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(CNN) -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon made his third visit in a little more than a month Tuesday to the troubled border city of Juarez, where three people associated with the U.S. Consulate were killed over the weekend.
Ciudad Juarez is the most violent city in Mexico, with more than 2,600 drug-related deaths in 2009. No official numbers are available, but more than 400 killings have been reported in local media this year.
The city, long the focal point of Calderon's war on drug cartels, came to renewed prominence after the January 31 killings of 15 people, most of them students with no links to organized crime. The massacre sparked outrage throughout Mexico and drew worldwide attention.
Saturday's deaths of a pregnant woman and two other people connected with the U.S. Consulate renewed attention to the blood-soaked city.
Calderon visited Juarez twice in mid-February within a one-week period, meeting with local officials and residents. More such meetings were scheduled for Tuesday.
Although Tuesday's visit had been scheduled before the latest slayings, analysts say it highlights the city's importance to the president.
"What it says is that he has really decided that success in Juarez is essential for stemming the tide of organized crime," said Andrew Selee, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute. "He has staked his presidency on success in Juarez."
Juarez, which accounted for about one-third of the drug-related killings in Mexico last year, was already significant because of the high death count, Selee said. But the killings in January and over the weekend have elevated the city to a symbolic level, the analyst said.
"It has gained an emotional value," Selee said.
The latest killings were carried out by a local gang known as Los Aztecas, who are allied with the Juarez Cartel, Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz said.
The three victims were followed and targeted, Reyes said. They were attacked as they left a birthday party at the U.S. Consulate in Juarez.
U.S. and Mexican officials said a consulate employee who was four months pregnant and her husband, a U.S. citizen who was a jailer in El Paso, Texas, across the border from Juarez, were slain in their SUV. The couple's 10-month-old daughter, who was in the vehicle, was not injured, Reyes and other officials said.
Authorities identified the couple as El Paso residents Arthur Redelfs, 34, and Lesley Ann Enriquez, 35. Redelfs was a 10-year veteran of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, department spokesman Jesse Tovar said.
The third victim was identified as Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, 37, a state police officer who was married to a Mexican employee at the U.S. Consulate.
His wife was not traveling with him, but two of their children, ages 4 and 7, were in the car and were wounded, officials said.
Authorities said they don't know of a motive, nor had they made any arrests Tuesday.
Widespread violence throughout northern Mexico in the past few weeks has led U.S. officials to take precautions, including the temporary relocation of State Department employees' families in border-area consulates.
The family members at U.S. consulates in Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros are allowed to leave for up to 30 days, the State Department said. The leave can be renewed after 30 days.
The announcement was part of a continued warning to U.S. citizens regarding travel to Mexico.
U.S. citizens are advised to delay nonessential travel to parts of the states of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua, where Juarez is located. In addition, U.S. government employees are restricted from traveling to all or parts of the three states.
Attacks have included the kidnapping and killing of two resident U.S. citizens in Chihuahua, the warning states.
"Some recent confrontations between Mexican authorities and drug cartel members have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades," the warning says. "During some of these incidents, U.S. citizens have been trapped and temporarily prevented from leaving the area."
|
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"Calderon's war on drug cartels,",
"made his third visit",
"Tuesday",
"three",
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"Juarez,",
"Juarez,",
"on drug cartels,"
] |
question: What is the city the focal point for?, answer: Calderon's war on drug cartels, | question: what did he do there, answer: made his third visit | question: When was the visit?, answer: Tuesday | question: How many people were slain on Saturday?, answer: three | question: what was the city, answer: Ciudad Juarez | question: Where did Calderon go?, answer: Juarez, | question: What city did Calderon visit?, answer: Juarez, | question: What is the object of Calderon's war?, answer: on drug cartels,
|
(CNN) -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon will return to Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, for the second time in as many weeks on Wednesday morning, a spokesman for the municipal police department said.
"For security reasons, details are nonexistent," police department spokesman Jacinto Seguro said.
Calderon will attend a meeting with local, state and federal officials, as well as civic and human rights groups, on Wednesday in Ciudad Juarez, which has been plagued by violence stemming from drug cartels.
The January 31 killings in southern Juarez of 15 people, most of whom were students with no ties to organized crime, has sparked outrage across the country. The slayings, which occurred at a house party, are thought to be the result of bad intelligence by a cartel and the gang that carried out the killings.
President Calderon, who has faced mounting pressure this month from Juarez residents to resign, will be visiting the city for the third time since assuming power in December 2006.
Last week in Juarez, Calderon apologized to the families of the 15 people killed and promised residents that their input would form part of the strategy against drug-related violence.
Residents of Juarez attempting to highlight the growing frustration with Calderon's war against organized crime took to the streets by the hundreds on Saturday. Many held signs targeted at Calderon reading, "Assassin."
On Tuesday, police said a business owner and his 24-year-old secretary were found slain inside a business near southern Juarez at 11 a.m.
"It's not new that the cartels target business owners, but killing his secretary, that's something that you don't see too often," Seguro said.
Also Tuesday, 20 students found skipping class and drinking in the street were detained by police as part of an effort to curtail unlawful street activity, Seguro said.
Violence in Juarez comes amid a backdrop of vastly increased numbers of homicides nationwide, as drug cartels battle each other and the Mexican government steps up its efforts to combat them.
The government has not released official figures, but national media say 7,600 Mexicans lost their lives in the war on drugs in 2009. Calderon said last year that 6,500 Mexicans died in drug violence in 2008.
Officials say more than 16,000 Mexicans have died since Calderon declared war on the drug cartels shortly after taking office in December 2006.
|
[
"Will his visit be his third since taking office in 2006?",
"where is calderon going?",
"On what date in 2006 did Calderon take office?",
"What place did Calderon visite last week?",
"What situation is the cause of the slayings of 15 people?"
] |
[
"visiting the city for the",
"Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua,",
"December",
"Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua,",
"bad intelligence"
] |
question: Will his visit be his third since taking office in 2006?, answer: visiting the city for the | question: where is calderon going?, answer: Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, | question: On what date in 2006 did Calderon take office?, answer: December | question: What place did Calderon visite last week?, answer: Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, | question: What situation is the cause of the slayings of 15 people?, answer: bad intelligence
|
(CNN) -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon will wake up a lame duck Monday. How lame will depend largely on nationwide midterm elections Sunday.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon has three years left in his six-year term.
On the ballot will be 500 federal legislators, six governors and mayors and local legislators in 11 states. Although Calderon has three years left in his six-year term and is not on Sunday's ballot, many analysts see the election as a referendum on his performance and his party's nine-year reign on the presidency.
By most accounts, Calderon's party will fare well.
"He's going to get a positive vote," said Larry Birns, director of the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs. "The nation feels he is doing a better job than they imagined he would."
Low expectations may be understandable, given the circumstances under which Calderon came to power.
After a bitterly fought race that polls indicated was too close to call, the nation went to the polls July 2, 2006, to pick a successor to President Vicente Fox. The race was so close that the results were not verified until a controversial decision two months later. Calderon's margin of victory was less than 1 percent.
Losing candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador refused to accept the results and announced himself the winner. Fistfights broke out in the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies.
The first three years of Calderon's tenure have not been much smoother. Perhaps most famously, the president declared war on the drug cartels that have taken hold of Mexico, spreading corruption, fear and violence to all corners of the nation.
The war's outcome remains uncertain, but there's no doubt about the human cost: About 10,000 people have died in drug violence since Calderon took office in December 2006.
The political fallout also has been costly. One U.S. politician said Mexico was undergoing a civil war. A Pentagon report said the nation was in danger of becoming a failed state.
Calderon's job got tougher when the bottom fell out of the global economy late last year and the H1N1 flu outbreak drew the world's attention to Mexico this year.
But Calderon's actions in the face of such adversity have helped his standing, some analysts say.
"Calderon has become increasingly popular in the country because he did project a certain amount of strength in the anti-drug war," Birns said. "He did stand up to the United States on certain things, like swine flu."
Calderon's aggressive management of the swine flu crisis -- in which he shut down schools, businesses and all public gatherings for more than a week to stop spread of the disease -- has given him higher credibility, said Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue policy institute.
But Calderon's personal popularity may not help his party in the legislative elections.
"The question is whether Calderon has coattails," said Ana Maria Salazar, a Mexico City columnist and political talk show host.
Calderon is head of the National Action Party, known as PAN. The other two main parties are the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which narrowly lost the 2006 presidential election, and the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI), which had a stranglehold on the presidency from 1929 until the 2000. PAN candidate Fox -- Calderon's predecessor -- broke that hold nine years ago.
The PAN has the most seats in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies but does not have a majority in either. The party could lose seats after Sunday, as most polls show the PRI holding a slight lead.
"We will see the resurgence of the PRI," said Robert Pastor, a Latin America national security adviser for President Carter in the late 1970s.
The PRD, he said, has largely discredited itself through internal division.
"And the PAN has been overseeing a government that has shunted from one crisis to another," Pastor said.
Still, some observers say PRI inroads may not make much difference.
"It will not change the balance of
|
[
"What is the party expected to do?",
"Who is expected to do well despite years of troubles?",
"Who is is not on ballot?"
] |
[
"fare well.",
"Mexican President Felipe Calderon",
"Mexican President Felipe Calderon"
] |
question: What is the party expected to do?, answer: fare well. | question: Who is expected to do well despite years of troubles?, answer: Mexican President Felipe Calderon | question: Who is is not on ballot?, answer: Mexican President Felipe Calderon
|
(CNN) -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon's ruling party paid the price for a weak economy in midterm elections as the opposition Revolutionary Institutional Party rolled to victories in the lower legislative house as well as state and local posts.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon wasn't on Sunday's ballot and has three years left in his six-year term.
With more than 99 percent of the votes counted, the PRI had 36.7 percent to 28 percent for Calderon's National Action Party (PAN), the state-run Notimex news agency reported Monday.
The leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which nearly won the 2006 presidential election, came in a distant third with 12.2 percent of the vote.
In response to the defeat, PAN president German Martinez resigned from the top party post Monday.
On the ballot were seats for 500 federal legislators, six governors and about 500 mayors and local legislators in 11 states. Though Calderon has three years left in his six-year term and was not on the ballot, analysts said Monday he was held responsible for Mexico's problems amid the global economic downturn.
"He got a beating because of the economy," said Ana Maria Salazar, a television and radio political commentator in Mexico City.
"The government in power pays for it," said Peter Hakim, president of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue.
Besides the economy, Calderon has had to face the consequences of a drug war he launched that has left more than 10,000 people dead since he came to office in December 2006.
He also had to deal with the H1N1 flu pandemic that first became known in Mexico this year.
The PAN has the most seats in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Mexico's Congress, but it does not have a majority in either. The party lost its lead in the lower house, as the PRI will hold more seats when the new delegates are seated in December. No seats were at stake in the Senate, which elects its members every six years.
Calderon acknowledged the setback in a late-night address to the nation Sunday.
"The federal government recognizes the new composition of the Chamber of Deputies since it is a sovereign decision of the citizens. I congratulate who they have chosen," Calderon said, adding he will work with the new representatives.
He will have no choice but to work with the resurgent PRI, analysts said. But since the PAN did not have control of either house of Congress, Calderon has been compromising and making deals with the PRI and other parties since coming to power.
"I don't think the job is much more difficult than it was at the outset," Hakim said. "It's all a matter of degrees. Yeah, it will make it a little more difficult. But he has had to work through negotiation anyway."
Still, analysts said, the PRI now wields considerable more power.
"They're in a position to run Congress," said Andrew Selee, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute.
By forming temporary coalitions with the Green Party and other minor parties, the PRI can block presidential vetoes, Salazar said.
"They pretty much have control over the purse," she said.
Much more is at stake for the PRI though. After having held the presidency from 1929 to 2000 and then losing it to the PAN in the last two elections, the party is looking for a path back to power. Sunday's results were particularly significant because the PRI finished third in the 2006 presidential election.
"The presidential campaign has started as of today, Monday," Salazar said.
Also significant was the PRD's apparent collapse as a major party, considering it came within 1 percent of winning the presidency in 2006.
That race was so close that the results were not verified until a controversial decision two months later. Losing candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador refused to accept the results and announced himself the winner. Fistfights broke out in the Chamber of Deputies.
The PRI drew away votes
|
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"PRI has what percent of vote ?",
"who is the president of pan?",
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"what are the percentages?"
] |
[
"midterm",
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"German Martinez",
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"PAN president German Martinez",
"36.7",
"German Martinez",
"The PAN",
"PRI had 36.7 percent to 28 percent for Calderon's National Action Party"
] |
question: What did Calderon's party lose?, answer: midterm | question: What did Martinez do?, answer: resigned from the top party | question: What is the name of the president of the political party PAN?, answer: German Martinez | question: What percentage of approval has the PRI political party?, answer: 36.7 percent | question: Who was held responsible for economic downtown?, answer: Calderon | question: Who resigned in aftermath?, answer: PAN president German Martinez | question: PRI has what percent of vote ?, answer: 36.7 | question: who is the president of pan?, answer: German Martinez | question: who lost the lead?, answer: The PAN | question: what are the percentages?, answer: PRI had 36.7 percent to 28 percent for Calderon's National Action Party
|
(CNN) -- Mexican authorities have arrested a reputed senior member of a major Tijuana-based drug cartel after a shootout, U.S. authorities confirmed Sunday.
Eduardo Arellano-Felix was arrested in Tijuana, Mexico, on Saturday.
Eduardo Arellano-Felix was arrested at a Tijuana, Mexico, residence Saturday, said Special Agent Eileen Zeidler of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office in San Diego, California.
She said federal authorities received a tip on the whereabouts of Arellano-Felix and provided the information to Mexican authorities.
No other details were immediately available.
Arellano-Felix was one of the last wanted members of the powerful and brutal trafficking organization bearing his family name, authorities say.
His brother, reputed Mexican drug lord Javier Arellano-Felix, was captured by U.S. authorities in August 2006 off the shore of southern Baja California. The brothers were on the top of the DEA's Most Wanted List, carrying rewards of $5 million dollars for their capture.
Officials say seven brothers and four sisters of the Arellano-Felix family inherited the Tijuana cartel from Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo in 1989 after his arrest for drug trafficking. Eduardo was the last remaining brother who had an active role in the cartel.
Today, the notorious cartel is split into two factions -- one headed by Eduardo Garcia Simental and another headed by Eduardo Arellano-Felix's nephew, Fernando Sanchez Arellano.
The two sides have engaged in brutal fighting, accounting for nearly all the violence in Tijuana, according to the DEA. More than 400 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Tijuana this year.
While Eduardo Arellano-Felix was not the boss of the cartel, DEA officials said his nephew sought his advice on decisions.
Zeidler said the arrest of Arellano-Felix was a significant step in potentially dismantling the cartel.
"You pull the foundation out of the house and the house is going to come down," she said. "[Arellano-Felix] was the foundation."
|
[
"What could Arellano-Felix's arrest do?",
"Where was Arellano-Felix arrested?",
"this arrest help do what according to DEA agents?",
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] |
[
"potentially dismantling the cartel.",
"Tijuana, Mexico,",
"significant step in potentially dismantling the cartel.",
"Eduardo Arellano-Felix",
"Eduardo Arellano-Felix"
] |
question: What could Arellano-Felix's arrest do?, answer: potentially dismantling the cartel. | question: Where was Arellano-Felix arrested?, answer: Tijuana, Mexico, | question: this arrest help do what according to DEA agents?, answer: significant step in potentially dismantling the cartel. | question: Who was arrested at a Tijuana residence?, answer: Eduardo Arellano-Felix | question: Who was on the dea's most wanted list?, answer: Eduardo Arellano-Felix
|
(CNN) -- Mexican authorities on Saturday arrested four men in connection with last week's shooting death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in San Diego County, California, Mexico's state-run news agency Notimex reported.
U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas was fatally shot Thursday night in California, U.S. authorities said.
Mexican federal police identified the men as human smugglers, and said they were in the act of transporting 21 immigrants when they were detained in the northwest state of Baja California, Notimex said.
At a news conference, federal police identified two of the suspects as brothers Jose Eugenio Quintero Ruiz, 49, and Jose Evodio Quintero Ruiz, 43. The other two arrestees were taxi drivers Antonio Badallares Zepeda, 57 and Jose Alfredo Camacho Penuela, 34, Notimex reported.
Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas was shot and killed Thursday night while responding to a potential incursion into the United States in the Campo area in San Diego County, U.S. authorities said.
The Mexican federal police did not offer specific evidence of the suspects' role in the killing, but said intelligence reports indicated the group was responsible for kidnappings, rapes and murders of several people who tried to cross to the United States, Notimex said. The men were wanted by American authorities, police said.
Notimex said that during his interrogation, Jose Eugenio Quintero told investigators the shooter was Ernesto Parra Valenzuela, a man arrested the day before by local police in Tecate, Mexico.
Rosas, who is survived by his wife and two young children, had been a border agent for three years.
Rosas was the ninth Border Patrol agent to be killed while on duty since 2006, according to the agency's Web site.
Two agents died in a vehicle wreck in 2006, and four died in 2007, including two who died in vehicle wrecks, a third who drowned and a fourth who suffered a heart attack while pursuing undocumented immigrants.
Two agents died on duty last year, the Border Patrol said. One died in a single-vehicle wreck; another was struck and killed by a vehicle driven by a suspected smuggler, according to the agency's Web site.
|
[
"How many were arrested?",
"How many arrested?",
"who was gunned down?",
"What job did Robert Ross have?",
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"who are the suspects?",
"What news agency reported?",
"Who was gunned down Thursday?"
] |
[
"four men",
"four men",
"U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas",
"U.S. Border Patrol Agent",
"identified the men as human smugglers, and said they were in the act of transporting 21 immigrants when they were detained in the northwest state of Baja California,",
"Ernesto Parra Valenzuela,",
"as brothers Jose Eugenio Quintero Ruiz, 49, and Jose Evodio Quintero Ruiz, 43.",
"Mexico's state-run",
"U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas"
] |
question: How many were arrested?, answer: four men | question: How many arrested?, answer: four men | question: who was gunned down?, answer: U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas | question: What job did Robert Ross have?, answer: U.S. Border Patrol Agent | question: What did Mexican police say?, answer: identified the men as human smugglers, and said they were in the act of transporting 21 immigrants when they were detained in the northwest state of Baja California, | question: Who was the shooter?, answer: Ernesto Parra Valenzuela, | question: who are the suspects?, answer: as brothers Jose Eugenio Quintero Ruiz, 49, and Jose Evodio Quintero Ruiz, 43. | question: What news agency reported?, answer: Mexico's state-run | question: Who was gunned down Thursday?, answer: U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas
|
(CNN) -- Mexican authorities on Thursday continued to investigate the kidnappings of at least six people from a Holiday Inn in Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday.
Nuevo Leon state Attorney General Alejandro Garza y Garza said in a news conference that the unidentified gunmen entered a second hotel as well, the state-run Notimex news agency reported.
A convoy of between 10 and 15 vehicles carrying as many as 30 gunmen pulled into the Holiday Inn at around 2 a.m., Garza y Garza said.
According to him, the gunmen brought a handcuffed man into the lobby, who gave them information on the intended victims.
A businessman from Mexico City, Luis Miguel Gonzalez, was kidnapped, along with three other guests, Garza y Garza said.
The other guests were identified as Angel Ernesto Montes de Oca of Mexico City, Manuel Juarez and Aracely Hernandez, an employee of a staffing company near the border with the United States.
A hotel receptionist, David Salas, was also kidnapped, together with another hotel employee, authorities said.
A security guard at the hotel was missing, but it was not confirmed that he too was kidnapped, Garza y Garza said.
Before leaving, the gunmen took the computer from the reception desk as well as the video from the security camera, he said.
Minutes later, there was a report of the same group of gunmen entering the Mision Hotel, located near the Holiday Inn. Police responded to the hotel, but the officials there declined to report a crime to the authorities.
Northern Mexico, particularly the states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon, have seen a recent uptick in violent activity, much of it blamed on warring drug cartels.
|
[
"Who were kidnapped?",
"What did a man in handcuffs tell the gunmen",
"What did the same gunmen reportedly do?",
"who was kidnapped",
"How many gunmen get into the Holiday Inn at 2 a.m?",
"30 gunmen did what?",
"What city did this occur in"
] |
[
"six people",
"information on the intended victims.",
"entering the Mision Hotel,",
"Luis Miguel Gonzalez,",
"30",
"pulled into the Holiday Inn",
"Monterrey, Mexico,"
] |
question: Who were kidnapped?, answer: six people | question: What did a man in handcuffs tell the gunmen, answer: information on the intended victims. | question: What did the same gunmen reportedly do?, answer: entering the Mision Hotel, | question: who was kidnapped, answer: Luis Miguel Gonzalez, | question: How many gunmen get into the Holiday Inn at 2 a.m?, answer: 30 | question: 30 gunmen did what?, answer: pulled into the Holiday Inn | question: What city did this occur in, answer: Monterrey, Mexico,
|
(CNN) -- Mexico international striker Antonio de Nigris has died at the age of 31 from a suspected heart attack.
The former Villarreal player, who was capped 16 times by his country, was rushed to hospital in the early hours of Monday morning but was pronounced dead on arrival, his Greek club Larissa confirmed in a statement.
De Nigris joined Larissa in the summer from Turkish side Ankaragucu, making six appearances.
The statement read: "The Larissa family mourns the tragic loss of 31-year-old Mexican footballer Antonio de Nigris.
"It is with deep sorrow that the administration, coaching staff, players and executives of the club would like to express their condolences to his family, particularly to his wife Sonia and their five-year-old daughter Miranda.
"An autopsy will be held at the General Academic Hospital in Larissa to determine the precise reasons of his death."
De Nigris represented his country at the 2001 Copa America and scored a superb goal against Brazil on his international debut.
|
[
"How many time was cpped De Nigris?",
"Who appeares in the 2001 Copa tournament?",
"Who has died at 31?",
"What did De Nigris suffer from?",
"Who died at the age of 31?"
] |
[
"capped 16",
"De Nigris",
"Antonio de Nigris",
"attack.",
"Antonio de Nigris"
] |
question: How many time was cpped De Nigris?, answer: capped 16 | question: Who appeares in the 2001 Copa tournament?, answer: De Nigris | question: Who has died at 31?, answer: Antonio de Nigris | question: What did De Nigris suffer from?, answer: attack. | question: Who died at the age of 31?, answer: Antonio de Nigris
|
(CNN) -- Mexico issued a hurricane warning for the southern Baja California peninsula Monday in preparation for Hurricane Jimena, a powerful Category 4 storm with winds near 155 mph (250 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Forecasters expect Hurricane Jimena to approach the southwestern tip of Baja California's peninsula Tuesday.
A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours. The storm could bring as much as 2 feet of rain to the area, along with dangerous, battering waves, forecasters said.
Jimena was centered about 285 miles (460 km) south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, according to the hurricane center. It was traveling northwest near 10 mph (17 kph) but meteorologists expect Jimena to pick up speed in the coming day.
Forecasters expect the storm to continue in a northwest motion and approach the southwestern tip of Baja California Tuesday, forecasters said.
"It's not expected to change in strength very much during the next day or so," said Daniel Brown, a hurricane specialist at the center. See the storm's projected path »
"It may begin to weaken a little as it approaches the Baja peninsula, but it's expected to remain a very dangerous hurricane, perhaps a Category 3 as it approaches that area."
Jimena is the 10th named storm of the Pacific season.
Residents in spots expected to be hit by Jimena should prepare for potentially rough conditions, Brown said.
Tropical Storm Kevin is also making its presence felt in the Pacific Ocean, just to the west of Jimena, but it is weak and is not expected to do any damage, according to Brown.
"For the eastern Pacific, it has been about a near-normal season. It has gotten much busier here during the month of August," Brown said.
CNN's John Lorinc contributed to this report.
|
[
"What part of Baja California is the warning issued for?",
"Jimena sustained winds near what speed?",
"The storm is traveling nortwest at what speed?",
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"Where was a hurricane warning issued?",
"In what direction is the storm traveling?",
"What Category is the storm?"
] |
[
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"10 mph",
"southern Baja California peninsula",
"winds near 155 mph (250 kph),",
"southern Baja California peninsula",
"northwest",
"4"
] |
question: What part of Baja California is the warning issued for?, answer: peninsula | question: Jimena sustained winds near what speed?, answer: 155 mph | question: The storm is traveling nortwest at what speed?, answer: 10 mph | question: Where are hurricane warning being issued for?, answer: southern Baja California peninsula | question: At which speed are the winds blowing?, answer: winds near 155 mph (250 kph), | question: Where was a hurricane warning issued?, answer: southern Baja California peninsula | question: In what direction is the storm traveling?, answer: northwest | question: What Category is the storm?, answer: 4
|
(CNN) -- Michael Jackson couldn't sleep.
A coroner preliminarily has concluded Michael Jackson died of an overdose of propofol, court documents say.
Maybe it was anxiety over his upcoming comeback concert series in London, England. Perhaps his body was trying to process too many different medications.
The reason may never be known, but a sworn affidavit makes clear that the King of Pop couldn't get rest the night before he died on June 25.
The affidavit, from Detective Orlando Martinez of the Los Angeles Police Department, outlines probable cause for search warrants on the offices of doctors who are thought to have treated Jackson.
Yet it also opens a window into Jackson's final hours, revealing information about the singer's treatment and the drugs given him by Dr. Conrad Murray, his personal physician, before his death. Watch a panel discuss Jackson's death »
Based on interviews, visits to Jackson's home as well as records and documents gathered during the investigation, the affidavit provides the following account of Jackson's last days:
In May, Jackson hired Murray, a cardiologist. The singer was spending long days rehearsing for concerts that he saw as crucial to reviving his career.
For six weeks, Murray told police that he treated Jackson for insomnia. He said he had been giving the singer an intravenous drip with 50 milligrams of propofol, diluted with lidocaine, every night to help him sleep.
Jackson was already familiar with propofol, a powerful anesthetic, Murray said. The singer even called it his "milk" because of its milky appearance, he said.
With the concerts approaching, Jackson started to need these drugs every night, Murray said -- and the doctor said he worried that Jackson was becoming addicted to propofol. He wanted to wean Jackson off the drug.
Three days before Jackson's death -- on June 22 -- Murray gave the singer a combination of drugs that he hoped gradually would move the singer off propofol.
That mixture involved propofol, the anti-anxiety drug lorazepam (known by its brand name, Ativan) and midazolam (known as Versed). It succeeded in helping Jackson to sleep for that night and the next, Murray said.
But by the night of June 24, Jackson again apparently was unable to sleep. Learn more about the events of Jackson's final hours »
At 1:30 a.m. on June 25, Murray decided to forgo the propofol in favor of 10 milligrams of Valium. Half an hour later, with Jackson still awake in bed, Murray injected the singer with two milligrams of lorazepam.
It still wasn't working.
At 3 a.m., Murray gave the singer two milligrams of midazolam, pushed slowly into his IV. And two hours later, with Jackson still awake, Murray administered another two milligrams of lorazepam through Jackson's IV.
The drugs did nothing to help Jackson sleep.
At 7:30 a.m., Murray gave the singer another two milligrams of midazolam in his IV.
By that point, Murray wasn't even leaving Jackson's room anymore, let alone his bedside. The doctor told police he sat next to the singer in his bedroom, monitoring Jackson's pulse and oxygen levels.
More than three hours later, despite a night of medication and doctor's care, Jackson remained awake.
Jackson was repeatedly asking -- even demanding -- that Murray give him more propofol to help him sleep, the doctor told police. So Murray finally administered 25 milligrams of propofol diluted with lidocaine via Jackson's IV drip.
The singer now had his "milk," and it worked. After a restless night, Jackson was finally able to close his eyes and go to sleep.
Murray told police he watched Jackson sleep for about 10 minutes before going to the bathroom. It had been a long night for both of them.
The trip to the bathroom took less than two minutes, Murray told police. But when he came back, he said, he saw Jackson wasn't breathing.
He started cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but it didn't work.
Jackson was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead later that afternoon
|
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question: Who said he worried Jackson was becoming addicted to propofol?, answer: Dr. Conrad Murray, | question: What happened the day Michael Jackson died?, answer: was unable to sleep. | question: Who gave Michael Jackson several drugs on the night before his death?, answer: Dr. Conrad Murray, | question: What opens a window into Michael Jackson's final hours?, answer: a sworn affidavit | question: Who is the doctor?, answer: Dr. Conrad Murray, | question: What was Jackson' addicted to?, answer: propofol. | question: What drugs did Michael Jackson receive that night?, answer: propofol,
|
(CNN) -- Michael Jackson was an international superstar, and many in the black community herald him for breaking down racial barriers in the music industry.
Michael Jackson was one of the first black global superstars.
"Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama," said the Rev. Al Sharpton. "Michael did with music what they later did in sports and in politics and in television. And no controversy will erase the historic impact."
As the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson and his brothers "became a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists," said Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of black popular culture at Duke University's Department of African and African American Studies.
"You basically had five working-class black boys with Afros and bell bottoms, and they really didn't have to trade any of that stuff in order to become mainstream stars," Neal said.
Young Michael Jackson was the first black "bubblegum teen star" in the vein of Monkees singer Davy Jones, Neal said.
Jackson continued as a pioneer in the black culture when he broke barriers by appearing on MTV, and by breaking sales records with the 1982 album, "Thriller." Timeline: The life of a "King" »
"At the time that he releases 'Thriller,' I always argue that MTV was arguably the best example of cultural apartheid in the United States," Neal said.
The former president of CBS Records, Walter Yetnikoff, remembered with scorn that MTV would not play "Billie Jean" or "Beat It" because it billed itself as a rock station.
Looking back on that era, a 1991 Los Angeles Times article quoted MTV founder and then-CEO Robert Pittman as saying the channel's format didn't lend itself to other musical styles, including R&B and country. And Pittman accused his critics of attempting to impose their musical pluralism on the channel's die-hard rock fans.
But Yetnikoff said he threatened to pull videos of his other artists unless MTV played Jackson's videos. Watch Yetnikoff talk about getting Jackson's videos played »
Soon Jackson's videos were heavily in rotation on MTV. Showcasing a black artist paved the way for the popular show, "Yo! MTV Raps," and other black artists, Neal said.
In turn, Jackson became one of the first African-Americans to be a global icon.
He also influenced a new generation of black musicians, including Usher, Ne-Yo and Kanye West, according to Joycelyn Wilson, a professor of African-American studies at Morehouse College, who specializes in popular culture and hip-hop studies. Slideshow: Michael Jackson and his music »
Changing appearance
Jackson's changing physical appearance in the past two decades led to criticism he was trying to be less black.
"Here's a man who started off looking very typically African-American and ended up looking like something few people would have recognized early in his career. His nose was trimmed, his lips were different ... his skin was different," said Cheryl Contee, who writes as Jill Tubman on Jack & Jill Politics, a blog centered on African-American issues.
"The only thing that seemed to almost stay the same were his eyes," said Contee, who also called Jackson "a genius and more than a trailblazer."
"I think [it] troubled a lot of people that he left his skin color behind and seemed somehow to be ashamed of who he was [when] he was born," Contee said.
But during a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Jackson shot down rumors that he was dying his skin to make it lighter. He told the talk show host that he had vitiligo, a disorder that destroyed his skin pigmentation.
Black popular culture professor Neal said Jackson's physical changes did not reflect his life on the whole.
"I think if you solely pay attention to Michael Jackson's physicality, you actually miss something that's much more complex. ... Michael
|
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question: Who went mainstream and still maintained black identity?, answer: Michael Jackson | question: What station didn't play videos of black artists before Jackson?, answer: MTV | question: What did the professor say about the Jackson 5?, answer: "became a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists," | question: Who was the first black artist MTV played?, answer: Michael Jackson | question: what did the professor sAY, answer: As the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson and his brothers "became a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists," said Mark Anthony Neal, a
|
(CNN) -- Michael Jackson was the pride of Gary, Indiana, growing up, and on Friday, his hometown paid tribute to the late entertainer with a memorial and celebration in his honor.
A group pays tribute to Michael Jackson by performing some of his signature moves.
They remembered him as not just the King of Pop or the musician who took Hollywood by storm, but as someone with an unmatched enthusiasm and talent for entertaining even as a little boy growing up in this city of about 100,000 in northwestern Indiana, 30 miles from downtown Chicago, Illinois.
Jackson's first music teacher, Anita Hill, spoke of teaching Jackson to sing "Climb Every Mountain," and remembered him as a "very energetic and wonderful student."
The principal of his middle school remembered how, at Christmastime how Jackson, always jumped up and offered to sing to his class.
Later, when he joined with family members to create the Jackson 5, he performed for kids at his school, the principal said, joking about the bargain that at the time it only cost them 10 cents to see the future pop icon.
Gary Mayor Rudy Clay noted Jackson put the city on the world's map and bid farewell to the star.
"He's going to put on those golden slippers and he's going to dance all over God's heaven," he said.
The tribute at The Steel Yard baseball park in Gary was full of children dancing and singing to Jackson's music, including a performance of "Thriller" complete with the cemetery scene that became so iconic.
Some of the biggest applause of the night came after a video was played of Jackson in Gary talking about his love for his hometown.
"Gary, you will always have a special place in my heart," Jackson said in the video played on the stadium's jumbo screen. "And Gary, you are more than good friend -- you are my family and you always will be."
As a finale, about 700 people holding candles sang "We Are the World," the 1985 song Jackson co-wrote with Lionel Richie to benefit USA for Africa.
Jackson lived in Gary for 11 years before moving to the West Coast after the Jackson 5 recorded their first album in 1969.
His father, Joe Jackson, made a brief appearance after being introduced by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
After being surrounded by TV crews and photographers, Joe Jackson made his way to the stage, thanked everyone for attending and said it was good to be home.
"This is a pleasure to be back to see so many people here," Joe Jackson said. "It's always good to come back home, you know that."
Fans have flocked to Jackson's boyhood home in the days following his death in Los Angeles, California, on June 25. Autopsy results are pending.
|
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question: What did people do to pay tribute to Jackson?, answer: performing some of his signature moves. | question: What do his teachers and neighbors remember about him?, answer: someone with an unmatched enthusiasm | question: What does Joe Jackson think about going home?, answer: "It's always good to come back | question: who remember energetic boy full of talent?, answer: A group | question: what says joe jackson?, answer: "It's always good to come back home, you know that." | question: who is joe jackson?, answer: His father, | question: What do children and groups do to pay tribute to Jackson?, answer: performing some of his signature moves.
|
(CNN) -- Michael Jackson's bizarre private life and change in appearance ended up eclipsing his musical achievements, according to the world's media.
A Los Angeles fire official told CNN that paramedics arrived at Michael Jackson's home after a 911 call.
Jackson's death from cardiac arrest Thursday has sparked an outpouring of grief from fans, and his life has been given a more measured summing up by news media.
Britain's Guardian newspaper said "his bizarre life-style and personal notoriety eclipsed his talent and his numerous achievements."
The Guardian said his fame, from the age of 11, "had such a damaging effect that his life was permanently affected." Watch why Jackson is "as big as it gets" »
"A combination of dysfunctional family and invasive fame ate away at the essentially private singer, whose initially minor eccentricities escalated into grotesque changes to his appearance and lifestyle.
"If ever there was an illustration of the adage that celebrity destroys what it touches, Jackson was it," the Guardian said.
Daily Mail agreed, saying Jackson "courted controversy and acclaim in equal measure." Watch Jesse Jackson share memories »
"It was the tales of oxygen chambers, chimp chums, shopping sprees and physical transformation that have brought intrigue and amusement and earned the singer the nickname Wacko Jacko."
The Mail said star's behavior drew increasing alarm following a "documentary in which he pronounced sharing a bedroom with a child to be 'charming' and an incident in Germany in which he dangled his baby son Prince Michael II over a balcony."
The country's Times newspaper said only a "handful of performers -- (Elvis) Presley, (Frank) Sinatra, the Beatles -- could outrank Michael Jackson as the most successful popular music entertainer of all time."
However, "as he approached middle-age, it was Jackson's abiding interest in children which was his undoing." iReport.com: Your Michael Jackson tributes
Australia's Sydney Morning Herald newspaper also compared Jackson to Presley.
"Just as Presley was the iconic voice and presence of the 1950s so Jackson enjoyed a similar status during 1980s and 1990s. And just as Presley, driven by the strange demons that seem to haunt the super-famous, died before his time so Jackson has died, aged 50, in Los Angeles after suffering cardiac arrest."
France's Liberation newspaper described Jackson as the "total artist," but said his physical transformation and way of life brought controversy.
Le Monde said Jackson was one of the most famous singers of the 20th century but his image was tarnished by his private life. Kingston: Jackson "a legend" »
Germany's Bild tabloid agreed, saying Jackson's private antics had seem him "dethroned" as the King of Pop.
China's People's Daily newspaper said Jackson had "set the world dancing to exuberant rhythms for decades."
"Jackson's dramatic stage presence and innovative dance moves were imitated by legions of fans around the world. Sharpton: Jackson "was a trailblazer" »
"His one-gloved eccentric style also earned him plenty of critics and another nickname, "Wacko Jacko."
Thailand's Bangkok Post newspaper said: "While Jackson ruled the charts and dazzled audiences with electric dance moves like the backwards "moonwalk" in the 1980s, his once-stellar career was overshadowed by his colorful public behavior, his startling physical transformation and multiple allegations of child abuse."
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question: What did the newspaper say?, answer: "his bizarre life-style and personal notoriety eclipsed his talent and his numerous achievements." | question: When did Jackson become famous?, answer: age of 11, | question: Who was jackson compared to?, answer: Presley. | question: When did Michael Jackson die?, answer: Thursday | question: What is Jackson's first name?, answer: Michael | question: What did Jackson die of?, answer: cardiac arrest | question: Who is Elvis Presley?, answer: the iconic voice and presence of the 1950s
|
(CNN) -- Michael Jackson's impact on pop culture is indelible. But perhaps his biggest legacy will be how he changed the music industry.
Jackson's impact on the music business still reverberates today.
"As a performer he changed history ... his singing, his songwriting, his choreography, his dancing, his business acumen," said Howard Bragman, a public relations expert who worked with Jackson to launch the singer's shoe line with L.A. Gear.
"He rewrote the history of the entertainment industry in his time," Bragman said.
Jackson crossed color lines and broke down barriers between musical genres. He followed in the footsteps of Elvis and the Beatles to create a transnational fan base that prefigured the era of globalization. And Jackson became a canny power broker who helped lead artists from stage performers into major boardroom players.
"That gets lost in the last five and 10 years, with all the litigation battles -- what he did the first 30 years to set the landscape for these other artists," said James Walker, an entertainment attorney. "Michael transcended race before Michael Jordan, before Oprah, before Tiger Woods, before Barack Obama.
