reserve , and force oil companies to drill on federal lands they already lease from the government . democratic leaders had previously opposed republican-led efforts to repeal a 1981 law barring most offshore drilling . but they changed course over the august recess , saying their new plans would allow some expanded drilling . see where u.s. offshore drilling is banned ''<doc-sep>but republicans say the house bill would n't expand offshore drilling enough . before the vote , rep. mike pence , an indiana republican , called the bill `` a charade , '' denying it would do what its backers claim . `` this is not ` yes ' to drilling . this is ` yes , but , ' '' he said . `` this is ` yes , but no drilling in alaska , no drilling in the eastern gulf , no drilling inside 50 miles , ' '' pence said . `` this is ` yes , but no litigation reform that will prevent radical environmental attorneys from tying up leases even before a single shovel of dirt is turned . ' '' democrats and republicans traded harsh words on the house floor tuesday in the debate over the bill . rep. anthony weiner , a new york democrat , said president bush 's `` idea of an energy policy is holding hands with the crown prince of saudi arabia , embracing him with a big smooch . ''<doc-sep>when the republicans `` controlled congress , -lsb- they -rsb- passed their own energy bill , signed into law by the president . we got into this mess , '' weiner said . but rep. jeb hensarling , a texas republican , shot back that the democrats ' bill is a `` sham '' and a `` fraud . '' `` this is a bill designed to ensure democrats ' re-election , not designed to ensure affordable energy in america , '' hensarling said . hensarling also complained about how the bill was brought to the floor : `` no amendments , no substitutes , no committee hearings . is this democracy ? no . ''<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the worst oil spill in u.s. history has heated up the debate about how to feed the nation with cleaner , safer energy . the argument over whether to `` drill baby drill '' -- the 2008 gop campaign mantra -- returned in april after a deadly oil rig blast spilled millions of gallons of oil into the gulf of mexico . the disaster threatened jobs in the nation 's seafood and tourism industries and hundreds of miles of sensitive wetlands , marshes and wildlife . the spill came as president obama was backing expanded offshore oil drilling and as congress considered wide-ranging energy legislation aimed at cutting pollution and u.s. dependency on foreign oil . before bp 's gulf oil disaster , obama 's late march proposal called for opening swaths of u.s. coastal waters in the atlantic ocean and the gulf of mexico to oil and natural gas drilling . after the spill , obama said offshore drilling is key to `` our energy future , '' but it can move forward only with assurances that the gulf disaster wo n't be repeated . the president halted drilling permits for new wells and ordered inspections of all deepwater operations . former gop vice presidential nominee and alaska gov. sarah palin -- who in 2008 called on the u.s. to `` drill baby drill '' in the protected arctic national wildlife refuge -- tweeted that obama should offset his drilling moratorium by `` correspondingly '' allowing `` more onshore drilling , including anwr reserves . domestic oil 's still required in us industry . '' will the spill change obama 's oil policy ? senate democrats gave up on their goal of passing a slimmed-down energy bill before august recess . senate majority leader harry reid blamed unified republican opposition to the proposal . `` it 's a sad day when you ca n't find a handful of republicans to support a bill that would create 70,000 clean-energy jobs , hold bp accountable , and look at a future as it relates to what bp did . '' republicans pointed at reid . `` sen. reid is predictably blaming republicans for standing in the way of a bill that he threw together in secret and without input from almost any other member of the senate , '' said sen. lisa murkowski of alaska , the top republican on the energy committee . `` process alone guaranteed its failure , although substance would have as well had sen. reid actually brought his bill up for debate or a vote . '' the democratic bill had been stripped of its most controversial components such as limits on carbon emissions . the remaining legislation would have eliminated a $ 75-million cap on economic damages that offshore oil drillers would be responsible for . it would have reformed federal government oversight of offshore drilling . it encouraged the use of natural gas engines in commercial trucks ; and it promoted high efficiency appliances in homes . republicans planned to offer an alternative bill that included lifting the obama administration 's blanket moratorium on deepwater drilling , setting up a bipartisan commission with subpoena power to investigate the gulf oil disaster and propose reforms , and allowing for revenue sharing for states that permit offshore drilling . an energy bill passed last year by the house of representatives included a controversial cap-and-trade system . the system would set a price for greenhouse gas emissions , such as carbon dioxide , and polluters would obtain and trade credits for emissions over a set threshold . republicans and oil and coal producers oppose such a plan . supporters