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(CNN) -- Air travel security is being increased as authorities continue to question how a man got explosives on a U.S.-bound passenger jet, according to federal officials, including the president and his homeland security chief.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told CNN's "American Morning" on Monday that officials would review how anti-terrorist watch lists are maintained.
Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, who is accused of trying to blow up a flight carrying 300 passengers, was on a general list that contained 550,000 other names, but he was still allowed to travel to the United States.
A senior administration official said the suspect was not on a no-fly list because "the info on him was not deemed specific enough to pull his visa or put him on a no-fly list."
"Under the existing protocols, it requires an interagency process and the identification of other negative information that's credible ... and that process whittles down from 500,000 [names] or so that are on the generic list to the fewer than 5,000 that are on the no-fly list," Napolitano said. "We are going to be looking at that process and how those lists are created, maintained, updated, exchanged and the like, because clearly this individual should not have been able to board this plane carrying that material."
AbdulMutallab is accused of trying to blow up a Northwest flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan, on Christmas Day.
Officials say he carried an explosive device that contained pentaerythritol tetranitrate, an explosive also known as PETN. Part of the device, which failed to detonate, was sewn into his underwear, a law enforcement official said Monday.
President Obama, in his first public comment since the incident, said Monday that screening and security procedures for all flights were immediately enhanced, including an increase in the number of air marshals on international flights.
The federal system for tracking potential terrorism suspects will be reviewed because the latest incident showed that it had possible failings, the president said.
All screening policies, technologies and procedures for air travel will be reviewed "to determine just how the suspect was able to bring dangerous explosives aboard an aircraft and what additional steps we can take to thwart future attacks," Obama said.
A Department of Homeland Security official who asked not to be identified said Sunday that the ranks of the air marshals have been increased by cutting vacations and leave, and by pulling in marshals from instructional and administrative posts.
On CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, Napolitano said air marshals are assigned randomly to flights.
Current and former marshals contacted by CNN took exception to Napolitano's claims, saying that although there is an element of randomness to increase unpredictability, the assignments of air marshals are largely based on intelligence and an analysis of which flights are most vulnerable or most attractive to terrorists.
Despite a possible tragedy, Napolitano said the response system worked, as passengers and crew avoided panic and subdued the suspect while authorities notified other flights in the air of the situation and kept the air transport system operating.
"Once the incident happened, we were able to immediately notify the 128 flights in the air, as well as airports on the ground domestically, internationally, our law enforcement partners, other allies, institute immediate safe procedures to make sure that this could not happen on other flights and that people were watching out for it on other flights, even as we focused on what went wrong prior to this one," Napolitano added Monday.
The Transportation Security Administration invoked a "one hour rule" after the thwarted attack, which prohibited passengers on international U.S.-bound flights from leaving their seats during the last hour of a flight, sources said. In addition, passengers had to stow pillows and blankets, and maps viewed on in-flight entertainment screens were disabled during the final hour of flight.
The TSA has modified the rule, however, giving airlines and crews discretion over implementation, sources said.
CNN's Erin McLaughlin and Brian Todd contributed to this report. | [
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"What does Napolitano say about Air Marshals?",
"which will be revised according to the national security chief",
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(CNN) -- Airline passengers are already able to check in to flights, download boarding passes, select a seat on the go and keep an eye on the upgrades list thanks to recent evolutions in smartphone technology, and the options just keep growing.
A global industrywide Airline IT Trends Survey shows that more than 90% of the airlines surveyed are increasing their investment in mobile capabilities to ease the hassles of getting through the airport and improve the in-flight experience. And the airlines are likely to find a way to generate revenue, too.
So what's a flier to expect from airline apps on the horizon? In the not-too-distant future, you'll probably be able to rent a car, pay bag fees and use augmented reality to find the nearest airport bar through your airline's smartphone app.
Delta Air Lines is putting emphasis on improving mobile functionality. While some airline apps allow travelers to make flight reservations (a feature that Delta has not introduced but promises is coming), the world's largest carrier is one of the few airlines that gives customers the ability to adjust travel itineraries from their mobile device.
Delayed Delta passengers who miss a connection now can immediately rebook a different flight and download a new boarding pass, all while in the air.
The airline has some new app plans up its sleeve as well. Delta declines to give a release date for the feature, but it is close to unveiling a new tool where travelers can track checked baggage from their mobile devices, according to Delta spokesman Paul Skrbec. (They can already do so on the airline's website.)
The airline eventually could offer other services on its mobile app that are already listed on its website, such as the ability to search for hotel and car rental reservations, Skrbec said.
GuestLogix, a company that creates onboard merchandising technology, is already trying to integrate these services into an airline app with the launch of its OnTouch Mobile Concierge platform, which it pitched to major airlines this week, a company official said. The mobile app does not just offer access to itinerary details, but it also functions as a one-stop shop for airline passengers to make in-air purchases related to their trip, such as in-flight refreshments and arrangements for ground transportation, dining and entertainment in the destination city.
GuestLogix says it is in talks with most major North American carriers about implementing the OnTouch Mobile Concierge, which would likely be offered by airlines as a separate app from the ticketing-based ones that exist.
"We are providing airlines with the opportunity to offer their passengers a streamlined experience," said Brett Proud, GuestLogix's executive vice president of new markets and products. "Disparity within the mobile channel is a huge issue despite the fact that consumers are increasingly expecting cross-platform integration and a consistent experience. The fully integrated mobile platform that we have built allows travelers to check in to flights and hotels, view travel information and updates, and receive offers from multiple airline carriers, hotels and other services -- all at one time, and in one place."
The hope is the OnTouch Mobile Concierge will also allow airlines to generate new revenue streams by capitalizing for the first time on destination-related purchases.
But integrating outside products and services into airline apps is not the only way that airlines hope to customize the passenger experience while increasing revenue. According to Delta's Skrbec, the demand is likely there for airlines eventually to offer add-ons such as standby upgrades and the ability to pay for extra checked baggage through mobile applications, but industry research suggests that offering those types of mobile transactions won't happen overnight.
According to a report released this year by Amadeus, a company that develops technology for the travel industry, ancillary services -- from premium seating to in-flight meals -- are unlikely to be sold on airlines' mobile platforms on a widespread level for another year or two.
So more add-ons and products will be available, but is help on the way for slogging through the airport?
American, United and Continental airlines currently offer airport maps in their mobile apps | [
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] | question: who is increasing their investment in mobile capabilities?, answer: more than 90% of the airlines surveyed | question: What is the airline increasing?, answer: their investment in mobile capabilities | question: which app provides the ability to adjust travel plans?, answer: Delta Air Lines | question: What is going to be incorporated?, answer: the ability to search for hotel and car rental reservations, |
(CNN) -- Airline passengers left stranded by a freak snowstorm that pounded the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states were waiting to get to their destinations Sunday, many after spending a restless night on cots or airport floors.
"Whatever kind of system they had, it completely and utterly broke down," said passenger Fatimah Dahandari, who spent a night in Hartford, Connecticut's Bradley International Airport while trying to get to New York. "It looks like a refugee camp in here."
More than 4 million people in at least five states were without power Sunday as the storm moved offshore. Up to five deaths, some in traffic accidents, were blamed on the storm.
Dhandari said her Boston-to-New York flight diverted to Connecticut after being told there was a problem on a runway at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and the JetBlue plane did not have enough fuel to continue circling.
"We land in Connecticut and then it was one series of problems after another," she said. Her flight spent nine hours "literally sitting on the runway" with no food and water, she said. Passengers were told the plane was waiting to refuel, then was waiting for a gate, then had to get behind another plane that had an emergency on board, she said.
By the time it was her plane's turn, the plane was snowed in and could not move, she said, so there was another wait to get a truck to tow it to the gate. Once she got into the airport, Dahandari said everything was closed, providing passengers with no food options. They were told that the hotels were booked, she said, and if they left the airport they could not come back in.
She spent a night on the floor, and Sunday morning was standing in line with hundreds of others, hoping to receive a boarding pass and a spot on board a flight.
Cell service inside the airport was spotty, she said, and "everybody's phones are dying. People are trading chargers and laptops."
Overall, she said, passengers have been calm. "I keep waiting for somebody to freak out, but nobody is." She said people were being courteous to airline employees, despite their irritation, as "they're kind of stuck here too."
The fashion consultant had hoped to attend two private Halloween parties in New York Saturday night that were important to her business, and planned to wear a $400 custom-made costume.
"Not only is this the worst traveling experience I've ever had, it's also the worst Halloween I've ever had," she said.
JetBlue spokeswoman Victoria Lucia said in a statement Sunday that 17 flights were diverted on Saturday "due to a confluence of events, including infrastructure issues in New York/JFK and Newark (New Jersey)." Six of those flights were diverted to Hartford, the statement said.
"We worked with the airport to secure services, including remote deplaning and (lavatory) servicing," Lucia said. "Obviously, we would have preferred deplaning much sooner than we did, but our flights were six of the 23 reported diversions into Hartford, including international flights."
In addition, Bradley Airport "experienced intermittent power outages, which made refueling and jetbridge deplaning difficult," she said. "We apologize to the customers impacted by this confluence of events, as it remains JetBlue's responsibility to not simply provide safe and secure travel, but a comfortable experience as well."
Passengers will receive a refund on their flight, as well as a voucher for the same amount as their round-trip fare, Lucia said later Sunday.
The airline said on its web site that it was waiving change or cancel fees, along with fare differences, for travelers in a handful of airports -- Hartford; Newark, New Jersey; Newburgh, New York; New York from JFK or LaGuardia airports; and Westchester County, New York.
Passenger Mara Dhaerman was also stranded in Hartford and said her JetBlue flight, initially from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to | [
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(CNN) -- Airlines are uncertain about when commercial service to disaster-ravaged Haiti will resume. In the meantime, some carriers are organizing relief efforts.
American Airlines canceled its five round-trip flights on Wednesday and Thursday. The airline is allowing passengers with plans to travel to Haiti this month to change their plans without fee or penalty through February 14, spokesman Tim Smith said in an e-mail.
"We are completely out of Haiti today, no scheduled operations -- we don't know yet for how long," he said.
American Airlines plans to offer its frequent flier program members mileage incentives for contributing to the Red Cross, Smith said. The carrier flew three American Eagle aircraft into Haiti on Wednesday carrying 30,000 pounds of relief supplies for airline employees and local hospitals and aid efforts. The airline plans to send more relief flights on Thursday and Friday.
"The airport tower is badly damaged, and while I don't know the precise status of the runway, flights (including ours and Air France's) did make it out last night," Smith said Wednesday afternoon.
U.S. Embassy staff at the Port-au-Prince airport said the tower and the lights were working, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Wednesday.
Spirit Airlines, which operates one flight a day between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Port-au-Prince also canceled Wednesday and Thursday flights.
Customers with reservations for travel to, from or through Haiti between Wednesday, January 13, and Sunday, January 17, may rebook their travel without penalty, provided the new departure is on or before February 7, according to Spirit's Web site. The airline will waive the change fee for travelers who move their travel beyond February 7, but it will charge for any difference in fare.
The airline plans to resume service as soon as the airport in Port-au-Prince reopens.
"At this time we don't know when we'll be able to get flights in and out," Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson said via e-mail.
The airline will give 5,000 free Spirit miles to the first 200,000 members of its frequent flier program who donate at least $5 to UNICEF, the Red Cross or Yéle Haiti. Members must register online to participate.
Delta Air Lines has canceled its only flight Wednesday in and out of Port-au-Prince from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. There are no details on when the airline will resume commercial service, spokesman Anthony Black said.
JetBlue Airways does not fly into Haiti, but the airline is waiving change fees and fare differences for passengers scheduled to fly into neighboring Dominican Republic on Wednesday. The airline's operations in the Dominican Republic have not been disrupted, but customers who don't feel comfortable flying can move their flights back, spokeswoman Alison Croyle said.
Passengers who were scheduled to fly to, from or through Puerto Plata, Santiago or Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday may cancel without penalty and receive a full refund or reschedule to fly Thursday or Friday with no fees, Croyle said. | [
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(CNN) -- Akil Vohra quit a lucrative job in international trade litigation to take up something he strongly believes in -- as a legal expert, a Muslim and, most importantly, he says, as an American.
He wanted to make sure that Muslims could fulfill zakat, one of the five pillars of Islam that mandates the giving of alms. Zakat is especially important during the holy month of Ramadan, which ends on Saturday.
But after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a dark cloud hung over Muslim charities as the federal government heightened scrutiny over terrorism concerns. Zakat suddenly became a risky religious obligation.
Agencies all over America from women's shelters and health clinics to inner-city community centers saw donation checks dry up.
"The fear of giving was very real, said Vohra, 33, who now works for San Francisco-based Muslim Advocates, an agency that was created to address two needs in post-September 11 America: racial profiling of Muslims and charitable giving.
Muslim Advocates partners with the Better Business Bureau to attain accreditation for Muslim nonprofits so that agencies can attain greater transparency and overcome perceptions of wrongdoing.
Plus, people can feel more at ease about their donations.
The Muslim Charities Accreditation Program, which began in August 2008, examines nonprofits and trains agency leaders to comply with the federal government's legal and financial regulations, said Vohra, the program's legal counsel.
Just before the start of Ramadan a month ago, three nonprofit organizations had met all 20 standards required for accreditation. Vohra said several others are going through the process.
In turn, Vohra hopes that Muslim charities will start seeing more dollars come their way.
"We don't make comments on which group to give to," Vohra said. "What we're concerned about is giving the right way -- best practices for zakat.
"To be able to give freely is a right of all Americans." he said.
Vohra takes phone calls from people around the nation seeking guidance. "We're planning to send money," people tell him. "Is this group OK? What's the best way to send our donation?"
Because of the widespread concerns, Muslim Advocates decided to upload a guidance video on YouTube. It asks people to consider donating to U.S.-registered tax exempt charitable organizations. It tells them to make the intent of their donation clear, keep records and perhaps ask for proof that the funds were used for their intended purpose.
The guidance became essential after the federal government cracked down on Muslim groups in 2001, Vohra said.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the Bush administration froze the assets of three U.S. charities -- the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, Global Relief Foundation and Benevolence International Foundation -- during Ramadan in 2001. Six others have been shuttered to date, the ACLU said. Only one, the Holy Land Foundation, was tied to terrorism after five of its leaders were convicted of providing money to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"The government's actions against these three charities were the start of a pattern of conduct that violated the fundamental rights of American Muslims' charitable giving in accordance with their faith," the ACLU wrote in a report published in June.
It said the result was that many in the American Muslim community restricted or stopped their donations altogether out of fear that they would be investigated for terrorism.
Vohra, however, is hopeful the tide is turning.
President Obama signaled change in his historic speech to the Muslim world delivered in Cairo, Egypt, earlier this year. Obama said he was committed to working with American Muslims to ensure they can fulfill zakat.
Vohra said the accreditation program, along with new government perspective, can return confidence and comfort to a religious obligation for Muslims.
"It's been tough for American Muslims post 9/11," he said. "This has to do with civic engagement, to be treated as full Americans." | [
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] | [
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(CNN) -- Akio Toyoda's appearance before U.S. legislators on Wednesday represents not just a fact-finding mission by committee members and a public relations move by Toyota, but a clash of cultures that in many ways created the recall controversy.
"They turned a rather ordinary recall into a brand-threatening crisis," said Jeff Kingston, a professor of Asian studies at Temple University's Japan campus in Tokyo.
Indeed, a key reason why Toyoda is in the hot seat is because the company leadership responded in a very Japanese fashion, Japan watchers say.
"Their decision-making process was painfully slow, but the international media and concerned customers don't want to wait so long for answers," Kingston said. "Anytime the public hears 'brake' and 'problem' in the same sentence, they want quick answers."
Toyoda's long silence as the company deliberated what to do is a hallmark of the Japanese culture of consensus building.
"The decision-making process is really the planning process in Japan -- you don't see a lot of rapid response to a strategic issue," said Michael Alan Hamlin, president of Team Asia, which provides communications advice to multinational companies.
Difficult, too, will be how Toyoda handles hostile questioning, especially since most of his public experience has been before a largely deferential Japanese press.
"There is a huge difference in how Japanese media cover companies," said Hamlin, who lived in Japan for a decade. "They are careful not to upset or annoy business leaders too much, because they don't want their access to information or press conferences blocked because of negative reporting.
"In the West, you take Microsoft, Google or GM -- once they are big, successful companies, they are targets (of aggressive media)," he said. "That's the trade-off for visibility and success."
How the two audiences -- American and Japanese -- view Toyoda's performance may be very different because of cultural differences in body language.
"Japanese when in an apology mode -- especially before an authority like the U.S. Congress -- will be very humble. That means, you don't necessarily look people in the eye," said Deborah Hayden, Tokyo managing partner of Kreab & Gavin Anderson Worldwide, a communications consultancy. "From a Western perspective, that can be mistaken as weakness or perhaps trying to hide something."
Also, Japanese language tends to be indirect -- whereas before the committee members are likely to pepper him with direct questions and "be a bit of political theater," Hamlin added.
"He's got to walk a very fine line of polite respect -- which Japanese have in bucket loads -- and the confidence of being head of one of the largest, most respected companies in the world," Hayden said. | [
"Toyoda's long silence is a hallmark of what countries culture of consensus building?",
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] | [
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] | question: Toyoda's long silence is a hallmark of what countries culture of consensus building?, answer: Japan | question: What companys handling of the recall crisis has elements of a culture clash, answer: Toyota, | question: What vehicle had the recall?, answer: Toyota, | question: What is the hallmark of Japanese culture?, answer: long silence |
(CNN) -- Al Qaeda ended days of speculation Sunday by confirming that one of its chemical weapons experts was killed last week along with three other "heroes," according to a statement posted on a radical Islamist Web site.
Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar was among four "heroes" killed last week, an al Qaeda statement says.
The statement, dated July 30, provided no details on how or when the al Qaeda operatives were killed. It was signed by al Qaeda's top leader in Afghanistan, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid.
A senior Pakistani official said last week it was a "near certainty" that weapons expert Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar died in a U.S. airstrike Monday in Pakistan's tribal region.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that if reports of the strike were true, the U.S. violated Pakistani sovereignty.
Umar, who is also known as Sheikh Abu Khabab al-Masri, was on the U.S. State Department's list of 37 wanted terrorists, and the U.S. had offered $5 million for information leading to his death or arrest.
"Although Abu Khabab is gone, he left behind him a generation who will seek revenge and punishment with God's help," the al Qaeda statement said. "And while the 'expert' is gone, he left behind experts who were taught and trained under his hands throughout the years."
Umar was killed along with Abu Mohammed Ibrahim Bin Abi al-Faraj al-Masri, Abd al-Wahab al-Masri, and Abu Islam al-Masri, the statement said.
Umar, a 55-year-old Egyptian, ran a chemical-and-explosives training camp for terrorists in Derunta, Afghanistan, before the fall of the Taliban, U.S. officials said.
"Since 1999, he has distributed training manuals that contain instructions for making chemical and biological weapons," according to the U.S. Rewards for Justice program. "Some of these training manuals were recovered by U.S. forces in Afghanistan."
Rewards for Justice said Umar was believed to be in Pakistan, continuing to train al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists.
He was reportedly near the site of a U.S. airstrike more than two years ago in the Pakistani mountain village of Damadola. The strike targeted a dinner gathering believed to include terrorists. Initial reports that Umar died in the January 2006 strike later proved erroneous. | [
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(CNN) -- Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in Afghanistan last month that killed seven CIA employees and contractors and a Jordanian military officer, according to a statement posted on Islamist Web sites.
Mustafa Abu Yazid, al Qaeda's commander of operations in Afghanistan and its No. 3 man, said the attack avenged the death of Baitullah Mehsud, leader of the Taliban in Pakistan who was killed in a missile strike last August, and al Qaeda operatives Saleh al-Somali and Abdullah al-Libi.
The December 30 blast at a U.S. base in Khost, in southeastern Afghanistan, killed seven CIA operatives including two from private security firm Xe, formerly known as Blackwater. The eighth victim was Jordanian Army Capt. Sharif Ali bin Zeid, a cousin of Jordan's King Abdullah II.
A former U.S. intelligence official identified the suicide bomber as Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, a Jordanian doctor who acted as a double agent. He was recruited as a counterterrorism intelligence source, according to a senior Jordanian official.
U.S. sources said bin Zeid was the Jordanian operative working closely with al-Balawi, who was from the same hometown as the onetime leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Jordanian and U.S. intelligence agencies apparently believed that al-Balawi had been rehabilitated from his extremist views and were using him to hunt Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2 figure, the former intelligence official said.
The al Qaeda statement posted Wednesday identified al-Balawi as Hamam Khalil Mohammed Abu Malal, who used the name Abu Dujana Khorasani. It said Abu Dujana was a well-known Islamist author and a preacher on jihadi Web sites, an immigrant for his faith and a fighter who sacrificed himself and his money for his God and belief.
"May God accept him as a martyr who was able to infiltrate the Americans' forts," the statement said.
"We ask God to bless the people who follow your path, Abu Dujana," it said. "Let them know that your brothers are following your path and they will not have peace of mind until they slaughter the Americans and let the Islamic nation be proud for having men like you among its sons."
Several groups have claimed responsibility for the attack, one of the worst blows ever to America's intelligence community. Some analysts said that militant groups may be competing for credit to spread the word and attract fresh donations and recruits.
In a posting on its Web site last week, the Taliban in Afghanistan claimed that the bomber was an Afghan National Army soldier.
On Sunday, however, Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud said in an e-mail that his arm of the Islamic movement carried out the attack, also citing the reason as revenge for Baitullah Mehsud's killing. | [
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(CNN) -- Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden called Israel's recent offensive in Gaza a "holocaust," according to a purported message from him posted on an Islamist Web site.
Osama bin Laden, in an undated photo, apparently taped a message calling Israel's Gaza offensive a holocaust.
"The holocaust of Gaza in the midst of this long siege is an important and historic event and an articulate tragedy which affirms the need for detachment of the Muslims from the hypocrites. It is not right that our condition after what happened in Gaza be like our condition prior to it," the message said.
Al Qaeda says it wants to liberate the mosque from Israeli control.
The message -- an audiotape played over a still image -- is called "Practical Steps to Liberate Palestine" and it is dated March 2009, according to terrorism analyst Laura Mansfield.
The more than 33 minutes-long tape includes English subtitles, and English and Arabic transcripts were released by As Sahab, al Qaeda's media production center, Mansfield said.
The authenticity of the tape could not be verified.
The message says it's "clear" some Arab leaders have "conspired" with what it calls the "Zionist-crusader alliance" against the Palestinians in Gaza.
"They are the ones that America describes as the moderate leaders in our world," the message says.
The speaker urged Muslims to help insurgents "liberate" Iraq.
"For those honest in their desire to deliver al-Aqsa mosque, they should back the Mujahideen in Iraq with everything they need in order to liberate Mesopotamia," the message said, alluding to the Jerusalem mosque regarded as the third holiest place in Islam. "And with that they will have defeated the Zionists' biggest ally," referring to the United States.
Then, the fighters should move on to Jordan to "liberate all of Palestine from the sea to the river" from Israel.
When talking about Palestine, the speaker is referring to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River that includes the Jewish state of Israel and the Palestinian lands of the West Bank and Gaza.
In his last purported audio message in January, bin Laden called for a jihad, or holy war, to stop Israel's military campaign in Gaza. | [
"A speaker from what group urged liberation?",
"What does the speaker urge?"
] | [
"Al Qaeda",
"Muslims to help insurgents \"liberate\" Iraq."
] | question: A speaker from what group urged liberation?, answer: Al Qaeda | question: What does the speaker urge?, answer: Muslims to help insurgents "liberate" Iraq. |
(CNN) -- Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has apparently released a new audio message calling for a jihad, or holy war, against Israel for its Gaza campaign.
Osama bin Laden, in an undated photo, apparently taped a message calling for jihad against Israel.
The 22-minute message contains "an invitation" from bin Laden to take part in "jihad to stop the aggression against Gaza."
The audio message was posted on a radical Islamist Web site that has posted other statements from bin Laden in the past.
CNN could not independently confirm the authenticity of the message, but the speaker's voice was similar to other recordings that bin Laden has made.
While not naming President-elect Barack Obama, bin Laden refers to the future of the United States in the face of the current global economic crisis. Watch as experts discuss Osama message »
"[America is] now drowning in a global financial crisis," he said. "They're even begging all nations, small and large, for help. America is no longer feared by its enemies nor respected by its allies.
"The decline of the American power is one of the main reasons for Israel's rushed and barbaric aggression on Gaza in a desperate attempt to take advantage of the last days of [President] Bush's term in office."
He appears, however, to refer to Obama, saying "Bush leaves his successor with the worst inheritance ... two long guerrilla wars and no options. He either withdraws and faces military defeat, or carries on and drowns his nation in financial trouble." Watch Obama comment on bin Laden's message »
The message also names Vice President-elect Joe Biden.
"Here is Biden, the vice president of the president-elect ... [he] says that the crisis is bigger than they expected and that the American economy, all of it, is open to collapse," bin Laden said.
On December 20, Biden said in an interview that the economy "is in much worse shape than we thought it was in."
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the message "demonstrates [bin Laden's] isolation and continued attempts to remain relevant at a time when al Qaeda's ideology, mission and agenda are being questioned and challenged throughout the world."
He noted that the message also appears to be "an effort to raise money as part of [al Qaeda's] ongoing propaganda campaign."
"The United States promotes an alternative, hopeful ideology while continuing to partner with over 90 countries to pursue terrorists wherever they are," Johndroe said.
The last time bin Laden released an audio message was in mid-May, timed to coincide with Israel's 60th anniversary. That message urged his followers to liberate Palestine.
Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza on December 27 to stop Hamas rocket strikes on southern Israel. The death toll in Gaza was nearing 1,000 on Wednesday, including more than 300 children, according to Palestinian medical sources.
The Israeli toll stood at 13, including three civilians, according to Israeli police and military officials.
Bin Laden, who is about 51, is the head of the al Qaeda terrorist network, which was responsible for the September 11, 2001, attack on the United States that killed 2,751 people.
He's been in hiding since the U.S. assault on Afghanistan that followed the 9/11 attacks. The U.S. government is offering a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture.
President Bush, whose term ends next week, told CNN's Larry King on Tuesday that he remains optimistic that bin Laden would be found.
Asked by King, "Are we ever going to find bin Laden?" Bush replied: "Yes, of course, absolutely. We've got a lot of people out there looking for him, a lot of assets. You can't run forever."
The message is important to the incoming U.S. president because it signifies that bin Laden is still "out there," said Tim Roemer, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana who served on both the | [
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"other recordings that bin Laden has made."
] | question: what does the Web message show, answer: "demonstrates [bin Laden's] isolation and continued attempts to remain relevant at a time when al Qaeda's ideology, mission and agenda are being questioned and challenged throughout the world." | question: What does the message claim?, answer: "jihad to stop the aggression against Gaza." | question: Where was the message posted?, answer: on a radical Islamist Web site | question: what is the effect of the global economic crisis on U.S power, answer: America is no longer feared | question: what is the speakers voice similar too, answer: to other recordings that bin Laden has made. | question: to what was Speaker's voice similar, answer: other recordings that bin Laden has made. |
(CNN) -- Al Qaeda's branch in Yemen has claimed responsibility for Friday's suicide bombing attack on a building housing Yemeni security forces.
Al Qaeda in Yemen have claimed that Ahmed bin Said bin Omar al-Mashjari, right, carried out Friday's attack.
"This attack was carried out in revenge for our brothers whose blood is on the hands of the infidel Yemeni forces," according to an e-mailed statement that included a photo of the alleged suicide attacker.
The photo identifies the attacker as Ahmed bin Said bin Omar al-Mashjari -- also known as Abu Dajjana al-Hadarmi -- from Yemen's Hadramout governate where the attack took place.
He is standing next to another man whose face is covered in front of a black-and-white banner. Both men have weapons slung across their shoulders; guns and ammunition belts are also pictured beneath the banner in the background. Al-Mashjari is wearing a black and white head covering, but his face is visible.
The e-mailed statement was dated July 25, the day of the attack, but it was distributed and posted online on Sunday.
According to Yemen's state-run news agency SABA, a suicide car bomber crashed the white 2003 KIA into the gates of the security camp in the southern city of Sayoun on Friday, prompting guards to open fire on the attacker.
The SABA report gave no details on casualties. Yemen's Interior Ministry said four people were killed and 12 were injured, but the Yemen Post, an English-language newspaper that covers events in Yemen, put the number at 10 dead and about a dozen wounded.
Hadramout's governor Saleh al-Khanbashi described the bombing as a criminal terrorist act, and threatened to track down and bring to justice those responsible, SABA reported.
CNN Senior Arab Affairs Editor Octavia Nasr contributed to this report | [
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] | question: Who planted the bomb?, answer: Ahmed bin Said bin Omar al-Mashjari | question: what type of bomb was it?, answer: suicide car bomber | question: How many died?, answer: 10 | question: who is taking responsibility?, answer: Al | question: Al Qaeda's Yemen claims?, answer: a building housing Yemeni security forces. |
(CNN) -- Al Qaeda's north African wing has released an audio message from an Italian man whom it says it has kidnapped and has set a 25-day deadline for the Italian government to meet its demands.
The message was accompanied by a still photograph, posted on Islamist Web sites, showing a bearded man kneeling in front of a group of six armed and masked men.
The group, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, says the man is Cicala Sergio.
The group says it has been holding the man and his wife for two months. The audio message, dated February 24, urges the Italian government to meet the group's demands in 25 days -- although it was unclear what those demands are.
"If you want to guarantee the safety of these two Italian captives, you need to pressure your government and urge them to respond to the legitimate demands," the statement said.
CNN could not immediately determine the authenticity of the message.
In June, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb executed a British man after the British government did not give in to its demand to release Abu Qatada, a Jordanian considered to be al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe.
The group began life as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat with aspirations to overthrow the Algerian government.
Around 2004, it joined forces with al Qaeda and extended its reach across North and West Africa.
CNN's Saad Abedine contributed to this report. | [
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(CNN) -- Al Qaeda's second-in-command called on Pakistanis to back Islamic militants in the country's tribal areas against what he called an ongoing assault by American "crusaders" and the Pakistani army.
Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri appears in a video released on September 2, 2006.
Punishment from God was promised for Muslims who did not follow the words of Ayman al-Zawahiri in a video that appeared on radical Islamist Web sites Thursday.
"The war in the tribal areas and Swat [Valley] is an inseparable part of the crusaders' assault on the Muslims the length and breadth of the Islamic world," al-Zawahiri said in the video, titled "Path of Doom."
"This is the battle, briefly and plainly; and this is why anyone who supports the Americans and Pakistan army -- under any pretext, ploy or lie -- is in fact standing with, backing and supporting the crusaders against Islam and Muslims."
The Pakistani military is fighting Taliban militants in the country's north, and missile attacks from suspected U.S. drones have targeted militant leaders -- one of them killing Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban.
Reports from the region suggest government troops have dislodged the Taliban from many areas of the North West Frontier Province, but militant attacks continue daily.
In the video, Al-Zawahiri suggested that the United States has wider goals in the region.
"They want to eliminate the Mujahedeen (Islamic militants) in the tribal areas so they can seek to smother the Jihad in Afghanistan," he said.
NATO-led forces are battling the Taliban across the border in Afghanistan as well. U.S. and British forces launched offensives in Helmand province this summer.
Al-Zawahiri warned Muslims that they have a religious duty to support the jihad, or struggle, or face punishment from God.
"No people abandons Jihad without Allah giving them a general punishment," he said, quoting the Quran.
Al-Zawahiri also prayed for the annihilation "the Americans and Jews" and anyone who might help them. | [
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(CNN) -- Al Sadd coach Jorge Fossati praised his team for overcoming a "big injustice" to become the first Qatari football club to reach the Asian Champions League final.
The former Uruguay coach saw his Doha-based team record a 2-1 aggregate victory over Suwon Bluewings after losing 1-0 to South Korea's two-time Asian champions on Wednesday, despite having key players suspended following an ill-tempered first leg last week.
"Of course we are very, very happy," the 58-year-old told the Asian Football Confederation website. "To overcome them was difficult. There were many problems and yet we won and that's why I am happy.
"You know we had to play this game with big injustice. We didn't have some players because of non-football issues. In this situation, we tried to do our best with whatever resources we had."
Five players and coaches were suspended for the match at the Sheik Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, after a mass brawl broke out following Al Sadd's controversial second goal in the 2-0 win in Suwon on October 19.
The fighting erupted after Senegal striker Mamadou Niang scored his and Al Sadd's late second goal while Suwon's players were tending to an injured teammate, presuming play had been halted.