"You can't underestimate what his did for black artists -- and artists as a whole -- as a business man," Walker added.
His 1982 album "Thriller" has sold more than 50 million records worldwide -- a record that, considering the decline of record sales in the wake of new media, is likely to stand for some years to come.
"Records just don't sell that much anymore. The industry has changed. ... Now it's in shambles because of technology," said Gideon Yago, head of the IFC Media Project and a former correspondent for MTV News.
Videos that accompanied the album became landmarks that set the industry standard, as MTV and cable television began to proliferate, creating ready outlets for a growing marketing tool. At the time, Jackson's label had to fight to get onto MTV, which then featured only rock artists.
"Walter Yetnikoff (former president of CBS records) drew a line in the sand and said, 'We believe in this guy and you're going to play his videos or we're going to pull all our videos,'" Walker said.
"What he did was so cutting-edge regarding videos; he defined the video age as we know it," said Tommy Mottola, who succeeded Yetnikoff as head of CBS.
Though his personal finances were in disarray at the end of his life, Jackson made some canny business decisions at the height of his power -- most notably buying half the Beatles music catalog in 1985 for $47.5 million.
"When you look at his royalties and his copyrights, he's probably got a half a billion to a billion (dollar) catalogue," Walker added.
The current value of his estate is unclear. His debts stood at about $500 million, according to a Wall Street Journal story earlier this month.
As the music industry model moved more toward live events in the face of dwindling album sales, two billionaire businessmen stepped in to bank on Jackson's comeback with a series of concerts scheduled in London.
Tom Barrack, head of hedge fund Colony Capital, teamed with Philip Anschutz, owner of AEG Live, to plan a third-act comeback for Jackson, with a sold-out 50-date stand at AEG Live's O2 arena scheduled to begin next month. Future business plans included a world tour, a Broadway musical and even a "Thriller" casino.
"You are talking about a guy who could make $500 million a year if he puts his mind to it," Barrack told The Los Angeles Times in an article last month. "There are very few individual artists who are multibillion-dollar businesses. And he is one."
Billboard magazine estimates $85 million in ticket sales from the sold-out concert series. Additional packages, merchandise and secondary market sales could have raised the total to $115 million. AEG Live declined to comment.
"There will be a process put
|
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question: What was Jacksons estimated debt at the time of his death?, answer: $500 million, | question: How much were Jacksons's debts when he dies?, answer: $500 million, | question: What owns half the Beatles catalogue?, answer: Jackson | question: What did Bragman say?, answer: "He rewrote the history of the entertainment industry in his time," | question: What was the amount of debt he had?, answer: $500 million, | question: Who transformed the role of artists as power brokers?, answer: Jackson | question: Who said that Jackson rewrote the history of entertainment?, answer: Howard Bragman, | question: The estate owns half of what catalogue?, answer: Beatles music catalog
|
(CNN) -- Michael Jackson's life has ended, but the legal battles over his possessions, his debts and his children are likely just beginning.
Michael Jackson, seen here with two of his three children, died suddenly on Thursday.
Perhaps the biggest and saddest question is what will happen to the late singer's two sons and his daughter: 12-year-old Prince Michael I, 11-year-old Paris and 7-year-old Prince Michael II.
Normally in such cases, care of the children would be taken over by the surviving parent or a close relative.
But as with many other aspects of Jackson's life, his family situation was complex, unusual and far from normal.
Born to two mothers -- Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe and an unidentified woman who reportedly served as a surrogate -- the children lived and traveled the world with Jackson, their faces often covered by veils and masks when appearing in public.
Rowe gave up her parental rights to her two kids with the singer, but later battled to have them restored.
She may be considered to take over custody for Prince Michael I and Paris, said CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who has followed Jackson's legal woes for years.
"Certainly any court that is looking at that sort of question will say, if the father dies who is the mother and would we consider giving the children to the mother?" Toobin said.
"As I understand it, in later years after a substantial amount of time when Debbie Rowe didn't see those children at all, she started to have a relationship with them again. So she'd certainly be an obvious candidate for custody of those two children." Watch Toobin talk about Jackson's legal issues »
The question of custody for the third child would be even more up in the air since his mother was likely never involved in his life, Toobin added.
The three kids are staying with their paternal grandmother, Katherine Jackson, People magazine reported. She may just wind up keeping them, observers said.
"Katherine is the logical choice -- she has all the grandkids and nieces around her but it will be up to the courts," said Brian Oxman, a former Jackson family attorney, according to People.
"I wouldn't be surprised if there are more proceedings regarding the children."
Complications may already be looming on the horizon.
Katherine Jackson may wish to keep the children, but Michael Jackson wanted them to be taken care of by their nanny if anything happened to him, ABC News reported, quoting Stacey Brown, co- author of "Michael Jackson Behind the Mask."
Meanwhile, Rowe's former attorney tells People that a judge returned parental rights to Rowe in 2005, so she is the legal parent of her two children with Jackson and can gain custody of them.
Chaotic legal life
Instructions specifying who should care for children after a parent's death are often left in a will, but it's not known whether Jackson had one prepared before his untimely passing.
"Michael Jackson led an extremely chaotic financial and legal life. ... Given how chaotic his life was, did he even have a will?" Toobin said.
Beyond the question of Jackson's children, a will may also be key to answering questions about what's left of his estate. The pop star's financial ups and downs have been as well-chronicled as his personal problems, including a near-bankruptcy and the threatened foreclosure of his Neverland ranch.
Jackson accumulated almost $500 million in debt by living large over the years, but he also had considerable assets when he died, including his own music royalties and a 25 percent stake in a music publishing library that contained many Beatles songs, Fortune reported.
Those assets might prompt new legal battles and it may be a long time before the dust settles.
"[Jackson] was surrounded by some of the sleaziest, most unethical advisers who came in and came out and he has had a tremendous amount of litigation in his life," Toobin said.
"His death will
|
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question: Did Michael Jackson have will?, answer: it's not known | question: Did Jackson leave a will?, answer: it's not known | question: Who gave up her parental rights?, answer: Debbie Rowe | question: Who are the mothers of Michael Jackson's kids?, answer: Debbie Rowe and an unidentified woman | question: How many women did Michael Jackson have children with?, answer: two mothers | question: How many children has Michael Jackson got?, answer: three | question: How many children did Michael Jackson have?, answer: three
|
(CNN) -- Michael Jackson's sudden death has thrown the peculiar path of his later life back into the spotlight.
Michael Jackson spent 11 months living in Bahrain after his acquittal on child abuse charges in the U.S.
He spent much of the past four years flitting from one part of the globe to another, failing to put down permanent roots.
However, one of his longest spells in one place was spent in Bahrain.
When his life was falling apart at the seams in 2005 he was offered sanctuary in the Persian Gulf kingdom.
He had been just been acquitted of 10 child abuse charges at the end of a 14-week trial in the U.S., but there appeared to be no respite from the bad publicity and his spiraling debts which had forced the sale of his Neverland ranch.
He suffered health problems during the trial and appeared increasingly frail. Jackson, who died owing an estimated $500 million, had been living beyond his means for years and wanted to flee the spotlight.
He had not been seen in the two weeks after the trial before reports emerged from Bahrain that he and his children had landed there on a private jet as the guests of Sheikh Abdulla Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the king's son, and a friend of Jackson's brother, Jermaine.
It was claimed at the time that Jackson had a large fan base in the kingdom and wider Gulf region. Watch why Jackson is "as big as it gets" »
Indeed Bahrain, a chain of around 30 islands with a population of 766,000 and relaxed social social environment, appeared the perfect escape -- for 11 months anyway.
It was made even more enticing by Sheikh Abdulla's generosity.
In 2008 he sued Jackson in a Britain's High Court for £4.7 million ($7.7 million), claiming the pop star had reneged on a music contract.
Sheikh Abdulla said he had paid all of Jackson's living, travel and other expenses until his departure from Bahrain in May 2006, and advanced funds to retain legal and financial advisers. Watch Jesse Jackson share memories »
Sheikh Abdulla also built a recording studio, which he believed would be used to record albums using material he had helped to write.
However, he claimed the singer pulled out of the deal in May 2006 after 11 months. iReport.com: Your Michael Jackson tributes
Jackson claimed the payments were gifts.
In November last year the High Court in London was told the dispute had ended with an "amicable settlement," the details of which remain confidential.
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question: Who was offered sanctuary in Bahrain?, answer: Michael Jackson | question: What is name of person who sued Jackson?, answer: Sheikh Abdulla | question: In what year was Jackson offered sanctuary?, answer: 2005 | question: who sued jackson, answer: Sheikh Abdulla's | question: how long did he spend in the kingdom, answer: 11 months | question: Sheikh Abdulla Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa sued who?, answer: Jackson | question: who was offered sanctuary, answer: Michael Jackson | question: How many months did he spend in the Persian Gulf kingdom?, answer: 11 | question: What was Jackson offered in Bahrain?, answer: sanctuary
|
(CNN) -- Michael Jackson's upbringing was shaped by two very different parents.
An image of Michael Jackson and his parents was on the big screen during his funeral in Los Angeles.
His mother, Katherine Jackson, has been portrayed by her children as the loving glue that bonded the family together, while her husband, Joe, was the harsh disciplinarian whose iron hand not only shaped one of the most successful musical families in the world, but also elicited enough fear in his superstar son that it sometimes made him ill.
Now the couple of 60 years stands at the center of a custody drama surrounding their grandchildren.
Michael Jackson's will, filed in 2002, designated his mother as caregiver for Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and "Blanket," 7.
It is the latest installment in the many trials that have tested the Jackson family, not least of which has been the unexpected loss of its most famous member.
"[Katherine's] taking it real hard," Joe Jackson told ABC News about his wife's coping with their son's death. "When you start talking about Michael, she starts crying."
By many accounts, Katherine Jackson, 79, shared a special bond with her second-youngest son.
In a 1993 interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jackson spoke glowingly of the matriarch.
"My mother's wonderful," he said. "To me, she's perfection."
According to a biography posted by A&E Networks, Katherine Jackson was born Kattie B. Screws in 1930 in Barbour County, Alabama.
Her family reportedly relocated to East Chicago, Indiana, when she was 4, and her name was changed to Katherine Esther Scruse. A childhood bout with polio left her with a permanent limp.
She was a teenager when she met Joe Jackson, an aspiring musician and a boxer whose first marriage dissolved. Katherine said it was love at first sight.
"I just had a feeling that he was going to be my husband," Katherine Jackson said in an interview shot last year by Xonger Global Entertainment Networks for a planned reality show about the family. The video was obtained by ABC News. "The first time I saw him, I fell in love with him."
Together, they raised 10 children in a modest Gary, Indiana, home, while Joe worked as a crane operator, according to the A&E biography.
A devout Jehovah's Witness, Katherine nurtured the children's love of music by singing with them, made her sons' costumes as their father booked local gigs, and served as the family's backbone.
"As best as I could tell from both talking to [Michael] and my observations of the family throughout the years, Katherine was the one that had really unconditional love for Michael and was always there, was always supportive and was always comforting," said journalist and CNN contributor Bryan Monroe, who conducted the last major interview with Michael Jackson. "It was the epitome of a mother's love."
Joe Jackson's relationship with his famous son was a bit more complicated.
Monroe said the hard taskmaster -- who Michael said sometimes held a belt in his hand as he and his brothers rehearsed -- evoked mixed emotions from the singer.
"In my interview with him, [Michael] spoke almost in the same breath of the fear he had of Joseph's sternness ... and at the same time the respect he had for Joseph's work ethics and his teachings," Monroe said. "He said [Joseph] taught him and his brothers an awful lot about discipline and performance."
According to the biography posted by A&E Networks, Joe Jackson was born in Arkansas in 1929 and pursued fame early on, first as a Golden Gloves contender and later as a member of The Falcons, a band he started in the mid-1950s.
When he noticed musical talent in his brood, he formed the Jackson Brothers with his three oldest sons and served as their manager.
The group later became The Jackson 5, with young Michael serving as lead singer
|
[
"Who is seeking custody of Michael Jackson's children?",
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] |
[
"His mother, Katherine",
"Katherine Jackson,"
] |
question: Who is seeking custody of Michael Jackson's children?, answer: His mother, Katherine | question: Who is viewed as the backbone of the family?, answer: Katherine Jackson,
|
(CNN) -- Michael Jackson, the show-stopping singer whose best-selling albums -- including "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" -- and electrifying stage presence made him one of the most popular artists of all time, died Thursday, CNN has confirmed.
Michael Jackson, shown in 2008, was one of the biggest pop stars in history.
He was 50.
He collapsed at his residence in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, California, about noon Pacific time, suffering cardiac arrest, according to brother Randy Jackson. He died at UCLA Medical Center.
Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said an autopsy would probably be done on the singer Friday, with results expected that afternoon. Watch crowds gather at Jackson's hospital »
"Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color," the Rev. Al Sharpton said. "To say an 'icon' would only give these young people in Harlem a fraction of what he was. He was a historic figure that people will measure music and the industry by."
Jackson's blazing rise to stardom -- and later fall from grace -- is among the most startling of show business tales. The son of a steelworker, he rose to fame as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, a band he formed with his brothers in the late 1960s. By the late '70s, as a solo artist, he was topping the charts with cuts from "Off the Wall," including "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." Watch Jackson perform at a 1988 concert »
In 1982, he released "Thriller," an album that eventually produced seven hit singles. An appearance the next year on a Motown Records 25th-anniversary special cemented his status as the biggest star in the country. Timeline: The life of Michael Jackson »
For the rest of the 1980s, they came no bigger. "Thriller's" follow-up, 1987's "Bad," sold almost as many copies. A new Jackson album -- a new Jackson appearance -- was a pop culture event. iReport: Share your memories of Michael Jackson
The pop music landscape was changing, however, opening up for rap, hip-hop and what came to be called "alternative" -- and Jackson was seen as out of step.
His next release, 1991's "Dangerous," debuted at No. 1 but "only" produced one top-ranking single -- "Black or White" -- and that song earned criticism for its inexplicably violent ending, in which Jackson was seen smashing car windows and clutching his crotch.
And then "Dangerous" was knocked out of its No. 1 spot on the album charts by Nirvana's "Nevermind," an occurrence noted for its symbolism by rock critics.
After that, more attention was paid to Jackson's private life than his music career, which faltered. A 1995 two-CD greatest hits, "HIStory," sold relatively poorly, given the huge expense of Jackson's recording contract: about 7 million copies, according to Recording Industry of America certifications.
A 2001 album of new material, "Invincible," did even worse.
In 2005, he went to trial on child-molestation charges. He was acquitted.
In July 2008, after three years away from the spotlight, Jackson announced a series of concerts at London's O2 Arena as his "curtain call." Some of the shows, initially scheduled to begin in July, were eventually postponed until 2010. Watch the reaction to Jackson's passing
Rise to stardom
Michael Jackson was born August 29, 1958, to Joe Jackson, a Gary, Indiana, steelworker, and his wife, Katherine. By the time he was 6, he had joined his brothers in a musical group organized by his father, and by the time he was 10, the group -- the Jackson 5 -- had been signed to Motown. Watch Michael Jackson's life in video
He made his first television appearance at age
|
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question: Where does Jackson suffer cardiac arrest?, answer: his residence in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, California, | question: Where did Michael Jackson suffer cardiac arrest?, answer: his residence in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, California, | question: Who suffers cardiac arrest?, answer: Michael Jackson, | question: What is one of the best-selling albums of all time?, answer: "Thriller" | question: What Michael Jackson album was one of the best selling albums of all time?, answer: "Thriller" | question: Who was dominant in pop music?, answer: Michael Jackson, | question: He was dominant in what kind of music?, answer: pop | question: Who suffers cardiac arrest at home?, answer: Jackson, | question: Where did Jackson die?, answer: He died at UCLA Medical Center. | question: Which is one of the best-selling albums?, answer: "Thriller" | question: What is one of his best-selling albums?, answer: "Off the Wall," | question: Where did Michael Jacson suffer cardiac arrest?, answer: at his residence in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, California, | question: What caused the death of Jackson?, answer: cardiac arrest,
|
(CNN) -- Michael Jackson, the show-stopping singer whose best-selling albums -- including "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" -- and electrifying stage presence made him one of the most popular artists of all time, died Thursday, CNN has confirmed. He was 50.
He collapsed at his residence in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, California, about noon Pacific time, suffering cardiac arrest, according to brother Randy Jackson. He died at UCLA Medical Center.
As news of his death spread, stunned fans began to react and remember one of the most remarkable careers in music.
|
[
"Who was shocked and numbed by the news?",
"What hospital was Jackson at?"
] |
[
"fans",
"UCLA Medical Center."
] |
question: Who was shocked and numbed by the news?, answer: fans | question: What hospital was Jackson at?, answer: UCLA Medical Center.
|
(CNN) -- Michael Vick turned himself in to authorities on Monday to get a head start on serving his sentence for running a dogfighting ring, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
Michael Vick leaves court in Richmond, Virginia, in August after pleading guilty to dogfighting charges.
The Atlanta Falcons quarterback is scheduled to be sentenced on December 10 on a federal conspiracy charge of bankrolling the dogfighting operation.
Vick, 27, voluntarily turned himself in around noon, said Kevin Trevillan of the Marshals Service, and is being held at Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia, until the sentencing hearing.
The quarterback, who has been suspended indefinitely by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, faces 12 to 18 months in prison on the charge.
Vick pleaded guilty in August after three associates admitted their own roles in the operation and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
"From the beginning, Mr. Vick has accepted responsibility for his actions and his self-surrender further demonstrates that acceptance," Vick's attorney, Billy Martin, said in a statement.
"Michael wants to again apologize to everyone who has been hurt in this matter and he thanks all of the people who have offered him and his family prayers and support during this time," Martin's statement said.
CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin speculated that Vick started his sentence early "to get it out of the way." Watch Toobin explain why Vick would surrender early »
On September 25, a Virginia grand jury indicted Vick and the three co-defendants -- Purnell Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Quanis Phillips, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia; and Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton, Virginia -- on state charges of running a dogfighting ring at Vick's home outside Newport News.
The Surry County grand jury brought two charges against the four men: one count of unlawfully torturing and killing dogs and one of promoting dogfights. Each is a felony charge that could result in a five-year prison term.
In addition, Taylor faces three additional counts of unlawful torture and killing of dogs.
A hearing in that case is set for November 27, but Vick does not have to be in court at that time.
In September, Vick was put under tight restrictions by the federal court after he tested positive for marijuana use.
Vick tested positive for the drug on September 13, a court document from the Eastern District of Virginia shows.
As a result, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson ordered Vick to "submit to any method of testing required by the pretrial services officer or the supervising officer for determining whether the defendant is using a prohibited substance."
Those methods could include random drug testing, a remote alcohol testing system "and/or any form of prohibited substance screening or testing," the order said.
Vick was also ordered to stay home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., "or as directed by the pretrial services officer or supervising officer," the order said. He was to be electronically monitored during that time.
Vick must participate in substance abuse therapy and mental health counseling "if deemed advisable by the pretrial services officer or supervising officer" at his own expense, the order said. E-mail to a friend
|
[
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"What are the charges against him?",
"When did he surrender?",
"When did Atlanta Falcons quarterback plead guilty?",
"When is sentencing?",
"When is sentencing due to take place?",
"When is Michael Vick's sentencing?",
"Whose attorney says early surrender shows Vick accepts responsibility?"
] |
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"Michael Vick",
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"Monday",
"August",
"December 10",
"December 10",
"December 10",
"Billy Martin,"
] |
question: Who pleased guilty?, answer: Michael Vick | question: What team does Vick play for?, answer: Atlanta Falcons | question: What did Vick's attourney say?, answer: "Michael wants to again apologize to everyone who has been hurt in this matter and he thanks all of the people who have offered him and his family prayers and support during this time," | question: What are the charges against him?, answer: dogfighting | question: When did he surrender?, answer: Monday | question: When did Atlanta Falcons quarterback plead guilty?, answer: August | question: When is sentencing?, answer: December 10 | question: When is sentencing due to take place?, answer: December 10 | question: When is Michael Vick's sentencing?, answer: December 10 | question: Whose attorney says early surrender shows Vick accepts responsibility?, answer: Billy Martin,
|
(CNN) -- Michael Vick, recently reinstated to the NFL after being freed from federal prison after a dogfighting-related conviction, has signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, according to his agent, Joel Segal.
Michael Vick is set to join his new team on Friday, according to his agent.
The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback reports to Philadelphia on Friday, Segal told CNN.
Details of the deal were not immediately available Thursday night.
The league suspended Vick indefinitely in August 2007 after he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of bankrolling a dogfighting operation at a home he owned in Virginia.
Vick, 29, was freed from federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas, on May 20 and returned to his home to serve the last two months of his 23-month sentence in home confinement. iReport.com: Is this a good move?
The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Thursday night in a statement it was "incredibly disappointed" at the news of Vick's signing.
"Philadelphia is a city of dog lovers and most particularly, pit bull lovers," said Susan Cosby, the organization's chief executive officer. "To root for someone who participated in the hanging, drowning, electrocution and shooting of dogs will be impossible for many, no matter how much we would all like to see the Eagles go all the way."
However, Ed Sayres, president and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said in a statement that "Commissioner Roger Goodell and the Philadelphia Eagles have granted Michael Vick a second chance, and the ASPCA expects Mr. Vick to express remorse for his actions, as well as display more compassion and sound judgment this time around than he did during his previous tenure with the NFL."
"We hope that Mr. Vick uses his stature for the betterment of the community and the advancement of the issue of animal cruelty," Sayres said.
Eagles head coach Andy Reid told reporters he knows there are some fans that will not accept Vick.
"I understand how that works," he said. "But there's enough of them that will, and then it's up to Michael to prove that that change has taken place. I think he's there. That's what he wants to do."
He said Vick "seems very focused, and he wants to get his career back on track."
It is unclear what role Vick will play in the Eagles' offense. But it was clear that the move had the blessing of current Eagles starting quarterback Donovan McNabb.
"I pretty much lobbied to get him here," McNabb said. "Because everybody deserves a second chance."
The NFL reinstated Vick on a conditional basis last month. Vick "will be considered for full reinstatement and to play in regular-season games by Week 6 based on the progress he makes in his transition plan," the NFL said in a statement last month.
Week 6 of the NFL season is in October.
Vick may participate in practices, workouts and meetings and may play in his club's final two preseason games under the conditions of his reinstatement, the league said last month.
"I fully understand that playing football in the NFL is a privilege, not a right, and I am truly thankful for [the] opportunity I have been given," Vick said in a statement last month upon his reinstatement.
"As you can imagine, the last two years have given me time to re-evaluate my life, mature as an individual and fully understand the terrible mistakes I made in the past and what type of life I must lead moving forward," he said in last month's statement.
Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy has agreed to continue working with Vick as an adviser and mentor, the NFL said.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters last month that Vick underwent tests, including a psychiatric evaluation, after requests from animal rights groups.
Vick has also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At a hearing in that case, he told the judge he
|
[
"Who is eagles head coach?",
"Animal advocacy group in which city says it was disappointed at signing?",
"Some fans won't accept who?",
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"What is the name of the head coach?",
"Who was suspended in 2007?"
] |
[
"Andy Reid",
"Vick's",
"Vick.",
"bankrolling a dogfighting operation",
"Andy Reid",
"Vick,"
] |
question: Who is eagles head coach?, answer: Andy Reid | question: Animal advocacy group in which city says it was disappointed at signing?, answer: Vick's | question: Some fans won't accept who?, answer: Vick. | question: The NFL player was found guilty of what?, answer: bankrolling a dogfighting operation | question: What is the name of the head coach?, answer: Andy Reid | question: Who was suspended in 2007?, answer: Vick,
|
(CNN) -- Michelle Obama, wife of Sen. Barack Obama, is honing her message for the fall, aides say.
Sen. Barack Obama and wife, Michelle, have been thrust into the public eye.
"Michelle wrote her own stump (speech). And you know, she's refining it now I think as we're going into the general election," said senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.
"We have an opportunity for her to kind of step back and think about the message she wants to deliver. So she's really working on it as we speak."
Her new speeches will include more details about her family and humble upbringing on Chicago's South Side, aides said.
Michelle Obama graduated from Harvard Law School, was a vice president at the University of Chicago and landed a job as a health care executive making $275,000 a year.
But along with her success has come criticism -- that's she's too angry, too negative and too sarcastic.
Now, the woman who would become the first black first lady is trying to connect with voters on a more personal level. Watch experts weigh in on how Michelle Obama is perceived »
On Wednesday, she made an appearance as a guest co-host on ABC's "The View," and later this week, she and her husband will grace the cover of Us Weekly.
The magazine is headlined "Michelle Obama: Why Barack Loves Her," and includes details about her love for Target, "Sex and the City" and her daughters' recitals.
Asked Wednesday while on "The View" if she's going through a makeover, she said she realizes "I wear my heart on my sleeve" and that "it's a risk you have to take." She said she thinks people will change their perception of her as they see her family more.
Michelle Obama's spokeswoman, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, said earlier there is no "image makeover" in the works. Watch what Michelle Obama would be like as first lady »
"She has staff engaged in simply part of the process of growing to a general election campaign and putting a strategy together to help people get to know her," Lelyveld said. "It's what you do as you move from primary voters to general election voters."
Carl Sferrazza Anthony, a first ladies historian, said it's important for Michelle Obama to define herself before others define her.
"One comment made off-hand ... might be easily misinterpreted by the opposition," he said.
Michelle Obama saw that in February when a Republican ad used a snippet from a campaign event in which, referring to record voter turnout in the Democratic primaries, she said, "for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country."
Obama's campaign says she was just excited about the grassroots support, but her words still provided fodder for her husband's opponents.
The day after the comments, Cindy McCain, wife of presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, introduced her husband saying, "I don't know about you, if you heard those words earlier -- I am very proud of my country."
Michelle Obama has been a vocal advocate for her husband while on the campaign trail, delivering sometimes impassioned speeches on his behalf.
Robin Givhan, fashion editor with the Washington Post, said people see Michelle Obama in different ways.
"Some people will see confidence, and others might see cockiness. I think some people will see strength. Others might see arrogance," she said. "She comes across as someone who is extraordinarily independent and very much a force to be reckoned with."
Behind the scenes, she maintains that independence. According to the campaign, Michelle Obama picks out her own clothes. She received a lot of attention for the sleeveless purple dress and pearls she wore the night her husband became the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Beyond her style, though, a sense of dignity may be what most defines a first lady. It's a job that requires
|
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] |
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question: what was she criticized about?, answer: too angry, too negative and too sarcastic. | question: Who came across as angry?, answer: Michelle Obama | question: Who is her husband?, answer: Sen. Barack Obama, | question: Who refines her speeches to emphasize family?, answer: Obama, | question: What is she co-hosting?, answer: "The View," | question: She is co-hosting on "The View;" also on cover of Us Weekly, answer: Michelle Obama | question: what is the Michelle Obama speech about?, answer: her family and humble upbringing on Chicago's South Side, aides said. | question: She has been criticized for coming across as angry, unpatriotic, answer: Michelle Obama | question: What does Michelle Obama emphasize?, answer: details about her family and humble upbringing on Chicago's South Side,
|
(CNN) -- Michelle Timberlake didn't expect to venture into the weekend blizzard that blanketed much of the mid-Atlantic.
But the interior designer who normally wears high heels to work found herself running through hip-high snow Saturday morning when about 40 cows escaped from the pasture on her and her husband's Boyce, Virginia, farm in search of food and shelter.
"This was not what I imagined for myself," she said Sunday, laughing at the memory.
Luckily, the cows were corralled -- thanks to a bale of hay -- and the snow stopped, but not before more than 30 inches had been dumped over two days in parts of the region.
Timberlake said she and her neighbors were gearing up for the next weather system, expected to hit the area as early as Tuesday. The National Weather Service is forecasting more than 5 inches of snow and winds up to 25 mph in the Washington and Baltimore, Maryland, areas.
"Everybody's just trying to clean up and get a little bit ahead of the game before the next round comes," said Timberlake, whose farm is located about two hours west of Washington.
More than 300,000 people from Pennsylvania to Virginia were without electricity Sunday, utility companies said. In many cases, heavy snow brought down power lines.
"I'm not sure how many people will have their power back on by Super Bowl time, but things are going really well today," said Joe Gilbert with a Dominion Power crew working Sunday afternoon to restore power to about 3,000 in one McLean, Virginia, neighborhood. "It's good weather and we're making good progress so hopefully everybody's power will be back on."
Timberlake said homes around the corner from her farm are without power and have been told it won't be back on until Friday.
"Since the heavy, wet snow is still bringing trees down, we are still seeing new outages occur," Allegheny Power said in a statement Sunday. "Damage assessment is ongoing, but overall estimated times for the restoration of service have not been determined."
The utility company provides electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. Nearly 135,000 of its customers had no power, the majority of them, or 92,295, reside in Pennsylvania, the company said. Outages were also reported in Delaware and New Jersey.
Residents, businesses and airports were trying to dig out Sunday. Good Samaritans in McLean, Virginia, stopped to help drivers stuck in snow drifts.
"So much for going to the Kennedy Center today," said one woman behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz as about five men shoveled and pushed her car out of deep snow. "We're going home."
CNN iReporter Sean Conrad described his town of Rockville, Maryland, Saturday as empty and photos showed streets recognizable only by traffic lights. The city got 25.5 inches.
Conrad told CNN that many roads still were covered by snow Sunday, even though snow plows were working 24 hours a day to clear them. Only a few businesses opened Sunday, and those that did operated with skeleton crews, Conrad said.
Federal offices in Washington will be closed Monday, though emergency employees still are expected to work, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management said Sunday.
Air traffic in Washington picked up slowly Sunday after a day of cancellations. A record 32.4 inches of snow fell on Dulles International Airport over two days, breaking a January 7-8, 1996, record of 23.2 inches. The quick-falling flakes forced Dulles and the other two main Washington-Baltimore area airports to cancel all flights Saturday.
Dulles reopened Sunday to limited service, according to Rob Yingling, spokesman for Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Airport personnel were still removing snow from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Sunday, and it remained uncertain when flights would resume, spokesman Jonathan Dean told CNN.
Reagan National Airport was still closed early Sunday afternoon as crews continued to plow snow and chip away at 5 inches of ice that developed overnight, Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority spokeswoman Tara Hamilton said. The airport
|
[
"How much snow fell at Dulles?",
"What offices will be closed on Monday?",
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[
"32.4 inches",
"Federal",
"300,000",
"Monday,",
"More than 300,000",
"Dulles International",
"More than 300,000"
] |
question: How much snow fell at Dulles?, answer: 32.4 inches | question: What offices will be closed on Monday?, answer: Federal | question: How many are without power?, answer: 300,000 | question: When will the Federal offices be closed?, answer: Monday, | question: How many people were without electricity?, answer: More than 300,000 | question: What airport still had flights canceled?, answer: Dulles International | question: how many are without electricity in Pennsylvania?, answer: More than 300,000
|
(CNN) -- Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar of Springdale, Arkansas, are the parents of 18 children, and their family is the focus of a TLC network reality series.
Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar say they are grateful for their 18 children, and may have more.
Joy Behar, guest host Thursday night on "Larry King Live," asked the Duggars how they are able to stay debt free with such a large family and what they thought of Nadya Suleman, the single mother who recently gave birth to octuplets after having fertility treatments.
Following is a transcript of their conversation.
Joy Behar: Let me ask you something. What is your reaction to this octomom? Nadya Suleman, the story. What do you think about that?
Michelle Duggar: Well, I just know from my own heart, I can't judge and look at her and judge her situation. I just know from my heart, and personally God changed our heart about children years ago. And so we've kind of gone about it the old-fashioned way. And so we are enjoying each one of the blessings that God has given us, and we're thankful for each one of them.
Behar: Right, at least you guys enjoyed having the babies, you went through the sex then the giving birth. This woman didn't have any of that, except the giving birth, which must have been rough, don't you think?
Michelle Duggar: Oh, my, I can't imagine. I had twins, but I have -- I just can't imagine having eight at once and the responsibility that that brings.
Behar: Why do you suppose this woman has provoked such negativity? They have a "USA Today" Gallup poll saying 70 percent of those surveyed are unsympathetic to this woman. What is going on?
Michelle Duggar: Well, you know, I feel like probably more than anything it's just the fact of the responsibility issues from their perspective, and I, you know, I imagine that's probably more of the animosity that's out there. And so -- but I do -- I just can't imagine, you know, her -- how she's going to handle that many little ones under the age of 8. That's a lot of little ones all at once.
Jim Bob Duggar: We just need to pray for her.
Behar: But you guys haven't experienced that kind of hostility for the children you have. Is that because you're married?
Michelle Duggar: I don't know. I think maybe, you know, being that God's given ours one or two at a time and we've kind of done it the old-fashioned way, I don't know. We love them, we're enjoying them, and by God's grace we're taking care of them if he gives us one more. So I just think we're grateful.
Behar: I understand that you guys are debt free. I can't even imagine how you pulled that off. ... How did you do that?
Jim Bob Duggar: Well, back about 18 years ago, we saw Jim Sammons' financial seminar on DVD, and it was life-changing. At that point, we purposed to try to get out of debt and try to stay out of debt. And our family motto is to buy used and save the difference. We shop a lot at garage sales, thrift stores.
Michelle Duggar: Auctions. We bought our industrial kitchen equipment that way, our vehicles that way, and so we really cut corners and we live very frugally.
Jim Bob Duggar: That's right, we've never bought a new vehicle. So we do live -- we try to -- we know how to stretch a dollar.
Behar: How many cars do you have?
Jim Bob Duggar: We actually have probably about, what? Seven or eight right now?
Michelle Duggar: We have a lot of drivers, which is great.
Behar: Seven or eight cars, well, that's
|
[
"by buying used and saving difference, the Duggars managed to what?",
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"What number of children do the Duggars have?",
"What do the Duggars do to stay debt-free?",
"What do the Duggars do to stay debt free?",
"What did Michelle say about the octuplets' mom?",
"What did Michelle say?",
"How many children do Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have?"
] |
[
"get out of debt",
"I just can't imagine having eight at once and the responsibility that that brings.",
"18",
"18",
"buy used and save the difference.",
"buy used and save the difference. We shop a lot at garage sales, thrift stores.",
"I just can't imagine having eight at once and the responsibility that that brings.",
"they are grateful for their 18 children, and may have more.",
"18"
] |
question: by buying used and saving difference, the Duggars managed to what?, answer: get out of debt | question: what does Mcihelle says about octuplets?, answer: I just can't imagine having eight at once and the responsibility that that brings. | question: how many childrens Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have?, answer: 18 | question: What number of children do the Duggars have?, answer: 18 | question: What do the Duggars do to stay debt-free?, answer: buy used and save the difference. | question: What do the Duggars do to stay debt free?, answer: buy used and save the difference. We shop a lot at garage sales, thrift stores. | question: What did Michelle say about the octuplets' mom?, answer: I just can't imagine having eight at once and the responsibility that that brings. | question: What did Michelle say?, answer: they are grateful for their 18 children, and may have more. | question: How many children do Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have?, answer: 18
|
(CNN) -- Michigan authorities are investigating whether foul play led to the death of a 9-year-old quadriplegic girl whose body was found inside a public storage facility.
Shylea Thomas, 9, of Flint, Michigan, was quadriplegic and used a feeding tube.
"This is a very sad and tragic case that hurts all of us involved in the ongoing investigation," Genesee County prosecutor David Leyton said at a news conference Wednesday.
Shylea Myza Thomas of Flint, Michigan, hadn't been seen in six weeks, and relatives reported her missing Tuesday, Leyton's office said. Her adoptive mother, who is also her aunt, is in custody as a suspect, special assistant prosecuting attorney John Potbury told CNN.
No charges have been filed pending the results of the autopsy, he said.
Because of her physical disabilities, Shylea used a feeding tube. She suffered from quadriplegia because of a "suffocation issue" in her crib at 3 weeks of age, Leyton said.
On Wednesday, Flint police found her body stuffed inside a garbage bag in a public storage facility in Vienna Township, near Flint, Leyton said. The bag was covered in mothballs "in an apparent attempt to mask odors from the dead body," his office said in a news release.
"For her to have to live like that, and then to die and be stuffed into a bag and plastic bin in a storage facility, just breaks my heart," the prosecutor said.
CNN affiliate WJRT reported that the suspect could face charges including murder, first-degree child abuse and welfare fraud.
The station also reported that investigators are trying to determine why the girl's disappearance wasn't reported until six weeks after she went missing.
Relatives told WJRT that they remember Shylea as a happy child, who loved music and whose smile was infectious. Watch a family in shock »
"The last memory I actually have of Shylea is seeing her when she was in my care," said her second cousin, Josette Thomas. "She was on the bed listening to the radio and smiling. Those are actually the memories I want to keep in my head. I don't want that memory to leave me."
|
[
"Who is in custody?",
"What kind of issue did the child have?",
"What was the body covered in?",
"where Child's adoptive mother is in custody as a suspect?",
"Where is Shylea Thomas?",
"what Body was found stuffed in trash bag?",
"Where was the baby located?",
"In custody as a suspect for what?"
] |
[
"Her adoptive mother,",
"quadriplegic",
"stuffed inside a garbage bag",
"Flint, Michigan,",
"Flint, Michigan,",
"Shylea Thomas,",
"public storage facility",
"murder, first-degree child abuse and welfare fraud."
] |
question: Who is in custody?, answer: Her adoptive mother, | question: What kind of issue did the child have?, answer: quadriplegic | question: What was the body covered in?, answer: stuffed inside a garbage bag | question: where Child's adoptive mother is in custody as a suspect?, answer: Flint, Michigan, | question: Where is Shylea Thomas?, answer: Flint, Michigan, | question: what Body was found stuffed in trash bag?, answer: Shylea Thomas, | question: Where was the baby located?, answer: public storage facility | question: In custody as a suspect for what?, answer: murder, first-degree child abuse and welfare fraud.
|
(CNN) -- Michigan's Supreme Court issued an order Tuesday allowing lower state courts to "exercise reasonable control" over the appearance of witnesses and parties, a rule change proposed after a Muslim woman refused to remove an Islamic garment in a small claims court.
A niqab is a garment that covers the entire face and head, except for the eyes.
The order allows courts "reasonable control over the appearance of parties and witnesses" so as to "ensure that the demeanor of such persons may be observed and assessed by the fact-finder and ensure the accurate identification of such person."
The order, which amends a rule of the Michigan Rules of Evidence, is effective September 1.
The amendment was prompted by a 2006 small claims case in Michigan filed by Ginnah Muhammad, who wore a niqab -- a garment that covers the entire face and head, except for the eyes -- to court, the order said.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Muhammad was contesting a $2,750 repair bill from a car rental company because she said thieves broke into the vehicle she was using.