say it 's the best way to begin reducing u.s. dependence on fossil fuels . would a nuclear power comeback be a good thing ? obama has been a key figure in energy talks among lawmakers . in late june , he met with a bipartisan group of senators at the white house to discuss passing an energy and climate change bill this year . the president had expressed hope that something could be done . `` there was agreement on the sense of urgency required to move forward with legislation , and the president is confident that we will be able to get something done this year , '' the white house said in a statement . obama told senators that he believed the best way to make a transition to a clean-energy economy is with a bill that `` makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy for america 's businesses by putting a price on pollution , '' the statement said . cnn congressional producer ted barrett contributed to this report .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- president bush lifted an executive order banning offshore oil drilling on monday and urged congress to follow suit . if president bush can persuade congress , more oil rigs like this one off canada could appear off u.s. shores . citing the high prices americans are paying at the pump , bush said from the white house rose garden that allowing offshore oil drilling is `` one of the most important steps we can take '' to reduce that burden . however , the move is largely symbolic as there is also a federal law banning offshore drilling . `` this means that the only thing standing between the american people and these vast oil reserves is action from the u.s. congress , '' bush said . watch bush announce lifting of ban '' bush has been pushing congress to repeal the law passed in 1981 . `` there is no excuse for delay , '' the president said in a rose garden statement last month . ireport.com : is drilling the answer ? `` in the short run , the american economy will continue to rely largely on oil , and that means we need to increase supply here at home , '' bush said , adding that there is no more pressing issue for many americans than gas prices . bush 's father , president george h.w. bush , signed the executive order in 1990 banning offshore drilling . see where offshore drilling is allowed '' the issue has gained prominence in the presidential race . sen. john mccain recently announced he supported offshore oil drilling , reversing his previous stance . sen. barack obama wants to keep the ban in place . experts say offshore oil drilling would not have an immediate impact on oil prices because oil exploration takes years . `` if we were to drill today , realistically speaking , we should not expect a barrel of oil coming out of this new resource for three years , maybe even five years , so let 's not kid ourselves , '' said fadel gheit , oil and gas analyst with oppenheimer & co. . equity capital markets division . but it almost certainly would be profitable . candida scott , an oil industry researcher at cambridge research associates , said oil needs to be priced at $ 60 a barrel or more to justify deep-shelf drilling . with oil now selling for $ 145 a barrel , companies are almost assured of profiting from offshore drilling , scott said . in his statement last month , bush also renewed his demand that congress allow drilling in alaska 's arctic national wildlife refuge , clear the way for more refineries and encourage efforts to recover oil from shale in areas such as the green river basin of colorado , utah and wyoming . the white house estimates that there are 18 billion barrels of oil offshore that have not been exploited because of state bans , 10 billion to 12 billion in the arctic national wildlife refuge and 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the green river basin .<doc-sep>washington -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- president bush lifted an executive order banning offshore oil drilling on monday and urged congress to follow suit . if president bush can persuade congress , more oil rigs like this one off canada could appear off u.s. shores . citing the high prices americans are paying at the pump , bush said from the white house rose garden that allowing offshore oil drilling is `` one of the most important steps we can take '' to reduce that burden . however , the move is largely symbolic as there is also a federal law banning offshore drilling . `` this means that the only thing standing between the american people and these vast oil reserves is action from the u.s. congress , '' bush said . watch bush announce lifting of ban '' bush has been pushing congress to repeal the law passed in 1981 .<doc-sep>on climate change , the measure seeks escalating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in coming decades that match the levels set as goals by the obama administration and contained in the house bill . among other things , the proposal calls for emissions reductions from 2005 levels of 17 percent by 2020 , 42 percent by 2030 and 83 percent by 2050 . the senate proposal includes expanded offshore oil drilling as part of a strategy to increase domestic production . however , provisions strengthening the ability of states to prevent more drilling off their coasts were added in the wake of the gulf of mexico oil spill . cnn 's tom cohen and alan silverleib contributed to this report .
