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-LRB- OPRAH.com -RRB- -- Families all over the country are tightening their belts during this economic crisis , but some people are actually finding that cutting back can lead to richer lives . The Heinz family makes a net income of $ 58,000 a year -- but they have $ 70,000 in savings . The Heinz family makes a net income of $ 58,000 a year -- but they have $ 70,000 in savings . How did they do it ? Sue Heinz is a stay-at-home mom with four children living in Sarasota , Florida . To keep their family out of financial worry , she and her husband , Brett , have gotten thrifty . With a prepaid cell phone used only for emergencies , the family 's monthly bill is just $ 5 . By brown bagging his lunch and carpooling to work , Brett spends little money during the work week and saves $ 122 each month on gas . Sue has found a way to snip $ 550 from their yearly budget by cutting the family 's hair herself . And with a little online research , Brett found out how to do his own home repairs and says he has saved more than $ 6,000 . Sue says their thriftiness began 11 years ago when she and Brett first moved to Florida on a teacher 's salary . `` We had goals , '' she says . `` We wanted to own a home , we wanted to have a big family -- and we knew we had to set our priorities to make that work . '' The ride has n't been all smooth sailing , and Sue says they incurred some credit card debt along the way . `` But I 'm very happy to say , and proud to say , that we 're paying it back at nearly three times the minimum balance , '' she says . Oprah.com : How to get out of credit card debt . Although they 've had to cut back in certain areas , Sue says their thrifty ways have n't curbed their lifestyle one bit . `` We go to the beach once a week , we go bike riding with the kids , we do all kinds of fun things , '' she says . `` There are second-run movie theaters ; there are a lot of ways to have fun without spending money . '' `` It 's an alternative to living beyond our means , really , '' Brett says . `` Instead of spending too much money on things , we just make choices . '' Sandberg family . On the other end of the spectrum , the Sandberg family is learning the need to cut back for the first time . Vicky and Mark have been married for 15 years and have two children . Until recently , the family has always brought in a double income . `` Times in the construction industry have been really tough , and four months ago I lost my job as a recruiter and as a trainer , '' Vicky says . With about 40 percent of their total income gone , the family has a new set of stress . Vicky and Mark say they 've had to cut back their investment contributions toward their children 's college funds and froze their individual retirement accounts . `` My personal biggest fear is losing what we have , what we 've worked so hard for , '' Mark says . Can thrifty couple Sue and Brett help Vicky and Mark find ways to cut back ? They begin with the Sandbergs ' monthly budget and discover the Sandbergs are spending $ 650 a month in department stores on things for the kids -- clothing , video games and DVDs . `` That 's a big number , '' Sue says . In addition , the Sandbergs are spending $ 190 each month on their phone , Internet and cable bill and $ 350 a month eating out at restaurants . All in all , the family is spending $ 8,744 a month , which is more than they are bringing in . To get Vicky and Mark on track , Sue says they need to bring their monthly budget down to less than $ 8,000 per month . Sue gives them a basket for storing their daily receipts and a journal to write down their needs and wants . `` You 're going to take a good look and start to become extremely aware of where this money is going , '' she says . First to go are all but one of Vicky and Mark 's credit cards -- for emergencies only -- in exchange for a debit card with a rewards program . `` I love the idea of having a debit card and paying as you go , '' Mark says . `` I think that would relieve a lot of stress at the end of the month . '' Because Vicky and Mark have two cell phones , Sue suggests dropping their landline and finds a cable company that offers a better deal . They instantly save more than $ 100 a month ! Sue takes the couple to the grocery store and teaches them how to prepare a meal for under $ 5 . There are even leftovers , which can be used for Mark 's lunches . Sue says the family can still enjoy eating out -- with the proper research . By searching online , Sue says you can find restaurants that let kids eat for free on certain nights of the week . `` Google your town 's name plus ` free stuff ' or ` kids ' free meals , ' and things pop up , '' she says . Sue also has a tip to save money on the DVDs the kids ask for -- go to the library and rent the DVD for free ! In all , Sue and Brett helped Vicky and Mark find an extra $ 2,000 a month . `` It felt great because we did n't know what we were spending , '' Vicky says . `` It 's really a mind-set . Mark and I have worked very hard to have what we have for our family and provide for them , but he 'd spend what he 'd spend , I would spend what I would spend and we 'd pay the bill at the end of the month , and we just were n't paying attention . '' Mark is also thrilled with the family 's new money habits . `` It was a lot less stress at the end of the month , '' he says . CouponMom.com . With the cost of food rising and moms everywhere cringing over their grocery receipts , one mom has found a way to save her family thousands of dollars . Stephanie Nelson , founder of CouponMom.com , says she actually looks forward to grocery shopping ! Can she buy a week 's worth of food at half the price ? Stephanie begins her plan of attack by researching coupons online . `` It 's actually easier than ever to use grocery coupons today because we can use the Internet to print coupons , '' she says . `` In about half an hour a week , you can make a real difference in cutting your grocery bill in half . '' With coupons in hand , Stephanie hits the store and fills up her shopping cart with $ 127 worth of groceries . `` Do n't panic , '' she says . `` That 's not what we 're paying . '' As the clerk scans coupon after coupon , the total falls lower and lower -- until it hits $ 37.16 , a 71 percent savings ! Oprah.com : Five ways to save money on your groceries . Selling your home . It 's no secret that it 's a difficult time to sell a home -- so some sellers are getting creative . When Jennifer from Charleston , South Carolina , needed to sell her house , she says no one was biting . After five months and no offers in sight , Jennifer put her house on Craigslist . Two days later , it sold . Karen from Hancock , Maryland , was having trouble finding a buyer for her farmhouse , so instead of selling , she decided to raffle off her home . She sold tickets for $ 100 apiece and agreed that any extra money raised beyond the appraised value would go to charity . After selling more than 6,000 tickets , Karen was able to unload her house and give more than $ 200,000 to a local charity . If this sounds interesting to you , check the laws in your state . After two and a half years on the market , Mike and Pam from Streamwood , Illinois , needed an unconventional way to sell their home . They searched online to see if anyone wanted to swap houses and found OnlineHouseTrading.com -- did they make a match ? Oprah.com : More ways to save your dollars ! Mike and Pam found Lauren and Ryan , homeowners in Elgin , Illinois , who wanted to upgrade their home . It was the perfect match for Mike and Pam , who were looking to downsize . Mike and Pam sold their home for $ 295,000 and purchased Lauren and Ryan 's home for $ 180,000 . `` We were able to sell our house at the price we wanted , and they were able to sell their townhouse at the price they wanted , '' Pam says . `` We 're all happy , '' Ryan says . `` It was an even trade in the sense we both got exactly what we wanted . We were looking for a house with four bedrooms , a basement and a backyard that would be fenced in for our dogs , and we ended up getting that . '' If you 're interested in finding a creative way to sell your home , make sure to check out the laws in your state first . From `` The Oprah Winfrey Show '' `` The Thriftiest Family in America '' © 2008 . 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 . | Family uses a prepaid , emergency-only cell phone for $ 5 a month . Sue saves $ 550 from their yearly budget by cutting the family 's hair herself . Brett suggests brown bagging your lunch and carpooling to work . Jennifer put her house on Craigslist and sold it two days later . | [[588, 634], [637, 677], [813, 901], [5476, 5543], [678, 719], [6673, 6687], [6690, 6699]] |
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Ailing `` Great Train Robber '' Ronnie Biggs -- one of the most notorious British criminals of the 20th century -- was formally released from prison to his death bed Friday after being granted his freedom on compassionate grounds . Ronnie Biggs , pictured at a book launch in Rio de Janeiro in 1994 . Biggs , who is gravely ill with severe pneumonia , is being cared for at a hospital in Norwich , eastern England , where he was moved on Tuesday . Three prison staff who had been assigned to Biggs ' bedside have been withdrawn following UK Justice Minister Jack Straw 's decision to authorize his release , a Ministry of Justice spokesperson told CNN . `` The medical evidence clearly shows that Mr Biggs is very ill and that his condition has deteriorated recently , culminating in his re-admission to hospital , '' Straw said in a statement Thursday . `` His condition is not expected to improve . '' Biggs ' son , Michael Biggs , said his father was `` over the moon '' that he had been released on the eve of his 80th birthday . Speaking to reporters outside the hospital , he confirmed his father had been handed his release papers . `` As a family , we are absolutely thrilled , '' Michael Biggs said , according to the UK 's Press Association . Biggs is unable to walk , barely able to communicate and no longer able to eat or drink , Michael Biggs said , adding that the family was `` very hopeful that my father will be able to survive the next few days . '' Biggs ' legal advisor Giovanni Di Stefano told journalists that Biggs was unlikely to ever leave his hospital bed . `` This man is ill , he 's going to die ... he is going to stay in hospital , '' he said . Saturday also marks the 46th anniversary of the infamous 1963 heist dubbed the `` crime of the century '' that transformed Biggs from a petty London thief into one of the most wanted men in Britain . Biggs and 14 other professional criminals made off with more than # 2.5 million -LRB- $ 4.2 million -RRB- in used bank notes -- the equivalent of around # 40 million -LRB- $ 67 million -RRB- today -- after holding up a mail train from Glasgow to London in the early hours of the morning . In the course of the robbery the train driver was badly beaten with an iron bar . Most of the gang , including Biggs , were soon picked up in a massive manhunt after police discovered fingerprints at a farmhouse hideout where the robbers had holed up to split their spoils . Biggs was sentenced to 30 years in prison but escaped over the wall of a London prison after serving just 15 months -- and spent most of the rest of his life as a celebrity fugitive . After undergoing extensive plastic surgery in Paris , Biggs made his way to Australia , living there with his wife and two children . Tracked down by police , Biggs fled again in 1969 , this time to Brazil . Five years later , Biggs was traced once more by a newspaper reporter . Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Jack Slipper , who had led police efforts to bring the train robbers to justice , flew out to Rio de Janeiro to arrest Biggs , allegedly greeting him at a beachside hotel : `` Long time no see , Ronnie . '' But efforts to bring Biggs home were frustrated because by then he had fathered a Brazilian-born son -- Michael Biggs -- and authorities rejected British requests for his extradition . Biggs continued to live openly in Rio , trading on his notoriety by entertaining tourists , selling t-shirts and even recording with the Sex Pistols . In 1981 he was kidnapped by a gang of British ex-soldiers and smuggled to Barbados . But legal efforts to have Biggs brought back to the UK once again stalled and he was allowed to return to Brazil . By the late 1990s Biggs was in poor health following a series of strokes and running out of cash . In 2001 he flew back to the UK on a private jet laid on by the Sun newspaper . He was promptly locked up in a high security prison but then moved to a facility for elderly prisoners . Since his return Biggs and his family have campaigned for his parole on compassionate grounds -- an appeal until now rejected by successive justice ministers on the grounds that Biggs had never shown any remorse for his actions . Michael Biggs said his father had expressed regret for the robbery -- but not for the life he had led in the years since the crime . | Ronnie Biggs freed on compassionate grounds because of ailing health . Biggs took part in 1963 Great Train Robbery , dubbed `` crime of the century '' in UK . Biggs , 80 on Saturday , has been hospitalized suffering from severe pneumonia . Biggs escaped from jail , spent decades as a fugitive before returning to UK in 2001 . | [[9, 32], [151, 267], [1774, 1817], [337, 342], [388, 431], [2476, 2481], [2522, 2591], [2476, 2481], [2599, 2659], [3827, 3874]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Some Americans visiting or working in Haiti have not been heard from since Tuesday 's earthquake , but loved ones back home are trying to remain optimistic as good reports come in from others . CNN iReporter Cynthia Kivland of Prairie Grove , Illinois , spent a sleepless night trying to get in touch with her 30-year-old daughter , Chelsey . Chelsey Kivland has lived in Haiti for more than two years and speaks fluent Creole ; she just returned there from a visit home in December . The Fulbright Scholar at the University of Chicago is finishing her doctoral dissertation in anthropology . `` She 's just a beautiful person , '' said her mother , who contacted the State Department and the university for help . Help the Kivlands find their daughter . There are about 45,000 Americans in Haiti , the U.S. State Department estimates . A 15-member group from Trinity United Methodist Church of Hackettstown , New Jersey , turned up after going missing for about 18 hours after the quake . The group was believed to be at an orphanage in Bon Repos , 15 miles north of Port-au-Prince , when the earthquake struck . At a news conference Wednesday afternoon , a church member said the group contacted the church via a CNN satellite phone in Haiti . A message on the church 's Web site said that a two - to three-day lag in communication is not unusual after natural disasters . Skip Conover of the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville , New Jersey , said a 21-member team of congregation members from his church , Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton and Kingdom Church of Ewing has been out of contact . `` We have heard absolutely nothing from our group , '' he said . `` If everything was on schedule , the team should have landed three hours before the earthquake in Port-au-Prince . Our fingers are crossed that if there were no holdups in customs and no stopgaps , the team should have been up the mountains and reached the village of Thoman before the quake happened . '' Thoman is a two-hour drive from Port-au-Prince , and phone communication is not good from there , he said . Are you looking for loved ones ? Two Americans with another church were rescued from the rubble of their mission house . Jillian Thorp and Charles Dietsch of the Catholic Diocese of Norwich , Connecticut , were pulled from the remains of the three-story house after a night of digging by four mission workers , Thorp 's father said . `` It was heroic . I think that 's the only word for it , '' said the father , Clay Cook , of Old Saybrook , Connecticut . Watch Cook tell the story . `` Jill could n't really do anything for herself , except she did have her cell phone , so she was able to talk to people and tell them where within the house she and this other gentleman , Chuck Dietsch , were located , so they did n't have to look through the whole pile of rubble . '' Thorp 's husband , Frank , arrived after driving all night from another town , `` and he literally lifted her out of the hole when they finally got her free , '' Cook said . When he spoke to her less than an hour later , `` she was a little shaky , '' Cook said . `` She spent about 11 hours buried in concrete , listening to the earth shake around her , so being a little shaky is probably pretty good . '' At a news conference later , Cook and his wife , Karen , asked reporters to turn their attention to those who are still suffering and grieving . `` It 's a beautiful country , and they 're a beautiful people , and they need a lot of help right now , '' he said . He said his daughter does not want to leave Haiti in its hour of need . `` Our baby is safe , but there 's so many babies that are n't safe , '' a tearful Karen Cook said . The pastoral staff at Free Chapel , a nondenominational church in Gainesville , Georgia , used Skype on Tuesday night to reach Bobby and Sherry Burnette , the couple who run the church 's permanent mission in Haiti , Executive Pastor Richie Hughes said . `` Our work there suffered different levels of damage , '' Hughes said . `` The housing areas are OK , minor damage , but one of the churches connected was destroyed . '' A group led by Free Chapel 's senior pastor , Jentezen Franklin , had to cancel a flight to Haiti planned for 6 a.m. Wednesday , Hughes said . He added that a special Haiti relief collection would be taken up at Wednesday evening 's service . Lumiere Ministries of Gastonia , North Carolina , runs a 30-bed hospital and an orphanage in Port-au-Prince . President and CEO Hank Haskins said that all 25 employees are fine . The ministry was scheduled to do the official ribbon cutting for a new hospital in February . The group sent a container of supplies Tuesday and is awaiting word on its arrival . A group from the University of Wisconsin , Engineers Without Borders-UW , posted a blog Tuesday saying the quake had had minimal effect where they have been staying since arriving Sunday . A representative was n't sure how many were in the group . Americans seeking information on missing loved ones can call 888-407-4747 for assistance , officials said . CNN 's Katie Hawkins-Gaar , Mark Norman and Hanna Yi contributed to this report . | NEW : New Jersey mission group uses CNN satellite phone to contact church . Another New Jersey church group still unaccounted for . Mother has n't heard from Fulbright Scholar daughter . Two with Catholic mission pulled from rubble after night of digging . | [[1133, 1173], [1176, 1264], [2220, 2288], [2291, 2407]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- President Obama said Tuesday his strategy in Afghanistan will have three objectives : deny al Qaeda a safe haven , reverse the Taliban 's momentum and strengthen Afghanistan 's security forces and government . Here is how he said he plans to achieve the goals : . • Send 30,000 additional U.S. troops . The U.S. will send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan in the next seven months `` so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers , '' Obama said in his speech . Some of the new troops will help train Afghan security forces to `` create the conditions for the United States to transfer responsibility to the Afghans , '' Obama said . U.S. forces could begin to leave as security responsibilities are transferred to the Afghans . Obama said he hopes to start transferring U.S. forces out of Afghanistan in July 2011 . The U.S. troop buildup also will help secure areas that go relatively uncovered by U.S. and NATO forces now . Most of the new troops are expected to be sent around the southern part of Afghanistan , divided between Helmand and Kandahar provinces . Kandahar 's one major city , also called Kandahar , is used by Taliban fighters and its leaders to hide within the population from coalition troops . One key task will be to control the major approaches to the city . Obama also said he is asking NATO allies to send more troops to Afghanistan . The new troop deployments would increase the total U.S. commitment to roughly 100,000 troops in Afghanistan , bolstered by more than 40,000 NATO forces . • Pursue a more effective civilian strategy . Obama said the U.S. would work to build up programs and institutions that will benefit Afghanistan 's citizens . However , alluding to the corruption that has plagued the Afghan government , the aid `` must be based on performance , '' Obama said . Corruption in Afghanistan has shaken international and domestic confidence in the government there . Even this year 's re-election of President Hamid Karzai was mired in controversy ; he was declared the winner of an August vote that was deemed tainted with ballot-stuffing . In his inauguration speech , Karzai said he 'd make the fight against corruption a top priority over the next five years . On Tuesday , Obama said that speech sent the right message , but he warned that `` the days of providing a blank check are over . '' `` We will support Afghan ministries , governors and local leaders that combat corruption and deliver for the people . We expect those who are ineffective or corrupt to be held accountable , '' Obama said . Obama said the U.S. would focus its assistance `` in areas -- such as agriculture -- that can make an immediate impact in the lives of the Afghan people . '' The U.S. also will support Afghanistan 's efforts to reach out to Taliban fighters who want to lay down arms . Already , the U.S. has a plan to pay those fighters to quit the Taliban . There is money in the 2010 defense appropriations bill to fund a Taliban reintegration program , which essentially pays Taliban fighters to switch sides . The U.S. State Department says it plans to triple its civilian staff in Afghanistan to 974 members by early 2010 . In a speech in New York on Monday , Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said U.S. civilian efforts are just as critical as military operations to help Afghanistan . USAID and other U.S. government agencies also have people in Afghanistan . Clinton said experts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture are embedded with the U.S. military , and `` rule of law '' experts are working to extend a justice system `` so that the Taliban would not offer the only form of justice in Afghanistan . '' • Have a more robust partnership with Pakistan . Taliban fighters have long been operating in the mountainous region along Afghanistan 's border with Pakistan , battling U.S. and Afghan government forces on one side and Pakistani troops on the other . It is not clear whether any of the additional troops will be sent to the Pakistan border , where the U.S. tries to stop Taliban and al Qaeda forces from moving between the two countries . About 4,000 U.S. Special Forces troops are in eastern Afghanistan , hunting al Qaeda leaders . Any plan to bolster Afghanistan must also work to help Pakistan , Obama said . `` We will strengthen Pakistan 's capacity to target these groups that threaten our countries , '' Obama said . `` America is also providing substantial resources to support Pakistan 's democracy and development . '' In the past , Obama said , some in Pakistan have argued that the struggle against the Taliban and other militants was n't Pakistan 's fight . But the Pakistani army recently has been attacking the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan after a series of deadly bomb attacks across the country . `` Public opinion has turned ... and there is no doubt that the United States and Pakistan share a common enemy , '' Obama said . `` Going forward , the Pakistani people must know : America will remain a strong supporter of Pakistan 's security and prosperity long after the guns have fallen silent , so that the great potential of its people can be unleashed , '' Obama said . CNN 's Mike Mount , Larry Shaughnessy , Jill Dougherty and Jason Hanna contributed to this report . | Extra 30,000 U.S. troops to secure uncovered areas , help Afghan security forces train . Troop buildup just one strategy to achieve goals in Afghanistan , Obama says . U.S. also to pursue more effective civilian strategy , Obama says . Better partnership with Pakistan also essential , Obama says . | [[283, 321], [322, 406], [513, 666], [868, 890], [896, 977], [19, 75], [1565, 1610], [4304, 4316], [3703, 3751], [4304, 4316]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner signed a decree Tuesday requiring all ships navigating from Argentina to the disputed Falkland Islands to carry a government permit . The move comes as tensions over the territory simmer because of British oil companies ' efforts to drill off the northern coast of the islands . The Falklands , known as Las Malvinas in Argentina , lie in the South Atlantic Ocean off the Argentinean coast and have been under British rule since 1833 . But Argentina has always claimed sovereignty over them . The two nations fought a war over the islands in 1982 . Tuesday 's decree followed an accusation made last week by the Argentine government that a ship docked on the mainland was preparing to transport tubes to the Falklands for oil and gas exploration . The decree also creates a special commission that will oversee the application of the new measure . `` It 's public knowledge that the United Kingdom has started the search for hydrocarbon resources in the Falkland Islands area , '' Argentine Cabinet Chief Anibal Fernandez said at a news conference , according to the official Telam news agency . The Argentine position is that natural resources around the islands should be protected , and Britain must accept international resolutions labeling the Falklands a disputed area . `` This has to do with the defense of the interests of Argentineans , not just about sovereignty , '' Fernandez said , adding that Argentina lays claim not just to the islands , but to any resources that could be found there . The Argentines blame `` unilateral moves '' by the British companies toward exploration as the reason for the recent spat . `` The companies that are planning to explore and exploit gas and oil are going to be met with legal challenges because they are doing it on a continental shelf that Argentina maintains is our own , '' Argentine congressman Ruperto Godoy told CNN . CNN 's Brian Byrnes and Claudia Dominguez contributed to this report . | Argentina requires ships navigating from Argentina to the Falklands to carry permit . Tensions over islands because of UK oil firm 's efforts to drill off the coast of the islands . Argentina claims ship docked on mainland was to transport tubes for Falklands oil exploration . Falklands under British rule since 1833 , but Argentina claims sovereignty over them . | [[77, 172], [104, 203], [204, 299], [268, 348], [1574, 1697], [619, 795], [708, 817], [349, 362], [454, 505], [510, 562]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Pennsylvania police have arrested a woman who authorities say fled Washington state 11 years ago with her two sons against a court order instructing her to return them to their father , police said . Jill Haugen was arrested at her home in Milton , Pennsylvania , on Tuesday , days after she had contacted police saying she did n't want to take care of her sons any longer , Milton Police Chief Craig Lutcher told CNN . Police in Spokane , Washington , said a felony warrant for first-degree custodial interference was issued for her in 1998 . The Northumberland County , Pennsylvania , district attorney 's office said she has been charged with being a fugitive from justice and is awaiting an extradition hearing . It was not immediately clear if she had retained legal representation . Police made two trips to her house after her Saturday phone call , Lutcher said , and the sons , now ages 15 and 16 , were placed into foster care after the second visit , on Sunday . A caseworker discovered through an Internet search that there was a warrant from Washington state for Haugen 's arrest and told police , Lutcher said . Police said Haugen had provided them with two different names on two different occasions . Haugen , who was known as Jill Connington when she was married to Bill Connington , did not win primary custody of the couple 's children in 1998 after the two had divorced , police in Spokane said . `` They were with her on a visitation and she never brought them back , '' Spokane police Lt. Dave McGovern said . When she disappeared , according to police , the felony warrant for first-degree custodial interference was issued for her , police said . Bill Connington told CNN that he was a `` little overwhelmed with everything . '' `` I 've had thoughts of possibly never seeing -LSB- his sons -RSB- again but never gave up hope I would , '' he said . He said he was speaking with caseworkers about getting the teenagers to Washington . As she was escorted by police , Haugen told media she was a domestic abuse survivor and that her two sons were sexual abuse survivors . It was not immediately clear against whom she was leveling the sexual abuse accusations . `` We 've been in this state since 2000 , '' she said . `` We are legal residents . '' McGovern said a sexual abuse allegation was filed in 1995 on behalf of the children , but authorities were not able to substantiate anything from it . Asked about the abuse , Connington denied any wrongdoing and said he had offered during the custody hearings to do whatever he needed to prove his innocence . CNN 's Shirley Zilberstein contributed to this report . | Jill Haugen accused of illegally leaving Washington state with her sons in 1998 . Haugen was n't awarded primary custody of sons after she divorced their father . Pennsylvania police : She told us last week she no longer wanted to take care of boys . Haugen says boys are sexual abuse survivors ; father denies wrongdoing . | [[0, 15], [19, 155], [1235, 1243], [1248, 1346], [1235, 1241], [1319, 1380], [301, 380], [325, 391], [1573, 1592], [2008, 2111]] |
-LRB- Wired -RRB- -- A year after its release , Google 's open source Android operating system has become a sensation . After a slow start , it is now available on at least 12 phones , with more devices waiting in the wings . Good news for Android fans , right ? Not really , say some developers . A slew of problems have made managing Android apps a `` nightmare , '' they say , including three versions of the OS -LRB- Android 1.5 , 1.6 and 2.0 -RRB- , custom firmware on many phones , and hardware differences between different models . For users , it means apps in the store could be buggy , might not work well depending on their handsets , and could deliver a frustrating experience . Unaware of the increasing back-end complexity , they would then be more likely to leave bad reviews for those apps -- a potentially lethal blow for small businesses , say developers . `` Instead of working on updates to our apps , we find we are trying to make each app work for multiple versions of the OS and different hardware capabilities , '' says Chris Fagan , co-founder at Froogloid , an Android-focused application development company . `` We are not complaining about all the growth , but if you are a small or a new Android developer coming in and trying to learn I could see your head exploding . It would be overwhelming , '' he says . The problem echoes similar concerns over Java in the 1990s . Originally touted as a way for developers to build apps that would run on any computer -LRB- `` write once , run anywhere '' -RRB- , developers found that wide variations in Java virtual machines as well as available hardware meant that Java 's promise was really `` write once , debug everywhere . '' While Java is still used -- particularly in the mobile space , where it powers games and other apps written for Java-capable cellphones -- it is not nearly the cross-platform panacea it was originally conceived as . Fagan 's concern about the fragmentation of Android is being echoed by other developers , says Sean Galligan , vice president of business development at Flurry , an mobile app analytics company . `` There 's no question that we are starting to hear developers express concern , '' says Galligan . `` Android is growing very fast and there 's a lot of excitement for it but it 's also a lot for work , especially for medium and small developers . '' Since the launch of the first HTC T-Mobile G1 phone running Android OS , a number of handset makers have jumped on the bandwagon . HTC alone has five Android handsets available , while others like Motorola have shifted completely to the Android platform . In the past two months , Motorola released two new Android-based handsets , the Cliq and Droid . And in a bid to differentiate themselves , handset makers are creating custom user interfaces like the HTC Sense , the Motorola Blur and the Rachael UI from Sony Ericsson . Android phones vary significantly in the hardware , too -- phones with and without camera flash , some have physical keyboards , others do n't . `` You may build an app that works perfectly with all three firmwares , but then when you run it on carriers ' ROMs it completely blows up , '' says Fagan . `` So we find ourselves having to create apps that are compatible with multiple firmwares , multiple ROMs and multiple devices with different hardware . '' It 's in sharp contrast to the iPhone platform . Apple has tightly controlled the introduction of new iPhones and updates to its operating system . It has just three iPhone models available since it first introduced the phone in 2007 . And all iPhone users are prompted to update their phones to be on the same version of the operating system . While Apple pioneered the app store idea with the iPhone , Android , too , offers Market , a store for distribution of third-party programs . Unlike with the Apple app store , Android developers do not have to go through an approval process to get their apps on the Android Market . Currently , the Android market has about 10,000 apps compared to the 100,000 in Apple 's app store . For developers , Apple 's autocratic ways may be frustrating , but they can pay off . `` Apple maintains an iron grip on what they do and there 's an advantage to that , '' says Kelly Schrock , owner of Fognl , which has three apps on the Android market . `` IPhone developers do n't have to worry about fragmentation and creating apps for the iPhone is much easier . '' Founded about the same time as the first Android phone hit the market , Froogloid today has more than 100,000 users across its three apps : a2b , Key Ring and CowPotato . But with Android 's growth , managing these apps is becoming quite a challenge , says Fagan . The diversity of devices running Android OS has led to some unexpected results , says Fagan . For instance , the Sprint HTC Hero was launched without its GPS setting turned on . When run , the a2b application could trigger it -- but Froogloid soon found that the standard commands they used reacted differently on the Hero than on other Android devices . Instead of launching the GPS settings , it set off the `` screen unlock pattern '' settings , says Chris Pick , requiring Froogloid to write custom code in their app for that particular device . Google says it has emulators available that allows developers to test their application running on simulated devices so they can see how it behaves . But it does n't always work , says Fagan . `` In a sense , we are shooting blind with the emulators because we have no idea how it is really working on the device . '' For instance , explains Pick , the graphics for their 3D game app , Cowpotato worked fine on the emulator but crashed when run on Motorola 's Droid phone . Pick suspects a bug in the graphics driver on the Droid . Writing for a fix for it took care of the problem but its not the best solution , he says . `` When we have to start writing rules based on the phone model in our code , it adds more code to our code base , creates more work for us and makes the app heavier , '' says Pick . Different versions of the OS also means new functionality is added or some removed . Understanding these changes and making software backward compatible takes time , say Schrock . `` It 's a multiplication of work to support all of them . '' A bigger problem is the customization of firmware or custom ROMs . For instance , Google offers a basic homescreen with the Android code . But device manufacturers or network carriers can always modify it . Sometimes the changes are simple , such as replacing all white color with grey , or red with yellow . That allows handset makers and carriers to tailor Android better for their customers , something that Google says it supports `` strongly . '' `` That is n't a big deal , '' says Fagan . `` However , when they start changing fundamentally how certain activities are controlled , such as user settings and screen orientation , it creates issues for developers that have built their apps on an out of the box version of the firmware/SDK . '' Custom ROMs are always available for developers to look through , points out Froogloid . `` Google has mandated that every one base their releases on the standard versions , '' says Pick . `` But this slips under the radar . '' Ultimately , developers will have to start making tough decisions on who they want to target and versions of the operating system they want to support , says Galligan . `` Developers have to identify which devices and carriers appeal to the market they are creating an app for and develop just for it , '' he says . A one-man band , Schrock says without any employees he ca n't maintain four different app versions . `` It 's getting a lot riskier on the Android . It 's not 4x increase in the cost but it will be a lot more work . '' And while Schrock says the apps are not his meal ticket , he does n't want to make choices that could cut off some Android users from his apps . `` I will have to decide then how much return I am getting and if it is worth it . '' Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $ 1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT ! Click here ! Copyright 2010 Wired.com . | After slow start , Android system has taken off in popularity . Some developers say growth has made managing apps for the system a nightmare . Google says it provides emulators to let developers test whether their apps work . It 's the diversity of devices running Android that some say has led to uneven results . | [[263, 266], [276, 297], [298, 363], [858, 874], [4652, 4701], [5267, 5305], [5279, 5383], [4717, 4741], [4750, 4795]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- American skating star Apolo Anton Ohno snatched a record-breaking silver medal at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver after a final-lap crash by his South Korean rivals in the 1,500 meters race , while skier Hannah Kearney gave the United States a first gold medal in Saturday 's final event . Ohno , who won gold at Salt Lake City in 2002 , looked to be out of the medals as Jung-Su Lee , Si-Bak Sung and Ho-Suk Lee were poised to complete a clean sweep in the men 's short-track race . But Ho-Suk Lee was disqualified from the six-man final after cutting across his compatriots on the final turn , with Jung-Su Lee escaping the debacle to claim gold ahead of Ohno , while J.R. Celski gave the U.S. a bronze medal . The 27-year-old Ohno earned his sixth Winter Olympics medal , making him the most successful U.S. male competitor as he overtook long-track star Eric Heiden , and leaving him equal overall with female skating legend Bonnie Blair . Canada 's second-ranked Charles Hamelin had to make do with victory in the B Final after failing to qualify for the main race . Blog : Opening ceremony flawed but perfect . Jung-Su Lee had edged out Ohno in winning their semifinal , with his fellow Koreans coming top in theirs . Kearney , by comparison to Ohno , won her first Olympic medal as she edged out defending champion Jennifer Heil of Canada to win gold in the final run of the ladies ' freestyle moguls event , with American Shannon Bahrke taking the bronze . Kearney , the 2005 world champion , made up for her disappointing effort four years ago as she continued the form that saw her win the last World Cup event before the Olympics in Lake Placid two weeks ago . Her points tally of 26.63 lifted her above Heil 's 25.69 , which gave hosts Canada a first medal , with U.S. national champion Bahrke tallying 25.43 to add to her silver medal from Turin in 2002 . Ski-jumping . Switzerland 's Simon Ammann earlier claimed the first gold medal of the 2010 Games when he won the opening men 's ski-jumping event on Saturday , while Dutch skater Sven Kramer took out the first title on ice in a record time . The 28-year-old Ammann secured his third career Olympic victory , following two golds in 2002 , as he triumphed in the normal hill competition . Ammann led after the first round and then , as the last man to leap in the final session , produced a huge jump of 108 meters at Whistler Olympic Park . He finished with a total of 276.5 points to push Poland 's Adam Malysz into the silver medal position . `` Life does not always go the way you want it to . This is why I want to cherish the moments , and I 've had a lot of luck in my career and also today , '' Ammann , who was in 2002 nicknamed the `` Harry Potter of ski-jumping '' due to his likeness to J.K. Rowling 's boy wizard , told reporters . Malysz had been on top after a jump of 105 meters which , when boosted by the style judges ' marks , put him ahead of bronze medal winner Gregor Schlierenzauer of Austria , who had leaped 106.5 meters . Malysz finished on a total of 269.5 points , with Schlierenzauer on 268 . Speedskating . Kramer earned the 5,000 meters speed skating title with an Olympic record time of six minutes and 14.60 seconds . The 23-year-old world champion went one better than his silver medal at Turin 2006 as he finished 2.35 seconds ahead of South Korea 's Lee Seung-Hoon . `` I started fast , but I was dying in the end . It was probably my hardest and best race ever , '' Kramer said . Ivan Skobrev of Russia won the bronze medal in 6:18.05 , while defending champion Chad Hendrick of the United States finished way back in 11th . Biathlon . The first women 's gold medal of the Games was claimed by Slovakia 's Anastazia Kuzmina , who triumphed in the biathlon 7.5 kilometer sprint event . She became the first athlete from the East European nation to win at a Winter Olympics , with her winning time of 19 minutes and 55.6 seconds heading off Germany 's Magdalena Neuner in second place -LRB- 19:57.1 -RRB- . `` It 's a big surprise . I did n't expect to win , however I 'm in good shape , '' Kuzmina said . Marie Dorin of France won bronze in the event , which combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting , with a time of 20:06.5 . Ice Hockey . In the opening women 's ice hockey match , 2006 silver medallists Sweden defeated Switzerland 3-0 at the UBC Thunderbird Arena . Goals in each of the first three periods from Danijela Rundqvist , Tina Enstrom and Erica Uden Johansson sealed victory in the Group A match . Hosts and defending champions Canada demolished Slovakia 18-0 in Saturday 's other Group A fixture to break the record they set in defeating Italy 16-0 in 2006 . Alpine skiing . Meanwhile , the men 's alpine skiing downhill competition at Whistler Creekside scheduled for Saturday has been postponed until Monday due to adverse weather . Skiing 's blue riband event was supposed to open the program , but overnight snow and rain followed by mild temperatures made conditions unsuitable . American Bode Miller , the 2005 world champion , will be seeking to win his first Olympic gold , having claimed two silvers on home soil at Salt Lake City in 2002 . Sunday 's women 's super-combined and slalom skiing events have also been postponed after the competitors were unable to complete practice runs on Saturday . American medal hope Lindsey Vonn has entered in both disciplines , among five she will be competing in , having shrugged off recent injury problems . | Skier Hannah Kerney claims first U.S. gold medal of Winter Olympics in ladies ' moguls . American skating star Apolo Anton Ohno snatches a silver medal as Korean rivals crash . Swiss ski-jumper Simon Ammann claims first gold medal of the Games in normal hill event . World champion Sven Kramer wins 5,000 meters speed skating title in record time . | [[218, 309], [1244, 1251], [1278, 1433], [19, 57], [1903, 2046], [2230, 2275], [2055, 2130]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- An earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 5.6 struck eastern Venezuela on Friday , the U.S. Geological Survey reported . The quake 's epicenter was about 25 miles from Carupano , near the Caribbean coast in northeastern Venezuela , the agency said . It was 7 miles deep . The geological survey revised its estimates after initially reporting the quake as having a 5.7 magnitude and an epicenter slightly closer to Carupano . The revised location is about 235 miles east of the Venezuelan capital , Caracas . There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries . Are you in Venezuela ? Share your images , video . | NEW : USGS revises Venezuela quake 's magnitude to 5.6 . NEW : No damage or casualties immediately reported . Earthquake occurs 235 miles east of the capital Caracas . Quake is 7 miles below surface , U.S. Geological Survey says . | [[293, 445], [529, 584], [0, 15], [67, 101], [446, 516], [104, 141], [271, 292]] |
NEW YORK -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Candace Bushnell is a New Yorker and the author of five novels , including the best-selling `` Sex and the City '' and `` Lipstick Jungle '' . She tells My City_My Life about her marriage , real life in New York and the secrets of her success . Candace Bushnell . `` In New York you 're going to see sides of human nature that you 're going to be shocked by . '' CNN : How would you describe your work ? Candace Bushnell : I try to write about the human condition , and shopping , materialism and consumerism comes into that , because America is a very consumerist economy . CNN : Tell me about when you first arrived in New York . CB : I first arrived in New York in 1979 . I was 19 and I was going to University in Houston , Texas , and I decided that I knew what I wanted to do and it was time to go and do it . I literally ran away from college . Then I went to an acting school , `` HB Studio '' and I moved into this apartment with three other girls who wanted to be actresses . Of course , they were all waitresses so I was a waitress . Watch Candace Bushnell take CNN on a tour of New York . '' I was incredibly determined -- I wrote short stories , I wrote the beginnings of novels . I wrote a little children 's book and sent it to the editor-in-chief of the children 's division of Simon and Schuster and she asked me to write a little children 's book for a series she was doing . I got paid $ 1,000 for it and I was like `` Oh my god , who says you ca n't make it in New York right away ! '' Of course that little dream crashed in about a month . CNN : So you did n't have an overnight success ? CB : I was a freelancer all through my twenties . I did about one story a month and I wanted to write fiction , so the stories that I would do were precursors to `` Sex and the City . '' I started working for the NY Observer when I was 33 . After I had been writing for them for about a year and a half the editor said , `` Your stories are the most talked about stories in the Observer , you should have your own column . '' I was paid $ 1000 a column and the reason was that the column `` Sex and the City . '' was so popular that they sold newspapers and advertising off it . See photos of Candace Bushnell 's New York . '' People in New York were faxing it to their friends who worked in the movie business in LA and almost immediately I was getting phone calls from movie producers who wanted to buy it and ABC and HBC wanted to buy it . It started as a seed , with an absolute truth that people may agree with or it may disturb them . It disturbs me sometimes when I read it because it 's very wrong and very honest . I think most call it cynicism but I call it realism -- it is absolutely raw reality . It was never written for a big audience and it was never written to make people feel good . It was written as the truth in a humorous way . CNN : How do you feel about the TV series ? CB : I think the reason why the TV series has continued , and has continued as a movie , is that they have never lost the authenticity of the column . CNN : How would you describe New York today ? CB : It 's a very , very busy place and it 's a city where everybody has a place to go and a million things to do . It certainly can be a very stressful city but it can also be an incredibly exciting city . It is a place where your dreams can come true . It 's also a city where you 're going to see sides of human nature that you 're going to be shocked by . New York is a city where , if you are open minded , when you walk out of your apartment you do n't know what could happen . CNN : What do you do to get away from it ? CB : I go to Connecticut and I look at bugs and I do n't socialize . If I 'm here for 10 days in a row I 'm exhausted . When I was younger the energy really fed me . This is a city of energy vampires -- people really feed on each others ' energies and that 's why New Yorkers talk fast and gesture and they 'll come in and say `` Oh my god you wo n't believe what happened ! '' That 's a normal greeting in New York . CNN : What was it like to get married and stop being the single girl ? CB : Charles -LSB- Askegard , a principal dancer with the NYC ballet -RSB- and I met at the NYC Spring Gala seven years ago . It was really a magical moment because I was 43 and I had kind of given up on that . I was cynical about relationships and I was n't sure about marriage -- I was always very worried that marriage was stifling . But when I saw Charles across the room I thought , `` That 's the man you 're going to marry . '' We met and we talked and I thought , `` This is the nicest guy I have ever met in my life , '' and we went to a club and we danced and we kissed . We got married two months after we met . CNN : Can you describe New York in 5 words ? CB : It 's exciting , passionate , fast paced , straightforward and , strangely enough , it 's friendly . | Candace Bushnell is the author of five novels , including Sex and the City . For over 30 years she has lived in New York , `` a city of energy vampires '' `` Sex and the City was never written to make people feel good , '' she says . She was cynical about relationships until she met her husband Charles . | [[28, 170], [3821, 3854], [2791, 2838]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Federal investigators are concerned a potential danger persists because of the simultaneous use of intersecting runways at Newark Liberty International Airport , one of the nation 's busiest and a gateway to the New York metro area . The alert comes after repeated instances in which planes above the Newark airport flew too close to each other in violation of safety standards . There were four such instances last year and at least four this year , according to the U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general . In one case , on January 16 , 2008 , two Continental planes -- a Boeing B-737 and an Embraer 145 -- missed each other by 600 feet , according to a DOT inspector general 's report . `` That was very scary . I was there for that one personally in the control tower , and it scared the heck out of everybody up there , '' said Ray Adams , a Newark air traffic controller . Potential danger arises when approaching planes need to abort their landings , which happens about every 700 flights at Newark , according to a Federal Aviation Administration analysis . In what the FAA calls `` go-arounds , '' the diverted plane approaching Newark has to make a sharp right turn through the flight path of planes landing and taking off from an intersecting runway , allowing little margin for error . `` There was a distinct possibility that we could have had a collision with these operations , '' Adams said . Adams said he raised the safety issue to the FAA but got nowhere . He persisted , taking his complaint to New Jersey 's congressional delegation , which organized two meetings last year with FAA officials . In response , Adams said , he was punished , put on paid leave for 11 months , then leave without pay for a month . The FAA said the disciplinary actions had nothing to do with Adams ' safety complaints . Adams filed a whistle-blower complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel , the agency that investigates whistle-blower complaints . Adams ' complaint led DOT Inspector General Calvin Scovel to investigate . Scovel found merit in Adams ' concerns , concluding in a report two months ago that `` questions about the safety of the runway 22L-11 approach configuration at Newark persist . '' In response , the FAA promised to use a computer program that helps air traffic controllers stagger aircraft to ensure proper spacing . On November 5 , the DOT wrote to the Office of Special Counsel confirming the computer system had been put to use at Newark on October 26 . The next day the Office of Special Counsel learned the technology was no longer in use at Newark . `` I am outraged , '' said Rep. Donald Payne , D-New Jersey . `` When you put into jeopardy the human lives at risk , it ca n't get any more serious than that . '' FAA spokesperson Laura Brown said , `` There was no intent to deceive anyone about what we were doing . '' She added , `` FAA safety officers wanted to make absolutely sure employees were fully trained on the equipment . '' The FAA said it intends to have the computer system fully operational at Newark by mid-December . Last week the Office of Special Counsel raised the matter with President Obama , writing that `` we found a substantial likelihood that FAA officials were engaging in conduct that constitutes gross mismanagement and a substantial and specific danger to public safety . '' Meanwhile , after a year out of the control tower , Adams returned to his regular job Wednesday at Newark air traffic control . | Concerns cited about potential danger of using intersecting runways at Newark . DOT inspector general : Planes above airport flew too close to each other repeatedly . Air traffic controller says he was punished for raising safety issue with FAA . FAA : Computer system that helps controllers stagger aircraft to be in use in December . | [[19, 82], [55, 178], [253, 262], [269, 398], [470, 540], [541, 552], [555, 568], [578, 600], [673, 721], [1991, 2065], [1441, 1507], [1452, 1489], [1662, 1672], [1675, 1690], [2261, 2355], [2315, 2382], [3010, 3107], [3023, 3107]] |