As she prepared to testify, Judge Paul Paruk asked her to remove her niqab, saying he needed to be able to see her face to tell whether she was telling the truth, according to court documents.
"I can't see certain things about your demeanor and temperament that I need to see in a court of law," Paruk said at the time.
Muhammad refused, saying that she was a practicing Muslim and would take off the veil only in front of a female judge.
Paruk said a female judge was not available and told Muhammad she could remove the niqab or have her case dismissed -- she chose the latter, according to court documents.
She sued the judge in federal district court, which declined to exercise jurisdiction over the case. Muhammad has since appealed to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement saying that if the amended rule was interpreted broadly, it could "not only adversely affect Muslim females who wear the head scarf, but could also be used to violate Jewish, Sikh, and other people of faiths' constitutional rights under the First Amendment while in Michigan courts."
It added, "As a civil rights advocacy group, CAIR-MI is concerned about individuals who may be reluctant to report crimes or petition the courts out of fear that their religious rights may be violated."
Other religious groups, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union and domestic violence groups, had opposed the rule change, the Detroit Free Press reported. The ACLU had asked that the court add a sentence to the rule saying "that no person shall be precluded from testifying on the basis of clothing worn because of a sincerely held belief," the newspaper reported in May.
CAIR also said that it would announce on Wednesday the filing of a federal lawsuit against a Wayne County, Michigan, judge who had asked a Muslim woman to remove her head scarf in court.
"The Muslim plaintiff felt so intimidated by the judge's repeated demand that she eventually removed her head scarf," the organization said in a statement released Tuesday.
CAIR-MI is a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit being filed on behalf of the Michigan woman, who is a member of the group.
Last month, the Judicial Council of Georgia adopted a policy allowing religious head coverings in the state's courtrooms, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
|
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"What organization opposes the rule?",
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"What prompted this ruling?",
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"What are courts allowed to do?",
"Who opposed the change?"
] |
[
"The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations",
"observed and assessed by the fact-finder and ensure the accurate identification of such person.\"",
"Judge Paul Paruk",
"The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations",
"a 2006 small claims case in Michigan filed by Ginnah Muhammad,",
"demeanor of such persons",
"remove her niqab,",
"\"reasonable control over the appearance of parties and witnesses\"",
"American Civil Liberties Union and domestic violence groups,"
] |
question: What organization opposes the rule?, answer: The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations | question: What do rules say demeanor must be?, answer: observed and assessed by the fact-finder and ensure the accurate identification of such person." | question: Who demanded a woman remove her face-covering?, answer: Judge Paul Paruk | question: Who opposes the changes?, answer: The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations | question: What prompted this ruling?, answer: a 2006 small claims case in Michigan filed by Ginnah Muhammad, | question: What does the rule say must be observable?, answer: demeanor of such persons | question: What did the judge demand the woman do?, answer: remove her niqab, | question: What are courts allowed to do?, answer: "reasonable control over the appearance of parties and witnesses" | question: Who opposed the change?, answer: American Civil Liberties Union and domestic violence groups,
|
(CNN) -- Microsoft founder Bill Gates told CNN on Wednesday that he hopes President-elect Barack Obama and Congress immediately craft a wide-ranging stimulus package, to help jump-start the nation's sputtering economy, and double the United States' commitment to foreign aid.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates spoke exclusively Wednesday with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
"Clearly we need a stimulus that doesn't undermine the incentive for businesses to be careful about their spending and making those correct investments," Gates told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an exclusive interview airing on The Situation Room on Wednesday and Thursday.
Gates, one of the world's richest men and founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is also calling on Obama to increase investments in the nation's education system and spur technological advances to improve agriculture, prevent disease, and promote economic growth in the world's poorest nations.
"The key point I'd make is that in addition to that stimulus, you've got to fund the kind of scientific work and educational investments that could really have us be a much better country as we emerge from the recession," he said. Watch Gates discuss economy »
On his Web site, Obama has pledged to double the United States' annual investment in foreign aid to $50 billion by the end of his first term, with the goal of fully funding debt cancellation for poor nations and fighting AIDS and global poverty.
In the interview with CNN, Gates said he thinks Obama will live up to that commitment.
"Obviously it's the Congress that gets to actually vote the final decision for how the money is spent, but I do think he will get to that commitment," Gates said. "I am thrilled to be able to see that people are responding to the success stories. Aid from the United States did go up in the last eight years."
The interview came shortly before the Microsoft founder delivered a wide-ranging speech at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., during which he reiterated his call for a major new stimulus package to spur job growth.
"Spending is the only way we'll ever come out of this downturn, and with businesses, state governments and consumers pulling back, the federal government must step forward," Gates told the crowd.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has distributed more than $17 billion in grant commitments in all 50 states and 100 countries. In his interview with CNN, Gates said he had personally given more than $30 billion to the foundation.
|
[
"who is founder of Microsoft?",
"what he want from Obama?",
"What should investments be increased in?",
"who is bill gates",
"What does Gates say Obama should do?"
] |
[
"Bill Gates",
"craft a wide-ranging stimulus package,",
"the nation's education system",
"founder",
"craft a wide-ranging stimulus package,"
] |
question: who is founder of Microsoft?, answer: Bill Gates | question: what he want from Obama?, answer: craft a wide-ranging stimulus package, | question: What should investments be increased in?, answer: the nation's education system | question: who is bill gates, answer: founder | question: What does Gates say Obama should do?, answer: craft a wide-ranging stimulus package,
|
(CNN) -- Microsoft may be a relative newcomer to in-store retailing, but it's getting the hang of this Black Friday thing.
The computing giant, with 14 retail stores across the U.S., is diving into the post-Thanksgiving shopping madness with a slew of substantial new discounts on laptops, phones, software, games and its Kinect gaming system for the Xbox 360 console.
The sale begins online Friday at 12:01 a.m. PT, when most Microsoft stores will open, and lasts through Monday. Some of the deals are just available in stores, while others are offered only at Microsoft's online store.
Among them:
-- Sony S137GX notebook: $599, normally $999 (online only)
-- Samsung RC512 laptop running Windows 7: $499, normally $799
-- Acer Iconia Dual-Screen Touchbook: $599, normally $999
-- Xbox Ultimate Gaming Bundle, which includes accessories, a game and a 90-day Xbox Live membership: up to $200 off
-- Kinect Sensor Holiday Bundle, which includes three games: $100, normally $150 (not available online)
-- A free Windows Phone with a two-year service agreement (the site doesn't specify the carrier)
-- Office Home and Student suite of software: $120, normally $150
Microsoft also is cutting prices -- in many cases by half -- on such recent popular Xbox games as "Assassin's Creed Revelations," "Battlefield 3" and "Madden 2012." See its Facebook page for an entire list.
These discounts are much deeper than those announced Wednesday by rival Apple, which is trimming prices on iPads, iPods and Macs by less than 10%.
|
[
"Where are the discounts available?",
"What microsoft is offering?",
"When are the discounts?",
"Who is offering the discounts?",
"Where the deals are available?"
] |
[
"Microsoft stores",
"substantial new discounts on laptops, phones, software, games and its Kinect gaming system for the Xbox 360 console.",
"Friday at 12:01 a.m. PT,",
"Microsoft",
"in stores, while others are offered only at Microsoft's online store."
] |
question: Where are the discounts available?, answer: Microsoft stores | question: What microsoft is offering?, answer: substantial new discounts on laptops, phones, software, games and its Kinect gaming system for the Xbox 360 console. | question: When are the discounts?, answer: Friday at 12:01 a.m. PT, | question: Who is offering the discounts?, answer: Microsoft | question: Where the deals are available?, answer: in stores, while others are offered only at Microsoft's online store.
|
(CNN) -- Midway through Jason Dinant's fitness journey to get six-pack abs by June, the 27-year-old had a breakdown.
Halfway through his fitness goal, Jason Dinant said he sees a four-pack gradually forming.
After months of eschewing junk food in favor of lean protein -- egg whites, chicken breast and vegetables -- he devoured pie. The slice came from Marie Callender's, drizzled with caramel, loaded with candied apples and layered with cream cheese.
Yes, it was delicious, Dinant said.
Then he got home and had a Tootsie Roll. Then, he ate a Klondike ice cream bar.
The breakdown came late February after months of following a lean diet. It also came with consequences.
"When I woke up the next day, I had a horrible stomach ache," Dinant said. "My trainer said once you're on the diet, you can try to go back and have a day where you binge on bad food and it's going to give you a stomach ache."
Since January, CNNhealth has been following the progress of three iReport contributors as they strive to meet their New Year's diet and fitness goals.
One of them is Dinant, a Las Vegas, Nevada resident, who wanted to get a six-pack by summer in time for his 10-year high school reunion. He also wants to show off a chiseled stomach on his blog called "Naked Boy News," where he stands shirtless to give "the naked truth about today's news."
The junk food breakdown came after almost two months of staying on a lean diet. The self-described "candyaholic" often craved his favorite treats like York Peppermint patties, macaroons, Mounds bars and Coca Cola.
"The key to falling off the wagon is not to stay off the wagon," said Gregg Avedon, a certified fitness trainer and model whose chiseled six-pack has appeared on the cover of Men's Health magazine 18 times. "If you fall off the wagon for one day, the problem is it could lead to two days, three days, a week, then you fall off completely. Next thing you know, it leads to two weeks of binge eating."
Dinant has maintained his diet of 16 egg whites, one and a quarter-pound of meat, four cups of vegetables, potatoes and rice a day. He treats himself to one Tootsie Roll a day, and sometimes indulges in gelato.
Dinant's quest for six-pack abs -- which initially included 500 daily crunches -- brought attention from his neighbors, an egg company that ships him 15 dozen eggs every two weeks and news media such as USA Today and his hometown newspaper, Las Vegas Review-Journal and blogs.
Some people left words of encouragement for Dinant's quest for tight abs, but others were less supportive. A picture compared him to a toothpick. Another one showed a kitten shooting a shirtless Dinant.
"A lot of people said, 'You need to put on a shirt,'" he said, so Dinant set up a Web site called putonashirt.com where he compiled the comments.
The hate mail comes "when they see a thin guy trying to be more fit. They're jealous," Dinant said. The negative comments add fuel to his fire.
"I've wanted to do this before and last year, I had the same resolution," Dinant said. "I did it for two weeks and by January 15, it was time to move on. So I applied for iReport. I wanted people to follow it, so I'm motivated to do it. So many people are watching, so mentally, I have to do it. I put my mind to it. I have to do it." Watch Dinant's video
Dinant doesn't have a six-pack yet.
"You can see four," he said. "It's more defined. The middle two are coming in. I need a tan. I'm so white it's
|
[
"What do his abs look like?",
"What did he binge on?",
"What does Dinart eat a day",
"What does he eat every day?",
"What did the Men's Health model and fitness expert say?",
"How many pounds of meat does he eat"
] |
[
"six-pack",
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"16 egg whites, one and a quarter-pound of meat, four cups of vegetables, potatoes and rice",
"Dinant has maintained his diet of 16 egg whites, one and a quarter-pound of meat, four cups of vegetables, potatoes and rice a",
"\"The key to falling off the wagon is not to stay off the wagon,\"",
"one and a quarter-pound of"
] |
question: What do his abs look like?, answer: six-pack | question: What did he binge on?, answer: bad food | question: What does Dinart eat a day, answer: 16 egg whites, one and a quarter-pound of meat, four cups of vegetables, potatoes and rice | question: What does he eat every day?, answer: Dinant has maintained his diet of 16 egg whites, one and a quarter-pound of meat, four cups of vegetables, potatoes and rice a | question: What did the Men's Health model and fitness expert say?, answer: "The key to falling off the wagon is not to stay off the wagon," | question: How many pounds of meat does he eat, answer: one and a quarter-pound of
|
(CNN) -- Mike Myers' "Love Guru" may speak of "yin and yang," but the Hollywood version of bad balanced by good might be the Razzies and the Oscars.
Mike Myers' "The Love Guru" was one of the year's biggest bombs.
The day before the Motion Picture Academy releases the Oscar nominations -- honoring the movie industry's best -- the Golden Raspberry Award foundation reveals nominations for the Razzies, which recognize the worst films of 2008.
And in 2008, Razzie founder and self-styled "Head Raspberry" John Wilson said, the bad seemed to outweigh the good among the 578 movies released.
"We are saying that it wasn't just the economy that tanked," Wilson said. "So did the quality of the movies being offered to those of us who don't have as much money to buy tickets."
"All of the voting was very close this year," he said. "There just was too much stuff to choose from."
The bumper crop of "putrid motion pictures" may be partly a result of last spring's writers' strike "when nobody was rewriting, polishing or improving anything and it was still getting filmed," Wilson said.
Bombs also happen when studios hedge their bets with high-priced stars by having them "do what worked before, coming back to same well."
Which brings us back to Myers' "Love Guru," which followed his hugely profitable "Austin Powers" franchise. Myers' portrayal of "a platitude-spouting mystic" leads the Razzie list for worst picture, Wilson said.
It may also have been the biggest box office bomb: the film, expected to be a summer hit, lost $30 million, he said.
Other worst picture nominees include "Disaster Movie" and "Meet the Spartans" -- both featuring the same writer-directors and essentially the same cast. The latter film "somehow managed to work references to Britney Spears into an ancient Spartan 'plot,' " Wilson said.
Also competing for the top dishonor is "The Happening," which Wilson described as "an eco-disaster tale whose 'villain' drew more guffaws than gasps," and Paris Hilton's "The Hottie and the Nottie," which earned three Razzie nominations overall.
"She really is neither a movie star or an actress," Wilson said of Hilton.
The movie -- for which Hilton was listed as executive producer -- sold only $27,000 in tickets but cost about $2 million to make.
Other Razzie nominees include actor-comedian Eddie Murphy, who received two nominations for "Meet Dave"; Oscar winner Al Pacino, who earned a Razzie nod for making "two rotten movies this year," in Wilson's words (he's referring to "88 Minutes" and "Righteous Kill"); and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which was singled out as "Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel." Despite the opinions of Wilson and the Razzie voters, it was the year's third-highest-grossing movie.
And a rare Razzie for "Worst Career Achievement" will go to "Bad Movie Uber-Meister" Uwe Boll for "In the Name of the King," Wilson said. The film, based on a video game, had a $60 million budget, yet brought in under $5 million at the box office, he said.
Wilson said he began the Razzies in 1981 as a counterpoint to the Oscars.
It takes guts to show up in person to accept a Razzie, but some notable actors have embraced the infamy, Wilson said.
Tom Green, who made "a horrible little thing called 'Freddy Got Fingered' " several years ago, "insisted that he made the film with the intent of sweeping the Razzie Awards," Wilson said.
Green showed up to accept his three awards with great enthusiasm, he said.
"At the end of the ceremony, he launched into a harmonica solo and we
|
[
"What is a razzie award?",
"who won the razzie?",
"Who is Uwe Boll?"
] |
[
"which recognize the worst films of 2008.",
"Myers'",
"\"Bad Movie Uber-Meister\""
] |
question: What is a razzie award?, answer: which recognize the worst films of 2008. | question: who won the razzie?, answer: Myers' | question: Who is Uwe Boll?, answer: "Bad Movie Uber-Meister"
|
(CNN) -- Mike and Missy Wilson sat in a meeting late Tuesday afternoon, planning a ministry trip to Haiti when they were interrupted by a text message. A co-worker read the news: a powerful earthquake had just struck the Caribbean country.
In their Nashville, Tennessee, office, Mike Wilson said, "My heart just dropped" as he listened to the one-line bulletin. The quake's epicenter was a few miles from an orphanage in Carrefour, Haiti, where the Wilsons' 21-year-old daughter Katie was working, and the 5-year-old girl they were about to adopt lived.
"I felt like I couldn't take another breath," Missy Wilson said, "I jumped up and yelled, 'This can't be happening.'"
The first bits of news were discouraging, as sketchy reports came in of buildings collapsing and widespread destruction.
"It was horrible," Missy Wilson said. "We spent hours trying to get any information."
The Brent Gambrell Ministries where she is director frequently works with churches and groups in Haiti. Any phone number they had in the country was quickly written on a board in the office.
"A group of 20 (people) sat and dialed the numbers over and over and over again."
"There are no words to explain that two people I love dearly were in the middle, and I couldn't reach then," Mike Wilson said, his voice cracking.
But it was more than 24 hours before they finally got word. A brief, scratchy call from their daughter Katie came through -- she and 5-year-old Tia had survived the quake that destroyed the orphanage. Missy Wilson said Katie was able to say, "I'm alive. We're safe. Tia's safe. Please just know we're alive," before the 40-second call was cut off.
It would be Thursday before the Wilsons learned the whole story. Mike Wilson, with two ministry officials, was able to travel into Haiti on a medivac plane, and the three made their way to the town.
"There was destruction all around," he said from Haiti, "When I saw what was left of that building, I knew they were protected."
Katie, Tia and 47 other children all made it out, but were living in the parking lot across from the shattered orphanage. When Mike Wilson finally found his daughter, she ran up to him at full speed and hugged him. "I can totally see her knocking him to the ground," her mother said.
The first order of business: a call home to a nervous mom. Wilson was able to get through on a rare working cell phone, and told his wife, "need to you to hear something."
Missy Wilson said the next words were from Tia, barely able to speak English, saying, "'Ma-ma, I love you.' I started screaming at the top of my lungs."
Wilson and his colleagues brought food, water and supplies to the 200 quake victims in the parking lot. He described the injured, including one with a broken leg, being treated for two days in the heat with nothing more than an aspirin.
The group arranged a bus to take the children to a guest house, a trip delayed when the bus broke down. But that news was minor, knowing they would have shelter and supplies.
For the Wilsons, the next struggle is how to bring Tia home. They had been in Haiti just last week finishing paperwork for the adoption, but the office handling the case was destroyed in the quake. "All that paperwork, God knows where it is," Mike Wilson said. "That building was five stories, now it's five feet tall."
For Missy, waiting for news at home, "I feel like I'm floating on top of my body."
"Like I'm living a dream and waiting to wake up," she said. This week has gone "from hopelessness to hope to tears to '
|
[
"Who is Wilson's daughter?",
"Who was in Haiti?",
"What age was the girl they were about to adopt?",
"Where is the ophanage?",
"Who made it out of the orphanage alive?",
"Where did father travel?",
"What did Missy Wilson spend hours trying to get?"
] |
[
"Katie",
"the Wilsons' 21-year-old daughter Katie",
"5-year-old",
"Carrefour, Haiti,",
"Katie, Tia and 47 other children",
"Haiti",
"any information.\""
] |
question: Who is Wilson's daughter?, answer: Katie | question: Who was in Haiti?, answer: the Wilsons' 21-year-old daughter Katie | question: What age was the girl they were about to adopt?, answer: 5-year-old | question: Where is the ophanage?, answer: Carrefour, Haiti, | question: Who made it out of the orphanage alive?, answer: Katie, Tia and 47 other children | question: Where did father travel?, answer: Haiti | question: What did Missy Wilson spend hours trying to get?, answer: any information."
|
(CNN) -- Mikey Welsh, most famously known as the bassist for the rock band Weezer, died unexpectedly Saturday, according to the band. He was 40.
The cause of death was not immediately known.
Darryl Baety, a Chicago police spokesman, said that officers responded at 1:45 p.m. Saturday to a call from the Raffaello Hotel regarding a guest who had been scheduled to check out, but had not.
After first knocking on the door, hotel personnel entered and found someone who was "unresponsive and not breathing," according to Baety.
Police are conducting a death investigation related to the case, pending autopsy results, Baety said.
According to Welsh's official website, he was a painter before he made the the shift to music at age 19. A decade later, he had achieved fame as the bassist for the band Weezer, replacing the band's longtime bassist Matt Sharp.
Welsh was part of the band's 2001 "Green Album" release, which featured "Hash Pipe." The single became one of the band's biggest hits, peaking at No. 2 on Billboard's Alternative songs chart.
Welsh left the band shortly after, saying he had suffered a nervous breakdown.
The band remembered Welsh as vital chapter to their history and one to never "shy away from the absurd, dangerous or strange," according to a statement on Weezer's website.
Weezer played as scheduled Sunday during Chicago's RIOTfest.
CNN's Denise Quan contributed to this report.
|
[
"What did the police found?",
"What did Chicago police find in a hotel?",
"Who did he replace?",
"Who left the band in 2001?",
"What was Welsh's occupation before becoming a musician?",
"Who was Mikey Welsh?"
] |
[
"someone who was \"unresponsive and not breathing,\"",
"someone who was \"unresponsive and not breathing,\"",
"the band's longtime bassist Matt Sharp.",
"Welsh",
"a painter",
"bassist for the rock band Weezer,"
] |
question: What did the police found?, answer: someone who was "unresponsive and not breathing," | question: What did Chicago police find in a hotel?, answer: someone who was "unresponsive and not breathing," | question: Who did he replace?, answer: the band's longtime bassist Matt Sharp. | question: Who left the band in 2001?, answer: Welsh | question: What was Welsh's occupation before becoming a musician?, answer: a painter | question: Who was Mikey Welsh?, answer: bassist for the rock band Weezer,
|
(CNN) -- Mikkel Kessler is the new World Boxing Council (WBC) super-middleweight champion after out-pointing Briton Carl Froch in a bruising encounter in his native Denmark on Saturday night.
Despite being previously unbeaten after 26 fights, the 32-year-old Froch never looked comfortable against his durable opponent, who was given the decision on all three of the judges scorecards after 12 brutal rounds in front of a partisan and passionate crowd at the MCH Messecenter in Herning.
Froch had Kessler on the canvas in the fifth round, but the referee ruled that the Dane had slipped, and the challenger eventually wore the champion down with a combination of hooks and jabs to take the belt by a margin of 117-111, 115-113 and 116-112.
The result means 31-year-old Kessler, who has lost just twice in 45 fights, is a world champion again just five months after losing his World Boxing Association (WBA) title to Andre Ward.
Although gracious in defeat, Froch questioned if the decision would have gone Kessler's way if the fight had taken place in his hometown of Nottingham, England.
"I feel terrible that I lost my title, absolutely gutted," Froch told ringside reporters after the fight.
"I don't want to make a mockery of anything but I feel if it was at home in my town, the decision would have gone the other way."
He added: "I took some big punches off a big puncher and I've got to give Kessler the credit he deserves. He stayed in there and is a strong, proud warrior."
|
[
"Who defeated Froch?",
"Who defeated Carl Froch?",
"How many rounds were there in the match?",
"Who defeats Carl to win?",
"Kessler secures unanimous points decision after what number of rounds?"
] |
[
"Mikkel",
"Mikkel",
"12",
"Mikkel",
"12"
] |
question: Who defeated Froch?, answer: Mikkel | question: Who defeated Carl Froch?, answer: Mikkel | question: How many rounds were there in the match?, answer: 12 | question: Who defeats Carl to win?, answer: Mikkel | question: Kessler secures unanimous points decision after what number of rounds?, answer: 12
|
(CNN) -- Militants who control parts of Somalia's capital city are beating women in broad daylight for violating their radical brand of Islamic law, according to local officials and witnesses in Mogadishu.
"Just today, Al-Shabaab dispatched men with whips to the streets around Bakara market and they are flogging any woman who is found not wearing socks," according to a female maize trader at the Mogadishu market, who spoke Thursday.
She did not want to be named for security reasons.
In the past two days, more than 130 people, including women who were not wearing headscarves and men chewing dried khat leaves, have been detained for violating Al-Shabaab's interpretation of sharia, or Islamic law, according to witnesses and officials.
Hooded Al-Shabaab gunmen rounded up 50 women on Wednesday from Mogadishu's Bakara market for not wearing the veil that is required for women under some interpretations of Islamic law, according to the maize trader.
"Most of these women were vegetable traders, so they are poor and can't afford to buy veils for 600,000 shillings [about $23 U.S.]," she said.
She said she saw more women being detained Thursday.
Another 80 Somali civilians were detained in the southwestern town of Luuq, near the Kenyan and Ethiopian border, "because they turned deaf ear to orders we imposed on the town," said the local Al-Shabaab commander Sheikh Hussien al-Iraqi.
Al-Shabaab is considered a terrorist organization by the United States because of its ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
It has been imposing stricter rules on Somali civilians living in the areas it controls.
Earlier this month, Al-Shabaab militants whipped women for wearing bras in an area of northern Mogadishu that they control, shocking residents who have been besieged by the ongoing insurgency. The militants believe the female undergarments are a deception to men.
|
[
"Women violate the law how?",
"What does Al-Shabaab impose?",
"what Militant group Al-Shabaab imposes strict interpretation?"
] |
[
"not wearing headscarves",
"stricter rules on Somali civilians living in the areas it controls.",
"sharia,"
] |
question: Women violate the law how?, answer: not wearing headscarves | question: What does Al-Shabaab impose?, answer: stricter rules on Somali civilians living in the areas it controls. | question: what Militant group Al-Shabaab imposes strict interpretation?, answer: sharia,
|
(CNN) -- Millions of Californians will duck for cover Thursday morning in one of the largest earthquake drills in the world.
Elementary school students in Burbank, California, take part in last year's earthquake drill.
"The Great California Shakeout" will kick off at 10:15 a.m. at schools, museums, fire stations and other sites across the state.
More than 6 million people have registered to take part in the drill, sponsored by various state agencies. About 5.5 million Californians participated in last year's drill, organizers said. iReport.com: Are you taking part in California's earthquake drill?
Senior citizens at the Vallecito Mobile Home Park in Ventura County were among last year's participants. They took cover for three minutes and some pretended to be injured so emergency workers could practice safety procedures.
This year's participants also can watch an animated video that shows how much damage a magnitude 7.8 earthquake can cause. iReport.com: Museum undergoes "fake quake" drill
Thursday's event comes two days before the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. The magnitude 6.9 quake rocked Northern California in 1989, killing dozens, collapsing a 50-foot section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, damaging thousands of homes, and interrupting baseball's World Series.
|
[
"The earthquake drill takes place in what US state?",
"where is loma prieta",
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"Event comes near 20th anniversary of what quake?",
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"6 million in California registered to participate in what?"
] |
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"California,",
"Northern California",
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"Loma Prieta",
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"earthquake drill."
] |
question: The earthquake drill takes place in what US state?, answer: California, | question: where is loma prieta, answer: Northern California | question: Civilians will feign injuries so first responders can what?, answer: practice safety procedures. | question: Event comes near 20th anniversary of what quake?, answer: Loma Prieta | question: How many people registered to participate in the drill?, answer: 6 million | question: 6 million in California registered to participate in what?, answer: earthquake drill.
|
(CNN) -- Millions of Muslims from around the world were in the holy city of Mecca on Saturday for the first day of Hajj, the annual pilgrimage that every able-bodied Muslim is expected to perform at least once in his or her life.
Dressed in white and following in the footsteps of the prophet Mohammed, pilgrims climbed Mount Arafat, just outside the Saudi Arabian city.
Hajj, a five-day pilgrimage, consists of a series of detailed rituals in Mina, Muzdalifa, Arafat and Mecca.
It is one of the five pillars of Islam.
Will this year's Hajj have an 'Arab Spring' effect?
This year's pilgrimage is unique as it is the first to happen since the Arab Spring began last year.
Some experts are watching for potential flare-ups in Saudi Arabia, a country governed by an unelected royal family and where freedoms are limited.
The pilgrims this year have come from 183 countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported. About 54% of the pilgrims are male.
U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement of Saturday to coincide with the start of Hajj. Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice, begins on Sunday.
"Michelle and I extend our greetings for a happy Eid al-Adha to Muslims worldwide and congratulate those performing Hajj. Thousands of Muslim Americans are among those who have joined one of the world's largest and most diverse gatherings in making the pilgrimage to Mecca and nearby sites," he said.
"The Eid and Hajj rituals are a reminder of the shared roots of the world's Abrahamic faiths and the powerful role that faith plays in motivating communities to serve and stand with those in need. On behalf of the American people, we extend our best wishes during this Hajj season."
CNN's Yasmin Amer contributed to this report.
|
[
"What is the Hajj?",
"How long does the annual pilgrimage last?",
"How long does Hajj?",
"Where do the pilgrims come from?",
"How many countries have the pilgrims come from?"
] |
[
"the annual pilgrimage that every able-bodied Muslim is expected to perform at least once in his or her life.",
"five-day",
"five-day",
"183 countries,",
"183"
] |
question: What is the Hajj?, answer: the annual pilgrimage that every able-bodied Muslim is expected to perform at least once in his or her life. | question: How long does the annual pilgrimage last?, answer: five-day | question: How long does Hajj?, answer: five-day | question: Where do the pilgrims come from?, answer: 183 countries, | question: How many countries have the pilgrims come from?, answer: 183
|
(CNN) -- Millions of people are expected to go to Washington to celebrate Barack Obama's inauguration on January 20, but with a troubled economy and pocketbook issues on the mind, the president-elect must be careful to set the right tone.
Construction of the inaugural stand continues in front of the White House last week.
President Bush raised a record $42.8 million dollars for his second inauguration, and according to Public Citizen, more than 90 percent of the donations to that ceremony were from executives or corporations.
But this year, some say throwing a multimillion-dollar party would be unseemly in a time when crash, bailout, and foreclosure fill the economic headlines.
"A lot of it is about tone and making sure that the celebrations that do take place are not over the top, that they don't appear to be insensitive to the pain people have right now," said Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense.
The inaugural committee for Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to make sure the ceremony underscores the incoming administration's "commitment to change business as usual in Washington."
The Presidential Inaugural Committee has limited individual contributions to $50,000. There is no law restricting the size of donations, but in the past, inaugural committees have set contribution limits as high as $250,000.
The PIC said it will not take contributions from corporations, political action committees, current federally registered lobbyists, non-U.S. citizens or registered foreign agents.
Obama has promised to "take power away from the corporate lobbyists" -- a pledge that would be questioned should the president-elect rely on them to foot his inauguration bill.
"If he can pay for these parties with small donations, I think there'd be a lot more acceptance of that," Alexander said.
Watchdog groups say there are some things Obama can do to take control of the tone. For example, he could make donations to charity, and Michelle Obama could opt for something more reasonably priced than a designer dress.
When Franklin D. Roosevelt took office, he also faced a financial crisis. He gave voters a now famous pep talk about the failing economy, then skipped the fancy inaugural balls because they sent the wrong message.
But analysts say Obama's not expected to go that far because so many people want to celebrate his historic win.
"Washington, D.C., was pro-Obama and had Obama-mania long before November 4. But the moment November 4 occurred, all -- all craziness sort of broke loose," said Anne Schroeder Mullini, a gossip columnist for Politico.
As inauguration organizers work to keep the tone in check, they are speaking out against those trying to make money by scalping tickets to the event.
Tickets for the inauguration are distributed through members of Congress, and just 240,000 seats are available for the actual swearing-in ceremony.
The tickets are supposed to be free, but with demand outpacing supply, a traditional giveaway has turned into a thriving online marketplace.
Legitimate ticket brokers -- the same companies that peddle tickets to rock concerts and NASCAR races -- are selling tickets to the inauguration for thousands of dollars, even for standing-room areas on the National Mall.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein wants to make that practice a crime, punishable by up to a year in prison.
Organizers of the inauguration say it violates the spirit of the event and could spell disappointment for people who buy tickets for the ceremony.
"We think it's absolutely insane to be selling those tickets. We understand some people want to make a buck, but for those people thinking of buying tickets, it's buyer beware," warned Howard Gantman, staff director of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
CNN's Carol Costello, Brianna Keilar and Erica Hill contributed to this report.
|
[
"What does ticket scalping violate?",
"How much did President Bush raise in his second inauguration?",
"How much has Obama limited individual donations by?",
"How much did President Bush raise?",
"How much has Obama limited individual donations to?"
] |
[
"the spirit of the event",
"$42.8 million dollars",
"$50,000.",
"$42.8 million dollars",
"$50,000."
] |
question: What does ticket scalping violate?, answer: the spirit of the event | question: How much did President Bush raise in his second inauguration?, answer: $42.8 million dollars | question: How much has Obama limited individual donations by?, answer: $50,000. | question: How much did President Bush raise?, answer: $42.8 million dollars | question: How much has Obama limited individual donations to?, answer: $50,000.
|
(CNN) -- Millions of people around the world have taken part in ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the Scouting movement.
Scouts renewed their promise to build a tolerant and peaceful society.
Dawn celebrations involving 28 million young people took place across the globe, from Ecuador to Bhutan.
In southern England, 40,000 young people from around the globe gathered to take part in the largest ever 12-day world Scout Jamboree.
The island where the movement was born, Brownsea Island off the coast of England, has been the focus of celebrations, with 300 scouts from more than 160 countries attending a commemorative camp.
It was on that site that Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell held an experimental camp for 20 boys, following his experiences in the Army during the Boer War.
The movement requests its members, boys and girls from the age of six, to uphold values such as trustworthiness, loyalty and to "do their best".
Scouts from countries including the UK, Lebanon, Nepal, Rwanda, Serbia, Libya and Argentina, displayed their flags on the island, before taking part in a sunrise ceremony.
In Romania, scouts formed a human chain around the Parliament building in the capital Bucharest to express how young people will play a role in the country's future.
In Namibia, Africa, around 1,000 scouts cooked breakfast over a camp fire, and groups from Malawi camped at the top of Mulanje mountain.
The Taj Mahal in India, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Sydney Opera House in Australia also witnessed sunrise ceremonies.
The small gathering at Brownsea Island led the rest of the globe in renewing their Scouting promise to build a tolerant and peaceful society.
A speech written by Baden-Powell during the first scout camp was also read out to the group.
It includes a call for peace, comradeship and cooperation over rivalry between "classes, creeds and countries which have done so much in the past to produce wars and unrest".
Alistair, 16, from Manchester, at the Brownsea Island ceremony, said: "It has made me think how one man has changed the world.
"It is one world, one promise. We are all here as peace ambassadors. We are the next generation. We are the ones bringing peace forward into the world," he told the Press Association.
Ana Mejia, 14, from Honduras, added: "It doesn't matter what our nationality, our religion, our color, we are a family and we have to support each other.
Baden-Powell's book "Scouting for Boys" is the fourth biggest selling book in the world after the Bible, the Koran and Mao's Little Red Book. E-mail to a friend
|
[
"Scouts' promise is?",
"How many scouts took part?",
"Who was it started by?",
"Who started the scouts?",
"Who renewed their promise?",
"Whose the Scout's founder?"
] |
[
"to build a tolerant and peaceful society.",
"28 million",
"Robert Baden-Powell",
"Robert Baden-Powell",
"Scouts",
"Robert Baden-Powell"
] |
question: Scouts' promise is?, answer: to build a tolerant and peaceful society. | question: How many scouts took part?, answer: 28 million | question: Who was it started by?, answer: Robert Baden-Powell | question: Who started the scouts?, answer: Robert Baden-Powell | question: Who renewed their promise?, answer: Scouts | question: Whose the Scout's founder?, answer: Robert Baden-Powell
|
(CNN) -- Millions of poor American children have untreated tooth decay, some of them because they cannot find a dentist willing to treat them, a federal report issued Tuesday said.
Only 1 in 3 children in Medicaid received any dental care over a year time span, according to a new report.
"Dental disease remains a significant problem for children aged 2 through 18 in Medicaid," the U.S. Government Accountability Office report concluded, referring to the federal/state health program for poor people.
According to the report, which used data from 1999 to 2004, about 6.5 million children enrolled in Medicaid had untreated tooth decay in 2005 and were nearly twice as likely as children with private health insurance to have untreated tooth decay.
The GAO report was ordered after widespread publicity of the case of Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old boy boy who died last year in suburban Washington when an untreated infected tooth led to a brain infection.
Driver "had extensive dental disease and his family was unable to find a dentist to treat him," the report said.
The report said 14.8 percent of Medicaid recipients said their children had not gotten necessary dental care because their dentist refused to accept Medicaid, which typically pays providers less than private insurers.
"Clearly, the oral health care system failed this young man," said Dr. Jane S. Grover, first vice president of the American Dental Association in testimony Tuesday to the Committee on House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Domestic Policy.
"All of us -- practitioners, payers, parents and policymakers -- need to come together and make the system work for the most vulnerable among us," she said.
The report found that, nationwide, only one in three children in Medicaid had received any dental care in the year before the survey was carried out, and one in eight reportedly had never seen a dentist.
In comparison, more than half of children with private health insurance had gotten dental care during the prior year.
"Fundamental changes to the Medicaid program are long overdue to prevent the possibility of future tragedies like Deamonte and to ensure that all low-income children have the same access to oral health care services enjoyed by the majority of Americans," Grover said.
Efforts are under way to fix the problem. She cited plans to open eight dental schools in addition to the 57 currently in existence and said a new job -- community dental health coordinator -- has been created. The coordinators will be trained to work in clinics and schools to ensure emergency care is provided to children, she said.
"If there had been a CDHC in the school that Deamonte Driver attended, we believe this tragedy could have been prevented," she said.
"Through a routine exam, a CDHC could have spotted a simple cavity, filled the cavity with a temporary filling, and made arrangements for care by a dentist," she said.
The CDHC will also help families enroll in Medicaid and get transportation to appointments, she said.
But even if the numbers of dentists increase, Congress must act to increase fees for those participating in Medicaid to match private rates, she said.
|
[
"Is it difficult to get dental care with Medicaid?",
"How old was Driver?",
"What type of service do recipients of Medicaid say is difficult to get?",
"About how many children enrolled in Medicaid had untreated tooth decay?",
"What is the age of Deamonte Driver when he died?",
"Where was Deamonte Driver from?",
"How many children on Medicaid had tooth decay?",
"What often pays less than private insurance?",
"Who died as a result of infected tooth?",
"What did Deamonte Driver die from?"
] |
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] |
question: Is it difficult to get dental care with Medicaid?, answer: Only 1 in 3 children in Medicaid received any dental care over a year time span, according to a new report. | question: How old was Driver?, answer: 12-year-old | question: What type of service do recipients of Medicaid say is difficult to get?, answer: dental care | question: About how many children enrolled in Medicaid had untreated tooth decay?, answer: Millions | question: What is the age of Deamonte Driver when he died?, answer: 12-year-old | question: Where was Deamonte Driver from?, answer: Washington | question: How many children on Medicaid had tooth decay?, answer: 6.5 million | question: What often pays less than private insurance?, answer: Medicaid, | question: Who died as a result of infected tooth?, answer: Deamonte Driver, | question: What did Deamonte Driver die from?, answer: an untreated infected tooth led to a brain infection.
|
(CNN) -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, police have arrested a man whose DNA linked him to the bodies of nine women killed over 21 years, officials said at a news conference Monday night.
Walter E. Ellis, 49, was arrested after police matched a DNA swab taken from him last week to the victims.
Walter E. Ellis, 49, was arrested after police matched a DNA swab taken from him last week to DNA left on the bodies of nine women killed since 1986.
