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Brussels , Belgium -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- European Union leaders named Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as the first `` president of Europe '' Thursday , edging out former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for a still-vaguely defined job . `` I did not seek this high position , and I did n't take any steps to achieve it , '' Van Rompuy said in accepting the job . `` But tonight , I take on this task with conviction and with enthusiasm . '' Van Rompuy , a 62-year-old , soft-spoken fan of Japanese poetry , will become the face of European Union and represent its 27 member nations at summits overseas . His conservative government took office in December 2008 . The Belgian is `` well known as a consensus builder , '' said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown , who added the selection was unanimous . And Jose Manuel Barroso , the president of the European Commission -- the executive arm of the EU -- called Van Rompuy 's selection `` a tribute to Belgium , '' the EU 's host country . '' I think the European Union also expressed its gratitude for the work of Belgium and the constant support that this country at the heart of Europe has given to our common project , '' he said . In his speech , Van Rompuy pledged to lead the EU through a process of `` dialogue , unity and action . '' `` A negotiation that ends with a defeated party is never a good negotiation , '' he said . `` As president of the council , I will listen carefully to everyone , and I will make sure that all deliberations turn into results for everyone . '' The presidency was created by the European Union 's Lisbon Treaty , which came into force this month after years of torturous negotiations . Van Rompuy will serve a two-and-a-half-year term , replacing the six-month presidency of the bloc that rotated among the heads of its member states . But while the EU prides itself on being a club of democracies , the process of choosing its new leader was far from transparent or open . The people of Europe are getting no say , not even through their parliamentarians . Van Rompuy 's new job was announced after a closed-door dinner for the EU 's heads of state and government . The Belgian defended the process , telling reporters the selection was made by leaders `` who were all democratically chosen . '' `` I was chosen on the basis of a treaty , '' he said . `` The treaty stipulates the procedure . The treaty was democratically approved by 27 member states . '' The EU leaders also named Catherine Ashton , a British trade commissioner and member of the House of Lords , as the union 's High Commissioner -- its equivalent of a foreign minister . Unlike Van Rompuy , who was chosen by leaders of the EU 's member states , Ashton must be confirmed by the European Parliament . Blair , who led Britain from 1997 to 2007 , is currently the EU 's Mideast envoy . He had been the early favorite for the presidency in recent weeks -- but Brown , his successor , realized that he lacked support among key decision-makers for new post , a Brown representative told CNN earlier . According his backers , who at first included French President Nicolas Sarkozy , he was just the sort of world-renowned figure to win attention for the EU and enable it to exercise its weight in world affairs . One Indian official told CNN before the announcement , `` If the EU chooses as its worldwide representative the prime minister of Belgium or Luxembourg , I am not sure our leaders will have the time to meet him . '' But others were soon arguing that Blair 's support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and his close alliance with former U.S. President George W. Bush made him a divisive figure in Europe . And as the one man who might have been able to take Britain into the European single currency , he had not even attempted to do so while he was Britain 's prime minister . Public backing from Italy 's Silvio Berlusconi , a joke figure to much of Europe and another Bush ally , did not help . Brown had realized earlier that Blair did not have enough support among key decision-makers to snag the new post , a Brown representative told CNN earlier . CNN Political Contributor Robin Oakley contributed to this report . | Belgian PM Herman Van Rompuy appointed first `` president of Europe , '' British PM Gordon Brown says . Tony Blair ruled out after his successor as UK PM realized Blair had insufficient support . President of EC will be first permanent chief of the European Council of Ministers . Selection conducted by heads of state and government , not by Europe 's parliamentarians . | [[38, 155], [724, 767], [732, 767], [774, 809], [11, 34], [158, 243], [2925, 2930], [2949, 3019], [3972, 4084], [1971, 2054], [2164, 2175], [2199, 2253]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Security was tightened in and around Kabul on Sunday with 7,000 additional police officers deployed ahead of Monday 's 89th observance of Afghanistan 's independence from Great Britain . An Afghan policeman stops a vehicle at a checkpoint in Kabul , where security has been tightened . Police were seen at newly established security checkpoints looking at every passing vehicle Sunday . Increased foot patrols were also apparent . An Interior Ministry official said it was the biggest police operation in Kabul in several months . Also on Sunday , dozens of Taliban militants were killed after they ambushed a convoy carrying supplies for NATO forces in southern Afghanistan , an Afghan official said . Five security forces who worked for a private company were killed in the attack , in Zabul province , said Gulab Shah Alikhail , the deputy governor . After the ambush , Afghan army forces were called in , Alikhail said . Alikhail put the militants ' death toll at 32 . On Saturday , a roadside bomb killed 10 Afghan police officers in Kandahar province , according to Police Chief Matiullah Khan . Khan blamed the Taliban and their al Qaeda associates for the attack . `` Who else is conducting this kind of cowardly acts except for the Taliban and al Qaeda people , '' he said . | Extra police deployed around Kabul ahead of independence celebrations . Dozens of Taliban militants killed Sunday after convoy ambushed . Roadside bomb kills 10 Afghan police officers in Kandahar province . Official blames Taliban and al Qaeda associates for attack on police . | [[77, 205], [555, 564], [567, 693], [992, 1003], [1006, 1075], [992, 1003], [1006, 1021], [1078, 1120], [696, 721], [1121, 1191]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Campus police at the University of South Florida were questioning two men in connection with back-to-back incidents on the school campus Monday . Police take a man into custody at the University of South Florida after receiving reports of a person with a bomb . Investigators were questioning one man following a report of an armed intruder , USF police Lt. Meg Ross said . And a second man was also being questioned following a report of a man carrying a large hunting knife and a puppy , she said . USF police asked the Tampa police 's bomb team to respond to the campus regarding a backpack belonging to man in the first incident , said Ross . No one was hurt , she said , and no shots were fired . `` We have someone we think may have been involved , '' Ross told CNN , `` but we have to investigate fully . '' `` We have not looked in his backpack , '' she added . `` We have the bomb squad on their way to look at that . '' Police received a report that a person armed with a bomb and a gun was in the area of the university 's library . Authorities later received a report of a subject on a bus in the area of the university 's Parking and Transportation Services , Ross said . `` We checked the area at the library , did not locate him , but then received a subsequent report of a subject on a bus , '' she said . The campus stayed on lockdown after police received a report almost immediately after taking the first man into custody of a man wearing a black tank top and a cowboy hat , carrying a knife and a black puppy . `` We 're questioning him , '' Ross said . `` We do not believe he is related to the first incident with the backpack . '' Text messages were sent out to 13,000 employees and 45,000 students to warn them after the first incident , and emergency sirens on campus also were activated , officials said . But Ross said that the campus had been given the all-clear , except for the shuttle-bus area -- where the first subject was taken into custody -- while Tampa Police examined the backpack . CNN 's Rich Phillips contributed to this report . | Campus police question 2 men after incidents on school campus Monday . Report of armed intruder on the University of South Florida campus in Tampa , Florida . Police received a report of person armed with bomb , gun near the library . USF police say no one was hurt , no shots were fired . | [[0, 15], [68, 164], [393, 506], [281, 359], [165, 280], [165, 171], [231, 280], [281, 359], [949, 1062], [979, 1062], [666, 681], [699, 720]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It 's not quite the achievement of a lunar landing , but astronaut Mike Massimino made Twitter history with a 139-character post to the micro-blogging site -- the first person to do so from space . A seven-member crew aboard space shuttle Atlantis is headed to the Hubble Space Telescope to make repairs . `` From orbit : Launch was awesome !! I am feeling great , working hard , & enjoying the magnificent views , the adventure of a lifetime has begun ! '' he wrote at 4:30 p.m. ET Tuesday . With the tweet , Massimino kept his promise to file updates from the space shuttle Atlantis as it readies to repair the Hubble Space Telescope . Massimino began tweeting in early April as he prepared for the mission . By early Wednesday , his Twitter feed , astro_mike , had more than 241,000 followers . Atlantis launched Monday afternoon with Massimino and six other crew members . It is NASA 's fifth and final repair visit to the Hubble . The crew was expected to arrive at the space telescope on Wednesday . Watch Atlantis launch for Hubble mission '' `` I 'm going to put my spacesuit on , next stop : Earth Orbit !! '' Massimino posted on Twitter on Monday morning before the launch . Ironically , another Twitter user , astromike , has tweets that are more down-to-earth : `` House-cleaning day . I dusted everything that has a horizontal surface , '' and `` Will make `` blender waffles '' when the girls wake up . From whole wheat kernels to waffles in 10 minutes ! '' Another astronaut , Mark Polansky , is posting Twitter updates as he prepares for the next planned space shuttle mission to the International Space Station . Polansky , who is tweeting as astro_127 , will be the commander of the mission , scheduled for June . | Astronaut becomes first person to post to Twitter from space . Mike Massimino tweets `` the adventure of a lifetime has begun '' Massimino , six others headed to Hubble Space Telescope to make repairs . | [[76, 174], [178, 216], [432, 471], [474, 476], [1135, 1203], [217, 324], [280, 324], [607, 656], [817, 895]] |
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The White House released the text Monday of a controversial back-to-school speech to students from President Obama . The uproar over President Obama 's back-to-school speech led the White House to release the transcript Monday . Many conservatives have expressed a fear that the address would be used to push a partisan political agenda . In the text of the speech , however , Obama avoids any mention of controversial political initiatives . He repeatedly urges students to work hard and stay in school . `` No matter what you want to do with your life , I guarantee that you 'll need an education to do it , '' he says . `` This is n't just important for your own life and your own future . What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country . '' The text of the 18-minute speech was posted on the White House Web site so people can read it before its scheduled Internet broadcast to schoolchildren Tuesday . Read text of Obama 's speech to students -LRB- pdf -RRB- . Some of the president 's critics have been adamantly opposed to the idea of an address by Obama to children . `` The president 's speeches tend to be -LSB- about -RSB- what 's wrong with the country and what can we do to fix it , '' said Bill Hogsett , a parent from Dallas , Texas . `` I believe this is the greatest country on Earth , and I try to teach that to my children . ... I do n't want them hearing that there 's a fundamental flaw with the country and the kids need to go forward to fix it . '' Hogsett , who spoke Monday shortly before Obama 's remarks were released , said he wanted to read the speech before making a final judgment . Amy Veasley , another parent from the Dallas area , said she was surprised by the controversy . `` The president of our country wants to call our students to action . I 'm not sure why parents would n't want their students to hear out the leader of our country , '' she said . A Baltimore , Maryland , teacher who asked not to be identified bemoaned the fact that the country has `` become so polarized that we believe that our president is an enemy and not our leader . '' During Bush 's presidency , she said , `` whether I disagreed or not , I still saw him as a leader . '' On Sunday , Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that parents who are threatening to keep their children home Tuesday to avoid Obama 's speech were being `` silly . '' Appearing on the CBS program `` Face the Nation , '' Duncan emphasized that it is up to school officials whether to include the speech in the day 's activities and that the message of the speech is simply to encourage children to finish school . `` That 's just silly , '' he said of anyone planning to have their kids stay home because of the speech . `` They can go to school . They can not watch . '' The speech is about `` the president challenging young people , '' Duncan asserted . Some school administrators have decided to show the president 's speech , but others will not . Watch CNN 's Ed Henry talk about school speech uproar '' Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty , a possible contender for the GOP 's 2012 presidential nomination , said Sunday that Obama 's speech would disrupt an already-hectic first day of school for many students . `` I think there 's concerns about the disruption , '' he said on CNN 's `` State of the Union , '' calling the scheduling of the speech a `` little ham-fisted '' by the White House . Watch school reject Obama 's speech on education '' `` There -LSB- are -RSB- also concerns about is this going to be done in an appropriate manner . I trust and hope that the White House will have a content that is not political and they 're not using the public school infrastructure for that purpose . '' Duncan , however , noted Obama 's speech is not unprecedented . President George H.W. Bush delivered a nationally televised speech to students from a Washington school in fall 1991 , encouraging them to say no to drugs and work hard . Read text of Bush 's speech to students -LRB- pdf -RRB- . In November 1988 , President Reagan delivered more politically charged remarks that were made available to students nationwide . Among other things , Reagan called taxes `` such a penalty on people that there 's no incentive for them to prosper ... because they have to give so much to the government . '' Read text of Reagan 's speech to students -LRB- pdf -RRB- . Some of the controversy over Obama 's speech involved a proposed lesson plan created by the Education Department to accompany the address . An initial version of the plan recommended that students draft letters to themselves discussing `` what they can do to help the president . '' The letters `` would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals , '' the plan stated . After pressure from conservatives , the White House distributed a revised version encouraging students to write letters about how they can `` achieve their short-term and long-term education goals . '' Duncan said Sunday that the passage was poorly worded . Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told `` Fox News Sunday '' that Obama 's speech is a good idea if the message is a positive one about completing school . `` It is good to have the president of the United States say to young people across America , ` Stay in school , study , and do your homework , ' '' Gingrich said . Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer last week accused Obama of trying to `` indoctrinate America 's children to his socialist agenda . '' `` Now that the White House got their hand in the cookie jar caught , they changed everything , '' he said Monday . After reading the text , he said , `` My kids will be watching the president 's speech , as I hope all kids will . '' CNN 's Lauren Kornreich and Rebecca Sinderbrand contributed to this story . | Speech posted on Web site Monday for parents , pundits to view . Obama says , `` No matter what you want to do ... you 'll need an education '' Secretary of Education Arne Duncan : `` Silly '' of parents to keep kids out of school . Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty : Speech could cause first-day `` disruption '' | [[817, 888], [586, 637], [2264, 2273], [2276, 2431], [2682, 2702], [2705, 2787], [3077, 3104], [3174, 3278]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- NASA said Friday it had discovered water on the moon , opening `` a new chapter '' that could allow for the development of a lunar space station . The discovery was announced by project scientist Anthony Colaprete at a midday news conference . `` I 'm here today to tell you that indeed , yes , we found water . And we did n't find just a little bit ; we found a significant amount '' -- about a dozen , two-gallon bucketfuls , he said , holding up several white plastic containers . The find is based on preliminary data collected when the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite , or LCROSS , intentionally crashed October 9 into the permanently shadowed region of Cabeus crater near the moon 's south pole . After the satellite struck , a rocket flew through the debris cloud , measuring the amount of water and providing a host of other data , Colaprete said . The project team concentrated on data from the satellite 's spectrometers , which provide the best information about the presence of water , Colaprete said . A spectrometer helps identify the composition of materials by examining light they emit or absorb . Although the goal of the $ 79 million mission was to determine whether there is water on the moon , discoveries in other areas are expected as studies progress , Colaprete and other scientists said at the briefing at NASA 's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field near San Francisco , California . `` The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the moon , '' the space agency said in a written statement shortly after the briefing began . Michael Wargo , chief lunar scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington , said the latest discovery also could unlock the mysteries of the solar system . He listed several options as sources for the water , including solar winds , comets , giant molecular clouds or even the moon itself through some kind of internal activity . The Earth also may have a role , Wargo said . `` If the water that was formed or deposited is billions of years old , these polar cold traps could hold a key to the history and evolution of the solar system , much as an ice core sample taken on Earth reveals ancient data , '' NASA said in its statement . `` In addition , water and other compounds represent potential resources that could sustain future lunar exploration . '' | NASA : Discovery could allow for development of lunar space station . Information comes from satellite mission to moon last month . Spokesman : `` Indeed , yes , we found water '' Discovery `` opens a new chapter in our understanding of the moon , '' agency says . | [[83, 101], [107, 165], [19, 71], [266, 267], [282, 305], [314, 330], [0, 15], [74, 101], [1449, 1515]] |
BOSTON , Massachusetts -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Everyone knows Boston is a city steeped in history , but on a steamy hot summer day , one of the best places to experience the city is from the ocean or the harbor . Codzilla boats zip passengers around Boston 's inner harbor . A new high-speed thrill ride called Codzilla -- a 70-foot turbocharged boat that makes 180-degree turns at close to 40 knots -LRB- 43 mph -RRB- -- takes passengers out of the inner harbor into the Atlantic . White-knuckled riders are tied down with seat belts but still hold on to the railings with one hand and cling to their belongings with the other so they do n't fly overboard . Teenage boys like Ben Whatley from Michigan think Codzilla is `` pretty cool . '' Younger brother Jeremy agrees while huddling with his grandmother . If you want both history and a boat ride , take one of Boston 's famous Duck Tours . Operated on amphibious vehicles from World War II , the tours take you through downtown historic Boston . Then the bus becomes a sea-going vessel , settling into the harbor for a short cruise . It 's a great way to see both sides of the city . When you get back on land , the New England Aquarium awaits with a `` Sharks and Rays '' exhibit that wraps up September 1 . It includes a large touch tank where visitors can pet stingrays and small sharks . Megan Moore , a visitor program specialist at the aquarium , is excited to teach people that most sharks are not scary . Out of the 900 different species of sharks and rays , Moore says , only 10 to 15 have ever been known to attack a human , mostly because they confuse people with food . Sea dragons , jellyfish and harbor seals are among the other sea creatures on display at the aquarium . If you 'd rather see animals in their own habitat , you can board a whale watch tour at the harbor just outside the aquarium . Tours take about three hours on a high-speed catamaran to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary . It 's been a protected area since 1992 and is a rich feeding ground for all kinds of marine life . Tour operators guarantee whale sightings on every excursion . Visitors this year are seeing large numbers of humpback , fin and even endangered right whales . There are also lots of dolphins , seals and sea birds . Finally , to experience Boston in a historic way , head to the Public Garden and take a peaceful 20-minute glide in a Swan Boat . The boats have been an important part of the garden every spring and summer since 1877 . Operator and owner Lyn Paget 's great-grandfather got the idea for the first boat from the opera Lohengrin , in which a prince rescues his princess in a boat drawn by a swan . Paget calls the experience `` magical '' because the world speeds ahead but the Swan Boats never change . `` We have generations of people that have passed through here . When you come down with a friend , or child or a grandchild , their experience is going to be the same that it was for you , and there are n't too many places where you can do that anymore , '' Paget said . Fran Fifis is a senior producer who has worked in CNN 's Boston bureau since it opened in 1998 . | Boston 's harbor and ocean attractions are great choices for summer visitors . Codzilla turbo boat rides take passengers out of the inner harbor into the Atlantic . Swan Boats have been operating in Boston Public Garden since 1877 . | [[99, 125], [128, 207], [270, 314], [417, 433], [2412, 2500]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Juventus have sacked coach Ciro Ferrara after a string of poor results and have installed Alberto Zaccheroni in the hot seat until the end of the season . Ferrara 's position has been threatened after a dismal run which has seen them slip out of contention in the Serie A title race as well as being eliminated from the Champions League at the group stages . Thursday 's 2-1 Coppa Italia defeat to Italian champions Inter Milan proved the final straw and the club released a statement to confirm his departure and Zaccheroni 's arrival . `` Zaccheroni will take over the team immediately and will guide this afternoon 's training session in Vinovo before being officially unveiled to the media , '' it read . Ferrara joined Juve late last season and steered the Turin powerhouses to second place in Serie A behind Inter . But his first full campaign in charge proved challenging after a promising start to the season . The Bianconeri have lost five of their last six games in Serie A and have slumped to sixth in the standings , four points behind Napoli , who hold the last Champions League qualifying spot . Zaccheroni will hope to get them on track with his first game against Lazio on Sunday . The 56-year-old has coached at a number of leading Serie A clubs and helped AC Milan to the 1999 Italian title , but it is his first job since being sacked by Torino in February 2007 . Ferrara , a former Italy international and Juventus defender , was given the reins despite his lack of experience , succeeding current Roma coach Claudio Ranieri , who was fired . Zaccheroni 's appointment ends , for now , media speculation that Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez would take charge at Juve , but the short-term nature of his contract until June raises questions about the permanence of his stay . Benitez acknowledged the speculation in his weekly press conference on Friday . `` I am focused on preparing my team for the game against Bolton . I know they -LRB- Juventus -RRB- were interested , that is part of the game now in football , but I am not ready to talk too much because I do n't want to lose my focus . `` When you are a manager and you have clubs asking -LRB- for you -RRB- , you have to be proud because they are a top side in Europe , but I am really happy here and want to do my job as best I can . '' | Juventus sack coach Ciro Ferrara after a string of poor results in Serie A and Europe . Ferrari replaced by former Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni until the end of the season . Juventus have slipped to sixth in Serie A after losing five of their last six games . Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has also been linked to the Turin giants . | [[16, 89], [214, 232], [239, 318], [0, 15], [19, 27], [82, 173], [214, 232], [239, 318], [938, 1002], [938, 952], [1001, 1045], [1648, 1706]] |
NEW YORK -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Prodding Israel and the Palestinian Authority to restart talks aimed at a permanent resolution of their decades-old conflict , President Obama dropped a demand for an Israeli settlement freeze , U.S. , Israeli and Palestinian officials said . Benjamin Netanyahu , left , President Obama and Mahmoud Abbas . `` Simply put , it is past time to talk about starting negotiations . It is time to move forward , '' Obama told reporters before a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . `` It is time to show the flexibility and common sense and sense of compromise that is necessary to achieve our goals , '' Obama said . Obama first met separately with Netanyahu and Abbas on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in what he called `` frank and productive '' talks . The session was the first among the three leaders since Obama took office in January . George Mitchell , Obama 's envoy for the Middle East , attended Tuesday 's talks . He said the talks were `` at all times cordial , '' but `` direct '' and sometimes `` blunt . '' Obama told Abbas and Netanyahu that , `` The only reason to hold public office is to get things done , '' and that everyone `` must take risks for peace , '' Mitchell said . Mitchell told reporters the U.S. is `` not identifying any issue as being a precondition or an impediment to negotiation . '' But the United States and Israel have publicly disagreed on Israeli plans to build more housing on land the Palestinians regard as theirs . Previous Obama administration demands for a freeze have been ignored by the Netanyahu government . Watch Netanyahu address peace , settlements '' Abbas has so far rejected resuming talks with Israel until the Jewish state halts all settlement building in the occupied West Bank and in predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem . Arab states also have balked at the U.S. request to take confidence-building measures toward Israel until Israel freezes settlement construction . Sitting with Netanyahu and Abbas , Obama softened his regular language on a settlement `` freeze , '' saying that Israel has had meaningful discussions about `` restraining '' settlement activity . `` But they need to translate these discussions into real action on this and other issues , '' he said . `` Obama told Abbas that he could n't get the settlement freeze and promised to keep trying , but that it should n't be a condition for talks and it was time to move on , '' one Palestinian aide to Abbas said . Several U.S. officials said that Obama told Abbas that although the U.S. believe a settlement freeze would create a better atmosphere for talks to begin , the lack of one should not be used an as excuse not to talk . `` Let 's not have the perfect be the enemy of the good , '' Obama told Abbas , according to the officials . Watch Obama : ` We have to find a way forward ' '' `` It 's been apparent for some time that the Israelis were going to fall short of what is necessary on the settlement freeze , '' one senior U.S. official said . `` But our view is let 's get to negotiations and settlements will be addressed within those final status issues '' A senior Israeli diplomat said Israel agreed to not building any new settlements , no outward expansion of existing growth and to only build for `` natural '' growth within existing settlements . He said Israel also agreed not to encourage Israelis to move to settlements , which would increase the population . `` A complete settlement freeze was n't physically or politically possible , especially in the absence of any Arab or Palestinian concessions , '' the Israeli diplomat said . `` There was a time the gaps had significantly narrowed , but now they were starting to widen . The administration recognized , rather than have them widen further , we should start negotiating . '' The Palestinian aide to Abbas said Obama 's failure to secure a settlement freeze has weakened him in the eyes of the Palestinian delegation , because it casts doubt on his ability to move Israel during final status negotiations . The Palestinians did win an important point , however , with Obama making clear that the peace talks would not start from scratch , which Netanyahu had favored . Rather the talks would take into account progress made in previous negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians , the sources said . The Israeli diplomat said that Israel would `` take into account '' the previous negotiations , but stressed his country 's longstanding position that `` nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to . '' Obama also addressed Abbas ' desire to have the terms for negotiations more clearly defined , asking Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to come to Washington next week for further talks . Next week 's talks , to be led by George Mitchell , will center on what issues will be addressed at negotiations , which will present the U.S. with its next big challenge . Palestinians want negotiations to resolve the `` final status '' issues of the conflict , such as borders , Jerusalem and the right of return for Palestinian refugees . Israel wants to begin with talks on a `` provisional '' Palestinian state . | NEW : Israel agrees to some limits on West Bank settlement growth . `` It is past time to talk about starting negotiations , '' President Obama says . Obama meets separately , then jointly , with Netanyahu and Abbas . Meetings come as hopes for renewed Israeli-Palestinian talks have dimmed . | [[3234, 3398], [351, 404], [684, 699], [3094, 3148], [3856, 3885], [434, 563], [700, 797]] |
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Four U.S. soldiers have been charged with cruelty and maltreatment of four subordinates in Iraq after a suicide investigation brought to light alleged wrongdoing , the military said Friday . There is no confirmed evidence that the suicide , which involved a fifth subordinate in the unit , was a result of any mistreatment , said Lt. Col. Kevin Olson , a spokesman for Multi-National Division-South , who said the military is looking into that possibility . Charges were brought Wednesday against three sergeants and a specialist with the 13th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Bliss , Texas , accusing them of engaging in `` verbal abuse , physical punishment and ridicule of subordinates , '' according to Olson . He described the physical punishment as falling into the category of `` undue calisthenics . '' `` Accusations of cruelty and maltreatment are taken very seriously , and we will investigate this isolated incident thoroughly , '' said Brig. Gen. David Elicerio , deputy commanding general for Multi-National Division-South . Olson said the Army does not believe the maltreatment of subordinates went beyond the soldiers ' unit . The four were identified as : . All four soldiers have been removed from their unit . Olson said Army officials have spoken to the four subordinate soldiers and are offering them any help they need . The suicide investigation began on August 4 , Olson said . On that day , a Defense Department news release said that Pvt. Keiffer P. Wilhelm , 19 , of Plymouth , Ohio , died in Iraq of injuries sustained from a noncombat-related incident . He was assigned to a unit from the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss , the release said . | Suicide probe uncovers alleged wrongdoing in Iraq , U.S. military says . Four soldiers charged with cruelty and maltreatment of four subordinates . Spokesman says there 's no confirmed evidence alleged actions led to suicide . Allegations include verbal abuse , physical punishment . | [[30, 155], [132, 191], [30, 155], [488, 590], [488, 495], [619, 714], [488, 495], [619, 714]] |
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It was the U.S. government 's version of the ticker in New York 's Times Square , blasting Havana 's main seaside strip with anti-Cuba slogans in 5-foot high crimson letters . It symbolized the tit-for-tat diplomatic row between Washington and Havana . Cuban flags flutter in front of the U.S. interests section building in Havana in 2007 . But the ticker at the top of the U.S. interests section in Cuba has gone blank , yet another signal the past half-century of animosity between the two countries is easing . State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the ticker was turned off in June because it was not considered `` effective '' as a means of delivering information to the Cuban people . The scrolling electronic sign , fitted across 25 windows of the U.S. interests section , ran quotes from American heroes , such as Martin Luther King 's `` I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up , '' and Abraham Lincoln 's `` No man is good enough to govern another man without that other 's consent . '' It also streamed news and political messages that blamed Cuba 's everyday problems on the communist regime led by Fidel Castro and the island 's socialist economy . The island 's transportation woes , for example , were the topics of jabs such as , `` Some go around in Mercedes , some in -LRB- Russian-built -RRB- Ladas , but the system forces almost everyone to hitch rides . '' The sign -- erected in 2006 by the Bush administration and billed as a way to circumvent censorship and , the administration said , offer hope and freedom to Cubans oppressed by a brutal regime -- fueled a propaganda war with Fidel Castro , who referred to the U.S. interests section as `` the headquarters of the counterrevolution . '' Calling the ticker an assault on Cuba 's sovereignty by an imperialist bully , an infuriated Fidel Castro marched 1 million Cubans past the interests section in protest , dug up the U.S. mission 's parking lot and blocked the ticker by erecting anti-U.S. billboards and 138 huge black flags to commemorate victims of so-called U.S. aggression . He promised there would be no contact between U.S.-based diplomats in Havana and Cuba 's foreign ministry until the sign came down . Fidel 's brother Raul Castro , who now rules Cuba , took down the anti-U.S. billboards this year as ties between the two countries improved . In April , President Obama lifted restrictions on Cuban-Americans traveling to the island and sending remittances to relatives there . And this month , U.S. and Cuban diplomats held their first talks since 2003 on Cuban migration to the United States . The State Department 's Kelly acknowledged most Cubans could n't read the ticker because of the counter-propaganda erected by the Cubans . The `` dueling billboards , '' Kelly said , were not promoting a productive U.S.-Cuba relationship . Kelly said measures also announced by Obama in April to allow U.S. cell-phone networks and other telecommunication technology to operate on the island would do more to allow a free flow of information to the Cuban people . | Sign 's deactivation comes as relations between U.S. , Cuba improve . Electronic sign was put on U.S. interests section building in Havana in 2006 . Sign ran quotes from U.S. heroes , blasted Cuban government 's policies . Cuba erected billboards to block the sign ; billboards were taken down this year . | [[1425, 1433], [1437, 1479], [725, 811], [814, 845], [1044, 1046], [1052, 1150], [2240, 2256], [2292, 2336], [2727, 2773]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- On February 12 , 2009 , Christopher Savoie received an e-mail from his ex-wife that he had feared would come . Christopher Savoie is in jail in Japan after trying to get back his son , Isaac , and daughter , Rebecca . About a month after their bitter divorce , in which Noriko Savoie promised as part of the agreement she would n't return to Japan with their children to live , she threatened to do just that . `` It 's very difficult to watch kids becoming American and losing Japanese identity , '' Noriko Savoie wrote her ex-husband in the e-mail , according to Tennessee court documents . `` I am at the edge of the cliff . I can not hold it anymore if you keep bothering me . '' Now she is in Japan with the children . Christopher Savoie sits in a Japanese jail accused of trying to kidnap them . He practically predicted it would end this way . The couple , citizens of the United States and Japan , were married for 14 years and lived in Japan . But they came to the United States with 8-year-old Isaac and 6-year-old Rebecca . They divorced in January 2009 after Christopher Savoie was unfaithful . Noriko Savoie was given custody of the children and agreed to remain in the United States . During the divorce , Christopher Savoie was concerned that his ex-wife would move to Japan with the children . After receiving the threatening e-mail , he went to court to try to prevent that . He pleaded with a judge in March to stop Noriko Savoie from being able to travel to Japan for summer vacation . He knew if she took the children to Japan to live the deck would be stacked against him . Japanese law would recognize Noriko Savoie as the primary custodian and he might never see his children again . Noriko Savoie told a judge the words in her e-mail were in the heat of the moment ; she was angry that her ex-husband had just married the woman who caused their marriage to end . `` I was very , very -- at the peak of my frustration ... '' Noriko Savoie told a judge , according to court transcripts . `` He actually married three days before that e-mail . He remarried the person -- a woman whom he was having affair -LSB- with -RSB- , so I was very depressed and -- but also angry . '' Noriko Savoie was asked repeatedly in court if she would try to take the children and flee to Japan . Her answer was always no . `` I have never thought about taking children away from their father , never , '' she told the judge . Christopher Savoie did n't believe her . Their divorce had been rocky , both of them said . The court documents reveal bitter fights and mediations during the divorce . The two accused each other of sending harassing e-mails . They also fought over sending the kids to baseball , Scouts and other activities . Noriko Savoie accused him of not giving her enough money to take English language lessons or go to school so she could get a job . He accused her of not trying hard enough to enroll or find a place to live . Dad paid ex-wife $ 800K in divorce '' Despite those issues , Christopher Savoie said his only concern was making sure he would n't be separated from his children . He knew trying to get the kids back would be `` a futile effort '' if Noriko Savoie did flee with the children , according to court documents . He laid out in court a scenario similar to what he is facing . `` If she were to go to Japan with the children and with primary custodial rights , there 's pretty much no doubt that I would have a very difficult time enforcing my rights to visitation should Noriko decide not to let the children see me , '' he said . He said he 'd have a hard time paying expensive legal fees because most of his money was tied up in his house , car and 401 -LRB- k -RRB- after he gave Noriko Savoie more than $ 700,000 as part of the divorce settlement . With that money , he feared she 'd be able to move and hide the children from him . When appointed parental coordinators asked her if she planned to take the children to Japan , she hesitated and simply answered `` I think the kids will be happy if I 'm happy . '' The judge asked Noriko Savoie rhetorically whether she would be willing to put up money , essentially a bond , to ensure she 'd return from Japan . She agreed , but was never asked to do so . Judge James G. Martin III warned Noriko Savoie she would lose her alimony , education funds and other money if she fled with the children , before ruling that he believed she would n't abscond with them and allowed her to travel to Japan . Noriko Savoie followed the court 's rules and took the children on vacation and returned during the required time to the United States . But days later , she took the children back to Japan . The court in the United States granted Christopher Savoie full custody after Noriko Savoie fled the country . But that court order means nothing in Japan , where courts generally favor mothers in custody disputes . The couple is also still considered married in Japan , because they never divorced there , Japanese police said Wednesday . And , police said , the children are Japanese and have Japanese passports . A 1980 Hague Convention standardized laws on international child abduction , but Japan is not a party to that agreement . Christopher Savoie knew all this when he decided this week to go to Japan to get his children back . He took the children as Noriko Savoie walked them to school Monday in Yanagawa , a rural town in southern Japan . He headed for the nearest U.S. consulate , in the city of Fukuoka on the Southern island of Kyushu , to try to obtain passports for the children , screaming at the guards to let him in the compound . He was steps away from the front gate but still standing on Japanese soil when he was arrested . Christopher Savoie , who will be in jail for the next 10 days while Japanese officials sort out the situation , told CNN 's Kyung Lah that he was scared and just wanted to see his children . `` I love you , Isaac , Rebecca , '' he said . `` Your daddy loves you forever . I 'll be patient and strong until the day comes that I can see you both again . I am very sorry that I ca n't be with you . '' Though he had warned everyone this was going to happen , this time he could speak in certainties . He said that though he knows it might be a tough battle , it 's one he will continue to vocalize . `` I want Americans to know what 's happening to me , '' Christopher Savoie said in Japanese . `` I did n't do anything wrong . '' | After bitter divorce , Noriko Savoie threatened in e-mail to take kids back to Japan . Dad pleaded with judge not to allow ex-wife to go to Japan , fearing she might stay . Noriko Savoie said repeatedly in court she would n't take kids away from dad . Christopher Savoie now in jail in Japan after trying to get kids back from mother . | [[43, 129], [1218, 1236], [1239, 1328], [3897, 3943], [3947, 3988], [1218, 1236], [1239, 1328], [1329, 1367], [1370, 1411], [1412, 1523], [1412, 1414], [1428, 1435], [1445, 1523], [130, 201], [130, 148], [169, 224], [743, 785]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Who would open one of the world 's biggest casinos in the depths of a global recession ? Big city dreams : Lawrence Ho 's business portfolio in Hong Kong and Macau is growing . Answer : Lawrence Ho , the scion of a casino business mogul who has clearly inherited his father 's love of a calculated risk . Ho 's father Stanley is a man synonymous with the creation of Macau as the world 's biggest gambling destination . `` Over the past 40 years he has put his thumbprints all over Macau . I think if you look at the major infrastructure projects , whether it 's the airport , the ferry terminals , he was involved in building up a lot of those , '' Lawrence Ho told CNN . But in opening City of Dreams in Macau earlier this year , Ho is trying to carve his own niche and continue to build up his own business empire . `` I think gone are the days when you can open a property and ` Bang ! ' you would steal significant market share from others , '' he told CNN . `` Before we opened we were , like the rest of the world , a little bit wary of the timing , but I think in hindsight the world economies are doing a lot better and Macau has seen its first year-on-year increase in July and August was a booming month . So I think all in all we could n't be happier . '' Ho 's company , Melco-Crown Entertainment , is independent from his father 's huge portfolio of businesses and the multibillion dollar City of Dreams project is a partnership with Australian James Packer , himself the son of a media tycoon . Ho is respectful of his ailing father 's achievements and the advantages that the family name has given him , but also the desire it fostered to forge his own success . `` The bigger the shadow the more we can feel the underdog syndrome . ... being his son opened many doors , but at the same time I grew up in a very big family with our own issues , but all in all certainly being his son has helped a great deal , '' he said . There are no worries about interference from the mainland -- `` I suspect that China definitely wants -LSB- Macau and Hong Kong -RSB- to do well '' -- and Ho remains positive that Asia will see the quickest recovery from the downturn . `` A lot of the Asian countries and economies have handled the -LSB- economic -RSB- crisis this time a lot better than the Asian financial crisis 10 years ago , '' he said . `` So I think , all in all , Asia has managed to come out of this much quicker than the rest of the world . And really when people are feeling better they travel and they spend more , and you know we are in the business of providing leisure and entertainment . '' | Son of Stanley Ho , business tycoon who built up former-Portuguese colony of Macau . Lawrence Ho recently open multi-billion dollar City of Dreams complex in Macau . Believes he can carve a slice of action from the Asian gambling city . | [[324, 336], [345, 438], [696, 748], [751, 837]] |
London , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A woman 's body was found in a river in Wales , police said Tuesday , the second death from severe flooding that has hit England and Wales since late last week . The body of the woman , who was not named , was found in the River Usk near the village of Talybont , in mid Wales close to the coast , Brecon police said . Search teams had been looking for her since Sunday . Talybont is about 250 miles south of Cockermouth , England , which has experienced some of the worst flooding seen in decades . Friday , parts of Cockermouth were under several feet of water after heavy rainfall the night before . The town sits at the intersection of two rivers , the Cocker and the Derwent , both of which burst their banks and raged through the town . By Tuesday , the flood waters had receded and the clean-up and damage assessment was well under way . But rain was still falling over the entire region , raising fears of further flooding in some areas . Britain 's Environment Agency said river levels across the county of Cumbria remained high but are unlikely to rise to levels seen last week . Twenty road bridges in Cumbria were closed Tuesday , including seven that collapsed in the floods , Cumbria County Council spokesman Gareth Cosslett told CNN . Also shut were eight footbridges , which are an essential means of connecting residents in riverside towns . In Workington , where Cumbria Police Constable Bill Barker died in the floods last week , the two sides of the town are cut off from each other because all bridges were either washed away or closed for safety reasons . `` We 're hoping to get a temporary road bridge installed in Workington , '' Cosslett said , describing it as the council 's first priority . `` We have n't yet confirmed what we 're going to do or when that 's going to happen , but in all likelihood we 're looking at a single-lane temporary bridge with traffic lights on either side . '' Cosslett had no estimate on when the bridge could be complete , but he said such a project may take more than a month . The worst weather Tuesday was in Cumbria , where the Met Office , the UK 's weather service , predicted heavy and persistent rain and accumulations of 1.2 to 2.4 inches -LRB- 30 to 60 millimeters -RRB- . Rain and strong gusts were also forecast for Wales on Tuesday , the Met Office said . The rain was expected to move through the region by Wednesday , but more was set to return by Thursday , according to Met Office forecasts . Sixty-eight flood watches and warnings were in place across England and Wales on Wednesday , the Environment Agency said . | Woman 's body found in the River Usk near the village of Talybont , in mid Wales . Talybont 250 miles south of Cockermouth , England , which has also been badly hit by flooding . 20 road bridges in the region were closed Tuesday , including seven that collapsed in floods . 68 flood watches and warnings were in place across England and Wales Wednesday . | [[9, 32], [36, 81], [198, 219], [242, 297], [123, 143], [149, 197], [408, 456], [445, 456], [459, 468], [475, 517], [536, 542], [545, 638], [1126, 1176], [1126, 1156], [1179, 1223], [2505, 2595]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Floyd Mayweather Jr will have to pay Juan Manuel Marquez a reported $ 600,000 after weighing in two pounds too heavy ahead of Saturday night 's welterweight showdown in Las Vegas . Floyd Mayweather Jr , left , faces off with Juan Manuel Marquez ahead of Saturday night 's fight . Fight promoters Golden Boy confirmed after Friday 's weigh-in that there had been a contractually agreed weight of 144 pounds for Mayweather 's comeback bout , and that the American would pay a stipulated -- but undisclosed -- amount for every pound over that amount . As it was , Mayweather tipped the scales at 146 pounds and Mexican Marquez , whose usual weight is around 135 pounds , was weighed at 142 as he stepped up from lightweight for the fight . The maximum for a welterweight is 147 pounds . `` The fight was contracted as a welterweight fight with an agreed upon weight of 144 pounds . However , there were pre-negotiated weight penalties built in , '' Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com . The website also reported sources who stated that each extra pound would cost Mayweather $ 300,000 , thus giving Marquez an additional $ 600,000 on top of his $ 3.2 million guarantee for the fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena . The 32-year-old Mayweather , who returns to the boxing ring for the first time since December 2007 when he beat Ricky Hatton to retain his WBC world welterweight championship , has a reported minimum guarantee of $ 10 million before pay-per-view TV revenues are added . Mayweather is undefeated with a career record of 39-0 , while the 36-year-old Marquez , who holds the WBA and WBO world lightweight belts , has 50 victories from 55 fights , 37 by knockout . Meanwhile , Nikolai Valuev will defend his WBA heavyweight title against British boxer David Haye in Germany on November 7 . The fight , originally announced in July , had been in doubt as American John Ruiz lodged a legal challenge claiming that he was the giant Russian 's mandatory challenger . However , the 36-year-old 's promoters have clinched a deal with Ruiz , meaning the bout can go ahead as planned at Nuremberg 's Arena Nurnberger Versicherung , where Valuev beat Sergei Liakhovich in February 2008 . The 7 ' 1 '' Valuev , the tallest and heaviest boxing champion of all time who has a record of 50 wins from 52 fights , will dwarf the 6 ' 3 '' Haye , the former undisputed cruiserweight champion . | Floyd Mayweather weighs in at 146 pounds , Juan Manuel Marquez at 142 . Mayweather had agreed to pay the Mexican for every pound over agreed 144 . Reports say that the American will have to stump up an extra $ 600,000 . Mayweather has $ 10 million guarantee , Marquez has $ 3.2 million for fight . | [[580, 642], [580, 590], [627, 642], [678, 755], [0, 15], [19, 75], [860, 897], [19, 38], [49, 199], [1039, 1046], [1051, 1233], [1013, 1016], [1119, 1241], [1242, 1268], [1419, 1499]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The city of New Haven , Connecticut , will promote 14 firefighters who were involved in a workplace discrimination case that worked its way to the U.S. Supreme Court . The firefighters were among the New Haven 20 -- one Hispanic and 19 white firefighters -- who fought the city after it threw out the results of a 2003 firefighter promotion exam that left too few minorities qualified for promotions . A U.S. District Court issued a judgment finding the city violated the civil rights of a group of the white firefighters when it threw out the exams in 2004 , according to Jessica Mayorga , city spokeswoman . The Tuesday decision follows a court action by seven black New Haven firefighters seeking to delay the promotions . `` Yesterday , the court entered an order that provides the City of New Haven with the legal sanction necessary to move forward and promote the fourteen plaintiffs in the Ricci case entitled to promotions , '' the city said in a statement . `` As a result , we intend to do so as soon as practicable . '' The firefighters will be promoted to either lieutenant or captain . Mayorga said the other six involved in the lawsuit were not eligible for promotions that were available at the time the exams were given . She said the court 's order only addresses 14 of the 20 plaintiffs . If the exams had been certified in 2004 , the other six plaintiffs would not have been promoted . The case was the center of attention during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of now-Justice Sonia Sotomayor , who was on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals that backed the city in the case . The U.S. Supreme Court eventually overturned the appeals court ruling 5-4 earlier this year when the justices ruled that the city improperly threw out the results of the promotion exams . Key plaintiff Frank Ricci and others took promotion exams in 2003 for lieutenant and captain positions that had become available in Connecticut 's second-largest city . New Haven 's personnel department had contracted with a private firm to design the exams . When the results came back , however , city lawyers expressed concern about the results because none of the black firefighters and only one Latino who took the exam scored high enough to be promoted . The city said that under a federal civil rights law known as Title VII , employers must ban actions such as promotion tests that would have a `` disparate impact '' on a protected class , such as a specified race or gender . The group of firefighters , claiming they were wronged by the city 's action , then sued , calling themselves the `` New Haven 20 . '' | Firefighters fought city after it threw out the results of a promotion exam . Test left too few minorities qualified for promotions , New Haven lawyers said . 14 of 20 firefighters will get promoted . | [[252, 273], [281, 364], [2494, 2519], [2522, 2570], [331, 364], [370, 420], [2068, 2094], [2107, 2214], [2164, 2214], [2233, 2268], [0, 15], [43, 138]] |