Former Marseille forward Niang was later sent off and missed the return leg along with Ivory Coast attacker Kader Keita and goalkeeping coach Suhail Saber Ali, while Suwon were missing Macedonian striker Stevica Ristic and coach Ko Jong-Su.
But even without their star players, Al Sadd held on after Oh Jang-Eun had given Suwon a 1-0 lead with a sixth-minute volley, as Khalfan Ibrahim hit the Koreans' crossbar with a vicious long-range shot before halftime.
Earlier on Wednesday, South Korea's Jeonbuk Motors advanced to the November 5 final courtesy of a 5-3 aggregate win over Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad.
After a 3-2 away success last week, the 2006 Asian champions won 2-1 thanks to first-half goals from Brazil forward Eninho.
Al Ittihad's only response was a late consolation goal from former Bordeaux winger Wendel Geraldo, after both teams had been reduced to 10 men.
Al Ittihad, the 2004 and 2005 champions, suffered an early blow when Naif Hazazi -- the scorer of both first-leg goals -- was sent off in the 11th minute for a headbutt, while Jeonbuk substitute Krunoslav Lovrek received a second yellow card late in the match.
Jeonbuk coach Choi Kang-Hee was pleased his team would have home advantage at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium.
"We got what we wanted," said Choi, a former Suwon coach. "We are at home for the final and that is an advantage for us. The lead we took from the first leg gave us some breathing space at home but we knew well that Al Ittihad are a very good team.
"We expected them to come at us strongly and we were ready for that. Eninho's goals were a big help but we still had work to do and were able to get the result we needed."
Jeonbuk will attempt to keep the Champions League title in South Korean hands for the third year in succession, after Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma's victory in 2010 and the Pohang Steelers' 2009 triumph. | [
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"Who beat Suwon Bluewings?",
"With waht score Jorge Fossati's team beat South Korea's Suwon Bluewings?",
"when Al Sadd will face Jeonbuk Motors, after Koreans beat Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad?"
] | [
"Jeonbuk Motors",
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"2-1",
"2010"
] | question: Who beat Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad?, answer: Jeonbuk Motors | question: Who beat Suwon Bluewings?, answer: Doha-based team | question: With waht score Jorge Fossati's team beat South Korea's Suwon Bluewings?, answer: 2-1 | question: when Al Sadd will face Jeonbuk Motors, after Koreans beat Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad?, answer: 2010 |
(CNN) -- Al-Jazeera broadcast on Thursday an audiotape on which a voice identified as Osama bin Laden declares "Iraq is the perfect base to set up the jihad to liberate Palestine."
Terrorist leader Osama bin Laden spoke on a video released by al Qaeda in September.
The voice calls for the people of neighboring countries "to do their best in supporting their mujahedeen brothers in Iraq."
"My speech to you is about the siege of Gaza and the way to liberate it," he said.
"The Gaza siege is a direct result of Annapolis," he adds, apparently referring to the site of November's summit in Annapolis, Maryland, where Israeli and Palestinian leadership agreed to work toward a two-state solution.
The voice also calls on "Muslims in the neighboring countries" to support the "mujahedeen in Iraq."
The broadcast comes a day after another statement attributed to the al Qaeda leader condemned European countries for siding with the United States in Afghanistan and for allowing the publication of cartoons considered insulting to Islam's prophet, Mohammed.
"This is the greater and more serious tragedy, and the reckoning for it will be more severe," the speaker in the five-minute audio recording says.
The speaker said Muslims have not responded by mocking Jesus, whom they consider a prophet as well.
"The laws of men which clash with the legislation of Allah the Most High are null and void, aren't sacred and don't matter to us," he said.
The speaker dismissed claims of free speech in his statement, citing European countries' laws against denying the existence of the Holocaust.
Bin Laden also said in his earlier message that "the crownless king in Riyadh" -- Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah -- could have prevented the publication of the cartoons "if it mattered to him."
"If there is no check on the freedom of your words, then let your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions," he said.
Though the voice sounds like bin Laden, CNN has not been able to confirm that it is him. However, a radical Islamist Web site reported earlier Wednesday that a statement from bin Laden was coming soon.
The notice appeared on Al-Ekhlaas, known for carrying statements and videos from al Qaeda and its allies.
Analysis of previous statements has indicated that bin Laden was the speaker, and a U.S. intelligence official said there was no reason to think the recorded voice was not bin Laden's.
Bin Laden, who was behind the terrorist network's September 11 attacks, has been in hiding since the U.S. assault on Afghanistan that followed those strikes.
His last public statement was an audio message issued in December, when he urged his followers in Iraq to continue battling U.S. troops there.
Wednesday marked the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
The latest statement included no date reference beyond the cartoon controversy, which began in late 2005 when a Danish newspaper published a dozen cartoons about Islam, including one that depicted Mohammed wearing a turban resembling a bomb.
Violent protests erupted in early 2006 after other European newspapers reprinted the images as a matter of free speech.
Some Muslims believe it is forbidden by the Quran to show an image of the prophet at all, and others were offended that the cartoon by artist Kurt Westergaard appeared to depict Mohammed as a terrorist.
Westergaard said he wanted his cartoon to say that some people exploited the prophet to legitimize terror.
Several newspapers in Denmark reprinted the controversial cartoons in February after Danish authorities arrested several people who were said to be plotting a "terror-related assassination" of the cartoonist.
That sparked violent protests in three Afghan cities this month, with Muslim students burning flags and chanting anti-Western statements.
The message said the publication of the drawings in question "came in the framework of a new crusade in which the Pope of the Vatican has played a large, lengthy role."
Pope Benedict is scheduled to visit the United States next month, with scheduled stops at the White House, the United | [
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(CNN) -- Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Hajj arrived home in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum early Friday after nearly six years in the U.S. Navy prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Hajj at a hospital in Khartoum after his release from Guantanamo Bay.
"I was so happy that I cried," al-Hajj told the Qatar-based Arabic news network by phone from his hospital room, where he was taken after arriving at the airport. "It is our right to be happy and to rejoice, but we also miss our brothers that we left behind and who live in very difficult conditions."
An official with the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum said the transfer brought to an end a matter that the United States and Sudan considered to be "of great mutual concern."
Al-Hajj, a Sudanese citizen in his late 30s, was captured in Afghanistan in December 2001 by Pakistani intelligence officers and handed over to the United States, which accused him of being an "enemy combatant."
A senior Pentagon official confirmed the journalist's release.
Al-Hajj was held without being charged or given a trial, Al-Jazeera reported.
The cameraman was on a legitimate assignment and carried a work visa at the time of his capture, the network said.
It also reported that the U.S. plane that carried al-Hajj had about 20 other former detainees aboard who also had been released from Guantanamo Bay. The plane dropped off a Moroccan national, identified as Al-Saeed Bou Jaadiya, the network said.
Al-Jazeera aired video showing a bearded al-Hajj being carried from the plane in Khartoum by U.S. military personnel and laid on a stretcher. He was transported to Al-Amal Hospital.
"He was brought in here by ambulance and entered to the intensive care unit on a stretcher," said Al-Jazeera Director General Wadah Khanfar from the hospital. "He was exhausted and very sick, and he's receiving the necessary care in the hospital."
Khanfar said he was awaiting word from doctors on his medical condition.
In a statement, U.S. Charge D'Affaires Alberto Fernandez of the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum said the transfer "is a result of many factors and the work of many hands. An important one was the cooperation between the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum and the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Intelligence and Security Service."
Al-Hajj had been on a hunger strike for more than a year and was being force-fed, said Zachary Katznelson, a lawyer who has worked on al-Hajj's case since August 2005 and last visited him three weeks ago.
"Al-Hajj is remarkably thin," Katznelson said. "He looks like an ill man."
The journalist was conscious, but did not appear to speak to anyone as paramedics rolled his stretcher inside. Family members stooped to kiss him as the gurney passed.
"I would have hoped they were here with me now. I look forward to the moment," al-Hajj said told Al-Jazeera before being reunited with his family.
Earlier, al-Hajj's wife spoke to the network about his release.
"Now I can think differently," Asma Ismailov said. "Now I can plan my life differently. Everything will be all right, God willing."
Al-Hajj's young son, Mohammed, said he would "kiss his head" when he sees his father. "I'll tell him that I love him and I need him."
The Sudanese government told Al-Jazeera that al-Hajj faced no charges in Sudan and is a free man. The network also said the United States placed some conditions on al-Hajj's release, including one that prevents him from any political activity.
Reporters Without Borders, which campaigned for al-Hajj's release, said in a statement that the cameraman "never should have been held so long."
"U.S. authorities never proved that he had been involved in any kind of criminal activity," | [
"Who did Pakistani intelligence officers capture?",
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(CNN) -- Alabama exacted revenge and clinched the Bowl Championship Series title on Monday night, besting Louisiana State University 21-0.
The Crimson Tide cleared up past problems with its special teams, kicking five field goals to become champions of college football.
Alabama's stifling defense battered LSU the entire game, holding the Tigers to just five first downs.
"It was great team win. Our defense did a good job. Our offense controlled the momentum and our special teams played well," Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
Monday's game was a far cry from the two Southeastern Conference rivals' last showdown.
Both teams went into that game on November 5 undefeated. College football pundits dubbed it the game of the century and Alabama lost 9-6 in overtime.
In that game, Alabama missed four field goals, including one in overtime.
This time, Alabama's kicker Jeremy Shelley hit five field goals, giving Alabama a commanding 15-0 lead in the fourth quarter.
Crimson Tide's star running back Trent Richardson broke a 34-yard touchdown with less than five minutes left.
"I am happy and proud of my players, the way they responded to the pain and disappointment of losing the last time," Saban said
Alabama's offense was dealt a huge blow early in the game.
Kick returner Marquis Maze injured his leg in the second quarter after running a 49-yard punt return.
Maze, who is also Alabama's big-play wide receiver, left the game and never returned.
But Alabama was able to overcome the loss and moved the ball up and down the field all game long, to the chagrin of the thousands of purple-and-gold-clad LSU fans who packed the Superdome in New Orleans.
By the fourth quarter, the stands seemed like a sea of crimson as Alabama fans celebrated.
The loss ends LSU's undefeated streak,
"My locker room is hurting right now," LSU coach Les Miles said after the game. "We did not get it going offensively at all. Our defense was on the field a long time.Give credit to our opponents on that. It became very hard to get first downs. This is as painful as anything we have been through." | [
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(CNN) -- Alan Kardec scored a spectacular second-half winner for Brazil against Costa Rica to set up a replay of the 1993 Under-20 World Cup final against Ghana in Egypt.
Costa Rica midfielder David Guzman, left, battles for the ball with Brazil captain Giuliano.
Four-time champions Brazil edged a 1-0 victory against underdogs Los Ticos in Cairo after the Black Satellites qualified for the final for the third time with a 3-2 victory against suspension-hit Hungary in the first semi.
Striker Kardec's 67th-minute goal, his fourth of the tournament, lit up an otherwise uninspiring match as he crashed home a superb volley from a tight angle after substitute Bertucci's left-wing cross bounced to the far post.
Costa Rica had lost their opening game of the tournament to Brazil by a morale-sapping 5-0, but bounced back to reach the last four, beating hosts Egypt and the United Arab Emirates in the previous rounds.
The Central Americans came closest to scoring in the first half as David Guzman's 25-yard free-kick forced a fine save from Brazil goalkeeper Rafael.
However, the South Americans' dominance of possession -- they had an incredible 70 percent of the play -- finally told, with players lining up to take potshots at Costa Rica's goal.
But Los Ticos held on bravely, and even sent goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado to the other end of the pitch for three late corners, but the lack of quality in crucial areas was telling.
Ghana will be seeking to win the tournament for the first time on Friday, having lost to Brazil in the 1993 final and to Argentina in 2001.
The Africans looked lethal in attack against a Hungary side missing three key players following the dramatic 3-2 victory over Italy in the quarterfinals, but suffered from defensive lapses.
Dominic Adiyiah netted twice to give Ghana a 2-0 halftime lead before Marco Futacs pulled one back, but Abeiku Quansah crashed a spectacular late goal to make it 3-1 and substitute Adam Balajti set up a tense finish.
Striker Adiyiah netted the opener from close range in the ninth minute after Andre Ayew pounced on Adam Presinger's poor back-pass and rounded goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.
He then scored a tournament-leading eighth goal in the 31st minute with a powerful header from Samuel Inkoom's cross.
Balazs Megyeri hit the post for Hungary in the second half before fellow substitute Marko Futacs reduced the deficit in the 73rd minute after a pass into the penalty area from Andras Simon.
Roland Varga and Janos Szabo both squandered golden chances to level, the latter from a simple header, and Ghana made the most of their escapes when Quansah crashed in a shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 81st minute.
David Addy's lapse allowed Balajti to comfortably sidefoot home just three minutes later, but it was Ghana who looked most likely to score again as Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu smashed a fierce long-range shot against the bar in time added on. | [
"Who led 2-0 at halftime?",
"Who are the four-time champions?",
"Who beat Costa Rica?",
"Where is the under-20 World Cup being held?",
"What was the score of Brazil vs Costa Rica?",
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"Who faces the 4 times champion?"
] | [
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] | question: Who led 2-0 at halftime?, answer: Ghana | question: Who are the four-time champions?, answer: Brazil | question: Who beat Costa Rica?, answer: Brazil | question: Where is the under-20 World Cup being held?, answer: Egypt. | question: What was the score of Brazil vs Costa Rica?, answer: 5-0, | question: Who did Ghana beat?, answer: Hungary | question: Who faces the 4 times champion?, answer: Los Ticos |
(CNN) -- Alanis Morissette was the definition of "fierce" when she arrived on the American music scene with one of the big break-up songs of the '90s, "You Oughta Know." But behind that tough exterior were secrets of a difficult past.
"As a teen, I was both anorexic and bulimic," Alanis Morissette recently told Health magazine for its December issue. "I was a young woman in the public eye, on the receiving end of a lot of attention, and I was trying to protect myself from men who were using their power in ways I was too young to know how to handle."
By the time Morissette was 14, she had already starred in a popular Canadian children's show, started her own record label and had a publishing contract with MCA Canada, according to her Web site.
"Disappointment, sadness and pain hit me hard, and I tried to numb those feelings through my relationship with food. For four to six months at a time, I would barely eat. I lived on a diet of Melba toast, carrots, and black coffee," she said. "I began recovering at 18, when a sweet friend confronted me."
Now that she's older, Morissette, 35, said she's no longer starving herself and has begun to look at eating as "a sort of spiritual practice." Her healthier view of food and nutrition is thanks in no small part to a book she discovered a few years ago called "Eat to Live."
"It's become my bible, pushing me to completely reorient my thinking about what to put into my body. ... Now I concentrate on eating high-nutrient foods like fruit, nuts, collards, kale and spinach. I'm obsessed with them. I even put spinach in my smoothies," the Canadian musician admitted.
The seven-time Grammy Award winner has also sworn off dairy, on a tip from Woody Harrelson, no less. "Woody Harrelson [told] me I needed to get rid of the dairy in my fridge to clear up my skin," she said.
It's had a positive effect: Morissette said her skin "looks great now."
But all of that health consciousness doesn't mean Morissette has lost appreciation for the more delectable things in life. "Don't get me wrong," she said in the interview, "I still indulge in a glass of wine or chocolate -- treats are mandatory. Without deviating from the day-to-day healthy diet once in a while, it wouldn't be sustainable for me, and that's what I wanted: an approach to eating to last my entire life."
Resolving her issues with food and body image has helped Morissette to develop clarity in other areas of her life as well.
"I'm really clear about what my life mission is now. There's no more depression or lethargy, and I feel like I've returned to the athlete I once was. I'm integrating all the parts of me -- jock, musician, writer, poet, philosopher -- and becoming stronger as a result," she said.
"I hope my effort shows any woman battling an eating disorder or poor body image that she's not alone -- support is out there -- and inspires her to discover her inner athlete. It doesn't matter what your fitness-skill level is."
Health magazine's December issue hits newsstands November 24. | [
"What did Morissette tell magazine?",
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"What is Morissette doing now?",
"what was the disorder"
] | [
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"\"Disappointment, sadness and pain",
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"anorexic and bulimic,\""
] | question: What did Morissette tell magazine?, answer: "I was a young woman in the public eye, on the receiving end of a lot of attention, and I was trying to protect myself from men who were using their power in ways I was too young to know how to handle." | question: what is the reason for the diet, answer: "Disappointment, sadness and pain | question: What is Morissette doing now?, answer: she's no longer starving herself and has begun to look at eating as "a sort of spiritual practice." | question: what was the disorder, answer: anorexic and bulimic," |
(CNN) -- Alaskan musher Lance Mackey has won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and set an Iditarod record for most consecutive wins, according to race officials. Mackey, 39, of Fairbanks has dominated the sport in recent years and is the 2007-2010 Iditarod champion.
Mackey completed the 1,049-mile Iditarod race, which was broadcast live on IditarodInsider.com, in just under nine days. He was cheered across the finish line in Nome by family and friends, including his father, Dick Mackey, the 1978 Iditarod champion.
The senior Mackey greeted his son at the finish line with a hug, saying, "You've done something that will never be repeated, son."
Dick Mackey told race commentators his son "is highly competitive and he likes to get the best out of his dogs. ... I don't think anybody trains them any better than he does."
Mackey could be heard on the broadcast microphones speaking to his dog team just before reaching the famous burled arch on Nome's Front Street, "Nice, nice. This is so cool. We're almost there, guys. You did such a good job."
Arriving in Nome at 2:59 p.m. local time, Mackey's official time was 8 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 9 seconds.
Mackey, a throat cancer survivor who says he began racing "at birth," was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame in February "for capturing multiple titles in two of the world's longest sled dog races."
Mackey is also a four-time champion of the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest race from Fairbanks to Nome as well as the record holder for the most consecutive first place finishes in that race.
Second place in the Iditarod went to Yukon musher Hans Gatt. Past champion musher Jeff King came in third.
King, from Denali, Alaska, received praise and gratitude from the Iditarod Trail Committee earlier this season when he donated $50,000 toward the 2010 Iditarod prize purse after learning the race was experiencing financial trouble because a shortage of sponsors.
More than 54 teams remained on the Iditarod trail headed toward Nome, including rookie Jamaican musher Newton Marshall, who was in 48th place. Marshall trained with Mackey this season in preparation for his first Iditarod run.
Fourteen of the original 71 teams that entered this year's race have scratched en route. A "Red Lantern" will be presented to the last place finisher in the dog race, an Alaska tradition dating back to 1953, according to Alaska Magazine. | [
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(CNN) -- Alex Ferguson celebrates 25 years as Manchester United manager on Sunday, and the Scotsman has called his reign at Old Trafford a "fairytale."
Ferguson, who turns 70 this month, has overseen United's recent dominance of English football, guiding the Red Devils to 12 English Premier League titles and five FA Cups.
Continental success has also been achieved, with Ferguson leading United to two European Champions League triumphs in 1999 and 2008.
The highlight of the former Scotland coach's reign so far arrived in 1999, when United's Champions League final win over Bayern Munich completed an historic treble which also included Premier League and FA Cup triumphs.
United he stands: The real Fergie
"It's been a really fantastic spell for me and something you don't think is going to happen," Ferguson told the club's official website. "It's been a bit of a fairytale to last so long and I appreciate that."
Ferguson, who arrived at United from Scottish outfit Aberdeen on November 6 1986, was quick to praise the vast array of star players he has been able to work with during a quarter of a century at the club.
"I've been very fortunate to have some of the best players in the game and, when I look back on these players I think about how fortunate I am.
Ferguson's top 25 Manchester United moments
"It's incredible when you look at who's been here - Bryan Robson, Norman Whiteside, Brian McClair, Mark Hughes, Paul Ince, Roy Keane, Eric Cantona. What a collection of fantastic players."
It could all have been very different for United and Ferguson, with the Glasgow native originally planning to retire from football in 2002.
But Ferguson changed his mind, remained in the Old Trafford dugout and last season helped United to a record 19th English title -- overtaking the mark previously set by archrivals Liverpool.
Ferguson refuses to set a date for when he will step aside at United, saying he will remain in the job as long as his health allows.
"I'll continue as long as I feel healthy enough to do it," he said. "In management, things change as the years go on. It's different now even to seven or eight years ago. A lot of things have changed."
United's neighbors Manchester City currently lead England's top flight, five points clear of Ferguson's team.
Former United captain Steve Bruce brings his Sunderland team to Old Trafford for a Premier League clash on Saturday. | [
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(CNN) -- Alex Ferguson's quarter of a century in charge of Manchester United has been rich and varied and, of course, accompanied by a glittering list of trophies.
From the joyous highs of European Champions League triumphs in Barcelona and Moscow, to the lows of bust-ups with David Beckham and watching Jose Mourinho pip him to two titles, every moment has been played out in the full glare of the media spotlight.
With countless memorable quotes and games under his belt, Ferguson will celebrate his 25 years in charge of the Premier League champions on Sunday, a day after his side face Sunderland in their quest for a record 20th league title.
Here, CNN World Sport chronicles the key moments of his momentous reign at Old Trafford as he survived an indifferent start to his United career to become one of the most successful managers the English game has ever seen. | [
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] | question: who chronicles the top 25 moments of Alex Ferguson's career, answer: CNN World Sport | question: who has won 37 trophies in his quarter of a decade, answer: Ferguson's | question: who would reach 25 years in charge of Manchester United, answer: Ferguson's | question: what will ferguson reach on sunday, answer: 25 years in charge of the Premier League champions | question: how many trophies has the scot won, answer: 20th |
(CNN) -- Alicia A.S. Duque knew she had some pounds to lose, but she had no idea how much being overweight affected her until the television cameras started rolling.
Alicia Duque performs with her partner on Oxygen's new hit "Dance Your Ass Off."
"Going into it, I knew it was a TV show, I knew it was a weight-loss show and I knew it was a dance show, but I didn't think I was going to learn so much about myself through the process," said the 23-year-old Duque, a contestant on the new show "Dance Your Ass Off." "I didn't know how many issues and problems I had with my weight until I faced it on the show."
Duque's struggle with weight loss is one of many on television that is resonating with those tuning into programming aimed at and featuring the plus-sized.
Style Network's "Ruby," NBC's "The Biggest Loser," Lifetime's "Drop Dead Diva" and Fox's forthcoming dating show "More to Love" all center on the overweight and are tapping into an audience that can relate to the desire to shed a few pounds.
Obesity has risen dramatically in the United States during the past 20 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And this year television has seen an increase in shows featuring participants and stars who look more like the viewing public.
Oxygen Channel's "Dance Your Ass Off" combines elements of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" and NBC's "The Biggest Loser." Contestants learn dance routines for which they are judged before weighing in to determine how much they have lost.
Amy Introcaso-Davis, senior vice president of original programming and development at Oxygen, said dance and diet are two areas of interest for younger viewers of the channel, so combining the two made sense.
The 12 contestants, from the smallest to the largest, have struck a chord with viewers, she said.
"People find the contestants so relatable," she said. "We cast very purposely across the board in terms of how many pounds people needed to lose -- we had anywhere from people who needed to lose 40 [pounds] to over 150."
The premier of "Dance" rated highly for Oxygen, with more than 1 million viewers tuning in.
Oxygen also found success earlier with "Mo'Nique's F.A.T. Chance," a plus-size pageant where women of substance strutted their stuff to be crowned "Miss Fabulous And Thick."
For a nation grappling with obesity, Introcaso-Davis said, there is a hunger for such shows.
"If you have five pounds to lose or you have 150 pounds to lose, it's something you think about all day long," she said. "You take a bite of cheesecake and you think 'Should I be doing this?' "
Esther Rothblum, a professor of women's studies at San Diego State University and co-editor of the forthcoming anthology "The Fat Studies Reader," said she wonders if part of the appeal of plus-sized shows stems from the overweight being held up for public ridicule. The subject of her book is an emerging field that has been defined as "confronting and critiquing cultural constraints" against notions of "fatness" and "the fat body."
"Most people feel too fat in this country and are made to feel very unhappy with their bodies," she said. "So by portraying somebody who weighs so much more than they do, it's almost a way to make the audience feel like 'I could look worse' or 'At least I'm not them.' "
Ruby Gettinger said she supports any show that does not mock the overweight.
Her hit show "Ruby" started out as a documentary and has transformed Gettinger into a reality star who has lost more than 100 pounds and appeared on "Oprah."
"We are really all on this journey together, and I tell [viewers] that all of the time," | [
"What does the professor think about the show's inspiration?",
"What drew over a million viewers?",
"What is the show about?",
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] | [
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"weight-loss",
"\"Dance Your Ass Off.\""
] | question: What does the professor think about the show's inspiration?, answer: she wonders if part of the appeal of plus-sized | question: What drew over a million viewers?, answer: "Dance" | question: What is the show about?, answer: weight-loss | question: What show drew more than a million viewers for its premier?, answer: "Dance Your Ass Off." |
(CNN) -- All but one of the families who lost relatives in Baghdad's Nusoor Square killings have agreed to settle their claims against the security contractor formerly known as Blackwater, one of the survivors said Sunday.
Hassan Salman, who was wounded in the 2007 shootings, told CNN that 16 of the 17 families of the dead agreed to $100,000 lawsuit settlements from Xe, as Blackwater now calls itself. Those wounded were offered between $20,000 and $50,000 apiece, Salman said.
Blackwater guards protecting a U.S. State Department convoy opened fire in Nusoor Square, in western Baghdad, in October 2007, killing 17 people and wounding more than two dozen.
Blackwater denied any wrongdoing, arguing its contractors used necessary force to protect a State Department convoy that had come under fire from insurgents.
Iraq called the killings unprovoked and an act of "premeditated murder." The incident led the Iraqi government to slap limits on security contractors hired by Xe and other firms operating in the country.
Xe announced it was settling the lawsuit last week to allow the company, which is also under new management, to move ahead "free of the costs and distraction of ongoing litigation."
One of the guards who took part in the shooting pleaded guilty to a voluntary manslaughter charge in a U.S. court 2008. Five others were charged with manslaughter, but those cases were dismissed in late December when a federal judge found prosecutors wrongly used the men's own statements against them.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. | [
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(CNN) -- All federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico closed to fishing because of last year's oil spill have reopened, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday, one day before the one-year anniversary of the disaster.
The announcement came as the administration reopened the final 1,041 square miles of waters immediately surrounding the Deepwater Horizon wellhead, just east of Louisiana. No oil or sheen has been found in the area since August 4, NOAA said in a statement.
NOAA sampled the area in November, March and April for potentially affected fin fish, including tuna, swordfish and escolar.
The analysis of samples found "no detectable oil or dispersant odors or flavors, and results of chemical analysis for oil-related compounds and dispersants well below the levels of concern," the statement said.
The decision to reopen the waters was made after consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"Throughout this process, public health and safety has been our primary goal," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg. "This has been an extraordinary team effort and the reopening of these federal waters serves as a dramatic example of what cooperation between federal agencies can accomplish."
The April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon led to the worst oil spill in U.S. history, with more than 200 million gallons of oil released into the Gulf. At its peak in June, 37 percent of Gulf waters, or 88,522 square miles, were closed to fishing.
Also Tuesday, Omega Protein Corp. announced the final settlement of its claims for costs and damages incurred as a result of the spill. In total, the company received payments of nearly $45 million from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, it said. | [
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(CNN) -- All five members of a family found slain inside a Beason, Illinois, home early this week were beaten to death, police said Thursday.
Police officers stand patrol outside the Gee household late Monday evening.
A pathologist determined that the five -- Raymond Gee, 46; Ruth Gee, 39; and three children -- had been beaten, Logan County Sheriff Steve Nichols told reporters. "All the injuries at the scene were from blunt-force trauma."
The three children were identified as Justina Constant, 16, Dillen Constant, 14, and Austin Gee, 11.
A 3-year-old girl remained in critical but stable condition Thursday at a hospital, Nichols said.
He said he would not divulge or speculate what the family was beaten with, and remained tight-lipped about many aspects of the deaths, including when authorities believe they occurred.
Beason is in central Illinois, about 45 miles northeast of Springfield, the state capital.
A task force has been formed with officers from several different agencies to investigate the homicides, the sheriff said. Processing of the crime scene concluded Wednesday afternoon, and "hundreds of seized items" are being processed, he said. "Forensic evidence in this case is significant."
The sheriff has said authorities received a 911 call about a possible shooting at the home shortly before 4:30 p.m. Monday.
Nichols said authorities are looking for a gray-primer-painted pickup truck that was seen in the area Sunday night. "We'll take any tip that anybody has," he said.
A tip line has been set up at 217-732-3000, Nichols said. | [
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(CNN) -- All sides involved in the controversy over the use of embryonic stem cells in research claimed vindication Tuesday after two teams of researchers reported having reprogrammed human skin cells to act like the stem cells, which have the potential of morphing into other cells and thereby curing disease.
President Bush has twice vetoed bills that would have eased limits on funding for embryonic stem cell research.
People who believe that life begins at conception liken the destruction of the embryonic stem cells to killing and therefore oppose their use in research. The new research, they said, shows that alternatives are available.
"By avoiding techniques that destroy life, while vigorously supporting alternative approaches, President Bush is encouraging scientific advancement within ethical boundaries," the White House said Tuesday in a written statement on the new research.
Bush has twice vetoed bills that would have eased restrictions on the use of federal funds for research involving embryonic stem cells. Watch Bush state why he opposes the use of stem cells
In August 2001, he limited federal funding for embryonic stem cell research to lines that had already been created.
But some researchers say those cells are not useful.
"The president believes medical problems can be solved without compromising either the high aims of science or the sanctity of human life," the White House statement said. "We will continue to encourage scientists to expand the frontiers of stem cell research and continue to advance the understanding of human biology in an ethically responsible way." Watch a Harvard expert talk about what's next in stem cell research »
"This breakthrough provides further evidence that the most promising avenues of stem cell research are also the most ethical," concurred Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, a physician. "Politicians should note that the scientific community is moving rapidly without the assistance of laws requiring the taxpayer-funded destruction of human life."
He added, "This breakthrough helps vindicate President Bush's policy and his vetoes of Congress' short-sighted and outdated approach to stem cell research. History will note the wisdom of President Bush's refusal to set a dangerous precedent that could not be easily undone."
And Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said he believes "that the current stem cell policy has been very important in driving the discovery of ethical and successful ways for scientists to find treatments and cures.
"What has too often been missing from this important debate is a simple fact of modern science: Encouraging medical research and protecting the sanctity of life are not mutually exclusive goals."
The methods described in the papers about the new research "should continue to be pursued and strongly promoted, as they should help to steer the entire field of stem cell research in a more explicitly ethical direction by circumventing the moral quagmire associated with destroying human embryos," said the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a posting on its Web site.
But those views were not shared by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who has pushed for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research and said he will continue to do so.
"Our top researchers recognize that this new development does not mean that we should discontinue studying embryonic stem cells," he said in a written statement. "Scientists may yet find that embryonic stem cells are more powerful. We need to continue to pursue all alternatives as we search for treatments for diabetes, Parkinson's and spinal cord injuries."
He added that Tuesday's announcement "reiterates the need for federal support for medical research and again points out the president's misplaced priorities in vetoing the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill which included a substantial increase for the National Institutes of Health."
A lead author of one of the landmark studies, James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, urged that reprogrammed cells not wholly supplant embryonic stem cells in research.
"I don't like the idea of pulling the plug," he told reporters in a conference call.
He added that Tuesday's advances in reprogramming cells would not have been possible without the advancements in embryonic stem cell research over the past | [
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"two teams of researchers reported having",
"\"Our top researchers recognize that this new development does not mean that we should discontinue studying embryonic stem cells,\""
] | question: Who is commenting on the subject?, answer: James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, | question: What are human skin cells reprogrammed to do?, answer: act like | question: What will Harkin pursue?, answer: all alternatives as we search for treatments for diabetes, Parkinson's and spinal cord injuries." | question: What does bush say about the advance in stem cell research, answer: "By avoiding techniques that destroy life, while vigorously supporting alternative approaches, President | question: Can human skin cells be reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem cells, answer: two teams of researchers reported having | question: What did Harkin say?, answer: "Our top researchers recognize that this new development does not mean that we should discontinue studying embryonic stem cells," |
(CNN) -- All the world's a stage for Kim Kardashian, and we are merely players.
Kim is everywhere. She's on the cover of six magazines and counting: People, US, In Touch, OK, Star and OK!
Her wedding/divorce/possible reconciliation has dominated the cybersphere and Hollywood news shows: "Access Hollywood," "Inside Edition," E!, TMZ. This is bigger than the Super Bowl and Christmas rolled into one.
Kim should not just have her own TV shows, she should have her own network: KTV, all Kim, all the time.
And even though the news du jour focuses on her marriage ending, which by the very nature of a marriage means two people are involved, the media barely mention her soon-to-be ex-husband. He's just a prop. He's akin to "The Brady Bunch's" Greg Brady when Greg was cast as "Johnny Bravo" simply because the ornate jacket fit.