Police said eight of the women were prostitutes and one was a runaway involved with drugs. They were all killed within a 3-square-mile area of Milwaukee's north side.
"This case was solved with shoe leather and science," Milwaukee Police Chief Edward A. Flynn said. "Continuing advances in DNA technology have enabled us to link these homicide cases, and it was good police work pursuing numerous leads that led to the arrest of a suspect."
The homicides occurred between 1986 and 2007, police said. See where the bodies were found »
Ellis was charged Monday with two counts of first degree murder relating to two of the deaths: 41-year-old Joyce Mims, who was killed in 1997, and 28-year-old Ouithreaun Stokes, who was killed in April 2007. Police said more charges are likely.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Ellis had obtained an attorney.
Police said other victims linked to Ellis through DNA were: Tanya L. Miller, killed in 1986; Deborah L. Harris, killed in 1986; Sheila Farrior, strangled in 1995; Florence McCormick, strangled in 1995; Irene Smith, killed in 1992; Carron D. Kilpatrick, killed in 1992, and Jessica Payne, killed in 1995.
Flynn told CNN it was hard for investigators to discern a geographic pattern for the homicides. In the 20-year period, more than 2,000 slayings occurred in Milwaukee, he said -- 200 of them in the same area where the bodies were found.
Another challenge investigators faced was the developing technology of DNA evidence. The technology in 2009 far exceeds that available in 1986 or even 2002, he said. It was only this year that police were able to link the nine homicides with the same DNA pattern.
Even then "we did not have anyone to match our DNA profile against, until we were able to get [Ellis'] toothbrush," he told CNN. A Wisconsin law passed in 2000 mandated the DNA collection from convicted felons. Ellis was released from prison in 2001 without having his DNA sample collected, Flynn said.
Because his name had surfaced in the investigation and because he was also listed in two FBI databases, authorities decided to investigate him further and were able to obtain the search warrant that allowed them to collect his DNA from his toothbrush, the police chief said.
News of Ellis' arrest shocked those who knew him.
"That was just my ex-boyfriend," his former girlfriend, Chanita, told CNN affiliate WISN-TV. She asked that her last name not be used. "I didn't know nothing about nothing like this. I'm getting shivery now cause you're talking about some strangling stuff. Lord have mercy on me. I'm just a wreck right now. I can't believe this. I'm trembling in here. I'm shakin'."
Chanita said she dated Ellis for four years.
"I can't believe it. This is a shock," she told WISN. "I got like goose bumps on my arms instantly when you told me that. I'm like no way -- not Walter -- I can't see him hurting nobody."
For relatives of the victims, the news brought mixed emotions.
"I knew they was gonna get him, I knew it," Patricia Donald, best friend of victim Deborah Harris, told WISN. "Finally he can't hurt nobody anymore."
For her and others, like Sandy Farrior, whose daughter Sheila was linked to Ellis, it was news that helped bring closure.
"Late justice is better than no justice," he told
|
[
"Who was charged in two killings?",
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"how many women were killed",
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"In what year did the killings start?",
"The women were killed when?",
"Who was the DNA found on bodies of nine women matched to?",
"who is the suspect",
"what has ellis been charged with?",
"when were they killed",
"who was DNA found on bodies of nine women matched to?",
"when were the women killed?",
"where did the murders take place"
] |
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"over 21 years,",
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"Wisconsin,"
] |
question: Who was charged in two killings?, answer: Walter E. Ellis, | question: How many killings has Ellis been charged in so far?, answer: nine | question: how many women were killed, answer: nine | question: when were the women killed, answer: The homicides occurred between 1986 and 2007, | question: Who was the DNA on the bodies matched to?, answer: Walter E. Ellis, | question: In what year did the killings start?, answer: 1986. | question: The women were killed when?, answer: between 1986 and 2007, | question: Who was the DNA found on bodies of nine women matched to?, answer: Walter E. Ellis, | question: who is the suspect, answer: Walter E. Ellis, | question: what has ellis been charged with?, answer: two counts of first degree murder | question: when were they killed, answer: over 21 years, | question: who was DNA found on bodies of nine women matched to?, answer: Walter E. Ellis, | question: when were the women killed?, answer: between 1986 and 2007, | question: where did the murders take place, answer: Wisconsin,
|
(CNN) -- Minnesota Vikings cornerback Chris Cook was arrested and charged with domestic assault Friday night, the Hennepin County, Minnesota, sheriff's office said.
According to the sheriff's office, Cook was charged with two counts of domestic assault and was being held without bail.
Details of the alleged incident leading to the arrest were not immediately available.
The Vikings released a brief statement but offered no details.
"The Minnesota Vikings are aware of the incident involving Chris Cook. We take this matter very seriously and are still gathering all the details of the incident," the statement said.
Cook was booked at the Hennepin County Jail at 4 a.m., and his arrest likely means he will not play on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, CNN affiliate WCCO reported.
|
[
"What is Cook charged with?",
"What position does Chris Cook play?",
"What charges does Chris Cook face?",
"Which team does Chris Cook play for?",
"When was Cook arrested?",
"When was Chris Cook arrested?",
"what charge he faces"
] |
[
"domestic assault",
"cornerback",
"domestic assault",
"Vikings",
"Friday",
"Friday",
"domestic assault"
] |
question: What is Cook charged with?, answer: domestic assault | question: What position does Chris Cook play?, answer: cornerback | question: What charges does Chris Cook face?, answer: domestic assault | question: Which team does Chris Cook play for?, answer: Vikings | question: When was Cook arrested?, answer: Friday | question: When was Chris Cook arrested?, answer: Friday | question: what charge he faces, answer: domestic assault
|
(CNN) -- Minutes after Bill Clinton's doctor divulged that the former president underwent a stenting procedure to restore blood flow through a coronary artery, CNN's Larry King made a similar announcement.
"A month ago, maybe five weeks ago, I had the same procedure at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles that Bill Clinton had today," the 76-year-old talk show host told viewers of his program, "Larry King Live."
King noted that he suffered a heart attack in February 1987 and underwent a quintuple bypass five months later. He described his experience with heart disease in his 1989 book, "Mr. King, You're Having a Heart Attack."
Recently, he said Thursday, he began feeling symptoms that turned out to have been related to his heart.
"I felt some strange feelings in my shoulder, where I had the original heart attack," said King. He said he went to the hospital and underwent the procedure a few days later. Stents are tiny balloons that are threaded into a patient's heart vessels where they are inflated, pushing plaque against the vessel wall and increasing blood flow.
"I did it on a Monday morning, was out on Tuesday and back here on 'Larry King Live' on Tuesday night," King said.
"So I can report to the waiting public that I never felt better. They got it open, they put the stents in. I share a bond with the former president and I feel very good. I only didn't make it public because I just like to keep things private. But I feel terrific," he said.
|
[
"What did King say to the public?",
"Since the procedure what did King report how he felt?",
"Who had a heart attack in 1987?",
"When did King get a stenting procedure done?",
"In what year did King suffer a heart attack?",
"Is King feeling better now?",
"What were his recent symptoms?",
"what kind of procedure did he get?"
] |
[
"\"A month ago, maybe five weeks ago, I had the same procedure at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles that Bill Clinton had today,\"",
"never",
"Larry King",
"\"A month ago, maybe five weeks ago,",
"1987",
"I feel very good.",
"strange feelings in my shoulder,",
"stenting"
] |
question: What did King say to the public?, answer: "A month ago, maybe five weeks ago, I had the same procedure at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles that Bill Clinton had today," | question: Since the procedure what did King report how he felt?, answer: never | question: Who had a heart attack in 1987?, answer: Larry King | question: When did King get a stenting procedure done?, answer: "A month ago, maybe five weeks ago, | question: In what year did King suffer a heart attack?, answer: 1987 | question: Is King feeling better now?, answer: I feel very good. | question: What were his recent symptoms?, answer: strange feelings in my shoulder, | question: what kind of procedure did he get?, answer: stenting
|
(CNN) -- Mir Hossein Moussavi, Iran's former prime minister, has emerged as a serious contender to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was, for months, considered a shoo-in for re-election to the Iranian presidency.
Presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi holds up the "V" sign after casting his vote on Friday.
A painter and architect who withdrew from the political front for two decades, Moussavi has emerged with a platter of promises. He has said he wants to reform Iran into a global communicator that embraces freedom of speech.
He's also taken an usual step in politics in Iran by relying heavily on his wife, a college professor. Her public support of his candidacy has underscored his professed support of women's rights.
Largely an unknown to the rest of the world when he announced his bid in March, Moussavi has tried to be the foil to Ahmadinejad, who has earned a reputation internationally as a fundamentalist for his Holocaust denials, calls to annihilate Israel, and cat-and-mouse games with the United States and the United Nations over Iran's nuclear activities.
"This anti-Ahmadinejad image is connecting with a lot of Iranians because many feel Ahmadinejad has gone too far, said too many outlandish things and is responsible for a serious financial crisis the country is in," said Afshin Molavi, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute in Washington.
Molavi is also the author of "The Soul of Iran," a book about Iran's middle-class struggling to free itself, under intense economic and cultural restraints, from the control of the state.
Moussavi was Iran's prime minister from 1981 to 1989 and oversaw the nation's eight-year war with Iraq. He has been largely praised by analysts across varied political leanings for that. But when the constitution was reformed in the late 1980s, removing the job of prime minister, Moussavi retreated to a life outside the public sphere for two decades.
"Twenty years -- what has he done in that time? No one really knows," said Shireen Hunter, a Georgetown University visiting professor and Iranian author of numerous books on the nation's political history who interviewed Moussavi just as he was officially exiting politics.
"What you have is a war and a history that the younger Iranians do not know about or remember, so they know less about him and see him as the reformer he says that he is," Hunter said.
She spoke with Moussavi for her 1992 book "Iran and the World."
"I quoted Moussavi as saying that Iran did not suffer as much from the Soviet Union as it did from America," Hunter said. "He was very anti-Western. He presided over a lot of nationalism [during his time as prime minister,] and now he is saying that he is a reformer? I don't believe in born-again Democrats. I'm skeptical."
It's an image or impression the people are being moved by, she and Molavi contend, that may not be based on hard evidence.
"There were still freedoms that were stifled under Moussavi," Molavi said. "[But] what Iranians seem to remember, what is lingering, is that he steered the country relatively well in a time of crisis during the war."
Now Moussavi has seized on Iran's most pressing problem: its economy.
"There's a sort of overwhelming support now for an opening up of the country to the international community and some access to the free-market economy because, frankly, Iran's own economy is on the verge of utter collapse," said Reza Aslan, an analyst for DailyBeast.com and author of the book "No God But God," an analysis of Islam in politics and culture.
Last week, tensions between the candidates reached a fever pitch. During a recent fiery television debate, Moussavi accused Ahmadinejad of being a radical and turning Iran into a "dictatorship." He said Ahmadinejad was an "adventurist" when it came to foreign policy.
The acrimony between the candidates
|
[
"Which ex-PM of Iran hasn't worked in politics in 20 years?",
"Who hasn't worked in 20 years?",
"Who is portraying himself as the Anti-Ahmandinejad?",
"Who is Iran's ex-PM?",
"What does Moussavi say?",
"What is he doing to woo support?"
] |
[
"Moussavi",
"Hossein Moussavi,",
"Moussavi",
"Mir",
"\"This anti-Ahmadinejad image is connecting with a lot of Iranians because many feel Ahmadinejad has gone too far, said too many outlandish things and is responsible for a serious financial crisis the country is in,\"",
"relying heavily on his wife,"
] |
question: Which ex-PM of Iran hasn't worked in politics in 20 years?, answer: Moussavi | question: Who hasn't worked in 20 years?, answer: Hossein Moussavi, | question: Who is portraying himself as the Anti-Ahmandinejad?, answer: Moussavi | question: Who is Iran's ex-PM?, answer: Mir | question: What does Moussavi say?, answer: "This anti-Ahmadinejad image is connecting with a lot of Iranians because many feel Ahmadinejad has gone too far, said too many outlandish things and is responsible for a serious financial crisis the country is in," | question: What is he doing to woo support?, answer: relying heavily on his wife,
|
(CNN) -- Miriam Brown has always wanted to visit Cape Cod, but when she recently began to plan a trip and found out she would have to pay $200 or more a night for lodging, her dream vacation seemed out of reach.
Miriam Brown and her husband bartered their services for room and board on Cape Cod.
Brown, who lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, is an accountant. Her husband is a home renovations contractor.
Like many people dealing with a soft real estate market and high food and gas prices, they just don't have that kind of extra cash for a trip.
"I have traveled a lot in prior years, but after [Hurricane] Katrina, there's just no money for traveling," Brown said.
So she still plans to go, but she won't spend any cash at all on lodging.
Brown has joined the growing ranks of Americans who are bartering -- trading goods and services without exchanging money -- as a way to cope with tough economic times.
Brown posted an ad in the barter section of the online community Craigslist last month, offering to trade her accounting skills and her husband's knack for home repairs in exchange for room and board on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
She has lots of company.
There were some 142,000 listings in the barter section of Craigslist in July, or almost double the number posted during the same month last year, according to Craigslist spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best.
"When the economy turns unfriendly, Craigslist users become far more creative to get their everyday tasks done," Best said.
Swapping 'to get by'
Other Web sites that put Americans in touch with like-minded people who are willing to trade everything under the sun have also seen a boost in traffic. SwapThing, which lists almost 3.5 million "things" available for trade, reports its customers are bartering for different reasons than before.
"I think a few years ago it was more for fun," said Jessica Hardwick, SwapThing founder and CEO.
"But we've seen a real shift in the last year, and especially an increase in the last few months, where I think people are really doing it to get by."
Some of the most popular items to trade for late this summer were school uniforms, which some parents found they could not afford to buy for their children, Hardwick said.
Experts aren't surprised Americans are becoming more financially creative during an economic downturn.
"Historically, when times get tough, you see a 50 percent-plus increase in bartering as a way for people to be able to buy things or get things and do it economically," said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group.
The company talks with thousands of consumers every week to gauge their spending habits and attitudes.
A couple of years ago, many Americans had $500 to spend at the end of the month, but that money has evaporated because of rising prices, Beemer said.
"We've never had a time, at least in my lifetime, where you have food and fuel going up at the same time. So it isn't a question of buying things, it's a question of buying nothing," Beemer said.
Breast implants and a horse
Businesses have long recognized the benefits of bartering, and there are hundreds of barter networks set up across the country to fill their needs.
They use barter credits as currency, so a plumber in need of a filling doesn't need to search for a dentist's office with plumbing problems to make a deal. He can fix a leaky pipe for one member of a network and use the credits he earned for that job at any other.
Since all kinds of companies are members, the trades can be all over the map, said Michael Krane, president of Green Apple Barter Services in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His company has brokered everything from breast implants to college tuition to a horse.
"Really, there are no limits to it. We trade for just about anything you can think of
|
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question: What are Americans doing as a way to cope with tough economic times?, answer: bartering | question: When does bartering rise dramatically?, answer: "When the economy turns unfriendly, | question: Who is the barter network president?, answer: Michael Krane, | question: What does bartering involve?, answer: trading goods and services without exchanging money | question: What does barterng involve?, answer: trading goods and services without exchanging money | question: What are Americans doing to cope with tough economic times?, answer: bartering
|
(CNN) -- Missing Florida pilot Robert Wiles, who was believed kidnapped and held for ransom 21 months ago, now is believed to be dead, and a former co-worker is in custody, accused of his death, the FBI said Friday.
Authorities arrested Stobert "Tobie" Holt Jr., 42, Friday in Orlando, Florida, after he arrived from Colombia, where he was on a business trip, according to Tampa-based FBI spokesman David Couvertier.
Holt faces state charges of first degree murder, kidnapping, extortion, and intent to inflict death or serious bodily harm, the spokesman said. The arrest was made by police from Lakeland, Florida, the Polk County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, who were accompanied by FBI agents, he said.
Though authorities now believe Wiles was killed, they don't know where his body is, he said.
The arrest was uneventful, Couvertier said: "Holt was advised of his rights and said nothing."
A four-count grand jury indictment was unsealed Friday in Polk County, where Wiles, then 26, ran a branch of his family's international aircraft maintenance business, National Flight Service, at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport.
The FBI said Holt worked for Wiles at the time he disappeared. He was among several employees who told investigators they last saw Wiles on April 1, 2008, at the office and had no clue what happened to him.
The FBI won't reveal the suspected motive or why agents believe it was Holt who left a uniquely signed ransom note demanding money two days after Wiles disappeared.
At the time, agents said Wiles' father tried to comply with the demand to get back his son, but heard nothing.
Holt is described as an employee who, at least at one time, had a supervisory role at the company.
Authorities say he now works as a contract employee doing similar flight maintenance work at Patrick Air Force base near Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Wiles was single. When he vanished without a trace, fellow employees said they were stunned.
"All that he ever worked on was customer relations. Making things better for the company," co-worker Jerry Grief said at the time. "Make the customer happy and make them come back."
The FBI said it traveled to six countries and three states tracing Wiles' trips and interviewing business associates. Without disclosing details, agents said the investigation led them back to Holt and his whereabouts the day Wiles disappeared.
Several agencies, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Polk County Sheriff's Department joined the investigation. The case will be prosecuted by state authorities in Polk County.
Wiles' parents, who live in Ohio, had offered a $250,000 reward for their son's safe return.
They are said to be in seclusion after being notified about Holt's arrest.
When CNN interviewed them last year, Wiles' mother, Pamela, said, "We're willing to work with them and do anything to get him back. We just want Robert back. And they can just go and live their life, and we just want him back."
The FBI will not reveal what makes agents believe Wiles is dead.
"Our investigation and evidence obtained to date indicate he's dead, " Couvertier said.
CNN Senior Producer Rich Phillips contributed to this report.
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question: who spent a branch of international maintenance business aircraft family, answer: Wiles, | question: who she was believed kidnapped and held for ransom 21 months ago, answer: Robert Wiles, | question: What does Wiles do for a living?, answer: pilot | question: Who was believed kidnapped?, answer: Robert Wiles, | question: Who was kidnapped and held for ransom?, answer: Robert Wiles, | question: What does the FBI say now?, answer: is believed to be dead,
|
(CNN) -- Mississippi has kept its U.S. heavyweight title for a fifth straight year, among both adults and children.
Adult obesity rates went up in 23 states in the past year, a survey shows.
The percentage of adults classified as obese went up in 23 states, but Mississippi, with 32.5 percent, stayed atop the latest annual rankings by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America's Health. The same survey put the state's adult obesity rate at 31.7 percent in 2008.
In addition, 44.4 percent of Mississippi children ages 10 to 17 are classified as overweight or obese, the study found.
Doctors have linked obesity to increased risks of a variety of conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, arthritis and heart disease. Wednesday's study found the current U.S. economic slump could worsen the problem by putting more nutritious food out of the reach of struggling families. See a map of obesity in the U.S. »
"At the same time, safety-net programs and services are becoming increasingly overextended as the numbers of unemployed, uninsured and underinsured Americans continue to grow," the report states. "For many people, too, worries over the recession are triggering increased depression, anxiety and stress, which often can be linked to obesity."
Dr. Ed Thompson, Mississippi's state health officer, called the report -- which was drawn from state figures -- "old data rehashed." But he said the state is taking steps to address what he called "a multifaceted problem," targeting schoolchildren in particular.
Thompson said teachers not only are trying to educate students about the importance of good nutrition and exercise, they are changing schedules to increase the amount of physical activity students experience in a day. In addition, lower-calorie, lower-fat foods are replacing some high-calorie, high starch lunchroom staples, he said.
"We can't tell our children to eat wise dietary choices and then provide them with little except for poor dietary choices in their school cafeterias," Thompson said.
Rounding out the top five states among adults were West Virginia, with 31.2 percent of its population considered obese; Alabama, 31.1 percent; Tennessee, 30.2 percent; and South Carolina 29.7 percent.
At the bottom of the rankings, Colorado had the lowest percentage of obese adults, with 18.9 percent. It was followed by Massachusetts, at 21.2 percent; Connecticut, 21.3; Rhode Island, 21.7; and Hawaii, 21.8. Even in those states, the obesity rate grew by fractions of a percent since 2008, according to the study.
Thompson said most adults know they should eat less and exercise. "The hard part is getting people to actually practice these things," he said.
"Our work lives require less physical exertion than they used to," he said. "With less physical activity, we should have adjusted our dietary consumption downward."
While deep-fried Southern cooking is legendary, Mississippi also ranks high in poverty statistics and low in education -- two factors commonly related to obesity. But Thompson said education appears to be more closely related to obesity than poverty.
"We do see obesity among people who are in lower socioeconomic levels, but we see it in higher socioeconomic levels as well," he said. "Being poor does not not make you obese, and being rich does not make you thin."
The survey used the Body Mass Index standards set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC defines someone as obese if they have a BMI -- a figure based on a ratio of height to weight -- of 30 or more, while anyone with a BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight. Calculate your Body Mass Index »
Adult obesity rates went up in 23 states in the past year, with 31 states now reporting rates over 25 percent. By comparison, no state topped 20 percent in 1991, the survey's authors reported.
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question: What was the survey based on?, answer: Adult obesity rates | question: what % of children are overweight, answer: 44.4 percent | question: What percentage of Mississippi children are overweight?, answer: 44.4 percent | question: What percent of Mississippi children ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese?, answer: 44.4 | question: What could put more nutritious food out of the reach of struggling families?, answer: U.S. economic slump | question: What did the survey use, answer: Body Mass Index standards
|
(CNN) -- Mississippi voters Tuesday rejected a controversial amendment that would have defined life as beginning at conception while Ohio voters repealed a law that limited the collective bargaining rights of public workers, CNN projects.
The two ballot measures had national implications as Americans voted in an off-year election.
The Mississippi amendment would have made it impossible to get an abortion in the state and hampered the ability to get the morning-after pill or birth control pills that destroy fertilized eggs. Disposing of unused fertilized eggs could also have become illegal, making in vitro fertilization treatments more difficult.
National right to life groups opposed the measure and the Catholic Church in Mississippi called it extreme.
The Ohio law limited the bargaining rights of police, teachers, firefighters and other public workers over salaries, workplace conditions and hours. It prohibited strikes and promotions based on seniority only, and required public workers to contribute at least 10% of their income toward their pensions and at least 15% to pay for their health care insurance.
The Republican-controlled legislature passed the bill Republican Gov. John Kasich signed it into law in March but a successful petition drive kept it from being enacted and placed it on the November ballot.
Kasich said Tuesday night that it was clear that the people had spoken.
"Part of leading is listening to and hearing what people have to say to you," he said.
The vote was seen as a victory for unions and Democrats, but CNN projects that Democrats are taking a loss in Ohio in a measure that exempts Ohioans from compulsory participation in the mandatory health care coverage portion of President Barack Obama's health care reform law passed last year. Since the measure is a state one and the health law is a federal one, it is unclear what impact it might have and it is seen as largely a protest vote.
In other elections around the country:
• CNN projects that Mississippi's governor's seat will stay in Republican hands as Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant appeared to be on his way to victory over Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree, who would have been the state's first African-American governor. DuPree, who was elected the first black mayor of Hattiesburg in 2001, was expected to spark a stronger than usual turnout in the African-American community.
Bryant will succeed Republican Gov. Haley Barbour, who was barred by term limits from running again after serving two terms.
• In Arizona, the state senator who wrote the controversial immigration law lost to a charter school superintendent in a recall election widely seen as a referendum on tough measures against illegal immigrants. The recall petition pitted Russell Pearce against fellow Republican Jerry Lewis. Lewis led with 53.4% of the vote with all precincts reporting while Pearce got 45.3%.
• Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear will win a second term, CNN projects, easily beating Republican state Sen. Steve Williams in a race that centered on jobs and the economy.
Williams frequently criticized Beshear's record on creating jobs and balancing the state budget. Beshear kept a tally of the number of jobs that companies were bringing to the state on his website.
• While the abortion ballot initiative in Mississippi got the most attention, another constitutional amendment that CNN projects to pass will require voters to submit a government-issued photo ID. Mississippi will be the 15th state to require photo IDs to vote. Such laws have become popular with Republicans, who say they are trying to reduce voter fraud. Democrats argue that Republicans are trying to suppress voter turnout, especially among people who tend to vote for Democrats.
CNN's David Ariosto, John Helton, Ashley Killough, Kevin Liptak, Paul Steinhauser and Robert Yoon contributed to this report.
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question: What had national implications in an off election year?, answer: The two ballot measures | question: how many ballot measure were there, answer: two | question: Who repealed a law that limited public workers' collective bargaining rights?, answer: Ohio voters | question: What state rejects the amendment that would have defined life as beginning at conception?, answer: Mississippi
|
(CNN) -- Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt Thursday announced his intention to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate, a move that sets up what is likely to be a showdown between two prominent families in one of the country's most politically divided states.
Former House Republican Whip Roy Blunt announced he will run for a Missouri Senate seat.
Making the official announcement in St. Louis, Missouri, the former House Republican whip indicated he would run on a platform of keeping Democratic control of both Congress and the White House in check.
"Common sense and open debate are in danger of being suppressed by the overreaching liberal monopoly in Congress and the White House," he said, according to prepared remarks. "Never has Washington been in greater need of hearing from people who work hard, pay their taxes and want solutions to urgent economic problems and the ongoing threat of terrorism."
"My sense is Missourians and Americans are not well served by one-party rule," Blunt also said, citing the massive stimulus measure signed by President Obama that won little Republican support.
Blunt's announcement comes two weeks after Democrat Robin Carnahan jumped into the race. Carnahan is another Missourian with prominent name recognition who enjoys widespread support.
"The Missouri Senate race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive races of the cycle," said Nathan Gonzalez, political editor of the Rothenberg Report. "It has attracted two of the biggest names of the state that has a history of closest elections."
Both Blunt and Carnahan are seeking the Senate seat set to be vacated by longtime Missouri Republican Kit Bond.
Blunt, a six-term congressman representing the state's conservative southwestern corner, is a longtime Missouri politician with high name recognition across the state and solid support among his party's conservative base.
He has run for statewide office several times during his nascent political career, having served as secretary of state for two terms before losing the Republican primary for governor in 1992. His son Matt also served as the state's governor from 2005-2009, but ultimately decided not to seek another term because of low approval ratings.
Blunt faces a state that has become increasing Democratic in the last several election cycles. The state's other Senate seat went Democratic in 2006 with Claire McCaskill's narrow win, and Democrat Jay Nixon was elected governor of the state in 2008. But Republicans still hold edges in the state's House and Senate chambers and have a majority of the state's nine congressional seats.
While Blunt is likely to enjoy the support of the party's establishment, he could face a competitive primary challenge from former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman, a vocal critic of her party's leadership who narrowly lost a bruising primary bid for governor last year.
Even though she is not particularly popular in her party, Steelman's message of reform could resonate if the GOP's national approval ratings remain low throughout the next two years.
"Republicans would like to avoid a primary in the Senate race, but she's not the kind of person they will be able to just shove out of a race," Gonzalez said. "She relishes in being in an outsider role."
But should Blunt make it to a general election facing Carnahan, the race will likely become a hard-fought and high-profile battle of two powerful political names.
Carnahan's father, Mel, served as governor of the state from 1993-2000 and died in a plane crash while running for the U.S. Senate. Carnahan still won the seat, defeating then-Republican Sen. John Ashcroft, and Carnahan's wife Jean held the post for two years.
Carnahan's brother is also a U.S. congressman representing the outskirts of St. Louis.
But national Democrats are eager for a match-up against Blunt, who was a protégé to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and has been linked to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
"As one of the faces of the same old Republican Party, Roy Blunt enters this race with a whole lot of baggage and a whole lot of questions to answer," said Eric Schultz, the Democratic Senatorial
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question: Where is Missouri?, answer: in the U.S. | question: Who is Robin Carnaham?, answer: Democrat | question: Who wants to keep democrat control in check?, answer: Rep. Roy Blunt | question: what Both candidates have?, answer: are seeking the Senate seat set to be vacated by longtime Missouri Republican Kit Bond.
|
(CNN) -- Moammar Gadhafi had been on the run for months, as opposition fighters aided by NATO airstrikes pushed him and his supporters from the Libyan capital of Tripoli and other long-time strongholds.
Finally, on Thursday, the long-time Libyan leader's life ended around where it began -- in Sirte, the coastal city where he was born.
Here is a timeline of some key moments leading up to Gadhafi's death, according to Libya's interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, other National Transitional Council officials and other sources:
-- Having taken over the city of Bani Walid earlier in the week, fighters aligned with Libya's National Transitional Council turn their attention on Sirte -- the last holdout of Gadhafi loyalists.
-- French fighter jets and a Predator drone, firing a Hellfire missile, strike a convoy near Sirte on Thursday morning, a U.S. Defense official says. That official is unable to say if Gadhafi was in the targeted envoy. But a senior NATO official says that Gadhafi was part of that convoy and survived the attack.
-- Around noon on Thursday, transitional council officials announce that their fighters have taken control of Sirte, despite pockets of resistance. There is no official word then about Gadhafi.
-- During the day Thursday, Gadhafi is captured alive and in good health in Sirte, according to the interim prime minster.
-- According to Ali Aujali, Libya's ambassador to the United States, troops find Gadhafi during the day in a large drainage pipe in Sirte. Daily Telegraph reporter Ben Farmer in Sirte later tells CNN's Anderson Cooper the pipe is about 3 feet wide and filled with trash and sand.
-- Gadhafi is alive and in good health when he's captured, according to the interim prime minster.
-- He does not resist arrest.
-- At the time, he is wearing an undershirt and trousers and carrying a gun.
-- While being transferred to a vehicle -- destined for Misrata, Jibril says later -- Gadhafi is shot in the right arm.
-- Grainy video broadcast on Arabic satellite networks shows a bloodied but still-alive Gadhafi being hauled onto a truck.
-- Eventually, National Transitional Council forces put Gadhafi into the vehicle. As soon as it takes off, a firefight erupts involving council forces and those loyal to Gadhafi.
-- Caught in the crossfire, Gadhafi is shot in the head.
-- He dies a few moments before arriving at a hospital, a coroner says, according to Jibril. Another video shows a dead Gadhafi with what appears to be a head wound.
-- At the hospital, DNA samples are taken -- including blood and saliva -- that confirm that the dead man is indeed Moammar Gadhafi.
-- Council representatives get in touch with the International Criminal Court, which had charged Gadhafi with war crimes. After sending the coroner's report and photos, the court gives Libyan authorities permission to bury Gadhafi.
-- Soon after the news breaks on Thursday afternoon, crowds throughout Libya erupt in celebration of Gadhafi's death.
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question: who is gadhafi, answer: long-time Libyan leader's | question: what dna tests says, answer: confirm that the dead man is indeed Moammar Gadhafi. | question: Where was Gadhafi found?, answer: Sirte, | question: What did the interim prime minister say about Gadhafi's capture?, answer: is captured alive and in good health in Sirte, | question: What kind of tests were used to confirm Gadhafi's identity?, answer: DNA samples | question: What was used to confirm that the dead man was Gadhafi?, answer: DNA samples | question: Where is Gadhafi found?, answer: Sirte,
|
(CNN) -- Mohammed Alshaya owns more high street brands than most fashion addicts could stuff in their closets.
Mohammed Alshaya, CEO of Alshaya's retail division, tells MME he sees a new mindset in the Gulf
Topshop, Coast, NEXT and River Island are just some of the big names he's imported from the United Kingdom to shopping centers in the Middle East.
As chief executive of M.H. Alshaya, he knows what sells: tried and tested Western brands that will appeal to local shoppers.
And his empire is not limited to clothing. In the past month, he's taken Mothercare and The Body Shop to Central Eastern Europe.
With the addition of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, M.H. Alshaya now operates in 16 markets including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus, Turkey, Poland and Russia.
John Defterios spoke with Mohammed Alshaya, and started by asking him for his thoughts on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plans for a single currency.
(JD): I would imagine as a retail operation you'd be a huge proponent of a single currency within the GCC. Is it realistic within the next 4 to 5 years?
(MA): I think it can be, as long as there is a will of the leaders to get together and decide. It is a huge leap towards efficiency, conciliation, getting closer between the six countries. One single Central Bank that governs and regulates is much better than the current six, I believe.
(JD): Have you ever done any calculations of what impact it would have on your back office operations?
(MA): Not yet, but it will be great, I think.
(JD): You're one of the largest retail operations throughout the Arabian Peninsula. With all this growth that we're seeing right now, it must have a direct impact on the retail sector. What sort of annual growth are you experiencing?
(MA): We're experiencing close to 25 percent annual growth, if not 30 percent in some cases, like in Dubai.
(JD): Do you have any sort of concerns that this is going to be a bubble like the 1970s where the money was not deployed correctly? It seems different from my vantage point, do you share that view?
(MA): There is a new generation of people from the region that are leading businesses and strong leadership in the government that have mitigated any concern. And if you see now the statistics, the Gulf is the seventh largest economy in the world. In ten, in 15 years time, it will be the fifth. So I see a new mindset, a new attitude.
(JD): One of the other things I wanted to ask you about is your moves into other countries. The Alshaya group is very well known throughout the Arabian Peninsula, but you're moving into other markets, into Eastern Europe, specifically into Russia. Do you have the expertise to go into these markets?
(MA): Well, yes. We have the expertise, and the expertise is by really retaining good management, and traveling with them into new markets. I'm not going to open shops myself. We have a very strong team in Russia; Russians that are taking our investment into good projects like Starbucks which we opened two months ago, two stores. We acquired a business there. So we have plans like Mothercare, Bodyshop, NEXT.
(JD): So you can basically move this group into any city and have that potpourri of offers?
(MA): We have the software. We have the software to launch the retail portfolio into a new market.
(JD): Obviously you're a family business. You feel quite strongly about preserving culture and the family structure, and the need for family businesses to create jobs, because they represent 75 percent of all turnover in the Gulf.
(MA): We have a social responsibility toward our people. We have
|
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question: who MME speaks with?, answer: Mohammed Alshaya, | question: What is the growth of the retail division, answer: if not 30 percent | question: what percent of annual growth is retail revision seeing in Dubai?, answer: 25 | question: Who is CEO of M.H. Alshaya's retail division?, answer: Mohammed | question: Who calculated the annual growth?, answer: Mohammed Alshaya, | question: who speaks with mme, answer: Mohammed Alshaya, | question: Who speaks with Mohammed Alshaya?, answer: John Defterios | question: Which brands is the group taking into Eastern Europe and Russia?, answer: Topshop, Coast, NEXT | question: what is taking to eastern europe, answer: Mothercare and The Body Shop | question: Where is the group taking Starbucks?, answer: Russia; | question: what is retails divisions annual growth, answer: close to 25 percent | question: What rate of annual growth did the group see in Dubai?, answer: 30 percent | question: What percentage of growth is the retail division seeking?, answer: 25 percent annual
|
(CNN) -- Mohsen Rezaie may have little chance of winning Friday's presidential election in Iran, observers say, but they believe he's running with a purpose: getting rid of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mohsen Rezaie could garner enough conservative votes to swing Iran's election, experts say.
"He came there just to defeat Ahmadinejad. He didn't come to win," said Mehdi Khalaji, a senior fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Hardliners disappointed with Ahmadinejad and reformers eager for new leadership are both glad Rezaie is running, Karim Sadjadpour wrote in a recent article for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he is an associate.
"Intimidating in appearance and lacking in popular appeal, reformists are happy to have Rezaie in the race, believing he can take some of the votes from Ahmadinejad in the first round," Sadjadpour wrote.
Khalaji said the incumbent will lose votes at both ends of the political spectrum. Watch how the campaign is a watershed for Iran »
"Look, everybody in this country wants Ahmadinejad out," Khalaji said, "except the Supreme Leader and his organizations."
Rezaie, no ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, was a founder of the Revolutionary Guard in 1979 and its leader from 1981 to 1997, a period that included the devastating eight-year war with Iraq.
"Iranian people don't like the military at all, " Khalaji said. "He's considered a military man, despite his claims that 'I'm a civilian.' But his image is associated with war, and people don't like it."
Many people blame Rezaie for prolonging the war and failing to achieve victory, Khalaji said.
In an interview this week in the Los Angeles Times, Rezaie said the conflict taught him "that war is a terrible thing, that we should do everything to avoid war."
"Look at what happened to us, the chemical weapons attacks on Iranian cities and Halabja [in Iraq]," he told the newspaper. "War is a terrible thing. I saw dead people and crushed children, families destroyed and fleeing from their homes, here in Iran but also there in Iraq.
"I also learned the value of unity," he went on. "The war created a fusion between the population and the state. Everybody was together and everybody was united. I learned the value of self-sacrifice and martyrdom."
Rezaie has been linked to terrorism. The 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, by Revolutionary Guard client Hezbollah occurred under his watch. The blast killed 241 Americans. Rezaie is one of several people indicted in Argentina for the 1994 bombing of Jewish and Israeli sites in Buenos Aires. He has denied responsibility for those attacks.
In the Los Angeles Times interview, Rezaie said he sees an opportunity for improving relations with the United States.
"I propose to put together a package of eight or nine topics that the U.S. and Iran would work toward," he told the paper. "What is important is to just start the talks. It can be on drug trafficking, it can be anything, but the idea is just to start some kind of dialogue. If we solve one or two problems, we're on our way." Watch how the campaign has heated up at the end »
Rezaie is a member of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council, a "council of elders" from many parts of government and society whose job is to reconcile the needs of the state with the rulings of the Council of Guardians, the arbiter of Islamic law in Iran.
Rezaie was raised in a poor family in southern Iran and founded the Manssouroun, a paramilitary force that resisted the reign of the Shah, Khalaji said. That experience led directly to his role in founding the Revolutionary Guard, a force created by revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei to protect against coup attempts by army officers who remained loyal to the Shah. The Revolutionary Guard eventually came to dominate the military.
In 1998, Rezaie's son Ahmad fled Iran and sought political
|
[
"Mohsen Rezaie led Revolutionary Guard for how many years?",
"In what campaigns did he lead the Revolutionary Guard?",
"What is the name of the presidential candidate?",
"Rezaie led Revolutionary Guard during war which country?",
"Which presidential candidate led the Revolutionary Guard for 18 years?",
"Who does Rezaie want to improve relations with?",
"Rezaie's only goal according to experts is what?",
"How long did Rezaie lead the Revolutionary Guard?",
"How long did Mohsen Rezaie lead the Revolutionary Guard?"