New York -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The teen who mysteriously turned up in New York with apparent amnesia emptied her bank account and left behind `` everything '' before she left her home in Washington , police told CNN . The woman , now identified as Kacie Aleece Peterson , 18 , of Hansville , Washington , withdrew about $ 400 from her Bank of America account , said Scott Wilson , spokesman for the Kitsap County Sheriff 's Office in Washington . But Peterson `` left everything , '' including her wallet , identification , cell phone , clothes and even her bike , which was secured outside a Wal-Mart , Wilson said . Police still do not know how Peterson traveled cross-country to New York City . The woman mysteriously turned up in Manhattan two weeks ago , claiming to have no memory of her family , her home -- or even her own name . There 's no indication that she 's feigning her memory loss , said Paul Browne , deputy commissioner of the New York Police Department . At the same time , because Peterson is an adult , authorities have not ruled out the theory that she left home to re-establish herself elsewhere , Wilson said . The teen 's father , Henry Peterson of Colville , Washington , told Kitsap County authorities his daughter had occasional memory lapses , Wilson said . In May , Kacie Peterson was found lying on the ground next to a creek at the family farm , Wilson said . She had blacked out and did not remember who she was , he said . Kacie Peterson was briefly hospitalized after the incident , he said . Her father also told investigators that in another incident his daughter was found unconscious on her bedroom floor , Wilson said . Henry Peterson reported his daughter missing on October 2 , Wilson said , after the family friend she lived with told him that the last time she saw Kacie Peterson was September 30 . Kacie Peterson moved in June from eastern Washington with her father to western Washington to live with a friend of her mother , who died when she was 7 , Wilson said . Henry Peterson told police he agreed to the transition , Wilson said . The teen 's father described their relationship as `` difficult '' and `` that he had put too much pressure on his daughter to do well and get good grades , '' Wilson said . Kacie Peterson , a high school senior , started anew at Kingston High School in Kingston , Washington , but only attended for three weeks , said Chris Case , director of community relations for North Kitsap school district . Enrolled in the Running Start program there , Kacie Peterson had two advanced placement classes at the school and also classes at Olympic College in Poulsbo , about 10 miles away , Case said . Kingston high school officials said Kacie Peterson was quiet , shy and that `` she had no friends , '' Wilson said . The last time she showed up for class was on September 29 , Case said . The next time some employees of the school saw the student she was sporting a new look . `` The school here is telling me she had long hair past her shoulders , '' Case said . In the photo New York police showed of the teen during their investigation to identify her , Kacie Peterson had hair that looked only about a couple of inches long on top and tapered low on the sides . Police asked for help identifying the teen after she was found in midtown Manhattan around 12:30 a.m. on October 9 outside the Covenant House youth shelter . The organization had said she was not a resident at the time and did not appear as if she intended to seek refuge at the facility . A security guard for the shelter noticed her walking around on the sidewalk near Covenant House and approached her . Finding her unresponsive , he called police . Officers interviewed her , but it became clear that she could n't provide authorities with any information about herself . A photo of the then-unidentified woman aired on CNN , and a viewer in Maryland who was familiar with Kacie Peterson alerted authorities . Police established a positive identification . Police say they do not know how she lost her memory . She is still in New York and receiving care from the city agency , Browne said . CNN 's Susan Candiotti , Khadijah Rentas , Erica Hill and Melanie Whitley contributed to this report . | `` Jane Doe '' identified as Kacie Aleece Peterson , 18 , of Hansville , Washington . Police tell CNN she got $ 400 from bank , but left wallet , ID , cell phone , clothes . Police still do not know how Peterson traveled cross-country to New York City . Her father says Kacie has suffered from memory problems before . | [[215, 286], [302, 355], [215, 286], [358, 375], [197, 214], [215, 286], [302, 355], [465, 475], [478, 501], [615, 694], [644, 694], [1133, 1151], [1196, 1268]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- At least nine people were killed in Somalia 's war-torn capital Mogadishu when mortars slammed into a home for disabled veterans , according to journalists and witnesses . Al Shabaab fighters display two bodies of Somali police officers during a battle August 12 in Mogadishu . At least 27 people were wounded in the Friday night incident , when Muslim militants fired mortars toward Mogadishu 's port and struck a residential area . The mortars hit a home for former national army officers who were disabled in a late-1970s war with Ethiopia , the sources said . Insurgents from the Al-Shabaab militant group have been fighting to topple Somalia 's government . Its fighters have frequently shelled the city 's airport and seaport , which are controlled by the African Union and government forces . The United States is supporting the Somali government 's fight against the insurgents , including providing weapons to government forces . Al Shabaab is on the U.S. list of terror organizations because of its ties to Osama bin Laden 's al Qaeda network . The United States is concerned that Somalia 's weak government could fall to the Islamist insurgency , as it did in 2006 before Ethiopian forces ousted the militants from power later that year . | Sources : Militants fired mortars toward Mogadishu 's port , struck residential area . Mortars hit home for disabled national army officers . At least 9 dead , 27 wounded in attack in war-torn capital . | [[0, 15], [28, 147], [365, 420], [365, 381], [425, 452], [0, 15], [28, 147], [98, 147], [150, 190], [453, 509], [0, 15], [28, 147], [297, 357]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In trendy neighborhoods of Tokyo customers are lining up for vitamin injections that promise to improve health and beauty . These intravenous vitamin `` drips '' are part of the latest quick-fix , health fad catching on in Japan : the IV cafe . Each drip pack contains saline solution and specific vitamins and minerals to target a particular health ailment or beauty concern . `` I used to take vitamin supplements , but changed to the IV drip because I feel the effects more quickly , '' a 20-something woman at the Tenteki 10 Café told CNN . She said she receives specific injections to get better skin , burn fat and boost her energy . There are 10 different varieties to choose from at Tenteki . The `` orange '' variety touts anti-aging properties , loaded with antioxidants . The `` placenta pack '' is said to help rejuvenate and ease muscle stiffness . Prices range from $ 20 to $ 30 per injection , and nurses see about 30 to 40 people each day . Their most common patients are Japanese businessmen who work in the same office building . `` I see a lot of businessmen who say they do n't have time to sleep . They ca n't take a break from working and get the vitamin drip for an extra kick of energy , '' a Tenteki nurse told CNN . `` Blue '' is the most requested vitamin pack among these men : a concoction of B1 and vitamin E that claims to offer relief from exhaustion . Registered nurses and doctors administer the drips at Tenteki , but there 's no conclusive medical evidence to back up the health claims . Many nutritionists actually caution against using injectable vitamin supplements because the quantities are not regulated . `` More is not necessarily better ... some vitamins and minerals can be toxic in high doses , '' particularly the fat-soluble ones which the body stores like Vitamins A , D , E and K , explained Claire Williamson , Nutrition Scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation . In Europe and the United States vitamin shots are popular among celebrities with hectic lifestyles and little time to sleep , particularly vitamin B 12 . Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and singer Robbie Williams have both confirmed they 've used the shots as part of their diets to maintain stamina during tours . Dermatological injections of Vitamin C are also popular among women hoping to keep their skin looking young . Former supermodel Cindy Crawford has admitted using such injections to keep her skin firm and wrinkle-free . According to Williamson , it does not matter if supplements are injected into the vein or into the skin . `` At the end of the day it will go into the blood stream , '' she said . Most of these nutrients we can get sufficient from foods , nutrients tend to be better absorbed by the body if they are consumed in foods . '' | Intravenous vitamin boosts are the latest health fad in Japan . Vitamin injections target specific health aliments and beauty concerns . Nutritionists warn of vitamin overdose from high quantities of supplements . Vitamin injections are popular among celebrities and businessmen for fatigue . | [[143, 247], [2520, 2580], [80, 98], [104, 142], [264, 396], [308, 396], [564, 658], [573, 658], [1348, 1357], [1363, 1403], [1940, 2063]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson hailed his side 's rollercoaster 4-3 victory over neighbors Manchester City at Old Trafford as the `` best derby of all time . '' Ferguson and substitute Gary Neville celebrate Owen 's late winner . Ferguson made the claim while ruing his side 's sloppy defensive play which allowed City to claim three equalizing goals before Michael Owen 's clinical winner deep into injury time on Sunday . `` It could have been an embarrassment , 6-0 or 7-0 , if we defended our proper way , '' claimed the legendary Scot . `` We could have won by a big score but by making mistakes , which was the essence of the game , we probably were in the best derby game of all time . `` What do you choose ? Win the best derby game of all time or win 6-0 ? I 'd probably pick 6-0 . '' Was this the greatest derby ever ? The build-up to the match had been marked by a war of words between Ferguson and City manager Mark Hughes , who has been handed a massive transfer budget by his side 's Abu Dhabi owners . Ferguson had branded them `` cocky '' and did little to dampen down the rivalry with his post match comments . Blog : Should referees also keep time ? `` Sometimes you have a noisy neighbor . You can not do anything about that . They will always be noisy , '' he said . `` You just have to get on with your life , put your television on and turn it up a bit louder . `` Today the players showed their form . That is the best answer of all . '' By contrast , City manager Mark Hughes was furious with referee Martin Atkinson for the amount of added time played , with Owen scoring in the 96th minute . `` We need an explanation because I do n't know why the referee has added that amount of time on , '' said Hughes . `` We just feel a little bit aggrieved that they were given that time . '' It was a heartbreaking finale for his team with Bellamy 's magnificent second goal after a mistake by Rio Ferdinand appearing to give his up and coming side a share of the spoils . `` We 're disappointed , we put in a hell of a shift today , '' said Hughes . `` Craig Bellamy scored two magnificent goals . He did n't deserve to be on the losing side , '' added Hughes . Ferguson , who has used free transfer signing Owen sparingly this season , said the England striker showed his true quality . `` His positional play , first touch and finish were absolutely superb . World class . '' The victory took United to second place in the English Premier League behind pacesetting Chelsea with City suffering their first defeat of the season . | Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson hails ` best derby of all time ' United beat rivals Manchester City 4-2 with Michael Owen injury time winner . City manager Mark Hughes furious about amount of extra time added . | [[294, 327], [334, 451], [1503, 1592]] |
-LRB- OPRAH.com -RRB- -- Four years ago , when Oprah managed to get down to a trim and fit 160 pounds , she thought she 'd hit on a foolproof formula for permanent weight loss . Then life -- in the form of a thyroid problem and a killer schedule -- intervened . Last year she was back up to the 200-pound mark and knew something had to change . After a desperately needed time-out to reflect and recharge , here 's what she 's learned , what she 's doing differently , and what 's next . Oprah Winfrey attends a gala on December 3 , 2008 in New York City . You know how bad you feel when you have a special event , a reunion , a wedding , a bar mitzvah , and you wanted to lose that extra 10 to 40 pounds , and you did n't do it ? So the day comes and now you 've got to try to find something to wear that makes you feel halfway decent , and you have to figure out how to hold in your stomach all night and walk backward out of the room so no one sees that your butt keeps moving even when you stop . Multiply that feeling by a million -- make that more than 2.4 million for every O reader -- and you 'll know how I 've felt over the past year every time I had to shoot a cover for O . If you 're a regular subscriber , you 'll notice you 've not seen a head-to-toe shot all year . Why ? Because I did n't want to be seen . '' In 1992 I reached my heaviest , 237 pounds . I was 38 . Then , four years ago , I made it a goal to lose weight , and I appeared on the January 2005 cover at a toned 160 pounds . I thought I was finished with the weight battle . I was done . I 'd conquered it . I was so sure , I was even cocky . I had the nerve to say to friends who were struggling , `` All you have to do is work out harder and eat less ! Get your 10,000 steps in ! None of that starchy stuff ! '' Bam ! Karma is a bear of a thing . So here I stand , 40 pounds heavier than I was in 2006 . -LRB- Yes , you 're adding correctly ; that means the dreaded 2-0-0 . -RRB- I 'm mad at myself . I 'm embarrassed . I ca n't believe that after all these years , all the things I know how to do , I 'm still talking about my weight . I look at my thinner self and think , `` How did I let this happen again ? '' Oprah.com : How to prevent weight gain relapse . It happened slowly . In February 2007 , at 53 , I started to have some health issues . At first I was unable to sleep for days . My legs started swelling . My weight started creeping up , first 5 pounds , then 10 pounds . I was lethargic and irritable . My internal clock seemed totally out of whack . I began having rushing heart palpitations every time I worked out . Okay , I 've never loved daily exercise , but this was different . I actually developed a fear of working out . I was scared that I would pass out . Or worse . I felt as if I did n't know my own body anymore . After many trips to various doctors , I received a diagnosis . I had hyperthyroidism -LRB- an overactive thyroid that can speed up metabolism and cause weight loss -- but of course did n't make me lose a single pound -RRB- and then gradually started moving into hypothyroidism -LRB- a sluggish metabolism that can cause fatigue and weight gain -RRB- . My doctor prescribed medication and warned me that I must `` learn to embrace hunger '' or I would immediately gain weight . Believe me , no part of me was prepared to embrace hunger . It seemed as if the struggle I 'd had with weight my entire adult life was now officially over . I felt completely defeated . I thought , `` I give up . I give up . Fat wins . '' All these years I 'd had only myself to blame for lack of willpower . Now I had an official , documented excuse . The thyroid diagnosis felt like some kind of prison sentence . I was so frustrated that I started eating whatever I wanted -- and that 's never good . My drug of choice is food . I use food for the same reasons an addict uses drugs : to comfort , to soothe , to ease stress . I switched doctors and still gained weight . At one point I was on three medications : one for heart palpitations , another for high blood pressure , another to moderate my thyroid . Who knew this tiny butterfly gland at the base of the throat had so much power ? When it 's off , your whole body feels the effects . I followed my doctor 's orders to the letter -LRB- except for the part about working out -RRB- . I took the prescribed medication religiously at the same time each day . Oprah.com : The truth about your thyroid . Being medicated , though necessary , made me feel as if I were viewing life through a veil . I felt like an invalid . Everything was duller . I felt like the volume on life got turned down . I realized this to some extent , but I was n't fully aware of the effect of the medication until I had a conversation with my friend Bob Greene . He 'd given up lecturing me about working out and eating well , but we were walking together one day and he said , `` I think something 's wrong . You 're listless . Your movements are slower , even when you 're just doing normal stuff . Twice I 've told you something and you do n't remember it . There 's no sparkle in your eyes . I think you 're in some sort of depression . '' Greene talks about Oprah 's struggle '' Me -- depressed ? I had n't thought I was , but definitely something was off . I felt like the life force was being sucked out of me . I always had an excuse for being tired . It took extra effort to do everything . I did n't want to go anywhere , and I did n't want to be seen any more than I had to . I could oversee a show and a magazine that tell people how to live their best lives , but I definitely was n't setting an example . I was talking the talk , but I was n't walking the walk . And that was very disappointing to me . Immediately after that conversation with Bob , I called my doctor . `` All this medicine is making my life feel like a flat line , '' I said . So my doctor slowly weaned me off it , except for one aspirin a day . -LRB- By the way , never suddenly stop taking prescribed medication , especially heart and blood pressure medication , without checking with your physician . -RRB- That choice was the beginning of my road back to health -- and back to myself . Oprah.com : Oprah 's Best Life Week begins January 5 . By Oprah Winfrey from `` O , The Oprah Magazine '' , January 2009 . Subscribe to O , The Oprah Magazine for up to 75 % off the newsstand price . That 's like getting 18 issues FREE . Subscribe now ! TM & © 2009 Harpo Productions , Inc. . All Rights Reserved . | Oprah Winfrey has launched series to help you live your best life . A thyroid problem lead to a weight gain and other health problems , she writes . She says her stress and frustration led to more eating . After a friend pointed out her depression , she took positive steps . | [[2268, 2284], [2287, 2292], [2295, 2333], [2403, 2449], [3104, 3131], [3137, 3178]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Joaquin `` El Chapo '' Guzman Loera , a 54-year-old drug cartel leader whose nickname means `` Shorty , '' is the most wanted man in Mexico . He 's also one of the most wanted men in the United States . Joaquin `` El Chapo '' Guzman Loera leads the Sinaloa cartel , which is battling for turf along the border . For five years , the State Department has kept a $ 5 million bounty on his head , calling Guzman a threat to U.S. security . Guzman , who leads the Sinaloa cartel , is a key player in the bloody turf battles being fought along the border . He recently upped the stakes , ordering his associates to use lethal force to protect their loads in contested drug trafficking corridors , according to the Los Angeles Times . The cartel 's tentacles and those of its chief rival , the Gulf cartel , already reach across the border and into metropolitan areas such as Atlanta , Georgia ; Chicago , Illinois ; Seattle , Washington ; St. Louis , Missouri ; and Charlotte , North Carolina , Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Joseph Arabit told a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee in March . `` No other country in the world has a greater impact on the drug situation in the United States than Mexico does , '' said Arabit , who heads the DEA 's office in this year 's border hot spot , El Paso , Texas . See where Mexican cartels are in the U.S. . A December 2008 report by the Justice Department 's National Drug Intelligence Center revealed that Mexican drug traffickers can be found in more than 230 U.S. cities . So far , the U.S. has largely been spared the violence seen in Mexico , where the cartels ' running gunbattles with police , the military and each other claimed about 6,500 lives last year . It was a sharp spike from the 2,600 deaths attributed to cartel violence in 2007 . Once again , drug war casualties are mounting on the Mexican side at a record pace in 2009 -- more than 1,000 during the first three months of the year , Arabit said . See who the key players are '' The violence that has spilled over into the U.S. has been restricted to the players in the drug trade -- trafficker-on-trafficker , DEA agents say . But law enforcement officials and analysts who spoke with CNN agree that it is only a matter of time before innocent people on the U.S. side get caught in the cartel crossfire . `` It 's coming . I guarantee , it 's coming , '' said Michael Sanders , a DEA spokesman in Washington . Sinaloa cartel leader Guzman 's shoot-to-kill instructions are n't limited to Mexican authorities and cartel rivals ; they also include U.S. law enforcement officials , the Los Angeles Times reported , citing sources and intelligence memos . The move is seen as dangerously brazen , the newspaper reported . In the past , the cartels have tried to avoid direct confrontation with U.S. law enforcement . U.S. officials are trying to stop the violence from crossing the border . The Obama administration committed to spending an additional $ 700 million to help Mexico fight the cartels and agreed to double the number of U.S. agents working the border . But $ 700 million pales in comparison with the wealth amassed by just one target . Guzman , who started in collections and rose to lead his own cartel , is said to be worth $ 1 billion after more than two decades in the drug trade . He made this year 's Forbes list of the richest of the rich , landing between a Swiss tycoon and an heir to the Campbell 's Soup fortune . Popular Mexican songs , called narcocorridos , embellish the myth of the poorly educated but charismatic cartel leader . `` Shorty is the Pablo Escobar of Mexico , '' said security consultant Scott Stewart , invoking the memory of the colorful Medellin cartel leader who also landed on the Forbes list and thumbed his nose at Colombian authorities until he died in a shower of police bullets in December 1993 . Stewart , a former agent for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security , gathers intelligence on the cartels for Stratfor , a Texas-based security consulting firm that helped document Guzman 's worth . Just a decade ago , Mexican smugglers worked as mules for Colombians , moving their cocaine by land across the U.S. border when the heat was on in the Caribbean . But Colombian President Alvaro Uribe 's campaign of arrests and extraditions made ghosts of the Medellin and Cali cartels . The mules stepped into the power vacuum and never looked back . Now they buy cocaine from the Colombians and take their own profits . Mexican cartels now bring in about 90 percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States , according to the DEA . Mexico also is the top foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine . Marijuana became the cartels ' biggest revenue source for the first time in 2007 , bringing in $ 8.5 billion . Cocaine came in second , at $ 3.9 billion , and methamphetamine earned $ 1 billion , a top U.S. drug policymaker told a group of U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials last year . Watch how marijuana became the cartels ' top cash crop '' The Mexican government recognizes seven cartels , but the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels are the major players along the U.S. border , according to the DEA agents , local police officials and security analysts who spoke with CNN . The cartels ' enforcers -- Los Negros for Sinaloa , Los Zetas for Gulf -- are believed to be responsible for most of the violence . The status and alliances of the players continue to shift . Although the DEA and some analysts disagree , others say the Zetas , a paramilitary group of turncoat soldiers and anti-narcotics police , are now running the Gulf cartel . `` From what we 've seen , the Zetas have taken over the Gulf cartel , '' analyst Stewart said . `` In violent times , soldiers tend to rise to the top . '' These soldiers are incredibly well-armed , police learned after a November raid that resulted in the arrest of top Zeta lieutenant Jaime `` Hummer '' Gonzalez Duran . It was the largest weapons seizure in Mexican history -- 540 rifles , including AK-47s ; 287 grenades ; two rocket launchers ; and 500,000 rounds of ammunition . At the very least , the Zeta enforcers now have a seat at the table . The DEA 's Arabit testified that the Gulf cartel is now run by a triumvirate . Included is Los Zetas leader Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano , a former military man who is also known as `` El Lazco , '' or `` The Executioner . '' The past year witnessed unprecedented bloodshed as the two cartels battled for control of the border 's lucrative drug-trafficking corridors . The cartels are fighting over control of Ciudad Juarez , across the border from El Paso , Texas ; Sonora Nogales , across from Nogales , Arizona ; and Tijuana , across the border from San Diego , California . Two years ago , the turf battle was over Nuevo Laredo , across the border from Laredo , Texas . It 's all about the highways that help move the drugs . Nuevo Laredo is close to the Interstate 35 corridor , and Juarez has easy access to I-10 , a major east-west interstate , and I-25 , which runs north to Denver , Colorado . Tijuana is also conveniently near I-10 and I-5 , which heads north all the way to the Canadian border . Some of the battles are internal , Arabit said . Some are with other cartels . And some , he said , can be attributed to the cartels ' `` desperate '' attempt to resist Mexican President Felipe Calderon 's unprecedented attack on drug traffickers . As soon as he took office in January 2007 , Calderon called out the cartels . He has deployed about 30,000 troops to back up and , in some cases , do the job of local police . Mexico also has extradited about 190 cartel suspects to the United States since Calderon took office . The violence involves beheadings , running gunbattles and discoveries of mass graves and huge arms caches . Police and public officials have been gunned down in broad daylight . The cartels ' enforcers boldly display recruitment banners in the streets . `` The beheadings started at the same time the beheading videos started coming out of Iraq , '' analyst Stewart said . `` It was simple machismo . The Sinaloa guys started putting up videos on YouTube of them torturing Zetas . '' When Mexicans first stepped into the role of Colombians in the mid-1990s , the Juarez and Tijuana cartels were dominant , beneficiaries of their location . Today , they are shadows of their former selves , weakened by the deaths and arrests of their leaders . Juarez cartel leader Amado Carrillo Fuentes died of complications from plastic surgery in 1997 . Known as `` The King of the Skies '' for his fleet of cocaine-carrying planes , he was said to be undergoing liposuction and other appearance-altering procedures to avoid arrest . Three of his doctors were charged with killing the cartel leader with an overdose of anesthetic during his surgery . Two of them later were killed . His death , along with the 2003 arrest of Gulf cartel founder Osiel Cardenas Guillen , set the stage for the ongoing turf battle . When Cardenas was extradited in 2007 , Guzman set his sights on controlling Juarez as well as Nogales . Cardenas is awaiting trial in October in federal court in Houston , Texas , where he is accused of drug trafficking and attempting to kill two federal agents and an informant on the streets of Matamoros , Mexico . Arrests and extraditions crippled the Arellano-Felix Organization in Tijuana , and last year , Guzman made a move on that plaza as well . `` Right now , they are fighting to survive much like Pablo Escobar , '' said the DEA 's Elizabeth Kempshall , who heads the agency 's office in Phoenix , Arizona . Phoenix has become the nation 's kidnapping capital , largely because of the cartels ' increasing presence . Kempshall said that cartel leaders fear nothing more than extradition : `` That is the worst thing for any cartel leader , to face justice in the United States . '' CNN 's Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this story . | Sinaloa , Gulf cartels battle for control of drug routes across U.S. border . The turf war has spurred record death tolls with gunbattles , beheadings . U.S. is doubling number of agents at border , spending $ 700 million . Agents , analysts compare situation to '90s battle against Colombian cartels . | [[258, 284], [291, 330], [5110, 5182], [6425, 6567], [6476, 6567], [512, 570], [1830, 1840], [1843, 1920], [6425, 6567], [7734, 7841], [7734, 7746], [7756, 7766], [7769, 7841], [2938, 3045], [2938, 2962], [3021, 3027], [3050, 3113], [5110, 5138], [5185, 5259]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Arsenal and Hull City were charged with failing to control their players by the English Football Association -LRB- FA -RRB- on Wednesday after their fiery Premier League match on December 19 . The match at the Emirates Stadium , won 3-0 by title-chasing Arsenal , became heated just before halftime when Arsenal 's Samir Nasri clashed with Hull 's Richard Garcia . Stephen Hunt then had a confrontation with Nasri and a mass brawl ensued , with home goalkeeper Manuel Almunia running the length of the field to get involved . Referee Steve Bennett had to battle to get things under control and then showed yellow cards to both Hunt and Nasri . The clubs have until January 13 to launch any appeal . In other Premier League news on Wednesday , Liverpool could give Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani his full debut for the crucial Boxing Day clash with Wolves . Aquilani , a big summer signing from AS Roma , has yet to start a league game for Liverpool , having battled to recovery from an ankle injury . Manager Rafael Benitez has been criticized for his reluctance to play Aquilani , but with the player recovering from a calf injury which kept him out of last weekend 's match all the indicators are that he will take his place at Anfield . Premier League champions Manchester United have been clearance to play Senegal striker Mame Biram Diouf after he was granted a work permit . United signed Diouf from Molde in July before loaning him back to the Norwegian club . He scored 16 goals in 29 games in Norway and with Senegal failing to qualify for the African Cup of Nations , United have pressed to get him the proper clearances . | Arsenal and Hull City face FA charge of failing to control their players in December 19 match . Mass brawl marred clash at the Emirates which Arsenal won 3-0 . Manchester United get work permit clearance for Senegal striker Mame Biram Diouf . | [[0, 15], [19, 211], [212, 245], [248, 280], [212, 245], [283, 317], [384, 456], [437, 456], [459, 494], [1264, 1404], [1264, 1306], [1327, 1404]] |
Tehran , Iran -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Tehran 's Revolutionary Court sentenced 11 people to death after convicting them of participating in post-election riots , state media reported Thursday . Two of the sentences have been carried out ; the rest are under appeal , the Iranian Students News Agency said , quoting a court official . These are the first executions known to be related to the post-election violence that erupted across Iran in June and has continued since , Amnesty International said in a statement condemning the hangings . But a lawyer for one of the men executed on Thursday disputed a key part of the official report . `` Both of these men were arrested two months before the elections and they were in prison until their sentences were carried out . So how can someone who 's in prison take part in protests ? '' asked Nasrin Sotoudeh , a Tehran-based human rights lawyer who represented Arash Rahmanipour , one of two men hanged Thursday . Full coverage of the protests in Iran . His father had been scheduled to visit Rahmanipour on the day of the execution , and learned only from a TV report that his son was dead , Sotoudeh said , describing the family as `` extremely upset and shocked . '' `` Arash called his home two nights ago -LRB- Tuesday night -RRB- -- two nights before the sentence was carried out , and at that point Arash had no idea that his sentence was about to be carried out , '' she said . She said the hanging violated Iranian law . `` The entire process , the investigation , the trial , the handing down of the sentence and the carrying out of the sentence , were done illegally and in secret , '' she told CNN by phone . `` Arash 's family and I did not have his case file . A sentence must first be announced to the defendant and his lawyer and only then can it be carried out , but this sentence was never announced to Arash or myself . '' She said he had been forced to confess . `` He told me his pregnant sister had been arrested , too , '' she said . `` In two sessions where he was interrogated , they placed his sister in front of him and told him if he wanted to see her free he had to admit to things he did n't do . '' Rahmanipour 's sister was later released from prison but lost the baby due to stress , Sotoudeh said . Rahmanipour , 20 , was charged with being a mohareb , or enemy of God , and being a member of Anjoman-e Padeshahi-e Iran -LRB- API -RRB- , a banned anti-regime monarchist group , his lawyer said . Amnesty International condemned the execution of Rahmanipour and the other man executed Thursday , Mohammad Reza Ali-Zamani . `` These men were first unfairly convicted and now they have been unjustly killed . It is not even clear they had links to this group , as their ` confessions ' appear to have been made under duress , '' said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui , Amnesty International 's Middle East and North Africa deputy director . The court said the defendants were convicted of `` waging war against God , trying to overthrow the Islamic government '' and membership in armed and anti-revolutionary groups . Anti-government demonstrations began after the disputed June 12 presidential vote , which re-elected hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over main opposition candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi . Late December marked the deadliest clashes in Iran since initial protests broke out in the summer . At least seven people were killed and hundreds were arrested , witnesses said , as they took to the streets on Ashura , which occurred on December 27 . The Iranian government has denied that its security forces killed anyone and has blamed reformists for the violence . | Eleven rioters sentenced to death for post-election riots , according to Iranian press . Two of the sentences have been carried out ; the rest are under appeal , ISNA said . Anti-government demonstrations began after the disputed June 12 presidential vote . Witnesses said hundreds of protesters were arrested on the Ashura holy day on December 27 . | [[9, 29], [63, 153], [156, 187], [188, 230], [233, 258], [3082, 3163], [3276, 3375], [3333, 3375], [3414, 3436], [3487, 3493], [3502, 3527]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- There 's something lurking in the depths of Loch Ness , Scotland and it has nothing to do with monsters . Footage from the Loch Ness submarine search showing two golf balls submerged in silt . On a recent expedition to try and find evidence of the Loch Ness monster , U.S. research teams came across something quite unexpected -- not a prehistoric creature of the deep but thousands of plastic covered golf balls . Mike O'Brien of SeaTrepid explains : `` At first we thought they were mushrooms , there were so many . But when we lowered the camera , we were surprised to see that they were in fact , golf balls . '' The smattering of balls were found roughly 300 yards from the beach and 100 yards from the shore where it is thought locals and visitors have been using the loch to practice their driving skills for quite some time . One witness , conservationist Adrian Shine , told CNN he had seen locals launching balls almost 300 feet into the waters . Watch a video of balls being found at the bottom of Loch Ness . '' However , Shine does n't believe this to be an environmental threat : `` Certainly it 's undesirable , but I do n't think it will have a significant environmental impact on the loch . '' It seems missing and discarded golf balls may not be bad news for all concerned . David Roston has built a career out of wading through rivers and diving in lakes to collect and re-sell discarded golf balls . His online company www.lakeballs.co.uk have been retailing `` lake balls '' for almost 10 years , but even his powers of retrieval would be challenged by the monstrous task of recovering balls from the bottom of the loch . `` I 've dived in various lakes and found 10 to 15 thousand golf balls at a time , it 's incredible -- but we 've never attempted to clear a loch ! '' Bobbing along at a depth of 754 feet , it is unlikely these balls of Loch Ness will ever see the light of day again . To watch the remarkable footage shot by the SeaTrepid underwater robotics team , click on the link to see the `` Outland 1000 '' in action . | Thousands of golf balls have been found at the bottom of Loch Ness . Golf balls found 300 yards from beach and 100 yards from the shore . Conservationists say the golf balls are not an environmental threat . | [[982, 1039], [636, 732], [1150, 1226]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- I think it 's fair to say that most of us have been absolutely horrified by the plight of tens of thousands of Haitians this month . A massive earthquake is always devastating , but for such carnage and misery to be wrought upon a people who already had nothing seems especially cruel . It was 0100 GMT when I went on air , the aftershocks were both frequent and significant , and from the Tweets I read there was a sense of utter panic and fear on the streets . The pictures have been absolutely heartbreaking , and the stories our crews have reported from all over the country have been terribly moving . I wanted to do something to help . For some reason I was especially moved when Anderson Cooper dragged that bleeding boy out of the street - a young boy who was stunned and panicked and terribly vulnerable - and I realized that I had something I could contribute . Click here to place a bid on the Open flag . -LRB- Item number : 250569560734 -RRB- . Years ago , when I was the Living Golf anchor , I was looking to collect something unusual for a charity auction . As it happens , the auction was cancelled and since then I had largely forgotten that I had something of value and unique at the back of my wardrobe . The British Open , one of golf 's most illustrious competitions , is never more special than when held at St Andrews , the so-called `` home of golf . '' Every professional wants to be `` Open Champion '' and of the last seven tournaments to be played up there , many of the champions have been legends of the sport . Jack Nicklaus won it twice , as did Tiger Woods . Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo complete the roll-call of champions who have already made it into the pantheon of greats . It struck me that to get all four to autograph a replica flag from the 2005 Open would be pretty special . Seve -LRB- 1984 winner -RRB- obliged me in Tenerife later that year , with a signature as flamboyant as many of his shots . Tiger -LRB- 2000 and 2005 winner -RRB- added his name when we met in Dubai the next year . Faldo -LRB- 1990 winner -RRB- and I live in the same town but our paths never seemed to cross when they needed to and so I posted the flag to his management company and from somewhere on his global travels he obliged . My colleague Justin Armsden interviewed Nicklaus -LRB- 1970 and 1978 winner -RRB- at The Old Course and , though Jack had n't bargained on signing any autographs that day , Justin 's producer Andrea Mortensen bagged the all important tag . So , just to recap , some of the greatest names in golf have signed this unique memento . Also up for auction are the Xeroxed scorecards of all four players when they last all played the St Andrews Open in 2000 . They are perfectly reproduced . You 'll see Tiger 's winning round , counter-signed by another Open Champion David Duval and another card is counter-signed by a man who was n't yet a major winner , Angel Cabrera . You 'll note the meticulous nature of Faldo 's game , every hole is neatly ticked off and appropriately , there 's even a squiggle and a correction on the card of American John Daly , the only Open champion at St Andrews since 1970 that I was unable to persuade to sign the flag . But maybe his autograph absence and messy scorecard are in keeping with the erratic character we have come to know and love ! This year just so happens to be the 150th anniversary of The Open at St Andrews and so it 's appropriate to auction the flag and the cards in 2010 . But Haiti is the true motivation for the sale . It is right because they desperately need help . All proceeds of the sale will go to a charity called Plan International , who have been working in Haiti for over thirty years . The donation will support their emergency relief and recovery work there with children and their communities ; helping the most vulnerable and the very people who are the country 's future . I hope you will bid on the flag , and if not please help spread the word of the sale so that we can get a really good price for it . It deserves a good home , and the auction will help ensure a brighter future for many children in their darkest hour . | CNN 's Don Riddell persuaded the greats of golf to sign a replica flag from the St. Andrews British Open of 2005 . The flag , signed by Tiger Woods , Jack Nicklaus , Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo , is to be auctioned on eBay . Register your bid to help raise money for those in need in earthquake-hit Haiti . | [[1734, 1814], [2536, 2604], [1561, 1574], [1590, 1610], [1611, 1678], [2536, 2604]] |
-LRB- Real Simple -RRB- -- Visit a bathroom in a home in the Netherlands and you might find a good idea staring you in the face : a list of birthdays important to your host posted opposite the toilet . Why in that spot ? To assure that it 's viewed regularly . While you may not want to sacrifice your bathroom aesthetics for the sake of remembering key birthdays , the more often you see the dates , the more likely it is you 'll remember them . As founder and `` Exalted Queen Mother '' of the Red Hat Society , an international network of women over 50 , Sue Ellen Cooper chooses to keep her long list of reminders in the kitchen . `` I have a list of every significant birthday taped to the inside of my pantry door , '' she says . `` It 's impossible not to see those dates every time I open the pantry . '' Whether it 's inside a cabinet , on the refrigerator , or bookmarking a page in the novel you 're reading , place your list in a spot where you are likely to view it every day and you 'll always be aware of an impending birthday . Real Simple : How to handle a milestone birthday . Use a perpetual calendar to remember birthdays . Traditional calendars are less than ideal for keeping track of birthdays , as they require you to pencil in all your important dates each year . A perpetual calendar solves that problem by charting the months without naming the day of the week for each date . Find 5-by-14-inch calendars for $ 10 at www.galison.com . You can also download a printable perpetual birthday-reminder calendar -LRB- for free -RRB- at Hallmark.com , or use the Real Simple : Birthday reminder worksheet . Similar to a perpetual calendar but used exclusively for birthdays , a birthday book allows you to jot down birthdays without having to rewrite each date yearly . Keep it somewhere visible , though , such as on top of a coffee table or on your desk , as opposed to placing it on a bookshelf , where it may get lost amid your Steinbecks and Angelous . The 2 3/4 - by-4 1/4-inch pocket birthday organizer from Fred Flare -LRB- $ 8 -RRB- will fit in your handbag , so you can commit dates to memory as you wait for your latte . Track birthdays in your day planner . For some , a day planner or a Filofax is preferable to a wall calendar because it 's portable . Erica Ecker , a.k.a. `` The Specialist , '' is a New York City-based organizational specialist who recommends writing birthdays in a day planner with a colored marker . `` Pick a unique color , '' she says , `` so that when you go to rewrite the dates for the next year , the birthdays stand out . '' Ecker also inserts mini Post-it notes as `` birthday alarms . '' Insert one in the planner a few days ahead of the first birthday for which you would like to send a card . This way , you 'll get the card in the mail on time . Once you 've done that , move the Post-it ahead in the book to a few days before the next important birthday . If rewriting birthdays feels like too much of a chore , jot down birthdays on the tabbed section dividers before each month in your day planner . Then you can simply pull out the dividers the following year and place them before each month in your new planner . Real Simple : Look great in your birthday photos . Remember birthdays with computer reminders . With a free membership at Yahoo! , you can take advantage of the site 's calendar feature , which allows you to schedule all kinds of appointments with alarms sent to your Yahoo! Messenger account , mobile device , or e-mail address . If you choose to share your calendar with friends and family , they can view your dates and add their own . Cost : Free . BirthdayAlarm.com . This service features an easy interface , e-mail or text-message reminders , a selection of e-cards , and an option to send flowers . BigDates.com . BigDates will remind you of a birthday via a cell-phone text message or an e-mail with suggestions for cards and gifts . You can even sign up for a service that will send a paper card to someone through the U.S. Postal Service -LRB- $ 3 , plus postage -RRB- . The downside is that it 's slightly impersonal ; you do n't get to compose the message in your own handwriting . HappyBirthday.com . Boasting a tasteful , simple , and thoughtful interface , this site assigns each member her own Web page so she can direct friends and family there to input their birthdays , rather than having to collect the information herself . BirthdayPal.com . Birthday Pal keeps track of as many birthdays as you like and will send up to four different reminders per birthday . It also automates the process of birthday collection by sending an e-mail to friends requesting their dates . Get a FREE TRIAL issue of Real Simple - CLICK HERE ! Copyright © 2009 Time Inc. . All rights reserved . | The more often you see the dates , the more likely it is you 'll remember them . A specialist recommends writing birthdays in a day planner in bright colors . BirthdayAlarm.com , BigDates.com and BirthdayPal.com are other helpful sites . Remember birthdays on your computer calendar for easy changes . | [[401, 446], [1696, 1789], [2333, 2348], [2349, 2454], [2333, 2380], [2385, 2454], [1095, 1143], [2505, 2555], [2558, 2583], [3237, 3255]] |
MUMBAI , India -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Shweta Gupta knows exactly what kind of groom she wants : he should be educated , well settled and live in a good location -- one that must be in India . Indian brides and grooms from the Adivasi tribe take part in a mass marriage ceremony . Love may be recession proof in India , but arranged marriages are not . One of the casualties of the global economic slowdown is the Non Resident Indian -LRB- NRI -RRB- groom . They were once considered premium marriage material . After all , these were the men who had typically studied hard , gotten top jobs in the West , earned big bucks and could whisk their wives away to better opportunities in the West . Not anymore . `` Yeah , I hate to say it but the NRI man seems to be out of favor with the Indian woman , '' said Gaurav Rakshit of Shaadi.com , a matrimonial search engine used by 14 million people globally . He has seen demand for NRI grooms drop by around 20 to 30 percent since the recession hit . Why ? Shweta Gupta , a 23-year-old student , has an answer . `` Many Indians working abroad have come back due to recession hitting foreign countries and I do n't think recession has affected India that much , '' said said . She believes there is greater job security in India , so would prefer her husband to be based here . Her mother , who is involved in finding a suitable man for her daughter , agreed . `` Suppose there is no job security , then again he would have to come to India , then again he would have to find a job for himself , so I would prefer both of them to be here . Plus , I want my daughter to be close to me , '' said Shraddha Gupta . Arranged marriages are still the norm in India and parents play an active role in choosing a life partner for their children . Traditionally , parents will let friends know that they are on the lookout for a partner for their child . Sometimes , they go to a marriage broker -- a middleman who keeps a stash of resumes and photos of eligible men and women whose families have registered with them . As Indians get more tech savvy , more people are taking their search for partners online . Matrimonial Web sites are popular since they offer a much bigger pool of potential life partners . Shweta Gupta is currently pursuing an MBA in Mumbai and is confident of getting good job offers in India -- another reason she would not want to risk that by going abroad . `` As the woman finds her voice in Indian society , a part of the trend is defined by her unwillingness to compromise on where she grew up , the kind of person she wants to be with , the value system she wants to associate with , '' Rakshit said . Women in India are comfortable with the opportunities they have at home and do n't feel they need to go abroad to have a better life . As a result , NRI men are out . So , who is in ? Well , government employees , who are typically thought to hold more stable jobs . Shaadi.com said demand was up around 45 percent since last year for men with these jobs . Also in favor now : working wives -- a departure from the tradition of Indian men choosing only homemakers . Anish Sapra , 27 , has been looking for a bride for around ten months -- and he wants a working woman . `` It will be a help -- more than a help -- to have a working partner , '' he said . `` Not just for financial reasons , '' he added noting that he believes he would have more in common with such a wife . A wife with a job could help pay off some of the wedding bills , too . Indian marriages are typically large and flamboyant affairs , though the slowdown means they are somewhat subdued these days . That is one tradition Shweta Gupta wo n't give up . She is holding out for a grand wedding with lots of singing and dancing -- she just has to find Mr. Right . `` My marriage should be fun , it should be remembered by all people , '' she said . | Arranged marriages are still the norm in India . Typically families sought Indians working overseas as good marriage material . With recession hitting the West hard , Indians are looking inward for suitors . Women in India are more comfortable today with the opportunities they have at home . | [[1650, 1708], [1777, 1790], [1793, 1883], [2660, 2713], [2696, 2713], [2719, 2731]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Why leave home when you can send out a sexy , stylish robot version of yourself to do anything you tell it ? In `` Surrogates , '' lifelike robots take the place of humans in day-to-day life . That 's the world of `` Surrogates , '' a film starring Bruce Willis that opens Friday . Willis plays an FBI agent who investigates the first murder to occur in years in a world where no one worries about crime or pain , because their robots self-heal with a quick reboot . Far-fetched science fiction ? Sure . But scientists and the movie 's makers say the technology might not be as far away as most people think . Armies use remote-controlled robots to attack enemies and destroy land mines . Emerging technology for the disabled allows users to operate robotic limbs and control computer cursors without touching a keyboard . And emerging `` telepresence '' technology is letting people see , hear and , increasingly , walk , talk and gesture using human-sized robots a world away . `` There are a lot of real-world components to this , '' said robotics expert and author Daniel H. Wilson , whose books like `` Where 's My Jet Pack ? '' and `` How to Survive a Robot Uprising '' explore the intersections between science fiction and real science . `` Clearly , there are not fully functional humanoid robots ... but there are a lot of components to telepresence that already exist . '' `` Surrogates '' director Jonathan Mostow , whose film credits include 2003 's `` Terminator 3 : Rise of the Machines , '' said he was drawn to the concept of surrogate robots as an extension of current technology . And , he said , as he met with scientists , he became convinced that something approaching the concept could one day be a reality . `` To me , it 's not even a question of the technology . Technology always catches up , '' he said . `` The question is , is some universal human urge being met by this invention ? It seems to me we have a fundamental human desire to be lazy , to sort of not have to do things in person and to do it remotely . `` That began with the telegraph and the telephone and has morphed into the Internet . '' The first steps down the road are being taken at Anybots , a Mountain View , California , company founded in 2001 by Trevor Blackwell . The company offers , for about $ 30,000 , a 5-foot-tall , 35-pound robot that allows the user to remotely travel , see , hear and talk . It hopes to release its latest version of the robot at a more affordable price . The robot 's vaguely humanoid curves , roughly adult height and ability to move around using technology similar to that of the Segway are important steps up from current teleconferencing technology , Blackwell said . Anybots in the development phase are being designed to run , jump and climb stairs , and they come equipped with fully articulated hands designed to perform increasingly human-like tasks . Blackwell said he 's not sure the technology will ever advance to the level imagined in `` Surrogates '' -- but that may have as much to do with desire as ability . `` I do n't know if we 'll ever get quite to that level , of being that realistic , '' he said . `` Most of the time , you 're not trying to fool people ; you 're just trying to make something human enough so people can relate to it . '' Wilson , who said he appreciates `` Surrogates '' because it avoids sci-fi 's traditional `` man vs. machine '' dynamic , also imagines social reasons for not pursuing such technology . `` Would humans stand in line at the grocery store behind a robot ? Would I let my children play outside if I knew there were robots outside walking dogs ? '' he said . It 's more realistic , Wilson said , that a humanoid robot could be created to remotely perform tasks that would be too dangerous for the machine 's operator to do . although NASA employs robots in space , the highly technical work often required for space walks still requires a human touch -- at least for now . Plus , he said , making robots that look and act like us would help them function better , he said . `` Another major reason to create humanoid robots is , they can use all of our tools , '' Wilson said . `` Human beings have taken large chunks of the planet and completely transformed the environment to support our embodiment . Doorways are a certain width all over the world because human beings are about the same size . All our tools are similar because we 've all got hands and thumbs . '' For Mostow , the movie also reflects technological advances that , for better or worse , exist as the world of online networking continues to grow . `` You can do your shopping . You can get your news . You can let everyone know what you 're up to , '' he said . `` For those who telecommute , you do n't even have to put your clothes on to go to work . `` This idea basically just takes that to its logical conclusion . '' | In `` Surrogates '' sexy , stylish robots live life for their owners . Scientists say `` telepresence '' with robots is real , will improve . California company Anybots developing robot that can jump , climb stairs . Director : Androids are `` logical conclusion '' of technology that already exists . | [[19, 113], [128, 144], [147, 211], [2722, 2804], [1522, 1617]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- American Lindsey Vonn suffered a pre-Olympic scare after taking a crashing fall in the World Cup giant slalom in Lienz on Monday . Vonn , who is a medal favorite in several disciplines for February 's Winter Games in Vancouver , damaged her left arm after sliding out on the first run , losing her balance on a bump after a sharp left turn before thumping into a gate . She received lengthy medical treatment on the slope with initial fears that she had broken the arm . But scans at a local hospital showed only severe bruising and the 25-year-old may even compete in Tuesday 's slalom at the same venue , U.S. team medical director Richard Quincy told reporters . Vonn 's arm has been placed in a splint to speed recovery and she was said to have been in considerable pain . `` Hurting my arm is way better than hurting one of my legs , '' Vonn was quoted on her personal Web site www.lindseyvonn.com . Her crash overshadowed a fine victory for Kathrin Hoelzl of Germany , who led after the first run and posted a combined time of two minutes , 16.61 seconds with Manuela Moelgg of Italy just 0.05 seconds back in second . Taina Barioz of France occupied the final podium position . Vonn retains her lead in the overall standings with 581 points ahead of second-placed Maria Reisch , who appeared distracted by her friend 's crash and also skied out first time down . The German is 50 points adrift as Vonn looks to defend her overall crown . Vonn suffered an unusual injury setback at the world championships in Val d'Isere , France earlier this year . Celebrating a medal success , she sliced her thumb open on a champagne bottle and competed for the rest of the season with heavy strapping . Vonn 's appearance in Vancouver is being heavily plugged by sponsors and television rights holders , but she is still seeking her first Olympic medal after missing out in Salt Lake City and Turin . Austria 's Kathrin Zettel , who led the GS standings going into the race but was overtaken by Hoelzl , was 0.95 seconds behind the German after skiing off-course in her first run and finished fifth . Hoelzl takes the lead in the giant slalom discipline standings , leapfrogging Kathrin Zettel of Austria , who finished fifth . | World Cup overall leader Lindsey Vonn crashes out of giant slalom in Lienz . Vonn severely bruises her left arm as MRI scan reveals no break . She retains lead in the overall World Cup standings as nearest rival Maria Riesch also went out . | [[0, 15], [19, 149], [150, 154], [248, 303], [494, 551], [1204, 1266]] |