I'll be honest, I've been caught up a bit in the Kim marriage/divorce craze myself. I've read more than my share of articles on the most documented 72-day marriage in the history of the Western world.
I have to thank Kim Kardashian and that guy she married for giving us a brief respite from the drumbeat of the often depressing, bile-inducing news.
On some level, I truly wish that Kim Kardashian's exploits could be our own only concerns. Wouldn't it be great if the universe consisted solely of keeping up with Kim, her sisters, mother and her stepfather, Bruce Jenner, who won an Olympic gold medal for the decathlon and who should also receive a medal for plastic surgery -- his face is as smooth and wrinkle-free as a honeydew melon.
We wouldn't have to worry about the challenges of the U.S. economy, Greece teetering on the verge of default (and potentially dragging down the eurozone) or Syrian President Assad's troops killing unarmed protesters.
Instead, we'd worry: Does Kim have to give the wedding gifts back? Will she start dating right away -- especially since the NBA lockout offers her more options? Will her divorce hearings be on cable or pay-per-view?
My fear is that Kim truly is our world. Kim, Justin and Lindsey have become the trinity worshipped at the expense of following domestic and world events.
I know many people might ask: "Why should I care about issues beyond those featured on E!'s 'Chelsea Lately' or TMZ? Does it really impact me? Can I actually change things?"
I don't want to repeat clichés like "One person can make a difference." But common sense tells me that if we don't understand the issues facing our nation, how can we have an opinion on them? And in turn, how can we then intelligently criticize or support decisions our government is making, from taxes to foreign policy?
Leadership from "We, the People" might be the only way to push our dysfunctional Congress to actually do something that helps the middle class and our economy.
Just last week, Congress showed us what happens when we leave members to their own devices. Instead of considering a jobs bill or anything else to spur our economy, the House voted to reaffirm "In God We Trust" as the official motto of the United States. That should truly help the almost 14 million Americans of out of work. I propose that Rep. J. Randy Forbes, who came up with the idea for this, be required to reimburse taxpayers for any money wasted on this.
Regardless if you agree or not with tea partiers' stand on political issues, they clearly have impacted U.S. policy. The Tea Party was started by a small group of dedicated, passionate people and it has grown in a few short years to a powerful force.
And while it's too soon to tell, the "Occupy" movement might also influence policy, or at least bring some issues to light. | [
"Who is on six magazine covers?",
"who are we obsessed with?"
] | [
"Kim Kardashian,",
"Kim Kardashian,"
] | question: Who is on six magazine covers?, answer: Kim Kardashian, | question: who are we obsessed with?, answer: Kim Kardashian, |
(CNN) -- All the world's a stage, Shakespeare wrote long before television came into view.
Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes, Andy Warhol added a few centuries later.
Which leads us inexorably to Michaele and Tareq Salahi's exuberant Facebook posting: "Honored to be at the White House for the state dinner in honor of India with President Obama and our First Lady!"
They have the pictures to prove it, and the overnight fame, too. The Salahis, with a Bravo camera crew in tow, apparently were trying to ratchet up their prospects for the cable network's upcoming "The Real Housewives of D.C."
If only the Salahis were the exception. But the modern-day reality show genre, spearheaded nearly a decade ago by the first edition of CBS' "Survivor," has become a tidal wave of cost-efficient TV programming starring ... pretty much anyone. Its inhabitants increasingly are called on to step up the pace in pursuit of myriad available slots on networks large, small and sometimes desperate. Stand out in a crowd, or be pushed aside by someone who will.
Crashing a White House state dinner has proved to be just the ticket for the fame-craving Salahis. Their audacious breach of Secret Service security has trumped the reality show aspirations of the "balloon boy" family and possibly even knocked Jon Gosselin out of the "Entertainment Tonight" spotlight for a day or two. Imagine that.
What does this say about us as a people? Well, the quest for fame is hardly new. Nor is our collective fascination with train wrecks. What's changed is the escalation in available venues. There's seemingly no limit to the number of enablers out there. Hitting it big with a "reality" franchise can work wonders for a TV network's bottom line, overall visibility -- or both.
Once upon a time, TLC was The Learning Channel. You actually could learn something by watching its instructional and educational programming. But the network gradually got out of that business. And it hit the mother lode with "Jon & Kate Plus 8," which eventually became the public face of a broken marriage while making the Gosselins internationally famous.
Bravo, home to the ever-expanding "Real Housewives" franchise, used to devote itself to the performing arts. That began to change in a hurry after NBC Universal took control of the network in 2002. The network now offers a virtual wall-to-wall reality lineup, with only occasional intrusions from "Inside the Actors Studio," the only remaining evidence of what Bravo used to be.
A&E originally launched as the Arts & Entertainment Network. Believe it or not, it once housed an anthology series, "A&E Stage," that brought its audience plays, concerts, documentaries and even opera. The reality bug long since has bitten hard, though, with the once high-minded cable outlet now best known for "Dog the Bounty Hunter, Intervention" and "Criss Angel Mindfreak."
MTV used to be nothing but music videos. "The Real World" changed everything. NBC had a long and well-earned reputation for Emmy-caliber comedies and dramas such as "Seinfeld," "The Cosby Show," "Frasier," "Hill Street Blues," "ER" and "L.A. Law." Now its most popular attraction, other than "Sunday Night Football," is a weekly two-hour dose of "The Biggest Loser," where little other than size matters.
Against this backdrop, the Salahis in a way are only acting naturally. That's lamentable, a sad commentary, an appalling sign of our times, etc., etc. But TV has created -- and continues to create -- a bottomless pit of venues where preeners are prized commodities and abnormal behavior is not only encouraged but intrinsic to the common goal.
The lone exception these days appears to be major league baseball. When a goofball fan runs out onto the field, the cameras turn away so as not to reward the trespasser with a minute or two of national or regional exposure. | [
"What did Ed Bark say about Reality TV?",
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] | [
"has become a tidal wave of cost-efficient",
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"a bottomless pit of venues where preeners are prized commodities and abnormal behavior is not only encouraged but intrinsic to the common goal.",
"the common goal.",
"modern-day reality show genre,"
] | question: What did Ed Bark say about Reality TV?, answer: has become a tidal wave of cost-efficient | question: What does Bark say are the problem with these shows?, answer: bottomless pit of venues where preeners are prized commodities and abnormal behavior is not only encouraged but intrinsic to the common goal. | question: what did tv created?, answer: a bottomless pit of venues where preeners are prized commodities and abnormal behavior is not only encouraged but intrinsic to the common goal. | question: What has TV created according to Bark?, answer: the common goal. | question: what are low cost form of entertainment?, answer: modern-day reality show genre, |
(CNN) -- All three people on board a twin-engine plane died Wednesday when their aircraft crashed into a residential East Palo Alto, California, neighborhood, a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The victims were employees of Tesla Motors, a luxury electric car company.
"Three Tesla employees were on board a plane that crashed in East Palo Alto early this morning. We are withholding their identities as we work with the relevant authorities to notify the families," said CEO Elon Musk in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Tesla is a small, tightly knit company, and this is a tragic day for us."
The Cessna 310 took off from Palo Alto Airport at 7:53 a.m., FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. During takeoff, the plane struck 60-foot high power lines, forcing the plane down onto a driveway, said Josh Cawthra, a National Transportation Safety Board aviation accident investigator.
Four homes were affected, and two had fire damage, Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said at a press conference.
A day care in a house sustained heavy damage when the plane went down, East Palo Alto Police Capt. Carl Estelle said. No children were there at the time.
The craft's fuselage landed in a house's yard, sparking a fire that destroyed several vehicles, Estelle said. One of the engines fell elsewhere in the neighborhood, apparently hitting the rear overhang of a yard, he said.
"Miraculously, incredibly, no one was injured on the ground," Schapelhouman said.
The crash site was about one mile northeast of the airport, he said. The travelers were headed to Hawthorne Municipal Airport in Hawthorne, California, more than 350 miles south, according to Gregor.
Gregor noted foggy conditions, but said it was not known if the weather played a role in the accident. Gregor said the cause of the crash was unknown.
Patricia Armistad said she lives maybe four or five houses from the impact site.
"I heard a loud bang and when I went to my bedroom window I felt a big hit, like an earthquake," she said.
She ran outside into the thick fog and immediately saw neighbors rushing to help, she said. Residents pulled people from the damaged houses and used their garden hoses to extinguish fires, she said.
iReport: More photos from the scene
The crash triggered a massive power outage in the area.
In addition to transmission lines, the aircraft also struck a transmission tower, Pacific Gas and Electric spokesman Joe Molica said.
The tower and lines run electricity into neighboring Palo Alto, he said.
Some 28,000 customers lost electricity, but power had been restored to all by 6:15 p.m., according to the City of Palo Alto Web site.
CNN's Khadijah Rentas contributed to this report. | [
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(CNN) -- All-time major record holder Jack Nicklaus believes that Tiger Woods will return to the golf course in time to appear in next month's Masters.
Woods, 34, has been out of the game since revelations about his private life were made public late last year but Nicklaus is of the opinion that his fellow- American will want to play at Augusta as he aims to add to his tally of 14 major victories.
Speaking to the media before this week's Honda Classic PGA tournament, Nicklaus, who is four ahead of Woods with 18 major wins, said: "It would surprise me if he didn't play at Augusta. My guess, as a golfer, is that he will want to.
"His personal life is his personal life. He is a professional golfer and he is a sensational golfer. He is a great athlete, and he'll figure out his own problems."
Meanwhile, Woods' caddie Steve Williams has told New Zealand's 60 Minutes program that he would have spoken out about the world number one's alleged affairs if he had known about them.
"In some people's perception, I'm involved in it and I've committed a crime or I've done wrong," Williams said. "The truth is I knew nothing of what was happening."
"It's been the most difficult time of my life because every single person believed that I should know, or did know, or had something to do with it. "If I had known something was going on, the whistle would have been blown.
"Of course I'm mad at him. I'm close with his wife -- he's got two lovely children and he's let them down. But when a guy's having a tough time, it's not up to me to beat him with a stick. | [
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] | [
"Steve Williams",
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] | question: who has spoken of Woods' troubles on New Zealand TV?, answer: Steve Williams | question: Who has spoken about Wood's troubles on New Zealand TV, answer: Steve Williams | question: How many major victories does Jack Nicholas have, answer: 14 | question: who believes Tiger Woods will return to golf in time to appear in The Masters?, answer: Jack Nicklaus | question: who is still four wins short of Nicklaus' record of 18 major victories?, answer: Tiger Woods |
(CNN) -- Allies of Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Wednesday defeated an attempt by opposition leaders to impeach her on large-scale corruption charges -- the fourth such attempt in four years.
Protesters display slogans in front of the House of Representatives in Manila on Tuesday.
The House Justice Committee dismissed the impeachment complaint by 42-8 votes, saying that it was "insufficient in substance," the state-run Philippines News Agency reported.
The complaint alleged that Arroyo and her husband were directly involved in an Internet broadband deal with a Chinese firm. The deal was ultimately scrapped amid allegations of corruption.
"I'm not saying that there is no substance (to the complaint), but it was insufficient," Deputy House Speaker Pablo Garcia told the committee before the vote.
"The allegations are not allegations of fact. They are conclusions, opinion, inferences, and even arguments," Garcia said, according to the news agency.
Arroyo first took office in 2001. Since then, she has survived four impeachment attempts and periodic rumors of coup.
She won re-election in 2004, but opposition parties called into question the legitimacy of that race.
During the vote count, Arroyo was tape-recorded talking to a senior election official, which opposition leaders charge is evidence she manipulated the outcome. The president has denied any wrongdoing.
The first of the impeachment charges were brought against Arroyo in 2005 for vote-tampering. Congress rejected the charges.
The opposition then tried to impeach Arroyo in 2006 and 2007 -- and Congress dismissed those attempts as well.
Her six-year term ends in 2010. | [
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(CNN) -- Almost nine years into the basketball legend's retirement, a new version of Michael Jordan athletic shoes can still send fans into a mad frenzy: Stores nationwide were the scenes of violence and police officer injuries Friday, authorities said.
In Richmond, California, police investigated a gunshot fired outside a mall where the latest version of shoes named after Jordan went on sale for about $180 a pair Friday morning, police told CNN affiliate KGO.
A 24-year-old Richmond man was taken into custody in connection with the gunfire, said police Lt. Lori Curran.
"It appears right now it may have been just a negligent discharge," Curran said.
Even as early as 1990, a new pair of Air Jordans was so coveted that youngsters became violent in stealing the shoes. Jordan and his Chicago Bulls won six NBA championships in the 1990s.
Thursday evening in Austin, Texas, three Foot Locker stores each drew 1,000 people for a midnight sale of the new Air Jordan Retro XI, replicas of a 1996 version of the shoe, and police shut down one mall when two police officers were injured, CNN affiliate KVUE reported. Police said each store had only 150 pairs of the shoes, the station reported.
One of the officers was taken to a hospital after he was rushed by the crowd and suffered bruises and a rolled ankle, KVUE said. Police are reviewing surveillance tapes to find the assailant, police said, according to the station.
"It's been crazy," one woman shopper named Andrea told KVUE, adding that officers threatened to use mace on crowds. "People have been trying to run over the officers to get in the building."
At a suburban Seattle mall Friday, police used pepper spray to bring order to an unruly crowd of 2,000 shoppers seeking the new shoe, said Mike Murphy of the Tukwila, Washington, Police Department.
The Seattle area store wasn't prepared to handle such a large crowd, Murphy said. CNN affiliate KIRO reported that crowds lined up Thursday night for the sale, which started at 4 a.m. Friday.
In Lithonia, Georgia, police took four people into custody after a mall's doors were damaged, CNN affiliate WSB reported. Also, police questioned a mother who witnesses said left her kids, ages 2 and 5, in a car as she went into the mall to buy the shoes, WSB reported.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, police were called to three malls after crowds became rowdy, CNN affiliate WCNC reported. At one mall, customers pried open a door at 6 a.m. Friday, and one person was arrested for resisting an officer, the station reported.
In Taylor, Michigan, a Detroit man was charged with attempting to incite a riot after 300 people became unruly waiting for the mall to open Friday morning, police Cmdr. Mary Sclabassi told CNN.
In Louisville, Kentucky, public safety dispatchers said they received a report of 75 to 100 people in a fight over the shoes at a mall, CNN affiliate WDRB reported.
In Indianapolis, Indiana, police dispatchers said officers at the mall were "having problems" after the shoes apparently sold out, and additional officer were sent to help manage the crowd of about 300 people, CNN affiliate WISH said. The crowd ripped doors off their hinges, police said, according to WISH.
On Friday afternoon, eBay was featuring new pairs of the Air Jordan Retro XI selling between $219.99 and $510. | [
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(CNN) -- Almost three years after losing her right leg in a bomb explosion in Iraq, Tara Hutchinson decided to post her photo and profile online to ask for help.
Dave Mahler spent his entire career in technology and decided to apply his know-how to help veterans.
The soldier was having financial problems last fall and needed $1,000 for one month's mortgage on her house in San Antonio, Texas, where she is being treated for her injuries.
Her husband, who is also in the Army, is still deployed in Iraq.
Hutchinson, 32, is among dozens of active-duty U.S. troops and veterans who have asked for help through USAtogether.org, which listed their stories and specific needs online.
The charity is one of many set up to help U.S. troops beyond the compensation and benefits the government offers, but it's not run by a church group, a veterans association or even a military family. Watch how some veterans are having tough times back home »
Instead, it was founded by a group of Silicon Valley professionals in California.
The project is the brainchild of Dave Mahler, whose résumé includes an engineering degree, 13 years at Hewlett-Packard designing servers and software, co-founding a start-up and serving on nonprofit boards -- but no military background.
Mahler also happens to live four miles from a Veterans Affairs hospital in Palo Alto, which he had driven past for 25 years but never visited, he said.
It was on his mind a year and a half ago when he was looking for a new community service project and decided to focus his energy on helping U.S. troops hurt in the line of duty.
Hatching a plan over coffee
Mahler described what he did next as a "very startup-oriented thing." He called a senior person at the hospital out of the blue and invited her out for coffee to learn how he could help. Mahler said he was ready to sweep the halls or read to a veteran but envisioned something with more leverage.
"I had a bias towards wanting to use the things that we've learned in Silicon Valley and across the country in building Internet properties to apply that technology into this arena," Mahler said.
So after finding out that there was usually an outpouring of help once a community knew about a veteran's financial plight, he decided to start a Web site showcasing specific stories and needs. Anyone who wanted to help could browse through the requests and decide exactly whom to support.
Mahler, 52, said the goal was to get rid of all the bureaucracy in the process by combining elements of Craigslist -- the popular go-to place for online classifieds and forums -- and Kiva.org, a micro-lending Web site that lets users browse profiles of entrepreneurs in the developing world and choose someone to give a small loan to.
"The unique thing about Kiva, and to some extent Craigslist, is that it's one to one. You're not giving money to some organization and then they decide who to give it to," Mahler said.
Visitors to USAtogether.org can search for requests by ZIP code, branch of service or type of need. Requests can be filled quickly, so the organization is looking for more service members and their families to list their needs, Mahler said. A recent visit to the site showed only two open appeals for help.
Hutchinson said her request for assistance with a mortgage payment was filled within a couple of months of posting and has made a big difference.
"There are a lot of people who believe that Americans are not giving, [but] I think that we're the most giving culture in the world," Hutchinson said.
"I am so grateful that there are people who were willing to help me."
Volunteers stay connected
Hutchinson didn't have any apprehension about posting her story online. But for some visitors, the pictures and requests for baby items, appliances and even job leads can be uncomfortable to see, Mahler said. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs declined to comment on whether it had any qualms | [
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] | question: What is the soldier grateful for?, answer: that there are people who were willing to help me." | question: What sites are they modeled after?, answer: Craigslist | question: What will the web site do?, answer: showcasing specific stories and needs. Anyone who wanted to help could browse through the requests and decide exactly whom to support. | question: Who can list their stories, photos and specific requests?, answer: active-duty U.S. troops | question: What do people decide?, answer: exactly whom to support. | question: Who can list their stories?, answer: dozens of active-duty U.S. troops and veterans |
(CNN) -- Alone in the darkness beneath layers of rubble, Dan Woolley felt blood streaming from his head and leg.
Then he remembered -- he had an app for that.
Woolley, an aid worker, husband, and father of two boys, followed instructions on his cell phone to survive the January 12 earthquake in Haiti.
"I had an app that had pre-downloaded all this information about treating wounds. So I looked up excessive bleeding and I looked up compound fracture," Woolley told CNN.
The application on his iPhone is filled with information about first aid and CPR from the American Heart Association. "So I knew I wasn't making mistakes," Woolley said. "That gave me confidence to treat my wounds properly."
Trapped in the ruins of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, he used his shirt to bandage his leg, and tied his belt around the wound. To stop the bleeding on his head, he firmly pressed a sock to it.
Concerned he might have been experiencing shock, Woolley used the app to look up what to do. It warned him not to sleep. So he set his phone alarm to go off every 20 minutes.
Once the battery got down to less than 20 percent of its power, Woolley turned it off. By then, he says, he had trained his body not to sleep for long periods, drifting off only to wake up within minutes.
Woolley's job keeps him tech savvy. He oversees interactive projects for the Christian child advocacy organization Compassion International in Colorado Springs, Colorado. CNN iReport: Looking for loved ones in Haiti
With his injuries tended to, he wrote a note to his family in his journal: "I was in a big accident, an earthquake. Don't be upset at God. He always provides for his children even in hard times. I'm still praying that God will get me out, but he may not. But even so he will always take care of you."
The journal is stained with his blood.
After more than 60 hours, Woolley was pulled from the rubble.
"Those guys are rescue heroes," he said of the crew that pulled him out. Interactive map of where to find aid, hospitals in Haiti
His colleague David Hames has not been found. The two had been standing together when the earthquake struck and the Hotel Montana crumbled. They were making a film about poverty in Haiti and had just gotten back to the hotel, heading to the elevator in the lobby.
"Then all of a sudden just all craziness broke loose," Woolley said. "Convulsions of the ground around us, the walls started rippling and then falling on us. [Hames] yelled out, 'I think it's an earthquake!' I looked for someplace safe to jump to and there was no safe place."
When the shaking stopped, Woolley couldn't see. And his friend was not with him.
He turned on the focus light of a camera he was wearing around his neck, but he didn't have his glasses. "So I actually took some pictures and would look at the back of the lens of the camera and saw in one of those pictures the elevator that I ended up hobbling over to. And that became my safe place."
Once in the elevator, he used the app -- called "Pocket First Aid & CPR" from Jive Media -- to tend to his injuries. Woolley said his phone "was like a high-tech version of a Swiss Army knife that enabled me to treat my own injuries, track time, stay awake and stay alive."
Woolley heard voices of some other people trapped nearby, and they spoke with each other.
"About a day, maybe day and a half in, we heard rescuers, and they had a list of our names at that point, because they were able to talk to one of the people we were talking with. And so then it seemed like, OK, this is going to happen | [
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(CNN) -- Already hamstrung by generations of poverty, environmental catastrophe and strongman rule, Haiti will need years to recover from the devastation inflicted by last week's earthquake, according to U.S. and Canadian analysts.
Haiti's struggling democracy has survived on international aid and the muscle of a U.N. peacekeeping mission since a 2004 revolt that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The magnitude-7.0 earthquake that struck outside Port-au-Prince has set back efforts to get the country back on its feet "by many, many years," said Stephen Randall, a senior fellow at the Canadian International Council, a Toronto-based think tank.
"I don't think all of it is lost, but it's a very serious setback," Randall told CNN.
President Rene Preval's government regrouped at a police compound near the Port-au-Prince airport after nearly all of government ministries suffered heavy damage in the January 12 quake. Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive put the confirmed death toll at 72,000 on Tuesday, but estimates of the total number of fatalities run more than twice that high.
Mark Schneider, who led the Caribbean division of the U.S. Agency for International Development during the Clinton administration, said much has been done to build a non-corrupt police force and judiciary over the past six years.
"Of the administration and sort of on the institutional side, I think a lot can be salvaged," said Schneider, now senior vice president at the International Crisis Group. But he said efforts to redevelop Haiti's long-ravaged economy may have been set back by "decades."
iReport: Search list of the missing and the found
Haiti's public infrastructure -- roads, power and sanitation systems, hospitals and schools -- was already in poor condition before the earthquake. The flimsy homes built across Port-au-Prince collapsed wholesale during the quake, and hospitals quickly ran out of medicine. Clogged roads, damaged communications and airport congestion slowed the delivery of the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of international aid pledged in the week after the disaster, leading to widespread frustration and sporadic looting around the capital.
Once the challenges of feeding, housing and treating hundreds of thousands of ill, homeless and hungry people are behind them, Schneider said, Haitians from all walks of society need to reach a new "social compact" aimed at ending its persistent problems.
"The mismanagement of the environment; the narrow, self-interested actions of the economic elite that deny taxes to the government so they can't provide education to the population; the failure to establish government agencies that can provide services -- all those things are not the consequences of natural disasters, but they make the country more vulnerable when disasters hit," he said.
Though its economy has grown in recent years, Haiti is still the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with four-fifths of its 10 million people living in poverty. Its gross domestic product of $12 billion in 2008 is a tiny fraction compared to the $14 trillion generated by the United States, its largest trading partner.
In addition, years of deforestation has left a mountainous country in the middle of the Caribbean's hurricane belt vulnerable to flooding and mudslides, like the ones that killed thousands in 2004. And poor construction left unknown thousands of people trapped in buildings that pancaked when the earth moved last week, said John Mutter, a professor of earth and environmental sciences at Columbia University in New York.
Full coverage l Twitter updates
Stricter building codes and honest enforcement are necessary, but "people will never be able to build strong, expensive structures if they don't have a strong economy," Mutter told CNN's "American Morning."
"The economy of Haiti cannot put Port-au-Prince back in place," he said. "It's a perfect storm. It absolutely needs external intervention from the international community. We have to think of what we're doing."
Haiti's governmental budget of about $1 billion per year is derived largely from customs fees and is wholly inadequate for the physical improvements needed, | [
"Can the Haitian economy afford to rebuild Port-au-Prince?",
"What set Haiti back by \"many, many years\"?",
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"Which country survived after '04 revolt with aid?"
] | [
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"2004",
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] | question: Can the Haitian economy afford to rebuild Port-au-Prince?, answer: Haiti cannot put | question: What set Haiti back by "many, many years"?, answer: The magnitude-7.0 earthquake that struck outside Port-au-Prince | question: What year was Haiti's revolt with aid occur?, answer: 2004 | question: Which country survived after '04 revolt with aid?, answer: Haiti's |
(CNN) -- Although Elizabeth Woodville lived centuries ago, author Philippa Gregory believes women today will find they have a commonality with her.
Philippa Gregory took years to research and write "The White Queen."
Gregory's new novel "The White Queen" focuses on the life of Woodville, who was Queen consort to England's Edward IV, and the events that came to be known as the Wars of the Roses.
Gregory is herself often referred to in majestic terms as the "queen of historical fiction."
She has enjoyed international success after a series of best-selling novels, including "The Other Boleyn Girl," which was made into a feature film starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson.
The new book, which was years in the making, has Gregory departing from the exploits of the Tudor family and delving into the lives of their predecessors, the Plantagenets.
Woodville, a commoner, captured the heart of England's King Edward IV.
She was also the mother of Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, who came to be known as the "Princes in the Tower." Their disappearances, and presumed deaths, have long been an enduring mystery.
That intrigue, and Woodville's fascinating life, appealed to the historian in Gregory.
The British author talked to CNN about her new direction, why Americans can't get enough of historic kings and queens and why she loves living in the past.
CNN: Your Tudor series has been so successful. What took you in this direction?
Philippa Gregory: I think I felt like I had written a lot on the Tudors and although they are such fascinating characters and [there are] still some I would like to write about, I just got so interested in the back-story, the family that was there before the Tudors, and I thought I'd see if I could take the audience with me.
I knew I wanted to do it so I thought I would take the chance.
CNN: What drew you to Elizabeth Woodville?
Gregory: She is, herself, such an extraordinary character and a spectator of extraordinary times.
And, of course, she is the mother of the Princes in the Tower which is possibly the greatest mystery in English history. Watch Gregory talk about her new novel »
CNN: Why do you think people are still so fascinated with the princes?
Gregory: I think because it involves two completely innocent young boys. It really focuses on the absolute wickedness of Richard III, and of course that is debatable, so you've got some controversy there to start off there.
It's very much about could Elizabeth have protected them or should she have done so. In a sense, it questions her as a mother and a queen.
I think the debate about Richard III is probably the key thing.
CNN: Do you think modern-day women will be able to relate to Elizabeth?
Gregory: Oh yes. What we see in Elizabeth and what we see in some of the other historical heroines are women who are in an appalling situation.
They have no legal rights, they have no financial rights, they have no security and the likelihood of them dying in childbirth was always very, very high. You were talking about a terribly dangerous life for women.
Although women today have fantastic rights in comparison, I think we still often have a sense of being in a man's world and having to play by men's rules. I know women identify with that because they often write to me and say they draw great strength and courage from these women who are, in a sense, our heroines.
CNN: You have such a huge fan base in the United States. What do you think it is about Americans which draws us to royalty?
Gregory: I don't know that it's royalty.
I thing a lot of people have a great deal of interest in the royal family, but in a sense the Tudors or even Plantagenets are so far from the modern royal family that I don't think it's | [
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"What is the name of her new novel?"
] | [
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(CNN) -- Although most Swedes would be too modest to say so themselves, Stockholm can stake a decent claim to being the capital of Scandinavia.
Built on 14 islands, Stockholm seems to float on water.
Built on 14 islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea, Stockholm is a soft-hued vision of light and water, the bewitching start to an archipelago of some 24,000 islands and islets.
Sweden's neutrality during World War II means Stockholm was spared the bombing inflicted on most European capitals; the result is the unspoiled old town of Gamla Stan, with its winding, cobbled streets.
Despite a post-war building blitz that saw the construction of some particularly uninspiring modernist architecture, it is a city where gray concrete facades are largely eschewed in favor of a smorgasbord of pastel colors, rusty reds and glowing ochres.
For a capital city it's unusually green -- not just leafy and dotted with verdant parks, but environmentally sound. Stockholm proper has a population of just 800,000, avoiding the congestion and pollution that plague larger cities -- so much so that you can fish from, and swim in, the waters surrounding the city center.
Cold and sometimes bleak during its long, dark winters, Stockholm comes alive during the summer, when the Scandinavian sun barely sets. As temperatures rise the city's cafe culture blossoms, only for Stockholm to become a ghost town during July, when the locals make the most of their generous holiday entitlement and slip off to holiday cottages in the archipelago.
But beyond its historic heart Stockholm is a progressive, evolving city. Its financial fortunes grew with the mid '90s IT boom and shrank when the dotcom bubble burst, but it remains a hotbed of technology and communications companies.
Watch ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus take CNN on a tour of Stockholm »
Around 20 percent of the residents of greater Stockholm are of foreign descent, giving a sense of cultural diversity -- not to mention some welcome variety to the city's thriving restaurant scene.
Despite Sweden's largely anti-EU stance, Stockholm is cosmopolitan and outward looking, with a keen eye for the latest international trends. Its shops are filled with the latest in functional, minimalist Swedish design and there are enough boutiques boasting hip New York brands and cool Swedish labels to indulge Stockholmers' obsession with style. It's also the city where Swedish global exports H&M and IKEA have their flagship stores.
For all its picture-postcard pleasantness and progressive civic planning, Stockholm can seem a little sterile. It's not the kind of place likely to be described as "edgy."
Stockholmers themselves can come across as standoffish, but that's not say that they are unfriendly -- just politely reserved. Small talk is regarded with a certain suspicion meaning the locals can be hard to get to know, but it's amazing what a difference a couple of glasses of akvavit can make.
Puritan legal regulations mean that high-alcohol drinks (that's anything with more than 3.5 percent alcohol) are heavily taxed and can only be bought in bars and government-run "Systembolaget" shops. The result is that a night on the town is expensive enough to make anyone teetotal, with Stockholmers often avoiding midweek drinking, saving their krona for weekend partying.
But what Stockholm lacks in grit it more than makes up for in style. From its artfully designed coffee shops to the classic contours of its baroque and rococo buildings, this island city is endlessly pleasing to behold, especially when viewed from the water that flows like blood through its veins. | [
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"When does the city blossom?",
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] | [
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] | question: What is dubbed the capital city of Scandinavia?, answer: Stockholm | question: When the city blossoms?, answer: summer, | question: What is the capital of Scandinavia?, answer: Stockholm | question: Where is Stockholm?, answer: Scandinavia. | question: When does the city blossom?, answer: during the summer, | question: What city exudes cool?, answer: Stockholm |
(CNN) -- Although there were no signs of missing aviation adventurer Steve Fossett Tuesday evening, an official leading the rescue said she remained optimistic.
Aviation record-holder Steve Fossett is missing and a search is under way.
Maj. Cynthia S. Ryan of the Civil Air Patrol said Fossett, who has been missing for a day, once walked 30 miles to get help after making a forced landing.
But Ryan noted the challenge rescuers are facing as they comb the high desert region, which is covered with sagebrush and hides deep ravines.
Rescuers are focusing on 600 square miles. "It's a very large haystack," she said. "And an airplane is a very small needle. No doubt about that."
The Civil Air Patrol has 10 aircraft that will be searching until dusk for Fossett, who has been missing since Monday afternoon, she said. The search will resume Wednesday at 7 a.m. (10 a.m. ET).
Fossett, 63, was in a single-engine plane when he took off at 9 a.m. (noon ET) in good flying conditions from hotel magnate Barron Hilton's Flying M Ranch, Ryan said.
He had planned to return to the ranch, which is about 30 miles south of Yerington, Nevada, at noon (3 p.m. ET). The search for him began about six hours later, Ryan said.
Fossett did not file a flight plan, which is not required on flights using visual navigation.
Fossett is the first person to solo around the world in a balloon, and has broken numerous other flight records.
When he left, he had four to five hours of fuel for flight, said Ryan.
"Steve took off toward the south and was going to fly southbound, looking around for some dry lake beds for some plans he had for the future," Ryan said.
Those plans, she said, involved testing a vehicle in an attempt to set a world land speed record.
Ryan said authorities are analyzing information from radar intelligence to try to track Fossett.
Helicopters and planes from Naval Air Station Fallon, in Fallon, Nevada, the Nevada Air National Guard and the California Highway Patrol are helping in the search. Watch CNN's Miles O'Brien, who is a pilot, describe the search »
Fossett was flying in a single-engine, Citabria Super Decathlon -- a plane capable of aerobatics -- with tail number N240R, according to CAP. Fossett, though, had no parachute, which is required for aerobatics. See where Fossett took off »
There has been no sound detected from the plane's emergency locator radio beacon, which goes off if there is a hard impact.