NEW DELHI , India -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Authorities are investigating reports that disabled children in India were buried up to their necks during this week 's solar eclipse as a supposed remedy for their handicaps . Hindu women pray as they bathe in the River Ganges after the total solar eclipse in India . Officials said Thursday they were looking into reports that some 34 children aged 2 to 7 were buried in sand up to their chins -- with the consent of the parents -- in the belief that doing so during an eclipse would cure the children of their disabilities . V. Anbu Kumar , caretaker deputy commissioner of Gulbarga district in the state of Karnataka , told CNN that everybody at the site had left when he and police officers arrived . The act was apparently carried out in the early morning hours Wednesday , when the longest solar eclipse of the century turned day into night in India , Nepal , Bangladesh , Bhutan , Vietnam , China and parts of the Pacific . Kumar denied that the ritual takes place during every eclipse , but said authorities are `` launching an awareness campaign '' against the practice . A complaint has been registered for `` knowingly endangering human lives , '' Gulbarg police chief B.A. Padmanayna told CNN . Stronger charges could also be pressed against the offenders , he said . Watch the ` exceptional ' eclipse '' So far , police have made no arrests in the case . Wednesday 's eclipse reignited some superstitions in India . Most pregnant women hope to avoid giving birth during an eclipse , and Indian astrologers even advise expectant mothers to stay indoors when the event occurs . View the eclipse in pictures '' `` It may not cause any physical harm to the baby , but it may affect the child 's overall personality , '' said R.K. Sharma , who describes himself as a `` remedial astrologer . '' A solar eclipse , he says , weakens the sun god temporarily because of an encounter with dragon Rahu and leaves some cascading results everywhere . `` Bathing in holy rivers and ponds during this time thus helps protect health and develop positivism and greater will power , '' he explained . | Authorities investigate reports disabled children were buried during solar eclipse . Claims made that 34 kids buried in sand up to their chins to cure disabilities . Parents reportedly consented to action , Indian officials say . | [[0, 9], [37, 213], [306, 467], [0, 9], [37, 213], [306, 467], [306, 467]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Airlines are uncertain about when commercial service to disaster-ravaged Haiti will resume . In the meantime , some carriers are organizing relief efforts . American Airlines canceled its five round-trip flights on Wednesday and Thursday . The airline is allowing passengers with plans to travel to Haiti this month to change their plans without fee or penalty through February 14 , spokesman Tim Smith said in an e-mail . `` We are completely out of Haiti today , no scheduled operations -- we do n't know yet for how long , '' he said . American Airlines plans to offer its frequent flier program members mileage incentives for contributing to the Red Cross , Smith said . The carrier flew three American Eagle aircraft into Haiti on Wednesday carrying 30,000 pounds of relief supplies for airline employees and local hospitals and aid efforts . The airline plans to send more relief flights on Thursday and Friday . `` The airport tower is badly damaged , and while I do n't know the precise status of the runway , flights -LRB- including ours and Air France 's -RRB- did make it out last night , '' Smith said Wednesday afternoon . U.S. Embassy staff at the Port-au-Prince airport said the tower and the lights were working , U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Wednesday . Spirit Airlines , which operates one flight a day between Fort Lauderdale , Florida , and Port-au-Prince also canceled Wednesday and Thursday flights . Customers with reservations for travel to , from or through Haiti between Wednesday , January 13 , and Sunday , January 17 , may rebook their travel without penalty , provided the new departure is on or before February 7 , according to Spirit 's Web site . The airline will waive the change fee for travelers who move their travel beyond February 7 , but it will charge for any difference in fare . The airline plans to resume service as soon as the airport in Port-au-Prince reopens . `` At this time we do n't know when we 'll be able to get flights in and out , '' Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson said via e-mail . The airline will give 5,000 free Spirit miles to the first 200,000 members of its frequent flier program who donate at least $ 5 to UNICEF , the Red Cross or Yéle Haiti . Members must register online to participate . Delta Air Lines has canceled its only flight Wednesday in and out of Port-au-Prince from New York 's John F. Kennedy International Airport . There are no details on when the airline will resume commercial service , spokesman Anthony Black said . JetBlue Airways does not fly into Haiti , but the airline is waiving change fees and fare differences for passengers scheduled to fly into neighboring Dominican Republic on Wednesday . The airline 's operations in the Dominican Republic have not been disrupted , but customers who do n't feel comfortable flying can move their flights back , spokeswoman Alison Croyle said . Passengers who were scheduled to fly to , from or through Puerto Plata , Santiago or Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday may cancel without penalty and receive a full refund or reschedule to fly Thursday or Friday with no fees , Croyle said . | American Airlines cancels its Wednesday and Thursday flights to Haiti . Spirit Airlines : `` We do n't know when we 'll be able to get flights in and out '' Carriers plan to assist in transporting relief supplies , offer fundraising incentives . | [[176, 258], [19, 111], [1965, 2025], [112, 127], [130, 175], [558, 678]] |
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Federal Aviation Administration Wednesday proposed a $ 2.9 million fine against American Eagle Airlines for allegedly conducting more than 1,100 flights using planes with landing-gear doors that had not been repaired as prescribed by the FAA . The proposed fine comes just weeks after the FAA proposed a $ 2.5 million fine against the airline for allegedly operating flights without adequately ensuring that the weight of baggage was properly calculated . The Fort Worth , Texas-based American Eagle -- a regional affiliate of American Airlines -- flew four Bombardier regional jets on more than 1,100 flights between February and May 2008 , with main landing-gear doors that had not been repaired as ordered by the FAA in August 2006 , the FAA said . `` Following Airworthiness Directives -LSB- repair orders -RSB- is not optional , '' FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a statement . `` The FAA does not hesitate to levy fines if maintenance standards are violated . '' American Eagle responded that it was disappointed in the FAA 's actions , saying the airline did not endanger the public and it considered a fine unwarranted . The repair order required airlines to inspect landing-gear doors and take necessary action , fixing the doors or replacing them with new ones . In this case , American Eagle found damage on four aircraft , but rather than removing the doors as required , the airline repaired them while they remained on the planes . American Eagle said it self-disclosed to the FAA that repairs were performed while the landing-gear doors remained on the aircraft , a process that the FAA and the aircraft manufacturer subsequently approved , the company said . American Eagle subsequently removed the landing-gear doors on each of the affected aircraft and repaired them in accordance with the Airworthiness Directive . The airline said it will meet with the FAA to discuss the matter . The proposed fines are the latest in a string of multimillion dollar fines the FAA has proposed against airlines for failing to follow repair orders . In October , the FAA proposed to fine US Airways $ 5.4 million and United $ 3.8 million for other maintenance violations . In March , Southwest Airlines agreed to pay $ 7.5 million to settle a complaint that it flew unsafe planes . | FAA seeks $ 2.9 million from Texas-based regional affiliate of American Airlines . FAA : Aircraft with bad repairs on landing gear doors used on more than 1,100 flights . FAA also has proposed $ 2.5 million fine for flights without proper baggage weight check . | [[0, 26], [30, 186], [0, 26], [30, 186], [114, 128], [138, 223], [200, 223], [229, 277], [676, 704], [710, 768], [278, 408]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In Jacmel , Haiti , as light rain fell with the darkness Wednesday , Gwenn Goodale Mangine and a group of 35 people prepared to spend their second night sleeping outside on mattresses and cardboard boxes in her driveway . Everyone is scared to be indoors . It is cold and damp . The people of Jacmel line the streets , setting tires on fire to light up a town that has been reduced to rubble in many parts and is without power , she said . The flames are all that illuminate what remains of this town on the southern coast of Haiti , about 25 miles from the capital Port-au-Prince , Haiti . `` No one is wanting to go back into their homes , so they were all on the street . It 's still like that , '' Mangine , 32 , told CNN , speaking using a fleeting Internet connection . `` Hundreds of people are all hunkered down for the night passing time and burning tires to light up the night . '' The local airport has now become a refugee camp , she said . Buckets have become toilets . Residents shower using containers filled with water , if they can find it , she said . Mangine and other residents of the town , with a population of about 34,000 , spent Wednesday trying to stock up on supplies , while they remained fearful of continuing aftershocks , looked for survivors and tried to gauge the level destruction . The U.S. Geological Survey said the perceived shaking from Tuesday 's earthquake near Port-au-Prince would have been very strong in Jacmel , and they would be vulnerable to structural damage . `` Schools , homes , churches , businesses , hotels , old historic buildings -- dozens and dozens , gone , '' Mangine told CNN . `` I just kept shaking my head and muttering , ` Oh my word , ' over and over . '' Mangine and her husband Nick have lived in Jacmel since April 2009 working with the organization `` Joy in Hope , '' and are houseparents at a home for orphaned children . Today , along with others in this town , they frantically searched for loved ones -- a task made harder by the power outages and Internet troubles in the wake of the devastation . In one incident , a staff member 's daughter was nowhere to be found after her home collapsed . They feared the worst , but eventually were elated to find out she was OK . Mangine also helped a 24-year-old man named Hughes find his mother . Mangine and Hughes drove towards Hughes ' mother 's house . From the truck , he spotted her in the distance . `` He jumps out of the car as I am still driving and he yells , ` Manman , Manman ! ' -LSB- Mommy , mommy -RSB- , '' Mangine said . `` He runs and hugs her and starts sobbing . His mother , Rosemary , is clinging to him , and sobbing too . '' They embraced tightly for more than five minutes , Mangine said . `` Man , it tore my heart out , '' she said . `` I could n't help but sob myself . '' Mangine said she has lived through tropical storms and floods that caused landslides and problems -- problems she attributes to poor construction . Haiti was ` catastrophe waiting to happen ' At the Hands and Feet Project in Jacmel , Mark Stuart said he believes good construction is what kept their structure largely intact . `` I 'm very , very thankful for the quality of the construction here , '' Stuart said . `` It gives us a hope that we will make it . '' Hope is alive in Jacmel , Mangine said , but the earthquake caused destruction she could n't believe . `` This is a whole different scale , '' she said . `` It 's the most helpless feeling in the world . We 've just heard story after story of people being trapped in piles of rubble -- and there 's no way to dig them out . No big machinery . No tools . There 's nothing . Nothing . '' It lies in stark contrast of what it was more than a day ago . Before the quake hit , she had just finished English and Creole lessons with a staff member and went to lie down . When the tremors began , she initially dismissed it as a large truck going by . `` But then I realized the house was really shaking . The whole house , '' she said . `` Things began to fall off the wall . The thought going through my head was that our house was collapsing . '' Her heart began pounding , she said . `` I was pretty sure I was n't going to get out in time since I was on the second floor , '' she said . `` I jumped up quickly and started screaming in English and in Creole for my children to leave the house . '' They counted their blessings when they realized everyone they knew was okay . Now , Mangine and her group are trying to focus on helping wherever they can . The city is devastated . '' -LSB- It -RSB- looks like Jacmel , just more broken . Jacmel was once a beautiful , thriving city . That 's long since passed , '' she said . '' -LSB- But -RSB- what happened yesterday tore up a big chunk of history , a big chunk of commerce , and a big chunk of the hearts of the Haitian people . '' Still , as she prepared to sleep outside again with her family , staff and others in the town , Mangine saw a silver lining . `` I still feel optimistic that if anyone can rise above this , it is the people of Haiti , '' she said . `` There 's a Creole word for when you have to rig something to make do -- degaje . In my opinion the ability to degaje is in part what gives this culture the spirit of resiliency that I so admire . '' CNN 's Steve Almasy contributed to this report . | Residents in Jacmel , Haiti , sleeping on mattresses , boxes in driveways . Gwenn Goodale Mangine tells CNN schools , homes , churches destroyed in town . Mangine : `` There 's no way to dig them out . No big machinery . No tools . There 's nothing '' Earthquake tore a `` big chunk of the hearts of the Haitian people , '' Mangine says . | [[88, 240], [1542, 1605], [1629, 1633], [1636, 1646], [1636, 1657], [3593, 3626], [2558, 2575], [2738, 2752], [4748, 4879]] |
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In Latin America , Cuba stands out as one of the most effective deployers of soft power . Rather than exporting revolution , Cuba today exports doctors -- with more than 30,000 Cuban doctors working in more than 100 underdeveloped countries around the world . Cuba has become a marquee provider of catastrophe-related medical assistance around the world , particularly after tsunamis , hurricanes and earthquakes -- and no doubt will send large contingents of medical personnel to earthquake-ravaged Haiti in coming days and weeks . Moving beyond the still active Cold War stasis in U.S.-Cuba relations is an Obama administration foreign policy priority , and the devastation in Haiti provides a platform not only to provide relief for a nearby nation in desperate circumstances , but also to build confidence between Cuban and American authorities in a potential collaboration of effort in a third country . Many great American voices -- from Brent Scowcroft and George Shultz to Jackson Browne and Bill Richardson -- have said that the U.S. embargo on Cuba makes no sense as foreign policy , that the right of Americans to travel anywhere in the world should not be suspended in the case of Cuba , and that Cuba 's exports of doctors rather than arms should be more than enough reason to strike Cuba off of America 's state sponsors of terror watch list . But change in a relationship as charged and historically toxic as between Fidel Castro 's Cuba and 11 U.S. presidents will take narratives to move . One such narrative could evolve from tying American resource coordination and financial support in a regional multilateral effort with other Latin American nations -- particularly Cuba 's deep bench of natural disaster-experienced medical corps . After Hurricane Katrina pounded New Orleans and southern Mississippi , Castro offered relief support from a 1,600-person medical team called the Henry Reeves Brigade , named after an American doctor who fought in Cuba 's war of independence . The U.S. predictably turned down the offer in September 2005 . Shortly after , in October 2005 , the Reeves Brigade was dispatched to help provide much-needed medical relief after the devastating Kashmir earthquake that tore through the Himalayan mountain region along Pakistan and Kashmir . The United States and Europe each sent teams of doctors to Pakistan , each with one base camp deployed for a month . The Cubans deployed seven major base camps and 30 field hospitals in the fundamentalist Islamic region of Pakistan , a nation with which Cuba did not have diplomatic relations at the time . Today , the Cubans and Pakistanis have embassies in each other 's capitals . Bruno Rodriguez , the new foreign minister of Cuba , who was then the deputy , headed the mission and lived in Pakistan 's rugged mountains for that full year . The Cuban medical teams reportedly worked constructively and positively with personnel from the U.S. and Europe -- and this kind of collaboration , even if informal , could be the kind of confidence-building narrative to move U.S.-Cuba relations out of the gridlock they have been in for decades . As a step in the direction of pushing reset in this relationship , on Friday the White House announced that Cuba will allow US aircraft into its airspace for medical evacuations . The United States could take another step and offer to airlift Cuban doctors to Haiti . Haiti is in trouble today -- the 7.0 earthquake devastating the capital city of Port-au-Prince and highlighting what was already a human development disaster . The UN Development Program 's offices have been destroyed , with hundreds unaccounted for . Notwithstanding any casualties among its own citizens in Haiti , Cuba has 408 doctors providing services there . Now is the time for the U.S. , Cuba and other major Latin American nations to throw their weight into stopping a worse human tragedy in Haiti than already exists -- and to potentially unite American and Cuban soft power efforts in a way that creates greater positives for Haiti and for longer-term , 21st century U.S.-Cuba relations . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Steve Clemons . | Steve Clemons says Cuba has exported medical help for nations grappling with disasters . He says the United States refused Cuban aid during the Katrina rescue operation . The Haiti quake is an opportunity for U.S. and Cuba to work together , he says . | [[290, 383], [1784, 1852], [1855, 1917]] |
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- With every click of his camera , Japanese photographer and activist Shuuichi Endou hopes to draw attention to the plight of Tuvalu , a remote nation of people whose home is slowly disappearing . Tuvalu is the world 's fourth smallest country behind Vatican City , Monaco and Pacific Ocean neighbor Nauru . He 's taking 10,000 photos , one of each person who lives there , to show the world the human face of climate change . `` Tuvaluans do not ask much , neither goods nor money , '' he says . `` In Japan , people sacrifice their time and life to get more goods and money . I hope the viewers see the contrast by looking at the photos . We 're sacrificing peaceful Tuvalu . '' At first glance , Tuvalu is an island paradise , 26 square kilometers of white sand and lush foliage in the Pacific Ocean , north of Fiji . But the sea level is rising , so much so that the nation 's water has become too salty to drink and to grow vegetables , especially taro , a vegetable that was once the island 's staple food . `` As they do n't have water and food , they began to import food from overseas , says Endou , who set up the NGO Tuvalu Overview to highlight their cause . `` As they began to import , their consumption has been increasing . As a result , more and more products began to be imported . This changed Tuvaluans ' diet and increased the amount of waste . '' A global appeal . Tuvalu 's government considers the situation so urgent it has allocated some of the nation 's meager budget to pay for its own permanent ambassador to the United Nations in New York . Afelee Pita took up the job in December 2006 and within months had given perhaps the most important speech ever made by a Tuvaluan : an address to a Special Session of the United Nations Security Council on Energy , Climate and Security . `` That was my very first statement that I issued and it was also a challenging one because it had never been done before , particularly at that level at the Security Council , '' Pita says . He told the assembled dignitaries : `` The world has moved from a global threat once called the Cold War , to what now should be considered the ` Warming War ' . Our conflict is not with guns and missiles but with weapons from everyday lives -- chimney stacks and exhaust pipes . '' click here for the full speech . New York is a long way from home for the native Tuvaluan . Back on the island he 'd be more likely to go for an early morning canoe ride than negotiate thousands of commuters on the subway . `` Living in New York is totally different compared to where we come from . Life is not that easy of course . You have so many strangers . At home , you know everybody -LSB- and -RSB- whatever you do everybody knows , '' he laughs . Securing a future . While he 'd much rather be at home -- `` Definitely there 's nothing like home '' -- Pita feels that his time in New York is vital in helping to secure the future of the islands . `` My ultimate objective is to contribute as much as I can in terms of trying to establish relations with as many member states in the UN as possible , and more importantly to secure some sort of commitment from the international community in terms of development projects and any kind of assistance they can provide to us . '' The Tuvalu nation wants to invest in renewable energy projects , to reduce the island 's own reliance on fossil fuels for energy . `` Sometimes you have to clean your own house first before you look outside , '' Pita says . In English , Tuvalu means `` eight standing together '' . On the issue of climate change , Tuvalu hopes the world will stand together with them . `` To me it 's not an easy issue to solve , particularly in terms of trying to get the commitment of rich countries , '' Pita says . `` I can , of course , understand their reasoning and how they look at the issue but I think what we need to do is to continue raising our concerns and hopefully one day the community will listen and try to commit something . '' | Pacific nation Tuvalu feeling the effects of climate change , sea level rising fast . Japanese activist drawing attention to its plight by taking photos of islanders . Tuvalu sent its own ambassador to the United Nations to raise awareness . Island nation seeking aid to invest in renewable energy , infrastructure . | [[69, 166], [3304, 3434]] |
MADRID , Spain -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A Spaniard has died from the human form of mad cow disease , the fifth such death in Spain since 2005 , the Ministry of Health said in a statement late Friday . The victim died in January in the northern city of Santander , according to the statement , which did not provide further details . The victim was a woman who was hospitalized last fall , according to Juan Jose Badiola , director of Spain 's national research center for mad cow disease . The ministry reiterated that there is no danger from eating meat in Spain . `` The appearance of these sporadic cases is within the predictions that were made at the European level more than nine years ago , '' the ministry statement said . Ten years can pass between eating contaminated tissue and the appearance of the human form of the disease also called variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease , health officials say . The steps to avoid the disease , taken after the first cases of mad cow disease appeared in the United Kingdom , include isolating infected animals and prohibiting cattle feed of animal origin or with animal proteins , the ministry said . Three of Spain 's five deaths from the disease were in the northern province of Leon . The city of Santander is in the nearby Cantabria province . Last September , officials reported the death of a woman from the human form of mad cow disease . Officials also said her son had died earlier from the same disease . It was believed to have been the first case in the world where two members of the same family have died from the disease , Badiola told CNN at the time . The mother , in her early 60s , died in August 2008 . Her son , 41 , died in February 2008 , Badiola said . Badiola said it was the mother and son likely contracted the disease before stricter controls against mad cow disease began in Spain in 2001 . The mother and son had similar eating habits , Badiola said , which included eating animal organs , such as kidneys and livers , and they may also have eaten animal brains . The mother and son were from a village in Leon province . The third fatality in that province was a woman , 50 , a local government worker , who died in December 2007 . The first confirmed death from mad cow disease in Spain was in 2005 , when a young woman died near Madrid . | Spain 's Ministry of Health reports fifth death from mad cow disease . Woman 's death in January is Spain 's fifth case since 2005 . Ministry says there 's no danger from eating meat in Spain . | [[9, 30], [34, 92], [1141, 1227], [1305, 1385], [9, 30], [34, 92], [195, 255], [1305, 1385], [484, 559], [513, 559]] |
Boston , Massachusetts -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A biology professor charged in the killings of three faculty members at the University of Alabama in Huntsville was initially a suspect in a 1993 attempted mail bombing of a Harvard Medical School professor , The Boston Globe reported Monday . Amy Bishop Anderson and her husband , Jim , were questioned after a package containing two pipe bombs was sent to the Newton , Massachusetts , home of Dr. Paul Rosenberg , a Harvard professor and a doctor at Children 's Hospital Boston , the Globe said , citing a law enforcement official . At the time , Anderson was working as a postdoctoral fellow in the hospital 's human biochemistry lab . Anderson is charged with capital murder in the Friday shooting deaths , making her eligible for the death penalty in Alabama . Authorities said she was attending a faculty meeting in a university building when she brandished a gun and shot six colleagues , killing three . The mother of four was arrested as she was leaving the building , Huntsville Police Chief Henry Reyes said Saturday . A 9 mm handgun was recovered from the second floor of the building after the shootings Friday . On Saturday , it was revealed that in 1986 , Anderson , then 19 , shot her brother to death in Braintree , Massachusetts . Authorities determined after an investigation that the shooting was accidental . But Braintree Police Chief Paul Frazier said Saturday , `` It is a far different story , I believe , than what was reported back then . I can not tell you what the thought process was behind our releasing her at the time . '' Anderson 's husband , Jim , told CNN on Monday that federal investigators had gathered a dozen subjects in the attempted bombing , but `` there were never any suspects . Never anyone charged , never anyone arrested . '' `` Then five years later , we got a letter from the ATF saying , ` You are in the clear , ' '' he said , referring to the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives . Sylvia Fluckiger , a lab technician who worked with Anderson at the time , told The Boston Globe on Sunday that Anderson had a dispute with Rosenberg shortly before the bomb incident . Fluckiger told CNN affiliate WCVB-TV in Boston , `` Police interviewed her , and she told me about it . I really wondered if she may have had , you know , some more knowledge , although I 'm not accusing her of anything . '' Rosenberg was opening a package delivered to his home while he was away on vacation , but he saw wires and a cylinder inside and called police , the Globe reported . `` She was the suspect early on , '' the law enforcement official , who the Globe said had knowledge of the case , told the newspaper of Anderson . She allegedly was concerned that she was going to receive a negative evaluation from Rosenberg , the official said . Jim Anderson told The New York Times the December 1986 death of his wife 's brother , Seth , was accidental . He declined to comment when CNN asked him about the shooting Monday . Frazier , however , said Saturday that an official involved in the case and still working for Braintree police told him that the teen had shot her brother during an argument . She fired a shot in her bedroom without hitting anyone , then argued with her brother and shot him , he said . She fled the home after the shooting and was arrested after pointing a weapon at a vehicle near the house in an unsuccessful attempt to get the driver to stop . During the booking process , then-Chief John Polio called and told the officers to release her , Frazier said . He added her mother was then a member of the Braintree Personnel Board . Reached by CNN , Polio , now 87 and retired , denied calling in that order , saying detectives told him the shooting appeared accidental and it was determined Anderson should be released to her mother . He said any link between Anderson 's release and her mother 's position on the board was `` laughable . '' Anderson 's mother , Judith , did not answer her door Monday . Reached by telephone , she told CNN , `` We 're very distraught , '' and declined further comment . A December 8 , 1986 , article in The Boston Globe said Anderson asked her mother how to unload a round from a 12-gauge shotgun and accidentally shot her brother while she was handling the weapon . The article cited Polio as the source . The state police report on the incident , released Sunday by the office of Rep. Bill Delahunt , D-Massachusetts , is similar to the Globe 's account . Delahunt was district attorney at the time ; staffers said he was in the Middle East on Sunday and unable to comment on the case . The 1986 report said Braintree police told state police investigators `` indications were that Amy Bishop had been attempting to manipulate the shotgun and had subsequently brought the gun downstairs in an attempt to gain assistance from her mother in disarming the weapon '' when it went off , shooting her brother in the chest . In a December 17 , 1986 , interview , Anderson told authorities she `` thought it would be a good idea if she learned how to load the shotgun in the house , '' according to the state police report . The young woman told police she was concerned for her own safety after the family home was broken into , although she previously had been afraid of the gun . She said she got the gun and loaded shells into it , but was unable to get them out . Anderson said that while she was attempting to unload the weapon on her bed , it went off . She then took it downstairs to ask for help in unloading it , where the shooting occurred . The police report said both Anderson and her mother said the shooting was accidental . Her mother told police she did not hear the earlier shot in her daughter 's bedroom and `` believed the house was relatively well soundproofed and that such a discharge would not necessarily be heard on another floor of the house . '' Frazier said police records of the incident are missing . But Polio said , `` There was no cover-up . Absolutely no cover-up and no missing records . The records were all there when I left . Where they went in the last 22 years and two police chiefs subsequent , I do n't know . '' Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan said Sunday that a review will commence to locate all materials associated with the shooting . Anderson , who is known to students as Dr. Bishop , had been working at the University of Alabama in Huntsville since 2003 and was up for tenure , according to spokesman Ray Garner . However , authorities would n't discuss possible motives or whether the issue of tenure may have played a role in the shooting . Garner said the university gives teachers six years to get tenure . Those who do not get it are terminated , he said . Jim Anderson told CNN on Monday that his wife had been denied tenure and had appealed that decision and won , but she was still fighting to be granted tenure . She was frustrated with `` the process , '' he said . He told CNN earlier his wife had an attorney but would not say who it was , and he described her as a good teacher . He said Monday his wife wrote three novels , `` medical thrillers . '' The couple does not own a gun , he said . He said he last saw his wife briefly on Friday morning before she left for class . He said she was `` loving , got along with everybody . '' The family , he said , is devastated , and in `` shock , bewilderment , wondering why . '' He told the Times the pipe bomb incident is `` one thing from the past I hoped would not be dredged up . '' CNN 's Brooke Baldwin and Aaron Cooper contributed to this report . | Prof charged in Alabama deaths initially suspected in '93 mail bomb attempt , newspaper says . Professor charged with capital murder in shootings at University of Alabama at Huntsville . Professor 's husband says they received ATF letter on '90s case that '' ` You are in the clear ' '' In 1986 , Amy Bishop Anderson , then 19 , fatally shot brother ; case ruled accidental . | [[42, 153], [0, 6], [9, 38], [154, 248], [42, 153], [681, 750], [1845, 1873], [1866, 1880], [1885, 1905], [1883, 1905], [1168, 1179], [1182, 1272], [1291, 1371], [1342, 1371], [4123, 4135], [4145, 4283]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A Texas inmate in a wheelchair , who escaped on foot from two armed guards as he was being transferred between prisons , is now on the U.S. Marshals ' list of the 15 most-wanted fugitives . Arcade Comeaux Jr. , 49 , `` produced a weapon and fired upon two correctional officers , took them hostage and forced them to drive to Baytown , Texas , '' the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement . He then put the officers in the back of the van and took their weapons and one of their uniforms , the statement said . Comeaux was serving three life sentences for aggravated sexual assault and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon . He escaped Monday during transport from Huntsville , Texas , to Stiles , Texas . The 6-foot , 200-pound man was shackled and in a wheelchair , `` which he had claimed was needed for mobility , '' Michelle Lyons , director of public information for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville , said in a statement . About 45 minutes into the trip , as they were driving through Conroe , 40 minutes north of Houston , the prisoner pulled out a pistol and ordered the guards to drive south to Baytown , east of Houston . He fired once , but hit no one during the escape about 9 a.m. , officials said . Law enforcement officers found the unharmed officers an hour later . Comeaux was being transferred so he could be near John Sealy Hospital in Galveston for treatment of the supposed paralysis he had suffered during a reported stroke , officials said . At least $ 16,000 in reward money has been offered for information leading to Comeaux 's rearrest and a task force of more than 100 investigators is searching for him , focusing on the Houston area , where he grew up and has family . His escape has led the man who oversees Texas ' criminal justice system to call for a shakeup of the prison system . `` I just think enough 's enough , '' said Sen. John Whitmire , the Texas Democrat from Houston who is chairman of the state Senate 's Criminal Justice Committee . `` We need a complete shakeup of the leadership of our prison system and/or an outside review by third parties , '' he told CNN by phone Wednesday . `` We just ca n't have security breaches of this nature . '' Whitmire said the guards had failed to pat down Comeaux while he was in his wheelchair and before they began the trip . `` Sure enough , he has a firearm , '' he said . `` The question is , are there others -LRB- in the prison system -RRB- ? I think you have to assume that there are until you find out differently . '' So far this year , more than 900 cell phones have been confiscated from the 112 locations that house the state 's 158,000 prisoners . `` It 's pretty rampant , '' he said . `` I want the director to come forward and tell us what it 's going to take '' to solve the problem , he said . John Moriarty , inspector general of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice , said such lapses are highly unusual in the state 's penal system . `` We have no open gun investigations other than this one , '' he said . `` The last one was several years ago . '' Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive Director Brad Livingston , who has been in the job since 2005 , did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment . | Arcade Comeaux Jr. was in wheelchair when he pulled gun on officers . Comeaux forced officers to drive him to Baytown , Texas , where he fled on foot . State senator calls for shakeup in state 's penal system . | [[1093, 1125], [2315, 2339], [37, 49], [56, 93], [209, 227], [321, 360], [328, 362], [1093, 1105], [1130, 1194], [1762, 1878], [1781, 1788], [1793, 1878], [2046, 2111]] |
ISTANBUL , Turkey -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Turkish , Iraqi and Syrian ministers met in Ankara on Thursday to discuss water shortages in the major Tigris and Euphrates rivers , which run through all three countries . Iraqi fishermen ride their motor boat in the waters of the Tigris River in Baghdad . The meeting comes amid a diplomatic spat over Iraqi accusations that Syria is harboring terrorists . The Tigris River has plunged to record low levels , Iraqi farmers told CNN . Iraq is suffering a drought that its officials are calling a `` catastrophe . '' Baghdad and Damascus want Turkey , where the source of the Tigris and Euphrates is located , to increase the flow of water passing through its network of dams . `` Syria and Iraq are badly in need of water but our Iraqi brothers feel the need much more ... it is why this meeting is so important , '' Turkey 's official Anatolian Agency quoted Syrian Irrigation Minister Nader al-Bounni as saying at the start of Thursday 's tri-partite meeting to address water resources . `` Our dams are empty and we have human needs . '' Also attending the meeting was Iraq 's Water and Natural Resources and Turkey 's Environment and Forestry minister , as well as its Energy minister . But at the start of the meeting at a hotel in the Turkish capital , Turkey 's energy minister seemed to rule out delivering significant quantities of additional water to Iraq and Syria . `` We are aware of the water needs of Syria and Iraq , '' Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told journalists at the entrance to the conference . `` Water is not plenty in Turkey , and therefore we can not exceed the determined amount too much . '' Turkey provided Syria and Iraq 500 cubic meters of water a second , Yildiz said . But , he added , central and eastern Turkey had only received 350 cubic meters/second of water this year . The Turkish government said rainfall over its part of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers plummeted by about 46 percent in the past three years . Over the past decade , some environmental and political analysts have written about the scenario of a `` water war '' possibly breaking out in the Middle East as countries affected by climate change compete over dwindling access to fresh water . However , there are more immediate political tensions complicating relations between the neighboring countries . Syria and Iraq have withdrawn their ambassadors from each others ' capitals after a series of deadly suicide truck bombings in Baghdad killed more than 100 people last month . Iraq demanded Syria hand over several suspects it accuses of organizing the attacks . Damascus has denied charges that it is harboring insurgents . This week , Turkey 's foreign minister shuttled between Baghdad and Damascus , carrying messages between the two capitals in an effort to defuse tensions . | Tigris River has plunged to record low levels , Iraqi farmers say . Iraq , Syria want Turkey , where rivers ' source is located , to increase water flow . Meeting comes amid Iraqi accusations that Syria is harboring terrorists . They have withdrawn their ambassadors from each others ' capitals . | [[396, 445], [554, 586], [580, 586], [595, 644], [647, 649], [595, 633], [647, 676], [295, 358], [364, 395], [2611, 2672], [2644, 2672], [2349, 2463]] |
ARLINGTON , Virginia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A new type of walk-through security machine will debut at several U.S. airports in the coming days as the Transportation Security Administration tries out the latest in body scanning technology . Privacy experts with the ACLU are concerned the walk-through scanning machine is too invasive . It 's called `` millimeter-wave passenger imaging technology , '' and it produces a more detailed picture than the metal detectors in use now at airports to screen for weapons and explosives . . Because it produces such a detailed image , however , technology and privacy experts at the American Civil Liberties Union are not satisfied that the new technology meets privacy standards . In a written statement issued Thursday , Barry Steinhardt of the ACLU said the technology can pick up graphic body images and even medical details like whether a passenger has a colostomy bag . Steinhardt called the screening an `` assault on the essential dignity of passengers that citizens in a free nation should not have to tolerate . '' TSA spokeswoman Elle Howe said privacy will be respected with the new millimeter-wave technique . `` We want to preserve passengers ' privacy and make them feel comfortable with trying a technology like this , '' she said . A TSA officer will escort a passenger to the machine for the test , but the person looking at the actual body scans will be at a different location and will not see the passenger , the TSA said . In addition , the scans will have a `` modesty filter '' to blur out faces , and no images will be saved . But the ACLU expressed concern that TSA officers would not be able to resist the temptation to save images of certain people , such as celebrities , and that the plan to blur faces might later be changed . This is how the new scanners work . The passenger steps into a machine where he or she is quickly scanned with radio waves . Those waves reflect off the body to transmit a three-dimensional image of the passenger that looks like a fuzzy photo negative . A TSA officer studies the image on a screen and looks for unusual shapes that might mean a passenger is carrying something suspicious . Passengers who are asked to undergo a second screening can choose a pat-down search or the millimeter-wave test . The TSA says the machines scan a passenger twice , each scan taking less than two seconds . But it takes another minute or two for a screener to review the scans before signaling a passenger to move on . The TSA demonstrated the screening technology at a news conference Wednesday near Washington . Howe said the millimeter wave is harmless and `` can see more than a magnetometer , '' which is the first screening machine airport passengers encounter . `` A magnetometer only picks up metal or weapons , so this could see other materials that might be hidden on the body and it also produces an image '' rather than just a beep , she said . Asked if the millimeter wave could detect an object hidden in a body cavity , she said only that the TSA will learn more about the technology as it 's tested at U.S. airports . The TSA has been testing another type of imaging technology called backscatter . This technology also came under some fire because it shows very detailed body images -- which led some critics to call it an electronic strip search . So , the backscatter was altered and blurred to show more of an outline of the body . The TSA will continue to test the backscatter scanners in some airports . TSA officials said they are a long way from deciding whether they 'll settle on just one of these imaging technologies . Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix , Arizona , begins using the new machines Thursday -- to be offered as an option for people who are asked to be screened a second time . Los Angeles International Airport in California and John Fitzgerald Kennedy International Airport in New York are also slated to try the machines . Britain , Spain , Japan , Australia , Mexico , Thailand and the Netherlands are using the millimeter wave screening . In the United States , some courthouses and jails are trying it . E-mail to a friend . | NEW : ACLU says machines ' detailed images violate privacy , assault dignity . New machines use radio waves to scan passengers for hidden objects . They 'll be used on passengers selected for secondary screening . TSA says blurred image , remote location of scanner protect privacy . | [[236, 313], [535, 568], [912, 996], [3198, 3213], [3219, 3282], [3248, 3348], [1855, 1864], [1871, 1918], [2184, 2194], [2199, 2238], [2184, 2297], [3749, 3759], [3764, 3804], [1061, 1158]] |
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to public health and welfare , EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said Monday . `` The overwhelming amount of scientific studies show that the threat is real , '' she said . The announcement stems from a Supreme Court ruling which ordered the agency to determine the impact of carbon emissions not only on the environment , but on public health . iReport : Share your thoughts on climate change . `` These long-overdue findings cement 2009 's place in history as the year when the United States government began addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution and seizing the opportunity of clean energy reform , '' Jackson said . Immediately after the announcement , Jackson was leaving for Copenhagen , Denmark , to participate in the Copenhagen Climate Conference ahead of President Obama 's appearance at the end of the week . Her statement could provide evidence to the conference that the agency and the Obama administration are taking global warming seriously . However , Jackson said that Monday 's announcement does not require any immediate regulatory action . The Obama administration is pushing for comprehensive energy legislation from Congress that puts a price on carbon emissions , a so-called `` cap and trade '' policy that uses market forces as an incentive for businesses to reduce carbon emissions . Jackson said carbon dioxide emissions go beyond damaging the environment -- they also endanger public health . The agency made the announcement because it is required to issue an `` endangerment finding '' -- evidence that carbon emissions are dangerous to the public health -- before it can regulate carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases under the federal Clean Air Act . The EPA said in April that it would likely make such a ruling regarding carbon emissions and public health . The agency completed a public-comment process before making the announcement . CNN 's Suzanne Malveaux contributed to this report . | NEW : `` Overwhelming '' scientific evidence shows greenhouse gas threat is real , EPA says . EPA announcement results from Supreme Court ruling . Right after announcement , EPA head to leave for Copenhagen climate conference . White House says announcement does n't mean immediate regulations . | [[145, 222], [239, 289], [701, 735], [738, 772], [785, 900], [1049, 1140]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Tiger Woods announced that he is taking `` an indefinite break '' from professional golf , according to a statement posted on his Web site Friday . `` I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people , most of all my wife and children , '' the statement says . `` I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness . It may not be possible to repair the damage I 've done , but I want to do my best to try . '' The 33-year-old golfer , who tops the sport 's world rankings , has been mired in controversy since he crashed his car outside his Florida mansion late last month . The crash prompted authorities to cite him for careless driving and fine him $ 164 . 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 , on the same day that gossip magazine US Weekly published a report alleging that Woods , who is married to Elin Nordegren , had an affair with a 24-year-old cocktail waitress named Jaimee Grubbs . US Weekly 's report followed a National Enquirer article before the crash that the athlete was having an affair with a New York nightclub hostess -- an assertion the hostess vigorously denied , according to The New York Post . See the statement on Woods ' Web site . It was not immediately clear how Woods ' hiatus would affect his sponsorships , though Nike , his main sponsor , issued a statement saying Woods `` and his family have Nike 's full support . '' `` He is the best golfer in the world and one of the greatest athletes of his era , '' Nike spokeswoman Beth Gast said in the statement . `` We look forward to his return to golf . '' The statement did not elaborate on whether Woods ' announcement would impact his business relationship with the sports equipment and clothing company , which has worked with him for more than a decade . Woods ' other sponsors include Gillette , Gatorade and Electronic Arts . The Professional Golfers ' Association Tour said it supports Woods and looks forward to his return to the game . `` We fully support Tiger 's decision to step away from competitive golf to focus on his family . His priorities are where they need to be , and we will continue to respect and honor his family 's request for privacy , '' the PGA Tour said in a statement Friday . `` We look forward to Tiger 's return to the PGA Tour when he determines the time is right for him . '' | NEW : Nike issues statement saying Woods and family have company 's `` full support . '' No word on how hiatus will affect lucrative sponsorships . Statement : `` I am deeply aware of the ... hurt that my infidelity has caused '' Woods ' statement : `` I am profoundly sorry and ... ask forgiveness '' | [[1538, 1542], [1564, 1641], [1451, 1528], [1829, 1978], [0, 15], [110, 134], [170, 209], [170, 171], [214, 303], [331, 418]] |