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The 2009 presidential inauguration is looking to be historic and , frankly , headache-inducing for the throngs of people descending on the nation 's capital to watch Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th president . Workers are putting the finishing touches on the innaugural stage on the steps of U.S. Capitol . CNN has compiled a list of frequently asked questions and answers . Q : How crowded will Washington be , and how will I get around ? A : Think Times Square on New Year 's Eve . Throw in tight security , then multiply that by 12 . At least , that 's how it will most likely feel . Nearly 2 million people are expected to hit the streets of the nation 's capital January 20 . Police will be shutting bridges across the Potomac River into Washington , along with a huge chunk of the downtown area . Two of the major routes coming into the city -- Interstates 395 and 66 -- will be closed to inbound traffic , at least for private vehicles . And for those coming from Virginia , all of the bridges between the state and Washington are going to be shut . In order to get in : walk or take public transport , such as the metro area 's subway system . Amtrak says that it has increased the number -- and length -- of trains running to Washington on Inauguration Day and that tickets are still available but are going fast . iReport.com : Are you going to the inauguration ? Security officials also say charter buses , taxis and car services will be another option for those attending . Q : What ca n't I bring ? A : There are several obvious items that are prohibited , according to the U.S. Secret Service , including : . `` Firearms , ammunition , explosives , weapons of any kind , aerosols , supports for signs and placards , packages , coolers , thermal or glass containers , backpacks , bags exceeding size restrictions , laser pointers , animals other than helper/guide dogs , structures , bicycles and any other items determined to be a potential safety hazard . '' Items surrendered to security officials will not be returned . Other items that are being banned include baby strollers and umbrellas . Read more about Secret Service traffic , security plans -LRB- PDF -RRB- . Q : When do the festivities start ? A : Saturday , January 17 . Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will begin their whistlestop-like train tour , stopping in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ; Wilmington , Delaware ; and then making a stop for an event in Baltimore , Maryland , before pulling into Washington . That evening , Michelle Obama , Jill Biden and their families will hold a free `` Kids ' Inaugural '' concert to honor military families . Sunday , January 18 . Obama will kick off the schedule of official inaugural activities in Washington , D.C. , with a welcome event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial . The event will be free and open to the public . HBO will exclusively broadcast the event from 7 to 9 p.m. ET . The event will be televised by HBO on an open signal accessible to all U.S. viewers with access to cable , telcos or satellite television . It will also be a star-studded affair , with Beyoncé , Mary J. Blige , Bono , Garth Brooks , Sheryl Crow , Renee Fleming , Josh Groban , Herbie Hancock , Heather Headley , John Legend , Jennifer Nettles , John Mellencamp , Usher Raymond IV , Shakira , Bruce Springsteen , James Taylor , will.i.am and Stevie Wonder -- among many others . The Rev. Gene Robinson , an openly gay Episcopal bishop , will deliver the invocation . Monday , January 19 -LRB- Martin Luther King Jr. . Day -RRB- . Obama and Biden will honor King 's legacy by urging supporters to participate in activities dedicated to serving others in communities across Washington , according to the Obama transition Web site , Change.gov . On Monday night , Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Rockefeller Foundation will present `` A Celebration of America '' at the Kennedy Center in Washington . The event -- marking King 's legacy and the 56th inauguration -- will be broadcast live on CNN . Special guest stars will be announced shortly . Tuesday , January 20 : Inauguration Day . The order of events , according to the Presidential Inauguration Committee , include : . • Musical selections : The United States Marine Band , followed by the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus . • Call to order and welcoming remarks : Sen. Dianne Feinstein , D-California . • Invocation : Dr. Rick Warren , pastor of the Saddleback megachurch in Orange County , California . • Musical selection : Aretha Franklin . • Vice President-elect Biden will be sworn into office by John Paul Stevens , associate justice of the Supreme Court . • Musical selection : John Williams , composer/arranger , with Itzhak Perlman , Yo-Yo Ma , Gabriela Montero and Anthony McGill . • Obama will then take the oath of office , using President Abraham Lincoln 's inaugural Bible , administered by John G. Roberts Jr. , chief justice of the United States . • Inaugural address . • Poem : Elizabeth Alexander . • Benediction : The Rev. Joseph E. Lowery . • The national anthem : The United States Navy Band `` Sea Chanters '' According to Change.gov , after President Obama gives the inaugural address , he will escort outgoing President George Bush to a departure ceremony before attending a luncheon in the Capitol 's Statuary Hall . The 56th Inaugural Parade will then make its way down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House , with groups traveling from all over the country to participate . iReport.com : Sneak peek of inauguration parade stand . Wednesday , January 21 . Obama -- as the new president -- will take part in a prayer at the National Cathedral in northwest Washington . The Rev. Sharon Watkins , the general minister and president of the 700,000-member Christian Church -LRB- Disciples of Christ -RRB- , will be the first woman to deliver the sermon at the traditional inaugural event . Q : What 's the dish on the inaugural balls ? A : There will be 10 balls throughout Washington on Tuesday night . They include : . • Commander-in-Chief Ball , which is dedicated to military personnel and their families . • Five regional balls dedicated to each section of the United States . Only those invited may attend . • Neighborhood Ball , which will be open for Washington , D.C. , residents who paid for tickets in advance . Both Obamas will attend the ball , which will be broadcast live on ABC and over the Internet . • Youth Inaugural Ball at the Washington Hilton . It is reserved for those between the ages of 18 and 35 . Tickets are relatively cheap : $ 75 a pop . MTV will broadcast the event live . • Obama Home States Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center , includes invited guests from Illinois and Hawaii . • Biden Home States Inaugural Ball also at the Washington Convention Center , includes invited guests from Delaware and Pennsylvania . For a full listing of the balls , log on to Pic2009.org . CNN 's Mike M. Ahlers contributed to this report . | Barack Obama to be sworn in as president January 20 . Several million are expected to descend on Washington . CNN has your guide to all things Inauguration 2009 . Activities begin January 18 with an Obama-Biden whistlestop-like tour . | [[144, 241], [4824, 4865], [144, 241], [619, 712], [619, 642], [656, 712], [2280, 2365]] |
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Inauguration revelry began Sunday afternoon as thousands of people packed the National Mall in Washington for a free concert featuring big stars . Thousands gather Sunday afternoon on the National Mall in Washington . President-elect Barack Obama addressed a roaring crowd after 90 minutes of high-energy acts such as U2 , Mary J. Blige , Usher and Beyonce . `` Welcome to this celebration of American renewal , '' he said . `` In the course of our history , only a handful of generations have been asked to confront challenges as serious as the ones we face right now . '' `` I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure , '' Obama said . `` That it will prevail ; that the dream of our founders will live on in our time . '' Watch Obama address the crowd '' Obama spent the morning visiting Arlington National Cemetery and attending church before heading to the `` We are One : Opening Inaugural Celebration '' at the Lincoln Memorial . It was nothing but good vibes -- a brief respite for an incoming president who will face huge problems after he takes office Tuesday . Bruce Springsteen opened the concert with his song `` The Rising , '' singing , `` How far I 've gone/How high I 've climbed/On my back 's a 60 pound stone/On my shoulder a half mile line . '' Along the National Mall , between the Capitol and the Washington Monument , people watched the concert on massive screens and sang along with `` America the Beautiful '' and `` This Land is Your Land . '' During U2 's performance of `` Pride -LRB- In the Name of Love -RRB- , '' a tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. , frontman Bono referenced the civil rights leader 's `` I Have a Dream '' speech , saying that it was also , `` an Irish dream , a European dream , and African dream , an Israeli dream , and a Palestinian dream . '' Watch performances from the concert '' Obama mentioned the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial , and also referred to King 's `` I Have a Dream '' speech , which took place in the same spot where he was standing . `` Directly in front of us is a pool that still reflects the dream of a King and the glory of a people who marched and bled so that their children might be judged by their character 's content , '' he said . Obama said what gives him `` the greatest hope of all is not the stone and marble that surrounds us , but what fills the spaces in between . It is you -- Americans of every race and region and station who came here because you believe in what this country can be and because you want to help us get there . '' Vice President-elect Joe Biden also spoke , pointing to those `` marble domes '' and towers of Washington surrounding the crowd which represent the `` majesty of a great nation -- all built stone by stone by American men and women . '' Work is about `` dignity '' and `` respect , '' he said , praising the ethic of hard-working Americans . `` We owe them the chance to go to work each day knowing they have the thanks of a grateful nation . '' Comedians and actors such as Steve Carell and Jamie Foxx brought some comic levity to the inauguration of a president who will face some serious problems in just a few days . Foxx , always the showman , urged `` Chi-town '' to `` stand up ! '' Joined by his wife Michelle and their children , the President-elect stood up , laughing and clapping . Foxx did an impression of Obama 's speech election night , as Obama laughed . Stevie Wonder belted out `` Higher Ground '' with Shakira and Usher . Herbie Hancock backed Sheryl Crow and will i. am . as they sang Bob Marley 's `` One Love . '' Garth Brooks sang the 1971 folk rock classic `` American Pie '' followed by a choir-backed version of `` We shall be free . '' Denzel Washington , Tom Hanks , Jack Black and Rosario Dawson also addressed the crowd . The celebration caps Obama 's shortened version of President Abraham Lincoln 's 1861 rail trip to Washington . Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th president in Washington on Tuesday . A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Sunday morning suggests most Americans see Obama 's inauguration as a chance for a divided America to unify . `` You know the country is in the middle of a honeymoon when 6 in 10 Republicans have a positive view of Obama , '' said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland . CNN 's John King interviewed Obama this week in Ohio . King noted that Obama will take the oath of office on the steps of a Capitol built on the backs of slaves and live in a house built on the backs of slaves . `` This has to be incredibly overwhelming , '' King said . Watch Obama 's interview with King '' Obama replied , `` The notion that I will be standing there and sworn in as the 44th president , I think , is something that hopefully our children take for granted . But our grandparents are still stung by it and it 's a remarkable moment . '' | President-elect Barack Obama speaks at inaugural concert . Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden visit Tomb of Unknowns . The concert is being streamed live for free on HBO.com . | [[248, 388], [829, 889]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Friends and strangers across the country gathered on the streets and in schools , churches , bars and auditoriums to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African-American president of the United States . A diverse crowd in Los Angeles , California , cheers as Barack Obama takes the oath of office Tuesday . `` It 's a great day to be an American , '' iReporter Roger Germann said at Chicago 's Shedd Aquarium , where revelers watched the inauguration on television monitors among exhibits of sharks and otters . Tuesday 's inauguration brought together Americans from different walks of life , united in their hope that Obama will deliver on his promise to change the nation 's course . Click the links to read views on President Obama 's inauguration from people across the country . Reaction to speech What Obama means to Americans Hopes for Obama . Reaction to speech . Public inauguration-viewing parties were held in auditoriums , schools and arenas across the country , where the atmosphere mirrored the excitement in Washington . Watch people react at viewing parties '' `` People are cheering here as if they were there , '' Irene Koehler of Fremont , California , said of the atmosphere in Oakland 's Oracle Arena . More than 200 parishioners from the First AME Church , the largest African-American Church in Los Angeles , gathered in the recreation hall to pray together and share in the excitement of an historic moment . Dressed in Obama shirts and hats , the level of audience participation had the effect of transporting the crowd to Washington . They stood when Sen. Dianne Feinstein asked the crowd to `` please stand '' and bowed their heads in prayer . They sang along with Aretha Franklin and even took pictures of the screen when Obama appeared . A handful of viewers had tears in their eyes , but most were filled with `` pure joy . '' `` On Election Night , I was full of tears . I am all cried out -- it is all about joy now , '' said 72-year-old Shirley Turner-Haymer , the granddaughter of a former slave . Even young parishioners derived some significance from the event . `` It 's really inspirational that we have a black president now ... because now I could see I can do whatever I want , '' said David Colvin , 10 . Lynn Gabriel Thomas , far right , says she is watching the inauguration in honor of her father . Lynn Gabriel Thomas , daughter of Tuskegee Airman Daniel Moore , was one of about 300 people who crammed into the Jackie Robinson Center in Pasadena , California , to watch the inauguration . `` My father would be so thrilled to see this , Barack Obama being sworn in . '' Thomas said . `` He loved parades , and he hated crowds . I 'm here for him . '' Across the country in New York 's Bronx borough , students huddled in the halls of a school to watch the ceremony on a projection screen . `` They were cheering ; they were clapping ; they were in awe because everything we had talked about they were able to see , '' teacher Marta Rendon said . `` When they heard Obama 's speech , they were right there clapping and screaming with the rest of us . It was really something . It was really amazing . Watch Obama promise hope over fear '' More than 100 people gathered at the central library in downtown Minneapolis , Minnesota , to watch the ceremony . `` It was really exciting to see people being excited about the country and really happy about there being a new president . And it was great to see such a collective sense of community ... hope and happiness , '' said Jessica Namakkal , a 29-year-old graduate student from Minneapolis . `` I think Obama 's speech was great and that he really addressed the past eight years in a diplomatic and fair way , while also sort of pushing forward in a good way . '' The unusually bitter cold affected the turnout at Daytona Beach , Florida 's , outdoor inauguration celebration , forcing people to take shelter at a local bar . Sean Mingo and his mother , Joan , watched the inauguration in Daytona Beach , Florida . More than 50 people packed into Mai Tai to watch the inauguration on television . Among them were Joan Mingo and her 13-year-old son , Sean , who stayed home from school to watch Obama take the oath of office . `` This is very historical , '' said Sean , who followed Obama 's campaign and watched every debate . `` Obama is inspiring . I want to work in politics . '' Sean said his favorite line of Obama 's speech was `` we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist . '' As Obama was sworn in , the coffee-drinking bar patrons laughed , applauded and wiped tears from their eyes . `` Obama gives us hope , son , that you can be whatever you want , '' Joan Mingo said to her son . What Obama means to Americans . Obama 's rise holds special meaning for Solas B. Lalgee , who was in New York 's Times Square for the inauguration . View images from the inauguration '' `` I 'm ecstatic , '' said Lalgee , 30 , whose father is from the West Indies . `` It 's the first time in my life I 've ever had someone to look up to . I 'm a mixed , multi-ethnic , multinational person , and I 've never had someone I could look up to politically and say , ` That 's somebody who can represent me . That 's somebody who I can relate to . That 's somebody that my family can relate to , ' and the fact that he actually made it into office is just ... it gives me hope that I can do whatever I want to do in my life and not have a glass ceiling above me . '' `` To me , as an immigrant , it really means a lot to see a son of immigrants -- not only an African American but a son of immigrants -- come to the highest office in the land , '' she added . `` There 's hope . And I hope to transmit that to my children . '' Chinoise Noble and her mother , Yolanda Lee-Singleton , watched the inauguration in Los Angeles ' Nokia Plaza . In California at downtown Los Angeles ' Nokia Plaza , 23-year-old Chinoise Noble clutched a photograph of her grandmother as tears streamed down her face . She said she brought the photo so her late grandmother could be with her on a day though that her grandmother never believed would come . She `` would never in a million years have thought there 'd be a black president ! '' Noble said . In Birmingham , Alabama , the site of racial turmoil during the Civil Rights era , Fred Jemison had high hopes for the Obama administration . `` The biggest thing that I look forward to , that I anticipate from this , is unity throughout the country , racially and politically , '' Jemison told CNN affiliate WBMA at Birmingham 's Boutwell Auditorium . At the Jewish Home , a senior living facility in Los Angeles ' San Fernando Valley , about 70 residents and staff members watched the inauguration . `` This is wonderful and exciting , '' said 92-year-old Sylvia Segal , wearing a Barack Obama T-shirt . `` There 's never been an inauguration like this one , with so many millions giving respect to the United States and an extraordinary man . '' Shelly Balzac , 81 , said that he voted for Obama and that when he was a teenager , his father took him to Chicago 's Soldier Field to witness Franklin Delano Roosevelt campaigning . `` It 's momentous when you look at the conglomeration of all citizens of all colors and all creeds , '' said Balzac , a World War II veteran who said he witnessed the `` dehumanizing of blacks '' during those years and fought against it within the U.S. military . `` It is an emotional day for me , '' Balzac said . `` I realize the tremendous stride in making this a more unified country . '' Stan Keller and his daughter , Nancy , watch the inauguration at the Jewish Home in Los Angeles . `` I was crying inside all day , '' said Stan Keller , 88 . He said Obama has inspired him to try to make a difference in the world . `` I came on Earth to make it a better place to live . I get that inspiration from this man , '' he said . iReporter Lee Ann Schmidt of Danbury , Connecticut , watched at home with her husband and two dogs . `` Just to be alive in this time to witness this , it means more to me than anything , '' she said . `` I 'm 35 . My generation has never really seen the entire country come together in a positive way like this . It really does give me hope for our country . '' In Raleigh , North Carolina , iReporter Sam Shaber watched the events with his parents at their house . `` We are all snowed in and have a bottle of champagne ready , '' he said . `` I am gay , and to have just any minority be elected is such a milestone in so many ways . '' Hopes for Obama . Jeff Teasley , a 49 year-old Navy veteran from Cheyenne , Wyoming , has been disabled since he hurt his back in 1990 . Jeff Teasley , in his home in Cheyenne , Wyoming , hopes Obama is `` the best thing since running water . '' Teasley , a Republican who did not vote for Obama , was less enthusiastic over Obama 's inauguration . Like many here in Wyoming , he fears that President Obama will expand the government and pass the cost onto people like him . `` With bigger government comes bigger taxes and with bigger taxes comes more strain on everybody 's households . '' But Teasley said he is still rooting for the new president . `` I hope he pulls it off . I hope he 's the best thing since running water because we need a leader , we need someone to direct these people in Washington . '' Others were more optimistic . In downtown Atlanta , Georgia , hundreds of people huddled together in freezing weather in Centennial Olympic Park to watch on two screens . Watch kids from Atlanta sing for Obama '' `` There 's hope for a change , '' said Sonita Horn , a homemaker whose husband lost his job as an electrician in Atlanta and now travels three weeks out of four to Virginia for work . She said she hoped not only that Republicans and Democrats would find a way to work together but that the races would , too . `` Everyone will be treated equally , '' she predicted . `` We 're now a United States of America , not a black America or a white America . '' CNN 's Chris Welch , Michael Cary , Paul Vercammen , Lindy Hall and Jim Spellman contributed to this report . | NEW : Man says Obama inspires him to make Earth `` a better place to live '' NEW : Republican hopes Obama turns out to be `` best thing since running water '' Teen who took off school to watch speech with mom calls Obama inspiring . `` It 's a brand new day for the country , '' man in New York says . | [[7763, 7836], [7771, 7836], [7840, 7891], [8720, 8732], [8735, 8758], [8771, 8825], [9264, 9311], [3962, 3987], [3997, 4038], [4164, 4183], [4197, 4261], [4364, 4387], [5773, 5802], [5829, 5884], [8307, 8317], [8320, 8334], [8337, 8410]] |
BUENOS AIRES , Argentina -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- When Susana Trimarco 's daughter Marita Veron was 23 , she vanished from their hometown in Argentina , a suspected victim of a human trafficking and prostitution ring with links throughout Latin America and Europe . Marita Veron , who is missing , hugs her daughter Micaela . Police believe Marita was forced into sexual slavery . Trimarco , 54 , has spent the past 6 1/2 years searching for her daughter , often putting herself at risk . While chasing down leads on Marita 's whereabouts , she 's entered dark and dangerous brothels and confronted pimps and politicians who , she says , are complicit in her daughter 's disappearance . She has won accolades throughout Latin America , Europe and the United States for her work . But Marita is nowhere to be found . `` Marita is a wonderful and caring girl . My life will be completely absorbed with this fight until she is back and safe , '' Trimarco said . On April 3 , 2002 , Veron left her house in the northern Argentine province of Tucuman early for a doctor 's appointment . She was wearing a turquoise shirt , blue jeans and old white sneakers . As she left the house , she told her mother , `` Do n't worry . I 'll be back soon . '' Those were the last words the two exchanged . The investigation that has followed has led police and Trimarco to believe that she was kidnapped and forced into prostitution , either in rural Argentina or Spain . So far , a series of random clues has failed to provide any concrete information on Marita 's whereabouts . Now , art is imitating life on Argentina 's airwaves . Trimarco 's story has become the basis of one of Argentina 's most popular nighttime soap operas , `` Vidas Robadas , '' or `` Stolen Lives . '' Watch art imitate activism '' The program premiered in March on Telefe , one of Argentina 's largest television networks , to a lukewarm response . But as the storyline and characters evolved and word started to spread , the audience grew , and it became water-cooler television . `` Stolen Lives '' attracts more than 2 million viewers nightly , a considerable feat considering Argentina 's population is only 40 million . The show 's plot centers on widowed anthropologist Bautista Amaya -LRB- played by Facundo Arana -RRB- and Rosario Soler -LRB- Soledad Silveyra -RRB- -- the mother of a young kidnapped girl , based on Trimarco -- who team up to unravel an underground prostitution ring . `` With every performance , I try to display the inner feelings of this woman who is suffering , to transmit her grief , '' Silveyra said . `` As an actress , I feel an enormous responsibility . '' The usual telenovela themes of love , passion and revenge are ever present in `` Stolen Lives , '' but the show strives to expose an issue that has remained in the dark in Argentina until recently . Human rights groups in Argentina estimate that 800 women have gone missing at the hands of human traffickers since 2007 . Worldwide , about 800,000 people are trafficked across borders annually , according to the U.S. State Department . `` I am delighted that the show has been able to bring this topic to light , because no one ever talked about human trafficking in Argentina before , '' Trimarco said . `` Stolen Lives '' is the latest in a series of recent Argentine telenovelas that dissect important social issues while also aiming to entertain . One of the most important was the 2006 hit `` Montecristo , '' which examined crimes against humanity committed by Argentina 's military during the 1970s and 1980s . Local versions of `` Montecristo '' are produced in nine countries around the globe , including Turkey , Portugal , Mexico and Russia . `` With these types of telenovelas , we are able to bring something entirely new to the public debate . And because we take a fictional and not a journalistic approach , we are able to attract and keep more viewers , '' Telefe programming director Claudio Villarruel said . `` Montecristo '' helped reunite children of Argentina 's Dirty War who `` disappeared '' with lost family members . The Dirty War happened from 1976-83 , when the government carried out a secret campaign to purge the country of those it considered to be dissidents . `` Stolen Lives '' is making a similarly strong impact . Trimarco established a foundation in her daughter 's honor , Fundacion Maria de los Angeles , last year in Tucuman . It counts U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Earl Wayne and Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner among its supporters . According to Trimarco , the foundation has rescued 360 women and children from trafficking networks , and leads on missing people continue to pour in . Argentina passed its first national law against human trafficking this year , a law that Trimarco lobbied hard to get passed . Meanwhile , praise rings from home and abroad . In May , `` Stolen Lives '' was declared a show of `` social interest '' by the Buenos Aires City legislature . In 2007 , Trimarco received the U.S. State Department 's `` International Women of Courage Award '' from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a ceremony in Washington . Later this year , Trimarco will travel to Spain to speak about human trafficking with lawmakers from the European Union . `` It 's just like Condoleezza Rice told me : My screams are being heard all over the world , '' she said . Trimarco travels around Argentina constantly , educating people about human trafficking , and following up on clues about Marita . She is also raising Marita 's daughter , Micaela , 9 . With all the publicity surrounding the case and the success of `` Stolen Lives , '' Trimarco has herself become a target . Her accusations of political and police involvement have led to death threats , she says . Still , she remains committed to the cause and says that collaborating with the producers of `` Stolen Lives '' to tell her story has helped give her the strength to continue searching for her daughter . `` I 'm content , because my pain is now serving a purpose , '' she said . | Argentine woman vanished in 2002 ; it 's believed she was forced into prostitution ring . Argentine soap opera , based on Marita 's mother 's search , probes human trafficking . Mom : `` My life will be completely absorbed with this fight until she is back and safe '' Mother Susana Trimarco 's foundation tries to save women , children from sex slavery . | [[320, 374], [1282, 1408], [1326, 1447], [853, 931]] |
MOSCOW , Russia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A team of experts gathered Friday on Russia 's Kamchatka Peninsula to decide how to deal with marauding bears that reportedly have killed two people recently . As many as 12,000 bears live on Russia 's Kamchatka Peninsula . The bears are blamed for the deaths of two guards at a geological station near a platinum mine on the peninsula in far eastern Russia . Russian media reports cite local law enforcement officials as saying the remains of the two men had been `` gnawed on . '' Groups of bears have been reported in the region since the deaths , and many people have refused to work at the mine , saying they are afraid . Three hunters and a representative of Koryakgeoldobycha , employer of around 400 people at the mine , will evaluate the danger and decide whether killing a few animals is necessary , said Vladimir Rudeyev of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry in Kamchatka . `` All decisions are made locally , '' he told CNN . `` No licenses -LSB- for shooting bears -RSB- have been issued yet . Reports came out that they were , but that 's incorrect . '' Hunters might need to kill only the most aggressive bears , he said . Generally , bears are timid animals and need only to be scared off . Exterminating wild bears that are not afraid of humans is relatively common in Canada and the United States . Trouble in northeastern Kamchatka began when the two unarmed geological station guards were found dead July 17 . More than 93 miles -LRB- 150 kilometers -RRB- away , about 20 bears came into another station several days later . Then , dozens more wild bears were seen 25 to 50 miles -LRB- 40 to 80 kilometers -RRB- away , around various stations and villages in the area . `` Bears came out to where they used to live before , '' Rudeyev said . `` It constantly happens on the Kamchatka Peninsula , on various rivers , places where people work . '' Humans are to blame because they attract the animals by leaving out trash or they frighten bear cubs , turning them into aggressive grown-ups , he said . Laura Williams , senior adviser for the World Wildlife Fund in Russia , also said it 's the search for food that probably drives bears close to human camps . Kamchatka bears are used to feeding on salmon in the summer , but there have been fewer of the fish in local rivers this year because of overfishing , contamination or natural causes . `` When -LSB- bears -RSB- do n't have salmon , they go into some of the settlements , creating bad situations both for themselves and people , '' Williams said . `` When you 're in bear country , it 's important to know how to act when you meet a bear . '' The Kamchatka Peninsula has long been known for its brown bear population , estimated at 8,000 to 12,000 . In some areas of the peninsula , the population density is the greatest in the world . Human deaths from bears are rare , and Williams said it would be an overstatement to say the situation this year is out of hand . CNN 's Mike Sefanov contributed to this report . | Two guards killed July 17 near platinum mine , apparently by bears . Groups of bears seen in other parts of Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia . Official says it may be necessary to shoot some bears to protect people . Experts say salmon shortage is driving bears into closer contact with humans . | [[124, 194], [259, 394], [1359, 1471], [1399, 1471], [259, 394], [518, 583], [1587, 1591], [1594, 1673]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Justine Henin booked her place in the third round of the Australian Open after she claimed a 7-5 7-6 -LRB- 8-6 -RRB- victory over fifth seed Elena Dementieva in Melbourne on Wednesday . The Belgian , who won the tournament in 2004 , came through an enthralling clash which lasted two hours 50 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena . Henin , who is playing in her first Grand Slam event since she ended her 20-month retirement from tennis , took the first set but Russian Dementieva hit back in an enthralling second set to take a 4-2 advantage . Wildcard Henin then broke back to take the next three games and the match went to tie-break but Dementieva was unable to take the match into a third set as Henin clinched victory with a fierce volley . After the match Henin admitted it was exactly the kind of match which vindicated her decision to return to competitive tennis . `` It 's great feeling . It 's magical to win this kind of match in this kind of atmosphere , '' Henin told reporters in the post-match press conference . `` It was a great match . It was very emotional for me on the court at the end because there was so much intensity . To play this kind of match in the second round , for me , after two years off in a Grand Slam , it 's just the kind of situation that I needed , . `` The crowd gave me so much . So respectful at the end . It was a special night tonight . That 's why I probably came back on the tour , was to live this kind of matches . '' Blog : Belgians lead the way in Melbourne . Henin will now play another Russian in 27th seed Alisa Kleybanova with a potential quarterfinal on the horizon against compatriot Kim Clijsters who came through in straight sets - 6-3 , 6-3 - against Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn . Fellow Belgian Wickmayer continued her recent good form by knocking out Italian 12th seed Flavia Pennetta 7-6 -LRB- 7-2 -RRB- 6-1 . Elsewhere , third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova recorded a 6-2 6-2 victory over fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova while Denmark 's Caroline Wozniacki overcome a nervy first set against Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak to win 6-4 6-2 . Seventh seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus cruised to a routine 6-2 6-0 victory over France 's Stephanie Cohen-Aloro while Russian Vera Zvonareva eased past Slovakian Kristina Kucova by the same margin . | Justine Henin booked her place in the third round of the Australian Open after she claimed a 7-5 7-6 -LRB- 8-6 -RRB- victory over fifth seed Elena Dementieva . Fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters came through in straight sets - 6-3 , 6-3 - in her clash with Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn . Third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova recorded a 6-2 6-2 victory over fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova . | [[0, 15], [33, 204], [1646, 1670], [1675, 1761], [1894, 1903], [1906, 2008]] |
Tehran , Iran -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Five people arrested after street disturbances erupted in Tehran during the recent Ashura holy day could face the death penalty , an Iranian semi-official news agency reported Thursday . The Iran Labor News Agency reported that the five will be tried for Moharebe , or waging war against God -- a charge that could be punishable by execution . ILNA attributed the information in its report to the Iranian judiciary . The case will be tried `` soon '' with defense lawyers and a prosecutor-general representative present at proceedings . `` Confessions of the accused and the investigations of the authorities '' will be considered , ILNA said . Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi , prosecutor for the Public and Revolution Courts , had stressed that people who created disturbances on the Shiite Muslim holy day of Ashura `` by setting fire to public property and other similar crimes '' were engaging in acts `` tantamount to Moharebe , '' ILNA said . In-depth coverage of the protests in Iran . `` The judiciary will severely confront those people based on the law , '' the report said . Anti-government demonstrations began after the disputed June 12 presidential vote , which re-elected hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over main opposition candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi . But late December marked the deadliest clashes since the initial protests broke out this summer . At least seven people were killed and hundreds arrested , witnesses said , as they took to the streets on Ashura , which occurred on December 27 . The Iranian government has denied that its security forces killed anyone and has blamed reformists for the violence . At times , video has shown protesters apparently turning on security forces . | ILNA reports five protesters will be tried for waging war against God . The charge , called `` Moharebe '' carries possible death penalty . The case will be tried `` soon , '' according to Iranian press . Witnesses said at least seven people were killed and hundreds arrested during protests on December 27 . | [[163, 219], [220, 324], [325, 361], [450, 569], [1404, 1441], [1442, 1459], [1462, 1471], [1404, 1425], [1462, 1476], [1479, 1516]] |
Tehran , Iran -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Nearly 90 professors at Iran 's oldest and largest university signed a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , criticizing the government 's violent handling of student protesters . `` The issue that has left a bitter taste in the mouths of the devout Muslim and patriots of this land is the violent and above the law -LSB- illegal -RSB- encounters , particularly with University students and faculty members of this land , '' says the letter , which was posted on the reformist Web site `` Rahesabz , '' or `` Green Path . '' `` In fact , the nightly attacks on the dormitories and living quarters of innocent students and daily assaults on them ... are not testaments to the power of the system , just as the violent beatings and imprisonments are not testament to its faith and piety . '' The professors ask Khamenei to order revolutionary guards , government-sanctioned militiamen and others who have engaged in campus violence to vacate the university . The letter also calls for official apologies for beatings of university members and the unconditional release of detained students and faculty . There was no immediate government response to the letter . The 88 professors -- all of whom are considered employees of the Islamic republic -- who signed the letter are `` risking their jobs and God knows what else , '' said Ali Alfoneh , a research fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute who has researched the relationship between Iranian civilians and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard . `` Some of them may end up arrested , '' he added . The letter , posted on a reformist Web site Monday , is a rare and significant showing of discontent among Tehran University 's academics . Student unrest has only increased since thousands of protesters turned out on the streets of Iran to oppose the country 's disputed presidential election , in which hardline incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the overwhelming winner . `` Unfortunately and sadly ; all of this takes place under the veil of safeguarding Islam and the representation of the supreme leadership and , even more sadly , no institution or organization accepts responsibility for this savagery ! '' The anti-government demonstrations began following the disputed June 12 presidential vote , which re-elected hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over main opposition candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi . Last month marked the deadliest clashes since the initial protests broke out this summer . At least seven people were killed and hundreds arrested as they took to the streets on Ashura , a Shiite Muslim holy day . One university researcher told CNN he was one of many beaten by police , struck with a baton 11 times . Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa-Mohammad Najjar warned Saturday that the government will not show leniency to protesters in the future . `` It does n't surprise me that professors wrote this letter , because universities have been one of the first victims of increased government pressure , '' Alfoneh said . In the aftermath of the election , Tehran University and other institutions quickly became hotbeds of violence , with members of the government 's Basij militia attacking young protesters on campus , including dormitories . In August , Khamenei addressed a group of university professors from all over , noting that academics would be held to a higher standard of accountability -- especially after the elections . `` Naturally , the expectations that we have of the professors and faculty is much greater than what we expect from the students , '' Khamenei was quoted by Iranian media as saying on August 30 . `` The students are the young officers on the front lines of this war and the professors are the commanders -LSB- against -RSB- this ` soft war ' -- the professors who can fulfill this role will be worthy of the Islamic republic . '' The Iranian government has denied that its security forces killed anyone and has blamed reformists for the violence . At times , video has shown protesters apparently turning on security forces . Still , the letter serves as another blow to Iran 's Islamic leadership , which reformists say has lost credibility in its handling of the post-election unrest . Several critics , including cleric and former presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi have compared the tactics of the current government to those of the Shah of Iran , who was overthrown by the same fervent followers of Islam more than 30 years ago . Alfoneh noted that numerous petitions were drafted and published in the days leading up to the overthrow of the Shah , who was also slammed with allegations of injustice and human rights violations under his watch . He said it 's no surprise that academics today are taking a similar approach as it becomes increasingly harder to teach amid the violence . `` The opposition and even ordinary citizen are trying to duplicate the events of 30 years ago -- they 're trying to play to the memory of the public , '' Alfoneh said . CNN 's Samira Simone contributed to this report . | Nearly 90 Tehran professors sign letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei . Letter criticizes government 's violent handling of student protesters . Letter seeks apologies for beatings of university members and release of students , faculty . Anti-government demonstrations began following the disputed June 12 presidential vote . | [[0, 6], [9, 29], [76, 151], [9, 29], [154, 224], [1002, 1012], [1018, 1146], [1791, 1904], [1859, 1904], [1910, 2003], [2244, 2333], [2446, 2536], [2492, 2536]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Wisconsin man accused of poisoning his wife with antifreeze and convicted of murdering her was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison with no chance of parole . Mark Jensen 's chin quivers as a letter from his sons is read in court Wednesday before his sentencing . Mark Jensen , 48 , was found guilty Thursday in Elkhorn , Wisconsin , of killing his wife , Julie Jensen , in 1998 . The prosecution said the murder culminated years of torment . `` Your crime is so enormous , so monstrous , so unspeakably cruel that it overcomes all other considerations , '' Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder said before pronouncing the sentence . Watch the judge lower the boom '' Prosecutors contended that Jensen poisoned his 40-year-old wife with antifreeze and then suffocated her in 1998 , but the defense argued that Julie Jensen was a depressed woman who killed herself and framed her husband . Julie Jensen had given a neighbor a letter pointing an accusing finger at her husband should anything happen to her . She also made foreboding comments to police and to her son 's teacher , saying she suspected her husband was trying to kill her . Her letter , read aloud in court , said in part : `` I pray I 'm wrong + nothing happens ... but I am suspicious of Mark 's suspicious behaviors + fear for my early demise . '' Read the letter '' The case turned on the admissibility of the letter , which would have been considered unusable `` hearsay '' evidence if Schroeder had not ruled that it was a `` dying declaration . '' In such cases , the defendant has no opportunity to face his accuser . After the verdict , jurors told reporters that the letter gave them `` a clear road map '' to conviction , as one female juror phrased it . Another female juror said he believed Mark Jensen was trying to push his wife over the edge . `` He tortured Julie hoping she could be classically diagnosed as a nutcase , '' she said . Several of the jurors were in the court gallery for the sentencing hearing Wednesday . Jensen , dressed in blue jail fatigues , sat stoically while Julie Jensen 's four brothers asked for the harshest possible sentence . `` I hope the court shows the same mercy and compassion that the defendant showed our sister , '' Patrick Griffin , the victim 's youngest brother , said . Watch brothers demand justice '' But Jensen 's chin quivered and his eyes watered when his attorney read a letter from Jensen 's two sons , David and Douglas . `` He never failed to support us throughout this ordeal , '' the sons wrote in requesting mercy for their father . '' ... If anyone in this world is the epitome of loyalty , it is our dad . '' E-mail to a friend . CNN 's Jim Kavanagh contributed to this report . | Mark Jensen sentenced for poisoning wife with antifreeze . Victim 's posthumous letter led jurors to verdict . Defense portrayed victim as depressed wife who committed suicide . | [[19, 82], [358, 377], [395, 404], [692, 803], [810, 868], [834, 912]] |
-LRB- LifeWire -RRB- -- Nancy Dunetz , who teaches English as a second language in New York City , sat down in the school staff room to check her e-mail . One of the messages in her inbox was from an acquaintance she 'd been corresponding with since their 50th high school reunion last year . In a survey of 4,000 people , about a third said they had accidentally sent an e-mail to the wrong person . But this e-mail last June did n't contain chummy banter or reminiscences . It simply included a lewd photo of a partly unclothed young man . The file name of the picture was `` Mid East Hottie . '' `` I was shocked ! '' says Dunetz , 68 . She hastily closed the e-mail and tried to erase the image from her mind . Later that day , the sender e-mailed an apology to her and two dozen others who had received the e-mail . He explained he 'd been experimenting with his new computer and was trying to figure out how to add attachments to an e-mail , Dunetz says . In doing so , he attached an image from his desktop and tried to send it to himself . Instead , the e-mail program automatically filled in an entire group from his address book -- something he apparently did n't realize until after he hit the `` send '' button . `` I felt terrible for him , '' Dunetz says . `` I could imagine just how mortified he must have been . '' With some 55 billion e-mails being sent daily -LRB- not including spam -RRB- , according to e-mail archiving company The Radicati Group , misdirected e-mails have become the online equivalent of a wrong number . They 're unavoidable , annoying -- and often embarrassing . The ` uh-oh ' e-mail . In a recent online survey conducted by AOL , 32 percent of the 4,000 respondents have at one time or another mistakenly forwarded an e-mail to an unintended recipient . And often , it 's something not so nice . Karla Comer , an account executive at an ad agency in Greensboro , North Carolina , knows just how embarrassing that can be . In 2004 , Comer met a guy at a concert and went out with him a few times , but ultimately realized she was n't interested . `` He was just awkward and clumsy . And sometimes I 'd catch him staring at me , which really creeped me out , '' she says . She tried to end the relationship by simply not returning his phone calls . `` But then he e-mailed and casually said that he had not heard from me in a while and he hoped everything was fine but just assumed I was busy , '' says Comer , 31 . `` Before I returned his e-mail , I sent the message to a close girlfriend with a blurb about what an idiot I thought he was and that dating him was a bad idea because he had no understanding of social cues . '' She thought she sent the `` he 's an idiot '' e-mail only to her girlfriend . To her horror , Comer says , the spurned beau replied a few minutes later , calling her some not-so-sweet names and suggesting that she `` share THIS e-mail with your friends . '' `` I was speechless , '' says Comer , who chose to not respond . `` But eventually I was able to laugh at it . '' When errant e-mails are sent at work , however , there 's often much more at stake than personal embarrassment . Three years ago , Jamie Diamond , 33 , e-mailed his then-boss to ask about a client at the public relations firm where he was working . His boss wrote back , criticizing the client as incompetent and urging Diamond to `` go around him if you want to get anything done . '' Unfortunately , Diamond says , she also sent the e-mail to the client -- oops , make that ex-client . `` One click , and suddenly we 'd lost a $ 5 million account , '' says Diamond , who is now self-employed as a publicist in Williams , Oregon . Can you turn back time ? Short of erasing someone 's memory , there is no surefire way to retrieve a missent e-mail . Microsoft Outlook has a `` recall '' function that can erase unread e-mails from the in-box of the recipient -- as long as the recipient is using the same mail client or server as the sender -- as does AOL , but only for messages between AOL users . -LRB- Both AOL and CNN are divisions of Time Warner . -RRB- . Then there 's BigString.com , an e-mail service which lets you tinker with -LRB- or even erase -RRB- messages that have already been sent by having the sender write e-mails that are created , stored and viewed on a remote server , where they can be edited or revoked at any time ; recipients are actually accessing the e-mail on the remote server when they read the message , even though it looks like a regular e-mail . But old-fashioned vigilance is probably the best way to avert these snafus in the first place . Roger Matus , CEO of e-mail archiving company InBoxer Inc. and keeper of the blog Death By Email , believes the easiest way to avoid these mistakes is to forget that the `` reply all '' button even exists . `` Simply put , there is rarely a real reason to use it , '' he says . `` Often , when you hit it , you end up e-mailing people who were blind carbon copied without realizing . '' Matus offers the following tips on avoiding e-mail embarrassment : . • Type out the person 's full name when addressing your e-mail . If you type just the first few letters and let your e-mail program fill out the rest based on your address book , it could easily misroute your message without your realizing it . • Double-check the addresses of your intended recipients before you hit `` send . '' Do you really want all the people to get this particular message ? • Be sure to notify your company 's legal department if there is any chance that governance , compliance or privacy regulations were violated as a result of something you sent by mistake . • Immediately notify the person who received the e-mail that it was a mistake and , if possible , ask them not to read the message -- or at least to delete it right away . LifeWire provides original and syndicated content to Web publishers . Anna Jane Grossman is a freelance writer in New York City . | Author shares embarrassing stories of e-mail sent to wrong person . `` One click , and suddenly we 'd lost a $ 5 million account , '' says publicist . Service called BigString.com lets e-mailers tinker with or erase messages . Expert 's advice : Type recipient 's full name and never use reply-all . | [[1728, 1795], [3556, 3588], [4132, 4149], [4156, 4190], [4132, 4149], [4186, 4274], [5075, 5139]] |