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<t> new : bill passes by 236-189 vote . </t> <t> democrats ' plan would expand offshore drilling , but republicans not satisfied . </t> <t> some republicans fought proposal , saying too many areas still would be banned . </t> <t> republican representative : `` this is not ` yes ' to drilling . this is ` yes , but ' '' </t>
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house oks bill allowing more offshore oil drilling<T>
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beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the chinese women 's gymnastics team did not use underage competitors during this year 's summer olympic games in beijing , the international gymnastics federation said wednesday . widespread reports claimed that gold medal winner he kexin was only 14 years old . the federation said it has concluded its inquiry into the matter after it confirmed the gymnasts ' ages through official documents that the chinese gymnasts association provided . the documents included passports , identity cards and household registers . however , the organization intends to further investigate the ages of two gymnasts , dong fangxiao and yang yun , who participated in the 2000 summer games in sydney , australia . the federation said it did not consider the explanations and evidence that chinese authorities provided in regard to those athletes as satisfactory . the international olympic committee had asked gymnastics officials to clarify the situation after numerous commentators , bloggers and others questioned whether about half the members of china 's team were old enough to compete . watch tiny gymnasts work out '' athletes must be at least 16 in the year the games take place . in women 's gymnastics , younger girls can have an advantage over older competitors on account of their often smaller , lighter and more agile bodies . the chinese women 's gymnastics team won a gold medal in a team competition at the beijing games , and five members won individual medals . one of the challenges came from a blogger known as `` stryde hax . '' the blogger claimed to have uncovered proof that chinese gymnast he kexin is only 14 . in internet searches , `` stryde hax '' allegedly uncovered web pages showing lists complied by china 's general administration of sport that show a 1994 date of birth for he . cnn was not been able to independently verify the information , but snapshots of the web pages appeared to back up the claim . other bloggers joined the search and reported similar results . the new york times conducted its own investigation , producing similar results that seem to implicate he and two other members of the team . the times uncovered a 2006 biography on he that lists her birthday as january 1 , 1994 . the international gymnastics federation , however , has said that those gymnasts were eligible and that the ages on their passports were correct . chinese gymnastics coaches also defended their team . `` asians have different figures than people from the west , so that 's what caused their suspicion , '' said huang yubin , head coach of the men 's and women 's teams , referring to media inquiries . `` they should n't be suspicious . ''<doc-sep>beijing , china -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the chinese women 's gymnastics team did not use underage competitors during this year 's summer olympic games in beijing , the international gymnastics federation said wednesday . widespread reports claimed that gold medal winner he kexin was only 14 years old . the federation said it has concluded its inquiry into the matter after it confirmed the gymnasts ' ages through official documents that the chinese gymnasts association provided . the documents included passports , identity cards and household registers . however , the organization intends to further investigate the ages of two gymnasts , dong fangxiao and yang yun , who participated in the 2000 summer games in sydney , australia . the federation said it did not consider the explanations and evidence that chinese authorities provided in regard to those athletes as satisfactory . the international olympic committee had asked gymnastics officials to clarify the situation after numerous commentators , bloggers and others questioned whether about half the members of china 's team were old enough to compete . watch tiny gymnasts work out ''<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- china 's olympic gold medal gymnasts have been officially cleared of lying about their ages . widespread reports claimed that gold medal winner he kexin was only 14 years of age . an investigation was launched after the beijing games over claims that several members of their women 's squad were ineligible because they were not 16 in the year of competition . but on wednesday , the international gymnastics federation -lrb- fig -rrb- closed a near six-week probe saying that documentation provided confirms they were old enough to compete . the inquiry had been called for by the international olympic committee who were concerned that the controversy undermined the results of the competition in beijing . watch tiny gymnasts work out '' china provided passports , id cards and family registers for he kexin , yang yilin , jiang yuyuan , deng linlin and li shanshan , all showing the girls were 16 or would turn 16 this year . `` we have received all we could possibly ask for , '' fig secretary general andre gueisbuhler told associated press . `` all of them confirm the age that they should be , so what can we do ? '' he added . the chinese women 's gymnastics team won a gold medal in a team competition in beijing and five members won individual medals . one of the challenges came from a blogger known as `` stryde hax . '' the blogger claimed to have uncovered proof that he kexin is only 14 . in internet searches , `` stryde hax '' allegedly uncovered web pages showing lists complied by china 's general administration of sport that show a 1994 date of birth for he . that would make her 14 -- too young to compete in the olympic games . cnn was not been able to independently verify the information , but snapshots of the web pages appeared to back up the claim . other bloggers joined the search and reported similar results . the new york times conducted its own investigation , producing similar results that seem to implicate he and two other members of the team . the times uncovered a 2006 biography on he that lists her birthday as january 1 , 1994 .