CHEGUTU , Zimbabwe -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Farmers are implicating a close ally of President Robert Mugabe 's in the latest round of farm seizures in Zimbabwe in which Mugabe loyalists take over white-owned farms . Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai , left , and President Robert Mugabe have a power-sharing agreement . The accusations against Senate President Edna Madzongwe came as Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara on Friday toured farms that Mugabe followers had taken over . On many of those farms , production has fallen under the new owners . Mutambara is heading a government commission investigating the farm seizures . `` Black people who acquired farms must produce , '' he said . Mutambara said the government is taking the matter seriously . `` There will be no holy cows ; the ax will fall where it may , '' he added . `` We will not tolerate any government official who is promoting lawlessness in our country . '' Reports of violence on white-owned farms have increased since a power-sharing government in February between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai , leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change . One death was reported Sunday on the Stockdale Farm in Chegutu , 75 miles -LRB- about 120 kilometers -RRB- southwest of Zimbabwe 's capital , Harare . Peter Etheridge , who previously owned that farm , said Madzongwe had illegally claimed his property . But the daughter of the Senate president denied the allegation . `` We got this farm legally . In fact , they -LSB- Etheridge -RSB- opened the gates for us , and we moved in , '' said Farai Madzongwe , adding that her mother is `` a law-abiding citizen . '' She said she would n't comment on the violence and the reported death , saying , `` That is for police and courts . '' Local media reported the Senate president has four farms . Etheridge denied he had handed over Stockdale Farm , saying that Edna Madzongwe pushed him out . `` They forced us out , and production on farms has stopped since last month , '' he said . `` This madness has to stop since the country needs food and foreign currency . '' The Stockdale Farm was among those the government commission visited Friday . When journalists approached the farm before government officials arrived , a police officer on the property cocked his gun to scare them off . The journalists refused to leave , and the police officer called Farai Madzongwe to report them as intruders . Etheridge criticized the police presence at his former farm . `` They are giving protection to her but not us who want to feed the nation , '' he said . At other farms , militia armed with guns tried unsuccessfully to prevent the government delegation from entering . | Zimbabwe Senate president -- a Robert Mugabe ally -- accused of farm seizure . Production has fallen on many farms under new owners . Government commission investigating farm seizures . Daughter of Senate president says , `` We got this farm legally '' | [[0, 7], [38, 153], [313, 425], [478, 547], [1952, 2004], [548, 626], [569, 626]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Jacques Bazin did n't have time to catch his breath after being pulled from the rubble of a three-bedroom home on the outskirts of the Haitian capital . Though he 'd been trapped in the house for three days , he marshaled the strength to begin helping the Haitians who had just rescued him search for other survivors . He spoke to CNN on Friday , two hours after being rescued , and again Saturday as he worked to free 10 children still encased in the toppled residence . `` Next time you call , God willing , they might be out . Otherwise , they will die , '' he said . `` Their voices are really low because for four days , they eat nothing . I drill holes on top of the cement and put bread inside so they can eat . What we do , we have to do fast . '' Friday evening made his mission more urgent as two children were killed when an aftershock -- one of four that day , all 4.6 magnitude or higher -- disrupted the concrete slabs imprisoning them , he said . A New York-based philanthropist , Bazin , 54 , has been in Haiti since December 13 . His nonprofit organization , JB Humanitarian , builds schools for the poor in Haiti . Six staff members of one of his schools , in Ocadet , died when the 7.0-magnitude quake struck Tuesday , causing the school to collapse on top of them . Bazin was on the porch of a nearby home taking pictures of the mountains . Twenty-four children were inside the home , he said . `` The next thing I know , this thing is splitting in half -- the mountain split in half , '' he said . `` The house where I was went down . '' He and 12 of the children had been freed as of Saturday morning , but the remaining children were in the back of the house when the earthquake hit . Bazin said he and 11 others were working to free them in one of the poorest sections of Port-au-Prince . Looking for a loved one ? Visit iReport.com . Bazin 's dilemma was one of myriad stories of lost loved ones pouring into CNN this week via its tip lines and iReport.com . Other pleas for help have reportedly come from within the rubble of collapsed buildings . Regine Madhere is one such case . The 26-year-old worked in the pharmacy of a four-story Caribbean market leveled by the temblor . Stateside friends and relatives in Port-au-Prince told CNN that Madhere had been sending texts to relatives and to a local radio station this week . Reached Saturday in Port-au-Prince , Madhere 's aunt and uncle said an American rescue team had been working through the night to rescue those trapped in the market 's ruins . Watch a rescue at the market from earlier in the week . Her uncle , Guy Gelin , further said he had seen the rescuers free six to eight people Friday and he was hopeful that Madhere would be free by day 's end . `` They are working very , very hard . They make many holes so -LSB- those trapped -RSB- can breathe . They give us hope today , '' said her aunt , Ginette Madhere , who has n't slept since the quake rocked the capital . Help the Madhere family find Regine . With a dearth of resources and rescuers in Haiti , victims are reaching out to locales as faraway as Florida , New York , even Germany . The long-distance text messages serve as a sign of the fear and desperation many are experiencing in the Western Hemisphere 's most-impoverished nation . Bazin said his own anguish is confounded by doubts that rescuers will reach his school in Ocadet anytime soon . `` Nobody give a damn because these people are so poor , '' he said . `` This is the last place they would ever think of coming . '' He planned to head into the city later Saturday , he said , to find more food for the trapped children . He said he also hoped to rent a tractor to move some of the larger chunks of concrete enveloping the students . `` I have to get them out before I get back to the States . I can not just leave them like that , '' he said . | Jacques Bazin says two children died under a collapsed house after a Friday aftershock . Bazin was under the rubble three days before he was saved ; he 's now helping others . Text messages to Germany , New York speak to dearth of rescuers , resources in Haiti . Regine Madhere 's aunt , uncle at market , hoping rescuers will soon pull her from debris . | [[775, 834], [819, 919], [179, 225], [3071, 3156], [3157, 3232]] |
Port-au-Prince , Haiti -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Slashing red tape or ignoring ordinarily required paperwork , officials in the United States and the Netherlands have cleared the way for scores of Haitian orphans to leave their earthquake-ravaged homeland , according to officials from the two countries . All of the children had adoptions pending with prospective parents in the two countries before Tuesday 's 7.0-magnitude quake , and government officials said paperwork was expedited or put on hold to make transfers happen on an emergency basis . 300 children have pending adoption cases with American families . Six children arrived in Florida Sunday night , met by their adoptive parents with hugs and tears of happiness . The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has chartered a plane to pick up about 100 children Monday , spokesman Aad Meijer told CNN . Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin over the weekend granted the children entry into the country , although their paperwork , including travel and adoption documents , was incomplete , Justice Ministry spokesman Patrick Mikkelsen told CNN . About 44 of the orphans ' adoptions had yet to be approved by a Haitian judge , even though they were matched to Dutch parents , Mikkelsen said . Dutch officials may seek the remaining approvals from Haiti once the children have already settled in the Netherlands , he added . Haiti is home to about 380,000 orphans , according to the United Nations Children 's Fund , and that number is expected to grow in the wake of Tuesday 's earthquake . And those who lived in orphanages before Tuesday may be homeless now , as reports of destroyed orphanages have come throughout the quake zone . Full coverage of the earthquake in Haiti . Some children who lost parents in the quake or were separated from parents are being relocated to the Dominican Republic , a child advocacy group said . About 50 orphaned and abandoned children will arrive in the border town of Jimani on Wednesday , Kids Alive International said . The efforts , coordinated with the governments of both countries , will eventually take the children back to Haiti . Some will be reunited with parents who lost communication with their children in the quake 's aftermath , the group said . View or add to CNN 's database of missing persons in Haiti . CNN 's Melissa Gray and Richard Greene in London contributed to this report . | U.S. , Dutch officials slash red tape to expedite Haitian orphan adoptions . Six adopted Haitian children arrived in Miami tonight , met by their adoptive parents . Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs charters plane to pick up about 100 kids Monday . Watch `` Haiti How You Can Help '' a special Larry King Live , tonight 8 p.m. ET . | [[104, 248], [611, 655], [611, 623], [658, 722], [723, 812], [775, 819]] |
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Watching and playing golf is par for the course for most fans of the game -- but how about owning a piece of the sport 's history ? Golf memorabilia is very collectable and clubs in mint condition can go for a lot of money at auction . A Chinese businessman recently splashed out almost $ 200,000 on the largest collection of hickory golf clubs ever made . But golf memorabilia is not just the preserve of the very wealthy . Bonhams Auctioneers in Chester , England will auction off golf items which appeal to fans with large and small budgets at an auction in the city on July 25 . Do you collect golf memorabilia ? What kind of items are interested in ? Add your comments in the Sound Off box below . Kevin McGimpsey , who is an expert in golfing memorabilia at Bonhams , admitted a number of fans remain keen to invest in items despite the current economic climate . `` There is still a healthy appetite for golf memorabilia at auction , the most popular items tend to be programs -- those from the majors and also the Ryder Cup are particularly collectable and ones from the 1930s and 1940s can fetch upwards of $ 800 . `` In terms of the more modern stuff -- anything Tiger Woods-related tends to sell well and items which are n't necessarily available to the general public tend to be very collectable . `` For example a signed menu from a Ryder Cup dinner would fetch a good price . `` Sometimes the most valuable items can be found tucked away in an uncle 's attic or shed and not discovered for years . Check out the golfing memorabilia gallery for some of the items up for auction . '' `` And as for the most valuable piece of memorabilia it is probably a spur iron club which was used in the 1600s . The last time one of these came up for auction it went for $ 350,000 -- although it would probably be nearer to $ 500,000 today , '' McGimpsey added . The record price for a club sold in Britain was $ 170,000 paid in 1998 at Christie 's for a metal-headed , blade putter . A figure that eclipsed the amount an early 18th-century Scottish club raised when it went under the hammer for $ 150,000 at Sotheby 's annual golfing memorabilia auction held in Musselburgh near Edinburgh . It is no coincidence that items from the history of the sport litter auction houses around the world , as the sport has many wealthy collectors and centuries of play from which to quarry objects . King James II of Scotland documented the first official record of golf in 1457 when he banned the game because it had proved distracting to his soldiers who played the game as an alternative to archery practice . The earliest set of woods and irons are thought to date from the early 1600s , though it has proved hard to accurately date the equipment thus far . | Golf memorabilia remains popular with fans despite tough economic times . The most valuable items can be sold at auction for as much as $ 500,000 . Programs from golf 's majors and the Ryder Cup are the most collectable . | [[819, 874], [209, 271], [168, 222], [1054, 1120]] |
Srinigar , Indian-administered Kashmir -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Indian authorities flooded the streets of Srinagar with security forces Thursday to quell four days of violence sparked by the death of a schoolboy . Authorities were attempting to disperse anti-India protesters Sunday when a tear gas shell hit the 13-year-old boy , Whamiq Farooq Wani , in the head and killed him as he played cricket in a stadium , protesters say . While a formal curfew has not been declared , security forces have been keeping people off the streets . Police said having security forces deployed has kept down violence over the last four days . A senior police officer said more than 100 people , including members of the Indian security forces , were wounded in the violent clashes between the Muslim protesters and security forces -- who used tear gas and baton charges to disperse the mobs . Two young protesters were hit by tear gas and smoke shells in Wednesday 's violence in the old city , and hospital sources said their conditions are serious . Clashes and incidents of stone-throwing by anti-India protesters continued to be reported from various points in Kashmir Thursday . Srinagar , the capital city , remained shut along with other towns in protest of the teenaged boy 's death . Shops , businesses and government offices were closed . Indian police and paramilitary troops , as well as the Central Reserve Police Force -LRB- CRPF -RRB- , erected barricades at road intersections in Srinagar 's old city to cut off pedestrian and vehicular traffic , witnesses said . `` The people were not allowed to go out of their homes to buy milk and other essential items this morning . The security forces are enforcing tight restrictions in our area , '' said resident Ayub Zargarc reached by telephone . The security restrictions were not as stringent outside the old city , where some vehicular and pedestrian movement was seen on the streets patrolled by the Indian police . `` Barring a few stone-pelting incidents , the overall situation in Kashmir remained peaceful today , '' Farooq Ahmad , inspector general of police in the Kashmir zone , told CNN . Authorities arrested two senior leaders of the pro-dialogue moderate separatist conglomerate All Parties Hurriyat Conference -LRB- APHC -RRB- and placed its chairman , Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq , under house arrest today , according to police . Authorities said they were arrested to prevent them from fomenting trouble in the city . | Indian security forces in Srinagar to quell violence sparked by death of schoolboy . Authorities trying to disperse anti-India protesters when tear gas shell hit 13-year-old . Police say 100 people wounded in clashes between Muslim protesters and security forces . | [[58, 169], [161, 207], [543, 623], [208, 322], [624, 723], [624, 647], [726, 811]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Tensions between Israel and Turkey spilled into a second day Tuesday when Turkish officials summoned the Israeli ambassador to a meeting , Turkey 's Anatolia news agency reported . Israel criticized Turkey Monday for a Turkish television series that it said depicted Israeli intelligence agents as baby-snatchers . When asked about Tuesday 's meeting between Israeli Ambassador Gabby Levy and Turkish officials , the Israeli Foreign Ministry said it was pre-planned . That session came one day after Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned the Turkish ambassador to complain about the television show that Israel found offensive , a spokesman for Ayalon said . Afterward , Ayalon tweeted that he had `` Told Turk Amb that this is an intolerable situation which endangers the Jewish community , the Israel envoys and tourists coming to Turkey . '' Several senior Israeli Foreign Ministry sources , who did n't want to be named because it would jeopardize their jobs , criticized Ayalon 's treatment of Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol at the start of their meeting Monday . At the session , Celikkol was seated below Ayalon . With cameras rolling , Ayalon turned to the television crews and said , `` The main thing is that you see that he is seated low and that we are high ... that there is one flag on the table -LRB- the Israeli flag -RRB- and that we are not smiling . '' The sources told CNN they were `` surprised by Ayalon 's undiplomatic behavior . '' Ceylon Ozen , spokeswoman for the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv , told CNN that Celikkol felt his treatment was `` unacceptable , shocking and primitive , '' and did not comply with standards for diplomacy . He has contacted the Israeli ambassador to Turkey and requested a formal apology from the Israelis , she said . There had been media speculation that Ayalon 's summons was designed to sabotage a trip to Ankara Sunday by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak . A spokesman for Ayalon said that was `` completely wide of the mark . '' Barak 's office said he had no plans to cancel his trip . Israeli politicians and media outlets roundly condemned an episode of the popular Turkish soap opera , `` Valley of the Wolves : Ambush , '' that depicted the Israeli intelligence service Mossad spying inside Turkey and kidnapping Turkish babies . The program also showed Mossad attacking the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv and taking the ambassador and his family hostage . In a written statement , `` Valley of the Wolves : Ambush '' producer Pana Film said the show `` will continue to tell the truth and expose the wrongs . '' Israel summoned the Turkish ambassador the same day that Turkey 's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lambasted Israel for air strikes Sunday on Gaza , the Turkish state-run Anatolian News Agency reported . `` Why is it doing this ? Because it says ' I possess the power in this region , ' '' the news agency quoted Erdogan as saying of Israel . `` It possesses unproportionate power and it is using this . It is not acting in accordance with U.N. resolutions , it is uncomfortable . It says ' I will do whatever I please . ' '' During a joint news conference , held with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri , Erdogan called for the international community `` to warn Israel about its nuclear arsenal just like it did with Iran , '' ANA reported . Israel is widely believed to have a nuclear arsenal , but has never acknowledged that publicly . In a written statement , the Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned the criticism . `` Erdogan 's remarks join the anti-Israel program broadcast on Turkish television and the harsh statements against Israel that have been said consistently and systematically for over a year , '' the statement said . `` The state of Israel reserves the full right to protect its citizens from missile attacks and from the terror of the Hamas and Hezbollah . Turkey is the last that can preach morality to Israel and the IDF -LRB- Israel Defense Forces -RRB- . '' `` Valley of the Wolves : Ambush '' is part of a popular franchise in Turkey . The series `` Valley of the Wolves '' first aired in 2003 on Turkish television , followed by a 2006 movie of the same name that stirred controversy with its portrayal of American soldiers in Iraq and what some described as thinly-veiled anti-Semitism . The movie , based on the series , featured American actors Gary Busey and Billy Zane . Another television version , `` Valley of the Wolves : Terror , '' was canceled after one episode in February 2007 . `` Ambush '' first aired in April 2007 . Israel and Turkey have enjoyed close military and economic ties for more than a decade . But relations have grown testy at times in recent years over Israel 's activities in the Palestinian territories and over its Gaza offensive in December and January . CNN 's Kevin Flower and Shira Medding contributed to this report . | Israel summons Turkey 's diplomatic envoy to complain about Turkish TV show . Episode of `` Valley of the Wolves : Ambush '' spurred Israeli diplomatic complaint . Show portrayed Israeli intelligence agents as being inside Turkey , kidnapping babies . Producer says show `` will continue to tell the truth and expose the wrongs '' | [[200, 263], [519, 645], [1705, 1754], [2622, 2741], [200, 263], [519, 645], [269, 333], [2232, 2234], [2240, 2341], [2466, 2488], [2517, 2618]] |
NEW YORK -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A letter penned by George Washington praising the new Constitution sold for $ 3.2 million at an auction , the highest price for a letter by America 's first president . The four-page letter in Washington 's slanting penmanship was written to his nephew Bushrod Washington in November 1787 , according to Christie 's , the company that auctioned it . It was in the possession of an unidentified British descendant of his family , Christie 's said . Washington led the Philadelphia Convention , at which the Constitution was drafted in 1787 . After the Constitution was produced , a nationwide debate ensued on whether to ratify it . In the letter written from Washington 's Virginia estate , Mount Vernon , he endorses the Constitution and highlights the benefits of compromise and of states merging into one nation . `` The central issues must be consolidated -- and local views as far as the general good will admit , must be attended to , '' he says in the letter , according to Christie 's . The company said the president confided in his nephew . `` Washington professed neutrality in public , but to Bushrod expressed his unequivocal conviction that the new Constitution must be ratified , in spite of opposition from many special-interest groups , '' Christie 's said . The buyer was not identified . Christie 's had earlier estimated that the letter would fetch $ 1.5 million to $ 2.5 million at Friday 's auction . Washington served from 1789 to 1797 , then died of a throat infection two years later . He died at his beloved Mount Vernon at age 67 , plunging the nation into months of mourning . Last year , a 1864 letter in which President Abraham Lincoln replies to the abolitionist pleas of youth sold for $ 3.4 million . | Highest price ever paid for a letter penned by America 's first president . Four-page letter sold for $ 3.2 million at auction by Christie 's on Friday . Letter was written to his nephew Bushrod Washington in November 1787 . Last year , a 1864 letter by President Abraham Lincoln sold for $ 3.4 million . | [[74, 131], [197, 254], [319, 343], [28, 64], [197, 280], [300, 316], [1633, 1642], [1645, 1658], [1668, 1736], [1633, 1642], [1645, 1651], [1668, 1761]] |
MADRID , Spain -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A 92-year-old woman with cocaine strapped to her body flew all the way from Brazil to Spain before police arrested her , in a wheelchair , at Madrid 's airport . A Civil Guard spokeswoman says the 92-year old was apprehended at Madrid 's Barajas Airport . They found 4.3 kilos , or nearly 9.5 pounds , of cocaine packets strapped to her legs and torso , and also arrested a 44-year-old female companion , who tried to escape on another plane , a Civil Guard spokeswoman told CNN Tuesday . The two women , both from Uruguay , were arrested Friday after arriving in Madrid on a flight from Sao Paolo , Brazil . But officials did not release details about the case until this week , after a judge had arraigned the two on drug trafficking charges . The judge ordered the younger woman to prison but sent the 92-year-old to a senior citizens ' home in Madrid . Due to her advanced age , `` it 's practically impossible '' that she would be tried or face jail time , said the Civil Guard spokeswoman , who by custom is not identified . Police did not identify the two women . Civil Guards became suspicious when the younger woman repeatedly told the older woman -- who had asked for an airport wheelchair in Madrid to traverse the terminal -- that if they rushed , they would make their connecting flight to Spain 's Canary Islands . The Civil Guards , who run customs controls at the airport , stopped the woman in the wheelchair . The younger woman immediately fled , first trying to make the connecting flight , which by then had closed its doors , and then attempting to leave the airport terminal for the street . But she was stuck in the `` satellite , '' or second building , of Terminal 4 , which is connected to the main building and the street by an underground train . Police caught up with her before she left the satellite terminal . The two would-be smugglers probably expected a cash payment and return flight tickets to Brazil from their drug trafficking contacts , the Civil Guard spokeswoman said . | Two women , both from Uruguay , arrested after arriving in Madrid on flight from Brazil . Judge arraigns two women , one a 92-year old wheelchair user , on drug charges . Spokeswoman : `` It 's practically impossible '' wheelchair user would be tried . | [[9, 30], [88, 152], [523, 631], [714, 779], [920, 951], [917, 918], [996, 1028]] |
Berlin , Germany -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The head of the German army has resigned after a news report that he knew civilians could be killed in a September airstrike in Afghanistan , Germany 's defense minister told Parliament Thursday . Gen. Wolfgang Schneiderhan , the army 's chief of staff , asked to be relieved of his duties following the report in Germany 's Bild newspaper , said German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg . The Sept. 4 NATO airstrike in the northern province of Kunduz killed at least 90 people . The German commander in the area called in the strike after Afghans tried to siphon fuel from two tankers hijacked by the Taliban a day earlier . The fuel had been earmarked for NATO 's International Security Assistance Force -LRB- ISAF -RRB- . Local Afghan officials said at least half of those killed were civilians , and NATO acknowledged soon afterward that civilians had been killed . NATO and Afghan officials launched an investigation , the results of which are still classified , ISAF told CNN Thursday . Bild , which said it had access to confidential documents and posted a video of the airstrike on its Web site , reported that German Colonel Georg Klein was not able to rule out the possibility of civilian victims before he ordered the strike . Bild said a report dated September 6 -- two days after the strike -- made clear that it was impossible for Klein to verify information his informant had provided before he called in the airstrike . CNN 's Diana Magnay contributed to this report . | General Wolfgang Schneiderhahn asks to be relieved of his duties . Bild claims German army chief knew civilians could be killed in airstrike . At least 90 killed -- many believed to be civilians -- in September airstrike . NATO , Afghan officials investigating airstrike but results still classified . | [[233, 259], [291, 375], [102, 175], [1039, 1043], [1151, 1259], [436, 525], [816, 843], [916, 967], [970, 990], [995, 1011]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A California judge ruled Wednesday to allow cameras in a federal courtroom to document a challenge to Proposition 8 , a measure banning same-sex marriage . The courtroom footage will not be streamed live , but will be uploaded on the Web site YouTube daily , CNN affiliate KGO reported . Proposition 8 passed with about 52.5 percent of the vote in November 2008 . A lesbian couple and a gay couple who were banned from marrying filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of the new measure , the affiliate reported . The nonjury trial is to begin on January 11 in federal court in San Francisco . The rare decision to allow cameras in a federal courtroom was influenced by intense media attention , court officials said . The legal battle over Proposition 8 has prompted passionate debate and in the past has spurred protests outside courtrooms . Opponents of the ban say it improperly altered the state 's Constitution to restrict a fundamental right guaranteed in the state charter . Ban supporters say Californians long have had the right to change their state Constitution through ballot initiatives . | California judge rules to allow cameras in a federal courtroom . Courtroom footage will not be streamed live , but will be uploaded on YouTube daily . Lesbian couple and gay couple banned from marrying filed lawsuit . Proposition 8 , which bans same-sex marriage , was passed by voters 2008 . | [[0, 15], [19, 134], [175, 196], [229, 261], [400, 416], [421, 459], [383, 416], [447, 512], [137, 174], [307, 382]] |
Marietta , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In this tough economy , a steady paycheck is a big blessing . With the unemployment rate above 10 percent , Americans are finding new ways to help each other out . For many , it 's through their faith . `` We did say our prayers , '' Patricia Mulroney said . `` I pray to St. Joseph even now . He is our patron of workers . I still pray to him every day . '' Yet believers like Mulroney are doing more than praying . They 're getting help in their job searches from houses of worship . And religious institutions are answering the call : Houses of worship nationwide have offered job-finding help . Mulroney has looked for help in finding a job through a network created at St. Joseph 's Catholic Church in Marietta , Georgia , just outside Atlanta . The church has reviewed résumés and arranged meetings between job-seekers and company representatives . It also has hosted speakers who have discussed financial planning and interview techniques . Similar programs have received attention in places such as Arizona , California and Michigan . St. Joseph 's started helping unemployed members last year after a priest contacted Art Eyzaguierre , a parishioner with a background in career management . Eyzaguierre says the priest told him , `` we 've been getting a lot of phone calls from people that are unemployed and really hurting ... and we 'd like you to come to a council meeting to talk about what we should do . '' By May of last year , St. Joseph 's Career Community Network was born . `` When you 're helping people ... they 're getting what they need , '' Eyzaguierre said . `` They 're getting jobs , the hope they need . ... I feel replenished . '' Patrick Brennan , another founding member , found himself out of work in the early part of 2009 . His involvement with the Career Community Network paid off , literally , with a job . `` It 's through these different networking opportunities ... through your churches ... you get to meet people ... and potentially get positions , '' Brennan said . `` That happened to me , where I was networking and actually found a position ... as a result of meeting people through the career network . '' Brennan says church-based career networks like his reach out in both a spiritual and practical sense for the unemployed , the under-employed and those seeking to re-enter the work force . `` We offer review of résumés ... the opportunity to meet with department leaders or heads of companies ... discuss with them where individual career goals can go , '' he said . `` We also have featured speakers who help with financial planning , retirement funds , health benefits and also interviewing techniques ... looking at different market shares . '' Caroline Rittenhouse helps organize biweekly sessions . When she signed on , Rittenhouse was a stay-at-home mom looking to re-enter the work force . She 's now employed and using her job skills in training and instructional design to help others find work . `` My motivation was seeing how tough the job market was and how many people across every industry , every income level , were feeling the job loss and the unemployment situation , '' Rittenhouse said . She says networking opportunities , like those offered through St. Joseph 's Career Community Network , are key , and houses of worship may offer a more comfortable environment . `` There is something about going to a church , '' Rittenhouse said . `` Personally , I feel like it 's more welcoming . '' Americans overwhelmingly support government funding for religious groups to provide social services like job training . Nearly nine years after former President George W. Bush unveiled his faith-based initiative , 69 percent of Americans say they favor the idea , according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press . Sixty-eight percent believe that people providing the services through houses of worship would be more caring and compassionate . Mulroney not only supports the idea , she got involved a few months ago at St. Joseph 's as both a volunteer and a job seeker . `` My last position , I was in for seven years and not really comfortable with networking , so I thought the church would be a great place to start ... and get contacts to possibly help me find employment , '' Mulroney said . Since then , Mulroney has moved to Florida . She says she 's taking the hope , faith and job skills St. Joseph 's Career Community Network provided and will probably join another job networking group at a local church , in her ongoing search for a steady paycheck . | More unemployed are getting help in job searches from houses of worship . St. Joseph 's Catholic Church in Georgia has Career Community Network . Network reviews résumés , connects job-seekers and companies , holds seminars . Successful job seeker : Church is more welcoming . | [[455, 523], [574, 636], [893, 895], [901, 985], [2384, 2412], [4208, 4209], [4269, 4317], [3466, 3500]] |
Port-au-Prince , Haiti -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Teams of rescuers in Haiti 's capital rushed to the city 's Caribbean Market on Tuesday after a machine used to clear rubble caused a secondary collapse , trapping at least one Haitian in the rubble . A French excavation team was working the site , which collapsed in the January 12 earthquake , said Lt. Col. Christophe Renou of French Civil Protection . The team spotted a body in the rubble and brought in an excavation machine , which resembles a bulldozer , to attempt to reach the body , he said . The machine tipped into a hole , however , and caused further collapse , Renou said . Several Haitians were in the building at the time , he said , some helping in the search and others looking for useful items . Teams are aware of at least one person alive , confirmed with radar . Renou said he believes more people are trapped , but he does n't know how many or whether they are alive . The French crews called U.S. and Mexican teams to the site to help with the rescue . The U.S. team brought more radar and lifting devices to try to extract the known survivor and reach any others , said Norman Skjelbreia , an incident commander from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . The rescue mission is complicated , he said , by the Caribbean Market 's debris and rubble and an adjacent building that is partially collapsed . More than 212,000 people died in the earthquake , Haitian officials said , and bodies are being recovered every day . Rescuers pulled an apparent survivor of the original quake , Evan Muncie , 28 , from the rubble of a market on Monday . Doctors found him suffering from extreme dehydration and malnutrition , but without significant crushing injuries . Muncie 's family told staff at the hospital that he had been missing since the quake , and was found in the wreckage of a market where he sold rice . Muncie told doctors that someone brought him water while he waited for rescue , but sounded confused and sometimes thought he was still in the rubble . By Wednesday , Muncie was in stable condition , according to University of Miami hospital spokeswoman Nery Ynclan , who said he was more alert and aware of his surroundings and was answering questions . Ynclan said Muncie had eaten and even asked for chocolate -- which staff provided in small quantities . Muncie will be at the hospital at least another week , she said . His brother and mother arrived Monday at the hospital to be with him , she said . Ynclan also said that crews returned Tuesday to the the site where Muncie was found and determined he may have been trapped in a room with some food or water . He was likely not pinned down , she said , but scrapes on his hands and feet indicate he may have tried to climb out . CNN 's Ingrid Formanek and Danielle Dellorto contributed to this report . | Bulldozer at Caribbean Market causes secondary collapse . At least one person is alive in rubble ; condition of others unknown . Rescue complicated by debris , adjacent building that is partially collapsed . | [[136, 145], [167, 194], [546, 557], [593, 616], [197, 242], [759, 803], [882, 935], [1316, 1336], [1342, 1366], [1257, 1264], [1267, 1336]] |
Tokyo , Japan -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- An anti-whaling activist jumped aboard a Japanese security ship on Monday in a bid to make a citizen 's arrest of its skipper over the sinking of their boat , an animal rights group said . Pete Bethune was captain of the `` Ady Gill '' boat , which sank after a Japanese whaler rammed into it in January , the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society , which owned the boat , said on its Web site . The New Zealander climbed aboard the Japanese ship `` Shonan Maru 2 '' in the middle of the night from a jet ski to arrest its skipper , the animal rights group said . `` His first attempt failed when he fell into the frigid waters , '' the group said . `` But despite this , the crew of the ` Shonan Maru 2 ' failed to see him and he successfully boarded the whaler without detection . '' After the incident , Bethune complained of a minor injury to his thumb , according to Japan 's ministry of fisheries . The 20 crew members of the Japanese ship were not harmed and their vessel was not damaged , the ministry said . Japanese authorities called the incident the latest `` publicity stunt '' from the animal rights group and said they have not decided what to do with the activist . Two years ago , Sea Shepherd activists boarded another Japanese ship and handcuffed themselves to the vessel with plastic ties , according to the Institute of Cetacean Research , a branch of Japan 's fisheries ministry that deals with whaling . At the time , an Australian vessel helped return the two activists back to the Sea Shepherd , ICR said . Sea Shepherd has accused the Japanese ship `` Shonan Maru 2 '' of destroying their vessel during the skirmish in the Southern Ocean -- a term used to describe parts of the Indian , Pacific and Atlantic oceans that surround Antarctica . However , Japanese authorities deny their ship intentionally hit the catamaran and have said the activists were harassing their whaling fleet . The incident highlights an ongoing feud between Japanese whaling fleets and conservation agencies -- especially Sea Shepherd . CNN 's Kyung Lah contributed to this report . | Sea Shepherd : New Zealand man climbs aboard Japanese ship to make citizen 's arrest . Man was captain of a boat that sank after colliding with a Japanese whaler . Japan : Incident a `` publicity stunt ; '' no decision on what to do with man . Incident highlights feud between Japanese whaling fleets and conservation groups . | [[110, 111], [116, 189], [425, 475], [222, 273], [257, 273], [282, 310], [293, 336], [1046, 1148], [1046, 1066], [1153, 1210], [1941, 2038]] |
Tehran , Iran -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Coming through on a promise to crack down on protesters on the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution , Iran 's security forces clashed with demonstrators Thursday , as hundreds of thousands filled a `` disruption-free '' Tehran square to hear their president announce the expansion of Iran 's nuclear program . Iran 's celebration of the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution culminated February 11 , a date that three decades ago marked the end of the country 's Western-backed monarchy and the start of an Islamic republic . A coalition of Iranian reformist groups had urged opponents of Iran 's hardline regime to stage nonviolent protests at central Tehran 's Azadi Square on Thursday , on the official anniversary of the ouster of Iran 's shah . However , the Iranian government deployed thousands of police and plainclothes Basij militiamen in Tehran and other cities to quash anti-government protests during anniversary celebrations . Eyewitnesses said Iranian security forces quickly squelched out opposition protests , though CNN could not independently confirm the reports . `` The city was under siege . It was controlled entirely , it was impossible to protest the way people protested before , '' said Behzad Yaghmaian , author of `` Social Change in Iran . '' Follow CNN 's special coverage on Iran . `` So the dangers were much higher today . '' Witnesses said there was some confusion about organizing the protests ; for example , it was n't clear to some whether they were supposed to hold up their signs before or after they arrived at Azadi Square , where President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was to speak . It appeared that the strength of the opposition response was less than other recent days of unrest in Iran , namely the protests on the holy day of Ashura in late December . Because of reporting restrictions , there was no way to independently confirm the turnout of the opposition . Yaghmaian said the so-called Green Movement , which is demanding democracy and fair elections , suffered a `` numbers shock . '' `` The Green Movement anticipated a much larger turnout -- the turnout was not that large , and the turnout of the pro-government people was a lot larger than what people expected , '' said Yaghmaian , who teaches at New Jersey 's Ramapo College . Are you there ? Send your photos , video . Plainclothed and uniformed security agents assaulted vehicles carrying reformist Mehdi Karrubi , who ran for in the disputed June presidential elections , and former President Mohammad Khatami as their supporters poured onto the streets , opposition sources said . Militia members also beat the wife of opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi with batons , according to postings on the social networking Web site Facebook and opposition Web sites . The forces were preventing the opposition leaders and their followers from reaching Azadi , or Freedom Square , where Ahmadinejad delivered an anniversary address extolling the country 's nuclear program to supporters . They fired on crowds in some areas and pepper-sprayed demonstrators in others , opposition groups said . CNN has not been able to independently confirm those reports . Members of the Basij , the paramilitary force loyal to Iran 's hard-line leadership , attacked Karrubi while he was headed to a meeting with supporters , his son Mohammad-Taghi Karrubi told CNN . The militia broke a window in the car in which Karrubi was riding , an opposition Web site said . When he switched cars , that car also was attacked . `` The guards attacked , and the crowds came to him . When the crowds started to come and surrounded him , again the guards attacked with tear gas , tear as well as the batons and different kinds of weapons against the people . And unfortunately my father received very bad gas tears , and his face is burned , '' Mohammad-Taghi Karrubi said . iReport video of opposition supporters in Tehran . The reformist Raheh Sabz Web site said plainclothes policemen arrested Karrubi 's son Ali , as he tried to protect his father 's car . Mohammad-Taghi Karrubi confirmed the arrest of his brother Ali , the third of the leader 's four sons . `` My younger brother is arrested by police . And we were surprised because for two days we just came to demonstrate , to rally , to participate to show what we want and ask for our rights , '' he said . The government said that if protesters disrupt state-sanctioned marches , they will be jailed until at least April 9 , the end of the Persian holiday of Norooz . The holiday marks the start of spring . Plainclothes security forces wielding tear gas and batons also attacked Khatami 's vehicle and supporters , as he headed to Azadi Square , forcing him to abort a plan to walk there alongside followers , the Raheh Sabz site said . Two reformist figures -- Mohammad Reza Khatami , the brother of the former president with a similar name , and his wife , Zahra Eshraghi -- were arrested , opposition groups also said . YouTube video appears to show regime motorcycle burning . The Facebook page of Dr. Zahra Rahnavard , Moussavi 's wife , said she had planned to join demonstrators at Sadeghiye Square , when she `` was surrounded and attacked . '' `` Plainclothes militia physically assaulted her and beat her with batons at her head and back . Zahra Rahnavard after this incident with the support of a large crowd of people who made a human shield to protect her , was able to leave the area , '' the Facebook page said . Iran 's official Press TV took note of opposition protests , saying `` a few hundred supporters '' of Moussavi and Karrubi gathered in a western Tehran district , and Karrubi was seen among the demonstrators . `` Police had stepped up security in the area to prevent possible disturbances , '' it reported . Follow CNNIranDesk on twitter . The chaotic scenes drew expressions of concern from the West , with the United States and the European Union calling on Iran to end reported abuses against its people . White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the United States stands `` by the universal rights of Iranians to express themselves freely and to do so without intimidation or violence . '' `` Iranians have gone out into the streets to do just that in a peaceful way , and we will continue to monitor it and continue to express our condemnation and dismay for any violence that should result in the exercising of those universal rights . '' Catherine Ashton , the European Union 's foreign policy chief , said the EU is concerned about `` reports that opposition leaders have been subjected to violence and intimidation '' and that some may have been detained . Observers say the pro-government Azadi Square demonstration was a well-choreographed event . One observer in the throng told CNN a relaxed and supportive atmosphere prevailed at the demonstration . There was no sign at a pro-government parade of Basij militia members , ever-present during opposition events , but they were seen stationed away from the main area of the demonstration . Government officials distributed cartons of milk , juice boxes , lemonade and cupcakes in the crowds , which appeared to number in the hundreds of thousands , the witness said . Women who usually stay home went out , and there were a number of people from outside Tehran attending , the observer said . `` They got what they wanted : a disruption-free rally , '' the observer said . `` There were no potential ` greens ' in that crowd . '' Flag-waving and cheering supporters heard Ahmadinejad announce that Iran has produced its first batch of 20 percent-enriched uranium and will soon triple production -- a claim that the United States dismissed . He also touched on familiar topics : He lashed out at the West , particularly the United States , and criticized its relationship with Iran 's rival , Israel . Ahmadinejad 's speech at Azadi Square ended without incident . `` There are those who stand against us because what they want is to control the Middle East and to control the world , '' Ahmadinejad said . `` And an independent Iran , a free Iran , a developed Iran , a powerful Iran will naturally be a challenge for their goal . And that is why they are hostile to the Iranian nation . '' Since a disputed presidential election in June , anti-government protesters have turned public gatherings into rallies against hard-liner Ahmadinejad , who was declared the overwhelming winner of the race , and street demonstrations were anticipated on the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution . Over the volatile months since June , police have responded to such demonstrations with mass arrests , denouncing protesters as anti-Islamic and against the revolution . In the latest big street confrontation , on the holy day of Ashura in December , witnesses said hundreds of people were detained and seven were killed , with responsibility for the fatalities denied by the Iranian regime . As the anniversary day approached , opposition leaders urged their followers to demonstrate peacefully , and Iran has imposed tight restrictions on foreign reporters covering the anniversary , busing them to and from Ahmadinejad 's speech to prevent them from reporting on skirmishes on the streets . The precautions were meant to prevent a repeat of overt anti-government displays on other key occasions that have embarrassed and inflamed Iranian authorities . Pick-ups roamed the streets of Tehran , blaring pro-government slogans and songs from speakers , a witness said , and residents in the Iranian capital said Wednesday that text messages on many messaging services have been blocked and Internet speeds have slowed to a crawl . At Aria-Shahr square in western Tehran and in various other parts of the city , security forces fired on and tear-gassed demonstrators who chanted `` Death to the dictator , '' and `` Death to -LRB- Supreme Leader Ayatollah -RRB- Khamenei , '' according to opposition reports . Undeterred , the demonstrators chanted on , and many of them wore masks or handkerchiefs over their faces . Opposition videos surfacing from Tehran showed the wrath of demonstrators . One showed protesters tearing up a poster of Ayatollah Khomeini , the late founder of the Islamic Revolution , and Khamenei . Another showed people stomping on an image of Khamenei . One video showed a man apparently stripped from the waist up put in a choke hold and punched in the head by a helmeted security force member . | Militia , police keep protesters away from pro-government rally in Tehran . White House espouses `` universal rights of Iranians to express themselves freely '' Reports : Vehicles carrying opposition leaders attacked by security forces . Observers : Pro-government Azadi Square rally was well-choreographed event . | [[2810, 2919], [6015, 6184], [2362, 2456], [4585, 4613], [4648, 4690], [6450, 6466], [6514, 6640], [9926, 9962], [6671, 6763], [6685, 6763]] |
Norfolk , Virginia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Two of three Navy SEALs accused in the alleged assault of an Iraqi suspected of orchestrating the 2004 killing and mutilation of four U.S. contractors in Falluja will have their cases heard in Iraq , a judge ruled Monday . Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe , 25 , is charged with dereliction of duty and impeding an official investigation surrounding the Iraqi 's detention last September . Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas , 28 , faces similar charges . The Iraqi suspect , Ahmed Hashim Abed , complained to investigators he was punched during his detention . The case against the Navy SEALs has sparked outrage that the sailors are being tried at all for handling a suspect in the contractors ' murders , one of the most notorious incidents in the Iraq war . The killings got widespread news coverage when the burned bodies of two of the contractors were paraded through the streets of Falluja and hanged from a bridge as their captors cheered . At a preliminary hearing in military court the judge , Cmdr. Tierney Carlos , announced he wants the cases of Keefe and Huertas moved to Camp Victory in Iraq to give them the ability to question the alleged victim in court . `` It does n't make sense to me that the alleged victim is available for deposition and not available for trial , '' Carlos said in making his ruling for Keefe . `` In order to prevent prejudice to the accused , this case should be tried in Iraq . '' Keefe 's attorney had requested that the alleged victim be brought to the United States for questioning . `` This deposition will not be a substitute for the alleged victim 's appearance , '' the judge said . Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe , the other SEAL , is accused of assaulting the detainee and punching him in the stomach . He faces a special court martial Wednesday . The charges against all three are the equivalent of misdemeanors in civilian court . If found guilty , the SEALs face a maximum sentence of a year in a military prison , demolition to the lowest Navy rank , a cut in pay , and a bad conduct discharge . `` Their military careers would be over , '' one of their attorneys told CNN . | Navy SEALs accused in alleged assault of an Iraqi man during his detention . The Iraqi is suspected of orchestrating the 2004 killings of 4 U.S. contractors in Falluja . In ruling for 2 SEALs , judge says he wants them to be able to question alleged victim . A third SEAL faces a special court martial in the case this week . | [[45, 140], [1681, 1719], [1732, 1810], [45, 140], [96, 199], [1154, 1220], [1811, 1855]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A man charged in the beheading death of his seatmate on a Greyhound Canada bus last summer is not criminally responsible because he is mentally ill , a judge ruled Thursday , said CNN affiliate CBC News . The ruling means that Vince Weiguang Li will be hospitalized at a psychiatric facility until he undergoes a review by Manitoba 's Criminal Code Review Board in 90 days , CBC said . `` The goal of criminal law is to punish criminals , not persons who have a severe mental illness , '' Manitoba Court of Queen 's Bench Judge John Scurfield wrote in the ruling , CBC reported . However , the ruling angered relatives of Tim McLean Jr. , 22 , who died on the bus July 30 . `` The bottom line is , he is getting away with murder , '' Vana Smart , McLean 's sister , told CBC . Watch how the verdict angers the victim 's family '' Prosecutors told reporters Thursday they had no choice but to ask the judge to find Li not criminally responsible . `` This was justice because the correct conclusion was reached , '' prosecutor Joyce Dalmyn said , according to CBC . `` Mr. Li is a schizophrenic . Mr. Li had a severe mental disease . Mr. Li , in my opinion and in the opinion of the psychiatrists , had no idea what he was doing was wrong . '' Li , 40 , was charged with second-degree murder in McLean 's death . A witness on the bus , which was headed from Edmonton , Alberta , to Winnipeg , Manitoba , said a passenger repeatedly stabbed and then decapitated McLean as horrified passengers watched . Just before his death , the victim had been sleeping with his head leaning against the window . `` There was a blood-curdling scream . I was just reading my book and all of a sudden I heard it , '' Garnet Caton , who was sitting in front of the two men , told Canadian TV at the time . She said the knife-wielding man shouted at the other passengers to get off the bus , and they did . `` Me and a trucker that stopped and the Greyhound driver ran up to the door to maybe see if the guy was still alive or we could help or something like that , '' Caton said . `` And when we all got up -LRB- to the door -RRB- , we saw that the guy was cutting off the guy 's head . '' Thirty-four passengers were on the bus . Police said at the time it was unclear what prompted the attack . Witnesses said Li 's weapon was a large butcher knife . Li was arrested after an hours-long standoff , during which he remained in the bus with McLean 's body . Police said he was seized after he broke a window and attempted to jump from the bus . `` Mr. Li is also a victim here , '' said Ruth Ann Craig of the Canadian Mental Health Association , according to CBC . `` What 's going to happen to Mr. Li is not a cakewalk . '' He will be housed in a locked psychiatric ward , Craig said , while he undergoes assessment and treatment to determine whether he is a risk to himself or society . But Tim McLean 's mother , Carol deDelley , said she will fight to change the law regarding these types of crimes . `` I 'm going to do everything I can to make a change here , '' she said , CBC reported . McLean 's father said he is also disappointed with the ruling . `` We 've all lost a family member , '' he told CBC . `` This is n't the right result . '' | Vince Weiguang Li will be hospitalized at a psychiatric facility . Ruling angers relatives of the victim , Tim McLean Jr. , 22 . `` This was justice , '' prosecutor tells Canadian television station . | [[224, 391], [607, 627], [609, 655], [641, 660], [667, 692], [796, 845], [806, 845], [993, 1027], [1030, 1043], [1030, 1061], [1064, 1082], [1714, 1729], [1774, 1804], [3195, 3197], [3201, 3211]] |