NEW YORK -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A long line of hospital staff wraps around the corridor outside a small conference room in New York to catch a glimpse of the precious cargo . A worker looks at the mummified skull of King Tut in November 2007 . Inside are the three frail bodies in open wooden crates causing all the commotion . Another body -- a prince no less -- is a few rooms down in a computer tomography scanner . The bodies are part of the Brooklyn Museum 's collection of 11 Egyptian mummies , transported to the North Shore University Hospital to be scanned . The goal : Find out who they are , how they might have died and establish a chronology of advances in ancient Egypt 's mummification techniques . The process is not necessarily new . Egyptian mummies have been exposed to radiographic study since 1896 and CT scans , which conducts imaging by sections , for more than two decades . Perhaps the most famous of them , King Tutankhamun -LRB- c. 1355-346 B.C. -RRB- , was scanned in 2005 right outside the vault that holds his sarcophagus . The scan resulted in more than 17,000 images that were analyzed by an international team of radiologists , pathologists and anatomists , led by the world-renowned Zahi Hawass , the secretary general of Egypt 's Supreme Council of Antiquities . The scope and ability of CT scan technology are proving invaluable in learning more about the funeral rituals of ancient Egyptians and the mummies themselves . Whereas conventional X-rays can not clearly distinguish soft tissue from bone and can see only two planes , CT scanning can differentiate among the various types of bone and soft tissue , and reconstruct three-dimensional images that `` show fine detail inside coronary arteries down to 0.6 millimeters '' said Amgad Makaryus , director of cardiac CT and magnetic resonance imaging at North Shore , providing a better chance at diagnosis and differentiation among diseases . `` CT has proved to be exceptionally well-suited for studying the fragile , wrapped figures of Egyptian mummies , especially those still contained within their decorated plasterlike shells , or cartonnages , '' according to an article by a team of eight researchers , led by Derek N.H. Notman , published in the American Journal of Roentgenology . CT scanning is fast and non-invasive , Makaryus agrees . A scan of one of the four bodies brought to North Shore quickly revealed that the mummy named Lady Hor was actually a man . The body never had to leave its cartonnage for the procedure . In the case of King Tut , initial X-rays of his mummy decades ago showed fragments of bone inside his skull , causing speculation that he might have been killed by a blow to the back of the head . The scan immediately revealed that his skull was intact ; and the team found no other indication of foul play , according to its report . `` King Tut is the icon of Egyptian history , but he is only one of thousands of mummies we can study . Through CT scans , we can , in a way , bring the dead back to life , '' Hawass told National Geographic magazine . In another famous case , a CT scan helped identify the mummy of the Pharaoh Ramses I -LRB- 1293-1291 B.C. -RRB- in 2000 . It had been bought from a Canadian museum by the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta , Georgia . Dr. Heidi Hoffman , a former radiology resident at Emory now practicing in Chicago , Illinois , and part of the team of scientists who analyzed the pharaoh 's body , was able to observe a type of bone erosion , and `` coalescence of air cells can be seen in cases of chronic mastoiditis , '' an inflammatory condition usually due to chronic ear infections . Though easily treatable with antibiotics today , the pharaoh 's untreated ear infection could have spread and caused his death . At North Shore , Jesse Chusid , director of Imaging Informatics at the Department of Radiology , said the 64-slice CT scanner takes 0.6 mm-thick sectional scans and combines and magnifies them to provide extraordinary detail . Curators of the Brooklyn Museum reached out to North Shore for the first time in 2007 , to scan Demetrios , a 2,000-year-old mummy , before he was to join a traveling exhibit called `` To Live Forever : Egyptian Treasures From the Brooklyn Museum , '' opening at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk , Virginia , in October . Demetrios is called a `` red shroud mummy '' because of unusual red pigment in his linen shroud . Another red shroud mummy is in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles , California . There , CT scans revealed the remains of a mummified ibis , a bird sacred to Egyptians , wrapped inside . Curators of the Brooklyn Museum wanted to find out whether Demetrios had his own ibis , thought to be a sacrifice to the god Toth , whose head was an ibis . Demetrios did not have one . Still , Dr. Lawrence Boxt of North Shore University Hospital told The New York Times in 2007 that Demetrios either `` had an easy life or was carried around a lot . He certainly did n't do much heavy lifting during his lifetime . '' The same was true for the mummy of the royal prince Count of Thebes , Pa-seba-khai-en-ipet . Edward Bleiberg , curator of Egyptian , classical and ancient Middle Eastern art at the Brooklyn Museum , said initial findings of his scan reaffirmed his high status : A small incision to the side of the abdomen to remove the organs , while carefully leaving the heart in place , then filling the body with embalming liquids -- all indicated a high-quality mummification process . Why the heart ? In ancient Egypt , the heart was considered the thinking organ -- the center of the soul and the source of knowledge , Bleiberg said . `` The heart knows what a person thinks and feels , '' he said . `` It is supposed to be left in place during mummification so that it could be weighed against the feather of truth in the final judgment . '' The images produced on the latest mummies at North Shore will have to be studied for months before researchers gain new insight into ancient Egyptian funeral practices . In the meantime , some revelations brought to light by the scans beg more questions yet : Pa-seba-khai-en-ipet seems to have a tube lodged inside him , running from his mouth through his esophagus and into the top of his chest . Bleiberg said he and Makaryus are pretty certain that was not the cause of death , and that it was inserted post-mortem . Purpose ? That might be lost to the ages . | Radiologists at NY hospital analyze Egyptian mummies . CT testing allow radiologists to study mummies without doing damaging procedures . Recent CT scan reveals Egyptian mummy named Lady Hor was actually a man . | [[475, 494], [497, 563], [747, 827], [2334, 2366], [2390, 2457]] |
MIAMI , Florida -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Hurricane Omar became a major Category 3 storm Wednesday night as it barreled toward the Virgin and Leeward Islands in the West Indies , the National Hurricane Center said . A man watches waves crash into the shore Tuesday at Club Nautico in Falcon state , Venezuela . Omar is expected to continue gathering strength as it passes east of the Virgin Islands in the next few hours and makes its way to the northern Leeward Islands Thursday morning , the hurricane center said . At 11 p.m. , Omar was moving northeast at about 20 mph with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph . The hurricane 's center was about 30 miles -LRB- 45 km -RRB- southwest of St. Croix and about 105 miles -LRB- 165 km -RRB- southwest of St. Martin . A hurricane warning -- meaning winds of 74 mph and higher are expected within a day -- is in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands , the islands of Vieques , Culebra , St. Martin , Saba , St. Eustatius , St. Barthelemy , the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla . See where Omar is headed '' Puerto Rico is under a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch , as are St. Kitts and Nevis , the hurricane center said . As Omar approached , Hovensa , a 500,000-barrel-a-day oil refinery on St. Croix , began shutting down all processing and auxiliary equipment `` except those necessary to maintain power supply in the complex , '' refinery spokesman Alex Moorhead said in a statement . Watch Venezuelans try to save homes , dogs '' The move was to ensure the safety of employees and the operation of the refinery , which is jointly owned by Hess Corp. and Venezuela 's state oil company . The U.S. Coast Guard closed the Christiansted Harbor , where the refinery is located , on Tuesday , and it will remain closed until the order is lifted , Moorhead said . `` Once Hurricane Omar has passed , we will conduct an inspection of our facilities as soon as it is safe to do so . If no damage is found that would impact safe operation of the refinery , the start-up of processing units will begin in sequential order , '' Moorhead said . Puerto Rico and some portions of the northern Leeward Islands , which includes the Virgin Islands , could get up to 20 inches of rain , according to the forecast . `` These rains could produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides , '' the hurricane center warned . Also , the storm could produce large swells affecting the western and southern coasts of the Lesser Antilles , the Caribbean islands that stretch from the Virgin Islands southward to the islands off Venezuela 's coast . The swells could cause beach erosion and damage coastal structures , the hurricane center said . Antigua , Barbuda and Montserrat are under a tropical storm warning , meaning they could experience tropical storm conditions over the coming 24 hours . A tropical storm watch is in effect for Guadeloupe . The storm 's forecast track shows it heading into the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean after crossing over the Virgin Islands and sweeping past Puerto Rico , but hurricane tracks are subject to variation , and such long-range predictions can change . Omar formed Tuesday in the eastern Caribbean . It is the 15th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season , which began June 1 and ends November 30 . | NEW : Omar becomes Category 3 hurricane as it approaches Leeward Islands . U.S. Coast Guard shuts down Christiansted Harbor , where refinery is . Parts of Puerto Rico could see 20 inches of rain , mudslides , flash floods . Omar is 15th named storm of hurricane season , which ends November 30 . | [[0, 5], [8, 31], [35, 103], [1642, 1694], [1670, 1694], [1703, 1726], [2087, 2148], [2187, 2220], [2251, 2325], [3181, 3240], [3211, 3240], [3266, 3284]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Tropical Storm Ana threatened the Caribbean on Saturday , but it was too early to know how much trouble the first named storm of the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season might cause . Forecasters expect Tropical Storm Ana to hit the Leeward Islands on Monday . Ana formed overnight and was expected to gain strength as it moved west toward the Leeward Islands , where forecasters expect it to hit on Monday . The Dutch Antilles issued a storm watch for St. Maarten , Saba and St. Eustatius , meaning tropical storm conditions are expected in the islands within 36 hours , according to the Miami , Florida-based National Hurricane Center . For now , the center has advised the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to monitor the storm 's progress . As of 8 p.m. ET , Ana was about 730 miles -LRB- 1,180 km -RRB- east-southeast of the Leeward Islands , according to the hurricane center . Ana , with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph -LRB- 65 kph -RRB- , was moving west at about 17 mph -LRB- 28 kph -RRB- , the center reported . The storm is expected to turn west-northwest over the next few days , the center said . Ana may eventually hit Haiti and the Dominican Republic , but forecasters ca n't say whether Ana will strike the continental U.S. Further east in the Atlantic , Tropical Storm Bill has developed and is expected to become a hurricane Wednesday . Forecasters say Bill could evolve into a Category 3 hurricane as it approaches the Leeward Islands by Wednesday or Thursday . Bill was about 820 miles -LRB- 1,320 km -RRB- west-southwest of the Cape Verde islands at 5 p.m. ET . | NEW : Ana is 730 miles east of Leeward Islands , moving west at 17mph . Virgin Islands , Puerto Rico advised to monitor storm 's progress . Storm has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph , hurricane center says . | [[274, 277], [299, 372], [755, 770], [773, 855], [894, 897], [960, 1010], [652, 659], [662, 754], [905, 947]] |
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It is not often that football players are actively encouraged to play dirty -- unless of course they are taking part in a unique variant of the game called `` Swamp Soccer '' when it is virtually unavoidable . The competition is fierce in the 2009 Swamp Soccer World Championship held in Scotland . Originating from the bogs of Finland , the game was started by cross-country skiers who used the football matches in knee-deep mud to strengthen their leg muscles . The first tournament took place in 1997 with 13 teams , but now annual events take place in Sweden , Iceland , Russia and Brazil which can often feature over 200 teams . What do you think of Swamp Soccer ? Do you prefer Beach Football of another form of the game ? Let us know your thoughts on the ` Sound off ' box below . Glasgow Rangers fan Stewart Miller imported the concept to the United Kingdom after a chance meeting with founder Jyrki Vaananen while on a business trip to Iceland . Miller launched the first UK tournament in 2005 and now teams travel from all over the globe to the Scottish village of Strachur to try and become the annual Swamp Soccer World Champions . Watch the action from the bog '' . `` We had teams coming from as far afield as Australia and New Zealand to take part in the tournament this year so there is an international flavor to the event , '' Miller told CNN . `` There is a huge appetite to try out new things and I think that 's why Swamp Soccer is able to capture the imagination of people . `` The basic rules of football also apply to Swamp Soccer with the exception that matches are played in thick mud with six players on an oversized five-a-side pitch . `` It 's probably one of the only sports in the world where the worse the conditions are the better the sporting spectacle ! '' There is no offside in Swamp Soccer while kick-offs , throw-ins , corner kicks , free kicks and penalties are taken by using the hands to drop the ball onto a chosen foot . Teams are also allowed to make unlimited substitutions although no shoe changing is allowed for the match duration . Miller believes that the oft-used quote that the state of a pitch can bridge the gap between two unevenly match teams is even more applicable with Swamp Soccer . `` You could put the Brazilian national side up against an amateur team and you would n't know who would come out on top -- the pitch really does prove to be a leveler in this instance , '' he said . `` Although professional footballers are precious commodities these days -- I 'm not sure we 'll see any stars getting caked in mud too soon , most of them are far to pampered for that . `` Nobody 's ever been injured seriously playing in the swamp , sometimes somebody 's got a cut or two but nothing big -- so maybe when they retire from the game they might be prepared to give it a go . '' The imaginatively titled Real Mudrid , Mudchesthair United and Cowdungbeath were unable to make it past the group stages in the 44-team event which was won by FC Full Gunge from Poole in England who retained their title with a 1-0 victory over The Chocolate Men . This year 's Swamp Soccer tournament was held in a village in the Scottish countryside but Miller revealed that he intends to bring the mud game to metropolitan areas . He added : `` The future for Swamp Soccer is in the city and of course I 'm certain we 'll bring all the mud with us . It will certainly make a great spectacle if set up a swamp in the middle of Glasgow or Edinburgh , so watch this space . '' If you are interested in taking part in the 2010 Swamp Soccer World Championships visit the official Web site of the tournament . | Swamp Soccer was started by cross-country skiers on the bogs of Finland . The 2009 World Championships have just been held in Strachur , Scotland . Competitors came from all over the world to take part in the tournament . | [[335, 371], [374, 418], [275, 334], [3137, 3223], [1043, 1119], [1218, 1285]] |
New York -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Authorities on Sunday released the name of a woman who turned up in New York this month saying she had no memory of her name or family . She is Kacie Aleece Peterson , 18 , of Hansville , Washington , according to Paul Browne , deputy commissioner of the New York Police Department . Police a day earlier said a CNN viewer in Maryland identified the woman , who was found in Midtown Manhattan on October 9 outside a youth shelter . A photo of Peterson , who had been referred to as Jane Doe , was circulated by police and aired on CNN this week . Authorities did n't release Peterson 's name until Sunday . Browne said Peterson 's mother is dead and that her father is heading to New York . CNN affiliate KOMO-TV in Seattle , Washington , reported that her father went to New York on Sunday to bring her home . The family said it 's not the first time she disappeared and then later was found with apparent memory loss , the station reported . Peterson is from Colville in eastern Washington , KOMO reported . She had been living with a friend in Hansville and attending Kingston High School . The father said the daughter had gone to live temporarily with a friend of her late mother , the station reported . Scott Wilson , spokesman for the Kitsap County Sheriff 's Office , said Peterson was reported missing by her father on October 1 , KOMO reported . Detectives later discovered bank activity and other evidence that she was alive , he said . The woman was found outside Manhattan 's Covenant House youth shelter around 12:30 a.m. October 9 . The organization said that she was not a resident at the time and did not appear as if she intended to seek refuge at the facility . A security guard for the shelter noticed the woman walking on the sidewalk near Covenant House and approached her . Finding her unresponsive , he called the New York City Police Department . Police officers interviewed the woman , but it became clear that she could n't provide authorities with any information about herself . Police said she was wearing military green camouflage pants , a black shirt and a pair of black sneakers when she was discovered . The CNN viewer who identified her was familiar with her situation and knew she had been missing this month , police said . Police said they do not know how she lost her memory . `` I just want to know who I am and what happened to me , '' the young woman said in a statement previously released by the New York City Administration of Children 's Services . Evan Buxbaum , Susan Candiotti and Vanessa Juarez contributed to the report . | KOMO-TV : Family says this is n't first time woman found with apparent memory loss . Kacie A. Peterson , 18 , was found outside Manhattan youth shelter October 9 . Police : Woman claimed not to know her name , family . CNN viewer in Maryland identified the woman , police say . | [[839, 946], [338, 459], [1477, 1576], [116, 164], [312, 383], [338, 459]] |
-LRB- WIRED -RRB- -- With rumors piling up about a forthcoming Apple tablet , it appears more and more likely that such a device will emerge soon . This illustration imagines what an Apple tablet device might look like . But what 's still unclear is how this gadget will set itself apart from Apple 's multimedia-savvy product line , including the iPhone and iPod Touch , as well as the scores of failed tablet PCs that have come and gone . Judging from the company 's past moves , we 're betting that Apple 's tablet will be a media-centric device , focused -- at least in part -- on shaking up the publishing industry . Apple is already prepared to blow Amazon and other e-book makers out of the water with one key weapon : iTunes . Having served more than 6 billion songs to date , the iTunes Store has flipped the music industry on its head . It also turned mobile software into a lucrative industry , as proven by the booming success of the iPhone 's App Store , which recently surpassed 1.5 billion downloads . Apple has yet to enter the e-book market , and making books as easy to download as music and iPhone apps is the logical next step . What can Apple do better with e-books ? For textbooks or anthologies , Apple can give iTunes users the ability to download individual chapters , priced between a few cents to a few bucks each . It would be similar to how you can currently download individual song tracks from an album . It might even have the same earthshaking potential to transform an entire industry by refocusing it on the content people actually want instead of the bundles that publishers want them to buy . -LRB- Of course , Apple would likely offer the à-la-carte purchase model in addition to the option to purchase the entire book as one download -- a more attractive option for shorter works such as novels . -RRB- . College students would love this : Teachers rarely assign an entire textbook , so they would save hundreds of dollars by downloading only a few chapters of each textbook . Apple is already popular in the education sector , so here 's even more money to milk from students , with the textbook industry worth an estimated $ 9.8 billion . Sci-fi fans might only want one story from an anthology , or a historical researcher might target certain subjects . All Apple has to do to secure the book publishers ' enthusiastic cooperation is to offer them a generous cut of the revenues , like the 70 percent it currently offers app developers . Other than having the upper hand with digital distribution , an Apple tablet can compensate for other e-book readers ' shortcomings . In a previous story , Wired.com polled students on their interest in Amazon 's large-format Kindle DX reader . Several of them said they could n't imagine ditching textbooks for a Kindle DX , foreseeing challenges with tasks such as notetaking , highlighting and switching between books while writing essays . Assuming its computing powers and interface design are anything like the iPhone 's , a touchscreen tablet would make these student-oriented tasks as easy as a few swipes and taps -- far more pleasant than clunking around with the Kindle 's cheap buttons and sluggish interface . Plus , we would imagine students would be able to type their papers on the tablet . Then there 's the obvious : An Apple tablet would have color , making it better for displaying magazine pages , which could also be purchased through the iTunes Store . It would n't be saddled with a slow e-ink screen , so it could display video and browse the web with aplomb . Let 's not forget to mention the multitude of other tasks an Apple tablet will likely be able to perform if developers decide to code applications for it . Think along the lines of an interactive remote control to enhance the movie-viewing experience on your TV , or a music video player to accompany the tunes blasting from your stereo . Or , heck , even an album-cover display screen for you to gaze at while listening to music . -LRB- For more on an Apple tablet 's advantages versus current e-book readers , see Dylan Tweney 's story `` Large-Screen Kindle Wo n't Mean Squat if Apple Tablet Arrives . '' -RRB- . There 's huge potential in a tablet if Apple can pull this off . The challenge lies in establishing the right partnerships . If Apple weaves e-books into the iTunes Store , will book publishers hop on board ? Given Apple 's success in numbers , we think so . As for a data provider , it would be even better if Apple could work with a carrier such as Verizon to subsidize the tablet , bringing it closer to $ 500 -- a more attractive price point for students . Because the device presumably would not feature a phone , the monthly plans could be priced significantly lower than an iPhone -- $ 30 to $ 40 , perhaps , for an unlimited 3-G Internet connection . Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $ 1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT ! Click here ! Copyright 2009 Wired.com . | It appears more and more likely that an Apple tablet will emerge soon . iTunes could make device a potent rival to Amazon 's Kindle and other e-books . Users could have the ability to download individual chapters , not entire books . An Apple tablet would have color , making it better for displaying magazine pages . | [[78, 128], [110, 147], [1220, 1291], [1235, 1241], [1248, 1251], [1260, 1293], [1942, 1950], [1962, 2015], [3314, 3348], [3293, 3313], [3316, 3331], [3351, 3397], [3358, 3456]] |
TOKYO , Japan -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Typhoon Melor roared into central Japan on Thursday , leaving two people dead and lashing the region with heavy rain and gusty winds . Utility poles lie buckled in the wake of Typhoon Melor . The storm stayed west of Tokyo , but still caused enough trouble to shut down trains for a time and snarl commuter traffic . Numerous flights were canceled and delayed at the city 's two major airports . In western and northern Japan , Melor tore roofs off homes , downed power lines and flooded roads . The storm contributed to the deaths of a 54-year-old newspaper delivery man in Wakayama , who ran into a fallen tree , and a 69-year-old man from Saitama , who was crushed by a tree . By late Thursday , Melor had weakened to a tropical storm and was heading out to sea . -- CNN 's Kyung Lah contributed to this report . | Typhoon Melor roars into central Japan leaving two people dead . Storm avoided Tokyo but caused major disruption to transport networks . Storm 's victims were killed by falling trees . | [[47, 72], [8, 29], [87, 110], [225, 255], [225, 234], [262, 349], [670, 684], [689, 712]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- 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 -LRB- c -RRB- 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 can not 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 -LSB- ed -RSB- 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 . | Keep America Safe says its goal is providing effective rebuttal to Obama . Group 's founders say it has watched administration with `` concern and dismay '' NEW : Democratic Party calls Cheney foreign policy a `` sullied legacy '' Keeping focus on national security threats is one of group 's goals . | [[346, 359], [382, 468], [760, 830], [760, 765], [796, 891], [2130, 2179], [2236, 2306], [1536, 1711], [1555, 1711]] |
NEW YORK -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Police in Connecticut say they have arrested a woman suspected of robbing at least six banks in the past week . Police released photos of a suspect in the robberies of six New England banks . Detectives from the Major Crimes division of the Connecticut State Police took Heather Brown into custody at about 3:15 p.m. . The 34-year-old resident of Norwich , Connecticut , will be formally charged with robbery in the first degree , police said . Investigators believe Brown robbed the banks , often while claiming to have a bomb . `` When she goes into the banks , she gives the teller information through a note or verbally that she has a bomb , '' said Sgt. Jim Keeney of the Connecticut State Police . `` However , there have n't been any reports of an actual bomb . '' Authorities say they believe the woman has held up banks in the Connecticut towns of Middletown , Montville , East Hartford and Windsor , as well as banks in West Springfield , Massachusetts and Westerly , Rhode Island . Women commit 6.2 percent of bank robberies nationwide , up from 4.9 percent in 2002 , according to recent FBI figures . The one-woman crime wave in New England apparently began September 21 at the Citizens Bank in Montville , Connecticut . State police said `` a lone white female ... entered the bank with a bag in her possession . The suspect approached the teller indicated she was in possession of a bomb and demanded cash . '' The woman left the bag on a counter and bolted , police said . Four days later , a woman entered a branch of the New Alliance Bank in East Hartford , Connecticut . Investigators with the East Hartford Police Department said she `` left a note indicating that she had a bomb and demanded $ 1,000 . She fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of money . '' Police suspect she struck again the next day in Windsor , Connecticut . | Police say they have Heather Brown , 34 , in custody . Investigators say she held up at least six banks in the past week . She informs teller she has a bomb , but no actual bomb has been seen , police say . Police : Suspect lives in Norwich , Connecticut , has served time for bank robbery . | [[0, 24], [50, 139], [140, 219], [473, 525], [800, 1020], [816, 1020], [473, 486], [495, 500], [532, 557], [745, 796], [1354, 1429], [1377, 1449], [1677, 1749]] |
MADRID , Spain -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Chess legends Garry Kasparov and Anatoli Karpov faced off again in Spain on Tuesday , 25 years after their epic first world championship battle in Moscow , in what organizers are calling a `` historic revenge match . '' Garry Kasparov , right , and Anatoli Karpov play chess at the Arts Palau in Valencia , on Tuesday . Revenge or not , the past chess champs will receive undisclosed sums for playing the three-day , 12-game match in the eastern port city of Valencia . There will be no additional cash prize for the winner of the exhibition event , which the regional Valencia government is organizing under the title `` Valencia , cradle of modern chess , '' event spokesman Rafa Carretero told CNN . But bragging rights , yes , and perhaps with more on the line for Kasparov , who dominated the chess world for 20 years . Kasparov carried on that legacy on Tuesday , winning the first two games in this rematch , Spain 's state new agency EFE reported . Karpov was world champion when they began their initial five-month match in 1984 in Moscow . That match was controversially stopped by chess authorities , citing concerns about the health of the contestants after 48 grueling games . But the next year in Moscow , Kasparov beat Karpov in a rematch and went on to hold the number-one world chess ranking almost without interruption until his retirement in 2005 . The two last met , in their fifth match , in 1990 , with games played in New York and Lyon , France . Kasparov won . In a total of five world championship matches , Kasparov has the edge with 21 wins , 19 losses and 104 ties in a total of 144 games . Karpov , now 58 , and Kasparov , 46 , told Spanish newspaper El Pais they hoped the rematch in Valencia would put chess in the spotlight again . Karpov came from Russia to Valencia more than a week ago , with a team of elite trainers , organizers said . Kasparov arrived last Sunday from his home in Croatia , where he had been training . The match , at Valencia 's Palace of Arts , has attracted interest from ticket buyers on five continents , organizers said . One of the highest-profile fans on hand is Sulaiman Al-Fahim , president of the chess federation of the United Arab Emirates and owner of England 's Portsmouth football team . Dutchman Geurt Gijssen , who was referee for the last two matches between Karpov and Kasparov , will referee this match as well , the organizers said . Kasparov is now an opposition politician in Russia , running unsuccessfully against then-President Vladimir Putin in 2007 . During their first match , in 1984 , Kasparov was just 21 and Karpov was 33 . | Garry Kasparov and Anatoli Karpov face off again , in Valencia , Spain . Match comes 25 years after their epic first world championship battle in Moscow . Kasparov wins first two games in the 12-game rematch . Their 48-game Moscow match was controversially stopped citing health concerns . | [[9, 117], [254, 338], [991, 1083], [1022, 1083], [859, 867], [904, 947], [912, 947], [950, 990], [1084, 1143], [1084, 1094], [1146, 1223]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Muslims around the world woke up Sunday and welcomed the end of a long month of fasting with hearty greetings of `` Eid Mubarak , '' or happy festivities . Egyptian women perform the Eid al-Fitr dawn prayer at a stadium in Mansura , 120 km north of Cairo . The faithful were ushering in Eid al-Fitr -- three days of celebrations that Muslims mark with joyous community prayers , acts of charity , visits from far-flung relatives , gift-giving and elaborate feasts . `` Think Christmas , Thanksgiving , New Year 's -- all rolled into one . It 's that huge for us , '' said Sajjad Aziz of Hoboken , New Jersey . Islam follows a lunar calendar , and the timing of Eid al-Fitr varies around the world depending on when the crescent of a new moon is sighted . So , while most countries -- including the United States -- observed Eid on Sunday , some will begin their celebrations on Monday . The night before Eid , entire communities gather on rooftops , scanning the sky with giddy anticipation . `` It only needs one sighting of the moon in the whole country , and the whole nation erupts in cheers , '' said Qazi Arif , 35 , of Sirajgong , Bangladesh . `` It 's a divine feeling , hard to describe . '' Eid al-Fitr bids goodbye to Ramadan -- a month of dawn-to-dusk abstinence from food , drinks and other sensual pleasures . Muslims believe the Quran , the religion 's holy book , was revealed to Prophet Muhammad during Ramadan more than 1,400 years ago . The Eid is one of two major holidays in Islam , alongside another called Eid al-Adha . The latter commemorates the prophet Abraham 's willingness to sacrifice his son , Ishmael , for God . On the morning of Eid , Muslims don new clothes and head to prayers that are often held in open fields to accommodate crowds too big to contain in mosques . Those who can afford it donate a small percentage of their possession or its equivalent to the poor and needy so they too can avail themselves for the celebrations . Feasts await at every house . `` It 's a festival principally about community . We 're even asked to take a different route when we walk back from prayers so that we can meet different sets of people to greet and celebrate with , '' said Wasim Iqbal of Karachi , Pakistan . For Muslims in North America -- and countries where they are the minority -- Eid is a more subdued affair . `` If you have family close by , then you can kind of capture the mood that you remember from back home , '' said Abdallah Gamal , a native of Egypt who lives in St. Louis , Missouri . `` But it 's not the same . '' Because the U.S. Census does not ask about religious affiliation , it is difficult to gauge the Muslim population in the United States . The Pew Muslim American study conducted two years ago estimated it at 2.5 million , while the Council on American-Islamic Relations places it as high as 6 million . On Saturday , both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton offered greetings to American Muslims . `` We know there is more than unites peoples of faith than divides us , '' Clinton said . `` So as Ramadan draws to a close , let us hold on to that spirit of community throughout the year to achieve our common goals of peace , prosperity and stability . '' It is a message that Afghanistan 's president , Hamid Karzai , also shared during Eid prayers when he called on the Taliban to join the peace process in his war-weary country . The day was n't one of universal comity , however . In Yemen , the government and rebels accused each other Saturday of breaking a cease-fire they both asked for to commemorate Eid . And Iran 's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei used his Eid sermon to launch another volley at the country 's arch-rival Israel and at Western powers . `` We 're not quite there , I 'll will admit , '' said Mehreen Ali of Boston , Massachusetts . `` But have you seen an Eid prayer ? Rows and rows of Muslims all prostrating together in unison . It 's a feeling of such unity and brotherhood . You have to believe that with that spirit present , anything is possible . '' | Eid al-Fitr marks end of Ramadan -- dawn-to-dusk abstinence from food , drinks . Timing of Eid varies around world depending on when crescent of new moon sighted . On the morning of Eid , Muslims don new clothes and head to prayers . On Saturday Barack Obama offered greetings to American Muslims . | [[666, 715], [706, 773], [1664, 1685], [1688, 1720], [1688, 1731], [1767, 1820], [2887, 2898], [2901, 3014]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The bad news came via certified letter to Norma Jimenez , Edna Rodriguez and nearly 17,000 other Puerto Ricans this month . Thousands last week protest government layoffs in Puerto Rico . To cut spending , Puerto Rico announced last month that thousands of government employees would be fired in the second round of layoffs this year . More than 7,800 public employees were fired in March . `` I was fearful because of the uncertainty , '' Jimenez , 42 , an auxiliary administrator for the U.S. territory 's Department of Education told CNN . `` Will the letter come or not come ? '' The letter came , and it said that under a measure authorized by an emergency fiscal bill , her last day of work would be January 8 of next year . Rodriguez , who worked for the education department for 11 years as a receptionist , got the same letter , but with a November 6 termination date . `` It was as if the world collapsed , '' she told CNN . And presumably , so it goes for the thousands of other public employees who were laid off . The austere measures are a bid by the government to stabilize a fiscal mess and save Puerto Rico 's credit rating . According to government figures , the U.S. territory faces a $ 3.2 billion budget deficit -- proportionally , the largest shortfall in the United States -- and is entering a fourth year of recession . The severity of the plan reflects the aftermath of what experts say is years , maybe decades , of the lack of a forward-looking economic policy . Confronted with the fear that the credit-rating agencies might reduce Puerto Rico 's rating to junk status , the administration of Gov. Luis Fortuno has taken strong , but controversial , steps . `` Every layoff letter has a name , and every name has a story , '' Puerto Rico Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock said in an interview with CNN . But , he said , `` Doing nothing was not an alternative . '' The governor and other officials cut their salaries and trimmed spending in other areas , but the massive layoffs were necessary to avert the downgraded credit rating , McClintock said . `` If that happened , we would become the first state in the history of the U.S. to have its credit downgraded to junk bond , '' he said . Puerto Rico 's unemployment rate is nearly 16 percent , according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . According to government calculations , a downgraded credit rating would have pushed that figure toward 25 percent unemployment , McClintock said . The government is betting that the reduced spending , combined with $ 6.5 billion in combined federal and local stimulus funds , will be enough to get the territory back on solid footing . As a U.S. commonwealth , Puerto Rico exercises much autonomy , but still falls under U.S. jurisdiction . In addition to the federal stimulus money , Puerto Rican officials traveled to Washington last month to lobby for discretionary stimulus grants . How did Puerto Rico get into this predicament ? `` This did not happen overnight , '' said Miguel Soto-Class , executive director of the Center for the New Economy , an independent think tank in Puerto Rico . For too long , the island has been dependent on a single industry at a time , Soto-Class told CNN . First it was coffee , then sugar , and most recently pharmaceutical production plants . Under the terms of a special tax break , U.S. companies were exempt from paying federal income tax on profits earned by their Puerto Rican manufacturing subsidiaries . This brought plenty of companies and jobs to the island until Congress voted to phase out the benefits between 1996 and 2006 . When a number of foreign companies began to pull back , Puerto Rico saw that the local economy had not absorbed many benefits from the foreign plants , Soto-Class said . For instance , local restaurants did n't sprout near the plants because food was usually done in-house . Likewise , the foreign companies used their own accountants , leaving local CPAs few opportunities to grow . `` That was n't the cause , but it laid bare that we had n't had an economic development model in a long time , '' Soto-Class said . On the fiscal front , most the attention has focused on the large public workforce . With a workforce of some 200,000 , Puerto Rico , with a population of about 4 million , has more public employees than any state in the union , with the exception of California and New York , McClintock said . For comparison , California has about one state employee for every 103 residents , while Puerto Rico has one public worker for every 20 residents . The public payroll had become bloated , he said . Edwin Melendez , director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College , said that a large public workforce is not a bad thing , as long as it adds and keeps up to the territory 's growth . But even when Puerto Rico 's economy started declining , the public sector continued to swell . The territory 's political parties had become dependent on government employment as a political tool , in effect creating a patronage system , Melendez said . `` We are where we are because the patronage system is bankrupt , '' he said . For Fortuno , a member of Puerto Rico 's pro-statehood New Progressive Party and also member of the Republican Party , the challenges required immediate action . `` You can bring it down to a four word phrase : ` No pain , no gain , ' '' McClintock said . The government has already spent more than $ 1 billion in stimulus funds that have created some 10,000 private sector jobs , he said . `` That 's why we are stimulating the private sector to grow , so that it can pick up the slack that the government can no longer afford to employ on its own , '' McClintock said . Thousands of protesters who participated in a strike last week dispute that firing this many workers during a recession will help the territory . `` This worsens the situation by increasing unemployment , '' Roberto Pagan , president of the Puerto Rico Worker 's Union , told CNN . `` We want the government to take alternative measures . '' The government 's bet is that the negative impact of the laid off workers will be offset with positive effects of the stimulus funds , Soto-Class said . It 's a risky bet , he said , adding that the Fortuno administration grasps the economics of the situation very well . Looking to the future , McClintock said the government expects to balance the budget in two years . Soto-Class said that recovery will also mean looking at diversifying the economic activity . Tourism and agriculture , for example , could become larger factors in the economy , he said . Pagan , the union leader , said he supports levying higher corporate taxes to increase revenue . The government , however , said it plans to continue to use tax incentives to lure companies to the island . Puerto Rico is `` still the pharmaceutical capital of the world , but we have to try to manufacture even more Tylenol to resolve our economic headaches , '' McClintock said . `` We have to manufacture even more Viagra than we already manufacture so our economic statistics will rise . '' | Puerto Rico announced last month thousands of government layoffs . Already more than 7,800 public employees were fired in March . Puerto Rico , population 4 million , has 200,000 public employees . California has 1 state employee for every 103 residents , Puerto Rico , 1 for every 20 . | [[225, 354], [355, 409], [225, 354], [355, 409], [4265, 4315], [4318, 4371], [4529, 4587]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Stonehenge , an enigma to visitors and scientists alike for so many years , became less of a mystery after a discovery announced to the world this week . A stone circle discovered near Stonehenge may suggest the prehistoric monument was part of a funeral route . Archaeologists have unearthed a new stone circle near Stonehenge that lends credence to the theory that the famous prehistoric monument in Britain was part of a funeral complex . University of Bristol archaeologist Joshua Pollard described the new find as `` incredible '' because it establishes Stonehenge as part of a larger ceremonial complex linked to the nearby River Avon . `` No one could have predicted there was another stone circle so close by , '' said Pollard , co-director of the excavation project that began in 2004 . This , he said , changes the perception of the popular tourist destination 90 miles west of London . The new find , dubbed `` Bluestonehenge '' after the color of the 25 Welsh stones of which it was once composed , sits along the Avon a mile away from its famous sister circle , Pollard said . Neolithic peoples would have come down river by boat and literally stepped off into Bluestonehenge , Pollard said . They may have congregated at certain times of the year , including the winter solstice , and carried remains of the dead from Bluestonehenge down an almost two-mile funeral processional route to a cemetery at Stonehenge to bury them . `` It could be that Bluestonehenge was where the dead began their final journey to Stonehenge , '' said Mike Parker Pearson , an archaeologist at the University of Sheffield who co-directed the project with Pollard . `` Not many people know that Stonehenge was Britain 's largest burial ground at that time , '' he said . `` Maybe the blue stone circle is where people were cremated before their ashes were buried at Stonehenge itself . '' Proof of life artifacts -- pottery , animal bones , food residues and flint tools used in the Stone Age -- are decidedly absent at Stonehenge but were found upstream in a village discovered by the excavation team in 2005 , leading researchers to believe that Stonehenge was indeed a burial ground . But people have debated the purpose of Stonehenge for decades . Known for its orientation in relation to the rising and setting sun , the circle of stones represented a prehistoric temple to some . Others argued it was an astronomical observatory . Or that it was a marker of time . But Pollard is sticking to his theory . He said others have not based their suppositions on archaeological finds . Archaeologists began the latest excavation with the hope of tracking the course of the avenue that led to Stonehenge . They had no idea they would stumble upon a second circle that would help uncover the mystery of Stonehenge . The stones at Bluestonehenge were removed thousands of years ago , Pollard said , but the sizes of the remaining pits , about 33 feet in diameter , point to giant blue stones from the Preseli Mountains of Wales , about 150 miles away . Pollard said that Neolithic people dragged the pillarlike blue stones along the processional route to Stonehenge to incorporate them in a major rebuilding that took place around 2500 B.C. Archaeologists know that after 2500 , Stonehenge consisted of about 60 Welsh stones and 83 local sarsen stones . Some of the blue stones that once stood on the river 's edge probably now stand within the center of Stonehenge , Pollard said . Scientists plan to use radiocarbon dating techniques to better understand the history of the entire site . Stonehenge remains as striking as ever . But with each new find , the enigma fades just a little . | Discovery of lost stone circle sheds new light on Stonehenge 's purpose . Researchers say `` Bluestonehenge '' was starting point of funeral processional route . Bluestonehenge is named after color of Welsh stones from which it was formed . Some have viewed Stonehenge as temple , astronomical observatory . | [[173, 214], [173, 281], [282, 346], [312, 346], [352, 460], [173, 281], [227, 281], [312, 346], [352, 460], [1460, 1553], [916, 928], [931, 1006], [2333, 2396], [2397, 2447], [2411, 2447]] |