] |
[
"1981 to 1997,",
"eight-year war with Iraq.",
"Rezaie",
"Iraq.",
"Rezaie,",
"the United States.",
"running with a purpose: getting rid of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.",
"from 1981 to 1997,",
"from 1981 to 1997,"
] |
question: Mohsen Rezaie led Revolutionary Guard for how many years?, answer: 1981 to 1997, | question: In what campaigns did he lead the Revolutionary Guard?, answer: eight-year war with Iraq. | question: What is the name of the presidential candidate?, answer: Rezaie | question: Rezaie led Revolutionary Guard during war which country?, answer: Iraq. | question: Which presidential candidate led the Revolutionary Guard for 18 years?, answer: Rezaie, | question: Who does Rezaie want to improve relations with?, answer: the United States. | question: Rezaie's only goal according to experts is what?, answer: running with a purpose: getting rid of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. | question: How long did Rezaie lead the Revolutionary Guard?, answer: from 1981 to 1997, | question: How long did Mohsen Rezaie lead the Revolutionary Guard?, answer: from 1981 to 1997,
|
(CNN) -- Moldova's president Wednesday accused Romania of involvement in a huge anti-communist protest, much of it coordinated on Facebook and Twitter, which saw government buildings ransacked and police arrest scores of demonstrators.
Protests over Moldova's election have gathered pace, fueled by Facebook and Twitter.
Vladimir Voronin described riots in the Moldovan capital Chisinau against his ruling Communist party's victory in Sunday elections as "very serious" and pledged to take action in response.
"Romania is involved in everything that has happened," he said, according to the RIA-Novosti news agency. "Patience also has its limits."
An estimated 10,000 mainly students gathered Tuesday to protest what they say was a rigged election. Many in the crowd were summoned using social networking tools, particularly Twitter. IReport: Send your photos and emails.
Protesters threw bricks at riot police who responded with batons and water cannon. Outnumbered, police retreated, leaving rioters to enter the parliament building and presidential offices where they smashed windows and started fires. See images of the chaos »
Demonstrators claim Voronin's ruling Communist Party manipulated Sunday's election results to make it appear that it had won 50 percent of the vote, a majority that would allow the party to and amend the Constitution to allow Voronin to rule for a third term.
Although election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe found the voting largely free, many in the former Soviet state disagreed.
"There were too many frauds," said Alina Radu, director of the weekly newspaper Ziarul de Garda.
Her newspaper's Web site asked readers Wednesday morning to send in instances of voter abuse. "In just half an hour, we had tens and hundreds of cases," Radu said.
Voronin said he was expelling the Romanian ambassador to Moldova and imposing visa restrictions on Romanians in response to the violence, RIA-Novosti said.
The agency reported that Romania has denied involvement and was threatening retaliatory measures.
Analysts saw Tuesday's demonstrations as a student-led action that "caught the opposition political leaders by surprise."
"Because I think that after talking to the Western observers, they didn't expect they would get any support for protests," said Tammy Lynch, senior fellow at Boston University's Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology and Policy.
"It seemed to be undirected," Lynch said. "A lot of students felt angry they were being ignored and took out their anger on buildings."
Moldova's ties with Romania have become increasingly strained under Voronin, who has steered his country diplomatically closer to Russia since taking power in 2005. The president has repeatedly accused Romania of wanting to absorb his country.
-- CNN's Saeed Ahmed contributed to this report
|
[
"who were rigged?",
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] |
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"rigged election.",
"Chisinau",
"Facebook and Twitter,",
"social networking tools, particularly Twitter.",
"estimated 10,000",
"10,000"
] |
question: who were rigged?, answer: Moldova's election | question: how many people gathered in Moldova's capital Chisinau?, answer: 10,000 | question: What are the protesters claiming?, answer: rigged election. | question: What is the capital of Moldova?, answer: Chisinau | question: where did they gather, answer: Facebook and Twitter, | question: what were they summoned by, answer: social networking tools, particularly Twitter. | question: how many gathered, answer: estimated 10,000 | question: How many gathered in Moldova's capital?, answer: 10,000
|
(CNN) -- Monday, January 18
10:32 p.m. -- The Haitian National Police force in Port-au-Prince, normally with 4,000 people, has dropped to about 1,500 people since last week's quake, according to National Police Chief Mario Andresol. Many of those who haven't reported to work are dead or injured, he says.
9:56 p.m. -- The American Red Cross and UNICEF's United States Fund have raised nearly $5 million since 8 p.m. ET, when "Haiti How You Can Help," a special "Larry King Live," started, according to CNN's Larry King. The show ends at 10 p.m. ET and is scheduled to repeat at midnight. How you can help
9:47 p.m. -- Maxine Fallon, the 23-year-old student rescued today in the rubble of a building at Universite G.O.C. in Port-au-Prince, says she was pressed in the same position, with legs folded uncomfortably and very little wiggle room, for all six days she was trapped, CNN's Chris Lawrence reports. Watch | Read
9:39 p.m. -- The American Red Cross and UNICEF's United States Fund have raised $2.9 million since 8 p.m. ET, when "Haiti How You Can Help," a special "Larry King Live," started, according to CNN's Larry King. The show lasts until 10 p.m. ET.
9:36 p.m. -- While visiting the injured at a U.N. clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haitian President Rene Preval says his country -- already the Western Hemisphere's poorest -- needs not only medicine and food, but also long-term reconstruction assistance. "The more we receive help, the more we can take care of them," he said.
9:12 p.m. -- A U.S. Air Force cargo plane on Monday, bypassing the gridlock at Haiti's main airport in Port-au-Prince, dropped 40 pallets of bottled water and ready-to-eat food on a field just north of the airport, CNN's Larry Shaughnessy reported. "There are so many relief agencies funneling through the airport that it has kind of created a bottleneck," U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Leon Strickland said en route to the drop point. "We're going to put things directly out of the air onto the ground and open up another distribution point north of the [Port-au-Prince] airfield."
8:31 p.m. -- The following video shows CNN's Anderson Cooper dragging a bleeding boy from a crowd as looting went on Monday in a Port-au-Prince street. The video includes graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised. Watch
7:39 p.m. -- The student saved today from the rubble of a Port-au-Prince university building, 23-year-old Maxine Fallon, says she prayed for someone to find her. "I had hoped I would be rescued," Fallon said. Doctors told CNN that Fallon is suffering from severe lacerations and trauma to her organs, among other injuries. She was drifting in and out of consciousness and was transported to a field hospital in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petionville, CNN's Chris Lawrence and Arthur Brice reported. Read
6:41 p.m. -- A volunteer at Sacre Coeur Hospital in northern Haiti said the facility has large numbers of open beds, but no easy way to get patients there from Port-au-Prince. "My surgeons are sitting around looking at each other, wondering why they came," Tim Traynor told CNN. The hospital, in Milot, has more than 200 beds but fewer than 30 patients, Traynor said. He said the U.S. Coast Guard has flown some injured people up from Port-au-Prince, "one or two or three or four people at a time." Another volunteer, Carol Fipp, said: "Shout it from the mountaintops: We need helicopters."
6:35 p.m. -- Limited runway space and battered telecommunications networks are hindering efforts to get food, water and medical aid into the hands of desperate Haitians, relief agencies say. The U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, Kenneth Merten, says another big obstacle is Haiti's damaged infrastructure, which is making it difficult to move
|
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"what has happened in Haiti",
"Where did the earthquake take palace ?",
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"Which news channel covered the story ?"
] |
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question: what has happened in Haiti, answer: quake, | question: Where did the earthquake take palace ?, answer: "Haiti | question: Where was the earthquake, answer: Port-au-Prince, | question: Which news channel covered the story ?, answer: (CNN)
|
(CNN) -- Monica Conyers, Detroit's embattled City Council president pro tempore, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to commit bribery, a federal court representative in Michigan told CNN.
Detroit City Council member, Monica Conyers, admits accepting bribes to sway a $1.2 billion contract vote.
Conyers, 44, admitted accepting bribes in exchange for her vote to sway the City Council to approve Synagro Technologies Inc.'s $1.2 billion contract in 2007.
It's unclear when Conyers, the wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, began her relationship with Synagro, but court papers say she received money from Synagro until December 2007.
Conyers voted in favor of the wastewater treatment contract on November 20, 2007, the same day she received an envelope filled with cash from Detroit businessman Rayford Jackson, court papers say.
Jackson pleaded guilty to providing Conyers with the money. He had been a paid consultant of Synagro.
On December 4, 2007, Conyers received another envelope of cash from Jackson in a McDonald's parking lot, said Terrence Berg, the U.S. attorney from the eastern district of Michigan.
"She was the swing vote in this deal," Berg said. "She used her power to get the deal done, and she acknowledged that."
The mood was somber at Conyers' office on Friday, an official there told CNN.
A few office workers cried. They found out about the developments through news reports, said Denise Tolliver, Conyers' deputy chief of staff.
"We've been going through this for a while," Tolliver said. "Reporters would ask us questions about anonymous sources, and we just didn't believe them."
Office workers were preparing for an afternoon meeting with City Council President Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr. later Friday.
According to state law, Conyers will have to forfeit her seat, Tolliver said.
Cockrel said there's language in the law that makes it unclear whether she needs to forfeit her seat immediately or after sentencing
"It hurts the City Council's image, for sure," Cockrel said. "But we need to remember, this is only one member of the council. You can't paint the entire council with the same brush."
For a seven-month period in 2008, Cockrel replaced former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick after Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two counts of obstructing justice. During that time Cockrel terminated the city's contract with Synagro because of rumors circulating about bribes, he said.
Conyers faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, according to prosecutors.
Synagro would not comment on Conyers' plea, but a spokeswoman said, "We have cooperated fully with the federal investigation and will continue to do so."
|
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"who is pro tempore",
"Who sealed the treatment deal?",
"who sealed 1.2",
"who are taking bribes?",
"how many years are in prison?",
"Who admits taking bribes for contract?",
"Whose wife is Conyers?"
] |
[
"Monica",
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"Monica Conyers,",
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"U.S. Rep. John"
] |
question: who is pro tempore, answer: Monica | question: Who sealed the treatment deal?, answer: Monica Conyers, | question: who sealed 1.2, answer: Monica Conyers, | question: who are taking bribes?, answer: Monica Conyers, | question: how many years are in prison?, answer: five | question: Who admits taking bribes for contract?, answer: Monica Conyers, | question: Whose wife is Conyers?, answer: U.S. Rep. John
|
(CNN) -- Months after her father's prolonged campaign against President Obama's national security policies, Liz Cheney is spearheading a new organization aimed at organizing conservative opposition to the new administration's foreign policy approach.
Liz Cheney formed Keep America Safe with William Kristol and Debra Burlingame.
The new group, Keep America Safe, says its aim is to provide a cogent and organized rebuttal to a series of recent moves that expressly divert from the more muscular policies of the Bush administration. The group plans to tackle hot-button issues like the way forward in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense spending, CIA interrogation techniques, and the planned closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
"We have watched with concern and dismay as the Obama administration has cut defense spending, wavered on the war in Afghanistan, and launched investigations into Americans serving on the front lines of the war on terror, while at the same time expanding legal protections for the terrorists that plot to attack this country," Cheney, along with the group's two other founders, wrote on its Web site. "These policies, along with President Obama's abandonment of America's allies and attempts to appease our adversaries are weakening the nation."
Weekly Standard Editor William Kristol and Debra Burlingame, the sister of the pilot of American Airlines Flight 77 -- the flight that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11 -- are also heading up the new effort.
The new group says its goal is to focus media attention on continuing and emerging national security threats, and marshal grassroots opposition to the president's policies.
"Too often, significant events and thoughtful analysis in the war on terror are glossed over or ignored on nightly national newscasts," the group writes. "Keep America Safe will highlight this information on our website and encourage dialogue between American citizens and their elected representatives in order to produce the legislative and executive action that will keep this country safe and strong. "
A spokesman for the Democratic National Committee responded forcefully to the creation of the new group, saying the Cheneys' foreign policy approach "was deemed a failure."
"Last fall, the American people overwhelmingly rejected a radical foreign policy authored by Dick Cheney that alienated our allies, emboldened our enemies, depleted our resources, distracted our focus and made the nation less secure," DNC Press Secretary Hari Sevugan said. "The Cheneys can continue to focus on securing their sullied legacy if they want to. But, the president will continue to focus on securing the country."
Incorporated as a non-profit 501(c) 4, the organization is not subject to contribution limits, and is not required to disclose a list of its contributors to the Federal Elections Commission. However, it cannot engage in efforts directly aimed at influencing the outcome of an election.
Kicking off a fund-raising drive Tuesday, Keep America Safe launched a one-minute, 30-second Web video that portrays Obama as a wavering politician whose ambitious foreign policy promises as a candidate have not matched his actions.
"Not enough time for a decision, but plenty of time for Letterman, golf, a beer summit, more golf, vacation, and a visit to Copenhagen," the video states.
Cheney has been no stranger to the media spotlight since the Bush administration left office nine months ago. Regularly appearing on a series of cable news shows, the eldest daughter of former vice president has criticized Obama on a host of moves, once concluding that he has "sid[ed] with the terrorists."
The former vice president has also been a vocal critic of Obama, declaring earlier this year that the president's decision to cease the CIA's practice of aggressive interrogation practices has left the country more vulnerable to a terrorist attack.
|
[
"Who says its goal is to provide effective rebuttal to Obama?",
"Keep America Safe founders say they have watched administration with what?",
"Who are the group's founders?",
"Which party called Cheney's foreign policy a \"sullied legacy\"?",
"What are the group's goals?",
"Whose foreign policy was called a \"sullied legacy\"?"
] |
[
"Keep America Safe,",
"concern and dismay as the Obama",
"Liz Cheney formed Keep America Safe with William Kristol and Debra Burlingame.",
"Democratic National Committee",
"is to focus media attention on continuing and emerging national security threats, and marshal grassroots opposition to the president's policies.",
"\"The Cheneys"
] |
question: Who says its goal is to provide effective rebuttal to Obama?, answer: Keep America Safe, | question: Keep America Safe founders say they have watched administration with what?, answer: concern and dismay as the Obama | question: Who are the group's founders?, answer: Liz Cheney formed Keep America Safe with William Kristol and Debra Burlingame. | question: Which party called Cheney's foreign policy a "sullied legacy"?, answer: Democratic National Committee | question: What are the group's goals?, answer: is to focus media attention on continuing and emerging national security threats, and marshal grassroots opposition to the president's policies. | question: Whose foreign policy was called a "sullied legacy"?, answer: "The Cheneys
|
(CNN) -- Months after rescuers found them struggling and covered in oil, 33 endangered and threatened young sea turtles are finally going home to the Gulf of Mexico.
Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Audubon Nature Institute freed the turtles Thursday in waters about 40 miles southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana.
This marked the latest mass release of turtles since about 500 were rescued in the weeks and months after the massive months-long oil spill.
"We were able to release these turtles because they're now healthy, and we're seeing recovery in the surface habitats of the Gulf of Mexico," NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a news release.
The spill began after an April 20 explosion on the offshore drilling platform Deepwater Horizon that killed 11 men. Two days later, the platform sank and oil started gushing into the Gulf. In early August, owner BP used cement and mud to plug the damaged Gulf of Mexico well.
Officials formally declared an end to the oil spill disaster on September 19, though considerable efforts remained to clean up area waters and revive wildlife affected by the spill.
Earlier this month, NOAA reopened federal waters off the Louisiana coast to fishing. Thursday's release marked another milestone in the area's recovery, according to those involved.
"Returning this group of sea turtles to their home waters is ... a sign that Louisiana is on the path towards recovery," said Randy Pausina, an assistant secretary for Louisiana's office of fisheries.
The 33 turtles had been rescued more than three months ago by federal officials and state wildlife authorities from Louisiana, Florida and Georgia, as well as the Riverhead Foundation and the In-Water Research Group. They were rehabilitated at the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans.
They included green, Kemp's ridley and hawksbill sea turtles, which are classified as endangered species. There also were loggerheads, which are a threatened species.
With 270 turtles having been cleaned, nursed back to health and released, there are more than 200 still in rehabilitation sites around the area.
Scientists did extensive aerial and shipboard tests earlier this week on the waters near the release point, making sure the sargassum algae was clean. Young turtles thrive in such areas, which provide protection from predators and ample food, including small crabs, snails and other creatures.
"Six months ago, it was nearly impossible to imagine this day would ever come," said Ron Forman, the Audubon Nature Institute's CEO and president.
|
[
"what waters did this occur in",
"what was were among 500 rescued after the mammoth months-long oil spill",
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"what is recovering according to scientists",
"What is recovering?",
"How many turtles were rescued?"
] |
[
"40 miles southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana.",
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] |
question: what waters did this occur in, answer: 40 miles southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana. | question: what was were among 500 rescued after the mammoth months-long oil spill, answer: sea turtles | question: What was rescued?, answer: sea turtles | question: What do experts say the release is further evidence of?, answer: the area's recovery, | question: what is recovering according to scientists, answer: surface habitats of the Gulf of Mexico," | question: What is recovering?, answer: turtles | question: How many turtles were rescued?, answer: 33
|
(CNN) -- More Occupy Wall Street protests were scheduled in New York on Thursday, a day after demonstrators marched to support an Iraq war veteran who was hurt in California.
Hundreds packed the streets near Manhattan's Union Square on Wednesday in a march in support of veteran Scott Olsen. At least 10 people were arrested in clashes with officers, a New York police spokesman said.
Olsen suffered a skull fracture Tuesday night after allegedly being struck by a tear gas canister in Oakland, California, according to witnesses. He was in fair condition Thursday in the intensive care unit at Highland Hospital, hospital spokesman Curt Olsen said.
The former Marine has become another rallying cry for the Occupy Wall Street protests spreading throughout the country.
Demonstrators have typically railed against what they describe as corporate greed, arrogance and power, as well as their assertion that the nation's wealthiest 1% hold inordinate sway over the remaining 99% of the population.
The movement seems to be growing despite a recent crackdown in several cities.
Authorities made a series of arrests at protests in Oakland and Atlanta on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Police said they fired tear gas on protesters in Oakland after the crowd threw paint and other objects at officers. In Atlanta, police arrested dozens of demonstrators at a downtown park after they failed to leave the facility as ordered.
In Nashville, Tennessee, authorities said Thursday that Occupy Nashville participants will be required to have permits, according to a statement from the state's Department of General Services.
CNN's Susan Candiotti and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
|
[
"What condition was Scott Olsen in?",
"What will be required to have permits?",
"Occupy Nashville participants are required to have what?",
"Who is Scott Olsen?",
"What fractured a veteran's skull?",
"What will Occupy Nashville participants be required to have?",
"What is Scott Olsen's condition?",
"What did the witnesses say?"
] |
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"fair",
"Occupy Nashville participants",
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"Iraq war veteran",
"tear gas canister",
"permits,",
"fair",
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] |
question: What condition was Scott Olsen in?, answer: fair | question: What will be required to have permits?, answer: Occupy Nashville participants | question: Occupy Nashville participants are required to have what?, answer: permits, | question: Who is Scott Olsen?, answer: Iraq war veteran | question: What fractured a veteran's skull?, answer: tear gas canister | question: What will Occupy Nashville participants be required to have?, answer: permits, | question: What is Scott Olsen's condition?, answer: fair | question: What did the witnesses say?, answer: Olsen suffered a skull fracture Tuesday night after allegedly being struck by a tear gas canister in Oakland, California,
|
(CNN) -- More than 1 million babies born prematurely die each year before they are a month old, the March of Dimes said Sunday in the first comprehensive global report on premature births.
A premature baby rests at a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, in October 2007.
The organization suggested the situation could worsen if the rate of premature births increases.
Each year, 12.9 million infants -- or nearly 10 percent of the annual worldwide birth total -- are born before 37 weeks of development in the womb, the organization said. More than 85 percent of the premature births occur in developing countries in Africa and Asia.
"Premature births are an enormous global problem that is exacting a huge toll emotionally, physically and financially on families, medical systems and economies," March of Dimes President Jennifer Howse said in a statement. "In the United States alone, the annual cost of caring for preterm babies and their associated health problems tops $26 billion."
The March of Dimes report, which used data collected by the World Health Organization, breaks down premature birth rates by continent.
The highest premature birth rate is in Africa, where 11.9 percent of births each year are preterm, with more than 4 million premature deliveries annually. In populous Asia, although the preterm birth rate is lower at 9.1 percent, the number of premature births is higher, at nearly 7 million a year.
While North America -- consisting of the United States and Canada in this report -- counts fewer than 500,000 premature births a year, its preterm birth rate is close to that of Africa, at 10.6 percent of all births, according to the report. The rate is the world's second highest.
In the United States, the rate of preterm births has increased 36 percent in the past 25 years, with births between the 34th and 36th week of gestation accounting for the majority of the increase, the organization found. Much of the hike in preterm births is linked to more pregnancies after the age of 35 and the use of fertility treatments that can lead to multiple births.
"Wherever trend data are available, rates of preterm birth are increasing," the report said.
Infants who survive premature birth face lifelong health risks, including the possible development of cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing loss, learning disabilities and other chronic conditions, according to the March of Dimes.
"Preterm birth is a global problem that needs greater attention by policymakers, researchers, health care providers, the media, donor organizations and other stakeholders," the report said.
"The marked disparities in preterm birth along racial/ethnic lines in many high-income countries and the concentration of preterm births in Africa and Asia also clearly indicate that addressing preterm birth is essential for reducing the pronounced inequities in neonatal health and for the world to achieve," it added.
The March of Dimes, a nonprofit agency engaged in pregnancy and baby health research, said some premature births can be prevented by addressing risk factors in mothers, including diabetes, high blood pressure, nutrition, body weight and tobacco and alcohol use. Women who earlier gave birth to a preemie face a greater risk of having another.
While doctors know some of the health and behavior factors in mothers that increase the risk of preterm births, doctors have yet to identify a reliable remedy to prevent early labor, said Christopher Howson, vice president for global programs of the March of Dimes.
"While much can be done right now to reduce death and disability from preterm birth even in low-resource settings, we need to know more about the underlying causes of premature birth in order to develop effective prevention strategies," Howson said.
|
[
"on what countries are the most premature births?",
"what percent of the world's births are premature?",
"What is the percentage of the world's birthrate of premature babies?",
"what have doctors not been able to do?",
"What countries are more than 85 percent of premature births occurring?",
"Who has the world's second-highest premature birth rate?",
"what is the percent of premature world's birth according to March of Dimes?",
"Was does March of Dimes says about world birth's.",
"Doctors have yet to identify a reliable remedy to prevent what?",
"Who says nearly 10 percent of world's births are premature?",
"Where are more than 85 percent of premature births?",
"Which area has world's second-highest premature birth rate?",
"Who has second highest premature birth rate?",
"What percentage of world's births are premature?"
] |
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"the United States and Canada",
"nearly 10 percent"
] |
question: on what countries are the most premature births?, answer: Africa and Asia. | question: what percent of the world's births are premature?, answer: 10 | question: What is the percentage of the world's birthrate of premature babies?, answer: nearly 10 percent | question: what have doctors not been able to do?, answer: identify a reliable remedy | question: What countries are more than 85 percent of premature births occurring?, answer: in Africa and Asia. | question: Who has the world's second-highest premature birth rate?, answer: North America | question: what is the percent of premature world's birth according to March of Dimes?, answer: 10 | question: Was does March of Dimes says about world birth's., answer: More | question: Doctors have yet to identify a reliable remedy to prevent what?, answer: early labor, | question: Who says nearly 10 percent of world's births are premature?, answer: March of Dimes | question: Where are more than 85 percent of premature births?, answer: occur in developing countries in Africa and Asia. | question: Which area has world's second-highest premature birth rate?, answer: Asia, | question: Who has second highest premature birth rate?, answer: the United States and Canada | question: What percentage of world's births are premature?, answer: nearly 10 percent
|
(CNN) -- More than 1,100 people worldwide have died from swine flu since it emerged in Mexico and the U.S. in April, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization.
A young girl wears a mask at a hospital in Hanoi. Vietnam reported its first death from swine flu this week.
As of July 31, the total number of victims killed by the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, stood at 1,154 -- an increase of 338 since WHO's previous update on July 27.
The virus has spread around the world with unprecedented speed, spreading as widely in six weeks as common influenza viruses spread in the six months, according to WHO.
WHO data showed the total number of laboratory confirmed cases at 162,380, but the number could be higher since individual cases no longer have to be tested or reported.
The total number of countries and territories reporting at least one case of infection now stands at 168, with new cases reported in Azerbaijan, Gabon, Grenada, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Monaco, Nauru, Swaziland and Suriname.
In the United States, federal health officials are worried about the upcoming flu season.
They say nearly 160 million Americans may need to be vaccinated against the H1N1 virus, but it won't be as simple as a single shot.
In a background briefing with reporters on Tuesday, two senior administration officials said the vaccine, which is still in clinical trials, would require two shots. The first shot would be followed by a second shot three weeks later. Immunity to the virus would finally kick in two weeks after that.
That means someone who is vaccinated by the time the program is expected to launch in late October won't get protection until late fall.
On Tuesday, British-based pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline announced it had signed contracts with nine governments to provide 96 million doses of a H1N1 vaccine and was in ongoing discussions with governments to provide further supplies.
GlaxoSmithKline has already signed deals worth $250 million in total to provide 195 million doses and plans to donate 50 million doses to the World Health Organization.
"First supplies of the vaccine will be available to governments from September onwards, with shipments expected in the second half of 2009 and early 2010," GlaxoSmithKline said in a statement. "The exact pace of delivery will be dependent on capacity and the yield of the influenza strain."
Details of the immunization program were revealed as part of the government's overall plan to deal with what is expected to be a difficult flu season.
The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices last week issued sweeping guidelines for a vaccination campaign against the swine flu strain, identifying more than half the population as targets for the first round of vaccinations.
The priority groups include pregnant women, health care and emergency services personnel, children, adolescents and young adults from six months to 24 years of age, household and caregiver contacts of children younger than six months and healthy adults with certain medical conditions.
The symptoms of swine flu are similar to that of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, aches and runny nose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A significant number of infected people have also reported diarrhea and vomiting.
|
[
"What is the number of vaccines available by the company?",
"WHat is the current number of victims?",
"How many Americans will be vaccinated?",
"What is the cause of 1,154 deaths worldwide?",
"What is causing the people to die?",
"Who has signed deals to provide vaccine?",
"how many swine flu deaths in recent days?",
"What is the total amount of deaths worldwide?",
"How many deaths from swine flu?",
"What has caused 1,154 deaths worldwide?",
"Who signed the deals?",
"How many weeks did it take the virus to spread?",
"who has signed deals to provide 291 million doses of vaccine?",
"How many Americans will be vaccinated?"
] |
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question: What is the number of vaccines available by the company?, answer: 96 million doses | question: WHat is the current number of victims?, answer: 1,154 | question: How many Americans will be vaccinated?, answer: 160 million | question: What is the cause of 1,154 deaths worldwide?, answer: H1N1 virus, | question: What is causing the people to die?, answer: swine flu | question: Who has signed deals to provide vaccine?, answer: GlaxoSmithKline | question: how many swine flu deaths in recent days?, answer: 1,154 | question: What is the total amount of deaths worldwide?, answer: 1,100 | question: How many deaths from swine flu?, answer: 1,154 | question: What has caused 1,154 deaths worldwide?, answer: H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, | question: Who signed the deals?, answer: GlaxoSmithKline | question: How many weeks did it take the virus to spread?, answer: six | question: who has signed deals to provide 291 million doses of vaccine?, answer: GlaxoSmithKline | question: How many Americans will be vaccinated?, answer: 160 million
|
(CNN) -- More than 1,300 Palestinians died and about 5,400 others were wounded during Israel's three-week offensive in Gaza, the Web site of the Palestinian Authority's Central Bureau of Statistics said Monday.
A Palestinian man Monday prays in the rubble of his home, destroyed during Israel's offensive in Gaza.
Louay Shabana, head of the agency, said more than 22,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Shabana put the economic destruction at more than $1.9 billion.
The fighting largely stopped Sunday with a cease-fire. Israel has said 13 of its citizens -- including 10 soldiers -- were killed during the offensive, which started December 27.
Israel said its offensive was aimed at stopping Hamas militants from firing rockets into southern Israel.
Gaza is in need of humanitarian, economic, sanitary and social help as a result of the Israeli attacks, Shabana said.
The attacks destroyed public sector and private buildings in Gaza, affecting even the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's facilities and halting economic and social services, the statistics agency said. Watch Palestinians recover bodies from rubble »
Gaza's gross domestic product was slashed by 85 percent during the 22 days of war, and it could take a year for the economy to recover, the agency said in a preliminary report.
About 80 percent of crops in Gaza were destroyed, according to the agency.
"The pervasive sense here among the population is one of overwhelming grief, so many families have been destroyed in so many ways," said John Ging, the top United Nations official in Gaza.
Ging, UNRWA's Gaza director of operations, said the bill could reach "billions of dollars."
Among the dead were 159 children, two of whom died in an UNRWA school that was shelled Saturday, Ging said.
Gaza's main border crossings, which Israel often closed in response to Hamas rocket attacks, were open Monday. Infrastructure repairs were being made, but 400,000 people still had no water, according to Ging.
Streets in some northern Gaza towns were flooded with sewage, and about 50 U.N. facilities were damaged, he said.
More than 170 supply trucks crossed into Gaza on Monday, less than a third of the daily number that crossed in 2005, said John Holmes, U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.
Israel tried to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, a senior Israel Defense Forces officer said in a posting Monday on the IDF Web site.
"This was not a war against the Palestinians," he said. "It was an operation of self-defense against Hamas and related terror organizations. Unfortunately, this task was made extremely difficult by Hamas, as they made the choice to use civilians as human shields."
Israel began the offensive in response to rocket fire by Hamas militants after showing eight years of restraint, the officer said.
The operation's goal, he said, "was to improve the security situation in southern Israel, and to facilitate peaceful living for the Israeli civilians living there."
"We asked ourselves how to accomplish this, and the answer was to hit Hamas hard -- to strike the tunnels, the terrorists themselves, and all of their assets -- in order to prevent them from committing war crimes by firing rockets that target our civilian population," the officer said.
He said seven rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel since Sunday's cease-fire declaration.
"We want to give this cease-fire a chance, but if Hamas chooses not to, we will utilize all of our means," he said.
|
[
"What U.N official says?",
"Where did the Israeli offensive occur?",
"How many children were klled in the offensive?",
"Will it take long for the economy to recover?",
"Who were killed in the offensive?",
"What was the cost from destruction?",
"How much destruction does the official say offensive cost?",
"How many children was killed in Gaza?"
] |
[
"\"The pervasive sense here among the population is one of overwhelming grief, so many families have been destroyed in so many ways,\"",
"Gaza.",
"159",
"a year",
"1,300 Palestinians",
"more than $1.9 billion.",
"more than $1.9 billion.",
"159"
] |
question: What U.N official says?, answer: "The pervasive sense here among the population is one of overwhelming grief, so many families have been destroyed in so many ways," | question: Where did the Israeli offensive occur?, answer: Gaza. | question: How many children were klled in the offensive?, answer: 159 | question: Will it take long for the economy to recover?, answer: a year | question: Who were killed in the offensive?, answer: 1,300 Palestinians | question: What was the cost from destruction?, answer: more than $1.9 billion. | question: How much destruction does the official say offensive cost?, answer: more than $1.9 billion. | question: How many children was killed in Gaza?, answer: 159
|
(CNN) -- More than 100 countries attending a conference in Dublin, Ireland formally adopted a treaty Friday to ban cluster bombs -- a large, unreliable and inaccurate weapon that often affects civilians long after the end of armed conflict.
Cluster bombs are usually air-dropped shells that eject multiple small bomblets to kill enemy soldiers.
A document released by Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs says the countries agreed never to use cluster munitions or the explosive bomblets they contain. The countries also agreed never to develop, acquire, retain or transfer cluster munitions.
Countries attending the 11-day conference agreed to the treaty Wednesday but formally signed it Friday.
The accord calls for a total, immediate ban of the weapons, strong standards to protect those injured by them, contaminated areas to be cleaned up as quickly as possible and for the weapons to be immediately destroyed, he said.
Thomas Nash, coordinator of the CMC campaigning organization, said Wednesday: "This is a great achievement for everyone who has been working hard to see the end of 40 years of suffering from these weapons."
Though some of the biggest makers of cluster bombs, including the United States, Russia, China and Israel, were not involved in the talks and have not signed the accord, organizers predicted that those nations would nevertheless be pressured into compliance.
"Take the United States," Nash said. "Almost all of its allies are here. They've decided to ban these weapons. That's going to make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the United States to ever use these weapons again, either on its own or in joint operations."
The agreement requires the destruction of stockpiles of the weapons within eight years, he said.
Cluster munitions, which break apart in flight to scatter hundreds of smaller bomblets, are what the International Committee of the Red Cross calls a "persistent humanitarian problem."
Most of a cluster bomb's bomblets are meant to explode on impact, but many do not. Estimates show the weapons fail to explode on impact between 10 and 40 percent of the time, the Red Cross says.
That means unexploded bomblets lie scattered across a target area, often exploding only when handled or disturbed -- posing a serious risk to civilians.
Last week, Acting Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs Stephen D. Mull called it "an absolute moral obligation" to rid a battlefield of unexploded ordnance after the battle.
But he also predicted that the United States would not agree to any ban.
"We think that it is going to be impossible to ban cluster munitions... because these are weapons that have a certain military utility and are of use," Mull said. "The United States relies on them as an important part of our own defense strategy."
Instead, he urged that the weapons be regulated "to take humanitarian considerations into account" and that "technological fixes" be pursued that would render them harmless after a battle.
During the 34-day war in Lebanon in 2006, the United Nations estimated that Israel dropped 4 million bomblets, 1 million of which may not have exploded, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
More than 250 civilians and bomb-disposal operators have been killed or injured by them in southern Lebanon since the war ended.
Cluster bombs were also used in the 1999 war in Kosovo. Lt. Col. Jim Burke, a military adviser to the Irish Defense Forces said they quickly became a major killer of civilians.
In more than 20 countries, according to the ICRC, cluster bombs have created lasting "no-go" areas, rendering them as dangerous as minefields.
Laos is the most affected country. Millions of bomblets dropped during the Vietnam War continue to kill civilians more than three decades later.
Still, militaries consider cluster bombs important for use against multiple targets dispersed over a wide area, such as tanks or military personnel moving across the landscape. A single bomb containing hundreds of submunitions can cover more than 18 square miles.
CNN's Jacqueline Clyne contributed to this report.
|
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"what did the 111 countries ban",
"what is the risk of Controversial weapons",
"Which country is not expected to agree to banning cluster bombs?",
"What was the number of countries formally agreeing treaty banning cluster bombs?",
"What is the total number of countries agreeing to treaty?",
"Which country did not attend?",
"who is not attending",
"What is being banned?"
] |
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"cluster bombs",
"unexploded bomblets lie scattered across a target area, often exploding only when handled or disturbed",
"United States",
"than 100",
"than 100",
"Israel,",
"United States, Russia, China",
"cluster bombs"
] |
question: what did the 111 countries ban, answer: cluster bombs | question: what is the risk of Controversial weapons, answer: unexploded bomblets lie scattered across a target area, often exploding only when handled or disturbed | question: Which country is not expected to agree to banning cluster bombs?, answer: United States | question: What was the number of countries formally agreeing treaty banning cluster bombs?, answer: than 100 | question: What is the total number of countries agreeing to treaty?, answer: than 100 | question: Which country did not attend?, answer: Israel, | question: who is not attending, answer: United States, Russia, China | question: What is being banned?, answer: cluster bombs
|
(CNN) -- More than 150 students at the University of California at Berkeley took over a campus building Thursday to protest a proposed 81% increase in tuition fees, university officials said.
UC-Berkeley spokeswoman Callie Maidhof described the scene as "an open occupation with people coming and going" at Tolman Hall on the campus that has been known for decades as a hotbed of student activism and protests.
The tuition increase proposed by the board of regents would be phased in over a four-year period.
Maidhof added that when the protest began Thursday afternoon, campus police initially resisted the demonstrators and used pepper spray at one point. The university maintained a hands-off approach after that, but according to Maidhof the situation could change at the building's scheduled closing time of 9 p.m. (midnight ET).
As evening fell, there were between 60 and 70 students occupying one of the classrooms and another group was participating in a teach-in outside on the lawn.
Helicopter aerials of the scene from CNN affiliate KTVU showed a few protest banners hung from windows of the classroom building.
|
[
"What did the university board of regents propose?",
"When will the building be closed?",
"What did a university spokeswoman say?",
"when is A university spokeswoman says the building is scheduled to be closed ?",
"What did the students do?",
"Where are students in protest?",
"What percentage hike has been proposed?"
] |
[
"tuition increase",
"9 p.m.",
"\"an open occupation with people coming and going\"",
"9 p.m. (midnight ET).",
"took over a campus building",
"University of California at Berkeley",
"81%"
] |
question: What did the university board of regents propose?, answer: tuition increase | question: When will the building be closed?, answer: 9 p.m. | question: What did a university spokeswoman say?, answer: "an open occupation with people coming and going" | question: when is A university spokeswoman says the building is scheduled to be closed ?, answer: 9 p.m. (midnight ET). | question: What did the students do?, answer: took over a campus building | question: Where are students in protest?, answer: University of California at Berkeley | question: What percentage hike has been proposed?, answer: 81%
|
(CNN) -- More than 2,100 registered North Carolina sex offenders were found on the social networking site MySpace, the state attorney general's office said Tuesday.
North Carolina bans sex offenders within the state from social networking sites where children are members.
In response to a subpoena from state Attorney General Roy Cooper, "MySpace turned over the names, IP and e-mail addresses of 2,116 convicted North Carolina sex offenders found on its social networking Web site," Cooper's office said in a written statement.
Cooper has requested similar information from Facebook, another popular social networking site, the statement said.
MySpace has told North Carolina authorities that the sex offenders it identified have been removed from the site.
North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation is sharing the sex offenders' information with all 100 sheriffs in the state, Cooper's office said.
"It's no secret that child predators are on these Web sites," Cooper said in the statement. "Turning over information about these predators to law enforcement helps, but MySpace, Facebook and other social networks need to do much more to protect kids online."
North Carolina passed a law last year banning sex offenders within the state from social networking sites where children are members, making it a felony offense.
Sex offenders on social networking sites is not a new issue. Last month, Newsweek magazine reported that Facebook said it had removed 5,585 convicted sex offenders from its site between May 2008 and January 2009. MySpace also announced it had removed 90,000 sex offenders in a two-year period, the magazine said.
Last June, the Texas attorney general's office said it had arrested seven convicted sex offenders who violated their parole conditions by creating MySpace profiles, according to an article on the TechNewsWorld Web site.
Cooper and Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's attorney general, for more than three years have led a group of attorneys general in working to make social networking safer, Cooper's office said. The group is pushing social networks to use technology such as age and identity verification to better protect users who may be children.
After discussions with the group, MySpace became the first social networking site to develop technology aimed at finding and removing sex offenders, the North Carolina statement said. Cooper is pushing Facebook to take similar steps.