Apex , Nevada -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that he is `` very proud '' of having told Barack Obama early on that he believed he was a viable candidate for president and could win election . Responding to the controversy surrounding a newly published remark he made privately about Obama 's race in 2008 , Reid sought to emphasize his longstanding support for the nation 's first African-American president . `` I can still remember the meeting that took place in my office with Sen. Barack Obama , telling him that I think he can be elected president , '' Reid said . Obama `` was kind of surprised that the Democratic leader was calling this new senator over to suggest that he could be elected president , '' he added . A new book quotes Reid , D-Nevada , as saying privately in 2008 that Obama could be successful as a black candidate in part because of his `` light-skinned '' appearance and speaking patterns `` with no Negro dialect , unless he wanted to have one . '' Reid said Monday that numerous prominent African-American officials , including NAACP Chairman Julian Bond and Attorney General Eric Holder , have called him to offer support amid the controversy that began over the weekend . `` I 've apologized to everyone with the sound of my voice that I could have used a better choice of words , '' he said after an event announcing a new energy project in his home state . `` And I 'll continue doing my work for the African-American community . '' Reid said that `` as a very young man , '' he became a leader of civil rights efforts , including the integration of the gaming community . He added that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called him to say he should `` tell everybody that you have done more for diversity in the United States Senate than all the rest of the people put together . '' Asked whether he should apologize to voters , Reid -- who had issued a statement over the weekend apologizing `` for offending any and all Americans '' -- did not answer directly and instead cited the support he has received from around the country and within his own state . `` I 'm not going to dwell on this any more , '' Reid said . `` It 's in the book . I 've made all the statements I 'm going to make . '' iReport : What do you think about the words Reid used ? The book he referred to , `` Game Change , '' went on sale Monday . The authors write that `` Reid was convinced , in fact , that Obama 's race would help him more than hurt him in a bid for the Democratic nomination . '' Reid apologized in a statement sent to CNN over the weekend . `` I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words , '' he said . He added , `` I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans , especially African-Americans , for my improper comments . I was a proud and enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama during the campaign and have worked as hard as I can to advance President Obama 's legislative agenda . '' Reid called the president Saturday and apologized . In a statement issued after the call , Obama expressed support for Reid , saying , `` As far as I am concerned , the book is closed . '' Speaking to CNN contributor Roland Martin , Obama described Reid as `` a friend of mine . He has been a stalwart champion of voting rights , civil rights . '' `` This is a good man who has always been on the right side of history . For him to have used some inartful language in trying to praise me and for people to try and make hay out of that makes absolutely no sense , '' he said in the interview , which will air this month . `` I guarantee you the average person , white or black , right now is less concerned about what Harry Reid said in a quote in a book a couple of years ago than they are about how we are going to move the country forward , and that 's where we need to direct our attention . '' A senior administration official said Monday that Obama will go to Nevada in February to campaign on behalf of Reid . iReporter : `` I do n't think he should be kicked out of the Senate '' Reid also called a host of African-American political figures , including House Democrats Barbara Lee of California and Jim Clyburn of South Carolina ; the Rev. Al Sharpton ; CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile ; and the head of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights , Wade Henderson . Republicans pounced on the controversy . Sen. John Cornyn , R-Texas , head of the GOP 's Senate campaign arm , called for Reid to give up his leadership posts after the `` embarrassing and racially insensitive '' remarks . Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele , speaking Sunday on NBC 's `` Meet the Press , '' also called for Reid to step down . `` Racism and racist conversations have no place today in America , '' the first African-American GOP chairman said . Steele also was on the defensive for a remark he made last week . Speaking to Fox News , Steele said the GOP platform `` is one of the best political documents that 's been written in the last 25 years , honest Injun on that . '' `` Fox News Sunday '' host Chris Wallace said lawmakers from both parties have called that a racial slur . `` Well , if it is , I apologize for it . It 's not an intent to be a racial slur . I was n't intending to say a racial slur at all , '' Steele said . iReporter : Mixing race and politics equals trouble . Numerous Democrats came to Reid 's defense . The Congressional Black Caucus said Sunday that it had accepted his apology and dismissed calls for the Nevada Democrat to step down . `` Sen. Reid 's record provides a stark contrast to actions of Republicans to block legislation that would benefit poor and minority communities , '' Lee , chairwoman of the caucus , said in a written statement . Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton , D-District of Columbia , a former chairwoman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , issued a statement saying , `` Like President Barack Obama , African-Americans are likely to accept Majority Leader Reid 's apology for an obvious reason . He has earned it . '' She added , `` Harry Reid 's opponents will not find a welcome mat in the black community if they seek to capitalize on the Reid remark . While Sen. Reid has been producing for African-Americans , many of his critics were opposing him on these same issues . '' Democrats rejected a parallel drawn by some Republicans between Reid 's remark and one by former Sen. Trent Lott , R-Mississippi , in 2002 . Lott lost his post as Senate majority leader after saying the nation would have been better off if Strom Thurmond had been elected president . Thurmond had run as a segregationist candidate in 1948 . `` There is a big double standard here , '' Steele said on NBC . `` When Democrats get caught saying racist things , you know , an apology is enough . '' Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia , chairman of the Democratic Party , shot back , telling NBC that `` there is no comparison '' between the two sets of remarks . Reid is embroiled in a tough re-election campaign to stay in the Senate . Only one-third of Nevada voters have a favorable opinion of him , while 52 percent have an unfavorable opinion of the four-term senator , according to a survey by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research for the Las Vegas Review-Journal released over the weekend . The poll was conducted Tuesday through Thursday , before news of Reid 's comments broke . CNN 's Dana Bash , Mark Preston , Rebecca Sinderbrand and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report . | NEW : Obama : Reid is friend who `` has always been on right side of history '' Sen. Harry Reid apologizes to Obama for remarks made during 2008 campaign . Key Republicans have called Reid 's comments racist and say he should step down . Reid emphasizes longstanding support for President Obama . | [[3017, 3031], [3056, 3088], [3198, 3243], [3313, 3385], [3324, 3334], [3339, 3349], [3355, 3385], [3324, 3334], [3343, 3385], [2539, 2569], [2965, 2969], [3004, 3016], [5199, 5219], [4372, 4412], [4413, 4439], [4483, 4594], [4684, 4686], [4692, 4722], [5117, 5177], [341, 443]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Federal authorities filed a criminal complaint Friday against a 56-year-old man whose scrawled note invoking `` Gilligan 's Island '' led a Hawaiian Airlines pilot to turn around a Maui-bound flight and return Wednesday to Portland , Oregon . Joseph Hedlund Johnson , of Salem , Oregon , was charged with the federal crime of interference with the performance and duties of a flight crew member or attendant . He is expected to surrender to authorities on Monday . The crime of interference with the performance and duties of a flight crew member or attendant carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine . According to the complaint and a 13-page supporting affidavit , Johnson and his girlfriend , Caroll Ann Miller , boarded Hawaiian Airlines Flight 39 on Wednesday morning bound for Kahului , Hawaii , on the island of Maui . Once aboard , Johnson became upset because he was not allowed to store his bag under his exit-row seat , according to the affidavit , which was written by an FBI agent after interviewing Johnson , Miller and the flight crew . About 45 minutes into the flight , Johnson gave a comment card in a sealed envelope to a flight attendant , who opened it , read it and gave it to the lead flight attendant , who then gave it to the captain , it said . `` I thought I was going to die , we were so high up , '' the card said . `` I thought to myself : I hope we do n't crash and burn or worse yet landing in the ocean , living through it , only to be eaten by sharks , or worse yet , end up on some place like Gilligan 's Island , stranded , or worse yet , be eaten by a tribe of headhunters , speaking of headhunters , why do they just eat outsiders , and not the family members ? Strange ... and what if the plane ripped apart in mid-flight and we plumited -LRB- sic -RRB- to earth , landed on Gilligan 's Island and then lived through it , and the only woman there was Mrs. Thurston Howell III ? No Mary Anne -LRB- my favorite -RRB- no Ginger , just Lovey ! If it were just her , I think I 'd opt for the sharks , maybe the headhunters . '' The `` Gilligan 's Island '' references were to a 1960s-vintage CBS television comedy about a charter boat crew and their oddball passengers who become shipwrecked and wind up living together on a tropical island . The pilot told investigators that , considering Johnson 's earlier behavior regarding his bag , he felt threatened by the card and decided -- now about 90 minutes into the flight -- to turn the jet around . The North American Aerospace Defense Command -LRB- NORAD -RRB- scrambled two fighter jets to escort the plane back to Portland . Passengers were told that mechanical problems were to blame and did not learn about the perceived threat until after they arrived back at their starting point . There , Johnson -- apparently oblivious to his role in the decision to turn around -- was met by FBI agents , who interviewed him , the flight crew and his girlfriend . Investigators searched the plane , refueled it , and sent it off once again for Hawaii -- minus Johnson and Miller . Johnson told authorities that he had flown only about four times in his life and that the Maui-bound flight was his first over water ; that he had occupied himself first by reading in-flight magazines and then by filling out comment cards provided by the airline . He said he had lifted the phrase for the card `` I thought I was going to die '' from comedian Mike Myers , the affidavit said . `` Johnson stated that he did n't think anyone would open it during the flight , '' the affidavit added . `` He told me that he thought the card was going to be taken back to an office somewhere , opened , and everyone in the room would ` get a laugh ' from it , and that perhaps he 'd even get some frequent flyer miles out of it . Johnson stated he did n't intend to scare anyone and he would not have written his name on the card if it was a threat . Johnson stated that he felt bad about what had happened and that he was sorry . '' `` The safety and security of airline travel is of paramount importance , particularly following the events of Christmas Day , '' said Acting U.S. Attorney Kent Robinson in a news release referring to the botched December 25 bombing aboard a Northwest Airlines jet . Authorities `` will take all necessary steps to assure that air travel is safe , and that standards of conduct for airline passengers are enforced . And everyone who flies should also know that communicating with a flight crew about crashing airplanes will not be viewed as a joke . '' Johnson is to surrender Monday to authorities . CNN was unable to contact Johnson or Miller . | Incident disrupted Maui-bound flight on Wednesday . Joseph Hedlund Johnson , of Salem , Oregon , charged with a federal crime . Johnson wrote note on comment card invoking `` Gilligan 's Island '' Affidavit says Johnson said he did n't think card would be looked at during flight . | [[0, 15], [153, 250], [19, 98], [262, 295], [298, 428], [81, 98], [105, 142], [81, 98], [119, 152], [3501, 3579]] |
Port-au-Prince , Haiti -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- At least one organization attempting to deliver aid to Haiti continued to be plagued Sunday by delays and logistical problems , but aid was getting to those who need it most , officials said . Doctors Without Borders said Sunday that , despite guarantees from the United Nations and the U.S. Defense Department , its cargo plane carrying an inflatable surgical hospital was blocked from landing in Port-au-Prince the day before and was rerouted to Samana , Dominican Republic . Samana is in the eastern portion of the Dominican Republic and across the Caribbean island of Hispaniola , shared by the two nations , from Port-au-Prince . The material was being sent by truck from Samana , said the group , also known in French as Médecins Sans Frontières . However , the re-routing added a 24-hour delay to the hospital 's arrival . A second Doctors Without Borders plane was able to land on Sunday . That plane carried additional medical supplies and hospital equipment , the group said , adding it is still concerned about delays in the delivery of vital supplies . `` If this plane is also rerouted , then the hospital will be further delayed , in a situation where thousands of wounded are still in need of life saving treatment , '' a group statement said . It was unclear Sunday afternoon whether the plane had landed . See photos , details of some of the missing in Haiti . The surgical hospital includes two operating theaters , an intensive-care unit , 100-bed hospitalization capacity , an emergency room and all the necessary equipment needed for sterilizing material . `` MSF teams are currently working around the clock in five different hospitals in Port-au-Prince , but only two operating theaters are fully functional , while a third operating theater has been improvised for minor surgery due to the massive influx of wounded and lack of functional referral structures , '' the organization said . The group said two of its medical teams have performed more than 100 operations since arriving in the country , but frustrations are high over the delays . An emergency communications officer with the group in Haiti said conditions are growing worse for patients and `` we need the inflatable hospital -- if it ever arrives . '' `` Patients who were not critical only three days ago are now in critical phases , '' she wrote in a news release . `` This means that people will die from preventable infections . It 's horrible . '' Planes are asked to divert elsewhere if they do n't have the fuel to stay in a holding pattern , Col. Buck Elton of U. S. Special Operations Command South told reporters Sunday . Only two planes had been diverted Sunday , he said . Asked about the matter on CNN 's `` State of the Union '' Sunday , Lt. Gen. P.K. Keen , deputy commander of U.S. Southern Command , said the Port-au-Prince airport , which is being run by the U.S. military , is operating at maximum capacity 24 hours a day . `` It 's a matter of balance between getting relief supplies on the ground , getting the people on the ground that are necessary to get those relief supplies distributed , and getting the logistical capacity on the ground to continue that , and the vehicles so we can get it out by ground as well as by air , '' he said . Full coverage of the earthquake in Haiti . More aid was on the way . The National Organization for the Advancement of Haitians held an earthquake survival kit drive at the Haitian embassy in Washington , saying it was accepting items including baby formula , diapers , toiletries , vitamins , medicines , batteries and clothing . Hundreds of people turned out , and they brought enough to fill several trucks full . The overflow of supplies was piled along the embassy 's walls and stairwells . U.S. paratroopers using helicopters from an aircraft carrier delivered 130,000 daily-ration packets on Saturday , Keen of U.S. Southern Command said on `` Fox News Sunday . '' Some 70,000 bottles of water were also delivered , he said . One helicopter could not land and was forced to drop supplies , Keen said , but the delivery otherwise encountered no problems and was orderly . Keen called it a good day . Also Saturday , a member of the U.S. Coast Guard helped deliver a Haitian newborn aboard a Coast Guard helicopter . The mother -- one of five Haitians the Coast Guard was transferring from Port-au-Prince to Cap Haitien for medical reasons -- went into labor as the helicopter was refueling aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma , the Coast Guard said . The mother and child were taken to a hospital in Cap Haitien and were in good condition , according to the Coast Guard . In Washington on Sunday , hundreds of people from different faiths mourned the victims of the quake and donated money during a service at the National Cathedral . Among those in attendance were Susan Rice , the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations , and Raymond Joseph , the Haitian ambassador to the United States . Joseph asked the mourners to continue that support even as the tragedy fades from the headlines . `` I 'm thanking you in the name of the people of Haiti and I 'm asking you that what you 've begun here tonight should n't stop -- it should continue until Haiti gains its place among the nations of the world , as it should . `` Please , stay with us until we totally rebuild , '' Joseph said . The World Food Programme said it reached 40,000 people in and around Port-au-Prince with high-energy biscuits . The organization said its goal is to reach another 60,000 people on Sunday . Convoys and shipments carrying ready-to-eat foods continue to arrive , the group said . The WFP 's convoy was the first food to arrive in Leogane , about 18 kilometers -LRB- 11 miles -RRB- west of Port-au-Prince and close to where the earthquake was centered , it said in a statement . Nearly every building collapsed , and tens of thousands of people are believed to have been killed . Survivors are living in makeshift camps . In addition , the organization was distributing hot meals in some places , such as hospitals and schools , and has begun setting up kitchens at distribution sites , it said . The Red Cross said in a statement Sunday it had built latrines for 1,000 people and supplied medical kits for 2,000 patients to two hospitals . Seven truckloads of medical supplies should arrive in Port-au-Prince Sunday night , it said . Keen told CNN 's `` State of the Union '' on Sunday that the United States intends to continue helping Haiti as long as there is a need . Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush kicked off a fundraising drive Saturday -- a donation push called the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund . George W. Bush told CNN 's John King in an interview that aired Sunday , `` One thing I am concerned about is that on these -- during these crises , all kinds of fake charities spring up . ... We will make sure the money is accounted for and there 's transparency , and -LSB- it is -RSB- properly spent . '' CNN 's Karl Penhaul , Arthur Brice , Elise Labott , Laurie Ure , Greg Clary and Dugald McConnell contributed to this report . | Aid beginning to reach those who need it , officials say . One aid group still experiencing delays in getting aid into country . Port-au-Prince airport running at maximum capacity , U.S. general says . | [[218, 234], [1012, 1026], [1029, 1106], [2716, 2801], [2848, 2959], [2853, 2879], [2924, 2973]] |
Marjah , Afghanistan -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Twelve Afghan civilians were killed Sunday when two rockets fired by coalition forces in southern Afghanistan missed their intended target , as the Taliban showed stiff resistance to the NATO assault against the militant group . `` We deeply regret this tragic loss of life , '' U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal , commander of the International Security Assistance Force , said in a statement . `` The current operation in Central Helmand is aimed at restoring security and stability to this vital area of Afghanistan . It 's regrettable that in the course of our joint efforts , innocent lives were lost . '' Coalition forces fired two rockets with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System at insurgents firing upon Afghan and ISAF forces , but they struck about 300 meters off their intended target , ISAF said . The incident happened in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province , where NATO forces have launched Operation Moshtarak , a huge offensive by an international coalition of 15,000 troops including Afghans , Americans , Britons , Canadians , Danes and Estonians . McChrystal conveyed his apologies to Afghan President Hamid Karzai , the statement said . Coalition forces have also suspended use of the HIMARS pending a review of Sunday 's incident . The intended target was an insurgent compound from where coalition forces were taking direct fire , ISAF said . NATO , which launched the effort Saturday , announced the offensive before it started so that citizens could get out of harm 's way . Karzai on Saturday had urged Afghan and international troops to exercise `` absolute caution '' and ensure civilian safety . Helmand is a bastion of pro-Taliban sentiment and awash with the opium used to fund the insurgency . Marjah , a region known as the heroin capital of Afghanistan , is where the Taliban has set up a shadow government . The Moshtarak operation also includes securing Kandahar and providing support to the government and police there , British Maj. Gen. Gordon Messenger said in a news release Sunday . The Taliban has had increasing influence in Kandahar . Officials said Sunday they did not know how many Taliban fighters remained in the Marjah region of Helmand province , but think they may be in the hundreds -- some of whom are holed up in civilian compounds . Taliban forces tried to overrun , successfully in some cases , several positions that coalition forces had secured inside the city , U.S. Marines told CNN . In one instance , three suspected suicide bombers breached a secure military area near Koru Chareh Bazaar , throwing three or four grenades inside the compound , Marine officials said . The insurgents were killed before they could detonate their bomb vests . The sporadic firefight continued throughout the day , with an average of two to three Taliban fighters being killed in each battle , the Marines said . `` It is not unusual for the Taliban to melt away to regroup . The threat is still present in the area that they might come back , and our troops are well aware of that , '' Messenger told CNN . `` The troops are fighting in very open terrain , especially now during the winter , '' he said . `` This is a very complex operation but it has worked extremely well . '' Messenger emphasized the cooperation with the Afghan nationals as a key element in both preparing and executing this operation . `` The atmosphere among the locals remains positive , largely because elders on the ground knew about the operation ahead of time , '' he said . `` The sense is genuinely that the population is prepared to give this a go . '' Provincial spokesman Dawoud Ahmadi said 27 Taliban fighters have been killed . Afghan and international force also discovered a total of 2,500 kilograms -LRB- 5,500 pounds -RRB- of explosives during the operation . The Taliban spokesman for the Marjah area claimed six Taliban casualties , saying militants had killed 192 Afghan and coalition troops . In the past , the Taliban has often inflated casualty figures . `` NATO forces have not captured any areas in Marjah from the Mujahadeen , '' said Qari Yousif Ahmadi , the Taliban spokesman . Soldiers on Sunday found a weapons cache in the Nad Ali district that included two 155 mm artillery rounds , four pressure plates , blasting caps and batteries , according to ISAF . In another incident , coalition forces shot a man who refused to stop as he neared a coalition checkpoint despite repeated warnings to stop . No weapons were found on the middle-aged man , coalition forces said . Overall , Messenger said , Taliban resistance had not prevented coalition efforts to hold meetings , known as shuras , with local leaders . The coalition has been participating in these meetings to get Afghans on its side . `` There had been , and remained , very little Taliban interference . There had been small arms attacks from a distance which had tested the patrols , but nothing had stopped the mission from progressing or shuras from taking place , '' Messenger said . More on Operation Moshtarak from Afghanistan Crossroads blog . Officials said they hope Afghan forces and the government will maintain control , win allegiance from the citizens and provide farmers with an alternative to the poppy crops that pervade the region . `` Everyone understands that what has happened over the last 24-48 hours is the easy bit , '' Messenger said in a news release . `` The hard bit , the challenge , is the enduring effort , is delivering the security which allows the Afghans to start providing for their people . '' CNN 's Atia Abawi , Nic Robertson , Frederik Pleitgen , Barbara Starr and Per Nyberg and journalist Mati Matiullah contributed to this report . | ISAF commander apologizes after 12 civilians killed . U.S. , Marine , British soldier killed , U.S. military official says . Marjah region long a bastion of pro-Taliban sentiment , awash with opium . Coalition 's ground offensive follows air assaults . | [[9, 36], [40, 178], [1671, 1741]] |
KABUL , Afghanistan -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Motorbike gunmen killed a foreign aid worker in Kabul Monday , the Afghan Interior Ministry has said . Aid worker Gayle Williams was one of 23 expatriates who worked for SERVE Afghanistan . In a separate incident , two German soldiers and five Afghan children were killed when a suicide bomber struck an Afghan-German military convoy in northern Afghanistan , the provincial governor in Kunduz said . Gayle Williams , 34 , had dual British and South African nationality and worked for SERVE Afghanistan -LRB- Serving Emergency Relief and Vocational Enterprise -RRB- , an inter-denominational Christian charity that helps the disabled , the organization 's chairman said in a statement . Williams was shot in the western part of the city , Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said , while walking to work . She died shortly after the attack , SERVE Afghanistan chairman Mike Lyth said . `` She was a person who always loved the Afghans and was dedicated to serving those who are disabled , '' Lyth said . `` Needless to say , we are all in shock . '' Williams was one of 23 expatriates who worked for SERVE Afghanistan , which also employs 450 Afghans in the country . A statement on SERVE Afghanistan 's Web site -- attributed only to `` C and E '' -- described Williams as `` one of the inspiring people of the world who truly put others before herself . '' `` She was killed violently while caring for the most forgotten people in the world ; the poor and the disabled , '' the statement said . `` She herself would not regret taking the risk of working in Afghanistan . She was where she wanted to be -- holding out a helping hand to those in need . '' United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned her killing as well as the recent killings of two U.N. aid workers in Somalia . `` The secretary-general deplores these acts of deliberate violence against those who are making every effort to alleviate the dire suffering of Somali and Afghan citizens , '' Ban 's spokeswoman Michele Montas said at Monday 's daily briefing in New York . The Taliban claimed responsibility for the death , saying on its Web site that it killed the `` foreign woman '' for preaching Christianity in the country and adding that it had been following the woman for some time . In August , aid groups in Afghanistan said in a report that attacks on aid workers have forced them to scale back relief work . The bomber who attacked the Afghan-German convoy was riding a bike when he detonated his explosives as the vehicles traveled outside the northern Afghan city of Kunduz , Gov. Mohammed Omar said . Two German soldiers and two Afghan civilians were wounded , according to Omar . The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in an Internet posting , claiming to have killed 12 German soldiers . The Afghan and German forces went to Chahar Dara district to investigate enemy activity in the region when they were attacked , Omar said . NATO 's International Security Assistance Forces confirmed that a suicide attack in Kunduz province killed two of its soldiers and five local children , but did not reveal the ISAF soldiers ' nationalities , as part of its standing policy . ISAF spokesman Brig. Gen. Richard Blanchette said : `` Acts such as this , which offer nothing but violence and death , will not deter us in our commitment to create a better Afghanistan . '' NATO said one ISAF soldier and a civilian were also wounded in the attack . The German Defense Ministry in Berlin confirmed a bomb attack near a base that houses a German provincial reconstruction team in the town of Kunduz , a ministry spokesman said . It had no information on casualties . Germany has committed 3,200 troops to support NATO 's mission in Afghanistan . The latest deaths bring to 25 the number of German soldiers who have died in the Afghan war since 2002 . Journalist Farhad Peikar and CNN 's Frederick Pleitgen in Berlin contributed to this report . | Female aid worker fatally shot from a motorbike on way to work in Kabul . Taliban claim responsibility , say woman killed for preaching Christianity . In Kunduz , 2 German soldiers , 5 Afghan children killed in suicide attack . NATO : More than 20 insurgents killed during two days of fighting in Wardak province . | [[39, 99], [2096, 2144], [2209, 2250], [2719, 2791], [229, 251], [254, 396], [2979, 3219], [3043, 3129]] |
PORT-AU-PRINCE , Haiti -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- At least 50 people have died in a school collapse in in Petionville , near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince , officials said Friday night . Haitians try to help victims at a school that collapsed Friday in Petionville , near Port-au-Prince . Rescue personnel planned to continue working into the night to dig out students and teachers buried in the rubble , the Red Cross said . At least 100 people have been injured , the Haitian Civil Protection Bureau said . The death toll is expected to rise . Officials said the school could have held as many as 700 people when the collapse occurred at 10 a.m. -LRB- 10 a.m. ET -RRB- Some students were in class while others were in a playground , Haitian media reported . `` We are looking at major casualties here , '' Claudon said . He said dozens of students appeared to be trapped inside but could n't give an exact number . However , he said it was a typical school day and the building had been crowded . Most of the students at the College La Promesse Evangelique range in age from 10 to 20 , he said , but there are younger ones as well . Haitian press reports said the school has kindergarten , primary and secondary students . President Rene Preval and Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis toured the disaster area . `` I heard and saw with my own eyes children appealing for help , '' Preval was quoted as saying on the French language www.haitipressnetwork.com . `` We are taking all necessary steps , '' Pierre-Louis said . '' The government has mobilized to save those who can be saved . '' Preval asked residents to stay away from the area so police and rescue officials could do their work unimpeded . Michaele Gedeon , president of Haiti 's Red Cross , said she heard the voices of distraught children as rescuers tried to calm them while she was on the phone attempting to coordinate emergency rescue efforts . Watch as the Red Cross official describes the scene '' `` On the phone , you can hear so many children , you know , crying , crying and saying , ` this one is dead , ' ` that one is dead , ' '' she said . Claudon said hundreds of bystanders and rescue workers were digging through the rubble , but `` what we need right now is heavy search-and-rescue equipment . '' Claudon later said , `` local authorities are doing their best . '' Fifty to 60 patients , 30 of them severely injured , were taken to Trinite Hospital in Port-au-Prince , said Isabelle Mouniaman Nara , the head of mission in the capital for Medecins sans Frontieres . Another 150 patients were treated elsewhere , Nara said Friday night . The situation at Trinite `` is under control right now , '' she said . Trinite is the only hospital open in Port-au-Prince , the group said . The other two , General Hospital and Hospital de la Paix , are closed by strikes . The school is in an extremely poor part of town , and the roads are nearly impassable , local journalist Clarens Renois said . A United Nations helicopter was unable to land , Renois said . `` The school is poorly built , '' said Amelia Shaw , a journalist with United Nations TV who visited the scene . Renois described the building as `` not quite solid '' with `` weak construction . '' The school consisted of two floors with an addition built in the rear over a 200-foot ravine , Shaw said . The steep hillside , she said , is covered with shanty-like housing on both sides . The disaster occurred when the second floor crumbled onto the first , Shaw said . A disaster assistance response team from the U.S. Agency for International Development arrived on the scene within hours of the collapse , the agency said in a release . After assessing the situation , USAID activated its partner the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team . That team will be composed of 38 personnel , four search-and-rescue dogs and 31,000 pounds of rescue equipment and is expected to arrive Saturday . The Urban Search and Rescue Team will be accompanied by four additional USAID disaster experts . U.S. Ambassador Janet Sanderson expressed her condolences , haitipressnetwork.com reported . | NEW : At least 50 students killed , 100 injured ; toll is expected to rise . Red Cross official says dozens of students appear to be trapped in Haiti school . Rescue workers digging through rubble near Port-au-Prince , official says . School could have as many as 700 people in it , rescue official says . | [[0, 38], [45, 109], [426, 463], [466, 508], [509, 545], [509, 523], [536, 545], [823, 916], [831, 879], [2134, 2207], [546, 609]] |
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Filipino film `` Himala '' has been awarded the CNN APSA Viewers Choice Award for Best Asia-Pacific Film of all Time . `` The Screening Room '' presenter Myleene Klass arrives at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Queensland , Australia . Thousands of CNN viewers voted on `` The Screening Room '' Web site to honor Ishmael Bernal 's 1982 film with the accolade , which is jointly awarded by CNN and the region 's prestigious Asia Pacific Screen Awards -LRB- APSA -RRB- . `` The Screening Room 's '' Myleene Klass presented the award Tuesday in front of a crowd of over 700 film industry figures at a special ceremony on the Gold Coast , Queensland , Australia . Bernal 's austere tale of a young woman who goes on a healing crusade after seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary , which stars Filipino actress Nora Aunor , took the prize with 32 percent of the vote . It came in ahead of ahead of more widely known films like Japanese Akira Kurosawa 's `` Shichinin no samurai '' -LRB- `` Seven Samurai '' -RRB- , which took second place and `` Wo hu cang long '' -LRB- `` Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon '' -RRB- by Taiwan 's Ang Lee , which snared third . Other films in the shortlist included Chan-wook Park 's `` Oldboy '' from South Korea and Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki 's animated film `` Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi '' -LRB- `` Spirited Away '' -RRB- . `` Whatever the reason , I do feel we deserve this award , '' said `` Himala '' producer Bibsy Carballo , `` If only as a tribute to our people who in once a great while decide to come together as one , forget their petty squabbles and divisiveness , and make a declaration of support for this troubled nation , and its tremendously talented and good-hearted if unfortunate population . Long live ` Himala ! ' '' When it was first released in 1982 , `` Himala '' was picked for the official selection at Berlin International Film Festival , as well as a number of other festivals , and Nora Aunor was nominated for Best Actress . A total of 32 films representing 17 countries from Kazakhstan to Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran to India were finalists at this year 's Asia Pacific Screen Awards . Kazakh picture `` Tulpan , '' by director Sergei Dvortsevoy , which tells the story of a family of sheep and goat herders , took home the main feature prize . Other winners included Israeli director Ari Folman 's animated feature `` Waltz with Bashir , '' which took Best Animated Feature . Best Documentary was given to South Korea 's `` 63 Years On '' by Dong-won Kim and Achievement in Directing was awarded to Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan for '' Üç maymun '' -LRB- `` Three Monkeys '' -RRB- . The 2008 APSA International jury which presided over the shortlisted films was led by veteran Australian director , Bruce Beresford known for films like `` Driving Miss Daisy . '' Asia Pacific Screen Awards Chairman Des Power said : `` There is a growing fascination and respect for films from this diverse region . `` It is a tribute to the filmmakers that they now have a globally recognised award and the broadcast reach of CNN International to promote their work . '' Watch `` The Screening Room 's '' Asia Pacific Screen Awards show at the following times : Wednesday 26 November : 0930 , 1830 , Saturday 29 November : 0830 , 1900 , Sunday 30 November : 1730 , 1830 , Monday 1 December : 0400 -LRB- all times GMT -RRB- . | Filipino film , `` Himala '' wins CNN Asia Pacific Screen Awards Viewers Choice Award . Ishmael Bernal 's film beat Akira Kurosawa 's `` Seven Samurai '' to the top prize . CNN `` The Screening Room 's '' presenter Myleene Klass awarded the accolade . | [[0, 6], [9, 49], [53, 154], [898, 985], [158, 259], [507, 683]] |
LONDON , England -- Almost 25,000 people will die this year of HIV/AIDS in Myanmar unless lifesaving treatment is significantly increased , according to a new report . A Doctors Without Borders worker handing out HIV/AIDS drugs in Myanmar . The study produced by leading international humanitarian organization , Doctors Without Borders said the failure by the government to provide HIV/AIDS treatment to its people is putting the population at risk . An estimated 240,000 people are thought to have HIV/AIDS in Myanmar with 76,000 of those people facing death unless they receive antiretroviral -LRB- ART -RRB- drug , the report published Tuesday said . Fewer than 20 percent of the people are are able to access ART , according to the organization . Currently , Doctors Without Borders says it is almost the sole provider of these lifesaving drugs -- providing them to more than 11,000 people . `` It is unacceptable that a single NGO is treating the vast majority of HIV patients in a crisis of this magnitude , '' the charity 's Operations Manager Joe Belliveau , said in a press release . The pressure on its resources means the charity has been forced to turn away patients . `` Sometimes I wake up at midnight and dream of my patients . Women who come in are HIV positive -- they have three children at home and the husband has passed away and we can not provide any treatment for them , '' a doctor quoted in the research said . The government and international communities have provided very little to the crisis , Belliveau added . The government of Myanmar allocated just $ 200,000 for HIV/AIDS in 2008 , which is one of the lowest amount spent worldwide , according to Doctors Without Borders . Drugs that are not provided by aid organizations or the government cost a patient $ 29 per month . With most people in Myanmar living on an average of $ 1.20 per day , the cost of drugs is unaffordable for most . The charity also appealed for intervention by the international community to avert the crisis . Myanmar currently receives around $ 3 per person in aid -- one of the lowest rates worldwide . One reason for this may be that international donor groups are reluctant to send aid to Myanmar , a country run by a strict military junta widely criticized for its atrocious human rights record . The report states aid agencies may be put off by challenges Myanmar imposes such as strict constraints and difficult bureaucratic procedures . Earlier this year when a deadly cyclone hit Myanmar that killed almost 100,000 people and left millions homeless , the government turned away international aid to the frustration of many organizations . Doctors Without Borders has been providing essential healthcare services in Myanmar since 1993 and began an integrated program in 2003 to support people living with HIV/AIDS . | HIV/AIDS treatment in Myanmar needs to improve drastically says a report . More than 25,000 people will die this year if these people do n't get treatment . Doctors Without Borders is almost the sole supplier of aid and need funding . Government and international community need to give more money . | [[0, 6], [9, 82], [752, 761], [764, 849], [924, 1012], [1920, 1931], [1937, 2015]] |
NEW YORK -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The former hedge fund manager who faked his own suicide to avoid prison time for fraud will spend an extra two years in jail for failing to surrender himself , according to the U.S attorney 's office . Sam Israel tried to get out of serving a 20 year sentenced by faking his suicide . It added two years . Federal Judge Kenneth Karas sentenced Sam Israel III in White Plains , New York , on Wednesday , giving him two more years in addition to his previous sentence . Federal guidelines call for a 12 - to 18-month sentence , but Karas noted that Israel 's crime `` took a fair amount of planning , '' and he criticized the former hedge fund manager for `` thumbing his nose at the system . '' The additional sentence will begin after Israel serves his first 20 years for fraud . Israel admitted to authorities in March that he had faked his own suicide to escape his jail sentence . He was supposed to report to a Massachusetts prison in June of 2008 to serve a 20-year sentence for defrauding investors of Bayou Management out of approximately $ 450 million . But he did not show up at the facility . Days later , his sport-utility vehicle was found abandoned on a bridge in upstate New York , with the words `` Suicide is Painless '' -- title of the theme song for the television show `` M.A.S.H. '' -- written in dust on the the hood . Authorities determined the suicide setup was a ruse and launched a major manhunt to find Israel . He turned himself in to law enforcement July 2 , 2008 . | Judge says Sam Israel `` thumbed his nose at the system '' Two-year sentence exceeds federal guidelines . Israel faked his suicide to escape jail sentence for fraud . Hedge fund manager faced 20 years for defrauding investors . | [[558, 718], [0, 24], [105, 152], [334, 361], [431, 495], [28, 57], [62, 114], [230, 278], [230, 240], [258, 312], [808, 881], [848, 911], [912, 914], [980, 1089]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- He burst on the music scene in the 1970s with the Commodores and then went on to a major solo career with hits such as `` All Night Long '' and `` Hello . '' Lionel Richie and his daughter , Nicole , gave their first joint TV interview in six years to CNN 's Larry King . She made a name for herself on the TV series `` The Simple Life , '' which followed the exploits of her and fellow socialite Paris Hilton , and in the tabloids . Father-and-daughter Lionel and Nicole Richie have been making news for decades , but rarely together . In their first TV interview together in six years , they talked with CNN 's Larry King about their relationship ; her time in rehab ; Lionel 's first grandchild , Harlow ; their growing family ; and more . The following interview , scheduled to air Thursday night , has been edited for brevity and clarity : . Larry King : You did `` American Idol . '' A European tour . A new CD . You ever give thoughts of just cooling it ? Lionel Richie : My answer to that is very simple . I do n't like fishing . I 'm pretty much like you . This is my hobby . King : What 's the new album -LSB- `` Just Go '' -RSB- about ? Lionel Richie : You know what I decided to do on this album ? Something different . Instead of controlling , which is what I love to do -- I 'm the writer , I 'm the arranger , I 'm the producer , I 'm the singer -- I decided -LSB- to -RSB- start another way . I just gave up the power completely . There is only one song on this album that I actually wrote , called `` Eternity . '' King : The `` American Idol '' thing . Was that fun ? Why did you do it ? Lionel Richie : It 's the best fun in the world . Danny -LSB- Gokey -RSB- was so wonderful . He kept saying , `` Suppose I mess up or suppose I sing your line instead of my line , '' and I said , `` You ca n't mess this one up . And if you feel like you want to sing my part , sing it loud and strong . '' And of course he nailed it . It was so much fun to watch everybody backstage . The tension of what goes through that show , I do n't think I -LSB- could -RSB- do it . -LSB- Nicole Richie joins the interview -RSB- . King : What is it like to be with her in this setting ? Lionel Richie : I 'm so proud of her right now . There is such a pride that she has turned this corner . She is an amazing mother . I want the world to know where she is . King : Now you 're pregnant with a second child , right ? Nicole Richie : Yes , yes I am . King : And the father -LSB- Joel Madden -RSB- is the same ? Nicole Richie : Yes . King : You going to get married ? Nicole Richie : Eventually , yes . King : But that 's not important or paramount ? Nicole Richie : I think for both of us , we are going to do it because we want to , not because that 's what you do . King : What kind of grandfather is he ? Nicole Richie : Well , he 's very animated . He smiles like this all the time , and so he 's nothing but fun for Harlow . She absolutely loves him . Watch Nicole Richie talk about her daughter '' King : Nicole , you 've been through some turbulent times . You 've had drug abuse , wild-child behavior . Entered rehab in 2003 . How have you come through all of that ? Nicole Richie : With the support of my family , really . I 've always stayed really close with my mother -LSB- Brenda -RSB- and my father . I have really great friends . And I just have a really great circle around me who support me no matter what , do n't judge me no matter how low I 've ever gotten . King : How did you deal with it , Lionel ? Lionel Richie : It gave me an amazing opportunity to step up to the plate . I said to her one day : I have some good news and I have some bad news . I said the bad news is that Nicole is going to die . The good news is , she does n't have to . I remember that look on her face of sheer panic . And I said the only person who is going to be able to save Nicole is Nicole . And she went away and about three weeks later I got a phone saying , ` Dad , I want to go into rehab . ' And when she checked into rehab , her mother and I checked into rehab with her . King : What was the toughest part about rehab ? Nicole Richie : It was right before `` The Simple Life '' came out . Just the fact that I could n't do it in private really was unfortunate . But we did n't watch TV there or -LSB- had no -RSB- connection to the outside world , which I thought was really great . So I just focused on being positive there and focused on myself . And my parents were there with me . They came for family week . And so I just focused on that and everything just kind of fell in place . Watch Nicole Richie talk about rehab '' King : When all of those troubles were going on , did n't it affect -LSB- your -RSB- performance ? Lionel Richie : Thank God for the stage . What the stage was for me was an outlet . It gave me a chance to kind of get away from it for a moment . King : You said that you were not a good dad to Nicole growing up ... was n't there for her . Do you regret that ? Lionel Richie : I was trying to be Lionel Richie . There is a part of -LSB- me -RSB- that 's guilty because I wish I could have been there more for her , but I was trying to make it as the solo guy at that time . King : What kind of dad was he ? Nicole Richie : I really hate when he says that . I hate when he says that he was n't a good dad because my memory of my childhood was nothing but good memories . I remember him coming down in the kitchen in the morning and singing songs and us playing . Was he gone a lot ? Yeah . But he also toured a lot . Even when he and my mom divorced , it was kind of like he was on tour , so I was kind of OK with it . And he 's not perfect , he 's a human and we went through phases of not speaking . I could sit here and I could say that I was a terrible daughter , too , but I am not going to say that . King : How do you like her boyfriend -LSB- Joel Madden -RSB- ? Lionel Richie : Love him . Love him . King : Do n't you want them to get married ? Lionel Richie : I want them to take their time . I 'm more interested in whether they like each other and whether they 're best friends . Because that means they 'll be great parents forever . King -LSB- to Nicole -RSB- : You were adopted . Nicole Richie : Yes . Lionel Richie : When we adopted , -LSB- she -RSB- was 8 , yes . When we first met her , she was 3 1/2 . King : Took five years ? Lionel Richie : She stayed with us for two years before we even thought about legal guardianship . King : Was there a doubt about doing it ? Lionel Richie : It was a tremendous responsibility , but I fell in love . Brenda fell in love . And once you fall in love , you do n't know anything else . | Lionel Richie likes father of his grandchild ; says Nicole should n't rush marriage . Nicole Richie says parents ' love and support helped her make it through drug rehab . Nicole on Lionel : `` I hate when he says that he was n't a good dad '' How was his `` American Idol '' appearance ? `` It 's the best fun in the world '' | [[4471, 4506], [5272, 5305]] |