<doc-sep>the international gymnastics federation , however , has said that those gymnasts were eligible and that the ages on their passports were correct . chinese gymnastics coaches defended their team friday . `` our athletes participating in these games all conform to the age regulations of the olympics , '' said huang yubin , head coach of the men 's and women 's teams . `` asians have different figures than people from the west , so that 's what caused their suspicion , '' huang said , referring to media inquiries . `` they should n't be suspicious . '' cnn 's john vause contributed to this story .<doc-sep>but chinese gymnastics coaches have stridently defended their team . `` asians have different figures than people from the west , so that 's what caused their suspicion , '' said huang yubin , head coach of the men 's and women 's teams , referring to media inquiries . `` they should n't be suspicious . '' it was not all good news for the chinese gymnasts , with the fig announcing that it would step up its investigation into the 2000 team which won the bronze medal at the sydney olympics , particularly dong fangxiao and yang yun . yang , who also won a bronze medal on the uneven bars in 2000 , said in a june 2007 interview that aired on state broadcaster china central television that she was only 14 in sydney . dong , who was a technical official for the chinese team in beijing , allegedly provided documents for her credentials which indicated that she too must have been only 14 in 2000 . gueisbuhler warned that legal and statute of limitation issues might hinder further scrutiny and sanctions against the 2000 chinese team . underage gymnasts have been a problem since the 1980s , when the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to protect young athletes from serious injuries . the minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997 . north korea was barred from the 1993 world championships after fig officials discovered kim gwang suk , the 1991 gold medalist on uneven bars , was listed as 15 for three years in a row . romania admitted in 2002 that several gymnasts ' ages had been falsified , including olympic medalists gina gogean and alexandra marinescu . in women 's gymnastics , younger teenage girls can have an advantage over older competitors due to their often smaller , more agile bodies and lighter frames . copyright 2008 cnn . all rights reserved.this material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . associated press contributed to this report .
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<t> athletes met age requirements , international commission concludes . </t> <t> some writers , others suspected girls were younger than rules allowed . </t> <t> chinese team won gold medal in summer olympics at beijing . </t> <t> passports , identity cards , household records examined . </t>
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chinese olympic gymnasts legit , federation finds<T>
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-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sen. barack obama blasted congress for not passing a financial rescue package monday , while sen. john mccain 's campaign accused obama and democrats of putting `` politics ahead of country . '' the house of representatives rejected a $ 700 billion plan to bail out the financial system , putting a roadblock in front of the largest government intervention in the market since the great depression . the bill failed by a vote of 205 to 228 , with 140 democrats and 65 republicans voting in favor and 95 democrats joining 133 republicans against . `` this is a moment of national crisis , and today 's inaction in congress as well as the angry and hyper-partisan statement released by the mccain campaign are exactly why the american people are disgusted with washington , '' the obama-biden campaign said in a statement released shortly after the vote . the statement went on to say that every american `` should be outraged that an era of greed and irresponsibility on wall street and washington has led us to this point . '' watch more on the vote '' also after the vote , mccain touted his role in last week 's negotiations on the bailout bill . `` i laid out principles '' including `` responsible oversight , '' transparency and a cap on so-called golden parachutes -- the big bonuses wall street ceos would receive despite their involvement in the economic crisis , he said from des moines , iowa . `` i worked hard to play a constructive role . '' he said he was satisfied with the way the bill was written , though `` it was n't perfect . '' earlier , mccain 's campaign accused obama and democrats of injecting politics into the american economy .