The aircraft, with serial number 635-80, was manufactured by Bellanca, and is registered to the Flying M Hunting Club Inc. in Yerington.
"Steve is a tough old boot. I suspect he is waiting by his plane right now for someone to pick him up," predicted Sir Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, in a written statement. "The ranch he took off from covers a huge area, and Steve has had far tougher challenges to overcome in the past. Based on his track record, I feel confident we'll get some good news soon."
Virgin Atlantic sponsored the GlobalFlyer, which Fossett flew in 2005 during the first nonstop, solo flight around the world without refueling.
A year later, he used GlobalFlyer again to break the world's flight distance record, traveling more than 26,000 miles in 76 hours, 45 minutes from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to Bournemouth, on the coast of southern England.
He made an emergency landing during that flight after electricity on the aircraft failed over Shannon, Ireland. His goal had been to land at Kent International Airport in Manston, England.
In 2006, Fossett piloted the plane to its new home, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.
In 2002, he achieved the first solo balloon flight around the world, traveling 20,626 miles in 14 days | [
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"What is Fossett's age?",
"Where are aircraft searching for Fossett?",
"who made the first solo balloon flight?"
] | [
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"63,",
"600 square miles.",
"Steve Fossett"
] | question: Who made the first solo nonstop nonrefueled airplane trip around the world?, answer: Fossett | question: What is Fossett's age?, answer: 63, | question: Where are aircraft searching for Fossett?, answer: 600 square miles. | question: who made the first solo balloon flight?, answer: Steve Fossett |
(CNN) -- Altovise Davis, the widow of entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., has died. She was 65.
Altovise Davis, in a 2008 photo, married Sammy Davis Jr. in 1970.
Davis died Saturday at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, said her publicist, Amy Malone. She had been admitted two days earlier after suffering a stroke.
Davis, a dancer and actress from Brooklyn, New York, met Sammy Davis Jr. on the set of the musical "Golden Boy" in London in 1967. The couple married three years later.
It was Sammy Davis Jr.'s third marriage. The couple remained together until he died of throat cancer in 1990.
The couple had an adopted son.
Funeral services will be held in Burbank, California, with the date and time to be announced later.
Sammy Davis Jr., himself a musician, was famous for being part of the Rat Pack, which included Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
CNN's Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report. | [
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"What reason was Altovise Davis admitted to the hospital for?"
] | [
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] | question: Where did Altovise Davis die?, answer: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, | question: What did Altovise Davis die from?, answer: a stroke. | question: What was the cause of death for Altovise Davis?, answer: a stroke. | question: What is Altovise Davis best known for?, answer: a dancer and actress | question: Who died at 65?, answer: Davis, | question: When did they marry?, answer: 1970. | question: Who was Altovise Davis married to?, answer: Jr., | question: What reason was Altovise Davis admitted to the hospital for?, answer: after suffering a stroke. |
(CNN) -- Altovise Davis, the widow of entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., has died. She was 65.
Altovise Davis, in a 2008 photo, married Sammy Davis Jr. in 1970.
Davis died Saturday at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, said her publicist, Amy Malone. She had been admitted two days earlier after suffering a stroke.
Davis, a dancer and actress from Brooklyn, New York, met Sammy Davis Jr. on the set of the musical "Golden Boy" in London in 1967. The couple married three years later.
It was Sammy Davis Jr.'s third marriage. The couple remained together until he died of throat cancer in 1990.
The couple had an adopted son.
Funeral services will be held in Burbank, California, with the date and time to be announced later.
Sammy Davis Jr., himself a musician, was famous for being part of the Rat Pack, which included Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
CNN's Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report. | [
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"What did she suffer?"
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] | question: How long was Altovise Davis in the hospital before she died?, answer: two days | question: When did Altovise David die?, answer: Saturday | question: When did she marry Sammy Davis Jr.?, answer: 1970. | question: In what city did Altovise Davis die?, answer: Los Angeles, California, | question: Who is Davis's husband?, answer: Sammy Davis Jr., | question: What makes Altovise Davis notable?, answer: widow of entertainer Sammy | question: What was Davis?, answer: a dancer and actress | question: What did she suffer?, answer: stroke. |
(CNN) -- Amanda Knox's parents are hopeful that an Italian court's decision not to re-evaluate the evidence against their daughter means she will be found not guilty of killing her roommate.
Edda Mellas and Curt Knox say they have never believed their daughter was guilty.
"We asked for the independent review because we were sure that anybody [who] independently looked at it would support our position," Edda Mellas, Knox's mother, told CNN's Larry King in an interview to air Friday night.
"Now, maybe the court decided that they don't even need that support. That our arguments have already been good enough."
Knox, of Seattle, Washington, has been in an Italian jail and on trial for nearly two years on charges that she helped murder her roommate, British student Meredith Kercher.
Knox's defense lawyers had asked the court for an independent review of the evidence, which can be requested if there is contested or contradicting evidence.
Prosecutors say a kitchen knife, allegedly the murder weapon, has Knox's DNA on the handle and Kercher's DNA on the blade. The defense disputes that, but last Friday, the court denied the request for a review.
Closing arguments in the trial are expected at the beginning of November, and Knox's parents hope a verdict will finally vindicate their daughter. Watch Curt Knox say why he thinks his daughter was arrested »
Her father, Curt Knox, told CNN that he thinks Amanda Knox was targeted as a suspect from the beginning.
Within days of Kercher's murder, Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were questioned and portrayed in the media as the undisputed killers.
"I believe that there was a huge mistake made very, very early on by, you know, having a -- literally a 'case closed,' you know, presentation by the police over there," he said.
Prosecutors held news conferences weeks after the killing, declaring the case solved. Knox, Sollecito and bar owner Patrick Lumumba were believed to have killed Kercher during a sexual game gone horribly awry.
Knox was criticized in newspapers and tabloids around the world for her demeanor after the killing, which included photos of her and Sollecito comforting each other as crime scene investigators looked for clues in her house.
Knox's mother told King that those headlines couldn't be further from the truth.
"You know, she's very much a person who internalizes," Mellas said. "She was extremely upset, and her roommate testified that when she found out it was Meredith that was killed, she was very upset. She cried; she did all of that. But by the time those photos were taken, it was hours later, and she was being comforted by Raffaele."
As the investigation went on, the scenario of what happened changed.
Lumumba was released because he had an airtight alibi, and DNA evidence from the crime scene soon pointed to a different suspect: Rudy Guede. Guede was sentenced to 30 years for the murder in a separate trial and is appealing the verdict.
Knox's parents believe that Guede is the sole killer, but because the prosecution hammered the idea that Knox and Sollecito were guilty, they couldn't back away from it.
"They were just too far into it, and they've been trying to press it ever since," Curt Knox said.
Knox's family and friends insist that the girl they know wouldn't kill anyone. Her parents say they never believed that she was guilty.
After the murder, Mellas said, friends and family told Knox to leave Italy -- to either come home or stay with relatives in Germany -- but Knox refused because she wanted to help find the killer and prove that she had nothing to do with it.
"Many people asked her to leave, but she said no. 'I'm going to stay. I'm going to try and help. I'm going to try and finish school,' " Mellas said.
Looking back, her parents wish Knox had left. Now, | [
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] | question: What do Amanda Knox parents hope for?, answer: that an Italian court's decision not to re-evaluate the evidence | question: What did the defense request?, answer: independent review | question: What court refused re-evaluation evidence?, answer: Italian | question: Who is on trial in Italy?, answer: Knox, | question: What do Amanda Knox's parents hope?, answer: will be found not guilty of killing her roommate. | question: What did the Italian court refuse?, answer: to re-evaluate the evidence | question: Where is Knox on trial?, answer: Italy | question: What do Knox's parents hope for?, answer: a verdict will finally vindicate their daughter. |
(CNN) -- Amanda Mezyk had developed a close bond with her employers' children as their live-in nanny, which is why it was so painful when her bosses told her she was being laid off.
Amanda Mezyk, 20, lost her live-in nanny job when the recession forced her employers to cut the family budget.
"I started crying and they kept repeating, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,'" Mezyk, 20, said about the day last November when her employers -- a Miami, Florida, plastic surgeon and a part-time dermatologist -- delivered the bad news.
"They sat me down in the living room -- where we usually would sit and talk about the kids -- and they told me that business was slow and they had to cut expenses."
As Mezyk began to realize that life as a virtual member of her employers' family was ending, she thought about the little girl and boy -- Delaney, 6, and Landon, 4 -- with whom she had grown so close during the past 2½ years.
Later, Landon found Mezyk crying in her bedroom and asked her what was wrong. "I told him I had to go away for a little while, and that I would come visit," she said.
"I was sad because I had to let the kids go," she said. "I love them like they were mine. And I want to be a part of their lives for the long run."
Her job as a live-in nanny at a lavish home in an upper-class, upscale private community came with many perks that suddenly had disappeared. The insured car provided by her employers for personal and professional use was gone. Without a steady income, Mezyk wondered how she would pay her mounting $8,000 credit card debt.
There would be no more accompanying the family on all-expenses-paid vacations to the Bahamas, Italy and China. The layoff also put an end to Mezyk's annual paid weeklong vacations.
To survive, Mezyk has moved in with a great-aunt and uncle until she can decide on her next move. iReport.com: Tell us what are you doing to survive bad economy?
Industry leaders said Mezyk is just one of thousands of nannies who've been swallowed up by the shifting landscape in the U.S. child care industry, one that is affecting not just nannies, but baby sitters and day care centers as well.
The economic booms during the late 1990s and from 2004 to 2007 made it possible for more middle-class and upper middle-class American families to employ nannies, said Genevieve Thiers, founder of Sittercity.com.
"Now that we're back in recession, families are unfortunately having to cut back on their nannies' hours or unfortunately having to let go of their nannies, and it's not a good situation."
In a poll of parents who use Sittercity.com, 17 percent said the economy is forcing them to end their time as a stay-at-home parent and return to work. Twenty-seven percent of the parents in the survey said the economy was forcing them to work more hours at their current jobs.
"Business is down a good 45 percent," said Jennifer Winter, 37, owner of Nannies in Miami, a nanny placement agency. "The wealthy are still hanging on to their nannies, but the economy is forcing middle-class parents to make cuts."
Annie Davis, who launched Annie's Nannies Household Staffing in Seattle, Washington, in 1984, described the current recession as "the weirdest time I think I've seen in my lifetime." She's seen about 10 percent of her active nanny roster laid off since last October.
"There are nannies being laid off in families where both parents work and one parent has lost their job," said Candi Wingate of nannies4hire.com and babysitters4hire.com.
Baby-sitting 'a godsend' in recession
The recession also is forcing more non-working parents in single-income families to take jobs outside the home.
As a result, many formerly | [
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] | [
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] | question: What demand is going down?, answer: live-in nanny job | question: What do the layoffs result in?, answer: put an end to Mezyk's annual paid weeklong vacations. | question: what is the reason for layoff?, answer: recession | question: what is the reason people opt for baby sitters?, answer: the economy was forcing them to work more hours | question: What hits young nanny?, answer: recession | question: What demand is down?, answer: nannies | question: What are middle-class layoffs a result of?, answer: the economy |
(CNN) -- Amanda Wagner and Jessica Tuttle turn 50 this year, but they're not letting age hold them back from their favorite exercise: running. They've been lacing up their running shoes since their teens and show few signs of slowing down. Research on older runners suggests they may not have to.
Jessica Tuttle, 50, left, and Amanda Wagner, 49, have been running for more than 30 years.
"It's a little bit harder, but that's part of the challenge I think," says Wagner.
When she isn't traveling for her job at a pharmaceutical company, Wagner tries to get together with Tuttle for 45-minute pre-work runs three to five days a week. Tuttle, who is a medical epidemiologist at the Georgia Health Department, feels that running gets her day off to a good start.
"It really wakes me up in the morning," says Tuttle. "It gives me an edge when I go in to work."
Conventional wisdom holds that the pounding from years of running leads to excessive wear and tear on the body as we age, resulting in joint injuries, knee replacements or arthritis. So-called weekend warriors -- people who aren't in the type of shape needed to safely run sprints, dive for passes or make cuts on the basketball court -- add to this misconception when they hobble into their doctors' office after an injury.
But a study out of Stanford University that looked at healthy aging runners found that running did not damage joints or leave runners less able to exercise. Researchers discovered that if you're healthy and generally free of injury, there are few reasons to put away your running shoes, even into your 70s and 80s. Watch more on running as you age »
"Moderate [running], three to five miles at a time, three times a week will actually help your joints to be more resilient and function a little bit better," says Dr. Amadeus Mason at Emory Sports Medicine Center in Atlanta, Georgia. But he stresses that keeping the joints healthy in the first place may be the key to running longevity.
That includes not running through pain, and resting if you have an injury, something Tuttle takes seriously. "I try to rest maybe if I'm having some specific pain that seems to be over a couple of days," she says.
Mason also warns against running if you suffer from a chronic knee injury. In this case, the continuous pounding could accelerate damage and lead to arthritis. Instead, choose joint-friendly exercises such as swimming, walking or a workout machine such as the elliptical.
Even if you have remained healthy, as Wagner and Tuttle have, don't get overzealous and overdo it.
"The biggest risk that runners will face as they age, with regard to injury, is overtraining, by far," says Mason, who recommends giving yourself a day of rest between runs, or cross-training on the non-running days.
In addition, Mason advises wearing the proper footwear and making sure to stretch before and after a run.
Beyond the good news about aging joints, the Stanford researchers also discovered some surprising overall health benefits for senior runners when they compared them with non-runners of the same age: Those in the running group were less likely to die from heart trouble, stroke, cancer, neurological diseases or infection. Watch Dr. Gupta explain the study findings »
"The survival rate of the runners was again twice that of the controls," study author Dr. Eliza Chakravarty says. She says the findings were a surprise to the researchers.
Additionally, runners enjoyed a better day-to-day quality of life in old age than their more sedentary peers. "Members of the running group, it took them 16 years longer to reach certain levels of disability," says Chakravarty.
"Running is not the only thing that's going to make you live longer and be healthier; it's actually probably engaging in any kind of exercise that people enjoy," notes Chakravarty. "It's never | [
"What was the finding of the university about older runners.",
"What must you wear when running?",
"What did Stanford University study find?"
] | [
"running did not damage joints or leave",
"proper footwear",
"not damage joints or leave runners less able to exercise."
] | question: What was the finding of the university about older runners., answer: running did not damage joints or leave | question: What must you wear when running?, answer: proper footwear | question: What did Stanford University study find?, answer: not damage joints or leave runners less able to exercise. |
(CNN) -- Amber Easton has gone from $80,000 a year in salary to scrambling for work. At a time in her life when she should be scaling the corporate ladder, she has instead spiraled into a deep depression. She recently lost her car and now faces eviction from her apartment.
Job fairs have been on the rise amid the nation's hard economic times.
Just last week, the 35-year-old longtime working professional attended two job fairs with friends in the Detroit area. They stood in line for over three hours with hundreds of professionals of all types.
"It was a real eye-opener to see the caliber of people we were in line with -- very educated with vast skill sets," Easton said in an e-mail. "Afterwards, we went to the restaurant located in the same hotel and it was filled with unemployed professionals sharing their story, from engineers to graphic designers to marketing professionals."
Easton's saga began in July 2007 when she traded in her job as a corporate compliance officer to attend law school, what she thought would help advance her career. But after a year of law school, she decided it wasn't for her. By then, her old job was gone and the job market had shrunk.
"It's hard not to be depressed during a time like this," she wrote iReport.com. "I never imagined in a million years that I would be in such a situation at my age and at this point in my career. I am humiliated. I am praying for everyone else out there is who are facing the same problems."
She has applied to 70 different companies but gotten few leads. She recently went through a rigorous interview process for one job in another state, but to no avail. Share your economic survivor story
Every day, she searches for new job possibilities and every day results in more desperation. She estimates she's making $20,000 -- "if that" -- as a contract employee working from her home. "I just haven't made enough to keep up."
Her Detroit neighborhood a couple years ago was booming, she said, but now "it's like a ghost town around here."
"It's bad everywhere, but it's so, so bad here," she said.
Across the nation, people like Easton are feeling the pinch. Good jobs have evaporated. Former full-time employees are now working part-time contract positions just to get by.
Nearly 2.6 million jobs were lost during 2008, the highest yearly total since the end of World War II in 1945. This week alone, major corporations have announced more than 80,000 job cuts, bringing this year's total to well over 200,000.
Dr. Rosalind Dorlen is a clinical psychologist in Summit, New Jersey, an area she calls a "Wall Street ghetto" where formerly high-flying executives are out of work.
"Here, the people earn millions of dollars with bonuses that are astronomical," said Dorlen, who is also the public education coordinator in New Jersey for the American Psychological Association. "There is a demoralizing aspect to having a huge salary and a huge bonus and then having to look for a job that is going to pay much, much less."
She added, "What I'm hearing is a terrible sense of betrayal, anxiety and people experiencing lots of stress." That, in turn, can lead to an increase in unhealthy coping behaviors, such as an uptick in alcohol consumption, unhealthy eating and worse sleeping habits.
Dorlen has several tips for people out of work:
• Don't panic;
• Find a support group, even if it's just an informal group of friends;
• Seek employment counseling when available;
• Be professional in your job hunt;
• Network with other professionals;
• Take time to exercise during hard times;
• Spend valuable time with your family.
On a practical note, she said people should contact their creditors to let them know the situation. She also advises people to do | [
"What was the woman stunned by?",
"Who should remain optimistic?",
"Where was this woman from?",
"what was the pay"
] | [
"the caliber of people we were in line with",
"people out of work:",
"Detroit",
"$80,000 a year"
] | question: What was the woman stunned by?, answer: the caliber of people we were in line with | question: Who should remain optimistic?, answer: people out of work: | question: Where was this woman from?, answer: Detroit | question: what was the pay, answer: $80,000 a year |
(CNN) -- Ambitious plans to build a revolutionary 420-meter shape-shifting skyscraper in Dubai have been unveiled by architects.
The 80-story Dynamic Tower, described as the "world's first building in motion," will also be the first skyscraper constructed from prefabricated units, according to a press statement released by New York-based architect David Fisher's Dynamic Group.
Each floor would be capable of rotating independently, powered by wind turbines fitted between each floor.
"You can adjust the shape the way you like every given moment," Fisher said. "It's not a piece of architecture somebody designed today and that's it. It remains forever. It's designed by life, shaped by time." Watch how the tower would spin and twist »
Apartments will sell for about $3,000 per square foot, making each unit range in price from about $4 million to $40 million. Work on the tower is to be completed by 2010, according to Dynamic's Web site.
Fisher said that plans to build a second rotating skyscraper in Moscow were at an advanced stage and that the group intended to build a third tower in New York. He said developers and public officials in Canada, Europe and South Korea had also expressed interest in the project.
But some have expressed skepticism. Fisher has never built a skyscraper before. He says he has teamed up with reputable architects and engineers in the United Kingdom and India.
Although he has received a development license for construction in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, he has not disclosed the site of the building. The Moscow mayor's office said that it was looking into the project and that a decision had not been made.
Fisher has called prefabricated construction techniques the "future of architecture" and says they will radically transform 4,000-year-old "brick-on-brick" building methods.
By using preconstructed parts, Fisher said each story could be built in just seven days, resulting in environmentally cleaner building methods.
He said that just 600 people on an assembly site and 80 technicians on the construction site would be needed to build the tower, compared with about 2,000 workers for a traditional project of a comparable scale.
"It is unbelievable that real estate and construction, which is the leading sector of the world economy, is also the most primitive," Fisher is quoted as saying on Dynamic's Web site.
"Most workers throughout the world still regularly use trowels that was first used by the Egyptians and then by the Romans. Buildings should not be different than any other product, and from now on they will be manufactured in a production facility."
Dubai is experiencing a construction boom, with the Burj tower set to claim the title of the world's tallest building when it is completed in 2009. It is already home to the world's largest mall, and despite being in the Middle East, it boasts the largest indoor snow park in the world. | [
"Where is Dubai?",
"When will the tower be built in Moscow?"
] | [
"in the United Arab Emirates,",
"2010,"
] | question: Where is Dubai?, answer: in the United Arab Emirates, | question: When will the tower be built in Moscow?, answer: 2010, |
(CNN) -- American Airlines announced Tuesday it will resume commercial flights into Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Friday, making it the first airline to do so.
Commercial flights ended on January 12, when a 7.0-magnitude earthquake killed more than 200,000 people and damaged many of the country's buildings, including some at Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in the capital.
The first flight will depart Miami International Airport in Florida at 6:40 a.m., arriving at 8:35 a.m. in Port-au-Prince, American Airlines said in a news release.
"This is that crack in the dam that we so badly needed and our passengers so badly wanted, to start moving regularly scheduled traffic into and out of Haiti," spokesman Tim Smith told CNN Radio.
"We'll start out with three main flights a day from south Florida, two from Miami and one from Fort Lauderdale. Then we'll also fly a JFK New York flight into Haiti four days a week."
Smith said that, despite damage to the airport, the airline was prepared to deal with passengers.
"One of the things we did very soon after the earthquake is that, as we were going in carrying relief supplies, we also sent in some American employees and folks from a construction firm that we worked with on the mainland to actually begin working to repair our facilities there at the Port-au-Prince terminal."
Haitian customs officials will work out of a cargo facility because of damage at the main terminal, Smith said.
"These flights serve as major milestones toward helping the country rebuild," Peter Dolara, American's senior vice president for Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America, said in the news release.
"With commercial air service restored, we can better connect loved ones and provide consistent transportation to and from Haiti."
Also beginning March 12, American Eagle will commence new service into Port-au-Prince from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and daily flights from the Dominican Republic cities of Santo Domingo and Santiago.
"We have begun our journey to recover from the catastrophic earthquake, but with support from companies like American Airlines, we hope it won't be nearly as long," said Ralph Latortue, consul general of Haiti in Florida.
American has served Haiti since 1971 and employs more than 100 people in Port-au-Prince, according to the airline.
Since the day after the earthquake, American Airlines and American Eagle have continued flying into and out of Haiti -- carrying relief workers, medical personnel, humanitarian aid and evacuating hundreds of people.
A spokeswoman for Spirit Airlines, which had a daily flight from Fort Lauderdale to Port-au-Prince, said the company was working to gain approval to resume its flights beginning Friday.
"We're awaiting the response from the airport," said spokeswoman Misty Pinson.
A spokesman for Delta Air Lines said it was working with Haitian authorities to reinstate service "as quickly as possible."
The work on the American Airlines terminal was carried out by Odebrecht, a Sao Paulo, Brazil-based construction company that built American's terminal at Miami International Airport, said spokeswoman Renata Pinheiro.
A cargo building that was undamaged by the earthquake was transformed into a terminal, and immigration and customs services were located there, she said.
A terminal that suffered only minor damaged was fixed. "It wasn't a reconstruction of the airport itself, it was really making it operational," she said about the effort.
The company's workforce of 75 included 30 Haitian baggage handlers who "became construction helpers," she said. "Odebrecht's people trained them to do welding and painting. The really cool thing that we're super happy about is the fact that the whole thing came about in just three weeks."
Among the toughest challenges was finding construction supplies, the company said in a news release. Odebrecht solved that by obtaining materials in Puerto Rico and sending them by barge to the Dominican Republic, then moving them by truck to the Haitian capital.
"This has been a genuine labor of love | [
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"When will American resume service?",
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] | question: Which airlines is waiting for approval?, answer: Spirit | question: Which airlines is awaiting approval to resume daily flights from Florida?, answer: American | question: When will American resume service?, answer: on Friday, | question: Who has been working to repair earthquake damage?, answer: American employees and folks from a construction firm | question: What damaged the airlines terminal?, answer: 7.0-magnitude earthquake | question: Which airline is waiting for approval to resume daily flights from Florida?, answer: American | question: Who will resume service friday morning?, answer: American | question: When with Americans resume service?, answer: Haiti, on Friday, making it the first airline to do so. |
(CNN) -- American Amanda Knox and her Italian former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, won their appeals of their convictions in the killing of British exchange student Meredith Kercher. Here is a guide to the Italian appeal process.
On what grounds did Knox and Sollecito appeal their convictions for murder, sexual assault, possession of a weapon, interfering with a crime and theft?
The defense sought to discredit DNA evidence linking the two of them to the killing, in which British exchange student Meredith Kercher's throat was slashed. Her partially clothed body was found in the house she shared with Knox in Perugia, a central Italian university town.
Two experts argued that DNA evidence found on the knife used to kill Kercher and on her bra clasp was unreliable and contaminated by poor handling. Prosecutors in 2009 had said there were traces of Knox's genetic material on the handle and Kercher's in a tiny groove on the blade.
Knox and Sollecito's defense teams have suggested Rudy Guede, who is already serving a 16-year sentence for the murder, could have been the sole killer.
The case against Knox and Sollecito
Who made the decision?
Eight jurors -- six members of the public and two judges -- decided the case. The judges take part and vote as part of the jury: their role is to guide but not to instruct the other jurors how to vote. The presiding judge, Claudio Pratillo Hellmann, who was also one of the jurors, read out the verdict.
What were the possible rulings in the appeal?
There were three possible outcomes for the defendants:
1. Verdict is upheld: In this case, Knox and Sollecito would have continued serving their respective 26- and 25-year jail sentences. However, prosecutor Manuela Comodi had called for their sentences to be increased to life.
2. Verdict is overturned
3. Verdict is partially overturned, with a decrease in sentence (verdicts can be upheld on some counts but not others; this would result in a decrease in their sentences, which is what happened).
Does Monday's ruling mean the case is closed for good or could there be further appeals?
There will most likely be appeals by the prosecution. Both the defense and prosecution can take their case to Italy's highest court.
Both Knox and Sollecito returned to prison to complete paperwork and collect their belongings. But Knox was freed within an hour; CNN understands Knox will leave the country Tuesday morning.
Knox, 24, need not remain in Italy pending a possible appeal by the prosecution. After the ruling, the judge has 90 days to write a report on why the court reached its conclusions. The parties then have 45 days to file an appeal to the High Court, which then must schedule it, according to Luiss University law professor Nicola Di Mario.
So there'll be at least four months between the verdict and any possible High Court appeal. A High Court hearing would be very short and dependent on key technical issues and arguments, not a review of the actual trial itself, according to Di Mario.
Where would an acquittal of just Knox and/or Sollecito have left the case of the other?
That was the big question. The co-defendants appealed together, and while different verdicts could theoretically have been delivered for each of them, this was highly unlikely. A third person convicted of the murder, Rudy Guede, has already appealed to the High Court and had his sentence reduced to 16 years.
Can the defendants ever be tried again for the same crime?
After the case goes to Italy's highest court and assuming it does not overturn the appeals ruling, Knox cannot be tried again for the same crime under the "double jeopardy" rule.
What will happen if a possible appeal by the prosecution to Italy's highest court is successful after Knox has returned to the United States?
If Italy's highest court overturns the lower court's decision, it effectively revalidates the trial court's sentence, which means 26 years in prison for Knox.
Italy would then have to put in a request to U.S. authorities for extradition, and it would | [
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] | question: Who worked to discredit the dna?, answer: The defense | question: What was the name of the murder victim?, answer: Meredith Kercher. | question: Who need not remain in italy?, answer: Amanda Knox | question: Who doesn't need to remain in Italy?, answer: Amanda Knox | question: Who ruled on appeal?, answer: Eight jurors | question: What did the defense work to discredit?, answer: DNA evidence | question: Who worked to discredit DNA evidence?, answer: The defense | question: Who was the murder victim?, answer: Meredith Kercher. | question: How many jurors ruled on the appeal?, answer: Eight |
(CNN) -- American Bill Haas claimed a one-shot victory in the Bob Hope Classic on the final hole to join his father as a winner of the tournament.
The 27-year-old went into the final day in California a stroke behind the lead but was able to break clear of the pack with a flawless 64 to finish on 30 under par.
Tim Clark, Matt Kuchar and Bubba Watson all finished tied for second place on 29 under.
Haas led by two strokes after an fine start but the chasing pack reduced his lead and a birdie on 17 put him level with leaders Clark and Kuchar.
He completed victory with a birdie four at the last hole after he struck a brave tee shot.
Haas fired his approach at the last to within 27 feet and two putts were enough to seal a victory that matches the win his father - Jay Haas - secured at the same event in 1988.
Haas, who was watched by his father, admitted the victory was even sweeter with a large family contingent present.
"It's pretty special as I didn't know my dad was here. My dad and my brother and his uncle were there," Haas told the tournament's official Web site.
"They knew they flew back from Hawaii last night, I thought maybe if I was in contention they might show up, but didn't see them until the end there.
"It's not easy to win. I was so nervous coming down the stretch. I still don't know how I hit the shot on 18 - my hands were shaking." | [
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"Who all finished tied for second?"
] | [
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"a one-shot victory in the Bob Hope Classic on the final hole",
"Tim Clark, Matt Kuchar and Bubba Watson",
"one-shot",
"Tim Clark, Matt Kuchar and Bubba Watson"
] | question: what does bill haas claimed?, answer: a one-shot victory in the Bob Hope Classic | question: who completed victory?, answer: Bill Haas | question: American Bill Haas has claimed what?, answer: a one-shot victory in the Bob Hope Classic on the final hole | question: who finished tie for second place?, answer: Tim Clark, Matt Kuchar and Bubba Watson | question: Haas completed his victory with what?, answer: one-shot | question: Who all finished tied for second?, answer: Tim Clark, Matt Kuchar and Bubba Watson |
(CNN) -- American Wayne Odesnik has accepted "a voluntary provisional suspension" from tennis after pleading guilty to importing human growth hormone into Australia.
Odesnik, currently ranked 111th in the world, was heading for the Brisbane International tournament in January when he was stopped by customs officers.
The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to taking eight vials of human growth hormone into the country at Brisbane Magistrates Court and was hit with an $8,000 fine.
Odesnik has agreed to a temporary suspension, though he can decide return to the game at any time, and must wait to hear the findings of an independent tribunal after the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme has concluded its investigation of the case.
A statement on the International Tennis Federation Web site said: "Wayne Odesnik has accepted a voluntary provisional suspension from all events covered under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, including Grand Slam tournaments, ATP-sanctioned events and ITF-sanctioned tournaments.
"In accordance with normal policy, the ITF does not intend to make further comment on this matter until its resolution." | [
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] | [
"tennis",
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"Wayne Odesnik",
"American",
"24-year-old"
] | question: which sport play wayne odesnik, answer: tennis | question: Odesnik pleaded what to importing human growth hormone into Australia?, answer: guilty | question: Who has accepted a voluntary suspension from tennis?, answer: Wayne Odesnik | question: who is wayne odesnik, answer: American | question: Wayne Odesnik is what age?, answer: 24-year-old |
(CNN) -- American al Qaeda member Adam Gadahn appeared in a video posted on the Internet on Saturday, focusing on Pakistan, with references to the U.S. economic meltdown and fighting in Kashmir.
Adam Gadahn, also known as Azzam the American, is seen in a video posted on the Internet in August 2007.
The rambling, wide-ranging video was released by www.LauraMansfield.com, a Web site that analyzes terrorism. The 32-minute video was produced by As Sahab, al Qaeda's video production arm.
Gadahn, also known as Azzam the American, is on the FBI's Most Wanted List, with a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to his capture. He was indicted in 2006 on charges of offering material support for terrorism and treason, making him the first American charged with treason since World War II. He has renounced his American citizenship.
"It's time for you to put aside tribal, ethnic and territorial differences and petty worldly disputes not just for now but forever and unite to restore the glories of your forefathers and hasten, Allah willing, the defeat of the Zionist-crusader enemy and the establishment of the Islamic state, the Ummah, the so eagerly anticipated," Gadahn says in English.
Gadahn also notes that "victory in Kashmir" has been delayed for years, adding that, "It is the liberation of the jihad there from this interference which, Allah willing, will be the first step towards victory over the Hindu occupiers of that Islam land."
He also cited the economic woes in the U.S. economy.
"The enemies of Islam are facing a crushing defeat, which is beginning to manifest itself in the extending crisis their economy is experiencing. The crisis, whose primary cause, in addition to the abortive and unsustainable crusades they are waging in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, is they are turning their backs on Allah's revealed laws, which forbid interest-bearing transactions, exploitation, greed and and injustice in all its forms and demand the worship of Allah alone to the exclusion of all false gods, including money and power," he said.
Gadahn, who grew up in rural California, embraced Islam in the mid-1990s and moved to Pakistan. Since October 2004, he has appeared in at least eight al Qaeda videos speaking in English and praising the terrorist network.