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A Muslim family removed from an airliner Thursday after passengers became concerned about their conversation say AirTran officials refused to rebook them , even after FBI investigators cleared them of wrongdoing . A Muslim family was removed from an AirTran flight after a conversation about the safest place to sit . Atif Irfan said federal authorities removed eight members of his extended family and a friend after passengers heard them discussing the safest place to sit and misconstrued the nature of the conversation . Irfan , a U.S. citizen and tax attorney , said he was `` impressed with the professionalism '' of the FBI agents who questioned him , but said he felt mistreated when the airline refused to book the family for a later flight . AirTran Airways late Thursday said they acted properly and that the family was offered full refunds and can fly with AirTran again . `` AirTran Airways complied with all TSA , law enforcement and Homeland Security directives and had no discretion in the matter , '' the company said in a prepared statement . Watch how Muslims find climate of fear at airport '' Family members said FBI agents tried to work it out with the airline , but to no avail . iReport.com : Share your story . `` The FBI agents actually cleared our names , '' said Inayet Sahin , Irfan 's sister-in-law . `` They went on our behalf and spoke to the airlines and said , ` There is no suspicious activity here . They are clear . Please let them get on a flight so they can go on their vacation , ' and they still refused . '' `` The airline told us that we ca n't fly their airline , '' Irfan said . The dispute occurred about 1 p.m. Thursday as AirTran flight 175 was preparing for takeoff from Reagan National Airport outside of Washington , D.C. , on a flight destined for Orlando , Florida . Atif Irfan , his brother , their wives , a sister and three children were headed to Orlando to meet with family and attend a religious conference . `` The conversation , as we were walking through the plane trying to find our seats , was just about where the safest place in an airplane is , '' Sahin said . `` We were -LRB- discussing whether it was safest to sit near -RRB- the wing , or the engine or the back or the front , but that 's it . We did n't say anything else that would raise any suspicion . '' Watch Muslims recount how they were kicked off plane '' The conversation did not contain the words `` bomb , '' `` explosion , '' `` terror '' or other words that might have aroused suspicion , Irfan said . `` When we were talking , when we turned around , I noticed a couple of girls kind of snapped their heads , '' said Sobia Ijaz , Irfan 's wife . `` I kind of thought to myself , ` Oh , you know , maybe they 're going to say something . ' It did n't occur to me that they were going to make it such a big issue . '' Some time later , while the plane was still at the gate , an FBI agent boarded the plane and asked Irfan and his wife to leave the plane . The rest of the family was removed 15 or 20 minutes later , along with a family friend , Abdul Aziz , a Library of Congress attorney and family friend who was coincidentally taking the same flight and had been seen talking to the family . After the FBI interviewed family members , it released them , Irfan said . AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson said the incident began when some passengers reported hearing suspicious remarks by a woman and alerted flight attendants . Two federal air marshals , who were on board the flight , notified law enforcement about the security-related issue , AirTran said . After the family and Aziz were taken for questioning , the remaining 95 passengers were taken off of the plane and rescreened , along with the crew and the baggage , AirTran said . Irfan said he believes his family is owed an apology . `` Really , at the end of the day , we 're not out here looking for money . I 'm an attorney . I know how the court system works . We 're basically looking for someone to say ... ` We 're apologizing for treating you as second-class citizens . ' '' `` We are proud Americans , '' Sahin said . `` You know we decided to have our children and raise them here . We can very easily go anywhere we want in the world , but you know we love it here and we 're not going to go away , no matter what . '' Aziz said there is a `` very strong possibility '' he will pursue a civil rights lawsuit . `` I guess it 's just a situation of guilt by association , '' Aziz said . `` They see one Muslim talking to another Muslim and they automatically assume something wrong is going on . '' | Man says Muslim family taken off flight after discussion over safest place to sit . Atif Irfan claims FBI cleared family of wrongdoing , but AirTran would n't let them fly . AirTran says it acted properly , complied with all federal directives . Irfan says family owed an apology , may pursue a civil rights lawsuit . | [[30, 138], [244, 338], [465, 504], [120, 183], [143, 183], [186, 243], [555, 560], [693, 781], [1580, 1635], [782, 914], [817, 836], [915, 1006], [3609, 3623], [3805, 3859], [3816, 3859], [4392, 4446]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Willie Mitchell , the Memphis producer whose percussive , string-and-horn-tinged R&B sound shaped '70s hits by such artists as Al Green and Ann Peebles , died Tuesday . He was 81 . Mitchell had been having health problems and went into cardiac arrest in December , according to his grandson , Lawrence . Mitchell `` was doing music all the way till he could n't , '' his grandson , whom Mitchell helped raise , said . He worked on Rod Stewart 's most recent album , `` Soulbook , '' as well as Solomon Burke 's forthcoming CD . Despite being in and out of the hospital , Mitchell would write horn and string arrangements one day and record them the next , Lawrence Mitchell said . In the 1970s , Mitchell was a principal in Hi Records and owned Royal Studios , where musicians such as drummers Al Jackson and Howard Grimes and guitarist Teenie Hodges plied their trade . His biggest success came with Green , whom he guided through a number of '70s hits , including `` I 'm Still in Love With You , '' `` Let 's Stay Together , '' `` Love and Happiness '' and `` Call Me . '' In 2003 , he and Green re-teamed for `` I Ca n't Stop , '' their first album together since 1985 . Green has often talked about how important Mitchell was to his sound , working him until his voice was just so -- a difference that can be heard on his pre-Mitchell songs , such as `` Back Up Train . '' Mitchell also helmed Peebles ' `` I Ca n't Stand the Rain '' and O.V. Wright 's `` The Ace of Spades . '' A musician himself , he had several R&B hits in the '60s . Memphis named the street in front of Royal Studios for Mitchell in 2004 . Funeral arrangements were pending , Lawrence Mitchell said . | Willie Mitchell , helmed key early '70s R&B hits , dies at 81 . Mitchell 's tight drum sound was heard on songs by Al Green , Ann Peebles . Mitchell worked right up to his death , his grandson said . | [[188, 199], [1524, 1561], [200, 208], [284, 309], [323, 367], [383, 398], [430, 436]] |
Islamabad , Pakistan -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Five people arrested in Pakistan had been reported missing in the United States , and police are confident they were planning terrorist acts , a Pakistani police official told CNN . It is too soon to link the men with any terrorist organizations , said Tahir Gujjrar , deputy superintendent of police in Sargodha , Pakistan , but preliminary investigations suggest they had sought to link up with the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Jamaat ud Dawa militant organizations . Neither group showed interest , however , Gujjrar said . The five were from Virginia and their families had contacted the FBI soon after they went missing , he said . They include two Pakistani-Americans , two Yemeni-Americans and an Egyptian-American . The arrests came after a raid on a home in Sargodha , about 120 miles south of Islamabad , Gujjrar said . No U.S. officials have confirmed Gujjrar 's information , and there was no evidence charges had been filed . The FBI had said earlier that it was trying to determine whether a link existed between the five missing men and the arrests in Pakistan . A U.S. law enforcement official not authorized to speak for attribution said the five missing men were all American citizens . Asked if they are the same men arrested in Pakistan , the official said , `` We think it is , but we do n't have it firm ... The truthful answer is , we do n't know . '' The State Department said it does not have confirmation of the arrested individuals ' identities or whether they are Americans . The U.S. embassy in Islamabad is seeking further information . If the individuals are Americans , the United States will be seeking consular access , State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said . `` If they are American citizens , we are going to be very interested in the charges they have been detained on and the circumstances in which they are being held , '' he said . `` That is something we would do anywhere and that is why the embassy is seeking further information . '' Under the Geneva Conventions , Pakistan is required to notify the United States about any Americans arrested , Kelly said . The U.S. law enforcement official said none of the five missing men had shown up on law enforcement 's radar before they were reported missing . `` These guys never surfaced with us before . '' Authorities believe their intent was to wage jihad overseas rather than with terrorist acts in the United States , the official said , but `` there is still a lot of uncertainty about what they were up to . '' A Pakistani official said the men arrived in Karachi on November 30 and went on to Lahore and then Sargodha , where they were arrested Wednesday , the official said . The arrests came at the behest of local police . Preliminary investigations are ongoing , the official said . The Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement Wednesday it was assisting in the investigation of `` five Muslim young men from Virginia who left the country recently under mysterious circumstances . '' The parents of the missing youths and local Muslim leaders approached the council about the disappearances and the organization `` immediately informed the FBI , '' the council said . Council spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said one of the missing youths was a student at Howard University , and all five knew each other . One of the youths left a video behind , Nihad Awad , the council 's executive director , told reporters . `` I was disturbed by the content of it , '' he said . One person appeared in it , and made references to `` the ongoing conflict in the world , and that young Muslims have to do something , '' Awad said . He said the video `` juxtaposed certain verses of the Quran , '' and he suggested there was a misunderstanding of those verses and their potential misuse . The video is about 11 minutes long , he said , and is `` like a farewell . '' Awad said it did not specify what the youths would be doing , but he has seen similar videos on the Internet , and `` it just made me uncomfortable . '' One source identified the missing Howard student as Ramy Zamzam , who was studying dentistry at the Washington college . No further details were immediately available , and it was not immediately known whether he was among those arrested in Pakistan . The council and the Muslim community realize there is a problem , although it is not widespread , Awad said , and is `` going to launch a major campaign of education to refute the misuse of verses in the Quran , or the misuse of certain grievances in the Muslim world . We believe that we can do a lot to reinstate confidence in young American Muslims , that they have to be fully engaged , as the majority of them are engaged in civic life and in the political process . '' He and other Muslim officials cautioned against a rush to judgment against the youths , and praised their families and members of the Muslim community for approaching law enforcement and assisting in the investigation . At the end of November , he said , the youths told their parents they were attending a local conference , but their parents became suspicious when calling their cell phones because they got what sounded like an overseas ring tone . The families then went to the council . `` The main concern was to get them back and figure out what was going on and protect any national security and everybody 's rights , '' Hooper said . He said he understood the five left the country in a couple of groups at the end of November . Along with the families and Muslim community leaders , the council said it was working to assist investigators . Imam Johari Abdul-Malik of the Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations in the Washington area , said that while the five were active in their mosques , `` From all of our interviews , there 's been no sign that they were in any way outwardly radicalized ... there have n't been any reports that there was anything outwardly suspicious in their behavior . '' The FBI is aware of the arrests , and is also investigating a report of five people reported missing from the Washington area , said Katherine Schweit , spokeswoman for the agency 's Washington field office . `` We are working with Pakistan authorities to determine their identities and the nature of their business there '' -- if the people arrested are the people who are missing , she said . She declined to elaborate , citing an ongoing investigation . U.S. authorities have been wary of Islamic militants recruiting young Muslims from the United States to fight overseas . Prosecutors in Minnesota recently arrested eight Somali-American men on charges related to what they said were efforts to recruit youths from the Minneapolis area to fight for al-Shabaab , a Somali guerrilla movement battling the African country 's U.N.-backed transitional government . At least two young men from Minnesota have been killed in Somalia , including one who blew himself up in what is believed to have been the first suicide bombing carried out by a naturalized U.S. citizen . The matter has `` always been a concern , '' Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday . `` We have been well aware of the threats that we continue to face along with friends and allies around the world ... we know that we have to work more closely with both Afghanistan and Pakistan to try to root out the infrastructure of terrorism that continues to recruit and train people . '' CNN 's Jeanne Meserve and Elise Labott contributed to this report . | NEW : One source identified the missing Howard student as Ramy Zamzam . One of 5 left video mentioning `` the ongoing conflict in the world , '' viewer says . Five are from Virginia and their families had contacted the FBI soon after they went missing . State Department does not have confirmation that individuals are Americans . | [[3221, 3319], [4052, 4115], [3353, 3390], [3514, 3524], [3546, 3601], [559, 586], [587, 643], [5993, 6000], [6031, 6076], [1407, 1535]] |
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- One-time Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin may have sent a clear message to the political world , analysts say , by signing a deal to become a TV commentator . That message : She 's unlikely to run in the 2012 presidential race . `` I do think maybe it suggests , sadly for Democrats , that she might not be running , '' said Democratic strategist and CNN contributor Paul Begala . `` Democrats ... are pretty confident they can defeat Sarah Palin . She 's not going to beat Barack Obama . '' The former Alaska governor has signed a deal with Fox News to appear as a contributor on the network , a source with knowledge of the agreement confirms to CNN . There are no plans for Palin to anchor her own program , the source said . `` Let 's first hope for -LSB- Fox News President -RSB- Roger Ailes ' sake that she does n't quit that job the way she quit her job as governor of Alaska , '' Begala joked . Nancy Pfotenhauer , a former McCain presidential campaign spokesperson , also indicated that Palin 's new job is a possible sign of things to come . `` There 's a slight indication she may not run , '' she said . `` I assume this is a business decision on the part of both Fox News and on Gov. Palin 's part . '' Begala , though , did give Palin praise for her TV gig . `` It 's indoor work . It 's interesting and lucrative . I 'm all for it , '' he said . `` Congratulations for the former governor of Alaska . '' Palin is hardly alone in top Republicans-turned-TV talking heads . After the 2008 GOP presidential primaries , former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee joined Fox News as the host of his own show . Karl Rove , a former top aide to President George W. Bush , also joined Fox News as a commentator . Michael Steele , the current chairman of the Republican National Committee , was once a Fox News contributor as well . Mary Matalin , a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney , is now a CNN contributor alongside her husband James Carville and Begala -- top Democratic aides to then President Clinton . One of Begala and Carville 's colleagues -- George Stephanopolous -- has been a long-time political analyst at ABC News , who later hosted his own Sunday TV show `` This Week . '' Most recently , he was named as the host of ABC 's `` Good Morning America . '' On MSNBC , former Florida GOP Rep. Joe Scarborough now hosts his own TV show called `` Morning Joe . '' Pat Buchanan , a leading conservative voice and former presidential candidate , also graces MSNBC 's airwaves giving his take on politics . Since leaving office , Palin has become a vocal critic of the Obama administration 's policies . She recently released her autobiography `` Going Rogue '' and toured the country promoting her book . | Sarah Palin will appear as a contributor on Fox News , source tells CNN . Source : Former Alaska governor will not anchor her own program . Palin joins ranks of many other politicians who have become analysts , co-contributors . | [[540, 640], [643, 701], [702, 756], [540, 640], [1467, 1533]] |
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Violent crime in the United States declined in 2008 , due in part to a significant drop in the number of murders , according to the first available FBI figures covering the entire year . The decline would be the third straight year-to-year drop in violent crime in the United States . The preliminary figures for 2008 , released Monday , show that overall reported crime dropped 2.5 percent nationally from the previous year , including a 4.4 percent decline in murders . Although crime statistics varied sharply from city to city , the overall number of reported murders declined 9.1 percent in cities with populations of 100,000 to 250,000 . However , murders increased 5.5 percent in towns of fewer than 10,000 residents . Overall , the number of aggravated assaults declined 3.2 percent , forcible rape decreased 2.2 percent , and robbery decreased 1.1 percent . The Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report historically provides a strong indication of the final figures that will be compiled and released later in the year . The statistics are based on a compilation of crime reports provided to the FBI by the more than 12,000 law enforcement agencies in the nation . The report shows a small increase in violent crime in the second half of the year . Figures for the first half of 2008 , which were released in early January , showed that overall violent crime through the end of June had declined 3.5 percent , compared with the 2.5 percent decline for the entire year . Other results in the year-end figures were a 1.6 percent drop in reported property crimes from 2007 , including a 13.1 percent decline in motor vehicle thefts . Violent crime in the United States has largely been on the decline over the past two decades . In 2005 , however , a surprising increase prompted headlines of an end to the drop in violence . Monday 's figures show that the downward trend has resumed . After the 2005 violent crime increase of 2.3 percent , the figures increased only 1.9 percent in 2006 and then dropped 0.7 percent in 2007 before the decline of 2.5 percent in the preliminary 2008 figures . | Preliminary data : U.S. violent crime in 2008 dropped 2.5 percent from 2007 . Murders declined 4.4 percent but rose in towns of fewer than 10,000 people . Drop in violent crime would be third consecutive year-to-year decline . Violent crime in the U.S. has largely been declining over the past two decades . | [[0, 26], [65, 81], [217, 314], [315, 347], [350, 365], [315, 347], [368, 501], [1922, 1974], [1977, 1988], [2028, 2128], [315, 347], [368, 501], [684, 755], [217, 314], [1287, 1321], [1363, 1507], [217, 314], [1669, 1763]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- NASA has postponed for one day the scheduled launch of a rocket carrying a solar probe . The space agency plans to launch an Atlas V rocket carrying its Solar Dynamics Observatory , which it says will study the sun `` in greater detail than ever before . '' After delaying the launch three times because of windy conditions Wednesday at Cape Canaveral , Florida , NASA said it will try again Thursday , with a launch window of 10:23 a.m. to 11:23 a.m. ET . `` The vehicle 's flight control system sensed wind loads exceeding the limit , prompting the abrupt end to the countdown , '' NASA said . The agency says the observatory will provide a better understanding of the sun and its role in space weather events such as solar flares , which can wreak havoc on Earth . The observatory is designed to deliver solar images with resolution 10 times better than high-definition television , according to NASA . The five-year mission `` will determine how the sun 's magnetic field is generated , structured and converted into violent solar events like turbulent solar wind , solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections , '' according to the agency . The solar wind , a stream of electrically charged particles flowing out from the sun , fills the entire solar system with charged particles and magnetic fields , according to NASA . Solar flares are actual explosions in the sun 's atmosphere , the largest of them equal to billions of one-megaton nuclear bombs . And Coronal Mass Ejections , or CMEs , are eruptions that launch solar material into space at a high rate of speed . Such events can put astronauts at risk , as well as aircraft flying over Earth 's North or South Poles , and can also disrupt satellite communications , navigational systems and power grids , NASA said . In 1969 , for instance , a solar current knocked a power grid serving Quebec , Canada , off-line for nine hours . `` That 's a direct impact on life and society , '' said Richard Fisher , director of NASA 's Heliophysics Division . He is in charge of Wednesday 's launch . In addition , changes in magnetic energy such as those around sunspots can change Global Positioning System signals , making them less accurate . `` If you 're landing a great big jet airliner in a low-visibility situation and you have one of these events that causes a misinterpretation of location by 150 to 200 yards , that 's big stuff when you 're trying to hit a runway with these instruments , '' Fisher said . There 's no way to predict space weather . Officials hope the Solar Dynamics Observatory can provide information to help change that . `` This is the most advanced spacecraft we 've ever designed to study the sun and its dynamic behavior , '' Fisher said . The sun , he said , `` has this trick of converting magnetic energy into other kinds of energy that can affect the Earth . '' `` I believe we 're up to the point now where we can probably predict when something like this is more or less likely and you can at least take precautions , '' Fisher said about solar weather . A warning system , for example , could help power grid operators avoid an outage by taking some of the grid 's load off or finding alternative configurations . The sun 's effect was n't an issue for the Earth until the technological advances in electronics over the last hundred years , he said . The observatory is `` going to give us good awareness of the dynamics of the sun , and we 're going to be able to make estimates on when we should take precautions with our satellites or with airline operations or with Department of Defense systems , '' Fisher said . `` We have an increasing pressure on science to try and predict what 's going to happen on the sun , and that 's the scientific bent of this -LRB- SDO -RRB- satellite , is to try to get a handle on it . '' The observatory contains three major instruments that scientists believe will send data back to Earth for at least five years . The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly will allow scientists to see the sun in high resolution . The imaging assembly will also observe the outer layer of the sun 's atmosphere , and the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment will measure its ultraviolet spectrum every 10 seconds . `` Space weather forecasting is in its infancy ... just like hurricane forecasting was years ago , '' according to an article on NASA 's Web site by Liz Citrin , SDO project manager at NASA 's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt , Maryland , which developed and will manage the mission . `` We built up experience in collecting data , designed models , tested those models and now look what we can do . '' The observatory will snap an image of the sun in eight wavelengths every 10 seconds , NASA said . It will remain in continuous contact with a station at the White Sands Complex in southern New Mexico . `` The biggest challenge of this mission was the data rate , '' Citrin wrote in the article . `` SDO will blast back 1.5 terabytes of information every day . ... That 's equivalent to a half-million song downloads . It 's unprecedented . '' The observatory is the first mission of NASA 's Living With a Star program . The program is aimed at increasing understanding of the sun in order to address its effect on Earth . The mission was supposed to launch in August 2008 , but scientists decided more testing was needed . CNN Radio 's Shelby Erdman contributed to this report . | Solar observatory aims to provide better understanding of sun 's role in space weather . Observatory to deliver images with resolution 10 times better than high-def TV . Five-year mission will examine sun 's magnetic field and violent solar events . NASA : Observatory will snap image of sun in eight wavelengths every 10 seconds . | [[615, 751], [3360, 3440], [5215, 5283], [787, 902], [168, 198], [207, 254], [615, 751], [925, 1159], [2081, 2182], [787, 802], [905, 924], [4176, 4283], [4695, 4778]] |
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The United States Mint launched a new coin Tuesday featuring jazz legend Duke Ellington , making him the first African-American to appear by himself on a circulating U.S. coin . The District of Columbia coin honoring Duke Ellington was introduced Tuesday in Washington . Ellington , the composer of classics including `` It Do n't Mean a Thing If It Ai n't Got That Swing '' appears on the `` tails '' side of the new D.C. quarter . George Washington is on the `` heads '' side , as is usual with U.S. quarters . The coin was issued to celebrate Ellington 's birthplace , the District of Columbia . U.S. Mint Director Ed Moy introduced the new coin at a news conference Tuesday at the Smithsonian Institution 's National Museum of American History . Members of Ellington 's family were present at the ceremony , and the jazz band of Duke Ellington High School performed . Ellington won the honor by a vote of D.C. residents , beating out abolitionist Frederick Douglass and astronomer Benjamin Banneker . Also on the coin is the phrase `` Justice for all . '' The Mint rejected the first inscription choice of D.C. voters , which was `` taxation without representation , '' in protest of the district 's lack of voting representation in Congress . Edward Kennedy `` Duke '' Ellington received 13 Grammy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize , among numerous other honors . His orchestra 's theme song , `` Take the A Train , '' is one of the best-known compositions in jazz . Ellington was born in the district in 1899 and composed more than 3,000 songs , including `` Satin Doll , '' `` Perdido '' and `` Do n't Get Around Much Any More . '' `` It Do n't Mean a Thing If It Ai n't Got That Swing '' helped usher in the swing era of jazz . Ellington performed with other famous artists , including John Coltrane , Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald , and he traveled around the world with his orchestras . He died in 1974 at the age of 75 . The first African-American to appear on a circulating coin was York , a slave who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their `` Corps of Discovery '' adventures across America at the dawn of the 19th century . The 2003 Missouri quarter features the three men together in a canoe on the obverse . The U.S. Mint distinguishes between circulating coins , which are intended for daily use , and commemorative ones , which mark special occasions . African-Americans including Jackie Robinson , who broke baseball 's color barrier , have appeared on commemorative coins . Educator Booker T. Washington , botanist George Washington Carver and the first Revolutionary War casualty , Crispus Attucks , all of whom were black , have also appeared on commemorative coins , according to the U.S. Mint . | Duke Ellington featured on reverse of new quarter honoring District of Columbia . Coin introduced at Smithsonian 's National Museum of American History . African-Americans have appeared on commemorative coins or as minor figures . Ellington was born in D.C. and composed several jazz standards . | [[208, 300], [629, 779], [2399, 2442], [2473, 2521], [1496, 1538]] |
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Supreme Court has again indefinitely blocked plans to disseminate video of an important federal court case involving same-sex marriage in California . The justices in an unsigned order Wednesday prevented any distribution of the live video stream outside the San Francisco , California , courthouse where the case is being heard , and any real-time or delayed posting on the Internet . In a trial that began Monday , a federal judge in San Francisco will decide whether the state 's Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage is constitutional . California voters approved the measure in November 2008 , prompting an appeal by several homosexual couples . As part of a pilot program , the judge had agreed to allow video of the trial to be sent live to other rooms within the courthouse and to five other federal courthouses , and to be posted several hours later on the popular video site YouTube.com . Opponents of same-sex marriage had asked the Supreme Court to intervene , saying witness testimony could be affected if cameras were present . It is extremely rare for a federal trial to be televised to the broader public . The Supreme Court 's latest order allows distribution only to designated `` overflow '' rooms in the San Francisco courthouse , where people who want to view the trial but are unable to fit into the courtroom can watch the proceedings on closed-circuit television . A majority of Supreme Court justices concluded expanded broadcast should not permitted because , they wrote , `` It appears the courts below did not follow the appropriate procedures set forth in federal law before changing their rules to allow such broadcasting . '' There has been much internal debate in federal courts around the country about the televised experiment , with several judges and administrators privately expressing concern that it could eventually lead to the entire judiciary being televised , including the Supreme Court . In dissent to the ruling , Justice Stephen Breyer and three liberal colleagues complained the public would be deprived of watching `` a nonjury civil case of great public interest to five other federal courthouses located in Seattle -LSB- Washington -RSB- , Pasadena -LSB- California -RSB- , Portland -LSB- Oregon -RSB- , San Francisco -LSB- California -RSB- , and Brooklyn -LSB- New York -RSB- . '' He was supported by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg , John Paul Stevens and Sonia Sotomayor . Breyer said the Supreme Court traditionally has stayed out of what he called another court 's administrative discretion on such matters , saying , `` I believe this court should adhere to its institutional competence , its historical practice , and its governing precedent -- all of which counsel against the issuance of this stay . '' The case is Hollingsworth v. Perry -LRB- 09A648 -RRB- . | Lower court had OK 'd posting videos of trial on Internet . Supreme Court says no , but cameras can send trial to overflow rooms . Four members of court dissent , led by Justice Stephen Breyer . | [[716, 764], [746, 817], [1159, 1284], [1969, 1993], [1996, 2182]] |
-LRB- WIRED -RRB- -- Apple has traditionally held its ground as a premium computer manufacturer , but it might just be getting sucked into a recession-prompted price war . A worker helps a customer with a MacBook Pro laptop at an Apple store in San Francisco , California . The company 's recent MacBook price cuts signify its reluctant conformity to the economic downturn . At its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday , Apple shaved hundreds of dollars off its MacBook models . The high-end , 15-inch MacBook Pros dropped from $ 2,000 to $ 1,700 . And the price of the unibody MacBook -LRB- now renamed the 13-inch MacBook Pro -RRB- fell from $ 1,300 to $ 1,200 . Apple 's most inexpensive MacBook , the lone white model , remains $ 1,000 . `` For a while they 've been ignoring what 's been happening in the economy , '' said Richard Shim , an IDC analyst . `` This is an indication that they 're realizing that the first quarter did n't go as well as it has for them historically . I think this puts them closer in mind about what 's going on in the PC world . '' Still , Apple has avoided making even deeper price cuts , thanks to the juicy profit margins already baked into its products , the availability of cheap components , and the fact that the company also makes money by selling apps and music to iPhone and iPod owners . All of these factors mean that Apple has room to comfortably trim prices even further , if it deems it necessary . For instance , the company dropped the price of its now low-end smartphone , the iPhone 3G , to just $ 100 with a two-year contract . But that cut does n't cost Apple as much as it might appear , given that the company still gets a carrier subsidy of several hundred dollars for each iPhone . Apple 's computers have historically been priced well above the average PC . However , Apple 's first quarter of 2009 market-share numbers suggest the company is struggling to compete as a premium brand name in the face of the economic recession . In the first quarter of 2009 , Apple 's U.S. notebook market share shrank 0.4 percent compared to the same quarter a year earlier , according to Shim . And in worldwide notebook market share , the company saw 0.3 percent growth compared to the first quarter of 2008 , Shim said . Additionally , Apple is likely hurting from its competitors ' aggressive pricing , cast into relief by Microsoft 's recent Laptop Hunters ad campaign , a BrandIndex survey indicates . The pseudo reality-TV commercials denounce Apple computers as too expensive and even implies Mac users are simple-minded snobs who buy gadgets as a fashion statement . As a result , Microsoft is detracting from Apple 's `` value '' score by convincing a substantial number of consumers that they get less for their money by buying a Mac , according to the survey . By cutting its prices somewhat , Apple may also be seizing the opportunity to strike a blow against the netbook market . In 2008 , low-powered , budget netbook PCs saw rapid growth , driven by value-conscious consumers looking for a good deal . Apple has no netbook in its lineup , and has said it has no plans to create a netbook . Fortunately for Apple , netbook sales are seeing a significant slowdown in 2009 . In April , netbook manufacturers Acer , Asus and Micro Star International each reported fewer netbooks were sold than expected . Their netbook shipments for the first quarter of 2009 fell considerably below shipments during the third quarter of 2008 . Asus , for example , hoped to ship 1 million Asus Eee PC systems during the first quarter , but only 900,000 units sold . Thus , Apple 's MacBook price cuts are a strategic move to reclaim growth while the netbook market is shrinking . This move allows Apple to continue to avoid offering a netbook , which is wise , because an Apple netbook would have cannibalized MacBook sales , according to ThinkPanmure analyst Vijay Rakesh . With the reduced MacBook price tags , Rakesh expects Apple to see double-digit growth in notebook marketshare -- up to 20 percent -- in the third quarter of 2009 . Regardless , Apple 's MacBook price tags are still well above the cost of the average notebook -- $ 860 in the United States , according to Shim . Apple 's cheapest MacBook is anchored at $ 1,000 , and Apple could afford to bring it down even lower if it so chose . According to Tim Bajarin , principal analyst with Creative Strategies , Apple 's new pricing for its MacBook line and the price drop on its lightweight MacBook Air will not compromise much on its profit margins . `` They are not favoring market share over profitability in a big way , '' Bajarin explained . `` They have already taken the pricing curve down on the unibody and chipsets , so they are building on those lower costs . '' Will Apple deliver a mobile computer for the average Joe in terms of cost ? Perhaps so , in the form of a touchscreen tablet that many Apple enthusiasts are placing their bets on . Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicts such a device -- a blown-up iPod Touch , of sorts -- will land as soon as 2010 . Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $ 1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT ! Click here ! Copyright 2009 Wired.com . | Apple might just be getting sucked into a recession-prompted price war . The company has shaved hundreds of dollars off its MacBook models . Apple 's computers have historically been priced well above the average PC . Apple 's MacBook price cuts are a strategic move to reclaim growth . | [[102, 171], [375, 423], [426, 483], [21, 95], [1747, 1823], [4086, 4096], [4099, 4180], [3613, 3617], [3620, 3686]] |
Port-au-Prince , Haiti -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The American missionaries in Haiti facing kidnapping charges for trying to take 33 children out of the country last week made an earlier , unsuccessful attempt at taking dozens of other children , a Haitian police officer said . The officer did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals . He told CNN on Monday that he had stopped the 10 Baptist missionaries , including group leader Laura Silsby , on January 26 as they tried to transport 40 children from Haiti to the Dominican Republic . The officer said he discovered Silsby and the nine other Americans on a bus in Port-au-Prince 's Pétionville neighborhood after receiving a tip from a concerned citizen . He stopped the group and ordered the children to get off the bus . He then directed Silsby to the Dominican Embassy . `` I said what happened , and she -LSB- Silsby -RSB- told me , ' I have the paperwork to cross the Haitian-Dominican border with 100 children , ' '' the officer said . A former attorney for the group , Edwin Coq , said the officer has testified of his account . Prosecutors questioned the officer last week in the case against the missionaries . Prosecutors no longer suspect him of any wrongdoing , and he is now a witness , according Coq , who is familiar with the prosecution 's case file . The police officer 's superiors also confirmed his version of events . Attorneys for the Americans did not immediately answer calls for comment . Full coverage of the earthquake 's aftermath . The 10 missionaries were charged Thursday with kidnapping children and criminal association for trying to take 33 children out of Haiti . Earlier Monday , Jorge Puello , a Dominican attorney who said he was hired to represent the group , said they had authorization from the Dominican Republic to bring the children across the border . Puello showed reporters a manila folder he said contained documents that prove the Americans had authorization to bring the children into the Dominican Republic , but he did not show the documents to reporters . Dominican authorities have said the Americans did not have permission , and Puello did not say whether the group had the authorization of Haitian officials . The Americans have said they were trying to help the children get to a safe place after January 12 's magnitude-7 .0 earthquake , which has left more than 200,000 dead . iReport : Looking for loved ones in Haiti . Arriving outside the Haitian attorney general 's office Monday , Puello said a church hired him that counts some of the jailed Americans among its members . He did not identify the congregation . Coq announced over the weekend that he had resigned . Puello said Monday that Coq had been fired but gave no details . Some of the Americans have said they thought they were helping orphans , but their interpreters said this week that they were present when group members spoke with some of the children 's parents . Some parents in a village outside Port-au-Prince said they had willingly given their children to the Americans , who promised them a better life . The parents also said they had been told they could see their children whenever they wanted . But the Dominican consul general has said he warned the group 's leader , Silsby , about trying to cross the border without proper documents . Silsby and four other Americans arrived for an appearance before an examining judge Monday . One of them , Paul Thomson , referred reporters to a passage in the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians , in which the apostle Paul tells early Christians , `` It seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession , like men condemned to die in the arena . '' The passage continues , `` To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty , we are in rags , we are brutally treated , we are homeless . We work hard with our own hands . When we are cursed , we bless ; when we are persecuted , we endure it ; when we are slandered , we answer kindly . '' | Ten Americans in Haiti charged with kidnapping 33 Haitian children . Officer says the group had tried to take another group of children out of country illegally . He says he stopped bus with 40 kids on it , directed group leader to Dominican Embassy . Police officer 's superiors confirm his version of events . | [[0, 38], [77, 152], [84, 94], [103, 162], [1515, 1652], [1515, 1534], [1557, 1652], [0, 38], [77, 152], [84, 94], [103, 162], [0, 38], [163, 236], [1515, 1652], [1515, 1534], [1557, 1652], [464, 538], [777, 827], [1322, 1353], [1359, 1392]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Mike and Missy Wilson sat in a meeting late Tuesday afternoon , planning a ministry trip to Haiti when they were interrupted by a text message . A co-worker read the news : a powerful earthquake had just struck the Caribbean country . In their Nashville , Tennessee , office , Mike Wilson said , `` My heart just dropped '' as he listened to the one-line bulletin . The quake 's epicenter was a few miles from an orphanage in Carrefour , Haiti , where the Wilsons ' 21-year-old daughter Katie was working , and the 5-year-old girl they were about to adopt lived . `` I felt like I could n't take another breath , '' Missy Wilson said , `` I jumped up and yelled , ` This ca n't be happening . ' '' The first bits of news were discouraging , as sketchy reports came in of buildings collapsing and widespread destruction . `` It was horrible , '' Missy Wilson said . `` We spent hours trying to get any information . '' The Brent Gambrell Ministries where she is director frequently works with churches and groups in Haiti . Any phone number they had in the country was quickly written on a board in the office . `` A group of 20 -LRB- people -RRB- sat and dialed the numbers over and over and over again . '' `` There are no words to explain that two people I love dearly were in the middle , and I could n't reach then , '' Mike Wilson said , his voice cracking . But it was more than 24 hours before they finally got word . A brief , scratchy call from their daughter Katie came through -- she and 5-year-old Tia had survived the quake that destroyed the orphanage . Missy Wilson said Katie was able to say , `` I 'm alive . We 're safe . Tia 's safe . Please just know we 're alive , '' before the 40-second call was cut off . It would be Thursday before the Wilsons learned the whole story . Mike Wilson , with two ministry officials , was able to travel into Haiti on a medivac plane , and the three made their way to the town . `` There was destruction all around , '' he said from Haiti , `` When I saw what was left of that building , I knew they were protected . '' Katie , Tia and 47 other children all made it out , but were living in the parking lot across from the shattered orphanage . When Mike Wilson finally found his daughter , she ran up to him at full speed and hugged him . `` I can totally see her knocking him to the ground , '' her mother said . The first order of business : a call home to a nervous mom . Wilson was able to get through on a rare working cell phone , and told his wife , `` need to you to hear something . '' Missy Wilson said the next words were from Tia , barely able to speak English , saying , '' ` Ma-ma , I love you . ' I started screaming at the top of my lungs . '' Wilson and his colleagues brought food , water and supplies to the 200 quake victims in the parking lot . He described the injured , including one with a broken leg , being treated for two days in the heat with nothing more than an aspirin . The group arranged a bus to take the children to a guest house , a trip delayed when the bus broke down . But that news was minor , knowing they would have shelter and supplies . For the Wilsons , the next struggle is how to bring Tia home . They had been in Haiti just last week finishing paperwork for the adoption , but the office handling the case was destroyed in the quake . `` All that paperwork , God knows where it is , '' Mike Wilson said . `` That building was five stories , now it 's five feet tall . '' For Missy , waiting for news at home , `` I feel like I 'm floating on top of my body . '' `` Like I 'm living a dream and waiting to wake up , '' she said . This week has gone `` from hopelessness to hope to tears to ' I ca n't take another phone call because I do n't know what will happen , ' '' she said . Wilson said he is working with the U.S. Embassy seeking emergency help to bring Tia to Nashville . `` We are going to do it , '' he said , his voice the strongest it had been all day . | Wilsons ' 21-year-old daughter , and the 5-year-old girl they were about to adopt live in Haiti . `` We spent hours trying to get any information , '' Missy Wilson says . Daughters and 47 other children all made it out of orphanage alive . Father traveled to Haiti on a medivac plane for joyous reunion . | [[530, 549], [555, 582], [861, 883], [887, 933], [2093, 2126], [2131, 2142], [1814, 1855], [1858, 1906]] |
Chicago , Illinois -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A body found Monday in the Chicago River is that of Michael Scott , president of the Chicago Board of Education , police said . A medical examiner has ruled Scott 's death a suicide , Police Superintendent Jody Weis said , but authorities have not completed their investigation . There was a gunshot wound to the head , police said . Scott 's family had reported him missing about midnight , and his body was found about 3:20 a.m. , Weis said . He was last seen about 6:30 p.m. Sunday , Weis said , but he would not disclose where , saying that may be part of the investigation . Scott 's wife told police that it was `` very unusual '' for him not to be home by midnight , Weis said . The gunshot entrance wound was on the left side of his head , police said . A weapon was found either under or alongside his body , Weis said , and Scott 's car was in the immediate area . The police investigation will include ballistics evidence and analysis of surveillance cameras in the area , Weis said . It is too early for police to draw conclusions , he added . `` Mr. Scott was a strong advocate for education , '' Cook County Board President Todd Stroger said in a written statement . `` His contributions to the minority communities of Cook County will be sorely missed , in particular , his love for the upward mobility of residents from Chicago 's West Side , where he spent his life . '' In Washington , U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan also mourned Scott 's death , saying he was `` shocked and saddened by the sudden death '' of his `` friend and colleague . `` Michael cared passionately about public education and made many courageous decisions as president of the board . He gave his time , energy and talents to improving the life chances of children . `` Chicago has lost a great leader , and the city 's school children have lost a devoted champion . '' Duncan was the chief executive officer of the Chicago school system from 2001 to 2008 . The Rev. Jesse Jackson recalled first meeting Scott about 30 years ago . `` We 're just stunned and shocked , '' he said . `` Michael was so effervescent , so full of life . '' Scott had been appointed to the Chicago Board of Education three times , twice as president . He most recently was appointed in February . Previously , Scott was board president for five years , until July 2006 . Scott disclosed in early August that he had been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating how students were chosen for admission to some of Chicago 's most elite public schools . He denied using his influence during two stints as board president to help any student into a selective-enrollment school . Scott , who was a developer , also was criticized in August when it was revealed that he had quietly arranged to develop city-owned land near a park that would have been used in the 2016 Summer Games . The move would have positioned Scott to cash in , had Chicago been awarded the Olympics . The 2016 Games were awarded to Rio de Janeiro , Brazil . CNN 's Mark Bixler contributed to this report . | Michael Scott was found in Chicago River early Monday . His family reported him missing about midnight . Body had gunshot entrance wound on left side of head ; gun found nearby . He had been subpoenaed to testify in school admission investigation . | [[38, 78], [372, 427], [318, 355], [724, 783], [2382, 2494]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Wrestler Edward Fatu , better known as the hulking , tattooed WWE superstar `` Umaga , '' died Friday of a heart attack in a Houston , Texas , hospital , a family friend said . Born in American Samoa , Fatu , 36 , was a member of the famous Anoa'i wrestling family , which includes cousin Dwayne `` The Rock '' Johnson , his two uncles , who wrestled as The Wild Samoans in the 1980s , and brothers , Sam `` Tonga Kid '' and Solofa Jr. `` Rikishi , '' according to Wrestlers Rescue , a support group for retired professional wrestlers . The two-time WWE Intercontinental champion , also known as `` The Samoan Bulldozer , '' squared off with the likes of Triple H , John Cena and Ric Flair before the WWE terminated his contract in June for having violated the WWE 's Wellness Program and refusing to enter rehab , the WWE said on its site . The organization offered its condolences to his family in a brief statement on its site . To friends and family , Fatu was a devoted father who was looking forward to spending more time with his children after leaving the WWE . `` He had his demons , but he found a lot of strength in his family , '' said Dawn Marie Psaltis , family friend and founder of Wrestlers Rescue . `` He was always a jokester , he was always playing a practical joke on someone . He comes from a long line of professional wrestlers and did his family proud . '' | Relatives include cousin Dwayne `` The Rock '' Johnson and uncles The Wild Samoans . WWE says it terminated his contract for violating Wellness Program , refusing to enter rehab . Fatu was looking forward to spending time with children after leaving WWE , friend says . | [[249, 283], [292, 337], [716, 831], [556, 598], [808, 831], [984, 1000], [1005, 1088]] |
LAGOS , Nigeria -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Some 700 people have been killed in clashes with Islamic militants in Nigeria , a military commander told CNN . Bodies of hard-line Islamic rebels killed in battle lie in a Nigerian city . Civilians and troops also have died . The fighting in the northeast Nigerian town of Maiduguri began with attacks by the Muslim militants on police and government targets , starting a week ago . Col. Ben Ahonotu , commander of the operation to combat Islamic militants , gave the new total . Previous reports said at least 400 rebels , troops and civilians had died in the region , including Borno , Yobe , Kano and Katsina states . Maiduguri is in Borno state . Ahonotu did not elaborate or provide further information , and it was unclear whether the 700 was in addition to the previous death toll . Attacks on police and government targets have been reported throughout the region . Boko Haram , an Islamist sect , wants the government to impose Islamic law , known as sharia , in the entire Muslim-dominated northern half of Nigeria . Sharia is already practiced in some northern states , but the sect wants even tougher religious laws and also opposes Western education . The southern half of Nigeria is predominantly Christian . A Boko Haram leader , Mohammed Yusuf , was reported captured Thursday by the military , but was found dead after he was turned over to police . Human rights groups are seeking more information on his death , and have also expressed concern about civilian casualties . | Hard-line Muslim militants fighting government troops in northern Nigeria . Militants want strict Islamic law , or sharia , in entire north of country . Unclear if 700 includes 400 deaths of rebels , troops and civilians reported before . North of Nigeria predominantly Muslim ; south is Christian . | [[910, 920], [942, 984], [973, 984], [987, 1002], [1008, 1025], [1026, 1062], [1121, 1163], [8, 31], [35, 112], [224, 244], [250, 261], [516, 580], [558, 656], [773, 825], [1008, 1025], [1026, 1062], [1201, 1258]] |