-LRB- Oprah.com -RRB- -- A businesswoman , a mother of four , an international fashion icon , a woman committed to making the world a better place for women and children -- Queen Rania of Jordan is truly changing the world . Queen Rania says cultural dialogue , education and increased opportunities are ways to combat terrorism . Rania Al-Yassin was born in Kuwait . Shortly after Saddam Hussein invaded that country in 1990 , her family fled and settled in Jordan . After graduating from business school , Rania began working her way up the corporate ladder . When she was just 22 , she went to a dinner party where she met Jordan 's Prince Abdullah -- considered one of the world 's most eligible bachelors . He did n't remain one for long after that night . Six months later , Rania and Abdullah had a royal wedding and started a family . And , though they planned for a life as royals , Abdullah assumed he 'd remain a military officer for life . In 1999 , while on his deathbed , King Hussein of Jordan stunned his country by announcing that his son Abdullah -- not his brother -- would succeed him as king . That made 29-year-old Rania the world 's youngest living queen . Rania says that being queen is not the trait she defines herself by . `` I am not at all conscious of it , '' she says . `` I make a conscious effort not to be conscious of it . Because I 'm Rania , you know ? People call me ` Queen , ' but , you know , that 's not me ... I 'm Rania . '' There are many perks to being queen , of course , but Rania stresses that there are also responsibilities . `` One of the major misconceptions about this position is that people think that I might be far removed , that I might not be in touch with reality , '' she says . `` The honest truth is that my life is very much about dealing with issues on the ground , dealing with ... the problems that our country faces . That 's something I do on a daily basis . '' Watch how Queen Rania uses technology to reach young people '' When most people think of queens , they probably think of what they know from fairy tales . `` For me , it 's just real life , '' Rania says . `` I am a mother . I care about my children . I worry about what they eat . I worry about the influences from their friends . '' Rania is not only sitting royalty in Jordan , she 's raising the next generation of royals too . She is the mother of four children -- 14-year-old Hussein , 12-year-old Iman , 8-year-old Salma and 3-year-old Hashem . Rania says her family tries very hard to remain down to earth . The family has relaxed much of the ceremonial pomp and circumstance of their position . Rania prefers that people not refer to her as `` Your Majesty '' ... and King Abdullah loves to barbecue ! The family never discusses the possibility that Hussein , their oldest child , could be the future king of Jordan , Rania says . Instead , she says the family strives to remain like any other family . For instance , to get the things they want , the children have to clean their rooms and do well in school . `` The most important thing is to instill them with the right values , '' Rania says . `` I just feel that values are the shield that you carry with you throughout life . It protects you from whatever life throws at you . '' Rania has become famous around the world for her efforts to improve educational opportunities for girls and the rights of women . `` In my mind , poverty is a ` she , ' '' Rania says . Helping others is something Rania says she feels compelled to do . `` Once you feel that others are like you , then you want for others what you want for yourself , '' she says . `` And that way you start helping others . '' Rania explains that there is a direct relationship between increasing education and eliminating poverty . `` You can change the course of a nation through education , '' she says . `` One of the most important things you can do for a girl is empower her with her education . Once she has the education , she can then have control over her income , she can change her life , she can have choices . '' To understand what life is like for the women in Rania 's kingdom , `` The Oprah Show '' spent a day with a few women in Amman , the capital city of Jordan . One woman named Muna worries about striking a balance between work and motherhood . Part of that means preparing lunch -- the most important meal in Jordanian culture -- for her family . Unlike in America , most children and husbands return home to eat with their families for lunch . Just like in America , Muna cooks a variety of meals , everything from traditional Arabic food to hamburgers and spaghetti . In this largely Muslim country , one religious tradition is increasingly a matter of choice . Approximately 60 percent of Jordanian women wear a veil . Though Queen Rania says she has never worn a veil , she understands why a woman would want to . `` We think it 's a personal choice , '' she says . `` Unfortunately , in the West , people look at the veil as a sign of oppression or weakness . This is not true as long as a woman is wearing it because of her belief . I always say we should judge a woman according to what 's going on in their heads rather than what 's going on top of their heads . '' Rania says that when people focus on differences between cultures -- especially stereotypes and things like veils -- they fail to realize just how similar all people are . `` Once you go beyond the mannerisms , the language , the cultural idiosyncrasies , you realize that you 're basically the same , you know ? '' she says . Rania also wants to break down the stereotypes the West holds about her culture . `` I would like to dispel the misconception that Arabs are all extremists , that Arab people are violent and that women in the Arab world are oppressed and suppressed , '' she says . The struggle we feel today is not really Middle East against the West , Rania says , but rather it is between extremists and moderates of all religions . `` We need to speak up , '' she says . `` The biggest nightmare for the extremists is for us to get along , and that 's why we have to get along . We have to communicate more . '' In the future , Rania says she hopes for a more open and secure world . `` We look at problems happening halfway across the world and we think , ` Well , that 's their problem . ' But it 's not , '' she says . `` When you solve somebody else 's problem , you 're solving a problem for yourself because our world today is so interconnected . '' Rania says solving problems that stem from intolerance -- like terrorism -- require cultural dialogue , education and increased opportunities . `` We have to create opportunities for our youth so they have a chance in life , '' she says . `` Whenever you 're frustrated and you feel like you do n't have a future or you ca n't get a job , then you 're more susceptible to be influenced by terrorism and extremist ideology . '' Oprah.com : Africa 's first-ever elected female president . From `` The Oprah Winfrey Show '' Subscribe to O , The Oprah Magazine for up to 75 % off the newsstand price . That 's like getting 18 issues FREE . Subscribe now ! TM & © 2009 Harpo Productions , Inc. . All Rights Reserved . | Queen Rania is a businesswoman , a mother of four and a fashion icon . The queen of Jordan says she has responsibility to help her country . She is well known for efforts to improve education for girls . Rania would like to break stereotypes the West has about Arab culture . | [[2364, 2483], [3277, 3333], [3322, 3325], [3334, 3406], [5586, 5591], [5597, 5632], [5617, 5620], [5633, 5667]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Two U.S. spacecraft are set to crash on the moon Friday . On purpose . And we 're all invited to watch . An artist 's rendering shows the LCROSS spacecraft , left , separating from its Centaur rocket . NASA 's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite is scheduled to drop its Centaur upper-stage rocket on the lunar surface at 7:31 a.m. ET . NASA hopes the impact will kick up enough dust to help the LCROSS probe find the presence of water in the moon 's soil . Four minutes later , the LCROSS will follow through the debris plume , collecting and relaying data back to Earth before crashing into the Cabeus crater near the moon 's south pole . The LCROSS is carrying spectrometers , near-infrared cameras , a visible camera and a visible radiometer . These instruments will help NASA scientists analyze the plume of dust -- more than 250 metric tons ' worth -- for water vapor . The orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and NASA 's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will watch , and photograph , the collisions . And hundreds of telescopes on Earth also will be focused on the two plumes . Watch animation of how the moon will be `` bombed '' '' NASA is encouraging amateur astronomers to join the watch party . `` We expect the debris plumes to be visible through midsized backyard telescopes -- 10 inches and larger , '' said Brian Day at NASA 's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field , California . Day is an amateur astronomer who is leading education and public outreach for the LCROSS mission . Ames will host `` Impact Night , '' an event with music and food starting Thursday evening before a live transmission of the lunar impact will be shown around 4:30 a.m. PT Friday . Other science observatories and amateur astronomy clubs across the country will be hosting similar events . iReport : Are you planning to watch ? `` The initial explosions will probably be hidden behind crater walls , but the plumes will rise high enough above the crater 's rim to be seen from Earth , '' Day said . The Cabeus crater lies in permanent shadow , making observations inside the crater difficult . Watch CNN 's Jeanne Moos ask if lunacy is behind the moon `` bombing '' '' The impacts will not be visible to the naked eye or through binoculars . If you do n't have a telescope , or you live in areas where daylight will obscure the viewing , NASA TV will broadcast the crashes live . Coverage begins at 6:15 a.m. ET Friday . The two main components of the LCROSS mission are the shepherding spacecraft and the Centaur upper stage rocket . The spacecraft will guide the rocket to its crash site . Data from previous space missions have revealed trace amounts of water in lunar soil . The LCROSS mission seeks a definitive answer to the question of how much water is present . NASA has said it believes water on the moon could be a valuable resource in the agency 's quest to explore the solar system . LCROSS launched with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral , Florida , on June 18 . Friday 's lunar impact will be visible best in areas that are still dark , particularly in the Western United States . The Fremont Peak Observatory near Monterey , California , will open up its doors early Friday to allow people to watch the event through its 30-inch telescope . It 's `` the most accessible public telescope in the -LSB- San Francisco -RSB- Bay Area , '' said Dave Samuels , the observatory 's vice president . So far , at least 50 people have signed up , Samuels said , noting that number is `` really phenomenal , especially on a school night -LSB- and -RSB- work night . It 's really incredible . '' Students , retirees and board members are among those scheduled to attend . Samuels said a special low-light , infrared video camera will be hooked up to the telescope so that the audience can watch the rocket strike the moon . The observatory is in Fremont Peak State Park , which is on a list of California parks that could close because of recent budget cuts . Samuels said he hopes Friday 's event triggers more interest in astronomy , particularly among young children , and possibly help the park to stay open . `` It 's things like this that get kids interested -LSB- in science -RSB- , '' he said . `` It will probably be a defining moment for them . '' Darrick Gray , who teaches atmospheric sciences at Ray-Pec High School near Kansas City , Missouri , said he 's planning to take 17 students -- all juniors and seniors -- to watch the lunar impact . `` This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime thing , '' Gray said . He said he 's arranged for a school bus to pick up the kids early Friday and take the class to the Powell Observatory in Louisburg , Kansas . `` It 's weather-dependent ; we 've got rain right now , '' Gray said . `` It 's going to be a call I make at 5 a.m. '' Gray , who is also the director of the Astronomical Society of Kansas City , said his students will try to take photos of the impact through the eyepiece of their telescopes . He said he hopes the event will influence his students to pursue careers in science . `` Being as we do live here in Missouri , we 're away from the hub -LSB- of astronomy -RSB- , '' Gray said . `` We 're not in Florida , we 're not in Texas , we 're not in Silicon Valley -- it 's not something they 're used to seeing . `` So any time you can show them something that 's never been done , and they say , ` Oh this is pretty cool , ' I think they buy into that . '' | A NASA spacecraft is set to drop a rocket on the moon at 7:31 a.m. ET Friday . Four minutes later , the LCROSS probe will follow and crash onto the lunar surface . The LCROSS probe will relay data back to Earth about water vapor in moon dust . The debris plumes will be visible through midsize backyard telescopes . | [[221, 366], [221, 275], [289, 366], [0, 15], [19, 76], [488, 506], [509, 556], [488, 506], [509, 519], [574, 670], [378, 487], [1229, 1334]] |
CHAMBLEE , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Janet McBride had to send someone to fetch lunch for her Saturday . The cheerful auto dealer receptionist did n't dare leave her switchboard during the waning hours of the federal government 's `` Cash for Clunkers '' program . Car shoppers browse a Honda showroom Saturday morning in Marietta , Georgia . `` Our phones have been ringing off the hook , '' said a giddy Pete Richards , general manager of Ed Voyles Honda in Marietta , Georgia . '' ... It 's been great . Phenomenal . '' McBride was compiling a list of customers for swamped salespeople to call back . `` I try to keep it under control , '' McBride said . `` I think we need one of those number things -- ` Now serving Number 5 . ' '' As of 11 a.m. Saturday , the Honda dealership just north of Atlanta said it had made 108 clunker deals since the Car Allowance Rebate System program began on July 1 , and Richards expected to do plenty more before closing down Sunday night . Watch what car buyers need to know '' `` If I do n't do 30 of these today , I 'll be amazed , '' he said . A normal Saturday would produce about 12 sales , he said . The program has generated so much traffic and new-car buzz that even non-qualifying and used car sales have jumped , Richards said . `` We 're having a ball . I have n't worked a Saturday in probably two years . But I woke up at 3 o'clock this morning . Could n't wait to get here , '' he said . `` It 's like Christmas ! '' McBride added before her phone rang again . It 's more like the letdown of late Christmas afternoon across town at Jim Ellis Chevrolet in Chamblee , Georgia , where General Manager Mark Frost just wants to be done with the headaches the clunkers program has caused . `` If President Obama came and sat behind a computer and saw how his program is being administered , he 's crack some heads , '' Frost said . `` My impression is that he 's about excellence and execution , and there 's some dumbass -LSB- at the Department of Transportation -RSB- sitting there looking at this computer and rejecting deals that are perfectly good . '' The 12 Atlanta-area dealerships under the Jim Ellis name had made 350 clunker deals worth almost $ 1.5 million in reimbursements and received payment for none , Frost said . Among those making deals was Mark Gallo , an Atlanta antiques dealer who traded in his eight-cylinder 1998 Chevy van for six-cylinder 2009 model . He received a $ 4,500 allowance for his clunker , which he guessed was $ 1,500 more than he would have gotten otherwise . The gas mileage still is n't great , `` but it 's better than it was , '' Gallo said . `` And I needed a van . '' He 'd been thinking about trading up for a while , but the end of the program prompted him to pull the trigger . `` I thought it was going to last a lot longer than it actually did , ... but I saw that it was ending on Monday and I said , ` Oh , damn ! Scramble ! ' '' Also scrambling to make a deal Saturday was Rick Wright of Woodstock , Georgia . The ironworker has been working in Orlando , Florida . But when his wife , bus driver Cindy Wright , traded in their 1998 Chevy Tahoe for an '09 Traverse , he needed to be there in person to show his driver 's license and sign over the title . `` I 'm working out of town at the present time , so she calls me up and says , ` Hey , they 're going to cut this off at 1 o'clock . Do you want the car ? ' And I said , ` Let 's go for it , ' '' said Rick Wright , who made the seven-hour drive in time to sign the deal around 10 a.m. Saturday . `` That was the only way we could get it done . '' While the government says the program continues through the end of business Sunday , Frost decreed that the last deal at the Jim Ellis dealerships had to be made by noon Saturday and the paperwork submitted by 1 p.m. in anticipation of continued problems with the CARS submission process . `` It 's the paperwork that 's the biggest pain in the neck , '' said Jim Ellis salesman Neil Krieger , who sold Gallo his van . Salespeople have been working long hours and making big commissions at both dealerships . `` It 's been good for me . Oh yeah , '' the Wrights ' salesman , who goes by the single name Kya , said . It 's a matter of delayed gratification for the dealers , who will have to wait for the government to sort through the mountainous heap of applications , approve the deals and issue $ 3 billion in reimbursement . `` This could be devastating for dealers if they do n't get this going and do this right , '' Frost said . `` A month from now , if all of our deals get paid , then Obama 's my hero , '' he said . `` If , in a month from now , if we still have ... $ 200,000 that we 're not getting paid , it 's a disaster . '' Frost worries too much , Honda dealer Richards said . `` We 're going to get our money , '' he said . `` We 're making sure the deals are straight . If everybody 's got their documentation right , they 've got the buy of lifetime . '' Despite his concerns , Frost tried to remain optimistic in the program 's final hours . After all , his dealership 's sales are up 30 percent from last year , he said . `` People are coming in , '' he said not long after opening Saturday . `` I smell clunker . '' | Customers rush in for final weekend of `` Cash for Clunkers '' program . Phone at Honda dealer in Georgia `` ringing off the hook '' `` It 's like Christmas ! '' dealership 's busy receptionist says . Government red tape giving auto group 's general manager headaches . | [[5149, 5172], [344, 388], [1445, 1465]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The head of Iran 's Atomic Energy Organization said Saturday that U.N. nuclear experts can inspect a uranium enrichment plant , according to a report from Iran-funded Press TV . Iranian soldiers are shown in the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz , 300 kms south of Tehran , in 2006 . Ali Akbar Salehi said officials are trying to settle on a date for the inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency . GeoEye , a U.S.-based satellite imagery company , released two photos dated Saturday from what it says is the second facility . The image shows quarry equipment , a surface-to-air missile site , and more construction equipment surrounding a mountain , according to image analysis by IHS Jane 's , an intelligence firm . Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Friday that Iran was building a second uranium enrichment facility near the Shia Muslim city of Qom , about 100 miles southwest of Tehran . He said the plant wo n't be operational for about 18 months . Ahmadinejad told reporters Friday that Iran had met IAEA requirements by informing it about the plant at least six months before it is slated to begin operating . Watch Ahmadinejad hit back at Obama '' The watchdog agency confirmed that it received a letter Monday from Iran revealing the existence of the underground facility on a military base . Iran told the IAEA there is no nuclear material at the site , an agency spokesman said . Iran has denied its goal is to develop nuclear weapons , a concern of the United States and other Western nations . Esmail Kowsari , a senior Iranian lawmaker , said Iran 's need for nuclear fuel is outpacing the limited amount of uranium it can enrich at its only other plant in Natanz . But Iran 's activities , along with its anti-Western and anti-Israel rhetoric , have troubled international powers working to stop the development of an Iranian nuclear program . The country 's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it is planning to stage `` massive missile exercises '' or war games on Sunday to promote the armed forces ' `` deterrent power , '' the semi-official Fars News Agency reported . The tests are code named `` Payambar-e Azam 4 , or `` The Great Messenger , '' the corps said in its announcement . Iran 's announcement came ahead of a planned meeting October 1 between it and the five permanent United Nations Security Council members , plus Germany . Leaders from the United States , France and Britain made a joint announcement , accusing Iran of violating international agreements by keeping the construction plan a secret . `` This is a serious challenge to the global non-proliferation regime and continues a disturbing pattern of Iranian evasion , '' President Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio address . `` That is why international negotiations with Iran scheduled for October 1 now take on added urgency , '' he said . `` My offer of a serious , meaningful dialogue to resolve this issue remains open . But Iran must now cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency and take action to demonstrate its peaceful intentions . '' Ali Asghar Soltanieh , Iran 's ambassador to the IAEA , told Press TV Saturday that Iran is `` very disappointed with the hasty , unjustified hostile reaction yesterday by three leaders . '' He was referring to Obama , French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown . Watch world leaders react to Iran '' `` What I suspect is a hidden agenda , which is going to jeopardize our excellent cooperation with the IAEA , and perhaps long-term jeopardize the integrity and credibility of the IAEA , '' he said . `` We are working with the agency in a very technical and smooth manner to arrange the inspection to the site . '' Other Iranians also reacted to the criticism over the new plant . iReport.com : Dissidents discuss Iran enrichment plants . `` God willing , this plant will be put into operation soon , and will blind the eyes of the enemies , '' Fars reported Saturday , quoting a senior Iranian official . The senior official , Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani , heads the office of the country 's supreme leader , Ayatollah Ali Khamenei . Also Saturday , the Web site of the Iran Student News Agency carried comments from an Iranian legislator who warned Western nations not to make Iran regret its cooperation with the IAEA . `` Western countries and the U.S. must not make Iran regret its cooperation with the IAEA beyond its legal obligations , '' said Alaeddin Boroujerdi , chief of the Iran Parliament Commission for National Security and Foreign Policy . He said Western criticism of Iran 's new facility is an `` illogical and unrealistic '' smear campaign . CNN 's Ed Henry , Dan Lothian , Pam Benson , Matthew Chance and Moni Basu contributed to this report . | NEW : News agency : Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plans `` missile exercises '' Head of Iran 's atomic energy program says U.N. experts can inspect plant . Iran told IAEA there is no nuclear material at the site , IAEA spokesman says . U.S. has known about unfinished site since Bush administration , officials say . | [[1903, 2035], [0, 15], [66, 191], [1346, 1405], [1408, 1434]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Marjorye Heeney knew something was wrong when she saw a bulging cloud of black dust darken the sky . Drought-like conditions dried this Kern River bed last year near Bakersfield , California . She then heard an eerie , train-like whistle as fierce winds rattled her front door and windows . When she looked outside , hordes of grasshoppers and crows swarmed over her father 's barren farm . After the storm broke , her father walked outside and muttered curses as he scanned the horizon for rain clouds . `` I can remember my dad just watching the sky so closely , '' Heeney says . `` A sprinkle would excite him so much . '' That 's how Heeney , now 83 , describes growing up on an Oklahoma farm during the Dust Bowl storms in the 1930s . For much of that decade , `` black blizzards '' -- formed by a prolonged drought and poor farming techniques -- ravaged much of the nation . Now a new generation of Americans is again anxiously looking to the sky . Drought has returned to the United States , and some warn that more tough days are ahead . The value of water is starting to become apparent in America . Over the past three years a drought has affected large swaths of the country , and conflicts over water usage may become commonplace in the future , climatologists say . `` Our focus is oil , but the critical need for water is going to make water the most significant natural resource that we 're going to have to worry about in the future , '' says Larry Fillmer , executive director of the Natural Resources Management & Development Institute at Auburn University in Alabama . At least 36 states expect to face water shortages within the next five years , according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office . According to the National Drought Mitigation Center , several regions in particular have been hit hard : the Southeast , Southwest and the West . Texas , Georgia and South Carolina have suffered the worst droughts this year , the agency said . Yet most people do n't need scientists to tell them there 's a water shortage . Plenty of cities have implemented water bans while state squabbles over water usage are common in some regions . What may surprise people , though , are the causes for the recent drought . It 's not global warming , some climatologists say . The droughts are caused by rapid population growth and unwise agricultural choices . John R. Christy , a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville , says the last three years have been drier than usual in many parts of the United States , but overall there 's been no shortage of rainfall . He says the U.S. mainland experienced worse droughts in the 12th and 16th centuries . `` The demand for water has gone up , '' Christy says . `` The demand has skyrocketed in places like California and New Mexico because they 've tried to grow crops in deserts . '' Even drought conditions in the Southeast ca n't be blamed on a shortage of rainfall , Christy says . The region 's water delivery systems ca n't keep pace with the growth , he says . `` The rain is still falling , but you 're out of water because the storage facilities are not big enough , '' Christy says . There 's also a public perception that ordinary people are wasting more water , but that 's not true , says Mark Svoboda , a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center . `` Per capita use of water is down because we 're learning to be more efficient , '' Svoboda says . Water shortages do n't have to remain a fact of modern life , drought experts say . Many offer the same solutions : Build better water delivery systems to accommodate population growth , develop more efficient uses of irrigation , and shift agriculture from the West to the East where it 's easier and cheaper to water crops . Svoboda believes a change in attitude is even more vital than changing habits . `` We take water for granted , '' he says . `` We think it 's a cheap commodity that 's always going to be there . '' Heeney , the Dust Bowl survivor , does n't appear to need that lesson . She remembers how precious water was in the 1930s when people fetched water in buckets . And when the rains finally ended the Dust Bowl , she vividly remembers her joyous father driving his family out into his fields just to watch the water settle into the soil . Heeney , who now lives in Topeka , Kansas , gets upset when she sees people throw away bottled water or use too much water to wash their cars . `` We do n't value water and we 're going to regret it , '' Heeney says . `` We forget . We 're as dumb as we can be and we do n't learn . '' | Over the past three years a drought has affected large swaths of the U.S. Report : At least 36 states expect to face water shortages within the next five years . Experts say main causes are rapid population growth and unwise farming practices . Marjorye Heeney , 83 , remembers the Dust Bowl storms of the 1930s in Oklahoma . | [[1128, 1204], [2408, 2423], [2506, 2613], [1607, 1683], [1607, 1625], [1686, 1756], [2323, 2407], [645, 672], [675, 758]] |
-LRB- Entertainment Weekly -RRB- -- For many , the creative relevance of 3-D cinema remains very much an open question . But when the history of Hollywood 's 21st century embrace of 3-D is written , it very well may point to this weekend as the moment when the format definitively established its commercial power at the box office . `` The Final Destination '' scared up by far the most box office receipts , banking $ 28.3 million . Despite a moviegoing weekend dominated with R-rated violent thriller-type films ostensibly shooting for the same audience , `` The Final Destination '' scared up by far the most box office receipts , banking $ 28.3 million for an easy No. 1 berth , according to early estimates from Hollywood.com Box Office . That 's almost $ 10 million better than the opening frame for the last film in the creatively-dispatching-model-perfect-unknown-actors franchise -LRB- which , for those keeping track , was `` Final Destination 3 '' -RRB- . There 's really only one reason why : Although just over half its 3,121 theaters were screening the flick in 3-D , fully 70 percent of its box office take was from 3-D theaters , which typically charge an extra few bucks per ticket for the privilege of watching the film with those comfy stereoscopic glasses . Rest assured , despite its title -LRB- and its abysmal `` C '' Cinemascore grade -RRB- , this is by no means the final `` Final Destination '' movie . The folks at the The Weinstein Company , meanwhile , continue to enjoy good news for their much scrutinized bottom line : Quentin Tarantino 's `` Inglourious Basterds '' landed at No. 2 with a rather spectacular $ 20 million , just 47 percent down from its opening weekend for $ 73.7 million total . TWC 's sister company Dimension Films , meanwhile , saw its `` Halloween II '' debut at third with a nothing-to-sneeze-at $ 17.4 million . Granted , director Rob Zombie 's second re-imagining of the 31-years-old slasher franchise made nothing close to the $ 30.6 million Labor Day weekend debut of Zombie 's first night out with Michael Myers . But given the steep competition , and the film 's $ 15 million budget , Dimension must be breathing a sigh of relief that their film will most likely see a decent profit . The box office love continued through much of the weekend 's top 10 : District 9 dropped just 41 percent with $ 10.7 million , strong enough to hold on at fourth place and , with a $ 90.8 mil running total , well on its way to joining the $ 100 million club . At number five , `` G.I. Joe : The Rise of Cobra '' banged out $ 8 million , a 34 percent drop and $ 132 million total . And Julie & Julia savored a tiny 16 percent drop for sixth , with $ 7.4 million in its forth weekend for $ 70.9 million total . In fact , the only true disappointment for the weekend was Focus Features ' `` Taking Woodstock . '' Director Ang Lee 's trip back to the iconic three-day concert debuted at ninth with just $ 3.7 million , doubly disappointing since it opened wide in 1,393 theaters -LRB- after a Wednesday opening in New York and Los Angeles -RRB- , with a feeble $ 2,691 per theater average . By contrast , two limited release debuts did rather well : Vogue magazine documentary `` The September Issue '' bowed on six screens with a very fashionable $ 40,000 per theater average ; and the extreme-sports-fandom-gone-wrong dramedy `` Big Fan '' won $ 13,000 per theater on two screens . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . Copyright 2009 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. . All rights reserved . | Horror flick `` The Final Destination '' banked $ 28.3 million during its debut weekend . Quentin Tarantino 's `` Inglourious Basterds '' landed at No. 2 with $ 20 million . At number five , `` G.I. Joe : The Rise of Cobra '' banged out $ 8 million . Check out which other flicks made this weekend 's top 10 at the box office . | [[410, 434], [562, 657], [635, 673], [684, 744], [1552, 1613], [2507, 2521], [2524, 2526], [2556, 2581]] |
LOS ANGELES , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The A&E network quickly backed away from an earlier assurance that Michael Jackson 's three children `` are not part of '' a reality show it is taping with four of the pop star 's brothers . Before their father 's death , Michael Jackson 's children , Paris , Prince and `` Blanket '' were not often seen in public . The network said late Wednesday it was `` entirely possible '' that `` other members of the Jackson family '' could appear on the show , but it is too soon to know . US Weekly magazine quoted an unidentified source as saying that despite a sharp division in the Jackson family over the matter , Prince , 12 , Paris , 11 , and Blanket , 7 , would be included in the show . `` The Jacksons : A Family Dynasty , '' which focuses on the lives of four of the Jackson brothers -- Jackie , Jermaine , Tito and Marlon -- was in the works before the singer 's June 25 death . `` Filming is taking place right now , '' A&E said in the late Wednesday statement . `` As production moves forward , it is entirely possible that the brothers ' paths will intersect with other members of the Jackson family , who may or may not be included in the finished series . However , we can not at this point definitively know who else may make an appearance in the series . '' Earlier Wednesday , however , the network had seemed to rule out their appearance , saying , `` They are not part of the series . '' Jackson went to great lengths for years to keep his children out of the public eye , including covering their faces with masks and scarves . It was only at the public memorial service for Jackson that the world got a close look at them -- and began learning about their personalities . The magazine 's source is quoted as saying that the oldest Jackson sister , Rebbie , `` feels Michael would spin in his grave if he knew his kids would be on this show . '' The public relations firm hired by the Jackson family soon after Michael Jackson 's death issued a short statement Wednesday morning that did not dispute the US Weekly report . `` We are not going to comment , '' the statement said . The decision would be left to Katherine Jackson , Michael 's mother , according to the lawyer appointed in August to represent the children in the probate of their father 's will . Katherine Jackson was given guardianship over the children by a Los Angeles judge . The reality show is tentatively set to begin airing in December . CNN 's Marc Balinsky contributed to this report . | A&E to broadcast reality show featuring some of Michael Jackson 's family . US Weekly magazine says Jackson 's children 's will be part of the show . Network first says children wo n't be in show , then says they may . Jackson , who died June 25 , generally kept children from public view . | [[527, 732], [0, 11], [44, 105], [1344, 1395], [235, 263], [266, 343], [349, 360], [1447, 1587], [1447, 1454], [1487, 1529]] |
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher on Saturday denied that he is the man shown pointing at the Google Street View camera as it drove past his local pub in London last summer . Liam Gallagher says the figure captured on Google Earth outside a pub in London is not him . `` Just saw google earth apparently that 's meant to be me , who ... wears legwarmers with reeboks ?? Not this kid !! LG , '' he wrote on Twitter . Though available for a while in the United States , Google Street View only launched in Britain last week . As in America , the launch in Britain prompted people all over the country to try to find themselves or spot funny images and famous faces on the service . Gallagher was apparently spotted outside The Queens pub in Camden , in north London , a place he 's known to frequent . The picture shows a man dressed in a dark T-shirt and long shorts sitting at an outdoor table . He points at the camera , obviously having seen the Google car and its Street View camera drive by . The service blurs people 's faces so it is hard to confirm whether it is Gallagher . Though the man is n't wearing legwarmers , Gallagher is apparently talking about the man 's ankle-high shoes and thick black socks . | Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher denies Google Earth appearance . Fans said man captured on camera drinking outside London pub was singer . Gallagher said the man was too embarrassingly dressed to be him . | [[0, 6], [9, 151], [207, 299], [227, 286], [207, 299]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The powerful Service Employees International Union has decided that , because of the $ 700 billion financial-system bailout , it wants to organize bank workers . Banks that get taxpayer money need to `` ensure their workers have a voice , '' a union spokeswoman says . In an e-mail dated November 12 and obtained exclusively by CNN , a member of SEIU 's Private Equity Project outlined initial discussions to organize bank workers `` since the banking industry is now being infused with billions of taxpayer dollars . '' The e-mail was written by SEIU 's Inga Skippings to the director of the Washington office of the Association of Community Organizing for Reform Now -LRB- ACORN -RRB- , a longtime ally and partner of the union . `` We need to get a handle on who these workers are , working conditions , etc. , '' Skippings wrote . `` Do you have ACORN members who work for banks or Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae ? Is there anyway -LSB- sic -RSB- you could check ? The banks we 're most concerned about are : . -- Fannie Mae -- Freddie Mac -- Chevy Chase/B . F.Saul -- BB&T -- SunTrust -- Bank of America/Countrywide -- Wachovia/Wells Fargo -- PNC Bank/National City -- Citigroup . `` Please let me know and if you have other suggestions , I 'd love to hear them . '' Skippings referred questions to a union spokeswoman , who confirmed the authenticity of the e-mail and that the union is considering targeting the banks for unionizing . `` We believe there is special responsibility for companies who receive taxpayer dollars to ensure their workers have a voice on the job , '' SEIU 's Lynda Tran said . `` And those workers should have a seat at the table at the companies where decisions that impact the future of their families and the companies that employ them '' are made . `` We are talking to workers really broadly in banking , '' she said . SEIU is the fastest-growing trade union in North America , according to its own Web site , with a membership of more than 2 million , including health-care industry workers and state and local government employees . It also represents guards and janitors who work in commercial and residential properties . And its clout continues to grow . SEIU 's $ 85 million in political donations made it the single-largest contributor to either party in the recent elections . The union worked vigorously for the election of Barack Obama , who has named a former union official as his White House political director , a post once held in the Bush administration by Karl Rove . The official , Patrick Gaspard , formerly was executive vice president of politics and legislation for Local 1199 , the SEIU 's United Healthcare Workers East . SEIU , which broke away from the AFL-CIO in 2005 , is known for its successful but sometimes controversial tactics : It often targets private equity groups ' leaders , as well as banks and companies , with loud and demonstrative rallies . The union 's hierarchy has made no secret it hopes to grow under the incoming Democratic administration . `` I would say that we 've been very vocal about the optimism about the new administration , '' SEIU 's Tran said . `` There are a number of newly elected members of Congress who agree with us on matters relating to working families . '' One labor professor said SEIU 's timing in trying to unionize bank workers may be on target `` because financial institutions are at a moment of weakness . '' `` Low-wage earners are the growing sector of the work force , '' said Gregory DeFreitas , an economics professor at Hofstra University and director of its labor studies program . `` This is a very shrewd political move to tie this to the bailouts . '' DeFreitas said unions tend not to do well in attracting workers during economic recessions because jobs are scarce then . But he said recent surveys indicate a majority of workers would consider organizing , so the public 's appetite for unions may be on the upswing . `` Bank teller jobs are one of the few jobs that are actually growing , '' DeFreitas said . `` And they are low-wage earners , so it makes sense that it fits into the SEIU model . SEIU has been very opportunistic in growing its membership . Success breeds success . '' The median annual earnings of bank tellers was about $ 22,000 in May 2006 , according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . A spokesman for the American Bankers Association said it had no one who could comment on labor issues . He said the association represents 95 percent of the industry 's $ 13.6 trillion in assets . | Union says it is considering targeting banks for unionizing . E-mail from union lists the banks it 's `` most concerned '' about . E-mail cites $ 700 billion financial-system bailout as reason for move . Spokeswoman : Bailed-out banks have responsibility to ensure workers have voice . | [[0, 15], [50, 180], [1391, 1452], [3303, 3433], [980, 1021], [0, 15], [50, 180], [258, 287]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A superb second half goal from substitute Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave Barcelona a 1-0 win over arch-rivals Real Madrid to go back to the top of the Spanish La Liga on Sunday . Both teams ended with 10 men after Barca 's Sergio Busquets went just after the hour mark for a second yellow card , with Real losing Lassana Diarra in the dying moments for two yellows . Ibrahimovic 's goal was truly worthy of settling ` El Clasico ' as the Swedish striker met a Daniel Alves ball from the right on the volley to leave Iker Casillas with no chance . The 55th minute strike in the Camp Nou came shortly after he replaced the ineffective Thierry Henry and followed an opening half in which visitors Real were the more threatening . Real had gone into the game with a one point lead in the standings over the defending Spanish and European champions and showed their quality on the break . Cristiano Ronaldo , making his first start in two months , might have put the visitors ahead in the 20th minute but was denied by home keeper Victor Valdes , who knocked his shot wide with his legs . Barcelona central defender Carlos Puyol also came to their rescue with two last-ditch challenges on Marcelo and Gonzalo Higuain from similar Real attacks . But the Catalans made the breakthrough as Ibrahimovic went some of the way to justifying his massive transfer fee and soon afterwards midfielder Xavi came within a whisker of a second from long-range . Further chances fell to Eric Abidal , who shot wide , and Argentine ace Lionel Messi , who was superbly denied by Casillas from close range . A tiring Ronaldo was substituted and his replacement , Karim Benzema , fired over the top in the 80th minute as Real pressed in vain for an equalizer . `` This was a very good test , '' Barca coach Pep Guardiola told gathered reporters . `` It 's always difficult against Madrid but even more so when you go in as favorite and them as a big underdog . That 's when Madrid is most dangerous . '' The three points leave Barcelona on top with 30 points from 12 games , two ahead of Real on 28 . Sevilla , who drew on Saturday , have 26 . In other action on Sunday , Deportivo La Coruna had a hard-fought 1-0 win at Racing Santander to move level on points with fourth-placed Valencia . Albert Lopo struck in the 76th minute to give the Galicians their eighth league success in 12 matches . | Barcelona beat arch-rivals Real Madrid 1-0 in El Clasico on Sunday . Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores only goal of the game in the Camp Nou . Victory leaves Barcelona two points clear of Real in La Liga . Cristiano Ronaldo wastes best chance of the match for visitors . | [[0, 15], [80, 190], [896, 913], [955, 1007]] |
LOS ANGELES , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Volunteering with local law enforcement , Shaquille O'Neal has learned from his peers that domestic violence calls are among the most dangerous for police officers . NBA star Shaquille O'Neal praises Karen Earl for her efforts on behalf of domestic abuse victims . '' -LSB- It 's -RSB- a very disturbing thing , '' said the NBA star , who has dealt mainly with children 's cases . `` I do n't really think a lot of women know what to do . '' That 's where Karen Earl comes in . As executive director of the Jenesse Center , the oldest domestic violence intervention program in south central Los Angeles , California , Earl is a `` tireless and fearless '' champion of women and children living in abusive situations , O'Neal said . The Phoenix Suns center called Earl `` the pillow of women 's society . '' For more than two decades , Earl has helped give victims a way out through the Jenesse Center , which provides shelter , education , outreach and legal services to more than 8,500 victims of domestic violence every year . `` Thank God for Miss Earl , '' O'Neal said . `` She takes women that have been involved in domestic abuse situations and gives them a place to come rest their head . '' According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence , an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year , and one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime . Earl has heard countless stories of domestic abuse and has seen a range of tipping points before victims seek help . She is working to lower these statistics . She recalled one woman whose husband beat her with an iron ; for another , `` the beatings were standard , but when he sold their refrigerator and she could n't keep her baby 's milk cold anymore , she knew it was time to go . '' These women were able to find shelter and support -- and ultimately safety and success -- through the Jenesse Center . `` It is not normal to go to bed afraid , '' Earl said . `` And the thing that I know for sure is that there is help . '' When Earl began volunteering at the center in 1986 , she said , she often thought of what her own mother went through . `` I remember us having to run out of the house at midnight with sheets wrapped around us . I know the impact it had on my mom , and of course the impact on me and my siblings , '' she said . `` I wish there were a place back then , but nobody talked about it . It was just family business ; it was personal . '' Watch Earl discuss the center 's mission to heal through art '' Today , Earl serves as Jenesse Center 's executive director and calls her work with staff , fundraising and volunteer recruitment `` a 24-hour thing . '' The process of healing for victims generally starts with a phone call to the center 's hot line , she said . The center provides counseling and literature and has a 30-day emergency shelter for women and their families . Earl said this emergency period `` is a time of regrouping '' and lets the women know that they 're not alone and that they did n't do anything wrong . The center also provides long-term support . `` Women and their children can stay for two years , '' Earl said . `` Every able body , every day , gets up and takes classes . And when they 're not taking classes , they 're looking for employment , going through counseling sessions or -LSB- getting -RSB- legal assistance . '' For Earl , comprehensive care through a team approach is the key to the center 's success . She said she has seen women at the center earn graduate degrees and become `` full-fledge '' professionals -- and that changing lives is what keeps her going . O'Neal said the center helps point women in the right direction and gives them the chance to overcome adversity . `` They 'll help you get an apartment . They 'll help you get a job . They help you get back on your feet and become the beautiful woman that you are . '' | O'Neal 's work in law enforcement taught him the serious nature of domestic violence . His hero , Karen Earl , runs the Jenesse Center , which aids abuse victims . The Los Angeles center helps more than 8,500 victims every year . The center gives women a chance to overcome adversity , O'Neal said . | [[210, 308], [851, 944], [2607, 2612], [2615, 2666], [926, 944], [953, 1072], [762, 775], [3712, 3801], [3712, 3718], [3780, 3825]] |
TEHRAN , Iran -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Iran 's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday he sees no change in U.S. policy toward Iran despite the U.S. promise of a `` new beginning . '' Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran would change its policy when the U.S. did so as well . Khamenei said a change in rhetoric is not enough , and Washington must practice what it preaches , according to the English-language Press TV channel in Iran . He also promised that Iran will change its policy if the United States does so as well , Press TV reported . Khamenei 's comments , which he made in a televised address to mark the start of the Iranian New Year on Friday , come a day after U.S. President Barack Obama reached out to Iran in a videotaped message . A spokesman for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad condemned U.S. foreign policy Friday in response to the video . Obama 's message spoke of `` new beginnings '' with the promise of a new year . `` My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us , and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States , Iran and the international community , '' the president said in his message Friday . Obama said the United States seeks engagement with Iran that is `` honest and grounded in mutual respect . '' The president 's message is part of a dramatic shift in tone from that of the Bush administration , which branded Iran as part of an `` axis of evil '' along with North Korea and Iraq . It also echoes Obama 's inaugural speech in which he told the Muslim world , `` We seek a new way forward , based on mutual interest and mutual respect . '' Ahmadinejad said last month that Iran would welcome talks with the United States `` in a fair atmosphere with mutual respect . '' Khamenei also said world powers have come to realize they are not able to block Iran 's nuclear progress . He looked back on the February 25 testing of Iran 's first nuclear power plant , at Bushehr , as one of the `` joyful developments '' of the past year . Last month , the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security released a report saying that Iran has reached `` nuclear weapons breakout capability '' -- it has enough uranium to make a nuclear bomb . The report was based on an analysis of data from the International Atomic Energy Agency . However , an IAEA official who asked not to be named cautioned against drawing such dramatic conclusions from the data , saying Iran 's stock of low-enriched uranium would have to be turned into highly enriched uranium to be weapons-grade material . That has n't been done , the official said . The United States has had tortuous relations with Tehran since the Islamic revolution in 1979 . Meanwhile , the widow of the late founder of the Islamic Republic , Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini , died Saturday morning after a long period of illness , the Iranian-run Islamic Republic News Agency said . A funeral for Khadije Saghafi was scheduled to be held Sunday in Tehran and she was set to be laid to rest in Khomeini 's tomb , the agency reported . Khomeini was the leader of the 1979 revolution that led to the toppling of the shah of Iran and the ushering in of an Islamic state . He died in 1989 . | Iranian supreme leader : No change in U.S. policy despite Obama overtures . U.S. President Obama reached out to Tehran in Iranian New Year message Friday . Ayatollah Ali Khamenei : Iran will change when U.S. changes . Obama : U.S. seeks engagement that is `` honest and grounded in mutual respect '' | [[0, 6], [9, 29], [79, 174], [543, 563], [657, 747], [190, 242], [214, 273], [434, 436], [442, 520], [1194, 1249], [1598, 1643]] |
Atlanta , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- As Christmas season went into full swing this year , Glen Fullmer 's 7-year-old son came home from school with an assignment : Make a poster illustrating his family holiday traditions . The boy was n't sure how to proceed because he and his family are Baha'is , not Christians , and they have no holidays during the Christmas season . Thus , Fullmer encountered the `` December Dilemma '' -- the term used for the quandaries and anxieties non-Christians and interfaith couples face during Christmas season . Fullmer , a Baha'i faith spokesman who lives in Evanston , Illinois , said he saw the poster assignment as a `` teachable moment '' for his 4 - , 7 - and 10-year-old sons who associated holiday traditions with Christmas . He reminded his boys that Baha'is have a gift-giving and charity period in February called Ayyam-i-Ha , a stretch of time not unlike the Christmas season . And he helped his son design the poster about that holiday , which precedes a fasting period and then the Baha'i New Year in March . `` His classmates asked him questions about the holiday , and one of his friends came up to him and wants to celebrate that holiday , '' Fullmer said , pleased that his son 's peers helped him reaffirm his identity . Navigating the Christmas season can be a challenge for the millions of people who do n't celebrate the holiday . Many acknowledge and sometime embrace the season 's customs , such as gift-giving and sending out greeting cards , while at the same time they are conscious of maintaining their own religious identities . `` They strongly try to maintain their own integrity , but they really want to find bridges across holidays , '' said the Rev. Dr. Paul Numrich , a professor at the Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus in Ohio . `` I think that 's the majority . '' L.S. Narasimhan , chairman of the Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce , is a Hindu and does n't celebrate Christmas . But he said he admires the Christian celebrations of his friends and has attended Christmas Eve services at several churches . `` Hindus are typically more open-minded and tolerant . Hinduism is very comfortable in accommodating a diversity of ideas , '' he said . `` It is very common for Hindu families to have Christmas trees at their homes , purely as a fun thing to do for their children . When they visit shopping malls , Hindu parents in general are comfortable with a photo-op for their little kids with Santa . '' But at the same time , there are pressures about the encroachment of Christianity on Hindu life . `` Television commercials , good selection of merchandise and great sale prices persuade Hindu-Americans to take advantage of the shopping spree , '' Narasimhan said . `` Several Hindu temples have risen up to the challenge and added some special Hindu prayers and ceremonies to engage Hindus who are on winter holidays but not on overseas vacations . '' Dr. Shefali Chheda , an Atlanta-area pediatrician , is a Jain -- practicing a religion with Indian roots . Growing up in Houston , Texas , she said her parents `` felt comfortable letting us celebrate Christmas , '' perhaps to help fit into American society and maintain a sense of normalcy . `` The spirit and meaning of Christmas , of helping others and of giving , are nice messages . Therefore , it is hard to consciously object to it , '' Chheda said . `` Jains , as a whole , are a minority in India . Many Jains celebrate Hindu holidays , so celebrating Christmas with Santa and a tree and presents is no different . Since Jains wholeheartedly believe in ` ahimsa ' -- peace toward all living beings in thought , word and action -- the Christmas spirit is a very Jain-like philosophy . '' The religious aspect of Christmas -- believing Jesus is the savior and that December 25 is his birthday -- is not celebrated in Jainism , but the customs and symbols are interwoven into daily life , she said . `` Now that I have toddlers in the house , they come home with stories about Christmas . They sing songs about Rudolph and Santa , and Kwanzaa , and Hanukkah . But it 's Santa that everyone talks about , so they talk about him as well , '' Chheda said . `` I use Santa as a behavioral modification tool . ` Santa 's watching you , so you better be good ' works infinitely better than timeout . My kids will be living in this country ; they will have a hard enough time anyway with their names and food and other cultural traditions ; Christmas -- and the Christmas spirit -- is not one tradition that I want to take away from them . '' Jesus plays a role in the theology of other religions , such as the Baha'i faith and Islam , even though those faiths do n't observe Christmas as a religious holiday . The Christmas season presented a struggle for Haris Tarin , director of the Washington office of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee . He grew up in Los Angeles , California , area schools , where he sang the ever-present Christmas carols and made the gingerbread houses in schools but did n't have a tree in his home . `` We definitely had a little bit of anxiety in childhood , '' Tarin said . But that changed as he grew up and refined his American Muslim persona amid the American atmosphere of diversity and tolerance . Now , where he and his family live in northern Virginia , `` we do n't celebrate Christmas . We celebrate our holidays '' -- pointing , for example , to Eid al-Fitr after Ramadan and Eid al-Adha after the hajj pilgrimage . But he welcomes the goodwill of the season -- the gift-exchanges with non-Muslim neighbors and the requests from schoolteachers to talk about Muslim holidays . `` There 's definitely going to be a level of discomfort , especially for those who are n't used to that diverse culture that we belong to , '' he said . But the unease spawns discussion , presenting a useful opportunity to help young people and newcomers , he said . For Jews , the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah happens to fall during the Christmas season . Hanukkah is wildly popular and observed , with its special foods , gift-giving and candle lighting , and with its symbols such as the menorah -- a candelabrum -- and the dreidel , a toy that spins like a top . Compared with other non-Christians , many Jews have drawn a sharper line in the sand when it comes to observing Christmas , a stance informed by historic , theological and self-preservation reasons . That attitude emerged recently during a young professionals ' get-together at an Indian restaurant outside Atlanta sponsored by the American Jewish Committee and Young Indian Professionals . People there indicated that attending Christmas-themed holiday parties , exchanging greeting cards and wishing Christian friends `` Merry Christmas '' are surely not uncommon or unacceptable among Jews . But some practices are widely shunned -- such as plunking one 's child on Santa 's lap at the mall , and deplored -- such as assigning kids in public schools to write a letter to Santa Claus . `` It 's a beautiful season . It brings out a joy , '' said Hannah Vahaba , who organized the Jewish-Indian event . `` But I 'm not going to celebrate it . '' Interfaith couples celebrate their diversity during the Christmas season . Jeff Silver , a certified public accountant who is Jewish , and Shweta Gupta , a dentist who is Hindu , are planning their marriage next year . They will have an interfaith household and said they hope to raise children to understand both of their traditions . At their home in Atlanta , they 've set up a holiday tree decorated with Hindu and Jewish ornaments . Non-religious Americans embrace a December `` secular holiday '' called HumanLight . Patrick Colucci , vice chair of the HumanLight Committee and member of the New Jersey Humanist Network , said the holiday can uplift `` atheist , humanist and nonreligious '' people who feel left out and isolated during Christmas . It was a perfect fit for him when it came along , he said , because `` it corresponds with my humanity-based ethics and values , without any supernatural or theistic beliefs . My ` holiday season ' is HumanLight and New Year 's Eve -- that 's what I celebrate . '' `` The only dilemma , in my experience is , if Christmas is part of the larger family tradition , and then some family members reject us for not believing in it anymore . We 're not out to take Christmas away from anyone who wants to celebrate it -- there is no ` war on Christmas , ' '' Colucci said . How do Christians themselves see the presence and practices of non-Christians during Christmas ? While many would like to see non-Christians convert to Christianity , they also recognize that the United States is a `` diverse society '' and that conversion `` is not even on their radar screen , '' said Numrich , the theology professor . `` There 's a deep American virtue in respecting religious differences , '' he said . | Non-Christians and interfaith couples often face quandaries and anxieties during holidays . Many acknowledge and sometime embrace customs of the Christmas season . Others remain conscious of maintaining their own religious identities . | [[429, 513], [495, 544], [1273, 1350], [4756, 4813], [5664, 5686], [5693, 5743], [1386, 1390], [1407, 1498], [1507, 1590], [1594, 1643]] |