But, Cooper's office said, "the information provided by MySpace does not include sex offenders who have not been convicted, are not registered or may be using aliases on the site. Cooper remains concerned about other sex offenders on the site who may be lying about who they are, and is continuing to ask MySpace to do more to protect children on the site."
|
[
"what is the AG name?",
"What did the AG say about the site?",
"From where similar information had been requested?",
"What is North Carolina now doing?"
] |
[
"Roy Cooper,",
"\"MySpace turned over the names, IP and e-mail addresses of 2,116 convicted North Carolina sex offenders found on its social networking Web site,\"",
"Facebook,",
"sharing the sex offenders' information with all 100 sheriffs in the state,"
] |
question: what is the AG name?, answer: Roy Cooper, | question: What did the AG say about the site?, answer: "MySpace turned over the names, IP and e-mail addresses of 2,116 convicted North Carolina sex offenders found on its social networking Web site," | question: From where similar information had been requested?, answer: Facebook, | question: What is North Carolina now doing?, answer: sharing the sex offenders' information with all 100 sheriffs in the state,
|
(CNN) -- More than 200 former fighters and other members of the Maoist People's Liberation Army -- including minors -- were discharged from a Maoist camp Thursday in line with Nepal's ongoing peace process, officials said.
Those being discharged were part of a group deemed "disqualified" by United Nations findings in 2007, which identified at least 4,008 such combatants -- including 2,973 minors.
The "disqualified" status applied to anyone under the age of 18 who was serving in the liberation army, and those who joined the Maoist group after its 10-year insurgency to abolish the country's monarchy ended in 2006.
More than 15,000 died in the fighting and more than 100,000 people were displaced, according to the United Nations Web site.
Nepal became a republic in 2008 following elections in which the people voted to abolish the monarchy.
"Those who left the Sindhuli camp today are no more members of the [Maoist] People's Liberation Army," Nanda Kishore Pun, commander of the Maoist People's Liberation Army, told CNN in a phone interview from Sindhuli, about 150 km (93 miles) southeast of Kathmandu.
The discharge process is expected to end in about a month.
As part of the rehabilitation package for the disqualified combatants, the United Nations has offered to provide vocational skills training and education up to high school to those who want such opportunities, but Pun said that these offers are still being discussed.
The process of the discharge is seen as in important part of the Nepal's ongoing peace process. The Maoists and other political parties in the country are discussing ways to integrate the 19,602 verified Maoist combatants into Nepal's security forces -- a move that made up part of the peace deal signed in 2006 to bring the peace process to a conclusion.
Once the minors remain out of the command and control of the Maoist military structure for six months to a year, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) can be considered for removal from the list of parties that recruit and use children, which is included in the annual U.N. Secretary-General's report on Children and Armed Conflict.
As the discharge and rehabilitation process began, about a dozen of the disqualified combatants were listed as being under the age of 16 and about 500 were under the age of 18. Though called combatants, the United Nations said the minors were used as messengers, cooks and porters during the fighting.
|
[
"What kind of people were in the discharged group ?",
"What country is the Maoist camp in?",
"How many people were discharged from the Maoist camp ?",
"What is their discharge seen as",
"Where is the Maoist camp",
"How many people were discharged?",
"Of what is this discharge seen a part of ?",
"Who were they deemed disqualified by",
"The group was \"disqualified\" by United Nations findings in what year?"
] |
[
"200 former fighters",
"Nepal's",
"than 200",
"in important part of the Nepal's ongoing peace process.",
"Nepal's",
"200",
"of the Nepal's ongoing peace process.",
"United Nations findings in 2007,",
"2007,"
] |
question: What kind of people were in the discharged group ?, answer: 200 former fighters | question: What country is the Maoist camp in?, answer: Nepal's | question: How many people were discharged from the Maoist camp ?, answer: than 200 | question: What is their discharge seen as, answer: in important part of the Nepal's ongoing peace process. | question: Where is the Maoist camp, answer: Nepal's | question: How many people were discharged?, answer: 200 | question: Of what is this discharge seen a part of ?, answer: of the Nepal's ongoing peace process. | question: Who were they deemed disqualified by, answer: United Nations findings in 2007, | question: The group was "disqualified" by United Nations findings in what year?, answer: 2007,
|
(CNN) -- More than 40,000 Somalis have returned to the abandoned neighborhoods of Mogadishu in the past six weeks, despite some of the heaviest fighting in months, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Friday.
Violence continued this week in Mogadishu between Somali Islamist fighters and African Union soldiers.
They are part of more than a million residents who have been displaced by fighting, including 100,000 who fled to neighboring countries last year, according to the United Nations.
Most of those returning are families from Somalia's southern and central regions, areas that are suffering from drought and renewed fighting, according to UNHCR. They are now living in neighborhoods in northern Mogadishu that had been abandoned over the past two years of conflict, the U.N. agency said.
Part of the reason displaced Somalis may be braving the violence and returning to the war-torn capital city is because of the recent pullout of Ethiopian troops, who were blamed for indiscriminately killing civilians in Mogadishu, a Somali journalist said.
"The AU [African Union] and [Somali] government forces only defend in their positions, they don't move around," according to Mohammed Amiin Adow. "This may reduce the fear of the civilians that their homes may be raided.
"During the Ethiopian presence, it was different: When their bases were attacked, they used to come and carry out search operations in which civilians may be detained, killed or wounded."
Adow also said another reason refugees may be returning is the bad conditions at the camps for internally displaced Somalis.
"People had been living in very poor conditions in the makeshift camps on the road between Mogadishu and Afgooye for the last two years," Adow said. "So that is I think why people are returning."
Those returning to Mogadishu will have limited access to basic necessities, a problem that is compounded by the scarcity of international aid agencies, who have fled Somalia because of the violence, UNHCR spokesman William Spindler said Friday.
"UNHCR is not encouraging returns to Mogadishu at this juncture, as the security situation is volatile and the conditions are certainly not conducive," he said. "Nevertheless, we are preparing to help returnees or those who wish to return in the near future, in the hope that the security situation will improve."
|
[
"What are people in central and southern Somolia Fleeing?",
"Where was most of the fighting in Somalia?",
"What groups were currently fighting in Somalia?",
"What are the people returning fleeing from?",
"How many Somalis have been displaced throughout the country and abroad?",
"Why are supplies in the capital scarce?",
"How many Somalis have been displaces?",
"More than what number of Somalis have been displaced?"
] |
[
"drought",
"Mogadishu",
"Somali Islamist fighters and African Union soldiers.",
"bad conditions at the camps",
"more than a million",
"scarcity of international aid agencies,",
"more than a million",
"a million residents"
] |
question: What are people in central and southern Somolia Fleeing?, answer: drought | question: Where was most of the fighting in Somalia?, answer: Mogadishu | question: What groups were currently fighting in Somalia?, answer: Somali Islamist fighters and African Union soldiers. | question: What are the people returning fleeing from?, answer: bad conditions at the camps | question: How many Somalis have been displaced throughout the country and abroad?, answer: more than a million | question: Why are supplies in the capital scarce?, answer: scarcity of international aid agencies, | question: How many Somalis have been displaces?, answer: more than a million | question: More than what number of Somalis have been displaced?, answer: a million residents
|
(CNN) -- More than 50 children have been abducted in Haiti since the beginning of the year, adding to a trend of kidnappings in countries affected by violence, according to a United Nations Children's Fund report.
Haitians demonstrate June 4 in Port-au-Prince against the kidnappings and acts of violence in Haiti.
"It is everyone's duty to ensure children are safe from harm, and governments have a responsibility to enact and enforce measures that provide a protective environment for all children," the agency said in a statement released Friday.
In countries torn by war, like the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq, food shortages and poverty have added to the already hellish conditions children live in. The youngest in unstable countries have become primary targets for armed groups who see them as commodities, the agency said.
In Haiti, UNICEF and local officials report that kidnapped children are being raped, tortured and murdered. The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti has been working with the national police force to try to halt such crimes. They suspect that criminal gangs are responsible.
The agency reports that as many as 2,000 children a year are trafficked to the Dominican Republic, often with their parents' support. And about 1,000 children are working as spies, messengers or soldiers for armed gangs in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.
Earlier in the month, a demonstration was held in Haiti's capital after a 16-year-old hostage was murdered and other hostages had been raped and lynched, including infants, UNICEF said.
The agency urged officials to take action.
"There is no acceptable motive or rationale for these crimes, as there is no acceptable excuse that they should be allowed to continue with flagrant impunity," UNICEF's Haiti representative, Annamaria Laurini, said in a statement.
The agency recently received reports that Iraqi children have been recruited by militia and insurgent groups.
"Girls are increasingly subject to murder, kidnapping and rape, or are being abducted and trafficked within or outside Iraq for sexual exploitation," according to the report.
In the Central African Republic, the agency reports that armed gangs terrorize farms and communities, kidnapping children and holding them for ransom.
Souleimane Garga, in Paoua, recounts to UNICEF how bandits broke into his home nearly two years ago and kidnapped his wife, newborn baby and two other children -- Harouna and Beldo -- after killing older family members, including an uncle and a grandfather.
"It was two in the morning when they came. There were many of them, and they knocked down the doors," Garga tells UNICEF in a video posted on the agency's Web site. Garga was shot in the back during the attack, UNICEF said.
"They had Kalashnikovs, and the bullets came down like rain," he said.
For two years, now-5-year-old Harouna and his 7-year-old sister, Beldo, were held in bush camps because their father couldn't afford to be in a position where he might have to pay a ransom. It had financially broken him when he paid to free his wife and newborn baby, UNICEF said.
Garga tells UNICEF that the children lived in horrible conditions that included beatings. "Harouna still wakes up at night; he shouts and cries."
When someone mentions kidnapping, Beldo stops talking. "Whenever she hears that word, she stops talking; she tells us to 'keep quiet of such things' and asks for peace," her father said.
"We were afraid, but we kept thinking our father would come soon," Harouna told the agency. "'I'm happy to come back home. ... Thanks, we're free.'"
Although some children are returned to their homes, other kidnapped children may never return. They are instead used as muscle behind rebel militias in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The agency added that many children are also held in captivity and used as sexual slaves.
In a July 2006 UNICEF report on child soldiers in the nation, the agency reported that "
|
[
"where are children kidnapped and held for ransom",
"How many children are trafficked?",
"How many children have been abducted in Haiti?",
"who are victims of murder in war-torn nations?",
"what is the number of kids that have been abducted in haiti since january",
"where are children held for ransom?"
] |
[
"Haiti",
"2,000",
"than 50",
"kidnapped children",
"than 50",
"Haiti"
] |
question: where are children kidnapped and held for ransom, answer: Haiti | question: How many children are trafficked?, answer: 2,000 | question: How many children have been abducted in Haiti?, answer: than 50 | question: who are victims of murder in war-torn nations?, answer: kidnapped children | question: what is the number of kids that have been abducted in haiti since january, answer: than 50 | question: where are children held for ransom?, answer: Haiti
|
(CNN) -- More than 60 years after reneging on a promise to the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who fought for the United States during World War II, the U.S. government will soon be sending out checks -- to the few who are still alive.
Veteran Franco Arcebal says, "we are loyal to the United States, except that the United States has forgotten us."
"For a poor man like me, $15,000 is a lot of money," said 91-year-old Celestino Almeda.
Still, he said, "After what we have suffered, what we have contributed for the sake of democracy, it's peanuts. It's a drop in the bucket."
During the war, the Philippines was a U.S. commonwealth. The U.S. military promised full veterans benefits to Filipinos who volunteered to fight. More than 250,000 joined.
Then, in 1946, President Truman signed the Rescission Act, taking that promise away.
Today, only about about 15,000 of those troops are still alive, according to the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans. A provision tucked inside the stimulus bill that President Obama signed calls for releasing $198 million that was appropriated last year for those veterans. Those who have become U.S. citizens get $15,000 each; non-citizens get $9,000.
"I'm very thankful," said Patrick Ganio, 88, the coalition's president. "We Filipinos are a grateful people."
Ganio was among the tens of thousands of Filipinos at the infamous battle of Bataan, a peninsula on Manila Bay opposite the Philippine capital. He was captured and beaten by Japanese troops before ultimately being freed, suffering from malaria and then resuming his service to the U.S. military.
"The record of the Philippine soldiers for bravery and loyalty is second to none," Truman wrote to the leaders of the House and Senate in 1946. "Their assignment was as bloody and difficult as any in which our American soldiers engaged. Under desperate circumstances they acquitted themselves nobly."
Though Truman said the Rescission Act resulted in "discrimination," he signed it.
"There can be no question but that the Philippine veteran is entitled to benefits bearing a reasonable relation to those received by the America veteran, with whom he fought side by side," he said. "From a practical point of view, however, it must be acknowledged that certain benefits granted by the GI bill of rights cannot be applied in the case of the Philippine veteran."
Some historians say financial concerns were paramount: The cost of funding full veterans benefits to all those Filipinos, particularly in the wake of the costly war, would have been a heavy burden.
The National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity offers a different explanation. "In 1946, discrimination against people of color was the rule of law," the group says in a document it submitted to the Obama-Biden transition team in November.
"The second-class treatment of Filipino World War II veterans is another example from this historical period."
For decades, Filipino activists and their supporters have fought for the full benefits. They've petitioned and picketed. Almeda, a widower who now lives in Virginia with his daughter, once chained himself to the fence outside the White House.
"I was fined $50 for civil disobedience and was arrested," he says now, chuckling. He says he was just looking for answers.
Despite encouraging words from U.S. presidents, including George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, the benefits were never restored.
"Only 70,000 Philippine veterans remain alive, and they hope to stay alive long enough to see those benefits reinstated," CNN reported in 1997. "There's a bill, stuck in committee in Congress, that would do just that."
That effort, just like so many before, fell apart.
"We were loyal to the United States. Even up to now, we are loyal to the United States, except that the United States has forgotten us in many ways," said Franco Arcebal, another leader of the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans. "It
|
[
"How many troops are still alive?",
"Who are still alive?",
"Who were promised full military benefits to enlist?",
"What will U.S. citizens get?",
"Name of president who signed act?"
] |
[
"15,000",
"Filipinos",
"Filipinos",
"$15,000",
"Truman"
] |
question: How many troops are still alive?, answer: 15,000 | question: Who are still alive?, answer: Filipinos | question: Who were promised full military benefits to enlist?, answer: Filipinos | question: What will U.S. citizens get?, answer: $15,000 | question: Name of president who signed act?, answer: Truman
|
(CNN) -- More than 60 years after reneging on a promise to the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who fought for the United States during World War II, the U.S. government will soon be sending out checks -- to the few who are still alive.
Veteran Franco Arcebal says, "we are loyal to the United States, except that the United States has forgotten us."
"For a poor man like me, $15,000 is a lot of money," said 91-year-old Celestino Almeda.
Still, he said, "After what we have suffered, what we have contributed for the sake of democracy, it's peanuts. It's a drop in the bucket."
During the war, the Philippines was a U.S. commonwealth. The U.S. military promised full veterans benefits to Filipinos who volunteered to fight. More than 250,000 joined.
Then, in 1946, President Truman signed the Rescission Act, taking that promise away.
Today, only about about 15,000 of those troops are still alive, according to the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans. A provision tucked inside the stimulus bill that President Obama signed calls for releasing $198 million that was appropriated last year for those veterans. Those who have become U.S. citizens get $15,000 each; non-citizens get $9,000.
"I'm very thankful," said Patrick Ganio, 88, the coalition's president. "We Filipinos are a grateful people."
Ganio was among the tens of thousands of Filipinos at the infamous battle of Bataan, a peninsula on Manila Bay opposite the Philippine capital. He was captured and beaten by Japanese troops before ultimately being freed, suffering from malaria and then resuming his service to the U.S. military.
"The record of the Philippine soldiers for bravery and loyalty is second to none," Truman wrote to the leaders of the House and Senate in 1946. "Their assignment was as bloody and difficult as any in which our American soldiers engaged. Under desperate circumstances they acquitted themselves nobly."
Though Truman said the Rescission Act resulted in "discrimination," he signed it.
"There can be no question but that the Philippine veteran is entitled to benefits bearing a reasonable relation to those received by the America veteran, with whom he fought side by side," he said. "From a practical point of view, however, it must be acknowledged that certain benefits granted by the GI bill of rights cannot be applied in the case of the Philippine veteran."
Some historians say financial concerns were paramount: The cost of funding full veterans benefits to all those Filipinos, particularly in the wake of the costly war, would have been a heavy burden.
The National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity offers a different explanation. "In 1946, discrimination against people of color was the rule of law," the group says in a document it submitted to the Obama-Biden transition team in November.
"The second-class treatment of Filipino World War II veterans is another example from this historical period."
For decades, Filipino activists and their supporters have fought for the full benefits. They've petitioned and picketed. Almeda, a widower who now lives in Virginia with his daughter, once chained himself to the fence outside the White House.
"I was fined $50 for civil disobedience and was arrested," he says now, chuckling. He says he was just looking for answers.
Despite encouraging words from U.S. presidents, including George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, the benefits were never restored.
"Only 70,000 Philippine veterans remain alive, and they hope to stay alive long enough to see those benefits reinstated," CNN reported in 1997. "There's a bill, stuck in committee in Congress, that would do just that."
That effort, just like so many before, fell apart.
"We were loyal to the United States. Even up to now, we are loyal to the United States, except that the United States has forgotten us in many ways," said Franco Arcebal, another leader of the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans. "It
|
[
"What will US citizens receive?",
"How many of the troops are still alive?",
"Number of troops that are still alive?",
"Filipinos were promised what to enlist?",
"Who later signed an act reneging on promise?",
"Which President did not keep his promise?",
"What were Filipinos promised?",
"How much money will non-citizen soldiers get?",
"Who signed an act reneging on promise?",
"Who was promised full military benefits?",
"How many of the relevant Filipino troops are still alive?"
] |
[
"$15,000 each;",
"about 15,000",
"15,000",
"$15,000",
"President Truman",
"Truman",
"full veterans benefits",
"$9,000.",
"U.S. government",
"Filipinos",
"about 15,000"
] |
question: What will US citizens receive?, answer: $15,000 each; | question: How many of the troops are still alive?, answer: about 15,000 | question: Number of troops that are still alive?, answer: 15,000 | question: Filipinos were promised what to enlist?, answer: $15,000 | question: Who later signed an act reneging on promise?, answer: President Truman | question: Which President did not keep his promise?, answer: Truman | question: What were Filipinos promised?, answer: full veterans benefits | question: How much money will non-citizen soldiers get?, answer: $9,000. | question: Who signed an act reneging on promise?, answer: U.S. government | question: Who was promised full military benefits?, answer: Filipinos | question: How many of the relevant Filipino troops are still alive?, answer: about 15,000
|
(CNN) -- More than a month after the Plastiki set sail from San Francisco, the six-person crew has made it to Christmas Island, nearly marking the halfway point of the ship's journey to cross the Pacific Ocean.
Upon their arrival, the crew was greeted at by local residents who performed cultural songs and dances, as well as offered them drinks and chocolate -- traditional treats on the Republic of Kiripbati island.
The vessel embarked from San Francisco on March 20. The arrival on Christmas Island is the first time since the ship left California that that the crew -- David de Rothschild, Jo Royle, David Thomson, Olav Heyerdahl, Vern Moen and Max Jourdan -- disembarked from their ship, constructed of more than 12,000 plastic bottles.
After participating in the arrival ceremony, the crew members spoke to 1,000 high school students about the importance of recycling, and led a discussion to address the challenges the students face in their own efforts to promote sustainable practices.
The crew had the additional opportunity to interact with the local community while the Plastiki was re-stocked and underwent a maintenance check and minor repairs.
Also on Christmas Island, filmmaker Moen will leave the Plastiki to return to California, where his wife gave birth to their son last month. In his place, Graham Hill, the founder of environmental website Treehugger, will be joining the crew.
The Plastiki has sailed 3,617 nautical miles of it 11,000-mile journey. Its final destination is Sydney, Australia.
|
[
"What number of days did it take to reach Christmas Island?",
"What island did the Plastiki reach?",
"who interacts with the local community and promotes its sustainability message",
"What message do they promote?"
] |
[
"a month",
"Christmas",
"The crew",
"practices."
] |
question: What number of days did it take to reach Christmas Island?, answer: a month | question: What island did the Plastiki reach?, answer: Christmas | question: who interacts with the local community and promotes its sustainability message, answer: The crew | question: What message do they promote?, answer: practices.
|
(CNN) -- More than just the quintessential Seattle shopping experience, Pike Place Market is a tourist attraction in its own right. This historic farmers market is the place to pick up all manner of fresh local produce, as well as handmade crafts, jewelry, antiques and paintings. Keep your camera handy to snap the colorful floral displays and the fishmongers tossing whole salmon to each other.
Flying fish at Pike Place Market.
If Pike Place whets your appetite for fresh produce, check out the Ballard Sunday Farmers Market (5330 Ballard Avenue, Sundays) for delicious farm-fresh goodies. Another great Sunday market is the weekly Fremont Flea Market (400 N 34th Street), a cornucopia of used, vintage and antique goods. For the avid antiques hunter the underground Pioneer Square Antiques Mall (602 First Avenue) has more than 60 stalls.
If you prefer big brand names you'll want to head downtown, where you'll find the likes of Banana Republic (500 Pike Street) and a colossal Nike Town (1500 6th Avenue). Downtown is also home to Macy's (1601 Third Avenue), still known to locals as "The Bon" from its former incarnation as Bon Marché. Macy's can be good for a bargain, but the city's best department store is the flagship Nordstrom (500 Pine Street), famed for it exemplary customer service.
For something more cutting edge, Capitol Hill and Belltown are full of funky boutiques and vintage clothing stores. Crossroads Trading Company (325 Broadway Avenue E and 4300 University Way) is a good option for second-hand threads, while sneaker freaks will find that Gems (615 Western Avenue) is a treasure trove of fancy footwear.
Bibliophiles will love Seattle for its numerous independent books stores. Set aside a couple of hours to visit the Elliot Bay Book Company (101 South Main Street), a vast space crammed full of new and used books. It boasts an excellent selection of titles about the region, a pleasant café and readings or signings almost every night. University Bookstore (4326 University Way) has a huge selection, while Fremont Place Books (621 N 35th Street) is a cozy little place with an interesting range of titles.
If you're planning an expedition into the beautiful wilderness around Seattle, you can get kitted out at the flagship REI (222 Yale Avenue N). There's everything you'll need for hiking, biking, rock climbing and skiing, and you can even hire stuff, so you won't have to drag it all back home with you.
Bamboozle your friends by getting them an eccentric souvenir from Archie McPhee (2428 NW Market Street). Of course, eccentric is a relative term, but squirrel underpants (which, apparently, are also suitable for hamsters, frogs and gerbils) and inflatable fruitcakes should qualify as eccentric by most standards. If you plan to visit this bazaar of the bizarre you should note that Archie's is set to move to the corner of North 45th Street and Stone Way North, in Wallingford, some time next year.
Where to stay | What to see | Where to be seen | Where to eat | Where to shop |
......................
Do you agree with our Seattle picks? Send us your comments and suggestions in the "Sound Off" box below and we'll print the best.
|
[
"where is this located?",
"Downtown is the place for what?",
"Where are chain stores?",
"what do they sell?",
"Does Seattle have bookshops?"
] |
[
"Seattle",
"to pick up all manner of fresh local produce, as well as handmade crafts, jewelry, antiques and paintings.",
"downtown,",
"handmade crafts, jewelry, antiques and paintings.",
"numerous independent books stores."
] |
question: where is this located?, answer: Seattle | question: Downtown is the place for what?, answer: to pick up all manner of fresh local produce, as well as handmade crafts, jewelry, antiques and paintings. | question: Where are chain stores?, answer: downtown, | question: what do they sell?, answer: handmade crafts, jewelry, antiques and paintings. | question: Does Seattle have bookshops?, answer: numerous independent books stores.
|
(CNN) -- More than nuclear bomb tests, the suicide of former South Korean president Roh Moo-Hyun has stunned the South Korean public. While the news has shocked the nation, perhaps the level of surprise at the method wasn't as great.
The suicide of former president Roh has shocked South Korea.
In a country with one of the highest suicide rates among economically advanced countries, traditional concepts of honor and public "face" remain powerful social forces.
According to World Health Organization figures, rates of suicide in South Korea doubled to 21.9 deaths per 100,000 people between 1996 and 2006. The United Nations cites that 90 percent of suicide cases were caused by mental disorders, but socio-cultural and economic pressures play a large part.
While each case of suicide has a number of complex personal issues, the connection between suicide and honor has a historical basis in many Asian countries.
"There are cultural histories in Asian societies of honorable suicide, such as hara-kiri in Japan, where the person assumes total responsibility," said Dr. Erminia Colucci, research fellow at the University of Melbourne's School of Population Health.
"In many western countries, a suicide in someone of Roh's position might be more about looking for understanding. In collectivist societies, like Japan and Korea, where a person's identity is more tied closely to other groups, suicides can be seen as the ultimate way to rebuild or reclean your image, if it changes."
"I think there is something paradoxical in it. On one hand, some see it as a way of maintaining status and restoring honor to you and the people you represent, but the pressure from that group could contribute to you considering suicide."
Roh was under investigation for corruption and some believe the pressures he felt just became too great.
"Roh had come to power as a human rights lawyer, as an uneducated outsider pledging to clean up Korean politics, so it was particularly hard on him to have what he stood for and the reality of what happened under his administration. I think that was particularly hard for him to take," David King, director of the Korean Studies Institute at the University of Southern California told CNN. Watch more on the rise and fall of Roh
In a suicide note to his family, Roh described his life as "difficult" and was sorry for making "too many people suffer." Roh had said he was ashamed about the scandal and in the first round of questioning, he said he was losing face and that he was disappointing his supporters.
In South Korea, Roh is the latest and highest profile of recent suicides of public figures. In late 2008, two South Korean actors took their lives. Police cited malicious online rumors as a possible cause for the suicide of Cho Jin-sil in October 2008. The blogs and chat rooms had speculated that she had been pressuring fellow actor Ahn Jae-hwan to repay a debt before he took his own life in September 2008. Video: How South Korean continue mourning »
High-profile suicides can make for lurid headlines, which Dr Paul Yip, director of the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong, believes are far from helpful in combating suicide rates.
"Common in Asia is to sensationalize suicides, especially among celebrities. Often the local or national media publish lots of details of how it was done. The media (in Hong Kong) has got better in their responsible reporting," he said.
"Whenever famous people kill themselves there is an effect on those people who are most vulnerable from a similar age group -- we see this in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan and China, " said Yip.
"People at risk can see Roh's death as an example and say, 'Well if he can do it, so can I'. Neither Roh nor any of the high-profile people who have committed suicide would have thought about this affect. There are a number of complex issues. There isn't just one that leads someone to take their life."
Copycat deaths
|
[
"What is a complex mix of issues?",
"What is honor and \"face?\"",
"concepts of what remain strong",
"What is the cause of these suicides?",
"what is a complex mix",
"What remain strong social forces in many Asian societies?",
"Who has a high suicide rate?",
"who has highest suicide rates"
] |
[
"\"People at risk can see Roh's death as an example and say, 'Well if he can do it, so can I'. Neither Roh nor any of the high-profile people who have committed suicide would have thought about this affect. There are a number of",
"traditional concepts",
"of honor and public \"face\"",
"caused by mental disorders, but socio-cultural and economic pressures play a large part.",
"each case of suicide",
"traditional concepts of honor and public \"face\"",
"South Korea.",
"South Korea."
] |
question: What is a complex mix of issues?, answer: "People at risk can see Roh's death as an example and say, 'Well if he can do it, so can I'. Neither Roh nor any of the high-profile people who have committed suicide would have thought about this affect. There are a number of | question: What is honor and "face?", answer: traditional concepts | question: concepts of what remain strong, answer: of honor and public "face" | question: What is the cause of these suicides?, answer: caused by mental disorders, but socio-cultural and economic pressures play a large part. | question: what is a complex mix, answer: each case of suicide | question: What remain strong social forces in many Asian societies?, answer: traditional concepts of honor and public "face" | question: Who has a high suicide rate?, answer: South Korea. | question: who has highest suicide rates, answer: South Korea.
|
(CNN) -- More than two dozen times in the past three years, authorities came to Phillip and Nancy Garrido's ramshackle home at 1554 Walnut Ave. in Antioch, California, a rural property where Jaycee Dugard is said to have been confined for 18 years.
Jaycee Dugard was locked in a shed tucked under a blue tarp in her alleged captor's backyard.
And each time, they left without learning of the secret shed where Dugard lived.
The Garridos have pleaded not guilty to charges of abduction and forcible rape. They are being held without bail in the Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez, California.
After she was abducted in June 1991, at age 11, Dugard's disappearance spawned a massive search that continued, on and off, for almost two decades. Federal agents remained committed to the case, chasing thousands of leads.
But they apparently never had the Garridos on their radar.
The case of the missing girl evoked deep emotions that rippled across the South Lake Tahoe community. Strangers threw fundraisers and parades to raise money for search efforts. Friends and neighbors wore T-shirts bearing images of Dugard's smiling face to give the case exposure. Elementary school students toted signs that encouraged the community to stay committed to the hunt for their classmate.
All they wanted was to find little Jaycee Lee Dugard.
And for some of that time, authorities were visiting the home of the couple now accused of abducting her. Watch an FBI agent talk about why clues were missed »
Interviews with public officials show that parole officers, law enforcement officials and firefighters visited the Garrido household but left without realizing that the kidnapped girl had grown to adulthood and was living in a soundproof shed hidden in the backyard.
Two Dozen Contacts
There were at least 16 visits from parole officers and seven by the fire department. There was also one by the sheriff's office responding to an allegation that people were living in the backyard. State and local authorities have now begun internal investigations to find out why none of these visits uncovered the existence of Dugard, now 29, and her children, Starlet, 15, and Angel, 11.
Their makeshift home of tents, tarps and sheds was tucked behind a 6-foot wall at the rear of the Garrido property.
"I feel confident the sheriff will use this as an example of how to do things better," said Federal Glover, a district supervisor for Contra Costa County who also heads the community's public safety committee. "From this lesson, we will not have this type of missed opportunity occur again."
One of the first red flags authorities might have caught was in 1993, two years after the kidnapping.
Garrido, who had been released from prison after serving 11 years for a 1976 kidnapping, violated his parole in April 1993. It is unclear what he did or how the violation was flagged. As a result, he was placed in federal prison for one month and then released on house arrest for three months. He returned to the Antioch home, where he lived with his wife and his elderly mother.
Violation Wasn't Reported to Nevada
But the parole violation was never reported to the state of Nevada, where the first kidnapping and rape had occurred, said Gail Powell, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Public Safety.
"The state of Nevada would have taken some action," Powell said. "I don't know what, but some action could have meant putting him back in prison, pulling him off parole."
In 1999, the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections agreed to take responsibility and authority for supervising Garrido's parole because he resided in that state.
Garrido's most recent parole agent visited the home at least twice a month since December, according to California corrections officials. Sometimes the visits were unannounced, said Gordon Hinkle, a department spokesman.
Parole officers also checked on Garrido frequently before 2008, Hinkle said, but he did not know how often or how many parole officers visited Garrido's residence.
The parole agent who most recently entered Garrido's backyard didn't notice any children
|
[
"Officials visited Garrido home more than two dozen times in?",
"Who did police visit?",
"Garrido violated?",
"Who checked up on Garrido at least twice a month?",
"Who did officials visit?",
"Phillip Garrido's parole officer checked up on him at least?",
"What number of times did they visit?",
"Garrido's parole officer checked on him how often?",
"How many times have officials visited Garrido home in the past three years?",
"Garrido's parole officer checked up on him how many times per month?",
"When did Garrido violate parole?",
"What year did he violate parole?",
"When did Garrido violate his parole?",
"Official have visited Garrido home more than two dozen times in the past how many years?"
] |
[
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"twice a month",
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"than two dozen",
"than two dozen",
"April 1993.",
"1993.",
"April 1993.",
"three"
] |
question: Officials visited Garrido home more than two dozen times in?, answer: the past three years, | question: Who did police visit?, answer: the Garrido household | question: Garrido violated?, answer: his parole | question: Who checked up on Garrido at least twice a month?, answer: most recent parole agent | question: Who did officials visit?, answer: Phillip and Nancy Garrido's | question: Phillip Garrido's parole officer checked up on him at least?, answer: twice a month | question: What number of times did they visit?, answer: than two dozen | question: Garrido's parole officer checked on him how often?, answer: than two dozen times | question: How many times have officials visited Garrido home in the past three years?, answer: than two dozen | question: Garrido's parole officer checked up on him how many times per month?, answer: than two dozen | question: When did Garrido violate parole?, answer: April 1993. | question: What year did he violate parole?, answer: 1993. | question: When did Garrido violate his parole?, answer: April 1993. | question: Official have visited Garrido home more than two dozen times in the past how many years?, answer: three
|
(CNN) -- More timely now than when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2008, "Sunshine Cleaning," an agreeable, midrange independent film, makes light work of heavy burdens.
Amy Adams gets to work cleaning up as Rose in the indie comedy "Sunshine Cleaning."
Sisters Rose (Amy Adams) and Norah (Emily Blunt) struggle with menial jobs and periods of unemployment. Together, they're also coping with the nasty emotional residue of their mom's long-ago suicide -- a trauma that is likely responsible for their current troubles. Self-esteem isn't a strong suit for either of them.
As "Sunshine Cleaning" dawns, they're both scraping by. If Norah is out of work before we've settled into our popcorn, she's not overly concerned by her situation. Rose, on the other hand, is desperate to graduate from cleaning other people's middle-class homes. It's not just that the humiliation of laundering for her old cheerleader team is getting her down; she needs the money to put her "difficult" kid (Jason Spevack) into the kind of school that will give him a chance.
It's Rose's married boyfriend -- and old high school sweetheart -- Mac (Steve Zahn) who spies a new niche for the sisters. A homicide detective, he's watching the cleaning crew bag the blown brains of a shotgun enthusiast when he overhears the proprietor of the building grousing about the "three grand" it's costing him. Granted, blood and intestinal juices aren't everybody's cup of tea, but that kind of return sure beats washing Mrs. Johansson's drapes for $30 an hour.
"CSM: Crime Scene Maid" isn't a job you're likely to find down at the employment office, but somebody must be doing the dirty work. Rose and Norah -- incorporated -- find that the stench takes some getting used to, and there's a whole new arsenal of cleaning fluids to master, but they get to work with a positive attitude and like to think they're doing their bit to put the world right.
From this unusual setup, the movie might have skewed in any number of ways. The sisters might have uncovered evidence of corruption and murder, for instance, perhaps implicating Mac?
"Sunshine Cleaning" is nowhere near so abrasive or generic as such a scenario. Written by Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeffs ("Sylvia"), it instead puts a sympathetic, gentle comic gloss on the characters' fundamentally forgivable foibles and imperfections.
Norah tracks down the daughter of one suicide (Mary Lynn Rajskub) to present her with mementos that should have been destined for the junkyard.
Blunt's edgy performance keeps us guessing. Norah's a bit of a flake, but she's animated by her anger and her rebellious streak. If she's hard to read, it's because she's still young and doesn't know herself yet.
Rose is easier to understand. She's determined to seize this chance to dig herself out of the hole and recapture the promise she used to see in herself. Adams has a knack for putting a brave face on things -- something about the way she tilts her chin up while her mouth goes in three directions at once. She keeps our rooting interest in Rose alive even when her choices seem misguided or naive.
A subplot concerning Rose's son bonding with Joe (Alan Arkin), the sisters' lovable but infuriating father (you know the kind: He buys bulk orders of shrimp off the back of a truck) tips us too far into the realm of indie quirk. The character is a useful sounding board, and an amusing grouch, but it's just about impossible to imagine this man bringing up these girls.
Ironically, for a movie that's marketed with the one-liner "Life's a messy business," Holley's script has been polished to within an inch of its life. Emotions are experienced most vividly when they're raw, but in "Sunshine Cleaning," feelings come filtered through neat-and-tidy grace notes.
|
[
"What do the sisters become?",
"Who is struggling?"
] |
[
"Rose (Amy Adams) and Norah (Emily Blunt) struggle with menial jobs and periods of unemployment.",
"Rose (Amy Adams) and Norah (Emily Blunt)"
] |
question: What do the sisters become?, answer: Rose (Amy Adams) and Norah (Emily Blunt) struggle with menial jobs and periods of unemployment. | question: Who is struggling?, answer: Rose (Amy Adams) and Norah (Emily Blunt)
|
(CNN) -- More timely now than when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2008, "Sunshine Cleaning," an agreeable, midrange independent film, makes light work of heavy burdens.
Amy Adams gets to work cleaning up as Rose in the indie comedy "Sunshine Cleaning."
Sisters Rose (Amy Adams) and Norah (Emily Blunt) struggle with menial jobs and periods of unemployment. Together, they're also coping with the nasty emotional residue of their mom's long-ago suicide -- a trauma that is likely responsible for their current troubles. Self-esteem isn't a strong suit for either of them.
As "Sunshine Cleaning" dawns, they're both scraping by. If Norah is out of work before we've settled into our popcorn, she's not overly concerned by her situation. Rose, on the other hand, is desperate to graduate from cleaning other people's middle-class homes. It's not just that the humiliation of laundering for her old cheerleader team is getting her down; she needs the money to put her "difficult" kid (Jason Spevack) into the kind of school that will give him a chance.
It's Rose's married boyfriend -- and old high school sweetheart -- Mac (Steve Zahn) who spies a new niche for the sisters. A homicide detective, he's watching the cleaning crew bag the blown brains of a shotgun enthusiast when he overhears the proprietor of the building grousing about the "three grand" it's costing him. Granted, blood and intestinal juices aren't everybody's cup of tea, but that kind of return sure beats washing Mrs. Johansson's drapes for $30 an hour.
"CSM: Crime Scene Maid" isn't a job you're likely to find down at the employment office, but somebody must be doing the dirty work. Rose and Norah -- incorporated -- find that the stench takes some getting used to, and there's a whole new arsenal of cleaning fluids to master, but they get to work with a positive attitude and like to think they're doing their bit to put the world right.
From this unusual setup, the movie might have skewed in any number of ways. The sisters might have uncovered evidence of corruption and murder, for instance, perhaps implicating Mac?
"Sunshine Cleaning" is nowhere near so abrasive or generic as such a scenario. Written by Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeffs ("Sylvia"), it instead puts a sympathetic, gentle comic gloss on the characters' fundamentally forgivable foibles and imperfections.
Norah tracks down the daughter of one suicide (Mary Lynn Rajskub) to present her with mementos that should have been destined for the junkyard.