Woodbridge , Virginia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The police photograph is chilling . In grainy black and white tones , it shows 13-year-old Martin Andrews sitting in a makeshift box , his leg chained . The look in his eyes is one of fear , fatigue and disbelief . He had just been rescued from a nightmare . `` I was abducted by a sexually violent predator by the name of Richard Ausley , who had been twice convicted for sexually assaulting young boys , and he had taken me for eight days , '' Andrews recalled of his ordeal 37 years ago this month . `` I was left to die . '' As a survivor of a sex crime , Andrews is one face of an issue the Supreme Court will revisit Tuesday : civil commitment , which allows the government to keep sex offenders in custody even after they have served their sentences . Twenty states have such laws , including Virginia , where Andrews was held captive and repeatedly assaulted . CNN normally does n't name victims of sex crimes , but Andrews , now a victims ' advocate , agreed to tell his story . On the other side of the debate is the first sex offender released from Virginia 's civil commitment program , and one of just a handful nationwide . `` I served my time for what I did , and I did n't feel like I should be incarcerated again , '' said this man , who asked that his identity not be revealed for fear of retribution . `` It was a scary thing to know that you could be committed to a mental institution for the rest of your life . '' The man said mandatory therapy helped him , but he thinks that could have been initiated while he was in prison . There is widespread disagreement on whether civil commitment is a Catch-22 . In discussions of the effects of sex crimes , nothing is simple or dispassionate . The practice of confinement in mental hospitals or treatment centers for those with severe mental illness has been around the United States since its founding . Around the turn of the 20th century , many laws dealing with sexual psychopaths were passed . Over the decades , the laws were repealed or rarely applied . Then , in 1990 , Washington state became the first to pass an innovative civil commitment law specifically for violent sex offenders . California , Wisconsin and New York , among others , later followed . Such `` predator laws '' focused on risk assessment and prevention of re-offending . It is a concept that the general public may not be aware exists . The Supreme Court has upheld the use of such laws when the individual goal is rehabilitation , not further `` punishment . '' But it has another , broader purpose . `` The primary goal is incapacitation , that is , protecting society from people who are predicted to be dangerous in the future , '' said Eric Janus , author of `` Failure to Protect '' and dean at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul , Minnesota . `` The second goal is to provide treatment to these individuals . '' Critics of these programs say behavioral rehabilitation centers amount to prisons , are often overcrowded and understaffed , and rarely meet the stated goal of treating the `` worst of the worst '' offenders to the point they can rejoin society . `` The evidence is showing that it 's only becoming a detainment center for people they do not went on the streets , '' said Derek Logue , a sex offender who was released and now advocates for offender rights through his Web site , oncefallen.com . `` They have no hope of getting out , and the odds are stacked against you . '' According to Justice Department statistics , 20 states use civil confinement , involving about 4,000 rapists , pedophiles and other sex offenders nationwide . Estimates are that these programs cost taxpayers more than $ 700 million a year , almost $ 150,000 per individual . That is about four times more than confining them in prison . Virginia passed its civil commitment law in 1999 but had never fully funded it . Andrews found out from a reporter in 2002 that his attacker was just weeks away from being released after 29 years behind bars . Once a victim , now an empowered advocate , Andrews realized he had to act . `` I did n't know about other sex offenders . I did n't know about the extent of the problem . I only knew one , but I knew that one needed to be dealt with , '' Andrews , 50 , said from his northern Virginia home , where he works as a program manger for a defense contractor . State officials , he said , `` all told me there was nothing to be done ; he was going to be set free ; that was it . '' But Andrews mobilized , lobbying lawmakers to quickly fund the program , despite a budget shortfall . It worked , and the state has become a national model , using a tool called `` Static 99 '' that assesses which offenders qualify for civil commitment . Andrews ' attacker remained behind bars but was killed by a fellow inmate before ever going into the treatment program . The catalyst for the state 's change were once-dormant memories for Andrews , who now knew that he had to tell his story . As a teenager in Portsmouth in 1973 , Andrews was walking to the store in snowy weather when a van pulled up and the man inside asked the boy whether he wanted to earn some extra money moving furniture . Andrews agreed but instead was taken to a rural area and a metal box dug into the side of a hill . `` He looked at me , and he said , ` I 've got bad news for you . You 've just been kidnapped . ' '' What followed was days of brutal rapes and beatings . Ausley eventually left , and Andrews would certainly have died if some rabbit hunters had not stumbled upon him after hearing his screams . Andrews believes that civil commitment is not the best tool , but for the most dangerous predators , `` it is the only tool we have that is 100 percent effective , because they are removed from society . They are removed from their triggers . '' The case before the Supreme Court on Tuesday deals with a federal law that has kept as many as 77 inmates held in federal prison in North Carolina under indefinite commitment . The justices will decide whether the program enacted under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 is constitutional by infringing on a traditional state function . The law was named after the son of `` America 's Most Wanted '' host John Walsh . The justices said in 2007 that a Kansas law was neither double jeopardy -LRB- second criminal punishment for the same crime -RRB- nor `` ex post facto '' -LRB- new punishment for a previous crime -RRB- . `` We have never held that the Constitution prevents a state from civilly detaining those for whom no treatment is available but who nevertheless pose a danger to others , '' Justice Clarence Thomas said . Courts have since been at odds with what kind of treatment must be provided and to what extent , to pass constitutional muster . Janus worries about the slippery slope if such laws -- federal or state -- are allowed to continue without strong judicial checks . `` The main danger of civil commitment of sex offenders is that it provides a precedent for doing an end run around those governmental protections , and we all may be comfortable right now because we say , ` Well , this is those people . It 's not us . It 's not our rights that are at stake , ' '' he said . `` I think we all ought to be cognizant of the fact that these laws set a precedent that greatly expands the power of government to take away our liberty , not for something we 've done in the past , not after we 've been convicted and punished , but out of fear that we might commit a crime in the future , and this is a very very powerful and dangerous idea , '' Janus said . The white-haired man sitting with his lawyer outside Richmond says he is no longer a danger to society . He served nearly eight years in prison for molesting three girls and nearly five years in forced civil commitment . Despite that state confinement , including being the first of only about four men to be released from it , he says post-prison treatment helped him . `` I think that civil commitment is unfair , '' he said . `` I 'm not against treatment . I have done everything in my power to help myself '' understand the effects of sexual abuse . He said that being told just days before his scheduled 2003 release that he was being civilly committed left him feeling `` hopeless . '' Shortly afterward , the man castrated himself with a razor in his jail cell . After the transfer and years in the rehabilitation unit , he was freed and lives a quiet life -- albeit under constant electronic surveillance -- with no further reported incidents , says his attorney . Lawyer David Hargett convinced the Virginia Supreme Court that his client had a constitutional right to contest his civil commitment . `` I have found talking with people they are shocked to hear somebody can be sentenced by a judge , serve out that entire sentence and then say , ` Wait a minute , we 're not going to let you go , ' '' Hargett said , calling it a legal `` black hole . '' `` This treatment facility ... is a prison , let 's be honest . It has barbed wire and locked doors . '' He said most in the Virginia facility realistically will never get out . The high court case is U.S. v. Comstock -LRB- 08-1224 -RRB- . | Case on civil commitment laws comes before U.S. Supreme Court . Laws allows sex offenders to be held even after they finish criminal sentences . Victim says civil commitment not best tool but effective for now . Critics of such programs say treatment facilities amount to prison . | [[674, 690], [699, 764], [706, 769], [759, 799], [2915, 2996], [9018, 9046], [9049, 9060]] |
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- An Arkansas man has pleaded guilty to plotting to kill several African-Americans in 2008 , including then-presidential candidate Barack Obama , the Justice Department announced Thursday . Paul Schlesselman of West Helena , Arkansas , faces 10 years in prison under a plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors in Tennessee . Federal officials in Washington said Schlesselman threatened to kill then-Sen . Obama on October 23 , 2008 , shortly before the presidential election . He also planned to `` murder dozens of people with a focus on murdering African-Americans '' the Justice Department said . `` Despite great civil rights progress , hate-fueled violence remains all too common in our country , as illustrated by this unthinkable conspiracy , '' said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez in a statement issued by his Justice Department office . | Paul Schlesselman faces 10 years in prison in plea deal with Tennessee federal prosecutors . Schlesselman threatened to kill then-Sen . Obama on October 23 , 2008 , officials say . He also planned to kill dozens , focusing on African-Americans , Justice Department says . | [[218, 250], [264, 311], [295, 359], [30, 158], [30, 45], [65, 171], [360, 439], [397, 439], [30, 158], [30, 45], [65, 171], [512, 514], [520, 604], [605, 634]] |
-LRB- OPRAH.com -RRB- -- `` I 'm thinking of throwing a little party , '' I tell my pal Karen as I hold the phone with one hand and fold a mountain of laundry with the other . Two friends make Lisa Kogan promise not to flambé anything this time . `` No big thing , really , just a few old friends getting together for the holidays , '' I persist over the dead silence on the other end of the receiver . `` Maybe you and Daniel , me and Johannes , and four or five other people who -- '' `` Daniel and I ca n't make it , '' she answers before I can finish . `` But I have n't given you the date . '' `` Look , Lisa , you know I 've had health issues , '' she counters nervously . I explain to Karen that the American Medical Association has yet to classify `` exceedingly dry cuticles '' as the kind of condition that requires actual bed rest . `` Still ... '' she mutters as her voice trails off . That night in bed , I turn to Johannes -LRB- love of my life , father of my child , official party co-host -RRB- . `` Darling , I was thinking it 's time we throw a little party , '' I venture . `` That sounds great , sweetheart . '' `` Really , pumpkin ? '' `` Of course , angel . I do have one small request , though . '' `` Anything , honey . '' He lifts his head and hands me his pillow . `` Put this over my face and then hold it there until , oh , I do n't know ... let 's say , I stop moving . '' There are lots of areas in which I excel . As I 've already mentioned , I can fold laundry with one hand . I 'm also quite capable of catching the cold of just about anybody living within my zip code . Oprah.com : How to face your inner perfectionist . I have the kind of magnetism that wordlessly beckons a guy wearing half a cantaloupe on his head to come sit next to me during long subway rides . And , though I 'm hard-pressed to explain exactly how I do it , I possess an almost mystical ability to purchase appliances , furniture , and clothing approximately six minutes before the extremely pricey item goes on sale . The thing I ca n't do is host a genuinely wonderful party . I attempt to invite several other friends , but one has elected to schedule elective surgery for that date -LRB- you know you 're in trouble when a friend would rather have her hammertoes corrected than have dinner at your place -RRB- ; one claims our last brunch was like `` a hostage situation with lox '' ; one -- and you know who you are -- pretends to be her own housekeeper , repeating , `` I sorry , no English '' over and over ; and two different people choose not to attend but still make me swear that I wo n't flambé anything again ... like it 's my fault they could n't get their eyebrows to grow back after the crêpes Suzette incident of 2005 . I crawl into bed that night a broken woman . `` Why do I suck at parties ? '' I ask Johannes . He narrows his eyes . `` Is this one of those trick questions like when you ask me if you need to lose weight and I say , ` Well , I suppose we could all stand to drop a pound or two , ' and you spend the next 36 hours likening me to Satan ? '' I make a mental note to explore why I suck at relationships on some future night . `` No , '' I insist , `` I really want to know what I 'm doing wrong . Give it to me straight , Doc , I can take it . '' He smiles and puts his book aside . `` That 's just it ; the only thing you 're doing wrong is constantly striving to do everything exactly right . You want the prettiest cocktail , the freshest flowers , candles lit , music playing , dinner timed , conversation sparkling , and you drive yourself and everybody else nuts trying to achieve it . '' Oprah.com : A lesson for the reluctant hostess . I would like to be the kind of person who receives this information with an open mind and a grateful heart . But my first instinct is to take my boyfriend of 15 years up on his previous offer and smother him to death with his own orthopedically correct goose-down pillow . The problem is , I know he 's right . I am part geisha girl , part drill sergeant , with just a soupçon of control freak thrown in for good measure . I want everyone to relax and have a good time , but that has to start with me , and I 'm about as laid-back as a caged hummingbird guzzling a can of Red Bull while awaiting biopsy results . You can keep your meditation , your reflexology , your gin , your tonics -- I 'm just not the mellow type . I approach a petite Jewish woman from the Midwest to figure out when this started . `` Mom , have I always been a perfectionist ? '' She attempts diplomacy . `` Well , let me put it this way -- you used to like to dress up in my clothes when you were maybe 3 or 4 years old . '' `` What does that prove ? Lots of little girls play dress-up . '' `` True , '' she says , `` but you tried to bulldoze Grandma into tailoring the clothes to actually fit you . '' `` Well , excuse me for realizing that a skirt should hit just above my knee . '' We are quiet for a minute . `` So how do you throw a really fun party ? '' She reminds me that they used to hire Magical Marv for my birthdays . I remind her that Magical Marv chain-smoked and seemed to hate children . `` Yes , that 's what your dad and I always liked best about him , '' she deadpans . `` Anyway , the only thing I know about giving a party is that we can never get the extra leaf into the dining table and I usually forget to serve one of the side dishes . '' This leads me to a new theory : `` Maybe bad parties are hereditary , like green eyes and diabetes , '' I say to Johannes . `` Okay , that 's it , '' he announces , grabbing the phone . Before I can lunge at him , he has dialed our neighbors Paul and Cheryl and invited them to come for dinner `` in about 15 minutes . '' `` Are you insane ? '' I shriek as I stuff everything littering the floor and coffee table under the sofa . `` This is grounds for divorce , '' I bellow , only to be reminded that we never got married . `` That 's because I do n't know how to throw a wedding , '' I hiss as I pull off my stained Sunday night yoga pants and rummage through the laundry bag for my slightly less stained Saturday afternoon yoga pants , marveling all the while at the fact that I do n't do yoga . Needless to say , Cheryl and Paul are four minutes early . `` Hey , guys , can I offer you ... '' I do a quick scan of the refrigerator , `` a dollop of mayonnaise ? '' I have hit rock bottom . Somewhere Martha Stewart hangs her head in shame . Johannes gives me a hug . There is no place to go but up . Our neighbors split a diet Snapple , we order in Thai food and proceed to talk and laugh and pass chicken satay for three straight hours . What can I say ? It is , to date , our most successful dinner party . By Lisa Kogan from `` O , The Oprah Magazine , '' December 2008 . 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 . | Columnist Lisa Kogan attempts to throw a holiday party . Friends , boyfriend tell Kogan she is a terrible hostess and refuse to come . Kogan realizes she is too much of a perfectionist to relax and have fun . Kogan 's boyfriend invites couple over for spur of the moment dinner . | [[28, 68], [2528, 2569], [5612, 5637], [5640, 5642], [5688, 5744]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Pakistan cricket is embroiled in a new controversy after the national team were accused of deliberately losing two games at the Champions Trophy by a government official . Younis Khan 's future as Pakistan captain is in doubt following accusations of match-fixing . The chairman of the National Assembly 's standing committee on sports claimed in a television interview that Pakistan lost to Australia to knock traditional rivals India out of the limited-overs tournament in South Africa . Australia won by two wickets by running a bye on the final ball of the closing Group A tie on September 30 , which ensured they reached the semifinals and ended India 's hopes . Captain Younis Khan then dropped a simple catch as his side lost to New Zealand by five wickets in Saturday 's semifinal . `` We went with a pre-determined mind to lose the match against Australia , '' Jamshed Ahmed Dasti told Pakistan TV channel Geo TV on Tuesday . `` Our intention was to keep India out . It was a deliberate decision to lose the match against India . '' Dasti said that the team also intentionally lost the match to New Zealand , who were beaten in Monday 's final by defending champions Australia . `` That 's why the NA Standing Committee on Sports has called in captain Younis Khan , coach Intikhab Alam and -LSB- Pakistan Cricket Board -RSB- chairman Ijaz Butt for investigations , '' he said . One report in Pakistan claimed that Younis and Intikhab had already been sacked by the PCB , but others said that Pakistan cricket 's ruling body was happy with the team 's performance . `` The team played well and tried hard . It is unfortunate they could n't qualify for the final , which every player wanted to do , but they had one bad day against New Zealand , '' PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar told the Express Cricket Web site . `` As far as we are concerned , the team did well in the Champions Trophy and their performance was satisfactory . '' Former captain Rashid Latif criticized Dasti for making serious allegations without backing them up with proof . `` I was one of those who first raised the issue of match fixing in international cricket , so I know what I am talking about . I can say the team did its best and played hard in the tournament -- a few mistakes cost them a place in the final , '' Latif told Express Cricket . `` I think parliamentarians should first look at the corruption in the government before talking about cricket . It is unfortunate that when the team needs backing , a parliamentarian should make such allegations . '' The accusations are another blow for Pakistan 's cricketing fortunes . The sub-continent nation lost the rights to host the Champions Trophy due to security issues -- it was postponed last year and switched to South Africa -- and was then ruled out of staging the 2011 World Cup . Earlier this year , veteran fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar missed the Twenty20 World Cup after needing treatment for genital warts . Akhtar , once Pakistan 's most feared weapon , has constantly clashed with the PCB , which banned him for hitting a teammate with a bat in 2007 and threatened him with court action following a public feud which ended with a five-year suspension that he successfully appealed . The PCB also punished him for testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug nandrolone in 2006 , while fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif was arrested in Dubai for possession of illegal drugs last year . | Pakistan 's cricket team has been accused of deliberately losing two games . Government official alleges Pakistan lost to Australia to knock out rivals India . Pakistan progressed to Champions Trophy semifinals after last-ball defeat . Jamshed Ahmed Dasti also claims Pakistan lost semi to NZ on purpose . | [[19, 93], [70, 163], [1002, 1057], [1061, 1134], [394, 508], [1061, 1134]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon will return to Ciudad Juarez , Chihuahua , for the second time in as many weeks on Wednesday morning , a spokesman for the municipal police department said . `` For security reasons , details are nonexistent , '' police department spokesman Jacinto Seguro said . Calderon will attend a meeting with local , state and federal officials , as well as civic and human rights groups , on Wednesday in Ciudad Juarez , which has been plagued by violence stemming from drug cartels . The January 31 killings in southern Juarez of 15 people , most of whom were students with no ties to organized crime , has sparked outrage across the country . The slayings , which occurred at a house party , are thought to be the result of bad intelligence by a cartel and the gang that carried out the killings . President Calderon , who has faced mounting pressure this month from Juarez residents to resign , will be visiting the city for the third time since assuming power in December 2006 . Last week in Juarez , Calderon apologized to the families of the 15 people killed and promised residents that their input would form part of the strategy against drug-related violence . Residents of Juarez attempting to highlight the growing frustration with Calderon 's war against organized crime took to the streets by the hundreds on Saturday . Many held signs targeted at Calderon reading , `` Assassin . '' On Tuesday , police said a business owner and his 24-year-old secretary were found slain inside a business near southern Juarez at 11 a.m. `` It 's not new that the cartels target business owners , but killing his secretary , that 's something that you do n't see too often , '' Seguro said . Also Tuesday , 20 students found skipping class and drinking in the street were detained by police as part of an effort to curtail unlawful street activity , Seguro said . Violence in Juarez comes amid a backdrop of vastly increased numbers of homicides nationwide , as drug cartels battle each other and the Mexican government steps up its efforts to combat them . The government has not released official figures , but national media say 7,600 Mexicans lost their lives in the war on drugs in 2009 . Calderon said last year that 6,500 Mexicans died in drug violence in 2008 . Officials say more than 16,000 Mexicans have died since Calderon declared war on the drug cartels shortly after taking office in December 2006 . | Calderon visited Juarez last week to discuss slayings of 15 people . Latest visit will be his third since taking office in 2006 . Calderon 's resignation has been sought by residents . He is leading a campaign to rid Mexico of drug trafficking . | [[0, 15], [19, 81], [96, 132], [529, 584], [648, 688], [1027, 1046], [1049, 1101], [844, 862], [930, 1026], [844, 864], [869, 929]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- North Korea on Monday proposed replacing the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War with a formal peace treaty , a step it said would pave the way for breaking the international impasse over its nuclear program . But the communist state said international sanctions imposed after a series of nuclear weapons and missile tests should be lifted before it returns to the negotiating table , a suggestion the United States quickly dismissed . The cease-fire that ended the three-year Korean War never led to a permanent peace treaty , leaving the North Korean-South Korean border the world 's most heavily militarized frontier . In a statement carried by the official news agency KCNA , North Korea said that a final settlement of the conflict is `` essential '' to talks aimed at persuading it to dismantle its nuclear program . `` When the parties are in the state of war where they level guns at each other , distrust in the other party can never be wiped out , and the talks themselves can never make smooth progress , much less realizing the denuclearization , '' it said . `` Without settling such -LSB- an -RSB- essential and fundamental issue as war and peace , no agreement can escape from frustration and failure as now . '' Pyongyang has refused to return to the talks , which also involve the United States , Russia , China , South Korea and Japan , insisting that it wants to talk directly with the U.S. government . But Washington says it will not lift sanctions or normalize relations with the North until it takes irreversible steps toward dismantling its nuclear program . `` We 're not going to pay North Korea for coming back to the six-party process , '' State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Monday . | Armistice ended Korean War in 1953 ; North suggests replacing with treaty . It suggests that such a move would ease return to nuclear talks . Pyongyang wants sanctions off table before talks continue . Washington has refused to normalize relations until program dismantled . | [[60, 78], [84, 104], [132, 233], [238, 406], [1451, 1531], [1467, 1606]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Golfer Tiger Woods will `` apologize for his behavior '' Friday when he makes a statement at PGA headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach , Florida , his agent said . Agent Mark Steinberg said Woods would not answer questions . It will be the golfer 's first public appearance since his November 27 car crash outside his home near Orlando , Florida . `` Tiger Woods will be speaking to a small group of friends , colleagues and close associates , '' Steinberg said . '' ... Tiger plans to discuss his past and his future and he intends to apologize for his behavior . '' A statement on Woods ' Web site elaborated : `` While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between him and his wife , he also recognizes that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him . He also let down his fans . He wants to begin the process of making amends , and that 's what he 's going to discuss . '' Blog : No apologies Tiger , just be real . Steinberg said he did n't know if Woods ' wife , Elin Nordegren , would appear with her husband . Woods crashed his black Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and then a tree just a few days after the National Enquirer reported he was having an affair with a New York nightclub hostess who denied the affair . A day after he paid his $ 164 traffic ticket , Woods ' seemingly perfect world began to crumble under what would eventually become an avalanche of allegations of infidelity threatening his five-year marriage to Nordegren . The couple have two children , Charlie , 1 , and Sam , 2 . Woods issued an apology for `` transgressions '' that had let his family down , as several women reported they had affairs with the golfer -- including one woman who allegedly had Woods on a voicemail asking her to take his name off her cell phone because `` my wife went through my phone and may be calling you . '' Several of Woods ' major sponsors , including AT&T and Accenture , ended their business relationships with Woods following the crash and the exposure of his marriage troubles . iReport : Share your thoughts on Woods ' apology . But other companies , including Nike and Pepsi 's Gatorade , continue to sponsor Woods , who has taken a break from his professional golfing career . Procter & Gamble 's Gillette said it would stop airing commercials featuring the golfer for a while . | NEW : No word on whether Woods ' wife , Elin Nordegren , will appear with her husband . Agent : Woods will make statement at PGA headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach , Florida . Woods will not answer questions , agent Mark Steinberg says . Woods plans to discuss his future and to apologize for his behavior , Steinberg says . | [[981, 1078], [996, 1078], [44, 72], [83, 149], [162, 178], [179, 239], [205, 239], [44, 72], [83, 149], [486, 532], [537, 579], [897, 934]] |
Port-au-Prince , Haiti -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It was as if the giant crowd were celebrating a joyous occasion -- not a coming-together one month after a deadly earthquake . Thousands of Haitians , many of them smiling , gathered Friday at the center of Port-au-Prince to remember the 7.0-magnitude quake of January 12 that leveled most of their capital city . A sea of people waved their arms in the air , prayed , cried , sang and -- where space permitted -- danced . The earthquake is blamed for killing more than 212,000 people , injuring 300,000 and leaving more than 1 million homeless in the city of 3 million and surrounding communities . The memorial took place near where the stately National Palace lies in ruins and the Champ de Mars square has been turned into a huge homeless camp . Other memorials were taking place at shantytowns , and there were religious observations . Haitians were urged to wear black or white . There was an outpouring of aid from around the world after the quake -- more than 600 aid agencies rallied -- but , initially , much of their work was ineffective because of the chaos , including the disruption of the government after its buildings collapsed . Relief operations are improving day by day , a spokeswoman for the International Rescue Committee told CNN on Friday . `` Things -LSB- supplies -RSB- are moving now , and they are arriving to populations . The bottleneck has really , really decreased , '' Aisha Bain said . `` About a month ago , when this quake destroyed the infrastructure of Haiti , it was very complicated to get aid in , '' she said . Now , `` the ports and airports are n't at full capacity , but things are arriving and getting to populations . There is much more to be done , but food is coming in . '' Food distribution areas are set up around the capital , she said . According to the U.S. ambassador to Haiti , food is now being delivered routinely to 16 sites daily , and Haitians are receiving two weeks of rations . The food is culturally appropriate , Kenneth Merten said . `` One month on ... I think we are in a very good place in terms of food distribution , water distribution and getting medicines out to needy hospitals , '' he said . The United States is working with many nations and organizations to do that . `` The next issues we 're most concerned about are sanitation issues and shelter issues , '' Merten said during a State Department news conference . As the rainy season approaches , `` we want to make sure we have reached and touched as many people as possible . '' The rainy season comes with the approach of spring . The hurricane season begins June 1 . Relief workers are providing temporary camps with latrines and portable toilets , and that project is n't finished , Merten said . Bain said her organization also is trying to provide sufficient sanitation . `` We ... are working on a large-scale buildup of providing clean water , latrines , showers , hand-washing stations , which affect not only the livelihoods of basic survival but , really , health . There 's a massive concern of the possible outbreak of disease , and so we are working to combat that quickly . '' Watch Bain talk about the situation in Haiti . On Thursday , Nevada real estate developer Tom Schrade said he was donating three used Cirque du Soleil tents for use as a temporary headquarters for the government and a hospital in Port-au-Prince . They will provide a total of 33,000 square feet of space , he said . Medically , `` things have improved in a very good way , '' compared with the period right after the quake , when doctors were dealing with broken bones , crushed limbs and other acute conditions , CNN 's Dr. Sanjay Gupta said . The medical establishment is much more organized . However , recovery facilities are grossly inadequate , he said . Of the people lined up recently at one of Port-au-Prince 's largest public hospitals , most were suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes . Many have never seen a doctor , he said . After treatment , most patients -- even those who have had major surgery -- end up in a temporary tent city that is dirty and lacks medications , follow-up care and nutritious food , Gupta said . Recent rain did n't help , he said , and there is fear that improvements wo n't be made before monsoons come . `` People are trying to recover in a temporary tent city that is increasingly becoming more permanent , '' Gupta said . | Thousands unite in Port-au-Prince to remember 7.0-magnitude earthquake . Quake killed more than 212,000 people , left more than 1 million homeless in city , nearby . Anderson Cooper , Dr. Sanjay Gupta discuss Haiti news on `` AC360 , '' 10 ET tonight . Watch Angelina Jolie talk about her visit to Haiti on `` Amanpour , '' Sunday at 2 p.m. ET . | [[169, 190], [216, 313], [465, 526], [465, 479], [550, 641]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Heidi Klum knows that modeling is a young woman 's game . In the latest issue of InStyle magazine , the supermodel claims that models , like food , spoil after a certain age . `` Models have a sell-by date , '' the 36-year old Klum said in the interview . The mother of four -- who recently changed her last name to Samuel for her husband , the singer known as `` Seal '' -- also said that there are certain jobs she just does n't do anymore . `` Like the young , sexy , cute things for teenagers , or even 25-year-old girls . I go in a different bracket now , '' Klum said . -LRB- InStyle : See highlights of the Klum issue -RRB- . The German-born model entered a different bracket of current and former models in 2004 when she became an entrepreneur with the television series `` Project Runway . '' Klum signed on as host , judge and executive producer of the reality show , in which up-and-coming fashion designers compete for the chance to receive money to launch their own fashion line . In 2009 Forbes magazine estimated Klum 's income at $ 16 million . The new season of `` Project Runway '' kicks off Season 7 on Lifetime network on Thursday . In March Klum and fellow judge designer Michael Kors will be starring in their own `` Project Runway '' video game , in which players can design fashion lines , choose their models , strut down the catwalk , and strike a pose in a photo shoot . InStyle 's February issue hits newsstands on Friday , January 15 . | Heidi Klum recognizes that modeling is mainly for younger people . Klum has diversified her image -- notably by hosting `` Project Runway '' Latest season of the fashion design competition begins Thursday . | [[19, 76], [1080, 1171]] |
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Just months after the 9/11 attacks , the United States appeared to have its biggest catch in the newly launched war on terror . Abu Zubaydah , considered one of al Qaeda 's senior lieutenants , lay in a pool of blood on a street in Faisalabad , Pakistan , having been shot three times during a U.S.-coordinated raid on a house where a group of suspected terrorists was building a bomb . CIA operative John Kiriakou , who helped plan the raid , rushed to the scene . But when he gazed down at the critically wounded man , it did n't quite look like the person he had seen in a 4-year-old passport . In his new book , `` The Reluctant Spy , '' Kiriakou gives an insider 's view of his secret life as a spy and his role in fighting the war on terror . Kiriakou said he was able to quickly verify Zubaydah 's identity by sending a picture of his ear to CIA headquarters in Virginia . `` I did n't realize until that night that no two people have the same ears . It 's like a fingerprint , '' he said . The American spy was ordered by then-CIA Director George Tenet to do everything in his power to keep Zubaydah alive and to never let him out of his sight . That 's exactly what Kiriakou did . Rushed to a rundown Pakistani hospital , Zubaydah barely made it through surgery . Word had apparently gotten out to al Qaeda where he was being treated . `` Al Qaeda people started driving by the hospital just opening fire on the hospital , '' Kiriakou said , and a Pakistani security officer quickly arranged for a helicopter to transfer Zubaydah to a military base . Once on the base , Kiriakou used a sheet to tie the comatose Zubaydah to his bed and then stood watch . When Zubaydah finally woke up , Kiriakou tried to speak with him in Arabic . Zubaydah refused , telling him in perfect English that he would not talk in what he called `` God 's language . '' Strangely enough , Kiriakou said , Zubaydah then asked for a glass of red wine . After a few hours of sleep , the prisoner pleaded for Kiriakou to kill him -- to smother him with a pillow . After a couple of days , Zubaydah was transferred to an undisclosed location for further treatment . That was the last time Kiriakou saw him . Kiriakou said his conversations with Zubaydah were surprising . `` I expected an irrational , radical , hate-filled , hard-core terrorist , and what I got was a frightened young guy who realized he was in way over his head , had made terrible mistakes and was going to pay for it . '' Kiriakou also tells the story of Zubaydah 's cell phone ringing shortly after his capture . No one could answer it because FBI agents who took part in the raid had placed the phone in a sealed evidence bag and would n't open it . Kiriakou said a valuable lead may have been lost . `` I should have opened the bag and snatched the phone , '' the former CIA operative said . Iraq played a prominent role in Kiriakou 's CIA career , most notably his role in supporting the U.S. policy to go to war . In summer 2002 , Kiriakou was back working at headquarters in Virginia when he was summoned to a top-secret meeting . He said he was told the Bush administration had decided the United States was going to invade Iraq in the spring -- it was a done deal . His job was to support the mission . Kiriakou said he was dumbfounded . `` Here was someone at the CIA , obviously plugged into the plans of the executive branch , telling us that the public debate in Congress , reflected almost daily in the press , meant nothing . '' Months later , Congress passed a war resolution . The book is filled with many more stories about Kiriakou 's experiences as a spy , including how he tried to avoid surveillance in Greece and discovered he was being tailed , what it was like being in charge of foreign agents , and the fear of a pending terrorist attack just before September 11 , 2001 . Kiriakou also discussed the CIA 's use of harsh interrogation techniques on detainees . In 2007 , several years after he left the agency , Kiriakou was the first official to publicly confirm Washington 's worst-kept secret : that Zubaydah had been waterboarded . He did n't have firsthand knowledge , but he said he had read cables that indicated the simulated drowning technique was used just once , because Zubaydah cracked and provided actionable intelligence . However , a government report released in summer 2009 said the technique was actually used 83 times against Zubaydah . Kiriakou said he now feels he was duped by the agency . He questioned whether any useful information really came from the detainee and said he believes `` it caused more damage to our national prestige than was worth it . '' Kiriakou left the CIA in 2004 after serving 14 years in the agency . He 's now a senior investigator on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee . | New book is John Kiriakou 's view of life as a spy , role in fighting war on terror . Kiriakou , who spent 14 years in CIA , tells of capture of an al Qaeda senior lieutenant . He also talks about 9/11 , says decision to invade Iraq made before public debate ended . He says waterboarding `` caused more damage to our national prestige than was worth it '' | [[628, 643], [669, 778], [158, 170], [173, 221], [4689, 4757], [4689, 4697], [4719, 4757], [4520, 4665]] |
London , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The downfall of Tiger Woods has left the golf world eager for an uplifting story , and arguably there are few better placed to provide this tale than 20-year-old Michelle Wie . The women 's game may struggle to compete with the men 's in terms of profile , but if there is any player who could help to bridge this gap it is the Stanford University student from Hawaii . The expectation on Wie has always been great after she amazed the sport by qualifying for the USGA amateur championship aged just 10 . She went onto become the youngest player ever to qualify for the LPGA Tour and became a millionaire 10 times over by signing sponsorship deals with both Sony and Nike after turning professional aged 16 . The similarities with Tiger Woods were clear for all to see . Her fame grew as she persisted to compete in men 's competitions while suffering inconsistent form at women 's events , but she had to wait until 2009 to capture her first LPGA title . With her victory at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational and starring role in the 2009 Solheim Cup , Michelle Wie has once again captivated fans and gone some way to reassure doubters that she still has the potential to become a major force in women 's golf . With the 2010 LPGA season due to tee off next month , Living Golf caught up with Wie to discuss her plans for the year ahead in work and play : . `` I love what I do . Once my college work is done , I get to go out and focus on my golf . Academically right now , I 'm a sophomore , but I 'm in my third year , so hopefully I 'll finish in five years or so , '' she told CNN . Like many students her age , friends play an important role : `` They bring me down to earth you know . They always make fun of me and they do n't know what I do , they do n't know what a par is . Basically I tell them , if my scores look red , you can call me , if my scores look black , then I might not be in such a good mood so do n't talk to me ! '' The Solheim Cup marked a turning point for Wie , proving she could hit shots beyond her female counterparts . Wie says it was an unforgettable experience : `` It was such a great experience , I 've always heard that rumor that , the American team does n't bond as well as the European team , but I felt that we just bonded so well and had so much fun -- I really enjoyed every second of it . '' Despite this , there still remains a cloud of disapproval over the way in which Wie has conducted herself throughout her career . Entering her first PGA Tour event at the tender age of 14 , her attempts and failures to make it on the men 's tour have drawn criticism from players and fans . So does she regret these early decisions ? `` No , I do n't think so . I think that every decision that I 've made in my life , at the time seemed like a great decision ... the mistakes that I 've made , I 've definitely learned from them . But you know , I enjoyed myself and I really had a lot of fun . '' While the sun shone on Michelle Wie in 2009 , the LPGA experienced a difficult year . Like the men 's Tour , financial crisis saw sponsors and media pull out -- and a seriously diminished schedule of events for 2010 led to the dismissal of LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens . Despite the turmoil , Wie feels the tour will bounce back : . `` I just think that we have such a strong product , you know the players are amazing , we have different personalities , its so global , so international -- there 's so many ethnicities which gives us more opportunity to be in different countries that never really had golf before . '' As she looks ahead to this year , Wie 's resolve remains clear : to build on her new found confidence and success : `` I want to show my fans and my country what I have . '' | The 2009 Solheim Cup marked a turning point for Wie . Michelle Wie is currently 10th in the World Golf Rankings . Wie says the LPGA will bounce back from a difficult year . | [[1976, 2022], [2970, 3013], [3016, 3055], [3267, 3302]] |
Atlanta , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Photos of the nude and decapitated body of a murdered hiker , sought by a writer on assignment for Hustler magazine , will not be released , a judge in Georgia ordered Wednesday . The decision came as state lawmakers considered legislation that would ban public release of graphic photos of crime victims . First Amendment lawyers say the legislation could have a chilling effect on open records requests . DeKalb Superior Court Judge Daniel Coursey issued a temporary order restraining the Georgia Bureau of Investigation from releasing `` any and all photographs , visual images or depictions of Meredith Emerson which show Emerson in an unclothed or dismembered state . Emerson 's family sought the order after learning of the request for copies of crime scene photos of the 24-year-old , attorney Lindsay Haigh said . Emerson 's admitted killer , Gary Michael Hilton , received a life sentence in exchange for leading investigators to her body in the north Georgia mountains on January 7 , 2008 , six days after Emerson disappeared . The judge 's order came on the same day the Georgia House Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously passed `` The Meredith Emerson Memorial Privacy Act , '' which would prevent gruesome crime scene photos from being publicly released or disseminated , according to Rep. Jill Chambers , the bill 's principal sponsor . House Bill 1322 would prevent the release of photographs of the bodies of crime victims that are `` nude , bruised , bloodied or in a broken state with open wounds , a state of dismemberment or decapitation , '' said Chambers . `` We have to walk the line between open record laws and the constitutional provisions that allow women to be able to be photographed nude or in pornography when they knowingly and willingly offer their bodies for dissemination , '' she said . `` Meredith is n't in a position to give that kind of permission to have her exploited in that kind of venue , '' Chambers said . `` We 're not only protecting future victims of crime , we 're protecting the integrity of what happened to Meredith . '' The bill allows credentialed journalists , lawyers and law enforcement to view such photographs at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation 's headquarters , Chambers said , but not make copies of them . Hustler did not respond to a request for comment on the judge 's ruling except to say that it is exploring its legal options . `` Hustler is aware of the GBI 's refusal to honor its reporter 's request for copies of the Emerson crime scenes photos , which were to be used in a news story about this crime . Hustler and Mr. Flynt disagree with the GBI 's position , and are currently exploring all legal options available to them should the decision be made to go forward with the story , '' the company said in an e-mail . Members of the state Legislature were quick to condemn the request . `` I think that the request is sickening , disgusting , vile and I think it 's very , very hurtful for this family , '' House Speaker David Ralston said in a Monday press conference . Current statute prevents the release of autopsy photos without the permission of next of kin , but a `` gray area '' in the law left open the question of whether crime scene photos could be released , Ralston said . `` I am a big proponent of open government . This goes against the grain for me . But in this case , when you have these kind of photographs that depict victims of crime where there may have been sexual assault or mutilation of the body , I just think it goes beyond the pale , '' he said . `` We 're going to narrow it to those situations so we do n't have this kind of situation again where we pause and wonder is this something we have to release or not . '' `` Meredith was a daughter , a friend and a mentor to many . She lived life to its fullest and was taken from us deliberately and maliciously , '' her family said on www.righttohikeinc.com , the charity Web site established in Emerson 's memory . `` Her family and friends live everyday with this tragedy and to know that the possibility of any images , other than those that portray the beautiful , young woman we knew , could be disclosed to the public or may be published would bring further stress and unnecessarily added grief over what is already too much sadness to bear . '' The Georgia Bureau of Investigation promptly denied Hustler 's request , agency spokesman John Bankhead said . `` There 's no public interest served by these photographs being publicly displayed , '' he said . `` The negative impact on surviving friends and family would be horrific . They had to go through this with the death so to have to go through it again with the pictures ending up on Internet would be incredible . '' First Amendment lawyers are watching the outcome of this lawsuit and the bill . `` The photos are awful , but it 's also awful to see pictures of people in wars , soldiers fighting or the victims of wars , '' said New York attorney Martin Garbus . `` I do n't think there should be any kind of censorship because of awfulness . '' Garbus surmised that privacy laws could be applied in this instance but cautioned that even such laws could be considered limitation of free speech . `` I do n't think you can make it into a narrow context . If you look at a picture of a Sudanese kid starving to death , or people dying in Haiti , those are invasions of privacy . Pictures of people alive in tortuous situations in some other country are just as bad as pictures of disfigured corpses in the United States . '' | Judge blocks release of photos of Meredith Emerson `` unclothed or dismembered '' Hustler magazine reporter seeks crime scene photos of Emerson 's body . House panel OKs measure preventing release of gruesome crime scene photos . Hustler says it is reviewing its legal options . | [[444, 651], [635, 651], [658, 709], [1253, 1309], [10, 33], [80, 96], [99, 152], [2467, 2474], [2486, 2564], [238, 343], [1230, 1232], [1239, 1280], [1253, 1309], [1394, 1481], [2317, 2324], [2396, 2443], [2624, 2645], [2690, 2745]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Cliché trailers and unimpressed movie reviews aside , `` The Bounty Hunter '' was still expected to perform decently at the box office last weekend , some guessing a gross in the neighborhood of $ 25 million . In reality , the predictions were n't far off -- the actual box office gross came in at nearly $ 21 million , which BoxOffice.com editor Phil Contrino described as a solid opening weekend , if a little on the low side . The true surprise , Contrino said , was Twentieth Century Fox 's `` Diary of a Wimpy Kid '' coming out of nowhere and edging past it with an opening weekend gross of $ 22 million . `` It 's a situation where there 's a movie with no stars aimed at a very specific age group -- teenage boys -- and it beat a movie with two stars , '' he said . Yet , Contrino added , Aniston has never been really reliable to open a movie on her own , and she was the bigger star in `` Bounty . '' Gerard Butler , her co-star , is gaining prominence but does n't have the years of recognition that Aniston has . The actress was nearly inescapable in 2005 as the media tracked her divorce from actor Brad Pitt , but her thriller `` Derailed '' and romantic comedy `` Rumor Has It '' performed modestly at the box office . Aniston then came back with a hit in 2006 with `` The Break-Up , '' co-starring Vince Vaughn , himself riding a wave of popularity from `` Wedding Crashers . '' That success -- $ 39 million opening weekend and $ 118 million grossed domestically overall -- was immediately followed by `` Marley & Me , '' which grossed $ 36 million its first weekend , and `` He 's Just Not That Into You , '' which Aniston starred in along with a number of other A-List actors . Yet 2009 brought the flop `` Love Happens , '' which grossed $ 8 million when it opened in little more than 1,500 theaters in 2009 . By all accounts , `` Bounty Hunter , '' beaten by a movie about middle school kids or not , is a step in the right direction . Judging from her ups and downs at the box office , she 's been `` far too hit or miss '' to be a safe bet at the box office , Contrino said . `` The moral of the story is that you ca n't bank on her . '' Yet Aniston 's public perception would lead one to believe otherwise , said film critic Nick Schager . `` In general , there 's a disconnect between Jennifer Aniston 's cultural popularity and her movie star popularity , '' Schager said . `` There are certain people -- and you could make the case for Angelina Jolie as well -- given how rampant tabloid culture has become who are much more famous for that stuff than they are for the actual movies or TV shows . '' If anything , said US Weekly 's Senior Movie Editor Bradley Jacobs , Aniston 's cultural popularity is the reason `` Bounty Hunter '' got the dollars that it did , despite its current 8 percent fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com . `` Despite terrible reviews , people still wanted to go , '' Jacobs said . `` Jennifer is still a movie star . '' Aniston is one of the top celebrities that US Weekly covers , Jacobs said , and while her press attention may have something to do with her box office draw , Jacobs does n't think it 's the total sum . `` Jessica Simpson is covered a lot but she does n't have box office power . Cameron Diaz , we cover her a fair amount and her movies have a spottier track , '' Jacobs said . `` There 's something about Jennifer -- they love the hair , the body , the clothes and they 've shown that they 're willing to pay money . '' Aniston , Schager believes , is indeed capable of carrying a movie . She just has n't shown it yet . `` Aniston has n't proven herself to be a reliable box office draw on her own , but she is a huge star . I think people like Jennifer Aniston , and if there 's a movie that looks appealing , it 'll do well , '' Schager said . `` But , she 's been a bit overrated in the public conscious because of the extracurricular stuff , and that does n't necessarily translate to her wanting to see her trade barbs with Gerard Butler . '' Which , Schager adds , is really the more pressing point : `` Bounty Hunter '' was n't great , and not even the brightest star can mask that . `` I think she 's chosen poorly for the past few years , '' said Movieline.com senior editor Kyle Buchanan . `` If you look back before that she had ` Marley and Me ' and ` The Break Up , ' and her indie at that point was ` Friends With Money , ' which was a critical success . '' `` Bounty Hunter , '' on the other hand , `` seems like a retread of ` The Ugly Truth ' from last year . Audiences did n't really care , '' Buchanan said . He added that while `` the amount of hype that we get for Jennifer Aniston is always going to exceed the amount of box office she 's going to bring , '' she 's still one of the Top 10 actresses . `` She can command an audience , but she has to be in the right vehicle . '' The other industry reality to consider , BoxOffice.com 's Contrino said , is that none of the A-list actors , save for a few , are consistently opening with huge numbers anymore . `` I think there 's a misconception that for a movie to open , it has to have major stars -- nothing could be further from the truth , '' Contrino said . `` If you look at 2009 , some of the biggest hits of the year did n't have major names -- with ` The Hangover , ' character actors opened the movie based on the concept . It was the same with ` District 9 ' and ` Paranormal Activity , ' which is the golden standard of this argument . '' Buchanan agreed that these days , audiences care more about the content than which actor is headlining . `` In the '80s and '90s , there were a dozen stars you could count on to open a movie , '' Buchanan said . `` The days for any actor , male or female , opening a movie based on their name alone are numbered . '' | Jennifer Aniston 's `` Bounty Hunter '' performed just shy of expectations . `` Diary of a Wimpy Kid '' took the No. 2 spot without any star power . `` Bounty '' received poor reviews ; Aniston not proving to be a box office draw yet . Audiences seem more interested in a fresh concept with unknowns . | [[1197, 1251], [1197, 1251], [3610, 3687]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Tiger Woods said Sunday that he is focused on `` living a life of amends '' after `` living the life of a lie '' in one of his first interviews since a November car crash outside his home unleashed a media frenzy amid rumors of extramarital affairs . The brief , five-minute interview on ESPN was one of two the professional golfer granted Sunday afternoon at the Isleworth golf club near his home outside Orlando , Florida . The Golf Channel simultaneously aired its similarly brief interview with Woods on Sunday night . Woods credited inpatient and outpatient therapy for helping him start the process toward making amends . `` It was tough , '' he told ESPN 's Tom Rinaldi of the therapy . `` To look at yourself in a light that you never want to look at yourself , that 's pretty brutal . ... I saw a person that I never thought I would ever become . '' Woods said two of his lowest points in the past four months came when he had to tell his wife , Elin Woods , and his mother about his affairs . `` Those are the two people in my life who I 'm closest to , and to say the things that I 've done , truthfully to them , is ... honestly ... was ... very painful , '' he said . Woods told The Golf Channel 's Kelly Tilghman that his mentor and father , the late Earl Woods , `` would be very disappointed in me . '' `` I wish I could have had his guidance through all of this , '' he told Tilghman . `` Have him help straighten me up . I know he would have done it . '' Despite the open nature of the interviews -- both Rinaldi and Tilghman were n't restricted on the questions they could ask -- the notoriously private Woods declined to go into detail about the night of the November car crash , telling Rinaldi that `` it 's all on the police report . '' `` Beyond that , everything is between Elin and myself , and that 's private , '' Woods said . He also declined to specify what treatment he has been seeking , but did say it will continue despite his announcement last week that he will return to golf at the Masters next month . `` I 'm excited to get back and play , '' he told Rinaldi . `` I 'm excited to get to see the guys again . ... I miss competing . But still , I still have a lot more treatment to do , and just because I 'm playing , does n't mean I 'm gon na stop going to treatment . '' When asked about what reaction he expects from the fans , Woods said : `` I do n't know . I 'm a little nervous about that to be honest with you . ... It would be nice to hear a couple claps here and there . But I also hope they clap for birdies , too . '' In closing her interview , Tilghman asked Woods about a bracelet he was wearing . `` It 's Buddhist , '' he said . `` It 's for protection and strength . And I certainly need that . '' | Telling wife , mother about his affairs were low points , Woods tells ESPN . `` To say the things that I 've done , truthfully to them , is ... very painful , '' Woods says . Woods gives interviews to ESPN , The Gold Channel near his Florida home . Woods says therapy will continue , but declines to say what type he 's received . | [[878, 937], [938, 1021], [1087, 1184], [1858, 1873], [1874, 1876], [1882, 1936]] |