In a video released in January, Gadahn renounced his U.S. citizenship and destroyed his passport on camera, saying, "I don't need it to travel anyway."
His demands have ranged from pulling out all soldiers from "every Muslim land" to halting support of the "enemies of Islam" and freeing all Muslims in detention centers and prisons.
Failure to take any one of the steps, he said, would be "considered sufficient justification" for continuing the fighting and killing.
However, according to CNN Senior Arab Affairs Editor Octavia Nasr, no known terrorism activity has been linked to his messages. | [
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] | [
"Saturday,",
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] | question: When was the video posted?, answer: Saturday, | question: who was charged with treason, answer: Adam Gadahn, | question: Which member appears in the video?, answer: Adam Gadahn | question: What was Gadahn charged with?, answer: offering material support for terrorism and treason, | question: What does the video refer to?, answer: U.S. economic meltdown and fighting in Kashmir. | question: Who appeared on video?, answer: al Qaeda member Adam Gadahn |
(CNN) -- American driver Robby Gordon won the fourth stage of the Dakar Rally by just one second from Stephane Peterhansel, who extended his overall lead to more than seven minutes in South America on Tuesday.
NASCAR star Gordon claimed his first victory of this year's race, and his third overall, as he snatched the quickest time on the shortened 163 kilometer stage from Fiambala in Argentina to Copiapo in Chile. It was cut by 40km as some competitors arrived late following Monday's leg.
He clocked one hour, 40 minutes and 21 seconds in his Hummer to head off BMW's Peterhansel, who has won three car titles and six on bikes.
The Frenchman now leads Carlos Sainz by seven minutes and 36 seconds, with the former world rally champion finishing fourth behind Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Defending champion Giniel De Villiers gave Volkswagen with three drivers in the top five, but is still way back in 20th due to his problems on Monday.
Gordon was left eight overall, more than an hour off the pace, while his compatriot Mark Miller is fourth in another Volkswagen after placing sixth on Tuesday.
"Today's special stage was perfect for us with a lot of camel grass. It's on this type of terrain that the Hummer is doing great," Gordon told the race's official Web site.
"I am glad we managed to recover from yesterday. I got stuck twice yesterday and the engine overheated. We lost one hour. It's sad but the race is still long. We've only had four days of raid so far. A stage victory means nothing to us. It's the final victory we are in for."
In the bikes, defending champion Marc Coma bounced back from losing moer than 40 minutes over the last two days to win the stage.
The Spaniard was left in sixth overall, 38 minutes and 50 seconds behind Frenchman Cyril Depres, who was third on the stage also riding a 690cc KTM machine.
His compatriot David Casteu, riding a smaller 450cc Sherco machine, was runner-up to retain second overall -- almost nine minutes behind with 10 stages left. | [
"Who is second-placed?",
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] | [
"Stephane Peterhansel,",
"Stephane Peterhansel,",
"David Casteu,",
"Robby Gordon",
"Carlos Sainz",
"Robby Gordon"
] | question: Who is second-placed?, answer: Stephane Peterhansel, | question: Who extends lead in Dakar Rally cars section in his BMW?, answer: Stephane Peterhansel, | question: Who leads by almost nine minutes?, answer: David Casteu, | question: What is the name of the American driver?, answer: Robby Gordon | question: Who is currently in second place?, answer: Carlos Sainz | question: Who extends lead in Dakar Rally?, answer: Robby Gordon |
(CNN) -- American golfer Bill Haas said he was "very lucky" after securing the biggest win of his career on Sunday.
The 29-year-old beat U.S Ryder Cup star Hunter Mahan on the third playoff hole at the Tour Championship in Atlanta to clinch the PGA's season-ending FedEx Cup and $11.44 million in prize money.
Haas needed a dramatic save after hitting a water hazard before going on to sink a four-foot putt on the par-three 18th hole at East Lake to finally see off his compatriot, after the duo had finished tied on eight under par through 72 holes.
The dramatic triumph saw Haas -- whose father Jay played in the Ryder Cup on three occasions and won nine times on the PGA Tour -- leap from 25th in the FedEx Cup standings to claim the $10 million jackpot.
He also pocketed $1.44 million for winning the Tour Championship, the final event in the four-tournament series, but said he was unaware of his double success until he stepped up to collect both trophies.
"I knew I was on the line, meaning the only way I could win in my position at the start of the week was to win the tournament," Haas told CNN. "Even with that happening I still could not win the FedEx Cup because other people who were way ahead of me, their points would have passed me.
"So in my head, focus on one task -- and that was to win this playoff -- and whatever happens after that, happens. The chips fell my way and I'm very lucky. "
It looked like Haas had blown his shot at glory when he hit a bogey and double bogey on the final two holes of Saturday's third round to lose a share of the lead, but a 68 on Sunday allowed him to haul himself back up the leaderboard.
It then looked as if nerves might get the better of Haas when the playoff began, as he hit a loose shot into the crowd on the first additional hole before finding the water on the second.
But the new world number 20 found the green with a stunning shot to force a third playoff hole, where his par putt proved enough for victory.
"When I got up there I'd heard the groans from the crowd," Haas said of the build-up to his incredible saving shot. "I thought it was in the water, so I get up there and it is somewhat in the water.
"But it's not fully submerged, so in my head I said to myself, 'I do have some sort of shot here.' I hit the shot I thought I had to hit, and it came out perfect."
Haas has also put himself in contention for the upcoming Presidents Cup clash between the U.S. and an International team starting on November 14, with American captain Fred Couples due to announce his final wildcard pick on Tuesday.
"I'm not going to say it gets me to Australia," Haas told the PGA Tour's official website regarding the possibility of playing in the competition, which takes place in Melbourne.
"It definitely puts me in the talk up there with some of the guys that everybody has been talking about."
Haas hopes to use this win as a springboard for the rest of his career as he looks to match some of the illustrious names who have previously clinched the FedEx Cup.
"It's pretty sweet. You look at the names who have previously won this, I'm trying to work my way to their stature and their level of play. This is just another stepping stone, I think I can get up there," he said.
"It'll take a lot of work. Guys like Vijay (Singh), Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods, obviously they've put their time in, they've put their work in and I need to do the same. I've got to work hard to try and get better each and every year."
Mahan thought he had the tournament sewn up after Haas ended up in the water, | [
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] | question: Who is Bill Haas?, answer: golfer | question: How much did he win?, answer: $11.44 million | question: What is the total sum of the price money?, answer: $11.44 million | question: How much is the prize money, answer: $11.44 million | question: Who won the title?, answer: Bill Haas | question: Who did Bill Hass defeat?, answer: Hunter Mahan | question: Who did he defeat?, answer: Hunter Mahan | question: WHat did Bill Haas do?, answer: securing the biggest win of his career |
(CNN) -- American sixth seed Andy Roddick denied Rafael Nadal a third final appearance at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami after another sensational serving performance on Friday.
Roddick, the tournament's 2004 champion, will face Tomas Berdych in Sunday's title match after coming from behind to defeat Spanish fourth seed Nadal 4-6 6-3 6-3 in the semis at Key Biscayne.
He has won an incredible 62 of his last 64 service games, reaching the final of two successive Masters 1000 events for the first time since 2003, when he went on to win the U.S. Open.
Roddick, beaten in the Indian Wells title match by Ivan Ljubicic two weeks ago, broke Nadal's serve at 4-3 up in the second set with three forehand winners and then held to love to level the match.
He again broke his fellow former world No. 1 in the third game of the decider and held serve to claim his first win in the last four meetings between the two.
"I knew I had to be more aggressive. My heavy forehand doesn't work against him, so I had to hit it flatter, which is higher risk. I took really, really ridiculous cuts at a lot of forehands," Roddick told the ATP Tour Web site.
"I took a lot of risk there in the last two sets. My comfort zone of moving the ball around and maybe chipping it around a little bit doesn't work against Rafa. I had to try to come up with something that at least took him out of his comfort zone a little bit, and it paid off."
Nadal was not too disheartened, having reached the semifinals in his two outings since suffering a knee injury at the Australian Open in January.
"Two semifinals in a row, first two Masters 1000 of the season for me is positive," Nadal said. "Positive American hardcourt season, first part. So, yeah, happy for that."
Berdych continued his giantkilling run as he followed up his victories over world No. 1 Roger Federer and 10th seed Fernando Verdasco by crushing Swedish fifth seed Robin Soderling 6-2 6-2.
The Czech, seeded 16th, has gone one better than his last-four achievement in Miami last year as he qualified for only his second Masters final.
"In all my matches with Robin in the past I've been too defensive. If you give him time to hit the ball hard it's really tough," Berdych said. "I wanted to play more aggressive, but without making mistakes." | [
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] | question: what followed up his fourth round?, answer: victories over world | question: Who will face Tomas Berxych in Sunday's final?, answer: Roddick, | question: who will face tomas berdych?, answer: Andy Roddick | question: The 16th seed followed up his what?, answer: victories | question: who reaches final in miami?, answer: Andy Roddick | question: Who reaches the final in Miami?, answer: Andy Roddick |
(CNN) -- American sprinter Tyson Gay will miss the remainder of the athletics season after undergoing surgery on a hip problem.
Gay, 28, will now miss the world championships in Daegu, South Korea, which are set to get under way on August 27.
The former 100 and 200 meters world champion had an arthroscopic procedure on Tuesday and will now focus on preparing for the 2012 season and the Olympic Games in London.
"Dr. Marc Philippon from the Steadman Philippon Research Institute in Colorado in the USA, performed an arthroscopic procedure to address an impingement in Tyson's right hip and to correct a labral tear that has been bothering him for some time," read a statement from Gay's manager on the IAAF web site.
"Dr. Philippon and his team will oversee Tyson's rehabilitation and believes Tyson will resume his normal base training in the fall as he prepares for 2012."
Gay -- who recorded the fastest 100m time this year when he ran 9.79 seconds in Florida in June -- was expected to be one of the main challengers to Jamaica's reigning world and Olympic champion over 100 and 200 meters Usain Bolt.
Kentucky-born Gay was forced to withdraw from the semifinals of the U.S. trials after recording a time of 10.01 secs in his heat.
The U.S. national record holder has also set the second and third fastest times ever over 100m, behind Bolt's world record of 9.58 secs.
The championships in South Korea will run until September 4. | [
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(CNN) -- American tennis legend Andre Agassi has admitted using crystal methamphetamine a year before he won the French Open in 1998, and that he lied to the sport's governing bodies in the same period about a positive drugs test to avoid a ban.
The 39-year-old, who is only one of six men in history to have completed a career grand slam of winning titles at all four majors, confessed in his autobiography that he took the highly addictive narcotic in 1997 while suffering poor form and to quell worries about his upcoming marriage to actress Brooke Shields.
The eight-time grand slam champion revealed in his book how he felt when he first took the substance -- possession of which carries a maximum five-year jail sentence in the United States.
"Slim [Agassi's assistant] dumps a small pile of powder on the coffee table. He cuts it, snorts it. He cuts it again. I snort some. I ease back on the couch and consider the Rubicon I've just crossed.
"There is a moment of regret, followed by vast sadness. Then comes a tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I've never felt so alive, so hopeful -- and I've never felt such energy," Agassi recounted in an excerpt of his book that has been serialized by British newspaper The Times.
Following his use of crystal meth, the former world number one pulled out of the French Open and admitted he did not practice for Wimbledon a month later.
Later in the year an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) doctor confirmed to Agassi -- who is currently married to former number one women's tennis player Steffi Graf -- that his use of recreational drugs had shown up in a positive dope test and that he faced a three-month suspension.
The tennis great revealed how he lied in a bid to retain his reputation: "My name, my career, everything is now on the line. Whatever I've achieved, whatever I've worked for, might soon mean nothing. Days later I sit in a hard-backed chair, a legal pad in my lap, and write a letter to the ATP.
"It's filled with lies interwoven with bits of truth. I say Slim, whom I've since fired, is a known drug user, and that he often spikes his sodas with meth - which is true. Then I come to the central lie of the letter.
"I say that recently I drank accidentally from one of Slim's spiked sodas, unwittingly ingesting his drugs. I ask for understanding and leniency and hastily sign it: Sincerely. I feel ashamed, of course. I promise myself that this lie is the end of it," Agassi added.
Following the letter from Agassi the ATP dropped the case, allowing the American to regain a form that would see him go on to win the French Open in 1998 and the U.S. Open in 1999 before retiring in 2006.
The ATP have yet to comment following the revelations. | [
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(CNN) -- American tourists heading to Mexico's Baja California state in the future can expect more police protection from a new task force, according to Mexican authorities.
Mexican officials want to make sure the tourist traffic continues to flow into Tijuana.
Officials from the Baja California cities of Tijuana, Ensenada and Rosarito gathered earlier this week to announce the creation of the task force, which will be made up of bilingual officers and which will be designed primarily to serve Americans.
The initial plan, according to Ensenada Secretary of Public Safety Cesar Santiesteban, is to create a force that patrols a 50-mile tourist corridor from Tijuana through Las Playas Rosarito to Ensenada in Baja California, which is Mexico's northernmost and westernmost state.
There were no immediate details as to when the task force would go into operation or how many officers would be in the unit.
City officials in San Diego, California, said the city's police force would extend help in ways that Mexican officials deemed necessary in getting the task force up and running, including training the officers.
"We've always prided ourselves in our working relationship with our friends to the south," San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, said. "When you look at it, we're really one community."
For a region whose reputation has been tarnished by ongoing drug-fueled violence, plans for task force couldn't come soon enough. Policing the drug war has proven complicated for Mexican authorities, including the military, and also hindered the tourism industry in Mexico.
American travelers, who represented 80 percent of the country's booming $13 billion travel industry last year, are a critical part of Mexico's economy. In 2008, more than 18 million Americans visited the country, according to the Mexico Tourism Board.
In some areas, hotels and local businesses are struggling to recover from low visitor numbers, according to the Mexico Tourism Board.
Tijuana Mayor Jorge Ramos said tourism in Baja California in the past two years has remained steady, and the task force was set up to create a stronger police presence for tourists.
"We're here on this side of the border to invite you to our city and to [show you] we're making a lot of things ... better, and to make some progress in our city," Ramos said in a news conference in San Diego Monday. | [
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(CNN) -- Americans and other foreigners were among those caught up in the bloodshed and chaos of the terror attacks in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday and Thursday.
A foreign national held hostage by gunmen for nearly 24 hours is released from the Oberoi hotel in Mumbai.
At least six foreigners were among the 125 dead, police said. Targets included two luxury hotels, the Oberoi and the Taj Mahal, as well as a cafe popular with Western tourists.
A man told a local television station that he was in the Oberoi around 10 p.m. Wednesday when gunmen entered the lobby and began rounding up guests, asking for anyone with a U.S. or British passport and taking about 15 of them hostage.
Fire raged at the Oberoi, the scene of much bloodshed as explosions and gunshots rang out Thursday morning. Outside the Taj Mahal, screaming and fighting broke out as reporters scrambled to capture the chaotic scene.
Australian filmmaker Anthony Rose told CNN that he had just arrived at the Oberoi hotel when he heard gunshots in the lobby and saw a fellow Australian shot in the leg and then shot at close range in the head by one of the attackers.
He said that he and others in his film crew fled through back doors in the hotel to escape the shooters.
Among those killed in the two days of violence was British yachtsman Andreas Liveras, according to St. George's Hospital in Mumbai.
At least one French national is trapped in the Oberoi hotel, according to the French Foreign Ministry in Paris.
A woman from Nashville, Tennessee, was shot in the arm and leg by the attackers, who barged into a ballroom at her hotel, her husband told CNN affiliate WSMV.
Andi Varagona operates a holistic health clinic in Nashville and was in Mumbai for training, her husband, Santos Lopez, told the station.
According to Lopez, his wife called him and said, "We were ambushed and we were shot."
When he asked Varagona if she was all right, she told him she had been shot in the leg and arm and was at that moment being wheeled into surgery, Lopez said.
"My God, I cried more than I cried in my entire life," Lopez told WSMV. "I mean, it's just been so overwhelming with emotion. ... You tend to believe that things that happen in the world happen to other people, until it happens to you." Watch hostages walk from the building looking dazed »
WSMV is reporting that Varagona came out of surgery Wednesday night -- a bullet removed from her leg.
An American woman, who was still inside the Taj with her husband, told CNN by phone Thursday that television feeds into the rooms had stopped and she did not know what was going on.
"We have water and we're hunkered down and patient and ready to wait it out," she said. "We're OK. Last night was a different story, but today we're OK."
The woman, whom CNN is not identifying so as not to disclose her location to the gunmen, said she heard gunfire outside her room Wednesday night and "a man with an American accent screaming for help."
Aparna Dash, an American who lives in Pennsylvania but is visiting Mumbai on business, was staying at the Oberoi hotel. She was on the phone with her husband, who was in the United States, when the first explosions rang out.
"She thought it was firecrackers and didn't think much of it," her husband, Biswa Dash, told CNN. "But then in the coming hours, she realized what was going on and all the people in the hotel began trying to get out, to rush down the stairs."
Aparna Dash had made it down to the fifth floor from her room on the 26th floor, her husband said, and found an American woman sitting on the stairs, dazed and crying. iReport.com: Are you there? Share your story and send photos and video
"They were telling [the woman] that she needed to get up and keep moving | [
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(CNN) -- Americans appear to actually thrive on adversity, according to a study published this week that reached the conclusion after researching the nation's biggest economic downturn.
This sculpture at the FDR Memorial in Washington depicts men waiting in a Great Depression bread line.
Life expectancy during the peak years of the Great Depression increased 6.2 years -- from 57.1 years in 1929 to 63.3 years in 1933 -- according to University of Michigan researchers Jose A. Tapia Granados and Ana Diez Roux. The increase applied to men and women, whites and non-whites.
The team crunched data from the federal government and concluded that "population health did not decline and indeed generally improved during the four years of the Great Depression, 1930-1933, with mortality decreasing for almost all ages, and life expectancy increasing by several years in males, females, whites, and non-whites."
For most age groups, "mortality tended to peak during years of strong economic expansion (such as 1923, 1926, 1929 and 1936-1937)," they wrote in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
"The finding is strong and counterintuitive," said Tapia Granados, the lead author of the study. "Most people assume that periods of high unemployment are harmful to health."
The researchers used historical life expectancy and mortality data to examine the association between economic growth and population health from 1920 to 1940. Though population health improved during 1930-1933 and during the recessions of 1921 and 1938, mortality -- the death rate -- increased and life expectancy fell during times of economic expansion, such as 1923, 1926, 1929 and 1936-1937, they wrote.
The researchers looked at mortality rates due to six causes of death that made up two-thirds of total mortality in the 1930s: cardiovascular and kidney diseases, cancer, influenza and pneumonia, tuberculosis, motor vehicle injuries and suicide.
Only suicide went up during economic downturns, they said, citing the recession years 1921, 1932 and 1938, but suicides accounted for less than 2 percent of total deaths. Those years were marked by high unemployment; the nation experienced its highest unemployment rate of 22.9 percent in 1932, they wrote.
Yet from 1920 to 1940, life expectancy increased 8.8 years.
The authors speculated about possible explanations for why population health tends to improve during recessions but not expansions.
"During expansions, firms are very busy, and they typically demand a lot of effort from employees, who are required to work a lot of overtime, and to work at a fast pace," Tapia Granados said. "This can create stress, which is associated with more drinking and smoking."
In addition, new, inexperienced workers may be more likely to become injured; workers may sleep less and adopt less healthy eating habits, he said.
Further, boom times may translate into more industrial pollution, which can take a toll on populations' health, he said.
During recessions, with less work to do, employees may work slower, sleep longer and spend more time with family and friends, he said. With less money, they may spend less on alcohol and tobacco.
The researchers pointed out that their work looked at the relationship between recessions and mortality on a macro level and was not predictive for any one person.
The findings may apply to others, too. Tapia Granados, 53, whose work was self-funded, said he has carried out similar studies that looked at Japan, Spain and Sweden.
"In the three of them, it was the same," he said. | [
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(CNN) -- Americans are in a war that pits the politically correct against Christmas carolers, some say. They say it's a battle that plays out in the halls of Congress, retail stores and public schools across the country, and it's one that's been raging for years.
Republican Rep. Henry Brown of South Carolina introduced a resolution this month asking that the House express support for the use of Christmas symbols and traditions and frown on any attempt to ban references to the holiday.
"Each year, I could see a diminishing value of the spiritual part of Christmas," Brown said. "It would seem like another group would go from the Christmas spirit to the holiday spirit."
"What I'm afraid of -- if we don't bring some kind of closure to this continuous change, then in 20 years it will almost be completely different from what we see today ... and so we would lose the whole emphasis of what the very early beginnings of Christmas was all about."
So far, the resolution has one Democrat and 72 Republicans as co-sponsors. The House hasn't taken it up, but the chamber adopted similar resolutions in the past.
Barry Lynn, an ordained minister and executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, isn't keen on the prospect of congressional action.
"Resolutions like this come up because there is this bizarre view by some members of Congress that there is a war on Christmas and that they have to be the generals in some responding army," he said.
"My advice to the lawmakers would be promote any religion you have through your private acts, and don't try to 'help' the baby Jesus by passing a resolution on his behalf. It is arrogant and ridiculous at the same time," Lynn said.
Christmas is in no danger of being ignored, Lynn said, noting that signs of the holiday emerge as soon as Halloween passes.
"You would literally have to be living in a very deep cave not to understand that there is a religious holiday called Christmas that is soon to come," he said.
In his view, some people feel a "false sense of some kind of attack on Christmas" if a school holds a winter concert instead of a Christmas concert, or if retailers declare "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."
Time.com: Brief history of the war on Christmas
In California, Tea Party activist Merry Hyatt is trying to get support for a ballot initiative that would require that public schools give their students an opportunity to hear Christmas songs. (Parents could opt out for their children).
Lynn said the move violates the principles of church-state separation.
"It's not being anti-Christmas to recognize that most Christmas carols are really hymns, and a hymn is a prayer set to music."
Mathew Staver, law school dean at Liberty University, a Virginia college founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, said, however, that some schools and businesses are going too far to "censor" Christmas because they don't know the laws.
Staver founded the Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit litigation group dedicated to advancing religious freedom and conservative values. The counsel provides free legal advice and defense for government entities to ensure religious viewpoints on Christmas are not censored.
One example Staver cited began in Oregon, where an elementary school principal replaced Christmas trees with snowmen and banned all religious symbols, saying Santa Claus fell into the category.
Liberty Counsel sent the principal a letter telling her the law doesn't require her to "secularize" the holiday. The counsel also pointed out that by banning religious symbols for a holiday with secular components, she risked violating the Constitution by not being "viewpoint neutral," Staver said.
Parents were upset as well. The principal eventually changed course and restored the tree and jolly St. Nick.
Staver keeps a "Naughty & Nice" list that shows which retailers include references to Christmas in their advertising and which do not.
When he started the list five years ago, both sides were about | [
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] | question: There's a resolution in the House to frown on what?, answer: any attempt to ban references to the holiday. | question: who sensors christmas, answer: some schools and businesses | question: what is the resolution about, answer: support for the use of Christmas symbols and traditions |
(CNN) -- Americans are spending less time stuck in traffic and wasting less gas, according to a new report.
Americans spend a little less time in traffic, a study shows, but drivers on I-110 in Los Angeles might not notice.
Rising joblessness and stinging gas prices have put the brakes on worsening trends in traffic congestion, according to a study issued Wednesday by the Texas Transportation Institute, the nation's largest university-based transportation research facility.
"It's temporary, but real," said institute spokesman Bernie Fette about the declines. "As goes the American economy, so goes traffic. There's fewer people going to work."
The institute attributed the changes to the recession, but the U.S. economy did not begin to slow significantly until the end of 2007.
The organization began tracking traffic trends in 1982, and by "every measure, congestion has increased substantially" in those 25 years, the latest Urban Mobility Report said. Not in 2007.
Researchers surveyed 439 urban centers in the United States and found that travelers spent one hour less stuck in traffic in 2007 than they did in 2006 and wasted 1 gallon less of gasoline.
Congestion delay per traveler in 1982 was 13.8 hours. In 2005, that number had almost tripled to 37.4 hours. But it was down to 36.1 hours in 2007, representing a "rare break in near-constant growth," the report said.
Because the changes were nominal, most people may not have noticed any change in their commutes. The average person still needs 25 percent more time to travel during rush hour than during other parts of the day, Fette said.
"Things were so congested and bad, it was kind of hard to notice," Fette said.
Among the report's other findings:
• American travelers still wasted 4.2 billion hours stuck in rush-hour traffic jams. That amounts to nearly one full work (or vacation) week for every traveler.
• The overall cost, based on wasted fuel and lost productivity, reached $87.3 billion in 2007, the report said. That's more than $750 per person.
• The amount of wasted fuel, from sitting idle with the motor running, topped 2.8 billion gallons, or three weeks' worth of gas, for every traveler.
Congestion has slowed but, said the report's authors, that means only that things are getting worse slower, "hardly a positive goal statement."
The Urban Mobility Report database includes a few similar periods from regional recessions in the past -- northeastern states in the early 1980s, Texas in the mid-1980s, California in the early 1990s. In every case, when the economy rebounded, so did the congestion problem, the report said.
That means congestion trends are likely to swing upward once the economy starts picking up. Americans might then have fatter pocketbooks, but they'll go back to staring through their windshields a bit longer.
CNN's Moni Basu contributed to this report. | [
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(CNN) -- Americans' clicking fingers must be sore.
Analysts have begun providing their final tallies for Cyber Monday sales, which found that people piled more in their virtual shopping carts than ever before.
Monday was the highest-grossing online shopping day in U.S. history, with spending reaching $1.25 billion, according to market research firm comScore. That's up 22% from the previous record, which was last year's Cyber Monday.
Online shopping for the month of November has hit $15 billion, a 15% increase compared to last year, comScore says.
Discounting efforts by some online retailers, including Amazon.com and Apple, in the hopes of bringing some of the mall's Black Friday magic to the Web appear to have paid off. With a 26% jump over last year, the day after Thanksgiving saw the highest increase in spending compared to 2010 than any other period in November, according to comScore. However, online spending on Cyber Monday still outpaced Black Friday by a healthy margin, the research says.
Even without significantly slashing prices, some retailers saw a jump in customers coming to their websites on Monday. For example, Sony saw a dramatic increase in traffic and sales on Monday. Sony Electronics President Phil Molyneux said many Americans may have overcome some concerns about the struggling economy.
"There's a pent-up demand from consumers," Molyneux told a roomful of reporters in San Francisco on Tuesday. "There's a demand, and consumers need to feel that they can spend again."
They seem to be feeling it, and their digital wallets are feeling lighter. | [
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(CNN) -- Amid all the talk about storm clouds gathering over the U.S. economy, it's easy to forget there are other places in the world where the sun is still shining.
A shortage of housing is contributing to an inflation rate of almost 14 percent in Qatar
Take Qatar, for example; a small emirate in the Gulf whose economy is booming.
When the final figures come in, Qatar's economy is expected to have grown 17.8 percent in 2007. Qatar National Bank predicts growth to slow in 2008, but at 16.5 percent who could complain?
Well, consumers for one. While growth has steamed ahead, so has inflation. At the end of 2007, Qatar's official inflation rate was nearing 14 percent -- the highest in the region.
Three major factors are contributing to Qatar's soaring inflation rate: High levels of government spending; growing demand for housing, which is pushing up house prices and rent, and the riyal's peg with the dollar, which is pushing down interest rates.
The U.S. Federal Reserve exacerbated the latter problem by slashing U.S. interest rates twice in the past eight days to three percent.
Gulf States with currencies linked to the U.S. dollar were under pressure to follow suit. Qatar reduced its deposit rate to 3.5 percent, but left its lending rate at 5.5 percent.
Liz Martins, Head of MENA, Business Monitor International says Qatar is facing a serious problem.
"You've huge a amount of monetary easing and if you think that that's not even going to feed through properly for six to nine months then, you've got a really dangerous inflationary outlook," she says.
"The only policy option really that they have is to revalue the exchange rate."
Kuwait did just that in May, ditching the dollar-peg for a basket of currencies, and speculation is growing that other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries will do the same.
Tristan Cooper, Vice President and Senior Analyst at Moody's Middle East, says the argument for revaluation is becoming more convincing.
"The economic justification for revaluation is growing stronger as inflation multiplies and the government increases expenditure."
He says any move by Gulf governments to curb public spending would not be welcomed by locals facing higher living costs.
In Qatar's instance, new housing stock is expected to come onto the market to help ease inflation in the rental market.
"There is some hope that prices will begin to slow as that supply comes onto the market, but that's not guaranteed," Tristan Cooper says.
So that leaves a currency revaluation.
"The easier policy option would presumably be to revalue, but that also has political difficulties. It involves to some extent coordinating with GCC members."
In the past, Saudi Arabia has ruled out any change to its dollar-peg.
Qatar has made it clear that it prefers any move to be made with a GCC consensus.
In an interview with Marketplace Middle East, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani said that the emirate is "studying all options" in relation to the dollar-peg.
"Every country has to see its way out of this, but only after a consultation with the GCC," he said.
"For us, our wish is that it's a policy to be taken by the whole GCC, to either basket or revalue our currency. I cannot see a decision. Even in Qatar, we have no decision up to now."
This week, one of Qatar's leading economic advisors was quoted as saying any policy change would have to be substantial.
In an interview with Reuters news agency, Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim said, "change should be major; minor change won't solve the problem."
He ruled out any potential moves to float the Qatari riyal.
"As a small country we cannot float our currency... it has to be tied," he said.
One of the main reasons GCC members are reluctant to abandon their dollar link is because they're working towards their own monetary union | [
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(CNN) -- Amid all the talk about storm clouds gathering over the U.S. economy, it's easy to forget there are other places in the world where the sun is still shining.
A shortage of housing is contributing to an inflation rate of almost 14 percent in Qatar
Take Qatar, for example; a small emirate in the Gulf whose economy is booming.
When the final figures come in, Qatar's economy is expected to have grown 17.8 percent in 2007. Qatar National Bank predicts growth to slow in 2008, but at 16.5 percent who could complain?
Well, consumers for one. While growth has steamed ahead, so has inflation. At the end of 2007, Qatar's official inflation rate was nearing 14 percent -- the highest in the region.
Three major factors are contributing to Qatar's soaring inflation rate: High levels of government spending; growing demand for housing, which is pushing up house prices and rent, and the riyal's peg with the dollar, which is pushing down interest rates.
The U.S. Federal Reserve exacerbated the latter problem by slashing U.S. interest rates twice in the past eight days to three percent.
Gulf States with currencies linked to the U.S. dollar were under pressure to follow suit. Qatar reduced its deposit rate to 3.5 percent, but left its lending rate at 5.5 percent.
Liz Martins, Head of MENA, Business Monitor International says Qatar is facing a serious problem.
"You've huge a amount of monetary easing and if you think that that's not even going to feed through properly for six to nine months then, you've got a really dangerous inflationary outlook," she says.
"The only policy option really that they have is to revalue the exchange rate."
Kuwait did just that in May, ditching the dollar-peg for a basket of currencies, and speculation is growing that other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries will do the same.
Tristan Cooper, Vice President and Senior Analyst at Moody's Middle East, says the argument for revaluation is becoming more convincing.
"The economic justification for revaluation is growing stronger as inflation multiplies and the government increases expenditure."
He says any move by Gulf governments to curb public spending would not be welcomed by locals facing higher living costs.
In Qatar's instance, new housing stock is expected to come onto the market to help ease inflation in the rental market.
"There is some hope that prices will begin to slow as that supply comes onto the market, but that's not guaranteed," Tristan Cooper says.
So that leaves a currency revaluation.
"The easier policy option would presumably be to revalue, but that also has political difficulties. It involves to some extent coordinating with GCC members."
In the past, Saudi Arabia has ruled out any change to its dollar-peg.
Qatar has made it clear that it prefers any move to be made with a GCC consensus.
In an interview with Marketplace Middle East, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani said that the emirate is "studying all options" in relation to the dollar-peg.
"Every country has to see its way out of this, but only after a consultation with the GCC," he said.
"For us, our wish is that it's a policy to be taken by the whole GCC, to either basket or revalue our currency. I cannot see a decision. Even in Qatar, we have no decision up to now."
This week, one of Qatar's leading economic advisors was quoted as saying any policy change would have to be substantial.
In an interview with Reuters news agency, Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim said, "change should be major; minor change won't solve the problem."
He ruled out any potential moves to float the Qatari riyal.
"As a small country we cannot float our currency... it has to be tied," he said.
One of the main reasons GCC members are reluctant to abandon their dollar link is because they're working towards their own monetary union | [
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(CNN) -- Amid international condemnation after security forces reportedly attacked demonstrators at a peaceful rally, reportedly killing nearly 160 people, the Guinean government said Tuesday most of the victims were crushed in the crowd.