Blunt's edgy performance keeps us guessing. Norah's a bit of a flake, but she's animated by her anger and her rebellious streak. If she's hard to read, it's because she's still young and doesn't know herself yet.
Rose is easier to understand. She's determined to seize this chance to dig herself out of the hole and recapture the promise she used to see in herself. Adams has a knack for putting a brave face on things -- something about the way she tilts her chin up while her mouth goes in three directions at once. She keeps our rooting interest in Rose alive even when her choices seem misguided or naive.
A subplot concerning Rose's son bonding with Joe (Alan Arkin), the sisters' lovable but infuriating father (you know the kind: He buys bulk orders of shrimp off the back of a truck) tips us too far into the realm of indie quirk. The character is a useful sounding board, and an amusing grouch, but it's just about impossible to imagine this man bringing up these girls.
Ironically, for a movie that's marketed with the one-liner "Life's a messy business," Holley's script has been polished to within an inch of its life. Emotions are experienced most vividly when they're raw, but in "Sunshine Cleaning," feelings come filtered through neat-and-tidy grace notes.
|
[
"What did the reviewer say?",
"Which movie presents feelings in neat-and-tidy packages?",
"Who are the struggling sisters?",
"How many sisters are there?",
"What is the name of the movie?",
"What is the name of the film?"
] |
[
"Cleaning,\" an agreeable, midrange independent film, makes light work of heavy burdens.",
"\"Sunshine Cleaning.\"",
"Norah (Emily Blunt)",
"Rose (Amy Adams) and Norah (Emily Blunt)",
"\"Sunshine Cleaning.\"",
"\"Sunshine Cleaning.\""
] |
question: What did the reviewer say?, answer: Cleaning," an agreeable, midrange independent film, makes light work of heavy burdens. | question: Which movie presents feelings in neat-and-tidy packages?, answer: "Sunshine Cleaning." | question: Who are the struggling sisters?, answer: Norah (Emily Blunt) | question: How many sisters are there?, answer: Rose (Amy Adams) and Norah (Emily Blunt) | question: What is the name of the movie?, answer: "Sunshine Cleaning." | question: What is the name of the film?, answer: "Sunshine Cleaning."
|
(CNN) -- Mormon leader Gordon B. Hinckley died Sunday night at age 97, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced.
Gordon B. Hinckley, 97, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died Sunday.
Hinckley had "been in failing health for some time and his passing is due to age," said church spokesman Bruce Olsen. "He was speaking in public as late as two to three weeks ago and had a full schedule in his office as late as last week."
Hinckley became president of the Salt Lake City-based church in 1995, at age 84, and had been a member of its top leadership since the 1960s. Mormon church presidents serve for life.
The church has about 13 million members worldwide and has experienced 5 percent annual growth in recent years.
He died about 7 p.m. Sunday with his family by his side, church officials said.
"His life was a true testament of service, and he had an abiding love for others," said U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and fellow Mormon. "His wit, wisdom, and exemplary leadership will be missed by not only members of our faith, but by people of all faiths throughout the world."
Hinckley married Marjorie Pay at the Salt Lake City temple in 1937. They had five children, 25 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren. Marjorie Hinckley died in 2004.
"I've been blessed so abundantly that I can never get over it," Hinckley told CNN's Larry King in 2004. "I just feel so richly blessed. I want to extend that to others, whenever I can."
Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Mormon church. President Bush awarded him a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004. Watch Hinckley receive medal, share his views »
According to a church statement, Hinckley was the most-traveled president in the church's history, visiting more than 60 countries. He also oversaw a massive temple-building program, doubling the number of temples worldwide to more than 100.
Hinckley spent 70 years working in the church and is considered the architect of its vast public relations network. He worked to defuse controversies over polygamy and to promote full inclusion of nonwhites.
Mormons believe the president of the church is a living prophet and apostle. They considered his words divinely inspired, including his views on homosexuality and the role of men and women in the home.
"We are not anti-gay. We are pro-family, let me put it that way," Hinckley told King in 2004. "We love these people and try to work with them and help them. We know they have a problem. We want to help them solve that problem."
In an earlier interview with King, Hinckley laid out his views on family structure.
"Put father at the head of the house again," he said. "A good father, who loves his wife and whose wife loves him, and whose children love him ... and let them grow together as good citizens of the land."
A church body known as the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles becomes its governing body upon the death of a president. It will choose a successor after Hinckley's funeral. No arrangements have been announced, Olsen said. E-mail to a friend
CNN's Matt Smith, Ed Payne and Ninette Sosa contributed to this story.
|
[
"What was Hinckley president of?",
"When did Hinckley become president of the church?",
"When did Hinckley die?",
"What church was Hinckley president of?",
"Who was by Hinckley's side?",
"Where is the church located?"
] |
[
"Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,",
"1995,",
"Sunday",
"of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,",
"his family",
"Salt Lake City-based"
] |
question: What was Hinckley president of?, answer: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, | question: When did Hinckley become president of the church?, answer: 1995, | question: When did Hinckley die?, answer: Sunday | question: What church was Hinckley president of?, answer: of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, | question: Who was by Hinckley's side?, answer: his family | question: Where is the church located?, answer: Salt Lake City-based
|
(CNN) -- Moroccans went to the polls Friday in the country's first parliamentary elections since adopting a new constitution following mass protests over unemployment and corruption.
Turnout in the North African country was 45%, the Interior Ministry said.
Both Parliament and the prime minister have greater powers under the new constitution, while the monarch's sway has been slightly lessened.
More than 300 international observers monitored the voting, alongside 3,500 Moroccan observers, the semiofficial Le Matin newspaper reported.
Morocco's moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) is expected to do well in the vote.
Lise Storm, senior lecturer in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter in England, told CNN the elections were important because "they are exciting for the first time."
After years in which the results have been predictable, this time more is at stake and the outcome may signal whether the population is happy with the monarchy or not, Storm said.
If people voted for the bloc of traditional loyalist parties, that would suggest they want to maintain the status quo, she said, whereas more votes for the PJD would signal a desire for greater change.
"We don't know who's going to win for once," she said.
Zeineb, 29, a business owner in Casablanca who would give only her first name, told CNN she did not expect a great deal to change as a result of the elections.
"I don't expect this to be a historical turn," she said. "I am waiting for real changes from the government. As long as parties controlled by the palace will be around, and Mounir Majidi, the king's private secretary, will dominate the economy, nothing will change for me."
She said the PJD's pledge to fight corruption was appealing but she does not subscribe to its ideology, so her vote was likely to go to the Socialist Union of Popular Forces as the "less bad" option.
Others were less motivated to use their ballot. "I am not going to vote for people who don't care about my fate," one taxi driver said. "Today, I am not going to the polls. I am staying home."
The elections were first set for September 2012, but they were rescheduled after negotiations between the Interior Ministry, which oversees elections, and some 20 political parties.
Under the constitutional changes approved in July, the country's prime minister must now be chosen from the party that wins the greatest number of votes, rather than King Mohammed VI selecting his own nominee for the job.
However, he is not obliged to choose the leader of the winning party, Storm said, which gives him more room to maneuver.
Also, the number of political parties involved means that a coalition government is almost inevitable, she said.
The PJD is more moderate than Turkey's governing Justice and Development Party or the Islamists who won power in Tunisian elections last month, Storm said.
The constitutional changes came after thousands of Moroccans took to the streets to demonstrate earlier this year, inspired by what became known as the Arab Spring.
The youth-based February 20 Movement called for jobs and an end to corruption its members say stems from royal cronies.
Economic reform is needed to create more jobs for the country's young people, particularly many university graduates who are unemployed, Storm said.
Journalist Aida Alami in Casablanca contributed to this report.
|
[
"What continent is Morocco on?",
"Turnout is what percent?",
"What year did the election happen?",
"What is this turnout percentage for?"
] |
[
"African",
"45%,",
"2012,",
"a new constitution"
] |
question: What continent is Morocco on?, answer: African | question: Turnout is what percent?, answer: 45%, | question: What year did the election happen?, answer: 2012, | question: What is this turnout percentage for?, answer: a new constitution
|
(CNN) -- Morocco's king asked the head of a moderate Islamist party to form a government Tuesday, state media said, after the party claimed victory in the country's first parliamentary elections since constitutional reforms this summer.
The Islamist Justice and Development Party, or PJD, is expected to form a coalition government after it won 107 of the 395 seats contested in Friday's vote.
King Mohammed VI appointed Abdelilah Benkirane, the party's secretary-general, as head of the new government Tuesday and asked him to form a Cabinet, the official news agency MAP reported.
Benkirane, a former managing director of three newspapers and a father of six, was elected secretary-general of the PJD in 2008, MAP says.
According to its website, the PJD previously participated in elections in 1997, 2002 and 2007. The party won 46 seats in 2007 and 42 in 2002, after taking just nine seats in 1997.
Lise Storm, senior lecturer in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter in England, said the PJD's result this time round constituted "remarkable progress -- much higher than anticipated by anyone, and also much, much better than any of the party's competitors."
The margin of victory for the PJD surprised many observers, she said, and suggests that those protesting against the country's governing elite in recent months are truly fed up.
"I think we are witnessing an Islamist wave in the Middle East, with so-called Islamist moderates winning not only in Turkey, but also in Tunisia and Morocco, and possibly also in Egypt," Storm said.
"It gives an indication of the sentiments of the general population in these countries, and (of) the state of the political opposition there too, as the Islamists in many cases have been the most visible opposition force, and the best organized too."
The PJD is more moderate than Turkey's governing Justice and Development Party or the Islamists who won power in Tunisian elections last month, Storm said.
The party's online mission statement lists three values -- authenticity, justice and development -- and makes little mention of Islam.
Authenticity "has to be consistent with our values, culture and civilization, with the incorporation and respect for the cultural, linguistic and ethnic groups, within the space of the Islamic brotherhood," the statement says.
Under the new constitution, approved by referendum in July, both Parliament and the prime minister have greater powers, while the monarch's sway has been slightly lessened.
The changes -- which mean the prime minister must now be chosen from the party that wins the greatest number of votes -- came after thousands of Moroccans took to the streets to demonstrate earlier this year, inspired by what became known as the Arab Spring.
The youth-based February 20 Movement called for jobs and an end to corruption its members say stems from royal cronies.
CNN's Saad Abedine contributed to this report.
|
[
"Who is the secretary-general?",
"How many seats did the Justice and Development Party win?",
"what is won 107 of 395 seats in Friday's election?",
"Who has been asked to form a Cabinet?"
] |
[
"Abdelilah Benkirane,",
"107",
"The Islamist Justice and Development Party,",
"Abdelilah Benkirane,"
] |
question: Who is the secretary-general?, answer: Abdelilah Benkirane, | question: How many seats did the Justice and Development Party win?, answer: 107 | question: what is won 107 of 395 seats in Friday's election?, answer: The Islamist Justice and Development Party, | question: Who has been asked to form a Cabinet?, answer: Abdelilah Benkirane,
|
(CNN) -- Most conservationists would agree that you should not interfere with mother nature. But there are exceptions to every rule.
Staff and tourists at Kapani Safari Lodge in Zambia were caught by surprise when a mother and baby elephant became trapped in mud.
Saying they couldn't just "stand by and watch them slowly die," what ensued was a dramatic rescue.
Together with the South Luangwa Conservation Society (SLCS) and the local wildlife authority, the team devised a plan to get the elephants out. The rest of the herd initially tried to help the screaming mother and baby escape, but they were stuck too deep.
Team managers from the conservation society slipped a rope around the baby and after a few attempts managed to pull her out of the muddy pit. The team says it took a lot of coaxing to get her out and on her feet though, adding that she "was terribly frightened and wouldn't leave her mum's side".
Getting the adult elephant out of the mud was a far more challenging task -- by the time the baby had been rescued, its mother was dehydrated and exhausted. But the SLCS team eventually pulled her out too, using a tractor and rope.
Staff at Kapani Lodge say it was "heart-warming to see how many local people joined in the efforts to free the two elephants... it was the happiest possible ending."
|
[
"Where were the Mother and baby elephant stuck?",
"What got stuck in the mud at the game lodge?",
"Who recued the elephants?",
"What was used to rescue the elephants?",
"Elephants were at risk of what?",
"What get stuck in a mud at game lodge in Zambia?",
"Who rescued the elephants?"
] |
[
"in mud.",
"a mother and baby elephant",
"South Luangwa Conservation Society (SLCS) and the local wildlife authority,",
"tractor and rope.",
"slowly die,\"",
"mother and baby elephant",
"Staff and tourists at Kapani Safari Lodge"
] |
question: Where were the Mother and baby elephant stuck?, answer: in mud. | question: What got stuck in the mud at the game lodge?, answer: a mother and baby elephant | question: Who recued the elephants?, answer: South Luangwa Conservation Society (SLCS) and the local wildlife authority, | question: What was used to rescue the elephants?, answer: tractor and rope. | question: Elephants were at risk of what?, answer: slowly die," | question: What get stuck in a mud at game lodge in Zambia?, answer: mother and baby elephant | question: Who rescued the elephants?, answer: Staff and tourists at Kapani Safari Lodge
|
(CNN) -- Most of us know we shouldn't be talking on a handheld cell phone while driving. But recent studies suggest that hands-free devices are just as dangerous on the road.
Studies suggest that talking on a hands-free cell phone while driving is just as dangerous as a handheld one.
Engaging in a phone conversation on a mobile device while driving distracts the brain and delays reaction times, experts said. Drivers are more likely to swerve between lanes, slow down and miss important signs.
"When you're on a call, even if both hands are on the wheel, your head is in the call," said Janet Froetscher, president of the National Safety Council, which in January urged legislators in all 50 states to pass laws prohibiting motorists from using cell phone devices.
A recent University of Utah study found that drivers engaging in a cell phone conversation on a headset were more likely to make errors behind the wheel than a driver talking to a front-seat passenger.
"It doesn't matter what kind of cell phone device they are using, because the impairments are so large," said University of Utah professor David Strayer, who used a high-tech driving simulator for his experiment.
Strayer's study, published in December, concluded that conversations with a front-seat passenger can actually mitigate accidents, because the passenger can help observe road conditions and warn the driver of possible hazards.
In Strayer's previous studies, he found driving while talking on a mobile device is "just as bad as driving drunk."
The risk of getting into a car accident while talking on a wireless device -- including headsets and vehicles with built-in communication systems -- is growing as the number of cell phone subscribers increases.
There are 270 million cell phone subscribers in the United States, up from 76 million in 1999, according to CTIA -- The Wireless Association, an organization representing the wireless communications industry.
In a survey by Nationwide Insurance, 80 percent of people admitted to talking on their cell phones while driving. About 45 percent of drivers said they have been hit or nearly hit by someone using a cell phone, according to Nationwide's survey, conducted in 2006.
Some experts said drivers talking on cell phones are four times more likely to get into a crash than those who don't talk on their phones behind the wheel.
One study from the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimated that 636,000 traffic accidents each year -- about 6 percent of all accidents -- are caused by drivers using their cell phones, resulting in an estimated 2,600 deaths.
Elderly and younger drivers are most at risk of getting into an accident when they talk on a mobile device while driving, said Arthur Kramer, a psychology professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
"I don't think legislation alone is the answer," Kramer said. "Education needs to go along with the legislation to encourage people that these are risky habits for yourself and for others."
There is no federal law against using handheld devices on the road, but six states and the District of Columbia have such laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a group that tracks legislative data trends. No states ban the use of hands-free or wireless communication devices, experts said.
Some private industries, such as trucking and bus companies, prohibit their employees from using cell phones on the road. Other states restrict teenagers from talking on cell phones while driving.
Anne Teigen, a policy specialist on transportation issues for the National Conference of State Legislatures, says states are moving to ban handheld cell phone use. Almost all states have debated the issue, but many governments are reluctant to pass restrictions because they say there isn't enough research.
They point out that talking on a mobile device isn't the only distraction. Other distractions, such as reaching for the glove compartment, changing the radio station or putting on makeup, also can cause accidents.
The popularity of smart phones equipped with Internet, text messaging and e-mail present drivers with even more distractions. Such new
|
[
"What amount of accidents are drivers on cell phones involved in?",
"What was the study about?",
"How many accidents are drivers on cell phones involved in?"
] |
[
"about 6 percent of all",
"talking on a hands-free cell phone while driving is just as dangerous as a handheld one.",
"636,000"
] |
question: What amount of accidents are drivers on cell phones involved in?, answer: about 6 percent of all | question: What was the study about?, answer: talking on a hands-free cell phone while driving is just as dangerous as a handheld one. | question: How many accidents are drivers on cell phones involved in?, answer: 636,000
|
(CNN) -- Motor Sport's governing body, the FIA, have formally confirmed the entry list for the 2010 Formula One season -- with potential newcomers US F1 omitted from the grid.
The financially-troubled team had asked the FIA if they could miss the first four races of the season in order to attract extra sponsorship, but have instead been told that they must re-apply if they are to be on the grid for the following season.
The official entry list shows 12 teams and 24 drivers -- two teams more than last season.
Three new teams are lining up -- Lotus, Virgin Racing and Hispania Racing -- with Toyota deciding to leave the sport.
There are also two team name changes. Last year's winning constructor's Brawn GP have been taken over by Mercedes, while BMW Sauber have reverted back to being the Sauber team, although they have to retain the BMW title for this season due to legal obligations.
Meanwhile, there is also no place on the grid for the proposed Serbian-backed Stefan GP team, who had been hoping to gain a late entry in place of US F1.
An official FIA statement read: "The US F1 Team have indicated they will not be in a position to participate in the 2010 FIA Formula One world championship.
"Having considered the various options, the FIA confirms it is not possible for a replacement team to be entered for the championship at this late stage.
"In the coming days the FIA will announce details of a new selection process to identify candidates to fill any vacancies existing at the start of the 2011 season."
US F1 have faced a race against time to have their car ready for the grid, after a number of sponsors opted to pull out the project.
Production of the car had been stopped with the team struggling to pay wages, resulting in a number of staff choosing to leave.
Team principal Ken Anderson is yet to comment on whether he will attempt to make the grid for the 2011 season.
The decision leaves Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez, who had already been offered a drive with US F1, without a team.
Tuesday also saw the final driver appointment confirmed, with Karun Chandhok becoming the second Indian to compete in the sport having been named by Hispania Racing.
The 26-year-old follows in the footsteps of Narain Karthikeyan, who had one season with Jordan in 2005.
There will be four world champions on the grid; Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, while 11 of the 24 drivers have experienced winning a grand prix.
Official 2010 Formula One grid:
1. Jenson Button GB McLaren Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton GB McLaren Mercedes
3. Michael Schumacher Ger Mercedes GP 4. Nico Rosberg Ger Mercedes GP 5. Sebastian Vettel Ger Red Bull Racing 6. Mark Webber Aus Red Bull Racing 7. Felipe Massa, Brz Ferrari 8. Fernando Alonso Sp Ferrari 9. Rubens Barrichello Brz Williams 10. Nico Hulkenberg Ger Williams 11. Robert Kubica, Pol Renault 12. Vitaly Petrov Rus Renault 13. Adrian Sutil Ger Force India 14. Vitantonio Liuzzi It Force India 15. Sebastien Buemi Swi Toro Rosso 16. Jaime Alguersuari Sp Toro Rosso 17. Jarno Trulli It Lotus Racing 18. Heikki Kovalainen Fin Lotus Racing 19. Karun Chandhok Ind Hispanic Racing 20. Bruno Senna Brz Hispanic Racing 21. Pedro de la Rosa Sp BMW Sauber 22. Kamui Kobayashi Jpn BMW Sauber 23. Timo Glock Ger Virgin Racing 24. Luca di Grassi Brz Virgin Racing
|
[
"who confirm entry list",
"for what year ?",
"who has been denied entry",
"Who was denied entry?",
"Who confrimed the entry list?"
] |
[
"FIA,",
"2010",
"Serbian-backed Stefan GP team,",
"Serbian-backed Stefan GP team,",
"Sport's governing body, the FIA,"
] |
question: who confirm entry list, answer: FIA, | question: for what year ?, answer: 2010 | question: who has been denied entry, answer: Serbian-backed Stefan GP team, | question: Who was denied entry?, answer: Serbian-backed Stefan GP team, | question: Who confrimed the entry list?, answer: Sport's governing body, the FIA,
|
(CNN) -- Motorsport's ruling body has officially approved a host of Formula One team name changes for the 2012 season.
Team Lotus, Lotus Renault and Virgin were all given permission to alter their names following a meeting of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile's F1 commission in Geneva last week.
CNN-sponsored Lotus will now be known as Caterham F1 from next year onwards, while Virgin will be renamed Marussia F1.
Russian carmaker Marussia Motors purchased a significant stake in Virgin in November 2010, and has had its logo present on the car throughout the 2011 season.
Renault will also undergo changes ahead of next year's campaign, changing the team's chassis name to Lotus.
The announcements mark the end of a two-year spell which has seen two teams race using the legendary name.
"We are very pleased that our chassis name change has been approved," team principal Eric Boullier told Renault's official website.
"We have said all along that, in the interests of the sport, it is important that we remove any ambiguity on this matter. It is also important that there are clearly identifiable teams on the grid.
"It is the start of another chapter for Enstone (the team's HQ), but not a whole new beginning. The team's history and experience will allow us to take up this challenge with a controlled and swift process. We're very much looking forward to 2012."
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel has already retained the 2011 world drivers' championship, with the Britain-based Austrian team having also clinched the constructors' title for the second year in a row.
The penultimate race of the campaign is on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, before the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on November 27.
|
[
"What will be Virgin Racing's new name?",
"who has approved name changes",
"who is responsible for this",
"What will be Team Lotus's new name?",
"what is being sponsored by cnn",
"Who approves the name changes?",
"what is going to be the new name from lotus renault"
] |
[
"Marussia F1.",
"Federation Internationale de l'Automobile's F1 commission",
"Federation Internationale de l'Automobile's F1 commission",
"Caterham F1",
"Lotus",
"ruling body",
"Caterham F1"
] |
question: What will be Virgin Racing's new name?, answer: Marussia F1. | question: who has approved name changes, answer: Federation Internationale de l'Automobile's F1 commission | question: who is responsible for this, answer: Federation Internationale de l'Automobile's F1 commission | question: What will be Team Lotus's new name?, answer: Caterham F1 | question: what is being sponsored by cnn, answer: Lotus | question: Who approves the name changes?, answer: ruling body | question: what is going to be the new name from lotus renault, answer: Caterham F1
|
(CNN) -- Mount Redoubt, the Alaskan volcano expected to erupt at any time, is getting a bit more edgy.
Dark areas show a mudflow from the peak of Mount Redoubt earlier this week.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory said in a statement Friday "volcanic tremor" has increased in "amplitude."
The activity on the 10,197-foot peak is "more energetic than that of the previous several days. However, it is still less vigorous than that observed last weekend," the observatory said.
Peter Cervelli, a research geophysicist with the observatory, told CNN that "every indication is that we're heading toward an eruption."
Cervelli said scientists don't know exactly when it will happen, but if it does happen, it could be days or weeks -- or even hours.
"I would not be surprised to see it erupt at anytime," Cervelli said. "We're going to know it when we see it." Learn more about Redoubt and its history »
Scientists raised the alert status Sunday to a "watch" level, the second-highest, based on seismic activity detected January 23.
The peak is about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, the state's most populous city.
Mount Redoubt last erupted nearly 20 years ago, in December 1989, and that eruption lasted until April 1990. Geologists think there could be an eruption "similar to or smaller than the one that occurred in 1989-90." PopSci.com: Predicting eruptions
That eruption spread ash in Kenai and Anchorage, where it disrupted air traffic operations. Cervelli said the ash plumes caused engine failure on a jet.
The 1989-90 eruption also spurred volcanic mudflows, or lahars, that flowed east down the Drift River. The ash fall was seen as far away as Fairbanks and the Yukon Territory border. PopSci.com: Prehistoric explosions wiped out ocean life -- and created petroleum
The observatory has set up a Web camera near the summit of the volcano and another within Cook Inlet. It plans to do continuous visual surveillance, measure gas output and analyze satellite and weather-radar data.
|
[
"When was the last eruption?",
"What is increasing in amplitude?",
"What size is the mount?",
"What does the observatory say?",
"where is Mount Redoubt situated?"
] |
[
"lasted until April 1990.",
"\"volcanic tremor\"",
"10,197-foot peak",
"The activity on the 10,197-foot peak is \"more energetic than that of the previous several days. However, it is still less vigorous than that observed last weekend,\"",
"100 miles southwest of Anchorage,"
] |
question: When was the last eruption?, answer: lasted until April 1990. | question: What is increasing in amplitude?, answer: "volcanic tremor" | question: What size is the mount?, answer: 10,197-foot peak | question: What does the observatory say?, answer: The activity on the 10,197-foot peak is "more energetic than that of the previous several days. However, it is still less vigorous than that observed last weekend," | question: where is Mount Redoubt situated?, answer: 100 miles southwest of Anchorage,
|
(CNN) -- Mourners gathered Saturday in a California church to remember slain Yale graduate student Annie Le, 24, whose body was found on the day she was to be married.
Yale student Annie Le's family said in a statement that "her laughter was infectious."
"You were born in my loving embrace," said Le's mother, Vivian Van Le, reading a poem she'd written in Vietnamese to those gathered for the funeral at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in El Dorado Hills, California.
Chris Le -- her son and Annie Le's brother -- provided a translation.
"The most wonderful gift that God had sent to me. ... You left life at too young an age, at the beginning of many great things. All the dreams and hopes of your future gone with you to your resting place," Vivian Van Le said, according to her son.
Le, a pharmacology graduate student, was last seen alive on September 8, the day she appeared in a surveillance video as she entered the four-story lab at 10 Amistad St., about 10 blocks from Yale University's campus.
Her body was found inside the basement wall of the building on September 12, the day she was to be married.
Authorities have charged Yale lab technician Raymond Clark, 24, with Le's murder. Bond has been set at $3 million, according to police. See timeline of case »
Vivian Van Le addressed her daughter's fiance, Jonathan Widawsky, on Saturday at the funeral, saying, "Even now, Annie is gone. But I still have you and love you very much, like my son, Christopher."
Widawsky is a graduate student in physics at Columbia University, according to Yale. Watch loved ones say goodbye to Le »
Monsignor James C. Kidder told the mourners that "the worth of Annie's life was not its length, it was its intensity of love."
Yale released a statement Friday, saying that a university memorial service would be held on October 12. The university is also establishing a scholarship in Le's memory.
It released a statement from her family, saying "Annie was loved by everyone who knew her and special to all those who came in contact with her. ... Her laughter was infectious and her goodness was ingenuous. ... We will always remember her beautiful smile, her fun-loving spirit, and the joy that she brought to us all."
|
[
"who was slain at yale",
"Where did the slain student study?",
"Who has been charged with the murder?",
"what did the mom say",
"Where are mourners gathering?",
"At what school did the victim study?",
"Where have mourners gathered?",
"who was charged",
"Who has been charged with the murder of Le?"
] |
[
"graduate student Annie",
"Yale",
"Yale lab technician Raymond Clark,",
"\"You were born in my loving embrace,\"",
"Holy Trinity Catholic Church in El Dorado Hills, California.",
"Yale",
"California church",
"Raymond Clark,",
"Yale lab technician Raymond Clark, 24,"
] |
question: who was slain at yale, answer: graduate student Annie | question: Where did the slain student study?, answer: Yale | question: Who has been charged with the murder?, answer: Yale lab technician Raymond Clark, | question: what did the mom say, answer: "You were born in my loving embrace," | question: Where are mourners gathering?, answer: Holy Trinity Catholic Church in El Dorado Hills, California. | question: At what school did the victim study?, answer: Yale | question: Where have mourners gathered?, answer: California church | question: who was charged, answer: Raymond Clark, | question: Who has been charged with the murder of Le?, answer: Yale lab technician Raymond Clark, 24,
|
(CNN) -- Mourners gathered Saturday to remember two California firefighters who died last month battling the largest fire in the history of Los Angeles County.
Capt. Ted Hall and firefighter Specialist Arnie Quinones died while seeking an escape route for their crew.
"We were all blessed by these two men, and we will continue to be blessed by their example and their spirit. Their deeds and their names live on," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told the crowd at Dodger Stadium.
"Ted Hall and Arnie Quinones, you are giants in my eyes and in the eyes of all Californians."
Hall, a captain, and Quinones, a firefighter specialist, were killed on August 30 when their vehicle slid down a steep embankment in Angeles National Forest.
Schwarzenegger said the two men were searching for an escape route for their crew, which included 55 inmates. The governor said Hall and Quinones had sheltered the crew in a cinder block dining hall.
"Everyone reached safety, except Ted and Arnie," he said. "We are humbled by their courage."
Firefighters are still fighting the blaze, which is 84 percent contained.
Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Frank Garrido said officials expected 15,000 uniformed firefighters and, including members of the public, as many as 40,000 people, CNN affiliate KTLA reported. No official attendance figures were immediately available
"Ted, trusty veteran, widely respected, hardcore firefighter; he was immersed in the fire service," said Dave Gillotte, of Los Angeles County Fire Fighters, Local 1014.
"Arnie, he knew no strangers," Gillotte said. "What a smile, what a family."
Vice President Joe Biden also spoke at the memorial, saying there was "very little that we can do today that is going to bring genuine solace to the empty void that the families are feeling."
Hall is survived by his wife, Katherine, and two sons, Randall, 21, and Steven, 20, as well as his parents. Quinones is survived by his wife, Loressa -- who is expecting the couple's first child within the next several weeks -- his mother, his brother and numerous nieces and nephews, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Biden said the men's wives "knew every time their husbands walked out the door to report for duty, they knew every time that it was a risk. ... but they supported their husbands' doing that job they loved."
He added, "It's above and beyond the call of duty when two fathers seeking to save a building full of people leave their own families behind, that's real courage.
"The only thing we can do for certain, is to promise and keep the promise, we will give the Teds and the Arnies all the support they need, the equipment they need, the capacity they need, for we owe you."
|
[
"Who reportedly expect up to 40,000?",
"What were they searching for?",
"How many do they expect to attend Dodger Stadium memorial?",
"Who offered condolences?",
"Who died on August 30?",
"Who offer condolences?",
"How many people are expected to attend the memorial?",
"Who died on August 30th?"
] |
[
"officials",
"an escape route",
"40,000 people,",
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger",
"Hall, a captain, and Quinones, a firefighter specialist,",
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger",
"40,000",
"Capt. Ted Hall and firefighter Specialist Arnie Quinones"
] |
question: Who reportedly expect up to 40,000?, answer: officials | question: What were they searching for?, answer: an escape route | question: How many do they expect to attend Dodger Stadium memorial?, answer: 40,000 people, | question: Who offered condolences?, answer: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger | question: Who died on August 30?, answer: Hall, a captain, and Quinones, a firefighter specialist, | question: Who offer condolences?, answer: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger | question: How many people are expected to attend the memorial?, answer: 40,000 | question: Who died on August 30th?, answer: Capt. Ted Hall and firefighter Specialist Arnie Quinones
|
(CNN) -- Mourners packed into a church in Illinois Monday to remember a woman whose death made headlines worldwide.
At the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel in Chicago, a funeral was held for Dawn Brancheau, a SeaWorld trainer who died last week after a killer whale dragged her underwater at Shamu Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
A memorial service for the 40-year-old will take place in Orlando, Florida, at a future date, according to the Blake Lamb Funeral Home.
Brancheau had wanted to be an animal trainer from the time she visited SeaWorld as a 9-year-old, her sister Diane Gross said last week.
"It was her dream job," Gross said. "She loved the animals like they were her own children. ... She loved what she did."
Brancheau was pulled underwater Wednesday at SeaWorld Orlando, when a 6-ton killer whale named Tilikum grabbed her ponytail. A source at SeaWorld said the whale dove deep underwater after seizing Brancheau. Trainers had to wrangle the animal into a smaller pool before they could retrieve her body about 40 minutes later.
The same whale was linked previously to two other human deaths.
Tilikum and two other whales were involved in the 1991 drowning of a trainer at a marine park in Victoria, British Columbia. The trainer fell into the whale tank at Sealand of the Pacific and was dragged underwater as park visitors watched.
In 1999, Tilikum was blamed for the death of a 27-year-old man whose body was found floating in a tank at SeaWorld, the apparent victim of the whale's "horseplay," authorities said then.
Labor Department spokesman Mike Wald said the safety and health agency is looking into whether Occupational Safety and Health Administration workplace standards were violated in Brancheau's death. The agency will complete a report within six months, he said.
If workplace infractions are found, OSHA will propose financial penalties, Wald said. If that happens, the company could accept the penalties and make needed workplace changes or appeal the penalties before an OSHA review commission.
Inspectors also are looking into the incident from an animal-welfare perspective, said David Sacks, an Agriculture Department spokesman.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service wants to know whether federal standards were violated in the exhibiting of warm-blooded mammals.
SeaWorld shows with killer whales resumed on Saturday.
|
[
"who's funeral did mourners pack?",
"where was she dragged under water?",
"Where did the Memorial services take place?",
"where was brancheau's funeral held?",
"what dragged her underwater?",
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"when did the animal trainer die?",
"What did the animal trainer die of?",
"when will memorial services be held?"
] |
[
"Dawn Brancheau,",
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"a killer whale",
"St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel in Chicago,",
"last week",
"killer whale dragged her underwater",
"at a future date,"
] |
question: who's funeral did mourners pack?, answer: Dawn Brancheau, | question: where was she dragged under water?, answer: Shamu Stadium in Orlando, Florida. | question: Where did the Memorial services take place?, answer: Orlando, Florida, | question: where was brancheau's funeral held?, answer: St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel in Chicago, | question: what dragged her underwater?, answer: a killer whale | question: Where did the funeral take place?, answer: St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel in Chicago, | question: when did the animal trainer die?, answer: last week | question: What did the animal trainer die of?, answer: killer whale dragged her underwater | question: when will memorial services be held?, answer: at a future date,
|
(CNN) -- Moussa Dadis Camara, the military leader of the West African nation of Guinea, was shot and wounded in an attack on his presidential convoy, an official said.
His "life is not in any danger," said the regime's minister of state for presidential affairs, Maj. Keletigui Faro. "The situation is under control."
The attack occurred on Thursday in Conakry, the nation's capital, Faro said.
It comes after increased pressure internally and internationally for Camara to hold, but not be a candidate in, elections in January. Camara, who seized power in a coup in December 2008, has given no indication that he will follow through with the elections.
In September an opposition demonstration was marred by violence, as the military fired on people gathered in the capital's national stadium. Human rights groups say at least 157 people were killed and many women were raped.
The military continues to crack down on opposition in the country, Amnesty International said in a newly released report.
"A climate of fear continues in Guinea," said the organization's Gaetan Mootoo. "The authorities can no longer turn a blind eye to the human rights violations committed by its security forces."
|
[
"What is the number of people killed?",
"What month did the coup occur?",
"How many people were killed?",
"Where did the attack occur?",
"When did the attack occur?",
"When did Camara seize power?",
"who stars in this attack"
] |
[
"157",
"December",
"157",
"Conakry,",
"Thursday",
"December 2008,",
"Dadis Camara,"
] |
question: What is the number of people killed?, answer: 157 | question: What month did the coup occur?, answer: December | question: How many people were killed?, answer: 157 | question: Where did the attack occur?, answer: Conakry, | question: When did the attack occur?, answer: Thursday | question: When did Camara seize power?, answer: December 2008, | question: who stars in this attack, answer: Dadis Camara,
|
(CNN) -- Move aside oom-pah bands.
The new Germany has no space for your lederhosen-clad image. And forget that dark German music scene promulgated by metal industrial bands like Rammstein. Here comes Madsen, a four-piece indie rock band with heart and high-energy live shows. They are one of the most popular new bands in Germany, with several top 10 hits.
Madsen is made up of brothers Sebastian, Johannes and Sascha Madsen and their friend Nico Maurer. They are touring the United States to promote the German language and their audience is mostly high school and college students like 10th grader Maya Dudley of Chamblee, Georgia. She saw the band in Athens on a field trip with her German class.
"Most of their songs sound like anything you would hear on the radio here," she says.
Their sound has been compared to Green Day and the band members claim Nirvana as one of their influences. Their lyrics are smart, fun and distinctly German.
"Our English isn't very good," said Madsen's lead singer, Sebastian Madsen, in his first interview in English. While he only has a slight accent, he's not ready to translate into English any of their more popular tunes like "Du schreibst Geschichte" (You Write History) or "Mein Herz bleibt hier (My Heart Stays Here)".
"It's more interesting to sing German in America, because it's a challenge for the people here," he says.
That's why the entire tour is sponsored by the German government, the European Recovery Program and others interested in promoting Germany's culture and language, such as the Goethe Institute.
"In the U.S., many German programs have been cut down," says the Goethe Institute's Bjoern Technau. German language education is being pushed out by other languages, like Mandarin Chinese, according to a 2009 survey by the Center of Applied Linguistics.
"We try to keep German on the screen, so to speak." Technau says.
The 12-city Madsen tour is supposed to help.
The band has been playing mostly in school auditoriums in the daytime. The audiences are American students who dance and sing along in perfect German. That's because they have studied the lyrics in class. The Goethe Institute developed lesson plans for German teachers around the band's songs.
"Mad about German -- Mad about Madsen" is the tag line for the U.S. tour. Besides getting kids interested in the language, Madsen wants to push out German music stereotypes one American auditorium at a time.
"German music still has the reputation of being somewhat dark," says Sebastian Madsen. "We want to counter this cliché and surprise our audiences."
One big surprise is that Madsen's live shows are just as energetic in a school auditorium as they are at a huge Berlin music festival.
"It doesn't matter if there are 10 people or 10,000, we always want to give a good show for everybody. That's very important to us," says drummer Sascha Madsen.
The last date on Madsen's U.S. concert tour will be November 18 in Denver.
|
[
"What is the group trying to do?",
"What is Madsen hoping to promote?",
"Where is the band Madsen from?",
"Who is sponsoring the tour ?",
"Where is Madsen touring?",
"Which rock band from Germany is touring the States?",
"What are they helping to promote?"
] |
[
"promote the German language",
"German language",
"Germany,",
"German government, the European Recovery Program and others interested in promoting Germany's culture",
"United States",
"Madsen",
"the German language"
] |
question: What is the group trying to do?, answer: promote the German language | question: What is Madsen hoping to promote?, answer: German language | question: Where is the band Madsen from?, answer: Germany, | question: Who is sponsoring the tour ?, answer: German government, the European Recovery Program and others interested in promoting Germany's culture | question: Where is Madsen touring?, answer: United States | question: Which rock band from Germany is touring the States?, answer: Madsen | question: What are they helping to promote?, answer: the German language
|
(CNN) -- Move over Wonder Woman and Lois Lane - Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin are breaking into the world of comic books.