SANA'A , Yemen -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It is midday and girls are flooding out of school . Nujood Ali is not among them . Nujood Ali today is angry and skips school but is still relieved her defiance paid off . We find her at the family 's two-room house in an impoverished suburb of the Yemeni capital . Nujood is angry , combative and yelling . Tension surrounds the home like a noose . After much arguing with family members , Nujood finally grabs her veil and agrees to sit down with CNN . Her presence is grudging , although CNN got advance permission to see how the girl who rocked a nation by demanding a divorce was faring . Nujood is a very different girl from the one we met nearly two years ago . Then , there was no doubt the 10-year-old was very much a child , a portrait of innocence . She had a shy smile , playful nature and a whimsical giggle . Her retiring demeanor was very much at odds with the brutal abuse she endured as a child bride who fought for a divorce and is still currently fighting . Watch Nujood tell her story to CNN on World 's Untold Stories '' The story was supposed to end with the divorce . There was , though , a stunning transformation . The young girl went from being a victim and child bride to a portrait of courage and triumph . Her inspirational story was told and re-told around the world . In the fall of 2008 , Nujood was recognized as Glamour Magazine 's Woman of the Year , alongside some of the world 's most impressive women . She even attended the ceremony in New York and was applauded by women from Hillary Clinton to Nicole Kidman . There is a tell-all book , which is to be published in more than 20 languages , and the author says the girl will receive a good portion of the royalties . Nujood 's strength was celebrated by complete strangers . But what did all the fame do for the one person it was meant to transform ? `` There is no change at all since going on television , '' Nujood says bitterly . `` I hoped there was someone to help us , but we did n't find anyone . It has n't changed a thing . They said they were going to help me and no one has helped me . I wish I had never spoken to the media . '' Nujood says she is still relieved and gratified that her act of defiance paid off . There was never going to be a fortune . Generous people have donated thousands so Nujood could go to a private school , but she refuses to attend , according to Shada Nasser , the human rights lawyer who took on the child 's divorce case . `` I know Nujood was absent from the school . I spoke with her father and her family . And I ask them to control her and ask her to go every day to school . But they said , ` You know we do n't have the money for the transportation . Do n't have the money for the food , ' '' says Nasser . She believes Nujood is being victimized by her own family because they believe her fame should bring them fortune . Nujood 's parents say they 've received nothing , and in the meantime the girl wonders aloud how everything turned out this way . `` I was happy I got divorced but I 'm sad about the way it turned out after I went on television , '' she said , adding that she feels like an outcast even among family and friends . Nujood was pulled out of school in early 2008 and married off by her own parents to a man she says was old and ugly . And yet , as a wife , she was spared nothing . `` I did n't want to sleep with him but he forced me to , he hit me , insulted me , '' she said . She described being married and living as a wife at such a young age as sheer torture . Nujood described how she was beaten and raped and how , after just a few weeks of marriage , she turned to her family to try to escape the arrangement . But her parents told her they could not protect her , that she belonged to her husband now and had to accept her fate . CNN tried to get comment from the girl 's ex-husband and family , but they declined . Nujood 's parents , like many others in Yemen , struck a social bargain . More than half of all young Yemeni girls are married off before the age of 18 , many times to older men , some with more than one wife . Marriage means the girls are no longer a financial or moral burden to their parents . But Nujood 's parents say they did not expect the girl 's new husband to demand sex from his child bride . To escape , Nujood hailed a taxi -- the first time in her life -- to get across town to the central courthouse where she sat on a bench and demanded to see a judge . After several hours , a judge finally went to see her . `` And he asked me , ` what do you want ' and I said ' I want a divorce ' and he said ` you 're married ? ' And I said ` yes . ' '' says Nujood . Nujood 's father and husband were arrested until the divorce hearing , and the girl was put in the care of Nasser . It seems the judge had heard enough of the abuse to agree with her that she should get her divorce . But based on the principles of Shariah law , her husband was compensated , not prosecuted . Nujood was ordered to pay him more than $ 200 -- a huge amount in a country where the United Nations Development Programme says 15.7 percent of the population lives on less than $ 1 a day . Khadije Al Salame is working to help the girl get her life back . Now a Yemeni diplomat , she too was a child bride 30 years ago . But when she left her husband , she did not have to endure the publicity that now haunts Nujood . She said : `` It 's good to talk about Nujood and to have her story come out , but the problem is it 's too much pressure on her . `` She does n't understand what 's going on . She 's a little girl and we have to understand as media people that we should leave her alone now . If we really love Nujood then we should just let her go to school and continue with her life , because education is the most important thing for her . '' To get her divorce , Nujood showed character and strength not easily expressed by women in Yemen , let alone a 10-year-old child bride . But she will need to muster all that strength and more if she 's to finally reclaim her life . Nujood told us she thought the divorce would be the end of her struggle . But she 's angry that it turned out to be just the beginning . CNN producer Schams Elwazer contributed to this report . | Child who got divorce in Yemen struggling to be a child again . Nujood Ali escaped her parents and husband to plead in court for a divorce . Her plight raised issue of child brides but has not given her a happy ending . Ali skips school and is angry ; lawyer says her family is now victimizing her . | [[938, 951], [956, 976], [3617, 3651], [3654, 3713], [4592, 4593], [4601, 4633], [938, 951], [981, 1010], [2780, 2837], [2793, 2895]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Simply put , Margaret Moth made an impression . Given her jet-black hair , thick black eyeliner , black clothes and combat boots -LRB- which she often slept in while on assignment -RRB- , people did n't always know what to think upon meeting her . She was quirky , the sort who excused herself from a social gathering by saying she had to wash her socks . And she was fearless , the kind of woman who not only kept the camera rolling while under fire , but zoomed in on a soldier who was shooting at her . Colleagues learned quickly to appreciate all that this CNN camerawoman was . Beyond her rich personality , which included deep optimism and kindness , she brought to her profession top-notch technical abilities , unmatched dedication and an approach to work that inspired others to push themselves . CNN colleagues honor Moth . Moth sought out , even demanded , assignments in conflict zones . She barely survived being shot in the face in Sarajevo in 1992 , only to go back as soon as she was physically able . The multiple reconstructive surgeries that followed , as well as the hepatitis C she contracted from a consequent blood transfusion , were mere obstacles she moved around . But more than three years after being diagnosed with colon cancer , her tremendous life journey has come to an end . Moth , known for her gutsiness , striking appearance , distinctive humor and sense of fun , died early Sunday in Rochester , Minnesota . She was 59 . `` Dying of cancer , I would have liked to think I 'd have gone out with a bit more flair , '' she said with a laugh last spring during an interview with a CNN documentary crew that had traveled to Texas , where she was visiting friends . `` The important thing is to know that you 've lived your life to the fullest , '' she said then , before tubing down a river in Austin , Texas ; taking jaunts to Cape Cod and the Canadian Rockies ; and piloting a houseboat up the Mississippi River -- replete with beer and Cuban cigars . `` I do n't know anyone who 's enjoyed life more . '' Born Margaret Wilson in Gisborne , New Zealand , to a homemaker and a man who made swimming pools , she got her first camera at age 8 . She later changed her name to Margaret Gipsy Moth , a nod to the airplane , which was appropriate for a woman who had a penchant for jumping out of planes , barefoot . She said she never aspired to be a photojournalist . Rather her path , she explained , was mostly driven by a love of history and her desire to see it unfold firsthand . Whether she was amid rioters after Indira Gandhi 's assassination or covering a long menu of wars spanning continents , Moth felt she and her colleagues were the lucky ones . `` You could be a billionaire , and you could n't pay to do the things we 've done , '' said Moth , who had most recently called Istanbul , Turkey , home . Reported to be New Zealand 's first camerawoman , she came to the U.S. and worked for KHOU in Houston , Texas , for about seven years before moving to CNN in 1990 . When other photojournalists dived behind cars as militiamen opened fire on protesters in Tbilisi , Georgia , she stood her ground and kept her camera running . As a band of medical professionals defied Israeli tanks and armored vehicles , marching into then-Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat 's compound in the West Bank , she got in the middle of the group , joined them and helped nab an exclusive interview . When many around her slept in Sarajevo , she set to work in a destroyed hotel room , filming with a night scope through holes blown out by artillery fire , hiding herself and camera from the eyes of snipers . The Serbian sniper bullet that did hit Moth while she was traveling along `` sniper alley '' in Sarajevo shattered her jaw , blew out her teeth and destroyed a portion of her tongue -- which left her forever sounding like she was drunk , she said . Others got angry , as the van she traveled in was clearly marked as a press vehicle , but she refused to go there . '' ` We came into their war . Fair 's fair , ' '' former CNN correspondent Stefano Kotsonis , who was with her when she was shot , remembered her saying . '' ' I do n't blame anyone for firing at me . They 're in a war , and I stepped into it . ' '' Her attitude made other colleagues , many of whom were interviewed for the documentary `` Fearless : The Margaret Moth Story , '' strive to be better at what they did . Sound techs and correspondents would often follow her lead , whether they felt ready or not . She was known to outrun her own security . Photojournalists viewed her as a bar-setter . Another of CNN 's international camerawomen remembers Moth . Christiane Amanpour , CNN 's chief international correspondent , who 'd been away from Sarajevo when her friend was shot , was sitting at Moth 's hospital bedside when an assignment editor from the international desk called . He wanted to know if Amanpour was ready to return to the conflict zone , she recalled for the documentary about Moth . `` I said I 'd go back , and I know to this day that if I had n't said yes then , I probably never would have gone back , and I never would have done this career . But I said yes because I could n't say no , '' Amanpour remembered , fighting back tears . `` We did the work for her . We did it because she was our champion , and we wanted to be her champion . '' Sure enough , as soon as Moth could carry a camera again , six months later , she went straight back to Sarajevo to join her CNN colleagues . She joked that she was there to find her teeth . Moth maintained her humor amid madness and helped others smile and unwind when the surroundings could make levity seem impossible . She enlisted a producer to go rollerblading with her on the marble floors of a Baghdad , Iraq , hotel lobby . She forced colleagues to tell her who they 'd rather sleep with , while giving them horrifying choices . She liked to kick back with fine cigars and could drink others under the table . Despite her tough exterior , there was insecurity , a vanity to her . No matter where she was , Moth rose early to do her eye makeup and hair . Forever worried about her weight , she picked at a block of cheese in Bosnia for about six weeks and got by on mango juice during a stretch in the West Bank . She admitted that after being shot , she was more afraid of what she 'd look like than she was of dying . Enveloped in bandages , she slipped her dear friend Joe Duran a note asking him if she looked like a monster . But she often worried about others more than herself . Moth enjoyed working with seasoned correspondents but also looked out for those who were new . In Pakistan , she taught Patty Sabga to sleep behind couches and talked her through everything she was shooting to help Sabga build her stories . And in Afghanistan , she carefully led the former CNN correspondent through rubble that probably hid land mines . `` She took such incredible care of me and taught me so much , '' Sabga said . `` I can honestly say that the work I did with Margaret Moth is still the very best work of my career . '' Moth repeatedly visited the doctor who saved her life . And she boosted the spirits and changed the attitude of another CNN photojournalist , David Allbritton , when he was seriously injured by a bomb in Sarajevo in 1995 . `` She made me realize that I was going to get through this , '' he said . `` She set an example by overcoming everything that 's happened to her . ... I took that example , and I 'm shooting today . I 'm not sure that I would be doing what I 'm doing today if it had not been for Margaret Moth . '' Her chosen lifestyle did n't leave room for children of her own , but she bonded with them across the globe . And her love of animals was so deep that she refused to ride in a horse-pulled wagon , preferring to run with heavy equipment in the desert heat while on assignment in Petra , Jordan . In fact , when it became clear that the advanced cancer would end her life , the concern that drove her to tears was her cats -- the more than 25 strays she looked after in Istanbul . `` She was more upset about them than she was about dying , '' said Duran , who rushed to her side after she 'd been medevaced out of Sarajevo . But when Duran , also a CNN cameraman , moved into her home in Turkey with the promise that he 'd care for the cats , he said Moth told him , '' ` Now I can die happy . ' '' Duran was by Moth 's side when she died . He said he will be taking her ashes back to Istanbul , where he will place them in her garden , beside a photograph of her . There , as she wanted , she 'll be able to hang out with her cats . There were a few things Moth wished she had done . She would have liked to have seen the Krak des Chevaliers , a medieval fortress in Syria , and the Burundi drummers . But regrets ? She had none . She `` led the complete life , '' Amanpour said . `` I do n't think Margaret could ever look back and say , ` What if ? ' She did it to the max , and she did it brilliantly . And she did it on her terms . '' CNN colleagues and friends of Margaret Moth contributed to this report . | Her guts , skill and humor made Margaret Moth one to remember . The longtime CNN photojournalist dies of cancer at 59 , after surviving wars . Shot in Sarajevo , she lived and went back to conflict zone as soon as she could . Christiane Amanpour and others remember her for life she lived `` to the max '' | [[32, 66], [1327, 1331], [1334, 1357], [5589, 5627], [1464, 1476], [919, 981], [919, 922], [989, 1014], [5412, 5448], [5457, 5473], [5476, 5510]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A Massachusetts grand jury has indicted a 98-year-old woman , accused of strangling her 100-year-old nursing-home roommate , on a second-degree murder charge . Prosecutors say Laura Lundquist killed centenarian Elizabeth Barrow , a resident of Brandon Woods Nursing Home in Dartmouth , after the two women had an argument over a table Lundquist had placed at the foot of Barrow 's bed . Barrow was found dead September 24 with a plastic shopping bag tied loosely around her head , according the Bristol County district attorney 's office . An autopsy indicated Barrow had been strangled . Barrow complained that the table obstructed her path to the bathroom , authorities said . When a nurse 's aide moved it , Lundquist punched the aide and grumbled that her roommate `` might as well have the whole room , '' prosecutors said . District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter said Barrow repeatedly complained that Lundquist was making her life `` a living hell '' in the weeks leading up to the woman 's death , and that Lundquist remarked that she would outlive her roommate . A nursing home spokesman said the facility twice presented Barrow with the chance to change either rooms or roommates , but she declined each time . He compared the pair to `` sisters , '' saying they took `` daily walks together ... ate lunch together every day , and were heard at night saying , ` Good night , I love you , ' to each other . '' Lundquist 's attorney , Carl Levin , contends his client was not involved in Barrow 's death , saying , `` We maintain her innocence . '' A superior court judge granted a motion to send Lundquist to a state hospital for a competency evaluation . An arraignment will be held only if Lundquist is found competent to stand trial . | Prosecutors say Laura Lundquist , 98 , strangled Elizabeth Barrow , 100 . The two allegedly argued about a table Lundquist had placed at the foot of Barrow 's bed . Nursing home spokesman : Barrow declined offers to change rooms or roommates . Spokesman : The two women were like `` sisters , '' took daily walks together . | [[0, 15], [81, 141], [179, 246], [580, 607], [311, 353], [341, 405], [1087, 1204], [1236, 1270], [1273, 1349]] |
Editor 's Note : Rep. Jason Chaffetz , a Republican , represents the Third District of Utah in Congress and is writing a regular series of reports for CNN.com on his freshman year . For his bio , read here . For a Democratic freshman 's view , read here . Jason Chaffetz says he 's saving money by sleeping on a cot in his office , but there are downsides . WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- I do something a bit different than most members of Congress . I sleep in my office on a cot . A few months ago , I was speaking with a current member of Congress and he said he slept in his office . Awesome ! We are paid well , but the cost of caring for two households and supporting a family of five is high . I thought this would be a great way to save $ 1,500 per month . Besides , I work late into the night and usually arise about 5:30 a.m. No need to waste time commuting and spending money on a place where I do n't intend to be spending much time . I came here to work , not sleep . Watch video of Jason Chaffetz ' life in Congress '' So I bought a cot at Smiths grocery store and carried it on a plane to Washington . I sleep in the closet by the door to the outside hall . The cot itself is fairly comfy . Best thing is there is no bar in the middle , so my back is doing quite well . The only downside is what is happening outside . The cleaning crew obviously works throughout the night . They do a great job , but they have a Zamboni-like machine -LRB- the kind you see on ice rinks -RRB- that cleans the hallways . It has a horn and they use it ! It makes an obnoxious beeping sound that you hear on trucks that are backing up , and it definitely keeps me up at night . At 12:52 a.m. during the first week , the `` Capitol Early Warning System '' was tested . It works ! Even though I sleep in my office , I do shower . The House has a gym . I pay $ 240 to use the facilities . Typically I head down first thing in the morning to wash up and work out in the evening . I thought it would be like a nice golf club or certainly as `` lavish '' as a Gold 's Gym . Not so much . It 's nice , but it 's more like a high school gym with the small narrow lockers from the 1950s . I locker next to Jose Serrano -LRB- D-New York -RRB- . On the political spectrum we are probably as far apart as possible . Yet , just in our gym clothes we get along great . He 's a nice guy and he offered a wealth of perspective and suggestions to a freshman . Aside from the routine details of settling in , the first weeks of my term have been filled with surreal moments . Never did I think I would be seated just yards away from one of the most historic presidential inaugurations in the history of our country . To watch firsthand as President Bush peacefully transitioned the presidency to Barack Obama was a surreal and inspiring moment . My most vivid memory of the moment was watching the two men embrace after the oath of office -LRB- the first one -RRB- . It 's part of what makes this country so strong and so marvelous . In many ways , my own election reflected the miracle of this country . With no paid staff , no polling , no campaign office , no free meals for potential voters and no debt , I took on a 12-year Republican incumbent and won by a 20 percent margin -LRB- I ate one of our own -RRB- despite being outspent by $ 600,000 through the primary election . On January 6 , 2009 , I , too , raised my right hand and was administered the oath of office . With my 15-year old son , Max , by my side , tears flowed down my face . The emotion of the moment was overwhelming . The history of the House of Representatives , my desire to be the very best representative I can possibly be , the massive amount of people counting on us to do what is right , and the opportunity to do good all hit me at once . Over the past several weeks , the 22 Republican freshmen have been building our friendships . Our bond is tight , we are all working hard and we are having fun , too . This week , House Republicans met with President Obama and debated the stimulus bill . I voted against it . Our national debt has increased an average of $ 2.8 billion per day since January 2007 . We must cut spending , not increase spending , for the long-term health of our economy . One day I went up to see my colleague Chris Lee 's -LRB- R-New York -RRB- office . He 's on the seventh floor of the Longworth Building and he had me crawl through the window in his office out to the balcony for a wonderful view of the Capitol . We talked about putting a barbecue out there in the summer and having the Republican freshman class over for some burgers . Being a member of Congress is nothing short of amazing , but the worst part is not being able to go home to my family at night . I miss my wife , Julie , and our kids , Max , Ellis , and Kate . They are in Utah and I am here in Washington four nights per week . It is an honor to serve . Now that we are settling in , the real work has begun . The noise in the hallway is the least of my problems . I 've got my cot , now let 's figure out how to get our economy back on track ! The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jason Chaffetz . | Jason Chaffetz : I decided to sleep in my House office to save money . He says his freshman year is starting off well as he bonds with colleagues . Chaffetz : We need to reduce spending , so I voted against stimulus bill . He says worst part of the job is being separated from his family in Utah . | [[256, 329], [451, 482], [555, 587], [1775, 1779], [1787, 1807], [4056, 4076], [4166, 4186], [4686, 4753]] |
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- President Obama 's accusations that Iran 's nuclear program runs afoul of international agreements are `` baseless , '' the Islamic republic 's president told CNN 's Larry King on Friday . Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says President Obama 's accusations are `` baseless . '' `` We did not expect Mr. Obama within less than 48 hours , to basically violate the commitment that he spoke of at the United Nations , '' said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . The Iranian leader was referring to Obama 's Wednesday speech to the U.N. General Assembly , where Obama called for international unity in attacking the world 's challenges . Asked if he was expressing disappointment in the U.S. president , Ahmadinejad responded , `` We simply did n't expect him to say something that was ... was baseless . '' Earlier Friday evening Obama said `` Iran is on notice '' regarding its nuclear efforts , and that the international community is united in its opposition to Tehran 's nuclear program . `` They are going to have to make a choice : Are they willing to go down the path to greater prosperity and security for Iran , giving up the acquisition of nuclear weapons ... or will they continue down a path that is going to lead to confrontation , '' he said at a news conference at the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . Obama 's comments came hours after Iran acknowledged the existence of a second uranium enrichment facility and ahead of next week 's planned meeting between Iran and the five permanent United Nations Security Council members , plus Germany . The October 1 meeting will take place in Geneva , Switzerland . Obama said he would not speculate on any course of action absent a satisfactory response from Iran . `` Even countries who a year ago or six months ago might have been reluctant to even discuss things like sanctions , '' are starting to become concerned , Obama said . Obama said his `` preferred course of action is to resolve this in a diplomatic fashion . It 's up to the Iranians to respond . '' The U.S. president said the conclusions about Iran 's nuclear ambitions came as a result of the work of three intelligence agencies -- those of Britain , France and the United States . The work , Obama said , was done `` to make sure that we were absolutely confident about the situation there . '' The United States has known about the unfinished site since the Bush administration , according to senior U.S. officials who declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations . French intelligence officials were also aware of the facility for several months at least , a U.S. diplomatic source said . It was n't until Monday that Iran wrote a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency , revealing the existence of the underground facility on a military base near the Shia Muslim holy city of Qom . The facility is thought to be capable of housing 3,000 centrifuges , which is not enough to produce nuclear fuel to power a reactor but is sufficient to manufacture bomb-making material , according to a U.S. diplomatic source who read the letter . Iran told the IAEA there is no nuclear material at the site , an agency spokesman said . Once Iran alerted the IAEA , Obama began sharing U.S. intelligence on the nuclear site with allies , particularly with Russia and China in an effort to get those countries on board with new sanctions against Iran , the officials said . The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Friday that Iran admitted the existence of the `` new pilot fuel enrichment plant , '' prompting Obama , British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy to respond at the G-20 economic summit . `` Iran 's decision to build yet another nuclear facility without notifying the IAEA represents a direct challenge to the basic compact at the center of the nonproliferation regime , '' Obama said , with Brown and Sarkozy standing at his side . Watch world leaders react to Iran '' Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not mention the Qom plant during his visit to New York this week for the U.N. General Assembly sessions . He reiterated earlier claims that Iran has fully cooperated with nuclear inspectors . He emphasized this again Friday afternoon at a news conference , where he said Iran complied with IAEA regulations requiring it be informed at least six months before an enrichment facility becomes operational . `` We still have a year left before that six months kicks in , '' Ahmadinejad said . `` I thought we were supposed to be encouraged for taking this action , '' he said . Watch Ahmadinejad hit back at Obama '' Iran 's revelation of a new nuclear site could actually `` strengthen their hand '' as Tehran heads into next week 's talks , according to Paul Ingram , an analyst who studies Iran and nuclear nonproliferation . `` It will be seen as an indication that they are willing to play by the rules , '' said Ingram , the executive director of the British American Security Information Council in London , England . He said the timing of Iran 's revelation , between the U.N. General Assembly sessions and the October 1 meeting , is deliberate on Iran 's part . `` This will make it more difficult to persuade them to abandon enrichment , '' Ingram said . Iran claims its nuclear enrichment program is intended for peaceful purposes , but the international community accuses it of continuing to try to develop nuclear weapons capability . iReport.com : Dissidents discuss Iran enrichment plants . Iran had acknowledged only a uranium enrichment plant in Natanz , which nuclear inspectors visited recently . Iran also has an unfinished nuclear research reactor in Arak , and U.N. nuclear inspectors were allowed access to that facility this month . Other important nuclear sites in Iran include its Bushehr nuclear power plant and the Isfahan uranium conversion plant . Map : Iran 's nuclear sites '' Washington became aware of the covert facility near Qom several years ago , but a clearer picture about the facility emerged later , a U.S. counter-proliferation official said . The enrichment facility would probably not be operational for another year , the official said . The official said the newly unveiled facility `` does n't really change the baseline '' conclusion of the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate , which concluded that Iran could manufacture a nuclear weapons between 2010 and 2015 . The official added that there are suspicions about other possible hidden or undeclared nuclear-related facilities . CNN 's Ed Henry , Dan Lothian , Pam Benson , Matthew Chance and Moni Basu contributed to this report . | NEW : Ahmadinejad says he did n't expect Obama to make such `` baseless '' remarks . Iranian president says nation has complied with IAEA regulations . Iran tells IAEA it has a second nuclear enrichment plant . Iran told IAEA there is no nuclear material at the site , IAEA spokesman said . | [[219, 310], [262, 310], [731, 752], [756, 831], [755, 831], [4165, 4250], [4296, 4302], [4322, 4365], [1356, 1597], [1391, 1597], [3467, 3597], [3768, 3792], [3801, 3819], [4672, 4718], [4729, 4771], [3142, 3201], [3204, 3230]] |
London , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Spanish banking giant Santander on Monday began its campaign to rename hundreds of Abbey and Bradford and Bingley bank branches across Britain . The banking group acquired Abbey in 2004 , before it purchased Bradford & Bingley and the Alliance & Leicester in 2008 . The first of 300 official Santander branches in the south-east of England was launched in London Monday morning by Banco Santander Chairman Emilio Botín , with a further 700 branches across the UK expected to follow suit by the end of January . In a statement Botin said : `` This is a historic day for Santander as its name is firmly established on the UK high street . `` When Santander acquired Abbey in 2004 , there were some who doubted we could make it a success . Today , there can be no doubts . `` Over the last five years we have transformed our UK business into one of the most successful banks in the country . The decision to become Santander will put us in an even stronger position the UK . '' António Horta-Osório , Chief Executive of Santander UK , added : `` The success of our UK business has given us the confidence to move to the Santander name now and with it deliver the next phase of our transformation program and make 1,300 branches available to our 25 million customers in the UK . `` I am confident that this is a very positive move - both for our customers and our employees . '' Over the next few years , Santander says it aims to increase the number of products each of its customers hold through increasingly competitive and market-leading products to its customer base . At the end of 2008 , Santander , which was founded in 1857 , was the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization and third in the world by profit . It has has 90 million customers , around 14,000 branches -- more than any other international bank -- and over 170,000 employees . | Santander bought Abbey in 2004 , Bradford & Bingley , Alliance & Leicester in 2008 . Spanish banking group expected to rename around 1,000 bank branches across UK by end of January . Group CEO : `` Decision to become Santander will put us in an even stronger position the UK '' | [[181, 221], [224, 279], [231, 301], [676, 713], [716, 772], [462, 546], [925, 998], [925, 1007]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- When Eldrick `` Tiger '' Woods joined the ranks of professional golf a dozen years ago , it was via the heralded `` Hello , World '' Nike commercial . When he steps to the podium Friday to speak to an assembled group of friends , colleagues and journalists , the world will truly be watching to see and hear the greatest golfer of this generation talk about the sordid events over the last three months that have kept him off the golf course and shredded his well-cultivated image and reputation . The broadcast networks will air live reports with their main anchors there to report and comment on every word ; the cable nets will undoubtedly have multiple individuals ready for instant analysis ; and millions will tune in to hear Tiger likely apologize and possibly say if and when he will return to competitive golf . He is n't expected to take any questions , and that has made for an angry bunch of columnists and commentators , denouncing Woods for calling a news conference to make a statement , and not undergo the grilling many want to give him . Woods has n't even said a word , and already he 's been called a spoiled , petulant child who has lived in a sheltered world of handlers since he was 2 years old . Some have even gone as far as saying nothing has changed about him and he 's showing that he is just as selfish and self-absorbed as ever . Tiger , let me be as clear as I can as to whether you owe me or the American people an explanation of the events surrounding your car accident Thanksgiving weekend : Hell no . I repeat : Tiger , you do n't owe me or anyone else anything ! I 'm sick of these sanctimonious folks who are blabbering about Woods needing to be grilled about his private behavior . Look , Tiger Woods did n't cheat on me . He 's not my daddy , brother , cousin , church member , neighbor or friend . He did n't let me down or crush my view of him . He is not and never was my role model . The only people he owes a grand apology are his wife , momma , family , maybe his friends , and his children , when they come of age . He does n't have to work hard for me to trust him again . The most important audience he has to satisfy is a very small group of people . That 's it . Nothing more . Nothing less . Ever since I was 14 , my desire was to be journalist . And in the last 27 years , I 've covered it all . In all of those years , I 've never believed I was entitled to ask anyone a question . If it was at a county government board meeting in Austin , Texas , or a city council meeting in Fort Worth , Texas , public officials made a choice to talk to me and other journalists . It 's our duty to ask ; it 's not their obligation to answer . Yes , they were public figures , but no matter how many times I asked the same question , they did n't have to talk to the media . Should they ? Yeah . Must they ? No . Every sports league has a rule requiring their locker rooms to be open to the media shortly after a game ends . Athletes are required to make themselves available or face a fine , but there is nothing that says they must answer our questions . If they choose to expound on what happened in a game , that 's their decision . But their personal life ? That choice is all up to them . We have had to bear witness to all kinds of allegations about Tiger , the married sports star and successful product pitchman , being involved in a variety of affairs with cocktail waitresses , party girls , and porn stars . The details have gone from freaky to bizarre . His reputation has taken a substantial hit ; companies he endorsed have removed his face from billboards and canceled contracts ; and by multiple -LRB- and unsubstantiated -RRB- accounts , his marriage is hanging by a thread . Yet still , he does n't owe the American public or me a damn thing . Meryl Streep has always earned my respect . When you see magazine cover stories on her , such as the recent one in Vanity Fair , she will talk about a host of subjects and pose for a ton of photos , but her family is off limits . She makes it clear : I 'll talk about the work , not my home life . Jodie Foster is the same way . If she is scheduled to discuss a movie , anything work-related is fine . But when you start asking about the father of her children , her love life and anything personal , she shuts you down quickly . In fact , her folks will let you know before the interview what the rules are . She 's consistent and clear . Intensely private people choose to remain that way , whether loving and faithful couples or a married athlete who is accused of bedding anyone and everyone . Someone 's personal life is just that , personal . None of us have the right to know what 's going on in someone else 's life when they are out of public view , especially if no laws were broken . I 've been clear that I 'm a huge Tiger Woods fan . I 've walked inside the ropes of many golf tournaments he 's played in ; shot hundreds of photos of him that hang on my wall ; and count an interview with his father , Earl Woods , as one of my all-time favorites . But journalists need to cut the crap when it comes to demanding that he owes it to us to talk to as many of us as possible . What 's amazing is that many of us are hypocrites on this subject . For example , if a journalist is fired , you will hear the suits at the company say they can not discuss the actions behind the move `` because it 's a personnel matter . '' Wait . Is n't a TV anchor , columnist or reporter a public figure ? In some cities , they are considered celebrities . So the rules are different for us ? In fact , what if a reporter covered a news conference and returned with a team owner or elected official saying the following about one of their employees : `` That 's a personnel matter and I 'm not at liberty to share with you the details of his termination . '' Would that editor , news director , or network president say that is acceptable ? No ! They would jump all over the reporter `` to do their job '' and keep digging to find out what happened . And the columnists and bloggers would be ripping them to shreds . So what 's the difference between them and Tiger ? Personnel ? Personal ? Hello ! Is n't it amazing how different the view looks from the other side of the river ? iReport : Share your reaction to Woods ' statement . We live in an age where public figures often share with the world who they slept with , want to sleep with , what they ate , what they wear , their travel and everything else . Nothing is off limits . The public craves it all on blogs , and in magazines , newspapers , TV and radio . For me , I do n't care about any of it . All I want is to see is a good movie , dance to a great song , watch an awesome sporting event , and witness one golfer take on his peers to become the greatest in the game . When that public figure , whether Meryl , Jodie or Tiger , chooses to walk off the public stage , they do n't owe me or anyone else an explanation . Their body of work is all that matters and that is what we will discuss for generations to come . Nothing more . Nothing less . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Roland S. Martin . | Roland S. Martin says Tiger Woods does n't need to apologize to America . He says golfer may have to make amends to family and very close friends . All that matters to public about Tiger Woods is what he does on golf course , Martin says . Tiger Woods breaks his silence Friday at 11 a.m. ET . Watch it live on CNN , CNN.com or your iPhone . | [[1946, 2054]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- South Korea 's Lee Jung-Su confirmed his reputation as the top men 's short-track speedskater at the 2010 Winter Olympics with his second gold medal on Saturday night , while American Apolo Anton Ohno snatched a place in the history books with a last-gasp bronze . That thrilling 1,000-meter final capped an action-packed ninth day of the Vancouver Games , as Swiss ski-jumper Simon Ammann made history with his second gold medal and Americans Lindsey Vonn and Shani Davis missed out on double titles in skiing and speedskating . The U.S. still ended the day with a table-topping six gold medals , having failed to add to their tally , with Norway on five and South Korea joining Germany , Canada and Switzerland on four . Lee Jung-Su followed up his victory from the 1,500 m event in an Olympic record time of one minute 23.747 seconds , with his compatriot Lee Ho-Suk winning silver in 1:23.801 to earn some consolation after being disqualified for causing a crash on the final lap of the longer race . Ohno -LRB- 1:24.128 -RRB- denied hosts Canada a medal when he surged past world record-holder Charles Hamelin -LRB- 1:24.329 -RRB- on the final lap to become the most decorated American Winter Olympian with a record-breaking seventh medal . The 27-year-old overhauled Bonnie Blair as his country 's top medal winner , having won silver in the 1,500 m. Hamelin 's brother Francois finished last in the five-man final . Ski-jumping . Ammann became the first ski-jumper to win four individual gold medals at Winter Olympics when he leaped to victory in the large hill event at Whistler to follow up his normal hill title and match his feat at Salt Lake City in 2002 . It was also the first time any ski-jumper has won both events twice , and made him Switzerland 's most-decorated athlete in any Olympics , winter or summer . The 28-year-old , dubbed the `` Harry Potter of ski-jumping '' after his 2002 heroics due to his likeness to J.K. Rowling 's boy wizard , smashed the Olympic record of 141 meters when he set a distance of 144m in his first round in the afternoon for a points total of 144.7 . He then cleared 138m in the final round for a tally of 283.6 as he headed off normal hill silver medallist Adam Malyz of Poland by 15.3 points . Austria 's Gregor Schlierenzauer picked up his second bronze medal to ensure the podium remained unchanged from last Saturday 's event , finishing on 262.2 points . Alpine skiing . Andrea Fischbacher denied downhill champion Lindsey Vonn a double in women 's alpine skiing speed events when she claimed a surprise victory in the super-G . The 24-year-old Fischbacher won Austria 's second gold medal at the Vancouver Games after beating Vonn 's time , with Slovenia 's Tina Maze then pushing the American into the bronze position . Vonn , who crashed out super-combined , had gone top in the event -- which features gates spaced further apart than the giant slalom and slalom disciplines -- with a time of one minute 20.88 seconds . But Fischbacher trumped that in convincing style with a sizzling 1:20.14 and Maze then claimed her first Olympic medal with 1:20.63 . Fischbacher had previously won only one World Cup event , a super-G two years ago . `` I was just thinking if I make a really good run and do my best I can beat her -LSB- Vonn -RSB- , '' she told reporters . `` Everything was perfect and I skied really fast . It was a dream . '' Vonn , the super-G World Cup champion for the past two seasons , indicated that she had been guilty of not going full-tilt for the entire run . `` I really attacked . I skied all those difficult sections really well . After I got passed those sections I kind of eased off the gas pedal , '' she said . Speedskating . The 27-year-old Davis , who became the first man to defend the 1,000-meter title on Wednesday , had to again settle for silver in the 1,500 m event on Saturday as the U.S. team failed to add to a leading tally of six gold medals in 2010 . Dutchman Mark Tuitert , who was fifth in the shorter event , claimed a shock gold as he set the fastest time of 1:45.57 to earn his first individual medal of any kind since winning silver in the 1,500 m at the 2004 and 2005 world championships . Davis , the Turin 2006 runner-up , was 0.53 seconds adrift while Norway 's long-distance specialist Havard Bokko took the bronze . China 's Zhou Yang claimed the women 's 1,500-meter short-track gold medal after setting an Olympic record time in the final . Zhou clocked 2:16.993 to comfortably head off South Koreans Lee Eun-Byul and Park Seung-Hi in second and third respectively . Cross-country skiing . Marcus Hellner gave Sweden a second gold medal in the cross-country skiing program , and third overall , winning the men 's 30-kilometer pursuit title to follow up compatriot Charlotte Kalla 's triumph in the ladies ' 10 km free event on Monday . The 24-year-old 's time of one hour 15 minutes 11.4 seconds put him just 2.1 seconds ahead of Germany 's Tobias Angerer , who was also runner-up at the 2007 world championships . Johan Olsson claimed a bronze for Sweden to add to his relay third-placing at the 2006 Turin Games , finishing 2.8 seconds behind Hellner . Ice hockey . Switzerland defeated Norway 5-4 in overtime to move into third place in Group A of the men 's ice hockey competition . Romano Lemm scored nearly two-and-half-minutes into extra time to leave Norway bottom with three defeats from three despite a hat-trick on Saturday from Tore Vikingstad . First-placed United States will take on second-placed Canada on Sunday to decide the group , with the winner receiving a bye into the quarterfinal stage . In the women 's competition , Switzerland crushed China 6-0 as Stefanie Marty scored four goals . | NEW : Lee Jung-Su confirms his reputation as top men 's short-track speedskater . Korean wins second gold in 1,000 m event as Apolo Anton Ohno makes U.S. history . Swiss ski-jumper Simon Ammann claims his second gold medal of Vancouver Games . Andrea Fischbacher denies Lindsey Vonn a double Winter Olympic gold . | [[0, 15], [46, 185], [0, 15], [46, 185], [194, 257], [0, 15], [46, 185], [379, 485], [2449, 2553]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- India are poised to build a handy first-innings lead over South Africa after Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar scored centuries on the second day of the second cricket Test in Kolkata . The home side , needing to win to level the series and retain their No. 1 ranking in the five-day game , reached 342-5 when bad light halted play early on Monday , having bowled the Proteas out for 296 in the morning session . Opener Sehwag smashed a scintillating 165 off only 174 balls faced , hitting 23 boundaries and two sixes as he added 249 for the third wicket with Tendulkar . The veteran Tendulkar extended his world record of Test tons to 47 as he took on the junior role , facing 206 deliveries for his 106 . Sehwag , who was dropped by J.P. Duminy on 47 , had threatened South African Jacques Kallis 's record for the fastest half-century but suffered a brief lull in run flow before passing the mark in just 41 deliveries . He and Gautam Gambhir put on 73 for the first wicket in just 9.2 overs before the latter was run out for 25 , then paceman Morne Morkel had Murali Vijay caught behind by stand-in wicketkeeper A.B. De Villiers for seven . India reached lunch at 97-2 and Sehwag raced to three figures in only 87 balls for his 19th Test century as the duo batted through the middle session , going to tea at 232-2 . They both fell late in the day as part-time bowler Duminy removed Tendulkar and fellow spinner Paul Harris dismissed Tendulkar , then paceman Dale Steyn bowled Subramaniam Badrinath for one . V.V.S. Laxman -LRB- 9 -RRB- and nightwatchman Amit Mishra -LRB- 1 -RRB- survived until stumps as India extended their lead to 46 . South Africa had resumed on 266-9 after a late collapse on Sunday , and tailenders Morne Morkel and Wayne Parnell added another 30 runs for a final-wicket stand of 35 . Left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan finally ended their resistance , trapping Parnell leg before wicket for 12 in his first over of the day to finish with figures of 4-90 . Spinner Harbhajan Singh claimed three wickets on Sunday . Meanwhile , New Zealand reached 258-5 on a rain-hit opening day of the one-off Test against tourists Bangladesh in Hamilton . The Kiwis slumped to 66-3 after Monday 's start was delayed by an hour due to wet conditions , but Martin Guptill then added 60 with Ross Taylor -LRB- 40 -RRB- and an unbroken 100 with Brendon McCullum to guide the home team safely to stumps . No. 3 batsman Peter Ingram crashed 42 off 47 deliveries before becoming the second of Rubel Hossain 's three victims , but it was Guptill 's more measured Test best score of 80 that anchored the innings . The big-hitting McCullum kept the score ticking over as he celebrated his 50th Test with his 16th half-century , ending the day on 58 from 71 deliveries . | India reach 342-5 on second day of second Test against South Africa in Kolkata . Virender Sehwag hits 165 as he adds 249 for third wicket with Sachin Tendulkar -LRB- 106 -RRB- . Tourists South Africa had added 30 runs to their overnight total of 266-9 . New Zealand reach 258-5 on rain-hit opening day of one-off Test against Bangladesh . | [[96, 207], [208, 221], [313, 369], [19, 132], [96, 207], [435, 501], [435, 448], [504, 593], [1666, 1731], [1738, 1834], [2058, 2067], [2070, 2183]] |