Baghdad , Iraq -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A motorcycle bomb killed 20 people and injured 117 others south of Baghdad on Wednesday , the Interior Ministry said . The bombing in the holy city of Karbala was one of four attacks targeting Shiite pilgrims as they headed toward the shrine of Imam Hussein on Wednesday morning , a ministry official said . Three people died and 23 were injured in the other attacks . In those explosions , a roadside bomb in western Baghdad killed one person , and a roadside bomb in the city of Hilla in Babil province , south of Baghdad , killed two people . A roadside bomb in southwestern Baghdad caused only injuries . Wednesday 's attacks came two days after a suicide bomber killed 41 people and wounded 106 others in an assault on pilgrims in northeastern Baghdad . Iraqi authorities are trying to provide security to thousands of Shiite worshipers who are making their way to Karbala to mark the Arbaeen -- the end of the 40-day mourning period at the close of Ashura . Ashura commemorates the martyrdom of Hussein , the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed who was killed in battle in Karbala in 680 A.D. . That event helped create the schism between Sunnis and Shiites , the two main Muslim religious movements . CNN 's Yousif Bassil contributed to this report . | Bombers target Shiite pilgrims in the holy city of Karbala . Twenty people killed , more than 100 injured in a motorbike blast . Attack was one of four carried out Wednesday . Three people died and 23 were injured in the other attacks . | [[153, 242], [204, 312], [0, 7], [10, 30], [34, 68], [10, 30], [73, 121], [684, 685], [722, 792], [153, 242], [204, 312], [342, 359], [364, 402]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Target Corp. this month will open 27 new stores employing a total of more than 4,300 people , the company said . One of Target 's two new Hawaii stores awaits its Sunday grand opening . The stores ' openings will come just weeks after the retailer cut 600 people from its headquarters staff amid what it called weaker-than-expected sales . The retailer will hold grand openings for the 21 general merchandise stores and six full-grocery SuperTarget stores on Sunday . The new sites include the company 's first two stores in Hawaii . Each general merchandise store employs 150 to 250 people , and each SuperTarget has 200 to 300 workers , the company said . In late January , Minnesota-based Target cut its headquarters staff by 9 percent and eliminated 400 open positions . The company , citing difficult economic conditions and sales that did n't meet expectations , also said it would soon close an Arkansas distribution center that employs 500 people and would cut back on planned new-store openings . `` We are clearly operating in an unprecedented economic environment that requires us to make some extremely difficult decisions to ensure Target remains competitive over the long term , '' Gregg Steinhafel , Target president and CEO , said in a news release that month . Retailers in the United States took a hit last year as a weak economy weighed on consumer spending . Retail sales fell six straight months until January , when sales rose 1 percent , according to the Commerce Department . However , retail experts said they were skeptical a rebound had taken hold . Still , two other retailers also announced plans to expand . Kohl 's announced last month that it intends to open 55 stores in 2009 , and Dollar General in February said it is looking to open more than 400 stores . Target reported its fourth-quarter net earnings were 40.7 percent lower than the same quarter a year earlier . Same-store sales in January were 3.3 percent lower than a year earlier . December same-store sales fell 4.1 percent . Target 's new general merchandise stores are in Rogers , Arkansas ; Santa Clarita , California ; Pensacola , Florida ; Bethlehem , Georgia ; Honolulu and Kapolei , Hawaii ; Council Bluffs , Iowa ; Las Vegas , Nevada ; Paramus , New Jersey ; Cincinnati , Lebanon and Reynoldsburg , Ohio ; Broken Arrow , Oklahoma ; Philadelphia and Exton , Pennsylvania ; Memphis , Tennessee ; Houston , San Antonio and San Marcos , Texas ; Midlothian , Virginia ; and Sun Prairie , Wisconsin . The new SuperTarget stores are in Kissimmee , Florida ; Canton , Georgia ; Hillside , Illinois ; and Pflugerville , Allen and Lewisville , Texas . The new locations will increase the number of Target stores to 1,699 , the company said . CNNMoney.com 's Parija B. Kavilanz contributed to this report . | Retailer 's new stores to open in 16 states . New locations to employ more than 4,300 . Target in January announced headquarters job cuts , reduction of expansion plans . | [[53, 110], [205, 309], [677, 692], [695, 757], [677, 692], [695, 717], [762, 793], [918, 949], [967, 1024]] |
LOS ANGELES , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Singer Chris Brown has recorded a song with his girlfriend , Rihanna , after charges were filed against him for allegedly assaulting her , a source close to the record 's producer , Polow Da Don , said Thursday . A music producer says Rihanna recorded a duet with Chris Brown , who is accused of assaulting her . The source , who did not wish to be named because she was not authorized to speak on the matter , did not have any further details . `` My heart goes out to both Chris and Rihanna for what has happened in the past , '' Da Don said in a statement . `` They are both great artists to work with , and I wish them well . '' The Los Angeles , California , district attorney filed two felony counts against Brown , 19 , last week relating to a February 8 incident in which police said he assaulted Rihanna , 21 . A police statement said the incident began when Rihanna , whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty , found a text message on Brown 's cell phone from `` a woman who Brown had a previous sexual relationship with , '' according to court documents released last week . Brown issued a public apology to his fans last month . `` Words can not begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired , '' he said in a statement released by his spokesman . `` I am seeking the counseling of my pastor , my mother and other loved ones , and I am committed , with God 's help , to emerging a better person . '' When Brown made his first appearance in court last Thursday , Rihanna 's lawyer asked the judge not to prohibit him from having contact with her while he faces the charges . Media reports have said the couple has reunited since the alleged incident ; spokespersons for both have neither confirmed nor denied it . Watch some tough love for Rihanna '' Brown is due back in court on April 6 for his formal arraignment . If he is convicted , he could face as much as four years and eight months in prison , the Los Angeles County District Attorney 's Office said . The case has been moved to L.A. County Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg who signed the search warrant in the case . Brown 's attorney , Mark Geragos , requested a prearraignment hearing which is scheduled for March 23 in Schnegg 's chambers . Brown is not required to be at the hearing . iReport.com : Chris Brown fans : Share your reaction . On Wednesday he withdrew his nominations for two Nickelodeon Kids ' Choice Awards , a spokesman said . Brown , 19 , had been nominated for `` Favorite Song '' and `` Favorite Male Singer . '' `` Unfortunately , the controversy surrounding the incident last month has shifted the focus from the music to whether he should be allowed to be among those nominated , '' the spokesman said in a written statement . `` While Chris would like to speak to his fans directly about this and other issues , pending legal proceedings preclude his doing so at this time . Once the matter before him has been resolved , he intends to do so . '' | Music producer says Chris Brown and Rihanna recorded a duet this week . Charges have been filed against Brown in an alleged assault against Rihanna . Media reports say the couple has reconciled , but neither has confirmed . Brown withdrew his nominations for two Nickelodeon Kids ' Choice Awards . | [[0, 11], [14, 40], [44, 102], [257, 319], [115, 180], [303, 321], [326, 356], [677, 763], [793, 814], [824, 863], [1648, 1722], [1725, 1786], [2383, 2464]] |
New York -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Officials are investigating reports that two fire department dispatchers trained in emergency medical care refused to help a pregnant worker who collapsed in a cafe they were visiting . The woman later died . Eutisha Rennix collapsed while working at an Au Bon Pain restaurant in Brooklyn on December 9 and died at Long Island College Hospital , according to the district attorney 's office for Brooklyn , which is looking into the incident . A spokesman for the office said Rennix was pregnant . The district attorney 's office identified the two dispatchers as Jason Green and Melissa Jackson . The New York Fire Department has suspended them without pay pending a department investigation , spokesman Frank Dwyer said . Although the two worked as dispatchers , they had been trained as emergency medical technicians , said Steve Ritea , another department spokesman . Emergency medical technicians receive several weeks of training in medical care , he said . Rennix 's co-workers said Green and Jackson were in the cafe at the time Rennix collapsed , but left after telling her co-workers to call 911 , local media outlets reported . Rennix 's mother , Cynthia , said she was told that her daughter 's co-workers tried to get the two to help , but they refused , according to CNN affiliate NY1 . `` If they were really caring and concerned , they would have taken a minute to see and probably , possibility , something to do or some way the could help her , '' Rennix said . But Jeff Samerson , a spokesman for the EMT and paramedics union that represents Green and Jackson , told NY1 that Jackson herself called 911 . `` These are people that are not in the field , that have not had patient contact in years . ... And they did the best they could , '' Samerson said . The fire department , however , issued a statement saying , `` All of our members have taken an oath to assist others in need of emergency medical care . '' Cynthia Rennix told CNN that she feels the EMTs were `` heartless '' and `` non-caring '' and hopes that her daughter 's tragedy will prompt the city of New York to implement some sort of training or classes to ensure that a situation like this wo n't happen again . The victim 's brother , Eudane Rennix , was overseas serving in the U.S. Army in Kuwait when he received the call about his sister 's death . He came home on emergency leave and that is when , he said , the family broke down together . `` If this is your job , why would n't you want to help someone in need ? '' he said . `` There 's no excuse whatsoever . '' Eutisha Rennix 's fiance and the father of her unborn child , Harry Woodsen , said the losses have been hard on the whole family . `` Everybody has two losses , '' he said . `` I lost a fiance , and I lost a child . Her brother lost a sister and niece . Her mother lost a grandchild and her daughter . '' The outrage at the incident has rippled beyond Brooklyn . Mayor Michael Bloomberg slammed the EMTs at a news conference Monday . `` Somebody 's dying down the street and they say ` Help them , ' and they just sat there , '' he said . `` There 's no excuse whatsoever , as far as I can see . '' | NEW : Fire department says the two are dispatchers but have EMT training . Eutisha Rennix collapsed while working at a Brooklyn cafe , later died at hospital . Her co-workers reportedly say two EMTs in the cafe refused to help , told them to call 911 . The EMTs are suspended without pay while city investigates the reports . | [[790, 846], [69, 192], [214, 236], [237, 330], [237, 251], [335, 371], [28, 168], [69, 192], [991, 1011], [1087, 1132], [1106, 1134], [28, 168], [423, 433], [440, 470], [625, 672]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Such is the level of pressure heaped on football managers , it is unsurprising that now and then they might say or do something that gets them into trouble with someone . The latest incident has seen Manchester City boss Mark Hughes accusing Arsenal 's Arsene Wenger of `` not knowing how to behave '' after the Frenchman refused to shake the Welshman 's hand after the Gunners ' 3-0 English League Cup defeat on Wednesday night . It is not the first time Wenger has made the headlines for the wrong reasons , but he is certainly not alone . Fanzone takes a look at football 's top-five misbehaving managers . 1 . Arsene Wenger . In recent years , Wenger has been involved in touchline confrontations with Tottenham Hotspur counterpart Martin Jol and West Ham 's Alan Pardew , and exchanged words with Jose Mourinho . But his most bitter rivalry has been with Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson . For about a decade , the two clubs contested for the English Premier League , with the two coaches engaged in a volatile war of words . The rivalry reached a peak in 2004 when United ended Arsenal 's 49-game unbeaten streak with a 2-0 win at Old Trafford . After the match both coaches and players exchanged words before a slice of pizza was allegedly flung into Ferguson 's face -- the incident has been referred to as ` Pizzagate ' or the ` Battle of the Buffet ' ever since . Tensions have since subsided . 2 . Alex Ferguson . Ferguson 's mind games over the past year have mostly been reserved for Liverpool 's Rafa Benitez and referees . It was a stinging criticism of the latter that has arguably caused the Premier League 's biggest controversy this season . After Manchester United grabbed a late equalizer at home to Sunderland , Ferguson in his post-match press conference proceeded to label referee Alan Wiley unfit in comparison to continental officials . After the threat of a lawsuit , Ferguson offered an apology -- albeit a fairly half-hearted one . 3 . Luis Aragones . In his native Spain , Aragones will likely be remembered for leading the country to their first major trophy since 1964 when they won Euro 2008 . Elsewhere it might be for when , in a training session in 2004 , he was filmed making a racially offensive remark about Thierry Henry in an attempt to motivate the Frenchman 's then Arsenal teammate Jose Antonio Reyes . The comment caused a particular storm in England , with many in the media calling for Aragones ' job . He was later fined $ 3,425 . 4 . Diego Maradona . Maradona has been no stranger to controversy throughout his career , and has kept up that trend since becoming Argentina manager . In October he launched a scathing and foul-mouthed outburst at those who had criticized him during Argentina 's qualifying campaign . The rant caused FIFA to ban him football for two months and fine him $ 24,603 . 5 . Jose Mourinho . For all his success in football management , Mourinho is equally well-known for his brash and cocky manner , a trait that has caused fans to love and loathe him in equal measure . His penchant for speaking his mind has seen him accuse referee Anders Frisk of consorting with then Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard at half-time during a Champions League tie -LRB- the official later retired due to the aftermath , having received death threats -RRB- . Also while in charge of Chelsea , he once labeled Wenger a `` voyeur . '' Less verbally , he risked the ire of Liverpool fans when he proceeded to shush them during the 2005 League Cup final after Chelsea scored . The most memorable occurrence came during the London club 's 2005 Champions League quarterfinal versus Bayern Munich . Banned from the game , it was reported that Mourinho was secretly wheeled in and out of the changing-rooms in a washing basket , and that during the game he fed information to fitness coach Rui Faria through an earpiece under his hat . | Mark Hughes accuses Arsene Wenger of `` not knowing how to behave '' after a defeat . Wenger has been involved in confrontations with several managers before . He had a fierce rivalry with Alex Ferguson which subsided with Arsenal 's declining fortunes . Jose Mourinho has achieved particular notoriety , especially while at Chelsea . | [[219, 290], [292, 378], [649, 793], [837, 920], [1400, 1408], [1414, 1430]] |
LOS ANGELES , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Oscar-nominated director John Singleton accidentally struck and killed a pedestrian , a Los Angeles police spokesman said late Friday . John Singleton directed `` Rosewood , '' `` Baby Boy , '' `` Shaft '' and `` Four Brothers '' after `` Boyz N the Hood . '' Constance Russell , 57 , of Los Angeles , died at a hospital a few hours after the accident Thursday evening , Los Angeles Police Officer Jason Lee said . Russell was not using a crosswalk when she stepped in front of Singleton 's car , Lee said . According to a preliminary police investigation , Singleton was not under the influence of drugs , alcohol or any other substance and was permitted to leave after being questioned . However , Lee said because the victim was killed , the case has been turned over to the district attorney 's office for review . Singleton , 39 , earned two Academy Award nominations for his 1991 debut film `` Boyz N the Hood . '' That film also won him an MTV Movie Award as best new filmmaker . Other films he has directed include `` Rosewood , '' `` Baby Boy , '' `` Shaft '' and `` Four Brothers . '' E-mail to a friend . | John Singleton 's vehicle strikes woman , 57 , who stepped into street . Singleton sober , not charged , allowed to leave after questioning . Director nominated for two Oscars for `` Boyz N the Hood '' | [[459, 538], [602, 611], [686, 733], [863, 872], [880, 940]] |
-LRB- Entertainment Weekly -RRB- -- Fueled by a hefty dose of tweener love , Zac Efron 's `` 17 Again '' won this weekend 's box office sweepstakes without breaking a sweat . Zac Efron stars in `` 17 Again , '' which debuted in the No. 1 slot at the box office . The high school time-warp comedy , which costars Matthew Perry and Leslie Mann , earned $ 24.1 million , according to studio estimates from the box office tracking firm Nielsen EDI . The film 's haul marked another No. 1 debut for Efron , who helped boost ticket sales with an appearance this weekend on Saturday Night Live . In 2007 , the musical `` Hairspray , '' which co-starred Efron , opened first at $ 27.5 million . Last year , Efron 's `` High School Musical 3 : Senior Year '' bowed with $ 42 million , and while `` 17 Again '' may have fallen short of that mark , it still represents an auspicious maiden voyage for Efron 's post-Disney career . Despite the raft of critics who pooh-poohed the film , which received a 61 percent fresh rating on Rottentomatoes.com , audiences were more favorably inclined , giving it a strong A - CinemaScore . Landing at No. 2 , the Russell Crowe-Ben Affleck thriller `` State of Play '' pulled in $ 14.1 million . The film , which garnered generally positive reviews , is the latest of a string of adult-oriented dramas to lag at the box office , although its final tally actually came in somewhat higher than anticipated and was an improvement over the $ 12.9 million opening for Crowe 's last outing , last fall 's `` Body of Lies . '' While `` 17 Again '' mopped up moviegoers on the younger end of the age spectrum , a whopping 75 percent of `` State of Play 's '' audience was over 35 . Holding steady at No. 3 for the second week in a row , `` Monsters vs. Aliens '' took in another $ 12.9 million . The film 's impressive performance in its fourth weekend brings the grand total for the animated kiddie flick to $ 162 million the highest this year by a wide margin . `` Hannah Montana : The Movie '' dropped 61 percent from its opening last weekend , but the Miley Cyrus starrer still proved strong enough for the No. 4 spot with $ 12.7 million , boosting its cumulative gross to $ 56.2 million . Rounding out the top five , `` Fast & Furious '' still had plenty of gas in the tank , earning $ 12.3 million in its third weekend for an overall cume of $ 136.7 million . The same , however , ca n't be said for the Jason Statham action flick `` Crank High Voltage , '' which sputtered into a distant sixth place with a decidedly low-voltage $ 6.5 million . Overall box office was up for the fourth straight weekend , surging 21 percent over this same weekend last year . Recession ? What recession ? CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . Copyright 2009 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. . All rights reserved . | `` 17 Again '' debuted at No. 1 at the box office , pulling in an estimated $ 24.1 million . The Russell Crowe-Ben Affleck thriller `` State of Play '' was No. 2 with $ 14.1 million . Overall box office earnings were up for the fourth straight weekend . | [[263, 295], [344, 365], [1118, 1132], [1137, 1175], [1188, 1222], [1815, 1941], [2571, 2628]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addressed the Republican National Convention on Wednesday . Here is the text of that speech : . Former Gov. Mitt Romney says Sen. John McCain will rein in government spending . Romney : Thank you . Thank you so very much . Ann and I love you all . We have a deep feeling in our hearts for you . We respect you for the values you have and the vision we have for America together . Thank you so much , our dear friends . We sure love you . Thank you . You know , for decades now , the Washington sun has been rising in the east . You see , Washington has been looking to the eastern elites , to the editorial pages of the Times and the Post , and to the broadcasters from the -- from the coast . Yes . Watch Romney 's entire speech '' If America really wants to change , it 's time to look for the sun in the west , because it 's about to rise and shine from Arizona and Alaska . Last week , the Democratic convention talked about change . But what do you think ? Is Washington now , liberal or conservative ? Let me ask you some questions . Is a Supreme Court decision liberal or conservative that awards Guantanamo terrorists with constitutional rights ? It 's liberal . Is a government liberal or conservative that puts the interests of the teachers union ahead of the needs of our children ? It 's liberal . Is a Congress liberal or conservative that stops nuclear power plants and off-shore drilling , making us more and more dependent on Middle Eastern tyrants ? It 's liberal . Is government spending , putting aside inflation , liberal or conservative if it doubles since 1980 ? It 's liberal . We need change all right : change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington . We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington : Throw out the big-government liberals and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin . It 's the same prescription for a stronger economy . I spent 25 years in the private sector . I 've done business in many foreign countries . I know why jobs come and why they go away . And I know that liberals do n't have a clue . They think that we have the biggest and strongest economy in the world because of our government . They 're wrong . America is strong because of the ingenuity , and entrepreneurship , and hard work of the American people . The American people have always been the source of our nation 's strength , and they always will be . We strengthen our people and our economy when we preserve and promote opportunity . Opportunity is what lets hope become reality . Opportunity expands when there 's excellence and choice in education , when taxes are lowered , when every citizen has affordable , portable health insurance , and when constitutional freedoms are preserved . Opportunity rises when children are raised in homes and schools that are free from pornography , and promiscuity , and drugs , where there are homes that are blessed with family values and the presence of a mom and a dad . America -- America can not long lead the family of nations if we fail the family here at home . You see , liberals would replace opportunity with dependency on government largesse . They grow government and raise taxes to put more people on Medicaid , to take work requirements out of welfare , and to grow the ranks of those who pay no taxes at all . Dependency is death to initiative , to risk-taking and opportunity . It 's time to stop the spread of government dependency and fight it like the poison it is . You know , it 's time for the party of big ideas , not the party of Big Brother . Our economy is under attack . China is acting like Adam Smith on steroids , buying oil from the world 's worst and selling nuclear technology . Russia and the oil states are siphoning more than $ 500 billion a year from us in what could become the greatest transfer of economic wealth in the history of the world . This is no time for timid , liberal , empty gestures . Our economy has slowed down this year , and a lot of people are hurting . What happened ? Mortgage money was handed out like candy , and speculators bought homes for free . And when this mortgage mania finally broke , it slammed the economy . And stratospheric gas prices made things even worse . Democrats want to use the slowdown as an excuse to do what their special interests are always begging for : higher taxes , bigger government , and less trade with other nations . It 's the same path Europe took a few decades ago . It leads to moribund growth and double-digit unemployment . The right course is the one championed by Ronald Reagan 30 years ago and by John McCain and Sarah Palin today . The right course is to rein in government spending , lower taxes , take a Weedwacker to excessive regulation and mandates , put a stop to tort windfalls , and to stand up to the Tyrannosaurus appetite of government unions . The right course -- the right course is to pursue every source of energy security , from new efficiencies to renewables , from coal to non-CO2 producing nuclear , and for the immediate drilling for more oil off our shores . And I have -- I have one more recommendation for energy conservation : Let 's keep Al Gore 's private jet on the ground . Last week , last week , did you hear any Democrats talk about the threat from radical , violent jihad ? No . You see , Republicans believe that there is good and evil in the world . Ronald Reagan called out the evil empire . George Bush labeled the terror-sponsor states exactly what they are : The axis of evil . And at Saddleback , after Barack Obama dodged and ducked every direct question , John McCain hit the nail on the head : Radical , violent Islam is evil , and he will defeat it . This party ... You 're hearing it here . You 're hearing it here , and they 're hearing it across the country . You see , in this party , in this room tonight , and all over America , people in our party prefer straight talk to politically correct talk . Republicans , led by John McCain and Sarah Palin , will fight to preserve the values that have preserved the nation . We 'll strengthen our economy and keep us from being held hostage by Putin , Chavez , and Ahmadinejad . And we will never allow America to retreat in the face of evil extremism . Just like you , just like you , there 's never been a day when I was not proud to be an American . We -- we Americans inherited the greatest nation in the history of the Earth . It 's our burden and our privilege to preserve it , to renew its spirit so that its noble past is prologue to its glorious future . To this we 're all dedicated . And I firmly believe , by the providence of the almighty , that we will succeed . President McCain and Vice President Palin will keep America as it has always been : The hope of the Earth . Thank you , and God bless America . | Romney : The right course is the one championed by Ronald Reagan . Romney : Republicans prefer straight talk to politically correct talk . Romney : It 's time for the party of big ideas , not the party of Big Brother . | [[4575, 4686], [4595, 4686], [5933, 6003], [3535, 3543], [3546, 3583]] |
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- An ill-tempered CONCACAF Gold Cup match between Mexico and Panama recently saw three players and Mexico coach Javier Aguirre sent off amid violent scenes in Houston , Texas . Newcastle teammates Lee Bowyer -LRB- left -RRB- and Kieron Dyer turn against one-another . The 1-1 draw , which saw the referee add on 10 minutes at the end for all the various stoppages , got Fanzone thinking about some of the most controversial match melees that have occurred . Do you agree with our worst 11 ? Post your comments in the Sound Off box below . 1 The Battle of Santiago , Chile v Italy , World Cup 1962 . Surely the most violent match in history . The tone was set when the first foul was committed after 12 seconds . Two Italian players were sent off as the teams spent the whole 90 minutes punching , spitting and scuffling with each other , with Chile managing to score two goals in-between the fighting . Police had to come onto the pitch three times to sort out the chaos while Italian Giorgio Ferrini had to be escorted off by armed officers when he refused to leave the pitch after his dismissal . Referee Ken Aston remarked : `` I was n't reffing a football match , I was acting as an umpire in military maneuvers . '' 2 Valencia v Inter Milan , Champions League 2007 . Six yellow cards were handed out during the game , but it was events that followed which marred Valencia 's passage through to the quarterfinals . On the final whistle , Inter midfielder Nicolas Burdisso came together with Valencia defender Carlos Marchena , sparking a brawl . Unused Valencia substitute David Navarro then ran onto the field , to join in - the result of which was a broken nose for Burdisso . Navarro , retreated to the sidelines chased and kicked by Inter players Julio Cruz , Ivan Cordoba . The melee continued in the tunnel , with the Spanish Civil Guard eventually needed to quell the problem . UEFA , European football 's governing body , subsequently fined Navarro $ 200,000 and banned the player for eight games , Burdisso was slapped with an eight-match suspension , Maicon for six , Córdoba for three games and Julio Cruz for two . 3 Turkey v Switzerland , World Cup play-off 2006 . Violence erupted after Turkey missed a place in the 2006 finals after going out on the away goals rule following a 4-2 win in Istanbul . Players and technical staff were seen throwing punches in the tunnel as the Swiss side ran for their lives against a torrent of Turkish anger . Turkey assistant-coach Mehmet Ozdilek was banned from all football for one year , while two Turkish players , and one Swiss , were handed six-match bans . Turkey were also ordered to play their next six competitive home matches behind closed doors at neutral venues . Have we missed a famous punch-up out ? Leave your suggestions below . 4 Manchester United v Arsenal , English Division One 1990 . These two rivals have been involved in some juicy encounters over the years , but this is one of the most infamous . Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn went in late on Manchester United 's Denis Irwin prompting chaos , as 21 players , with Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman proving the exception , joining in the fracas . Remarkably nobody was sent off but the English Football Association took a dim view and deducted Arsenal two league points and United one . Arsenal won the match 1-0 and still went on to lift the title . 5 France v Italy , World Cup final 2006 . The great Zinedine Zidane had led an unfancied and ageing French side to the World Cup final . With the match level in extra time , the attentions of notorious Italian hard-man and chief agitator Marco Materazzi finally proved too much for the France No. 10 - who responded to some choice words by the Inter Milan central defender by turning around and viciously head-butting his rival in the stomach . Zidane was sent off . France eventually lost on penalties and the Real Madrid playmaker bizarrely went on to be voted ` Player of the Tournament ' . 6 Kevin Keegan v Billy Bremner , Liverpool v Leeds Charity Shield 1974 . England striker Keegan blamed Bremner for `` taking him out '' in an off the ball . Bremner was not one for holding back and Wembley stadium , home of some famous boxing matches over the years , played host to another as these two diminutive players slugged it out like two featherweights challenging for the WBC world title . Unsurprisingly both were sent off and added to their charge list by hurling their tops to the ground and walking off the pitch bare-chested . Each player was fined # 500 -LRB- $ 810 -RRB- and banned for 11 games , although shirt-throwing accounted for eight of the matches ! 7 Rudi Voeller v Frank Rijkaard , Netherlands v Germany World Cup 1990 . Not the most violent , but certainly one of the funniest . The pair were sniping at each other throughout the match . Rijkaard came in late on Voeller , who later took his revenge with a lunge on goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen . Rijkaard took exception and , after a melee , the pair were sent off , with the Dutchman then notoriously spitting as hard as he could into the German 's curly perm as the disgraced pair left the pitch . 8 Lee Bowyer v Kieron Dyer , Newcastle v Aston Villa English Premier League 2005 . Punch-ups are rare in modern football , but between teammates they are non-existent . These two hot-heads got into a debate over Dyer 's refusal to pass Bowyer the ball . Both players had made news for their off-field activities in the past - but they took their behavior to a new low when they exchanged blows in the middle of the Newcastle half soon after Villa had gone 3-0 up . The pair later appeared alongside manager Graeme Souness to apologize for their conduct , but pointedly did not say sorry to each other . 9 LDU Quito v Barcelona , Ecuador league 2006 . A mass brawl at the end of the match on the final day of the season shocked Ecuador - and resulted in a host of suspensions being handed out . A total of 11 players were banned for between two and 12 months for taking part in the punch-up which saw four Barcelona players receive injuries . The incident started with a clash between former Ecuador striker Agustin Delgado and his marker Victor Montoya . 10 Cruzeiro v Atletico Mineiro Brazilian league 2007 . Atletico Mineiro defender Coelho did not take kindly to the seal dribble of talented teenager Kerlon - who collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area , flicked it up and performed his trademark dribble by bouncing the ball on his head as he ran towards goal . Coelho crashed into him and was given a straight red card and a four-month suspension . Other Atletico players remonstrated angrily with Kerlon , leading to an angry pushing match which interrupted the game for five minutes . Atletico coach Emerson Leao warned that Kerlon could get seriously injured if he tried the trick again . 11 Chelsea v Arsenal English League Cup final 2007 . With Chelsea winning 2-1 Arsenal defender Kolo Toure reacted angrily to a late challenge . Both sides had a number of African players in their line-ups and a mass brawl erupted which saw three of them , Arsenal 's Emmanuel Adebayor , Toure and Chelsea 's John Obi Mikel sent off . Adebayor refused to leave the pitch and it needed respective managers - the hot-headed pair of Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho - to stride onto the turf and defuse the situation . | Football Fanzone presents a rundown of 11 infamous pitch punch-ups . The tension of competition has even seen teammates turn against one-another . Let us know what you think by commenting in the Sound Off box . | [[302, 314], [400, 470], [525, 572], [2804, 2834]] |
FARGO , North Dakota -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Red River began to recede Sunday after rising to record levels , but officials cautioned residents not to let their guard down , especially in the face of an approaching snowstorm . A makeshift levee protects a house Sunday in Moorhead , Minnesota . `` We are very confident now that -LSB- the -RSB- river is in a slow decline , '' National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Gust said . `` Hopefully , it will be at about 38 feet by next Sunday . '' A winter storm warning was issued Sunday for the Red River Valley area between North Dakota and Minnesota , from midday Monday through Tuesday evening . Forecasters expected as many as 10 inches of snow in the area and wind gusts up to 35 mph . Officials said the wind will cause waves in the floodwaters that will put more pressure on the sandbag dikes along the Red River , but the river levels were expected to continue their gradual decline . At 7:15 p.m. Sunday , the river at Fargo was at 39.75 feet , lower than its early Saturday peak of 40.82 feet and below the previous record of 40.10 feet set in 1897 , according to the weather service . River levels were expected to stay below 41 feet and slowly drop over the next three to seven days , the weather service said . The river is considered at flood stage in Fargo when it reaches 18 feet . Watch how Fargo residents are `` guardedly optimistic '' '' By Sunday morning , two deaths and 50 injuries had been reported in flood-related incidents . The injuries included victims of car wrecks caused by flooded roads , said Kirby Kruger , an epidemiologist with North Dakota Health Department . Other illnesses , including mental health issues , carbon monoxide poisoning and cardiac-related events were reported , Kruger said . Water seeped into two of five buildings at the Oak Grove Lutheran School primary and secondary complex after a flood barrier began to leak , officials said . School officials said the two buildings had about 6 inches of water in the basement . The school last flooded in 1997 . `` We knew this flood was going to be different , '' school spokeswoman Ann Marie Campbell said . `` There was a lot of emotion this morning when we got the word we had a breach . '' The school has 493 students from kindergarten through high school , Police Sgt. Ross Renner told CNN . A contingency dike contained the water , said Mayor Dennis Walaker , but three homes between the contingency dike and the primary dike also flooded . `` What happened up in Oak Grove , again , is a wake-up call for the general public , '' Walaker said . `` Those things will continue to happen . I guarantee it . '' Watch front lines of flood battle '' The University of North Dakota has canceled classes until noon Monday , while the Fargo campus of the North Dakota State University has been shut down until April 6 as the state waits to see whether the worst has passed . Despite reports the river was dropping , Fargo officials have said they are holding their breath . `` In past flooding , you have to understand , we 've had times in which people thought it crested and then it came back and went up , '' Fargo Deputy Mayor Tim Mahoney said . `` And our temperature is changing , so we will be reluctant to announce a crest until we truly feel there 's been a crest , '' he said . iReport.com : Are you there ? Share your photos , video . City Manager Pat Zavoral added , `` We can not think that we 've passed some milestone here . '' `` We 've been under tremendous pressure to evacuate the city , '' Walaker said . `` We 're not going to abandon our city . We 've invested too much effort into this process . '' iReport.com : Home 's residents cut through deck to build dike . Some residents , however , have evacuated some neighborhoods , hospitals and nursing homes . iReport.com : . A storm with snow was approaching the area , Gust said . `` The snow -LSB- is -RSB- coming with that winter storm Monday night into Tuesday -- and Fargo could have 6 to 7 inches of snow here , the South Dakota border could see a foot or more -- but that snow should not affect that rate of decline one iota , '' he said . However , winds associated with the storm could affect the dikes , he said . iReport.com : `` It 's as if it were a lake , not a river '' Like the Fargo authorities , officials across the river in Minnesota said the revised forecast did not allay their concerns . Residents of Moorhead , Minnesota , warily waited to see if miles of levees and sandbags would hold . Watch how flooding is affecting Moorhead '' `` We 're all in this together -- so far , so good , '' said U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson , D-Minnesota , at a Sunday news conference . `` Keep vigilant -- keep checking the dikes . '' Watch workers monitor the swollen Red River '' Evacuations in Moorhead were proceeding smoothly , Mayor Mark Voxland said on Sunday . No breaches of dikes were reported , he said . `` Sandbagging is ramping up again , '' said Mike Redlinger , Moorhead city manager . `` We 're evaluating our supplies . '' Sandbagging operations came to a close in Fargo on Friday , after weary volunteers had filled about 3 million sandbags . See map of affected area '' About 1,700 National Guard members were checking dikes in the city of about 90,000 residents . Mahoney said the city -- North Dakota 's most populous -- also had prepared `` sand balloons , '' about two tons of sand that could be dropped via helicopter onto any breach . President Obama said he was monitoring the situation carefully . The president has signed emergency and disaster declarations for Minnesota and North Dakota , freeing up federal funds for the region . Saturday 's flood crest at Fargo set a new level that had held since 1897 , when the Red River flooded and reached 40.1 feet at the city . The Red River approached the 1897 level in 1997 , when it reached 39.6 feet , a level that many residents thought would be the highest they 'd ever see . `` Everybody thought after '97 that we had seen the worst possible situation , '' Fargo resident Jim Shaw said . `` We thought we were safe , we survived that one , we 're good for the rest of our lives . So believe it or not , even though this area is prone to flooding , this is a big shock , this is a big stunner , and it 's probably a wake-up call , '' he said . `` Some people might reconsider wanting to stay here . '' CNN 's Susan Roesgen , Steve Kastenbaum , Dina Majoli and Chuck Johnston contributed to this report . | Officials expect continued receding despite coming snow , but wind a concern . Red River at Fargo nearly foot below Saturday 's level . Flooding of homes , school a `` wake-up call , '' Fargo mayor says . Two deaths , 50 injuries blamed on flood-related incidents . | [[648, 724], [875, 941], [1145, 1157], [1198, 1243], [3841, 3883], [4173, 4227], [1407, 1424], [1427, 1500]] |
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- She stood by her husband throughout the contentious 2008 presidential campaign and during heated health care reform debates during his presidency . First lady Michelle Obama listens to remarks during a health care forum at the White House on Friday . Now , as the debate is reaching a fever pitch , first lady Michelle Obama is weighing in on the issue by focusing on how health care can affect families . `` What she 's doing is putting a personal and human face on the issue ... there 's nothing more crucial , '' said Washington Post columnist Sally Quinn . `` Everybody gets sick , and everybody has someone in the family that gets sick . '' `` I think if you can humanize it and personalize it , it suddenly brings it home to people -- especially those who are screaming and yelling about the government taking over , '' Quinn said . On Friday , the first lady , a former hospital administrator , spoke about the issue to a crowd at the White House , highlighting her own family 's experience with health care . In one touching moment , Obama recalled when daughter Sasha exhibited signs of potentially deadly meningitis when she was 4 months old . `` We did n't know what , but he -LSB- the doctor -RSB- told us she could have meningitis , so we were terrified . He said get to the emergency room right away , '' she said . `` Fortunately , things worked out . '' `` But it is that moment in our lives that flashes through my head every time we engage in this health insurance conversation . It 's that moment in my life , because I think about what on earth would we have done if we had not had insurance . '' Mrs. Obama not only faced the issue as a mother , but also as a daughter . `` My father has multiple sclerosis . He contracted it in his 20s . ... He was able to get up and go to work every day , even though it got harder for him as he got sicker and more debilitated . And I find myself thinking what would we had done as a family on the south side of Chicago if my father had n't had insurance . '' Watch more of Michelle Obama 's message '' Quinn says that personal story is critical in the health care debate -- something that has been lacking in the president 's message so far , which has often been deemed by pundits as too policy-oriented and too surgical in nature . `` What she 's doing is she 's humanizing the issue . And I think that has been missing in their -LSB- White House -RSB- campaign , '' she says . `` He 's been so focused on the details and the strategy and the money that the individual problems and issues have seemed to have gotten lost in the fray . '' Gloria Borger , a CNN senior political analyst , agreed . `` I think she 's always been a great asset to him , '' she said . `` She can help in this health care debate by not getting involved in the minutiae of the bills , but essentially emphasizing the reason we need health care reform . And that 's what she will stick to . '' Michelle Obama was a lightning rod -- both good and bad -- throughout her husband 's presidential campaign . Now , in her role as first lady , she has garnered greater support among American voters from both parties . A national survey by the Pew Research Center for People and the Press in April found that the first lady 's positive ratings have increased since her husband took office . The poll found that 76 percent of Americans had a favorable opinion of her , which is up from 68 percent in January . `` Much of the change has come among Republicans , especially Republican women , '' the organization noted . `` About two-thirds of Republican women -LSB- 67 percent -RSB- have a favorable impression of Michelle Obama , a gain of 21 points since January . '' But a first lady 's involvement in health care reform is nothing new . In the early '90s , first lady Hillary Clinton spearheaded the Clinton administration 's push for reform , holding meetings , testifying before congressional committees and , in general , taking charge of the issue . `` Hillary Clinton was the architect of health care reform , '' Borger said . As for whether Michelle Obama is mirroring Clinton 's role , the answer from both Borger and Quinn is absolutely not . `` I do n't see any parallels at all . ... The Clintons came in , and they had run on the platform of buy one , get one free , a co-presidency and all of that . And she took over this huge thing herself . Bill was n't doing it , '' Quinn said . She said the president , not Michelle Obama , was the was the one who pushed health care reform in his early domestic agenda . `` He promised in his campaign , and then he 's the one that did it . This is not Michelle 's plan . She has n't been doing the town meetings and the national press conferences , '' she added . Borger said that the first lady is playing a completely different role . `` It 's a much more supportive role , and it 's a role out of the policy arena , but more in the arena of just why we ought to think we need reform . '' | First lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks on health care reform Friday . Obama recalls personal health stories about her daughter and father . Analysts say her personal touch on the thorny issue could help her husband . | [[287, 300], [329, 382], [869, 878], [881, 895], [932, 983], [869, 878], [881, 895], [986, 1046], [869, 878], [881, 895], [986, 1046], [444, 508]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The long list for the job that has been described as `` the best in the world '' has been announced . The successful applicant will based on Hamilton Island , center , off Australia 's northeastern coast . A chef , a dance instructor and a scientist are among the final 50 applicants for the six-month post of `` caretaker '' on Hamilton Island , part of the Great Barrier Reef off Australia The successful candidate will enjoy a salary of $ 100,000 , free home and generous perks on the island . `` Key responsibilities '' will include sending weekly reports via blogs and video on what is happening on the island , as well as cleaning the pool -- which comes with the free home -- and feeding the fish . Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle revealed Tuesday that the authority had received 34,684 applications from around the world for the position . `` Yesterday , a team of Tourism Queensland marketing and international staff along with a professional recruitment company made the very tough decisions necessary to cut the short-list to the Top 50 , '' Boyle said . `` I understand it was a robust discussion but what it boiled down to was the motivation and professionalism of the applicants and their ` fit ' with the job and Tourism Queensland . '' The 50 hopefuls come from 22 countries including the U.S. , the UK , Russia , Canada , France , Greece , Ireland , India , China , Japan , Korea , Indonesia , Malaysia , Taiwan and Kenya as well as Australia itself . The shortlisted 50 will now be cut down to a final 11 -- 10 chosen by Tourism Queensland and an 11th by popular vote from videos submitted by the applicants . The videos show the 50 candidates employing a variety of attempts to woo their prospective employer , from wandering round a chilly city center in bikini with surfboard to making their application in the form of a street musical , complete with chorus singers . The successful applicant will also enjoy free return airfares from their nearest capital city , transport on the island , travel insurance , computer and camera gear and travel to other islands in the Great Barrier Reef . The appointment requires no academic qualifications -- the `` caretaker '' will just need to have strong communication skills , be a good swimmer and enjoy snorkeling . The final selection process will take place on Hamilton Island in early May , with the successful applicant announced on May 6 and beginning work on July 1 . | Tourism Queensland advertised dream island caretaking job for $ 100,000 . Six-month stint involves reporting on the Great Barrier Reef island off Australia . Long list of 34,000-plus has now been whittled down to long list of 50 . Final 11 will be interviewed on the island itself in May , job will begin in July . | [[411, 515], [725, 875], [2309, 2384], [2309, 2312], [2392, 2416], [2440, 2466]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Despite his personal problems , golfer Tiger Woods received another accolade as he was voted PGA player of the year . Wood was chosen for the award by a vote from other professional golfers . `` The recognition by -LSB- his -RSB- peers is one of the highest compliments a PGA Tour member can receive , '' PGA Commissioner Timothy Finchem said in a press statement Friday . The statement mentioned the six tournaments Woods won in 2009 but made no mention of the infamous car accident and infidelity scandal that pushed the golfer to take an indefinite hiatus from pro golf . Earlier this week , Woods was also voted `` Athlete of the Decade '' by the Associated Press . Woods ' woes started late in November when he crashed his car outside his Florida mansion . Authorities issued a citation for careless driving , and he was given a $ 164 fine . Woods was not required to talk to police about the wreck and declined to talk with investigators on several occasions . In the week following the crash , Woods apologized for `` transgressions '' that let his family down . The same day , US Weekly published a report alleging that Woods had an affair with Jaimee Grubbs , a 24-year-old cocktail waitress . US Weekly 's report followed a National Enquirer article before the crash that the athlete was having an affair with New York nightclub hostess Rachel Uchitel , an assertion she vigorously denied , according to The New York Post . After that several other women came forward alleging to have had liaisons with Woods . Last week on his Web site , Woods admitted to infidelity and said he was taking a break from golf to focus on his family . | Tiger Woods voted PGA Player of the Year by his peers . Woods won six tournaments in 2009 . Woods recently announced he would take golf hiatus to focus on family after admitting infidelity . | [[51, 136], [137, 210], [392, 453], [507, 525], [531, 593], [1540, 1565], [1568, 1596], [1540, 1565], [1568, 1573], [1601, 1662]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Smoking is bad for you , and by now , most of us know it . An estimated 4.5 million U.S. adolescents are cigarette smokers . It seems that studies on the dangers of smoking come out every week . Just recently , after an article appeared in the journal Pediatrics , we were introduced to the concept of third-hand smoke , the potentially toxic residue that lingers in curtains , clothing , hair , etc. after the smoke itself blows away . To recap : Smoking exponentially increases your risk of developing lung cancer -LRB- and other lung diseases , like emphysema and chronic bronchitis -RRB- and puts you at higher risk for cancer of the mouth , throat , larynx , esophagus , bladder , pancreas , kidney , cervix and stomach . Smoking also elevates the risk of cardiovascular disease , stroke and insulin resistance . And , as if all that were n't bad enough , it causes wrinkles . Yet stand on virtually any streetcorner of any city or town in the United States , and you will see people smoking . So , who exactly -- in the face of all the mounting scientific evidence , social stigma and legal bans -- still lights up ? According to the CDC , about 43.4 million Americans -LRB- 19.8 percent of the population -RRB- smoke . Look around you . If you are in Kentucky , the state with the highest smoking rate , more than one out of every four people -LRB- 28.3 percent -RRB- around you smokes . On the other end of the spectrum is Utah , with just over one person in 10 -LRB- 11.7 percent -RRB- a smoker . Find the smoking rate in your state '' Here 's the good news : `` Smoking prevalence in the entire country has gone under 20 percent for first time in over 50 years , '' said Dr. Richard Hurt , director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at the Mayo Clinic . `` For women , it 's 18 percent in most places , and for men it 's hovering at about 20 percent . We have gone from one in two men smoking to one in five -- a very dramatic change -- and one in three women to one in five . '' Here 's the bad news : Smoking rates are unlikely to drop to the national health objective of 12 percent by 2010 . Hurt , who is also a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester , Minnesota , is a former three-pack-a-day smoker . Unlike most smokers , he picked up the habit during college ; according to the CDC , about 90 percent of heavy smokers start in high school . And studies show that the younger you are when you start , the more likely you 'll become a heavy smoker as an adult . According to the American Cancer Society , each day more than 3,500 people younger than 18 try their first cigarette , and 1,100 others become regular daily smokers . About one-third of these kids will eventually die from a smoking-related disease . Retired radio broadcaster and iReporter Gerald Dimmitt , 65 , has smoked since he was 14 . `` I 've always smoked a pipe , '' he said . `` I have successfully quit about 40 times . '' But , he says , he always restarted , because `` it calms me down . '' iReport.com : Do you still smoke ? Dimmitt has even more incentive to quit now , since developing lesions and irritation in his mouth . After speaking to his doctor , he received a prescription for Chantix , a pill to aid with smoking cessation . But when he went to pick up his prescription at the pharmacy , he was charged $ 139 -LRB- because it 's not generic -RRB- for two weeks worth . Outraged , he left the Chantix behind . `` If smoking is so dangerous ... why then do they want to charge $ 139 to make me stop ? There is something very wrong with that . I guess they would rather pay to take care of lung cancer , '' he said . Some would-be smokers pick up their first cigarette to fit in . `` I started smoking at 12 years old to be part of the ` in ' crowd . It never got me into the ` in ' crowd , but with my first cigarette , I was totally hooked , '' wrote Lori Jerome , 45 , a former bartender and now full-time university student from Canada . Said Lisa `` Smith , '' 44 , a recently laid-off administrator from Minnesota , `` I began smoking in junior high school because I wanted to fit in with a certain crowd . However , that group of friends is looooong gone from my life and I still have the nasty habit . '' Smith did n't want her last name used . Hurt says the reason many people start , and continue , is peer influence . But he also blames targeted promotions by tobacco companies -LRB- like Virginia Slims targeting women in the 1970s and other brands targeting inner-city minority groups today -RRB- and the movies . `` There is a lot of research right now that shows that smoking in the movies has made a comeback . ... It clearly affects start-up smoking among young people . '' As for things that prevent children from smoking , Hurt cites higher cigarette taxes and smoke-free zones , like offices and restaurants . `` Those two public health policies do three things : reduce smoking among continuing smokers , help people to stop smoking and reduce the chances of our children starting to smoke , because it de-normalizes it . ... The child interprets smoke-free as the social norm , '' he said . That 's why children of smokers are much more likely to become smokers themselves : Smoke-filled surroundings is their norm . Of course , society 's perception of smoking has changed a lot since the days of doctors actually endorsing one brand or another in the first half of last century . Dimmitt recalls `` ashtrays in church pews , smoking in the classroom and blowing pipe smoke all over the students ! '' `` When I was born , my mother was allowed to smoke in the hospital room with me in there , '' Jerome said . `` When I had my adult children , we were allowed to smoke in the day room on the maternity ward floor , although the babies were not allowed in there . When I had my youngest children , ages 5 and 8 now , you could n't smoke in the hospital . How the times have changed . '' Now , smokers in some places face smoking bans in certain public and private spaces , and unspoken -- and sometimes overt -- hostilities . Smith , a mother of six , wrote , `` It 's so socially unacceptable where I live , and none of my current friends or relatives smoke . In fact , I do n't even smoke out in public anymore -- unless it 's dark and I 'm in my car . I feel it 's such a disgusting and stinky habit . '' Dulcie Long , 50 , of Denver , Colorado , said , `` I wo n't say I feel actual ` social discrimination , ' but it is something I feel a sense of shame about and do my best not to smoke in the presence of friends . None of my friends smoke , and I 'm very uncomfortable doing it anywhere near them . '' Even Dimmitt switched from a pipe to cigarettes when he was working with youngsters so he would n't reek so much . Not only have attitudes towards smoking changed , the profile of smokers has changed , too . `` The demographics have changed so much that now , more often than not , it 's the disadvantaged who are still smoking compared to the highly educated , highly trained people , '' Hurt said . `` It is pretty clear that the prevalence of smoking in groups of people is related to education status , which is a surrogate for income status . ... When you go down the income ladder , the smoking prevalence rises . Some groups of severely disadvantaged people have smoking rates of 30 to 40-plus percent . '' Hurt says that there is also a much higher prevalence of smoking among people with mental health disorders like depression , alcoholics , drug users and schizophrenics . But movers and shakers are not immune . President-elect Barack Obama has struggled with , and seems to have conquered , his habit . Former President Clinton was known to sit on the balcony of the White House and enjoy a cigar -LRB- his wife , Secretary of State-designate Hilary Clinton , officially made the White House a smoke-free zone -RRB- . First lady Laura Bush admits to being an ex-smoker . Plenty of celebrities -- like actresses Salma Hayek , Katherine Heigl and Eva Longoria Parker -- have been caught , cigarette in mouth , by the paparazzi . Even actor Patrick Swayze , who is battling pancreatic cancer , admitted that he continues to smoke . Which brings us back to the inescapable fact that , worldwide , an estimated 4 million adults die each year of tobacco-caused diseases . Said Hurt , `` This is only product that I know on the face of the Earth which , if it is used as recommended by manufacturer , kills 60 percent of its customers . '' | Despite health effects , bans and social pressure , 20 percent Americans smoke . About 90 percent of adult smokers start in high school . Worldwide , about 4 million adults die each year of tobacco-caused diseases . iReport.com : Do you still smoke ? Share your story . | [[1053, 1120], [1092, 1120], [1124, 1141], [2376, 2412], [8294, 8366], [3037, 3048], [3051, 3071]] |