<doc-sep>`` from the minute john mccain suspended his campaign and arrived in washington to address this crisis , he was attacked by the democratic leadership : sens. obama and -lsb- senate majority leader harry -rsb- reid , speaker pelosi and others . `` their partisan attacks were an effort to gain political advantage during a national economic crisis . by doing so , they put at risk the homes , livelihoods and savings of millions of american families , '' doug holtz-eakin , a senior policy adviser for mccain and his running mate , alaska gov. sarah palin , said in a statement . `` barack obama failed to lead , phoned it in , attacked john mccain and refused to even say if he supported the final bill . ... this bill failed because barack obama and the democrats put politics ahead of country , '' holtz-eakin said . republicans and democrats blamed each other for the failure of the bill , which president bush had urged congress to approve . obama had earlier monday spoken with treasury secretary henry paulson , speaker of the house nancy pelosi and congressional leaders . watch pelosi say democrats ` delivered ' '' mccain and obama had both said sunday that they would probably vote for the legislation , as long as it included some key principles they had pushed for . mccain announced last week he was `` suspending '' his campaign events to focus on the financial crisis , but democrats accused him of pulling a political stunt . ireport.com : do you support a wall street bailout ? the economy has dominated the campaign trail this month , and both candidates have been trying to convince voters that they will do a better job of getting the financial crisis under control .<doc-sep>earlier monday , mccain told voters that obama is n't being honest about his tax votes and said the democrat is `` always cheering for higher taxes . '' ireport.com : share your stories from the campaign trail . in response , the obama campaign called mccain 's remarks `` false attacks '' and an `` angry diatribe . '' `` two times , on march 14 , 2008 , and june 4 , 2008 , in the democratic budget resolution , he voted to raise taxes on people making just $ 42,000 per year . he even said at the time that this vote for higher taxes on the middle class was ` getting our nation 's priorities back on track , ' '' mccain said at a rally in columbus , ohio . `` then something amazing happened : on friday night , he looked the american people in the eye and said it never happened . my friends , we need a president who will always tell the american people the truth , '' mccain said . mccain said a vote for obama would `` guarantee higher taxes , fewer jobs and an even bigger federal government '' and charged that `` these policies will deepen our recession . '' watch mccain slam obama on spending '' shortly after mccain finished his speech , the obama campaign accused the arizona senator of lying . `` sen. mccain 's angry diatribe today wo n't make up for his erratic response to the greatest financial crisis of our time . john mccain knows that the budget he 's talking about did n't end up raising taxes on a single american , and the lie he told the american people today is all the more outrageous a day after he admitted that his health care plan will increase taxes on some families , '' obama campaign spokesman tommy vietor said . in mccain 's speech , the republican presidential candidate was referring to votes on a resolution -lrb- senate concurrent resolution 70 -rrb- meant to outline the senate 's budget priorities through 2013 , but the measure had no practical effect .<doc-sep>according to a cnn review of the resolution , it assumes that most of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts pushed by president bush will expire in that time , which mccain says amounts to a tax increase . obama and his running mate , sen. joe biden , voted `` yes '' on the resolution . mccain did not vote . however , the democrats offered their own cuts in the 48-page resolution , which called for several tax cuts and breaks , including rolling back the alternative-minimum tax and the so-called `` marriage penalty . '' according to an analysis by the independent tax policy center , the tax plan obama has proposed during the campaign would increase taxes in 2009 on the wealthiest 20 percent of households , while offering tax cuts for the other 80 percent . meanwhile , as obama and mccain continue campaigning this week , their running mates will be focused on their upcoming debate . palin and biden face off thursday in st. louis , missouri , in the only vice presidential debate of the election season . after mccain 's rally , palin headed to mccain 's ranch near sedona , arizona , for what a top aide calls `` debate camp . '' palin has already spent four days hunkered down in a philadelphia hotel for debate prep with advisers . biden was preparing for the debate in delaware on monday . cnn 's dana bash and alexander marquardt contributed to this report .<doc-sep>-lrb- cnn -rrb- -- sen. john mccain said wednesday that if the financial rescue bill fails in congress again , `` the present crisis will turn into a disaster , '' and sen. barack obama told lawmakers it 's time to `` step up to the plate . '' both presidential candidates stressed bipartisanship as they called for congress to act before heading to washington to vote on the $ 700 billion financial rescue plan . `` we are square in the greatest financial crisis of our lifetimes . and i am pleased to report that today , i will be returning to the floor of the senate to vote on a bill that marks a decisive step in the right direction , '' mccain said at a campaign event in kansas city , missouri . `` today , with the unity that this crisis demands , congress will once again work to restore confidence and stability to the american economy , '' mccain said . watch what mccain says about the bailout '' the arizona senator and republican nominee said there will be time later to assign blame for the situation , `` but our duty right now is to fix the problem . '' obama also warned that the crisis could turn into a `` catastrophe '' without swift action from congress . the illinois senator and democratic nominee said he has been reaching out to leaders of both parties to help pass the plan . see bailout tracker '' `` to the democrats and republicans who have opposed this plan , i say this : step up to the plate and do what 's right for the country , even if it 's not popular , because the time to act is now , '' he said in la crosse , wisconsin . watch obama speak out about the bailout '' as part of his lobbying efforts , obama has called members of the congressional black caucus to support the bailout . when the bailout came up for a vote on monday , caucus members split 21 against and 18 for the bill , cbc spokeswoman keiana barrett said . obama campaign co-chairman rep. jesse jackson jr. , d-illinois , was one of the cbc members who voted against the bailout but said he would consider switching if more protections for homeowners are added to the bill .