-LRB- Skiing Magazine -RRB- -- Picture this : You 're charging down a course at 80 mph . The world whips by you in a blur . You catch an edge , smack into a gate and somersault into the safety nets , cracking your neck and shredding a knee . Season ? Done . Olympic dreams ? Over . Career ? Definitely on hold , possibly kaput . That 's what happened in December to TJ Lanning , one of the U.S. Ski Team 's top racers , during a downhill race at Canada 's Lake Louise . He 's one of many international Alpine competitors sidelined this winter because of season-ending injuries . Other casualties include 2009 downhill champ Canadian John Kucera and French slalom star Jean-Baptiste Grange . Addressing the rash of early-season injuries , Aksel Lund Svindval , the 2009 men 's overall World Cup winner , posted the following on his blog in December : `` In two weeks of intense World Cup racing in North America , racers have sustained the following ... 7 torn ACLS , 4 knee ligaments , 1 broken arm , 1 broken leg , 1 broken neck , 1 concussion , 1 dislocated knee , 1 dislocated shoulder . . is this OK ? '' Sure , ski racing has always been a dangerous sport , but with ever-evolving gear and technologies creating faster and faster competitors , the incidence of injuries has spiked . Skiing Magazine : Jamaica 's Olympic skier , ready for glory . The International Ski Federation -LRB- known as FIS -RRB- , the World Cup governing body , launched the `` Injury Surveillance System '' in 2006 to track facts and figures on injury patterns across all disciplines : Nordic , freestyle and Alpine . Among Alpine racers , knee injuries are the most common affliction . As a part of this initiative , in December FIS convened a panel of six top Alpine competitors , including Didier Cuche , Scott Macartney , and Svindal , to drill down on how to make racing safer . They cited course preparation , improved take-off points for jumps , flat landings and medical procedures as top concerns . Skiing Magazine : French Olympic uniforms : Really pink . The athletes also made a plea for redesigned gates , ones that would rip off more easily upon impact . In Lanning 's accident , they say this would have significantly reduced his injuries and their severity . While competitors want to increase safety , they 're also aware that it 's the danger , blood and guts of their sport that turn fans on , and athletes are wary of ratcheting down the visceral appeal . When it comes to modifying race procedures , FIS is adamant about using systematic data collection and scientific analysis to make informed decisions . In January , FIS rolled out a new , three-year scientific study to analyze Alpine racing safety and to make recommendations on how to decrease the number of injuries . The first phase will collect information through interviews with athletes , coaches and equipment providers , among other experts , to gather suggestions for short-term prevention solutions . Subsequent stages will focus on prevention strategies and rule changes . However , some modifications were deemed urgent enough to institute immediately : smaller jumps and new gates with flags that rip way upon contact . FIS works closely with the Vancouver Organizing Committee to design the Alpine courses at the Olympics , but ultimately , it 's VANOC that sets them -- save the downhill , which FIS still oversees ; it 's an old , complicated tradition . With fog rising from Whistler Mountain during the downhill training runs , making visibility next to none , officials were scrambling to re-design the race gates in an effort to make them more visible , switching the flag color from green to red . With this last-minute change , officials on the ground were n't sure if the new , FIS-sanctioned gates would be in place during the Winter Games . Skiing Magazine : The Lindsey Vonn workout . © 2010 Skiing Magazine . All rights reserved . Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited . | TJ Lanning among those sidelined by injuries after skiing accidents . Number of injuries increases as technology improvements allow for higher speeds . Panel has convened to make racing safer for the athletes . It 's looking at course preparation , take-off points , redesigned gates and medical procedures . | [[470, 578], [1249, 1287], [1821, 1864], [1865, 1894], [1865, 1869], [1897, 1988], [3537, 3603]] |
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Scientists in the United States are developing a `` synthetic tree '' capable of collecting carbon around 1,000 times faster than the real thing . A conceptual design of how the `` synthetic tree '' might look should they ever reach the stage of production . As the wind blows though plastic `` leaves , '' the carbon is trapped in a chamber , compressed and stored as liquid carbon dioxide . The technology is similar to that used to capture carbon from flue stacks at coal-fired power plants , but the difference is that the `` synthetic tree '' can catch carbon anytime , anywhere . `` Half of your emissions come from small , distributed sources where collection at the site is either impossible or impractical , '' said Professor Klaus Lackner , Ewing-Worzel Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University . `` We aim for applications like gasoline in cars or jet fuel in airplanes . We are going after CO2 that otherwise is nearly impossible to collect , '' he told CNN . While the idea of carbon-catchers may sound far-fetched , an early model has been built and Lackner is in the process of writing a proposal for consideration by the U.S. Department of Energy . He personally explained the concept in a 45-minute meeting with U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu last month at a three-day symposium on climate change in London . `` He was there and I was there and he showed interest , '' Lackner told CNN . `` That 's exciting , but I do n't particularly want to discuss this in a public forum because I think this gives me a little bit of an opportunity to tailor my proposals to the Department of Energy in a way that makes them more palatable . '' Lackner started working on the concept of an ambient carbon catcher in 1998 . `` I argued back then and I still argue that the reason this can be done , from a theoretical point of view , is that the CO2 in the air is actually surprisingly concentrated , therefore the device you need to collect CO2 is quite small . '' The `` synthetic tree '' looks more like a public convenience block than a hi-tech method of reducing carbon emissions , but Lackner told CNN it is highly efficient for its size when compared , for example , to a modern power-generating wind turbine . `` If you give me one of those big windmills which have those big areas through which the rotor moves -- how much CO2 can I avoid ? And if I had an equally sized CO2 collector -- how much CO2 can I collect ? It turns out the collector is several hundred times better than the windmill . '' Is the `` synthetic tree '' an interesting alternative , or a scientific flight of fancy that 's unlikely to happen ? Sound Off below . Lackner told CNN that initial concerns over the cost of the technology were focused on the `` front-end '' carbon collector , including the sorbent used to catch the carbon dioxide in the air . But after years of research , Lackner told CNN he and his colleagues have developed a sorbent that is `` close to the ideal , '' in that it uses a relatively small amount of energy to release the CO2 and is not prohibitively expensive . `` By the time we make liquid CO2 we have spent approximately 50 kilojoules -LSB- of electricity -RSB- per mole of CO2 . '' Compare that , Lackner said , to the average power plant in the U.S. which produces one mole of CO2 with every 230 kilojoules of electricity . `` In other words , if we simply plugged our device in to the power grid to satisfy its energy needs , for every roughly 1000 kilograms -LSB- of carbon dioxide -RSB- we collected we would re-emit 200 , so 800 we can chalk up as having been successful , '' he said . Lackner told CNN the biggest cost was at the `` back-end '' of the collector , primarily the technology used to release the CO2 from the sorbent . He said for that reason , on a cost-basis , the `` synthetic tree '' could not compete with modern coal-fired power plants that are designed to release fewer carbon emissions than their older predecessors . But he said when compared to the cost of retro-fitting an existing coal plant , the `` synthetic tree '' becomes more viable . `` The bottom line is we have in this way the ability to deal with the problem at a cost which is somewhat higher than on a coal-fired power plant retro-fit , but not much higher . '' Besides , he said , the technology is not being developed as an alternative to the carbon capture and storage methods currently being tested for large-scale use on coal-fired power stations . He 's targeting carbon that 's already in the air . The concept of the `` synethic tree '' has caught the imagination of one of the first scientists to warn the world about global warming , Lackner 's colleague at Columbia University , Newberry Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences , Professor Wally Broecker . `` I 'm extremely excited about this . I think this is something that the world 's going to have to have , unfortunately , '' Broecker told CNN from Madrid where he received a BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award for his work on the issue of climate change . Broecker told CNN most people still do n't recognize the magnitude of the task the world faces in reducing global carbon emissions , and it was likely that one day urgent action would need to be taken , above and beyond the current measures being discussed . `` We 're probably not going to stop CO2 rising until it 's double what it was near-1800 and maybe even more than that , '' he said . `` I think we will find that the planet is too warm , ice is melting too fast ... and we 'll want to bring the CO2 back down again . The only way we can do that on a short timescale would be to pull it back out of the atmosphere . '' Broecker told CNN the units could stand in the middle of Australia , for example , and their presence would n't significantly disrupt the atmospheric distribution . `` Each unit would take out a ton of CO2 a day -- which would be the amount of CO2 produced by 20 average automobiles in the U.S.A. And the cost of each unit would be about the cost of a Toyota . So that would mean if you added a five percent surcharge on automobile purchases that money could go to building units to remove the CO2 those vehicles are going to create . '' | `` Synthetic tree '' would capture carbon dioxide in the air to reduce emissions . Trapped carbon would be compressed to liquid CO2 ready for sequestration . Technology is being developed by scientists at Columbia University in the U.S. Broecker : `` I think this is something that the world 's going to have to have '' | [[340, 390], [340, 353], [395, 428], [4928, 5009]] |
Vancouver , British Columbia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Calling it the most painful injury she has ever had to face , American skier Lindsey Vonn , a medal favorite in five events , has cast doubt on whether she will be able to compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics . `` Yeah , that 's a possibility , '' she said when asked at a news conference on Wednesday as to whether a shin injury might keep her out of action . Vonn , a two-time World Cup champion , said she injured her right shin when she fell in practice while in Austria recently . The top of the boot hit her shin at `` pretty much the worst place '' it could , she said . `` It 's just a matter of dealing with the pain , '' she added , indicating there was no structural damage . `` We have to see how it is this week , '' confirmed Vonn -- who added she had not taken any pain medicines while in Vancouver . | Lindsey Vonn cast doubts on whether she will be able to compete in the Winter Olympics . The American Alpine skier is struggling to recover from a shin injury . Vonn said she injured her right shin when she fell in practice while in Austria . | [[110, 137], [165, 261], [412, 416], [451, 482], [456, 536]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It 's a trip that would make Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher blush . On Friday , the Carnival cruise ship Elation , sponsored by the world 's largest nonprofit singles travel group , will make history by hosting the world 's first International Cougar Cruise , and we do n't mean the animal . Defined by the Urban Dictionary , a cougar is `` an older woman who frequents clubs in order to score with a much younger man . '' It can be anyone from `` an overly surgically altered wind tunnel victim , to an absolute sad and bloated old horn-meister . '' `` A cougar is generally known as a woman over 40 who likes to date younger men , but theoretically any woman who dates younger men is a cougar , '' said Rich Gosse , who came up with the cougar cruise idea . The ship , which sets sail from San Diego , California , to Ensenada , Mexico , for three nights , is booked for 300 guests and even has a waiting list . The ship has three swimming pools , a seven-deck-high atrium , bar and grill , a Moroccan-inspired Casablanca Casino and a lounge that features stage shows , according to Ann Thomas , owner of the Singles Travel Company and organizer of the Cougar Cruise . After making port in Ensenada , the cruise offers extracurricular activities like horseback riding , ATVing and other outdoor excursions . `` There 's at least four or five options a day for people to get together on the cruise . We 're doing lots of activities ; dancing , dining , Jacuzzi parties , karaoke for two hours . And starting at $ 125 a ticket , it 's a great price , '' Thomas said . `` I 've had to hire two more people part-time just to pick up the phones , '' she said . `` I 've never seen a response quite like this . '' Thomas admits that she was hesitant to sign on to the idea but is glad she did . `` We have people flying in from Italy and Denmark . My associates have been booking from France , Canada . It 's fascinating , '' Thomas said . Gosse , who has been hosting singles events for more than 30 years , said he got the idea after hosting a cougar convention in Palo Alto , California . `` We had to turn away hundreds of people , '' Gosse said . `` Then we did one in Beverly Hills and had a massive crowd down there , so I thought , maybe we should do a cougar cruise . I did n't think anyone would want to go . Needless to say , the phone is ringing off the hook . '' These cougars may as well be an endangered species compared with those hunting them on this cruise . `` The basic problem is , we have is too many cubs , '' Gosse said . `` We usually have too many women and not enough guys , but there 's been a paradigm shift in recent years , so now the cubs are more excited about it than the cougars . '' A `` cub '' is someone in their 20s or early 30s who likes to date older women , according to Gosse . For years , he says , it 's been socially acceptable for older men to date younger women . But in recent years , a phenomenon sparked by celebrities like Kutcher , baseball player Alex Rodriguez -LRB- who is said to have dated pop star Madonna -RRB- and others has led a new generation of younger men on the prowl for more experienced partners . There is even an ABC sitcom called `` Cougar Town '' that glamorizes the sexual escapades of a 40-something divorcee on a search for self-discovery by dating younger men . `` Tim Robbins -LSB- and -RSB- Susan Sarandon was the first high-profile cougar-cub relationship , '' Gosse said of the actors , who have been together since the late 1980s . `` Now we 're seeing a paradigm shift where these younger guys are actively looking for older women . '' `` If you look at the demographics , the only logical way for people to get their needs met is for younger men to date older women , '' he said . According to the U.S. Census Bureau , for every 100 single women in their 20s in America , there are 118 single men in their 20s . The reason , Gosse said , is that young women are dating older guys . `` When you 're single , you always wish the person meets someone they want to be with . If this is something they want , then I wish them well , '' Thomas said . | Cruise for women who date younger men sets sail on Carnival cruise ship Elation . The event is fully booked at 300 travelers , organizers say . Cruise is one of many symbols of burgeoning `` cougar '' movement . | [[778, 855], [868, 874], [877, 901]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A male suicide bomber dressed in women 's clothing killed three members of Somalia 's U.N.-backed interim government and 16 others Thursday when he detonated at a medical school graduation ceremony in Mogadishu , government officials and witnesses said . The Transitional Federal Government said Education Minister Abdullahi Wayel , Health Minister Qamar Aden and Higher Education Minister Ibrahim Hassan Adow were among the dead after the bomber attacked Banadir University 's medical school commencement . The African Union , which leads a peacekeeping mission in Somalia , put the death toll at 19 . The victims also included nine students and two doctors , according to a professor at Banadir University , while journalists said two of their colleagues died in the blast . In addition , Sports Minister Suleman Olad Roble was hospitalized in critical condition , his relatives told local media . Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed blamed the Islamist rebel group Al-Shabaab for the attack and displayed what he said was the body of the bomber for reporters , a local journalist who attended the news conference told CNN . The body the president displayed had a beard . The president also showed the remains of the suicide belt and shreds of a hijab -- a garment worn by some Muslim women to reflect modesty -- at the news conference , according to the journalist , whom CNN is not naming for security reasons . At the United Nations , the Security Council condemned the bombing as an act of terrorism against `` people dedicated to building a peaceful , stable and prosperous future for the people of Somalia . '' It urged a `` thorough investigation '' and expressed hope that those responsible would `` be brought swiftly to justice . '' `` The Security Council expresses its deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of those killed and to those injured in the attack , as well as to the Transitional Federal Government and the people of Somalia , '' the council 's current president , Burkina Faso 's U.N. Ambassador Michel Kafando , said Thursday . Video of the graduation ceremony showed Dr. Osman Dufle , the country 's former health minister , speaking as the camera begins to shake -- apparently from the explosion . Afterward , Dufle told journalists that he saw a person dressed in black moving through the audience just before the blast , according to the Radio Mogadishu journalist . Al-Shabaab is made up of former allies of Ahmed , once a leader of the Islamist movement that briefly held power in Mogadishu in 2006 . Adow , a Somali-American , served as the foreign secretary of the Islamic Courts Union when it held Mogadishu . But while Ahmed and other former members of the ICU accepted a U.N.-brokered peace agreement with the government they once fought , Al-Shabaab -- which the United States says has links to al Qaeda -- has rejected the peace agreement and has waged a bloody campaign against the transitional government . The African Union 's peacekeeping mission AMISOM condemned Thursday 's attack . It vowed to `` spare no efforts to ensure that the perpetrators of this act and such heinous crimes against humanity being carried out in Somalia '' will be brought to justice . The journalists killed were Mohamed Amiin Abdullah of Shabelle Media Network and freelance cameraman Hassan Ahmed Hagi , who worked closely with the network . CNN regularly works with Shabelle Media . The African Union condemned the attack , saying it would `` spare no efforts to ensure that perpetrators of this act and such heinous crimes against humanity being carried out in Somalia '' will be brought to justice . The National Union of Somali Journalists also condemned the attack and said it brought the number of journalists killed in the country this year to eight . CNN 's Ben Brumfield and journalist Mohamed Amiin Adow contributed to this report . | Three government ministers , two journalists , two professors and nine students among 19 killed . Attack struck ceremony held at Hotel Shamo for Banadir University 's medical school . President blamed Islamist group Al-Shabaab for attack . | [[0, 15], [70, 229], [383, 526], [527, 544], [595, 621], [622, 633], [639, 677], [735, 795], [3823, 3906], [0, 15], [70, 229], [383, 526], [919, 1020]] |
Montevideo , Uruguay -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A court sentenced former Uruguayan President Juan Maria Bordaberry to 30 years in prison on Wednesday for the coup that consolidated his power in 1973 and for human rights violations . Judge Mariana Mota convicted Bordaberry of violating the constitution , nine counts of `` forced disappearance '' and two counts of political homicide . Bordaberry , 81 , had already been under house arrest since 2007 for the killings of two opposition legislators in 1976 . Bordaberry assumed office in 1972 following an election that has since been questioned . In 1973 , he backed a military coup that kept him in power , and dissolved congress and suspended the country 's constitution . The military pushed him out in favor of another leader in 1976 . Journalist Dario Klein contributed to this report for CNN . | Juan Maria Bordaberry assumed presidency in 1972 . He backed a military coup in 1973 that kept him in power . Judge convicts him of political homicide , forced disappearance . Military pushes Bordaberry out in 1976 . | [[500, 555], [146, 154], [160, 190], [589, 596], [599, 647], [297, 377], [717, 781]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The alleged victim in a 1977 sexual assault case against director Roman Polanski has filed court papers seeking dismissal of the charges against him . Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski has lived in exile in France since fleeing the United States in 1978 . The woman 's declaration seeking dismissal was filed Monday in Los Angeles , California , in connection with Polanski 's efforts to have the 31-year-old case dismissed . Polanski , 75 , has lived in exile in France since fleeing the United States in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse . Polanski admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old girl , and an arrest warrant against him remains in effect . In her declaration , Samantha Geimer said , `` I am no longer a 13-year-old child . I have dealt with the difficulties of being a victim , have surmounted and surpassed them with one exception . `` Every time this case is brought to the attention of the Court , great focus is made of me , my family , my mother and others . That attention is not pleasant to experience and is not worth maintaining over some irrelevant legal nicety , the continuation of the case . '' Geimer , who has spoken publicly about the case before , including a 2003 appearance on CNN 's `` Larry King Live , '' added , `` I have survived , indeed prevailed , against whatever harm Mr. Polanski may have caused me as a child . '' She chided the district attorney 's office for not dismissing the case earlier and for `` yet once again -LRB- giving -RRB- great publicity to the lurid details of those events , for all to read again . True as they may be , the continued publication of those details cause harm to me ... I have become a victim of the actions of the District Attorney . '' The Los Angeles County District Attorney 's office had no immediate response to Geimer 's declaration . Lawyers for the Oscar-winning film director filed a motion for dismissal of the sex offense case against him in December , citing what the defense called `` extraordinary new evidence '' of `` repeated , unlawful and unethical misconduct '' by the Los Angeles district attorney 's office and the judge in Polanski 's case . The December motion also argued that Polanski should not be required to return to the United States to appear in court for the dismissal motion to be considered . In her declaration , Geimer said if Polanski can not appear in court , she will do so to seek dismissal . `` My position is absolutely clear , '' she said . Polanski 's motion for dismissal is scheduled for a hearing on January 21 . Polanski , a native of Poland , won the Academy Award in 2003 for his Holocaust drama , `` The Pianist . '' Among his other films from earlier in his career are `` Rosemary 's Baby '' and `` Chinatown . '' His first wife , actress Sharon Tate , was murdered by the Charles Manson family in 1969 . | Motion filed to dismiss a 31-year-old sex offense case against Roman Polanski . Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in 1978 . Director lives in exile in France after fleeing the United States . | [[279, 353], [388, 448], [1868, 1964], [449, 457], [460, 588], [589, 644], [170, 278], [170, 207], [237, 278], [449, 457], [460, 588]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Only moments after Tiger Woods began reading his apology Friday , writers , pundits and tweeters largely split into two camps : those who felt that his words were a heartfelt effort to acknowledge wrongs and set them right , and those who did n't believe a word of it . David Hinckley , in the New York Daily News , was unconvinced : `` Prisoners of war reading prepared denunciations of Western imperialism look more comfortable than Tiger Woods did Friday , apologizing for his ` selfish and irresponsible ' behavior . Never relaxed and easygoing in front of a TV camera in the best of times , Woods was a man saying the right things out loud while everything about his demeanor was silently screaming , ' I do n't want to be here . ' His eyes occasionally moving around the room as he worked to enunciate his scripted remarks clearly , Woods looked like a man who had caught his leg in a bear trap . '' By contrast , SI.com 's Michael Rosenberg took Tiger at his word : `` This was a real person with real flaws and real failures that he really acknowledged . Tiger has always preferred to sell an image instead of being himself ; this was obvious even before he crashed his car last Thanksgiving . Ironically , at the moment when Tiger 's image is most at risk , he finally showed us who he is . ... A lot of us have trouble apologizing to our spouse or our boss when we make a mistake . Think about what it must be like to apologize to the world . I do n't know what else people can ask of the guy . '' At beliefnet.com , Rabbi Schmuley Boteach was convinced that the apology was heartfelt : `` Tiger Woods ' statement was a model of repentance and contrition . He admitted he had a problem . He said that words alone would not solve it , that he requires , and is receiving counseling . He admitted that celebrity and money had given him a sense of entitlement and had corrupted him . He said he had behaved selfishly and irresponsibly . He accepted that being a public figure meant private responsibility and that he had to model good behavior for the youth . And he looked the entire time like he meant it . It was that rarest of things , a sincere and unconditional statement of contrition and responsibility from a public figure for cheating on his wife . '' ESPN.com 's Bill Simmons called the apology `` a borderline train wreck '' and said : `` It amazes me that Tiger learned little to nothing from the past two months . The control freak whose life slipped out of control dipped right back into control-freak mode , reading a prepared speech in front of a hand-selected audience of people , taking no questions , talking in clichés and only occasionally seeming human . Everything about it seemed staged . Everything . When the main camera broke down at the nine-minute mark and Tiger had to be shown from the side , I half-expected to see that he was plugged in to the wall . '' CNN legal analyst Lisa Bloom had a different take , saying that while Tiger Woods hit a `` home run '' in acknowledging that he had a mistaken view of what his fame entitled him to , the most significant thing about the apology was the absence of his wife , Elin : `` Elin Woods joins the more recent and growing list -- Elizabeth Edwards , Jenny Sanford -- who stand out for not standing by their husbands ' public confessionals . Famous wives are public figures themselves , however reluctantly , and serve as role models for girls and women who watch their moves carefully . Elin 's absence says this : I am not a doormat . Nor should you be . She may forgive , or not ; she may stay , or not . That 's her private business . But she refused to be part of the public spectacle ... And that is as it should be . '' Mary McNamara , at the Los Angeles Times , wondered why Woods bothered to make the statement , saying it just `` reignited '' the news cycle : '' ... it would have been nice if Woods had seemed more genuine -- the only real emotion he seemed to be experiencing was anger at the media , and a general air of irritated resignation at having to make this statement in the first place . Which , of course , he did not . The world would have gone on turning without a prepared statement from Tiger Woods . But unless Woods is planning to retire , to embrace a truly private life , then going out there with a ` I 'm saying this and then I 'm not saying anything more ' is just ridiculous and disingenuous . '' Taking more of the middle ground , Washington Post media columnist Howard Kurtz , who hosts `` Reliable Sources '' on CNN , said on the Post 's site : `` It 's not too much to say that this is a man in pain -- self-inflicted , to be sure , but pain nonetheless . But putting the tawdriness of the multiple mistresses behind him will probably take more than one carefully controlled television appearance . '' iReport : Share your views on Woods ' apology . Even before the apology , there was a bounty of opinion arguing that it was n't a good idea . The pseudonymous `` Stanley Bing '' at Fortune.com begged Tiger not to apologize in this blog post : . `` This nation is an apology factory . People are held up to impossible standards , or even possible ones , and fail to live up to them , as people will , and then the apology machine goes into action and will not shut down again until it runs its course , or is denied of fuel . You are simply giving it more fuel . ... I hope I 'm not too late . You 're scheduled to apologize again this morning . Perhaps you wo n't get this advice until it 's too late . If so , you know what ? It 's still good . You ca n't unapologize now . But let that be it , forever . Answer no more questions . Say you 're sorry , if necessary , to the one person to whom you genuinely owe an apology . No , it 's not Barbara Walters . '' And Selena Roberts , at SI.com , faulted Woods for stealing the spotlight from U.S. athletes at the Winter Olympics who were getting well-earned recognition : . `` The Americans have earned their enthusiasm , and all the coverage and headlines that go with it . Now Tiger wants to eclipse their sunshine by crashing their bash with his own pity party . ... The days of seeing the Americans through the prism of Olympians Behaving Badly have seemed a scene of the past at these Games . Then Tiger , the nation 's gold-medal bad boy , surfaces , demanding equal time . Once again , Tiger could n't help himself . '' CNN contributor Roland Martin said he was n't looking for an apology : `` I 'm sick of these sanctimonious folks who are blabbering about Woods needing to be grilled about his private behavior . Look , Tiger Woods did n't cheat on me . He 's not my daddy , brother , cousin , church member , neighbor or friend . He did n't let me down or crush my view of him . He is not and never was my role model . '' | Tiger Woods apologized Friday and said he was working on repairing damage he caused . Immediate opinion divided , with one group saying he showed vulnerability and sincerity . Another group said apology was scripted and did n't seem heartfelt . | [[1616, 1685], [147, 152], [157, 200], [4893, 4916], [4919, 4961]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski made two sorry blunders as Arsenal crashed to a 2-1 defeat in their Champions League last 16 clash against Porto at Estadio do Dragao . Fabianski , standing in for the injured Manuel Almunia saw a soft shot go past him for Porto 's opener . Comeback defender Sol Campbell quickly leveled for Arsenal but it was his back-pass which was picked up by Fabianski to concede a free kick which led to Porto 's winner in the second half . Porto were ahead after just 11 minutes as he was horribly caught out of position by a low right wing cross cum shot from Silvestre Varela which deflected off his diving body and over the line . In an open game , Arsenal were quickly level as Thomas Vermaelen and then Tomas Rosicky worked a Samir Nasri corner to Campbell who headed home from close range on 16 minutes . It was Campbell 's first goal for Arsenal since the 2006 Champions League final . Fabianski mixed brilliance with his mistakes as he did well to keep out a fine shot from Micael on 29 minutes . Arsenal thought they should have had a penalty when Tomas Rosicky was pulled down , but soon afterwards they found themselves behind again . Hesitancy between Campbell and Fabianski led to the keeper picking up the ball just inside the penalty area . With Campbell still debating the decision , claiming it was not a deliberate back-pass , Porto took the free-kick immediately - which Micael quickly tapped to Falcao for the Colombian to roll the ball into an empty net . Porto pressed hard for a third ahead of the second leg in London but Arsenal held out to limit their losses . Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger accused referee Martin Hansson of a `` massive mistake '' after his side 's defeat . `` I believe it -LRB- the back-pass -RRB- was accidental , Sol touched it accidentally , '' Wenger told ITV1 . `` And the referee should give us time to build the wall . '' In the other last 16 clash on Wednesday , Bayern Munich clinched a 2-1 win over 10-man Fiorentina in the Allianz Arena . Arjen Robben put the Bundesliga side ahead with a penalty just before halftime , but Per Kroldrup gave the Italian visitors a deserved equalizer five minutes into the second half . Referee Tom Henning Ovrebro , who took charge of the controversial semifinal between champions Barcelona and Chelsea last season , was in the spotlight again as he controversially sent off Fiorentina 's Massimo Gobbi for an apparently innocuous tackle . Miroslav Klose , who many deemed fortunate to stay on the field for a more robust challenge , then headed home a late Bayern winner with Fiorentina claiming he was offside . | Lucasz Fabianski blunders led to both Porto goals in their 2-1 home win over Arsenal . Sol Campbell scores Arsenal 's equalizer before Portuguese side score second after break . Bayern Munich score controversial 2-1 home win over 10-man Fiorentina . | [[0, 15], [19, 166], [365, 378], [412, 484], [295, 353], [1920, 1959], [1962, 2040]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Pennsylvania and the nation said goodbye Tuesday to John P. Murtha , politician , warrior , father , friend , gentleman . Speakers at the funeral for the Democratic congressman recalled a man skilled in the ways of Washington but , more importantly , a public servant who never forgot why he was elected 17 times to represent Pennsylvania 's 12th district . `` Jack Murtha never lost sight of God 's purpose in the law , '' said the Rev. William George , president of the Georgetown Preparatory School in Washington . `` Lawmaking should be sacred work , and Jack knew that . '' Murtha , 77 , died February 8 of complications from gall bladder surgery . A former Marine colonel and twice-wounded Vietnam War veteran , Murtha earned a reputation as one of Congress 's loudest anti-war voices . He initially supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq , but he stunned much of Washington when he called for a swift U.S. pullout in November 2005 . `` U.S. and coalition troops have done all they can , '' Murtha said . `` It 's time for a change in direction . '' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , who led a bipartisan delegation to the funeral , remembered her long-time ally . `` Those who served with him were honored to call him a colleague , '' Pelosi said . `` There were those of us who were privileged to call him friend . '' President Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were among those who filled Westmont Presbyterian Church in Johnstown , Pennsylvania , for the funeral . Murtha 's daughter , Donna , recalled his love of nature and how he enjoyed feeding wild birds , but not squirrels that raided the birdseed . `` He loved to outwit the squirrels , '' Donna Murtha said , her voice breaking at times . `` He could not stand it if they were outwitting him . '' Others recalled Murtha 's dedication to public service . `` Today there is great comfort in the memory of John P. Murtha 's life , '' said the Rev. Douglas Stevens , pastor of Westmont Presbyterian . `` He made a difference . '' Murtha underwent scheduled laparoscopic surgery to remove his gall bladder January 28 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda , Maryland . He was released but rehospitalized a few days later after the complications developed . The operation had been scheduled after Murtha was hospitalized for a few days in December . Murtha represented Pennsylvania 's 12th Congressional District in the House since 1974 , making him the chamber 's eighth most senior member . Two days before he died , Murtha became the state 's longest-serving congressman . He also was the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress , his biography on the House Web site says . Murtha was considered one of `` the kings of pork '' on Capitol Hill by taxpayer watchdog groups for requesting tens of millions of dollars in earmarks . The congressman strongly defended earmarks , saying on his Web site , `` I believe that elected representatives of the people understand their constituents and districts best . '' Supporters said his efforts helped bring thousands of jobs to western Pennsylvania . Born June 17 , 1932 , in West Virginia , Murtha moved with his family to Pennsylvania as a child . Prior to joining the House of Representatives , he served in the Pennsylvania state legislature . He also served 37 years in the Marines and Marine Corps Reserves . He retired from the Reserves in 1990 and received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal . Murtha attended Washington and Jefferson College but dropped out in 1952 to enlist in the Marines . He later graduated from the University of Pittsburgh . He is survived by his wife , Joyce , daughter , Donna , and two sons . `` When they made dad , they broke the mold , '' Donna Murtha said during the funeral . `` He lived by the motto , one man can make a difference . '' Murtha was scheduled to be buried later Tuesday at a private ceremony . | John Murtha elected 17 times to represent Pennsylvania 's 12th district . Murtha , 77 , died February 8 of complications from gall bladder surgery . War veteran earned reputation as one of Congress 's loudest anti-war voices . `` Jack Murtha never lost sight of God 's purpose in the law , '' reverend says . | [[270, 286], [291, 376], [2343, 2429], [598, 604], [612, 672], [737, 811], [377, 437]] |
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- An early-morning hazardous material spill has been contained , but officials in Morehead City , North Carolina have closed its port and recommended evacuation of its downtown area after nine containers of high-explosive materials were punctured . The incident occurred when a forklift unloading a vessel punctured a large container and the drums inside it that contained the explosive compound PETN , said Morehead City Police spokeswoman Amy Thompson . PETN was allegedly one of the components of the bomb concealed by Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab , accused of trying to set off an explosion aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 as it approached Detroit , Michigan , on December 25 . PETN is a highly explosive organic compound belonging to the same chemical family as nitroglycerin . Thompson quoted Morehead City Fire Chief Wes Lail as saying the entire cleanup is a five-step process , and only the first step had been completed . There have been no injuries or any environmental damage , according to Carteret County officials . Some residents and business workers left the area , but Tompson said she did n't know how many . `` Right now our advice to everybody is if they 're uncomfortable staying in downtown Morehead , to evacuate further west . And if they choose to stay home , stay away from windows and doors , '' Mayor Jerry Jones told CNN . `` Do n't get out and sightsee and meander around . It is dangerous , and we need to ensure the safety of our public . As the day goes on and we feel like we have more information , we will pass that information on . '' He said that emergency management officials `` feel that everything is contained . '' But at the early stages in the cleanup , they advised keeping people from getting closed to the port . Carteret County officials said U.S. 70 will be closed from 4th Street in Morehead City to the Morehead-Beaufort high-rise bridge for most of the day . The Coast Guard has barred traffic to and from the zone . The Coast Guard captain of the port ordered the facility closed and a 300-yard safety zone has been established to exclude any vessels operating any closer . Jones said the port called the city before 4:45 a.m. ET to say that a product spilled out of drums on the port property . `` We immediately identified it was a hazardous material , assessed that it was contained on the port and not -LRB- going -RRB- to go into our neighboring waters , into the waterway , '' he said . Police , fire and explosive ordnance crews from nearby Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point arrived at the scene , and an incident command center was set up nearby . Jones confirmed that the material in the containers is PETN , allegedly one of the components of the bomb concealed by Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab , accused of trying to bomb Northwest Airlines Flight 253 in Amsterdam on December 25 . PETN is a high explosive organic compound belonging to the same chemical family as nitroglycerin . Jones said PETN is a crystal packaged in water for stability . He said the people who transport `` any highly flammable explosive devices '' have to and did notify the port and local emergency and police officials . Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Chris O'Neil said the substance has industrial and medical uses . `` Being an international port , we handle highly flammable explosive material all the time . Jet fuel comes through here all the time , gasoline , propane . So it 's not unusual to have explosive material coming through Morehead City , '' he said . Also responding were the U.S. Customs and the Salvation Army . | NEW : Cleanup is a five-step process , and only the first step is completed , authorities say . Hazardous spill contained at N.C. port , but police recommend evacuations . Nine containers of PETN were punctured at Morehead City port . Mayor says residents who choose to stay should keep clear of doors , windows . | [[802, 903], [906, 950], [115, 129], [155, 248], [205, 265], [1278, 1282], [1305, 1337]] |
Mexico City , Mexico -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Heavy flooding in central Mexico in the past week has killed at least 33 people and left thousands homeless , the government said Monday . Schools remained closed in five cities in Mexico 's Michoacan state , where the flooding has killed at least 22 people and left more than 3,500 residents homeless , the state government said on its Web site . Another 83 people still were missing Monday in Michoacan , a state in western coastal Mexico that has been beset by drug violence in the past few years . A mudslide Saturday killed at least 11 people near the small town of Temascaltepec , in neighboring Mexico state . Uncharacteristic heavy rain throughout Mexico also has led to flooding in the nation 's capital , Mexico City . Up to 35,000 people nationwide could have been affected , published reports said . On Sunday , Mexican President Felipe Calderon toured Valle de Chalco , a city in Mexico state . In Valle de Chalco , on the eastern outskirts of the Mexico City area , officials announced that contaminated water from a sewage network that overflowed Friday will continue to flood the town for at least another 48 hours . The number of affected houses in the city grew from 2,000 on Friday to about 3,000 on Monday , the government said . Mexico state is bordered on the west by Michoacan and adjoins Mexico City on three sides -- north , east and west . In Mexico City , officials announced the reopening Monday of 165 of the 174 schools that were closed Friday because of the heavy rain and flooding . Calderon and other Mexican officials have vowed to help displaced families , including offering them food , medicine , shelter and cash allowances to buy new furniture . | Flooding in the last week could have affected up to 35,000 people , reports say . Government : At least 22 people dead and more than 3,500 homeless in Michoacan state . 165 of 174 Mexico City schools that were closed Friday reopened Monday . Government vows to offer food , medicine , cash and shelter to displaced people . | [[769, 824], [769, 799], [827, 844], [255, 297], [255, 267], [302, 341], [1406, 1420], [1423, 1489], [1474, 1489], [1495, 1554], [1555, 1701], [1663, 1724]] |
Editor 's note : Col. Ann Wright , who served for 29 years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves , was one of the first State Department officers to open the U.S. Embassy in Kabul in 2001 . She resigned from the State Department in protest the day the Iraq War began . She had served as a diplomat for 16 years and received the State Department 's Award for Heroism . Paul Kawika Martin is Peace Action 's political director and the founder of the Afghanistan Policy Working Group . President Obama just announced he plans to send 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan , where hatred of the U.S. grows every day . Next door , nuclear-armed Pakistan tilts toward disaster . It 's time for Americans to insist on a nonmilitary way out of this mess . We recently returned from a CodePink study trip to Afghanistan , and our expertise and experience points to a strategy of transitioning from military to political and economic solutions that will help Afghans while making Americans safer . The first step in providing Afghans security and weakening the Taliban and violent extremists is to remove recruiting incentives . It 's time to stop air and Predator drone strikes that tend to kill , injure and terrorize civilians . It 's time to stop arbitrary detentions and harsh treatment of prisoners that would be unacceptable here . While those in major cities live in relative security , rural Afghans fear violence from insurgents or U.S. and NATO forces . Many fear civil war or the return of the Taliban . Afghanistan requires more trusted Afghan police and security forces . These forces are paid only $ 110 dollars a month -- not a living wage -- and payments are regularly late . Little wonder these forces are corrupt , poorly motivated and have a high rate of desertion . The Taliban pays its foot soldiers far better . Investing in a living wage and pressuring Hamid Karzai 's government to punish corruption swiftly will pay more security dividends than the $ 1 million a year it costs to send one U.S. soldier . There is no reason to believe the U.S. military is in the best position to train Afghans , given huge cultural differences and past abuses by U.S. forces . The United Nations is expert in training security forces in ways that are culturally sensitive . The U.S. should ask -LRB- and help fund -RRB- the U.N. to take over the training of Afghan troops and police , with a focus on training Afghan trainers . With Afghan unemployment above 40 percent , job creation is critical to security . Vocational training , infrastructure construction and assistance to farmers will help . We can pay for this economic development by spending current funds more wisely . A criminally small amount of the international aid and development money spent over the last eight years has trickled down to Afghans . Instead , foreign contractors , subcontractors and importers have profited from Afghan misery . USAID 's new mantra of `` Afghans first '' is a start , as long as actions match the rhetoric . One successful program that deserves full funding is the National Solidarity Project , an Afghan-run community development program administered by the well-regarded Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development . Obama , NATO commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon should all mandate that where possible , Afghans -- including their businesses , NGOs and products -- should implement and directly benefit from aid projects . Obama did n't mention Afghan women in his speech . Funding women-led NGOs , women 's education and job training and hiring women can help raise their status . Outside the capital , not much has changed for Afghan women . Because of cultural traditions , many rural women stay home for lack of security or because of their husbands ' demands . The U.S. could transition resources to the Afghan justice system to properly enforce laws about rape and domestic violence , and ensure that girls younger than 16 are not forced to marry . The president rightly mentioned the importance of the Pakistan border . More resources must be transferred to securing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border . This is easier said than done , as U.S. border guards know from their own difficulties of securing the Mexican border . Nonetheless , the international community can increase political pressure on Pakistan to strengthen their border patrols and rid their country of violent extremists such as al Qaeda . Despite assurances by the president , more troops will not provide more security to Afghans . The mere presence of foreign forces and some of their actions have created more Taliban recruits and violent extremists . Instead of starting to bring troops home in 18 months , U.S. and NATO forces must tell internal and regional stakeholders -- publicly or privately -- that there will be a range of time , say 12 to 24 months , when their military presence will cease . Then , they must apply significant pressure and concrete support for a public , comprehensive peace process . This process must include all interested parties , including the Karzai administration , tribal leaders , the Taliban , women leaders , as well as neighboring Iran , Pakistan and India . The U.S. mission in Afghanistan can then focus on rebuilding the country the U.S. partly destroyed eight years ago -LRB- through air strikes and funding warlords in the Northern Alliance -RRB- , lifting Afghans out of poverty and making the country less of a haven or recruiting center for extremists . It 's time for a transition from military investments to an economic and civic strategy that supports reconciling and reintegrating Taliban fighters , reducing poverty and rebuilding infrastructure . Obama outlined escalation rather than the needed transition . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ann Wright and Paul Kawika Martin . | U.S. , NATO need to stop giving Taliban reasons to recruit supporters , authors say . Wright and Martin say economic aid and negotiations can succeed instead of troops . Allies should plan to withdraw troops but put pressure on for negotiations , they say . | [[812, 815], [851, 928], [896, 928], [934, 951]] |
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