MOSCOW , Russia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Russia 's president launched a verbal volley at Georgia 's leaders on Monday , as Georgia hit back with renewed accusations that the Russian invasion was premeditated . Russian soliders on patrol outside the Georgian city of Gori on Monday . President Dmitry Medvedev said : `` The world has seen that even today , there are political morons who are ready to kill innocent and defenseless people in order to satisfy their self-serving interests , while compensating for their own inability to resolve complicated issues by using the most terrible solution -- by exterminating an entire people . `` I think that there should be no mercy for that . We will do our best not to let this crime go unpunished . '' He was speaking at a visit to the military headquarters at Vladikavkaz , near the Russian-Georgian border . Each side accuses the other of `` ethnic cleansing '' during the conflict over South Ossetia , which erupted August 7 . In Washington , Georgia 's ambassador to the United States said the Russian push into Georgia the following day had been long planned . `` You just do n't move more than 1,200 tanks and 15,000 soldiers into a country within 12 hours without previous planning , '' Ambassador Vasil Sikharulidze said . The conflict began more than a week ago when Georgian troops entered the breakaway territory of South Ossetia to attack pro-Moscow separatists . Russia responded by invading the country on August 8 , prompting heavy fighting with Georgian forces that spread to another breakaway territory , Abkhazia . The Georgian troops withdrew and Russian forces took control of several areas -- prompting an international outcry . After diplomatic efforts led by France on behalf of the European Union , Georgia and Russian signed a cease-fire . France is the rotating EU head . Russia 's military says its withdrawal from Georgia has begun , but a senior Pentagon official told reporters Monday evening that there has been little evidence of Russian troops pulling out . The official did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue . Watch more on Russian withdrawal '' `` We 're talking about pulling our troops away to the borders of South Ossetia . They will not be on Georgia territory , '' Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn , the Russian armed forces deputy chief of staff , said Monday . White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Russia needs to start pulling back `` without delay , '' saying the `` Russians have committed to withdrawing , and they need to withdraw . And so that is what we are looking for . '' A Georgian Interior Ministry official said there have been `` no signs '' of a Russian troop withdrawal despite Russia 's pledge to start moving back on Monday . News footage showed Russian tanks pushing away Georgian police cars about 20 miles -LRB- 32 km -RRB- south of Georgia 's capital , Tbilisi . Watch tanks deal with the police car '' Witnesses said Georgian police cars had been blocking the road and the police told Russian tank commanders that they were carrying out orders . The tanks proceeded to plow ahead , damaging the police cars in the process . The Georgian Foreign Ministry said a Russian armored column had been seen moving a bit deeper into Georgian territory , traveling south from Kashuri to Borjomi . Kashuri is about 10 miles -LRB- 16 km -RRB- south of South Ossetia . Another column was moving north from the Kashuri area to Sachkhere . Nogovitsyn told reporters Russian troops were leaving Gori on Monday , the Interfax news agency said . He did not say how many troops were withdrawing or how many would return to South Ossetia or Russia . However , CNN journalists in Gori , near South Ossetia , said it was still under Russian control and there was no evidence the Russians were pulling out . Also , Russian tank and artillery positions were seen extending nine miles -LRB- 15 km -RRB- south of Gori . Nogovitsyn said Russia was not yet moving vessels in the Black Sea from their positions near Georgia , but they would return to Sevastopol after the settlement of the conflict . He said Russia 's deputy foreign minister had presented the U.S. ambassador to the country with a timetable of the events that led to Russia 's actions and clearly indicated Georgia 's responsibility . He said a prisoner exchange involving the transfer of 12 Russians and 15 Georgians had been set up . `` We were all set and then the Georgians came up with a bunch of new requirements with no time for us to act so the time to exchange prisoners was interrupted , '' Nogovitsyn said . Georgia said Russia was spreading `` false '' accusations and that it was ready to pursue an exchange . The six-point deal gives no timetable for a Russian withdrawal , nor any other specifics , according to a copy of the agreement provided by Georgia 's government . A U.S. defense official told CNN about evidence of Russian SS-21 missiles and launchers in South Ossetia . Lt. Gen. Nikolai Uvarov , a Russia Defense Ministry spokesman , disputed that , telling CNN that `` no , they are not present . '' The U.S. official said while `` Russian forces continue to consolidate their enclaves in South Ossetia and Abkhazia , '' they `` are expected to slowly remove forces from Georgia . '' Diplomatic discussions continued Monday . Finland 's Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb , representing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe , was in Brussels , Belgium , to meet with representatives from the European Union , NATO , and the United Nations . The OSCE is working on a plan to increase its observers in the region to 100 people . Meanwhile , Human Rights Watch said there was `` mounting evidence that Russian and Georgian military used armed force unlawfully during the South Ossetian conflict '' and it emphasized that this `` highlights the need for international fact-finding missions in Georgia . '' `` This conflict has been a disaster for civilians , '' said Rachel Denber , Human Rights Watch 's Europe and Central Asia deputy director . The conflict has devastated parts of Georgia and South Ossetia , with many casualties reported . The U.N. refugee agency said more than 158,000 people had been displaced by fighting in Georgia , mostly from districts outside the breakaway territories where the fighting began . CNN 's Bruce Conover , Jill Dougherty and Max Tkachenko in Moscow , Fred Pleitgen in Tbilisi , Georgia , Tommy Evans and Michael Ware in Gori , Georgia , and Barbara Starr at the Pentagon contributed to this report . | NEW : Pentagon official : Little evidence that Russian troops leaving Georgia . Russia begins Georgia troop `` pullback , '' military chief says . Russian tanks pushed through a Georgian police road block , witnesses say . Human Rights Watch : This conflict has been a disaster for civilians . | [[1907, 2017], [3765, 3818], [1839, 1900], [2003, 2031], [3459, 3527], [2756, 2884], [5917, 5967]] |
With the annual post-Thanksgiving multiplex malaise setting in and just one big new movie -LRB- Punisher : War Zone , which I 'll get to later ... uh , much later -RRB- in theaters , the box office results remarkably resembled those of a week ago . Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn star in `` Four Christmases , '' which stayed at No. 1 . So , yep , you guessed it : Four Christmases was No. 1 with $ 18.2 million , according to Sunday 's estimates . That brings the holiday comedy 's two-week sum to a sweet $ 70.8 million -- and it restores my confidence in Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon as box office draws . For now , at least . The rest of the top five is comprised of the same movies we 've been seeing for a while now . Twilight moved back up to the No. 2 spot with a tidy $ 13.2 million haul ; its three-week sum is $ 138.6 million . Bolt -LRB- No. 3 -RRB- followed with $ 9.7 million , a huge and surprising 64 percent decline from its impressive Thanksgiving weekend sum . Australia declined 53 percent to bank $ 7 million at No. 4 . And Quantum of Solace -LRB- No. 5 -RRB- grossed $ 6.6 million and crossed the $ 500 million mark worldwide . Among major new releases , the biggest was hardly the baddest : Punisher : War Zone -LRB- No. 8 -RRB- grossed a mere $ 4 million in 2,508 theaters , a tally that 's way off from the $ 13.8 million that The Punisher premiered with in 2004 . More punishment : The Marvel franchise reboot failed to defeat even last week 's action disappointment , Transporter 3 which was No. 7 with $ 4.5 million . Ouch ! Meanwhile , the other sorta-substantial new movie , Cadillac Records -LRB- No. 9 -RRB- , fared a bit better , bringing in a decent $ 3.5 million in 686 locations . But the indie drama Nobel Son failed to take any prize -LRB- except , perhaps , that of Box Office Flop of the Week -RRB- , grossing just $ 370,575 in 893 venues -- a redonkulously low average of $ 415 per theater . Nay , the only real news of note came in the ultra-limited-release sphere , where the buzzy drama Frost/Nixon debuted with a tremendous $ 60,049 average in three theaters in New York , Los Angeles and Toronto . The Oscar contender will roll out wider in the coming weeks . Overall , the slow box office was actually up more than 6 percent from the same , even slower frame a year ago , when The Golden Compass produced disappointing returns . That makes this the fifth straight `` up '' weekend of the fall season , and all things considered , it should be enough to spread some holiday cheer in Hollywood . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . Copyright 2009 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. . All rights reserved . | Four Christmases maintained its No. 1 spot with an estimated $ 18.2 million . Twilight moved back up to the No. 2 spot with a tidy $ 13.2 million haul . Australia declined 53 percent to bank $ 7 million at the No. 4 slot . | [[369, 415], [346, 349], [369, 385], [418, 452], [734, 767], [990, 1050], [1009, 1050]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- I finally said goodbye to some old buddies . Omar -LRB- played by Michael K. Williams -RRB- , `` The Wire 's '' legendary stickup artist , hunts for a rival with his shotgun . One of them shot a woman at point-blank range after complimenting her on her hair . Another person maimed a rival with his shotgun . A third stole from his sister to finance his drug habit . Their names are as twisted as their deeds : Snot-Boogie , Bubbles , Dukie . And if I ever introduced you to them , you probably would n't be able to understand them . Their talk is filled with a bruising street poetry that 's hard to decipher unless you 've lived in their West Baltimore neighborhood -- as I once did . My `` friends '' are some of my favorite characters on the HBO series , `` The Wire . '' HBO -LRB- which , like CNN , is a Time Warner division -RRB- released the complete , five-season box set two weeks ago . The show focuses on a detective unit 's quest to take down a ruthless drug crew , but it grapples with bigger themes : the collapse of public schools , the disintegration of working-class America and political corruption . Critics say `` The Wire '' offers the most realistic depiction of America 's inner-city subculture ever seen . I decided to test that claim because I grew up in the West Baltimore community where `` The Wire '' is set . After watching all five seasons , my take on the show is ambivalent . Some of `` The Wire '' is real , but not in the ways you might expect . ` How do I get from here to the rest of the world ? ' `` The Wire 's '' most unsettling scene for me took place in season four . It involved a murder -- of a gentle teenager 's spirit . The character 's name is Dukie , and he brought back memories of some people I knew . Dukie is lost . He has no family , his public school is paralyzed by violence and he 's not tough enough to make it on the streets . He has a gift for computers but does n't know what to do with his ability . Dukie looks one day for help from `` Cutty , '' an ex-con who runs a boxing gym in their neighborhood . Cutty tells Dukie that `` the world is bigger '' than the violent neighborhood both live in . `` How do I get from here to the rest of the world ? '' Dukie asks Cutty . `` I wish I knew , '' Cutty sighs , and walks away . Why did Cutty give Dukie such a hopeless answer ? Maybe it 's because some people who never lived in a neighborhood like `` The Wire '' confuse hopelessness for authenticity . Yeah , I could shock you with stories of violence , but it 's so easy to slip from revelation to titillation . I start off telling you a story about how tough my school was , and soon I 'm shooting it out with five drug dealers who want to steal my homework . But I never remember West Baltimore being so hopeless . A man like Cutty would n't tell a young man that he had no way out -- adults rallied around kids with potential . I even checked with some childhood friends -- one who is now an undercover police officer who literally works a `` wire '' for the Baltimore Police Department -- and we all agreed that `` The Wire 's '' bleakness was exaggerated . `` They made it seem like we grew up in Bosnia , '' my friend , another `` Wire '' fan , told me . Perhaps I had the luck of timing , or , to paraphrase one `` Wire '' character , I left just before `` the game got more fierce . '' I 'm 44 . I grew up on a street connecting two notorious Baltimore landmarks -- North Avenue and Frederick Douglass High School . Douglass is a school so bleak that PBS recently aired a documentary on its dismal state . North Avenue is known for its liquor stories and shootings . I left my neighborhood for good in the 1980s before crack cocaine really hit . Still , I shared some of the same struggles as some `` Wire '' characters . I spent much of my childhood in the equivalent of foster homes . I never really knew my mother . My father was an on-and-off-again presence . But my community was filled with what Barack Obama calls the `` quiet heroes . '' -LRB- Obama reportedly is a big fan of `` The Wire . '' -RRB- There was my high school tennis coach . The dignified deacons in my church . The retired steelworker who watched Orioles baseball games on his porch next door . Relatives , teachers , even summer job programs -LRB- one gave me my first exposure to journalism -RRB- -- all inspired me . Yet those quiet heroes seem fated to fail in `` The Wire . '' The show implies that only a fantastic few ever escape the streets . What Cutty could have told Dukie . Despite my misgivings , I love `` The Wire . '' The dialogue crackles , the characters are rich and the minute ways it captures how Baltimoreans move and talk is uncanny . But the `` Complete '' story is n't the whole story . `` The Wire '' did , however , nail one childhood memory for me . The most realistic moment in `` The Wire '' for me did n't take place during any violent showdown . It took place in a steakhouse . The scene involved a `` Wire '' character called `` Bunny '' Colvin , a major in the Baltimore Police Department . Colvin helps run an experimental program for problem students at a local high school . One night , he decides to take three of a school 's most disruptive students to a steakhouse in downtown Baltimore . The kids are loud and brash , but they 're petrified when they have to sit down in a fancy restaurant filled with white people . They ca n't function and end up leaving the restaurant , still hungry and angry . I could relate . When I was asked in high school to join an academic team that would compete on television against elite , white high schools in Baltimore , I said no . When I attended my first year in college , I would n't speak in class and stopped going because I was so intimidated being around people who could actually speak proper English . I almost flunked out . I felt like an imposter . Sometimes , it 's not enough to give kids who come from a world like `` The Wire '' the chance to get out . They also have to be convinced that they deserve it . I almost sabotaged myself because I wanted to go back to what was familiar . Even though the familiar was depressing , it was all I knew . Now I know something different because a lot of people convinced me that I deserved to be in that other world . I wish Cutty would have done the same for Dukie . I wish he would have told him he would find a way from `` here to the rest of the world . '' I hope the real-life Dukies know that . They deserve a chance to say goodbye to that world , too . | HBO 's `` The Wire '' is praised for realism , but how real is it ? CNN.com writer who grew up in `` The Wire 's '' Baltimore neighborhood renders verdict . Writer says show confuses `` hopelessness with authenticity '' But dialogue crackles , the characters are rich , writer says . | [[1300, 1328], [1335, 1358], [4599, 4620], [4623, 4626], [4623, 4666]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Susan Atkins , a terminally ill former Charles Manson follower convicted in the murder of actress Sharon Tate , on Tuesday was denied a compassionate release from prison . Susan Atkins , Califorina 's longest-serving female inmate , is shown in her most recent mug shot . Atkins , 60 , has been diagnosed with brain cancer and has had a leg amputated , her attorney said . In June , she requested the release , available to terminally ill inmates with less than six months to live . The California Board of Parole Hearings ' decision -- posted Tuesday on its Web site -- came after a public hearing on Atkins ' request . It means the request will not be forwarded to the Los Angeles Superior Court that sentenced Atkins . The court would have had the final say on Atkins ' release . Her attorney , Eric P. Lampel , called the parole board 's decision `` unfortunate . '' '' -LSB- The board -RSB- ignored the vast majority of evidence presented , '' Lampel said . `` There was a huge amount of pro-compassionate release testimony from many witnesses . It apparently fell on deaf ears . '' Known within the Manson Family as Sadie Mae Glutz , Atkins and four others were convicted in connection with the deaths of five people , including Tate , in August 1969 . According to historical accounts of the murder , Atkins stabbed Tate , who was eight months pregnant , and scrawled the word `` pig '' in blood on the door of the home the actress shared with director Roman Polanski . By her own admission , Atkins held Tate down and rejected her pleas for mercy , stabbing the pregnant woman 16 times . Atkins ' request roused long-dormant memories of the two-day killing spree that terrorized Los Angeles and left seven people dead . It polarized those who were involved in the case -- and even those who were n't -- over whether she should die behind bars . Atkins told a 1993 parole board that Tate pleaded for her unborn child 's life as she held her down . `` She asked me to let her baby live , '' Atkins said . '' ... I told her I did n't have any mercy on her . '' Three of Tate 's houseguests were also slain by the killers , as was a teenager visiting the home 's caretaker in his cottage out back . Atkins was also convicted in the earlier murder of music teacher Gary Hinman . One of the first people Atkins confessed to was Virginia Graham , who shared a cell with her before investigators determined the Manson Family was responsible for the murders . Graham said last month she believed Atkins should die in prison . `` She showed that poor woman absolutely no mercy , none , '' Graham said . `` So why should anybody show her mercy at this time ? '' Sharon Tate 's sister , Debra , has staunchly opposed Atkins ' release . `` She will be set free when judged by God , '' Debra Tate has said . `` It 's important that she die in incarceration . '' Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said Monday he was strongly opposed to the release , saying in a letter to the board it would be `` an affront to people of this state , the California criminal justice system and the next of kin of many murder victims . '' Cooley noted in his letter that Atkins was initially sentenced to death , like others in the Manson Family , including its leader , Charles Manson . Their sentences were commuted to life in prison in 1972 , when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the death penalty laws as they were written at the time . California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday he was also opposed to releasing Atkins . `` I do n't believe in -LSB- compassionate release -RSB- , '' the governor told reporters . `` I think that they have to stay in , they have to serve their time . '' Even if Atkins is dying , Schwarzenegger said , `` Those kinds of crimes are just so unbelievable that I 'm not for the compassionate release . '' Earlier , Suzan Hubbard , director of adult prisons in California , also recommended against granting Atkins ' request . Vincent Bugliosi , who prosecuted Atkins and other members of the Manson Family , said he supported her release , if only to save the state money . Through Monday , the cost for Atkins ' medical care since she was hospitalized March 18 totaled more than $ 1.15 million , and the costs for guarding her hospital room are more than $ 308,000 , said California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton . Terminally ill inmates rarely are allowed compassionate release , records show . In 2007 , 60 such requests were made to the department , Thornton has said . Ten were approved . Atkins , who has been incarcerated since 1971 , is California 's longest-serving female inmate . According to a Web site maintained by her husband and attorney , James Whitehouse , she is now a born-again Christian . During her incarceration , the site says , Atkins worked to help at-risk youth , violent crime victims and homeless children , among others . The Web site does not mention Atkins ' illness . Lampel said last month Atkins is paralyzed on one side . `` She can talk a little bit , '' Lampel said . `` She ca n't sit up in bed without assistance , and obviously she ca n't walk around because she 's an amputee . '' Atkins has expressed remorse for her crimes . `` I know the pain I caused Mrs. Tate , '' she said at a parole board hearing in 1985 . ln May , authorities dug for buried bodies at the Inyo County , California , ranch where Manson and his followers once lived , after police became aware that testing had indicated human remains might be buried there . Nothing was found , authorities said . CNN 's Ted Rowlands contributed to this report . | Manson follower , 60 , terminally ill , expected to die within six months . Susan Atkins is bedridden , can barely speak . Atkins stabbed pregnant victim Sharon Tate 16 times . Atkins , who was convicted of five 1969 murders , has brain cancer . | [[471, 501], [1327, 1346], [1519, 1525], [1576, 1614], [1107, 1137], [1159, 1258]] |
HARARE , Zimbabwe -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai returned to Zimbabwe Saturday for the first time since leaving the country shortly after the controversial March 29 election . Morgan Tsvangirai has been away from Zimbabwe trying to seek support from international leaders . Tsvangirai -- who contends he won the presidential race against longtime Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe -- returned despite what his party said was a plot by the country 's military to assassinate him and other party leaders . The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission , after a long delay , ruled that neither candidate won a necessary majority of the vote and set a date of June 27 for Tsvangirai to again face Mugabe in a runoff vote . Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change -LRB- MDC -RRB- have called for international observers to be allowed to monitor the runoff election , but Mugabe 's government has refused the demand . Tsvangirai is expected to tour hospitals in Harare to visit victims of post-election violence . An MDC spokesman said two party members were found dead Wednesday night after being abducted from their homes in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare . Tsvangirai 's spokesman George Sibotshiwe said Saturday that the opposition leader and the entire MDC leadership are `` at risk from this brutal regime . '' When contacted by CNN , a Cabinet member denied that the government had any possible role in the alleged plot , and said the report was an effort by the MDC to gain international sympathy . Chen Chimutengwende , Zimbabwe 's minister of public and interactive affairs , accused Tsvangirai of `` trying to paint a false picture of what Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe authorities are like . '' `` There is no plot against him and there has never been any plot against him and he knows that , '' Chimutengwende said . He called the reports from Tsvangirai 's party `` an effort to get sympathy from the international community . '' There have been numerous reports from the MDC and church groups since the March balloting about kidnappings , torture , and other violence , including the deaths of opposition party members . They say the violence targets opponents of Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party . Mugabe has ruled the southern African country since it became independent 28 years ago . | Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai returns to Zimbabwe . Tsvangirai says he feels safe despite fears of a possible assassination bid . Tsvangirai faces a runoff election against President Robert Mugabe June 27 . | [[535, 568], [592, 738]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In light of the botched Christmas Day airliner bombing aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 en route from Amsterdam to Detroit , the Transportation Security Administration has announced new enhanced `` guidelines '' requiring airline passengers traveling from -LRB- and through -RRB- 14 different countries to undergo especially rigorous security screening before being able to fly into the United States . Under these new TSA guidelines , security screeners will conduct `` full pat-down body checks '' and extensive carry-on luggage checks for all passengers traveling from a country which the U.S. considers to be a `` security risk . '' These 14 countries are : Afghanistan , Algeria , Cuba , Iraq , Iran , Lebanon , Libya , Nigeria , Pakistan , Saudi Arabia , Somalia , Sudan , Syria and Yemen . Additionally , passengers traveling from any other foreign country may also be checked at ` random ' as well . These new rules mean that `` every individual flying into the U.S. from anywhere in the world traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced screening , '' the TSA said . On its face , this clear use of ethnic , racial and religious profiling will not achieve greater security in the long term for our country . In fact , by targeting only certain passengers for additional screening , `` blind spots '' can be easily identified and duplicitously exploited by violent extremists wishing our country harm . Defenders of the new rules might say they 're only profiling people coming from certain countries , but the fact that 13 of the 14 are Muslim countries makes clear the religious nature of the profiling . This new policy deeply undermines the Obama administration 's stated commitment to civil rights , equality before the law , and a much-needed effort to rebuild U.S.-Muslim world relations since the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush . Under international law , countries including the United States that use race , color , ethnicity , religion or nationality as a proxy for criminal suspicion are in violation of international standards against racial discrimination and multiple treaties to which the U.S. is a party . These include the U.N. Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination -LRB- CERD -RRB- and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights -LRB- ICCPR -RRB- . The clear alternative is for law enforcement agencies to focus on actual criminal behavior rather than solely on characteristics such as race , religion , ethnicity , or nationality . Senior international security experts have suggested , for example , that such an approach would have increased the chances that suspected shoe-bomber Richard Reid would have been stopped before he successfully boarded an airplane he intended to attack in December 2001 . Among the red flags were that Reid bought a one-way ticket with cash and had no checked luggage . For years , the concept of `` racial profiling '' has reportedly undermined important terrorist investigations here in the United States . Most notably , these examples include the April 1995 Oklahoma City bombing in which the two white male domestic terrorists , Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols , were able to flee while officers operated on the theory that the act had been committed by `` Arab terrorists '' for the first 48 hours of the investigation . Similarly , during the October 2002 Washington-area sniper investigation , the African-American man and boy ultimately accused of the crime reportedly were able to pass through multiple road blocks with the alleged murder weapon in their possession , in part , because police ` profilers ' theorized the crime had been committed by a white male acting alone . According to a report last summer by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Rights Working Group to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination : `` Both Democratic and Republican administrations -LSB- in the United States -RSB- have acknowledged that racial profiling is unconstitutional , socially corrupting and counter-productive , yet this unjustifiable practice remains a stain on American democracy and an affront to the promise of racial equality . '' In fact , not only do such `` racial profiling '' practices waste limited resources , they simply make us less safe . For example , the arrests of John Walker Lindh -LRB- a white , middle-class man better known as the ` American Taliban ' -RRB- and Richard Reid -LRB- a British citizen of West Indian and European ancestry now serving a life sentence at the Supermax prison in Colorado -RRB- confirm that effective law enforcement techniques must rely solely on criminal behavior and not race , religion or nationality in order to ensure our citizens ' security . As the San Diego Union-Tribune said in an editorial : `` The minute U.S. officials put out the word that they 're not scrutinizing people with blond hair and blue eyes is the minute that al Qaeda starts recruiting people with blond hair and blue eyes . Would looking for Arab-Americans have turned up a passenger that resembled `` American Taliban '' fighter John Walker Lindh ? Would applying extra scrutiny to people with foreign-sounding names have kept would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid off a plane ? '' Of course not . Even conservative Republicans like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have argued that behavioral -LRB- and not racial/ethnic -RRB- profiling is the best way to prevent terrorist attacks on our country . `` We need to have the knowledge to be able to profile based on behavior , '' Mr. Gingrich recently said on ABC 's `` Good Morning America '' while discussing the recent Christmas Day foiled bombing . `` Not racial profiling or ethnic profiling , but profiling based on behavior and then , frankly , discriminating based on behavior , '' he continued during the same interview . As our national debate on the phenomenon of `` racial profiling '' emerges once again , let 's remember these words of the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee , Congressman John Conyers of Michigan : . `` If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today ... he would tell us we must not allow the horrific acts of terror that our nation has endured to slowly and subversively destroy the foundation of our democracy . '' The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Arsalan Iftikhar . | New TSA rules amount to ethnic and religious profiling , says Arsalan Iftikhar . He says profiling will create blind spots terrorists can exploit . Iftikhar says scrutinizing behavior is the best way to detect terrorist plots . Policy deeply undermines Obama administration 's commitment to civil rights , he says . | [[1197, 1208], [1211, 1337], [5477, 5593], [1736, 1857]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Brazilian authorities detained the wife of former world boxing champion Arturo Gatti as a suspect in his killing , according to local reports . Arturo Gatti pictured during the final fight of his career , a knockout defeat by Alfonso Gomez in 2007 . Gatti was found dead Saturday in a hotel in Brazil , where he was taking a vacation with his wife , Amanda Carina Barbosa Rodrigues , and their young child . The 37-year-old Canadian , who was born in Italy and made his name as a fighter based in New Jersey , was staying in the northeast seaside resort of Porto de Galihnas . Rodrigues , 23 , was being held in a police station in the city of Recife in connection with the killing , a police official in Porto de Galihnas told CNN . Police official Osmar Silva Santiago confirmed local reports that Gatti 's body was found Saturday morning in his hotel room with strangulation marks . `` This crime is being investigated by our homicide experts and we hope to have more answers tomorrow , '' Santiago said . Police recovered a blood-stained purse strap from the scene , according to media reports . Rodrigues became a suspect because of inconsistencies during her interrogation , local reports quoted homicide task force chief Josedith Ferreira as saying . Gatti made his name in a series of three fights against `` Irish '' Micky Ward , losing the first but triumphing in the other two . He held the IBF super-featherweight and WBC light-welterweight titles , and he also won the WBC junior welterweight belt but lost it to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2005 . Gatti retired in 2007 after suffering a knockout defeat by Alfonso Gomez in his comeback , ending with a record of 40 wins and nine losses . He grew up in Montreal , Quebec , after leaving Italy at an early age , and returned to the city following his retirement . According to Gatti 's official Web site , the Italian-born pugilist won `` Fight of the Year '' for three consecutive years . CNN 's Helena de Moura contributed to this report . | NEW : Wife , Amanda Carina Barbosa Rodrigues , detained at Recife police station . NEW : Rodrigues ' answers to interrogation reportedly had inconsistencies . NEW : Gatti 's body was found Saturday in hotel room with strangulation marks . The former world boxing champion was vacationing with his 23-year-old wife . | [[19, 131], [596, 605], [613, 700], [1119, 1197], [269, 319], [753, 904], [814, 904], [313, 319], [328, 418]] |
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The U.S. military plans to help the Afghanistan government recruit , train and arm local Afghans to fight a resurgent Taliban , U.S. military officials say . U.S. soldiers patrol near Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan on Wednesday . U.S. officials describe the proposal as a `` community-based '' security effort . The main job of the local units is to be an `` early warning system '' and be armed mainly for defensive operations , a U.S. military official said . Participants will get uniforms so they can be readily identified , officials said . The first phase of the program is expected to begin next year in Wardak province , where the Taliban have overrun many local government institutions . For the United States , the most sensitive part of the proposal will be the use of American military funds to purchase small arms , most likely AK-47 rifles , that will be given to local Afghans , according to a U.S. military official . U.S. commanders acknowledge concerns that arming local groups is risky , as it could lead to new armed conflicts between tribes , putting American troops in the middle of unexpected firefights . The Afghan government will select men for the new security program . It will train them and technically arm them , although the funds will come from the U.S. military . The Afghans will be responsible for ensuring the loyalty of people in the program , but the United States will oversee the effort and collect biometric information , such as eyeprints and fingerprints , on all participants , according to the U.S. military official . U.S. officials are emphasizing that because of tribal diversity , the Afghan program differs from the Awakening Councils in Iraq , which include tens of thousands of Sunni gunmen and was credited with helping reduce violence there . | `` Community-based '' security effort designed to counter Taliban gains . Locals to be `` early warning system , '' U.S. official says . Program to begin next year in Wardak province . | [[260, 341], [300, 314], [315, 341], [342, 412], [576, 656]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The U.S.-led war against the Taliban in Afghanistan has been a tough slog , a nearly eight-year conflict replete with gloom . U.S. Staff Sergeant Robert Brunner secures an area in the Baraki Barak district of Logar Province on August 22 . Lately a lot of the news from Afghanistan seems particularly grim for the United States and its allies . More U.S. troops have been killed there in August than in any month since the war began . There are indications that more U.S. troops could be deployed to the country . The Afghan presidential elections this month were rife with charges of fraud . Corruption plagues the political system . The poppy trade is flourishing . And , in the words of the top U.S. military official , Adm. Mike Mullen , the `` Taliban insurgency has gotten better , more sophisticated . '' Support for the war hit a new low among Americans , a CNN poll found this month . So why do the United States and its allies continue to pour money and troops into Afghanistan ? `` The importance of the place is pretty substantial , '' said Michael O'Hanlon , senior fellow for foreign policy at the Brookings Institution . Al Qaeda has used that part of the world as a sanctuary , he said . Neighboring Pakistan has been serious about vanquishing the militants there and that helps the fight against militants in Afghanistan . A victory for al Qaeda in a conflict there would represent an important public relations triumph for the militants , he said . He understands why Americans are displeased but said people need to feel that progress is being made in the region . `` We have n't been winning for eight years , '' O'Hanlon said . `` They want to know why . '' U.S. President Barack Obama has tackled the question head-on . The al Qaeda and Taliban militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan represent an urgent threat to the United States , he said in March , just as they were when al Qaeda attacked the United States in 2001 , when the then-ruling Taliban harbored the terror network . `` Many people in the United States -- and many in partner countries that have sacrificed so much -- have a simple question : What is our purpose in Afghanistan ? '' the president said . `` After so many years , they ask , why do our men and women still fight and die there ? And they deserve a straightforward answer . `` So let me be clear : Al Qaeda and its allies -- the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks -- are in Pakistan and Afghanistan . `` Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the United States homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan . And if the Afghan government falls to the Taliban -- or allows al Qaeda to go unchallenged -- that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can . '' The questions have come up in Britain , too , where the deaths of 15 British troops in July stirred outrage and criticism of Britain 's strategy in Afghanistan . Prime Minister Gordon Brown told his countrymen that British involvement in that country now is as crucial as it was after the 2001 terrorist attacks . `` In 2001 the case for intervention in Afghanistan was to take on a global terrorist threat and prevent terrorist attacks in Britain and across the world , '' he said . `` In 2009 the overriding reason for our continued involvement is the same -- to take on , at its source , the terrorist threat , and prevent attacks here and elsewhere . '' Obama said the Afghan insurgency `` feeds instability '' in Pakistan and Pakistan extremists have the proven ability to undermine the Afghan government . He cited the importance of confronting the heroin trade that finances the insurgency . Obama has listed several objectives in dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan , such as promoting an accountable Afghan government and self-reliant security forces , developing a stable government and strong economy in Pakistan , and disrupting terror networks . Pakistani security forces have been battling militants in the northwestern part of the country , and drone strikes thought to be conducted by the United States have been carried out from Afghanistan against militants in Pakistan . `` The future of Afghanistan is inextricably linked to the future of its neighbor , Pakistan , '' Obama said . `` In the nearly eight years since 9/11 , al Qaeda and its extremist allies have moved across the border to the remote areas of the Pakistani frontier . `` This almost certainly includes al Qaeda 's leadership : Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri . They have used this mountainous terrain as a safe haven to hide , to train terrorists , to communicate with followers , to plot attacks , and to send fighters to support the insurgency in Afghanistan . For the American people , this border region has become the most dangerous place in the world . '' In Britain , Brown said the military effort to clear a region and establish security would be buttressed by Afghan plans `` to build basic services -- clean water , electricity , roads , basic justice , basic health care , and then economic development . '' `` This inevitably takes time , but the important thing is that work has begun , to give the people a stake in the future , '' he said . U.S. Sen. Jim Webb , Democrat-Virginia , said in a recent TV interview that he has `` a lot of concerns about the way we 've articulated our national goals in Afghanistan . '' `` I think that it is extremely important for us to be able to articulate the end point of our strategy , just as it was in Iraq , '' he said . While there is grim news on the ground in Afghanistan , the picture painted by the president in March was a red alert for Americans : It 's a tough but necessary fight that requires patience and resources . `` There are no quick fixes to achieve U.S. national security interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan , '' Obama said . `` The danger of failure is real and the implications are grave . '' | Number of U.S. military deaths in August stands at 46 , highest monthly toll . Support for the war has hit a new low among Americans , says CNN poll . Among allies , political leaders have had to defend sending troops to Afghanistan . U.S. military : Taliban insurgency has gotten better , more sophisticated . '' | [[363, 452], [830, 879], [882, 911], [686, 689], [692, 738], [741, 757], [760, 826]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The U.S. Postal Service spent more than $ 792,000 `` without justification '' on meals and events in one five-month period even as it reported losing $ 3.8 billion this year , the agency 's inspector general says in a report . Employees spent $ 792,022 on meals and external events `` without justification for food purchases , purchased alcohol without officer approval and exceeded the dollar limit for meals , '' the report says . Among the purchases were crab cakes , beef Wellington and scallops at an installation ceremony for one of several postmasters in the United States , the report says . Despite the Postal Service 's mandate to curtail spending , its inspector general found that `` imprudent spending continues to occur , including continued purchases of gift cards from unauthorized vendors and expensive items purchased as employee recognition awards and retirement gifts . '' Read the full report -LRB- PDF -RRB- . Such purchases conflict with the agency 's goal to drive down costs , according to the report , which covered spending during several months in late 2008 and early 2009 . The Postal Service reported a $ 3.8 billion net loss for the 2009 fiscal year , despite cost-cutting and reductions in retiree health benefit payments . Asked about the expenses , a Postal Service spokesman pointed to an agency response included in the report . In that response , the agency 's vice president and controller , Vincent Devito , agreed to enforce a spending limit on events and recognition awards as well as make sure employees justify business meal expenses . `` We agree that further policy enforcement is essential to ensure that the policy is followed and imprudent spending is no longer an issue , '' Devito wrote . `` It appears there is still work to be done in curtailing spending even further during this time of economic uncertainty . '' Among the report 's findings : . • There was `` no business justification '' for $ 355,451 of food provided at a September 2008 national sales educational conference ; it included a $ 96-per-person dinner and a $ 500 `` bartender charge . '' • An installation celebration for one postmaster -- the report did n't say where -- included `` unallowable food purchases '' totaling more than $ 17,000 . The menu included `` crab cakes , beef Wellington , shrimp and scallops '' even though Postal Service guidelines allow for only `` light snacks '' at such events . • There was `` no business necessity or justification '' provided for $ 77,757 in breakfast meals for events between September 2008 and February 2009 . The report , issued December 3 , documented purchases for lodging , table linens , flowers and other items `` that we consider excessive during this challenging economic time . '' `` Such purchases are in direct conflict with the Postal Service 's objective of driving down costs in all operations and processes , '' the report said . `` Moreover , the public 's image of such purchases could have a detrimental effect on the Postal Service 's public image . '' The report cited two Postal Service districts that purchased movie tickets for $ 14,140 to give incentives to employees after the postmaster general `` issued a memo directing a curtailment of spending . '' It also documented the purchase of 30 retirement watches , costing $ 216 each , in another district . A CNN investigation this year revealed that the Postal Service spent $ 1.2 million to buy the lakefront home of an employee who was relocating . The purchase was part of a policy that allowed the Postal Service to pay for employee homes when they moved , whatever the cost . Months after the story , the Postal Service changed its policy to limit home purchases to $ 800,000 . | Purchases included crab cakes , beef Wellington , scallops for postmaster installation ceremony . Report cites districts for buying $ 14,140 in movie tickets as employee incentives . Purchases conflict with goal to cut costs after reporting $ 3.8 billion loss in 2009 fiscal year . `` It appears there is still work to be done in curtailing spending , '' agency 's vice president says . | [[453, 547], [2284, 2358], [3079, 3107], [3113, 3181], [150, 192], [981, 1019], [952, 999], [1022, 1045], [1123, 1200], [2780, 2911], [1759, 1764], [1779, 1787], [1793, 1882]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Nineteen former patients at a Denver , Colorado , hospital have tested positive for hepatitis C , federal prosecutors said Thursday as they announced new charges against a former hospital employee accused of exposing the patients to the virus . A hospital worker is accused of injecting herself and using unclean syringes for patients . Prosecutors charged Kristen Diane Parker with 21 counts of tampering with a consumer product and another 21 counts of obtaining a controlled substance by deceit or subterfuge , according to an indictment . Parker , 26 , had previously faced three federal counts from earlier this month . Parker , who worked as a surgical technician at Rose Medical Center in Denver , is accused of injecting herself with syringes that held patients ' pain medication Fentanyl , then replacing the pain medication in the syringes with saline , according to a statement from the office of the U.S. attorney for Colorado . In a statement to police during the investigation , Parker said , `` I ca n't take back what I did , but I will have to live with it for the rest of my life , and so does everyone else . '' Parker 's attorney did not return a call from CNN on Thursday . Authorities said Parker knew she had hepatitis C , a contagious liver disease . Hepatitis C can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Parker believes she contracted the virus through using heroin and sharing needles with other users while she lived in New Jersey in 2008 , authorities said . According to an affidavit filed by an investigator with the Food and Drug Administration , Rose Medical Center knew Parker tested positive for hepatitis C . She was counseled on how to limit her exposure to patients . Parker worked at Rose Medical Center from October 2008 to April 2009 , said Jeff Dorschner , a spokesman for the U.S. attorney for Colorado . Parker 's employment was terminated after she failed a hospital-ordered drug test , said Leslie Teegarden , spokeswoman for Rose Medical Center . The tests were ordered after co-workers reported `` suspicious behavior , '' Teegarden said Thursday . Rose Medical Center contacted about 4,700 patients who may have been exposed to the virus , according to a statement on the center 's Web site . Of those patients , 3,540 have been tested thus far , Teegarden said . She said the hospital plans to use tamper-resistant , pre-filled Fentanyl syringes to prevent intentional contaminations . Parker also worked at Northern Westchester Hospital in New York and Audubon Ambulatory Surgical Center in Colorado Springs , Colorado . Prosecutors have not charged her with any crimes related to her employment at the other two facilities . About 1,200 patients may have been exposed between May 4 and July 1 of this year , when Parker worked at Audubon , according to the center 's Web site . As of last week , 545 of Audobon 's former patients had been tested for the virus , according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment . One patient tested positive for hepatitis C , but that infection could not be linked to Parker , according to the department 's Web site . Nearly 1,000 patients had been tested as of Thursday , said Audubon spokeswoman Amy Triandiflou . Details about what Parker may have done to expose Audubon patients to the virus are still sketchy , Triandiflou said . More than 2,700 patients could have been exposed at Northern Westchester Hospital , according to the hospital 's Web site . The site did not indicate whether any infections had been detected . There is no vaccine for hepatitis C . If Parker is convicted and if any one of the former patients suffers serious bodily injury because of her actions , she could face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison , prosecutors said . If she is convicted and if any one of the former patients dies as a result of the infection , she could be sentenced to life in prison , according to prosecutors . CNN 's Jim Spellman contributed to this report . | Denver , Colorado , hospital worker accused of exposing patients to hepatitis C . 