No capes, no tights: Female Force stars Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Caroline Kennedy.
Washington-based publisher Bluewater Productions released a series of comic books featuring Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on March 11. The company says it has already sold 7,500 copies of each to distributors.
"We really want to show strong, independent, female role models in comics," said Darren Davis, president of Bluewater Productions.
Another company released comics about President Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain during the presidential election.
Then they decided that Hillary Clinton's story needed to be told.
"She was the first [major] female presidential candidate, so we just started with [her], and there was so much interest in it," said Jason Schultz, executive vice president of Bluewater Productions.
The first two issues in Female Force, already released, feature Clinton and Palin. The next two will feature Caroline Kennedy and First Lady Michelle Obama.
The Michelle Obama comic is expected to be released in April, and has pre-sold 28,000 copies.
The next set will feature other "strong, independent women" such as Princess Diana, Schultz said.
Comic fans approve of the idea.
"I think it just says, like, that women are important," one comic book fan told CNN.
Another added, "It shows that comics aren't just about guys in tights beating each other up -- it's about information, it's about understanding people a little better," said another reader.
Richard Laermer, CEO of a public relations firm and author of several books on marketing, said he's not surprised.
"We're in a very politically minded time right now," he said.
The creators expect to expand the comic book world to a larger demographic with the books.
"It's bringing a whole new demographic to comic books," Schultz said. "It just shows little girls, young women, that they can be anything they want," he added.
Mary Ellen Balchunis, an assistant professor of political science at La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania said "getting girls [interested in politics] at a younger age is brilliant."
"I think it's great that they're doing these comic books," Balchunis said. "In the past, women have shown a low level of political efficacy."
She said the choices are "fabulous," because "these are the women who are at the top of the totem pole right now."
Each comic will be biographical, Schultz said. "With Hillary, it starts with her life and ends up with her as Secretary of State."
"It would be fun to see how the superhero Hillary sort of pushes her way forth and shows people what she did in her life. To me that's just awesome," said Laermer.
Another professor of political science said the way the women are portrayed will be important.
"Comic books, by definition, are caricatures, but there are different ways of doing those caricatures," said Landon Storrs, an associate professor of history at the University of Houston.
"So it's a question of what the artists go for. If they just tap into familiar stereotypes, then they could reinforce negative ideas about powerful women, even as they are trying to do the opposite," she added.
The fact that real, living women are now in comic books is another barrier that Davis and Schultz have broken through, historian and author Trina Robbins said.
"It's about time. They've never done a major living woman," she said. "I think what's good is they're doing women in politics and not Paris Hilton."
LaNeice Collins reported from New York. Robyn Sidersky reported from Atlanta, Georgia.
|
[
"What is the name of the production?",
"who features \"strong, independent women\"?",
"What book will hit the stands?",
"who is featured in the first Female Force?",
"what is featuring real women of power?",
"Who says women are strong and independent?",
"What is going to hit the stands?"
] |
[
"Bluewater",
"Female Force",
"Female Force",
"Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Caroline Kennedy.",
"Female Force",
"Schultz",
"a series of comic books featuring Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin"
] |
question: What is the name of the production?, answer: Bluewater | question: who features "strong, independent women"?, answer: Female Force | question: What book will hit the stands?, answer: Female Force | question: who is featured in the first Female Force?, answer: Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Caroline Kennedy. | question: what is featuring real women of power?, answer: Female Force | question: Who says women are strong and independent?, answer: Schultz | question: What is going to hit the stands?, answer: a series of comic books featuring Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
|
(CNN) -- Move over, Cookie Monster. And pipe down, Oscar the Grouch.
There's a new muppet in town, and she's hungry.
Her name is Lily, and the newest member of the muppet pantheon symbolizes a serious social condition in today's recessionary era: nationwide hunger.
Colored pink and sporting long pigtails, Lily has been designed by Sesame Street to look like a 7-year-old girl.
Her character confronts a growing national struggle -- food insecurity. Her story offers an optimistic scenario of how the community at large is supporting her and her family.
Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Co. are introducing this new muppet in an hour-long special, "Growing Hope Against Hunger," Sunday on PBS.
In the special, Lily is prompted to make a revelation when one of the more popular muppets -- Elmo -- remarks that he "didn't know there were so many people who didn't have the food they needed."
Lily then confesses to him that she doesn't know where her next meal is coming from and that times can be difficult.
Food insecurity is defined as the lack of a consistent access to food for active, healthy lives, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The USDA says 14.5% of households were food insecure at least some time during 2010 and that 5.4% of households experienced very low food security the same year.
"Numerous studies suggest that children in food-insecure households have higher risks of health and development problem than children in otherwise similar food-secure households," the USDA says.
The Great Recession, which set off a wave of layoffs and plummeting home values, left many families without access to adequate food.
Since 2001, the number of households receiving emergency food has grown steadily, according to the USDA. The most significant increase took place between 2007 and 2009 -- during the recession -- when the number of households making use of food pantries rose from 3.9 million to 5.6 million, an increase of 44%, according to the USDA.
Sesame Street really wanted to convey the scope of the problem, a spokeswoman said.
Many children whose families suffer food insecurity are part of the program's target audience, said Rocio Galarza, senior director for content and outreach at the Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street.
"We made very specific choices for this characters so it conveyed the message that anyone could be going through this," Galarza said. "It could be your neighbor, could be part of your family sometimes. The character is going through this with her family but is benefiting from the support of her entire community."
This isn't the first Sesame Street muppet with a social message: The show has previously featured Jesse, whose father passed away, as a character dealing with the issue of grief. Sesame Street in South Africa also has an HIV-positive muppet named Tammy.
|
[
"What are Lily and her family dealing with?",
"What color is the muppet?",
"What does USDA say?",
"What are they dealing with?"
] |
[
"food insecurity.",
"pink",
"14.5% of households were food insecure at least some time during 2010",
"nationwide hunger."
] |
question: What are Lily and her family dealing with?, answer: food insecurity. | question: What color is the muppet?, answer: pink | question: What does USDA say?, answer: 14.5% of households were food insecure at least some time during 2010 | question: What are they dealing with?, answer: nationwide hunger.
|
(CNN) -- Move over, Edward Cullen.
Tell those bayou bloodsuckers from "True Blood" to step aside, too.
More than 112 years after he first climbed out of the coffin, the world's most famous vampire is back -- and he's bloodier than ever.
"Dracula the Un-Dead," released this month in the United States, is a sequel to Bram Stoker's 1897 classic written by Dacre Stoker, the original author's great-grandnephew.
The book, co-written by Dracula historian Ian Holt, picks up 25 years after the Victorian-era monster is supposedly killed in the original and is based in part on 125 pages of handwritten notes that Bram Stoker left behind.
But while many of the original characters are here -- troubled couple Jonathan and Mina Harker and vampire hunter Van Helsing among them -- the horror has gotten a 21st-century update. The sex and violence that Stoker deftly alluded to in the original are, at times, front and center in his descendant's sequel.
"You've got to keep in mind the perspective," said Dacre Stoker, a native of Montreal, Quebec, now living in Aiken, South Carolina. "The degree of sex and violence he had, in this very stuffy and conservative Victorian society, was cutting edge at the time. Even the exposure of a woman's flesh, the piercing of the flesh, was a metaphor for the sex act."
And with authors from Anne Rice and Charlaine Harris to Stephen King and Poppy Z. Brite having crafted their own, sometimes lurid, reworkings of the vampire legend, Stoker said he knew that the new book couldn't just be a straight continuation of the first.
"We've got to keep up with what other people are doing," he said. "Otherwise, our story would be toast."
Of all the books, movies and other tales to use Dracula's name throughout the decades, the novel is the first since the 1931 Bela Lugosi movie to have the Stoker family's endorsement and input.
After Bram's death, his widow, Florence, sold the story's rights, and eventually, the most iconic character in the history of horror slipped into the public domain.
Dacre said that before now, the only thing he'd ever received for his ancestor's work was the occasional Halloween wisecrack.
"We knew of the legacy of Bram Stoker, but as kids growing up in Montreal, it wasn't that big a deal," he said. "Every now and then at Halloween you'd get joked: 'Is it safe to come to the Stoker house? Are we going to get candy or bitten in the neck?' "
It was a college writing project that revived his interest in his novelist ancestor, a native of Dublin, Ireland, who'd moved to London, England, by the time the book was written.
Then, he was contacted by Holt in 2003. The historian said he wanted to work on a sequel and wanted to have a member of Stoker's family involved.
Along the way, they uncovered a rare find at the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Bram's own notes.
It wasn't a plot outline, Dacre said, "but what I did was find information, characters, little ideas -- plot threads that he had in mind 112 years ago that didn't make it into his story."
Among the seeds for new plotlines was Bram's mention of a police investigator who plays prominently in "Dracula the Un-Dead." Dacre said he'd always wondered at how the first book was full of murder but no police were involved.
The notes also prompted the inclusion of Jack the Ripper, whose gruesome exploits gripped London around the time the elder Stoker was writing his novel and who is believed by some historians to have helped shape its plot.
True fans of the vampire genre will find another historical figure they're likely familiar with gracing the book's pages and an even more unlikely appearance: Bram Stoker himself.
"Part of
|
[
"When was the original Dracula written?",
"What is the name of Stoker's descendant?",
"Who wrote Dracula the Un-Dead?",
"Who wrote \"Dracula the Un-Dead\"?",
"What supernatural creature features in the book?",
"The vampire tale is more what than the 1897 original?",
"What is more overt in \"Dracula the Un-Dead\"?"
] |
[
"1897",
"Dacre",
"Dacre Stoker,",
"Dacre Stoker,",
"\"Dracula",
"bloodier",
"sex and violence"
] |
question: When was the original Dracula written?, answer: 1897 | question: What is the name of Stoker's descendant?, answer: Dacre | question: Who wrote Dracula the Un-Dead?, answer: Dacre Stoker, | question: Who wrote "Dracula the Un-Dead"?, answer: Dacre Stoker, | question: What supernatural creature features in the book?, answer: "Dracula | question: The vampire tale is more what than the 1897 original?, answer: bloodier | question: What is more overt in "Dracula the Un-Dead"?, answer: sex and violence
|
(CNN) -- Move over, Emma. There's a new queen in town.
Isabella dethroned Emma as the top name for girls born last year, according to the Social Security Administration's annual list of most popular baby names, released Saturday.
Jacob, on the other hand, held on as the most popular boy's name for the 11th year in a row.
The Social Security Administration started compiling name lists in 1997. And as in years past, the influence of pop culture is reflected in the names picked for newborns.
The boy's name that rocketed up the list the fastest is Cullen -- the name of the lead character in the popular "Twilight" book series.
Cullen's girlfriend in the books is Bella, short for Isabella.
On the girls' side, the fastest riser is Maliyah, an altered version of the name of President Obama's daughter Malia -- which also is among the top 10 fast risers.
But parents are equally quick to drop celebrity-inspired names once they think the popularity is passe.
Among the biggest drops last year were Mylee and Miley, as in singer Miley Cyrus.
Also on the outs: Lindsay and Jonas (think actress Lindsay Lohan and the band Jonas Brothers).
Meanwhile, Barack continued to move up the list. Sixty-nine Baracks were born in 2009, the agency said.
As always, religious names retained their popularity -- even if some were somewhat unconventional.
Among the popular names are Nevaeh (heaven spelled backward) for girls, and Messiah for boys.
The 10 most popular girls' names, in order, are: Isabella, Emma, Olivia, Sophia, Ava, Emily, Madison, Abigail, Chloe and Mia.
The 10 most popular boys' name, also in order, are: Jacob, Ethan, Michael, Alexander, William, Joshua, Daniel, Jayden, Noah and Anthony.
|
[
"How long has Jacob been the top boy name?",
"What replaced Emma as the most popular name?",
"For how long has Jacob been the most popular boy name?",
"Who replaced Emma?",
"Which series inspired the popularity of the name Cullen?",
"What is the most popular boy name?",
"What names are on the way out?"
] |
[
"11th year in a row.",
"Isabella",
"11th year in a row.",
"Isabella",
"\"Twilight\"",
"Jacob,",
"Jonas"
] |
question: How long has Jacob been the top boy name?, answer: 11th year in a row. | question: What replaced Emma as the most popular name?, answer: Isabella | question: For how long has Jacob been the most popular boy name?, answer: 11th year in a row. | question: Who replaced Emma?, answer: Isabella | question: Which series inspired the popularity of the name Cullen?, answer: "Twilight" | question: What is the most popular boy name?, answer: Jacob, | question: What names are on the way out?, answer: Jonas
|
(CNN) -- Mr. Ravenblade, Mr. Xtreme, Dark Guardian and hundreds of others. Some with elaborate costumes, others with haphazardly stitched outfits, they are appearing on city streets worldwide watching over the populace like Superman watched over Metropolis and Batman over Gotham City.
Geist patrols the Rochester, Minnesota, area, with a group of like-minded and similarly dressed colleagues.
As people become disillusioned from financial woes and a downtrodden economy and look to put new purpose in their lives, everyday folks are taking on new personas to perform community service, help the homeless and even fight crime.
"The movement is growing," said Ben Goldman, a real-life superhero historian. Goldman, along with Chaim "Life" Lazaros and David "Civitron" Civitarese, runs the New York-based Web site Superheroes Anonymous as part of an initiative dedicated to organizing and making alliances with superhero groups.
According to Goldman, who goes by the moniker Cameraman because of his prowess in documenting the movement, economic troubles are spawning real life superheroes.
"A lot of them have gone through a sort of existential crisis and have had to discover who they are," Goldman said. People are starting to put value in what they can do rather than what they have, he said. "They realize that money is fleeting, it's in fact imaginary."
Estimates from the few groups that keep tabs put the worldwide total of real-life superheroes between 250 and 300. Goldman said the numbers were around 200 just last summer.
Mr. Ravenblade, laid off after a stint with a huge computer technology corporation, found inspiration for his new avocation a few years ago from an early morning incident in Walla Walla, Washington.
"I literally stepped into a woman's attempted rape/mugging," Mr. Ravenblade said. While details were lost in the fog of the fight, he remembers this much: "I did what I could," he said, adding that he stopped the crime and broke no laws. "And I realized after doing what I did, that people don't really look after people."
Public response to real-life superheroes has been mixed, according to Mr. Xtreme, who founded the Xtreme Justice League in San Diego, California.
"Sometimes it's been really positive with people saying, 'Woohoo, the superheroes are here,' and then the usual barrage, saying 'Oh, these guys are losers.' Other times people will look kind of freaked out, and then sometimes people just don't know what to think about us."
Like Peter Parker kept his Spider-Man identity from his editor boss, Mr. Extreme and Mr. Ravenblade have asked CNN editors to keep their identities secret.
The current superhero movement started a few years ago on MySpace, as people interested in comics and cool caped crusaders joined forces, Goldman said. It goes beyond the Guardian Angel citizen patrols of the early 1980s, as the real-life superheroes of today apply themselves to a broadly defined ethos of simply doing good works. Watch Crimson Fist help the homeless in Atlanta »
Chris Pollak, 24, of Brooklyn, New York, can attest to the appeal. "A lot more people are either following it or wanting to go out and do it," Pollack, who goes by the name Dark Guardian, said. By "do it," he means patrol the harrowing streets late at night.
"A lot of kids say they're real-life superheroes [on MySpace]," Mr. Ravenblade said. "But what are you doing? Being in front of a computer is not helping anybody."
Comic book legend Stan Lee, the brain behind heroes such as Spider-Man and the X-Men, said in his comic books doing good -- and availing one's self -- was indeed the calling card for superheroes.
"If somebody is committing a crime, if somebody is hurting some innocent person, that's when the superhero has to take over." See a photo gallery of some real-life superheroes »
"I think
|
[
"who is Ben Goldman?",
"What did Ben Goldman say?",
"What is growing?",
"who were creating super personas?",
"What are more people creating?"
] |
[
"a real-life superhero historian.",
"\"The movement is growing,\"",
"\"The movement",
"everyday folks are taking on new",
"new personas"
] |
question: who is Ben Goldman?, answer: a real-life superhero historian. | question: What did Ben Goldman say?, answer: "The movement is growing," | question: What is growing?, answer: "The movement | question: who were creating super personas?, answer: everyday folks are taking on new | question: What are more people creating?, answer: new personas
|
(CNN) -- Much has been written about the Obamas' marriage. The president and first lady have attested to the long and hard work it takes to stay involved and connected to each other while maintaining their separate identities.
Undoubtedly, sustaining a marriage is sometimes hard, as the first lady noted.
But the Obamas are an excellent example of how the fruits of marriage can be realized by those who are committed to reconciling their differences and "toughing it out."
The problem is that, today, too few couples are willing to make such a commitment. Ever since California became the first state to sanction no-fault divorce law 40 years ago, with every state in essence following suit -- some with certain stipulations -- the most fundamental thread in the fabric of our American values, the institution of marriage, has been unraveling.
Before I retired from the bench a few months ago, it was my job as a judge to sort through all the issues rising, in part, from the growing lack of reverence many Americans have for marriage. In court, I often saw humanity's worst behavior. I also dealt with teenage mothers, absentee fathers and parents who have never been married, often by choice.
I saw parents who didn't seem able or willing to connect their children's problems with their own failure to provide their children with the necessary road map to self-sufficiency and productivity. And these families didn't just show up in my courtroom. They exist everywhere.
The U.S. Marriage Index shows a dramatic decline in the health of marriage in recent decades. America is a society that requires its citizens to make choices and penalizes them, often harshly, for the wrong ones.
As a child grows up, the guideposts should be: finish school; become a productive citizen; marry a person you want to spend your life with; and, if you want, have children. In that order.
But many Americans are failing their children because they have already failed themselves. They often enter the court system with domestic problems and low-wage jobs, slim educational credentials and no life partners.
It broke my heart to see so many children raising babies before they are ready: young people who made no connection between the poverty and chaos in their lives and the choices they had made.
My options in addressing these problems from the bench were limited. The courtroom is seldom the stage at which social change takes place. By the time these cases appeared in court, so much damage had already been done.
What our society needs is a solution on the front end. We should begin by considering six points:
Let's stop glorifying single parenthood. Celebrity unwed parents like "Brangelina," Halle Berry and the late Michael Jackson make matrimony seem unimportant and suggest that having a baby as a single parent is "cool" and even easy.
Our children need a reality check. Many young people think that having a child means that they will finally have someone who will unconditionally love them. They don't consider, however, that babies do not and cannot love anyone but themselves, and they also take a tremendous amount of time, attention and resources.
Memo to single mothers by choice: When you decide to have a child alone in order to fulfill your deep need to parent, you may be deliberately substituting your emotional loss for that of your child, who will have to grow up without a father.
We need to respect the role of men as husbands and fathers when they do right by their families. Boys and girls need their fathers to love them and to model the sacrifice and commitment that bonds a married couple. Men who "man up" like this need our support and encouragement.
Our state legislatures should revisit no-fault divorce laws that allow one party to a marriage to opt out of it too easily.
Change now can result in change in the future. Although there are many success stories, children who grow up in single-parent families are less likely to enjoy the financial security, educational success and social skills of children living with
|
[
"What won't couples do?",
"What couple does Sears say exemplifies good marriage?",
"Who exemplifies a good marriag?",
"What do the obamas do?"
] |
[
"make such a commitment.",
"the Obamas",
"the Obamas",
"are an excellent example of how the fruits of marriage can be realized by those who are committed to reconciling their differences and \"toughing it out.\""
] |
question: What won't couples do?, answer: make such a commitment. | question: What couple does Sears say exemplifies good marriage?, answer: the Obamas | question: Who exemplifies a good marriag?, answer: the Obamas | question: What do the obamas do?, answer: are an excellent example of how the fruits of marriage can be realized by those who are committed to reconciling their differences and "toughing it out."
|
(CNN) -- Much of the Central Plains and Midwest braced for another day of potentially severe weather as residents of Oklahoma cleaned up from a deadly outbreak of tornadoes this week.
The National Weather Service said severe thunderstorms were possible Wednesday across large sections of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, as well as parts of Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.
The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, forecast an outbreak of powerful thunderstorms in the late afternoon and into the evening -- some with large hail.
The deadly storm system that swept through Oklahoma on Monday spawned multiple tornadoes and dropped softball-sized hail. Two people died and more than 100 people were treated for various injuries, the state Department of Emergency Management reported.
Gov. Brad Henry took an aerial tour of one of the hardest hit areas Tuesday afternoon.
"I lost track of the number of damaged and destroyed homes that we saw," Henry said. "Literally hundreds and, I think, thousands of homes have received damaged in these storms, and many, many of those homes have been destroyed.
"Even though central Oklahoma was the hardest hit, this storm really was a statewide event, and there is damage and destruction throughout the state," he said.
The governor said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano assured him "that FEMA would act very, very quickly on our request for a presidential disaster (declaration) and federal aid."
iReport: Are you there? Share photos, video
State emergency officials said more than 100 homes were destroyed and another 70 sustained major damage. Additionally, 43 businesses were destroyed.
|
[
"How long will the storm last?",
"when are expected to see severe weather?",
"How many homes were damaged?",
"What will happen in Oklahoma?",
"how many homes have been destroyed?",
"who is expected to see tough weather?"
] |
[
"late afternoon and into the evening",
"Wednesday",
"thousands",
"severe thunderstorms",
"more than 100",
"Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, as well as parts of Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana."
] |
question: How long will the storm last?, answer: late afternoon and into the evening | question: when are expected to see severe weather?, answer: Wednesday | question: How many homes were damaged?, answer: thousands | question: What will happen in Oklahoma?, answer: severe thunderstorms | question: how many homes have been destroyed?, answer: more than 100 | question: who is expected to see tough weather?, answer: Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, as well as parts of Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.
|
(CNN) -- Much of the United States was braced for severe winter weather on Monday, as a major storm hit California while an unrelated first round of wintry conditions snarled commutes in the Midwest.
The storm hitting California Monday afternoon was expected to affect weather across the country through Wednesday.
The wintry weather, caused by a weak disturbance over the Midwest, caused the deaths of three people in weather-related traffic accidents Sunday and Monday. The first two occurred Sunday in northern California, the area first hit by the weather.
A 14-year-old boy died on Interstate 80 about 11 a.m. Sunday when the truck he was traveling in skidded off the road on a steep snow-covered grade, said California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Jeanie Hoatson. A second person was killed on State Route 89 about 45 minutes later when the vehicle they were driving went out of control and collided with a second vehicle, she said.
In Indiana on Monday, a 21-year-old man died on Interstate 65, northwest of Indianapolis, state police said. The man was involved in one of two weather-related crashes on the road as snow fell, and was struck by a semitrailer truck when he stepped out of his car, Indiana State Police said.
Numerous traffic accidents were reported in states experiencing winter weather conditions as the disturbance moved across and into the Midwest, affecting Ohio and Wisconsin.
Forecasters warned that the approaching storm could cause widespread power outages through Wednesday and make travel nearly impossible in some areas. It may spread arctic air southward by midweek.
Some parts of Iowa could receive up to 10 inches of snow, according to CNN affiliate KCCI. The state already received up to 5 inches of snow from the disturbance Sunday.
Chicago, Illinois, received about an inch of snow through Monday morning, said CNN iReporter Alan Hawkins. The sun came out and began to melt the snow, but by late morning the sky was overcast again.
More cold temperatures and snow are forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday, he said. "Today's just kind of a taste of what we're going to get."
CNN iReporters in Kentucky and Indiana reported snow, but said it was melting as of late morning.
Is it snowing where you live? Send photos, video
Some snow also fell in mountainous areas of Arizona early Monday as the major storm moved in. Winter storm warnings stretched as far south as Tucson.
Blizzard warnings are in effect for parts of the central Rockies and the Mogollon Rim in Arizona, where up to 2 feet of snow and wind gusts of 50 mph could cause whiteouts, forecasters said.
Wind chills of 30 to 40 degrees below zero are forecast for the Midwest and the northern Plains, and afternoon temperatures may be in the single digits through Wednesday. The storm is forecast to intensify Monday as it strikes California and heads northeast toward the Rockies, forecasters said Sunday.
Winter storm warnings are in effect for the Sierra Range southward to the San Bernardino mountains in Southern California. The area was set to experience heavy snow on Monday, with up to 3 feet possible in the higher elevations.
Southern California may get wind gusts of 60 mph on Monday, which could damage trees, power lines and communication towers. Heavy rains were also forecast, triggering possibilities of mudslides and debris flows especially in burn areas.
The storm is expected to intensify Tuesday as it moves northeast into the Midwest and upper Great Lakes.
Winter storm watches are in effect for the regions, with blizzard conditions possible in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the storm will move into southern Canada as the coldest air of the season spills across the central United States, forecasters said.
Many temperatures will be below zero Thursday morning and daytime highs will struggle to make it out of the single digits across the upper Great Lakes, according to forecasters.
CNN's Sean Morris and Ashley Hayes contributed to this report.
|
[
"Where did a major storm hit?",
"what has hit California",
"What speeds were the winds?"
] |
[
"California",
"major storm",
"60 mph"
] |
question: Where did a major storm hit?, answer: California | question: what has hit California, answer: major storm | question: What speeds were the winds?, answer: 60 mph
|
(CNN) -- Much-needed rain fell across drought-stricken Texas on Sunday, offering relief but no end to what's been one of the state's driest years on record.
Some areas received more rain in a day than had fallen all summer.
Waco, Texas, where temperatures hit at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit 78 days this year, received 5.83 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Dallas got 1.37 inches of rain, while San Antonio received 3.06 inches -- a record for the date.
The weather service forecast rainfall amounts over the central and southern Plains of 1-3 inches per hour, with totals of more than 10 inches possible in some places by Monday morning.
"This should put a significant dent in the ongoing severe drought over portions of the area, but this amount of rain in a short period of time could also lead to possible flash flooding across northern Texas and Oklahoma," the weather service said.
It added that drought conditions are expected to persist because of the magnitude of the shortage.
With much of the state in an exceptional drought, Texas has been scarred by one of the worst fire seasons in memory.
Since wildfire season started in November, more than 3.8 million of the state's 167.5 million acres have burned in some 24,000 fires, according to the Texas Forest Service. Roughly 2,800 homes were destroyed.
"What the state needs is several widespread rainfall events over several months," the weather service said.
Heavy rains and slippery field conditions at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington forced the postponement Sunday of the second game of the American League Championship Series. Weather permitting, the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers will make up the game Monday afternoon.
CNN's Jacqui Jeras contributed to this report.
|
[
"When is the game postponed to?",
"What state has had one of the worst fire seasons?",
"What has scarred Texas?",
"When did the game get postponed until?",
"Is the drought expected to continue?",
"Texas has been marked by one of the worst seasons?",
"What is expected to persist?"
] |
[
"Monday afternoon.",
"Texas",
"one of the worst fire seasons",
"Monday afternoon.",
"drought conditions are expected to persist",
"fire",
"drought conditions"
] |
question: When is the game postponed to?, answer: Monday afternoon. | question: What state has had one of the worst fire seasons?, answer: Texas | question: What has scarred Texas?, answer: one of the worst fire seasons | question: When did the game get postponed until?, answer: Monday afternoon. | question: Is the drought expected to continue?, answer: drought conditions are expected to persist | question: Texas has been marked by one of the worst seasons?, answer: fire | question: What is expected to persist?, answer: drought conditions
|
(CNN) -- Muddy but unhurt, three University of Texas students emerged from a cramped cave complex in Austin, Texas, after a day-long search Sunday.
A rescuer at the entrance to Airman's Cave in Austin, Texas, Sunday.
Lt. Matt Cox, an Austin Fire Department spokesman, said the students -- two women and one man -- were reported missing early Sunday after a trip into Airman's Cave, about four miles south of the university's campus.
They were found about halfway down the 12,000-foot-long cave, which has few spaces big enough for an adult to stand upright and is explored primarily by experienced spelunkers.
The students were located shortly before 5 p.m. (6 p.m. ET), about 30 hours after they entered.
Their names were not released Sunday night.
A friend called 911 to report them missing at 5 a.m. The group had told friends to call 911 if they were not back by midnight Sunday, according to Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.
Earlier reports that four students were in the cave were incorrect, Cox said.
Authorities did not know Sunday evening why the students were in the cave for so long.
But Cox said it would have been easy even for experienced cavers to get lost in Airman's, which he compared to the roots of a tree.
"There are so many ways to go," he said. E-mail to a friend
|
[
"What is the distance the caves go on for?",
"What is the length of the cave in feet?",
"What size is the cave?",
"What city are the students from?",
"Who got trapped in this cave?",
"What university do the explorers attend?",
"Where are the cave explorers from?",
"What cave did the students explore?",
"What university where the students from"
] |
[
"12,000-foot-long",
"12,000-foot-long",
"12,000-foot-long",
"Austin,",
"three University of Texas students",
"of Texas",
"University of Texas",
"Airman's",
"of Texas"
] |
question: What is the distance the caves go on for?, answer: 12,000-foot-long | question: What is the length of the cave in feet?, answer: 12,000-foot-long | question: What size is the cave?, answer: 12,000-foot-long | question: What city are the students from?, answer: Austin, | question: Who got trapped in this cave?, answer: three University of Texas students | question: What university do the explorers attend?, answer: of Texas | question: Where are the cave explorers from?, answer: University of Texas | question: What cave did the students explore?, answer: Airman's | question: What university where the students from, answer: of Texas
|
(CNN) -- Muggles will have another opportunity to slip into Harry Potter's magical world at a new Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Universal Parks CEO Tom Williams promises the planned Southern California attraction will be "every bit as spectacular" as the first Harry Potter park, which opened in 2010 at Universal Orlando in Florida. That successful Harry Potter theme park will be significantly expanded, Williams also announced Tuesday.
Hogwarts Castle, which houses the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry featured in the "Harry Potter" series, will be the Hollywood park's centerpiece, as it is in Orlando. Details on the timing of the new park and expansion have not been released.
The new California park is likely to bring millions of tourist dollars.
"It's a huge win for the Los Angeles tourism industry," said Mark Liberman, CEO of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, in a statement.
The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. estimates the Harry Potter park will produce $147 million in spending in the county for every one million additional visitors to Universal Studios Hollywood.
The Orlando Harry Potter attraction's opening brought an immediate boost to Universal Orlando. Wizarding World's opening halfway through 2010 boosted overall paid admissions to Universal's Orlando parks by 20% in 2010 over 2009, according to financial documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
|
[
"Where did Harry Potter attraction?",
"What will be expanded?",
"where is a new Harry Potter theme park ?",
"Who owns the new park?",
"What is The existing park in Orlando ?",
"What park is planned?",
"What is the theme of the new park in Univeral Hollywood?",
"Where is Univeral Hollywood located?"
] |
[
"Universal Studios Hollywood.",
"Harry Potter theme park",
"Universal Studios Hollywood.",
"Universal",
"Wizarding World's",
"Wizarding",
"World of Harry Potter",
"Southern California"
] |
question: Where did Harry Potter attraction?, answer: Universal Studios Hollywood. | question: What will be expanded?, answer: Harry Potter theme park | question: where is a new Harry Potter theme park ?, answer: Universal Studios Hollywood. | question: Who owns the new park?, answer: Universal | question: What is The existing park in Orlando ?, answer: Wizarding World's | question: What park is planned?, answer: Wizarding | question: What is the theme of the new park in Univeral Hollywood?, answer: World of Harry Potter | question: Where is Univeral Hollywood located?, answer: Southern California
|
(CNN) -- Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Afghan Taliban commander whose capture was made public this week, is one of the most senior figures in the movement to be seized -- second only to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.
Baradar was Afghanistan's deputy defense minister when the Taliban controlled the country, according to the U.N. committee in charge of sanctions on al Qaeda and Taliban members.
In recent years, he has been a senior military commander and a member of the Taliban's governing Quetta Council, the committee said.
He has been "very much in control of the military operation in Afghanistan, responsible for appointing the commanders" on the ground, said M.J. Gohel, executive director of the Asia-Pacific Foundation, a think tank focusing on security.
"Baradar is known to have had a very close relationship with Osama bin Laden in the past," Gohel said. "If anyone would know where the senior leaders are of al Qaeda and the Taliban, then Baradar is someone who would be privy to that kind of information."
Afghanistan Crossroads blog: More on Baradar and the Taliban
It was critical to keep his capture secret at first, Gohel said. It is not clear exactly when he was detained in the Pakistani city of Karachi.
But Reva Bhalla, director of analysis at the Stratfor think tank, said she doubted he could lead the CIA straight to those who are most wanted.
"It's not like you have one guy, and that immediately opens the door to everyone else," she said, adding that the Taliban guard information carefully because the militant group knows its members could be captured.
Baradar was cagey about his contacts with his superior in an interview that Newsweek magazine said it conducted with him by e-mail last year.
Asked if he was "in direct contact with Mullah Omar," he responded, "Continuous contacts are not risk-free because of the situation. [But we] get his advice on important topics."
He appeared to consider the possibility of breaking ties between the Taliban and al Qaeda if it would get the Americans out of Afghanistan.
"Our decisions are made on the basis of our national interests," Baradar said, according to Newsweek.
He could be replaced by a more radical figure, said Rand Corp. analyst Arturo Munoz.
"Mullah Zakir is actually notorious because he was in Guantanamo for six years, and then he was released and immediately returned to Afghanistan and rejoined the Taliban," Munoz said.
"He left Guantanamo very much more radicalized, and I think Mullah Zakir is actually much more radical than Mullah Baradar, and much more dogmatic and much more in the al Qaeda mindset."
Stratfor's Bhalla said the capture could be important for what it shows about U.S.-Pakistani ties, regardless of its effects on the battlefield or the hunt for bin Laden.
"It's hard to believe that this will lead to this huge intelligence coup, but if the Pakistanis are shifting their mode of cooperating [with the United States] that is significant," Bhalla said.
"Pakistan didn't do this for free -- they are going to be asking for some very concrete concessions" from the United States, she said.
She noted reports that Baradar represented Omar in secret negotiations brokered by Saudi Arabia.
"Baradar is one of the main mediators," she said.
Pakistan's cooperation with the U.S. in capturing him may be its way of telling Washington to deal with Islamabad -- not Saudi Arabia -- if it wants to negotiate with the Afghan Taliban, she said.
"The Saudis have been very involved in back-channel talks, and Pakistan wants to show it is the only one that has the real leverage and intelligence to wield carrots and sticks," she said.
It is not clear that the Saudi-brokered talks are still going on.
"The Taliban leadership through Mullah Baradar engaged with the Saudis by conducting talks with Saudi intelligence chief, Muqrin," Mehlaqa Samdani of the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote last week.
"These talks came to
|
[
"Who is in control of military operations in Afghanistan?",
"who is mullah abdul ghani baradar?",
"Who was captured in Pakistan?",
"Who has had a close relationship with Osama bin Laden?",
"Who controls the military operation in Afghanistan?"
] |
[
"Mullah",
"the Afghan Taliban commander",
"Mullah",
"\"Baradar",
"Mullah"
] |
question: Who is in control of military operations in Afghanistan?, answer: Mullah | question: who is mullah abdul ghani baradar?, answer: the Afghan Taliban commander | question: Who was captured in Pakistan?, answer: Mullah | question: Who has had a close relationship with Osama bin Laden?, answer: "Baradar | question: Who controls the military operation in Afghanistan?, answer: Mullah
|
(CNN) -- Multiple Oscar winning film "Slumdog Millionaire" has brought the plight of India's slum dwellers to the rest of the world. But up to a million slum dwellers in the economic capital Mumbai are set for upheaval as the city is poised for a radical makeover
Dharavi, where parts of "Slumdog Millionaire" were filmed, is one of the largest slums in the world.
Five years after the regional government announced its intention to redevelop Dharavi, the vast Mumbai slum where parts of "Slumdog Millionaire" were filmed, developers are finally submitting their blueprints for the project.
Nineteen consortiums from around the world are vying to redevelop the 500-plus acres of land occupied by Dharavi and the bulldozers could move in within six months.
The scheme is the brainchild of Mukesh Mehta, an Indian architect who made his name in the U.S. His vision is to use private money to redevelop the slum and turn Mumbai into an international business destination.
"If effectively designed and well planned Dharavi could be not very different from London's Canary Wharf. If we plan creatively and bring in the best architects in the world we could create a new language of architecture and buildings for Mumbai," he told CNN.
What's novel about Mehta's plan is that rather than seeing a need to entice developers into slum regeneration, he views the land as a resource that developers will pay handsomely to get their hands on.
The plan is for developers to demolish the slum and build apartments on the site, which will be given free of charge to 57,000 families currently living in Dharavi. The incentive? For every 100 sq ft of apartment space the developers give away, they will get to build 133 sq ft of commercial space, which they can sell at market rates.
Back in 1997, it was Mehta who realized that Dharavi's location made it an asset. In the heart of Mumbai, Dharavi is connected by all three of the city's railway lines.
The two highways that link Mumbai to the rest of India both start nearby and just half a kilometer away is the Bandra Kurla complex, Mumbai's emerging financial hub, where land prices are astronomical.
Mehta estimates that the government could end up making $2 to $3 billion, the developers stand to make huge profits and Dharavi's residents will get real homes with running water. So why has the scheme taken 12 years to get off the ground?
Part of the problem is the word 'slum.' Dharavi is terribly overcrowded, with a chronic lack of clean water and a dearth of toilets. Sewage runs freely and the stench of feces is ever present.
But there is a real sense of community, the streets are buzzing with activity and thriving cottage industries, such as pottery and recycling workshops, operate from the ground floor of people's homes.
"The Dharavi redevelopment should not be thought of as just a housing project. Almost every house is involved with some kind of economic activity," says Sundar Burra, an advisor to the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Entrees, which has been campaigning for years to ensure Dharavi's residents don't lose out in the redevelopment.
Burra says it is essential that residents can continue to work from their homes in the new Dharavi, or they won't be able to afford the maintenance costs of their new apartments.
"If this is not considered, people will sell and the area will become gentrified. Even though new housing stock will be added to the city, the people for whom it is meant will not be able to benefit," he told CNN.
In June 2007, some 15,000 Dharavi residents marched against the proposals, which they felt benefited developers at their expense.
Mehta says planners have been listening to people's concerns. The new apartment buildings will incorporate communal spaces where residents can carry on their trades and thousands of businesses currently operating illegally in Dharavi will be legalized.
Following objections from residents, the floor space allocated to each family has been increased from 225 sq ft to 300 sq ft.
But not everyone in Dharavi stands to benefit. Many residents lease
|
[
"how many families will be rehoused?",
"what its one of the biggest slums?",
"What is Dharavi?"
] |
[
"57,000",
"Dharavi,",
"vast Mumbai slum"
] |
question: how many families will be rehoused?, answer: 57,000 | question: what its one of the biggest slums?, answer: Dharavi, | question: What is Dharavi?, answer: vast Mumbai slum
|
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