<doc-sep>earlier friday , the house approved a five-day stopgap bill to make sure the government was continually funded . the chamber has been sifting through many of the same arguments that tied up the house on thursday , when disagreements over immigration and provisions related to wall street and campaign finance nearly derailed the bill . senate lawmakers wanted votes on amendments that would address those issues . ` using every tool available ' sen. elizabeth warren , d-massachusetts , and sen. david vitter , r-louisiana , filed an amendment that would strip a provision that softens financial regulations on banks from the spending bill . `` congress should not put taxpayers on the hook for another bailout , and this giveaway that was drafted by citigroup lobbyists has no place in a critical government funding bill , '' warren said . meanwhile , sen. ted cruz , r-texas , a chief critic of president barack obama 's recent executive action on immigration , also said he wanted a vote to block those actions . `` i think it is critical that the senate have the opportunity to have a clear up or down vote on funding president obama 's illegal executive amnesty , '' he told reporters . `` i am using every tool available to help bring about that vote . '' but by making the procedural move , reid prevented those amendments from being considered . amendment votes could have been risky because if either measure passed , the spending bill would have to go back to the house to be voted on again . while the house is technically in session , most members have left washington until the new congress convenes in early january . a day after his administration scrambled to save the bill after it appeared it might be defeated in the house , the president said he was pulling for it in the senate . `` i 'm glad it passed the house and am hopeful that it will pass the senate , '' he said .<doc-sep>the senate was facing a saturday deadline to approve the spending bill and avert a government shutdown , but that was pushed back . the chamber has been sifting through many of the same arguments that tied up the house on thursday , when disagreements over immigration and provisions related to wall street and campaign finance nearly derailed the bill . senate lawmakers wanted votes on amendments that would address those issues . two votes are expected monday : a procedural vote to block a filibuster and end debate on the bill , and a second one on the final passage . ` using every tool available ' sen. elizabeth warren , d-massachusetts , and sen. david vitter , r-louisiana , filed an amendment that would strip a provision that softens financial regulations on banks from the spending bill . `` congress should not put taxpayers on the hook for another bailout , and this giveaway that was drafted by citigroup lobbyists has no place in a critical government funding bill , '' warren said . cruz , a chief critic of obama 's recent executive action on immigration , also said he wanted a vote to block it . `` i think it is critical that the senate have the opportunity to have a clear up or down vote on funding president obama 's illegal executive amnesty , '' he told reporters . `` i am using every tool available to help bring about that vote . '' but by making the procedural move , reid prevented those amendments from being considered . amendment votes could have been risky , because if either measure passed , the spending bill would have to go back to the house to be voted on again . while the house is technically in session , most members have left washington until the new congress convenes in early january . a day after his administration scrambled to save the bill when it appeared it might be defeated in the house , the president said he was pulling for it in the senate . `` i 'm glad it passed the house and am hopeful that it will pass the senate , '' obama said .<doc-sep>after pointing fingers monday , obama and mccain have both tried to strike a more bipartisan tone as they work on selling the financial rescue package to voters and reluctant members of congress . democratic sources said that they expect bipartisan support for the bill . because the tax bill must originate in the house , the senate is attaching the rescue plan to a bill that deals with renewable-energy tax incentives . this would allow the senate to vote before the house to approve a bailout bill . as the candidates focused on the economic crisis , former president clinton , who ran his own 1992 campaign on the now commonly used phrase `` it 's the economy , stupid , '' stumped for obama in orlando and fort pierce , florida . clinton urged residents there to get out and vote , and he told voters why he thinks obama is the better candidate . watch what clinton says about obama '' `` he 's got a better philosophy ; he 's got better answers ; he 's got a better understanding and better advisers on these complex economic matters . he 's got a better vice presidential partner , '' clinton said . he also said he thinks the country needs to get behind the bailout proposal . the rallies marked the first major events clinton has hosted on obama 's behalf . cnn 's suzanne malveaux contributed to this report .
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<t> new : barack obama criticizes congress , statement from john mccain . </t> <t> mccain 's campaign says obama `` failed to lead '' </t> <t> vp candidates ' debate is thursday in st. louis , missouri . </t> <t> joe biden , sarah palin spending much of the week in debate prep mode . </t>
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obama blasts congress for failing to pass bailout bill<T>
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