19 former patients test positive for hepatitis C , which affects the liver . Kristen Diane Parker accused of using syringes filled with pain medication Fentanyl . Police say she refilled syringes meant for patients with saline solution . | [[117, 263], [67, 114], [264, 355], [644, 650], [724, 769], [761, 769], [775, 815]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Jurors started to deliberate Friday after prosecutors and defense attorneys made closing arguments in the murder trial of an anti-abortion activist charged with killing a doctor who performed late-term abortion procedures . Scott Roeder is charged with murder in the death of Dr. George Tiller , who was shot to death May 31 in his church in Wichita , Kansas . Prosecutor Ann Swegle urged jurors to convict Roeder , reminding the jury of the defendant 's testimony Thursday . `` His testimony was delivered very matter-of-factly , but its contents were chillingly horrific , '' she said . `` He carried out a planned assassination , and there can be no other verdict in this case ... other than guilty . '' Kim T. Park , chief deputy district attorney , told the jurors that Roeder 's actions were unjustified and cowardly . `` Scott Roeder is not justified , '' she said . `` He is only and simply guilty of the crimes he is charged with . '' Mark Rudy , a defense attorney for Roeder , told jurors that Roeder believed he had to act . `` Scott thought that the babies kept on dying , '' he said . `` Scott formed a belief that he had to stop George Tiller from killing more babies . '' He admitted that Roeder killed Tiller but said only the jurors can decide if Roeder `` murdered '' Tiller . He said he was not asking jurors `` to check your common sense at the door '' and urged them to `` represent our little part of the nation well . '' `` No defendant should ever be convicted based on his convictions , '' Rudy said . Roeder testified Thursday that he shot and killed Tiller and did not regret it . `` There was nothing being done , and the legal process had been exhausted , and these babies were dying every day , '' Roeder said . `` I felt that if someone did not do something , he was going to continue . '' Tiller ran a women 's clinic at which he performed abortions . Sedgwick County District Judge Warren Wilbert ruled after the end of testimony Thursday that the jury could not consider a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter against Roeder as the defense wanted . In making the ruling , Wilbert noted that Roeder had been talking about killing Tiller for 10 years , CNN affiliate WDAF reported . Several of Tiller 's family members broke into tears as Roeder recounted the shooting . Roeder said he did n't regret what he did and felt `` a sense of relief '' when he learned that Tiller 's clinic was shut down after his death . Roeder calmly testified that he thought about different ways to kill the doctor -- driving a car into his , perhaps , or shooting him with a rifle . He also considered cutting Tiller 's hands off with a sword , but decided that would not be effective , as Tiller would still be able to train others . Tiller , 67 , was one of the few U.S. doctors who performed late-term abortion procedures . He had already survived one attempt on his life before he was killed . He decided to kill Tiller at his church , he said , because `` I felt that actually if he was to be stopped , that was probably the only place he could have been stopped . ... It was the only window of opportunity I saw . '' Roeder said he visited the church four or five times before Tiller 's death . The week before the shooting , on May 24 , he carried a .22 - caliber handgun with him , he testified , but Tiller did not attend church that day . On May 31 , though , the doctor was there , and `` I did what I thought was needed to be done to protect the children , '' Roeder said . `` I shot him . '' `` The lives of those children were in imminent danger if someone did not stop George Tiller , '' he said . The defense had sought to have former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline and current Deputy Attorney General Barry Disney testify , but the judge did not allow it . Kline unsuccessfully attempted to prosecute Tiller in 2006 , and Disney charged Tiller with 19 misdemeanor counts , but a jury acquitted him . Wilbert said Roeder could testify about the cases and how they affected his beliefs , but to allow testimony from Kline would `` get into legal matters that do not concern this jury . '' And , the judge said , the cases do not give Roeder a basis to state absolutely that Tiller 's actions were illegal , since the doctor had never been convicted . Defense attorneys claim Roeder was led to shoot Tiller in part because of authorities ' failure to punish him through the judicial system . Roeder testified he was `` very frustrated '' by Tiller 's acquittal , saying it `` seemed like that was the last attempt by the state of Kansas to find if there was anything at all going on illegally in George Tiller 's clinic . '' Roeder could face life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder . He also is charged with two counts of aggravated assault for allegedly pointing his gun at two other ushers as he fled the church . | Scott Roeder accused of killing Dr. George Tiller at church in May 2009 . Tiller ran a women 's clinic where he performed abortions in Wichita , Kansas . Roeder testified he thought of various ways to kill Tiller . Defense attorney told jurors Roeder believed he had to act . | [[141, 196], [141, 166], [175, 242], [243, 312], [292, 314], [319, 368], [1841, 1903], [1852, 1869], [1879, 1903], [2471, 2619], [2500, 2531], [963, 972], [1007, 1055], [1121, 1203]] |
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Chinese government increased its harassment of religious minorities before the Olympic Games , according to a U.S. State Department report released Friday . A Tibetan Buddhist monk in southwest China 's Sichuan province . The State Department 's Annual Report on Religious Freedom singled out China , Myanmar , North Korea , Iran , Sudan , Eritrea , Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan to `` blacklist '' because they are `` countries of particular concern '' when it comes to religious oppression . Over the past year , `` repression of religious freedom intensified in some areas '' in China , including in the Tibetan region and in Xinjiang province , where the Uighur Muslims live . As the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games approached , some unregistered Protestant religious groups in Beijing reported intensified harassment from government authorities and said the government cracked down on home churches , the report says . The State Department found that over the past year , Chinese officials also detained and interrogated several foreigners about their religious activities , alleged that the foreigners had engaged in `` illegal religious activities '' and canceled their visas . The government also undertook a `` patriotic education campaign , '' which required monks and nuns to sign statements personally denouncing the Dalai Lama . As a result , the reports says , protests led to violence in Lhasa , Tibet , in March , and the government detained an unknown number of monks and nuns or expelled them from monasteries . In addition to its continued crackdown on groups such as the Falun Gong , which China considers a `` cult , '' the government harassed Uighur Muslims and confiscated some of their passports to prevent their taking part in the hajj , the pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia . Once again , the U.S. criticized the government of Myanmar , saying its `` repressive , authoritarian military regime '' had `` imposed restrictions on certain religious activities and frequently committed abuses of the right to freedom of religion . '' Most followers of registered religions were permitted to worship as they chose , but the government infiltrated and monitored activities of virtually all organizations , including religious ones . The report says that although the North Korean constitution provides for religious freedom , `` genuine religious freedom does not exist , and there was no change in the extremely poor level of respect for religious freedom '' over the past year . In Iran , the report says , `` continued deterioration of the poor status of respect for religious freedom '' last year . `` Government actions and rhetoric created a threatening atmosphere for nearly all non-Shia religious groups , most notably for Baha'is , as well as Sufi Muslims , evangelical Christians , and members of the Jewish community , '' the report says . `` Government-controlled media intensified negative campaigns against religious minorities , particularly the Baha'is . Reports of imprisonment , harassment , intimidation , and discrimination based on religious beliefs continued . '' The State Department found some progress in Saudi Arabia . `` While overall government policies continue to place severe restrictions on religious freedom , there were incremental improvements in specific areas , '' the report says . However , the report goes on to note that `` Non-Muslims and Muslims who do not adhere to the government 's interpretation of Islam continued to face significant political , economic , legal , social , and religious discrimination . '' It also criticizes U.S. allies in Pakistan and Jordan for aggressiveness toward religious minorities . The governments of Iraq and Afghanistan were praised for endorsing religious freedom , but the State Department found that the war-torn countries have problems . In Afghanistan , `` the residual effects of years of Taliban rule , popular suspicion regarding outside influence of foreigners , and weak democratic institutions hinder the respect for religious freedom . '' In Iraq , `` violence conducted by terrorists , extremists , and criminal gangs restricted the free exercise of religion and posed a significant threat to the country 's vulnerable religious minorities . '' In releasing the report , Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States is `` concerned by efforts to promote a so-called defamation of religions concept , '' which has been the focus of numerous resolutions passed at the United Nations . She was referring to the Organization of Islamic Conference , a grouping of 57 Muslim states that does not recognize the right of individuals to freely change their religion and has prevented consensus on resolutions at the United Nations that would prohibit defamation of all religions , not just Islam . `` Despite a pretense of protecting religious practice and promoting tolerance , the flawed concept attempts to limit freedom of religion and restrict the rights of all individuals to disagree with or criticize religion , in particular Islam , '' the report says . `` Instead of protecting religion practice and promoting tolerance , this concept seeks to limit freedom of speech , and that could undermine the standards of international religious freedom , '' Rice said . | Myanmar , North Korea , Iran , Sudan , Eritrea , Saudi Arabia , Uzbekistan `` blacklisted '' Tibetan region and in Xinjiang province in China stepped up oppression of Muslims . State Department : China detained foreigners for their religion . | [[256, 411], [30, 126], [526, 544], [547, 678], [1665, 1706], [0, 26], [129, 172], [951, 1211], [983, 1001], [1004, 1021], [1040, 1093], [1115, 1134]] |
-LRB- AOL Autos -RRB- -- Over the decades , I 've interviewed dozens of automotive engineers ; engine engineers , transmission engineers , chemical engineers , tire engineers , etc. . But never have I interviewed an engineer quite like Ford 's Cristina Rodriguez . Cristina Rodriguez has been with the Ford Motor Company for 12 years . What separates Crissy -LRB- what she prefers to be called at work -RRB- from other engineers is that it seems as though she was born be where she is today ; the Vehicle Dynamics Development Engineer of the 2010 Ford Taurus . The Taurus goes on sale this summer , and it is arguably the most important vehicle Ford announces this year . This thirty-something Puerto Rican is the only woman at Ford Motor Company to have achieved her status as a Vehicle Dynamics Development Engineer . The job is equal parts engineer , race driver and vehicle psychologist . `` As an engineer , I need to make sure the car is safe , '' Rodriguez said . `` As a -LRB- race -RRB- driver I have to make sure the car handles well . And then I have to tune the car to have the right personality for being the latest Ford . '' AOL Autos : Best sedans under $ 30K . She goes on to define what how cars exhibit personality . `` Some cars have a more relaxed personality , so everything about the way they drive is soft and slower to react , '' she said . `` Fords have a DNA that is sportier , more fun to drive , more responsive , more alive , so they need to feel that way . '' You 'll be able to tell whether Rodriguez has done her job well when you get behind the wheel of the new Taurus . While we did n't get to drive the new Taurus , we did get an opportunity to ride in the high-performance Taurus SHO model at Ford Motor Company 's Dearborn , Michigan proving grounds -LRB- a special test track for developing new cars and trucks -RRB- . More on that experience later . AOL Autos : Best and worst automotive designs . Preparing for success . Rodriguez told us about her background in the automotive business . `` I 've grown into this job because Ford 's engineering group works on a model that emphasizes ` technical maturity . ' '' AOL Autos : First drive of the 2010 Chevy Camaro . For Rodriguez , this means that because she first possessed the technical background for the job , she was then able to develop and prove her practical skills on her way to becoming one of the company 's most influential engineers . She 's been with Ford 12 years . Matter-of-factly , Rodriguez elaborates . `` In this job , your body has to become a precisely calibrated instrument that can understand what the car 's mechanicals are doing , '' she said . `` It takes a while to tune your body , but I 've been working on this particular chassis for eight years , so I really know what it 's capable of and how to make it respond . '' While the 2010 Taurus is an all-new vehicle , it is related to other Ford products -LRB- the Lincoln MKS , Ford Flex , and the outgoing Ford Five Hundred/Taurus -RRB- . Rodriguez also contributed to the ride and handling on those vehicles , a task that began with the Ford Five Hundred back in 2001 . Born to Cuban parents who fled Castro 's communist regime , Rodriguez grew up in Puerto Rico . `` I learned to be a methodical thinker from my father , who was a chemical engineer , '' she said . `` But it was my mother who was the mechanical one . She encouraged me when I was growing up to figure out how things worked , and she never got too mad at me when I put things back together and still had a few pieces left over . '' While Rodriguez worked on her motor skills , another aspect of her life laid groundwork for her future success . `` I come from a very athletic family , '' she said . `` My grandfathers and uncles played Olympic basketball , so we were always active . I can remember that when my brother enrolled in little league baseball , he did n't want to join without a friend , so my mother enrolled me with him . I was the only girl in the league . '' We doubt Rodriguez throws like a girl . And if you thought we 'd make a joke about her driving like a woman ? Think again . We doubt anyone could keep up with her on a track , male or female . Regarding her education , her Bachelors in engineering came from Georgia Institute of Technology . She also earned a Masters from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor . Mechanical engineering is a heavily male-dominated career path , but this has n't slowed Rodriguez 's progress . It is obvious that Rodriguez knows how to operate with the guys , without becoming one of the guys . Certainly , Rodriguez does n't look like a mechanical engineer : pocket protectors and out-of-style glasses do n't seem to be part of her wardrobe . Actually , she looks like she could be Indy Racing League driver Danica Patrick 's sister . This comparison is fitting given the ride we were about to experience . Spicing up the bull . Rodriguez explained the process used to give a car a dynamic personality . `` First , we start with models generated by Computer Aided Engineering , '' she said . `` These give us starting points for -LRB- suspension -RRB- spring rates , dampers , bar thicknesses , etc. . After that , everything we do is by the seat of the pants . That 's why it 's so important to have a feel for what 's happening at the road , because you end up becoming a cook who is perfecting a recipe by trial and error . We add more of this or take away some of that . Each change is designed to wake you up and make you feel alive behind the wheel , just like eating a great meal . '' AOL Autos : 2009 best looking cars . The 2010 Ford Taurus has four distinct suspension calibrations ; they are mechanical recipes , if you will . There 's one each for the front-wheel-drive Taurus , the all-wheel-drive Taurus , the all-wheel-drive high-performance SHO and the ultimate SHO fitted with the Performance Package . Rodriguez noted that each model has unique suspension calibrations that are based on the specific model 's equipment and personality . For example , the two non-SHO Taurus models must have the same feel even though one carries the additional weight of the all-wheel-drive system . `` The Taurus needs to be comfortably engaging , '' she said . `` It ca n't be stiff like a -LRB- Mustang -RRB- Shelby GT500 , but it also ca n't be too soft like a Toyota Camry . We wanted to keep most of the suppleness of the Lincoln MKS sedan , but make it more responsive . '' AOL Autos : First drive of the 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT . The move from the regular Taurus to the SHO edition is dramatic . This is where about 10-percent more chili powder and cayenne pepper get added to the recipe . Nearly every tunable suspension component is changed between the base model and the SHO , resulting in a much more dynamic drive . The step up from the SHO to the SHO with the Performance Pack tightens everything even further -LRB- more chilies -RRB- , including another 20-percent on the dampers -LRB- those would be struts and shock absorbers to non-engineers -RRB- , then 9-percent stiffer rear springs , and a thicker rear anti-roll bar . These changes make the most performance-oriented SHO a more neutral handling car that drivers should find exceptionally agile and immediately responsive . Riding shotgun in the Ford Taurus SHO . Rodriguez was only too willing to take us for a ride to demonstrate what she had been talking about , `` This car is really my pride and joy . I think you 're going to like it . '' With that , she moved the floor-shifter into Sport mode and took off . Riding along in the passenger seat , we could n't help but feel how effortlessly the twin-turbocharged EcoBoost engine took the full-size Taurus well above legal speeds . Unlike turbocharged cars from decades past , the SHO did not seem to exhibit any turbo lag . And the turbochargers sounded quiet -LRB- no turbo whine or unrefined popping and hissing -RRB- . The EcoBoost is efficient , too , although EPA numbers are n't yet available . From where we sat , the ride was firm but not harsh , even as Crissy drove us over test roads that were intentionally bumpy and pocked . By far , the most fun was riding along on the handling course . This smooth , serpentine ribbon features undulating hills and off-camber curves . Normally , one would n't expect a full-size car to be at home here . The steering would be too slow and the handing ponderous . We were n't behind the wheel , but we got the impression that the Taurus SHO is no traditional full-size car . The SHO 's heavy-duty six-speed gearbox felt quick and smooth from a passenger 's perspective , and as Rodriguez increased engine speed , the growl came from under the hood , not the exhaust . Rodriguez confirmed that the turbochargers absorb much of the exhaust noise . The faster Rodriguez drove , the smaller the Taurus seemed to get , easily carving lines between and through the corners . The roll of the body felt well controlled from a passenger 's perspective , and it never wallowed . Watching Rodriguez dial in the steering , the car felt like it responded quickly and directly . Compared to an all-wheel-drive Taurus , the SHO 's unit gets unique tuning with a greater power bias to the rear wheels for a more balanced feel , and the car seemed to rotate around the corners effortlessly . We ca n't wait to get behind the wheel ourselves later this spring , when we 'll provide a full road test . `` After doing this for 12 years , '' Rodriguez said . `` I know what a car should feel like , and I do n't get questioned anymore , '' Rodriguez said . In other words , Rodriguez earned the respect of other engineers , making it completely understandable why Ford would trust her to tune the ride of this very important new car . After about 30 minutes of trashing around Ford 's Dearborn proving grounds , Crissy Rodriguez aptly demonstrated that she and the team she 's part of knows how to dial in the suspension of a performance car . As she pressed the Start/Stop button on the SHO 's dash , Rodriguez said , `` I think I 've got the best job at Ford . '' We 'd agree . | Ford 's Cristina Rodriguez is an engineer and race car driver . As child , she took things apart , put them back together , some parts left over . Rodriguez designed Taurus 2010 , one of Ford 's most important vehicles . Your body has to be precisely calibrated instrument to understand car 's mechanicals . | [[3501, 3502], [3532, 3566], [2529, 2586], [2529, 2538], [2543, 2644]] |
One doctor says the study `` very clearly shows that autism did not arrive through a vaccine . '' A new study published in the January 2008 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry found the prevalence of autism cases in California children continued to rise after most vaccine manufacturers started to remove the mercury-based preservative thimerosal in 1999 , suggesting that the chemical was not a primary cause of the disorder . Researchers from the State Public Health Department found that the autism rates in children rose continuously during the study period from 1995 to 2007 . The preservative , thimerosal , has not been used in childhood vaccines since 2001 , except for some flu shots . The latest findings failed to convince some parents and advocacy groups , who have long blamed mercury , a neurotoxin , for the disorder . For years , parents have been concerned that a mercury-containing vaccine preservative may play a role in autism . But a study conducted in California found that autism rates increased even after thimerosal was removed from most vaccines . The study authors say this is evidence that thimerosal does not cause autism , although advocacy groups say it 's too soon to determine whether autism rates have been affected . Do these findings suggest that autism is n't linked to mercury in vaccines ? Dr. Sanjay Gupta , chief medical correspondent : Let me explain . In 1999 , manufacturers began removing thimerosal - which is a mercury-based preservative - from vaccines . Some people believed autism would decrease as a result , because they thought the two were connected . A new study in the Archives of General Psychiatry says this just did n't happen . Researchers looked at cases of autism in California after 1999 . They reasoned that if mercury exposure in vaccines was a major cause of autism , the number of affected kids should have dropped after thimerosal was removed . Just the opposite happened . From 2004 to 2007 , when exposure to thimerosal dropped significantly for 3 - to 5-year-olds , the autism rate continued to go up , from 3 per 1,000 children to 4 per 1,000 children in California . A child psychiatrist who supported the study said it `` very clearly shows that autism did not arrive through a vaccine . '' But advocacy groups say it 's too soon to determine whether autism rates were affected by removing thimerosal from vaccines . The National Vaccine Information Center says the study does n't include children under the age of 3 , which they say is the only group that was never exposed to mercury in vaccines . It says thimerosal was n't completely off the shelves until 2002 or 2003 . Their main point is that mercury is a neurotoxin , so why take a chance by putting it in vaccines ? What do scientists think causes autism ? As many as one in every 166 children in this country is found to have autism , and doctors still do n't know why . Doctors point to genetics and environment as culprits , but it could be more complicated than that . The latest research shows these children are not necessarily born with autism but with the potential to develop it . What exactly are these outside factors ? It 's hard to pinpoint . What we eat , what we breathe , what we drink -- all these things could play a role . Some doctors say the increase is due to a change in the way the condition is diagnosed kids who were once labeled mentally retarded are now being labeled as autistic . What are possible signs of autism in your child ? Doctors are now looking for signs of autism in children as young as 18 to 24 months . Some red flags that indicate your child may have autism : no babbling or pointing by 12 months , no single words by 16 months , no brief phrases by 24 months , loss of language or social skills . If you see any of these signs , the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends seeing a pediatric neurologist , developmental pediatrician or child psychologist . What led companies to remove thimerosal from vaccines to begin with ? Several things pushed companies in this direction . Over the past decade , more and more attention was given to the health effects of mercury on humans . And then in the '90s , the CDC added new vaccines to the list of routine shots that children should get . Some of them used thimerosal as a preservative . This was happening while the government was trying to decrease our exposure to mercury . So the FDA began looking into the issue . In 1997 , Congress passed a bill that mandated review of products containing mercury , which led manufacturers to begin removing thimerosal from vaccines two years later . | Removal of thimerosal from most vaccines has n't reduced the number of autism cases diagnosed in the state of California . | [[957, 1077]] |
Fort Lauderdale , Florida -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Just taking a sip of water or walking to the bathroom is excruciatingly painful for 15-year-old Michael Brewer , who was burned over 65 percent of his body after being set on fire , allegedly by a group of teenagers . `` It hurts my heart to see him in pain , but it enlightens at the same time to know my son is strong enough to make it through on a daily basis , '' his mother , Valerie Brewer , told CNN on Wednesday . Brewer and her husband , Michael Brewer , Sr. , spoke to CNN 's Tony Harris , a day after a 13-year-old boy who witnessed last month 's attack publicly read a written statement : . `` I want to express my deepest sympathy to Mikey and his family , '' Jeremy Jarvis said . `` I will pray for Mikey to grow stronger every day and for Mikey 's speedy recovery . '' Jarvis ' older brother has been charged in the October 12 attack in Deerfield Beach , Florida . When asked about the teen 's statement , Valerie Brewer -- who knows the Jarvis family -- said she `` ca n't focus on that . '' `` I would really like to stay away from that because that brings negative energy to me and I do n't need that right now , '' she said . Her son remains in guarded condition at the University of Miami 's Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center . He suffered second - and third-degree burns over about two-thirds of his body , according to the hospital 's associate director , Dr. Carl Schulman . The teen faces a lifelong recovery from his injuries , Schulman told CNN 's Harris . `` Michael 's still got a lot of major surgery ahead of him , a lot of rehabilitation and therapy , '' Schulman said . `` He 's doing about as well as could be expected at this point in his recovery , but he 's got a period of probably several weeks to a couple of months still left in the hospital if everything goes well , but the recovery is lifelong . This is truly a life-changing event . '' Valerie Brewer said her son 's treatment is excruciating at times . Physical therapy , she said , is `` incredibly painful . He almost cries because it 's so painful . He 's burned badly on the backs of his knees and every time he moves his knee , it pulls , and if it 's healing , it pulls the scab and it cracks , and it starts to bleed . '' The boy must undergo hour-and-a-half showers , she said , where `` they take a piece of gauze , and they wipe off all the dead skin . They give him painkillers for that , but it 's incredibly painful and it breaks my heart every time they have to do it . ... That 's what we call the torture hour . '' Heavy metal musician Ozzy Osbourne sent Brewer a CD , and he plays it on a boom box during the showers , she said . `` He focuses on Ozzy , and he gets through his torture hour . '' Police were able to interview Brewer on Monday for the first time since the incident . Hospital officials have said Brewer can communicate only in one - or two-word answers . Valerie Brewer would not go into details about what her son told investigators , but said that `` he answered the questions they asked . '' The interview was emotional for both the teen and the investigators , according to Maria Schneider , a prosecutor with the state attorney 's office in Broward County . `` It was difficult for him to talk about . Difficult for us to listen to , '' she said of the interview . `` Just difficult all around , heart-wrenching . He 's doing so much better , but it 's such a terrible situation . '' Denver Jarvis and Matthew Bent , both 15 , are accused along with a third teen , Jesus Mendez , 16 , of being in a group that poured alcohol over Brewer and set him ablaze in a dispute over $ 40 , a video game and a bicycle . All three pleaded not guilty in an appearance last week in Broward County Circuit Court . If convicted , they would face a sentence of up to 30 years in prison . Detectives say eyewitnesses told them that Mendez used a lighter to set fire to Brewer after Jarvis allegedly poured alcohol over him . Bent allegedly encouraged the attack , police said . Brewer jumped into a pool at his apartment complex to put out the flames . Authorities have said Mendez admitted setting Brewer on fire . According to an arrest transcript , the boy said he made a `` bad decision . '' Jeremy Jarvis was arrested as a juvenile after Brewer was burned and spent about 30 days in juvenile detention . However , prosecutors have not filed charges against him and are still determining how to proceed . He still could be charged , as prosecutors have 90 days from his arrest to decide whether to move forward with the case . He has not been interviewed by police or prosecutors , Schneider said . `` He has invoked his rights to counsel and has invoked his rights to silence , '' she said . The boy 's attorney , Stephen Melnick , said it appears the younger Jarvis was only a witness to the attack . Broward County schools expelled the seventh-grader after his arrest and he is currently being home-schooled , Melnick said . He described his client was a good friend of Brewer , and said the boy is troubled by Brewer 's injuries as well as by his brother facing criminal charges that could land him in an adult prison if convicted . Valerie Brewer said it was `` heartbreaking '' when she and her husband learned that her son 's attackers may have included kids that they knew . `` But we do n't focus on that , '' she added . `` We focus strictly on Michael and his recovery . We do n't need any negative energy coming into the recovery so we just stay away from it , period . We do n't watch the news because we 're living this nightmare and we do n't need to see it on the TV . So we just stay away from it and stay positive for Michael . '' Her son 's recovery has been filled with ups and downs , she said . `` It 's been a roller coaster ride , the fear of the unknown , '' she said . `` The first time he spoke to us was joyous but watching him struggle every single day ... `` I 'm proud of him , I 'm very , very proud of him , 'cause I do n't think I could do what he 's doing . '' CNN 's Rich Phillips contributed to this report . | NEW : Teen uses Ozzy Osbourne CD to get through painful therapy , mom says . Mother of burned teen says she 's inspired by his strength as he struggles to heal . 15-year-old Michael Brewer was set on fire last month , allegedly by other teens . Three youths are charged with the attack and have pleaded not guilty . | [[125, 157], [162, 224], [3692, 3781]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Floyd Mayweather Junior has confirmed that he will fight WBA welterweight super champion Shane Mosley in Las Vegas on May 1 following the controversial collapse of his much-hyped showdown with Manny Pacquiao . The 38-year-old Mosley , a three-weight world title winner , had already signed up for the bout at the MGM Grand , which will take place under the Olympic-style random blood testing drug protocols that Pacquiao refused to accept . The undefeated Mayweather , a six-time world champion at five different weights and Pacquiao 's chief rival for the pound-for-pound bragging stakes , said in a statement that he was looking forward to taking on his fellow American . `` This one is definitely for the fans as I was n't going to waste anyone 's time with a meaningless tune-up bout and asked to fight Shane immediately , '' the 32-year-old said . `` I have said ever since I came back to the sport that I only wanted to fight the best . I think Shane is one of the best , but come May 1 , he still wo n't be great enough to beat me . Mosley had been due for a unification bout on January 30 with Andre Berto , who claimed the WBC title that Mayweather vacated when he retired in 2008 , but the fight was scrapped when his opponent lost family members in the Haiti earthquake . `` I have always wanted to fight Floyd , and now it is finally coming true , '' Mosley said . `` I am already in great shape and ready to show everyone on May 1 that I am stronger , faster and better than he is . I will have no problem beating him . '' Mosley 's promoter Golden Boy took the chance to have a dig at Filipino star Pacquiao over his refusal to undergo blood testing in the lead-up to the planned fight with Mayweather . `` Shane Mosley is one of the greatest fighters of this era and I commend him for not only agreeing to the fight against Mayweather , but also agreeing to participate in a testing process that can only help the integrity of the sport , '' Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer said . Leonard Ellerbe , his counterpart at Mayweather Promotions , also weighed in on the matter . `` Floyd has been trying to make this fight for the last 10 years , so he is extremely excited about the opportunity to face Shane . He ca n't wait to extend his undefeated record and perform at the highest level , '' Ellerbe said . `` More importantly , he is also happy to set the precedent for random blood testing in order to ensure fair and safe contests for all fighters . '' Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight title against Ghana 's Joshua Clottey in Dallas on March 13 before returning to politics as he seeks election in his local constituency . | Floyd Mayweather Junior confirms he will fight Shane Mosley in Las Vegas on May 1 . Mayweather turns to Mosley after collapse of his clash with Manny Pacquiao . Fight will take place under blood testing procedures that Pacquiao refused to accept . Mosley agreed fight after unification bout with Andre Berto was scrapped last month . | [[0, 15], [19, 228], [0, 15], [19, 228], [431, 459], [1646, 1736], [0, 15], [19, 228], [1059, 1132]] |
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Supreme Court has refused a lower court 's unusual request to decide whether a shocking 45-year-old civil rights crime can be prosecuted decades later . The justices Monday dismissed an appeal involving James Ford Seale , convicted in the 1964 kidnapping of two teenagers whose bodies were found in a backwater area of the Mississippi River . The reputed former Ku Klux Klan member had long been suspected in the crime , but it was officially unsolved until Seale was indicted in 2007 , and later convicted . He is serving three life sentences . The move by the high court not to get involved keeps in place Seale 's original indictment , but does not resolve the larger question of whether similar cases can be prosecuted . The issue could have enormous implications for several dozen `` cold cases '' involving racially motivated crimes dating back to the 1950s . Seale had appealed his conviction , claiming the statute of limitations had expired five years after the crime . The confusion arises over the fact that kidnapping could be considered a capital offense in 1964 , and thus had no time limit for a prosecution . The high court in 1968 eliminated the federal death penalty for that crime , and Congress four years later changed the law to reflect that ruling . But lawmakers 15 years ago reinstated kidnapping as death penalty-eligible . So the justices were being asked to decide when the statute of limitations kicked in , if ever . Justice John Paul Stevens , supported by his conservative colleague Justice Antonin Scalia , thought the court should get involved . `` I see no benefit and significant cost to postponing the question 's resolution , '' Stevens wrote in dissent . `` A prompt answer from this court will expedite the termination of this litigation and determine whether other similar cases may be prosecuted . '' Seale , a former sheriff 's deputy , was convicted in June 2007 of kidnapping and conspiracy in the disappearances of Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee , both 19 . Federal officials had initially trumpeted reopening the Seale case . `` Today 's indictment is one example of the FBI 's strong and ongoing commitment to re-examining and investigating unsolved civil rights era murders and other crimes , '' FBI Director Robert S. Mueller said in January 2007 . `` Under our Cold Case Initiative , we will continue to identify and pursue these cases of racially motivated violence to ensure justice is served wherever possible . '' Seale was not tried for murder , but prosecutors alleged that he and fellow Klansmen conspired to abduct , beat and murder Dee and Moore in May 1964 . An indictment accused Seale and his cohorts of picking up the two men hitchhiking and driving them into the Homochitto National Forest in Franklin County , Mississippi , where the teenagers were beaten and interrogated at gunpoint . Dee and Moore were then bound with duct tape and weighted down by an engine block and railroad rail . They were still alive when they were thrown into the Old Mississippi River , where they drowned , according to the FBI . Their decomposed bodies were found two months later during a search for three other missing civil rights workers that would later be known as the Mississippi Burning case . Seale and another man , Charles Edwards , were arrested in the slayings in 1964 , but were released on bond and never tried . The FBI turned the case over to local authorities , and the investigation was dropped after a justice of the peace said witnesses had refused to testify . The case was revived in 2007 when Moore 's brother -- during a visit to Franklin County to help research the case for a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation documentary -- discovered Seale was still alive . Thomas Moore told CNN in January 2007 that he gave the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi FBI files on the case , which he had obtained from a Mississippi reporter . U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton helped form a task force that led to Seale 's indictment . Seale was the only person convicted in the Moore and Dee murders , the Justice Department said . Since then , other notable cold cases from the civil rights era also have gone to trial . In 2005 , Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of manslaughter for his role in the Mississippi Burning case . Adding to the unusual nature of the Seale case is that a lower court was unable to decide the matter . The full 18-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals split evenly on the time-limit question . They then asked the high court to `` certify '' the question , a rarely used procedure that essentially asks the justices about how to proceed . The Supreme Court was under no obligation to accept the case in this fashion , under its `` Rule 19 . '' That provision gives appeals courts the discretion to hand off to the high court `` any question of law in any civil or criminal case as to which instructions are desired , and upon such certification the Supreme Court may give binding instructions or require the entire record to be sent up for decision of the entire matter in controversy . '' The case is U.S. v. Seale -LRB- 09-166 -RRB- . | Appeals court asked high court if a civil rights crime can be prosecuted decades later . Justices dismissed appeal involving man convicted in 1964 kidnapping of two teens . James Ford Seale appealed conviction in case , saying statute of limitations had expired . Indictment stands , but question of whether similar cases can be prosecuted is unanswered . | [[60, 186], [187, 253], [237, 253], [256, 305], [900, 933], [900, 905], [936, 971], [580, 670], [580, 606], [677, 758], [1728, 1762], [1816, 1873]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Those who knew Canadian folk musician Taylor Mitchell say her passion for her craft was matched by her affinity for nature . Fresh out of high school , she embarked upon a three-week tour of Eastern Canada earlier this month full of hope over her blossoming career and excited to explore the region with a new car and driver 's license . The 19-year-old rising star was in between gigs when , according to a Nova Scotia Cape Breton Highlands National Park official , she was killed by coyotes during a hike on Tuesday afternoon . `` If there can be any comfort at all , it is knowing that Taylor was doing two of the things she loved most , sharing story and song on the road and spending time in nature 's fold , '' her manager , Lisa Weitz said in an e-mail . `` She loved the woods and had a deep affinity for their beauty and serenity . '' Mitchell was a `` seasoned naturalist '' well versed in wilderness camping who would n't want the coyotes responsible for her death to be killed , her mother said Thursday . `` When the decision had been made to kill the pack of coyotes , I clearly heard Taylor 's voice say , ` please do n't , this is their space . ' She would n't have wanted their demise , especially as a result of her own . She was passionate about animals , was an environmentalist and was also planning to volunteer at the Toronto Wildlife Centre in the coming months , '' Emily Mitchell said in a statement Thursday . `` Tragically , it was her time to be taken from us so soon , '' the mother said . When she was 15 , Mitchell began vocal lessons with her future producer , Michael Johnston . `` Taylor inspired and impressed everyone from her musical peers to members of the Canadian roots-music community who were two and three times her age , '' he said in a statement . `` They saw in her the rarest of the gifts -- an ability to sing not only from the heart , but in a way that transcended her age and experience and became something universal . '' The Toronto-based musician 's career began to take off earlier this year after the April release of her debut album , `` For Your Consideration . '' She was nominated for Young Performer of the Year honors by the Canadian Folk Music Awards , which will be awarded in November . On her Facebook page , she detailed her busy summer performance schedule , describing it as her `` craziest summer yet . '' In July , she said she took a Greyhound bus to perform in the Young Performers Program at the Winnipeg Folk Festival , her first show west of Ontario , which featured acts including Arlo Guthrie , Neko Case and Elvis Costello . She played more shows in the Toronto area , relishing the airplay her album was receiving , and worked on songs for her next album , Weitz said . Yet she managed to return to nature with her aunt , mother and best friend at the family cottage in Owen Sound , Ontario , delighting in its simple joys . `` Our cottage is on the shores of Georgian bay . It 's 125 years old with three bedrooms that sleep two and one bedroom that sleeps four , plus a bunkhouse . It 's old and creaky and absolutely beautiful . As I sit on my couch in my apartment , I 'm homesick for the precariously slanted stairs , tennis courts , lake and wonderful memories , '' Mitchell said on her Facebook page . Before she set out eastward for her tour of the Maritimes , she shared her works in progress at the Ontario Council of Folk Music conference in Ottawa , impressing all those in attendance , Weitz said . `` Taylor Mitchell 's vocal style and consummate songwriting craft belied her vernal years . Indeed , her songs told the tales of a seeker , a sojourner with a sage wisdom atypical of most , let alone one of such tender years , '' Weitz said . On her Facebook page , she had begun counting down the days to her East Coast tour in September , saying in a September 18 status update that she was `` feeling the pull of the road . '' In her last post on the site , she described playing a show in someone 's home , calling it `` a welcome dose of normality after a whirlwind weekend '' at the Ontario Council of Folk Music . Those closest to her said they 'll derive inspiration from her passion for life . `` Taylor was my shining light , my baby , my confidante and best friend , '' her mother said . `` I do n't know how to move forward from here but I know that she would want that for me , and I will try to do that in her memory and celebrate her life in the way she lived it -- with passion , commitment and an unbridled loving heart . '' | Taylor Mitchell was a `` seasoned naturalist '' versed in wilderness camping , mother says . She would n't want coyotes responsible for her death to be killed , Emily Mitchell says . Mitchell earned respect of folk music community for talent that belied her age , producer says . The Toronto-based musician was touring Eastern Canada when she died in coyote attack . | [[863, 937], [1010, 1036], [4290, 4310], [919, 937], [942, 994], [1182, 1220], [1635, 1641], [1655, 1745], [3511, 3603], [484, 548], [3308, 3365], [3498, 3510]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The reaction to Kanye West 's hijacking of the microphone from Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards came quickly and unequivocally . Kanye West took the microphone from Taylor Swift during her speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards . Celebrities and fans alike expressed their disapproval of West interrupting Swift 's win for Best Female Video to tout his appreciation of nominee Beyonce . `` Taylor , I 'm really happy for you , '' West said after grabbing the microphone from a clearly stunned Swift . `` I 'll let you finish , but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time ! One of the best videos of all time ! '' Elliott Wilson , founder and chief executive officer of Rap Radar , sat in front of members of West 's entourage at the live Sunday night awards show and said the mood quickly turned from one of surprised amusement to anger . Watch West grab the microphone from Swift '' `` At first , people were n't sure if it was kind of like a gag , '' Wilson said . `` You could feel everybody being nervous and not knowing if it was a prank or something . Then people started booing him really loud . '' Wilson said he believes that West -- who he said bounded on stage from his seat in the front row near Beyonce -- intended to have his say before allowing Swift to continue but said the rapper became angered by the crowd response in a moment that was n't captured by the MTV cameras . `` The reaction to his tantrum was so strong ... and what happened was , he gave everybody the finger , '' Wilson said . Stars taking to Twitter returned the sentiment with some harsh words for the sometimes mercurial rap star . Singer Pink tweeted , `` Kanye West is the biggest piece of -LSB- expletive -RSB- on earth . Quote me , '' and Joel Madden of the band Good Charlotte tweeted , `` All i 'm saying is Taylor Swift is a young chic and you just walk up and grab the mic . '' Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton said via Twitter that `` Taylor Swift deserved that award , damnit . It is what THE PEOPLE voted ! My heart broke for her , she looked so sad at the end of that moment . '' Singer Katy Perry weighed in with `` F -- u Kanye . It 's like you stepped on a kitten . '' VMA nominee Kelly Clarkson took to her blog to publish an open letter to West . `` What happened to you as a child ?? Did you not get hugged enough ?? '' she asked . On Monday , `` Taylor Swift , '' `` VMAs , '' `` Kanye 's '' and `` Beyonce '' were top trending topics on Twitter . Watch Swift respond to what happened '' Wilson , a noted hip-hop journalist , said there was a great deal of tension inside the event Sunday night before West and his girlfriend , model Amber Rose , left the show . `` It was almost like wrestling , when the good guy turns bad and the crowd turns on him , '' Wilson said . `` Every time his name was mentioned , people booed . '' Wilson said he believes that alcohol may have played a part in West 's actions , given that the rapper appeared both on the red carpet and inside the arena with a bottle of cognac . Wilson added that West is well known for such behavior . He appeared uninvited onstage at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards , walked out of the 2004 American Music Awards after losing in the Best New Artist category and reportedly threw a backstage tantrum at the 2007 VMAs because he did not perform on the main stage . `` I think Kanye came in to be the bad boy , but he obviously had an emotional spaz moment because he is cool '' with Beyonce and her husband , Jay-Z , Wilson said . `` I think the alcohol blurred his judgment . '' Wilson said attendees at the awards show were allowed to have drinks at their seats . Emil Wilbekin , managing editor of Essence.com , said West may have gone too far with his antics this time . `` I think that it was not Kanye 's place to speak for Beyonce or to ruin Taylor Swift 's moment , '' Wilbekin said . `` It 's OK for Kanye to rattle off about himself , but I think he crossed the line when he decided to speak for other people . '' Though West is known for having a healthy ego , Wilbekin said , his actions may be damaging the very legacy the rapper claims to want to leave . `` He 's talked about wanting to be Elvis ; he 's talked about wanting to be the new king of pop , '' Wilbekin said . `` It 's almost like he 's overshadowing himself by getting in his own way with his mouth . '' West apologized to Swift via his blog . As for Swift , the young singer gave her acceptance speech after Beyonce graciously invited her onstage during her win for Video of the Year . West 's disruption was n't the only one the evening offered , Wilson said . During a performance by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys , rapper Lil Mama rushed the stage . Wilson said that from his vantage point in the audience , the female rapper , who also serves as a judge on MTV 's `` America 's Best Dance Crew , '' was neither expected nor wanted as part of the performance . iReport : Is civility dead ? The stars ' behavior might have long-lasting consequences , Wilson added . `` I would n't be surprised if MTV banned alcohol -LSB- at the event -RSB- next year , '' he said . | Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift 's VMA acceptance speech . Celebs take to Twitter and blogs to express outrage . West is well-known for shocking behavior . VMA attendee : `` Every time his name was mentioned , people booed '' | [[192, 295], [296, 406], [3087, 3143], [3105, 3143], [1131, 1175], [2848, 2884], [2887, 2901], [2902, 2904], [3622, 3662]] |
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