Police arrest a protester on Monday near a stadium in Guinea's capital Conakry during a protest.
Reports put the death toll at 157, with more than 1,200 people injured, U.S. State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement Tuesday. Earlier, the United Nations, citing media reports, said at least 58 people died Monday when security forces opened fire to disperse a demonstration at a stadium in the capital, Conakry.
"The United States condemns the Guinean military's brazen and inappropriate use of force against civilians," Kelly said. "The military also stands accused of carrying out brutal rapes and sexual assaults on women demonstrators and bystanders during its rampage."
On Tuesday, the African Union expressed its "grave concern" about the situation. "The [AU] Commission strongly condemns the indiscriminate firing on unarmed civilians, which left dozens dead and many others injured, while serious other violations of human rights were committed," the AU stated.
Tens of thousands of people were protesting the rule of Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, who seized power in a bloodless coup in December, according to U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.
The United States demanded the immediate release of opposition leaders and a return to civilian rule, the State Department statement said.
Human Rights Watch also condemned the violence against "generally peaceful demonstrators" and urged the government "to hold accountable the security forces." It quoted victims and witnesses who said security forces sexually assaulted women at the demonstration and also attacked demonstrators with knives and bayonets.
"Women were raped by soldiers in the stadium. I saw them," former Guinean Prime Minister Sidya Touré told the French newspaper Le Monde. Touré led the country from 1996-1999 and was participating in the peaceful demonstration.
The government maintained in a statement that "according to preliminary investigations, most of the innocent victims died as a result of being crushed in the crowd."
And it blamed "certain political leaders" for staging the demonstration despite being asked not to do so and warned that security could not be guaranteed for the gathering.
The leaders stormed the stadium, "breaking down doors and the main entryways, causing much violence that left dozens of victims, including 53 who died by suffocation and four killed by ricocheting bullets, which were recorded that day by authorities working with the Guinean Red Cross and verified by hospital officials," the government said.
It accused the leaders of looting two police commissaries before the demonstrations, letting prisoners out of jail and stealing weapons.
The government said it condemns "these deliberate acts in violation of the law, and are working to find and bring to justice those responsible for these reprehensible acts."
The AU noted the violence comes amid serious uncertainties and setbacks in the effort to restore constitutional order to Guinea after the December coup. The AU urged the coup leaders to stick to their vow not to run for office in the January presidential election.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana, also condemned the actions of security forces in Conakry on Monday.
Solana called "for the immediate release of the arrested political leaders" and asked authorities to "exercise maximum restraint and ensure a peaceful and democratic transition."
Guinea was thrown into turmoil in December after the death of President Lansana Conte. He was one of only two presidents to rule Guinea, after it gained independence from France in 1958.
Conte came to power in 1984, when the military seized control of the government after the death of the first president, Sekou Touré.
Following his death, Camara seized control in a bloodless military coup and declared himself president of the National Council for Democracy, which he called a transitional body that would oversee the country's return to democracy. | [
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(CNN) -- Amid the worsening conflict in his country, Somalia's president made a plea for Somalis living in the United States to stop sending their young men to fight.
A Somali rebel points a heavy machine gun in the direction of government forces July 3.
"I call on the Somali-American community not to send their youth to Somalia to fight alongside al-Shabaab," President Sheik Sharif Ahmed said on Sunday.
He was referring to the Islamist militant group that is waging a brutal war against his administration in Mogadishu.
"I am saying to those young men from abroad: 'Your families fled your home to America because of insecurity. You should not return here to ferment violence against your people,'" he said.
Somalis began arriving in the United States in significant numbers after the U.S. intervention in Somalia's humanitarian crisis in 1992.
A sizable group of young Somali-American men left Minneapolis last year and were feared recruited by al-Shabaab militants.
In October, Shirwa Ahmed, 27, a Somali-American who had been radicalized by al-Shabaab in his adopted home state of Minnesota, traveled to Somalia and blew up himself and 29 others.
The incident -- the first-ever suicide bombing by a naturalized U.S. citizen -- raised red flags throughout the U.S. intelligence community.
The president's call came after fresh fighting erupted Sunday between Somalia's transitional government forces and Islamist rebels.
According to several witness accounts, AMISOM -- the African Union Mission to Somalia -- supported government forces to push back al-Shabaab as the militia attacked the presidential palace.
AMISOM tanks and soldiers were involved in the fighting, according to witnesses.
"The sound of heavy artillery in Mogadishu was very loud and continuous," a witness told CNN. "It was shaking the ground, and many buildings were destroyed by the shelling."
The president called the operation "a clear victory" against al-Shabaab.
"Our forces have weakened the strength of the al-Shabaab militia in this fighting," Ahmed said.
Government forces displayed the bodies of five al-Shabaab fighters in their trademark green uniforms.
Al-Shabaab, a group that is on the U.S. government's terror watch list, remains entrenched in the northeast and sections of the south of the capital.
The group categorized the involvement of AMISOM as a shift in their attempts to overthrow the transitional government.
"The fighting in Mogadishu has entered a new phase. Now it's between us and AMISOM," said Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for al-Shabaab. "AMISOM was backing up the government directly, but we will keep fighting."
Somalia has been mired in chaos since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and sparked brutal clan infighting.
The transitional government has struggled to establish authority, challenged by Islamist groups that have seized control of Mogadishu and much of the south.
The United Nations estimates that more than 200,000 people have been forced to flee Mogadishu since the latest round of fighting began in early May between the government and the Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam groups.
The Somali-American population in the United States is concentrated in clusters primarily in Minneapolis; Columbus, Ohio; Seattle, Washington; and San Diego, California.
The potential recruitment of young Somali-American men has been made possible by "a number of factors that come together when a dynamic, influential and extremist leader gains access to a despondent and disenfranchised group of young men," Andrew Liepman, deputy director for intelligence at the National Counterterrorism Center, said earlier this year.
Many refugees, he said, "lack structure and definition in their lives" and are "torn between their parents' traditional tribal and clan identities, and the new cultures and traditions offered by American society." | [
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(CNN) -- Amnesty International has accused Hamas militants in Gaza of kidnapping, killing and torturing fellow Palestinians they accuse of spying for Israel, the organization announced Tuesday.
Hamas supporters stand on the rubble of a building hit by an Israeli strike that killed Hamas' interior minister.
According to Amnesty International, at least 24 Palestinian men -- most of them civilians -- were shot and killed by Hamas gunmen during the recent Israeli offensive aimed at crippling the Hamas leadership in Gaza.
"Scores of others have been shot in the legs, kneecapped or inflicted with other injuries intended to cause permanent disability," the human rights organization said in a news release.
Hamas leaders have publicly accused followers of its rival Palestinian political faction, Fatah, of spying for the Israelis during the conflict, and they have said many have been arrested for collaborating with the Jewish state. But they deny ordering any reprisal attacks against suspected spies, instead blaming rogue elements.
The Israeli military offensive in Gaza was launched at the end of December and ended three weeks later, when Israeli forces withdrew under the terms of a cease-fire agreement.
Amnesty said that the targets of "Hamas' deadly campaign" include prisoners who escaped from Gaza's central prison when Israeli forces bombed it in the initial days of the military conflict.
Some prisoners injured in the Israeli bombing were "shot dead in the hospitals where they were receiving treatment," Amnesty said.
"The perpetrators of these attacks did not conceal their weapons or keep a low profile, but, on the contrary, behaved in a carefree and confident -- almost ostentatious -- manner," it said.
Other targets included former members of Palestinian Authority security forces and supporters of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party.
Fatah, which is based in the West Bank, has denied spying on Hamas. Fatah leaders have accused Hamas of rounding up at least 175 of their members in Gaza during the Israeli war and torturing them.
The two Palestinian factions have been locked in a power struggle since Hamas won parliamentary elections in January 2006 and wrested Gaza from Fatah in violent clashes the following year. Abbas is a U.S. ally and regularly negotiates with Israel as the Palestinian leader, but he holds little sway in Gaza.
Fatah supporters have been accused of helping the Israeli military conduct its campaign in Gaza, which targeted the Hamas leadership. Neighbors of Hamas Interior Minister Said Siam said they suspected Fatah supporters helped Israel pinpoint his location when they bombed his house on January 15.
Siam was highest-ranking Hamas member killed in the Israeli offensive.
Most of those suspected of spying for Israel have been abducted from their homes and then "dumped -- dead or injured -- in isolated areas," according to Amnesty International.
During the Gaza conflict, medical officials at Gaza City's main medical facility, Shifa Hospital, said injuries they witnessed were consistent with people being shot in the kneecaps, elbows, hands or feet.
Punishment shootings are a time-tested tactic used worldwide by guerrilla and militia groups, from Che Guevara in Cuba to the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland. They are meant not only to take revenge but also to send a message to others.
Two self-described Fatah loyalists were found heavily bandaged at a Gaza City safe house during the recent conflict. One of their colleagues refused to say where or why they were injured, but they denied spying.
"They shot him at close range with a pistol," he said of one man. "His bones are shattered. They shot him point-blank in the foot. ... This was done by Hamas people."
The other man, he said, was struck on his legs with a metal construction bar. "Four people were beating him," he said.
A Hamas security source told CNN the shootings occurred because renegade gunmen took the law into their own hands. Ehad al-Ghossain, Hamas' Interior Ministry spokesman, said there was no official order within Hamas to carry out such shootings.
"That's not us," al-Ghossain said. "Maybe some families who | [
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(CNN) -- Among the entertainers who have donated their energies to the USO in recent years are Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Scarlett Johansson, Kid Rock, Queensryche, Toby Keith, Lewis Black and Robin Williams.
Stephen Colbert's trip to Iraq, facilitated by the USO, was six months in the planning.
But when the USO conducts a public opinion survey asking people who they think of when the military service organization is mentioned, one name always comes up.
"The first thing out of their mouths is 'Bob Hope,' " said Mark Phillips, the USO's vice president for communications, with an audible shrug. "And if they're not part of the military, the list stops there."
As the country celebrates Independence Day and pays tribute to the men and women who serve in its armed forces, the USO is trying to change that mindset.
The organization, which was founded in 1941 to bring comfort and entertainment to America's men and women in uniform, has been focusing its support on American troops stationed around the world, particularly those in the military theaters of Iraq and Afghanistan, said Phillips.
As part of that initiative, it's paying a great deal of attention to the troops' desires, whether they be for high technology -- the USO recently brought video game/HDTV entertainment centers and satellite-based telephone systems to some areas -- or a diversity of entertainers, including rappers and NFL players.
The Colbert trip was a meeting of the minds between the Comedy Central star and the military, said Rachel Tischler, the USO's vice president for entertainment operations. The "Colbert Report" host, who has attested to his interest in Iraq in such venues as Newsweek magazine (he was a guest editor last month), expressed interest in going, a request that made its way up the chain of command to Gen. David Petraeus, the former leader of coalition forces in Iraq. Petraeus liked the idea, said Tischler, and the principals were put in touch with the USO.
Colbert's excursion, which the comedian called "Operation Iraqi Stephen," was unusual for the USO, she added.
"We try to keep our footprint small," she said, noting that the organization is reliant on the military to feed and house its guests. In "Colbert's" case, the footprint was considerably larger: Colbert's staff and several USO employees -- not to mention 150 volunteers. The trip required six months of planning.
But the broadcasts went well, with Colbert paying tribute to the military and the USO's volunteers (as well as his own staff) on the "Report."
He also put in a plug for USO donations: "The USO does more than bring my show to Baghdad," Colbert said on the show. "They also deliver much-needed care packages to the troops." (Whereupon, in a care-package primer, Colbert and Tom Hanks filled a box with shaving gel, Tang and a demolished ice sculpture.)
The group remains greatly dependent on the kindness of strangers, said Phillips.
"We're primarily a volunteer organization," he said, noting the USO has fewer than 400 paid employees and 25,000 volunteers. Though the USO does receive a small congressional appropriation -- $20 million in 2008 -- much of its funding comes from individuals, corporations and in the form of in-kind services.
Jamie Masada, the owner of Los Angeles' Laugh Factory comedy club, said the organization is close to his heart. He followed a tour of Laugh Factory comedians with an invitation to service members to visit his club.
"What we try to do is give the soldiers -- the people that are out there putting their lives on the line for our country ... we try to say, one day if you come to Los Angeles, if you want to be a comedian, our door is open to you. We want you to send us some material, some jokes," he said.
At a recent USO fundraiser, five service members were given the opportunity to compete for the | [
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(CNN) -- An 11-year-old boy is facing adult charges in the shooting death of his father's pregnant girlfriend, authorities said Saturday.
Police say Kenzie Marie Houk's daughter found her shot to death in her bed on Friday.
Police say the boy shot Kenzie Marie Houk, who was eight months pregnant, once at point-blank range in her farmhouse in western Pennsylvania.
The boy, whose name was withheld by CNN because he is a juvenile, was charged with one count each of criminal homicide and homicide of an unborn child in the death of Houk, 26, Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo told CNN.
Houk's 4-year-old daughter found her in her bed Friday, according to police. The child alerted landscapers working near the home, who then called authorities. Watch a community in shock »
"This is something that you wouldn't even think of in your worst nightmare, that you'd have to charge an 11-year-old with homicide," Bongivengo said, according to CNN affiliate WTAE. "It's heinous, the whole situation."
Under Pennsylvania law, anyone over the age of 10 accused of murder or homicide is charged as an adult. If convicted, the boy faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, Bongivengo said.
Authorities said the boy is the son of the victim's live-in boyfriend at the home in Wampum, about 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
"At this point, we don't believe it's accidental," Bongivengo said.
The weapon was a youth model 20-gauge shotgun, designed for use by children, that belonged to the boy, according to investigators.
Bongivengo told reporters the household has no history of child abuse, but that an investigation is ongoing.
Calls to the boy's public defender, Dennis Elisco, went unanswered Saturday.
CNN's Chloe Melas and Kristin Hamill contributed to this report. | [
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] | question: Who did the child find shot to death?, answer: Kenzie Marie Houk, | question: How far into her pregnancy was Houk?, answer: eight months | question: What medical condition did the woman have?, answer: pregnant | question: What is the age of the boy charged?, answer: 11-year-old | question: What was the charge?, answer: shooting death of his father's pregnant girlfriend, | question: Who was shot to death?, answer: Kenzie Marie Houk, | question: When was Houk's daughter found?, answer: on Friday. | question: Is the boy being charged as an adult?, answer: is facing | question: How many months pregnant was she?, answer: eight |
(CNN) -- An 11th person has died because of injuries sustained in the crash Friday at an air race at Reno, Nevada, an official with the Washoe County Medical Examiner's Office said Tuesday.
No details about this latest victim were released. The official, Michelle Anderson, said there would be a news conference revealing more information late Tuesday.
Authorities have so far identified seven people who died from the crash.
The list includes the pilot, 74-year-old Jimmy Leeward, who lost control of his vintage plane before it plummeted into a crowd of spectators.
He and six others were killed on the tarmac, while four have now died at hospitals.
The six others identified are Joseph Wogan, 22, of Arizona; George and Wendy Hewitt of Washington state; Regina Bynum, 53, of Texas; Sharon Stewart, 47, of Nevada; and Gregory Morcom, 47, from Washington state.
Almost 70 people were injured in the crash. Five patients remained hospitalized Tuesday at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center, four in serious condition and one in fair condition, the hospital said in a statement.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board announced Sunday that the World War II-era plane was equipped with data and video recording devices that they hope to use to help determine what happened and why.
NTSB member Mark Rosekind described the devices, as well as the discovery of information and pieces that may have come from the devices, as "significant new information." It was also not entirely expected, given the relatively small size and nature of the P-51 aircraft.
"I'm not aware of a lot of aircraft having it; this is the first one I came across," said Howard Plagens, the NTSB official heading the investigation.
Plagens was referring to a "box" that recorded key variables such as altitude, latitude and oil pressure. In addition, there was an outward-facing video camera on the plane, according to Rosekind.
Several memory cards have been found at the wreckage site that may have come from either device and will be sent to the NTSB laboratory in Washington for a full analysis, Rosekind said. They may belong to some of the 200,000 spectators who were at the annual National Championship Air Races and Air Show.
Investigators do have a copy of the "box" data, since it was sent in real time by telemetry to sources outside the aircraft.
Besides the cards, Rosekind said, parts of a plane's tail, an "elevator trim tab" and video camera fragments have been found.
"There were thousands of pieces of debris," Plagens said, explaining how the site had been laid out in a grid system to help organize the investigation.
As with the memory cards, one of the authorities' first goals will be to determine whether these came from the plane. Countering earlier reports, Rosekind said Sunday that Leeward did not send a "Mayday call," indicating he was in distress.
Investigators have repeatedly stated that it is not known why the aircraft nosedived. Some speculation has surrounded the elevator trim tab, which was breaking apart prior to the crash, a photograph shows.
Investigators also will pore over "a tremendous (amount of) video that was captured" at the scene, according to Rosekind.
A preliminary report will be available Friday, but Rosekind has said the full investigation could take six to nine months.
"It's not just what happened, it's why it happened," he said Sunday. "(We're) trying to make sure this doesn't happen again." | [
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] | question: How many people remain hospitalized?, answer: Five | question: Is there evidence of why the aircraft crashed?, answer: the | question: What did the downed plane have?, answer: data and video recording devices | question: Identities of who have been released?, answer: died from the crash. | question: What did the NTSB official say?, answer: "I'm not aware of a lot of aircraft having it; this is the first one I came across," | question: What did investigators say about the cause of the crash?, answer: it is not known why the aircraft nosedived. | question: What is unclear?, answer: happened and why. | question: Have their identities been released?, answer: No |
(CNN) -- An 18-year-old suspect in Tuesday's bus-stop shootings that wounded seven people in Detroit, Michigan, surrendered to authorities Wednesday, police said.
Detroit's deputy police chief called Tuesday's shootings "a travesty."
Detroit Police Chief James Barren said Jamall Turner is one of two suspects in the shootings, which occurred at a bus stop near Cody High School after summer-school classes had ended for the day.
Two men got out of a green minivan and "fired multiple shots at a group of teens waiting on a bus," he said. Police were investigating rumors from witnesses that the shootings were gang-related.
Officials said Tuesday that the gunmen asked for a person by name before shooting, getting back into their vehicle and fleeing.
A third person was waiting in the minivan to aid in their escape, he said.
Police have impounded two vehicles matching the van's description but do not know whether either was actually involved in the crime, he said.
On Tuesday, police took another person into custody in an arrest that was not related to the shootings, "but we believe that the arrested individual may shed light on the bus-stop shooting," he said.
Deputy Police Chief James W. Tolbert said three of the victims remained hospitalized Wednesday with wounds that were not life-threatening.
He said police believe that semiautomatic handguns were used.
"Any time there is a shooting and we have young people shot, it's a travesty," he said. "We have to get our youth to understand that conflict resolution isn't picking up a gun."
Tolbert added that the police are instituting a "safe-routes-to-school program." | [
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] | question: Who is one of the suspects?, answer: Jamall Turner | question: How many people were injured?, answer: seven | question: How many people remain hospitalized?, answer: three of the victims remained | question: Who is one of two suspects in the shooting?, answer: Jamall Turner | question: Who are the suspects in the shooting?, answer: Jamall Turner | question: When did the shootings happen?, answer: Tuesday's |
(CNN) -- An 8-year-old American boy is caught in the middle of an ugly custody battle so high profile that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is using her clout to try to bring the boy home.
David Goldman's legal battle to gain custody of his son has drawn the attention of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
In 2004, David Goldman dropped off his wife, Bruna, and then-4-year-old son, Sean, at the airport for a two-week vacation in Brazil. Shortly after she arrived in her native country, Bruna told David she wanted a divorce and planned to stay in Brazil with their son.
Bruna later remarried and got pregnant, but she died while giving birth last summer. Goldman thought he was getting his son back, but a Brazilian family court judge granted custody of Sean to Bruna's new husband.
Goldman talked with CNN's Larry King about the international legal battle he is waging to gain custody of his son. King also talked to Helvecio Ribeiro, Bruna Goldman's uncle. The following is an edited version of the interviews.
Larry King: What caused the breakup of the marriage?
David Goldman: I don't know. Apparently, she decided she wanted to live in Brazil, where she said she had more friends and more family and where she was known.
King: Did you feel happily married?
Goldman: Yes, I thought we were happily married.
King: So this was a call out of the blue?
Goldman: I was completely blindsided and crushed.
King: What did you do then?
Goldman: Well, I (got) a phone call. My mom tracked it down as being Father's Day, about three days after they arrived. The first call was they got there safe, everything was OK. Then, I got a phone call and a very serious voice -- a voice they didn't recognize, really, as being, you know, it was out of her normal tone.
Bruna says, "David, we need to talk. You're a great guy. You're a wonderful father, but our love affair is ended, is over. I've decided I want to live in Brazil and you need to come down to Brazil immediately and sign 10 pages of papers with my attorney." There was a list of demands on these papers. One was giving her full custody. Another was to never go to the courts to file any claims of kidnapping or criminal charges.
King: Did you get to talk to your son?
Goldman: I got to talk to my son. In fact, I got to speak with all of them in the beginning, while they were still trying to get me to go down there and be trapped in this custody battle. At that point, I wasn't the enemy until I didn't meet her demands and I did go to the courts.
King: Well, when you went (to Brazil), who did you see? What did you do?
Goldman: I went to the courts. I went to every ruling on every court proceeding and with the guise that they would honor the Hague Treaty and return (my) son. And every time, it just got worse and worse.
In the first instance, they kept Sean for over a year before they made this ruling. And then they said, 'Well, you know, yes, he was taken unlawfully and he should have been returned, but now he's settled with the mother. These are Brazilian judges who have admitted that he's been held unlawfully and wrongfully.
King: How did you hear she died?
Goldman: I have friends who, kind of, have an ear to the ground in Brazil, and there were some articles that came out in some local Brazilian newspapers and they did some on the Internet and said she'd passed away.
King: Did you try then to get the child back legally?
Goldman: Yes. As soon as I was notified, I called both counsel in Brazil and in | [
"What happened to Bruna after she remarried?",
"Whow as awarded custody of the boy in a Brazilian court?",
"Where did David Goldman's wife take their son?",
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"Who died while giving birth?",
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"Who was awarded custody of Goldman's son?"
] | [
"got pregnant,",
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"Brazil.",
"told David she wanted a divorce",
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"Sean to Bruna's new husband."
] | question: What happened to Bruna after she remarried?, answer: got pregnant, | question: Whow as awarded custody of the boy in a Brazilian court?, answer: Bruna's new husband. | question: Where did David Goldman's wife take their son?, answer: Brazil. | question: What did Goldman's wife do?, answer: told David she wanted a divorce | question: Who died while giving birth?, answer: Bruna | question: What is David Goldman's wifes name?, answer: Bruna, | question: Who was awarded custody of Goldman's son?, answer: Sean to Bruna's new husband. |
(CNN) -- An A380 superjumbo bound for Sydney came loose from a tow truck and partially rolled onto grass at Singapore airport.
Singapore Airlines was the first carrier in the world to operate the double-decker aircraft.
No-one was injured in the incident involving the world's biggest airliner, a Singapore Airlines spokesman said, but passengers were taken off so the plane could be repositioned and inspected for any damage.
A truck being used to push back the plane in preparation for the flight "experienced some form of failure" causing it disconnect from the aircraft, a Singapore Airlines spokesman said.
"As a consequence of the failure on the truck, the aircraft ... came into contact with the grass verge off the airport tarmac. The aircraft was not under its own power at the time," he said.
"It is too early at this time to know the cause of the incident but Singapore Airlines will investigate this quickly, and is filing reports with the appropriate Singapore authorities," the spokesman said.
An airline spokesman told CNN's Richard Quest that four wheels had ended up on the grass. All four tires had now been replaced. "As far as Singapore Airlilnes is concerned, the plane is ready to fly again," Quest said.
The airline made arrangements for as many customers as possible to continue on their journey from Changi Airport to Sydney aboard a Boeing 747-400.
Most passengers departed for Sydney on a new flight early Friday morning, while some others flew to alternate destinations such as Melbourne and Brisbane on existing flights.
"The remaining customers, about 10 of them, have left, or will be leaving, for Sydney today," the spokesman said.
Singapore Airlines received its first A380 in October last year to become the first carrier in the world to operate the double-decker aircraft, which it is currently using for the Singapore-Sydney route.
Changi Airport, which is home to the Singapore Airlines A380 fleet, has declared itself ready to handle the plane. It widened and lengthened existing runways and widened runway shoulders to allow the plane to maneuver.
Airports around the world have had to make changes to accommodate the A380, such as enlarging runways and gates and bringing in vehicles which can tow the plane and lift high enough to reach its upper decks. E-mail to a friend | [
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] | question: Was anybody injured?, answer: No-one | question: Which airport?, answer: Singapore | question: what airport has the A380 arrived at, answer: Singapore | question: Which Airlines was first?, answer: Singapore | question: what happened to the truck pushing the plane, answer: "experienced some form of failure" | question: what airline operates this aeroplane, answer: Singapore | question: What airline was affected?, answer: Singapore |
(CNN) -- An Air Force nurse has been charged with murdering three terminally ill patients by giving them fatal overdoses, the Air Force said Tuesday.
Capt. Michael Fontana is continuing to work at Wildford Hall Medical Center.
Capt. Michael Fontana, a nurse at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, also was charged Monday with conduct unbecoming an officer for changing a medical document.
"The charges are the result of an Air Force investigation that occurred after irregularities were discovered in Capt. Fontana's administration of medications which may have resulted in the death of an end-of-life patient," hospital spokesman David Smith told reporters.
The nurse was charged with three counts of violating Article 118 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. "It is considered murder," Smith said.
After an Article 32 hearing, akin to a civilian grand jury proceeding, the commander will decide whether the case goes to court-martial.
The three deaths occurred in July, Smith said. He cited the privacy act in refusing to divulge the suspect's age and hometown.
He said he did not know the motive but was confident no other patients were victimized.
"We know that there are no other patients involved in this case," he said.
Fontana, an intensive-care unit nurse who has been working at the hospital since 2006, the year he joined the Air Force, has been released on his own recognizance and is continuing to work at the hospital, though he is no longer involved in patient care, Smith said.
"As far as we can tell, he has been an exemplary nurse," Smith said.
Fontana also served as a nurse at the Air Force Theater Hospital in Balad, Iraq, Smith said. His work there was investigated, "and there was nothing found," he said.
A call to a San Antonio phone number listed as belonging to Michael Fontana got a message that said, "Thank you for calling. Due to the ongoing investigation, I have no comment for you right now, but I do appreciate your call and will talk to you soon."
Relatives of the dead patients have requested privacy, the Air Force said.
Wilford Hall Medical Center is the Air Force's largest medical facility. | [
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] | question: what was he charged with, answer: murdering three terminally ill patients | question: Where did he work?, answer: Wildford Hall Medical Center. | question: Where was the hospital located?, answer: Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, | question: What is he being accused of?, answer: murdering three terminally ill patients by giving | question: What charges does he face?, answer: with murdering three terminally ill patients | question: who died because of this, answer: three terminally ill patients | question: What did the man do?, answer: murdering three terminally ill patients by giving |
(CNN) -- An Airbus airplane was forced to turn back to New York 90 minutes into a flight to Paris, Air France said Monday.
The Air France A380 turned back due to a "minor incident," the airline said, refusing to say what the technical hitch was.
Airbus also declined to specify what caused the plane to turn back, saying the incident was an issue for the Air France maintenance team not the aircraft's manufacturer.
The pilots made the decision to turn back "in strict accordance with procedures and as a precautionary measure... following a minor technical problem in order to carry out ground checks," Air France said.
The plane landed at New York's John F. Kennedy International airport "without incident" at 10:17 p.m. ET on Friday, November 27, Air France said. The plane was serviced and later completed its transatlantic journey, the airline said.
Air France had begun flying the brand-new A380 across the Atlantic only days before, Airbus said.
Its inaugural commercial flight from Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport to JFK was on November 21.
Air France became the fourth airline to operate the superjumbo when it received its first A380 at the end of last month.
-- CNN's Ayesha Durgahee in London, England, contributed to this report. | [
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(CNN) -- An Alabama man whose wife died during a honeymoon scuba diving trip off the coast of Australia almost five years ago has been charged in her death.
Tina Watson, background right, lies motionless after she drowned in 2003 while diving in the Great Barrier Reef.
An Australian coroner ruled Friday that there was enough evidence to put Gabe Watson on trial for the death of Tina Watson, who was 26 when she drowned in October 2003 while diving around a historic shipwreck in Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Watson, 31, told police that his new bride appeared to panic 45 feet underwater and that he "looked into her eyes and saw her eyes were wide open, but there was no response," Townsville Coroner David Glascow said in his inquest findings.
Glascow, however, cited what he said were inconsistencies in Watson's statements to investigators. The coroner said he was "unable to conclude that Tina's death was an accidental drowning." Watch Tina Watson's family demand justice »
The couple married just 11 days earlier in Birmingham, Alabama. They left their home in Hoover, Alabama, for their Australian honeymoon two days later, the coroner said.
As possible evidence for the husband's motive, Glascow pointed to a statement by the woman's father that Watson asked her to maximize her life insurance and make him the beneficiary shortly before the wedding.
The insurance company confirmed that Gabe Watson inquired about her life insurance policy after her death, the coroner said.
The coroner noted that Watson, through his lawyers, contended that police had made a judgment that he killed his wife before they began their investigation and that they tailored their investigation to fit their theory.
Glascow said he saw no evidence of police rushing to judgment.
"It appears certain that at some point in time, investigators considered some of Gabe's explanations lacked credibility, and it further appears to me that investigators gave Gabe the opportunity to clarify matters which may have caused concern," the coroner said.
The husband was an experienced diver, and his new wife was considered a novice, the coroner said.
They were diving on the Yongala shipwreck about 42 miles off the coast of Townsville in the state of Queensland, Australia. | [
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] | question: what evidence was gathered?, answer: a statement by the woman's father | question: What has Gabe Watson been charged with?, answer: death of Tina | question: Who was charged with the death of his wife during their honeymoon in 2003?, answer: Gabe Watson | question: Where did Tina Watson die?, answer: off the coast of Australia | question: Who has been charged with the death?, answer: Gabe Watson | question: Who was unable to conclude that Watson's death was accidental?, answer: Coroner David Glascow | question: What was Tina Watson doing at the time of her death?, answer: scuba diving |
(CNN) -- An Alaska judge has denied Bristol Palin's request that her court fight with ex-boyfriend Levi Johnston over custody of their son be kept private to avoid a "media circus."
The daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is seeking full custody of 1-year-old Tripp, contending that Johnston is too immature to be a responsible father and that his mother's felony drug conviction makes her a danger to the child.
Bristol Palin filed for full custody in November, but Johnston is seeking shared custody. Both parents are 19. Their teenage relationship fell under an intense public spotlight after Sen. John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate in August 2008.
Court documents, now unsealed, were published online Monday by the Anchorage Daily News.
Johnston joined the family at the Republican National Convention after the campaign confirmed that Bristol, then 17, was five months pregnant with his child. The couple broke off their engagement about two months after their son's birth in December 2008.
Johnston has asked that the case conducted in public to protect himself from Sarah Palin, whom he said was "powerful, politically ambitious and has a reputation for being extremely vindictive." But Bristol Palin's request that the case be sealed said public proceedings "will turn this custody case into a media circus which is not in Tripp's best interest."
"In this day and age of the Internet, media stories remain available for years, even decades, after they are first published, and anything printed in the media (whether it is true or not) will be available to Tripp when he is old enough to read," Palin said in a sworn affidavit.
She said Johnston wanted a public case so he could "continue to make a spectacle of this custody dispute for his own self-promotion." Johnston was set to take part in a reality show in Alaska, she said.
"I do not believe that it would be in Tripp's best interest for Levi's reality show to be filming this case as it unfolds, or for Levi Johnston to be capitalizing off of this custody case through his reality show," Palin said.
Johnston's sworn statement said he feared what Sarah Palin might do against him if the case were kept secret.
"I really think that closing the court could make this matter very uncivil and potentially open the door for poor influences on Bristol and her attorney that may be extremely inappropriate and potentially harmful to Tripp," he said.
While Johnston said his former girlfriend would never be malicious toward him, "her mother is powerful, politically ambitious and has a reputation for being extremely vindictive."
"So, I think a public case might go a long way in reducing Sarah Palin's instinct to attack and allow the real parties in this litigation, Bristol and I, to work things out a lot more peacefully than we could if there is any more meddling from Sarah Palin," Johnston said.
Bristol Palin's affidavit said her mother is not involved in the custody case, except as a grandmother. But Johnston's lawyer, Rex Butler, said in his own affidavit that his client does not trust closed proceedings because "Sarah Palin is known to deal forcefully with those she perceives as political enemies."
"He feels Sarah Palin, through her lawyer, under the guise of Bristol Palin's name, would run roughshod over his very bones," Butler said.
The judge's ruling, signed last week, concludes that Bristol Palin "failed to demonstrate that this case involves 'matters of a sensitive and highly personal nature' of such a magnitude that 'protection of the party's name outweighs the public's interest in disclosure.' "
Her filing for full custody argued that Levi was "not ready for the demands of parenthood and the sacrifices that would entail to a 19-year-old aspiring actor/model."
"Levi remains without a regular job or steady source of income," the petition states. While he's not enrolled in school "to learn a trade or earn a degree," he has made | [
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] | question: Who is seeking custody of Tripp Palin?, answer: Bristol | question: what has bristol palin requested, answer: Johnston over custody of their son be kept private to avoid a "media circus." | question: what is levi johnston seeking, answer: shared custody. | question: Who published unsealed court documents online?, answer: Anchorage Daily News. | question: Which paper published the documents?, answer: Anchorage Daily News. | question: Who seeks custody of Tripp Palin?, answer: Bristol | question: when were the court documents published, answer: Monday | question: What did Bristol Palin say?, answer: "I do not believe that it would be in Tripp's best interest for Levi's reality show to be filming this case as it unfolds, or for Levi Johnston to be capitalizing off of this custody case through his reality show," |
(CNN) -- An Alaska lottery held to raise money for a group that helps sexual abuse victims had a surprise winner: a convicted sex offender.
Alec Ahsoak in an undated photograph.
Alec Ahsoak, who according to the state sex offender registry was convicted in 1993 and 2000 for sexual abuse of a minor, came forward Saturday with the winning ticket for the $500,000 Lucky Time Pull Tabs jackpot.
Proceeds of the lottery help Standing Together Against Rape in Anchorage, a nonprofit group that offers support to sexual assault victims among other services.
"It's not how we had envisioned the story going," Nancy Haag, the group's executive director, told CNN Radio.
Alaska has the highest per capita number of rape cases in the United States, according to FBI statistics.
"With a ranking that high, it's ironic that the person who wins is a convicted sex offender," Haag added.
Ahsoak's past was first revealed by KTUU-TV in Anchorage on Sunday. His attorney, Lance Wells, did not immediately return a call Monday from CNN.
Efforts to reach lottery organizer Abe Spicola, who owns Lucky Times Pull Tabs, were unsuccessful late Monday. But Spicola told the Anchorage Daily News that Ahsoak "was going to buy a house and said he was going to donate part of it to God, and, you know, charity."
CNN's Samira J. Simone and April Willliams contributed to this report. | [
"What does Alaska have?",
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"What was the lottery winner convicted for?",
"What do proceeds of the lottery help?",
"Who he was convicted by the lottery winner ?",
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] | [
"the highest per capita number of rape cases in the United States,",
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] | question: What does Alaska have?, answer: the highest per capita number of rape cases in the United States, | question: What was the winner convicted for?, answer: sexual abuse of a minor, | question: What was the lottery winner convicted for?, answer: sexual abuse of a minor, | question: What do proceeds of the lottery help?, answer: sexual abuse victims | question: Who he was convicted by the lottery winner ?, answer: Alec Ahsoak | question: What has the highest per capita number of rape cases in the United States?, answer: Alaska |
(CNN) -- An American graduate student who went to Iraq to find ways to help ordinary citizens persevere in a transitioning government was one of two American civilians killed in a Sadr City bombing.
Nicole Suveges, a political scientist working toward her doctorate, died in a Sadr City bombing Tuesday.
Nicole Suveges, a married political scientist from Illinois, was part of a program that embeds academics into military units to help personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan navigate the local environment, according to her employer, BAE Systems.
Suveges, who started her tour with Human Terrain System in April, had been assigned to support the 3rd Brigade Combat Team for the 4th Infantry Division in "political, cultural, and tribal engagements," a statement from the program said.
She was one of four Americans to die in the Sadr City bombing Tuesday. Two U.S. soldiers and a State Department employee, Steven Farley, who worked with the provincial reconstruction team, also were killed in the blast.
"Nicole was a leading academic who studied for years on how to improve conditions for others," Doug Belair, president of BAE's Technology Solutions & Services, said in a written statement. "She came to us to give freely of herself in an effort to make a better world."
Suveges was the second BAE employee to die in a combat zone this year. Michael V. Bhatia, 31, a social scientist from Medway, Massachusetts, died in a roadside bombing May 7 in Afghanistan, BAE said.
Scott Fazekas, BAE's director of communications, said Suveges and Bhatia were among three dozen social scientists hired by the company and its subcontractors to support the program.
The Johns Hopkins University graduate student was also working toward a doctorate in political science with an emphasis on international relations. The focus of her dissertation was on the transition from an authoritarian regime to democracy and how it affects ordinary citizens, the university said.
"Nicole was committed to using her learning and experience to make the world a better place, especially for people who have suffered through war and conflict," William R. Brody, president of the university, said in a message Wednesday to the campus community. "She exemplifies all that we seek to do at Johns Hopkins: to use knowledge for the good of humanity."
Mark Blyth, Suveges' primary faculty adviser, said that when Suveges came to Johns Hopkins, she planned to write her Ph.D. dissertation on how ideas move across borders from society to society, exploring how radical Islamic ideas filtered through Western European mosques.
After the outbreak of the Iraq war, Suveges decided to shift her focus to the experience of ordinary citizens under a transitional government, said Blyth, a topic that had interested Suveges since her experience in Bosnia with the SFOR/NATO Combined Joint Psychological Operations Task Force.
"She was a very bright, engaging, sweet person, very intellectually curious," Blyth said Wednesday.
BAE said Suveges' experience, which included a tour in Iraq as a civilian contractor and a stint in Bosnia in the 1990s as an Army reservist, made her especially valuable in efforts to improve the lives of Iraqis.
A Human Terrain System statement said Suveges and others were attending a meeting of the District Advisory Council on Tuesday to elect a new chairman.
The officials were helping mediate disputes among the Sadr City leadership and "facilitate the development of a more representative local government," the statement said.
The attack was blamed on a Shiite insurgent cell.
Suveges graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1992 and received a master's degree in political science from George Washington University in 1998.
She had delivered papers to international relations organizations and served as a graduate teaching assistant, the company said.
At Johns Hopkins, she was managing editor for the Review of International Political Economy, the university said.
Maj. Mike Kenfield, spokesman for the Army's training and doctrine command, said that the program was credited for "reductions in non-lethal operations" and that there had been talk about expanding the purview of the team to outside Iraq and Afghanistan.
CNN's Joe | [
"What was the name of the student?",
"Where did Nicole Suveges die?",
"Who was the second Human Terrain System employee to die in combat zone this year?",
"Where did the student die?",
"Who was part of team of academic embeds advising military in Iraq?",
"What subject was the dissertation on?"
] | [
"Nicole Suveges,",
"Sadr City",
"Nicole Suveges,",
"Sadr City",
"Nicole Suveges,",
"the transition from an authoritarian regime to democracy and how it affects ordinary citizens,"
] | question: What was the name of the student?, answer: Nicole Suveges, | question: Where did Nicole Suveges die?, answer: Sadr City | question: Who was the second Human Terrain System employee to die in combat zone this year?, answer: Nicole Suveges, | question: Where did the student die?, answer: Sadr City | question: Who was part of team of academic embeds advising military in Iraq?, answer: Nicole Suveges, | question: What subject was the dissertation on?, answer: the transition from an authoritarian regime to democracy and how it affects ordinary citizens, |
(CNN) -- An American human rights group documenting widespread sexual violence against Darfuri women in Sudan and Chad has called for "vigorous prosecution of rape as a war crime."
Sudanese women in a refugee camp in southern Chad in March.
Physicians for Human Rights, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, issued a report Sunday "documenting the scope and long-term impact of rape and other sexual violence" experienced by women who fled the war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur and now live as refugees in neighboring Chad.
The report -- titled "Nowhere To Turn: Failure To Protect, Support and Assure Justice for Darfuri Women" -- is based on interviews with 88 female refugees living in Chad's Farchana refugee camp. The study was done with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.
"Many Darfuri women refugees live in a nightmare of memories of past trauma compounded by the constant threat of sexual violence around the camps now," said Susannah Sirkin, the physician group's deputy director.
"Women who report being raped are stigmatized, and remain trapped in places of perpetual insecurity. There's no one to stop the rapes, no one to turn to for justice for past or ongoing crimes, and little psycho-social support to address their prolonged and unimaginable traumas."
Dr. Sondra Crosby, a Physicians for Human Rights consultant and expert in refugee trauma, said "the atmosphere of intimidation was palpable as we listened to women describing their profound suffering and fear, and their yearning to return safely and with dignity to their former lives."
Of those refugees interviewed, "32 reported instances of confirmed or highly probable rape" -- 17 in Darfur and 15 in Chad, the group said.
"Among the instances of rape reported in Chad, the vast majority (10 of 11 confirmed reports) occurred when women left the camps to gather firewood." And just over half of the 88 women interviewed -- 46 of them -- live in fear of sexual assaults around the refugee camp.
The group supports the issuing of International Criminal Court warrants against the Sudanese perpetrators.
The group also called for "legal reforms in Chad to end impunity for sexual violence," and for "effective psychosocial support to survivors." And it said increased protections are needed by police and peacekeepers, including "effective firewood patrols."
The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 after rebels in the western region of Sudan began attacking government positions. Sudan's government responded with a fierce military campaign that has led to some 200,000 deaths and forced 2 million people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations. | [
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"How many Darfuri women were interviewed?",
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] | question: What did the Darfuri women describe?, answer: profound suffering and fear, | question: How many have died since fighting began, answer: some 200,000 deaths | question: How many Darfuri women were interviewed?, answer: 88 | question: How many women described profound suffering and fear, answer: 46 | question: Who was interviewed?, answer: Sondra Crosby, | question: In what year did the fighting begin, answer: 2003 | question: What did the expert say?, answer: "the atmosphere of intimidation was palpable as we listened to women describing their profound suffering and fear, and their yearning to return safely and with dignity to their former lives." | question: How many people have died?, answer: 200,000 | question: How many people have died in the region due to fighting?, answer: 200,000 deaths |
(CNN) -- An American missionary family living in Haiti has been providing virtually nonstop reports about the devastation from Tuesday's earthquake and tracking down information on others serving there.
"There is no way to even begin to share the things we've heard and seen since 5 p.m. yesterday," Tara Livesay wrote on the family's blog Wednesday morning.
"To do so would take hours that we don't have to give right now. Some of them feel wrong to tell. Like only God should know these personal horrible tragedies."
Tara and Troy Livesay are country directors for World Wide Village, a Minnesota-based charitable organization providing Christian education, health care, nutrition and micro-enterprise opportunities to children and families in Haiti.
"Sometimes life in Haiti leaves you wondering 'Where are you God?' and other times we witness miracles with our own eyes," they write in their blog profile.
Besides Troy and Tara, the household in Port-au-Prince is made up of daughter Paige, 15, and "the crew": Isaac, 8, Hope, 7, Noah, 5, Phoebe Joy, 3, Lydia Beth, 2, Annie, also 2, and Peanut the dog. Some of the children are adopted. Daughter Britt, 19, lives in Texas with her husband, Chris.
In addition, there's Jeronne, the children's nanny. ("She is the MVP around here. We love her and think of her as family," the blog says.)
Finally, there's Tipap, Troy's assistant, security chief and all-around handyman, who lives at the World Wide Village Guest House.
The Livesays see themselves and their efforts as "a work in progress -- trying to make the love of Jesus known while learning to know Him better ourselves."
That work since Tuesday evening has been consumed by gathering and reporting information about the quake and accounting for missing missionaries and other people.
Troy Livesay's reports came in the form of tweets that alternated between raw descriptions and expressions of hope:
"... covered in dust and debris ... we saw a few bodies that had been pulled out of the rubble laying dead in the sidewalk ... many others injured"
"Church groups are singing throughout the city all through the night in prayer. It is a beautiful sound in the middle of a horrible tragedy."
"The worst damage is in Carrfour (South of Port, near the Palace) we are hearing that many two and three story buildings did not make it."
"Tipap made it home from Carrefour - saw many dead bodies and injured along the way - said most buildings w/more than one story are down."
"The Haitian people are out praying together -- aftershock happening right now."
Share your images and accounts
On the blog, Tara Livesay's writing is both pained and eloquent:
"The few things we can confirm -- yes the four story Caribbean Market building is completely demolished," she posted. "Yes it was open. Yes the National Palace collapsed. Yes Gov't buildings nearby the Palace collapsed. Yes St Josephs Boys home is completely collapsed. Yes countless countless - countless other houses, churches, hospitals, schools, and businesses have collapsed. There are buildings that suffered almost no damage. Right next door will be a pile of rubble.
"Thousands of people are currently trapped. To guess at a number would be like guessing at raindrops in the ocean. Precious lives hang in the balance. When pulled from the rubble there is no place to take them for care Haiti has an almost non existent medical care system for her people.
"I cannot imagine what the next few weeks and months will be like. I am afraid for everyone. Never in my life have I seen people stronger than Haitian people. But I am afraid for them. For us.
"When the quake hit it took many seconds to even process what was happening. The house was rocking back and forth in a way that I cannot even begin to | [
"Where does the husband tweet from?",
"from where Troy issues tweets?",
"who are missionary couple with houseful of children?",
"When did wife blog?",
"Where does Troy issue tweets from?",
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] | [
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] | question: Where does the husband tweet from?, answer: Haiti | question: from where Troy issues tweets?, answer: Haiti | question: who are missionary couple with houseful of children?, answer: Tara and Troy Livesay | question: When did wife blog?, answer: Wednesday morning. | question: Where does Troy issue tweets from?, answer: Haiti | question: What are the couple?, answer: country directors |
(CNN) -- An American woman died aboard a cruise ship that docked at Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, the same ship on which 86 passengers previously fell ill, according to the state-run Brazilian news agency, Agencia Brasil.
The American tourist died aboard the MS Veendam, owned by cruise operator Holland America. Federal Police told Agencia Brasil that forensic doctors were investigating her death.
The ship's doctors told police that the woman was elderly and suffered from diabetes and hypertension, according the agency.
The other passengers came down with diarrhea prior to her death during an earlier part of the trip, the ship's doctors said.
The Veendam left New York 36 days ago for a South America tour. | [
"How much passengers had fallen?",
"Of what did the elderly woman suffered?"
] | [
"86",
"diabetes and hypertension,"
] | question: How much passengers had fallen?, answer: 86 | question: Of what did the elderly woman suffered?, answer: diabetes and hypertension, |
(CNN) -- An Arizona couple who wanted to adopt a woman's baby know more than they're saying about the 8-month-old boy's disappearance, police say.
Gabriel Johnson hasn't been seen since December 26, police said, and his mother was arrested last week in Miami Beach, Florida, after not reporting for a December 28 child custody hearing in Arizona.
"We have some good indications at this point with our investigation that Tammi and Jack Smith do know more information than they have provided to us that could possibly lead us to Gabriel," Sgt. Steve Carbajal, spokesman for the Tempe (Arizona) Police Department, told HLN's Nancy Grace on Thursday.
For their part, the Smiths told HLN's Jean Casarez on "Nancy Grace" that they voluntarily took polygraph tests Friday at the Tempe Police Department.
"The polygraph test is not like what you see on TV," Jack Smith said. "It's almost like being strapped into the electric chair, so it's very intensive. And we were very happy to do it."
The Smiths have said they met Elizabeth Johnson, 23, seven months ago during a long layover at an airport, and later the three discussed a plan to adopt Johnson's child, Gabriel.
But the boy's father, Logan McQueary, has legal custody and has said Elizabeth Johnson urged him to sign papers giving the Smiths custody of the boy, but he refused.
"She didn't want Logan to have the baby, and we couldn't adopt the baby because Logan wouldn't sign the papers," Tammi Smith said on "Nancy Grace."
"So her idea was to just keep running forever. And we told her, 'You can't run forever. They're going to find you.' "
Elizabeth Johnson has refused to say where the boy is, according to police, and remains in a Florida jail on suspicion of custodial interference.
Carbajal's department has indications that Gabriel is alive, he said, adding that the Smiths have spoken with investigators. But he declined to say why police believe that the couple has more information.
The Smiths say they do not know where Gabriel is.
Watch what they say about the polygraphs
Detectives have not been able to confirm that Johnson gave the child to an unidentified couple in San Antonio, Texas, as she has claimed.
"On one hand, we hear that that went down and the child was given away to an unknown couple at a park," Carbajal said.
"We balance that with statements made by Elizabeth that she killed Gabriel. Which story is true? Our investigators are trying to get to the bottom of that right now."
New leads and developments in the case were coming in by the minute, he said. The FBI found Johnson's car in San Antonio and have examined it for any clues that could lead them to the boy, but his whereabouts remain unknown.
Anyone with more information is asked to call the Tempe Police Department at 480-350-8311 or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST. | [
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(CNN) -- An Arizona man caught leaving water bottles in the desert for illegal immigrants has been sentenced to 300 hours of community service and a year of probation, an aid group said.
Walt Staton was convicted in June of littering by leaving jugs of water in a wildlife refuge.
Walt Staton, a member of the group No More Deaths, left full water bottles in December in Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge for the illegal immigrants who routinely pass through the 18,000-acre refuge, according to court documents.
A judge sentenced him Tuesday to 300 hours of picking up trash on public property and a year of probation, No More Deaths said in a written statement. He is also banned from the refuge during that time, the group said.
Although the case involved only a misdemeanor charge, both sides used the divisive issue of illegal immigration in their arguments; Staton's lawyer argued that Staton's actions were humanitarian, but the government said otherwise.
In a sentencing memo, the federal prosecutors wrote that Staton's "actions are not about humanitarian efforts, but about protesting the immigration policies of the United States, and aiding those that enter illegally into the United States."
Noting the phrase scrawled on many of the plastic water jugs -- "buena suerte," or "good luck" in Spanish -- the prosecutors said, "The obvious conclusion is that the defendant and No More Deaths wish to aid illegal aliens in their entry attempt."
They also said, as did the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, that leaving the full plastic jugs on the refuge is detrimental to the health of the animals that live there.
Citing a biologist, the prosecutors said that animals could eat the plastic and that others could get feet or antlers caught on the bottles.
Prosecutors had requested a $5,000 fine, along with five years of probation, according to court documents.
Staton, who No More Deaths says is to begin seminary school at the Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, California, had initially refused to pay a $175 fine for littering, said Staton's lawyer, Bill Walker.
After his refusal, the government enhanced the charges against him, arguing that he "knowingly littered," said Walker, who is also a member of No More Deaths.
The charge can carry a $100,000 fine and a year in jail, Walker said. Charges against three other people who were cited with Staton in December were dropped, he said.
A jury convicted Staton in June of littering. Walker said he is appealing.
"We think that Walt did nothing wrong," he said. "We do not think that this conviction will be upheld on appeal."
He described Staton as "the kind of guy you'd want to have as your next door neighbor."
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Arizona declined comment.
Mike Hawkes of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge said Thursday that although he had no issue with groups leaving water out for illegal immigrants, "there's ways to do it without leaving plastic jugs out there."
He said the plastic jugs were strewn throughout the refuge, which is home to hundreds of bird, reptile and mammal species, according to its Web site.
"We have sympathy for what they have to do," he said. But "they have do to do it without putting plastic bottles out there. ... You can't go anywhere in the refuge without seeing plastic bottles through the countryside."
Hawkes said refuge officials and members of No More Deaths had met and were trying to come up with methods that don't involve plastic bottles.
Staton is the second member of No More Deaths to be convicted of littering, according to court documents; however, the other received a suspended sentence.
Walker said that after Staton's conviction, 13 No More Deaths members were charged with littering on the refuge.
With tens of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing through the refuge -- Hawkes said last year's number was about 54,000, down from hundreds of thousands years earlier -- the last water-related death there was | [
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] | [
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] | question: How many hours of community service a year?, answer: 300 | question: what is detrimental?, answer: leaving the full plastic jugs on the refuge | question: What is detrimental to animals?, answer: full plastic jugs on the refuge is | question: who is leaving bottles detrimental to according to Fish and Wildlife Service, answer: Walt Staton | question: what did he leave?, answer: water bottles in the desert for illegal immigrants | question: how many hours?, answer: 300 |
(CNN) -- An Arizona man lay handcuffed and non-responsive on the floor of a Walmart on Black Friday, as his emotional grandson stood nearby.
Jerald Newman, 54, spent Friday night in a Maricopa County jail hours after being arrested for allegedly resisting arrest and shoplifting, according to the county sheriff's department.
But the suspect's family members, as well as at least one witness, said the man is innocent and that the treatment was unnecessary.
Newman's daughter said that she, her father and other family members were in the packed Buckeye, Arizona, store soon after it opened late Thursday night.
"They were just letting people in; there was nowhere to walk," Berneta Sanchez told CNN. "And teenagers and adults were fighting for these games, taking them away from little kids and away from my father."
The grandson, Nicholas Nava, told CNN affiliate KNXV that Newman had grabbed one video game and put it under his shirt so that others jostling for the game didn't take it from him. One person alerted a police officer, who then approached Newman.
David Chadd, a CNN iReporter from Las Vegas, was among those shopping for video games set up in the Walmart's grocery section in a mass of people. He said Newman "was not resisting" arrest as he was led away from the crowd by a police officer.
The officer, Chadd said, then suddenly hooked the suspect around the leg, grabbed him and "slammed him face first into the ground."
"It was like a bowling ball hitting the ground, that's how bad it was," he said.
That was around when Sanchez said she heard of the altercation from across the store and ran toward her father.
"I was fuming," she recalled upon seeing her father on the floor. "They wouldn't let me near him at all, they were telling me to stay back."
Video, recorded by Chadd and later posted on CNN's iReport, shows an apparently unconscious Newman head-down on the floor in a pool of blood. As he's turned over, Buckeye police officers appear to attempt to revive him -- at which point his face, covered mostly in blood, is revealed.
Several voices, apparently those of fellow shoppers, are heard saying, "Why would you throw him down so hard? All he did was shoplifting and you threw him down like that?" Another person says, "They threw him down. He wasn't doing anything wrong."
Two citizens then appear to come to Newman's aid by applying paper towels to the man's nose. Chadd estimated that Newman was knocked out for about 10 minutes, all the while gushing blood and handcuffed.
Walmart spokeswoman Ashley Hardie said the retail giant was aware of the incident.
"We are concerned whenever there is an incident involving a customer at one of our stores," Hardie said. "We are in contact with the local police and are sharing any information we have with them."
Members of the Buckeye Police Department did not immediately respond to CNN calls Friday for comment. Assistant Chief Larry Hall told KNXV that Newman struggled after getting hurt, saying he was aggressive and escalated the situation.
"There's a whole other side to this story that wasn't videotaped," Hall said. "There is nothing, on the surface, (that) deems our officer acted inappropriate at this time."
The Buckeye incident was one of a few such incidents involving police and shoppers at the chain's stores nationwide.
Sanchez said that Newman was "emotional" when she talked to him, briefly, on Friday from a hospital where he was treated before being sent to jail.
"He was complaining of his pain, and he was angry," she said.
She described her father as "a really nice man," noting he is a custom furniture-maker who preaches through the California prison system. He has raised his grandson from birth and, even while in the hospital, Sanchez said the boy | [
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] | [
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] | question: What did the grandson try to hide?, answer: video game | question: Who is charged with resisting arrest, answer: Jerald Newman, | question: Who is charged with resisting arrest and shoplifting?, answer: Jerald Newman, | question: Who tried to hide a video game from jostling shoppers?, answer: Newman | question: What do the videos show, answer: an apparently unconscious Newman head-down on the floor in a pool of blood. | question: Who says he tried to hide a video game?, answer: Newman |
(CNN) -- An Arkansas TV station has officially replaced former weatherman Brett Cummins, a month after he was found in a tub next to a dead body, the station's news director said.
KARK has named Keith Monahan, who had been working at KIAH in Houston, as its new chief meteorologist, said news director Rob Heverling.
"As soon as we watched Keith, we knew he was a very good fit," said Heverling.
On the morning of August 7, Christopher Barbour said he awoke in his home outside Little Rock and found the body of 24-year-old Dexter Paul Williams in an empty tub, his face blue and purple and a chain around his neck, a Maumelle Police Department report said.
Cummins, 33, was asleep next to the corpse, whose head was lying behind the meteorologist's shoulder, Barbour told police, according to the report. The witness said that he awakened Cummins, who screamed after noticing Williams' discolored face and cold skin and ran to the living room, where he vomited next to the couch.
Days later, Cummins resigned from his job at the Little Rock-based station, his attorney Mark Hampton said.
Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley said Thursday that his office should know in the coming weeks if any charges will be filed in relation to Williams' death.
The night before the incident, Williams and Cummins arrived together at Barbour's house, Barbour told police. Once there, the three had drunk alcohol and snorted illegal narcotics, though Barbour could not identify the drugs, according to the report.
Maumelle police Lt. Jim Hansard said the manner of Williams' death remains "undetermined." He added that the medical examiner cited several contributing factors, including intoxication with methamphetamine and amphetamines.
The investigation remains open, and there is "no indication (from the medical examiner) in any way that there was a strangulation," said Hansard. | [
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] | question: Who will be KARK's new chief meteorologist?, answer: Keith Monahan, | question: What is undetermined according to police?, answer: the manner of Williams' death | question: Where the incident occurred?, answer: Little Rock | question: Who resigned after being found next to a corpse?, answer: Brett Cummins, | question: What lead to Brett Cummings resignation?, answer: he was found in a tub next to a dead body, | question: Who is KARK's new chief meteorologist?, answer: Keith Monahan, |
(CNN) -- An Arkansas man suspected in a shooting that killed one soldier and wounded another at a Little Rock military recruiting center was angry over the treatment of Muslims, authorities said Tuesday.
Pvt. William Long, 23, of Conway, Arkansas, was killed in Monday's attack.
Abdulhakim Bledsoe, 23, of Little Rock, also told police he recently watched a video "pertaining to subversive activities which spurred him to commit this act," according to court documents.
Bledsoe pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday and was ordered held without bail.
He faces one count of capital murder and 16 counts of engaging in a terrorist act, said Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas. The terrorist counts stem from the shots fired at an occupied building. Watch scenes from Tuesday in court »
Before the not guilty plea, authorities said Bledsoe waived his Miranda rights after the shooting Monday and gave a video statement indicating that "political and religious" motives were involved.
He "stated that he was a practicing Muslim ... that he was mad at the U.S. military because of what they had done to Muslims in the past," homicide detective Tommy Hudson said in a police report.
Bledsoe told police "he fired several rounds at the soldiers with the intent of killing them," according to Hudson's report.
The suspect is a Muslim convert who has also gone by the names Carlos Bledsoe and Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad. He changed his name from the latter April 23, citing religious reasons, court records show.
A leader of the Muslim community in Little Rock said he did not know Bledsoe.
The suspect had been under investigation after visiting Yemen, a federal law enforcement official said. The official declined to provide further information.
Police believe the shooter acted alone "with the specific purpose of targeting military personnel," Thomas said.
Kent Krause, Bledsoe's public defender, said a formal hearing would be held for his client, but no date has been set.
Residents left flowers and miniature American flags outside the recruiting center after the shooting. A lone candle burned on the sidewalk next to bouquets of white and red roses. A note that said "Thank you for your service" was attached to the flowers.
The shooting Monday killed Pvt. William Long, 23, of Conway, Arkansas, and wounded Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville, Arkansas, who were outside the military recruiting center.
Bledsoe told police he was driving around and saw Long and Ezeagwula smoking outside the building, according to Hudson's report. He said he pulled into the parking lot and shot the two soldiers and added that "he would have killed more soldiers if they had been on the parking lot," according to the report.
Ezeagwula was in stable condition Tuesday, the police chief said.
The soldiers were part of a recruiting program called "hometown recruiting assistance," said Lt. Col. Thomas F. Artis, commander of the Oklahoma recruiting battalion that oversees the Little Rock Army-Navy recruiting center.
Under the program, soldiers tell their stories to potential recruits. It's a volunteer position taken while soldiers are visiting or based back in their home region, Artis said.
"I'm relieved there's a suspect in custody," said Capt. Matthew Feehan, commander of the recruiting center. He said several people were in the building at the time of the shooting, but nobody else was injured.
Bledsoe was arrested after officers on Interstate 630 pulled over his car, which matched witnesses' description of a black Ford sport utility vehicle seen leaving the scene of the shooting.
Police recovered three guns from the suspect's vehicle -- an SKS semi-automatic rifle, a .22-caliber rifle and a .380-caliber automatic pistol, Thomas said.
The victims were shot with an SKS rifle, according to the police report.
Police also seized from Bledsoe's vehicle and apartment several rounds of ammunition, two homemade silencers, handwritten notes in Arabic, CDs with handwritten Arabic labels, a computer and cell phones, according to court documents.
Melvin Bledsoe of Memphis | [
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] | question: where was the shooting, answer: Arkansas | question: what was the motive?, answer: "political and religious" | question: What happened in Monday's shooting?, answer: killed one soldier and wounded another at a Little | question: What do the police say?, answer: He faces one count of capital murder and 16 counts of engaging in a terrorist act, | question: what was the motives, answer: angry over the treatment of Muslims, | question: where did this happen?, answer: Rock military recruiting center |
(CNN) -- An Aruban police dive team will search the site where an underwater photograph was taken that might show human remains, a spokeswoman for the Aruban prosecutor said Saturday.
The picture has renewed interest in the nearly 5-year-old Natalee Holloway case.
Officials first heard of the picture, taken in October by a vacationing American couple, on Thursday, Ann Angela, a spokeswoman for Aruban prosecutor Peter Blanken, said
"We have received the picture, and the diving team of the Aruban police will start doing preliminary work at the spot where we believe it was taken," Angela told CNN.
She declined to identify the location, saying authorities want to avoid attracting onlookers during the search.
The picture has raised the notion that, if it shows human remains, they could be those of Holloway, an 18-year-old Alabama high school student whose 2005 disappearance while on a graduation trip to Aruba was widely publicized.
Holloway was last reported seen leaving a bar in the capital of Oranjestad on May 30.
CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the photo nor confirm whether it shows human remains.
Holloway's mother, Beth Twitty, declined to comment on the photo.
The photo was taken by a Pennsylvania woman using a disposable film camera during the first stop on her Royal Caribbean cruise.
Three months after snapping what she said she thought were pictures of colorful fish, Patti Muldowney and her husband said they realized that one picture contained what they believe appear to be human remains.
"When I looked at that photo, I said, 'By darn, that certainly does look like a skeleton,' " John Muldowney told HLN's "Nancy Grace" on Friday. "You can see the skull. You can see where the eye sockets were. You can see where the chin was.
"It's lying flat on its back. And its arms are cradled around. You can almost see fingers. And then on the one sleeve it looks like some kind of maybe clothing that's deteriorating."
The couple, who took the photo to police and the FBI, said it was taken near a shipwreck.
The FBI said Friday that it is investigating.
"The photo has been made available to all elements of the FBI that are involved in this foreign police cooperation case," Mike Kortan, assistant director of the FBI's office of public affairs, said in a statement. "Investigative leads are being pursued and the effort is ongoing."
The main suspect in the Holloway case, Joran van der Sloot, remains free. Van der Sloot has made alleged confession-like statements in TV interviews, one of which involves dumping Holloway's body in the ocean after she suffered a seizure on the beach. Aruban judges have ruled there isn't enough evidence to arrest him.
Whether the object in the photo is human remains is still up for debate.
In underwater burials, it is typical for arms, legs and other extremities to be dispersed and for lighter bones to be carried away from heavier bones by fish, wildlife and water, according to Heather Walsh-Haney, a forensic anthropologist.
"It looks as if there's something that may be on top of the skeleton," Walsh-Haney said of the image in the photograph. "That would certainly bode well for preserving the center of the mass of the body and keeping most of it there."
Dr. Marty Makary, a physician who serves on the faculty at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, said he sees mixed signs, some indicating the image may not be a skeleton.
"What I don't like about the photo is there's no spinal cord or vertebral column," he said. "In fact, below this roundish skull-type profile you see a curvature which doesn't really represent a normal spinal column."
CNN's Tracy Sabo and Philip Rosenbaum contributed to this report. | [
"who disappeared at Aruba?",
"When did Holloway disappear?",
"Where did couple take photo?"
] | [
"Natalee Holloway",
"2005",
"underwater"
] | question: who disappeared at Aruba?, answer: Natalee Holloway | question: When did Holloway disappear?, answer: 2005 | question: Where did couple take photo?, answer: underwater |
(CNN) -- An Australian high court ruled Friday that a quadriplegic man has the right to refuse food and water and can be allowed to die, a rare legal finding that some see as a major victory for right-to-die campaigners.
An Australian high court ruled Friday that Christian Rossiter has the right to refuse food and water.
The ruling means that the nursing facility in which Christian Rossiter has lived since November 2008 cannot be held criminally liable for allowing the patient to die, the Supreme Court of Western Australia said.
"I'm happy that I won my right to die," Rossiter, 49, said afterward. But he added that he will further consult with a doctor because he may change his mind.
A leading Australian right-to-die advocate called the ruling a significant victory.
"I don't know that many people will want to die this way. But for people who do, it's a very important decision," said Dr. Philip Nitschke, founder and director of Exit International, a leading global voluntary euthanasia and end-of-life advocacy group.
Nitschke noted that Rossiter's case is significant because his mind is fully functional.
"This is the first time that it's come up with a person that's rational and lucid," Nitschke told CNN. "This is unusual. It's very rare."
Chief Justice Wayne Martin noted that distinction in his order, saying, "Mr. Rossiter is not a child, nor is he terminally ill, nor dying. He is not in a vegetative state, nor does he lack the capacity to communicate his wishes. There is therefore no question of other persons making decisions on his behalf.
"Rather, this is a case in which a person with full mental capacity and the ability to communicate his wishes has indicated that he wishes to direct those who have assumed responsibility for his care to discontinue the provision of treatment which maintains his existence."
Some family and right-to-life groups opposed Rossiter's request.
"Really, what we should be doing is looking after each other rather than facilitating an escape," John Barich of the Australian Family Association said in a TV interview.
Peter O'Meara, president of Western Australia's Right to Life Association, said, "The law which is being applied can be a dangerous precedent."
Rossiter has suffered a series of injuries since 1988 that have left him with limited foot movement and the ability to wriggle only one finger. He is fed through a stomach tube. He relies on staff at the Brightwater Care Group nursing facility in the city of Perth for such routine care as regular turning, cleaning, assistance with bowel movements, physical and occupational therapy and speech pathology.
Australian law gives patients the right to refuse life-saving treatment, but helping someone commit suicide is a crime that can carry a life prison sentence. The Brightwater nursing facility sought the ruling to make sure it would not be held liable if it complied with Rossiter's request to stop all nutrition and hydration, except to be given enough liquid to make it possible to take pain medication.
Rossiter attended the hearing in a wheelchair, breathing through a tracheotomy tube in his throat. He told the judge he wants to die.
It's a point he has been making publicly.
"I can't move," Rossiter said in a televised interview this week. "I can't even wipe the tears from my eyes. And I'd like to die. I'm imprisoned in my own body. I have no fear of death. Just pain."
Rossiter pointed out in a recent interview with the PerthNow news outlet that he once led an active life.
"This is living hell," he is quoted as saying. "I used to be a cyclist, I used to be a keen walker. I bushwalked around the world. ... I've rock climbed in Yosemite Valley in California up very steep cliffs. I've got a degree in economics and now I can't even read a newspaper, I can't turn the pages | [
"Who fear the ruling will set a dangerous precedent?",
"who can't wipe the tears from the eyes?",
"What can Rossiter not do?",
"who fear ruling will set dangerous precedent?",
"What can't Rossiter do?",
"What left Rossiter unable to live normally?",
"What cannot be held liable for allowing him to die?",
"What happened to Christian Rossiter?",
"who was unable to live normally in 1988?"
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"Christian Rossiter"
] | question: Who fear the ruling will set a dangerous precedent?, answer: Peter O'Meara, | question: who can't wipe the tears from the eyes?, answer: Rossiter | question: What can Rossiter not do?, answer: move," | question: who fear ruling will set dangerous precedent?, answer: Peter O'Meara, president of Western Australia's Right to Life Association, | question: What can't Rossiter do?, answer: move," | question: What left Rossiter unable to live normally?, answer: series of injuries | question: What cannot be held liable for allowing him to die?, answer: nursing facility | question: What happened to Christian Rossiter?, answer: has suffered a series of injuries since 1988 that have left him with limited foot movement and the ability to wriggle only one finger. | question: who was unable to live normally in 1988?, answer: Christian Rossiter |
(CNN) -- An Australian man and his daughter have created a furor after going on television to admit an incestuous relationship which has produced two children.
John Deaves and his daughter Jenny pictured in the 60 Minutes interview.
John Deaves, 61, appeared on the 60 Minutes show with daughter Jenny, 39, and their child -- nine-month-old Celeste, Melbourne's The Age newspaper reported.
Last month Judge Steven Millsteed banned the couple from having sex with each other, but released them on a three-year, $460 good behavior bond. Court transcripts also revealed their first child died in 2001 from a congenital heart disorder.
The couple told 60 Minutes that they fell in love in 2000 when they "discovered each other later in life." Deaves had left the family home when Jenny was a baby, and did not see her again for 30 years. What do you think of the couple's relationship?
However, the Age reported Deaves' former wife, Dorothy, disputed their claim that they were virtual strangers when they fell in love.
"They were in contact all the time," she said. "His youngest daughter [from his second marriage] didn't even know they were together and she is really traumatized -- she is hurting terrible."
Deaves' first wife and Jennifer's mother, Joan, said children deserved a better chance in life than one that originated from incest. Watch video report on incest couple. »
"I just think that the whole relationship is dreadful," she told News Ltd.
"These incestual [sic] relationships produce children and the children have problems and it's not fair to kids."
Professor Freda Briggs, of the University of South Australia, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that a good behavior bond would not stop the pair from having more children.
"My controversial suggestion was that in these sorts of circumstances judges should be able to persuade them one way or another," she said.
"For the mother for example to have her tubes tied or the father-cum-grandfather to be sterilized." E-mail to a friend | [
"Where do father and daughter reveal incest?",
"What does the judge ban?",
"Who reveal incest?"
] | [
"television",
"the couple from having sex with each other,",
"John Deaves and his daughter Jenny"
] | question: Where do father and daughter reveal incest?, answer: television | question: What does the judge ban?, answer: the couple from having sex with each other, | question: Who reveal incest?, answer: John Deaves and his daughter Jenny |
(CNN) -- An Australian man sentenced to 500 lashes and a year in prison after his conviction on blasphemy charges in Saudi Arabia is headed home after his punishment was greatly reduced, officials said Thursday.
Mansor Almaribe was arrested and convicted in mid November in the city of Medina.
Australia had appealed for leniency after popular outcry followed his sentence.
Saudi officials responded by pardoning Almaribe from his prison term and reducing the lashing sentence to 75 lashes, the ministry said.
"His corporal punishment was also greatly reduced and administered in a way that did not cause physical harm," it said.
The ministry did not elaborate on how the lashing was carried out., though observers have suggested the punishment could be done in a largely ceremonial and non-harmful manner. It's unclear if that's what occurred.
It's also unclear what the 45-year-old Shia Muslim from Australia's Victoria state said or did to get arrested.
Australian officials said they were told Almaribe made comments "insulting to prophet Mohammed's relatives."
"I don't think my dad would even survive 50 lashes not 500," his son said last month. "He goes to the doctor every week for checks ups. He has knee injuries and back injuries from a car accident and he also has diabetes and high blood pressure."
The family spent weeks searching for the Iraqi-born father of five after he went missing in early November while performing the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Blasphemy is punishable by up to a death sentence under the strict Muslim law in Saudi Arabia. | [
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"Who recieved 75 lashes?",
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"How many lashes did Mansor received?"
] | [
"they were told Almaribe made comments \"insulting to prophet Mohammed's relatives.\"",
"they were told Almaribe made comments \"insulting to prophet Mohammed's relatives.\"",
"Almaribe",
"made comments \"insulting to prophet Mohammed's relatives.\"",
"500"
] | question: What did Australian officials say?, answer: they were told Almaribe made comments "insulting to prophet Mohammed's relatives." | question: What did the australian officials saids?, answer: they were told Almaribe made comments "insulting to prophet Mohammed's relatives." | question: Who recieved 75 lashes?, answer: Almaribe | question: What did Shia Muslim to get arrested?, answer: made comments "insulting to prophet Mohammed's relatives." | question: How many lashes did Mansor received?, answer: 500 |
(CNN) -- An Australian panel on Thursday suggested changes to the country's Constitution to give better recognition to the indigenous population that inhabited the vast continent long before Europeans settled there.
The indigenous Australians -- often referred to as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples -- suffered at the hands of the settlers and the government they established.
Australian politicians have since apologized for the past mistreatment, but Aborigines remain disadvantaged socially and economically compared with the overall population.
Explicit references to Aborigines in the original Constitution, drafted in the late 19th century, were subsequently deemed to be negative. Australians voted overwhelmingly to remove those points in a 1967 referendum, but many people say the document can be further improved to acknowledge the role of the country's indigenous population.
The panel -- which included Aboriginal leaders, business executives, legal experts and members of the main political parties -- handed over its report on Thursday to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, whose government has promised to hold a referendum on the matter by the next general election.
After spending the past year gathering opinions from people across Australia's huge territory, the panel faced the delicate task of proposing meaningful changes to the Constitution that would receive support from across the political spectrum.
Without the backing of all the major political parties, the proposed measures would have little chance of success at a referendum. And rejection by voters could deal a blow to Australia's self-image.
"For many Australians, the failure of a referendum on recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would result in confusion about the nation's values, commitment to racial nondiscrimination, and sense of national identity," the panel said in its report. "The negative impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would be profound."
The challenge is highlighted by the track record of past efforts to change the Constitution by vote: only eight of the 44 referendum proposals have passed in Australia's history, with the last successful one in 1974.
The panel said it had put forward changes that it thought would be likely to secure broad-based approval from Australians.
It proposed repealing two provisions that are still considered to have racist connotations: one that allows states to disqualify people of "all persons of any race" from voting at elections; and another that authorizes parliament to make "special laws" for "the people of any race."
That recommendation was expected and had already been supported by the government and the opposition.
The panel also made the more politically sensitive suggestion of adding a new section that would give Parliament the power to make laws "for the peace, order and good government' of Australia "with respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples."
That section would include a passage recognizing that "the continent and its islands now known as Australia were first occupied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples."
The report also proposed a section prohibiting racial discrimination while still allowing for the possibility of measures to protect and help "any group."
Some politicians and commentators had expressed concern before Thursday that the panel may put forward new provisions that, if enacted, would give too much power to the courts to interpret the wording as they saw fit.
The government said in a statement that it would "carefully consider the panel's recommendations before determining the best way forward." | [
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] | question: What does a panel propose, answer: changes to the country's Constitution to give better | question: What rarely do well in Australia, answer: referendum proposals | question: When is a referendum promised on the issue?, answer: by the next general election. | question: Who is proposing new sections for the Australian Constitution?, answer: panel | question: Who will consider the recommendations?, answer: The government | question: Who says it will consider the recommendations before deciding how to proceed?, answer: The government | question: Has the government promised a referendum on the issue ?, answer: to hold a | question: What will the government consider, answer: the panel's recommendations before determining the best way forward." |
(CNN) -- An Australian pilot landed a company plane in the ocean off Darwin on Friday, in a water landing that prompted comparisons to last month's landing of a US Airways jet in New York's Hudson River.
The Australian pilot has been compared to U.S. hero Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, pictured above.
The Australian pilot also encountered problems shortly after takeoff. The twin-propeller plane was carrying the pilot and five passengers when it went down shortly after leaving Darwin International Airport, said Neville Blyth, a senior transport safety investigator with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
All those aboard were unhurt and managed to walk to shore, he said. Pictures showed the men from the plane soaked and carrying bags and equipment as they walked through the water.
"It's essentially a good story," Blyth said.
The ATSB is deciding whether to investigate, he said, and the cause of the incident is still unknown.
The Piper Chieftain plane was on its way to the town of Maningrida, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) east of Darwin, according to its owner, Australian information technology company CSG. Watch the plane ditch in Darwin Harbor »
"We would like to congratulate the pilot following all emergency landing and evacuation procedures and his very professional handling of the situation," a CSG statement said.
Darwin is in Australia's Northern Territory, on the coast of the Timor Sea. The city's airport is near the water.
The plane's trajectory took it over the water, giving the pilot limited opportunities to ditch the plane on land, Blyth said. He said the ocean was a safer option for landing than the beach, where the firmness of the sand was unknown.
"Personally, I think the decision was appropriate," Blyth said.
Australian media dubbed the captain of the Darwin plane "Sully Lite," comparing him to the captain of the US Airways Airbus jet that landed safely in the Hudson.
Pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger was hailed as a hero for landing the plane safely and ensuring that all 155 people on board survived.
Asked about the comparisons, Blyth said the connection was tenuous.
"The correlation for a water landing is as close as it gets," he said. | [
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(CNN) -- An Australian rugby league player has been charged with dealing drugs just three months after his teammate was served a court notice for the same offence.
Chris Houston, who plays for Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League competition, has been charged with supplying ecstasy and cocaine according to reports in Australian newspapers on Monday.
The 25-year-old second-row forward will appear in court next month, and has been suspended by his club.
"Newcastle Knights player Chris Houston has been stood down immediately and indefinitely following reports he was charged this afternoon on drug-related allegations," a Knights statement said on Monday.
Houston's teammate Danny Wicks was charged with six counts of supplying prohibited drugs and two counts of drug possession in December.
Wicks' younger brother and his sister-in-law have also been charged as part of a police investigation into drugs suppliers, along with soccer player Steven Stefanovski.
Wicks and Houston both moved to Newcastle from Sydney club St George Illawarra at the end of 2007.
Wicks agreed to cancel his $180,000-a-year contract in December, the Sydney Morning Herald reported, while Houston is contracted to the Knights until 2012.
It is the second year in a row that the sport has been hit by controversy ahead of a new season, which begins in two weeks.
Last year, Manly and Australia fullback Brett Stewart had to be removed from NRL advertisements following allegations of sexual assault.
Former Newcastle and Australia star Andrew Johns also made headlines after his retirement in 2007 when he was caught in possession of ecstasy in Britain, and later admitted he had been a regular user of the drug during his career. | [
"Which people admitted to using ecstasy?",
"what was name of clubmate who also was charged with dealing?",
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"what rugby player was charged with dealing drugs?",
"when will he appear in court?"
] | [
"Andrew Johns",
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"Chris Houston,",
"next month,"
] | question: Which people admitted to using ecstasy?, answer: Andrew Johns | question: what was name of clubmate who also was charged with dealing?, answer: Danny Wicks | question: What drugs is he being charged with?, answer: ecstasy and cocaine | question: what rugby player was charged with dealing drugs?, answer: Chris Houston, | question: when will he appear in court?, answer: next month, |
(CNN) -- An Australian woman is suing the nation's top four banks for their alleged role in laundering money from her teenage son's $200,000 eBay scam that afforded him a $6,000-a-day playboy lifestyle.
Australian media reported that in 2007, the then 14 year old boy was making so much money selling non-existent laptops, mobile phones and watches on eBay he could afford to book a $4300-a-night penthouses overlooking Sydney Harbour, fly friends interstate for lavish parties and hire limousines to take him to the beach.
A spokesman for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia confirmed to CNN that the woman from the south coast of New South Wales, who along with her son cannot be named for legal reasons, had launched an action in the Supreme Court seeking damages over the scam.
Reports said she was seeking an apology from the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac and NAB for ''unconscionable conduct'' after allegedly allowing her son to open numerous bank accounts with debit cards "without reasonable scrutiny".
She claims the banks ignored her or refused to discuss the matter for privacy reasons when she warned them they had issued accounts that were being used by a minor to bank illegal funds, reports said.
''He was an intelligent boy who worked out how to cheat the system and play it for all it was worth,'' she told Australia's Sun Herald newspaper. ''As his parent and legal guardian, I begged the banks to stop giving him accounts and debit cards but each time I got nowhere because of the Privacy Act.''
She said her suspicions were aroused four years ago when her son began spending lavishly. She told the Sun-Herald she later uncovered a log book listing thousands of dollars worth of transactions with eBay.
The boy, now 19, allegedly deceived the Commonwealth Bank into opening an account after fronting up to the bank with a birth certificate and a friend over the age of 18 who claimed to be his guardian, according to reports in Australian media.
''Once he secured that, he was able to accumulate check and Visa debit accounts with many other financial institutions including Westpac, the Bank of Queensland, ANZ, Credit Union Australia and the Hume Building Society,'' the mother was quoted as saying in the Sun-Herald report.
Police eventually arrested the boy at school after many of the frauds were linked to an IP address attached to a classroom computer.
By the time of his arrest, the boy was already allegedly working another scam, milking the $1,500 overdraft facility on a series of debit accounts. In the meantime, reports said, the boy lived a playboy lifestyle with shopping sprees for Versace and Prada clothes and Louis Vuitton luggage.
''There I was, a single mum of two, desperately struggling to put food on the table. He, meanwhile, would stroll in after feasting at the latest fancy restaurant of his choice and chuck me leftovers in a plastic tub,'' she told the Sun-Herald
Underneath the exterior, her son was an ''insecure boy out to impress,'' she told the newspaper. Reports said that during the past four years, she had reluctantly handed her son to the police 15 times. | [
"where was the scam?",
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"who seeks damages?",
"who ignored her after the crime occurred?",
"what is she seeking?",
"What funded his lifestyle?"
] | [
"Australia",
"the banks ignored her or refused to discuss the matter for privacy reasons",
"woman from the south coast of New South Wales,",
"the banks",
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] | question: where was the scam?, answer: Australia | question: What does she claim?, answer: the banks ignored her or refused to discuss the matter for privacy reasons | question: who seeks damages?, answer: woman from the south coast of New South Wales, | question: who ignored her after the crime occurred?, answer: the banks | question: what is she seeking?, answer: an apology from the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac and NAB | question: What funded his lifestyle?, answer: $200,000 eBay scam |
(CNN) -- An Austrian man who allegedly held his daughter as a sex slave for 24 years has been charged with murdering one of their children, prosecutors say.
Josef Fritzl is accused of fathering seven children by his daughter during her 24-year captivity.
Austrian State Prosecutor Gerhard Sedlacek told CNN Thursday that Josef Fritzl, 73, was charged with murder because one of the seven children died in infancy. The other six children survived.
Fritzl, a retired electrician from Amstetten, 75 kilometers (46 miles) west of Vienna, was also charged with rape, incest, false imprisonment and slavery.
The murder charge stems from the death of Fritzl's infant son, Michael Fritzl, who died from lack of medical care, the prosecutor said. Watch as Fritzl is charged with murder »
"Although he realized how life-threatening M.F.'s situation was after being born, Josef F. did not call out for help," Sedlacek said, explaining the charge.
The trial is expected to begin early in 2009 and if convicted of murder Fritzl could face 10 to 20 years in prison. Austria, like other European countries, has no death penalty.
Prosecutors say psychiatric tests show that Fritzl is mentally fit to stand trial but Sedlacek has asked that Fritzl be confined to a "mental asylum."
Fritzl kept the daughter and all but three of the children in a cellar beneath his home in Amstetten, Austria, west of Vienna, officials say.
Three of the children lived upstairs in the home Fritzl shared with his wife and several of their own children.
Fritzl has been in custody since the case came to light in April, sparking worldwide attention.
He had explained Elizabeth's disappearance in 1984 by saying the 18-year-old girl had run away from home, a story backed up by letters he forced Elisabeth to write, including one that begged her parents not to look for her.
When Elizabeth gained her freedom, she told police her father began sexually abusing her at age 11. On August 8, 1984 -- weeks before she was reported missing -- her father enticed her into the basement, where he drugged her, put her in handcuffs and locked her in a room, she told police.
For the next 24 years, she was constantly raped by her father, resulting in seven children, she said, according to the police statement.
Fritzl's daughter and her children have since been receiving counseling although doctors warn that they will take years to recover.
Members of the Fritzl family will also be offered the chance to adopt new identities in an effort to help them lead normal lives, officials said.
Psychiatrist Max Friedrich, who treated the abducted Austrian teenager Natascha Kampusch, estimated it would take "between five and eight years" for the children to recover from their experiences. | [
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] | question: What is he being charged with?, answer: murdering one of their children, | question: How long was the daughter held for?, answer: 24 years | question: Who was charged with murder?, answer: Josef Fritzl | question: One of how many died?, answer: seven children | question: What did the Austrian man allegedly do?, answer: held his daughter as a sex slave for 24 years | question: The infanct might have survived if what happened?, answer: medical care, | question: What is the Austrian man charged with?, answer: murdering one of their children, |
(CNN) -- An Austrian man who participated in a Nazi massacre of Jews during World War II and later gained U.S. citizenship has been deported to Austria, U.S. officials said.
The Sachsenhausen concentration camp just north of Berlin where the U.S. says Krumpf worked as an SS guard.
Josias Krumpf, 83, lived for years after the war in Racine, Wisconsin. The United States revoked his citizenship in 2005 after the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice sought to denaturalize him.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita Glavin announced Krumpf's deportation Thursday. It was not clear when he arrived in Austria, and representatives of the Austrian Justice Ministry were not immediately available for comment.
"His court-ordered removal from the United States to Austria is another milestone in the government's long-running effort to ensure that individuals who participated in crimes against humanity do not find sanctuary in this country," Glavin said.
The United States removed Krumpf because of his participation in that and other Nazi-sponsored acts of persecution during the war, Glavin said.
Krumpf admits standing watch on November 3, 1943, as SS guards at the Trawniki Labor Camp in Poland shot and killed 8,000 Jews, including women and 400 children, in pits. Glavin said Krumpf said he had orders to shoot any prisoners who survived.
Krumpf also served as an SS guard at the Nazi-run Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Germany and at slave labor sites in Nazi-occupied France, where prisoners under his watch built launching platforms for German missile attacks on England, Glavin said.
The November 1943 shooting was part of a larger Nazi operation called "Aktion Erntefest," or "Operation Harvest Festival," that led to the deaths of 42,000 Jews at three camps in eastern Poland in two days, the Justice Department said.
At Trawniki, Krumpf said, he was assigned to watch for victims who were still "halfway alive" or "convulsing" and prevent their escape by shooting them to death, the Justice Department said.
Krumpf, who was born in Serbia, immigrated to the United States in 1956 and became a U.S. citizen in 1964.
His removal to Austria is part of an effort by several U.S. government departments and law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute participants in Nazi crimes of persecution who live in the United States, the Justice Department said.
The Criminal Division's Office of Special Investigations (OSI) started the operation in 1979 and has since won cases against 107 alleged Nazi criminals, the Justice Department said.
The OSI also has a watch list for World War II war criminals that has prevented the entry of more than 180 people into the United States, the Justice Department said. | [
"where was Josias deported to?",
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"Where did Josias Krumpf live before being deported?",
"what was admitted to?",
"When did Krumpf commit his alleged crimes?",
"who are being prosecuted?"
] | [
"Austria,",
"Austria,",
"Racine, Wisconsin.",
"standing watch on November 3, 1943, as SS guards at the Trawniki Labor Camp in Poland shot and killed 8,000 Jews,",
"during World War II",
"participants in Nazi crimes of persecution"
] | question: where was Josias deported to?, answer: Austria, | question: To which country was Krumpf deported?, answer: Austria, | question: Where did Josias Krumpf live before being deported?, answer: Racine, Wisconsin. | question: what was admitted to?, answer: standing watch on November 3, 1943, as SS guards at the Trawniki Labor Camp in Poland shot and killed 8,000 Jews, | question: When did Krumpf commit his alleged crimes?, answer: during World War II | question: who are being prosecuted?, answer: participants in Nazi crimes of persecution |
(CNN) -- An Egyptian court on Thursday confirmed the death sentences of a business tycoon and a former police officer convicted of killing rising Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim.
Hisham Talaat Moustafa, a real estate mogul, has been found guilty of Suzanne Tamim's murder.
In a case that has captivated Egypt and the region because of the fame of the victim and one of the defendants, a judge sentenced to death real estate mogul Hisham Talaat Moustafa and former officer Muhsen el Sukkari last month. Tamim's body was found stabbed, with her throat slit, in her apartment in the United Arab Emirates in July 2008.
The court's latest decision came after a review of the sentence by Egypt's grand mufti, the country's highest religious official. Because the two men were sentenced under Islamic law, it is widely expected they will be hanged.
The court usually seeks to get the Mufti's "advice only on any death sentence, according to the law," a legal source in Cairo told CNN.
"However, the Mufti's advice to the court is not binding at all," added the source, who asked not to be named.
"Even if the Mufti was against the death sentence, that will not have any effect on the judge's decision, who will have the final say," the source said.
Since his 2003 appointment as grand mufti, Sheikh Ali Gomaa has received about 480 cases from the court that included death sentences. He supported the judge's decision in 478 and opposed twice, but the rule was implemented according to the court conviction.
Moustafa's lawyer previously told reporters that he would appeal the conviction, saying there was "a 1 million percent guarantee" the sentence would be overturned.
Prosecutors alleged Moustafa, a parliament member for the ruling National Democratic Party, paid el Sukkari $2 million to kill Tamim.
During the trial, Moustafa's lawyer told CNN his client loved the singer but could not take Tamim as a second wife because his family objected.
Polygamy is legal in Egypt, and it's not unusual for men such as Moustafa, a married father of three, to take on additional wives.
Prosecutors have said Tamim's death was a "means of taking revenge" but have not elaborated.
Moustafa and el Sukkari claim the prosecution's evidence could have been fabricated or tampered with by UAE authorities and should not be used against them.
Although Tamim was killed in the UAE, the Egyptian judiciary tried the case in Cairo because the accused were arrested in Egypt.
After Moustafa's arrest in September, Egyptian authorities indicted him, stripped him of his parliamentary immunity and jailed him pending trial.
He also resigned as chairman of Talaat Moustafa Group -- a conglomerate with construction and real estate arms that was founded by his father, Talaat Moustafa. Moustafa's brother, Tarek Talaat Moustafa, now chairs the company.
CNN.com Arabic's Mahmoud Gharib contributed to this story. | [
"where was the body found",
"where Her body was found in apartment in?",
"who was found guilty",
"what Egyptian mogul and ex-police officer guilty of Lebanese singer?",
"Who said the prosecutions evidence was made up?",
"Who was guilty of murder?",
"Where was her body found?",
"how much was paid"
] | [
"in her apartment in the United Arab Emirates",
"United Arab Emirates",
"Hisham Talaat Moustafa,",
"Hisham Talaat Moustafa,",
"Moustafa and el Sukkari",
"Hisham Talaat Moustafa,",
"apartment in the United Arab Emirates",
"$2 million"
] | question: where was the body found, answer: in her apartment in the United Arab Emirates | question: where Her body was found in apartment in?, answer: United Arab Emirates | question: who was found guilty, answer: Hisham Talaat Moustafa, | question: what Egyptian mogul and ex-police officer guilty of Lebanese singer?, answer: Hisham Talaat Moustafa, | question: Who said the prosecutions evidence was made up?, answer: Moustafa and el Sukkari | question: Who was guilty of murder?, answer: Hisham Talaat Moustafa, | question: Where was her body found?, answer: apartment in the United Arab Emirates | question: how much was paid, answer: $2 million |
(CNN) -- An Ethiopian-flagged vessel fought off a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden earlier this week, the multi-national anti-piracy task force said Thursday.
The MV Andinet, part of the Ethiopian Shipping Line, was approached by two pirate skiffs Monday, with one of them coming close enough to fire automatic weapons in an attempt to force the ship to stop, the task force said in a statement.
But the vessel's crew used anti-piracy measures -- including firing flares in the air and utilizing fire hoses, as well as "evasive maneuvering" -- to repel the pirates, Combined Maritime Forces said.
After a distress call was sent out, the USS Farragut, a U.S. Navy destroyer assigned to the task force, deployed her SH-80 helicopter to follow the skiffs, and the USS Porter gave chase as well, the task force said.
"A boarding team from the USS Farragut subsequently stopped and boarded the pirate skiffs, but only an empty magazine and used rounds were found on board."
"The MV Andinet once against demonstrated that even basic preventive measures can save a crew from a successful pirate attack," said Commodore Tim Lowe of Britain's Royal Navy, deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces.
"Although there is (a) significant international naval presence in the Gulf of Aden, these warships cannot be everywhere and may not always be close at hand to prevent an attack."
The incident occurred about 145 miles east of Aden, Yemen.
The task force advocates that commercial and civilian vessels in the region implement anti-piracy measures such as maintaining a 24-hour lookout, traveling in convoys and using high-intensity lighting. | [
"what did crew do",
"What they found in the boat?",
"what is mv andinet",
"what did warship do"
] | [
"used anti-piracy measures",
"an empty magazine and used rounds",
"part of the Ethiopian Shipping Line,",
"fought off a pirate attack"
] | question: what did crew do, answer: used anti-piracy measures | question: What they found in the boat?, answer: an empty magazine and used rounds | question: what is mv andinet, answer: part of the Ethiopian Shipping Line, | question: what did warship do, answer: fought off a pirate attack |
(CNN) -- An Illinois sheriff filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the owners of craigslist, accusing the popular national classified-ad Web site of knowingly promoting prostitution.
"Craigslist is the single largest source of prostitution in the nation," says Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart.
Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart wants craigslist to eliminate its Erotic Services section.
"Craigslist is the single largest source of prostitution in the nation," Dart said. "Missing children, runaways, abused women and women trafficked in from foreign countries are routinely forced to have sex with strangers because they're being pimped on craigslist."
The FBI found more than 2,800 child prostitution ads posted on craigslist, with Chicago, Illinois, in the top 10 cities for juvenile prostitution, Dart said.
The sheriff also noted instances of what he said was child neglect while parents were engaged in activity solicited on the Web site.
In an e-mailed statement, craigslist told CNN it had not seen Dart's complaint but that "craigslist is an extremely unwise choice for those intent on committing crimes, since criminals inevitably leave an electronic trail to themselves that law enforcement officers will follow."
"On a daily basis, we are being of direct assistance to police departments and federal authorities nationwide," spokeswoman Susan McTavish said.
"Misuse of craigslist to facilitate criminal activity is unacceptable, and we continue to work diligently to prevent it," she said. "Misuse of the site is exceptionally rare compared to how much the site is used for legal purposes. Regardless, any misuse of the site is not tolerated on craigslist."
But Dart said that the Web site for two years has ignored his written requests to shut down the Erotic Services section and failed to take action or adequately monitor the section despite hundreds of arrests.
"Pimps are preying on the most vulnerable members of our society and taking advantage of our struggling economy," he said. "The worst part is craigslist's owners know their Web site is still being used for illegal purposes and they're doing nothing to stop it."
Craigslist entered into an agreement with 43 states' attorneys general in November to enact measures that impose restrictions on its Erotic Services section. The agreement called for the Web site to implement a phone verification system for listings that required ad posters to provide a real telephone number that would be called before the ad went public.
Craigslist also imposed listing fees, requiring a credit card, for ads in the section. The proceeds were to be donated to charity.
Dart called the fees "dirty money" and said the move was a "publicity stunt" that had little practical effect because pimps use stolen credit cards or post ads in free sections. | [
"What section of Craiglist does Sheriff Thomas Dart want to cut out?",
"What county is Thomas Dart Sherriff in?",
"What did Craigslist spokeswoman say that they help police fight?",
"What does Dart want craigslist to cut?",
"What was Craiglist's response?",
"What is Craiglist the largest source of according to Dart?",
"What does Sheriff Thomas Dart want Craigslist to do?",
"For what amount of time has craigslist ignored Dart?",
"What did Dart say about Craigslist?"
] | [
"Erotic Services",
"Cook",
"\"Misuse of the site",
"its Erotic Services section.",
"\"craigslist is an extremely unwise choice for those intent on committing crimes, since criminals inevitably leave an electronic trail to themselves that law enforcement officers will follow.\"",
"prostitution",
"eliminate its Erotic Services section.",
"two years",
"single largest source of prostitution in the nation,\""
] | question: What section of Craiglist does Sheriff Thomas Dart want to cut out?, answer: Erotic Services | question: What county is Thomas Dart Sherriff in?, answer: Cook | question: What did Craigslist spokeswoman say that they help police fight?, answer: "Misuse of the site | question: What does Dart want craigslist to cut?, answer: its Erotic Services section. | question: What was Craiglist's response?, answer: "craigslist is an extremely unwise choice for those intent on committing crimes, since criminals inevitably leave an electronic trail to themselves that law enforcement officers will follow." | question: What is Craiglist the largest source of according to Dart?, answer: prostitution | question: What does Sheriff Thomas Dart want Craigslist to do?, answer: eliminate its Erotic Services section. | question: For what amount of time has craigslist ignored Dart?, answer: two years | question: What did Dart say about Craigslist?, answer: single largest source of prostitution in the nation," |